Current Affairs April, 2017

Jharkhand Police has initiated Tare Zameen Par programme to enlighten children in Naxal-affected areas in the Palamau district of Jharkhand.

The Union Ministry of Labour & Employment has launched Aadhaar Seeding Application for efficient service delivery and widening the reach of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) benefits.

Cab safety measures for women commuters as recommended by the Ministry of Women and Child Development to the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways and Shipping (MoRTH) have been included in the new Taxi Policy guidelines.

President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent to four supporting legislations on Goods and Services Tax (GST).

India and Australia have launched India-Australia Sports Partnership (IASP) with a vision of increasing cooperation in sports.

Beginning from May 1, Oil PSUs have decided to change petrol and diesel prices every day in synchronisation with international rates similar to what is practiced in advanced markets.

The Union government has constituted a time-bound inter-disciplinary committee to come up with an action plan for dealing with virtual currencies so as to fix the regulatory gaps in the existing framework governing virtual currencies. The committee is required to submit its report within three months.

• Government to launch SAMPADA scheme for food processing
• Justice Malviya Committee submits its report on draft Ganga Act
• Government launches URJA MITRA app

The Committee, constituted to prepare draft Ganga Act, submitted its report to the Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation. The Chairman of the committee is Justice Girdhar Malviya (Retd), who is associated with Ganga conservation movement.

The Amnesty International released the Death Penalty Report 2016. As per the report, at least 1,032 people were executed in 23 countries in 2016. In 2015, Amnesty International recorded 1,634 executions in 25 countries worldwide.

The Union Cabinet has approved signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for Establishment of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Grid Interconnection”.

Justice Gita Mittal, the senior-most judge of Delhi High Court, has been appointed as the acting Chief justice of Delhi High Court with effect from April 14.