1) Rajya Sabha passed private bill for transgender rights:
--> In a historic legislative action,
the Rajya Sabha approved a private member’s bill on the rights of transgenders
on 24 April 2015.
--> The Bill also guarantees reservation
in education and jobs, financial aid and social inclusion.
--> This is the first time in 45 years
that a private members' Bill has been passed by the House.
--> Usually a private member’s
bill—introduced by a legislator who is not a member of the cabinet—is withdrawn
after discussion in the upper House.
--> The bill was introduced by Rajya
Sabha member Tiruchi Siva of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on 12 December 2014.
2) Arun Jaitley moved GST bill in Lok Sabha:
--> Finance minister Arun Jaitley on 24
April 2015 moved the constitution amendment bill for the implementation of the
goods and services tax (GST) for discussion and passage in the Lok Sabha.
--> While most of the opposition parties
wanted the bill to be sent to the standing committee for finance, the
government stood firm.
--> The Congress staged a walkout from
the Lok Sabha over this issue.
--> GST is set to be rolled out from 1
April 2016.
3) National Panchayati Raj Day observed:
--> National Panchayati Raj Day was
observed across India on 24 April 2015.
--> The day is observed to mark the
passing of the Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force
with effect from 24 April 1993.
--> On the day, the best performing Gram
Panchayats and Gram Sabhas were honoured with Panchayat Sashaktikaran Award
2015 and Rashtriya Gaurav Gram Sabha Award 2015.
4) India ranked 117 in global happiness index:
--> India has not fared well in a global
ranking of the happiest nations, coming in at the 117th spot out of 158
countries on the index that took into account GDP per capita, life expectancy,
social support and freedom to make life choices as indicators of happiness.
--> Switzerland has been named the most
happiest country in the world, coming in at the number one spot on the 2015.
--> World Happiness Report published by
the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), which is a global
initiative for the United Nations.
--> The other countries in the top five
are Iceland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.
5) ICICI Bank launches app for Apple's iWatch:
--> ICICI Bank has launched an
application for iWatch, on expectations that that wearable payment solutions
would pick-up soon.
--> The application will enable
customers of ICICI Bank to view their transactions and do limited transactions
such pay utility bill and recharge prepaid mobile.
--> HDFC Bank was the first to announce
the launch of this application about a week ago.
6) Gurpreet Sandhu becomes first Indian in 79 years to play
for 1st division European club:
--> Gurpreet Singh Sandhu became the
first Indian footballer to play for a top-tier European club, after the
custodian made his debut for Stabaek FC in a Norwegian Cup tie against Runar on
22 April 2015.
--> The 23-year-old joined the former
Norwegian champion on a three-year contract last year and is second choice
goalkeeper behind Ivory Coast international Sayouba Mande.
7) Crompton Greaves to exit consumer products business:
--> Avantha Holdings Ltd. the parent
company of Crompton Greaves Ltd. (CG) has decided to exit CG’s consumer
products business and sell its 34.37 per cent stake to American private equity
major Advent International Corporation and a subsidiary of Singapore’s Temasek
Holdings for Rs.2,000 crore.
--> The consumer products business,
called Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals Ltd. (CGCEL), will be demerged
from CG into separate company.
--> After the demerger, CGCEL will own
CG’s consumer products business.
--> The business manufactures and
markets a wide array of consumer products, ranging from fans, lamps and
luminaries to pumps and household appliances such as water heaters, mixer
grinders, toasters, irons and electric lanterns.
8) India’s Healthcare Tourism Portal Inaugurated by PM
Narendra Modi:
--> Prime Minister of India inaugurated
India’s Healthcare Portal at the ‘SAAARC Trade Mart’ in the Global Exhibition
on Services, in ITPO, Pragati Maidan on 24 April 2015.
--> The portal is a comprehensive
one-point information site and covers hospital-related and travel-related
information on India.
9) Government allowed investing 5 per cent of EPFO corpus in
stock markets:
--> Union Government has allowed
Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), India’s retirement fund body to invest
five per cent of its corpus in exchange traded funds i.e. in stock markets.
--> The new pattern allows the
retirement fund body to invest 5% of its incremental income in Exchange Traded
Funds (ETFs) from the current financial year.
