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Current Affairs 25 August 2019

India Ranks 86th in Henley Passport Index 2019; Japan & Singapore Tops

India has been ranked at 86th place in annual Henley Passport Index 2019, a slip of 5 place from 81 in 2018.
Japan and Singapore shares the top spot on the Henley Passport Index, with a visa-free or visa-on-arrival score of 189.
India shares its position with two countries namely Mauritania and Sao Tome and Principe at 86th place with a score of 58.
This means India will able to access 58 destinations around the world without a prior visa.
Among the 109 countries included in the index, Afghanistan remains at the bottom with weakest passport having Visa-free access to only 25 destinations.

Bahrain Confers PM Modi With ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’ by the King of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa on August 24 for his effort to strengthen the bilateral ties with the Gulf nation.
PM Modi is the first-ever Indian Prime Minister to visit Bahrain.
India and Bahrain also signed four Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) in the field of culture, space, solar energy, and on the roll-out of RuPay card.
For Rupay, the National Electronic Payments Network (BENEFIT) of Bahrain and the Indian National Payments Corporation (NPCI) has partnered for cooperation and link payment systems to facilitate payments between the two countries.

Health Minister Harsh Vardhan Inaugurates First PPP Model National Food Laboratory of FSSAI in Ghaziabad

The Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated the upgraded National Food Laboratory (NFL) of FSSAI in Ghaziabad on the occasion of 13th anniversary of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.
The NFL, Ghaziabad is the first national laboratory upgraded on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP).
The lab has state-of-the-art collaborative training centres, namely, the Food Safety Solution Centre (FSSC) and the Centre for Microbiological Analysis Training (C-MAT).
The NFL in Ghaziabad and Kolkata are the two premier referral laboratories under the direct administrative control of the apex food regulator, Food Safety and Standard Authority of India (FSSAI). The laboratory in Kolkata is also being upgraded.

Dr Jitendra Singh Presents 4th Annual ANUBHAV Awards 2019

Dr. Jitendra Singh presented the ANUBHAV Awards 2019 on August 23, 2019 in New Delhi at the Pre-Retirement counseling workshop function organized by the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
ANUBHAV Awards 2019 is the fourth edition of the annual award scheme launched by Prime Minister in 2015, instituted to encourage the retiree to submit his/her valuable experience/ suggestions through write-ups.
Dr. Jitendra Singh is the Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region and Minister of State for Prime Minister’s Office, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Departments of Atomic Energy and Space.

CPWD-DG Prabhakar Singh Selected for ‘Eminent Engineer Award 2019’

Shri Prabhakar Singh, Director General, Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has been chosen for the ‘Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2019’ by the Institution of Engineers (India) for his distinguished and exemplary Service in the field of Engineering and Technology.
He shall be conferred the Elite and Prestigious Award on the ‘Engineers Day’ on September 15, 2019 in New Delhi.
The Institution of Engineers (India) (IEI) is the national organization of engineering professionals in India.

Scarlett Johansson named highest-paid actress in 2019 by Forbes

Actress Scarlett Johansson has topped the Forbes Highest-Paid Actresses list 2019 with an earning of $56 million. The list contains top 10 paid actress.
Some other names in the list are: (2) Sofia Vergara – Earnings: $44.1 million ; (3) Reese Witherspoon- Earnings: $35 million (4) – Nicole Kidman Earnings: $34 million (5) Jennifer Aniston- Earnings: $28 million.

Finance Minister Announcement Key Highlights

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman made some announcements on August 23, 2019 related to economy and banking. These are mentioned below:

CSR violations– CSR violations will not be treated as criminal offence and would instead be civil liability.

1. Income Tax Related

On or after 1st October, 2019 all notices, summons, orders etc. by the income-tax authorities shall be issued through a centralized computer system and will contain a computer generated unique Document Identification Number.
Any communication issued without computer-generated unique Document Identification Number shall be non est in law.
All old notices to be decided by 1st October 2019 or uploaded again through the system
From 1st October, 2019 all notices to be disposed off within three months from the date of reply.
Government has withdrawn the enhanced surcharge levied by Finance (No. 2) Act, 2019 on long/ short term capital gains arising from transfer of equity shares/units referred.

