Current affairs : October 27, 2016 for all competitive exams

Judicial panel on one rank, one pension submits report

A one-man judicial committee appointed to look into anomalies in the one rank, one pension scheme for retired military personnel submitted its report to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Wednesday.

• The committee, headed by L. Narasimha Reddy, retired Chief Justice of the Patna High Court, was appointed in last December for six months and was later given a six month extension.

Revised double-tax pact with Korea notified

India has notified the revised double tax avoidance agreement with South Korea under which capital gains tax will be levied at the source with effect from April 1, 2017.

• The revised DTAA aims to avoid the burden of double taxation for taxpayers of two countries in order to promote and stimulate flow of investment, technology and services between India and Korea.

Biotech- KISAN Launched

Biotech-KISAN was recently launched by the government. It is a new programme that empowers farmers, especially women farmers. 

• It is a Farmer centric scheme launched by of the Department of Biotechnology.  
• Biotech-KISAN aims to link farmers, scientists and science institutions across the country in a network that identifies and helps solve their problems in a cooperative manner.

India And Newzealand agreements:

Newzealand PM Jhon Key visited India. During his vist, Several key agreements made between india and Newzealand.

Those are:

1.     Arrangement between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the Ministry for Primary Industries of New Zealand regarding Food Safety Cooperation.

2.     MoU between the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of the Government of the Republic of India and Sport New Zealand of the Government of New Zealand on Cooperation in the field of Youth Affairs and Sports.

3.     Third Protocol to the Convention between the Government of Republic of India and the Government of New Zealand for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income.

4.     Establishment of a Bilateral Ministerial Dialogue between two Foreign Ministries.

5.     Establishment of Annual Foreign Ministry Consultations at Senior Officials Level.

6.     Cooperation and Dialogue on Cyber Issues.

  

Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for military and technical cooperation:

16th session of the Indo-Russian Inter-Governmental Commission for military and technical cooperation held on Wednesday.

• Defence cooperation is an important pillar of the India-Russia strategic partnership. 
• It is guided by the Programme for Military Technical Cooperation signed between the two countries which is valid, at present till 2020. 

Air India to resume Delhi-Tehran flights

Air India Express, the low-cost arm of Air India, plans to fly four times a week from Delhi to Tehran from early next year. It will become the first Indian airline to operate flights to Tehran after lifting of Western sanctions against Iran. 

India to have 1bn mobile subscribers by 2020: Study

According to a new study by GSM Association, India is expected to have one billion unique mobile subscribers by 2020, Driven by falling prices of devices and network coverage improvement, 

• According to the report, ‘The Mobile Economy: India 2016’, at the end of June 2016, 616 million unique users had subscribed to mobile services in India, making it the second-largest mobile market globally.

Pakistan summons Indian envoy for the second day

Pakistan summoned India’s Deputy High Commissioner J.P. Singh  and lodged a strong protest against the alleged “unprovoked firing” by Indian forces along the working boundary and the Line of Control.

• The protest was lodged against the violation of the ceasefire agreement in the Chaprar and Harpal sectors along the working boundary and in the Bhimber sector along the LoC on October 25-26.

IPS officer Karnal Singh appointed ED chief

Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Karnal Singh, 1984 batch IPS officer, as Director of the Enforcement Directorate (ED). 

• The ACC has approved the appointment of Karnal Singh, IPS, 1984 batch of AGMUT cadre, as Director, ED till 31-08-2017, the date of his superannuation or until further orders, whichever is earlier.

It’s Dalai Lama’s turn to visit Arunachal now

Arunachal Pradesh is preparing to welcome the Dalai Lama for another controversial visit which is likely to attract criticism from China.

• The Dalai Lama has been invited to Arunachal Pradesh for a fortnight-long visit during March 2017, when he is expected to visit Tawang, Itanagar and the eastern districts of the state

Legendary Kashmiri singer Raj Begum dies

Celebrated Kashmiri singer Raj Begum passed away on 26 October 2016 in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. 

• Begum was one of the most recognized female singers in the Kashmir Valley.
• She was awarded Padma Shri in 2002.

India wins two gold in weightlifting championship:

Guru Raja (56kg) and Joti Mal (53kg) opened the medal account for India, striking gold in their respective events at the Commonwealth senior (men and women) weightlifting championships at Penang, Malaysia.

• Raja lifted 249kg (108+141) in the men’s event while Joti totalled 175kg (73+102) in the women’s category.