India ranks __________ in the global talent competitive index.

President Ram Nath Kovind gave his assent to the amendments to the Indian Stamp Act, 1899,which were introduced in the Parliament as part of the Finance Act 2019. These amendments have been introduced to regularise the system of levying stamp duty and to help in curbing tax evasion. For the stamp duty rates, the duties levied by Maharashtra will be taken as a benchmark as the state accounts for 70% of the total collection. They propose creation of a legal and institutional mechanism which will enable states to collect stamp duty on securities market instruments at one place by one agency(through the Stock Exchanges or Clearing Corporations authorised by the stock exchange or by the Depositories). They also propose a mechanism for appropriate sharing of the stamp duty with relevant state governments on the basis of state of domicile of the buying client.

The World Bank, the Government of India and representatives of 5 States of Government of India and Implementing Agencies signed in New Delhi the Loan Agreement for Additional Financing of $137 Million for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP). This agreement will help rehabilitate and modernize over 220 selected large dams in the States of Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand. The $137 Million Loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 3-year grace period, and a final maturity of 16 years.

According to Election Commission, West Bengal has the maximum number of first-time voters, around 20.1 lakh, in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections. WB is followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, with around 16.7 lakh and 13.6 lakh first-time voters, respectively. The number of people eligible to vote has reportedly increased by 8.4 crore as compared to 2014 General Elections. Over 1.5 crore voters are in the age group of 18-19 years. These "young voters" constitute 1.66 per cent of the total electors.

The Madhya Pradesh government has taken the ordinance route to increase reservation for Other Backward Classes (OBCs) from 14% to 27%. In this regard, Governor Anandiben Patel has recently signed the ordinance to amend the Madhya Pradesh Lok Seva (Anusuchit Jatiyon, Anusuchit Jan Jatioyon aur Anya Pichhade Vargon ke Liye Arakshan) Adhiniyam, 1994. With this, MP is possibly the only state in India to have 27% quota for OBCs. At present, the state provides 20% reservation to Scheduled Tribes (STs), 16% to Scheduled Castes (SCs) and 14% to OBCs. OBCs are estimate to constitute nearly 52% of the state's population, and OBC groups have often demanded an increase in reservation to reflect their strength in the state.

Assam State government has launched initiatives to educate voters. Folk song competitions, quiz programmes and appeals by celebrities are some of the initiatives being undertaken by the election office in Assam for attracting women, first-time voters, people with physical disabilities and senior citizens to cast their votes. Sprinter Hima Das, Whitley Awardee and environmentalist Purnima Devi Barman, singer Tarali Sarma, body builder Golap Rabha and actor Kopil Bora have been roped in as State icons to create awareness about the election process. District election officers have been directed to reach out to the maximum number of voters in the constituencies under their jurisdiction. Polling stations with low female voter turn-out have been identified and 'mahila voter rallies' are being held.

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has launched 22 permanent Global Positioning System (GPS) stations across India to identify seismically hazardous zones and encourage mapping activities. The 22 GPS-Geodetic (pertaining to Geodesy, the science of earth measurement) observatories are located in Kolkata, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Pune, Dehradun, Chennai, Jabalpur, Bhubaneswar, Patna, Raipur, Bhopal, Chandigarh, Gandhinagar Vishakhapatnam, Agartala, Itanagar, Mangan, Jammu, Lucknow, Nagpur, Shillong and Little Andaman. These stations are meant to delineate high strain zones for earthquake probability, determine a seismic motion on faults that may lead to a rupture and produce thematic maps with high positional accuracy. The new 13 stations will be located in Aizawl, Faridabad, Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Cooch Behar, Zawar, North Andaman, Middle Andaman, South Andaman, Ranchi, Mangalore, Imphal and Chitradurga.

The Delhi government's Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), a think-tank that advises the government on key issues, has set up a 17-member high-level committee to "reform higher education" in the capital. The committee will be chaired by DDC vice-chairperson Jasmine Shah. The committee will "recommend goals, metrics, policies, and actionable plans for reforming Delhi's higher education system within a year". Nalanda 2.0, a non-profit policy think tank is collaborating with the DDC as the knowledge partner in the initiative.

Reserve Bank of India and Bank of Japan have signed a Bilateral Swap Arrangement (BSA). The BSA was negotiated between India and Japan during the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Tokyo in October 2018. The BSA provides for India to access 75 billion US dollars whereas the earlier BSA had provided for 50 billion dollars. The BSA was approved by the Union Cabinet in January. India can access the agreed amount of 75 billion dollars for its domestic currency, for the purpose of maintaining an appropriate level of balance of payments or short-term liquidity.

The Union Government has decided to renovate and develop around 400 abandoned airstrips across the country to strengthen air-connectivity. The first such airstrip to be developed into a modern airport will be Dhalbhumgarh in East Singhbhum district of Jharkhand.

The Union Cabinet approved a 10% reservation for 'economically backward' upper castes in government jobs. Ahead of the General Elections this year, the government has announced reservation in jobs for those belonging to the upper castes and earning less than Rs 8 lakh per year. A bill to amend Article 15 and 16 of the constitution will be moved in Parliament to this effect.