25 October 2016 - Current Affairs

PM Modi to inaugurate first National Tribal Carnival in New Delhi


    Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated first National Tribal Carnival in New Delhi. The carnival showcasing various facets of tribal culture is aimed at promoting a sense of inclusiveness among the tribals.
    • The events during the carnival will be a mix of live music and dance performances, exhibitions, display of crafts, fashion show, panel discussions and book fair.
    • It will expose tribal culture, tradition and the skill to the general public with a view to utilizing the potential for overall holistic development of the Scheduled Tribes.
    • More than 1600 tribal artists and around eight thousand tribal delegates from across the country are expected to participate in the event.


    Service voters can receive e-postal ballots

    • The Union govt. has amended the Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961 enabling service voters, including armed forces personnel to cast their vote in elections through the e-postal ballot.
    • A blank postal ballot paper would be transmitted to them electronically.
    • The technical team of the Election Commission has developed the system to transmit blank postal ballot electronically to the voter.
    • On a pilot basis, the e-postal ballot system has been introduced for service voters consisting of central para military forces.

    Note:
    • Voters entitled to postal ballot such as service voters and they can download the postal ballot and print the blank postal ballot and after marking his vote in the blank postal ballot.
    • They would return the same to the concerned Returning Officer by post as in the present system of postal ballot.

    Arun Jaitley launches SMS Alert for salaried tax payers on TDS deductions

    • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has launched the SMS Alert Service for direct taxes for about 2.5 crore private and Government salaried employees at a function in New Delhi
    • The new step is an effort by the Income Tax Department to directly communicate deposit of tax deducted, through SMS alerts at the end of every quarter.
    • The Department will soon extend this facility to another 4.4 crore non-salaried taxpayers.


    CO2 level reaches record high in 2016: WMO

    • World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports the level of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere has reached a record high in 2016.
    • According to WMO, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere reached 400 parts per million for the first time in 2015 and surged to new records this year.
    • It is not possible to tackle climate change without tackling CO2 emissions because the lifetime of this greenhouse gas is very long.

    Note:
    • The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 191 Member States and Territories.
    • WMO became the specialized agency of the United Nations for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
    • It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.

    Bilal Nazki appointed as chairperson of JKHRC

    • Jammu and Kashmir Governor N N Vohra has appointed former Chief Justice of Orissa High Court Bilal Nazki as the chairperson of the State Human Rights Commission (JKHRC).
    • Earlier, Nazki was the chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Bihar and also headed the committee set up by the Centre to review the functioning of the Haj Committee of India and its state units in 2013.


    Rajeev Misra appointed as Head of Softbank Vision Fund

    • India-born Rajeev Misra has been appointed as Head of  SoftBank Vision Fund.
    • SoftBank Vision Fund constituted by Japanese telecom and Internet major Softbank Corp.
    • The SoftBank Vision Fund intends to make investments in the technology sector globally.
    • It is managed in the United Kingdom by a subsidiary of the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG).
    • It is reportedly one of the world’s largest of its kind and will be operated from London.


    Tata replaces Cyrus Mistry as chairman with Ratan Tata

    • The Tata Sons Board has appointed Ratan Tata (78-year) as the interim chairman of the group for four months at a Board meeting in Mumbai.
    • He has replaced Cyrus Mistry (48-year).
    • Cyrus Mistry is the son of Pallonji, who controls nearly 18% of the equity in Tata Sons.
    • Ratan Tata was the previous chairman and was in charge of the company for more than two decades until he stepped down in 2012.
    Note:
    • Tata Sons is one of India’s oldest conglomerates and is made up of more than 100 companies, including Tata Motors, Tata Power and Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).


    Govt presents cash award to medal winners of RIO Olympics, Paralympics

    • Sports Minister Vijay Goel has presented a cash award to the medal winners of RIO Olympics and Paralympics 2016 at a function in New Delhi.
    • Gold medalists were given 75 Lakh rupees each, while Silver medalists got 50 Lakhs.
    • Bronze medalists received 30 Lakh rupees each.

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