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Government sets up task force on ways to reduce import

 The Union Government constituted a high-level task force under Chairmanship of Cabinet Secretary PK Sinha to identify various items and policy interventions to reduce dependence on imports. It will suggest ways to cut import of those items which can be manufactured or explored in the country. The task force includes secretaries from Departments of Commerce, Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), Revenue, Skill Development, Defence Production, Petroleum, Steel, Electronics and Telecommunications.
  • Background
The move holds significance as India is heavily dependent on imports of several items such as oil, machinery, electronic hardware, pharmaceuticals ingredients including (active pharmaceuticals ingredients), gold and chemicals. On an average, India’s imports stand at around US $450 billion per year. In financial year 2017-18, the inbound shipments grew about 20% to US $460 billion. India’s oil imports during same fiscal had risen by 25.47% to US $109.11 billion. Though increase in imports of intermediates and raw materials reflects boost in economic activities, but the inbound shipments of final goods impact domestic manufacturers. Earlier, concerns were raised over high dependence on pharmaceutical ingredients from China by trade experts.
Catgeory: National

Government raises threshold monetary limit for filling appeals relating to tax cases

 Union Finance Ministry has hiked threshold monetary limit for tax departments to file appeals all three levels of appeal — Appellate Tribunals, High Courts, and Supreme Court. The move is aimed at significantly decreasing taxpayer greivances and litigation burden of tax departments in courts and tribunals across the country.
  • Key Facts 
Tax departments, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) files appeals in ITAT (Income Tax Appellate Tribunal) while Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) files appeals in CESTAT (Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal) and also in High Courts and Supreme Courts. Under new limits tax departments CBDT and CBIC can file appeals in ITAT/CESTAT only if the tax amount involved is Rs 20 lakh or more, up from Rs 10 lakh at present. Moreover, appeals can be filed in High Courts if tax amount involved in litigation is Rs 50 lakh (up from Rs 20 lakh at present). For appeals in Supreme Court, the threshold limit has been hiked to Rs 1 crore (from Rs 25 lakh at present). The new threshold limits will result in 41% reduction litigation from CBDT’s side, including 34% cases in ITAT, 48% of cases in case of High Courts and 54% of cases in case of Supreme Court. Similarly, in case of CBIC, it will result in reduction in 18% of cases as 16% of cases will be withdrawn in CESTAT, 22% in High Courts, and 21% in Supreme Court. This decision will give relief to taxpayers. It is also based on premise that the cost of litigation is sometimes more than the recovery sought. It will also create trust in tax administration and give relief to honest, small and mid-sized taxpayers. It will promote tax friendly environment and help to promote ease of doing business.
  • Background
More than 66% of cases are stuck in litigation involve 1.8% in value. In many cases, cost of litigation is higher than the recovery. As per Economic Survey 2017-18, even though success rate of tax department at all three levels of appeal — Appellate Tribunals, High Courts, and the Supreme Court is under 30% for both direct and indirect tax litigation, it remains undeterred and persists in pursuing litigation at every level of the judicial hierarchy making it the largest litigant in India. The tax department unambiguously loses 65% of its cases. Over period of time, the success rate of tax departments has only been declining, while that of assessees has been increasing.
Catgeory: National

