Current Affairs Today – March 22 2016

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INDIAN AFFAIRS

Haryana Proposes tax Free State Budget for 2016-17

The Haryana government proposed a tax free budget for the financial year 2016-17. Its focus was mainly in rural development and it also proposed relief to the riot-hit traders.

• Budget increased 4 per cent to Rs 88,781.96 crore in 2016-17
• Fiscal deficit has been pegged at 47 per cent of GSDP (without UDAY) in 2016-17

Akhilesh Ranjan committee submits recommendations on Taxation of  e-commerce

A committee was constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes to examine the business models for e-commerce, identify the direct tax issues in relation to e-commerce transactions and provide suggestions.

• This committee was headed by Akhilesh Ranjan, Joint Secretary (CBDT) and it includes officers of the Central Board of Direct Taxes, representatives from the industry, the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and tax experts

Recommendations

• Equalization Levy may be imposed on payments to non-residents for specified services by a separate chapter in the Finance Act, 2016
• The rate of Equalization Levy may be between 6 to 8 percent of the gross sum received
• Any income arising from a transaction on which Equalization Levy has been paid should be exempted from income-tax, by necessary amendment in Section 10 of the Income-tax Act, 1961
• The implementation and impact of Equalization Levy may be monitored on a regular basis.

Mumbai’s Wilson College adopts railway station for cleanliness

As part of the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan the Wilson College in Mumbai has adopted the Charni Road station in Mumbai for cleanliness and up keep.

• Wilson College students led by executive co-ordinator Dr Kamal Jadhav met the Governor Chennamaneni Vidyasagar Rao at Raj Bhavan and briefed him about the decision taken by the students during the past few months to keep the Charni Road station neat and clean.
• The college took the decision in response to the appeal made by the Governor to colleges and universities to adopt a railway stations or any other public place nearest to the institution and to take care of its cleanliness and maintenance.

Maharashtra:

• Capital: Mumbai
• Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
• Governor: CH Vidyasagar Rao

BHEL commissions second 270 MW thermal unit in Punjab

BHEL has commissioned another 270 MW unit at Goindwal Sahibcoal-fired power project in Punjab, This comes after one month of the successful commissioning of a 270 MW thermal generating unit of coal-based power unit at the same site.

• The unit has been commissioned at the 2×270 MW Goindwal Sahib coal-fired thermal power project of GVK Power and Infra Limited (GVKPIL), in Tarn Taran district, near Amritsar in Punjab
• BHEL’s range of work in the Goindwal Sahib project envisages design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of steam turbines, generators, boilers, associated auxiliaries and electricals, besides Controls and Instrumentation (C&I) and Electrostatic Precipitators.

Coal Based Power Generation in India:

In India about 59% of power generated from coal based sources that generates 27, 588 MW of power.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Nepal inks transit treaty with China, to have first rail link

Land locked country Nepal signed pact with China to build a strategic railway link between the two countries through Tibet to reduce land-locked Nepal’s total dependence on India

• During the Nepal Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli’s seven day visit to China the two countries sealed 10 agreements, including the much-publicised transit trade treaty that will end Nepal’s total dependency on Indian sea ports for third-country trade.
• The agreements signed include a feasibility study on the establishment of a Free Trade Agreement, China’s assistance to build a new airport and a border bridge over the Simikot-Hilsa road section that will connect Humla district with Tibet.
• The other agreements included a treaty on economic and technical cooperation to build a Regional International Airport Project at Pokhara, Nepal’s famous tourist site.

Nepal:

• Capital: Kathmandu
• Currency: Nepalese rupee
• Prime minister: Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli
• President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari

IKEA donates Rs 92 crore for safe water projects in India, Indonesia

On the occasion of the World Water Day Swedish retailing giant IKEA  majorly sells Furniture has pledged to contribute Rs 92.84 crore to provide safe water and sanitation to one million people in India and Indonesia through Water.Org.

