1. ‘Dhan wapsi’ Income Declaration Scheme for domestic black money to commence from June 01
i. The central has announced its amnesty scheme for declaring domestic black money would start from june 1st.
ii. Individuals willing to declare their black money in the country will have to pay tax and a penalty, totaling 45 per cent, to come clean.
iii. It will remain in force till 30th of September. The declarations can be filed online or with the Principal Commissioners of Income-tax. The scheme is part of Finance Act, 2016 which seeks to provide an opportunity to all persons who have not declared their income correctly in previous years to come forward and declare their undisclosed incomes.
2. Union Minister J P Nadda Lays Foundation Stone For Three Medical Colleges In Jammu & Kashmir
i. Union Health and Family Welfare Minister J P Nadda laid the foundation stone for three new medical colleges at Rajouri, Anantnag and Baramulla districts in Jammu and Kashmir.
ii. As per the Nadda, total outlay of Rs 189 crore for each college, the three new Medical colleges will add 300 MBBS seats per year in the States with 100 seats per College.
iii. In addition, the medical infrastructure in the districts will be strengthened with addition of a 300 bed facility attached to each college.
3. India Post Goes High-Tech, Geo-Tags Post Offices On Bhuvan
i. The postal department of India, India Post is going high tech by geo tagging the post office on Bhuvan and has begun monitoring timely clearance of the letter boxes through a mobile app.
ii. The portal is developed by Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and will help to provide visualization services and earth observation data to users in public domain.
iii. The initiative is the part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s drive to use space technology by various departments of the government. Under this initiative, the Geo-tagging will help people to find the nearest post office, their services and timings.
4. Centre Approves Proposal To Set Up Kalinganagar National Investment Manufacturing Zone
i. The Centre has approved the Odisha Government’s proposal to set up Kalinganagar National Investment and Manufacturing Zone in Jajpur district.
ii. The Zone will be a mega industrial zone having a world-class township to cater to the needs of the investors.
iii. This is the third Investment and Manufacturing Zone of India involving a massive area of 163 sqr km. According to reports, the project is expected to invite 1 lakh Cr. rupees investment and generate 1 lakh 50 thousand direct jobs.
5. WPI inflation positive for 1st time in 18 months
i. Wholesale prices rose for the first time in 18 months, posting an annual gain of 0.34 per cent, driven up by higher costs for food and manufactured items, as per the government data.
ii. The data compared with a 0.20 per cent annual decline forecast by economists in a Reuters poll. In March, prices fell a provisional 0.85 per cent.
iii. Wholesale food prices last month rose 4.23 per cent year-on-year, compared with a provisional 3.73 per cent gain in March. Prices of manufactured goods increased 0.71 per cent year on year in April.
6. India successfully tests interceptor missile
i. India successfully test fired its indigenously developed supersonic interceptor missile on Sunday off the Odisha coast.
ii. The missile is capable of destroying hostile ballistic missile and will help in strengthening India’s Missile Defence System.
iii. The interceptor is a single stage solid rocket propelled guided missile equipped with its own mobile launcher and a hi-tech computer among others.
7. BHEL wins Rs 1,600-cr order from the joint venture of NTPC and SAIL
i. Bharat Heavy Electrical Limited (BHEL), a state run engineering firm has won a rs. 1,600 crore order from a joint venture company of National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to set up a coal based thermal power project in Odisha.
ii. As per the company, It has got the rs. 1,600 crore order for Stage III of the brownfield power project, located in Rourkela district of Odisha has been placed on BHEL by NTPC-SAIL Power Company (NSPCL).
iii. This thermal unit will be set up on engineering, procurement & construction (EPC) basis and the other key equipment for the project will be manufactured by the other plants of BHEL.
8. India and Bangladesh power ties with 21st-century nuclear deal
i. India and Bangladesh has concluded a nuclear agreement with each other to engage the bilateral neighborhood relationship.
ii. The nuclear agreement has signed between the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Bangladesh department of science and technology.
iii. The Indian nuclear deal will equip and train Bangladesh to import their first nuclear power plant from Russia. It’s a very big deal for Bangladesh and almost unique for India. Basically, once all these projects like power transmission line, power plant, supply of lpg etc kick in, Bangladesh could be well on its way to becoming a middle-income country in a decade.
9. United Nations to honour 4 Indian peacekeepers and a civilian
i. Four Indian peacekeepers and a civilian will be honoured with the Dag Hammarskjold Medal on the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers (May 19) by United Nations.
ii. They have died while serving on peacekeeping missions last year. Those awardee name are Head Constable Shubhkaran Yadav, Rifleman Manish Malik, Havildar Amal Deka, Naik Rakesh Kumar and Gagan Punjabi.
iii. These Indian will be honoured along with other 124 military, police, and civilian personnel with a prestigious U.N. medal awarded posthumously for their courage and sacrifice. As, last year, 129 peacekeepers from 46 countries lost their lives in the line of duty.
