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National News
World Sufi Forum Inaugurated In New Delhi
- 200 Sufi scholars from across 20 countries have converged for the 4 day conference
- Organized by the All India Ulama and Mashaikh Board
Goa State Budget Presented for 2016-17
- The total size of the budget for 2016-17 is 14694 crore rupees.
- 9% higher compared to the previous year
- State achieved highest per capita income of 257490 rupees in the country during 2015-16.
Niti Aayog task force backs ‘Tendulkar poverty line’
- Niti Aayog’s Task Force on Eliminating Poverty has backed the controversial `Tendulkar poverty line’,
- Categorizes people earning less than Rs.33 a day as poor
- The line is primarily meant to be an indicator for tracking progress in combating extreme poverty.
Maharashtra State Budget 2016-17 Unveiled
- Estimated revenue deficit of Rs 3,644 crore.
- General VAT rate hiked from 5 to 5.5% in the State budget.
Indian Airforce to conduct day-night exercise
- Six packages depicting six themes in which more than 180 aircraft, including fighters, transport and helicopters participated.
- The event took place in Rajasthan’s Pokhran firing range
Feni classified as “Heritage spirit of Goa.”
- Feni is a form of Spirit produced exclusively in the coastal state of Goa
- Brew made from coconut or cashew
- Used in various cultural traditions, cuisines and medicinal use.
SC allows photos of CMs, Governors, and Ministers in Public ads.
- SC had previously barred publishing photographs of politicians even State Chief Ministers and bureaucrats.
- It had only permitted publishing photographs of President, Prime Minister and Chief Justice of India.
International
e-Atlas Of Gender Inequality In Education released by UNESCO
- AIM: To show gender gaps in education and educational traits of girls and boys.
- One out of eight children between the ages of 6 and 15 remain entirely excluded from receiving basic education
- Girls facing the biggest barriers
India provides 265 million grant for constituting Tagore’s memorial
- 265 million is given as grant to constitute Rabindranath Tagore’s memorial Auditorium in Sri Lanka.
- As a part of the agreement signed during Narendra Modi’s visit to Sri Lanka
Business and Economy
Interest rates of PPF reduced from 8.7% to 8.1%
- Interest rate on Public Provident Fund (PPF) scheme will be cut to 8.1% for the period April 1 to June 30, from 8.7%
- done to create conducive environment for the Reserve Bank of India to ease monetary policy rates
- To help banks transmit rate cuts to customers
IOB becomes first bank to sell Indian gold coins
- Tied up with Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC) for the sale of gold coins of 24 carat purity.
- Coin carries advanced anti-counterfeit features and comes in tamper-proof packaging.
- Current denominations available are 5, 10 and 20 gm.
- This gold coin is minted by the Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India Ltd and hallmarked by the Bureau of Indian Standards.
10 Indian Companies among the 25 best workplaces in Asia list
- Best workplace in the world for MNC- DHL
- Best workplaces in the world for small & medium industry- Salesforce
- Best workplace in the large industry- Atlassian
Biocon ties up with Mexico’s PiSA
- This collaboration will enable to manufacture the rh-insulin drug product at PiSA’s facilities in Mexico
- It will be commercialized under brand Biocon in the US market.
- In the USA, 4 million people diagnosed with diabetes every year.
Magic Bricks acquires property analysis platform”Properji.com”
- Magic Bricks has acquired property analysis startup ”com” of Invact Technologies for an undisclosed sum
- It will help the consumer to make an informed property buying decision.
- Magic Bricks.com is a subsidiary of Times Internet Ltd
- It provides a common platform for property buyers and sellers to locate properties of interest in India, and source information about all property related issues.
- It has over 80,000 projects and over 1.2 million listings.
Science and Technology
British Astronomers discover nine “monster stars”
- 30 million times brighter than the Sun.
- It is the largest group of very massive stars ever identified.
- Star cluster is named as
- It is located in the Tarantula Nebula within the Large Magellanic Cloud.
- Includes four stars which are more than 150 times the mass of the Sun, five which are more than 100 times as massive and dozens of stars exceeding 50 solar masses.
- It is 1, 70,000 light years from Earth.
Repeat animal testing of new drugs banned
- Health Ministry has banned repeat animal testing of new drugs tested abroad to prevent cruelty to animals.
- Animals will be spared tests for new drug registrations wherein complete data from similar toxicity experiments exist for drugs approved abroad.
- New amendment will save thousands of animals every year from being subjected to redundant animal testing
- Marks the beginning of a potential new era of sophisticated animal testing alternatives in India.
Environment & Ecology
New Golden Frog Species discovered in Colombia
- Scientists have discovered a new species of pale-gold colored frog in the cloud forests of the high Andes in Colombia.
Centre bans plastic bags below 50 microns
- Will be implemented across the country within 6 months.
- Thinner bags currently pose a major threat to environment due to its non-disposability.
- Manufacturers of plastic bags will have to make certain payments to states for its post-use disposal
- Manufacturing and use of non-recyclable multi-layered plastic will also be phased out in two years under the new rules.
People in News
Pfizer appoints Sridhar as its MD
- Sridhar has worked as the Chief Financial Officer of the company for seven years
- Was appointed the Executive Director on the Board in May 2013.
Honeywell appoints Suresh Senapaty as its Chairman
- Honeywell Automation India Ltd (HAIL) announced appointment of former Wipro CFO Suresh Senapaty as its Chairman.
- He has been appointed as an Additional Director (Non-Executive, Independent) and as Chairman of its Board of Directors
Awards
Skoch Lifetime achievement Award presented to Venkaiah Naidu
- selected for the award for his contributions to inclusive growth and towards poverty alleviation in India
- IT minister of Telangana State KT Rama Rao was awarded the Skoch Award in the Startup India category for his initiative in establishing the path breaking tech incubator T-Hub
Sports
Du Plessis 2nd fastest to reach 1,000 T20I runs
- Faf du Plessis became the second fastest player to reach 1,000 T20 runs, taking 32 matches.
- Virat Kohli was the fastest to achieve the feat, in 27 matches.
- Du Plessis also became the third South African player to reach 1,000 T20I runs, behind JP Duminy and AB de Villiers.