1) Govt approves interest rate on EPF for FY21 at 8.5%
•Ministry of Finance has approved the interest rate on employees’ provident fund (EPF) deposits for 2020-21 at 8.5%. The rate has been kept unchanged as for the year 2019-20. EPF is one fixed-income instrument that is completely tax-free under the exempt-exempt-exempt (EEE) regime, along with PPF and the Sukanya Samriddhi Account. Now the labour ministry will notify the interest rate for it to come into effect.
2) Agriculture Minister inaugurated “Apple Festival” in Jammu and Kashmir
•Union Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar and Lt Governor, Manoj Sinha has virtually inaugurated Apple Festival, organized for the first time in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. It will provide a better platform to apple growers and other stakeholders. With an annual production of more than 2 million metric tonnes, apple from J&K contributes to 87% of the national production and is linked to the livelihood of about 30% of the population of Jammu and Kashmir.
3) Public Affairs Index 2021: Kerala topped in governance performance
•According to the 6th edition of the Public Affairs Index (PAI 2021) report by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), a Bengaluru- based non-profit think tank, the top three slots have been taken by Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana among 18 large states. PAI 2021 highlights the state government’s quality governance and especially the state’s government involvement over the curb of Covid-19.
4) IRCTC & Truecaller partnered to reduce fraud in the railways
•The Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) has partnered with Truecaller India to provide passengers with greater trust in communication. This partnership aims to reduce fraud in the railways. Under this partnership, the integrated National Railways Helpline 139 has been verified by Truecaller Business Identity solutions. This partnership aims to assure the passengers that critical communications such as booking details and PNR status are delivered only by IRCTC.
5) Isha Ambani appointed to Smithsonian’s board of trustees
•Board member of Reliance Jio Infocomm, Reliance Retail and Reliance Foundation, Isha Ambani was appointed on the Board of Trustees of the prestigious Smithsonian’s National Museum of Asian Art. The appointment is for 4 years. Apart from Isha Ambani, Carolyn Brehm, founder and CEO of the consulting firm Brehm Global Ventures LLC and lecturer, and Peter Kimmelman, also joined the board. Antoine van Agtmael is the chair of the museum’s board of trustees.
6) Chennai-Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Express gets IMS certification
•The Chennai-Mysore-Chennai Shatabdi Express has become the first train of Southern Railway to receive Integrated Management Systems (IMS) certification. It got the certificate for world-class maintenance of the train, environment-friendly resources and convenient and safe travel of the passengers. It is also the first Shatabdi train and the only second mail/express train of Indian Railways to receive this prestigious certification.
•The IMS certificate provided are ISO 9001:2015, ISO 14001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018. The first train of Indian Railways to be IMS certified is Habibganj-Hazrat Nizamuddin-Habibganj Bhopal Express.
