Current affairs: September 24, 2016 for all competetive exams
GST council sets exemption threshold for tax at Rs.20 lakh
The Goods & Services Tax (GST) Council has decided that businesses in the Northeastern and hill states
with annual turnover below Rs.10 lakh would be out of the GST net, while the
threshold for the exemption in the rest of India would be an annual turnover of
Rs.20 lakh.
- The first ever GST Council meeting held in New Delhi between September 22 and 23, 2016.
Two years on, Mars orbiter
remains a data trove
The Mars Orbiter that
catapulted India to space history has quietly had its second birthday - in its
orbit around the red planet.
- On September 24, 2014, India
became the only nation to date to put a spacecraft around the planet in
its very first attempt.
- The debut achievement of making the spacecraft go round the planet was the most challenging manouevre of the mission. It eluded old planetary warhorses Russia, the U.S. and Europe, who started out into space 50 years back with superior rockets.
President, PM launch VP's book
titled "Citizen and Society"
President Pranab Mukherjee
has released Vice President Hamid Ansari’s book ‘Citizen and Society’ at the
Rashtrapati Bhawan in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
- The book is a collection of lectures delivered by Hamid Ansari ranging from the role of women in a multicultural society to other dynamics of a democratic nation.
India International Seafood
Show in Vizag from today
The 20th Edition of India
International Seafood Show (IISS-2016) to be organised by the Marine Products
Export Development Authority (MPEDA) will be kick-started in Visakhapatnam,
Andhra Pradesh.
- India International Seafood Show is one of the largest Seafood Fairs in Asia.
Sun
Pharma signs deal to develop dengue vaccine
India’s largest
pharmaceutical company, Sun Pharma, has signed a deal with the Delhi unit of
the International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB) to
develop a dengue vaccine.
- This would be the first time a
vaccine developed entirely in India for a vector-borne disease has been
advanced for clinical development in India.
- Dengue is transmitted by the Aedes
Aegypti mosquito and can be caused by any of four closely-related viruses.
India,
France ink €7.87 bn agreement for 36 Rafales
India
and France on Friday concluded an Inter-Governmental Agreement for the purchase
of 36 Rafale fighter jets at a cost of €7.87 billion, the first fighter
aircraft deal since the purchase of Sukhois from Russia in the late 90’s.
- The deal was signed by Defence
Minister Manohar Parrikar and his French counterpart Jean Yves Le Drian.
Eric Trappier, Dassault Aviation Chairman and CEO.
Mission Parivar Vikas to
be launched to push contraceptive use
The government will soon launch Mission Parivar Vikas to improve family planning services in seven states where the
combined total fertility rate (TFR), or the number of children a woman has in
her lifetime) constitutes 44% of the country’s population.
- The main objective of ‘Mission Parivas Vikas is to accelerate access to high quality family planning choices based on information, reliable services and supplies within a rights-based framework.
Advance Pricing
Agreements (APAs)
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has
entered into five unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with Indian
taxpayers. One of these Agreements has a rollback provision in it.
- The five APAs signed pertain to diverse sectors i.e. Information Technology, Sourcing services and Investment advisory services.
SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism:
The 2nd meeting of the High Level Group of
Eminent Experts to strengthen the SAARC Anti-Terrorism Mechanism recently
concluded in Delhi.
- Delegations from all SAARC member countries participated in the conference. During the meeting, the issues of terrorism and the measures to strengthen the SAARC anti-terrorism mechanism were discussed.
INDRA-2016:
It is the
eighth edition of India-Russia Joint Military Exercise. It has begun in the
Ussiriysk District in Vladivostok, Russia.
- Main focus of this edition of the joint exercise is
on ‘Counter-Terrorism Operations in semi mountainous and jungle terrain
under United Nations Mandate’.
- Indra series of bilateral exercises is one of the major bilateral defence cooperation initiatives between India and Russia since 2003.
Visaranai to take a shot at
Oscar nomination
Visaranai,
the Tamil docu-drama crime thriller, has been chosen India’s official entry to
Best Foreign Language Film category at the 89th Academy Awards to be held
in 2017.
Venkat
elected ABC chairman
The
Director of Eenadu I. Venkat was unanimously elected as chairman of
Audit Bureau of Circulation (ABC) for the year 2016-17.
- He is also the chairman of Media
Research Users Council (MRUC) and Indian Broadcasting Foundation (IBF).
- He is on the board of the Foundation, the International News Media Association (INMA), Broadcast Audience Research Council (BARC).
First Jesse Owens Award goes
posthumously to Muhammad Ali
The first-ever Jesse Owens
Olympic Spirit Award-2016 will be posthumously bestowed to Olympic champion
Muhammad Ali, who passed away on June 3, 2016.
Hindi and Urdu
writer Reoti Saran Sharma passes away
Reoti Saran Sharma, the
renowned Hindi and Urdu writer, playwright and television personality, died in
New Delhi on 23 September 2016.
- He was 92 years.
