Current Affairs : November 4, 2011

Constitution (113th) Amendment Bill gets President’s Assent

• Constitution(113th) Amendment Bill pertains to change of the name of Oriya language to Odiya.
• President Pratibha Patil has given her assent to the Orissa (the Alteration of Name) Bill and the Constitution(113th) Amendment Bill, already approved by both the houses of Parliament.
• With this assent, the spelling of the name of Orissa was changed to Odisha  by the Orissa (the Alteration of Name) Bill  as an statutory act  and its language from Oriya to Odiya by Constitution(113th) Amendment Bill as an amendment to the constitution of India.
• Orissa Assembly had passed a resolution unanimously on August 28, 2008 urging the Union government to correct the spelling of the name and language of the state misspelt in the first and eighth schedule of the Constitution.
• The Bill was passed by Lok Sabha on November 9, 2010 and sent to Rajya Sabha for concurrence. The Upper House passed it with amendments on March 24, 2011 and returned it to the Lower House the same day.
• Altogether 301 members voted in favour of the Constitution Amendment Bill and none against.

PM for continuing deregulation of fuel prices

• Prime Minister Manmohan Singhopines that he stands for continuing with deregulation of fuel prices, cutting subsidies and other government expenses for fiscal consolidation, but he added that it has to be done taking political sensitivities of the government s allies on board.

Komatireddy Venkat Reddy’s Fast for Telangana

• Former Minister Komatireddy Venkat Reddy is currently on an indefinate fast, until the Centre announces a roadmap for the formation of separate Telangana state. He says that he is ready to sacrifice his life for the cause of separate Telangana state.

Khalsa Heritage Centre (KHC)

• Khalsa Heritage Centre (KHC) will be inaugurated at Anandpur Sahib, in the last week of November. Khalsa Heritage Centre (KHC)would showcase the rich legacy of the Sikh ideology and religion.

Australia to bring legislation to curb match fixing

• Federal and state governments of Australia have decided to make match-fixing illegal from next year through a specialised legislation with punishment of upto ten years in jail for those found guilty.
• Australia is also planning for introduction of formal integrity agreements between sporting bodies and betting firms, while the federal government will oversee the formation of a national sports integrity office. Objective is to make an attempt to wipe out corruption in sports, including cricket.

Net direct tax collection up 7 % during Apr-Oct

• Net direct tax collections increased 7.10 per cent at Rs 2,18,850 crore during April-October 2011 against Rs 2,04,347 crore in the same period last fiscal, according to official statement
• Gross direct tax collection during the reported period was up 20.28 per cent at Rs 2,84,081 crore as against Rs 2,36,176 crore in the April-October 2010.
• While gross collection of corporate taxes was up 20.35 per cent at Rs 1,89,872 crore against Rs 1,57,767 crore in April-October 2010, the gross collection of personal income tax was up by 20.17 per cent at Rs 93,769 crore against Rs 78,029 crore last year.
• Growth in wealth tax was 10.6 per cent (Rs 418 crore against Rs 378 crore), while for securities transaction tax (STT), it was a fall of 17.9 per cent (Rs 2,958 crore against Rs 3,602 crore).

Arunachal is to host National Weightlifting Championship

• Arunachal Weightlifting Association (AWA) will organise National Weightlifting Championship for the first time from November 21.
• All 28 states, seven Union Territories and Railways are expected to participate in the 10-day event.

NCW gets maximum complaints from Uttar Pradesh, Delhi:

• Uttar Pradesh tops the list of complaints made to the National Commission for Women (NCW), followed by Delhi. This was stated by NCW chief Mamta Sharma.

Satyam’s Ramalinga Raju gats bail

Earstwhile Satyam Computers Services Ltd founder-chairman B. Ramalinga Raju, his brother B. Rama Raju and former chief financial officer V. Srinivas were granted bail by the Supreme Court in the multi-crore accounting fraud.

The above 5 questions are part of Daily Current Affairs 20 MCQs Series in GKToday Android Application. This series can be subscribed in the app only for Rs. 799/- for entire year. Download Now

Month: Current Affairs - November, 2011