DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 20TH MAY 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
1.
GST COUNCIL FINALISES TAX RATES ON 80-90% GOODS, SERVICES
i.
The Goods and Services Tax Council headed by Union Finance Minister Arun
Jaitley and comprising representatives of all states has finalised tax rates on
80-90% of goods and services under 4 brackets (5%, 12%, 18% and 28%). Essential
items of daily use have been kept in the lowest bracket of 5%.
ii.
The GST Council also approved 7 set of rules for the Goods and Services Tax
regime that will be rolled out from July 1, 2017. GST will replace 16 current
levies (7 central taxes and 9 state taxes), consequentially
iii.
GST rates on 6 categories of products—gold, bio-diesel, footwear, beedi and
cigarettes, textiles and agricultural implements—will be finalised in council’s
next meeting scheduled to be held in Delhi.
2.
PALESTINE PRESIDENT MAHMOUD ABBAS 4 DAY VISIT TO INDIA
i.
Mahmoud Abbas – President of Palestine, arrived in India for a 4-day official
visit. During the course of his visit, Mr. Abbas held extensive talks with
Indian PM Narendra Modi on key bilateral, regional and international issues
including the Middle East peace process.
ii.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas presented a mosaic and an artwork to PM
Narendra Modi with his name written in it in Arabic.
ii.
India and Palestine signed five MoUs
3.
INDIA RANKS AT 154, BELOW SRI LANKA AND BANGLADESH, ON HEALTHCARE INDEX
i.
India has ranked 154th among 195 countries on healthcare index in Lancet
medical journal’s report titled ‘Global Burden of Disease’. Perfo rmance of
countries was assessed for a period of 25 years from 1990-2015, based on death
rates from 32 diseases that could be avoided by effective medical care.
ii.
This study has been funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The
Indian healthcare industry has been growing at a phenomenal rate. During
2008-20, it is expected to clock a Compound Annual Growth Rate of 16.5%.The
industry size is expected to touch US$ 280 billion by year 2020.
4.
BILATERAL EXERCISE BETWEEN INDIAN NAVY AND REPUBLIC OF SINGAPORE SIMBEX 17
COMMENCES
i.
The 24th bilateral exercise between Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy
has commenced in South China Sea.
ii.
SIMBEX means “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercises“. The exercise will
be held from May 18 to May 24, 2017.
iii.
The major motive of the exercise will lie on Anti-Submarine Operations,
integrated operations with Surface, Air and Sub-surface Forces, Air Defence and
Surface Encounter Exercises.
iv.
This exercise aims at increasing the interoperability between the two navies as
well as developing a common understanding and procedures among the two navies
for maritime security operations.
v.
The Indian Navy will be represented by Indian Naval Ships Sahyadri, Shivalik,
Jyoti and Kamorta, one P8-I Maritime Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare
Aircraft.
vi.
The Singapore Navy will be represented by naval ships Supreme, Victory,
Formidable, Maritime Patrol Aircraft Fokker F50 as well as RSAF F-16 aircraft.
5.
HYDERABAD’S TURBO MEGHA AIRWAYS 1ST PRIVATE AIRLINE TO GET UDAN LICENCE
i.
Turbo Megha Airways, the Hyderabad-based airline became the 1st private airline
to get a licence to fly under UDAN, the government scheme for subsidized
regional flights.
ii.
The Director General of Civil Aviation issued the 1st air operator certificate
in the scheduled commuter category to Turbo Megha Airways. The 5 airlines
awarded the rights to fly UDAN flights are Air India, Turbo Megha, SpiceJet,
Air Odisha and Deccan Air.
iii.
PM Narendra Modi had launched the 1st flight under UDAN (Uday Desh Kaa Aaam
Naagrik) on the Shimla-Delhi route.That flight will be operated by Alliance
Air, the regional arm of Air India.
6.
ISRO RECEIVES 2014 INDIRA GANDHI PEACE PRIZE
i.
Former PM Manmohan Singh presented the 2014 Indira Gandhi Peace Prize to the
Indian Space Research Organisation at a function in New Delhi.
ii.
The prize was announced in the year 2014 by the jury headed by the Vice
President M. Hamid Ansari. The Prize was presented to AS Kiran Kumar – Chairman
of ISRO, in presence of Sonia Gandhi, Chairperson of the Indira Gandhi Memorial
Trust.
7.
PRESIDENT PRANAB MUKHERJEE RECEIVES FIRST COPY OF BOOK ‘METAPHYSICS, MORALS AND Politics’
i.
The President of India Pranab Mukherjee has received the 1st copy of book
‘Metaphysics, Morals and Politics’ in Kolkata, West Bengal.
ii.
The book is authored by Professor Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay. President Mukherjee
thesis was published in a book titled The Ethics of Obedience.
8.
WORLD AIDS VACCINE DAY: MAY 18, 2017
i.
World AIDS Vaccine Day observed on May 18. The day also known as HIV Vaccine
Awareness Day is observed annually.
ii.
HIV vaccine marks the day by promoting the continued urgent need for a vaccine
to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. It is observed to raise awareness for AIDS
vaccines, educate communities about HIV prevention.
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS BASED
ON TODAY’S NEWS
Q1.
GOODS AND SERVICES TAX COUNCIL HAS FINALISED TAX RATES ON 80-90% OF GOODS AND
SERVICES. GST WILL REPLACE _______ CENTRAL TAXES AND ______ STATE TAXES?
a) 9 central taxes and 7 state taxes
b) 5 central taxes and 7 state taxes
c) 7 central taxes and 9 state taxes
d) 7 central taxes and 7 state taxes
Q2.
MAHMOUD ABBAS ARRIVED IN INDIA FOR A 4-DAY OFFICIAL VISIT. MAHMOUD ABBAS IS THE
PRESIDENT OF?
a) Oman
b) Kuwait
c) Egypt
d) Palestine
Q3.
‘SIMBEX-17′ WAS THE BILATERAL EXERCISE BETWEEN NAVIES OF WHICH TWO COUNTRIES?
a) India and Sri Lanka
b) India and Australia
c) India and Singapore
d) China and Singapore
Q4.
WHICH AMONG THE FOLLOWING HAS BECOME THE 1ST PRIVATE AIRLINE TO GET A LICENCE
TO FLY UNDER UDAN, THE GOVERNMENT’S REGIONAL CONNECTIVITY SCHEME?
a) Turbo Megha Airways
b) SpiceJet
c) Air Odisha
d) Indigo
Q5.
WHICH AMONG THE FOLLOWING ENTITY HAS RECEIVED 2014 INDIRA GANDHI PEACE PRIZE?
a) National Aeronautics and Space Administration
b) Indian Space Research Organisation
c) Defence Research and Development Organisation
d) United Nations Children’s Fund
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