#Daily #Current #Affairs

Cabinet clears Anti-Corruption Law

Bringing corruption into the heinous crime category, the Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved official amendments to an anti-graft legislation enhancing the penalty under it to a maximum of seven years imprisonment from the present five years. The proposed amendments to the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988 provides for more stringent punishment for the offences of bribery--both for the bribe giver and the bribe taker. The official amendments propose to confer the powers of attachment upon the trial Court (Special Judge) instead of the District Court. The proposed amendments would fill in perceived gaps in the domestic anti-corruption law and also help in meeting the country's obligations under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC).

International Day of Yoga logo launched in New Delhi

The logo for International Day of Yoga was launched in New Delhi. It was launched by Union External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Union Minister of State (MoS) for AYUSH Shripad Yesso Naik. The logo was selected by the Committee of Yoga experts, which was constituted by Union Ministry of AYUSH and has been approved by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mohammed bin Nayef appointed as Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud

Mohammed bin Nayef was appointed as Crown Prince and as Deputy Prime Minister of Saudi Arabia by King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud. This appointment relieved Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdul Aziz from his duties and comes during a major Cabinet reshuffle. Prior to this appointment he was Interior Minister of the kingdom. While King’s son, Prince Mohammed bin Salman, was appointed Deputy Crown Prince. Saudi Arabia’s ambassador to United States Adel al-Jubeir was appointed as the Foreign Minister. He replaced Prince Saud al-Faisal. While, Khalid al-Falih was appointed as the Health Minister and chairman of Saudi Aramco. King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud (aged 78) had acceded to the throne in January 2015 after the death of his half-brother Abdullah bin Abdul Aziz, who was Saudi Arabia’s de facto leader for 10 years.

Union Cabinet approves Atal Mission for Rejuvenation

The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved Central Government spending of about one lakh crore on urban development under two new urban missions over the next five years. The Cabinet has approved the Smart Cities Mission and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation of 500 cities (AMRUT) with outlays of Rs.48,000 crore and Rs.50,000 crore respectively. Under the Smart Cities Mission, each selected city would get central assistance of Rs.100 crore per year for five years. Smart City aspirants will be selected through a ‘City Challenge Competition'. Smart City Action Plans will be implemented by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPV) to be created for each city and state governments will ensure steady stream of resources for SPVs.