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Four
Indian women make it to Forbes 2015 list
Corporate
> 100
Most Powerful Women > May 27
SBI
chief Arundhati Bhattacharya, ICICI Bank’s Chanda Kochhar, Biocon
founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and HT Media chairperson Shobhana Bhartia
are among the four Indians to be listed in the Forbes 2015 list of
the world’s 100 most powerful women. The list boasts of women
belonging to categories like entrepreneurs, visionary CEOs,
politicians, activists, pioneer philanthropists and pop stars“ranked
by dollars, media presence and impact”.
Tripura
withdraws AFSPA after 18 years as insurgent activities fall
India
> AFSPA > May 28
Tripura
has decided to withdraw the controversial Armed Forces Special Powers
Act (AFSPA) which gives unlimited powers to the security forces in
conflict-hit areas. The decision was taken after reviewing the
situation of the disturbed areas of the state and concluding a
decline in militancy related activities. The AFSPA was imposed in the
state on February 16, 1997 when terrorism was at its peak in the
state, bordering Bangladesh.
Revised
tax return forms will not ask foreign travel details
Economy
> Income
Tax > Jun 01
The
new revised tax return forms for different classes of tax payers will
not have questions on foreign travel details and balances in bank
accounts that were asked in the forms proposed last month. The
“simplified forms” brings relief to not only Indian citizens but
also expatriates, who have been spared the obligation of reporting
overseas assets acquired before their stint in India, provided these
do not yield any income in the year concerned. Tax payers have time
till August 31 to file returns as per the revised forms. The e-filing
software would be ready on the tax department’s website by June 3.
Delhi
government may ban Maggi noodles after UP, Uttarakhand
India
> Nestle
Maggi Ban > Jun 03
With controversies
surrounding Nestle's Maggi Noodles regarding its lead content, it is
likely to face ban in Delhi. The samples of the food item sent for
testing by the Delhi government were found to have lead amounts
higher than permissible limits. Delhi government has decided to file
a case against Nestle and fine it for misbranding Nestle Maggi
Noodles. The FDA branch in Uttar Pradesh was first to find the
dangerous levels of lead content in Maggi noodles and thus banned the
product in its state. Till now Kerala, Bihar, Uttarakhand and Haryana
have taken actions against the product.
Others
India
gets its first transgender college principal and a first college that
accepts transgender students
India
> First
Transgender College Principal > May 27
A
decision taken by the College Service Commission has led to India
getting its first transgender college principal. Manabi Bandopadhyay,
who is currently associate professor in Bengali at Vivekananda
Satobarshiki Mahavidyalaya, is set to take up the post of principal
in Krishnagar Women's College in West Bengal. Following in the same
footsteps is Jorhat College in Assam that will openly accept
transgender and atheist students from the coming academic year. Both
the announcements have been welcomed by all quarters.
India
will sign Information Sharing Agreement pact with the G20 on the 3rd
of June
India
> Foreign
Relations > May 27
India
is all set to sign a global agreement on Information Sharing with the
G20 countries, which will provide them access to data of bank
accounts from across the world, including tax havens, which refused
to cooperate earlier. However, under the agreement, India will be
able to access information only after 2017. India will also sign
Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) with the US, which will be
effective from September and is expected to result in additional data
flow. Both the agreements were supposed to be signed last year, but
that could not happen due to legal hindrances.
Vedanta
India to acquire up to 5.33% stake, worth over Rs 2,200 crore, in
Cairn India
Corporate
> Vedanta
India > May 28
Vedanta
India is set to acquire up to 100 million shares worth Rs 2,200 of
Cairn India from Twin Star Mauritius Holdings Ltd. After the
acquisition of the shares, Vedanta India's stake in Cairn India will
grow from 18.73 per cent to 24.06 per cent. Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta
India is a promoter in Cairn India. In the past, Vedanta India was
planning to merge Cairn India and Hindustan Zinc into its firm to
create a global natural resources giant.
RBI
introduces guidelines on mobility cards with new category of prepaid
payment instruments
Economy
> Prepaid
Payment Instruments > May 28
As
the country moves towards a cashless economy, RBI has introduced a
new category in order to facilitate the migration from small value
cash payments to electronic payments. Draft guidelines have been
issued by the regulator that will allow people to travel without cash
in metros, buses and taxis. For such cards, the regulator has
introduced a new category of prepaid payment instruments (PPI) that
will be issued by the mass transit operators (such as metro or road
transport).
BJP
denies all-India beef ban 'to respect people's sentiments'
India
> Beef
Ban > May 28
BJP
president Amit Shah said that the government doesn't intend to ban
beef across the country and will consider the sentiments of the
people before imposing the ban. While governments of Maharashtra and
Haryana have already banned beef, Shah has requested other states to
take a call on it by factoring in the sentiments of the people. He
also downplayed Union Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi's remark that
"those who want to eat beef can go to Pakistan", saying it
was his "personal" view.
