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Daily GK

27th May 2017

National

PM inaugurates India's longest bridge in Assam, addresses public meeting at Dhola

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi inaugurated India's longest bridge - the 9.15 km long Dhola-Sadiya bridge, over the River Brahmaputra, in Assam.  
• This was his first engagement on the third anniversary of his swearing-in as Prime Minister. 
• The bridge will enhance connectivity and greatly reduce travel time between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh. 

PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio’ and ‘Marching With A Billion Dreams’ books launched at Rashtrapati Bhawan

·         The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee received the first copies of books ‘Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio’ and ‘Marching with a Billion- Analysing Narendra Modi’s Government at Midterm’ from Smt. Sumitra Mahajan, Speaker Lok Sabha who formally released these books at a function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the presence of Mohd. Hamid Ansari, Vice President of India, Shri Arun Jaitley, Union Minister of Finance and Defence and other dignitaries.

·         The book ‘Mann Ki Baat: A Social Revolution on Radio’ is a compilation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s addresses to the nation on radio every month under the programme ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

·         The book ‘Marching with a Billion- Analysing Narendra Modi’s Government at Midterm’ analyses the monumental changes that Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has brought on multiple fronts as Prime Minister on India’s governance landscape by ushering in an unprecedented culture of transparency to create a level playing field so necessary in a developing country. It is authored by Shri Uday Mahurkar.

Prime Minister lays the foundation stone of the country's third Indian Agricultural Research Institute in Goghmukh, Dhemaji, Assam

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, laid the Foundation Stone of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute at Gogamukh in Assam. Addressing a large public meeting on the occasion, the Prime Minister congratulated the State Government in Assam and Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal, for the work done by them in the State.  
• He stressed on the need of modern agriculture and technological interventions, keeping in mind the specific needs of the region. The Prime Minister spoke of his vision of doubling farmers' incomes by 2022, the 75th anniversary of independence. 

President presents the Dr. Ambedkar National Awards

·         The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee presented the Dr. Ambedkar National Awards for outstanding contribution to the promotion of social understanding and for the upliftment of weaker sections of the society for the years 2011, 2012 and 2014  in New Delhi.

·         Speaking on the occasion, the President congratulated the winners of Dr. Ambedkar National Awards. He said that we deeply appreciate and value the works done by Professor S K Thorat, a well known scholar, ‘Samta Sainik Dal’ a non-political organization founded by Dr. Ambedkar, ‘Amar Sewa Sangam’ an institution working in the field of empowering differently abled persons and Shri Babu Lal Nirmal, a social activist from Rajasthan.

‘Covert bid by Sangh forces to ban cattle slaughter’

·         The notification issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on regulation of livestock markets has ignited an acrimonious political debate in Kerala, with Left parties and the United Democratic Front terming it as a covert attempt by Sangh Parivar forces to impose a nationwide ban on cattle slaughter and the BJP alleging a smear campaign against the government.

·         Named the Regulation of Livestock Markets Rules 2017, the notification issued under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act stipulates the registration of animal markets and constitution of market committees and sets standards for handling and controlling the animals and monitoring their health.

·         The controversy centres on the restrictions prescribed on the trade of cattle for slaughter. The rules require the animal market committee to ensure that the animals are sold for agricultural purpose and not for slaughter.

'Jan ki Baat' survey — sleepless nights for Ministers

·         After 31 episodes of Mann ki Baat, a radio programme where Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about issues close to his heart directly to the listening public, he has decided to lend an ear on what exactly they think of his government’s performance as it enters its fourth year.

·         Termed Jan ki Baat (voice of the people), a survey on Prime Minister Modi’s personal app, the Namo App, has been launched (closing on June 15th) with an exhaustive list of questions and multiple choice answers ranging from very bad to excellent ratings.

·         More significantly, the surveys seeks to find out not just where the respondent residing but the Assembly constituency where he/she votes before starting off with the survey.

·         The survey also has two open ended question at its conclusion asking respondents to name one positive and one negative thing about the Narendra Modi government.

International

91 killed in Sri Lanka floods, India sends relief materials

·         Landslides and floods killed at least 91 people in Sri Lanka, the Disaster Management Centre said.

·         Nearly 50,000 people across 13 districts in the southern parts of the island were affected and about 8,000 of them had to be evacuated from Kalutara, a coastal city some 40 km south of Colombo, among the worst hit.

26 killed as gunmen attack bus carrying Coptic Christians in Egypt

·         Masked gunmen attacked a bus carrying Coptic Christians on a visit to a monastery south of the Egyptian capital, killing at least 26 people, including many children, officials said.

·         The assailants in three pick-up trucks attacked the bus as it carried visitors to the Saint Samuel monastery in Minya province, more than 200 kilometres (120 miles) from Cairo, before fleeing, the interior ministry said.

Trump expects ‘robust’ G7 discussions on trade and climate: US

·         U.S. President Donald Trump expects a tough debate over trade and climate change with other Group of Seven leaders at their forthcoming summit, White House economic adviser Gary Cohn said.

·         Mr. Trump and the leaders of Japan, Canada, Germany, France, Britain and Italy are due to hold two days of talks in Sicily, with the U.S. President expected to put a firm emphasis on the importance of domestic economic growth.

