NATIONAL
Union Govt proposes 4 GST slabs
The Union Govt has proposed a four-slab rate structure for the new indirect tax regime i.e. Goods & Services Tax (GST) ranging from 0 to 26 per cent. It was proposed at the meeting of the GST Council headed by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and included representatives from all states in New Delhi. Outcomes of Meeting based on consensus Compensation of states due to loss of revenue after implementation of GST from 1 April 2017. Secular growth rate of 14% will be taken into consideration for calculating the revenue of each state in the first five years of implementation of the GST. Base year for calculating the revenue of states will be 2015-16. Good items along with other 50% items of common usage to be exempted from the tax to keep the inflation under check. The GST is proposed to be levied at 6% (lower rate), 12% (Standard 1 rate), 18% (Standard 2 rate) and 26% (Higher rates) on the goods and services. It will be 0% on host of goods and services, including food, health and education services, and 26% on luxury items, such as fast-moving consumer goods and consumer durables. On consumption of ultra-luxury items and demerit goods, such as big cars and tobacco products, cess must be imposed over and above a 26% GST rate.
2nd Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav
The second edition of Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav (RSM)-2016 was inaugurated by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts in New Delhi. The 10-day event aims to showcase the rich cultural heritage of India in all its rich and varied dimensions. RSM 2016 will show-case Handicrafts, Painting, Cuisine, Photography, Sculpture, Documentation and Performing Arts-Folk, Tribal, Classical and Contemporary in one place. Nearly 2,000 artists from across the country will showcase India’s cultural heritage through performances, arts during the cultural extravaganza. It is one of the five such festivals planned in this financial year in different parts of India including Bangalore, Varanasi and Jammu and Kashmir.
PM launches National SC/ST hub and Zero Defect – Zero Effect scheme
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the National SC/ ST hub and the Zero Defect, Zero Effect (ZED) scheme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) at Ludhiana in Punjab. Besides, he also presented National Awards to MSMEs. He also distributed 500 traditional wooden charkhas (spinning wheels) among women. The objective of the SC/ ST (Schedule Castes/ Schedule Tribes) Hub is to provide professional support to entrepreneurs from the SC/ ST. It also seeks to promote enterprise culture and entrepreneurship among the SC/ ST population and to enable them to participate more effectively in public procurement. ZED Scheme aims to rate and handhold all MSMEs to deliver top quality products using clean technology. It will have sector-specific parameters for each industry. MSME sector is crucial for the economic progress of India and this scheme will help to match global quality control standards.
Ashok Leyland launches first India-made electric bus
Hinduja Group flagship Ashok Leyland today launched – Circuit – the first “Made in India” electric bus. The bus with a minimum seating capacity of 35 to a maximum of 65 can run up to 120 kilometres on a single recharge under standard test conditions.
Union Govt launches satellite-based illegal Mining Detection System
Union Government has launched Mining Surveillance System (MSS), a pan-India surveillance network to check illegal mining using latest satellite technology. MSS is a satellite-based monitoring system which aims to check illegal mining activity through automatic remote-sensing detection technology in order to establish a regime of responsive mineral administration. Mining Surveillance System (MSS) is developed by Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) in coordination with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates Shaurya Smarak in Bhopal
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 14 October 2016 inaugurated ‘Shaurya Smarak’, the war memorial in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. The ‘Shaurya Smarak’ was constructed by the state government in honour of those who laid down their lives for the country. The Smarak built over an area of 12.67 acres of land. It was developed at an expense of 41 crore rupees includes a 62-foot Shaurya Stambh. It has light and sound facility to narrate stories of bravery of the nation’s valiant soldiers, who have laid down their lives fighting enemies on the borders. Various stages of life, war, death and victory over death have been displayed here.
22 MPs from smaller parties, independents in Rajya Sabha recognised as a consolidated bloc
Vice-President and Rajya Sabha Chairman Hamid Ansari has recognised a group of 22 MPs belonging to smaller parties and certain Independents as a consolidated bloc – the United Group. With this recognition the United Group, will be the third largest group of MPs in the Rajya Sabha, after the Congress and the BJP. This is only the third time in the history of Indian Parliament consolidated bloc has been recognised, the first was in 1983 and the second in 1990. In 1983, the first such consolidated group was called United Associations of Members was recognised by the then Rajya Sabha Chairman M.Hidayatullah. In 1990, the then chairman of Rajya Sabha recognised organised group of Parliamentarians and was re-named as the United Group.
