Current Affairs 30th December 2016

Current Affairs 30th December 2016 - Important Points

• Government meets PMUY target of 1.5 crore - LPG Connections
• Name the world’s highest bridge which opened in China - Beipanjiang Bridge
• CBDT inks 2 unilateral APAs with – Taxpayers
• Which country passes FARC amnesty law – Colombia

 Current Affairs 30th December 2016 - Details

Government meets PMUY target of 1.5 crore - LPG Connections

Among Important National Current Affairs, The Union Ministry for Petroleum & Natural Gas has met about 1.5-crore target for LPG connections that were to be added under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) in the 2016-17 financial year. 

However, this Target was achieved within a span of less than eight months since the launch of the scheme which is implemented across 35 States/UTs.

Name the world’s highest bridge which opened in China - Beipanjiang Bridge

Among Important International Current Affairs, the world’s highest bridge has opened to traffic in China, which is connecting two provinces in the mountainous southwest and reducing travel times by as much as three-quarters. 

According to the official website, the Beipanjiang Bridge soars 565 metres (1,854 feet), which is above a river and connects the two mountainous provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou, the Guizhou provincial transport department. 

CBDT inks 2 unilateral APAs with – Taxpayers

Among Important National Current Affairs, The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has signed two unilateral Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with Indian taxpayers pertain to the Information Technology and automobile sectors too. 

However, the international transactions which are covered in these two agreements include software development services; IT enabled services (ITES), manufacturing and business support services. 

Now with this, the total number of APAs signed by the CBDT has reached 117. This includes 110 Unilateral APAs and 7 bilateral APAs. 

Also in the current 2016-17 financial year, total of 53 APAs (4 bilateral and 49 unilateral) were signed.

Which country passes FARC amnesty law – Colombia

Among Important International Current Affairs, Colombia’s Congress passed a law granting amnesty to Marxist FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) rebels as part of historic peace deal, which reached between rebels and Government. 

However, the Senate passed the bill 69-0 votes after the House of Representatives approved it by 121-0 votes. 

Also, this is another step to formally end to 52 years of Columbian civil war (Latin America’s longest conflict). 

Here, the law grants special legal treatment, amnesty and pardons to members of the FARC accused of political and related crimes. It does not apply to FARC rebels accused of offenses such as war crimes, rape, torture and extrajudicial killings.