Current Affairs SSC

NITI Aayog: Link private medical colleges with district hospitals

On January 1, 2020, the Government Think Tank released its Draft “Model Concession Agreement for Setting Up Medical Colleges under Public Private Partnership” guideline document. Under the guideline the think tank has suggested Public Private Partnership (PPP) model to link private medical colleges and district hospitals.

Highlights

The suggestion will address the issues of limited resources and finances in medical education. The model is already operative in the states of Gujarat and Karnataka. This will also help in increasing medical seats. Also, this will help to bridge the gap of shortage of doctors in the country. According to WHO, there is only one government doctor for every 10,189 people in the country. Also, there is shortage of 2 million nurses in India. Therefore, the move is very much required.

Concessionaire

The think tank has suggested appointment of concessionaire to design, operate, build and maintain the medical colleges. The concessionaire shall also be allowed to charge of Rs 10 as registration fees. The concessionaire shall absorb minimum of 150 students annually. The concessionaire is the holder of concession, grant to complete the assigned task completely.

Significance

The PPP model ensures high quality and timely provision of services. They also help in hastening Government projects. Overall, PPP models provide better public services.

Catgeory: Government Schemes

GoI misses its disinvestment target

Government of India misses its disinvestment target as the plan to sell Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), Air India and Container Corporation of India has not been succeeded.

Highlights

The Government had planned to sell 53.3% of BPCL, 31% of Concorp as per latest market prices. The Government had set the Disinvestment target of Rs 1.05 trillion for the year 2019-20. However, it was only able to extract Rs 17,364 crores. This has increased burden on the economy of the country as the fiscal deficit of the Government has already touched 115% of the budget estimated for the year 2019-20 as far as November 30. The deficit will increase further as there are another 4 months (Dec-Mar) to go before the financial year ends. The data was released by the Controller General of Accounts. The missing of disinvestment target has impaired its ability to meet its Fiscal Deficit target of 3.3% of GDP. The fiscal deficit is arising in spite of RBI transferring Rs 1.76 lakh crore rupees. It was widely criticized as windfall money of the government.

What is Windfall money?

Windfall money is the term used for unexpected money good fortune. The RBI transferred the windfall to the GoI on recommendation of Jalan Committee.

Air India

Among all the disinvestment targets, Air India is the least performing and at huge losses. In order to solve the problem, recently it was announced that Air India will stop issuing tickets to government agencies that owe more than Rs 10 lakh due. This included defence accounts, CBI, BSF, Enforcement Directors, customs commissioners, etc.

Catgeory: Business

Sale of Darjeeling Tea affected by illegal influx of Nepal Tea

The prices of Darjeeling Tea that recently received GI tag has fell by 20% to 25% due to unchecked flow of Nepal Tea into the country.

Highlights

Nepal Tea also known as Himalayan Tea is very similar to that of Darjeeling Tea in aroma, flavor and taste. But Nepal Tea is 50% cheaper than that of Darjeeling Tea. This is being misused by many traders. Nepal tea can be imported by anyone freely under Free Trade Agreement between India and Nepal. Around 16 million kg of Nepal Tea is entering India every year.

Issue

Most of the Nepal Tea is uncertified. On the other hand, 70% of 87 estates growing Darjeeling Tea are certified organic. The annual export of Darjeeling Tea was Rs 600 crores. Experts believe that it would have touched Rs 700 crores if Nepal Tea hadn’t played its role.

GI Tag

The Darjeeling Tea and White Tea received GI Tag recently in November 2019. The GI tag is provided to fetch an identity for the product international market and increase its exports. When such products develop fake, their exports get affected greatly. India enacted Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 under Article 22 of World Trade Organization.

Catgeory: Business

Andhra Pradesh Government plans to deliver sand at door steps

The Andhra Pradesh Government announced that it will deliver sand at customers’ door steps. As a pilot project, the government is to begin the initiative on experimental basis.

Highlights

Under the new initiative, the government will collect transportation charges from the customers and deliver sand at door steps. In order to make the initiative successful, the Andhra Pradesh Mineral Development Corporation will stock 15 lakh tons of sand per month for the next four months. At present, the demand for sand in the state is 80,000 tonnes a day. The step will help address issues of sand scarcity and sand mafia.

Legislation of sand mining

Section 23C of the MMDR act, 1957 provides rules to prevent illegal mining of sand. According to the rules, the state governments are empowered to frame rules in order to prevent illegal mining, storage and transportation of sand.

