Current affairs : November 30, 2016 for all competitive exams
Lok Sabha passes Taxation Laws
(Second Amendment) Bill, 2016
The Lok Sabha has passed the Taxation Laws(Second Amendment) Bill, 2016 to amend the Income Tax Act, 1961 and Finance
Act, 2016 on 29 November 2016. The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 28
November 2016.
- It imposes a higher rate of tax and penalty in
respect of undisclosed incomes.
- The Bill proposes to introduce the Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan (PMGK) Yojana, 2016.
Son has no legal right in parents’ house, can stay at
their mercy: HC
In a significant move, the Delhi High Court has ruled that a son can not claim a right to live in the self-acquired house of his parents and can do so
only at their mercy.
- A son can reside in a self-acquired property of his
parents so long as they desire and cannot claim a legal right to stay
there, irrespective of his marital status.
Government approves 6 new sezs
for IT, biotech
The Government of India has
approved 6 proposals from four developers to set up a new special economic zona
(SEZs) IT and biotechnology across Telangana, Haryana and Karnataka.
- The decision was taken by the Board of Approval
(BoA), headed by Commerce Secretary Rita Teaotia during the board meeting
on November 9, 2016.
- The four developers are Vaxenic India, EON Kharadi Infrastructure, GAR Corporation and KRC Infrastructure.
Akodara in Gujarat becomes
India’s first Digital Village
Akodara village in
Sabarkantha district of Gujarat recently has earned the title of the first
digital village in India.
- The village, which sustains a total population of
1191 people, uses various cashless systems for payments of goods and
services.
- All transactions in the village are carried out
through digital modes like net-banking, SMS or debit cards.
India’s first cycle highway
inaugurated in UP
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister
Akhilesh Yadav has inaugurated India’s first and Asia’s longest bicycle highway
between Agra and Etawah in UP.
- A rally of 90 cyclists from five countries and
across India followed the inauguration ceremony at the Lion Safari in
Etawah.
Bapu's Charkha among 100 'Most
Influential Photos of All Time'
A 1946 picture of Mahatma
Gandhi with his Charkha (spinning wheel) in the foreground is among the 100
most influential images of all time, according to a compilation by Time
magazine of “images that changed the world.”
- The Time collection includes 100 of the most iconic
and history-altering images, dating from the 1820s to 2015 that have
remained engrained in the human psyche from the time they were taken.
- Among the pictures is the tragic photo of the
lifeless body of three-year-old Syrian Alan Kurdi lying face down on the
shore near the coastal town of Bodrum.
NBT
without a Board for a year
The National Book Trust has
been without an executive committee and a Board of Trustees for over a year
now, after the previous Board’s term ended last September.
- Headed by the NBT Chairman, the 18-member Board is
expected to meet twice a year to take crucial decisions pertaining to the
institution.
- It is an autonomous body under the Ministry of Human
Resource Development.
- The executive committee is made up of five Board members.
ISRO drones help map disasters
in north-east
The Shillong-based North-Eastern Space Applications Centre (NE-SAC) of the
Indian Space Research Organisation has tested unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)
to assess several regional problems, ranging from measuring diseased paddy
fields to damage caused by frequent landslides in the north eastern region of
the country.
- NE-SAC has taken the initiative for design and
assembling of UAVs for various applications. UAVs can perform efficient
surveys for disaster-prone or physically inaccessible areas, quick damage
assessment of landslides, floods and earthquakes and enable timely relief
measures.
Industries should use recycled ground water
The Water Ministry is planning amendments to a Bill on ground water management that will impose restrictions on how companies, farmers and various
groups can use groundwater.
- Industries can only use recycled water, and
activities such as gardening would require the use of treated sewage
water.
- Extracting pristine water from aquifiers, the norm
in much of the country, would be sharply regulated. Failing to adhere to
this would invite “stringent punishment”.
Thai
Parliament invites prince to ascend throne
Thailand’s Parliament
invited Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn to become the next king,
resolving lingering anxiety over his accession following his father’s death
last month.
- The country has been plunged into mourning since
widely revered King Bhumibol Adulyadej died on 13 October, ending a
remarkable seven-decade reign and removing a key pillar of unity in a
bitterly divided nation.
World’s
oldest person marks 117th birthday in Italy
Emma Morano, thought to be
the world’s oldest person and the last to be born in the1800s, celebrated her
117th birthday on Tuesday.
- Ms. Morano was born in November 1899, four years before the Wright brothers first took to the air. Her life has spanned three centuries, two World Wars and over 90 Italian governments.
Bharatiya Mahila Bank merger
with SBI cleared
Paving the way for
consolidation in the banking sector, the Competition Commission of India (CCI)
has approved the amalgamation of Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) into State Bank of
India (SBI).
- Both the banks offer various banking products to
their retail and corporate customers.
- Bharatiya Mahila Bank Ltd is the first of its kind in the Banking Industry in India formed with a vision of economic empowerment for women. Incorporated under the Companies Act 1956 on 5 August 2013.
4 India-born ceos on Fortune's
Businessperson of the Year list
Four leading India-born
CEOs, including Microsoft’s Satya Nadella and Mastercard’s Ajay Banga, who
delivered big in taking their companies ahead, have featured in Fortune’s
Businessperson of the Year list topped by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg.
- Nadella has been ranked fifth among 50 global
corporate heads by Fortune Magazine in its annual ‘Businessperson of the
Year’ compilation, followed by CEO of the Milwaukee-based maker of water
heaters A O Smith, Ajita Rajendra on the 34th spot, HDFC Bank’s Managing
Director Aditya Puri on the 36th position and Banga on 40th.
- The list of 50 business tycoons also includes Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, 2, Alphabet CEO Larry Page, 4, Alibaba Executive Chairman Jack Ma, 10, Apple CEO Tim Cook, 11, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick, 15 and Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, 29.
Morgan Stanley lowers India’s
growth forecast by 40 bps to 7.3% for fy’17
American Morgan Stanley has
lowered its growth forecast for FY’17 to 7.3% from 7.7% earlier on account of
currency replacement programme.
- As global growth accelerates to
3.4% in 2017 from 3% in 2016, Morgan Stanley expects India’s exports to
support the overall recovery in 2017 after being a drag in 2016.
- 2018 will be the first year of
recovery in private capacity expansion after six years of a weak trend.
M. M. Kutty appointed delhi
chief secretary
Senior IAS officer M. M.
Kutty has been appointed the Delhi Chief Secretary.
He replaced K. K. Sharma,
who has transferred to the Union HRD Ministry as an officer on special
duty (OSD).
- The Centre has sent back Kutty to his parent Union Territories cadre before completion of the tenure of his Central deputation.
Pankaj Advani claimed bronze
medal at IBSF World Snooker championship
Fifteen-time world champion
Pankaj Advani suffered a 2-7 loss in the semifinals against Andrew Pagett of
Wales to settle for a bronze medal at the IBSF World Snooker Championship.
