Daily News

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States petition President against 15th Finance Commission

Six non-BJP ruled states petitioned President Ram Nath Kovind against the terms of the 15th Finance Commission for deciding the share of states in taxes collected by the Centre which violate the federal principle as enshrined in the Constitution, erode autonomy of states, and bring significant financial hardship to all states.

The memorandum was signed by chief minister and finance ministers of Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, West Bengal, Puducherry, Punjab, and Delhi.

Did you Know

The Fifteenth Finance Commission of India was constituted in November 2017. N.K Singh is the Chairman of the commission.

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Trinamool sweeps Bengal panchayat polls

The Trinamool Congress swept the panchayat election in West Bengal and is set to form the Zilla Parishad boards in all 20 districts.

The Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP), emerged as the main opposition party in the state over the past few years and has won 633-gram panchayat seats in Purulia and 325 in Jhargram.

Did you Know

The All India Trinamool Congress is an Indian political party based in West Bengal. Founded on 1 January 1998, the party is led by its founder and current Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee.

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Air India may have to pay USD 8.8 million penalty to passengers

State-run carrier Air India may have to pay a penalty of USD 8.8 million to 323 passengers of its May 9 Delhi-Chicago flight, which was delayed as a fallout of withdrawal of relaxations given on flight duty time limitation (FDTL) of the crew.

Flight AI 127 was bound for Chicago on May 9 with a flight time of 16 hours. However, it could not land there on time due to inclement weather and instead was diverted to nearby Milwaukee. The flight duration from Milwaukee to Chicago was 19 minutes.

Did you Know

The Air India airline was founded by J. R. D. Tata as Tata Airlines in 1932.

On 28th June 2017, the Government of India announced the privatisation of Air India.

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World's urban growth will surge most in India, China and Nigeria – UN

According to the report on urbanization by the Population Division of the U.N. Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), Two-thirds of people in the world will be living in cities by 2050, and the boom will be concentrated in three countries - India, China, and Nigeria.

Tokyo with 37 million people is the world’s largest city but it is due to be overtaken by Delhi around 2028 and India is expected to surpass China as the country with the world’s largest total population. As of today, 55 percent of the world population lives in urban areas, increasing to 68 percent by 2050.

Did you Know

Urbanization refers to the population shift from rural to urban areas, "the gradual increase in the proportion of people living in urban areas".

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RBI adjusts norms for setting up of IFSC Banking Units

RBI Modified the norms for setting up IFSC Banking Units and informed that the parent bank will be required to provide and maintain always a minimum capital of USD 20 million to its IBU.

The modification has been made based on suggestions from stakeholders to consider minimum prescribed regulatory capital at the parent level rather than at the IBU level.

The parent bank will be required to provide a Letter of Comfort for extending financial assistance, as and when required, in the form of capital/liquidity support to IBU.

Did you Know

Recently IFSC Banking Unit (IBU) in Gujarat International Finance Tec-city (GIFT), Gandhinagar- Gujarat was opened. An IBU facilitates a base for world-class International Banking services in the country.

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Post Improvement TEJAS MK II to become a medium weight fighter

Mark-2 upgrade of the homegrown Tejas aircraft will be designated as a medium weight fighter due to its increased weight and weapon carrying capacity. It is also set to replace the Mirage-2000 fleet of the Indian Air Force.

The aircraft is expected to have a maximum take-off weight of 17.5 tonnes with an improvement of over 85% in weapons and payload carrying capacity to that of Tejas, light combat aircraft (LCA).

Did you Know

Tejas, powered by a single GE-404 engine, is a fly-by-wire fighter having delta wings and no tail. Fly-by-wire technology enables a pilot to control the plane electronically through computers. It has a maximum take-off weight of 13.5 tonnes.

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Union Cabinet approves Rs 5,000-crore micro-irrigation fund

The government approved a corpus of Rs 5,000 crore for the setting up of a dedicated micro irrigation fund (MIF) under the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) in a line of Prime Minister's ‘per drop more crop’ initiative.

The allocation, under the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana, will be made in installments of Rs 2,000 crore and Rs 3,000 crore in 2018-19 and 2019-20.

Did you Know

Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) was launched on 1st July 2015 with the motto of "Har Khet Ko Paani", it is being implemented to expand cultivated area with assured irrigation, reduce wastage of water.

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EU sues six countries for exposing their citizens to too much air pollution

The European Commission sued Germany, Britain, France, Italy, Hungary, and Romania for failing to comply with EU air quality standards.

The commission has decided to refer these (six) member states to the Luxembourg-based Court of Justice of the EU, it urged the wayward countries to establish incentives for the transport, energy and agricultural sector as well as improve urban planning and building design to improve on pollution.

Did you Know

The European Union is a political and economic union of 28-member states that are located primarily in Europe, Headquartered at Brussels, Belgium.

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Govt. creates DG for trade remedies

The Ministry of Commerce issued a notification for a unified Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) that will merge the Directorate General of Anti-dumping and Allied Duties, Directorate General of Safeguards and some functions of the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.

Did you Know

Trade remedies are actions taken in response to subsidies (countervailing duties), sales at less than fair value (antidumping) and import surges (safeguards).

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USIBC appoints MD of Indian operations.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s U.S.-India Business Council (USIBC) appointed Ambika Sharma as the Managing Director of India Operations.

She will be responsible for overseeing and guiding USIBC’s growth strategy in India through its offices in New Delhi and Mumbai, as well as leading the charge on policy advocacy issues for USIBC’s diverse membership with a variety of stakeholders.

Did you Know

The USIBC was formed in 1975 as a business advocacy organization to enhance investment flows between India and US. Recently Ambika Sharma served as Director General of FICCI making her the highest ranked female executive of an Indian industry body.

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India to assist Indonesia in developing port in Aceh

India seeks to aid SE Asia's biggest country Indonesia in developing a port in Aceh closer to Andaman & Nicobar Islands which is part of Indo-Pacific strategy enabling balance in China's Belt and Road Initiative via focusing on Indo-Pacific concept and global maritime fulcrum.

Indonesia does not want to be controlled by Belt and Road Initiative as it follows an independent foreign policy.

Did you Know

Recently, Indonesia agreed to give India economic and military access to an island called Sabang, which is strategically located at the northern tip of Sumatra and close to the Malacca Strait, the island is just over 700 km from Andaman & Nicobar Islands.