Cabinet approves setting up of IIM Jammu
The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of an Indian Institute of Management school in Jammu on 13 October as part of PM Narendra Modi’s development package for Jammu and Kashmir. The development package included better facility for education of children, employment to youths, modern facility for treatment, facilities for promotion of tourism in the state and special arrangements for production of fruits in the State. The government recently set up an Indian Institute of Technology in Jammu.
Draft National Water Framework Bill, 2016 suggests basin-level management
The Central Govt has brought final draft of the National Water Framework Bill, 2016 to provide uniform national legal framework to manage water in a better and efficient way. The comprehensive draft Bill proposes model law for all states. However, water being a State subject under VII Schedule of constitution the law will be not binding on States for adoption.
Himansh, India’s remote, high-altitude station opens in Himalayas
A high altitude glaciological research station in Himalaya called Himansh (meaning a slice of ice) began functioning above 13,500 ft (4000 m) in a remote region in Spiti, Himachal Pradesh. Researchers will use this station as a base for under taking surveys that would digitize the glacier motion and snow cover variations with exceptional precision. Himansh station will provide much needed fillip to the scientific research on Himalayan glaciers and its hydrological contribution. The re-search lab has been established by the National Centre for Ant-arctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) in Spiti Valley, one of the most uninhabited parts of the country The station houses instruments to quantify glacier melting and its relation to changing climate.
Union Government extends anti-dumping duty on certain Chinese products
The Union Government has extended anti-dumping duty on import of certain Chinese products, used in garment, toys and footwear manufacturing, for another five years i.e. till 2021. Decision in this regard was taken by Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) based on recommendations of the Directorate General of Anti-Dumping and Allied Duties (DGAD). This extension will protect domestic industry from the harm caused by dumping (import) of the cheap Chinese products. The DGAD made the case for continuation of the anti-dumping duty on Chinese products after its second sunset review of the anti-dumping duty in force on the imports. Earlier in October 2010, the Revenue Department of the Unio Finance Ministry had extended the levy (anti-dumping duty) till October 2015.
Women can also be prosecuted under domestic violence law-SC
Not only men but women can also be prosecuted under the Protection of Women against Domestic Violence (DV) Act. The Supreme Court has struck down the words “adult male” from the pertinent provision in the DV Act to lay down that a woman can also file a complaint against another woman, accusing her of domestic violence.
India’s first international arbitration centre inaugurated in Mumbai
The first International Arbitration Centre of India was inaugurated in Mumbai, Maharashtra to provide an arbitration platform for Indian business houses to negotiate commercial disputes. The Mumbai Centre for International Arbitration (MCIA) was launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis. With this Maharashtra becomes first state in the country to clear policy for institutional arbitration. It is also considered as a major step towards making Mumbai an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) The MCIA will be an independent, not-for-profit organization (NGO) governed by a council comprising eminent national and international legal luminaries. It will provide world-class infrastructure for arbitration, 24×7 functionality and live transcription services recording during arbitration proceedings for transparency. It will be in sync with the Make in India campaign and will provide a time bound and cost-effective facility to reinforce investor confidence.
India-Pakistan border to be sealed completely by 2018
Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh announced that India-Pakistan border will be completely sealed by December 2018. Announcement in this regard was made after Union Home Minister held meeting of representatives of 4 states sharing border with Pakistan in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan. Central government has formulated time-bound action plan to completely seal the entire stretch of 3,323-km-long border between the two countries. The process of sealing border will be monitored at Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) level, Border Security Force (BSF) level and chief secretary of states level.
Government integrates 250 mandis in 10 states with e-agriculture market in 1st phase
The government has integrated 250 mandis in 10 states with the electronic national agriculture market (e-NAM) in the first phase. In April, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the e-NAM on a pilot basis with 22 mandis in eight states. The target was to integrate 200 mandis by September this year and total 585 by March 2018.