MMDR act, 1957

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) act, 1957 provides complete legislation to mines and minerals. It includes minor minerals such as gravel, clay, building stones and sand as well. The act was amended in 2105. The amendment was made in order to bring transparency in allocation of mines and license process. In 2014, Supreme Court cancelled license of 26 mines in the state Odisha, following which the amendment was made.

Catgeory: State

Sarbananda Sonowal launches torch relay of Khelo India Youth Games

Assam Chief Minister has launched the torch relay of the Khelo India Youth Games in Guwahati, Assam. The 3rd edition of the tournament will be held in January 2020. Athletes from all over the country will be coming to Guwahati for the Khelo India Youth Games. The officials of the competition are preparing a total of eight venues for the tournament to make the Games one of the largest sporting spectacles of the country.

Source: The Hindu

Catgeory: Sports

IOA ends boycott call for 2022 Commonwealth Games

The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has withdrawn its boycott call for the 2022 Commonwealth Games to be held in Birmingham. The decision was taken during its Annual General Meeting held in New Delhi. The cause of the boycott call was exclusion of shooting. IOA also announced that the country will bid to host either the 2026 or the 2030 edition.

Source: The Hindu

Catgeory: Sports

CACS & e-BCAS launched to enhance security & ease of doing at airports

Minister of State (I/C) for Civil Aviation launched the Biometric enabled Centralised Access Control System (CACS) and ‘e-BCAS Project Training Module’. The two projects aims to enhance security and ease of doing business at airports. The CACS project is aimed to digitize the employee movement process at the airports. This multi-layered security system encompasses the uniqueness of the Airport Entry Permit (AEP) users, biometric authentication in addition to PIN-based identity verification through contactless smart card technology. The ‘e-BCAS’ project envisaged to achieve a “paperless office” under e-Governance initiative of Government of India. The ‘e-BCAS Project: Training Module’ aims to switch from manual process of training to digital platform. The objective of the e-BCAS project is to make all the activities in the BCAS transparent, user-friendly, and efficient. It also intends to provide an ease of doing business with the stakeholders.

Source: The Press Information Bureau

Catgeory: National

No extra charge on digital payments via RuPay & UPI from 1st Jan 2020

The Union Finance Minister has announced that the Merchant Discount Rate (MDR) charges for businesses with over Rs 50 crore annual revenues will be waived off from January 1, 2020. Also, the digital transactions made using RuPay credit cards, or UPI QR codes will not face any additional charges for merchants or customers from January 1, 2020. All shops, business establishments and companies with an annual turnover of Rs 50 crore or more have been mandated to offer these modes of payment to customers. The Department of Revenue will also notify RuPay and UPI as the prescribed mode of payment for digital transactions without any Merchant Discount Rate (MDR). The Merchant Discount Rate is the percentage of the digital transaction that a merchant pays to banks. This cost is often passed on to the customer. The decision aims to promote the home-grown digital payment pathways like RuPay and UPI, over those promoted by foreign companies, including VISA and MasterCard.

Source: The Hindu

Catgeory: Economy & Banking

GoM constituted to expedite revival plan of BSNL & MTNL

A Group of Ministers (GoM) has been constituted to to expedite revival plan of BSNL & MTNL. The GoM will fast-track and oversee the implementation of the Rs 69,000 crore revival plan for state-owned telecom corporations BSNL and MTNL. The GoM includes Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, IT and Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal and Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The government had approved a Rs 69,000 crore revival package for BSNL and MTNL which includes merger of the two loss-making firms, monetising their assets and giving VRS to employees. The GoM will expedite the smooth implementation of decisions taken on revival of BSNL and MTNL.

Source: The Hindu

Catgeory: Government Schemes

CBIC paid Rs 1,12,000 crore as IGST refunds to exporters

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) has announced that it has paid Rs 1,12,000 crore as Integrated Goods and Services Tax (IGST) refunds to exporters. According to CBIC, over 83,000 exporters have been benefited by these refunds. The numbers indicated the government’s efforts to fast track refunds under GST especially to exporters. Also, as of now, refunds of only 3,604 crores are pending with Customs. CBIC is using data analytics to identify risky exporter entities that “take input tax credit fraudulently and monetize it by paying IGST and taking refund”. Such exporters are being subject to KYC and verification process before the grant of refund.

Source: The News On AIR

Catgeory: Economy & Banking

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