17 March 2015 Current Affairs
Minoti Apte Named As Woman of the Year 2015 In New South Wales
Indian pancreatic cancer researcher in Australia, Minoti Apte has been named as New South Wales (NSW) Woman of the year 2015 for her enormous contributions to medical research, tertiary education and the Indian community. She received the award from NSW Premier Mike Baird and Minister for Women Pru Goward.
Cabinet Approves Black Money Bill
The Union Cabinet on 17 March approved a Bill that seeks harsh penalties and rigorous imprisonment for those having unaccounted money abroad. The proposed bill gives powers to tax authorities to track and deal with illegal wealth stashed abroad.Under the provisions of the new Bill, the offences related to black money will be non-compoundable and the offenders will not be permitted to approach the Settlement Commission. The bill also has provision of punishment to deal with the black money cases. It proposes penalty at the rate of 300 per cent of taxes to be levied on the concealed income and assets, in addition to 10 years rigorous imprisonment.
Parliament Passes Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders Amendment Bill, 2015
Parliament on 17 March passed a Bill to include certain synonymous names of communities in Scheduled Castes category in Haryana, Karnataka, Odisha and Dadra and Nagar Haveli. The Lok Sabha on 17 March passed the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2015, by a voice vote. On 24 February 2014, the Bill was cleared by the Rajya Sabha.
Smriti Irani is WEF Young Global Leader
The Union Minister of Human Resource Development Smriti Irani was named Young Global Leader from India by Global Economic Forum. The World Economic Forum (WEF) announced on 17 March a new group of exceptional individuals under the age of 40 who are shaping the future of industry and society. This year’s class of Young Global Leaders, who emerges as optimistic and reflects their brilliance of entrepreneurial skills through their achievements, has a strong representation from women leaders and is split evenly between business and non-profit sectors. In the list of 187 Young Global Leaders for 2015 from across the world, Smriti Irani is accompanied by 10 other Indians, including Gaurav Gogoi, an MP and son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi under the political sector.