International News Affairs
- Russian President Vladimir Putin today signed a decree extending the embargo imposed on food products from the EU and other Western countries until the end of 2018.
- The move comes days after the European Union formally rolled out fresh economic sanctions against Russia.
National News Affairs
- Today (1st July 2017 is National Doctors’ Day.
- This day is observed in India to honour the contributions of Bharat Ratna Bidhan Chandra Roy(1st July 1882 – 1st July 1962), former West Bengal Chief Minister who was also a physician.
- He is remembered till date for actively involving himself in starting many institutions, hospitals and was fully dedicated to the upliftment of Indian society.
- First Doctor’s Day was celebrated in 1991.
- India’s tallest Air Traffic Control (ATC) tower at the Delhi Airport is going to start operations by December, Airports Authority of India Chairman Guruprasad Mohapatra announced today.
- The new 101.9-metre tower, which will give controllers a 360-degree view of the airport, is the seventh tallest ATC tower in the world.
- It has been built at a cost of ₹350 crore.
Awards & Honours
- IPS officer Mahesh Bhagwat has been given the US government’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Hero award for his 13 year-long fight against human trafficking.
- ‘A Billion Colour Story‘, co-produced by Bollywood actor Satish Kaushik and directed by Padmakumar Narasimhamurthy won the Audience Award at the 2017 London Indian Film Festival.
- Technology major Adobe’s CEO Shantanu Narayen and former US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy are the two Indian-Americans among 38 individuals who will be honoured with the Great Immigrants award in the US this year.
Science & Technology
- Jio today announced the launch of the 25,000-kilometre Asia-Africa-Europe (AAE-1) submarine cable system.
- Jio claimed it is the longest technology-based 100 Gbps (gigabits per second) submarine cable system in the world, stretching from France to Hong Kong with 21 cable landings across Asia and Europe.
People in News
- Shyam Saran Negi, independent India’s first-ever voter, turns 100 years old today.
- Negi, who belongs to Chini village in present day Kinnaur district in Himachal Pradesh, was the first to cast his vote in the country’s first-ever general elections held in 1951.
New Appointments
- Senior lawyer KK Venugopal has been appointed as the new Attorney General of India.
- He is going to replace Mukul Rohatgi.
- About Attorney General of India :
- India’s Attorney General is the first law officer of the government and acts as a top advocate for the Union Government.
- He needs to give advice to the President and the Centre on legal matters.
- An Attorney General has the right to speak and attend the proceedings of the Parliament, however, he/she cannot vote in the committee.
Obituary
- Actor Minaketan Das(56), known for his roles in Odia films and television series, passed away.
- Known for playing negative roles, ‘Balunga Toka’, ‘Jianta Bhuta’ and ‘Most Wanted’ were among Minaketan’s popular films.
Banking, Business & Economic News
- The government today launched the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, effective from July 1, 2017.
- The Goods and Services Tax (GST) was first proposed 17 years ago, when the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee formed a GST committee.
- In the making since 2000 and claimed to be the biggest tax reform since Independence, the GST will be a unified indirect tax structure across the country.
- The GST Council has come out with a four-rate structure of 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%.
- The maximum GST rate slab of 28% is the highest among more than 140 countries across the world that have implemented GST.
- Argentina has the second-highest GST rate of 27%, whereas the rate stands at 20% in the UK, 20% in France and 7% in Singapore.
- The Financial Stability Report released by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) today said the ongoing initiatives like GST will push the economic growth to 3% in the current fiscal year in terms of gross value added (GVA).
- Further, reforms in FDI, real estate, and revival in external demand are likely to contribute to a better growth, the report said.
- Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway is set to become the largest shareholder of Bank of Americasurpassing Vanguard Group by exercising its warrants to buy 700 million common shares.
Sports Current News
- MS Dhoni has become India’s fourth highest run scorer in ODIs, after reaching the 15-run mark in the second ODI against Windies.
- Top 5 in the list
- Sachin Tendulkar – 18426 Runs
- Sourav Ganguly – 11363 Runs
- Rahul Dravid – 10889 Runs
- Mahendra Singh Dhoni – 9442 Runs
- Mohammad Azharuddin – 9378
- Top 5 in the list