Important Current Affairs 7th July 2016

FinMin Defer Tax Standard Implementation

1. The govt has deferred by a year the implementation of the income computation & disclosure standards (ICDS).
2. ICDS will now be applicable from the current fiscal year as against 2015-16 notified earlier.
3. This is in line with recommendations that had proposed giving Indian companies more time to move to the ICDS regime.
4. ICDS lays down the way taxable income of corporate assessees is computed.

HDFC Bank Launches SME Bank

1. The HDFC Bank has launched an SME Bank which will provide full-fledged digital banking service to small & medium sector enterprises (SME).
2. It has launched SM@Bank to provide banking service for SME.
3. The new entity would allow clients access services instantly on 24×7 basis over personal computers or mobile phones.
4. The existing brick & mortar service format for the SMEs would coexist with SMEBank.

Yeldi Get RBI Licence for Digital Wallet

1. Yeldi Softcom has received licence from the RBI to operate a semi-closed digital wallet to carry out cashless transactions.
2. The acquisition of the license will enable Yeldi to promote the use of digital wallets.
3. A semi-closed wallet is a digital payment instrument accepted by a pre-defined set of merchants contracted specifically by the issuer.
4. It does not allow users to withdraw or redeem cash.

Google Buys French Startup Moodstocks

1. Google has purchased Moodstocks,a French startup that specializes in speedy object recognition from a smartphone.
2. Moodstocks enabling smartphones or other mobile devices to recognize images & objects.
3. Google is investing in ways to get computers to see & understand the world around them the way people do.
4. This acquisition comes after Twitter bought a similar firm Magic Pony.

Indian Firms Rank High in Transparency

1. A dozen top Indian companies have ranked among the best in the Asia Pacific region for corporate transparency, trust & access to top executives.
2. These companies include Motherson Sumi,Maruti,HDFC ,IndusInd,Kotak Bank,Sun Pharma,Lupin,Cummins India,L&T,Infosys, TCS & MindTree.
3. These companies figure among the Most Honored Companies in Institutional Investor’s All-Asia Executive Team rankings 2016.

Actress Noel Neill Passes Away

1. Noel Neill,the first actress to play Lois Lane on screen in the “Superman” film series has passed away.
2. Neill played the Daily Planet reporter in the 1948 &1950 movie serials alongside Kirk Alyn as Superman.
3. She also played Lois Lane in the TV series Adventures of Superman alongside George Reeves between 1953 & 1958.
4. She was as awarded the 2004 Golden Boot Award for her many Western films.

Portugal Beat Wales to Reach Euro Final

1. Portugal have entered the final of the EURO Cup Football Championship.
2. Portugal defeated Wales 2-0 in the first first semi final of the Championship at Lyon in France.
3. They will take on the winner of the second semi-final between France and World Champions Germany.
4. Portugal is ranked 8th in the world and its best has been the runners up in 2004.

Lionel Messi sentenced to 21 months

1. Argentina & Barcelona footballer Lionel Messi has been sentenced to 21 months in prison for tax fraud.
2. His father,Jorge Messi, was also given a jail term for defrauding Spain of €4.1m.
3. They also face millions of euros in fines for using tax havens to conceal earnings.
4. But these prison sentences are likely to be suspended as is common in Spain for first offences for non-violent crimes.

FIG Honour for Dipa Karmakar

1. India’s Rio-bound gymnast Dipa Karmakar has been named a ‘World Class Gymnast’ by the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG).
2. She is the first Indian gymnast to receive the award.
3. The honour has been bestowed on her by virtue of her fifth-place finish at the World Artistic Championships in Glasgow last year.
4. She is the first Indian female gymnast to qualify for the Olympics.

PM Kicks Off Four-Nation Africa Tour

1. PM Narendra Modi has left for a four-nation tour of African countries.
2. It aimed at enhancing ties with that continent, particularly in the economic sphere and people-to-people contacts.
3. Modi will begin his five-day tour with Mozambique & then travel to South Africa, Tanzania & Kenya.
4. Focus of the visit will be on cooperation in areas of hydrocarbons, maritime security, trade,agriculture & food.

