Latest Current Affairs of 5th December, 2015

14 gasp to death as floods snap Chennai ICU power

As the city continued to reel under calamitous floods, 14 critically ill patients at a private hospital died in the past 48 hours after generators holding up their life support systems were swamped by a surging Adyar river.The toll in the floods in Tamil Nadu rose to 415 on Friday , with at least 64 people dying over the past two days across Chennai.

Peg standard GST rate at 17-18%, drop 1% levy: Panel

A Centre-appointed panel has recommended standard Goods and Services Tax rate at 17-18% and a revenue-neutral rate of 15-15.5% and dropping of 1% additional tax on inter-state trade, readying the basis for fresh negotiations with Congress.“It is a forward movement,“ said Congress's Randeep Surjewala. But the initial welcome was no guarantee for an early resolution of the stalemate over the landmark tax reforms scheme as Surjewala indicated the principal opposition party would stick to its demand for a constitu tional cap of 18% on GST.

RIL heads for gas row with ONGChttp://acmeentranceexpert.com

The stage seems set for an other confrontation between Reliance Industries (RIL) and state-run ONGC, after US-based consultant DeGolyer and MacNaughton submitted its final report which says gas worth Rs 11,000 crore has flowed from ONGC's idle block off Andhra coast into RIL's neighbouring block, reports Sanjay Dutta.The report was submitted earlier in the week to the directorate general of hydrocarbons, the oil ministry's quasi-judicial technical arm.It raises more questions than it answers and could lead to a long-drawn legal battle stretching into years before a resolution is found.

Assembly passes Janlokpal Bill

The AAP government got the Delhi Janlokpal Bill, 2015, passed in the assembly on Friday with a mammoth majority of 64 votes. CM Arvind Kejriwal said he would be forced to resort to “other tactics“ if the Centre didn't support passage of the law. The bill has no prior sanction from the LG's office.

Rupee hits 2-yr low of 67, sensex dips on global cues

The sensex dropped 249 points on Friday to settle at a two-week low of 25,638, tracking a global rout after the ECB stimulus fell short of expectations. Sentiment was also impacted by a weakening rupee which fell to 67.01 intraday , a two-year low, which along with sustained capital outflows kept investors on the edge.The RBI stepped in through public sector banks to support the rupee, which resulted in the domestic currency closing at 66.69 -three paise lower than its previous close. Meanwhile, data released by the RBI showed that India's foreign exchange reserves fell $750 million to $351.6 billion in the fortnight ending November 27.

Gas row with ONGC may open another front for RIL

Globally , oil and gas pools are known for not sticking to geographical or political boundaries. The eastern gas bowl off the Andhra coast in the Bay of Bengal has been the stage for intense rivalry among explorers to pump up volumes. Additionally , it has also cradled a festering dispute between two of India's largest oil companies -state-run ONGC and private sector RIL -over allegations of gas siphoning since 2013.