– Current Affairs – March 2017 ================================================================================== Krishi Unnati Mela 2017 inaugurated in New Delhi The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare Radha Mohan Singh on 15 March 2017 inaugurated the Krishi Unnati Mela 2017 in New Delhi. The mela is jointly Organised by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s welfare. During the mela, technical sessions on various themes are planned to educate farmers on various Agricultural technologies and govt schemes for agricultural development. ================================================================================== Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Jayakumar Presents tax-free budget for 2017-18 The Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D Jayakumar presented a tax free and revenue deficit budget for the fiscal 2017-18 on March 16, 2017 in the state Legislative Assembly.It is the first Budget presented by the state Finance Minister as well as the first budget of the AIADMK government headed by E. Palaniswami. Salient Feature of the State Budget i. Total Revenue Receipts (TRR): Rs 1,59,363 crore ii. Total Expenditure: Rs 1,75,293 crore iii. Revenue Deficit: Rs 15,930 crore iv. Fiscal Deficit: Rs 41,977 core (2.79 percent of GDP) ================================================================================== Indrani Das wins “Junior Nobel Prize for Science Indian – American teenager Indrani das won the top prize- $250,000 in the prestigious Regeneron Science Talent Search Competition for her research on treating brain injuries and diseases. Another Indian-American. Arjun Ramani, took the third place, which carries a prize of $150,000 for his project on networks using the mathematical field of graph theory and computer programming. ================================================================================== Demands for Grants of Ministry of Defence for 2017-18 Passed in Lok Sabha i. The Lok Sabha passed the Demands for Grants of Ministry of Defence for 2017-18 on March 17, 2017 after negotiating with the opposition. ii. In 2017-18, the Ministry of Defence has been allocated Rs 3,59,854 crore (including pensions) for expenditure across the various services, production establishments and research and development organisations. iii. This allocation is the highest from all other departments and represents 16.8% of the central government’s budget of 2017-18 and 2.1% of India’s estimated GDP. iv. Minister of State for Defence Dr Subhash Bhamre assured the House that money will never be a constraint in strengthening the country’s security and that the Indian Armed Forces are well prepared to meet any challenge against national security. v. Besides, he said that more funds will be provided to Border Roads Organisation to create road infrastructure. vi. Several steps have been taken by the government to modernize the defence forces with the latest equipment and meet all the critical requirements of the defence forces to further enhance its capabilities. ================================================================================== World’s Oldest Red Algae Fossils Found in India A group of scientists in India unearthed a pair of 1.6 billion years – old fossils that appear to contain red algae. It is estimated that it may be the oldest plant like life discovered on Earth. As per the records until now, the oldest red algae were 1.2 billion years old. But present found algae were more old that these algae. The preserved fossils came from phosphorite deposits at Jankikund, Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh. ================================================================================== Labour Ministry Proposes Labour Code to Provide Social Security Cover to All Workers i. The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment has proposed a preliminary draft of Labour Code on March 16, 2017 to provide social security cover to the entire workforce in the country including self- employed and agricultural workers. ii. The Code on Social Security & Welfare 2017 seeks to simplify, rationalize, consolidate, and amend the laws relating to social security of workforce so as to make them less complex for easier comprehension, implementation and enforcement. iii. Preliminary draft of the Code on Social Security & Welfare has been prepared by amalgamating all existing Labour Laws related to Social Security (total 15 Labour Laws including EPF Act, ESI Act, Maternity Benefit Act, Payment of Gratuity Act, Employees Compensation Act, Unorganised Social Security Act, and various Welfare Cess /Fund Acts). iv. This is for the first time that the ministry has formulated a code to cover agricultural workers along with self-employed people and target to provide social security benefits to 45 crore workers. ================================================================================== Punjab Govt gives 33% reservation for Women in State Jobs In a major decision, the Punjab Cabinet has decided to provide 33% reservation for women in all govt jobs. Women will be given the reservation also in the contractual appointments of the state government. The decision was taken in the first cabinet meeting chaired by Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh in Chandigarh. ================================================================================== 2017 International Buddhist Conference Held in Bihar i. The three days International Buddhist Conference was held at the Rajgir International Convention Center (RICC) of Nav Nalanda Mahavira Deemed University, Rajgir, Bihar from March 17-19, 2017. ii. The conference was inaugurated by His Holiness, The Dalai Lama jointly with the Minister of Culture and Tourism, Dr. Mahesh Sharma by lighting a ceremonial lamp. iii. The event was organized by Ministry of Culture and Nava Nalanda Mahaviahra Deemed University. iv. Theme: The main theme of the conference was: Buddhism in the 21st Century – Perspectives and Responses to Global Challenges and Crises. v. One of the main highlight of the conference was the release 41-volume of the Pali Tripitaka by His Holiness the Dalai lama, reprinted by the Nava Nalanda University in Devanagri script. vi. Besides, he also inaugurated the Nava Nalanda University’s new department of the Buddhist Science, first of its kind in Asia. ================================================================================== Mumbai lose its permanent status in BCCI Mumbai on 19 March 2017 lost its permanent status in the Board of control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Mumbai lost the voting rights in accordance with the new constitution of the Indian cricket Board. The board was finalized by the committee of Administrators (COA) appointed by the Supreme Court of India. The new rules of Memorandum of Associations (MOA) and Rules & Regulations of BCCI clearly state, there could be only one full member from a state. ================================================================================== Union Cabinet Clears 4 GST Supplementary Legislations for Introduction to Parliament i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the four supporting GST legislations on March 20, 2017. ii .The four supporting legislations are the Compensation Law, the Central-GST (C-GST), Integrated- GST (I-GST) and Union Territory-GST (UT-GST). iii. These legislations would be introduced as Money Bills in Parliament this week. iv. Once the Parliament approves the Bill, the states would start taking their SGST bill for discussion and passage in the respective state assemblies. v. Passage of all the legislations would pave the way for introduction of Goods and Services Tax (GST) from July 1. vi. Once the new GST regime is into effect it will subsume central taxes like excise and service tax and state levies like VAT. vii. A composite GST will be charged on sale of goods or rendering of services while the revenue would be shared between the Centre and the states in almost equal proportion. ================================================================================== 94 Out Of 500 Cities Rated By AMRUT i. As insisted by our Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Mr. M.Venkaiah Naidu, 500 cities and towns that account for the 65% of India’s urban population are to be credit rated by Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT). Out of these 500 cities, 94 cities got its rating from AMRUT. ii. Based on the report released by the Minister, 55 out of 94 cities have got Investment grade ratings which account 59% of the rated cities spread across 14 states. These 500 cities are included in Smart city mission. iii. The cities which got AA+ rating are NDMC, Navi Mumbai and Pune followed by Ahmadabad, Visakhapatnam and Hyderabad with AA rating. ================================================================================== Union Government to launch Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana Union Govt, is going to launch Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana (RVY) scheme for providing physical aids and assisted living devices for senior citizens belonging to BPL category. It will be launched in Nellore District, Andhra Pradesh on 1st April, 2017. The physical aids and assisted living devices for senior citizens will be distributed in camp mode and the scheme will be implemented through the sole implementing agency, Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation (ALIMCO) ================================================================================== GST Bill Tabled By Arun Jaitely In Lok Sabha The Finance Minister of India, Mr. Arun Jaitely introduced