GS-III

MSMEs with a turnover of up to Rs. 5 crore may be exempted from filing returns The run-up to the polls in Gujarat saw a massive rejig of Goods and Services Tax (GST) rates across the board as disenchantment with the regime was at a peak. Ahead of the Assembly …

Belagavi comes second Mangaluru city has ranked 41st in the country and top in the State in the Ease of Living Index 2018 released by the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in Delhi on Monday. Among the seven cities assessed in the State, Belagavi stood second, with the …

Centre notifies due date for filing GST returns The government has modified the due date for filing of final GST sales returns by businesses with turnover exceeding Rs. 1.5 crore to the eleventh day of the succeeding month. In a notification, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has …

Technique also points to smaller distribution of the ornate narrow-mouthed frog, which may require a protection programme Barcodes are not used in supermarkets alone. Each species can be recognised by its unique genetic ‘barcode’ and using this method, a team of scientists has identified three frog species not recorded in …

From villages in Haryana, unprocessed, fresh produce goes to Delhi homes daily For Rajesh Kumar, Rajpal Yadav and other milkmen at Asadpur in Rewari district of Haryana, the day begins an hour before dawn. They set out to collect fresh buffalo milk from the homesteads run by women like Narangi …

Toll touches 31; over 60,000 displaced Despite a respite from rain and falling water levels in major dams, Kerala remained on alert on Saturday, with over 60,000 persons displaced in four districts. The Met Department has forecast heavy to very heavy rainfall in most places in Idukki, Ernakulam, Palakkad, Wayanad, …

To cater to demand for trained manpower in disruptive tech The International Institute of Digital Technologies (IIDT), started by the AP Electronics and IT Agency (APEITA) in Tirupati in February, 2017 to cater to the increasing demand for trained manpower in disruptive technologies, has decided to set up a campus …

Aim is to reduce oil import bill by Rs. 12,000 crore, says Prime Minister Modi India will triple its ethanol production over the next four years till 2022 and this will save Rs. 12,000 crore in the country’s oil import bill, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Friday, which is …

‘Increase aided by pickup in investment demand, part-spurred by a rise in government expenditure’ Growth in industrial activity picked up to a five-month high of 7% in June, driven by an across-the-board acceleration in growth rates including in sectors such as manufacturing, electricity, infrastructure, and capital and consumer goods, according …

Eleven Indian reserves now listed inWorld Network of Biosphere Reserves The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve (KBR) of Sikkim, the highest biosphere reserve in the country that includes the third highest mountain peak in the world, Kanchenjunga (8,586 m), has been included in the UNESCO’s World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WHBR). The …

The outflow from the Kabini reservoir in H.D. Kote reached a record level of 80,000 cusecs on Friday, inundating low-lying areas in H.D. Kote, Nanjangud, Suttur, and other towns. This was caused by heavy rains in Wayanad, Kerala, which is the upper catchment area of the Kabini. The discharge is …

Red alert sounded in eight districts; heavy discharge from Idukki; toll rises to 27 Many parts of Kerala were grappling with a looming crisis on Friday as a heavy rainfall warning and tidal flooding alert looked set to compound the worsening flood situation in the State. The State Disaster Management …

PM-led panel yet to appoint CEOs One-third of public sector banks remain headless as a Prime Minister-headed panel is yet to clear the CEO appointments. The chief executive officer post at three PSBs remain vacant for more than seven months. On July 31, two more PSB CEOs — Rakesh Sharma …

Discontinuation of the facility has resulted in 2-2.5% increase in cost of credit: Parliamentary panel The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to discontinue the issuance of Letters of Undertaking (LoU) and Letters of Credit (LoC) for trade credit was a “knee-jerk reaction” to the Punjab National Bank fraud case and …

The green panel has asked CJ of Allahabad HC to nominate a former judge who will head the committee. Panel to monitor Ganga rejuvenation project The National Green Tribunal on Monday constituted a committee, to be headed by a former Allahabad High Court judge, for monitoring the rejuvenation project of …

Was brought to bypass Supreme Court ruling that ‘diluted’ provisions of law The Lok Sabha on Monday passed the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Bill, 2018, to bypass the recent ruling of the Supreme Court laying down procedures for arrests under the Act. The Bill will …

Health Ministry attributes rise of incidence in Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura to injecting drug users and unsafe sexual practices The good news is that there has been a steady decline in the number of HIV cases in India. The bad news is that Meghalaya, Mizoram and Tripura have emerged as …

She helmed the company for 12 years Indra Krishnamurthy Nooyi will step down as the CEO of PepsiCo after 12 years in the position, the company announced on Monday. Taking over the reins of the global giant in 2006, Ms. Nooyi steered the company through the 2008 financial crisis and …

How artificial intelligence is helping to crack down on the $460 billion fake designer products industry A few months ago, on a night of infant-induced sleeplessness, I stumbled upon the Reddit group, ‘RepLadies’. This community of fashion savvy women (and men) focuses on finding the best replica designer goods — …

Chandrayaan-2 to land a rover on the lunar surface The launch of India’s second mission to the moon, Chandrayaan-2, may be delayed till January 2019, according to a top official. The ambitious mission was supposed to be launched in April, and was later fixed for October. The postponement comes in …