• IKEA Foundation is committing Rs 92.84 crore to Org to expand its Water Credit model, helping families have access to small, affordable loans so they can get safe water and sanitation.
• 2% of Contagious diseases in India are linked to unsafe water and the lack of hygiene practices the World bank survey stated, and 50% of India’s population continues to practice open defecation.

BANKING & FINANCE

Current Account Deficit fell to 1.3% of GDP

India’s current account deficit, the excess of imports over exports, fell further to 1.3% of the gross domestic product due to benefits of lower commodity prices.

• Reserve Bank of India data showed current account deficit (CAD) at $1 billion in the third quarter ending December, lower than $8.7 billion or 1.7% of GDP in the preceding quarter

BUSINESS

Paytm ties up with PVR to sell online movie tickets

PVR cinemas has tied up with Vijay Shekhar Sharma founded Paytm to sell Movie tickets through the Paytm platform.

• In Indiamovie-ticketing market lies about $2 billion, growing at 10 per cent annually. The share of online movie marketing is just 15 per cent. It has set aggressive targets, with its base of over 125 million registered users and 90 million orders per month.

 Pay Through Mobile (PAYTM)

• The company started its operations in 2010 has array of services including prepaid mobile, DTH, and Datacard recharges and postpaid mobile, landline, and Datacard bill payments. It has partnered with multiple national banks for credit card, debit card, and net banking payments.
• In 2015 Paytm received a license from RBI for starting India’s first payments bank.

Cisco to invest $100 millions in India; to train over 250,000 students

US based Cisco Systems announced that the company will invest over $100 million over the next 18 to 24 months in India to support the country’s plan.

• The investment aims to connect thousands of villages to the Internet and create jobs. The company will work with the Indian central and state governments to start incubation centres for entrepreneurs and to train students.
• The series of investments will include $40 million that will be used to fund early-stage and growth-stage companies in the country, and train around 250,000 students by 2020.

Cisco Systems:

• California based company designs, manufactures and sells networking equipment.
• It is considered to be the biggest networking company in the world.

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS

PM Confers Himachal Pradesh with Krishi Karman Award

Prime Minister Narendra Modi conferred Himachal Pradesh with the ‘Krishi Karman Award’ for its landmark achievement in showing highest production of food grains in year 2014-15, despite adverse weather conditions and rain-fed farming in the state.

• The award was presented at the Krishi Unnati Mela, a three day event which began in New Delhi
• Six other states receive the Krishi Karman Award for their valuable contribution to Agriculture

M.Sukumaran chosen for CV Kunhiraman Literary prize

Renowned Malayalam writer M Sukumaran in the third week of March 2016 was chosen for theCV Kunhiraman Literary Prize.

• M Sukumaran is an author and short story writer in Malayalam.
• He was born at Chittur in Palakkad District, Kerala.

5th National Photography Awards

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting led by ArunJaitly who also the chief of finance Ministry gave away National Photography Awards of fifth edition in New Delhi.

• The aim of this award is to promote Nation’s Art, Culture, Development, Heritage, History, Life, People, and Society and to encourage professional and amateur photographers across the country.
• The Official theme of 5th National Photography Award is Save Mother Earth for Professional Photographers and Festivals of India for Amateur Photographers.

In addition to the Life Time Achievement Award, a total of 12 awards were presented on this occasion to various amateur and professional photographers.

Recipients of major awards

• Bhawan Singh– Life Time Achievement Award
• Javed Ahmed Dar- Professional Photographer Award
• Himanshu Thakur- Amateur Photographer

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS

Ali Mohamed Shein won the Presidential election of Zanzibar

Ali Mohamed Shein of Tanzania ruling party Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) has become the winner of the presidential elections. He won with 91.4 percent of the votes.

