1. South Indian states have decided to constitute ‘Southern Forest Ministers’ Interstate Coordination Council (ISCC) to improve concerted collective efforts for protection of forests and wildlife of the region.
2. Government has decided to impose 10 per cent import duty on wheat to discourage wheat importers, applicable from 31 March 2016 after the gap of eight years.
3. Indian-American Atul Keshap has been appointed as the United States (US) Ambassador to Maldives and Sri Lanka. With this appointment he became the second Indian-origin US diplomat to be posted as Ambassador to the region after Richard Rahul Verma (US Ambassador to India).
4. Three more food processing industries in Odisha have been accorded the status of designated food parks by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) on 7 August 2015. The three industrial estates that got food park status are Agro Industrial Estate for maize, Nabarangpur, Jagatpur industrial estate in Cuttack and Mancheswar industrial estate in Bhubaneswar.
5. To safeguard the interest of domestic industries of India, government on 6 August extended anti-dumping duty on import of all forms and grades of Vitamin C from China for the period of five years. Earlier in 2009 government had imposed the anti-dumping duty which was later extended till June 2015 and now further extended to five more years with the duty of USD 3.74 for per kg of Vitamin-C import from China.
6. To commemorate the 1905 Swadeshi movement the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced August 7 as ‘National Handloom Day’ at the function held in Chennai. At the event PM Modi also launched the ‘India Handloom’ brand to help weavers with brand for global markets.
7. Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth 2,452 crore rupees at an investor event organised in New Delhi. The event was organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) by the Bureau of Industry Promotion in Rajasthan.
8. In order to bring certainty in tax liability and avoid disputes in taxation with the multinationals operating in India, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for the first time has entered into an Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with ‘Rollback’ provision with the two US MNCs.
9. Egypt has launched a major expansion of the Suez Canal. It was inaugurated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a lavish ceremony held at port city of Ismailiya ( located on west bank of canal).
10. The radical militants of Sunni Islamist militant group Islamic State (IS) have seized Qaryatain, a key town in central Syria. It was seized following heavy clashes with Syrian forces. It is IS’s biggest advance after it had captured the historic town of Palmyra in May 2015.
11. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken decision to allow banks to merge, shift or close branches in urban areas on their own discretion. In this regard, RBI has issued a notification that mention detailed provisions of above decisions. This move will give banks greater operational freedom but it won’t be valid for rural areas.
12. Lok Sabha has passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill 2015 by a voice vote. The bill seeks to amend The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 in order to make cheque-bounce filing of cases more convenient for check payees (person who receives the cheque).
2. Government has decided to impose 10 per cent import duty on wheat to discourage wheat importers, applicable from 31 March 2016 after the gap of eight years.
3. Indian-American Atul Keshap has been appointed as the United States (US) Ambassador to Maldives and Sri Lanka. With this appointment he became the second Indian-origin US diplomat to be posted as Ambassador to the region after Richard Rahul Verma (US Ambassador to India).
4. Three more food processing industries in Odisha have been accorded the status of designated food parks by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) on 7 August 2015. The three industrial estates that got food park status are Agro Industrial Estate for maize, Nabarangpur, Jagatpur industrial estate in Cuttack and Mancheswar industrial estate in Bhubaneswar.
5. To safeguard the interest of domestic industries of India, government on 6 August extended anti-dumping duty on import of all forms and grades of Vitamin C from China for the period of five years. Earlier in 2009 government had imposed the anti-dumping duty which was later extended till June 2015 and now further extended to five more years with the duty of USD 3.74 for per kg of Vitamin-C import from China.
6. To commemorate the 1905 Swadeshi movement the Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced August 7 as ‘National Handloom Day’ at the function held in Chennai. At the event PM Modi also launched the ‘India Handloom’ brand to help weavers with brand for global markets.
7. Chief Minister of Rajasthan Vasundhara Raje signed memorandums of understanding (MoUs) worth 2,452 crore rupees at an investor event organised in New Delhi. The event was organised in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) by the Bureau of Industry Promotion in Rajasthan.
8. In order to bring certainty in tax liability and avoid disputes in taxation with the multinationals operating in India, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for the first time has entered into an Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) with ‘Rollback’ provision with the two US MNCs.
9. Egypt has launched a major expansion of the Suez Canal. It was inaugurated by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in a lavish ceremony held at port city of Ismailiya ( located on west bank of canal).
10. The radical militants of Sunni Islamist militant group Islamic State (IS) have seized Qaryatain, a key town in central Syria. It was seized following heavy clashes with Syrian forces. It is IS’s biggest advance after it had captured the historic town of Palmyra in May 2015.
11. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has taken decision to allow banks to merge, shift or close branches in urban areas on their own discretion. In this regard, RBI has issued a notification that mention detailed provisions of above decisions. This move will give banks greater operational freedom but it won’t be valid for rural areas.
12. Lok Sabha has passed Negotiable Instruments (Amendment) Bill 2015 by a voice vote. The bill seeks to amend The Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 in order to make cheque-bounce filing of cases more convenient for check payees (person who receives the cheque).