South Korean President Moon Jae-In's Visit To India: Complete Highlights

 South Korean President Moon Jae-in was in India on a four-day visit from July 8 to July 11, 2018. This was his first visit to India. He was accompanied by First Lady Kim Jung-sook. 
Here are the main events that took place during the visit: 
  • President Moon attended the India-Korea business forum: Korean President Moon Jae-in spoke at the India-Korea Business Forum. This was organized by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI). 
  • Inaugurated World's Largest Mobile Factory In Noida: PM Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited Noida and inaugurated the New Mobile Manufacturing Plant of Samsung at Noida. Notably, it is the world's largest mobile factory. Samsung has Invested close to 5,000 Crore Rupees in this plant and aims to Manufacture 12 Crore Mobile Handsets annually which will result in massive job creation. 
  • India & South Korea Signed 5 MoUs In Field Of Science and Technology: India and South Korea have signed five MoUs in the field of Science and Technology in New Delhi. Science and Technology Minister, Dr Harsh Vardhan and his South Korean counterpart You Young Min signed three MoUs which are Programme of Cooperation 2018-21, Establishment of Future Strategy Group and Cooperation in Biotechnology and Bio-economy. 
  • India, South Korea Ink 11 MoUs: India and South Korea signed 11 MOUs during South Korean President Moon Jae-in's visit to India. The MoUs signed between the two countries are:  i. Upgraded Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) was signed to facilitate ongoing negotiations on upgrading the India-RoK (Republic of Korea) CEPA by identifying key areas for trade liberalization (including shrimp, molluscs and processed fish). ii. An MoU on trade remedies was signed for cooperation in the area of trade remedies such as anti-dumping, subsidy, countervailing and safeguard measures through consultations and exchange of information.
  • India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre Inaugurated: The India-Korea Technology Exchange Centre was inaugurated by the Minister of State (I/C) MSME Giriraj Singh and Minister of SMEs and Start-ups of Republic of Korea, Hong Jong- hak in New Delhi. The purpose of the Technology Exchange Centre is to create a platform for micro, small and medium enterprises of India and Korea where they can be assisted to identify and exchange latest technologies, share management expertise, product development and technology applications for product development.
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    Catgeory: National

    Telecom Commission Of India Approves Net Neutrality

     The Telecom Commission has approved the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India's (TRAI) net neutrality recommendations that bar service providers from discriminating against internet content and services by blocking, throttling or granting them higher speed access. The decision that aims to ensure open and free Internet in the country was taken at a meeting of the Commission, the highest decision-making body in the Department of Telecommunication in New Delhi.  
    • What is Net Neutrality?
    Net neutrality is a principle that requires the Internet service providers to treat all content on the Internet equally without favouring or withholding access to certain websites, services or apps or charging differently based on the user, content, website or platform. The rules aim to give consumers equal access to web content and prevent broadband providers from favouring their own content. 
    Source- The Times of India
    Catgeory: National

    Government launches Jal Bachao, Video Banao, Puruskar Pao Contest on Water Conservation

     Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation has launched fortnightly video contest “Jal Bachao, Video Banao, Puruskar Pao”. The contest aims to engage with people of the country on the important issues of water conservation and water management. For running this contest, Ministry has joined hands with MyGov portal (www.mygov.in). The contest will last till 4th November 2018 and three winners will be chosen every fortnight.
    • Jal Bachao, Video Banao, Puruskar Pao
    In this contest, participants can make and upload videos by capturing efforts, significant contributions, best practices in the field of water conservation, water resource development and management and optimum water utilization in different parts of the country. They can also submit any innovative advertisement or commercial on water Conservation. It should be uploaded on YouTube and share publicly accessible link of it on video link section of MyGov contest page. The duration of video should be minimum 2 minutes and up to 10 minutes. It should be either in Hindi, English or any other regional language. It must not violate any provision of Copyright Act, 1957 or Intellectual Property Rights of any third party. The participants will be judged on basis of elements of creativity, originality, composition, technical excellence, artistic merit, quality of video, content and visual impact. The prize amount for first, second and third positions is Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000 respectively.
    Catgeory: National

    India’s genetically modified crop area fifth largest in world: Report

     According to the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-Biotech Applications (ISAAA) latest ‘Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops in 2017’ report, India with 11.4 million hectares (mh) has world’s fifth largest area cultivated under genetically modified (GM) crops in 2017.  India’s entire GM crop area is under single crop BT Cotton incorporating genes from Bacillus thuringiensis or Bt soil bacterium coding for resistance against heliothis bollworm insect pests.
    • Key Highlights of report
    United States has highest area under transgenic crops, at 75 mh. It is followed by Brazil (50.2 mh), Argentina’s (23.6 mh) and Canada (13.1 mh). In 2017, farmers across the world have planted 189.8 mh under transgenic crops. This is as against 1.7 mh in 1996, the year when transgenic crops were grown commercially for the first time. The highest share in world’s total 189.8 mh GM crop area in 2017 is of soyabean (94.1 mh), followed by maize (59.7 mh), cotton (24.1 mh), canola (10.2 mh), alfalfa (1.2 mh) and sugar-beet (0.50 mh). The GM traits of these crops (due to introduction of alien genes into host plants) included both insect-resistance and tolerance for application of glyphosate herbicide.
    Catgeory: National

