Today’s Topics
• Economy/Finance
• India
• World
• Sports
• Appointments
• Awards
Finance/Economy
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EPFO trustees approve
raising age limit under pension scheme to 60
raising age limit under pension scheme to 60
- The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s apex decision
making body, the Central Board of Trustees (CBT), which is headed by the Labour
Minister, met on Wednesday and took a slew of other decisions, CBT member D L
Sachdev said. - At present, a formal sector worker covered under the EPS-95
can make contributions towards pension scheme till the age of 58 years and can
claim pension thereafter. - After the amendment to the pension scheme, a formal sector
worker can choose to contribute towards it till 60 years of age. This will
provide him a benefit of 4 percent enhanced pension per year. - The Pension Implementation Committee (PIC) had recommended
an increase in the age for vesting pension to 60 years, while suggesting that
the Actuary should be asked to develop a model to give incentive to those
persons who opt for drawing pension at the age of 60 years.
India, Mauritius
Agree to Push Forward Negotiations on DTAT
Agree to Push Forward Negotiations on DTAT
- India and Mauritius will work together to avoid the
“abuse” of double taxation avoidance convention, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi declared today, as the two countries agreed to push negotiations
for a long pending revision of the treaty. - He also assured Mauritius that India will do nothing to harm
the vibrant financial sector of “one of our closest strategic
partners”. - Often corporates have been accused of laundering money
through the “Mauritius route” for channelling FDI in India and the
two governments have been in negotiations to curb this practice. - Negotiations to amend the bilateral tax treaty have been
hanging fire for a long time amid India’s apprehensions that it is being
misused to route black money and evade taxes. - Prime Minister Modi and his host Sir Anerood Jugnauth agreed
to push forward their negotiations for a long pending revision of Double
Taxation Avoidance Treaty (DTAT) during their talks here last night.
India
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India and Mauritius
inked five MoUs to give impetus to bilateral relations
inked five MoUs to give impetus to bilateral relations
- India and Mauritius inked 5 Memorandum of Understandings
(MoUs) on 11 March 2015 to give new impetus to bilateral co-operation between
the two nations. The MoUs were signed in
Port Luis in presence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Mauritian counterpart
Sir Anerood Jugnuth. - Prime Minister Narendra Modi is on a five day official tour
of three ocean nations, namely Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka. The journey
started on 10 March 2015 and will conclude on 14 March 2015. - This is the first visit to Mauritius by an Indian Prime
Minister in over three decades.
The five MoUs
which were signed between the two nations include
which were signed between the two nations include
- MoU in the field of
Ocean Economy: The agreement provides for mutually beneficial cooperation
for exploration and capacity development in the field of marine resources,
fisheries, green tourism, research and development of ocean technology,
exchange of experts and other related activities - MoU on Programme for
Cultural Cooperation for the year 2015-18: The programme will help to
enhance bilateral cooperation and will also enhance greater people-to-people
participation between the two countries. - MoU on the Protocol
for the importation of fresh mango from India: The aim of this Protocol is
to facilitate importation of fresh mango fruits from India by Mauritius to
enable the Mauritian to relish the flavor of the world-renowned Indian mangoes. - MoU for the
Improvement in Sea and Air Transportation Facilities at Agalega Island of
Mauritius: This will help in betterment of the condition of the inhabitants
of this remote Island. These facilities will enhance the capabilities of the
Mauritian Defence Forces in safeguarding their interests in the Outer Island. - MoU on Cooperation in
the field of Traditional System of Medicine and Homeopathy: This MoU will
promote cooperation in the field of traditional system of health and medicine
between the two countries. It envisages exchange of experts, supply of
traditional medicinal substances, joint research and development and
recognition of the traditional systems of health and medicine in both
countries. It also aims at promotion and popularization of the various Indian
traditional systems which fall under AYUSH.
Modi commissions
India-built Mauritian naval patrol ship
India-built Mauritian naval patrol ship
- An India-built naval patrol vessel for Mauritius that will
help in better policing its vast exclusive economic zone was commissioned on Thursday
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who said it will make the Indian Ocean “more
safer and secure.” - The induction of the 1,300-tonne vessel ‘Barracuda’ for the
Mauritian National Coast Guard amid attempts by China to establish its presence
in the Indian Ocean Region marks the first of such sales to this strategic
island nation, which include fast attack craft under construction in Indian
shipyards. - ’Barracuda’ which has automatic 30 mm Rapid Fire Gun and
12.7 mm Heavy Machine Guns as part of its ammunition was handed over to
Mauritius in December 2014 by Kolkata-based Garden Reach Shipbuilders and
Engineers Ltd (GRSE). - The warship marks its entry into the global market and it is
optimistic on a follow up order.
