President Donald Trump signed into law a two-year budget deal that significantly boosts spending on defence and domestic programmes, ending an hours-long shutdown of the federal government. The federal government had shut down for five hours after Congress failed to meet the midnight deadline. The Senate passed the bill, delayed by opposition from some Republicans, at 1:30 am. The House voted 240 to 186 in support of the bipartisan package that extends funding until March 23. The passage of the budget will end short-term fundings of the federal government that came with the threat of shutdown, which had been leveraged by Democrats to seek concessions from the Republicans, who control both chambers of Congress, specially on immigration.
The publisher of Britain's Daily Mirror has agreed to pay 126.7 million in cash and shares to buy rival titles of the Daily Express and Daily Star in the biggest shake-up of the embattled newspaper industry in years. The deal brings together tabloids from the opposite ends of the political spectrum plus celebrity magazines to create a larger company better able to combat declining sales and the move of readers and advertisers online.
MSME's Reclassifed on the basis of Turnover
The government has re-classified the micro, small and medium enterprises on the basis of turnover, rather than capital. This will give them the benefit of corporate rate tax cuts announced in the Union budget. This will encourage ease of doing business, make the norms of classification growth-oriented and align them to the new tax regime revolving around GST.
A micro enterprise will be defined as a unit where the annual turnover does not exceed Rs. 5 crore, a small enterprise as a unit where the annual turnover is more than Rs. 5 crore but does not exceed Rs. 75 crore and a medium enterprise where the annual turnover is more than Rs. 75 crore but less than Rs. 250 crore.
In a move likely to lead to improved fertility treatments, human eggs have been fully grown for the first time in a laboratory at the University of Edinburgh. Scientists from Britain and the US have grown egg cells, which were removed from ovary tissue at their earliest stage of development, to the point at which they are ready to be fertilised. The advance could potentially help cancer patients wishing to preserve their fertility while undergoing chemotherapy treatment and deepen scientific understanding of the biology of the earliest stages of human life.
PepsiCo Chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi has been appointed to the International Cricket Council (ICC) Board as the governing body's first independent Director. Nooyi will join the Board in 2018 to align with the term of the ICC independent Chairman, following the unanimous confirmation of her appointment. The independent director will be appointed for a two-year term
Sikh marriages in the national capital will no longer have to be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955, as the Delhi government notified the Anand Marriage Act, a long-pending demand of the Sikh community.
15th Sant Namdev Award Bestowed to J&K Governor
Jammu and Kashmir Governor NN Vohra was awarded the 15th Sant Namdev National Award for yeoman service to the nation, especially in his gubernatorial assignment in the troubled state of Jammu and Kashmir.
Kerala Tops the Niti's Health Index
Uttar Pradesh fared the worst among 21 states on an outcomes-based comprehensive health index prepared for the first time by the federal think tank Niti Aayog, which ranked Kerala, Punjab and Tamil Nadu in the top three. The performance report based — Healthy States, Progressive India - was released by officials of Niti Aayog. Among smaller states, ranked separately, Mizoram got the top rank, followed by Manipur and then Goa. Lakshadweep recorded the best overall performance among Union Territories, followed by Chandigarh and Delhi.