The Daily Brief – 9th January, 2017

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• Delhi Government unveils ‘Good Samaritan Policy’ under which monetary incentive of 2000 and an appreciation certificate will be given to people who help road accident victims in the national capital. This is done to serve as an incentive for people to take accident victims to hospitals in case of emergencies.

• Former Pakistan Army chief, Raheel Sharif, has been made the head of a 39-nation military coalition formed by Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism. This coalition is called the Islamic Military Alliance to Fight Terrorism (IMAFT). It is based at a command centre in Riyadh.

• China is setting up the world’s highest altitude gravitational wave telescope in a Tibet prefecture close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with India, with a budget of $18.8 million. The telescope aims to detect the faintest of echoes resonating from the universe, which may reveal more about the Big Bang Theory and will be located at Ngari.

• A study has found that mini grids can spur economic activity in rural areas and accelerate the process of expanding mobile phone network across the country due to their large capacities and the ability to connect to the national grid. A mini grid, as defined by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, is an off-grid power system with a generation capacity of between 10 KW and 500 KW. It converts direct current (DC) to alternating current (AC) and it provides safety as per REC and CEA standards.

• The tax department has clarified that tax General Anti-Avoidance Rule (GAAR) will kick in from April 1 in India. GAAR was introduced to address tax avoidance and ensure that those in different tax brackets are taxed the correct amount.  It contains provision allowing the government to prospectively tax overseas deals involving local assets.

• The Supreme Court has reiterated the necessity to implement the Vote Verifier Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT) in electronic voting machines (EVMs) to ensure 100% transparency in elections. In the VVPAT system, when a voter presses the button for a candidate of his choice in the EVM, a paper ballot containing the serial number, name of the candidate and poll symbol would be printed for the voter.

• The Indian Army has successfully conducted ‘user-validation’ trials of indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) Dhanush in the Himalayas. It clears the way for the induction in the Army.

  

  It is developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in collaboration with the private sector companies.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY), a skill development program targeted at Indian youth seeking overseas employment to make India the Skill Capital of the World. PKVY will provide training and certify Indians who are seeking overseas employment in selected sectors that have high demand in the global labour market in line with international standards.

• The 20th Edition of the National Conference for e-Governance 2016-17 has started in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The theme of this year’s conference is ‘Internet of Things and e-Governance’ and will be covering newly evolving areas of e-Governance across five plenary sessions.

• The 74th Annual Golden Globe Awards ceremony was organized at Beverly Hills, California, United States (US). The Golden Globe Awards are the annual awards that honour the best in Motion Pictures and American Television for the previous year.
  • Best Motion Picture – Drama: Moonlight
  • Best Motion Picture – Comedy/Musical: La La Land
  • Best Actor in Motion Picture-Drama: Casey Affleck for Manchester by the Sea
  • Best Actress in Motion Picture-Drama: Isabelle Huppert for Elle
  • Best Actor in Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical: Ryan Gosling for La La Land
  • Best Actor in Motion Picture-Comedy/Musical: Emma Stone for La La Land
  • Best Animated Feature Film: Zootopia
  • Best Foreign Language Film: Elle (France)
    This year, La La Land, a romantic musical comedy-drama film won in all the seven categories including the top award of best musical or comedy. Veteran actress Meryl Streep was bestowed with the Cecil B. DeMille Lifetime Achievement Award.

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