India Slips 2 places on Readiness Index

1. India has slipped two places to the 91st position in terms of their readiness for transition to a digitised economy & society.
2. The annual Networked Readiness Index was released by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) is once again topped by Singapore & Finland at 2nd place.
3. Russia at the 41st rank, followed by China at 59th, South Africa at 65th & Brazil moving up to the 72nd position.

Cabinet Approves Apprenticeship Scheme

1. The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM Modi has approved a National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme.
2. The scheme has an outlay of Rs.10,000 cr with a target of 50 lakh apprentices to be trained by 2019-20.
3. The Scheme would be implemented by Director General of Training (DGT) under Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
4. It provides for incentivizing employers to engage apprentices.

India, Bhutan Renew Trade,Transit Pact

1. India & Bhutan have decided to renew the existing ten year agreement on trade, commerce & transit which is set to expire this month.
2. Till the time a new agreement is put in place, the two countries have decided to extend it by a year.
3. The existing agreement was signed in 2006 for a period of ten years.
4. During the last financial year, India exported goods worth over $440 million to Bhutan.

HC Alteration of Names Bill Approved

1. The Union Cabinet chaired by the PM  Modi has given its approval to introduce The High Courts (Alteration of Names) Bill, 2016 in Parliament.
2. The Bill will facilitate the changing of the names of Bombay High Court as Mumbai High Court & Madras High Court as Chennai High Court respectively.
3. At present, there is no Central Law under which the proposal for change of names of these High Courts.

Rajasthan Introduce Minimum Wages

1. Rajasthan has become the first state in the country to introduce minimum wages for part time workers.
2. Labour Department has issued a notification in this regard.
3. According to notification, it is now mandatory to pay 50% of the prescribed a day minimum wage to a person who works for less than four hours in a day.
4. With this notification,part time workers now come under the Minimum Wages Act 1948.

India,SL Review trade & Invest linkages

1. India & Sri Lanka have reviewed the implementation of decisions taken at the 9th India-Sri Lanka Joint Commission for furthering trade & investment.
2. Sri Lanka minister for development strategies Malik Samarawickrama & Sushma Swaraj agreed on creating an enabling environment for Indian industry.
3. Both Ministers also agreed to encourage further momentum on projects between the two countries.

US Sanctions N Korean leader Kim Jong-Un

1. The US has sanctioned North Korean leader Kim Jong-un for the first time, accusing him of human rights abuses.
2. The US Treasury named Kim as directly responsible for violations in his country.
3. Ten other top North Korean officials have also been blacklisted.
4. The measures freeze any property the individuals have in the US & prevent US citizens doing business with them.

US has Now World’s Largest Oil Reserves

1. The United States has surpassed Saudi Arabia & Russia as the global leader in oil reserves.
2. This was according to a new study by Rystad Energy.
3. Rystad found that the US had 264bn barrels of oil in reserve,ahead of Russia at 256bn barrels & Saudi Arabia at 212bn barrels.
4. The study also painted a grim picture at the current rate of production oil supplies will only last 70 more years.

Sri Lanka to Demilitarize Civilian Areas

1. Sri Lanka intends to become completely demilitarized by 2018.
2. Heavy deployments from the Sri Lankan army have remained in former war zones since a 37-year conflict with Tamil separatists.
3. The military is also deeply involved in private enterprise.
4. The UN Human Rights Council has asked Sri Lanka to reduce the military’s involvement in civilian life and restore normality to the war-torn regions.

China Inducts Y-20 Military Plane

1. China has inducted its largest indigenously-built transport aircraft Y-20.
2. It will allow the world’s largest force to transport cargo & troops over long distances in diverse weather conditions.
3. The indigenously designed and developed Y-20 took its maiden flight in January 2013.
4. The plane is comparable to the Russian-made IL-76 and the US C-17.