• GST collections continue to break new records with monthly mop-up breaching Rs 1.5 lakh crore for the first time ever in almost five years. The government in April 2022 collected the highest ever GST revenue of Rs 1,67,540 crore, which is 20% more than the collection in the same month last year.

• The previous highest collection was recorded in March 2022, when the government received Rs 1,42,095 crore.

• Of the Rs 1,67,540 crore, Central GST is Rs 33,159 crore, State GST is Rs  41,793 crore, Integrated GST is Rs  81,939 crore (including Rs  36,705 crore collected on import of goods) and compensation cess is Rs 10,649 crore (including Rs  857 crore collected on import of goods).

• The government has settled Rs 33,423 crore to CGST and Rs 26962 crore to SGST from IGST. The total revenue of Centre and the States in the month of April 2022 after the regular settlement is Rs 66,582 crore for CGST and Rs 68,755 crore for the SGST.

• During the month, revenues from import of goods were 30% higher and the revenues from the domestic transaction (including import of services) are 17% higher than the revenues from these sources during the same month last year.

• According to a statement issued by the ministry of finance, April 2022 saw the highest ever tax collection in a single day on 20th April 2022 and the highest collection during an hour, from 4 PM to 5 PM on that day. On 20 April 2022, Rs 57,847 crore was paid through 9.58 lakh transactions and during 4-5 PM, almost Rs  8,000 crore was paid through 88,000 transactions.

• The highest single-day payment last year (on the same date) was Rs 48,000 crore through 7.22 lakh transactions and the highest one-hour collection (2 PM -3 PM on the same date last year) was Rs 6,400 crore through 65,000 transactions.

• During the month, 1.06 crore GST returns in GSTR-3B were filed, of which 97 lakh pertained to the month of March 2022, as compared to the total of 92 lakh returns filed during April 2021.

• Indian FMCG players, particularly food and snacks manufacturers, have said they are concerned about Indonesia's move to ban exports of crude palm oil, though some of them expect the decision is likely to have only transitory impacts on a short-term basis.

• Several industry leaders hint that they will reduce their reliance on palm oil in phases and shift to alternatives such as rice bran oil and cottonseed oil for food products.

• Last week Indonesia, the world's largest palm oil producer, banned shipments of crude palm oil (CPO), adding to the previous sanctions on refined oil, to soften the prices in its domestic market.

• However, the Indian industry and experts expect the impact of this will be transitory in nature as Indonesia consumes only around one-third of its palm oil output.

• India is the world's largest importer and second-largest consumer of palm oil, which accounts for around 30 per cent of the country's edible oil consumption.

• Indonesia has imposed a ban on palm oil exports to increase domestic availability and check the rising prices of the commodity in that country.

• Some reports indicated that the ban did not apply on CPO but on refined bleached deodorised palmolein, but the government widened the scope a couple of days later to also include CPO.

• Palm oil is preferred in India by the food industry as it is relatively cheaper, lasts longer and is more stable at high temperatures than other oils.

• CPO is used by most of the food companies, while soap makers in India use a derivative Palm Fatty Acid Distillate (PFAD), a key input for making soaps, soap noodles etc.

• India imports over 90 per cent of its 22 MNT of demand, majorly in the form of CPO.

• Indonesia constitutes around 50 per cent of the imports, while 45 per cent of imports are from Malaysia and the rest from Thailand.

• Cricket South Africa  has announced a new six-team franchise based T20 league, to be played in January next year. The league is set to comprise six privately owned franchises playing each other in a double round before the top three sides move to the play-off stages.

• Thirty-three matches will be played over three to four weeks. Like the Indian Premier League, the tournament will allow up to four international players to feature in the playing XIs of each team. The date of the auction, fixtures and details will be announced at a later date.

• The first edition of the competition will be played in January 2023, immediately after South Africa's tour to Australia. The first month of the year will then become the window for the league.

• The league is also actively looking at the possibility of a women's T20 event to coincide in the coming years.

Q.1) What percentage of Exports of goods and services account for  India's GDP ?

1 About 22-23 per cent

2 About 25-26 per cent

3 About 28-29 per cent

4 About 32-33 per cent

5 None of These

Q.2) Name the country which is  the world's largest importer and second-largest consumer of palm oil ?

1 Indonesia

2 Malaysia

3 China

4 India

5 None of These

Q.3) Which of the following is the world's largest palm oil producer ?

1 Singapore

2 Thailand

3 Indonesia

4  Malaysia

5 None of These

 Q.4) Name the Sanatan Mandir Cultural Centre in Canada where where Sardar Patel's statue was unveiled ?

1  Vancouver

2  Markham

3   Surrey

4  Burnaby

5 None of These

Q.5) Name the state which  has banned three books for allegedly distorting facts related to Sikh history?