    Government launches technology challenge to eliminate human entry into septic tanks

     Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoUHA) has launched Technology Challenge: Identifying solutions for cleaning of Sewerage Systems and Septic Tanks to promote suitable techniques for cleaning sewers and septic tanks it to eliminate need for human entry in them.
    • Key Features of Challenge
    The main objective of the challenge is to eliminate human intervention in cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. It also aims to identify technological as well as business process innovations to avoid human intervention in cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. It will also endorse viable business models that are suitable for different size, geographies, and class of cities. The challenge will be conducted for two separate categories. Category A: technological solutions for cleaning and maintenance of sewerage systems to eliminate need for human entry, Category B: technological solutions for cleaning and maintenance of septic tanks to eliminate need for human entry. The challenge will be part of Mahatma Gandhi International Sanitation Convention that will be held on October 2, 2018. Individual innovators, consortium partners, companies, academic institutions, R&D centers, NGOs, Parastatal and municipal bodies can participate in this challenge. Special jury comprising experts from MoUHA, faculty from IITs/IIMs and representatives of leading civil society groups will evaluate and scrutinize the technological solutions submitted by participants. They will broad criteria for evaluation of proposals will take into considerations, operational effectiveness of technology, life or durability of machinery, ease of use (automation), ease of availability and economies of scale, adaptability and Versatility, made in India and lastly environmentally sustainability.
    Catgeory: National

    BSNL Launches India’s 1st Internet Telephony Service To Enable Making Calls Without SIM

     State-run telecom firm Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) unveiled the country’s first internet telephony service that will allow users to dial any telephone number in India through its mobile app. Now BSNL customers will be able to make calls using the company’s mobile app “Wings” to any phone number in the country. Using this service, BSNL customers will be able to make calls on any network in the country even by using BSNL wi-fi or any other service provider. 
    Source- Hindustan Times
    Catgeory: National

    NITI Aayog Released Paper On ‘National Health Stack’

     The central government think tank NITI Aayog has unveiled the blueprint of 'National Health Stack' (NHS), a shared digital healthcare infrastructure. The blueprint is in line with the implementation of the Centre’s flagship scheme Ayushman Bharat and other public healthcare programmes in the country. According to a consultation paper titled ‘National Health Stack Strategy an Approach’, the National Health Stack will facilitate the collection of comprehensive healthcare data across the country. This will allow policymakers to further build their projections around upcoming outcomes, experiment with new services as well as fill the existing gaps in the Indian healthcare industry among others.
    Other Key Benefits Of NHS:
    • -allow states to incorporate horizontal and vertical expansion of scheme,
    • -avoid duplication of efforts,
    • -enable ease of adoption for those without systems or with dysfunctional systems in place,
    • -continue using their own state system while integrating with Rashtriya Swasthya Suraksha Mission (RSSM)via Application Programming Interface (APIs).
    Source- inc42.com
    Catgeory: National

    Six Universities Granted ‘Institute Of Eminence’ Status

      The Union Government has granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status to six institutions including 3 from Public Sector and 3 from Private Sector. The decision was taken on the basis of the recommendations given by an Empowered Expert Committee (EEC). 
    Three Public Universities granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status:
  •  Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Bombay, 
  •  IIT-Delhi, 
  •  IISc Bangalore.
    		•
    Three Private Universities granted the Institutions of Eminence (IoEs) status:
  •  Jio Institute by Reliance Foundation, 
  •  BITS Pilani, 
  •  Manipal Academy of Higher Education. 
    		•
    The aim of the Institutions of Eminence scheme is to bring the selected higher educational institutions in theworld’s top 500 in the next 10 years and eventually in top 100. The scheme has been launched with an objective to provide world-class teaching and research facilities to Indian students within the country and enhance general level of education of the country. 
    Source- The Hindu Business Line
    Catgeory: National

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