CURRENT GK
1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed key bilateral issues and security situation in the region with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai :-
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has discussed key bilateral issues and security situation in the region yesterday with former Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Mr. Modi said on Twitter that he was happy to meet his friend Karzai in New Delhi. The Prime Minister gave a dinner in honor of Mr. Karzai yesterday.
The two leaders discussed strategic bilateral agreements including cooperation in Indian aid and other key areas for development in Afghanistan. They also discussed the war-torn Afghanistan and the security situation in the region.
2.Operating Directorate freeze properties of Global Steel Holdings Ltd worth Rs 245 crores in connection with money laundering fraud :-
Enforcement Directorate has frozen assets worth Rs 245 crore in connection with the alleged fraud and money laundering of Rs 2, 200 crore, with the State Trading Corporation . The Directorate had filed a criminal case under the Prevention of Prevention of Money on Global Steel Holding Limited , its President, Pramod Kumar Mittal and others on the basis of the CBI FIR this year . Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate had also seized shares worth Rs. 62 crores of Mittal and others in this case .
3.GST Council decides to introduce uniform e-way bill system across the country for the inter-state freight traffic from June 1 next year :-
The 24th meeting of GST Council under the Chairmanship of Union Finance and Company Affairs Minister Shri Arun Jaitley concludes through video conferencing. It was considered in the country to implement e-bill system. Until the national e-bill bill system was developed, the states were authorized to use their own separate e-bill systems.
But, representatives of trade and transport said that this leads to unnecessary difficulties in the inter-state transport of goods. Therefore it is very important to implement the All India E-Pay system soon.
The GST Council reviewed the progress of the work of preparing the required hardware and software to implement the All India E-Way Bill system soon. After discussions with the states, it was decided that in the country, the same e-pay system will be implemented for the inter-state and inter-state movement from June 1, 2018.
National e-way system will be ready by January 16, 2018 to launch the trial. Business and Transport will voluntarily adopt this system from January 16, 2018. It was also decided that from February 1, 2018, the inter-state e-bill will be notified for the implementation of the bill. This will facilitate the transport of goods smoothly without interruption between states.
4.Railways to provide CCTV cameras at railway stations and for stations for women’s safety :-
Railways have planned to install CCTV cameras at Nine Thirasi railway stations from Nirbhaya Fund. Referring to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, the correspondent said that the Railways is doing various measures for the protection of women.
Keeping in mind the issues related to women safety, Railway is considering availability of Wi-Fi in trains and steps like imposing CCTV cameras in all stations and trains. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that the railways will devote the year 2018 to collectively fight against violence against women and human trafficking.
5.Bharti Airtel and Airtel Pay Bank’s E-K.Y.C. Bans verification of SIM linked to base :-
The Indian Unique Identification Authority has temporarily stopped Bharti Airtel and Airtel Payments from the verification of SIM card through the mobile number of mobile users. E-K.Y.C. without informing its customers on Bharti Airtel The process is accused of opening their payment bank accounts through the process. The Authority has strongly objected to the allegations of using these accounts for taking LPG subsidy.
Authority has ordered an audit of Praiswatr PricewaterhouseCoopers company Bharti Airtel paid the bank , so that it can ascertain that they are followed by the act or not.
6.USA said – India is the most dependable regional partner of Afghanistan :-
The United States has said that India is a very reliable regional partner of Afghanistan and is contributing to development assistance in the region. In a report presented in the US Congress about the increase in security and stability in Afghanistan, the Department of Defense said that the US welcomes additional medical and other assistance being given to India by Afghanistan. This assistance includes projects like Afghanistan-India Friendship Dam and Afghanistan Parliament House.
7.Polls are being held today for the municipal elections in Punjab :-
Polls are being held today for the Municipal Body elections in Punjab. For 225 wards of 225 wards of three municipal corporations, elections are being held for 327 wards of 29 municipal councils and Nagar Panchayats. Only few people have reached the booths for their franchise use due to cold and mist. Booths have been declared as sensitive and susceptible, special arrangements have been made to ensure that elections are free and fair. Polling will end at four o’clock in the evening. Counting of voting will be done today as the process of voting is complete.
8.Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will arrive in Bhopal on a one day tour of Madhya Pradesh today :-
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will arrive in Bhopal on a one day tour of Madhya Pradesh today They will attend state level conferences of self help groups of women in Jamburi plain of Bhopal. More than one lakh women members of Self Help Groups will join this conference. The products of these groups will be displayed at the conference site. The Madhya Pradesh government is empowering women self-help groups to increase employment especially in rural areas.
9.The rules of H-1B visa will be more stringent in the US :-
The Trump Administration is now going to make the rules of H-1B visa more stringent. The US is considering ending the Obama administration’s rule that allows H-1B visa holders to work for their husband or wife.
Under the new rules, it will be very difficult for a husband or wife to work in the US under the H-1B visa. This decision will affect thousands of Indian professionals and their families.
According to the regulations implemented in the previous Obama administration, the H-1B visa or high-skilled visa holders from 2015 are eligible to work in America under the H-4 dependent visa. Now the statement issued by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) states that H-1B visa holders are proposed to abolish the H-4 visa rules for their spouse.
According to the statement, this decision has been made under ‘By American, Higher American’ policy. Professionals working on H-1B visas who are trying for green cards will be affected by this decision of the Trump administration.
According to the statement, the eligibility of professionals who receive H-1B visas will be redefined. In addition to abolishing the permission of the husband or wife, the statement of DHS has also been mentioned in the H-1B visa program and further changes in the program.
10.David Cameron to head the UK-China Investment Organization :-
British Prime Minister David Cameron will now play a new role. He will be head of the institution promoting investment relations between Britain and China. Cameron resigned from the Prime Minister after the Breakpitz Referendum and had retired from politics.
According to the BBC, Cameron will take over the command of an organization with a billion dollar (about Rs. 6400 crore) Under this belt and road initiative, this amount will be improved between ports, roads and rail network between China and its business managers.
