Current affairs : January 25, 2017 for all competitive exams
The Election Commission of India will celebrate the 7th National Voters’ Day across the country today (25 January 2017) for enhanced participation of citizens in the electoral process.
- 25th January is also the foundation day of the
Election Commission, which came into being on this day in 1950. The
Commission's objective through National Voters’ Day is to increase
enrollment of voters, especially of the newly eligible ones.
- The Day is also utilized to spread awareness among
voters regarding effective participation in the electoral process.
Govt launches Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana
The Union Cabinet has given its post-facto approval for the launch of the
Varishtha Pension Bima Yojana 2017.
- The scheme will be implemented through Life
Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) during the current financial year.
- It aims to provide social security during old age
and protect elderly persons aged 60 years and above against a future fall
in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions.
- The scheme is meant to provide an assured pension
based on a guaranteed rate of return of 8% per annum for ten years, with
an option to opt for pension on a monthly/quarterly/half-yearly or annual
basis.
Cabinet
clears redevelopment of Pragati Maidan
The Cabinet approved a
proposal to redevelop Pragati Maidan by setting up a world class Integrated
Exhibition-cum-Convention Centre at a total cost of Rs. 2,254 crore.
- Pragati Maidan of India Trade Promotion Organisation
(ITPO) is a Mini Ratna Company under the Department of Commerce.
- The ITPO will utilise Rs. 1,200 crore out of its free reserves towards funding of the project.
Cabinet approves ratification of the Second Commitment
Period of Kyoto Protocol
The Union Cabinet has given its approval to ratify the Second Commitment
Period of the Kyoto Protocol on containing the emission of Green House Gases
(GHGs).
- This decision underlines India’s leadership in the
comity of nations committed to global cause of environmental protection
and climate justice.
- The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 and the 1st
commitment period was from 2008-2012.
Cabinet approves Indian Institute of Management Bill,
2017
The Union Cabinet has approved the Indian Institute of Management(IIM)
Bill, 2017, under which the IIMs would be declared as Institutions of National
Importance which will enable them to grant degrees to their students.
- IIMs can grant degrees to their students.
- The Bill provides for complete autonomy to the
Institutions, combined with adequate accountability.
CMs Committee on Digital Payments presents interim report
to the Prime Minister
The CMs Committee on Digital Payments led by the convener and Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister, Shri Chandra Babu Naidu has submitted the interim report on
Digital Payments to the Prime Minister.
- The panel has recommended a ban on cash transactions
beyond a threshold and a tax on payments beyond Rs 50,000.
- It has recommended a subsidy of up to Rs 1,000 for
smartphones purchased by those who do not pay income tax as well as small
merchants in addition to lowering or doing away with the merchant discount
rate or the fee paid on card and online transactions.
EC tells parties
to uphold SC order
The Election Commission (EC)
on Tuesday issued an order to all political parties to strictly adhere to the
recent Supreme Court judgment that soliciting of votes on the ground of
religion, caste, race, community or language is a “corrupt practice” and calls
for disqualification of the candidate.
- the apex court has held that any appeal to vote or
to refrain from voting for a candidate on the ground of religion, caste,
race, community or language of the candidate, election agent, any person
making the appeal with the consent of the candidate or on the ground of
the religion, caste, etc., of the electors would amount to corrupt
practice [under the Representation of the People Act].
‘69% of political funds from unknown sources’
The report of an analysis done by the Association for Democratic Reforms
(ADR) on the income of national parties was recently released.
- The total income of national and regional political
parties between 2004-05 and 2014-15 stood at ₹11,367 crore, with the
highest of ₹3,982 crore being the Congress’s share. However, 69% of the
income of these parties was from unknown sources.
Cabinet
clears interest waiver for farm loans
The Cabinet has given its
ex-post facto approval for an interest waiver for the two months of November
and December, 2016 for farmers accessing short-term crop loans from cooperative
banks.
- It also approved an interest subvention to NABARD on
the additional refinance by NABARD to cooperative banks.
- The Cabinet also approved NABARD to make short-term
borrowings.
Rajanna-Sircilla
is 1st ODF district in TS
The newly formed
Rajanna-Sircilla district, which is also represented by Minister for Municipal
Administration and IT K Taraka Rama Rao, has been declared the first district
in Telangana State as Open Defecation Free (ODF).
- Incidentally, Sircilla and Siddipet Assembly
segments were declared ODF in 2015 itself with the construction of 100 per
cent ISLs.
