Table of Contents
PMO
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that awareness about atrocities against
women and a sense of responsibility can help rid society of social evils.
• Mr Modi said, the government has recently made stringent amendments in laws
dealing with crimes against women.
• India is marching ahead from women’s development to women-led development.
• He added the Government has given important portfolios to women and it has
always been an effort to give equal opportunity to women.
• MUDRA: 70% beneficiaries of schemes are women.
• Government has distributed free gas connections to nearly 9.5 lakh poor
women in Karnataka under the Ujjwala scheme.
• 4,00,000 free health check-up camps have been organised under Surakshit Matritwa
Yojana.
• Mr Modi said under Mission Indradhanush free vaccination of nearly 10 lakh women
and children was done in the state.
GST Council
• GST Council today unveiled a new simplified tax return system.
• Under it, a taxpayer has to file only one return every month.
• 27th GST Council meeting in New Delhi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said,
software for the new system will take six months to get fully operational.
• Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said, the current arrangement of filing of GST
returns will continue till the new system is in place.
• It will reduce the burden of compliance on the GST dealers.
• It will improve tax collections by the government.
• It will make life much easier for most of the dealers who are registered with
government.
• This will really make GST system more effective.
• Government has decided to take 100 percent ownership of GST network is very
important because lot of important data now resides in the GST network.
• Imposition of cess on sugar.
• Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the GST Council took note of the prevailing distress
in the sector where farmers are facing a tough situation as the cost of sugar is
more than its market price.
• Separate group of five ministers within the next two weeks would make a
recommendation to the council as to what are the avenues of raising revenue to meet
contingencies of this kind where the cost of commodity higher that its selling price
and therefore farmers is in stress and which are the cases which can be this made
applicable, on a mater of principal exempt.
President
• President Ramnath Kovind has said that there is an urgent need for more medical colleges
to provide quality education in the country.
• 67,000 medical seats are available for undergraduate courses.
• He said there is a big gap between engineering and medical courses.
• The President said medical challenges in the country can be sorted out with a three pronged
strategy, which would basically focus on promotion of good health practices and finding out ways to cope with communicable and noncommunicable diseases.
MEA
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will embark on a two-day visit to Nepal from 11th of
this month.
• This will be his third visit to Nepal.
• He will hold talks with Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli, call on the President and the
Vice President of Nepal, and interact with senior leaders of various political parties.
• Mr Modi will also visit the historic cities of Janakpur and Muktinath.
USA-NK
• US President Donald Trump today said that a date and venue for his landmark summit
with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un have been decided, and will shortly be
made public.
• He told reporters that the US had very substantive talks with North Korea and a
lot of things have already happened with respect to the hostages.
• Mr. Trump recently hinted at imminent news about three Americans being
detained in North Korea.
President
• President Ramnath Kovind has said that he was impressed to see more girls becoming
achievers in the field of education.
• If one educates a daughter it will equate to educating two families.
• Recalling the contribution of Sikh community in developing Tamil Nadu, he
told that pioneering cricketer late A.G.Ram Singh had migrated from
Amritsar to Chennai over hundred years ago and two of his sons Milkha Singh and
Kripal Singh were mentored in Chennai.
• The President appreciated the students of the Guru Nanak College for their
commendable service during the floods in Chennai.
• The purpose of education is to give back for the betterment of the Society.
• Earlier, addressing students at the post centenary diamond jubilee celebrations of
University of Madras President Ramnath Kovind said that this university was a
mother of all universities as it produced six former Presidents, the first Governor
General C. Raja Gopalachari, Chief Justices, and stalwarts like Sarojini Naidu
and Durgabai Deshmukh.
• Appreciating the students who won medals and graduated, the President said
that the alumni of this prestigious institution spread all over the globe
should contribute for the development of the Institution.
• Mr. Kovind said that new field of robotics, genomics, bio informatics have also been
given an impetus by the Government.
• We’re looking to become a developed society, and to urgently eliminating
poverty as well as ensuring health care, education, housing and energy access for
all of our people.
Union Road Transport, Highways and River Development Minister
• Nitin Gadkari today asked Maharastra, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh states to
come forward for development of waterways on River Godavari and
sanctioned 2000 crore rupees initially.
• He sought proposals for development of extension to the National Water Ways – No
4 on River Godavari from Bhadrachalam to down below and link it with River Krishna.
• He asked these states to join hands for forming a Special Purpose Vehicle and
pool up 10 per cent of total cost so that the Center will get funding at low interest
rate.
• As the water ways development has lot of untapped potential, he suggested the
Godavari riparian states to join hands to develop waterways and link it with River
Krishna so that goods transportation will become easy to these states.
