Current Affairs - 7 January 2016

General Affairs 

Rs. 2,550 Crore Grant Approved To Drought-Hit Uttar Pradesh, Andhra, Odisha

• NEW DELHI:  The Centre today approved grant of about Rs. 2,550 crore to drought-affected states of Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
  
  The decision was taken during a meeting of a High Level Committee chaired by Home Minister Rajnath Singh in New Delhi.
  
  The Committee examined the proposals based on the report of the central team which visited the affected states by severe drought.
  
  The HLC approved the assistance of Rs. 2,553.29 crore from the National Disaster Relief Fund (NDRF). Andhra Pradesh to get Rs. 433.77 crore, Rs. 815 crore for Odisha and Rs. 1304.52 crore for Uttar Pradesh, a press release issued by Home Ministry said.
  
  "The HLC has deferred the decision in case of Telangana to the next week," it said.
  
  Finance, Corporate Affairs and Information and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley, Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Radha Mohan Singh, Vice-Chairman NITI Aayog Arvind Panagariya, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi and senior officers of Home, Finance and Agriculture ministries attended the meeting.

River Information System To Act Like Air Traffic Control: Nitin Gadkari

• NEW DELHI:  A river information system similar to air traffic control will now keep vigil on waterway traffic just the way it's done in Europe, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari today said.
  
  "We are going to tap waterways in a much bigger way... The new system, first of its kind in the country, will facilitate safe and accurate navigation on waterways and in turn boost imports and exports," Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Gadkari said.
  
  Inaugurating the river information system (RIS) for 145-km stretch of National Waterways 1 (phase 1 - Haldia to Farakka) on the Ganga here, the minister said it will monitor and track the movement of ships, and its role for waterways will be like an ATC.
  
  The minister said the phase-II of the system from Farakka to Patna and phase-III from Patna to Varanasi will also be implemented on a priority basis as efforts are on to develop the Ganga as a waterway.
  
  "We have started Rs. 4,200-crore projects on the Varanasi-Haldia stretch of the Ganga, which will maintain a draft of 3 metres to enable navigation of bigger ships," he said.
  
  He likened the installation of an efficient and effective RIS on the Sagar-Farakka stretch to the existing facilities in countries such as the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, China and the US.
  
  As part of this project, vessels are being monitored by installing seven remote (base station sites) at Haldia, Garden Reach (GR) Jetty, Tribeni, Swaroopganj, Kumarpur, Ballia and Farakka at a cost of Rs. 26.23 crore.
  
  There will be two control centres at Farakka and GR Jetty, which will monitor vessels through an automatic identification system (AIS) and communicate via VHF.
  
  As many as 30 vessels are equipped with inland AIS system, short range radar and VHF. The AIS data and voice communication of the vessel will be scrutinised and recorded at control stations and can be retrieved, whenever needed.
  
  The minister said he is hopeful of securing Parliament nod on the Bill to convert 111 rivers across the country into National Waterways in the next session as the Lok Sabha already passed it in the last session.
  
  The government plans to extend this pilot project to all the waterways. "Once they become operational, it is bound to boost Indian economy," he said, adding that India has barely 3.5 per cent of its total transport through waterways as against 49 per cent in China, 44 per cent in Korea and Japan and 40 per cent in Europe.
  
  Admitting developing waterways of the country as a challenge, he said RIS is "a major step" in realising the dream of waterways.
  
  RIS is a combination of modern tracking equipment related hardware and software designed to optimise traffic and transport processes in inland navigation.
  
  The system improves swift electronic data transfer between mobile vessels and shore (base stations) through advance and real-time exchange of information. RIS aims to streamline the exchange of information between waterway operators and users.
  
  The minister hoped that the system will facilitate enhancement of inland navigation safety in ports and rivers, better use of the inland waterways and environment protection.
  
  On pollution, Mr Gadkari pointed to the promotion of use of LNG. "We are sensitive to pollution," he said and added that a group of secretaries formed at the instance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is studying the matter.
  
  India has so far declared on five river stretches as National Waterways.
  
  RIS is being implemented under the overall responsibility of the Inland Waterway Authority of India, a statutory body administered by the Ministry of Shipping.
  
  It is also designed to prevent ship-to-ship and ship-bridge collisions.

Lack Of Adequate Public Toilets In Delhi Is Disgraceful: High Court

• NEW DELHI:  Delhi High Court today termed as "disgraceful" that many people in the national capital defecated in the open due to lack of public toilets and asked civic bodies and Railways whether adequate community latrines have been constructed by them.
  
  A bench of justices Badar Durrez Ahmed and Sanjeev Sachdeva issued the direction to the municipalities, Delhi Cantonment Board and railway authorities after the court was told there were not enough toilets and latrines in the city.
  