10. UR Rao becomes first Indian to be awarded IAF’s ‘Hall of Fame’ Award
i. Former ISRO Chairman and space scientist Prof Udupi Ramachandra Rao became the first Indian to be given ‘Hall of Fame’ Award by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
ii. Mr. Rao has been selected for the prestigious award for his outstanding contribution to the progress of astronautics within the framework of the IAF activities.
iii. He will receive the award at the 67th International Astronautical Congress to be held in Guadalajara, Mexico in September 2016.
11. Justice Mudgal to head FIFA governance committee
i. Former IPL spot-fixing probe head, Justice Mukul Mudgal has been appointed as the Deputy Chairman of FIFA’s governance committee. ii. Former European Court of Justice Advocate General, Portugal’s Luis Miguel Maduro will head the governance committee and the International Review Committee alongside Mudgal.
iii. Earlier Mudgal was also appointed by the Asian Football Federation in a similar role.
12. Former Test cricketer Deepak Shodhan passes away
i. Deepak Shodhan, India’s oldest Test cricketer and the 2nd Indian to score a memorable test century in his debut innings, has passed away due to a heart attack at his residence in Ahmedabad. He was also suffering from lung cancer. He was 87 year old.
ii. Shodhan was a left handed batsman and bowler and became famous after making a century on Test debut against Pakistan at the Eden Gardens, Calcutta in December 1952.
iii. Shodhan played three Tests, scored 181 runs, ave. 60.33 and 43 first class matches and scored 1802 runs and took 73 wickets bowling left arm spin. He has announced his retirement in 1961.
13. Celina honoured by Harvey Milk Foundation
i. Actress Celina Jaitly has been honoured by the Harvey Milk Foundation for her contribution to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) equality as a United Nations Equality Champion.
ii. She dedicated her award to the two Bangladeshi LGBT activists who were recently murdered.
iii. Notably, the foundation commemorates Harvey Milk, America’s first openly gay person to be elected to public office.
14. Indian eves clinch silver at Asian Squash C’ship
i. Indian women’s squash team have won the Silver medal in the Asian Team squash Championships.
ii. In the final played at Taipei in Chinese Taipei, they lost to Malaysia by a 0-2 margin.
iii. India’s performance was better than their bronze-medal finish in the earlier edition of the championship.
15. Andy Murray lifts his maiden Rome Masters title
i. Andy Murray defeated Novak Djokovic on clay for the first time to win the Italian Open Men’s Singles Tennis title.
ii. The third-ranked Murray defeated the top-ranked Djokovic 6-3, 6-3. This was also his first ever victory against the Serbian on clay.
iii. It’s Murray’s first title in Rome and it comes exactly a week before the French Open begins. During the trophy ceremony, Murray was presented with a birthday cake as it was his 29th birthday. The only other British man to win the tournament was Pat Hughes in 1931.
16. Serena Williams wins her 1st title in 9 months
i. American professional tennis player, Serena Williams defeated compatriot Madison Keys 7-6(7-5), 6-3 to win her fourth Rome Masters title and the first title in last nine months.
ii. Williams, who last won a title in Cincinnati in August, took an hour and 24 minutes to dispatch the 21-year-old to win the 70th career title in her 89th final.
17. Sudha breaks 3,000m steeplechase national record
i. Rio Olympics qualified sprinter, Sudha Singh set a new national record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase category by clocking 9 minutes and 26.55 seconds in the IAAF Diamond League race in Shanghai.
ii. The 2010 Asian Games gold medallist broke the 9 minutes and 27.09 seconds national record timing set by another Rio Olympics qualified long-distance runner Lalita Babar.
18. FC Barcelona crowned La Liga champions
i. Barcelona were crowned La Liga champions for the second straight time and the 24th time overall, after they defeated Granada 3-0 in the last game of the season.
ii. All three goals came from Luis Suárez, who ended the season as the top goal scorer with 40 goals.
iii. Notably, this was Barcelona’s sixth La Liga title in the past eight years.
19. Mirza and Hingis win Rome Masters title
i. Top-ranked women’s doubles pair of Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis rebounded from their last two final losses to clinch the Internazionali BNL d’Italia title in Rome.
ii. The duo clinched a 6-1, 6(5)-7, 10-3 win over seventh-seeded Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina.
iii. This is Hingis’ and Mirza’s fifth title of the season and their first claycourt crown of 2016.
20. Max Verstappen becomes youngest Formula 1 winner
i. The Red Bull, Max Verstappen has become the youngest formula 1 winner. He is 18 year old.
ii. Max has defeated Ferrari’s Kimi Raikkonen, who is 36 twice his age, by 0.616 seconds.
iii. Besides, Sebastian Vettel has managed with third position and Verstappen’s teammate, Daniel Ricciardo, finished at fourth.