The Daily Brief – 21st August 2019

Former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 19^th August, 2019. During the meeting, Mr. Modi reiterated India’s continued support for peace, security and stability of an inclusive, united, truly independent and democratic Afghanistan.

The Direct Tax Code (DTC) panel, an eight-member task force, headed by the Central Board of Direct Taxes member Akhilesh Ranjan submitted its report to the Union Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on August 19, 2019. The DTC panel has recommended a substantial cut in the personal income taxes and corporate tax rate. The DTC task force was constituted by the government to overhaul the Income Tax Act, 1961 and draft the New Direct Tax Law.

USA successfully tested a ground-launched cruise missile with a range of more than 500 kilometres, the first since it withdrew from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia. The missile was launched from the San Nicolas Island, off the coast of Los Angeles. The INF treaty banned the development of missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometres.

Karnataka amended the Poisons (Possessions and Sale) Rules, 2015 to make nicotine a Class A drug. It aims to strengthen the enforcement of ban on the production and sale of electronic cigarettes. Nicotine is a plant alkaloid that contains nitrogen, which is found in several types of plants, including the tobacco plant and can also be produced synthetically.

Indian Railways’ 2^nd Utkrisht Double Decker Air Conditioned Yatri (UDAY) Express will run between Visakhapatnam and Vijayawada to cater to the busy route in the East Coast Railway zone (ECoR). In June 2018, the first double-decker UDAY Express started service between Coimbatore and Bangalore. The 2^nd Uday Express consists of 9 double-decker coaches and 2 power cars and is equipped with WiFi facility, has striking interiors, cushioned seating, and display screens.

Training on Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism has been started for 20 officers from various government agencies of Nepal at the National Academy of Customs, Indirect Taxes and Narcotics (NACIN), Faridabad. The six-day customized training course is fully supported by the Government of India under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Programme.

Prasar Bharti Chairman A Suryapakash has announced that Prasar Bharati will soon introduce two awards – the Neelum Sharma Tejaswini award and the Achyutananda Sahoo Award. The award is named after Senior DD News anchor Neelum Sharma who passed away on 17^th August. She had an illustrious career of 2 decades in which she launched and presented a number of path breaking shows, a few among them being Badi Charcha and Tejaswini.

President Ram Nath Kovind planted a sapling of Maulsari in the Rashtrapati Bhavan Estate and launched a plantation drive as part of the Van Mahotsav celebrations on 20^th August, 2019. Over the next few weeks, the President’s Secretariat will be planting over three thousand trees and around three thousand shrubs. The President’s Estate, spread over 330 acres, harbours rich biodiversity.