  The court was also told these authorities were required to construct adequate number of community sanitary latrines as per the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act of 2013 and that too within three years of commencement of the legislation.
  
  It was also told that to use the existing public toilet facilities, people were being charged money and the poor cannot afford to pay on a daily basis, especially those with large families.
  
  The court, thereafter, directed that the affidavits should also indicate whether the authorities have any policy for charging people using public toilets.
  
  It also sought details regarding a survey carried out on the number of manual scavengers in the city and asked why a survey has not been conducted of the number of sanitary latrines.
  
  The court granted the authorities one week to file their affidavits and warned that if the same was not filed by then, it "will be constrained" to proceed with "contempt action" against concerned officials.
  
  It also directed the Delhi government to file an affidavit indicating whether all the provisions of the Act were being implemented and listed the matter for further hearing on January 20.
  
  The court was hearing a public interest litigation filed by an NGO in 2007 seeking rehabilitation of manual scavengers.

PM Modi Says Centre Working On Ensuring Connectivity In Jammu And Kashmir

• NEW DELHI:  The Centre is working on ensuring good physical and digital connectivity in Jammu and Kashmir which has immense potential, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said today as he outlined his vision for the state during an interaction with a group of 240 youth from there.
  
  Aged between 15 and 24 years and mostly belonging to militancy-affected families, orphanages and weaker sections of society, the youth repeatedly expressed their wish to see their state progress and have modern infrastructure like in Delhi, a PMO statement said.
  
  The youth, who met the Prime Minister at his Race Course Road residence and interacted with him for over half-an-hour, are currently on a visit to Delhi as part of the "Wattan Ko Jano" (know the country) initiative of the Home Ministry in coordination with the state Government.
  
  "Spent an enjoyable evening with over 240 youngsters from J&K. They belong to militancy affected families, orphanages & weaker sections," Mr Modi tweeted later.
  
  "The youngsters from J&K, who are in Delhi as a part of "Wattan Ko Jano" initiative, amazed me with their curiosity. They asked me many Qs," he added in another tweet.
  
  Responding to their questions, Mr Modi spoke at length about his vision for the development of India and especially the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the PMO statement said.
  
  He said the state had immense potential for tourism, which in turn would bring prosperity to people.
  
  The Prime Minister told the group that the union government was working to ensure good physical and digital connectivity across the state, the statement added.
  
  While talking about his vision for all-round development of the country, he mentioned the endeavour to ensure a house for everyone by 2022.
  
  The youth responded enthusiastically to the Prime Minister's statements and questions and repeatedly expressed their wish to see progress of their state.

Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar Briefs Cabinet On Pathankot Terror Attack

• NEW DELHI:  Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar today briefed the Union Cabinet about the terror strike on Pathankot air base and informed them that evidence that has been collected from the slain terrorists will be shared with agencies concerned.
  
  It is also understood that External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj briefed the meeting, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, about the discussion between Pakistan National Security Advisor General Naseer Khan Janjua and his Indian counterpart Ajit Doval on the terror attack carried out by Pakistani terrorists.
  
  During the nearly one-and-a-half-hour-long meeting, Parrikar is learnt to have told his Cabinet colleagues that certain evidence has been collected from the slain terrorists and it would be shared with agencies concerned.
  
  There was no word on whether the issue of proposed Foreign Secretary level talks with Pakistan scheduled to be held in Islamabad on January 15 came up at the meeting.
  
  Combing operations are underway to sanitise the air base that was under siege for four days after terrorists struck the forward installation.
  
  Seven security personnel and six terrorists have been killed in the attack.

Business Affairs 

Sensex ends 174 points down; Nifty below 7,750-mark on global cues; ITC top loser

• The S&P BSE Sensex shed 174 points to slip below 25,500 in trade on Wednesday, while broader CNX Nifty fell below its key support level of 7,750.

  The headline indices fell to their lowest level in three weeks along with other Asian markets as China allowed the yuan to weaken further, stoking fears that the world's second-biggest economy could be even weaker than feared.

  The 30-share index ended at 25,406.33, down 174.01 points, while broad-based 50-share index quoted 7,741.00, up 43.65 points at close.

  Market breadth turned fairly negative with 25 of the 30 Sensex components ending the day in red.
  
  

  ITC was the worst performer on Sensex and lost 3 per cent on BSE.

  China has guided the yuan lower since a surprise devaluation of the currency last summer, rattling traders who fear it could eventually set off a round of competitive devaluations which will put further pressure on other emerging economies.

  "Sentiment is bearish because of data from China and US. The market is ripe for a fall," said Alex Mathews, head of research at Geojit BNP Paribas.

  Auto stocks continued to be under pressure with mixed December sales numbers and a ban on sales of large diesel vehicles in the capital.

  Tata Motors fell 2.39 per cent, Mahindra and Mahindra dropped 1.95 per cent and Maruti Suzuki declined 1.94 per cent.

