Saturday, July 8, 2017

DNA 5th July

SC open to liquor sale on city highways

  • The Supreme Court prima facie observed that there may be nothing wrong in de-notifying particular stretches of highways running inside city limits as city roads and such declassification does not violate its order that national and State highways across the country should be liquor-free zones.
  • A Bench of Chief Justice of India J.S. Khehar and Justice D.Y. Chandrachud orally observed that the purpose of the December 15, 2016 prohibition order on sale of liquorwithin a distance of 500 metres from the outer edge of national and State highways was to prevent drunken driving on high-speed thoroughfares.
  • Chief Justice Khehar remarked that traffic inside city limits is usually slow and heavy, and stretches denotified fall within the city limits.
  • The goal of the liquor ban was to prevent drunken driving in fast-moving traffic. The pace of traffic within the city is very different from traffic outside city limits. Purpose of the ban is to avoid drivers getting inebriated while driving on highways inter-linking cities,” 
  • The indication from the court may spell future relief to hotels, pubs, especially in the metros, which were forced to shut down following the ban.
  • The relief is palpable among these establishments as the court, in March 2017, clarified that the ban was not restricted to just liquor shops alongside the highways but also to other larger establishments, including pubs and hotels.
Constituional Snippets

Article 19(1)(g) provides that all the citizens have the right to practise any profession ,or to carry on any occupation,trade or business.

Governor threatened and insulted me, says Mamata

  • West Bengal witnessed an unprecedented political showdown on Tuesday with Governor Keshari Nath Tripathi and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee indulging in a public spat.
  • At a press meet she called after Mr. Tripathi raised the communal flare-up at Baduria in the North 24 Parganas during a telephonic talk, the Chief Minister accused the Governor of “threatening and insulting” her. 
  • At one point, she was unable to take the “humiliation” and felt like “quitting” her post
  • Observing that the Governor cannot remain a mute spectator to the affairs of the State, the statement said it is “proper for the Hon’ble Governor to bring to the notice of the Hon’ble Chief Minister any serious grievance made by any member of [the] public or any serious event happening in the State.”
     Article 356. Provisions in case of failure of constitutional machinery in State
    (1) If the President, on receipt of report from the Governor of the State or otherwise, is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of the State cannot be carried on in accordance with he provisions of this Constitution, the President may be Proclamation

    Centre plans partial removal of AFSPA in Assam, Arunachal Pradesh


    • The Union government is considering a partial removal of the Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA) from Assam and Arunachal Pradesh and has asked the State governments for their comments, a senior Home Ministry official said.
    • AFSPA gives powers to the Army and central forces deployed in "disturbed areas" to shoot to kill and arrest any suspect without a warrant.
    • AFSPA came into force in 1958 at the height of the Naga insurgency movement.
    • It is in force in Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, in some parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Meghalaya and Jammu and Kashmir.
    • "Earlier, the notification for extending AFSPA used to be issued for six months or more. We are trying to reduce the duration to three months and will see if it could be withdrawn completely from certain areas. For the time being, proposal is only for Arunachal Pradesh and Assam," the official said.
    • The official said that there was no such proposal for Jammu and Kashmir as of now.
    • Tripura withdrew AFSPA in 2015.

    We waited 70 years, Bibi tells Modi        [GS Mains Paper 2]

    • “We love India, Mr. Modi,” said Mr. Netanyahu, adding that Israel had awaited for the visit for “a long time, 70 years to be precise.”
    • India had voted against the partition of Palestine in 1947 and also against its induction as a United Nations member, finally recognizing the Jewish nation in 1950.
    • It wasn’t until 1992 that full diplomatic ties were established, however, by the Narasimha Rao government.   
    • On Tuesday evening, the leaders went to the Israel Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem together 
    WORLD HISTORY
    • A long-forgotten slice of martial history related to Mysuru will be revisited when Prime Minister Narendra Modi pays tribute to fallen Indian soldiers at the Haifa cemetery in Israel.
    • The Mysore Imperial Service played a big role in the liberation of Haifa on September 23, 1918, from Ottoman Turks and Germans, by allied forces.
    • This is seen as one of the fiercest battles in the west Asian theatre of World War I in which India, as a British colony, fought German and the Ottoman troops.
    • The Mysore Lancers were in the 15th Imperial Service as the forces sent by the princely states of Mysore, Jodhpur and Hyderabad. 
    • A special recruitment drive was conducted in the princely State and 5,000 men drafted for the war. The then Mysuru Maharaja Nalwudi Krishnaraja Wadiyar sent his troops to defend the empire and even gave nearly ₹50 lakh to the India War Fund  