1 Punjab

2 Haryana

3 Himachal Pradesh

4 Uttar Pradesh

5 None of These

Answers

1------------------1 About 22-23 per cent

2------------------4 India

3------------------3 Indonesia

4-------------------2  Markham

Lt General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the next vice chief of the Army Staff on May 1

Lt Gen Raju will succeed incumbent Lt Gen Manoj Pande who will take the reins of the 1.3 million-strong Army after Army Chief Gen MM Naravane completes his term on April 30.

A qualified helicopter pilot, Lt Gen Raju is currently serving as the Director General Military Operations and oversaw the Army's overall operational readiness in eastern Ladakh. An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, he was commissioned into the JAT Regiment on December 15, 1984.

In his illustrious career spanning 38 years, he had commander his battalion during 'Operation Parakram' in the Western theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir. Lt Gen Raju holds the distinction of commanding the Uri brigade along the Line of Control, a counter-insurgency force and at the Srinagar-based Chinar Corps.

The officer also served as the commandant of the Indian military training team in Bhutan. The officer also served in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments in the Army headquarters and in field formations.

He also holds a distinguished Master's programme degree in counter terrorism at the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey in the US. For his illustrious contribution to the service, he has been awarded Uttam Yudh Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Yudh Seva Medal.

Karnataka to form committee to control hate speeches: CM Basavaraj Bommai

With a spate of communal flare-ups recurring in Karnataka, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai has said the State would form a committee to control hate speeches in accordance with instructions of the Supreme Court.

The Chief Minister said such speeches are on the rise across the country, especially on social media platforms.

The Supreme Court orders would be followed and a committee would be constituted to control hate speeches, he said.

The State witnessed tension starting from January, when the Hijab row began.

It was followed by the murder of Harsha, a Hindu activist, in Shivamogga.

The right wing outfits also ran a campaign against halal cut meat and pushed for Jhatka meat during the ‘Hosa Tadaku', a festival to eat non-vegetarian food a day after Ugadi.

Further, there was a boycott of Hindu fishermen by the Muslims in Udupi protesting against the rally by the right wing members demanding ban on cow slaughter.

The incident resulted in boycott of Muslim traders around Hindu temples.

The Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) will hand over India's first Indigenous Aircraft Carrier (IAC)  which will be named 'INS Vikrant' to the Indian Navy next month. This was revealed by CSL Director (Technical) Bejoy Bhasker in a press conference held to announce the Shipyard's 50th anniversary.

CSL has obtained a contract for eight Anti-Submarine Warfare Shallow Water Crafts. CSL has been declared as the lowest bidder for the New Generation Missile Vessel (NGMV) project.

A powerful explosion ripped through a mosque in the Afghan capital of Kabul on April 29 , killing at least 10 people and wounding 20.

Hundreds of worshippers had gathered for prayers on the last Friday of the Muslim holy month of Ramdan and the Khalifa Aga Gul Jan Mosque was packed, said local residents, fearing the casualty toll could rise further.

The Taliban-appointed interior ministry spokesman, Mohammad Nafi Takor, could not provide more details and Taliban security men cordoned off the area. The source of the explosion was not immediately known and no one has claimed responsibility for the blast.

Ambulances raced to the site, driving up to the end of a narrow street in an eastern neighborhood of Kabul to reach the mosque, which belongs to Afghanistan’s majority Sunni Muslims.

The explosion was the latest in a series of such blasts amid relentless attacks across the country. Similar attacks on mosques have recently targeted the country’s minority Shiite Muslims and were claimed by the Islamic State group’s regional affiliate, known as Islamic State in Khorasan Province or IS-K.

It's been two years since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to around 22,000 Indian students (mostly studying medicine) at universities in China heading back home.

However, even though students from countries like Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Thailand and Solomon Islands have been permitted to return to their universities in China recently, no such opportunity has been granted to Indian students. The Indian students are attending online classes but it's time for most of them to do practicals for which they have to attend offline classes.

The diplomatic standoff between India and China began in 2020 when 20 Indian soldiers and an unknown number of Chinese soldiers were killed during the military stand-off in Galwan. Since then, things are yet to settle down between the two nations.

"We hope China will take a non-discriminatory approach since it involves the future of many young people," said External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar after having met his counterpart from China Wang Yi in New Delhi last month.

As a retaliatory step, valid visas that Chinese nationals had for visiting India have been scrapped.

In a circular issued by IATA (International Air Transport Association) on April 20, India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals. However, it said that the Indian government is still offering visas to Chinese businessmen, employees, diplomatic and government officials.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), however, says that visas have been revoked due to the impending threat of Covid in China.

Amidst the diplomatic standoff between India and China, the concerned students are a worried lot.

On the request of the students, Union Health Minister Dr Mansukh Mandaviya wrote a letter to Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, urging him to help facilitate the return of Indian students to China.

China has not given a firm response till now, nor has issued visas to Indian students.

Interestingly, China is preferred by Indian students, especially to study medicine, as there is ease of getting admission and the fee is cheaper. China ranks third globally in international student intake after the US and UK.

Following Galwan, India banned over 200 popular Chinese apps like Tik Tok and even boycotted the opening and closing ceremonies of the Winter Olympics.