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Daily Current Affairs of 5th July 2019
International Current Affairs
- The United States has complained at the World Trade Organization (WTO) about Indian tariffs imposed in response to US steel and aluminium tariffs last year.
- The US stated that India doesn't impose these duties on like products originating from any other WTO member nation.
- The dispute follows similar complaints against China, European Union and others who retaliated in the same way.
- California has become the 1st state in the US to ban discrimination against people based on their natural hair.
- The law prohibits employers and schools from enforcing a dress code against hairstyles such as afros, braids, twists, and locks.
- The law especially aims to end policies that discriminate against black people.
- In Sudan, military leaders have reached an agreement with the opposition alliance to share power until elections can be held.
- The two sides agreed to rotate control of top tier of power, the sovereign council, for at least three years.
- They have also pledged to form an independent technocratic government and to investigate the violence of recent weeks.
National Current Affairs
- Lok Sabha today passed Aadhaar and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2019 by voice vote.
- This Bill seeks to amend Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act 2016 and to further amend the Indian Telegraph Act 1885 and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002.
- The Bill also proposes giving a child an option to exit from the biometric ID programme on attaining 18 years of age.
- This Bill will make the use of Aadhaar for opening bank accounts and procuring mobile phone connections voluntary.
- The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MOEF&CC) has announced that it has acquired Electric cars for official use.
- The organization will be utilising in-house charging facilities and setting an example in pollution-free commutes.
- The South Central Railway commissioned India's longest electrified tunnel between Cherlopalli and Rapuru railway stations in Andhra Pradesh.
- The 6.6 km tunnel has been built in a record 43 months at the cost of ₹460 crore.
- The tunnel reduced the distance between Krishnapatnam Port and hinterland areas by 60 km and the travel time from 10 hours to 5 hours.
- The Madras High Court today granted one month parole to Nalini Sriharan who is serving a life sentence in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case.
- Nalini argued her plea in person for seeking the relief to make arrangements for her daughter's wedding.
- Note : Besides Nalini, six others, including her husband Murugan, a Sri Lankan national, are serving life imprisonment in the case related to the assassination of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi by an LTTE suicide bomber during an election rally at Sriperumpudur near Chennai on 21st May, 1991.
- The 1st Ever India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF) will be held at Pragati Maidan in New Delhi from 13th October 2019.
- This fair is a unique initiative for taking farmers, artisans & other members of cooperatives directly to global trade arena.
- This Trade Fair is aimed at promoting cooperative to cooperative trade within India and abroad leading to enhanced rural and farm prosperity.
Banking, Business & Economic Affairs
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Union Budget 2019 in parliament.
- She broke the tradition by carrying the budget in a red cloth instead of the usual leather briefcase.
- Chief Economic Adviser K Subramanian said, "It symbolises our departure from slavery of Western thought".
- Finance Ministers in the past have carried the budget in a leather briefcase.
- The tradition was established by first Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.
- Key Highlights in Budget
- The government increased petrol and diesel prices by ₹2 each per litre and enhanced income tax surcharge on individuals with taxable income over ₹2 crore.
- Those without PAN will soon be able to file I-T returns by quoting just Aadhaar number.
- Customs duty on gold was increased to 12.5% and government proposed to reduce GST on electric vehicles to 5%.
- Key Income tax Changes in Budget
- The government announced additional income tax deduction of ₹1.5 lakh on interest paid on home loans taken for affordable housing.
- It also announced ₹1.5 lakh income tax deduction on interest paid on loans for the purchase of electric vehicles.
- Finance Minister also proposed to levy TDS of 2% on cash withdrawal exceeding ₹1 crore a year from a bank account.
- These Items became Costlier
- Petrol and diesel prices have been increased by ₹2/litre under the Union Budget 2019.
- Customs duty on gold and other precious metals has been hiked from 10% to 12.5%.
- Customs duty on CCTV cameras, split ACs, loudspeakers, cashew kernels, ceramic roofing tiles and stainless steel products has also been hiked.
- Excise duty on tobacco and cigarettes has been increased.
- These Items became Cheaper
- The government has already moved GST Council to lower the GST rate on electric vehicles from 12% to 5%, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.
- Wool fibre and wool tops have become cheaper.
- The capital goods used for manufacturing of certain electronic items including mobile phone's camera module, mobile phone charger and set top boxes have become cheaper.
- Gandhipedia
- Finance Minister announced that a 'Gandhipedia', which is like an encyclopedia on Mahatma Gandhi, is being developed to sensitise the youth about positive Gandhian values.
- She added it is developed by National Council of Science Museums.
- Sitharaman said India will become open defecation free by October 2, the 150th birth anniversary of Gandhi.
- Public Sector Banks
- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has announced that public sector banks will be provided with ₹70,000 crore additional capital to improve the availability of credit to the economy.
- Sitharaman said that bad loans have reduced by ₹1 lakh crore in the last one year. She added that ₹4 lakh crore of bad loans have been recovered over the last four years.
- Members of the Budget 2019 Team
- The team that helped Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in preparing 2019 Budget are :
- Krishnamurthy Subramanian (Chief Economic Adviser)
- Subhash Chandra Garg (Economic Affairs and Finance Secretary)
- Ajay Bhushan Pandey (Revenue Secretary)
- Rajiv Kumar (Department of Financial Services Secretary)
- Atanu Chakraborty (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management Secretary)
- Download Major Highlights of Union Budget 2019 from HERE
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will take over as the regulator of housing finance firms, replacing the National Housing Bank.
- The government has raised the foreign aid to Nepal from ₹750 crore last year to ₹1,050 crore in the 2019-20 Budget, an increase of 40%.
- For the Maldives, the allocation was raised to ₹576 crore, from ₹440 crores in 2018-2019. The aid to African countries saw an increase from ₹330 crore last year to ₹450 crore this year.
- Dubai Duty Free has announced that Indian Rupee will now be an accepted currency at all the retail outlets of the Dubai airport.
- However, the change, if any, will be given back in Dirhams and not the Indian currency.
- Stores at the Dubai Airport will accept notes of various denominations, including 100s, 200s, 500s and 2000s.
- The move makes the Indian rupee the 16th international currency to be accepted at Dubai's airports.
- In France, the lower house of parliament today approved a small, pioneering tax on internet giants like Google, Amazon and Facebook.
- The bill foresees a 3 per cent tax on the French revenues of digital companies with global revenue of more than 750 million Euros.
- Note : At present, the companies pay nearly no tax in countries where they have large sales like France.
Recent Committees in News
- To review regulatory guidelines and supervisory framework for Core Investment Companies (CIC), the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a working group.
- The 6-member working group is chaired by Tapan Ray, non-executive chairman, Central Bank of India and former Secretary in Union Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
Awards & Honors
- The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) today announced that Mastercard CEO and President Ajay Banga and Wipro Chairman Azim Premji will receive the 2019 Global Excellence Awards at its Second Annual Leadership Summit in Washington on July 11.
- Jared Kushner, senior adviser to the President of the United States, will present awards during the summit.
Sports Current Affairs
- Pakistan have officially been knocked out of the 2019 World Cup after Bangladesh crossed 7 runs while chasing the target of 316.
- Pakistan needed to win the match by at least 308 runs to advance to the semi-finals.
- Note : With this, New Zealand became the 4th team after India, Australia and England to qualify for the semi-finals.
Download June 2019 Month's Current Affairs PDF File from HERE (New)
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