Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 21 September 2019

::NATIONAL::

Vice President urges people to learn as many languages as possible

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu has called upon people to learn as many languages as possible and asserted that there should not be the imposition of any language, nor should there be opposition to any particular language.
Mr Naidu said this while interacting with students from Sharada Residential School, Manipal who had returned recently after visiting NASA and other places in the United States of America.
He stressed that India was blessed with many languages and asked students and teachers to give importance to promoting mother tongue, while learning other languages.
Mr Naidu advised the youth to travel widely within the country to know about India’s rich culture and heritage.
The Vice President also stressed on the need to allocate 50 per cent of schooling hours outside classrooms to enhance the physical fitness of the students.

PMMY beneficiaries crosses one crore mark

PradhanMantriMatruVandanaYojana (PMMVY) has achieved a significant milestone by crossing one crore beneficiaries. The PMMVY is a direct benefit transfer scheme under which cash benefits are provided to pregnant women in their bank account directly to meet enhanced nutritional needs and partially compensate for wage loss.
Women and Child Development Ministry said, the total amount disbursed to the beneficiaries under the scheme has crossed four thousand crore rupees.
The scheme, under which the beneficiaries receive a cash benefit of five thousand rupees in three installments, was launched on 1st of January in 2017. They eligible beneficiaries also receive cash incentive under JananiSurakshaYojana. On an average, a woman gets six thousand rupees.
Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Rajasthan are the top five States and Union Territories in the country in implementation of the scheme. Odisha and Telangana are yet to start implementation of the scheme.

::ECONOMY::

Govt.brings down corporate tax for domestic investors

The government has cut the corporate tax from nearly 35 to about 25 per cent for domestic investors.
Addressing Media ahead of 37th GST council meeting in Goa, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs NirmalaSitharaman said the new domestic manufacturing companies will have to pay 15 per cent tax.
The Minister said a new provision has been ed in the Income-tax Act with effect from Financial Year 2019-20, which allows any domestic company an option to pay income-tax at the rate of 22 per cent if they do not avail any exemption/incentive.
Now, the corporate tax rate for domestic companies shall be 25.17 per cent inclusive of surcharge & cess, which was earlier nearly 35 per cent. Also, such companies shall not be required to pay Minimum Alternate Tax.
Under the new provision a new domestic company incorporated on or after 1st October 2019 making fresh investment in manufacturing and commences their production on or before 31st March, 2023, will have to pay income tax at the rate of only 15 per cent.
The Minister also expressed confidence that the move is well studied whereby industrial growth and investment which is due to increase with this move will compensate revenue forgone for reduction.

Central departments to work on mission mode basis to implement accessible India scheme

The Central Advisory Board on Disability has advised all the Central Ministries and Departments to take effective steps to implement the Accessible India Campaign on mission mode.
The board held its third meeting chaired by Social Justice and Empowerment Minister ThaawarchandGehlot in New Delhi yesterday.
The Board urged the state governments to develop schemes and programmes to cover social security aspects as envisaged in the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
It also urged them to notify the Rules under the Act, appoint independent State Commissioners and constitute State Advisory Boards at the earliest.
The Accessible India Campaign aims at providing equal opportunity to persons with disabilities to participate in all the aspects of life and live independently.
During the meeting, It also discussed to develop a National Programme for Comprehensive Early Childhood Rehabilitation of Children with Disabilities.

Online Coaching for UPSC PRE Exam

General Studies Pre. Cum Mains Study Materials

::INTERNATIONAL::

Massive protests ahead of UN summit

Tens of thousands of protesters joined rallies today as a day of worldwide demonstrations calling for action against climate change began ahead of a United Nations Summit in New York.
Some of the first rallies in what is being billed as a global climate strike were held in Australia's largest city, Sydney and the national capital, Canberra.
More than three lakh Australian demonstrators called for their nation to take more drastic action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Australia is the world's largest exporter of coal and liquid natural gas. In the United States, more than 800 events were planned, while in Germany more than 400 rallies were expected.
In New Delhi, one of the world's most polluted cities, dozens of students and environmental activists chanted slogans for climate action at a rally outside the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.

Pakistan fails to get support at UNHRC meeting

Pakistan once again faced a major embarrassment over its stand on Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan attempts at pushing through a resolution in United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) against India with regards to alleged human rights violation in Kashmir fell flat as it did not get support of even one country. Pakistan had earlier claimed that it will gather support of more than 50 countries. This has exposed Pakistan's isolation in international community.
India's first secretary in the permanent mission at the UNHRC, Kumam Mini Devi lashed out at Pakistan over its human rights record. She said all the decisions of India on Jammu and Kashmir are totally internal issues and Pakistan is trying to misrepresent the facts.
She also said that Pakistan has a dismal record of Human Rights against its own people of Balochistan, Sindh and its occupied Kashmir.

::SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY::

Cabinet approves ban on e-cigarettes

The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved a ban on e-cigarettes, citing the need to take early action to protect public health.
Upon promulgation of the ordinance, any production, manufacturing, import, export, transport, sale (including online sale), distribution or advertisement (including online advertisement) of e-cigarettes shall be a cognisable offence punishable with imprisonment of up to one year, or fine up to ₹1 lakh, or both for the first offence; and imprisonment of up to three years and fine up to ₹5 lakh for a subsequent offence.
Storage of electronic-cigarettes shall also be punishable with imprisonment of up to 6 months or a fine of up to ₹50,000 or both.
The sub-inspector has been designated as the authorised officer to take action under the ordinance. The Central or State governments may also designate any other equivalent officer(s) as authorised officer for enforcement of the provisions of the ordinance.
The Prohibition of E-cigarettes Ordinance, 2019, was recently examined by a Group of Ministers (GoM) following directions from the Prime Minister’s Office. In the draft ordinance, the Health Ministry had proposed a maximum imprisonment of up to one year along with a penalty of ₹1 lakh against first time violators.
Union Health Secretary Preeti Sudan had also written to the Commerce Secretary to block the entry of a U.S.-based company manufacturing vaping devices like e-cigarettes, into India stating that “if not prevented, [it] could undermine the efforts taken by the government towards tobacco control.”

::SPORTS::

BajrangPunia wins bronze in world wrestling championships

In Wrestling, BajrangPunia and Ravi Dahiya today won bronze at the World Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan.
This is Bajrang's second consecutive medal at the Worlds and third overall while Dahiya has managed to win bronze in his very first appearance at the senior championships.
Facing Mongolian TulgaTumurOchir, Bajrang fought back from a 6-0 deficit to win 8-7 in what turned out to be a thrilling bronze medal bout.Dahiya, on the other hand, beat Iran's reigning Asian champion Reza Atri 6-3 to win his maiden Worlds medal.