Daily Current affairs - July 1st and 2nd, 2018 for all competitive exams
Government of India has announced that 1st
of July shall be commemorated as ‘GST Day’.
- Union
Minister for Railways, Coal, Finance & Corporate Affairs Mr
Piyush Goyal presided over as the Chief Guest of the event and Minister of
State for Finance.
The government of India is celebrating the 1st
Anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) coming into force on 1st
July 2017.
Four Laws namely CGST Act, UTGST Act,
IGST Act and GST (Compensation to States) Act were passed by the Parliament
and since been notified on 12th April 2017. All the other States
(except Jammu & Kashmir) and Union territories with legislature have
passed their respective SGST Acts.
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Tax department launches ‘instant’ PAN card
service
Income Tax Department has launched an ‘instant’
Aadhaar-based PAN allotment service for individuals seeking the unique identity
for the first time.
- This
facility is free of cost and instant allotment of e-PAN is available for a
limited period on a first-come, first-served basis for valid Aadhaar
holders
- A
fresh PAN will be allotted on the basis of a one-time password sent on the
mobile number linked to the Aadhaar number of a person.
- The
new PAN will have the same name, date of birth, gender, mobile number and
address as in the Aadhaar. The e-PAN facility is only for resident
individuals and not for Hindu Undivided Family, firms, trusts and
companies
India gets its 37th UNESCO World heritage site
In a
Remarkable Achievement, India gets its 37th UNESCO World heritage site.
The decision
was taken at the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO at
Manama in Bahrain.
- 37th site: Victorian Gothic and Art Deco Ensemble of Mumbai.
- This
makes Mumbai city the second city in India after Ahmedabad to be
inscribed on the World Heritage List.
- In
the past 5 years alone, India has managed to get inscribed seven of its
properties/sites on the World Heritage List of UNESCO.
- India
now has overall 37 World Heritage Inscriptions with
29 Cultural, 07 Natural and 01 Mixed sites.
- While
India stands second largest in number after China in
terms of number of World Heritage properties in ASPAC (Asia and Pacific)
region, it is overall sixth in
the world.
In 1982, the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS)
announced, 18 April as the “World Heritage Day”, approved by the General
Assembly of UNESCO in 1983, with the aim of enhancing awareness of the
importance of the cultural heritage of humankind, and redouble efforts to
protect and conserve the human heritage.
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Jharkhand to set up country's 1st Khadi
Mall
Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar
Das announced that the first 'Khadi Mall' of the country will be
opened in Jharkhand.
- The
land in the Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) campus will be made
available to the Khadi Board to develop the country's first Khadi mall.
- The
artisans would be provided technological aid for value addition in their
products, while rural, urban and tourism 'haats' will
provide them markets for their goods.
Maharashtra government announces 'Kanya Van
Samruddhi Yojana'
Maharashtra government announced a new
scheme called 'Kanya Van Samruddhi Yojana', wherein farmers families
where girl children are born will be given saplings for plantation.
- The
scheme is aimed at empowering women and promoting tree plantation.
- The
scheme was approved in the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister
Devendra Fadnavis.
216 foot tall statue of Ramanuja uilt at Hyderabad
A
216-foot-tall statue of Ramanuja will be built at Hyderabad. When unveiled, it is set to become the world’s
second tallest statue of a seated figure.
- Currently, the
Great Buddha of Thailand is the tallest statue, at 302-feet.
- Once
the Ramanujacharya statue is unveiled, it will become the second tallest,
a distinction now held by the Guanyin figure on Mount Xiqiao in China’s
Guangdong region, at 203 feet.
Ramanujacharya was a Hindu theologian,
philosopher, and one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism
tradition within Hinduism.
He is famous
as the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita
subschool of Vedānta.
He
wrote influential texts, such as bhāsya on the
Brahma Sutras and the Bhagavad Gita, all in Sanskrit.
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Bhitarkanika National Park becomes largest
habitat of endangered estuarine Crocodiles
Bhitarkanika National Park (Odisha) has
become the largest habitat of the endangered estuarine crocodiles in the
country with a record number of their nesting sites spotted in it.
- Altogether
101 nesting sites of estuarine crocodiles were found this time by
enumerators.
- The
nesting spots had registered 25% rise this year. At least 1698 crocodiles,
including albino species, were counted this year along the water-bodies of
Mahanadi delta region, while the figure recorded last year stood at 1682.
