05 March 2017 - Current Affairs

South Korea and United States Begin Annual Military Drill Foal Eagle

  • The United States and South Korean troops started their large-scale annual military drill named Foal Eagle.The month-long exercises will run last in April 2017 and will overlap with the Key Resolve exercise which will begin on March 13, 2017.
  • The aim of the military exercise is to test their defense readiness against the threat from North Korea. 
  • North Korea conducted its first ballistic missile test of 2017 in February and views the Foal Eagle Exercise 2017 as preparation for war against it.

GST Council approves draft CGST and IGST Bills

  • The Centre and States approved the model draft Bills for Centre and Integrated goods and services tax (GST).The Council has also included a revised peak rate of 20 percent under GST, instead of the earlier 18 percent. This would mean that the total incidence of the tax could go as high as 40 percent.
  • The next meeting of the Council will now be held on March 16, when it will finalize the draft Bills for State and Union Territory GST.


Punjab, J&K seal fresh deal on Shahpur Kandi project

  • A renewed agreement between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir has been sealed for the completion of the Shahpur Kandi Dam project, work on which was halted two years ago following a dispute. This move comes days before its annual Indus Water Commission meeting with Pakistan in Lahore. 
  • The 55.5-meter high Shahpur Kandi dam in Punjab, will help in providing irrigation facility to 5000 hectares of land in Punjab and 32173 hectares in J&K, besides generation of 206 MW power.


Google India inks MoU with Telangana government

  • Google India and Telangana government have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at supporting the digitization efforts of the state.
  • Google India will provide Google Cloud credits and access to all cloud platform products to eligible startups engaged with Telangana government’s T-Hub initiative and through its Developer Relations team provide technical mentor-ship and advisory support to various startups.


Hyderabad University research projects bags Rs113 cr funding

  • Strategic research projects at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) Centre-ARCHEM supported by the Defence Ministry will get a whopping Rs. 113 crore funding for the next five years.
  • The University, among the top five in the country will very soon become the first public-funded University to house a 500 MHz NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance), as a joint facility between the the Advanced Centre for Research in High Energy Materials (ARCHEM) and the School of Chemistry.


Former IFS and MP Syed Shahabuddin dies

  • Former IFS and MP Syed Shahabuddin dies at the age of 82 after suffering from prolonged illness.
  • During his time, Shahabuddin had strongly opposed the demolition of the Babri Masjid and was the leader of the Babri Action Committee. Born in 1935, in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Shahabuddin began working as a diplomat for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), but later became a politician. 
  • He served three terms from 1979-1996 as an MP. He was the Joint Secretary in charge of South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific in the Ministry of External Affairs.


Cognizant buys Japanese digital firm Brilliant Service Co

  • American multinational corporation Cognizant has pocketed a deal to acquire Japanese digital firm Brilliant Service Co which is specialized in intelligent products and solutions, digital strategy, product design and engineering, the Internet of Things, and enterprise mobility.
  • Subsequently, this acquisition will help cognizant to foster its digital transformation portfolio and capabilities to enable clients to build connected and collaborative businesses.

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