EPFO suspended 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme
(i) Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the retirement fund body, on 9 April 2015 suspended the 1000 rupees minimum monthly pension scheme from April 2015.
(ii) The end of the minimum monthly pension provided under Employee Pension Scheme (EPS)-95 will hit about 32 lakh pensioners.
(iii) Union Government had issued a notification on 19 August 2014 to hike the pension amount to flat 1000 rupees per month for those who were getting less than 1000 rupees per month as pension.
(iv) The benefit of the scheme was made effective from 1 September 2014 to 31 March 2015.
Former Australia Cricket Captain Richie Benaud died
(i) Richie Benaud, the former Australian cricket captain and legendary commentator died in Sydney on 10 April 2015. He died after fighting a long battle with skin cancer.
(ii) He was 84. Benaud was the first player to score 2000 Test runs and take 200 Test wickets.
Former Air Chief Marshal of IAF Hrushikesh Moolgavkar died
(i) Former Air Chief Marshal of Indian Air Force (IAF) Hrushikesh Moolgavkar died in Pune on 9 April 2015. He was 95.
(ii) Moolgavkar had the honour of leading the fly-past on India’s first Independence Day on 15 August 1947, and also on Republic Day on 26 January 1951. He had led the fly-past as a Squadron Leader.
(iii) Selected and commissioned as a Pilot Officer in Royal Indian Air Force on 30 November 1940, he was appointed as the Chief of Air Staff on 1 February 1976.
(iv) In 2009, his biography titled Leading from the Cockpit: A Fighter pilot's story authored by his daughter Jyoti M Rai was published.
Snapdeal acquired logistics firm GoJavas to strengthen its delivery operations
(i) Snapdeal on 19 March 2015 acquired logistics firm GoJavas to strengthen its delivery operations in the country. The deal is estimated to be about 200 crore rupees.
(ii) The company has invested in setting up fulfilment centres to smoothen its delivery operations.
Currently, it has 50 such centres across 20 cities and plans to expand this to 75 in 30 cities in the next few months.
UNESCO report lauds India’s progress
(i) In April 2000, the governments of 164 countries adopted the Dakar Framework to deliver Education For All commitments by 2015.
(ii) On Thursday, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) published the Education For All Global Monitoring Report to evaluate the progress of countries on these goals.
(iii) India is likely to reach the EFA’s first goal of 80 per cent enrolment in pre-primary education by 2015, has already reached the second goal of universal primary enrolment, and will fall just short of universal youth literacy by 2015, the report said.
(iv) The one measurable goal India will not reach is to reduce its adult illiteracy rate by half (it has reduced it by 26 per cent).
(v) The country’s major success has been in reaching gender parity for primary and lower secondary enrolment, the only country in South and West Asia to do so.
(vi) It has also made progress towards improving the quality of education, but major gaps remain.
India and USA signed Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) on transportation
(i) Union Road Transport and Highways minister Nitin Gadkari and US Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx on 8 April 2015 signed a Memorandum of Cooperation (MoC) in New Delhi for deepening partnership in the area of transport between the two countries.
(ii) Importance of MoC
• It will enable India to make use of world’s latest technology available with the USA for projects like developments of waterways and multi-modal hub.
• It aims to foster cooperative work on key issues of mutual interest for all modes of transportation and coordinating public and private sector resources and expertise to advance safe, secure, efficient and integrated transportation systems.
• It covers areas like highway transportation, urban transportation, safety and environmental protections, vehicle and behavioral safety, fuel efficiency, rail transportation, maritime shipping and intermodal transportation.
Flipkart partners with Mumbai Dabbawalas for last-mile delivery
(i) In a move to strengthen the last-mile delivery of goods to consumers, India's leading online retailer Flipkart has partnered with the Dabbawalas of Mumbai, the company has said in a statement.
(ii) According to Flipkart, they will partner with the company's delivery network, eKart Logistics.
(iii) As of now, one union of the Dabbawalas will collect Flipkart shipments from the delivery hubs and deliver it to customers while picking up their dabbas.
(iv) “This association is an effort to explore newer delivery channels and opportunities by partnering with this unique community of experts,” the company said in a statement.
(v) The Dabbawalas will not be interacting with the sellers at this stage. The pilot programme will be for prepaid orders, and when the service expands the company will utilise their services for cash-on-delivery also.
Union Ministry of Home Affairs suspended Greenpeace India Society (GIS) registration for 180 days
(i) The Union Ministry of Home Affairs on 9 April 2015 suspended the registration of Greenpeace India Society (GIS) for 180 days for acting against public and economic interests of the country.
(ii) The ministry took the decision after an on-site inspection of the accounts and records of GIS in September 2014 which revealed it has utilised its funds received from foreign sources for unauthorised purposes as per the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010, under which it is registered in India.
(iii) GIS’s all seven bank accounts in IDBI Bank, ICICI Bank and Yes Bank have been frozen as per the order.
(iv) The order also allowed GIS to make representation against the order within thirty days to the Secretary, Union Ministry of Home Affairs.
Moody’s ups India outlook
(i) Moody’s, a global ratings agency, raised India’s rating outlook to “positive” from “stable” on Thursday, but retained the Baa3 rating. All rating agencies maintain India at the last rung of investment grade.
(ii) Moody’s is the first to give the country a positive outlook after downgrading it over a sagging economy.
(iii) The change in outlook, its release said, has been driven by the view that there is an increasing probability of actions by policymakers enhancing India’s economic strength.
(iv) “India has grown faster than similarly rated peers over the last decade due to favourable demographics, economic diversity, as well as high savings and investment rates.
(v) Moody’s expects these structural advantages, supported by relatively benign global commodity prices and liquidity conditions, will keep India’s growth higher than that of its peers over the rating horizon,” the release said.
UN may declare yoga Indian heritage
(i) Yoga may soon be declared an intangible cultural heritage of India.
(ii) In an exclusive interview to TOI, a day before her first bilateral meeting with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi in Paris, UNESCO director general Irina Bokova said that yoga is in the list of elements to be considered by the Intangible Heritage Committee for inscription on UNESCO's register.
(iii) Modi was instrumental in getting the United Nations to declare June 21 as the International Yoga Day endorsed by 175 out of 193 members and is expected to unveil a portal on yoga in France on April 10.
Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2015: Brand Ambassador Balan
(i) Bollywood actress Vidya Balan today announced the return of Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) which will run from August 14 this year with a theme of Equality apart from raising funds for Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital.
(ii) The announcement was made here at a press conference by Balan, the brand ambassador of the festival, along with the Festival director Mitu Bhowmick-Lange and the state minister for creative industries Martin Foley.
(iii) The highlights of the festival this year will include an Indian-inspired fashion show showcasing Australian designers along with ace Indian designer Anamika Khanna on the star studded IFFM Awards Night.
(iv) The proceeds from the fashion show will be given to the Royal Children's Hospital under a new partnership between the hospital and IFFM.
0 comments:
Post a Comment