     Drug-resistant TB higher among children than expected: report

     Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) TB is higher among children than expected.
    As many as 5,500 of over 76,000 children tested in nine cities have been diagnosed with TB. 
    Nine per cent of these paediatric TB cases have been diagnosed to have MDR TB, according to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) and Central TB Division under the Revised National TB Control Programme (RNTCP).
    . In 2016, the proportion of children among new TB patients reported was 6%

    WHY??
     Absence of appropriate samples coupled with decentralised capacity to get good samples from children to test for TB remains a challenge in paediatric TB case detection
     Paediatric MDR-TB cases had not been documented so far.Children were more prone to primary MDR infection as they were in close contact with their parents and grandparents, who would have been infected. 

    Challenges involved 
     TB diagnosis in children is complicated due to challenges associated with sample collection and poor sensitivity of tests like the Acid fast bacilli (AFB) smear.
    Solutions:
    [i] FIND, through this project, has collaborated with the Central TB Division to improve access to more sensitive diagnostic tools like the GeneXpert in the paediatric population
    [ii] GeneXpert labs have been established within the reference labs of RNTCP in each of the project cities, catering to patients in both the public and private sectors
    [iii]GeneXpert MTB/RIF testing was performed free of cost for all presumptive paediatric TB and drug-resistant TB patients (aged under 15 years). 
    [iv]As per WHO recommendations,both sputum and non-sputum specimens are being tested using GeneXpert except stool, urine and blood


    Malformed baby born to woman whose abortion plea was denied

    • On March 27, the Supreme Court rejected the plea of a 28-year-old Mumbai woman to abort her pregnancy in the 27th week. The SC stated that the baby could be ‘born alive’ during the process of abortion
    • On Saturday midnight, the woman gave birth to a baby boy with the Arnold Chiari Type II syndrome, which leads to a malformed brain and spinal cord
    • The parents say they do not want to take the baby home. “I want to give up the baby for adoption,” Sarika Ghatge (names changed) says, from her hospital bed. “He has so many medical needs. How will we fulfil them?” Ms. Ghatge gave up her job in a private firm to concentrate on her baby, and her husband Hemant works in the HR department of a hospital in Andheri and earns ₹21,000 a month 
    • He says, “They have told us that the baby would need a spine and brain surgery. We don't know what to say. Everyone looks at us as if we are bad people when we say we can’t take the baby home.”


    ‘ASEAN seeks greater role by India’ 


    • Opening new possibilities in Southeast Asia, Vietnam on Tuesday asked India to play a greater role in ASEAN’s strategic and security affairs
    • Speaking at the Delhi Dialogue IX, a platform for discussion between ASEAN and India, Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister said that India should support freedom of navigation in the South China Sea on the basis of international law and conventions.(UNCLOS) 
    • “ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) supports India to play a greater role in the political and security domain .
    • The Vietnamese leader who is on a two-day visit to Delhi, is also the Foreign Minister of his country and held talks with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj. His comments in support of greater role for India in Southeast Asia came even as tension is building up between India and China across the Sikkim sector
    ASEAN-India trade relation

    Trade & Investment 
    ASEAN is India's 4th largest trading partner 


        Friday, July 7, 2017

        Daily Current Affairs 04 Jul

        Deregistered Firms to face money laundering probe

        • The Enforcement Directorate (ED) will be roped in to probe if companies de-registered recently have been involved in money laundering.
        • Scrutiny stepped up Meanwhile, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is preparing to send showcause notices to over three lakh more firms for striking off their names from the ‘register of companies 
        • ED, which deals with Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) provisions, will soon be called in to look at the companies recently struck off the register.
        • The ED is empowered "to take actions of attachment and confiscation of property if the same is determined to be proceeds of crime derived from a Scheduled Offence under PMLA."
        • The ED can also launch prosecution against those involved in money laundering.
        • These measures followed an operation that was launched post-demonetisation to expedite action against companies that failed to start business within one year of incorporation or were not carrying on any business for two immediately preceding financial years or not applied for dormant status.
        • It gained momentum in April, when the Registrar of Companies (RoC) in several States/Union Territories issued show cause notices to over two lakh companies for striking off their names. The firms are given 30 days to submit their response. If the reply is found unsatisfactory, the corporate entity's name can be removed
        •  But,referring to Section 252 of the Companies Act, officials pointed out that persons aggrieved by the RoC order — notifying a company as dissolved under Section 248 of the Act — may file an appeal to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) within three years from the RoC’s order. 
        • If the NCLT finds that the removal of the company’s name was unjustified, it may order its restoration in the register.