Odisha, RIMES sign MoU for effective disaster
management
Odisha government signed an MoU with
the Regional Integrated Multi-Hazard Early Warning System (RIMES) for
enhancing early warning system for effective management of all kinds of
disaster in the state, including flood, drought, heat wave, lightning, and road
accidents.
- The
government also signed three more MoUs that would benefit the farmers and
enhance their production. This agreement enables for development and pilot
implementation of decision support systems for automating risk assessment,
advisory generation and dissemination.
RIMES was
established on 30 April 2009 to provide user-relevant early warning
services to its Member States and others. It is a UN registered international and inter-governmental institution. It is owned and managed by its 48 members and
collaborating states for building capacities in the
generation and application of user-relevant early warning information.
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BSE, BME tie-up to develop commodity
derivatives markets
Premier stock exchange Bombay Stock Exchange
(BSE) has entered into an agreement with the Bombay Metal Exchange
(BME) for the growth and systematic development of commodity derivatives
markets in the non-ferrous metals complex.
- Through
this MoU, the BSE and the BME will coordinate and work jointly on
initiatives to deepen the understanding of commodity market among
stakeholders.
Asia's 1st Patent arbitration centre to open in
Tokyo
Asia's first arbitration centre specialized in
intellectual property is slated to open in Tokyo in September 2018 to
resolve the growing number of disputes in the region.
- The International
Arbitration Centre in Tokyo (IACT) is set to have around a dozen
arbitrators from around the world, who would try to resolve disputes
within a period of one year.
Haryana government is going to host 2018 World
Union of Wholesale Markets
Haryana will host 33rd World Union of Wholesale
Markets (WUWM) Conference in Gurugram from October 10-13 this year.
- Heads
of 200 mandis from across the world will participate in this Conference.
Haryana State Agricultural Marketing Board will organise this conference.
- Countries
from Asia, North and South America, Africa and Europe will also
participate in the conference. Information related to reforms all over the
world will be shared so that India could move towards a single unified
world market.
World Union of Wholesale Markets (WUWM) is a
non-profit association that aims to promote the international exchange of
information on wholesale and retail markets, with a view to improving their
construction, organisation and management.
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AMCDRR 2018 will be held in Mongolia
The Asian
Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction 2018 (AMCDRR 2018) will be
held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. It is convened by the UN Office for DRR (UNISDR)
and the Government of Mongolia.
- The
conference will represent a key milestone for reflection on three years
into the implementation of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015-2030. Specifically, the conference will
enable governments and stakeholders to review progress made against the
commitments at the AMCDRR 2016, i.e. the New Delhi Declaration, the Asia
Regional Plan, and ten stakeholder voluntary action statements.
- Theme
of the AMCDRR 2018: ‘Preventing
Disaster Risk: Protecting Sustainable Development’.
AMCDRR established in 2005, AMCDRR is a biennial conference jointly
organized by different Asian countries and the UNISDR. India hosted the
second AMCDRR in New Delhi in 2007. The “Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk
Reduction 2015-2030” was adopted during the Third UN World Conference on
Disaster Risk Reduction held in Sendai, Japan in March, 2015.
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Government forms panel to upgrade norms for
computation of Economic data
The government has set up a 13-member
committee to upgrade the norms for computation of economic data at states
and districts level in the backdrop of plans to revise the base year for
National Accounts or GDP calculation.
- The
Committee for Sub-National Accounts will be headed by Ravindra H
Dholakia, a retired professor of IIM Ahmedabad.
- The
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) will
change the base year to 2017-18 for the calculation of GDP and IIP numbers
from the current 2011-12 with an aim to capture changes in the economy.
Money in Swiss banks: India moves to 73rd
place, UK remains on top
India has moved up 15 places to 73rd in terms
of money parked by its citizens with Swiss banks in 2017, while the UK remains
on top.
- India
had slipped to 88th place with a 44 per cent plunge in such funds during
2016, but the latest data from the Swiss National Bank (SNB) shows an
increase of over 50 per cent during 2017 to CHF 1.01 billion (about Rs
7,000 crore). Pakistan is now placed one place higher than India at 72nd
position.
Nigeria replaces India to become world's
largest poor population: Brookings report
With the persistent decline in
poverty, India is no longer a nation having the largest number of poor
people in the world, according to a study published by the US-based
think tank, Brookings.