- Taking cue from Centre’s Swachh Bharath Mission, the
Minister for Municipal Administration had announced Swachh Telangana
Mission with a goal to achieve Swachh Telangana by 2019. Accordingly, he
accorded priority for construction of Individual sanitary latrines (ISLs)
in his Sircilla Assembly segment in 2015.
Guided Pinaka rocket
successfully test fired
Pinaka rockets, with a
guidance system and an enhanced range, were successfully test-fired from the
Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur in Odisha.
- The earlier Pinaka version, which was an unguided
one, has now been transformed into a guided version, with a navigation,
guidance and control kit developed by the Research Centre, Imarat (RCI),
Hyderabad.
- The guided Pinaka was developed jointly by the Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune, the RCI, and the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Hyderabad. The ITR, Chandipur, provided the range and launch support.
Tax guidelines to target shell companies notified
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued guidelines on the
‘place of effective management’, or POEM, of a company to determine its tax
liability. POEM rules target companies that were set up abroad to retain income
outside India but are controlled from India.
- According to the guidelines, a company will be
deemed to be engaged in active business outside India if the passive
income is not more than 50% of its total income and less than 50% of its
total assets are situated in India, less than 50% of the total number of
employees are situated in India or are resident in India, and the payroll
expenses on such employees is less than 50% of the total payroll expenditure.
Child vulnerability map was launched by the MoWCD
A district-wise map depicting problems facing children across the country
was recently released by the ministry of women and child development as a part
of the National Plan of Action for Children.
- Prepared by NGO Childline India Foundation, the ‘Child Vulnerability Map’ covers 409 of total 678 districts in the country.
BookMyShow acquires
MastiTickets
BookMyShow has acquired
MastiTickets, an online ticket booking firm, for an undisclosed amount.The
two-year-old Hyderabad start-up has presence in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
The Hyderabad firm has eight employees, while BookMyShow has over 1,000 employees.
- The acquisition gives 120 cinemas in the two States.
The acquisition of MastiTickets fit perfectly into its expansion
strategy,” Ashish Hemrajani, Chief Executive Officer Officer and
Co-Founder, BookMyShow, stated.
Nepal recognizes employment in India as foreign:
Nepal has formally recognised migration of its countrymen to India for
employment purpose as “foreign employment” and bring them under the insurance
coverage for the first time.
- After the government’s recognition, Nepali migrant
workers in India will be entitled to receive insurance coverage up to
$12,812 for critical illness and life insurance
UK Supreme Court Rules Govt
Must Get Parliament Nod To Trigger Article 50
In a setback to the UK
government's hopes to bypass the parliament and trigger Article 50 of the
Lisbon Treaty to kick-start the process of exiting the European Union, the UK
Supreme Court ruled on Jan 24 that lawmakers must have a say on the matter
before formal talks can begin.
- The UKSC also ruled that the devolved legislatures
of Scotland, Wales and the Northern Ireland do not have a veto on the UK's
decision to exit the EU.
- The British government had proposed to use its
prerogative powers, known as the "royal prerogative", to
withdraw from the EU by serving a notice of withdrawing the UK from the EU
Treaties.
Pakistan
tests 2,200-km range surface-to-surface missile
Pakistan on Tuesday
conducted the first flight test of long range surface-to-surface ballistic
missile Ababeel.
- It claimed that the missile has the capability to
carry nuclear warheads and engage multiple targets with high precision,
defeating the enemy’s hostile radars.
- The missile has a maximum range of 2,200 Km. “The
missile is capable of delivering multiple warheads, using Multiple
Independent Re-entry Vehicle (MIRV) technology.
Geoscience
awards for two NGRI scientists
N. Purnachandra Rao, Chief
Scientist at the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI), has been
selected for National Geoscience Award by the Ministry of Mines for the year
2016 in the field of Geophysics.
- Keshav Krishna of NGRI has been selected for National
Geoscience Award by the Ministry of Mines for 2016 in the field of
Geo-environmental studies in applied geosciences.
Kremlin to host 2018
FIFA World Cup finals
The draw for the 2018
FIFA World Cup finals
hosted by Russia will take place in the Kremlin the country’s Football Union
(RFU) chief Vitaly Mutko stated.
- Mutko, Russia’s deputy prime minister, stated FIFA had approved the plan, which world football’s ruling body later confirmed.The World Cup finals draw ceremony will take place.
Virender Sehwag Named Kings XI
Punjab Brand Ambassador
Kings XI Punjab have
appointed Virender Sehwag as their head of cricket operations and strategy, and
brand ambassador too for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League
(IPL).
- Virender Sehwag is a former Indian cricketer, and a former captain of India. Often considered as one of the most destructive batsman of the game.
