CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS
Women’s Equality Day
- Women’s Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26 to commemorate the 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment (Amendment XIX) to the United States Constitution, which prohibits the states and the federal government from denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States on the basis of sex.
- It was first celebrated in 1972, designated by Congress in 1973, and is proclaimed each year by the United States President.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh are GST exempt: Finance Ministry
- The Ministry of Finance said that businesses with an annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakhs are exempt from GST and those with a turnover up to Rs 1.5 crore can opt for the Composition Scheme and pay only one per cent tax.
- Earlier, the GST exemption limit was Rs 20 lakh.
- The Ministry also informed that significant relief has been extended to the construction sector, particularly the housing sector. It has now been placed at the 5% rate. GST on affordable housing has been reduced to 1%.
- Out of a total of about 230 items in the 28% slab, about 200 items have been shifted to lower slabs.
About Ministry of Finance
- Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India: Nirmala Sitharaman
- Constituency: Rajya sabha, Karnataka
CURRENT AFFAIRS:INTERNATIONAL
World Health Organization declares Africa free of polio
- World Health Organization has declared Africa free of polio, a landmark in a decades-long campaign to eradicate the notorious disease around the world. This was announced by WHO Regional Director of Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti. She described this as a historic day for Africa.
- A commission led by Rose Gana Fomban Leke, has certified that no cases had occurred on the continent for the past four years, the threshold for eradication of poliovirus. The WHO stated, polio virus now joins smallpox in the list of viruses that have been wiped out in Africa.
About WHO:
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
- Founded: 7 April 1948
- Heads: Tedros Adhanom, Soumya Swaminathan, Jane Ellison
BRICS Industry Ministers attend video meeting to discuss ways to boost cooperation in 5G, AI
- Industry Ministers of BRICS countries have attended a video meeting to discuss ways to boost cooperation in areas including 5G and Artificial Intelligence (AI). As per Chinese state media, the meeting adopted a joint statement on cooperation in new industries such as 5G, AI and the industrial Internet, among the five members bloc which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
- The video meeting comes ahead of the proposed meeting of the BRICS foreign ministers in early next month, arranged by the current BRICS chair Russia. China’s push for cooperation in 5G among BRICS countries may be seen in the backdrop of China’s efforts to push Huawei internationally with regard to development of 5G infrastructure, despite the company being embroiled in controversies in many countries.
- India and China are currently seeing their bilateral relations undergoing a rough phase. This has also impacted the economic ties between the two countries with India taking the path of self-reliance depending on imports for necessary items only, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision and strategy of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’. India has also banned some chinese apps and put tighter scrutiny for foreign investments from its neighbouring countries including China.