2. For Banks and NBFCs

Government will release Rs. 70,000 Cr., additional lending and liquidity to the tune of ~ Rs 5 Lakh crore by providing upfront Capital to PSBs.
Banks to launch repo-linked loan products
Reduced EMI for housing loans, vehicle and other retail loans by directly linking Repo rate to interest rates.
PSBs to ensure mandated return of loan documents within 15 days of loan closure.
NHB to give additional liquidity support to HFCs of Rs. 20,000 Cr thereby increasing it to Rs. 30,000 Cr.
Partial Credit Guarantee scheme for purchase of pooled assets of NBFCs/ HFCs upto Rs 1 lakh Cr – to be monitored at highest level in each bank.
Surcharge levied on Foreign Portfolio Investment(FPI) and domestic investors rolled back

3. GST related

All pending GST refund due to MSMEs shall be paid within 30 days. In future all GST refunds shall be paid within 60 days from the date of application.
TReDS to use GSTN system in medium term to enhance market for bill discounting for MSMEs.

4. Auto Sector

All the BS IV vehicles purchased till 31.03.2020 shall remain operational for entire period 27 of registration.
The revision of one-time registration fees has been deferred till June 2020.
Any vehicle acquired from now till March 2020 will benefit from an additional 15 per cent depreciation, making a total of 30 per cent depreciation.

Small startups with turnover up to Rs 25 cr to get promised tax holiday: CBDT

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has clarified that small start-ups with turnover upto Rs. 25 crores will continue to get the promised tax holiday as specified in the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The term has been specified in the Section 80-IAC of IT Act 1961, which provides deduction for 100 per cent of income of an eligible start-up for 3 years out of 7 years from the year of its incorporation

SEBI Eases Norms For FPIs

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has eased the regulatory and compliance framework for foreign portfolio investors (FPI) with an aim to boost investments and expedite the registration process for FPIs. Some major announcements and approvals made by SEBI is listed below:

FPIs may be re-categorized into two categories – Category I and II, instead of the present requirement of three categories.
The central banks that are not the members of BIS (Bank for International Settlement) shall also be eligible for FPI registration.
Documentation requirements for KYC have been simplified.

For companies listed on the Innovators Growth Platform

At the time of making the application for trading under regular category of main board, the number of shareholders should be minimum 200.
The company should have profitability/ net worth track record of 3 years or have 75% of its capital.
Minimum promoters contribution shall be 20% which shall be locked in for 3 years.

SEBI has decided to give flexibility to the mutual funds to invest in unlisted non-convertible debentures up to a maximum limit of 10 per cent of the debt portfolios of the scheme.

Book Titled “Flawed: The Rise and Fall of India’s Diamond Mogul Nirav Modi” by Pavan C Lall to Be Launched on August 31

The story depicting the details of the fugitive diamantaire Nirav Modi in the form of a book titled, “Flawed: The Rise and Fall of India’s Diamond Mogul Nirav Modi” will hit the stands on August 31, 2019.
The book has been written by journalist-author Pavan C Lall.
48-year-old Modi is currently lodged in a prison in London and is wanted in India in connection with the nearly USD 2 billion Punjab National Bank (PNB) fraud.

Mihir Dalal Pens Book Titled ‘Big Billion Startup – The Untold Flipkart Story’

The story of how the IIT graduates Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal founded and built the e-commerce start-up Flipkart and turned it into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse in few years as India’s biggest online market has come out in the form of a book.
The book titled ‘Big Billion Startup – The Untold Flipkart Story’ has been penned by journalist Mihir Dalal.
The book has been published by Pan Macmillan India and will be released in October 2019.
Mihir is a journalist at Livemint and this is his first book based on extraordinary research, extensive interviews and deep access to key characters in the Flipkart story revealing how the Bansals built and sold India’s largest internet company.

PV Sindhu Beats Nozomi Okuhara to Win BWF World Championships

Ace Indian shuttler PV Sindhu defeated Japan’s Nozomi Okuhara 21-7, 21-7., in the finals of women’s single to win the BWF World Championships title at Basel in Switzerland.
The 24-year-old shuttler has now become the first Indian to win a gold medal at the BWF World Championships.

Gokulam Kerala Beats Mohun Bagan 2-1 to Win Durand Cup 2019

Gokulam Kerala defeated Mohun Bagan 2–1 to win their maiden Durand Cup finals held on 24 August 2019 at the Salt Lake Stadium in Kolkata.
The 2019 Durand Cup was the 129th edition of the oldest football tournament in Asia since its foundation in 1888.

Daily Current Affairs – 25 August 2019