DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: July 18, 2022

5% GST on packaged curd, paneer and flour

Tags: Economy/Finance

With the implementation of the GST Council's decision, customers will have to pay 5% GST on pre-packaged, labelled food items like flour, paneer and curd, as well as hospital rooms renting more than Rs 5,000 from July 18.

Important facts

• Earlier, GST was applicable only on branded packaged rice, but after the implementation of the new rates, all types of rice (branded and unbranded) and flour (branded and unbranded) would attract GST.

• The government has decided to levy 5% GST on hospital rooms with ICU not exceeding Rs 5000.

• Along with this, now 12 percent GST will be applicable for taking a room in the hotel for less than Rs 1000. Earlier both were kept out of the purview of GST.

GST will be imposed on these things for the first time

• Curd, Lassi, Buttermilk (5%)

• Cheese (5%)

• All Kinds of Jaggery (5%)

• Khandsari sugar (5%)

• Honey (5% GST)

• Rice, rye, barley, oats (5%)

• Flour (5%)

• Coconut water (12%)

• Rice Flour (5%)

GST rate levied on other goods and services

• Solar water heater (12%) 

• Printing, writing or drawing ink, knives with cutting blades, paper knives and pencil sharpeners, LED lamps - 18% 

• Some services such as work contracts for roads, bridges, railways, metro, effluent treatment plants and crematoriums - 18%

• Bio-medical waste treatment facilities - 12%

Reduction or exemption in GST

• Trucks, freight movement where fuel cost is included, will now attract 12% GST instead of 18%.

• The exemption in GST on the transportation of passengers to and from the northeastern states and Bagdogra will be limited to only economy class.

• Any person can claim GST exemption only for training or coaching in recreational activities related to art or culture or sports.

• Electric vehicles, whether or not fitted with a battery pack, will be eligible for a concessional GST rate of 5%.

Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation Seminar in New Delhi

Tags: Defence National News

Two-day Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation (NIIO) Seminar -Swavlamban held in New Delhi on 18-19 July.

Important facts

• The seminar was organised at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in New Delhi.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the seminar.

• The Prime Minister unveiled the 'Sprint Challenge', which aims to promote the use of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy.

• As a part of 'Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav', NIIO in association with Defence Innovation Organization (DIO) aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies/products into the Indian Navy.

• The name of this collaborative project is SPRINT (Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through iDEX, NIIO and TDAC).

• Sessions dedicated to innovation, indigenization, armament and aviation will be organized in the symposium.

• The second day of the symposium will witness access to the Indian Ocean region in line with the government's vision of SAGAR (Security and Development for All in the Region).

• As a part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, NIIO, in association with Defense Innovation Organisation, aims to induct at least 75 new indigenous technologies and products into the Indian Navy.

Aim of the seminar

• The seminar aims to engage Indian industry and academia towards achieving self-reliance in the Defence sector.

• The seminar will provide a platform for leaders from industry, academia, services and government to come together on a common platform with ideas and recommendations for the defence sector.

INS Sindhudhvaj submarine decommissioned after 35 years of service

Tags: Defence

The Navy's Kilo-class submarine, INS Sindhudhwaj, was decommissioned at Visakhapatnam on 17 July after 35 years of service.

Important facts

• The Navy now has 15 conventional submarines in service.

• The Chief Guest of the ceremony was Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Eastern Naval Command.

• The event was attended by 15 of the former Commanding Officers, including Commander S.P. Singh (Retd.) and 26 Commissioning crew veterans.

About INS Sindhudhvaj

• Inducted into the Navy in June 1987, Sindhudhwaj was one of the Kilo-class submarines acquired from Russia between 1986 and 2000.

• Kilo-class submarines are called Sindhughosh-class. 

• They are diesel-electric submarines that displace 3,000 tons, can dive to a depth of 300 metres, have a top speed of 18 knots, and can operate alone for 45 days with a crew of 53.

• The insignia of this submarine is a grey nurse shark.

• Its name means the one who bears the flag on the sea (Indus).

• It was the first submarine to be equipped with multiple indigenous security and communication systems.

• INS Sindhurakshak sank in Mumbai in August 2013 after a catastrophic explosion, killing all 18 sailors.

• INS Sindhuveer was transferred to the Myanmar Navy in March 2020 as a goodwill gesture.

• INS Sindhudhwaj is the only submarine to be awarded the CNS Rolling Trophy for Innovation by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Indigenous sonar USHUS, indigenous satellite communication system Rukmani and MMS, inertial navigation system and indigenous torpedo fire control system were operated on it.

