Syed Akbaruddin Named India’s Permanent Representative to United NationsSyed-Akbaruddin-MEA
1.Syed Akbaruddin, who was the chief coordinator of the India-Africa Forum Summit (IAFS) held in New Delhi last month, has been appointed as the new permanent representative of India to the United Nations in New York.
2.Syed Akbaruddin, (IFS:1985), currently additional secretary in the ministry, has been appointed as the next ambassador/permanent representative of India to the United Nations in New York.
3.Mr Akbaruddin will be replacing Asoke Kumar Mukherjee, who will be retiring.
1.Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was spotted singing in a Mumbai local train to raise money for cancer patients.
2.The 73-year-old star accompanied Saurabh Nimbkar, who sings in the locals for raising money and even featured on the TV show “Aaj Ki Raat Zindagi”, hosted by the megastar himself.
3.”Local from VT (Victoria Terminus) to Bhandup to support Saurabh, who sings in locals for charity to cancer… sang with him…” the “Paa” actor tweeted on Sunday night.
Swachh Bharat tax comes into effect
1.The levy of 0.5 percent Swachh Bharat cess on taxable services came into effect from Sunday.
2.With the imposition of the cess, the service tax rate will go up from 14 percent to 14.5 percent on all taxable services. It is expected to fetch the exchequer about Rs.3,800 crore in the remaining months of the fiscal.
3.It will translate into a tax of 50 paise on every Rs.100 worth of taxable services.
4.Service tax on restaurant bills will go up from 5.6 percent to 5.8 percent following the levy of 0.5 percent Swachh Bharat, or Clean India, cess.
World must unite against terror: PM Narendra Modi at BRICS meeting in Turkey
1.Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the world “stands united” in condemning the dreadful Paris attacks in which suspected Islamic State gunmen massacred nearly 130 people and injured many others on Friday.
2.Speaking at a BRICS meeting on the sidelines of the G20 Summit, being held in the backdrop of the Paris attacks, PM Modi said, “We stand united in strongly condemning the dreadful attacks in Paris. The entire humanity must stand together and be one against terrorism.
Ace Tamil film director K.S. Gopalakrishnan passes away
1.Noted yesteryear Tamil film director-cum-lyricist and producer K S Gopalakrishnan passed away in a private hospital here on Saturday night.
2.He was 86 and is survived by six sons.
3.Credited for introducing top star of yesteryear actress K R Vijaya (Karpagam), Gopalakrishnan was also well-known as a lyricist and story and dialogue writer.
4The super hit yesteryear song “unnazhagai kanniyargal (uthama puthiran)” was penned by him.
5.He had penned lyrics in movies like ‘Edhirparaadhadhu,’ ’Amaradeepam’, ‘Engal Veetu Mahalakshmi’ and ‘Uthama Puthiran’ which became popular.
Power Generation Up 6.5% at 11,663 Million Units: Tata Power
1.Tata Power on Monday said its consolidated power generation grew 6.5 per cent to 11,663 million units (MUs) in the second quarter of this fiscal compared with the same period last year.
2.The company’s consolidated generation for the quarter stood at 11,663 MUs. This marks a 6.5 per cent increase in the company’s consolidated generation compared with the second quarter of FY15.
