1. Harshada Sharad Garud first Indian to win gold medal at IWF Junior World Championships
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In weightlifting, Harshada Sharad Garuda created history by becoming the first Indian to win a gold medal at the IWF Junior World Championships in Heraklion, Greece.
She lifted 153 kg in the 45 kg weight category, including 70 kg in snatch and 83 kg in clean and jerk, and topped the podium.
Garuda surpassed eight contestants as India won a medal on the first day of competition.
Turkey's Bektas Kansu won the silver medal, while Teodora-Luminita Hinku of Moldova won the bronze.
Another Indian in the same weight category, Anjali Patel, finished fifth with a total effort of 148kg, which included 67kg in snatch and 81kg in clean and jerk.
Prior to Harshada, there are only two Indians to have won a medal at the IWF Junior World Championships.
Mirabai Chanu won the bronze medal in 2013 and Achinta Shuli won the silver medal last year.
2. IRS officer Sangeeta Singh given additional charge of CBDT chairman
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Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer Sangeeta Singh has been given the additional charge of chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) after CBDT chief JB Mohapatra retired on April 30.
Sangeeta Singh was given the additional charge of Chairperson of CBDT for a period of three months or till the appointment of regular Chairman.
Sangeeta Singh is a 1986 batch IRS officer of Income Tax Cadre.
Sangeeta Singh is presently Member (Income Tax & Revenue) in CBDT. In addition he also holds the additional charge of Member (Taxpayer Services) in CBDT.
About Central Board of Direct Taxes -
The Central Board of Direct Taxes is a part of the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance.
All matters relating to direct taxes in India were handed over to the Central Board of Direct Taxes with effect from 1 January 1964.
CBDT provides essential information for policies and schemes of Direct Taxes in India.
The CBDT consists of six members. The Chairman and other members of the CBDT are selected from the Indian Revenue Service and the premier civil service of India.
3. LG Baggavalli Somashekar Raju to take over as Vice Chief of Army Staff
Tags: Popular Defence Person in news National News
Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 1 may.
An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, Raju was commissioned into the Jat Regiment on 15 December 1984.
He commanded his battalion during OP Parakram in the Western Theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raju also has the distinction of commanding the Uri Brigade on the Line of Control, a counter insurgency force and the Chinar Corps in the Kashmir Valley.
Raju has also served as the Commandant of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.
During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, BS Raju has been involved in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments at Army Headquarters.
Before taking over as the co-chief of the Army, Lt Gen Raju was the Director General Military Operations during the standoff with China on the LAC.
He is also a qualified helicopter pilot. He has flown in the UNOSOM-2 operation in Somalia.
4. PIL against grant of life time 'Cabinet Minister' status to a Goa politician
Tags: Person in news State News
Senior Goa leader Pratapsingh Rane has been honoured by conferring lifetime "Cabinet Minister" status for completing 50 years as an MLA in the Goa Legislative Assembly. Hence a Public Interest Litigation has been filed in the Bombay High Court against this decision.
It has been said in the PIL that this step of the state government is in violation of the '91st Amendment of the Constitution'.
The maximum number of members in the Goa cabinet is 12.
After Rane was given the status of 'Cabinet Minister', the number of 'Cabinet Members' increased to 13, which is more than the maximum limit prescribed by the Constitution.
Lifetime Status of the rank of Cabinet minister
The former Chief Minister and former Speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly mr. Rane had completed 50 years as a legislator.
The cabinet decided that in future also those who complete 50 years and hold posts like CM and Speaker will be given cabinet status even after their retirement.
What is the Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003 ?
It states that the total number of ministers, including the chief minister, in the council of ministers in a state should not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the legislative assembly of that state.
It provides a condition that the number of ministers including the chief minister in a state should not be less than twelve.
A cabinet minister for life would be entitled to 12 staff members – OSDs, support staff, peons, drivers – which would cost the exchequer Rs 90 lakh a year. Hence this decision is not justified.
5. Macron is reelected as French president
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Republican on the move candidate Emmanuel Macron has been re-elected as the President of France.
In the presidential election, Emmanuel Macron defeated his right-wing rival Marin Lopen with 58.2% of the vote.
Emmanuel Macron is the first president to be elected for a second consecutive term in twenty years.
Twenty years ago Mr. Ziak Chirac was elected to a second term.
The term of the President is five years. No leader can hold this post for more than two terms.
Presidential election process in France
In France, the President is elected by direct voting system and ballots are used.
Every Frenchman over the age of 18 is entitled to vote. Whether he lives in France or in some other country.
There can be a maximum of two phases of election. The first stage is compulsory while the second stage depends on the result of the first. In the first phase, the person who gets more than 50 percent of the votes is declared the winner.
In the first phase, if no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the total votes, then the second and final phase is held between the two top candidates who get the maximum votes.
To become a candidate, it is necessary to have the support of at least 500 elected representatives (mayor etc.).
Powers of the President of France
Most of the powers of the President of France are vested in the Prime Minister, the Council of Ministers and the Parliament.
