19th September Current Affairs

• India and Malta sign three MoUs
  • India and Malta signed three MoUs in the fields of Maritime Cooperation, Tourism and Training.

  

  
  

  • The MoUs has been made after delegation level talks between Vice President, Venkaiah Naidu and President of Malta, Ms. Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. 
  • Malta’s Capital is Valletta and Currency is Euro.
• Germany launched world’s first hydrogen train
  • Germany has launched the world’s first hydrogen-powered train named ‘Coradia iLint train’.
  • The ‘Coradia iLint trains‘ can run for around 1,000 kilometres on a single tank of hydrogen.
  • The trains have been built by French TGV-maker Alstom.
  • Hydrogen trains are equipped with fuel cells that produce electricity through a combination of hydrogen and oxygen.
• S Jaishankar joins board of USISPF
  • Former foreign secretary S Jaishankar has joined the board of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

  

  • Jaishankar is currently president of Global Corporate Affairs for the Tata Group.
  • He is known for playing a key role in negotiating the Indo-US civil nuclear agreement.
  • USISPF is a forum founded with the objective of promoting a strategic relationship between the US and India.
• AAI to Develop Sri Lanka’s Palaly Airport
  • Airports Authority of India (AAI) will prepare a detailed project report (DPR) for development of Palaly airport in Sri Lanka.

  

  • All the technical and design aspects would be covered in the DPR, which is expected to be completed in three months.
  • This would be the first project for AAI in Sri Lanka.
  • The AAI manages more than 120 airports in different parts of India.
• NABARD Approves Rs 65,635 Crore Loan
  • The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has approved Rs 65,634.93 crore loan so far to 93 prioritized irrigation projects.

  

  
  

  • The projects are under the government’s flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).
  • The NABARD is funding the central and state share of 99 prioritized irrigation projects under the PMKSY through long-term irrigation fund (LTIF).
• Gujarat High Court strikes down GST provision
  • The Gujarat High Court has struck down a provision of the GST Act.
  • Act prohibited ‘first stage dealers from transitioning excise duty credit on goods procured more than a year before the rollout of the new indirect tax regime on July 1, 2017.

  

  • Under GST, businesses are allowed to claim credit of taxes paid on goods bought within 12 months of the appointed date for GST or after July 1, 2016.
• No withholding tax on interest of masala bonds
  • The Central Board of Direct Taxes said ‘no withholding tax’ will apply on interest payments made by an Indian company or a business trust to a non-resident.
  • This is in respect to the offshore rupee-denominated bonds issued between September 17, 2018, and March 31, 2019.

  

  • The move is expected to incentivise foreign exchange inflows into India through low-cost offshore rupee-denominated bonds.
• India’s first woman IAS officer dead
  • India’s first woman IAS officer after Independence, Anna Rajam Malhotra died in Mumbai on 17 Sept 2018.
  • She served in the Madras State under then Chief Minister C. Rajagopalachari and at the Central government.

  

  • Ms. Malhotra joined the civil services in 1951 and opted for the Madras cadre.
  • She married R.N. Malhotra, who served as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India from 1985 to 1990.
• Varun and Anushka signed as ambassadors of SIM
  • Varun Dhawan and Anushka Sharma have been signed on to promote and endorse the Skill India Mission (SIM), chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

  

  • Skill India Mission is led by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) and aims to standardise vocational training.
  • The two actors will dedicate time to promote the skilled talent in the country.