International News Affairs
- Today (11th July) is World Population Day.
- This day was established by the Governing Council of the United Nations Development Programme in 1989.
- Objective of World Population Day : To increase the awareness of the people towards the worldwide population issues.
- Theme of World Population Day 2017: “Family Planning: Empowering People, Developing Nations”.
National News Affairs
- Tamil Nadu has reported its first case of Zika virus, bringing the tally of the mosquito-transmitted infection in India to four.
- Note : The previous three cases were confirmed in May, all coming from Ahmedabad.
- The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) has made it mandatory for engineering students to participate in one of five extracurricular activities, otherwise they won’t be awarded a degree.
- The activities include yoga, National Service Scheme (NSS), National Cadet Corps (NCC), Unnat Bharat Abhiyan and sports.
- The Delhi government today launched an online portal for citizens to file Right to Information (RTI) applications related to 172 state departments, including the chief minister’s office.
- Important Points to Note :
- With this, Delhi has became 2nd state to launch online portal to file RTI.
- Maharashtra was the first state to accept e-RTI applications.
- The Supreme Court today suspended the government ban on sale and purchase of cattle for slaughter.
- Important Points to Note :
Recent Committees in News
- Karnataka Government today constituted a 9-member committee to study the possibility of designing a separate state flag and providing it a statutory standing.
- This committee was constituted following representation of social activists from the state urged the government to design a separate flag for Kannada ‘naadu’ and accord statutory standing for it.
- This committee will be headed by Principal Secretary, Department of Kannada and Culture.
Banking, Business & Economic News
- Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia has said that if property is rented out for shop, office, or other commercial purposes then it will be taxable under GST in case of earnings over ₹20 lakh.
- Taxpayers earning more than the exempted threshold have to register with GST Network and pay taxes.
- However, rental income received from residential house is exempt, Adhia stated.
- The government today clarified that all free food supplied at religious institutions is exempt from the Goods and Services Tax (GST).
- However, the government added that some of the inputs and input services-such as sugar, vegetable edible oils, ghee, butter, and the service for transportation of these goods-required for making prasadam are subject to GST.
- India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, for the first time will import crude oil from the United States.
- The purchase comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the US in June 2017 when President Donald Trump had assured that US looks forward to export more energy products to India.
- The Union Finance Ministry has launched a new tax payer service module titled Aaykar Setu.
- The new e-initiative literally means taxpayer’s bridge and will be available in android phones.
- It compiles various tax tools, dynamic updates, live chat facility and important links to various processes within the Income Tax Department (ITD) in a single module.
Obituary
- India’s noted cartoonist Mangesh Tendulkar (83)passed away.
- Tendulkar, a regular contributor to various magazines and newspapers, was spreading awareness about traffic issues through his cartoons for the last several years and some of his works were also used by the city’s traffic department.
Current Sports Affairs
- Former cricketer Ravi Shastri has been named the new coach of Team India on a two-year contract.
- This will be Shastri’s second stint with the team, after being the director from 2014 to 2016.