CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
International Lefthanders Days
- International Left Handers Day is an international day observed annually on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of the left handers.
- The day was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell, founder of the Lefthanders International, Inc.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Centre Forms Committee For Procurement, Administration Of COVID-19 Vaccine
- The Centre constituted a committee to consider the logistics, ethical aspects of procurement, and administration of COVID-19 vaccine.
- The committee titled National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration has been formed under the chairmanship of Dr VK Paul, who is member (health) at the NITI Aayog.
- The committee will also consider other issues related to logistics of the vaccine like cold chain, inventory, how to arrange resources to procure vaccine and how to address the equity issues linked to vaccination. This expert group will together discuss with all state governments and vaccine manufacturers.
About NITI Aayog
- Chief Executive Officer (CEO)– Amitabh Kant
- Headquarter– New Delhi
PM Modi launches ‘Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest’ platform
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest’ He stated it will strengthen the efforts of reforming and simplifying India’s tax system. The Prime Minister also unveiled the next phase of direct tax reforms aimed at easing compliance and rewarding honest taxpayers in a bid to rebuild Indian economy.
- Mr Modi stated, effort is to make the tax system seamless, painless and faceless. The Prime Minister stated, amidst all the reforms introduced by the Centre, the number of people who have filed income tax returns has increased by about two-and-a-half crores in the last 6-7 years. He, however, stated , it is also true that in a country of 130 crores and it is still very less.
- Mr Modi emphasised with faceless assessment, the taxpayer is assured of fair, courteous and rational behavior. He stated, the income tax department now has to take care of the taxpayer’s dignity sensitively and the department cannot doubt anyone without any basis.
MoRTH allows sale and registration of electric vehicles without batteries
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has allowed registration of electric vehicles without pre-fitted batteries. In a letter to Transport Secretaries of all the States and UTs, the ministry has clarified that vehicles without batteries can be sold and registered based on the type approval certificate issued by the test agency.
- Further, that there is no need to specify the make/type or any other details of the battery for the purpose of registration. However, the prototype of the electrical vehicle, and the battery (regular battery or the swappable battery) is required to be type approved by the test agencies specified under Rule 126 of the Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989.
- The Government is striving to create an ecosystem to accelerate the uptake of electric mobility in the country. It is time to come together to work Jointly to achieve the broader national agenda to reduce vehicular pollution and oil import bill. This will not only protect the environment and reduce the import bill but also provide opportunities to sun rise industry.
- For the promotion of electrical two wheelers and three wheeler vehicles, there are recommendations brought to the notice of the Ministry to delink the cost of battery (which accounts for 30-40% of the total cost) from the vehicle cost. Vehicles could then also be sold in the market without the battery. This will make the upfront cost of the electrical 2 wheeler (2W) and 3 wheelers (3W) to be lower than ICE 2 and 3W. The battery could be provided separately by the OEM or the energy service provider.
About MoRTH:
- Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping and MSME: Nitin Jairam Gadkari
- Constituency: Nagpur, Maharshtra
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL
Bangladesh to get largest ever dollar 3.1 billion loan package from Japan
- Japan has signed its largest ever loan package worth dollar 1 billion for Bangladesh. The embassy of Japan stated that the loan under its Official Development Assistance (ODA) will be given for seven projects of Bangladesh under concessional terms.
- The loan will cover the construction of Jamuna railway bridge in parallel to the existing Bangabandhu Bridge, expansion of the Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport, Dhaka Mass Rapid Transit Development Projects and Chattogram-Cox’s Bazar Highway improvement project among the seven projects.
- The loan carries an interest rate of 0.65 percent with a repayment period of 30 years including initial 10 years as grace period.
- Japan has been the single largest bilateral donor for Bangladesh since 2012. The total amount of its aid as Yen Loan has reached USD 22 billion (commitment base).
About Bangladesh:
- Capital: Dhaka
- Currency: Bangladeshi taka
About Japan:
- Capital: Tokyo
- Currency: Japanese yen