        Israel supports India’s fight against terrorism

        Israel believes there is no difference between Pakistan-based "Lashkar-e-Taiba" and the Hamas group operating in Israel and Palestine, adding that the Israeli government has unequivocally supported India on the issue of terrorism.

        Not Jerusalem, Tel Aviv to remain Embassy’s location

        • Affirming India’s traditional support for the “two-state” solution between Israel and Palestine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said India will support all efforts for a resolution, including on the contentious issue of Jerusalem, which Israel has claimed in its entirety since 1967.
        • In the clearest position of India’s stand on the Jerusalem question, the Prime Minister said the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv will remain there at least until a “finalstatus” agreement between the two parties

        Elephant population sees marginal rise in Odisha

        • The first ever synchronised elephant census carried out in the country’s eastern region, involving four States, has found 1,976 elephants living in different forests of Odisha
        • The synchronised elephant census-2017, the results of which were made public here on Monday, revealed that the jumbo population has gone up marginally by 22 elephants compared with 1,954 in 2015.
        •  Apart from direct sighting, indirect estimation of elephant through dung decay rate method  
        • The Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru carried out the census.
        •  The highest number of 330 elephants was sighted in the core of Similipal followed by Dhenkanal with 169. 
        • Chandaka Wildlife Sanctuary, which once boasted over 80 elephants, has only one elephant. As many as 5,847 people were engaged for enumerating the jumbos in different forests.

        SC allows abortion of ailing foetus

        • Upholding her right to choose, the Supreme Court on Monday allowed a woman to abort her over 20- week-old foetus with severe abnormalities.
        • The law does not permit abortion if the foetus is over 20 weeks old
        • Medical Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1971 bars abortion if the foetus has crossed the 20-week mark.
        • An exception to the law is made if a registered medical practitioner certifies to a court that the continued pregnancy is life-threatening for the mother or the baby.
        • It was possible to detect certain abnormalities before 20 weeks, but some could be detected only after that period.
        • The Supreme Court's decision whether a woman should be allowed to abort or not after the 20 weeks period has been on a case-to-case basis.
        • The primary factor that has guided its decisions has been the expert opinion of a court-appointed medical board on the risk it poses to the mother and the child.



        Wednesday, July 5, 2017

        Daily Current Affairs July 3rd

        On eve of PM’s tour, Palestine hopes to keep India ties firm

        • India’s relations with Israel should not come at the “expense of ties” with Palestine, but the Palestinian Authority (PA) understands the need for India to de-hyphenate ties with both, says the Palestinian President’s diplomatic adviser ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel.
        • “Our interest is [for Palestine] to deepen our relationship, and we hope that stronger ties with Israel will not come at the expense of this relationship. 
        • We understand that India has to manage its own balance in the region, and we would like to make [a] separation between these ties as well,” 
        • Mr. Modi will travel to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem from July 4, and will be the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel. 
        • However, unlike President Mukherjee, and three External Affairs Ministers Jaswant Singh (2000), S.M. Krishna (2012) and Sushma Swaraj (2016), Mr. Modi will not pay a visit to the Palestinian side.  
        • Instead, the government had hosted Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Delhi in May this year, separately signing several agreements on development assistance, and backing Palestine’s claim to a “twostate solution".
        • “Our President spoke to Prime Minister Modi at length about the need to bring a resumption of Israel-Palestine dialogue and an acceptance of Palestine’s just demand for a two-state solution along the 1967-lines, with East Jerusalem as a capital,”


        Palestine accepts India’s balancing act

        • Palestine said that with his “vision and stature”, Mr. Modi could speak to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu convincingly on the issue
        • Significantly, he said there would have been no opportunity for Mr. Modi to have visited Palestine during his trip this week, as Mr. Abbas is travelling abroad for a week of hectic diplomacy himself
        • India's stance -Asked if Mr. Modi’s visit to Israel but not to Palestine was an indicator of shifting equations with the two states,the Indian Ambassdor denied it .
        • We have reached that sense of political confidence in our relations with both the Israelis and the Palestinians where we feel we can work with them independent of each other, and [the PM’s visit] is a reflection of that
        • While Mr. Modi is expected to discuss the current situation in the IsraelPalestine process with Mr. Netanyahu during the visit, as well as the U.S.’s new push to forge a solution, officials say it is unlikely India would take a more mediatory role in the conflict.

