Daily GK Update 19th May 2017

Recent Important Cabinet Approvals- May 2017

i. The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval in the various fields and has also approved some important MoUs.
ii. The important approvals of the Cabinet are as follows-

The Cabinet has approved-

• Signing of the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting by India.
• Construction of 10 units of India’s indigenous Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWR).
• MoU between India and Australia on Cooperation in Combating International Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime.
• Faculty Exchange Agreement between National Defence College, New Delhi and National Defence College, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• Pan-India implementation of Maternity Benefit Program- Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers who are eligible will receive a cash benefit of Rs.5,000/- in three installments.
• Agreement between India and Tajikistan on Cooperation and Mutual Assistance in Customs Matters.

Everything you need to know about GST rates declared so far 

i. On day one The Goods and Services Tax (GST) meeting in Srinagar has caught the attention of the market given its implications on earnings of companies.
ii. The nine rules finalized by the council pertain to composition, valuation, transition, input tax credit, invoice, payment, refund, registration and return.

iii. The government categorized 1211 items under various tax slabs. Here is a lowdown on the tax slab these items would attract-:

No tax

No tax will be imposed on items like fresh meat, fish chicken, eggs, milk, buttermilk, curd, natural honey, fresh fruits and vegetables, flour, besan, bread, salt, stamps, judicial papers, printed books, newspapers, bangles, handloom etc.

5%

Items such as fish fillet, cream, skimmed milk powder, branded paneer, frozen vegetables, coffee, tea, spices, pizza bread, rusk, sabudana, kerosene, coal, medicines, stent, lifeboats will attract tax of 5 %.

12%

Frozen meat products , butter, cheese, ghee, dry fruits in packaged form, animal fat, sausage, fruit juices, namkeen, Ayurvedic medicines, tooth powder, colouring books, picture books, umbrella, sewing machine, and cellphones will be under 12 % tax slab.

18%

Most items are under this tax slab which includes flavored refined sugar, pasta, cornflakes, pastries and cakes, preserved vegetables, jams, sauces, soups, ice cream, instant food mixes, mineral water, notebooks, steel products, printed circuits, camera, speakers and monitors.

28%

Chewing gum, molasses, chocolate not containing cocoa, waffles and wafers coated with choclate, pan masala, aerated water, paint, deodorants, shaving creams, hair shampoo, dye, sunscreen, wallpaper, ceramic tiles, water heater, dishwasher, weighing machine, washing machine, ATM, vending machines, automobiles, motorcycles, aircraft for personal use, and yachts will attract 28 % tax the highest under GST system.

PM Narendra Modi to inaugurate India’s longest river bridge in Assam on May 26

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India’s longest river bridge 'Dhola-Sadiya bridge' in Assam on May 26.
ii. It will bolster the road connectivity in the Northeast as the bridge will be used by people of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh besides defence forces extensively.

All you need to know about India’s longest river bridge:

1. The length of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge is 9.15 km and is built cross river Lohit at the easternmost tip of Assam.
2. Dhola-Sadiya bridge will be the longest bridge in India overtaking the Bandra-Worli sea link in Mumbai.
3. Lohit is one of three rivers – the others are Dibang and Siang – that meet to form the Brahmaputra downstream of the site of the bridge.
4. The bridge, designed to facilitate the movement of battle tanks will help the movement of troops to the border with China in the Wallong-Kibithu sector in southern Arunachal Pradesh.
5. The project was started in 2011. It will reduce the travel time for people on either bank of river Lohit by at least eight hours.

Start up India Summit to be held in Dubai

i. CGI (Consulate General of India) Dubai and Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi in partnership with iSPIRIT, a nonprofit think tank will host a two-day “Start-up India Summit” in UAE on 23rd and 24th of May 2017.
ii. This is the first such “Start-Up Summit” being held in the UAE. The aim is to provide a shared platform for the Start-up ecosystem in both India and UAE for greater collaboration, exchange ideas, interact with academia, investors and industry.

 NITI Aayog holds the first Samavesh meeting

i. With an aim to bring together 32 premier educational and policy research institutions to catalyse the country’s development process, government think-tank NITI Aayog hold the first Samavesh meeting.
ii. In pursuance of the PM call for a New India 2022, the meeting comes under the co-chairmanship of Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO and Shri Ratan P Watal, Principal Adviser of NITI Aayog. 

Harsh Vardhan gets additional charge of Environment Ministry

i. Union Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan was given additional charge of the Environment Ministry following the death of Union Environment Minister Anil Madhav Dave.
ii. It was in accordance with the President of India Shri Pranab Mukherjee.

PM to inaugurate Annual Meetings of African Development Bank

i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Annual Meetings of the African Development Bank (AfDB) on May 23, 2017.
ii. This is the first time in the history of AfDB Group that India would be hosting the Annual Meetings of the bank.
iii. The meetings are to be held from May 22 to 26 at Gandhinagar in Gujarat. The core theme of the event is "Transforming Agriculture for Wealth Creation in Africa".

Indian Army gets its first modern artillery gun almost 30 years after Bofors

i. The Indian Army received two 155mm/39 caliber Ultra Lightweight Howitzer artillery guns from BAE Systems in the United States of America.
ii. The Army had test-fire the guns at Pokhran, Rajasthan, recently. This comes after almost 30 years the Bofors howitzers were introduced in the late 1980s. 

Japan's SoftBank Invests Rs 9,000 Crore in Paytm

i. Softbank has made its biggest investment in an Indian digital enterprise by sealing a funding round of Rs 9,000 crore ($1.4 billion) in mobile payments provider Paytm.

ii. This is the largest fund infusion by a single investor in an Indian start-up and also Softbank's largest investment in a single company in India.

Paytm Payments Bank names Renu Satti as the new CEO

i. Paytm has announced its long-time executive and vice president Renu Satti will be the CEO of its Paytm payments bank.
ii. India's leading digital wallet player Paytm has recently received the final licence from the Reserve Bank of India for its payments bank entity. 

Important Takeaways from above GK Update for Exams are as follows-

• Indian Ambassador to UAE is Mr. Navdeep Suri
• Mr. Vipul recently took charge as new Consul General of Dubai
• Dubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• Chairman of NITI Aayog is PM of India
• Planning Commission of India replaced by NITI Aayog.
• Dr. Harsh Vardhan is the incumbent minister at Ministry of Science and Technology and Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• Anil Madhav Dave was the former Union Environment Minister
• Akinwumi Adesina is the current President of the AfDB.
• BAE Systems is an Aerospace company is responsible for the design, development, and production of combat 
   

  vehicles, ammunition, artillery systems, naval guns and missile launchers.
• BAE Systems is headquartered in USA
• General Bipin Rawat is the 27th Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army.
• Paytm is a consumer brand of One97 Communications and its head office is in Noida
• CEO of Paytm is Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• CEO and Chairman of Softbank is Masayoshi Son and its headquarter is in Tokyo, Japan.
• Paytm is a consumer brand of One97 Communications and its head office is in Noida