  Bucking the negative trend, sugar stocks such as Rana Sugars, Mawana Sugar, Oudh Sugar Mills and Empee Sugars & Chemicals gained up to 11 per cent on news reports that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav may announce better price parity for sugarcane in a cabinet meeting on sugarcane pricing policy on January 7. 

  Being the first IPO to be listed in New Year, Narayana Hrudayalaya shares debuted smartly on bourses with a premium of over 16 per cent against its issue price of Rs 250.

  The stock of healthcare services firm listed at Rs 291 on Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange (NSE) both and gained as much as Rs 344.20, up 37.68 per cent on BSE. The scrip ended at Rs 336.70, up 34.68 per cent against its issue price.

  Among Asian markets, China's Shanghai Composite added 2.25 per cent higher after tumbling more than seven per cent in the first two days of the new year on fears about the economy.

  Japan's Nikkei slipped 0.99 per cent, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell nearly 1 per cent.

  US Stock futures fell more than one per cent in Asian trade on worrying news on the Chinese economy and North Korean security. Overnight, US markets ended slightly higher stabilizing after a weak start to the new year. 

  A lowdown on markets today

  11:21 am

  Sensex at 25,609.91, up 29.57 points

  Nifty at 7,795.35, up 10.70 points.

  9:20 am

  Sensex at 25,552.24, down 28.10 points

  Nifty at 7,776.15, down 8.50 points

Vodafone to roll out 4G services in Delhi, Mumbai by March

• Telecom operator Vodafone India will roll out its 4G services in top cities including Delhi and Mumbai by March.

  "Vodafone has already launched its high speed 4G services in Kerala. The intensity of its roll-out will continue with major metros like Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Delhi to be launched by March 2016," the company said in a statement.

  The second largest telecom operator in the country has started issuing 4G-ready SIMs in Mumbai.

  "We want our customers to be 4G-ready so that they can start experiencing the benefits of high-speed mobile Internet services as soon as they are launched commercially. Hence, this facility to upgrade to 4G-ready SIMs in advance," Vodafone India Business Head Mumbai Ishmeet Singh said.

  He said the company is "fully geared up to launch" 4G services in 1800 Mhz band in Mumbai very soon.

  Vodafone is also making arrangements of home delivery of 4G-ready SIMs for its premium high-value customers in Mumbai and formal communication is being sent out to all these customers with details of the initiative, the statement said.

ICICI Bank to spend Rs 200 cr on CSR in FY16: Kochhar

• The country's largest private sector lender ICICI Bank will be spending Rs 200 crore on social sector projects this fiscal and meet the mandatory 2 per cent CSR spend norms, its chief Chanda Kochhar said on Wednesday.

  This financial year, the bank will be spending almost Rs 100 crore on skill development, the bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive told reporters on the sidelines of a bank event.

  When asked about the roadmap for achieving the government-mandated target of 2 per cent of profit on corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects, she said, "Our spends group-wide are almost close to the 2 per cent target."

  Kochhar was speaking after its 22nd skill development academy was inaugurated by Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at suburban Andheri.

  She said the bank has already trained 60,000 underprivileged people in 13 specifically identified skill-sets, and is targeting to take the number to 1 lakh in the next 15 months.

  Over 30 per cent of the people who have been skilled for free include rural women, she said.

  Fadnavis said skilling the population is imperative for the country, failing which the large percentage of population in the working age group will turn into a "demographic disaster".

  Fadnavis said his government is creating a framework to skill the population and welcomed the work done by bodies like Pune's Symbiosis, which is planning to set up a skills university.

  Kochhar also launched a programme wherein anybody can refer candidates to the skills academy through a dedicated website.

  She said four of the 22 academies are located in Pune, Nagpur and Narsobachiwadi.

  At the skill academies, pupils are taught diverse vocational skills like air-conditioner repairing, 2-3-wheelers repairing, office administration and sales, among others.

  Apart from this, the bank has also helped get electricity to seven off-grid villages in the backward Jawahar tehsil of the newly created Palghar district through solar power, she said.

Industry bodies demand removal of MAT

• Industry bodies CII and FICCI have asked the government to either withdraw or reduce the Minimum Alternate Tax(MAT), as it plans to withdraw exemptions on corporate taxes.

  In their recommendations for Budget 2016/17, the industry bodies have said that though they welcome the move to remove exemptions, they also think that MAT should be withdrawn or the rate should be reduced in a calibrated manner.

  CII in its statement said that "while removing MAT, it should be clarified that MAT credit can be carried forward and set-off against their normal tax liability in future".

  FICCI, on the other hand, said: "As the government draws up a plan to eliminate exemptions and reduce the corporate tax rate, we feel that it must simultaneously look at reduction in the Minimum Alternate Tax rate."