Union Government approves Rs.114 crore worth projects under HRIDAY Scheme
The Union Ministry of Urban Development has approved projects worth Rs.114 crore under HRIDAY scheme for improving infrastructure facilities around core heritage sites in five cities. These five cities are: Varnasi (Uttar Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab), Dwaraka (Gujarat), Puri (Odisha) and Warangal (Telangana). Projects in these districts were selected based on recommendation of inter-Ministerial HRIDAY National Empowered Committee.
Cabinet approves amendments to HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to introduce amendments to the HIV and AIDS (Prevention and Control) Bill, 2014. The Bill seeks to safeguard the rights of people living with HIV and affected by HIV. It seeks to prevent social stigma and discrimination against people living with HIV (PLHIV). It also seeks to strengthen legal accountability and establish formal mechanisms for inquiring into complaints and redressing grievances to probe discrimination complaints against those who discriminate against PLHIV.
Election Commission of India collaborates with Facebook to register young voters
Social networking site Facebook is collaborating with the Election Commission of India in five states, which are going to polls next year, to run a voter registration drive aimed at encouraging youth to participate in the democratic exercise. Facebook is collaborating with the Election Commission and the office of Chief electoral officers in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand for the first time in the country to run a voter registration drive. With over 155 million people in India on Facebook, the ‘Register to vote’ button is designed to encourage citizens across these five states to exercise their vote in the upcoming elections. From October 6 to 9, Facebook users in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa, Manipur and Uttarakhand who are 18 years and above received a reminder in their News Feed to register to vote.
Union Govt launches Indian Bridge Management System
The Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has launched the Indian Bridge Management System (IBMS). It was launched by Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari in New Delhi as a major step towards ensuring safety of bridges in the country. IBMS is being developed to create an inventory of all bridges in country and rate structural condition of the bridges. The rating will help for their timely repair and carrying rehabilitation work based on the criticality of the structure. IBMS is the largest platform in the world owned by a single owner, with database that could exceed one lakh fifty thousand bridge structures.
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates India Sanitation conference in New Delhi
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated India Sanitation conference (INDOSAN) in New Delhi ahead of second anniversary of Swachh Bharat Mission. PM Modi in his inaugural speech highlighted need of behavioural change to achieve the dream of Swachch Bharat and also need to ensure a dirt free India like Mahatma Gandhi’s Satyagraha which was instrumental for the end of colonialism. The Prime Minister also gave away cleanliness awards to Sindhudurg District (Maharashtra), Mandi district (Himachal Pradesh), Pune, Chandigarh and Mysore Municipal Corporations, Gangtok city (Sikkim), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Surat railway station, PGIMER Chandigarh, heritage site Rani ki vav in Gujarat and Kendriya Vidyalaya FRI Dehradun. INDOSAN is envisaged as an annual national event, that seeks to brings together all stakeholders working in sanitation.
Indian Army carries out surgical strikes on terror launch pads across LoC
Indian Army has successfully conducted surgical strikes on terror launch pads across the Line of Control () in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir (PoK) i.e. along India’s de-facto border with Pakistan. The surgical strikes were India’s first direct military response to attack on Uri army base by Pakistan-based militants that had killed 18 Indian soldiers. The motive of the operation was to hit out at the terrorists who were planning to infiltrate into the Indian territory. During the operation, significant casualty was caused to terrorists . The cross-border action comes India reviewed Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan and pulled out of the regional SAARC Summit that was scheduled to be held in Islamabad, Pakistan as part of a wider diplomatic offensive to isolate Pakistan. Surgical strike is a military attack which is intended to only damage to the intended legitimate military target and no or minimal collateral damage to surrounding structures, general public infrastructure, vehicles, buildings and utilities.
Union Cabinet gives approves Varistha Pension Bima Yojana, 2003 and 2014
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for the Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) 2003 and Varistha Pension Bima Yojana (VPBY) 2014. The Cabinet also granted approval for expenditure incurred on subsidy amount released to LIC for the both schemes. VPBY was launched on 14th July, 2003 and was open till 14th August, 2015 and VPBY was launched on 14th August, 2014. Both the schemes are closed for future subscriptions. These schemes were implemented through Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC). Both are pension schemes intended to give an assured minimum pension to Senior Citizens based on an assured minimum return on the subscription amount. The pension is envisaged until death from the date of subscription, with payback of the subscription amount on death of the subscriber to the nominee.
Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s 109th birth anniversary observed across India
India is observing the 109th birth anniversary of revolutionary socialist Shaheed Bhagat Singh. He was born on 28 September 1907, and was an influential figure in the Indian independence movement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Bhagat Singh on his 109th birth anniversary. Delhi Government decided to commemorate the day by organising Shaheed Utsav.
Union Govt decides to suspend talks on Indus Waters Treaty
The Union Government has decided to suspend all talks on India-Pakistan Indus Waters Treaty in the wake of the Uri attack. Decision in this regard was taken by meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was attended by National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval, Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar, Water Resources Secretary and senior PMO officials. No review or abrogation of the Indus Waters Treaty. Decision to utilise water under India’s share to fullest. Suspend talks on the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC), the dispute redressal mechanism until terrorism stops. Review the 1987 suspension of the Tulbbul navigation project that Pakistan had objected. Build more run-of-the-river hydropower projects on western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) to exploit full potential. Expedite construction of Pakal Dul, Sawalkot, Bursar dams in Jammu and Kashmir. Use 20% of river water allocated under treaty for Jammu and Kashmir farmers.
CSIR celebrates its platinum jubilee
India’s largest civilian research and development agency Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) celebrated its platinum jubilee. The platinum jubilee celebrations were in-augurated by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi who is also the President of CSIR. PM Modi also released seven new plant varieties developed at CSIR laboratories. He also witnessed exclusive CSIR Showcase on major technological contributions of CSIR.
Govt appoints ICICI Prudential AMC to manage new CPSE ETF
The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, Ministry of Finance has appointed ICICI Prudential Asset Management Company Ltd as the asset management company for the creation and launch of a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) comprising stocks of PSUs in the current fiscal with an estimated corpus of Rs 6,000 crore. The government proposes to create and launch the ETF in addition to the existing CPSE ETF, comprising stocks of listed CPSEs and the central government’s stake in other corporate entities.
Union Govt to launch Mission Parivar Vikas for improved family planning services
The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is going to launch Mission Parivar Vikas for improved family planning services in 145 High Focus districts in seven states. The objective of mission is to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework. These districts are located in the seven high focus states of Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Assam. They are having the highest total fertility rates and constitute 44% of the country’s population. They also have a substantial impact on maternal and child health indicators. As about 25 to 30% of maternal deaths and 50% of infant deaths occur in these districts.
Nation world’s largest solar power plant in TN
Adani Green Energy (Tamil Nadu) Ltd, part of the Adani Group has dedicated to the nation the world’s largest solar power plant of 648 megawatts (MW), set up at Kamuthi in Ramanathapuram district of Tamil Nadu. The plant has been set up with an investment of around Rs. 4,550 crore. It is part of the state government’s target to generate 3,000 MW in line with its new solar energy policy unveiled in 2012. The company sourced equipment and machinery from various parts of the world to set up the 648 MW capacity within a record time of 8 months.
Govt merges Railway Budget with Union Budget
The Cabinet on September 21 has approved the scrapping of the 92-year old practice of presenting a separate Railway Budget and merged it with the Union Budget. The Cabinet also approved the advancing of the date of presentation of the Union Budget to February 1, as against the current practice of presenting it on the last working day of February.
Indira Awas Yojana Renamed After Prime Minister
“The flagship rural housing scheme Indira Awas Yojana (IAY), started by former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, has been re-structured and renamed as Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), which will be launched next month. The IAY will be subsumed by the PMAY from April 1 next year. Under the new scheme, the government is aiming to construct one crore houses by 2019. Under IAY, the government has set a target of con-structing 38 lakh houses by end of the current financial year (2015-16), out of which 10 lakh have been completed. “Launched by Rajiv Gandhi in 1985, IAY is a centrally sponsored scheme funded on a cost sharing basis between the Centre and states in the 60:40 ratio, except in case of north east states and Union Territories (UTs). For north east states, the Centre funds 90 per cent of the cost and 100 per cent for the UTs.
Read more: Current Affairs Oct 2016 Study Material | FreeJobAlert.com http://currentaffairs.freejobalert.com/oct-2016-current-affairs-study-material/14175/#ixzz5TLpytflL
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