Daily GK Potion – 17th to 19th February 2016

India joins China and Pakistan in multi-lateral exercises

A 12-member team of the Indian Army is participating in the “Cobra Gold” multilateral exercises being hosted by Thailand, along with its counterparts from China and Pakistan.
India has been invited to the exercises as an “observer plus” country.
The theme of the exercise, involving 35 countries, is humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. The 35th edition of the exercises, considered Asia’s largest multinational drill, started on January 20 and will end on February 18.

West Bengal government launched Utkarsh Bangla Scheme for school-dropouts

West Bengal government has launched Utkarsh Bangla Scheme, a welfare scheme for school-dropouts, in Kolkata.
Utkarsha Bangla is aimed at giving vocational training to school dropouts. Each youth will get training ranging from 400 to 1200 hours
The school-dropouts will be trained free of charge in tailoring, driving, repairing television and other electronic equipment and beauty courses etc.

Interest rate on small post office schemes cut by 0.25%

Labour Minister Bandaru Dattatreya announced an interim hike in interest rate on employees’ provident fund (PF) to 8.8% for 2015-16 fiscal from 8.75% previously.
With a view to align small saving interest rates with broadbased banking rates, the Finance Ministry said the 0.25% higher interest rate that post office savings of 1, 2 and 3 year term deposits,

SBI opens ‘Japan Desk’ in New Delhi

State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday launched ‘Japan Desk’, a first-of-its-kind initiative to facilitate Japanese corporates looking to invest here with banking and advisory services.
This SBI Japan Desk will serve as an one-point comprehensive and reliable information support source for India-bound investments of Japanese companies.
SBI aims to be the window for inbound Japanese investments in India and vice-versa.
The Japan Desk — to be based in New Delhi — will facilitate in the establishment of banking relationship with Japanese corporates and Japanese nationals, provide information on industries, sectors etc.

Government gives in-principle approval for LIGO-India project

Days after the discovery of gravitational waves, the government today gave an “in-principle approval” for establishing a state-of-the-art LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory) project in the country.
The LIGO-India project will establish a state-of-the-art gravitational wave observatory in India in collaboration with the LIGO Laboratory in the US, run by Caltech and MIT.
The project will bring unprecedented opportunities for scientists and engineers to dig deeper into the realm of gravitational wave and take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier.

Proposal for ratifying trade facilitation agreement of WTO approved by Cabinet

India has sought five years to make legislative changes required to implement the trade facilitation agreement of the World Trade Organization
The trade facilitation agreement (TFA), which is part of the WTO’s Bali ministerial package of 2013, contains provisions for expediting movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit.
It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues.
TFA will come into force after it is formally accepted by two-thirds of WTO members. Till now, 69 countries of the 162 WTO members have ratified this pact.

‘Make in India Week’ gets Rs 15.2 lakh crore investment commitments

The week-long Make in India event here has secured investment commitments worth Rs 15.2 lakh crore, with host state Maharashtra alone accounting for Rs 8 lakh crore.
Out of the total commitment pie, 30 per cent have come from foreign players.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had on February 13 inaugurated the maiden Make in India Week at the MMRDA Grounds at BKC in Central Mumbai.
Over 2,500 international and 8,000 domestic companies are claimed to have participated in the week-long multi- sectoral industrial event, apart foreign government delegations from 68 countries and business teams from 72 nations.

Amit Mitra named chairman of GST committee of state FMs

West Bengal Finance Minister Amit Mitra was today named the new chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST)
He will succeed Kerala Finance Minister K M Mani who had to resign in November over corruption charges.
Mitra, an economist who for long was Secretary General of industry association Ficci before joining politics in 2011 and becoming a minister in the TMC government in West Bengal, was elected at the meeting of state finance ministers that was also attended by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
He will be the second chairman of the panel, which is tasked with framing rules for roll out of the ambitious GST regime, which will subsume all indirect taxes and create one national market, from West Bengal.

Read previous: « Daily GK Potion – 16th February 2016
Read next : Daily GK Potion – 20th January 2016 ››