Himalayan Meteorology
Programme formulated for hill weather
Programme formulated for hill weather
- After severe floods in Jammu and Kashmir and cloudburst in
Uttarakhand, the government on Thursday said it has formulated a Himalayan
Meteorology Programme for better understanding of weather in the mountainous
States. - The initiative will help in improving the forecasting very
short range up to 6 hours in advance and predicting severe weather phenomena up
to 72 hours in advance, Harsh Vardhan, Minister for Earth Science informed the
Rajya Sabha. - Earth System Science Organisation-India Meteorological
Department has formulated a plan to augment observing systems by deploying
Doppler Weather Radars, rain radars, automatic weather stations (AWS),
Automatic Rain Gauges (ARGs).
New city ‘NAINA’ to
come up over 600 square km near Navi Mumbai airport
come up over 600 square km near Navi Mumbai airport
- Maharashtra government would be developing a new city –
‘NAINA’ – over an area of 600 sq km around the upcoming Navi Mumbai
International Airport, Governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao said here today. - He was addressing the joint session of the Maharashtra
Legislature on the opening day of the budget session. - “The government is committed to expedite the work of
the Navi Mumbai International Airport Project. Due to comprehensive
rehabilitation policy of the government, consent letters from Project Affected
Persons for land acquisitions have been received by CIDCO (the implementing
agency). - “Majority of the clearances required for the project
have been received. The government has decided to build a new city called NAINA
in an area of 600 sq km, around the upcoming Navi Mumbai International
Airport,” he said. - As a part of the smart city mission of the Centre, the state
government wanted to develop 30 towns, focusing on “themes” such as
education, medical, entertainment, industry, etc., he said, adding that study
groups had been formed to suggest the roadmap for this.
World
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India 14th among most
popular destinations for Muslim travellers
popular destinations for Muslim travellers
- Some 108 million Muslim travellers spent $145 billion
globally in 2014. By 2020, the figure is expected to swell to 150 million
travellers spending $200 billion, according to a new report that has noted that
in 2014, India welcomed 1.4 Muslim visitors. - In the Global Muslim Travel Index (GMTI), a comprehensive
research report by MasterCard-CrescentRating, India has been named in the top
20 destinations among the non-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC)
destinations. - India came 14th on the list, in which Singapore took the top
spot for the non-OIC destinations. Malaysia topped the list for OIC countries,
which also included Turkey, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Qatar. - The GMTI covered 100 destinations, creating an overall
index, based on a number of criteria for research into one of the fastest
growing tourism sectors in the world.
Bank of Korea cuts
rates to record low of 1.75%
rates to record low of 1.75%
- South Korea’s central bank cut interest rates for the first
time in five months on Thursday in a surprise move, joining the ranks of other
economies which have recently eased monetary policy to boost sluggish growth. - The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy committee cut its base
rate by 25 basis points to a record low of 1.75 per cent, a media official said
without elaborating. Governor Lee Ju-yeol is due to hold a news conference from
11:20 a.m. (0220 GMT). - Only four out of the 33 analysts polled by Reuters ahead of
the decision had forecast the central bank would cut rates on Thursday.
However, 19 of those who saw a hold in March forecast the bank would cut rates
in April or sometime later in the second quarter.
Google Launches
Virtual Tour of Nepal’s Everest Region
Virtual Tour of Nepal’s Everest Region
- Google launched a virtual tour of Nepal’s Everest region
today, allowing armchair tourists a rare glimpse of life in one of the toughest
and most inaccessible places on earth, home to the world’s highest mountain. - The Street View project takes viewers into the heart of the
stunning Sagarmatha national park, where icy blue rivers run below snow-capped
peaks, monks play music and yak-herders navigate precipitous stone-strewn
trails. - Armed with two single-lens tripod cameras and a 15-lens
custom-built “Trekker” unit designed for backpacks, teams travelled
on foot to capture more than 45,000 panoramic images of the remote eastern
Himalayan villages inhabited by the ethnic Sherpa community. - Google worked on the project with Kathmandu-based start-up
Story Cycle and Nepalese climber Apa Sherpa, who scaled Mount Everest a record
21 times before he retired from climbing and set up an educational charity.
