IMPORTANT CURRENT AFFAIRS OF MARCH 4,5, 2017
GST Council approves draft CGST and IGST
Bills
i. The Centre and States approved the model draft Bills for Centre
and Integrated goods and services tax (GST).The Council has also included a
revised peak rate of 20 percent under GST, instead of the earlier 18 percent.
This would mean that the total incidence of the tax could go as high as 40
percent.
ii. The next meeting of the Council will now be held on March
16, when it will finalize the draft Bills for State and Union Territory GST.
Punjab, J&K seal fresh deal on
Shahpur Kandi project
i. A renewed agreement between Punjab and Jammu and Kashmir has
been sealed for the completion of the Shahpur Kandi Dam project, work on which
was halted two years ago following a dispute. This move comes days before
its annual Indus Water Commission meeting with Pakistan in Lahore.
ii. The 55.5-meter high Shahpur Kandi dam in Punjab, will help in providing irrigation
facility to 5000 hectares of land in Punjab and 32173 hectares in J&K,
besides generation of 206 MW power.
Google India inks MoU with Telangana
government
i. Google India and Telangana government have
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at supporting the
digitization efforts of the state.
ii. Google India will provide Google Cloud credits and access to
all cloud platform products to eligible startups engaged with Telangana
government’s T-Hub initiative and through its Developer Relations team provide
technical mentor-ship and advisory support to various startups.
Hyderabad University research projects
bags Rs113 cr funding
i. Strategic research projects at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) Centre-ARCHEM supported by the Defence Ministry will get a whopping Rs. 113 crore funding for the next five years.
i. Strategic research projects at the University of Hyderabad (UoH) Centre-ARCHEM supported by the Defence Ministry will get a whopping Rs. 113 crore funding for the next five years.
ii. The University, among the top five in the country will very
soon become the first public-funded University to house a 500 MHz NMR (Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance), as a joint facility between the the Advanced Centre for
Research in High Energy Materials (ARCHEM) and the School of Chemistry.
Former IFS and MP Syed Shahabuddin dies
i. Former IFS and MP Syed Shahabuddin dies at the age of
82 after suffering from prolonged illness.
ii. During his time, Shahabuddin had strongly opposed the
demolition of the Babri Masjid and was the leader of the Babri Action
Committee. Born in 1935, in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Shahabuddin began working as a
diplomat for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), but later became a
politician. He served three terms from 1979-1996 as an MP. He was the
Joint Secretary in charge of South East Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Pacific
in the Ministry of External Affairs.
South Korea and United States Begin Annual Military Drill Foal Eagle
South Korea and United States Begin Annual Military Drill Foal Eagle
i. The United States and South Korean troops started
their large-scale annual military drill named Foal Eagle.The month-long
exercises will run last in April 2017 and will overlap with the Key Resolve
exercise which will begin on March 13, 2017.
ii. The aim of the military exercise is to test their defense
readiness against the threat from North Korea. North Korea conducted its first
ballistic missile test of 2017 in February and views the Foal Eagle Exercise
2017 as preparation for war against it.
Cognizant buys Japanese digital firm
Brilliant Service Co
i. American multinational corporation Cognizant has
pocketed a deal to acquire Japanese digital firm Brilliant Service
Co which is specialized in intelligent products and solutions,
digital strategy, product design and engineering, the Internet of Things, and
enterprise mobility.
ii. Subsequently, this acquisition will help cognizant to foster
its digital transformation portfolio and capabilities to enable clients to
build connected and collaborative businesses.
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