Current Affairs 14th April 2017

Current Affairs 14th April 2017 - Important Points

• President Pranab Mukherjee gives approval - to four GST related legislations
• Mother of All Bombs dropped by US on ISIS Caves in - Afghanistan 
• Mukulita Vijayawargiya takes charge as - Full Time Member of IBBI
• BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app launched by - PM Narendra Modi
• 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar observed nationwide on - 14th April 2017

Current Affairs 14th April 2017 - Details

President Pranab Mukherjee gives approval - to four GST related legislations

President Pranab Mukherjee gave his approval to four supporting legislations related to Goods and Services Tax, GST on 13th April 2017.  Now it will be one-nation-one-tax regime from 1st July 2017. 

These four legislations are the Integrated GST Act 2017, GST (Compensation to States) Act 2017, Central GST Act 2017 and Union Territory GST Act, 2017. These GST bills were passed in Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha on 6th April 2017 and 29th March 2017 respectively.

 More about the four legislations of the GST

• The Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017 provides the levy of the Central Goods and Services 
• Tax by the Union Government on the supply of goods and services within the boundary of a state.
• Integrated GST Act, 2017 deals with the levy of Integrated Goods and Services Tax by the Union Government on the inter-state supply of services and goods.
• Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017 provides for compensation to the states for the loss of revenue (if any), which arises on account of implementation of Goods and Services Tax.
• Union Territory GST Act, 2017 makes a provision for levy and collection of tax on intra-state supply of services and goods or both by the Union Territories.

 Mother of All Bombs dropped by US on ISIS Caves in - Afghanistan 

The United States dropped its largest non-nuclear bomb ever deployed in combat on an Islamic State tunnel complex in eastern Afghanistan on 13th April 2017. The bomb was dropped around 7 PM local time in Afghanistan.

Key Highlights

• Pentagon spokesman Adam Stump,stated, “a GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb (MOAB), nicknamed Mother of All Bombs, was dropped on a tunnel complex of ISIS-Khorasan, a regional affiliate of the terror group, in Achin district of Afghanistan's Nanagarh province.”
• MC-130 aircraft dropped the bomb, operated by the Air Force Special Operations Command.
• President Donald Trump praised the military for the bombing and called it a successful mission.
• White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer stated that the US took all necessary precautions to prevent civilian casualities and collateral damage as a result of the operation.
• It is a GPS-guided 21600-pound munition that is America's most powerful non-nuclear bomb.

 Mukulita Vijayawargiya takes charge as - Full Time Member of IBBI

Mukulita Vijayawargiya took charge as full Time Member of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) in New Delhi on 13th April 2017. She will look after Administrative Law Wing of IBBI,Information Technology, Limited Insolvency Examination, National Insolvency Examination, Finance and Accounts and Communication. 

Interesting Highlights

• Vijayawargiya has an experience of 35 years in various fields of law. She has been associated with drafting of more than 100 legislative proposals in the legislative department. 
• She was a member of Bankruptcy Law Reforms Committee (BLRC) earlier. It was BLRC itself based on which, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was framed. 
• She played an important role in drafting the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 as an additional Secretary in the Legislative Department of the Union Ministry of Law & Justice. 
• She has also served as a member of Indian Legal Service.

BHIM-Aadhaar Pay app launched by - PM Narendra Modi

Prime Minister Modi at the 126th birth anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar on 14th August 2017, launched BHIM-Aadhaaar app for merchants in Nagpur. He also launched cash back and referral bonus schemes for BHIM and declared about 75 townships spread all over India as ‘less-cash townships’. 

The initiatives were launched with an aim to digitize payments revolution in India. It also reinforces the vision of Baba Saheb for social empowerment of all through financial inclusion.

Details 

• BHIM-Aadhaar, the merchant interface of the BHIM App will help in making digital payments by using the Aadhaar platform.
• This will enable every Indian citizen to pay digitally using their biometric data like their thumb imprint on a merchants’ biometric-enabled device and that device could be smart phone having a biometric reader.
• Any citizen without access to smart phones, the internet, debit or credit cards will be able to transact digitally through this platform.

 126th Birth Anniversary of Dr Bhim Rao Ambedkar observed nationwide on - 14th April 2017

 The 126th birth anniversary of Dr Babasaheb Bhim Rao Ambedkar, also known as Ambedkar Jayanti , was observed across the India on 14th April 2017. He was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer who inspired the Modern Buddhist Movement and also known as the father and architect of the Indian Constitution.

More about Dr B R Ambedkar

• B R Ambedkar was born to a Mahar (dalit) caste family on 14th April 1891 in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh. 
• He completed his school from Elphinstone High School and then pursued a degree in economics and political science from Elphinstone College, University of Mumbai.
• He completed his Masters in Economics (Major) at Columbia University and Doctor of Science in Economics from London with the help of a scholarship.
• He brought the law for reservation in India for the lower caste communities.