        Pakistan denies consular access to Jadhav yet again

        • Pakistan on Sunday again rejected India’s request for consular access to Kulbhushan Jadhav, a former Indian naval officer who was sentenced to death for espionage and terrorism by a Pakistani military court in April this year.
        • His mercy petition is pending with Pakistani Army chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa
        • Pakistan has turned down at least five Indian requests for consular access to Jadhav since his arrest in Balochistan province last year. India’s External Affairs Ministry on Saturday again requested for consular access to Jadhav when both countries exchanged lists of prisoners under a 2008 agreement.
        • In response to yet another Indian request, Pakistani Foreign Office spokesman Nafees Zakariya said India’s attempt to equate the Jadhav case with those of civilian prisoners and fishermen was a travesty of logic. “Jadhav is a serving Indian naval officer and sent to Pakistan by the RAW for espionage, terrorism and subversive activities that resulted in the loss of many innocent lives and damage to property,” he said in a statement in Islamabad. 
        • ‘Deliberate delay’ -He said Pakistan ensured effective implementation of the consular access agreement with India. But he blamed India for deliberately delaying release of civilian Pakistani prisoners.

        Aerosols ‘shrinking’ India’s monsoon

        While greenhouse gases, or GHGs, are causing concern about the long-term fate of the Indian monsoon, researchers now think 
        1)aerosols from vehicular exhaust 
        2) half-burnt crop residue
        3)dust and chemical effluents may be weakening the life-giving rainy season even more than GHGs
        It has been found that a mix of GHGs, aerosols and changes in forest and agricultural cover was affecting the strength of the monsoon, which was known to be weakening over the last 50 years. The relative contribution of the individual factors, however, was not clear then.

        New modelling

        The scientist and his team used an upgraded forecasting model that was used this year by the India Meteorological Department for forecasts. The model will help prepare India’s first home-grown forecast of climate change from global warming, and be part of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports.  

        Nine more bird, biodiversity areas in Kerala

        • The bird and biodiversityrich areas in Kerala are drawing global attention with nine more locations being identified as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBAs).
        • With the latest addition, Kerala now has 33 IBAs. 
        • The new list was released by the Bombay Natural History Society, a partner of BirdLife International, in its recent publication, Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas in India Priority sites for conservation.

        What are IBAs

        • The IBAs are “places of international significance for the conservation of birds and other biodiversity” and are “distinct areas amenable to practical conservation action,” according to BirdLife International.
        • Studies have identified the presence of five endangered, 13 vulnerable, and 32 nearthreatened bird species in the Kerala IBAs

        • Kerala IBAs are home to three critically endangered species — 
                       Whiterumped Vulture
                        Indian Vulture 
                        and Red-headed Vulture.


        • Listing out the conservation threats faced by the IBAs, the report pointed out that anthropogenic pressure on the forests was very intense.The “birds of the low altitude evergreen forests seem to have suffered the most in Kerala, mainly due to human interventions. Species such as Malabar Pied Hornbill, a near-threatened species, has declined, along with Orangebreasted Green-pigeon ” 
        • Habitat fragmentation in high altitude areas, according to conservationists, was a major cause for concern as many “species have nowhere to go. 
        • These ‘sky islands’ are now surrounded by tea estates or plantations, leaving very limited habitat for species such as -----
        White-bellied Blue Robin  
        Nilgiri Blue Robin  
                    and 
        Black and-Orange Flycatcher,” 

        GST positive for India’s credit profile: Moody’s

        • According to global ratings agency Moody’s The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime will be positive for India’s credit profile as it will contribute to 
        1. productivity gains  
        2. higher GDP growth  
        3. support higher government revenue generation through improved tax compliance, 
        •  Over the medium term, Moody's expect that the GST will contribute to productivity gains and higher GDP growth by improving the ease of doing business, unifying the national market and enhancing India’s attractiveness as a foreign investment destination. 
        • It will also support higher government revenue generation through improved tax compliance and administration  
        • Both would be positive for India’s credit profile, which is constrained by a relatively low revenue base.
        • Moody's expect improved tax compliance to be driven by: 
                            [i] Incentivisation of tax credits in a GST system;
                            [ii]Greater ease of compliance through usage of a common, shared IT infrastructure                                  between the central government and the states; and a reduction in the overall cost of                            compliance from simplified tax rates, uniform across the country.  

