Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 02 July 2018

::NATIONAL::

Government of India celebrated the 1st GST Day here today. The event saw an address on the eventful 1st year journey of GST over a live video link by Union Minister, ShriArunJaitley
The minister said that issues of multiple taxes,cascading effects etc were removed by the GST and the GST has persuaded people to do businesses in a transparent manner without evading taxes.
The government claimed that it expects about Rs. 13 lakh crore of revenue from the new tax regime over this financial year.

The Election Commission will launch a voter education and electoral participation portal on July 3, with a section dedicated to the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs), in the backdrop of a two-day national consultation programme on issues pertaining to their inclusion in the poll process.
According to the 2011 census, India has around 70 million people with disabilities.
Post-consultation, a comprehensive report on challenges along with short/medium/ long-term action points will be prepared.
Under the EC’s Strategic Plan 2016-2025, greater participation of PwDs in the electoral process has been identified as one of the core objectives.

IAS officer AlkaTiwari has been appointed Secretary, Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in a major reshuffle of Central government officials, an order from the Ministry of Personnel said.

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the main opposition party leading the joint coalition that has vowed to topple incumbent President Abdulla Yameen, has declared senior lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solihas its presidential candidate, after former President Mohamed Nasheed pulled out of the race.
The opposition also includes Jumhooree Party, Adalath Party and a faction of the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) led by former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Iran vowed on Sunday to defeat U.S. efforts to block its oil exports and warned rival producer Saudi Arabia it would never take Tehran’s “place” on the international oil market.
The U.S has warned countries including China and India, who are key buyers of Iranian oil, that they should stop purchasing crude from the country before the November deadline or face U.S. sanctions.
Members of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) agreed on June 22 to increase collective production by around one million barrels per day, in a context where oil prices have approximately doubled from a 2016 low.

India’s longest-range ballistic missile, Agni-V, will be inducted into the nuclear arsenal very soon, according to official sources.
The Agni series of missiles constitute the backbone of India’s nuclear weapons delivery, which also includes the Prithvi short-range ballistic missiles and fighter aircraft. The submarine-based nuclear arsenal, which assures second strike capability in the face of the proclaimed no-first-use policy, is taking shape.
While one nuclear ballistic missile has been inducted, more submarines and longer range submarine-launched ballistic missiles are under various stages of development.

The government has set up a 13-member committee to upgrade the norms for computation of economic data at state and district level in the backdrop of plans to revise the base year for national accounts or GDP calculation.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) will change the base year to 2017-18 for the calculation of GDP and IIP numbers from the current 2011-12 with an aim to capture changes in the economy.
It will also suggest state level annual/benchmark surveys keeping in view the needs of the System of National Accounts especially in view of the next base year revision.

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Sunday took strong exception to the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) excluding football from the forthcoming Asian Games at Jakarta.
Despite explaining to the IOA that football, as a global sport, needs to be looked at differently, and after having explained the tremendous success that Indian football has achieved in the last three years, the IOA chose not to clear Indian Football teams for the forthcoming Asian Games,” AIFF said.
The football federation pointed out a jump in FIFA Rankings (from 173 to 97) and qualification to the 2019 AFC Asian Cup in UAE. The AIFF also included the successful hosting of the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup and various grassroots and youth developmental programmes undertaken to push its case.
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