1. Parmanu Tech 2019 Showcases Indian Atomic Energy Conference held in new Delhi

• The Union Minister of State, Dr Jitendra Singh delivered the keynote address at the ‘Parmanu Tech 2019’ conference, organised by the Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) at new Delhi
• The conference discussed issues related to Nuclear Energy and Radiation Technologies.
• The Chairman, Atomic Energy Commission and Secretary, Department of Atomic Energy, Shri K. N. Vyas said that the conference aims at showcasing the societal applications that DAE is pursuing.

2. RBI lowers repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25%, first cut since August 2017

• The Reserve Bank of Indialowered the repo rate, or the interest rate at which it lends to commercial banks, by 25 basis points to 6.25%. This is the first time in 17 months that the central bank has cut the rate.
• The reverse repo rate, too, was lowered to 6%, and the bank rate to 6.25%. The reverse repo rate is the rate at which the central bank borrows money from commercial banks.
• The six-member monetary policy committee, headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das, changed the policy stance to “neutral” from “calibrated tightening”.

3. Cabinet approves abolition of Ombudsman for direct, indirect taxes

• The Union Cabinet decided to abolish institutions of Ombudsman for income tax and indirect tax. The approval comes against the backdrop of people preferring online grievance redressal mechanism.
• The institution of Income-Tax Ombudsman was set up in 2003 to deal with grievances of public related to settlement of complaints relating to income tax.
• However, the institution failed to achieve it objectives as the number of new complaints have fallen to single digits, said an official release.

4. Thailand makes Siamese fighting fish national aquatic animal

• Tiny, testy and eye-catching with a colourful fin plumage, the Siamese fighting fish was named Thailand's national aquatic animal.
• Known in the West as a betta fish, the underwater brawler is popular in home aquariums for its iridescent body and many-hued tail.
• The Siamese fighting fish was registered as intangible cultural heritage in 2013.

5. Vijay Sethupathi launches police App ‘DigiCop’ in Chennai

• Actor Vijay Sethupathi launched the mobile App ‘DigiCop’ of city police department at the Commissioner’s office.
• The actor also released a DVD on CCTV awareness and several other police campaigns to make the police department people friendly.
• The details of 18,000 stolen mobile phones are stored in the App. So next time someone is buying a phone from a second hand shop they can verify if the phone is stolen or genuine.

6. Linking of PAN Card with Aadhaar Mandatory for Filing IT returns

• The Supreme Court has said linkage of PAN with Aadhaar is mandatory for filing of Income Tax returns. A bench comprising Justices AK Sikri and S Abdul Nazeer said the top court has decided the matter and upheld the section 139AA of the Income Tax Act.
• The court's direction came on an appeal filed by the Centre against a Delhi High Court order allowing two people, Shreya Sen and Jayshree Satpute, to file Income Tax returns for 2018-19 without linking their Aadhaar and PAN numbers.
• Section 139AA of the Income-Tax Act 1961 was introduced by the Finance Act, 2017.

7. Odisha: BJD MP Ladu Kishore Swain passes away at 71

• Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP from Aska Lok Sabha constituency in Odisha, Ladu Kishore Swain passed awayat the age of 71.
• Swain was member of the Odisha Legislative Assembly from 2004 to 2009. He was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha in May 2014.
• The BJD MP was Chairman of Panchayat Samiti from 1984-1990 and 1992-95.From 2002 to 2004, he was member of the Zilla Parishad.