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Government
to liberalise Arms Act Rules with conditions
India
> Arm
Act Rules > May 02
While the government loosens
restrictions on obtaining gun licenses, certain new safety rules are
likely to be introduced to keep the gun holders in check. With a view
to ensure people handle licensed arms responsibly, some of the safety
measures include carrying a firearm in a holster and ban on firing in
the air at marriages, fairs and public events. Failure to abide by
the guidelines will lead to cancellation of weapon license.
Bharti
and Future group to come together for retail business
Corporate
>
Bharti-Future
Group Merger > May 05
The Kishore Biyani led
Future Group and Sunil Mittal led Bharati Group entered into a joint
venture of Rs. 750 crores to start a retail chain of more than 570
stores across India. Both the groups Future and Bharti own
convenience stores Big Bazaar and Easyday respectively. The Bharti
group has been looking for a partner since 2013 when their deal with
Walmart could not get through. The Future Group will roughly hold a
47% stake in the partnership, while the Bharti group will hold a 20%
stake.
GST
bill for uniform tax regime approved by Lok Sabha
India
> GST Bill > May 06
The Goods and Services Tax
(GST) bill was passed in Lok Sabha by 352 votes against 37 after the
rejection of opposition's demand of referring it to Standing
Committee. Government has assured that following the implementation
of the bill, the new uniform indirect tax rate will be much less than
27 per cent recommended by
an expert panel. GST is proposed to be implemented from April 1 2016
and will subsume excise, service tax, state VAT, entry tax, octroi
and other state levies.
Others
Union
cabinet allows the continuation of a minimum pension of Rs. 1000
Economy
> Pension > Apr 30
The union government
approved the continuation of the minimum Rs. 1000 pension. The
decision comes as a relief to over 20 lakh retired employees in the
organised sector, covered under the pension scheme of the Employees
Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The Employees' Pension Scheme,
which was effective from September 2014, had expired on March 31,
2015, after which EPFO had restored to the earlier provision that had
led to widespread protests from trade unions. A large number of
member pensioners under the EPS received low pensions, because it was
calculated on the basis of either pensionable service or on average
of last sixty months' wages.
Kashmiri
pandits fight for separate townships
India
> Kashmiri
Pandits > May 04
Displaced Kashmiri pandits
staged a protest in a fit of anger over the incapability of state and
central government to facilitate their return to the valley. The
protesters demanded immediate steps for their rehabilitation in the
valley and a separate township for themselves. They also demanded
that the Jammu and Kashmir Government reopen prosecution cases
against all those involved in the killing of Kashmiri Pandits in the
Valley in 1990s.
Asaduddin
Owaisi objects to conferring Bharat Ratna on Vajpayee, Padma
Vibhushan on Advani
India
> Asaduddin
Owaisi > May 04
All India Majlis-E-Ittehadul
Muslimeen MP Asaduddin Owaisi objected to conferring Bharat Ratna on
former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Padma Vibhushan on BJP
veteran leader Lal Krishna Advani. Speaking about L K Advani, Owaisi
said state honours cannot be given to a person facing criminal cases
for his involvement in the Babri Masjid demolition. As to Vajpayee,
Owaisi alleged that the BJP stalwart had made some controversial
comments on the Ayodhya issue.
Permanent
Account Number now mandatory for Central Excise Registration
Economy
> PAN > May 04
The government has made
Permanent Account Number (PAN) mandatory for private firms seeking
Central Excise Registration. According to the new simplified rules
formed by the Finance Ministry, the registration will be granted
within two working days after an online application. However,
Government entities are exempted from mentioning their PAN on the
application form.
Islamic
State claims responsibility for Texas cartoon attack
World
> Texas
Attack > May 05
The Islamic State (ISIS) has
claimed responsibility for a recent attack in Texas, where cartoons
depicting Prophet Mohammed were displayed. An audio tape from the
terrorist group's Al Bayan radio station claimed two soldiers of the
organisation carried out the attack.
Arvind
Kejriwal's government to monitor content of news channels
Politics
and Government >
AAP > May 05
Delhi government has decided
to keep a close tab on all news channels after accusing media of
conspiring against AAP. Directorate of Information and Publicity
(DIP) officials have been asked to monitor the content broadcast by
the news channels from 9 AM to 11 AM. Kejriwal recently said that
their win at the Delhi elections has resulted in certain 'defame' AAP
campaigns run by a section of the media with an aim to finish off
AAP.
Demand
to raise criteria of 'creamy layer' from Rs. 6 lakhs to Rs. 10.5
lakhs
India
> Reservation > May 05
The National Commission for
Backward Classes has asked the central government to raise the
present criteria of 'creamy layer' OBC (other backward class)
candidates from the present Rs. 6 lakhs per annum to Rs. 10.5 lakhs
per annum. The 'creamy layer' separates the poor OBC's from the
well-off ones, who are ineligible for government reservation. The
commission has also demanded that the evaluation criteria for
selection be toned down to fill the 27% quota, which is well short of
the target.
Bollywood
star Salman Khan sentenced to 5-yr jail term in hit-and-run case
India
> Supreme
Court > May 06
Bollywood actor Salman Khan
was found guilty of all the charges in the 2002 hit-and-run case by a
sessions court. Following this, the actor has been sentenced to five
years in prison as the charges of culpable homicide not amounting to
murder were proved.
On September 22, Salman's
car had rammed into a roadside bakery in Bandra West which left four
people sleeping outside injured. One of them died later. Khan has the
option to appeal in the Bombay High court against the sessions
court’s verdict.
Government
takes a U turn on its stand, says Dawood is in Pakistan
Politics
and Government >
Dawood Ibrahim > May 06
Deviating from its initial
stand about the unawareness of Dawood Ibrahim's whereabouts, the
government on Tuesday said that the underworld don is indeed hiding
in Pakistan. The government also said that it is serious about
extraditing the fugitive gangster to India, where he is the most
wanted criminal. The government further said that, despite of giving
information about the location of Dawood, the Pakistani government
has been non-cooperative to extradite him to India.
Protests
in Assam over government’s decision over land swapping with
Bangladesh
Politics
and Government >
Land Swapping
Deal > May 06
Protests erupted in Assam
after the union government included the state along with three others
in a bill called as the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) to initiate
land swapping deal with Bangladesh. The All Assam Students’ Union
(AASU) staged the protests where effigies of Prime Minister Narendra
Modi were burnt. Initially, Assam was kept out of the LBA, but the
government had to bow down before the opposition's demand to include
Assam in the bill as well. The LBA was signed in the year 1974 itself
but could not be implemented till date. The LBA includes legislation
to pass enclaves from the states of Assam, West Bengal, Tripura and
Meghalaya and to acquire enclaves from Bangladesh.
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