Sports
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Karnataka wins eighth Ranji Trophy title
- Defending champions Karnataka clinched their eighth Ranji
Trophy title on Thursday as they thrashed their southern opponents Tamil Nadu
by an innings and 217 runs on the last day of the Ranji Trophy cricket
tournament final at the Wankhede stadium in Mumbai. - The R. Vinay Kumar-led side always had the upper hand in the
five-day encounter after bundling out Tamil Nadu for 134 in the first innings
and then amassing 762 runs courtesy a triple century by middle-order batsman
Karun Nair (338). - Chasing an imposing 628, Tamil Nadu were shot out for 411 in
107.5 overs in the final session of the fifth day’s play. - Starting the day on 113 for three, Tamil Nadu saw resilient
centuries from Vijay Shankar (103) and Dinesh Karthik (120) but the writing was
on the wall after their departure.
India beat Nepal 2-0
in 1st leg of World Cup Qualifiers
in 1st leg of World Cup Qualifiers
- Star striker Sunil Chhetri struck twice in the second half
as India notched up a 2-0 win over Nepal in a dominating display in the first
leg of their 2018 FIFA World Cup football qualifying round one here today. - Today’s win at the Indira Gandhi Athletics Stadium at
Sajusarai here gave newly appointed India head coach Stephen Constantine a
winning start in his second stint at the helm of affairs. - Chhetri scored in the 53rd and 69th minutes though he failed
to complete a hat-trict as he muffed a spot kick in the 80th minute. A 3-0
verdict would have put India in an even better position when they play the
second leg in Kathmandu on March 17 for a second round berth in the
qualification.
Appointments
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IPS officer M Akhaya
appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer in telecom department
appointed as Chief Vigilance Officer in telecom department
- IPS officer M Akhaya has been appointed as the Chief
Vigilance Officer in the Department of Telecommunications here. - Akhaya, a 1988-batch IPS officer of Odisha cadre, has been
appointed for an initial period of three years. His tenure will be further
extendable by two years in the same department or three years through shifting
to another department, said an order issued by the Department of Personnel and
Training. - The appointment of the CVO, who acts as distant arm of the
Central Vigilance Commission to check corruption, comes at a time when bidding
for spectrum by telecom companies is underway.
Awards
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Indian-Origin
Educator Ganasen Reddy Gets Lifetime Achievement Award In South Africa
Educator Ganasen Reddy Gets Lifetime Achievement Award In South Africa
- An Indian-origin South African educator has been given a
Lifetime Achievement Award at the country’s annual National Teaching Awards
held here. - Ganasen Reddy was felicitated by South African Minister of Basic
Education Angie Motshekga. - The award is given for sustaining a high-level of
achievement and commitment throughout a long teaching career by receiving
results, awards and recognition over a long period of time as well as showing
endurance, commitment and perseverance to the benefit of the school and the education
sector in general. - Other Indian-origin teachers who were felicitated at the
awards function included Silas Pillay who received the Excellence in Primary
School Leadership Award; Anneline Govender, who was placed second in the
category Excellence in Primary School Teaching; and Caryn Reddy who took third
place in the category Excellence in Special Needs and Inclusive Teaching.
Temsula Ao to Receive
Kusumagraja National Literature Award
Kusumagraja National Literature Award
- Padma Shri Award winner and senior Naga litterateur Temsula
Ao was named for the prestigious Kusumagraja National Literature Award. - The Award which has been instituted by the city-based
Yashwantrao Chavan Maharashtra Open University (YCMOU) has been bestowed, for
her outstanding contribution to the field of literature, YCMOU registrar
Prakash Atkare stated in a press release issued here today. - The award carries a cash purse of Rs 1 lakh, a memento and a
citation which would be presented to Temsula Ao at a function to be held at the
YCMOU campus on March 20, at the hands of famous Marathi litterateur Arun
Sadhu, who was recently honoured with the Janasthan Puraskar, the release said.
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