• Sindhudhwaj also successfully carried out mating and personnel transfer with Deep Submergence Rescue Vessel.

Anayoottu Ritual of Kerala

Tags: State News

Anayuttu, which is an annual ritual at Sri Vadakkunnathan Temple, Thrissur, Kerala, was held recently.

Important facts

• There is a history behind this annual ritual at the temple.

• Kerala's elephant Pooram was selected along with other cultural forms of the country to perform at the opening ceremony of the Asian Games held in Delhi in 1982.

• Taking elephants to Delhi was a difficult task.

• A trial run of the train carrying elephants was conducted from Thrissur to Ernakulam before the journey.

• Thirty-four elephants from across the State were selected and readied for the journey. 

• Many of them belonged to the Guruvayur temple in Punnathur Kotta.

• The elephants included Kuttinarayanan of Guruvayur Devaswom, who later came to be known as Asiad Appu, the mascot of the Asian Games.

What is Anayoottu?

• Anayuttu is an annual religious ritual at Sree Vadakkunathan Temple, Thrissur in which special food is fed to over 50 elephants.

• Food is offered to elephants to please Lord Ganesha who, according to Hindu belief, removes obstacles in one's life.

• In this, many ornate elephants are kept amidst a crowd of people for worship and food.

• A huge crowd gathers in the temple to feed the elephants.

• The Vadakkunnathan Temple, which is considered to be one of the oldest Shiva temples in South India, has hosted the Anayattu event for the past few years.

Only 50% farmers benefited from farm loan waivers - SBI

Tags: Economy/Finance

According to a study by the State Bank of India, only half of the intended beneficiaries of farm loan waivers announced by nine states since 2014 have actually received loan waivers.

Important facts

• The worst implementation of farm loan waiver schemes till March 2022 was in Telangana (5%), Madhya Pradesh (12%), Jharkhand (13%), Punjab (24%), Karnataka (38%) and Uttar Pradesh (52%).

• In contrast, farm loan waivers implemented by Chhattisgarh in 2018 and Maharashtra in 2020 were received by 100% and 91% of eligible farmers, respectively.

• Since 2014, out of about 3.7 crore eligible farmers, only about 50% farmers have received the loan waiver amount by March 2022.

Major findings of the study

• The study is based on the primary data of SBI agri-portfolio across states.

• It analyzes the change in the income of farmers in the last five years.

• The study noted that the increase in income of farmers engaged in cash crops has been higher than those growing non-cash crops.

• Along with agricultural income, most states saw a significant increase of 1.4-1.8 times in allied/non-farm income over the same period.

• The average farmer's income grew 1.3 to 1.7 times between FY 2018 and 2022.

• In some crops like soybean in Maharashtra and cotton in Karnataka, farmers' income has doubled during this period.

• The Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme should be tweaked to make it a Livelihood Credit Card (LCC).

• Self-Help Groups have around 10 per cent NPA across India.

Reasons for less reach to farm loan waiver

• The following three factors have been identified in the report as possible reasons for the low implementation rate of loan waivers -

1. Rejection of farmers’ claims by State Governments

2. Limited or low fiscal space to meet promises

3. Change in Governments in subsequent years

Maharashtra cabinet approves renaming of Aurangabad, Osmanabad cities

Tags: State News

The Eknath Shinde-led government in Maharashtra on July 16 gave cabinet approval to rename the cities of Aurangabad and Osmanabad as Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and Dharashiv respectively.

Important facts

• The decision to rename these cities was taken in the cabinet meeting of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government headed by the then Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

• During the cabinet meeting chaired by Thackeray last month, Aurangabad was renamed as Sambhajinagar, but the Shinde government on 16 July added 'Chhatrapati' prefix to it.

• The fresh proposal approved by the cabinet will be sent to the center, after which the renaming of both the cities will be done at the divisional, district, taluka, municipal and council levels.

• The cabinet also approved the decision to name the proposed Navi Mumbai International Airport after farmer leader D. B. Patil.

• The Navi Mumbai airport is being developed as a greenfield airport by the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO) under a public-private partnership.

Important facts about Maharashtra

• Establishment - 1st May 1960

• Official Language -  Marathi

• Neighbouring States - Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Dadra And Nagar Haveli, Chhattisgarh

• Members of Parliament - Lok Sabaha 48 (Rajya Sabha seats 19)

• Legislature - Bicameral ( Assembly 289 and council 78 seats)

• Literacy - 82.91%

• Districts - 36

• Major Rivers - Tributaries of Tapti, Bhima, Godavari and Krishna

• Capital - Mumbai

• Population - 11.23 crore (2011 census)

• Chief Minister - Eknath Shinde

• Governor - Bhagat Singh Koshyari

International Nelson Mandela Day

Tags: Important Days International News

International Nelson Mandela Day is celebrated across the world on 18 July every year to mark the birth anniversary of Nelson Mandela, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate and former President of South Africa.

