18 May 2017 - Current Affairs

14th GST Council Meet begins at Srinagar

The 14th GST Council meeting has begun under the chairmanship of Union Finance Minister ‘Arun Jaitley’ at Sher e Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC) in Srinagar) Jammu and Kashmir.
The meeting will take a final call on the new taxation regime and finalise the rates of different commodities and services.
Around 150 dignitaries including Finance Ministers and Finance Secretaries of 29 States and three UTs are attending to finalise the roll out the GST.
Note:
  • Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an upcoming system of taxation in India which will merge many individually applied taxes into a single tax.
  • It was introduced as The Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act 2016, following the passage of Constitution 122nd Amendment Bill.
  • The GST is governed by GST Council and its Chairman is Union Finance Minister of India ‘Arun Jaitley’.

Union govt. asks states to lift stock limits on pulses

The Union govt. directed states to lift stock limits on all pulses with immediate effect to protect farmers who are not getting support price for their fresh produce.
States have been asked to remove stock limits on pulses keeping in view the sharp fall in prices and sufficient supply of dals.
The country's pulses production has improved and is expected to touch a record 22.40 million tonnes in 2016-17 crop.

Cabinet approves pharma mission to develop bio pharmaceuticals

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for Industry-Academia Collaborative Mission for accelerating discovery and research to early development for bio-pharmaceuticals.
The Mission will be implemented by the Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council.
It will be a Pan-India program and help in preparing India's technological and product development capabilities in the bio-pharmaceutical sector to a level that it is globally competitive over the next 10-15 years.

Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave passes away

Environment Minister ‘Anil Madhav Dave’ (60-year) has passed away in New Delhi.
He was a member of the ‘Rajya Sabha’ since 2009.
Dave joined ‘Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’ and worked for conservation of the Narmada River.
Note:
  • Dave was born in the city of Badnagar, in the Ujjain district of Madhya Pradesh.
  • He earned his master's degree in commerce from Gujarati College, Indore, specializing in Rural Development and Management.

Veteran actress Reema Lagoo passes away

Veteran film and theatre actor Reema Lagoo (59-year) passed away after cardiac arrest in Mumbai.
She was started her career as a Marathi stage artist in 1970s.
She played the mother’s role opposite some of the biggest stars in the industry like Salman Khan (Maine Pyar Kiya), Akshay Kumar (Gumrah), Sridevi (Jai Kishen), Madhuri Dixit (Hum Aapke Hain Kaun) and Shah Rukh Khan (Kal Ho Na Ho).

Purnima Devi Barman & Sanjay Gubbi win Green Oscars

Two Indian activists ‘Dr. Purnima Devi Barman’ and Sanjay Gubbi have won the annual Whitley Awards (popularly known as the 'Green Oscars) for their works in the field of animal and bird conservation in India.
Sanjay Gubbi, won the award for his work to protect Karnataka's tiger corridors.
Purnima has been selected for her relentless efforts and campaigns for the conservation of the Greater Adjutant Stork (Haargila) in Assam.
They are among six global winners of the award shortlisted from 166 entries and each of the winners will receive 35,000 Pound prize money.
Note:
The Whitley Fund for Nature is a UK-based charity that works to highlight grassroots leaders in nature conservation across the developing world.

Shrinivas Kulkarni wins Dan David prize in field of astronomy

Indian scientist ‘Shrinivas Kulkarni’ has won the prestigious Dan David prize (Future category) for his contribution in the field of astronomy.
The honour will be conferred at a festive awards ceremony in Tel Avis, Isreal.
He joins other prominent Indian laureates including author Amitav Ghosh, music conductor Zubin Mehta and renowned chemist CNR Rao.
Note:
Dan David prizes are given every year in the categories of ‘Past’, ‘Present’ and ‘Future’ to people around the world who have made outstanding contributions to humanity in the sciences, humanities, or through their work in civil society.

Manav & Preyesh finish with silver medals

Manav Thakkar (India) has won the silver medal in the 2017 Thailand Junior and Cadet Open in Bangkok, after being handed a defeat by Fumiya Igarashi (Japan).
The Fumiya Igarashi beat Thakkar 11-8, 6-11, 11-4, 11-9, 11-5.
In the Hopes Boys, Preyesh Suresh Raj won silver medal went down against Amir Mohammad Samadi (Iran) in final.
Samadi beat Preyesh 11-9, 8-11, 11-7, 8-11, 11-2.
Earlier, the Indians had won a bronze in Junior Boys team event.

Indian-American student wins National Geographic Bee contest

Indian-American student Pranay Varada (14-year) has won the prestigious USD 50,000 National Geographic Bee competition.
Indian-American Veda Bhattaram has finished third at the finals and got USD 10,000 worth scholarships.
This year, six of the 10 finalists were Indian-Americans.

KKR beat Sunrisers; enters second qualifier

Kolkata Knight Riders(KKR) have entered the second qualifier of the game in IPL Cricket,
KKR knocked out defending champions Sunrisers Hyderabad in a rain interrupted game by seven wickets via Duckworth-Lewis method.
Now, KKR will take on Mumbai Indians (MI) in Bengaluru.
The match will decide the second finalist to compete for the trophy with another finalist Rising Pune Supergiant to be played in Hyderabad.

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