        Written-of in the hinterland



        Organisations-International & National -2

        Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
        • It came into existence as the Crown Representative's Police on 27 July 1939.
        • After Indian Independence, it became the Central Reserve Police Force on enactment of the CRPF Act on 28 December 1949.
        • It functions under the aegis of Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India.
        • The CRPF's primary role lies in assisting the State/Union Territories in police operations to maintain law and order and counter insurgency.
        • Besides Law and Order and counter-insurgency duties, the role of CRPF in the General Elections has been very significant and vital. This is especially true for the trouble-ridden states of Jammu and Kashmir, Bihar and in the North East.
        • Of late, CRPF contingents are also being deployed in UN missions.
        • With 235 battalions and various other establishments, the CRPF is considered India's largest paramilitary forceand has a sanctioned strength of 308,862 personnel.

        Daily Current Affairs July 2nd







        Climate change impact: Sunderbans steadily losing its famed mangroves 

        • Mangrove Forest Cover Changes in Indian Sundarban (1986-2012) Using Remote Sensing and GIS, a publication by the School of Oceanographic Studies, Jadavpur University, reveals that from1986 to 2012, 124.418 sq. km. mangrove forest cover has been lost
        • The loss in the mangrove forest in the Indian Sunderbans is about 5.5 %. 
        • “The continuation of this process in response to climate change and sea level rise poses a serious threat to the carbon sequestration potential and other ecosystem services of this mangrove forest in future"
        • “This is because there is less fresh water flow and sediment supply in the western (Indian) part of the delta, so we have starvation of sediment and the rate of sea level rise is higher than sediment supply. Hence we are losing land, including mangrove forest"
        • Other than being home to the Royal Bengal Tiger, also harbours a population of 4.5 million people, this study presents definite proof of the loss of land and mangrove cover.




        Keep forces of darkness at bay, says Pranab
         

        “I am not talking of vigilantism, I am talking of: are we vigilant enough, pro-actively, to save the basic tenets of our country?…We have to reflect when we read in the papers that someone was lynched...,” the President said.


        Why Bhutan is special to India

        Coordinated actions 



        • Giving a view of India’s role in Bhutan’s security, the MEA statement said, “In keeping with their tradition of maintaining close consultation on matters of mutual interest, RGOB (Royal Government of Bhutan) and the Government of India have been in continuous contact through the unfolding of these developments.”
        • It further said that “in coordination” with the Bhutanese government, “Indian personnel, who were present at general area Doklam, approached the Chinese construction party and urged them to desist from changing the status quo. These efforts continue.
        • Under the 2007 IndiaBhutan Friendship Treaty, the two sides have agreed to “cooperate closely with each other on issues relating to their national interests. Neither Government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other.”
        • Under the previous treaty, India was to “guide” Bhutan on foreign and defence policies. 
        • The language of the 2007 treaty is meant to respect the sensitivities of Bhutan regarding its sovereignty. But the reality is that the Indian military is virtually responsible for protecting Bhutan from the kind of external threat that the Chinese military poses

        Trump takes aggressive line with friends and foes in Asia

        • President Donald Trump hardened his treatment of allies and adversaries in Asia this week, pressing South Korea’s visiting leader to overhaul a landmark trade agreement with the U.S. a day after announcing a series of steps that angered China.
        • Meeting on Friday with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea, Mr. Trump demanded more access to Korean markets for American cars and less of what he called “dumped” Korean steel in the U.S. — all part of an overhaul of the five-yearold free trade agreement with South Korea that he derided as “not exactly a great deal.”
        • The President reaffirmed the U.S. security alliance with South Korea against the threat of a nuclear-armed North Korea. But he showed little patience for Mr. Moon’s hope for engagement with the North — something analysts said could be a future source of friction between the leaders.
        • Mr. Trump’s decision on Thursday to impose sanctions on Chinese entities that do business with North Korea was interpreted by some as a shot across the bow not only to Beijing, but also to Mr. Moon, since it emphasises pressure over diplomacy
        •  President’s approval of a $1.4 billion weapons sale to Taiwan provoked a sulphurous reaction from China.
        • China has punished several South Korean firms in retaliation for Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S. antimissile system. 
        • The U.S. says the system is designed to deter missiles fired by the North, but China says its own security is also affected. 
        • Given that South Korea is under intense pressure from the Chinese, some analysts said the harshness of Mr. Trump’s critique of South Korea on trade had caught them by surprise.

