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Sunday, May 21, 2017

Daily GK Updates - 20th May, 2017

NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. New Service Tax Structure, four slabs: The GST Council headed by finance Minister Jaitley has finalised a 4 slab service tax structure at the rates of 5, 12, 18 and 28% as against the single rate of 15% levied on all taxable services. Healthcare and education will be exempt from the GST on services.

2. NITI Aayog holds first Samavesh meeting: In pursuance of the Prime Ministers call for a New India 2022, the first meeting of the National Steering Group and other knowledge partners was held in NITI Aayog in New Delhi. The aim is to create a resurgent and progressive India.

3. Maharashtra agrees to release water to Karnataka: The Maharashtra govt. has agreed to release 3 TMC of water to Karnataka to mitigate the severe drinking water problem faced in Vijayapura, Bhagalkot and Belgaum districts of Karnataka. Both the states have also decided to implement inter-state Doodh ganga irrigation project.

4. India ranks 154th on healthcare index in Lancent’s Medical Journal: India has ranked 154th among 195 countries on healthcare index in Lancet medical journal’s report titled ‘Global Burden of Disease’.

5. SIMBEX-17 commenced in South China Sea: 24th bilateral exercise involving Indian Navy and Republic of Singapore Navy has commenced in South China Sea. It aims at increasing the interoperability between the navy of the two countries as well as developing a common understanding for maritime security operations.

6. Haryana launches e-textbook portal for school students: Students can download school books instantly from this e-textbook portal of the Haryana School Education Board. The portal also provides a facility to highlight certain portions of the e-textbooks making it easier for students to study.

7. Andhra Pradesh govt. to launch water grid project: The Andhra Pradesh government will launch a water grid project on a fast track with an estimated cost of 8,000 crore to provide safe drinking water in areas vulnerable to kidney disorders like Srikakulam and Prakasam districts on a pilot basis.

8. NTRO now under Intelligence Act: The National Technical Research Organisation which reports to the PMO and the NSA will now have the same “norms of conduct” as the IB and RAW. NTRO was created after the 1999 Kargil conflict as a dedicated technical intelligence agency.

9. Dr. Swaminathan’s book released: PM Modi released a 2-part book series on the eminent agricultural scientist Dr. M.S. Swaminathan. The series is titled – M.S. Swaminathan: The Quest for a world without hunger. Dr. Swaminathan is also known as the Father of Indian Green Revolution.

INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Italy makes childhood vaccinations compulsory: Italy's government has declared a new law making a series of childhood vaccinations a condition of school inscription in a move triggered by a spike in measles cases. PM Paolo Gentiloni made the move compulsory.

2. World’s First Electric Bio-composite Car: Students from the Eindhoven University of Technology, Netherlands, unveiled the world’s first car made of bio-composite. The special thing about this car is that the chassis, bodywork and the interior of the car are all made of natural materials. The car is named “Lina”.

OTHER UPDATES:

BUSINESS & ECONOMY:
1. Flipkart tops the list of Best Places to Work in India: E-commerce giant Flipkart has topped LinkedIn’s list of the top companies to work in India second time in a row. While Oracle was at the bottom of the list.

2. Sanjeev Gupta named ‘CEO of the Year’: Sanjeev Gupta, executive chairman of Liberty House Group, received the title ‘CEO of the Year’ at the prestigious Platts Global Metals Awards in London.

SPORTS:
3. Indian archers claim gold at World Cup: India’s compound men’s archery team consisting of Abhishek Verma, Chinna Raju Srither and Amanjeet Singh defeated Colombia In the penultimate day of the archery World Cup stage 1 championship in Shanghai.


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