• The presidential elections held was the re-run of the elections held in October 2015, which were cancelled by the ZEC on grounds of fraud
• Shein won 299982 votes against just 6076 votes (1.9 percent) won by his main rival Seif Sharif Hamad of the opposition Civic United Front (CUF)
• Hamad was first vice president in the unity government headed by Shein that has been ruling Zanzibar since 2010

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched KisanSuvidha mobile app

KisanSuvidha a mobile Application launched by Narendra Modi will prove helpful for farmers in this regard but they must own a smartphone.

• The platform will help in providing information on subjects such as weather, market prices, seeds, fertilizers, pesticides and agriculture machinery.
• PM Modi emphasised that the digital transformation in India will begin only if country’s farmers are empowered and villages are developed.
• To operate this app farmer should own a smart phone and should register his or her Mobile Number and enter details of the state, district and block or sub-district. The information will be available in Hindi and English.

Researchers have developed a new Gravity Map of Mars

Anew map of Mars’ gravity made with three NASA spacecraft is the most detailed to date, providing a revealing glimpse into the hidden interior of the Red Planet.

• Gravity maps allow us to see inside a planet, just as a doctor uses an X-ray to see inside a patient, the new gravity map will be helpful for future Mars exploration.
• The better knowledge of the planet’s gravity anomalies helps mission controllers insert spacecraft more precisely into orbit about Mars.

The map was derived using data collected by NASA’s Deep Space Network from three NASA spacecraft in orbit around Mars:

• Mars Global Surveyor (MGS)
• Mars Odyssey (ODY)
• Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO)

Additionally the improved resolution of our gravity map will help us understand the still-mysterious formation of specific regions of the planet.

 ENVIRONMENT

Union Government notified new Plastic Waste Management Rules to curb 6000 tonnes of plastic waste

The government notified new normsaimed at curbing the over 6,000 tonnes of uncollected plastic waste generated daily by industries for plasticwaste management across the country.

• Industries using plastic will have to pay proportionately towards collection through the same distribution system they use for retailing their products.
• However specification about the extent of fines that would be imposed on the manufacturers not mentioned in the Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar and how exactly the monitoring system will operate.
• This initiative aims to standardise the 50 micron size plastic bags as opposed to the 40 micron ones, which was the minimum permissible limit earlier.

SPORTS

Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka won BNP Paribas Open titles

Novak Djokovic and Victoria Azarenka who beat Milos Raonic and Serena Williams respectively in straight sets to win BNP Paribas Open Titles 2016 at Indian Wells in California.

• Men’s Singles – Serbian Novak Djokovic
• Women Singles – Victoria Azarenka of Belarus
• Men’s Doubles – Pierre-Hugues Herbert and his compatriot Nicolas Mahut of France
• Women’s Doubles – US Pair Bethanie Sands and Coco Vandeweghe

Chennai girl wins at street Child Games in Rio

Hepziba, who won three medals, including a gold, at the Street Child Games in Rio She sprinted to win in the 100-metre dash at the Street Child Games held in Rio de Janeiro in Brazil. Hepsiba, now 16, earlier lived on Sydenhams Road in Chennai,

Street Child World Cup 2016:

• The tournament is a global movement for street children to receive the protection and opportunities that all children are entitled to unite street children from across five continents to play football and unite in a unique international conference.
• The first Street Child World Cup was held in Durban, South Africa, in March 2010 and participants were between 14 and 16 years old at the time of the event and all had experience of living full-time on the streets without family.

OBITUARY

Andrew Grover-former Intel CEO dead

Andrew Grove, former Chairman and CEO of Intel, passed away on 21 March 2016. He was 79 and he has been battling Parkinson’s disease for years. 

• Andrew Stephen Grove, also known as Andy, was a Hungarian-born American businessman, engineer, and author.
• He moved to the United States where he finished his education.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Water Day – March 22 2016

The day observed annually & Internationally and an opportunity to learn more about water linked issues, be inspired to tell others and take action to make a difference.

• The occasion of World Water Day is also used to highlight requiredimprovements for access to WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) facilities in developing countries.
• 2016 Theme: Water and Jobs