INTERNATIONAL

· California Surpasses UK to Become World’s 5th Largest Economy

US state California’s economy surpassed that of the UK to become the world’s fifth largest, according to new federal data released.
With a GDP of $2.7 trillion, California is now only behind the US, China, Japan, and Germany.
The UK and India are next on the list, followed by France, Brazil, and Italy respectively.
Despite having a population of only 40 million compared with the UK’s 65 million people, California’s gross domestic product of $2.7tn has overtaken the UK’s $2.6tn.

First organised census for Indus dolphins to be carried out in India

For the conservation of Indus dolphins – one of the world’s rarest mammals – the Punjab government along with WWF-India are conducting the first organised census on their population.

Found only in India and Pakistan, the Indus dolphins are confined to only a 185 km stretch between Talwara and Harike Barrage in India’s Beas river in Punjab.

Officials from the Department of Forests and Wildlife Preservation, Punjab and WWF-India are currently working in two teams and will come to an estimate regarding the dolphin population over the five-day exercise.

· CBDT approves Amendment of India-Kuwait Tax Agreement

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)notified the protocol amending the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) between India and Kuwait.
The protocol updates the provisions in the DTAA for the exchange of information as per international standards, and also enables sharing of information received from Kuwait for tax purposes with other law enforcement agencies, subject to an authorization of the competent authority of Kuwait and vice versa.

NATIONAL

National Conference of 244 selected Districts under Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

The Ministry of Women and Child Development organized National Conference with the Nodal Officers of 244 Districts, State Nodal Officers and Senior Officers.

Smt Maneka Sanjay Gandhi, the Union Minister for Women and Child Development inaugurated the event and interacted with 244 new districts with low Child Sex Ratio(CSR), from 25 States/ UTs.

Addressing the Conference, the WCD Minister highlighted the need to involve various stakeholders and join hands for achieving the goals of BBBP.

The Minister highlighted need for training of women sarpanches in every district for achieving goals of BBBP.

ADB projects India’s growth at 7.3% in 2018

Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao said India’s growth in 2018 would pick up to 7.3%.

China is expected to grow by 6.6% in 2018, even as its growth continues to gradually moderate.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations region, with a large population of 650 million, is continuing to grow at 5.2%.

· Social Justice Ministry Organised Cochlear Implant Awareness Programme

The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)under Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment organized a ‘Cochlear Implant Awareness Programme’ at Huda Convention Centre in Faridabad, Haryana.
The Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Krishan Pal Gurjar was the Chief Guest in the programme.
Under the Assistance to Disabled persons (ADIP) scheme of the DEPwD, there is a provision for Cochlear Implant surgeries of hearing impaired children up to the age of 5 years at the cost of Rs 6.00 Lakhs per unit.

· Skill India Organized ‘Ajeevika And Kaushal Vikas Mela’ In Bhubaneswar

Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE)and Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), together joined hands to amplify the “Gram Swaraj Abhiyaan” of the current incumbent government which is promoting social harmony and awareness around the pro-poor initiatives of the government.
MSDE organized a Kaushal and Rojgar Mela at New Women’s College in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, where more than 5000 people from different walks of life participated.
More than 29 states of art multi-skill ‘Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendras’was also launched digitally across the country by Union Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan.

· Reserve Bank of India Announced Rs10,000 Crore Bond Purchases

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI)announced that it would buy Rs. 10,000 crore ($1.50 billion) of government bonds via open market operation (OMO), after failing to sell all the debt it had offered to bidders.
The 10-year government bond yield rose to 7.75% from 7.74% before the auction result was announced. The eligible participants should submit their offers in electronic format on the Reserve Bank of India Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system.

GST Council approves turning GSTN into a government entity

The GST Council has approved making GST Network (GSTN) a government entity by taking over stakes held by private entities, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said at the end of the 27th meeting of the council.

Jaitley said the GST Network or GSTN currently is 24.5 per cent owned by the central government and a similar percentage is held by state governments collectively. The remaining 51 per cent is with five private financial institutions — HDFC Ltd, HDFC Bank Ltd, ICICI Bank Ltd, NSE Strategic Investment Co and LIC Housing Finance Ltd.

The council has agreed to a proposal of buying out the stake of private entities to make GSTN a government-owned entity, he said adding the central government will own 50 per cent and the remaining would be collectively held by state governments.

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