Daily Current Affairs 27th June

To keep the temple flame burning

• There are about 100 Zoroastrian agiaries (fire temples) all over India — 40 of them in Mumbai — in which the holy fire never stops burning.

• Parsi Zoroastrians make offerings of fragrant sandalwood to keep the flame alive, but the bulk of the fuel comes from basic wood (kathi) from the Bawal tree (Acacia arabica, also known as the Babul), which is slow-burning and perfect for a sustained flame

• That slow-burning quality, however, makes Bawal wood attractive to others — for instance, bakeries which use woodfired ovens — says Noshirwan Mistry, an agriculture expert. Consequently, prices have risen nearly five-fold over the last decade.

• Concerned about the increasing cost, and the possibility of supply falling short or even running out, some religious Parsis have been working on ways to solve the problem.

• Now, a Mumbai-based group has come forward to make the movement bigger. Burjor Antia, an advocate and a former trustee of the Bombay Parsi Panchayat, Mr. Mistry and a few others have formed a public charitable trust, Amardad Kathi Trust, for a drive across States. Once the project takes off, the trust plans to expand to other States where the community owns land. It takes 10-12 years for a desi Bawal to mature into a usable tree

E-tailers get GST relief, date for TDS deferred

• Bringing significant relief to small businesses selling their wares on e-marketplaces, the Centre has decided to keep in abeyance the applicability of legal provisions pertaining to such businesses in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime along with requirements for ecommerce portals to deduct tax at source from sellers using their online marketplace.

• As per these provisions, e-commerce players were required to collect 1% tax at source while paying suppliers after July 1, while notified entities need to collect similar TDS for payments to suppliers for over Rs. 2.5 lakh. “Persons who will be liable to deduct or collect tax at source will be required to take registration, but the liability to deduct or collect tax will arise from the date the respective sections are brought in force,” the ministry said in a statement.

• E-tailers like Paytm Mall ,Snapdeal ,Amazon predictably welcomed the government’s decision and said this will help them enhance their preparedness levels for ensuring complete GST compliance.  

Other Important News 

• U.S. terms Hizb chief Salahuddin as global terrorist

• Kasturirangan to head education committee

          Eminent scientist, former chief of ISRO and Padma Vibhushan Dr. K. Kasturirangan has been             appointed Chairman of the committee tasked with preparing the final draft of the National                   Education Policy. The committee has eight members, apart from the chairperson.