• Referring to water wars between the states, he asked the states especially
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and the two Telugu States make use of the huge quantum of
water from Godavari that is getting wasted into the sea.
Vice President
• M.Venkaiah Naidu has left on week long, three-nation tour to Guatemala, Panama
and Peru.
• During his first leg of the tour, he will visit Guatemala tomorrow and day after.
• This will be followed by a visit to Panama on 8th and 9th of May and Peru on 10th
and 11th.
• Mr Naidu is accompanied by a high level delegation which include Minister of State
for Tribal Affairs Jashwant Sinh Bhabhore, four Members of Parliament and senior
government officials.
• The visit will seek co-operation in strategic areas, including space, telematic tracking,
satellite fabrication, science and technology, including biotechnology.
• India is also looking forward to enhancement of commercial and economic
profile, particularly in the areas of pharmaceuticals, equipment’s of medical,
mining, engineering and automobile and infrastructure.
• Mr Naidu will also meet the countries’ leadership during his visit.
NASA
• NASA today blasted off its latest Mars lander, Insight, designed to perch on the
surface ahead of eventual human missions to explore the Red Planet.
• The spacecraft was launched atop an Atlas V rocket at 1635 hrs (IST) from
Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
• The 993 million dollar project aims to expand human knowledge of interior
conditions on Mars, inform efforts to send human explorers there, and reveal how
rocky planets like the Earth formed billions of years ago.
MEA
• External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj chaired a Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Panel
Discussion on ‘Indian Community Organisations Working for Indian Nationals
in Distressed Situation in New Delhi.
• Mrs Swaraj said, rescuing Indian diaspora from distress situation has become
purpose of her life.
• She said, present government’s engagement with the diaspora is
unparalleled.
• World has an image that Indians are good neighbors, hard working and law abiding.
Sujalam Sufalam Yojana-2018.
• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani performed ‘Shramdan’ and started the
work related to increasing the depth of the natural pond at New Racecourse in
Rajkot and named the pond as ‘Atal Sarovar’.
• 34 rivers will be revived as a part of the Sujalam Sufalam Yojana-2018 and an
approximate of 13 thousand small and large ponds will be made deeper and a
total length of 5000 kms of canals will be cleaned along with refitting of air valves.
• As many as 282 small and large ponds and check dams in 182 villages will preserve
water under this initiative.
Protests getting violent
• J&K government and opposition voices have united
• The incidence of stone pelting on Wednesday, where stone pelters enforcing
a bandh attacked a school bus carrying 50 students in Shopian.
• Rehan Gorsai, a class II student who suffered a frontal bone fracture when a
stone hit him on the head.
• Distressed father of 6-year-old said “This is not a human act. We need to keep our
children away from it. We need to guard our children.”
• J&K chief minister has said that the perpetrators of this “senseless and
cowardly act” will be brought to justice.
• Similar attacks on tourists in Anantnag • It’s being asked whether that amnesty has
emboldened goons to pelt more stones, now targeting not just security forces but
also tourists and children, dragging them pell-mell into Kashmir’s long political
conflict.
• Government and opposition and all other stakeholders have to redouble their
efforts to safeguard childhood in the Valley.
Extreme Weather
• The sand and thunder storms that hit swathes of western and northern parts of
the country on Wednesday proved particularly devastating for Uttar Pradesh
and Rajasthan.
• Excessive heating, availability of moisture and instability in the atmosphere were
factors that contributed to storm.
• Given that the average global temperatures are rising, there is a
likelihood such storms will recur with greater frequency and intensity.
• The Indian Meteorological Department has already projected that temperatures in
India will be anywhere between 0.5 degrees and 1 degree Centigrade higher
than last year.
• The enhanced likelihood of disaster calls for greater resilience and a robust
response mechanism.
• Better planning of cities and towns could perhaps prevent some of these losses of
human life and property.
• Local authorities have to be empowered and held accountable.
• Areas that are prone to high-velocity winds must shun high-rise buildings and
create wind-breaking barriers.
• Improved planning, appropriate materials for buildings and design interventions will
improve urban resilience.
• Local authorities must enhance disaster response, to minimize loss of life and
property.
• Mandatory insurance will focus minds.
1. When Congress leaders condemned the MontagueChelmsford
Report, many moderates left the party to form the:
1. Swaraj Party
2. Indian Freedom Party
3. Independence Federation of India
4. Indian Liberal Federation
2. Separate electorates for Muslims in India were introduced by which one of the following Acts?
1. Government of India 1909
2. Indian Councils Act 1892
3. Rowlatt Act 1919
4. Government of India Act 1935
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