1. Second border haat opens in Sipahijala district
of Tripura
i. The second
border haat (rural market) was opened for common people at Kamalasagar in
Sipahijala district of Tripura bordering Brahmanbaria district of Bangladesh.
ii. The haat was
jointly inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bangladesh
counterpart Sheikh Hasina by video-conferencing from Dhaka on June 6, 2015.
This market is set up at the zero line of the international border with one
part on the Indian side and the other in Bangladesh.
iii. Initially it
will facilitate bilateral trade of 16 shortlisted locally produced goods. These
goods include agricultural and horticultural crops, spices, minor forest
products excluding timber, fish and dry fish, dairy and poultry products,
cottage industry items, wooden furniture, handloom and handicraft items.
iv. People residing
within a distance of 5 km from along the border are entitled to do business at
the haat which will take place once in a week initially. No local taxes
would be levied on the goods sold in the haats and currencies of both the
countries would prevail.
v. First border
haat was inaugurated on Srinagar- Purba border area in January 2015 by Union
Commerce and Industries Minister Nirmala along with her Bangladeshi counterpart
Tofail ahmed.
2. Renewable energy targets quadruple globally in 10
years: IRENA
i. IRENA is an
intergovernmental organization to promote adoption and sustainable use of
renewable energy. It is a global hub for renewable energy cooperation and
information exchange within its member nations.
ii. The
International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) has announced that in past one
decade renewable energy targets have quadruple globally.
iii.
It was mentioned IRENA Renewable Energy Target Setting report which was
released by IRENA Director-General Adnan Z. Amin on the side lines of IRENA’s
9th Council meeting in Dubai.
iv. As per report,
164 countries have adopted at least one type of renewable energy target
compared to 43 countries in 2005. All nations are adopting renewable energy
targets to meet multiple objectives including energy security, environmental
sustainability and socio-economic benefits.
v. The majority of
150 countries have focused committed renewable energy targets on the
electricity sector The numbers of countries setting renewable targets for the
heating and cooling sector have increased to 47 from 2 countries in 2005.
3. RBI allows NRIs to subscribe chit funds
i. Reserve Bank of
Indian has allowed non-resident Indians (NRIs) to invest in chit fund to
encourage flow of capital into the country. Decision in this regard was taken
after RBI had revised the extant guidelines for subscription to the chit funds
in consultation with the government.
ii. Henceforth,
NRIs on non-repatriation basis will be allowed to invest in chit fund without
any ceiling. However, the subscription to the chit funds by NRIs will be
mandatorily brought in through normal banking channel, including through an
account maintained with a bank in India.
iii. The state
government may permit any chit fund to accept subscription from NRIs on
non-repatriation basis. It will be permitted by the registrar of chits or an
officer authorized by the state government in accordance with the provisions of
the Chit Fund Act, 1982.
iv. Earlier in May
2000, RBI had barred NRIs from investing in a company or firms engaged in the
business of chit fund. Apart from this decision, RBI also extended the scheme
allowing airline companies to raise external commercial borrowings (ECB) for
working capital as a permissible end-use under the approval route. Now,
the ECB scheme will continue till March 31, 2016.
4. Legendary actor Sir Christopher Lee passes away
i. Legendary
English actor, singer and writer Sir Christopher Lee passed away in London,
United Kingdom. He was 93. The veteran actor was famously known as the master
of horror for his famous villainy acting roles in numerous movies such as
Dracula, The Wicker Man, James Bond, Lord of the Rings trilogy etc.
ii. Christopher Lee
was born in London in 1922 Film career: His on screen acting career began in
1947 after he had the Rank Organisation where he was trained as an actor. His
career spanned more than 7 decades. His famous acting roles include Francisco
Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Saruman in The Lord of the
Rings film trilogy (2001–2003), The Hobbit film trilogy (2012–2014), Count
Dooku Star Wars trilogy (2002 and 2005) and Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008).
iii. He also is
known for his best performance portraying of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali
Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). Music career: Lee was also known for his
singing ability. He had recorded various opera and musical pieces between 1986
and 1998.
iv. He also had
recorded symphonic metal album Charlemagne: By the Sword and the Cross in 2010
after he had worked with several metal bands since 2005. Awards and Honours: He
was knighted in 2009 for services to drama and charity and was awarded the
Bafta fellowship in 2011 and Spirit of Metal award (2010)
5. Union Government scraps import duties on AIDS
drugs and test kits
i. Union Government
has scrapped customs import duties for drugs and test kits used to treat Human
immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immune deficiency syndrome
(HIV/AIDS).
ii. In this regard
Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has issued a notice that will remain
in effect till March 2016. This decision will help to cut prices of AIDS drugs
across the country and thus help directly in Government’s national program to
fight the disease.
iii. It will also
make import raw materials that are used to make antiretrovirals under the
national program cheaper. This tax exemption will be applicable to certain
first-line and second-line antiretroviral drugs which are used to treat adults
and children.
iv. Apart from
drugs certain diagnostic kits and equipment are also exempted from tax. In
India more than 2.1 million HIV/AIDS patients are provided with daily
antiretrovirals for free from state-run distribution centres which are operated
by National AIDS Control Organisation (NACO).
6. C.S Verma steps down as SAIL CMD
i. State-owned SAIL
on Thursday said C. S. Verma had relinquished the charge as Chairman and
Managing Director on completion of his tenure and Steel Secretary Rakesh Singh
has assumed the charge till a regular incumbent is appointed.
ii. Mr. Verma was
appointed CMD of the country’s largest steel producer for a 5-year term in June
2010 by the previous UPA government, and was eligible for an extension till he
attained the superannuation age of 60 years in September 2019.
iii. The
government’s not extending his tenure to the top job makes him the first
‘Maharatna’ PSU head to be denied an extension during the current NDA regime.
7. TCS, Infosys face US probe for H-1B visa
violations
i. The US
government has opened an investigation against two of the biggest Indian
outsourcing companies for possible violations of H1-B visa rules, according to
a media report.
ii. The Department
of Labour has opened the investigation against Tata Consultancy Services and
Infosys for possible violations of rules for visas for foreign technology
workers under contracts they held with an electric utility Southern California
Edison
iii. The power
company had recently laid off more than 500 technology workers amid claims that
many of those laid off were made to train their replacements who were
immigrants on the temporary work visas brought in by the Indian firms
iv. The move by the
Labour Department comes days after the NYT had reported that hundreds of
employees at entertainment giant Walt Disney were laid off and replaced with
Indians holding H1-B visas.