- According
to the study, Nigeria has already overtaken India as the country with
the largest number of extreme poor in early 2018, and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo could soon take over the number 2 spot.
- The
study, titled 'The start of a new poverty narrative' and
published in the Brookings' blog, is authored by Homi Kharas, Kristofer
Hamel and Martin Hofer.
Sathyasri Sharmila from Tamil Nadu becomes
First Transgender lawyer of India
36 year-old Sathyasri Sharmila from Paramakudi
in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu has become the first transgender lawyer
to enroll herself with the Bar Council of Tamil Nadu and Puducherry (BCTNP).
- On
a related note, Rajasthan’s Ganga Kumari was appointed as the
first transgender woman constable after Justice Dinesh Mehta issued the
order.
- Meanwhile,
West Bengal’s Joyita Mondal was appointed the Lok Adalat judge of Islampur
in North Dinajpur district, thus giving India its first transgender judge.
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador elected Mexico's
president
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been elected
as Mexico's President with over 53% of the vote, according to the
country's electoral commission.
- Obrador,
who has won the presidency at the third attempt, promised to tackle
violence and wipe out corruption.
- The
64-year-old former Mexico City mayor will formally take power on December
1. His main opponent was Ricardo Anaya.
Vijay Srinivas appointed Director & GM of
United India insurance
Chennai-based United India Insurance
Company announced the appointment of K B Vijay Srinivas as its
Director and General Manager.
- Prior
to taking up the new role, he was serving National Insurance Company Ltd
as its Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager.
Ravi Thapar to be the next Ambassador of India
to the Republic of Costa Rica
Shri Ravi Thapar, presently Ambassador of India
to Panama, has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to
the Republic of Costa Rica.
- He
is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of 1983 batch and expected to
take up the assignment shortly. Costa Rica President – Carlos
Alvarado Costa Rica Capital – San Jose.
Janardan Singh Gehlot Eelected International
Kabaddi Federation chief
Janardan Singh Gehlot was elected
the president of the International Kabaddi Federation (IKF) for the
next four years.
- It
was announced after the Annual General Congress (AGC) of the
federation, conducted in Dubai, the UAE.
Irrfan Khan honoured with Icon award at the
London Indian Film Festival
Irrfan, who is undergoing treatment in London
for a neuroendocrine tumour, accepted his award privately.
- Richa
Chadha won the Outstanding Achievement Award, while Manoj Bajpayee was
also awarded an Icon Award. British comedy ‘Eaten By Lions’ won this
year’s top prize, voted by the audience.
India clinched the Kabaddi Masters Dubai 2018
title
The Indian kabaddi team beat Iran 44-26 and
lifted the “Kabaddi Masters 2018” title in Dubai. India’s captain – Ajay
Thakur Iranian captain – Mohammad Maleki.
Rahul Dravid, 5th Indian to be inducted into
ICC Hall of Fame
Former captains Rahul Dravid of
India, Ricky Ponting of Australia and retired England Women
wicketkeeper-batter Claire Taylor were inducted into the ICC Cricket
Hall of Fame 2018 during a glittering ceremony in Dublin, Ireland.
- Former
Team India captain Rahul Dravid has become the fifth Indian
cricketer after Anil Kumble, Sunil Gavaskar, Bishan Singh Bedi and
Kapil Dev to be inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.
Lee Chong Wei wins Malaysian open Badminton
singles title
Malaysian veteran Lee Chong Wei has won
the Malaysian Open Badminton singles title for a historic 12th time.
- In
the men’s final in Kuala Lumpur, he defeated young Japanese shuttler Kento
Momota in straight games.
- In
the women’s singles final, top seed Tai Tzu Ying from Taiwan saw
off China’s He Bingjiao. India’s campaign in the tournament had ended with
the defeat of PV Sindhu and Kidambi Srikanth in their singles semi-finals.
Australia wins Hockey champions trophy final
2018
In the summit clash of the 37th and final
edition of the Hockey Champions Trophy at Breda, the
Netherlands, India lost to defending champions Australia via
penalty shoot-off. The match went into the shoot-off after both the teams were
locked at 1-1 in regulation time.
- It
was Australia's record 15th Champions Trophy title. While India won their
second consecutive silver medal, hosts the Netherlands bagged the bronze
medal.
