CURRENT GK
1.Large blast and fire at Damascus airport :-
A large explosion hit in the area of Damascus International Airport followed by a fire in the same place early on Thursday the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a Britain-based war monitor, said.
2.Give us your religion, caste, Aadhaar: HRD to all college teachers :-
To set up a national teachers’ portal and detect “fake teachers” in the country, the Ministry of Human Resource Development has, over the last four months, profiled at least 60 per cent of more than 15 lakh university and college teachers, complete with individual details such as religion, caste, Aadhaar and phone numbers.
Teachers who are yet to furnish personal details have another month to comply. Moves are also afoot to create a similar students’ database next year.
3.Kia to enter India, to pump in Rs. 7,000 cr :-
Kia Motors is lining up around $ 1.1 billion (over Rs 7,000 crore) to set up a manufacturing plant in India where it plans to roll out a compact SUV and a compact sedan by 2019-end.
The South Korean firm, part of the Hyundai group, will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Andhra Pradesh government to build a new plant in Anantapur district.
4.Trump administration proposes ‘biggest tax cut’ in U.S. history :-
President Donald Trump is proposing “the biggest tax cut” ever, even as the government struggles with mounting debt, in an effort to fulfil his promises to stimulate job creation and middle class prosperity.
White House officials on Wednesday were to release broad outlines of a tax overhaul that would provide massive tax cuts to businesses big and small. The top tax rate for individuals would drop by a few percentage points, from 39.6% to the “mid-30s,” according to an official with knowledge of the plan.
Small businesses would see their top tax rate go from 39.6% to the proposed corporate tax rate of 15%, said Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin in a Wednesday morning speech.
5.BCCI loses both revenue and governance vote at ICC meet :-
In a massive blow to its influence in the International Cricket Council (ICC), the BCCI was on Wednesday decimated at the global body’s board meeting where the majority voted for a change in governance and revenue structures.
On the first day of the ICC Board Meeting in Dubai, both the change in governance structure as well as the revamped revenue model were put to a floor test.
6.NREGA workers get lowest wage hike ever, Rs 1 in some states :-
In the lowest wage hike under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Scheme, the Centre has increased wages by an average of just 2.7 per cent this financial year.
In some states like Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand, the increase in daily wages under MGNREGA from April 1 is just Re 1. It is Rs 2 in drought-affected Tamil Nadu and Odisha, and Rs 3 in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
7.Harbhajan bats for ‘racially abused’ friend :-
A fortnight after cricketer Harbhajan Singh’s film producer friend Pooja Singh Grover and Punjabi music director Jatinder Singh were allegedly assaulted and racially abused by Jet Airways expatriate pilot Bernd Hoesslin, the off-spin bowler took to Twitter to slam the airline.
In a series of tweets, he stood up for his friend and demanded that strict action be taken. Assault on a woman and racial abuse should not be tolerated, he said.
8.First time, Sensex closes over 30,000; rally Made in (small town) India :-
With a month to go before the Narendra Modi government completes three years at the Centre, the benchmark Sensex at Bombay Stock Exchange closed above the 30,000 mark for the first time ever. Mutual fund inflows and FPI (Foreign Portfolio Investor) fund flow data over the last three years shows that the rally this time is more Made in India as retail investors uprooted foreign portfolio investors to emerge as the biggest participant and, thereby, the beneficiary of the surge in Indian equities.
9.Separatist leader Asiya Andrabi arrested in Kashmir :-
ammu and Kashmir Police on Thursday arrested separatist leader Asiya Andrabi under the Public Safety Act.
Ms. Andrabi, chief of the radical women’s outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat, was arrested in the morning from her residence, sources said.
She is alleged to be the main separatist leader who incites women in the valley to pelt stones at security forces and disrupt normal life.
10.SEBI to grant one licence to brokers, clearing members :-
Market regulator SEBI on Wednesday decided to grant a unified licence to brokers and clearing members to operate in commodity derivative as well as equity markets.
SEBI’s board approved a proposal for integration of stock brokers in equity and commodity derivative space.