        Tuesday, July 4, 2017

        Daily Current Affairs July 1st



        At stroke of midnight, India gets a ‘good and simple tax’


        • Calling the GST a simpler, modern and more transparent taxation system that will do away with 500 different taxes levied across the country’s 29 States and seven Union Territories, Govt. said that it would end the spectre of tax terrorism and Inspector Raj that India’s businesses have had to endure for long.
        • The GST Council chaired by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley slashed the tax rate on fertilizers from 12% to 5% and tractor parts from 28% to 18%, in a bid to make the new tax regime more farmer-friendly
        • Several key aspects such as the e-waybill system, the tax collected at source (TCS) by e-commerce companies, and the dates of filing returns have been delayed.
        • The Government on June 18 decided to push back the date of filing returns for July and August under GST. While the deadline for filing returns for July was earlier August 10, it was deferred to September 5. The deadline for August was moved to September 20 from September 10  
        • “The decision to delay the date of filing returns suggests that the government itself has realised that the GST Network is itself not ready and that the GST Suvidha Providers also need more time “
        • The e-waybill system, envisaged to provide an electronic way bill for the movement of goods across the country, met with huge opposition from industry players since the rules were considered to be too complicated to implement.

        Notice to poll panel on MP Minister

        • The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday issued a notice to the Election Commission on a plea filed by Public Relations, Legislative Affairs and Water Resources Minister Narrotam Mishra for disqualifying him from the Assembly allegedly for corruption and paid news during the 2008 Assembly polls.
        • The EC on June 24 disqualified Mr Mishra under Section 10A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951

        Now, a hard trek via Lipulekh

        • Amid a face-off between Indian and Chinese troops along the India-China border, the Kailash-Mansarovar Yatra through the Nathu La pass in Sikkim has been cancelled
        • However, pilgrims travelling through the Lipulekh pass in Uttarakhand will continue as scheduled, a government official said.
        • The annual Kailash Mansarovar Yatra was flagged off earlier this month by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.
        • However, China had declined permission for the first group of 50 pilgrims to proceed to Mount Kailash through the Nathu La pass


        How will the Centre ensure States’ finances are not hurt?

        • The GST is a destination based tax, and as such is viewed as being to the advantage of the consuming States and to the detriment of the producing States like Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, and Karnataka
        • These States had raised objections to the implementation of GST, forcing the Centre to agree to a formula for compensating them in the event of a loss of revenue.
        • The 14th Finance Commission advised the Centre to provide 100% compensation to States for their revenue loss after implementation of GST for the first three years. The fourth year would bring 75% compensation, and the fifth year 50% compensation.

        Where are the funds?

        • The GST, once implemented, will subsume almost all the cesses levied at the moment, including Swachh Bharat Cess and Krishi Kalyan Cess.
        • Other cesses like the education cess on imported goods and the cess on crude oil will remain under GST.
        • However, the government needs extra revenue to compensate the States, and so the GST Council decided to impose additional cesses for five years on certain goods over and above the highest tax bracket of 28%.
        • These goods on which cess will be levied include tobacco products,coal, motor vehicles, which include all types of cars, personal aircraft, and yachts
        • These additional cesses, however, will be removed after five years

        GST will curb tax avoidance: Jaitley

        • Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax(GST) will ease inflation,make tax avoidance difficultand boost GDP growth
        • He said the implementation of the landmark unified tax should beseen as the beginning of a new journey that will expand the country’s economic horizon.
        • He further said 17 transaction taxes in States and the Centre and 23 cesses would be subsumed in the GST. An assessee will have to file only one return.
        • “Inflation will come down, tax avoidance will be difficult, India’s GDP will be benefited and extra resources will be used for welfare of poor and weaker section,”


        GST-Advantages & Drawbacks

        • The benefit of the GST system is that essentially it subsumes all taxes into one. This means that whatever activity you are in, there is only one indirect tax that is applicable. You do not have to worry about the different forms of taxes that are applicable for your activity. That instils a degree of certainty in the system and it also eases the complexity of getting yourself registered
        • The second advantage is that it has done away with levies on inter-State transactions — which means you are really opening up the market.
        • The third is that GST will hopefully remove the cascading of taxes which was endemic in the previous system


        Drawbacks
        • The first is that it is extremely complex because of the number of tax rates being levied and, second, because each State is being treated as a separate tax jurisdiction.
        • Because of this, it introduces additional complexity in the GST system which, in a different form of GST, would not have been there.
        • So although you are not going to be worrying about 21 different taxes, you might have to worry about the complexity of a single tax rate across the country, which can get quite demanding.
        • The issue there is the complexity of the tax system really depends on the range of goods and services a particular enterprise is transacting in. If you haverelatively few goods and services you are transacting in either as a buyer or a seller, then it works quite well.
        • But if you are transacting in a large number of goods and services, then the system can get quite complex.


