1. PM Modi Launches India’s 1st All-Electric High-Speed Train
i. Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off India’s first all-electric high-speed locomotive in Bihar.
ii. The first big Make-in-India project completed by France’s Alstom, the train has the country’s most powerful engine with 12,000 horsepower and a maximum speed of 120 km/hr. The average cost of one high-speed locomotive is around Rs25 crore.
- Piyush Goyal is the present Railway Minister of India.
- John Mathai was the first Railway Minister of Independent India.
2. VP Venkaiah Naidu Inaugurates Scientific Convention on World Homeopathy Day
i. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu inaugurated a scientific convention on the World Homeopathy Day in New Delhi. The day is observed to commemorate the birth anniversary of Homoeopathy founder Dr Christian Friedrich Samuel Hahnemann (10 April 1755).
ii. The theme of the two-day convention is Innovate: Evolve, Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years.
ii. The theme of the two-day convention is Innovate: Evolve, Progress: Exploring Science since 40 years.
3. 1st NITI Forum Meet at Agartala
i. Tripura hosted the first meeting of the NITI Forum- a unit of NITI Aayog in Agartala. In this meeting, Chief Ministers of all Northeastern States, Minister of Development of North Eastern Region and senior officials of NITI Aayog and Union Government joined the conclave.
ii. The ‘NITI Forum for North East’ was constituted in February 2018 with an aim to ensure the sustainable economic growth of the North Eastern Region of the country. The meeting was chaired by the vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog, Rajeev Kumar.
- Tripura CM- Biplab Kumar Deb, Governor- Tathagata Roy, Capital- Agartala.
4. Transgenders to be Recognised as Independent Gender Category in PAN Form
i. The government has amended Income Tax rules that will now allow transgenders to be recognised as an independent category of applicants for obtaining a Permanent Account Number (PAN) for their tax-related transactions.
ii. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which frames the policy for the department, issued a notification that provides a new tick box for the transgenders to apply for the PAN.
- Sushil Chandra is the present Chairman of CBDT.
- It headquarters in New Delhi.
5. Singapore and China Signed MoU Along Belt and Road Initiative
i. Singapore and China signed an MoU in Beijing, China to promote greater collaboration between Singapore and Chinese companies in third-party markets along the Belt and Road.
ii. Under the MOU, the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), NDRC (China’s lead agency for BRI) and Enterprise Singapore will form a working group to identify sectors and markets of mutual interest, and organise business matching activities and forums to facilitate third-party market cooperation between Singapore and Chinese companies along the Belt and Road.
- The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a mega project initiated by China to connect countries across Europe, Africa and Asia together via ancient land and sea trade routes.
