Current affairs : December 17, 2016 for all competitive exams
Taxation Laws (Second Amendment) Act, 2016 comes into force
The Taxation Laws (Second
Amendment) Act, 2016 has come into force on 15th December,
2016.
- The government has also said that the Taxation and
Investment Regime for Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 (the Scheme) introduced
vide the said Act will commence on 17th December, 2016 and shall remain
open for declarations up to 31st March, 2017.
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill passed in Lok Sabha
The Lok Sabha has passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016
in Lok Sabha on 16 December 2016, which replaces the Persons with Disabilities
(Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act
1995.
- The number of categories of differently-abled has
been increased from seven to twenty-one so that the Divyangs could get the
benefits of various schemes at the Centre and State level.
Centre Announces Notification of Prevention of
Cruelty to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2016
The Government has issued the notification for the Prevention of Cruelty
to Animals (Pet Shop) Rules, 2016. This is meant to regulate pet
shops. The government has also invited suggestions.
- The objective of these rules is to make pet shops
accountable and to prevent cruelty inflicted on animals kept in such pet
shops.
India’s first Humsafar train:
The Indian Railways has launched India’s first AC III tier Humsafar
Express. The first Humsafar Express, with 16 AC III tier coaches and two power
cars, would run between Anand Vihar in Ghaziabad to Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh.
- Humsafar would be fully air-conditioned third AC
service with an optional service for meals. The announcement was made in
the Railway Budget.
Majuli to be India’s first ever carbon neutral
district:
Assam government has initiated a project to make river island Majuli the
country’s first ever Carbon Neutral district by 2020.
- The project titled ‘Sustainable Action for Climate
Resilient Development in Majuli’ (SACReD, Majuli) has been initiated by
Assam’s department of
Environment.
Rajasthan launches Amma canteen-type meal scheme
Rajasthan government has launched a subsidised meal scheme ‘Annapurna
Rasoi'. As per the scheme, the poor and the needy will get breakfast for
Rs 5 and lunch or dinner for Rs 8.
- The scheme will be in 12 cities initially and introduced across the state later. Initially, the scheme has been launched in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Bharatpur, Baran, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Jhalawar.
Sustainable expansion: APAC nations to adopt Urban
Plus approach
The Asia Pacific Ministerial Conference on Housing and Urban Development
has adopted the New Delhi declaration.
- The declaration was adopted at the culmination of a
three-day dialogue by the member nations of the Asia-Pacific region, which
together account for more than half of the global urban population.
- This approach will address ways to make urban expansion sustainable and manageable. This would mean an emphasis on planning for urban and its adjoining peri-urban and rural areas in an integrated manner.
IAF officers can’t grow beard, uniformity of
personal appearance important: SC
The Supreme Court has ruled that Indian airmen can’t keep a beard as it is
against their service rules.
- With this, the court has upheld the sacking of an
Indian Air Force (IAF) man for keeping a long beard, saying military
regulations were aimed at ensuring discipline and uniformity.
- The ruling came while dismissing pleas filed by two
Muslim personnel of the IAF. The Punjab and Haryana high court had
dismissed their petition earlier.
RBI opposes proposal to set up separate payments
regulator
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has opposed a move to establish a separate
entity to regulate payments and settlements, a function that is currently under
the central bank’s purview.
- In September, the Centre had set up a 11-member
committee on Digital Payments headed by Finance Secretary Ratan
Watal.
- One of the panel’s terms of reference was to study
and recommend changes in the regulatory mechanism under various acts such
as the Payments and Settlement Act, the RBI Act, and the Information
Technology Act among others.
Nalco, NTPC ink MoU to set up power plant in Odisha
The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and NTPC Limited have
signed a MoU to set up a 2400 MW power plant at Gajmara in Dhenkanal
district of Odisha and supply captive power for expansion plans of Nalco at
Angul and also Greenfield project at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district.
City corporation to receive Digital India Silver Award
The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation in Tamil Nadu has been selected
for Digital India Award instituted by Ministry of Electronics and Information
Technology.
- The corporation will receive the Digital India Silver Award in the category of "Most Innovative Citizen Engagement" and also installing and implementing free WiFi Scheme in its various offices.
Award for regional rural bank
The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank has bagged two
awards for inclusive insurance from Skoch Group for 2016.
- The bank bagged the awards in life insurance and micro insurance sectors under the order of merit category.
BEML conferred CEPM Fellowship Award
BEML Ltd, a defence public sector undertaking, has been conferred with CEPM
Fellowship Award-2016.
- The company bagged the award for its recognition and
commitment in transforming and driving organisational capabilities through
human-centric approach.
- The award was given at the 24th global symposium organised by the Centre for Excellence in Project Management. Deepak Kumar Hota, Chairman and Managing Director, BEML received the award at the function held at New Delhi from Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.
Sonu Nigam named
goodwill ambassador for Fight Hunger Foundation
Singer Sonu Nigam has been announced as the Goodwill Ambassador for Indian
NGO Fight Hunger Foundation. He has also released a song to help raise
awareness of the cause. The song, titled Hope in the Future.
- Fight Hunger Foundation is active in three Indian states — Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, where its expert teams diagnose and treat malnourished children.
