S.
1. Government to do away with MAT for FIIs
(i) On September 1, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley announced the government’s decision
to waive off the minimum alternate tax (MAT) on capital gains made by Foreign Institutional
Investors (FIIs) and Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) prior to April 1, 2015.
(ii) The decision
was taken based on Justice A P Shah Committee’s report, which said there is no legal
footing for levying 20 per cent MAT on past capital gains. An amendment to the Income-Tax
Act will be made stipulating the same.
2. Kerala’s Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple gets UNESCO’s ‘Award of Excellence 2015’ prize
(i) In September 2015, UNESCO announced the ‘Award of Excellence’ 2015 acknowledging
conservation efforts at Sree Vadakkunnathan Temple in Kerala.
(ii) As per the statement by
UNESCO, “The award recognises the remarkable conservation effort undertaken at the
sacred site which employed age-old rituals and conservation techniques drawn from Vastu
Sastra focussing on architecture and construction.”
3. SBI Life launches CSC Saral Sanchay
(i) SBI Life recently launched a new product CSC Saral Sanchay – an individual, non-linked, non-participating, variable insurance plan with dual benefits of a life insurance cover and savings.
(ii) Any Indian citizen between 18-60 years of age can opt for this plan. It offers a guaranteed interest rate of 1% p.a., which will be applicable throughout the policy term. Also, an additional interest rate (AIR) of 4% p.a. will also be applicable during the first 5 years and an AIR of 0.5% will be applicable from the sixth year.
(iii) It would not only help consumers save
regularly but also support one’s family in case of an unforeseen event.
4. Committee appointed to probe illegal constructions in the Nilgiris
(i) The Tamil Nadu High Court ordered formation of a committee comprising retired High Court
Judge Justice K. Chandru and retired IAS officer Sheela Rani Chunkath to inquire into
allegations of illegal constructions in the Nilgiris.
(ii) The Secretary of Tamil Nadu’s Green Movement S. Jayachandran welcomed the High Court direction to form the committee to map illegal buildings in the tourist destination.
5. Snapdeal acquires US-based start-up Reduce Data
(i) Snapdeal.com recently acquired Reduce Data, Silicon Valley-based advertising technology
start-up.
(ii) Snapdeal aims to build discovery platform, tools for brands and over two lakh
sellers on the marketplace.
(iii) As per report by investment bank Goldman Sachs, the battle to
acquire talent and technology is catching pace in India’s speedily growing e-commerce
industry, which is worth $7 billion (Rs.46,347 crore) and is expected to reach $220 billion
(Rs.14.5 lakh crore) by 2030.
6. NASA, USAID launche SERVIR Mekong
(i) The US Agency for International Development (USAID) along with NASA has launched the
SERVIR-Mekong project to make regional environmental monitoring effective in five
countries in the lower Mekong region of Southeast Asia, namely Myanmar, Thailand,
Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam.
(iii) As per reports, this project will enable countries effectively address issues of natural resource and disaster management and support climate resilience studies including reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The technology will also help alert governments of countries in case of a natural disaster.
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