Only
4000 out of 90,000 Indian students get US visa approval
India
> Education > May 28
Only
around 4000 students managed to get US visa out of 90,000 applicants,
a number which doubled at the US embassy and consulates, especially
in Mumbai and Hyderabad, over the last 12 months. The students will
join a growing league of their counterparts in the US, which stands
at nearly 1, 03,000 at present, making them the second largest group
of foreign students in the country after China.
17
Air India airhostesses suspended for delaying flights
India
> Aviation > May 28
In
a bid to tame the indiscipline, Air India recently suspended 17
airhostesses for allegedly delaying flights. The airline had started
monitoring its crew with an aim to improve on time performance (OTP),
following which 272 cabin crew members were sacked for indiscipline.
AI witnessed sharp fall in OTP, which caused a lot of inconvenience
for flyers.
Oxford
University to get first female vice-chancellor
World
> Oxford
University > May 28
Professor
Louise Richardson, who is currently the principal and vice-chancellor
of the University of St Andrews, has been nominated to become the
next vice-chancellor of the illustrious University of Oxford. The
university is comprised of many individual colleges, many of which
were either all-girls colleges or all-boys colleges. By 2008 all
colleges have started to admit both men and women. The university at
present has 11 women as heads of houses, but it will be the first
time a woman will become the VC of the entire university.
PM's
'Housing for all by 2022' initiative to be launched in June
Politics
and Government >
Housing For All
By 2022 > May 28
The
Modi government's most ambitious initiative – 'Housing for all by
2022' is set to be launched by the mid of June. The Urban and Rural
Development ministries have finalised their respective components for
providing 6 crore houses - 2 crore in urban areas and 4 crore in
rural areas. One of the main components of the scheme is slum
rehabilitation, through which the government will acquire land from
the slums and allow developers to build towers where the slum
dwellers and other people can be relocated.
Iran
nuclear deal faces complications
World
> Nuclear
Deal > May 28
Iran's
foreign minister has expressed hopes of striking a “mutually,
sustainable respectful” deal on nuclear program with world powers
before the current deadline of June 30. Presently, Iran's nuclear
deal is going through negotiations with
the US, Russia, China, Britain, France and
Germany. However, the French foreign minister said that the deal
would not be taken forward if Iran does not allow inspections of its
military sites. Iran’s supreme leader, ayatollah Ali Khamenei, made
clear that he would not allow the Iranian negotiating team to accept
inspections of military sites or questioning of the country’s
nuclear scientists.
Centre
vs Delhi government battle moves to Supreme Court, High Court
Politics
and Government >
SC > May 28
The
notification that gives the Lieutenant Governor absolute powers in
appointing bureaucrats in the national capital has forced the AAP
government to move the Delhi High Court challenging it. The petition
filed by Union Home Ministry has alleged that the High Court passed
the judgement and made observations without hearing its view. The
Supreme Court will tomorrow hear Centre's plea challenging Delhi High
Court order terming as "suspect" its notification barring
Delhi government's anti-corruption branch (ACB) from acting against
its officers in criminal offences, and holding that the LG cannot act
in his discretion.
Financially
weak Air India to borrow Rs 1,777 crore from government
Economy
> Air
India > May 29
Severe
financial crisis has driven Air India to seek Rs 1,777 crore from the
government on an urgent basis. Various factors can be attributed to
the shortage including rupee's depreciation against the dollar.
Government's aid is crucial to AI in order to maintain its financial
restructuring (FRP) and turnaround plan (TAP).
HDFC
bank features among the top 100 brands globally
Banking
and Insurance >
HDFC Bank > May 31
India's
largest private sector bank HDFC has featured among the top brands of
the world along with heavy weights like Apple, Google, Microsoft, IBM
and Facebook. The list compiled by Millward Brown, a global research
agency, ranks HDFC at the 74th position with a valuation of $14
billion. The list is topped by Apple with a total valuation of $247
billion.
Modi
government plans exit exam for MBBS students
Politics
and Government >
MBBS > Jun 01
With
the quality of doctors produced in the country being questioned
constantly, the health ministry is planning an exit exam for MBBS
students passing out of government as well as private medical
colleges. The doctors qualifying the exam will be allowed to practice
anywhere in the country as opposed to the practice of transferring
their registration with state chapter of Medical Council of India
whenever they moved across the states.
Cricket
icons Sachin, Sourav, Laxman join BCCI's advisory panel
Sports
> Cricket > Jun 02
The
newly constituted advisory panel of BCCI will now bring together the
three batting legends-Sachin Tendulkar, Sourav Ganguly, and VVS
Laxman to guide the board in all matters related to the game.
According to BCCI secretary Anurag Thakur, all major cricketing
decisions will be made in consultation with the panel. Also, Indian
cricketers can seek technical advice from the trio.
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