·         His G7 counterparts are particularly concerned that he might follow through on a campaign pledge to promote a protectionist agenda, and might also walk away from U.S. commitments to cut greenhouse gas emissions under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Contemporary Economic Developments

In-flight Wi-Fi Net access soon

·         On-board Wi-Fi may soon become a reality as the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has sent a revised proposal that will enable in-flight access to voice, data and video services.

·         “The DoT has sent a revised proposal for the consideration of the Committee of Secretaries (home, communication and civil aviation ministries) after re-examining its earlier proposal related to interception by security agencies when required,” Civil Aviation Secretary R.N. Choubey said. “The proposal will be taken up at the next meeting of the Secretaries.”

Toymakers urge Govt. to reduce GST rates

·         Toymakers have asked the government to roll back the proposed Goods & Services Tax (GST) rates on toys stating that the high rates would adversely impact the industry.

·         They have also demanded one slab tax rate for the whole toy category to prevent misinterpretation and harassment by revenue authorities.

·         The GST Council has finalised three different tax rates for toys. While the traditional toys have been put under the 12% bracket, electronic toys will attract 18% tax. Educational games like scrabble or chess will now attract 28% tax. This category is currently exempted from any tax.

·         Currently, the taxation on toys is approximately 6.5% and post GST implementation, the tax rates would go up significantly, industry officials said.

EPFO may reduce PF contributions to 10%

·         Trustees of retirement fund body EPFO may approve a proposal to reduce the mandatory contributions toward social security schemes run by it to 10 per cent for workers as well as employers.

·         Presently, employees and employers contribute 12 per cent of basic wages each towards Employees Provident Fund Scheme (EPF), Employee Pension Scheme (EPS) and Employee Deposit Linked Insurance Scheme (EDLI).

·         The proposal to reduce the contributions by employers and employees to 10 per cent of basic wages, including basic pay and dearness allowance, is listed on the agenda for meeting of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) scheduled on May 27, 2017 in Pune, a source said.

Indian Railways to set up Rs35,000 crore fund for projects

·         The Railway Ministry will send a proposal for the Union Cabinet approval later this month to set up a Railways of India Development Fund with a corpus of Rs 35,000 crore to finance railway projects.

·         “This fund will not be set up for Indian Railways alone but for the railway sector as a whole in the country. All the companies, including private players and railway station developers, working in the rail sector of India are also eligible to draw on that fund,”

• The Fund intends to raise Rs 35,000 crore to be invested over seven years in the rail sector. The fund may be set up through contribution from domestic and international pension funds along with domestic and multilateral borrowings agencies.

RBI Dy. chief selection norms eased

·         The government has relaxed the selection criteria for Reserve Bank of India Deputy Governor’s appointment and opened the post for private sector candidates.

·          The notification - which was posted on the RBI website - says applications can just be a board member or a full time director having 15 years of experience in banking and financial market operations.

·         Deputy Governor S.S. Mundra’s term comes to an end in July. Out of the four Deputy Governors, one of them is traditionally a chief executive of a bank, as Mr. Mundra or his predecessor K.C. Chakrabarty was CMD of Bank of Baroda and Punjab National Bank respectively before becoming a Deputy Governor.

·         In the notification for Mr. Mundra’s replacement, government has not made experience as CEO a mandatory for the prospective candidate. Also, traditionally, the Deputy Governor for this post is chosen from the public sector banks but not it has been opened for private sector candidates.

Science & Technology

DRDO’s aero test range to be inaugurated on 28th May 2017

·         Over a decade ago, when a new international airport for Bangalore was being planned at Devanahalli, its private developers feared that the new landing site and paths of its civil flights would clash with a World War II airfield, some 70 km away at Kolar. The Defence Research & Development Organisation was using the airfield to test its new projects.

·         To cut the story short, Bangalore (as it was then called) got a new civil airport in May 2008 and, in the bargain, the DRDO got a new flight testing place for itself — although much farther than Kolar.

·         The new Aeronautical Test Range (ATR) has been up and running for a few months. It will be formally inaugurated on May 28 by acting Defence Minister Arun Jaitley.

Monstrous cyclones churning over Jupiter’s poles

·         Monstrous cyclones are churning over Jupiter’s poles, until now a largely unexplored region that is more turbulent than scientists expected.

·         NASA’s Juno spacecraft spotted the chaotic weather at the top and bottom of Jupiter once it began skimming the cloud tops last year, surprising researchers who assumed the giant gas planet would be relatively boring and uniform down low.

Sports

Messi messes up with taxes: Spain's Supreme Court confirms his 21-month jail term

·         Spain's Supreme Court confirmed a 21-month jail sentence and € 2.09-million ($2.25 million) fine on Lionel Messi for tax fraud, months after the Barcelona football star lodged an appeal.

·         In July 2016, the Argentina international and his father, Jorge Horacio Messi, were found guilty by a Catalan court of using companies in Belize, Britain, Switzerland and Uruguay to avoid paying taxes on € 4.16 million of Messi's income earned from his image rights from 2007-09.

·         The income includes endorsement deals with Danone, Adidas, Pepsi-Cola, Procter & Gamble and the Kuwait Food Company.

·         Both Messi and his father were given 21 months in jail -- sentences likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes carrying a sentence of less than two years.

Anish wins rapid fire pistol bronze

·         Anish clinched the rapid fire pistol bronze in the 27th Meeting of Shooting Hopes international competition.

·         After shooting 283 at the halfway stage, Anish came up with a better fare and shot 287 in the second stage to make the final.