The President can dissolve the Parliament, suspend any law with a power of prohibition.
All three are the heads of the armies and they also have control of nuclear weapons.
6. PM Modi receives first Lata Mangeshkar Award
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi was conferred with the first Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar Award for his selfless service to the nation and society at the 80th Annual Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award ceremony in Mumbai.
Addressing the award ceremony, Modi said that he dedicates this award to all the citizens of the country.
The award has been Established in the memory of Bharat Ratna Lata Mangeshkar.
The Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award aims to honour stalwarts in the fields of music, drama, art, medicine and social work.
Every year this award will be given to a person who has made outstanding, brilliant and extraordinary achievements for the country, its citizens and society.
This award will be given in the memory of Master Dinanathji who was a singer, composer and theatre artist, his significant contribution in the field of music has been a source of inspiration for the people of India.
The Dinanath Mangeshkar Memorial Award was organised in his honour by the Mangeshkar family.
7. Suman Bery appointed NITI Aayog vice-chairman
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After the resignation of Rajiv Kumar, the Government of India appointed Suman K Berry as the vice- Chairman of NITI Aayog.
Bery will take charge from May 1, 2022.
Kumar will be relieved on 30 March 2022.
Noted economist Kumar took over as the Vice Chairman of NITI Aayog in August 2017.
Berry previously served as the Director General (Chief Executive) of the National Council of Applied Economic Research, New Delhi.
He has also been a member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister, the Statistical Commission and the Technical Advisory Committee of the Reserve Bank of India on Monetary Policy.
Berry has also served as Director General of the National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER) from 2001 to 2011.
about NITI Aayog
It is the premier policy think tank of the Government of India, it provides directional and policy inputs.
It designs strategic and long-term policies.
It also provides relevant technical advice to the Centre, States, and Union Territories.
The Governing Council of NITI Aayog is chaired by the Prime Minister and includes the Chief Ministers of all the States and Union Territories and the Lieutenant Governors of other Union Territories.
It was constituted on January 1, 2015.
NITI stands for National Institution for Transforming India.
The Government of India constituted the NITI Aayog to replace the Planning Commission, which was set up in 1950.
This step was taken to better meet the needs and aspirations of the people.
8. Pomila Jaspal 1st woman Director (Finance) at ONGC
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Pomila Jaspal has been appointed as the first woman director (finance) of the country's leading oil and gas producer ONGC.
Prior to this appointment, Pomila Jaspal was a subsidiary of ONGC, Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) as Director (Finance).
Pomila Jaspal has been appointed as the second woman Executive Director in ONGC Company. One, Alka Mittal who serves as the Acting Chairperson and Managing Director of the company as well as the Director of Human Resources.
She will replace Subhash Kumar.
Pomila Jaspal joined ONGC in 1985 as a Finance and Accounts Officer.
About ONGC
—ONGC is owned by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.
—Founded- 14 August 1956.
—--Headquarters- New Delhi.
—-Chairman & MD- Alka Mittal
—--Full Form - Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited
9. Ajay Kumar Sood appointed Principal Scientific Advisor
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Physicist Ajay Kumar Sood of the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bangalore has been appointed as new Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the government.
He succeeds Prof. K. VijayRaghavan.
Dr. Sood is member of the Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC) and a physicist known for his work on graphene.
Mr Vijay Raghavan was appointed PSA in 2018 and played a key role in vaccine and drug development as well as pandemic management.
His term ended in 2021 but was given an extension.
About Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA)
—The Office of the PSA coordinates with several ministries and advises the government in science and technology policies and interventions that are of strategic socio-economic importance.
–It also advises institutions, academia and industry.
–The PM-STIAC is one of the catalysts for such tasks.
–This body has nine major missions - Natural Language Translation, Quantum Frontier, Artificial Intelligence, National Biodiversity Mission, Electric Vehicles, Bio–science for Human Health, Waste to Wealth, Deep Ocean Exploration, Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations (AGNIi).
10. Government appoints Lt Gen Manoj C Pande as next Chief of Army Staff
Tags: National Popular Defence Person in news
Presently Deputy Chief of Army Staff Lt Gen Manoj C Pandey has been appointed by the Government as the next Chief of Army Staff.
His appointment to the post will be effective from the afternoon of April 30, 2022.
Born on May 06, 1962, Lt Gen Manoj C Pande was commissioned on December 24, 1982 in the Corps of Engineers (The Bombay Sappers) of the Indian Army.
During his long and distinguished service spanning over 39 years, he has served in a variety of Command, Staff and Instructional appointments.
The Command appointments of Lt Gen Manoj C Pande include Command of an Engineer Brigade in the Western Theatre, as part of Strike Corps and an Infantry Brigade along with Line-of-Control in Jammu & Kashmir.
Other important Command appointments include a Mountain Division in the high-altitude area of the Western Ladakh and Command of a Corps, deployed along the LAC and in the Counter Insurgency Operations area of Eastern Command.
