Current Affairs for IAS Exams – 12 September 2016

:: National  ::

SC to hear Karnataka Govt’s plea for Cauvery water sharing

• The Supreme Court will open on a holiday to hear the Karnataka government’s plea to modify an order directing it to share Cauvery water with distressed neighbour Tamil Nadu.

• Turmoil and public unrest happened in the State after the Supreme Court order on September 5 to release 15,000 cusecs of Cauvery water to Tamil Nadu.

• Karnataka said 66,000 cusecs had already been released between September 5 and 10 to Tamil Nadu as a goodwill gesture.

• It said the water was for storage purposes in Tamil Nadu while Karnataka was reeling under a drinking water crisis.

• The apex court had ordered Karnataka to release 15,000 cusecs for 10 days to feed its parched agricultural lands in the “interests of justice”.

NITI Aayog submitted report to PMO for road map for elimination of poverty

• A task force headed by NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Arvind Panagariya to prepare a road map for elimination of poverty has submitted its report to the Prime Minister’s Office.

• It has suggested setting up of a committee to identify people below the poverty line (BPL).

• The task force, which included NITI Aayog member Bibek Debroy and secretaries from the Ministries of Rural Development, Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, has also suggested participation from the States in defining the BPL population.

• Task force was not mandated to work on fixing the poverty line. Its terms of reference included developing a working definition of poverty and coordinating and developing synergy with Central Ministries and State government task forces.

• According to the discussion paper on poverty, official measures are based on the Tendulkar poverty line. But the line is not without its share of controversies, with many terming it being too low.

• This has prompted the previous government to appoint the Rangarajan Committee, which has recommended higher rural and urban poverty lines.

• The paper talks of considering four options for tracking the poor. First, continue with the Tendulkar poverty line.Second, switch to the Rangarajan or other higher rural and urban poverty lines.

• Third, track progress over time of the bottom 30 per cent of the population and last, track progress along specific components of poverty such as nutrition, housing, drinking water, sanitation, electricity and connectivity.

• Third and fourth options can complement measurement of poverty using a poverty line, the paper suggested, adding that they could not be a substitute for it.

IAS officers Urge Govt to review Prevention of Corruption Act and CrPC (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: International ::

Russia to join forces with China in South China Sea

• China and Russia will hold joint naval exercises in the South China Sea (SCS), sending a calibrated message to the United States and its allies that Beijing has a powerful partner in waters riven by rival territorial claims.

• The show of strength will be showcased during the eight-day Navy drill in the South China Sea off southern China’s Guangdong Province.

• The exercises follow a spike in tensions after an arbitration court in The Hague rejected China’s claims in the SCS, and slammed it for causing environmental damage there.

• China has rejected the ruling in a government white paper that was released in the aftermath of the Award.

• Joint Sea-2016,” will feature Navy surface ships, submarines, fixed-wing aircraft, ship-borne helicopters marine corps and amphibious armoured equipment from both navies.

• Most of the Chinese participants will come from the Nanhai Fleet under the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN).

• The two sides will undertake defence, rescue, and anti-submarine operations, in addition to joint island seizing and other activities.

The United States marks the 15th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks (Register and Login to read Full News..)

:: India and World ::

Nepal will seek to start a new chapter with India prioritising infrastructure development

• Nepal will seek to start a new chapter with India prioritising infrastructure development in a bid to overcome the impact of the 2015 earthquake and months-long economic blockade.

• Talks on the Pancheshwar dam hydroelectricity power project were on track. He is likely to firm up the schedule and agreements before Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal ‘Prachanda’ arrives in New Delhi on September 15 for a four-day visit.

• Apart from the dam, the Hulaki road project, construction of cross border railways and building new skill development centres in Nepal are also likely to feature in the discussions between Mr. Mahat and his counterpart Sushma Swaraj.

• Following the new constitution, Nepal’s Madhesi population started an agitation which turned into a blockade on India-Nepal border. Prime Minister Oli had blamed India for the blockade, triggering a diplomatic spat.

:: Business and Economy ::

Union Cabinet is likely to take up in its next meeting the constitution of the GST Council

• Following the President’s assent to constitutional amendment enabling the roll-out of the Goods & Services Tax (GST), India’s move to introduce the new indirect tax is all set to enter a crucial stage.

• The Union Cabinet is likely to take up in its next meeting on Monday the constitution of the GST Council.

• This constitutional body, to be headed by the Union Finance Minister and comprising State Finance Ministers, will decide the rates at which the GST will be levied and collected and have to be paid across the country by consumers.

• Opposition parties says the standard GST rate should be kept below the 18 per cent-mark, the States are keen to fix it at a higher level, closer to 20 per cent, to protect revenue collections.

• The Council, likely to be in place before the end of September, will also have to finalise the number of slabs the GST will be pegged at for different categories of goods and services.

• Besides the standard rate, there could be a lower rate for wage goods consumed by the poor and another one for demerit or luxury goods, also called ‘sin goods.’

• The GST Council will have to decide if it would be politically feasible to tax the service at the standard GST rate, which could be 18 per cent or even higher.

• Before the Council is set up, the Empowered Committee of State Finance Ministers is likely to meet to thrash out these and two other crucial issues for determining the GST rates.

• Issues like list of goods, such as food grains, to be made exempt from the new tax and the threshold level below which sellers will be exempt from charging the GST, a tax on consumption.

• States would like to see the GST rate closer to 20 per cent as they are concerned about revenue collections after the transition.

• Several states have expressed their worries over the calculations of the revenue neutral rate for the GST.

• A government committee under Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian had given the Centre last year recommended that the standard rate for the GST should be about 18 per cent.

• The calculations, they have found, underestimate the current indirect tax collections revenue by nearly Rs.7 lakh crore.

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Sources: Various News Papers & PIB