DRDO appointed its Chief
&Scientific Advisor
v Defence
Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had been without a head for over
three months. In a first, the government has split the two posts, DRDO Chief
and Scientific Advisor to the Defence Minister. So far, the two posts were held
by the same person.
v S
Christopher has been appointed as the new DRDO chief and will be in charge of
the day-to-day functioning of DRDO, technology development and co-ordination
with the ministry.
v G
Satheesh Reddy has been appointed as the Scientific Advisor to the Defence
Minister. He would provide critical advice to the defence minister on
technology and scientific and technological aspects of new acquisitions and
would assist in decision making.
Finance Minister
inaugurates New Bank Note Paper Line in Madhya Pradesh
v Finance
Minister Arun Jaitely inaugurated the New Bank Note Paper Line of 6000 MT
capacity at Hoshangabad in Madhya Pradesh.
v This
establishment of this unit is a part of the indigenisation, of the Bank Note
paper, under taken by Security Printing and Minting Corporation of India
Limited (SPMCIL).
90% of global chemical
weapons stockpile destroyed
v The
Hague-based Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has
stated that 90 per cent of the world's chemical armaments stockpile has been
destroyed.
v The
Director General, Ahmet Uzumcu, announced that it goes to show that the world
is on its way to get rid of chemical weapons.
US removed Cuba from
list of State Sponsor of Terrorism
v United
States (US) in a landmark decision has removed Cuba from its list of State
Sponsor of Terrorism.
v US
secretary of state John Kerry has signed an
order removing Cuba from the terrorism blacklist.
Cyber security task
force launched by NASSCOM
v The National
Association of Software and Services Companies (NASSCOM) has launched a cyber
security task force with the aim of transforming India into a cyber security
research and training hub.
The new service tax of 14% to be applicable from 1st June
v
The new service tax rate of 14 per cent, which
was the Budget for 2015-16, is to come into effect from 1st June, 2015.
v
Previously the service tax levied by the
Government was at the rate of 12.36 per cent including education cess.
Muhammadu Buhari sworn
in as Nigeria’s new head of state
v Muhammadu
Buhari has been sworn in as Nigeria’s new head of state after he won the first
opposition victory over a sitting president in the nation’s history.
University of Oxford has
nominated a female vice-chancellor
v The
University of Oxford has nominated a female vice-chancellor for the first time
in its history, naming terrorism expert Professor Louise Richardson to the
chief executive role. Louise Richardson, will be the first woman to hold the
position since it was created in 1230
China developed world's
first ATM with facial recognition technology
v Chinese
researchers have successfully developed the first automated teller machine
(ATM) with facial recognition technology to reduce the risk of theft.
v The
first of its kind ATM was developed by researchers from Tsinghua University and
technology firm Tzekwan.
PM Modi to flag off
country's first semi high-speed Gatimaan Express in June
v Gatimaan
Express, the first semi high-speed train service between Delhi and Agra which
would touch speeds of up to 160 kmph, is likely to be launched by Prime
Minister Narendra Modi in the second week of June.
President gives assent
to re-promulgation of Land Ordinance for 3rd time
v President
Pranab Mukherjee has given his assent to re-promulgation of land ordinance for
third time as per provisions of Article 123 of Indian Constitution.
v Earlier,
Union Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had approved
re-promulgation of the ordinance, which was to expire on 3 June 2015.
Former Singapore Foreign
Minister George Yeo appointed new chancellor of Nalanda university
v Former
Singapore Foreign Minister George Yeo will be the new Chancellor of the Nalanda
University, the Ministry of External Affairs announced on 31 May 2015.
v Mr.
Yeo, who is on the governing board of prestigious university, will take over
from Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, who withdrew his candidature for a second term
as Chancellor of the Nalanda University in Bihar in February 2015.
v Mr. Yeo
was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2012 in recognition of his contribution in the
field of "public affairs."
India has decided to buy
only 36 Rafale fighter jets
India has decided to buy only
36 Rafale fighter jets, while scrapping the earlier plan to acquire 126 of
these French aircraft on grounds of huge
cost involved.
Pinaka Mark-II rocket
successfully test-fired
v An
advanced version of the indigenously developed,
Pinaka Mark-II rocket has been successfully test-fired from Army’s
Chandan firing range near Pokhran using a multi-barrel launcher.
v It is
jointly developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO)
and the Indian Army.
v Pinaka
Mark-II rocket has high operational mobility, flexibility and accuracy as its
major characteristics, which gives this weapon an edge in modern artillery
warfare for the Indian Armed Forces.
Finance Ministry has issued a new three-page
income tax return (ITR) forms
v The
Finance Ministry has came out with new three-page income tax return (ITR)
forms, after dropping the controversial provision for mandatory disclosure of
foreign trips and dormant bank accounts.
v The new
forms – ITR 2 and ITR 2A – will have only 3 pages and other details will have
to be filled in schedules. The ministry has also extended the last date of
filing to August 31, 2015.
Source: The Hindu, PIB