8 August 2013 Current Affairs
220 Indian languages Lost In 50 Years
According to the Vadodara-based Bhasha Research and Publication Centre survey ,India has lost around 20% of its languages in the past five decades.The country had 1,100 languages in 1961,but nearly 220 of them have disappeared,said Ganesh Devy,writer and lead coordinator of the survey called the Peoples Linguistic Survey of India (PLSI).The survey was carried out over two years from 2011.We have found 780 languages and must have missed about 100 or so.That makes it close to 880 languages.The rest have disappeared, he said.Most of them belonged to nomadic communities.
India Signs DTAC protocol with Morocco
On 8 August India signed a Protocol amending the India – Morocco Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) in New Delhi .The Protocol was signed by Dr Sudha Sharma, Chairperson, Central Board of Direct Taxes on behalf of Government of India and H.E. Mr. Larbi Reffouh, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to India on behalf of Government of the Kingdom of Morocco.The Protocol is based on international standards of transparency and exchange of information. It provides for effective exchange of information including banking information between tax authorities of the two countries.
Union Cabinet Approved the Setting up of ‘Bharatiya Mahila Bank ‘
On 8 August the Union Cabinet approved the proposal for setting up of ‘ Bharatiya Mahila Bank (BMB) ‘ with an initial corpus of Rs 1,000 crore.The proposed bank will be headquartered in New Delhi.The Mahila Bank will start with 6 branches — one each in north, south, east, west, central and north eastern part of the country.The proposed bank is likely to begin operations by November this year.
Rajya Sabha Passed ‘Companies Bill 2012 ‘
The ‘ Companies Bill 2012 ‘ was passed in Rajya Sabha on 8 August.The bill will provide improved corporate governance norms and will raise the level of transparency of the corporate companies. It will also protect interests of investors.Earlier, the bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 18 December 2012.The legislation will replace the 57-year old Companies Act, 1956 after getting the final consent from Pranab Mukherjee, the President of India.
Uttar Pradesh Launched ‘Bhumi Sena Scheme’
On 8 August ‘ Bhumi Sena Scheme ‘ was launched in Uttar Pradesh by the Chief Minister of the State, Akhilesh Yadav. The scheme was launched in a function held at Kalidas Marg, Lucknow for reclamation of the barren, usar (alkaline soils) and ravenous land. The scheme would help in increasing cultivation area in the state.The Bhumi Sena scheme aimed at benefitting landless and small farmers by making barren and usar land fit for agricultural purposes was first launched by former Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav in 1990.