National News
PM Modi Inaugurates 1st PIO Parliamentary Conference in Delhi
PM Narendra Modi inaugurates the first Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) Parliamentary Conference in Delhi on the occasion of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The day is celebrated every year to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community in the development of India.
It also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January 1915. In the Conference, the biggest delegation was from Guyana with 20 members of parliament and three mayors.
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This year a special regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to commemorate 25 years of partnership between India and the Association of South East Asian Nations Submit (ASEAN) is being held in Singapore.
Established in 2003, and sponsored by the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is held from 7-9 January every year.
India’s 1st Multi-Petaflop Supercomputer ‘Pratyush’ Dedicated to Nation
Union Minister of Earth Sciences Dr Harsh Vardhan dedicated India’s fastest and first multi-petaflops supercomputer named ‘Pratyush’ to the nation in Pune. It is established at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
It will be a national facility for improving weather and climate forecasts and services under the umbrella of the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
In a First, Delhi Government Launches Common Card for Bus & Metro Rides
Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal launched a common card for rides on public buses and the metro. Delhi is the first city in the country to have a common mobility card.
The card, which will function like a debit card, will be operational in all DTC and cluster buses from April 2018.
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Transport Minister of Delhi- Kailash Gahlot.
Lieutenant Governor of Delhi- Anil Baijal.
Indian Railways Launches Transparent and Efficient “New Online Vendor Registration System”
Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), the research arm of Ministry of Railways, has launched “New Online Vendor Registration System”.
Public access to the information, expeditious process completion with defined timelines, simplification of procedures, round-the-year services, availability of all related information on RDSO Website, constant monitoring at all levels, reduction in cycle timelines, regular updating of online data, user-friendly interface etc. are the hallmarks of the new system.
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Research Designs & Standards Organisation headquartered in Lucknow.
Minister of Railways & Coal- Shri Piyush Goyal.
International
World’s Largest Ice Festival Held in China
World’s largest Ice Festival 'International Ice and Snow Festival' was held in Harbin, China. This is one of China’s coldest cities in the winter. It is the 34th annual Ice Festival in Harbin, north-east China.
It features sculptures of Moscow’s Red Square and Bangkok’s Temple of the Emerald Buddha.
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China Capital- Beijing, Currency- Renminbi, President- Xi Jinping.
Appointments
A R Rahman Becomes Sikkim’s Brand Ambassador
Music composer A R Rahman became the brand ambassador of Sikkim. The declaration was made by Sikkim CM Pawan Kumar Chamling.
Mr Chamling felicitated the legendary music composer during an inauguration of the 11-day Sikkim Red Panda Winter Carnival at Palzor Stadium in Gangtok.
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Sikkim Governor- Shriniwas Dadasaheb Patil.
Banking/ Economy/ Business News
Direct Tax Collections for FY 2017-18 Show Growth of 18.2% up to December, 2017
The provisional figures of Direct Tax collections up to December 2017 show that net collections are at Rs. 6.56 lakh crore which is 18.2% higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of last year.
The net Direct Tax collections represent 67% of the total Budget Estimates of Direct Taxes for Financial Year 2017-18 (Rs. 9.8 lakh crore). Gross collections (before adjusting for refunds) have increased by 12.6% to Rs. 7.68 lakh crore from April to December 2017.
An amount of Rs. 3.18 lakh crore has been received as Advance Tax up to December, 2017 reflecting a growth of 12.7% over the Advance Tax payments of the corresponding period of last year. The growth in Corporate Income Tax (CIT) Advance Tax is 10.9% and that in Personal Income Tax (PIT) Advance Tax is 21.6%.
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Arun Jaitley is the present Finance Minister of India.
Gujarat Tops Logistics Performance Index Chart: Report
Gujarat has topped the logistics index chart, according to a Report released by Union Minister for Commerce & Industry Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi. The chart is an indicator of the efficiency of logistical services necessary for promoting exports in particular and economic growth in general.
Among 22 states, Gujarat is followed by Punjab, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra on the index.
Among the Union Territories, Daman & Diu occupied the top slot followed by Delhi and Chandigarh. As regards the hilly states, Tripura was on top followed by Mizoram and Meghalaya.
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Gujarat CM- Vijay Rupani, Governor- Om Prakash Kohli.