  Both industry bodies requested implementation of the Tax Administration Reforms Commissions recommendations to overhaul the tax administration of the country.

  The Commission, headed by Dr Parthasarathy Shome, has recommended sweeping changes in the way the revenue department functions. It calls for the tax department to shift its focus from being an enforcement agency to being a service provider to taxpayers. The committee first submitted its report on 16 June 2014.

  CII said that the government should appoint an implementation group consisting of professionals to oversee and monitor implementation in a time-bound manner. "Whatever is recommended need not be implemented in entirety," it said in its submission to the finance ministry.

  FICCI in its representation said that the government should "give up the policy of setting tax collection/revenue targets for tax officers, since tax collections vary with the economic cycle/business conditions. Judiciousness and fairness in the assessment orders passed by the officers should be made a criterion for performance appraisal of the assessing officers".

  On the issue of reduction of corporate tax, CII feels that the rate of tax should be 22 per cent (inclusive of surcharge and no other additional levies should be imposed over and above this rate) and not 25 per cent.

  Among other demands include tax incentive for using plastic money, removal of mandatory pre-deposit for filing appeals in tax matters, offering 3 per cent interest rate subvention for home loan taken up to Rs 10 lakh, etc.

Black money: Govt collects Rs 2,428-crore tax from 644 entities

• The government has collected a total of Rs 2,428.4 crore in taxes after over 600 declarations were made by stash holders to the Income Tax department under the one-time black money compliance window that ended last year.

  The Central Board of Direct Taxes, in a statement, said this amount was received by it by way of tax and penalty up to December 31.

  There was a "shortfall" in collections under this category as in some cases there was prior information with the taxman which led to the disqualification of the declarations while some payments had come post the December deadline, it said.

  "A total of 644 declarations were made under the compliance window provided in the Act (new anti-black money law) which closed on September 30, 2015. The amount involved in these 644 declarations was Rs 4,164 crore. The declarants were liable to pay tax at the rate of 30 per cent and a like amount of 30 per cent by way of penalty on the value of assets declared by December 31, 2015. The amount received by way of tax and penalty upto December 31, 2015 is Rs 2,428.4 crore," the statement said.

  Officials said there could be a chance that these figures could be further "reconciled" and collections may slightly go up as those payments could be added which came post the designated deadline of December 31.

  In some cases under the 644 declarations of this one-time window, the department had rejected the undertakings stating that it had prior information about the individuals or entities involved through official channels and they cannot take this route to claim lesser punishment.

  "The shortfall is primarily on account of certain declarations in respect of which there was prior information under the provisions of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements (DTAAs) and Tax Information Exchange Agreements (TIEAs) or receipt of payment (was made) after December 31, 2015," the statement said.

  The new law, called the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 came into force with effect from July 1, 2015.

  The Act provided for a one-time compliance window to declare assets held abroad and pay due taxes and penalty on the value of assets declared.

  This window was provided by the government as just a one-time facility for stash holders to come clean before enforcing the stringent new law to curb and check the menace of black money or illegal assets held by Indians abroad.

  Entities who did not use the window and are later found to be in the possession of illegal assets or accounts abroad, will have to pay 120 per cent tax and penalty and face jail term which can extend up to 10 years.

General Awareness

“Two Indian Capitals” in World’s top-30 “Super Cities”

• • According to the study conducted by international real estate consultancy JLL, two Indian capitals have made it to a top-30 list of the World’s most powerful, productive and connected cities.
    • India’s national capital Delhi ranked at 24th.
    • India’s financial capital Mumbai is placed at 22nd.
    • The list is topped by Tokyo which is followed by New York, London and Paris in the top four “super cities”.
    As per JLL, top-30 global cities account for 64% of the total cross-border investmentinto the “Global300’” which is an expanded index of the cities in terms of their commercial attraction or economic and real estate power and status.
    Top-10 “improvers” list
    Top-10 improvers are cities whose scores in the index of “commercial attraction” have improved the most over the past year. The index of commercial attraction is JLL’s primary benchmark of the size and strength of a city’s economy and real estate market.
    • Mumbai is also on the top-10 “improvers” list.
    • Other cities where commercial attraction has improved significantly include Milan(Italy), Istanbul (Turkey), Tehran (Iran), Madrid (Spain), Cairo (Egypt),Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Lagos (Nigeria), Jakarta (Indonesia) and Jeddah(Saudi Arabia).
    Mumbai is enhancing its position as a hub for global corporations, with firms among the world’s 2,000 largest companies headquartered in the city raised by 50% over the last 10 years.
    About JLL
    Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated or JLL is a professional services and investment management company specializing in real estate. It was formed by the merger of Jones Lang Wootton, a British firm and LaSalle Partners, a US company in 1999.
    • Headquarters – Chicago, USA
    • Chairman – Sheila Penrose