1. Shreyas Iyer May Replace Virat Kohli for Dharamsala Test
Shreyas Iyer has been called up to cover for Indian captain Virat Kohli for the 4th Test of the India vs Australia 2017 Border-Gavaskar Trophy at the HPCA Stadium in Dharamsala. The Indian skipper hasn’t completely recovered from the shoulder injury he suffered on the opening day of the Ranchi Test while fielding. However, the news of Virat Kohli being ruled out from the final test came as a surprise to many because the Delhi boy batted at his usual No. 4 position and fielded in the second innings. Shreyas Iyer, on the hand, had a magnificent 2015-16 first-class season as he scored 1321 runs and became the leading scorer in the Ranji Trophy. Moreover, Iyer registered an unbeaten double-ton against Australia in the warm-up match at the Brabourne Stadium.
2. Four Bills To Be Introduced Next For GST Roll Out
Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said that four bills will be introduced in the Lok Sabha early next week that are crucial for the proper rollout of the Goods and Service Tax and the rate structure for GST would be worked out after March. These four crucial bills namely, Central GST Bill, Union Territory GST Bill, Integrated GST Bill, and GST (Compensation to the States) Bill have already been passed by the Union Cabinet. Underlining the need to introduce the four bills on an immediate basis, the Finance Minister said that there is no provision for an extension of GST deadline beyond September and the government has to roll out the new tax structure before the stipulated time.
3. AIADMK Officially Splits, New Names and Symbols Decided
AIADMK announced its officially split on Thursday when the two factions, VK Sasikala and O Panneerselvam, chose new names and poll symbols ahead of the RK Nagar bypolls. The VK Sasikala faction is now called AIADMK (Amma) and has a ‘hat’ as its symbol for the RK Nagar bypolls. OPS faction, on the other hand, chose the name AIADMK (Puratchi Thalaivi Amma) settled for the ‘electric pole’ as its party symbol.
4. IITs and Other Institutions Ordered To Scrap Courses With Few Takers
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) conveyed a message to all centrally-funded technical institutions including Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) stating that the centres and branches that have seen a major decline in number of applicants in the last three years should be scrapped institutions should introduce new courses and disciplines according to recent requirement of higher education, market opportunity and employability. Minister of State for HRD, Mahendra Nath Pandey said, “All Centrally Funded Technical Institutions (CFTIs), which are participating in joint counsellings have been asked to review the position of vacant seats in the last three years and to revise the number of seats in each discipline after considering employment opportunities, national requirements, available infrastructure and scope for future”.
5. Maharashtra Doctors Called off Strike, Resumed Duties From Friday
After the Maharashtra Association of Resident Doctors (MARD) urged all resident doctors to call off the four-day-long mass leave agitation immediately, on Thursday, doctors have resumed normal duties from Friday morning. The MARD said that the Bombay High Court had ordered to provide adequate protection and security to all the government hospitals. The court also ordered that the doctors who were protesting should not be punished.
6. Rupee Recovers 5 Paise Against US Dollar As Sensex Opens In Green
The Indian Rupee strengthened by 5 paise against the US Dollar in morning session of Friday’s trade due to fresh selling of the American currency by exporters and banks. The green currency was valued at Rs 65.47 during the early trade. BSE’s Benchmark Sensex, on the other hand, gained 72.54 points and traded at 29,404.70.