MAHARASHTRA
- Maharashtra Culture : Songs of Maharashtra
- Every festive occasion is accompanied by song, music and dance in Maharashtra.
- Talking about the music of Maharashtra won’t complete without the mention of Natya Sangeet, numerous folk songs and its great saint poets.
- Although music in Maharashtra like Marathi literature has an ancient tradition, the popularity of classical music in Maharashtra began through Gwalior.
- Miraj town of Sangli district is known as the ‘town of music’.
- The world famous Indian musical instrument the Sitar is made in this town.
- Folk songs are an inseparable part of the daily lives of the rural Maharashtra.
- Folk forms like lavani, nautanki and tamasha music are very famous.
- However, a lot of these art forms are dying out as performers are finding it difficult to sustain.
- Amongst the saint poets, Jnandev, Namdev, Tukaram, Jani and Soyara are imorptant to mention.
- They believed in the fusion of Bhakti (devotion) with Jnana (knowledge).
- They taught to worship and merge into oneness with the God.
- Lavani and Povada are the most popular folk songs that entertain the village-folks in Maharashtra.
- Bhaleri, a folk-song is sung to cheer the farmers working in the field. They also sing special songs during the harvesting time.
- Village women of Maharashtra sing a folk song called owi at dawn describing maika, mother’s home and sasural, husband’s home.
- Suvasinis sing folk songs at the halad and ghana ceremonies in a marriage.
- Palane is a lullaby in Maharashtra to put a child to sleep.
- Artya is the folk song that appeases the wrath of deities to protect from diseases like smallpox, plague etc.
- Bhajan, Bharud, Gondhal, Kirtan, Lalita, Abhangas and Tumbadi singing are the other forms of community entertainments based on folksongs found in Maharashtra.
- Gondhal, Lalita, Lavani, Povadas and Tamasha are the other forms of entertainment that involves folk music in Maharashtra.
INTERNATIONAL
- World Heritage Day 2019: 18 April
- World Heritage Day is celebrated every year on April 18.
- The day is also known as the International Day for Monuments and Sites.
- The day is celebrated to raise awareness about the diversity of cultural heritage, monuments and their relevance.
- The theme for 2019 is ‘Rural Landscapes’.
- Sri Lanka’s 1st satellite ‘Raavana-1’ launched into space
- Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ was launched into space from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore.
- ‘Raavana 1’ weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years.
- The launch marks Sri Lanka’s entry into the global space age.
- The satellite was designed and built at the Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan by two Sri Lankan research engineers.
- Nepal launched its first satellite NepaliSat-1 from US
- Developed by the Nepalese scientists, NepaliSat-1satellite was launched from Virginia in United States.
- NepaliSat-1 is a low orbit satellite which will be in the 400-km distance from the Earth’s surface.
- It will be stationed at the International Space Station (ISS) for a month and then it will be sent to orbit the earth.
- The satellite will take photographs on a regular basis to gather geographical informationof the country.
- Nepal Academy of Science and Technology (NAST) has invested nearly Rs 20 million for the satellite that weighs 1.3 kilograms, a small satellite with limited capability.
NATIONAL
- Indian Navy launches Guided-missile destroyer ‘Imphal’
- The Indian Navy launched guided missile destroyer ‘Imphal’ at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders in Mumbai.
- Imphal is the third ship to be launched under a project in which ships are built to carry and operate two multiple role helicopters.
- Enhanced stealth features have been achieved through the shaping of hull and use of radar transparent deck fittings which make the ships difficult to detect.
- Income Tax Department Proposes New Rules To Tax MNCs And Digital Firms In India
- The income tax department altered the method for taxing multinational companies (MNCs) and digital firms with a permanent establishment in India by taking into account various factors like domestic sales, employee (manpower and wages) strength, assets and user base.
- In ‘Profit Attribution to Permanent Establishment (PE) in India’ report, theCBDT (Central Board of Direct Taxes) Committee stated that MNCs that are suffering global losses or a global profit margin of less than 2% and have their operations in India will be considered to have made a profit of 2% of Indian revenue and will be taxed accordingly.
- The committee has altered the system to protect India’s revenue interests.
The CBDT invited comments from stakeholders on the report within 30 days.
An MNC that has a fixed place of business in India is considered to have a Permanent Establishment (PE) in India and is taxed as per the domestic laws.
- RBI became the first Asia-Pacific central bank to begin interest rate easing cycle
- According to Fitch Ratings – APAC (Asia-Pacific) sovereign credit overview report, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is the first central bank in the Asia Pacific regionto begin an explicit interest rate easing cycle buoyed by benign food inflation and easier global financial condition.
- The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, cut rates in February and April citing prospects of benign inflation. In the four months of 2019, the RBI has cut policy interest ratestwice by25 per cent each to one-year low of 6 per cent.
- This is the first back-to-back rate cut since the MPC was formed in late 2016.
Fitch has a ‘BBB-‘, the lowest investment grade, rating on India, with a stable outlook. - Fitch estimates India to grow at 8 per centin current fiscal 2019 and 7.1 per cent in 2020.
- Abhishek Verma won gold in 10m Air Pistol at ISSF World Cup
- Abhishek Vermawon the 10m air pistol gold medal at the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Cup at Beijing, China. He clinched the top spot with a total score of 242.7. Russia’s Artem Chernousov took silver. His brilliant performance in the Shooting World Cup Final also secured a fifth Olympic quota for India.
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