Daily Current Affairs-GK from www.centralgyan.blogspot.in covers the every aspect of Current Affairs and GK. All types of current affairs like international, national, sports, economy, science & technology are covered below.
Union Minister of State for Labour (independent charge) Bandaru Dattatreya on Sunday said that the government has decided to bring out an executive order to increase minimum wages to Rs.10, 000 per month for contract labourers across the country.
A gazette notification will be issued within a week in this regard.
Dattatreya said, six regional conferences will be held next month to review labour laws in the country.
Government mulls sovereign gold bond issue around Akshaya Tritiya
The government is planning to issue the fourth tranche of sovereign gold bonds around Akshaya Tritiya.
Akshaya Tritiya, which falls on May 9 this year, is an important day for the bullion market as people consider buying gold on that day as auspicious. In the past two years, gold demand on this day stood at 25-30 tonnes. In 2013, around 50 tonnes of gold was estimated to have been sold on Akshay Tritiya.
The government has issued three tranche of sovereign gold bonds so far, with a total subscription of around 5,000 kg. Of this, the second tranche accounted for around 60 per cent. The third tranche evoked very poor response because it was issued in March last year when investors were more focused on investing in tax-saving products and gold price was also at Rs 2,900 a gram for bonds, which was considered quite high.
$940-mn fine cloud on TCS
India’s largest information technology services provider Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has been slapped with a fine notice of $940 million (Rs 6,204 crore) by a federal jury in the US in a trade secret lawsuit.
Though the trial court has not given its final verdict yet, TCS said it plans to defend its position. It also stated that the jury verdict will not have any impact on its Q4 and FY16 financial results.
If this fine is finally imposed, it would be nearly Rs 200 crore more than the company's net profit of Rs 6,083 crore in the third quarter of FY 16.
PFRDA may regulate unregulated pension funds
The Department of Financial Services (DFS), which functions under the finance ministry, is examining a proposal to bring all unregulated retirement funds under the purview of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).
DFS is looking at forming a panel to look into the matter and study the scale of unregulated superannuation funds in the country to protect subscribers’ interest.
The idea is basically to reduce the grey areas and close down the regulatory gaps. However, the matter is complex as multiple ministries are involved.
Background:
PFRDA has been pitching that all unregulated pension funds in the country be regulated. Under the proposed PFRDA Act, the pension regulator is responsible for promoting the pension fund industry and protecting consumers by supervising these funds. Currently, it is responsible only for regulating the National Pension System (NPS) and the Atal Pension Yojana.
A number of companies extend superannuation schemes to employees through insurance companies or set up their own PF trusts. Many of these trusts are under the ambit of Sebi, Irdai or EPFO. They all seek tax exemptions from the Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT).
PFRDA has been trying to accumulate information on existing pension and superannuation schemes being run by various entities and details of their regulatory jurisdiction, supervisory mechanism, investment guidelines, risk management strategies, number of subscribers and assets under their management.
About PFRDA:
The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) is a pension regulatory authority which was established in 2003. It is authorized by Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial.
WHO gives 2 weeks to replace problem polio vaccine
The World Health Organization has given countries two weeks time to replace a problem of polio vaccine blamed for some outbreaks of the crippling disease, which the UN health agency is hoping to wipe out once and for all.
WHO has warned that the live polio virus used in some vaccines is one of the biggest obstacles to eradicating the disease.
According to World Health Organisation, for the past year and a half, 155 countries and territories have been gearing up to make the shift away from the problem vaccine, with the big switch set to begin on Sunday and to be completed by 1st May.
A massive global effort has in recent decades come close to wiping out polio.
Cases have decreased by 99 per cent since 1988, when polio was endemic in 125 countries and 350,000 cases were recorded worldwide.
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