Important facts

• The observance of this day seeks to celebrate the idea that every individual has the power to change the world, the ability to make an impact.

• It aims to inspire individuals to take action to help change the world for the better.

• In November 2009, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) officially declared 18 July as "International Nelson Mandela Day" in honour of the former President of South Africa's contribution to a culture of peace and freedom.

• It also reflects the anti-apartheid icon's commitment to promoting the values of democracy, racial justice and human rights in the field of racial relations, and his dedication to serving humanity.

About Nelson Mandela

• Nelson Mandela was born on 18 July 1918 in Mvezo, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

• On 5 August 1962, he was arrested for inciting the workers to strike and leaving the country without permission.

• He was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment on 12 July 1964.

• He was released on 11 February 1990 after spending 27 years in prison.

• On 10 May 1994, Mandela became the first black president of South Africa.

• Nelson Mandela is called the Gandhi of South Africa.

Prize

• Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 jointly with Frederick Willem de Klerk, former President of South Africa

• order of lenin

• Bharat Ratna (1990)

• Nishan-e-Pakistan

• Gandhi Peace Prize (2008)

Microblogging platform Twitter launched an "Unmentioning feature"

Tags: International News

Microblogging platform Twitter has launched an "Unmentioning feature". This feature will allow users to remove themselves from any conversation.

Important facts

• This feature will allow users to disengage themselves from conversations they no longer wish to be a part of.

• It will help protect the peace of the people by removing themselves from unwanted conversations.

• Twitter was testing the unmanaging feature on a limited number of users so far. Now it has been launched for everyone.

• The feature has been launched amid the ongoing stir over the walkout of Elon Musk's USD 44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

Elon Musk's walkout

• In premarket trading, Twitter shares fell nearly 6 percent amid Elon Musk's recent walkout.

• Musk recently cancelled his $44 billion deal to buy Twitter.

• After this Twitter announced the prosecution of Elon Musk.

About Twitter 

• Twitter was founded in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey, Biz Stone, Noah Glass and Evan Williams.

• It is an American communications company headquartered in San Francisco, California.

• Twitter is a microblogging and social networking service on which users post and interact with messages called "tweets".

• CEO - Parag Agarwal

CM Dhami launches Uttarakhand Police, e-FIR mobile apps

Tags: State News

Recently, e-FIR facility and Uttarakhand Police App have been launched by the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami.

Important facts

• All the important apps like Gaura Shakti, Traffic Eye, Public Eye, Meri Yatra and Lakshya Nasha Mukt Uttarakhand have been made available in the Police App, operated by Uttarakhand Police.

• The emergency number 112 and the cyber helpline number 1930 available for lodging complaints of cyber financial frauds have also been linked to this.

• Through the Uttarakhand Police App, now the general public will be able to report their stolen vehicles and missing documents online from any district of the state through web portal or mobile phone.

About Uttarakhand State

• Formation -9 November, 2000

• State bordering the state -2 Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh

• Countries bordering the state - Nepal, Tibet (China)

• Most populated district - Haridwar

• Minimum Population District - Rudraprayag

• Largest district in terms of area - Chamoli

• Smallest district in terms of area - Champawat

• Country and state's first engineering college - Roorkee (established in 1847)

• The country's and the state's first agricultural university - G.B. Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Pant Nagar (1960)

• No. of Vidhan Sabha Members-71 (70 Elected + 1 Nominated)

• Number of Members in Lok Sabha-5

• Seats for Rajya Sabha -3

• Governor - Gurmeet Singh

• Chief Minister - Pushkar Singh Dhami

Singapore Open : PV Sindhu wins first Super 500 title

Tags: Sports News

India's PV Sindhu defeated China's Wang Zhiyi in the women's singles final to clinch the Singapore Open Badminton Super 500 tournament title.

Important facts

• Sindhu defeated Saina Kawakami of Japan in the semi-finals to secure her place in the final.

• This is Sindhu's third title of the current season. He won two Super 300 tournaments, the Syed Modi International and the Swiss Open.

• PV Sindhu won her second Asian bronze medal at the Asia Badminton Championship 2022 in Manila on April 30, 2022.

