Current affairs : August 25, 2016
GST bill ratified by Madhyapradesh and Delhi:
Madhya
Pradesh and Delhi became the seventh and
eight states to ratify the constitutional amendment bill for the roll-out of
the goods and services tax (GST).
With
eight states ratifying the landmark legislation, it has reached the halfway
mark of the required number before it can be sent for presidential assent.
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Delhi government became the third non-National Democratic Alliance (NDA)-led state government to ratify the bill after Bihar and Himachal pradesh
- Madhya Pradesh is the fifth Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled state to ratify the GST bill after Assam, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Gujarat
Feel the Jail innovation @ Telangana's Medak district:
The department’s ‘Feel the Jail’ innovation
provides a behind-bars experience as real as possible, while a shorter tour of
the jail museum is also on offer.
- The old district jail at Sangareddy in Telangana’s Medak district has been converted and its gates opened for everyone to experience ‘prison life’, for a fee.
- Those who want to ‘understand freedom’ can pay the Jails department Rs. 500 and get ‘24-hour confinement.’ Only, there has to be advance information for staff to receive such ‘inmates’.
Cabinet approves introduction of the “Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill,
2016”
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for introduction of the
“Surrogacy (Regulation) Bill, 2016”. Once passed, the new legislation will
apply to all of India except Jammu and Kashmir.
- The Bill aims to prevent exploitation of women, especially those in rural and tribal areas.
- The Bill promises to ensure parentage of children born out of surrogacy is “legal and transparent.”
- The new Bill proposes complete ban on commercial surrogacy.
- As per the Bill, only legally—wedded Indian couples can have children through surrogacy, provided at least one of them have been proven to have fertility-related issues.
Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian
Victims of Terrorist / Communal / Left Wing Extremist Violence and Cross
Border Firing and Mine/IED Blasts on Indian Territory
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to enhance the grant of
compensation to the civilian victims under the scheme titled “Central Scheme for Assistance to Civilian Victims of Terrorist/
Communal/Left Wing Extremist (LWE), Cross Border Firing and Mine/IED blasts on
Indian Territory” from Rs.3 lakhs to Rs.5 lakhs.
Cabinet approves signing of Air Services
Agreement between India and Fiji
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for signing of new Air Services Agreement (ASA) between India and Fiji. The Agreement is for updation
of the existing Air Services Agreement (ASA) between the two countries which
was signed in January, 1974.
Maharashtra becomes first state to sign MoU for regional air links
Maharashtra has become the first state to
sign an MoU with the ministry of civil aviation and the Airports Authority of
India for Regional Connectivity Scheme to develop 10 districts. This would lead to opening up of new destinations for both
development and investments.
Cabinet clears revised India-Cyprus DTAA
The Cabinet approved the revised Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) with Cyprus, a move that gives India the right to tax capital gains on investments routed through Cyprus prospectively from April 1, 2017.
A government commissioned report by Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) on Swachh Bharat mission in urban areas has flagged how success
of this flagship programme is dependent on ensuring effective intervention by
government departments and particularly municipal bodies rather than
authorities just placing the onus on people and communities.
9 new breeds of indigenous livestock
registered
Nine new breeds of indigenous farm animals have been registered by
the Karnal-based Indian Council of Agricultural Research-National Bureau of
Animal Genetic Resources (ICAR-NBAGR), taking the total number of indigenous
breeds of livestock in the country to 160.
Sugamaya Pustakalaya:
It is an online library that makes accessible content available to
print-disabled people. The library houses publications across diverse subjects
and languages and multiple accessible formats.
- It has been created by Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment in collaboration with member organizations of Daisy Forum of India and powered by TCS Access.
- Books are available in Accessible formats for people with visual impairment and other print disabilities. Over 2 lakhs books in diverse languages. Integrating libraries across India and the Globe, including the largest international library, Bookshare are available.
Udaipur Declaration:
It was adopted during the recently held two-day meeting of
Ministers of Disaster Management of BRICS countries in Udaipur.
- With this, it has been decided to set up a dedicated Joint Task Force for Disaster Risk Management for regular dialogue, exchange, mutual support and collaboration among BRICS Countries.
Person in News
1.
Dr. Jagdish Chaturvedi has been recognised as one of the ‘Innovators under 35’ in the Humanitarian category awarded by the MIT Technology Review for 2016.
- Dr. Chaturvedi won the recognition for his work in developing low-cost tools for ENT and related fields, which have found use in rural settings.
2. Akhlaq Ur Rahman Kidwai:
Dr.
Kidwai served as Governor of States, including Bihar, West Bengal and
Haryana, passed away.
- A recipient of Padma Vibhushan.
- Dr. Kidwai served as Governor of several States for a record period of 17 years — in Bihar (twice from from 1979 to 1985 and 1993 to 1998), West Bengal (1998 to 1999) and Haryana (2004 to 2009). In addition to holding temporary charge of Governor of Punjab and of Rajasthan and Administrator of Delhi and of Chandigarh.
3. Satheesh Reddy receives international award
G. Satheesh Reddy, Scientific
Advisor to Defence Minister and Director General, Missiles and Strategic
Systems, DRDO, received the ‘IEI-IEEE Award for Engineering Excellence-2015’ in
recognition of his contribution to missiles and aerospace technologies.
- He received the award at a ceremony as part of the golden jubilee celebrations of the IEEE Asia-Pacific Region on August 24, in Bengaluru
