July 12, 2017 Group of Ministers approves Draft national policy for women; Proposes free education, health card A Group of Ministers, headed by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, approved a draft national policy for women proposing free education for girls from poor families and a health card for all women. The draft National Policy for Women, 2017, also moots that a woman accused of a non-heinous crime, who has remained an under-trial for one-third of her jail time, should be given bail. The policy document will now be sent to the Cabinet for its nod. Telangana: 3rd phase of Plantation prgm Haritha Haram to begin today In Telangana, the third phase of Haritha Haram, a massive plantation programme will begin across the state today. Chief Minister Mr K Chandra Sekhara Rao will kickstart programe by planting a sampling in karimnagar town this morning. State ministers and other public representatives will participate in the promgram in their areas on a massive scale. The government which has planted nearly 48 crore saplings under this programme so far intends to plant over 40 crore saplings during the current phase and has roped in public representatives, officials, students, NGOs for the plantation drive. It has www.talentsprint.com 1
supplied required saplings to all districts from nearly 3000 nurseries and involved all departments in the programme. Supreme Court suspends Centre's nationwide ban on cattle trade for slaughter The Supreme Court has said, the interim direction of the Madras High Court staying Centre's notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter will remain in force and will cover the entire country. A bench, headed by Chief Justice J S Khehar, took note of the statement of the Central government that it is reconsidering the notification by taking into account various objections and suggestions of stakeholders and will come up with an amended notification. The Centre had, in May, issued the notification banning sale and purchase of cattle from animal markets for slaughter. Gopal Krishna Gandhi is Opposition s candidate for Vice President Post Former West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi is opposition's pick for the post of Vice President. Mr Gandhi's name was selected during the meeting of 18 opposition parties which met to decide on their candidate for the vice presidential polls. The meeting, convened by Congress President Sonia Gandhi, was held in Parliament House. Former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, and leaders of BSP, RLD, CPI(M), CPI, National Conference, NCP, JD(U),Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress were among those who attended the meeting. The process of filing of nominations for the vice presidential poll started on 4th of this month and will end on the 18th. Polling for the vice president's post will take place on the 5th of next month if required. The votes will be counted on the same day. www.talentsprint.com 2
Separate State Flag: Karnataka mulling legal options Karnataka Government has constituted a nine-member committee to study the possibility of designing a separate state flag and providing it a statutory standing. It will be headed by Principal Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture. It shall submit report to the state Government after looking into required possibilities. Free injectible contraceptive for women launched On the occasion of the World Population Day, the Maharashtra Government has launched a free injectible contraceptive for women. Named Antara, the injection is to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Maharashtra is the first state in the country to launch such a scheme. Washington and Doha sign MoU to stop terrorism funding Washington and Doha signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the steps to be taken by Doha to stop funding of terrorism. Responding to the signing of an MoU, the four Arab nations said that this step is not enough and they www.talentsprint.com 3
will closely monitor the seriousness of Doha in combating all forms of financing terrorism. Solution to the ongoing Gulf crisis seems elusive ahead of the US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's meeting today in Jeddah with four Arab countries. In a joint statement, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, UAE and Bahrain said that their present stance will continue until Qatar implements full demands that will ensure that terrorism, stability and security in the region are fully addressed. India to become the largest producer of milk in the world in the next decade India will become the largest producer of milk in the world by the year 2026, according to estimates released by the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), a part of the United Nations. The report says from 2017 to 2026, India s milk production will increase by 49% and by the year 2026, India will become the largest producer of milk in the world. SEBI amends guidelines for foreign investors looking to operate at IFSC Markets regulator SEBI has amended the guidelines for eligible foreign investors looking to operate at the International Financial Services Centre, IFSC. According to the new guidelines, a trading member of a stock exchange in the IFSC can now carry out the due diligence for an eligible foreign investor, EFI, who is not registered with the regulator as a Foreign Portfolio Investor, FPI. www.talentsprint.com 4
GST not applicable on free food supplied by religious institutions Government today said GST is not applicable on free food supplied by religious institutions. Finance Ministry clarified that prasadam supplied by religious places like temples, and gurudwaras, do not attract any CGST, SGST or IGST. The clarification came amidst media reports suggesting that GST applies on free food supplied by religious institutions. However, some of the inputs and input services required for making prasadam would be subject to GST. These include sugar, vegetable edible oils, ghee, butter, service for transportation of these goods. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley asks banks to step up their focus on the unorganised sector Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has asked banks to step up their focus on the unorganised sector. Speaking at the 36th foundation day of NABARD in New Delhi, Mr Jaitley said, banks should try to cover all those who were left uncovered under financial inclusion programes. The Minister said, focus on the organised sector can also help in improving employment. Mr Jaitley expressed hope that the NABARD's Self Help Group-Bank Linkage Programme will further expand in coming days. He said, in the last 25 years the Self Help Group-Bank linkage programme has grown into a massive movement and at present 85 lakh Self Help Groups are in the country. www.talentsprint.com 5
Vaccine shows protection against gonorrhea for first time: Scientists Scientists from New Zealand for the first time have claimed that vaccine can protect against the sexually transmitted infection gonorrhoea. They have found that Men B jab vaccine originally developed to stop an outbreak of meningitis B can protect from gonorrhoea. 'The scientists claim was based on analysis of vaccination data of about a million adolescents in New Zealand who were vaccinated by Men B jab vaccine between 2004 and 2006. They found that gonorrhoea cases had fallen by 31% in vaccinated adolescents. The bacterium that causes meningitis, Neisseria meningitidis, is a very close relative of the bacterium species Neisseria gonorrhoeae, which causes gonorrhoea. Thus, it appears the Men B jab vaccine is giving cross-protection against gonorrhoea. Ravi Shastri to be the new head coach of Indian cricket team The BCCI named Ravi Shastri as the new chief coach of the Indian cricket team till ICC World Cup 2019. Former fast bowler Zaheer Khan has also been appointed as bowling coach for a period of two years. Former Indian Captain Rahul Dravid has been appointed as batting consultant for specific overseas tours www.talentsprint.com 6
Kalinga International Sports City to come up in Bhubaneshwar The Orissa Government has announced the setting up of the Kalinga International Sports City in Bhubaneswar. The city will be equipped with world class facilities and will be able to bid for international events like Commonwealth Games, Asian Games etc. In addition, the state will also have satellite stadia in places like Cuttack, Sambalpur, Behrampur and Rourkela www.talentsprint.com 7