• Sindhu has won a gold, two silver and two bronze medals at the World Championships apart from a silver and bronze medal in the Olympics.

Other Category Winner

Singapore Badminton Open

• The Singapore Open is a badminton competition held annually in Singapore since 1929.

• In 2023, the tournament will be upgraded to a Super 750 event.

• The 2022 Singapore Badminton Open was held from 12 to 17 July 2022 at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore.

• In 2007, the Singapore Open became part of the BWF Super Series event.

Maharashtra Govt presents Mother Teresa Memorial Award to Dia Mirza and Afroz Shah

Tags: Awards

Ms. Dia Mirza, National Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and Mr. Afroz Shah, environmental activist, have been honoured with the prestigious Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021.

Important facts

• The award was given by the Governor of Maharashtra, Hon'ble Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan, Mumbai.

• Both have been honoured for their commendable and remarkable achievements in environmental sustainability.

• Dia Mirza was honoured as UNEP, India's Goodwill Ambassador for her astonishing and remarkable efforts in major environmental campaigns across India.

• Afroz Shah was honoured for his impeccable and original efforts to lead one of the world's largest beach cleanup movements in India, which has inspired people across the globe.

• This annual award was instituted by the Harmony Foundation in the year 2005.

• Harmony Foundation is an international non-governmental organisation working in the field of social justice.

Discovery of a new ozone hole over the tropics

Tags: Science and Technology

According to a recent study, a new ozone hole has been detected in tropical regions from 30 degree south latitude to 30 degree north latitude.

Facts from the study 

• The tropical ozone hole is about seven times larger than that of the Antarctic.

• The tropical ozone hole is visible in all seasons, while the ozone hole over the Antarctic is visible only in spring.

• Scientists estimate that it is so large that it can affect 50 percent of the world's population.

• According to scientists, this hole has been present in the tropical region since 1980.

• Like the Antarctic ozone hole, ozone values in the centre of this tropical ozone hole have been found to be 80 percent below normal.

• This has the potential to cause skin cancer, cataracts and other negative effects on the health ecosystem in tropical regions.

Ozone layer

• It is a special form of oxygen that has the chemical formula O3.

• Most of the ozone lies 10 to 40 km above the Earth's surface. Lives at high levels in the atmosphere between This region is called the stratosphere and contains about 90% of the total ozone found in the atmosphere.

Classification

Good Ozone

• Ozone occurs naturally in Earth's upper atmosphere (stratosphere) where it forms a protective layer. This layer protects us from the harmful ultraviolet rays of the sun.

• This ozone is slowly being destroyed due to man-made chemicals called ozone depleting substances (ODS). Ozone depleting substances include chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), halons, methyl bromide, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform.

Bad Ozone

• Ozone is formed in Earth's lower atmosphere (troposphere) near ground level when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight.

• Surface level ozone is a harmful air pollutant.

Initiatives taken to protect the ozone layer

Vienna Convention

• The 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer was an international agreement in which the members of the United Nations recognized the fundamental importance of preventing the depletion of the ozone layer of the stratosphere.

• India became a party to the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer on 18 March 1991.

Montreal Protocol

• The Montreal Protocol is an international environmental agreement to protect the Earth's ozone layer by eliminating the use of ozone-depleting substances.

• Adopted on September 15, 1987, this protocol is the only United Nations treaty to date that has been ratified by all 197 member states of the United Nations by every country on earth.

• India became a party to the Montreal Protocol on 19 June 1992 on substances that damage the ozone layer.

Ramayan Masam started in Kerala

Tags: State News

Ramayan Masam is starting from 17th July, 2022 in the state of Kerala.

Important facts

• According to the Malayalam calendar, it marks the beginning of Karkidakam, the last month of the year.

• During the month of Ramayana, verses from the Ramayana are recited throughout the month at dusk in Hindu homes in Kerala.

• This month is considered favourable for Ayurvedic treatment and pilgrimage.

• Ramayan Masam will conclude on 16th August.

• The place of Tulsi Ramayana in North India is the same as that of the Adhyatma Ramayana 'Kihipant' composed by Eshutachchan in Kerala.

• This popular work, composed in the sixteenth century, is recited continuously for a full month in the year in Shravana (Malayalam Karkidakam).

• This ritual takes place before Onam, the famous festival of Kerala.

• Kerala is also believed to be related to the forest journey of Sri Ramachandra ji.

• A famous pilgrim centre in Kerala, the Shabripeeth, located near Pampasar on the way to Sabarimala, attests to the darshan of Rama-Shabari during the exile period. The word 'Mala' is used for a mountain in Malayalam.