         


        PIB Updates -1st July

          GST regime and Fertilisers

        • The GST Rate for fertilizers reduced from the Existing 12% to 5%.
        • There will be a uniform MRP of Rs.295.47 per 50 kg bag across the country (except couple of States where additional VAT is charged on the natural gas as Natural gas has not been brought within the ambit of GST).
        • It will also  deter inter-state smuggling of fertilizers (which may be currently happening due to difference in Taxes and Consequently MRP in different adjoining states) by integrating the entire fertilizer market into a Single Market .


        Commodities not covered under GST in India :-
        1

        •       Alcohol for Human Consumption
        •       Petroleum Products viz. crude petroleum,natural gas,motor spirit(petrol),high speed diesel,Natural gas and Aviation Turbine Fuel
        •       Electricity

        GST : Great Instrument to Help Poor Move up the Ladder

        · 
                 Unlike the Excise or Other Levies,the GST that subsumes several Central and State Taxes,is not the Source or Manufacturer based but a destination or Consumer centric Tax.
        ·      
                  States like U.P. , Bihar , Odisha ,W.B. and North East, which don’t have much of a Manufacturing base and were losing on revenue ,but have more consumers would stand to gain while the developed and Manufacturing hubs would be compensated at least five years of the GST Launch
        ·   
        z    Such a vibrancy would then lead to interest of investors, both domestic and global, into manufacturing and related service sectors, opening vistas for job creation for millions of  people.

        CENTRAL TAXES to be SUBSUMED IN GST

        • ·         CENVAT(Central Excise Duty)
        • ·         Additional Excise duties
        • ·         Excise Duty levied under the Medicinal and Toiletries Preparation (Excise Duties)Act 1955
        • ·         Service Tax
        • ·         Additional Customs Duty
        • ·         Special Additional Duty of Customs -4% (SAD)
        • ·         Surcharges and Cesses levied by the Centre wherever they are in the nature of taxes on Goods and Services .Eg. Cess on rubber,tea ,coffee etc
        • ·         Central Sales Tax to be phased out .
        STATE TAXES to be SUBSUMED IN GST

        • ·         VAT/Sales Tax
        • ·         Entertainment Tax
        • ·         Luxury Tax
        • ·         Taxes on Lottery ,betting and Gambling
        • ·         States Cesses and Surcharges related to supply of Goods and Services  
        • ·         Octroi and Entry Tax
        • ·         Purchase Tax

              Slum Yuva Daud


        •     The Slum Yuva Daud is part of the Adopt Slum Campaign initiated by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan
        •     It aims at highlighting the government’s pro-people schemes among masses.  



          Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan(NYKS) :Established in the year 1972 with the objective of providing rural youth avenues to take part in the process of Nation building as well as providing oppurtunities for development of their personality and skills.
        Youth Clubs/Yuva Kendras are village based organisation working for community development and youth empowerment
           
        These are formed and encourages to participate in sports,cultural and local development activities.
        In the year 1987-88,NYKS was setup as an autonomous organisation under the Min. of youth Affairs and  Sports to oversee working of these Kendras .
        It is the largest grassroots level organisation;one of its kind in the world.

        Objectives of NYKS are two fold :-
        1.To involve the rural youth in nation building activities.

        2.To develop such skills and values in them with which they become responsible and productive citizens of a modern, secular and technological nation.

        TEXTILE INDIA 2017


        Textile India 2017 is the first summit of its kind. 

        This maiden initiative is a collaborative effort of several Export Promotion Councils under the Ministry of Textiles, with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) being the industry partner.

        This mega exhibition showcases India’s strength in the entire gamut of textile and apparel value chain, from fibre to fashion. 

        The exhibition is a platform to strengthen the textile value chain in India and offers a perfect environment for B2B engagements