The Hindu Editorial Analysis | 28th April 19 | PDF Download

MCQ 2018
As per the NSSO 70th Round “Situation Assessment Survey of Agriculture Households”, consider the following statements:

1. Rajasthan has the highest percentage share of agriculture households among its rural households. 2. Out of the total households in the country, a little over 60 percent being to OBCs.
2. In Kerala, a little over 60 percent of agriculture households reported to have received maximum income from sources other than agriculture activities.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 2 and 3 only
2. 2 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

MCQ 2018
With reference to India’s decision to levy an equalization tax of 6% on online advertisement services offered by non-resident entities, which of the following statements is/are correct?

1. It is introduced as a part of the Income Tax Act that offers advertisement services in India.
2. Non-resident entities that offer advertisement services in Indian can claim a tax credit in their home country under the “Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements”.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

1. 1 only
2. 2 only
3. Both 1 and 2
4. Neither 1nor 2

Press Information Bureau Government Of India

 Ministry of Finance

• Levy of Tax on Digital Services
• A Committee constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has recommended for the levy of tax on most digital services. The Committee constituted to examine taxation of E-Commerce, has recommended that Equalization Levy may be imposed at a rate of six to eight per cent, on any consideration of more than one lakh rupees received by a non-resident from a resident of India or from a permanent establishment in India for certain specified digital services, including online advertising, any services for online advertising and digital advertising space. The Finance Bill, 2016 proposes equalization levy at the rate of 6% of the amount of consideration for specified services received or receivable by a non-resident, from a resident in India who carries out business or profession, or from a non-resident having a permanent establishment in India, where the aggregate amount of consideration received in a year exceeds one lakh rupees. The proposed levy will have no direct impact on consumers as it is applicable only to business to business transaction. This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

MCQ 2018
Consider the following statements:

1. The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Review Committee Report has recommended a debt to GDP ratio of 60% for the general (combined) government by 2023, comprising 40% for the Central Government and 20% for the State Governments.
2. The Central Government has domestic liabilities of 21% of GDP as compared to that of 49% of GDP of the State Governments.
3. As per the Constitution of India, it is mandatory for a State to take the Central Government’s consent for raising any loan if the former owes any outstanding liabilities to the latter.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

1. 1 only 2.
2. 2 and 3 only
3. 1 and 3 only
4. 1, 2 and 3

 Who is a ‘manual scavenger’?

• Any person who has been employed to handle undecomposed human waste from an insanitary latrine, open drain or pit or railway track is a manual scavenger under this law.
• The person could have been employed by any one – say, someone from their village or by an agency or contractor.
• It does not matter if she was given regular employment or engaged on contract basis, she is covered under this law.
• Exception – Any person who has been employed to clean human waste and does so with the help of the appropriate protective gear and equipment will not be considered a manual scavenger under this law.
• Another group of people called ‘safai karamcharis’ are also sometimes considered as manual scavengers – however, they usually refer to people working as sweepers or cleaning workers in the municipalities, government or private organizations.

Who is responsible for identifying manual scavengers?

• Every local authority (municipality or panchayat), cantonment board or railway authority is responsible for surveying its area to identify manual scavengers.

Highlights of the Bill

• The Bill prohibits the employment of manual scavengers, the manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment, and the construction of insanitary latrines.
• It seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment.
• Each local authority, cantonment board and railway authority is responsible for surveying insanitary latrines within its jurisdiction. They shall also construct a number of sanitary community latrines.
• Each occupier of insanitary latrines shall be responsible for converting or demolishing the latrine at his own cost. If he fails to do so, the local authority shall convert the latrine and recover the cost from him.
• The District Magistrate and the local authority shall be the implementing authorities.
• Offences under the Bill shall be cognizable and non-bailable, and may be tried summarily.

Key Issues and Analysis

• The existing law prohibiting manual scavenging was enacted under the State List. There could be an argument for Parliament’s jurisdiction to enact this Bill as this regulates conditions of work, and is thus a Concurrent List item.
• Neither the state nor the centre is mandated under the Bill to provide financial assistance for the conversion of insanitary latrines. This may adversely impact implementation of the Bill.
• Offences under the Bill may be tried summarily though the penalty could be five years imprisonment. However, under the CrPC, only offences with a maximum imprisonment of two years can be tried summarily.
• A state government can grant the Executive Magistrate the judicial power to try offences under the Bill. This may create a conflict of interest if the Executive Magistrate is also the implementing authority.
• The Bill has a wider scope and higher penalties than the 1993 Act.

What we need :

• Professionalism in candidency
• Awareness among people about constitution, parliament working & policy issues
• Strict punishments for violation
• Strict MCC implementation
• More teeth to ECI.
• People should not choose candidates just because they are famous in some popular field.
• Kelvin Scale
• Degrees Celsius (°C) and kelvins (K) have the same magnitude. The only difference between the scales is their starting points: 0 K is “absolute zero,” while 0°C is the freezing point of water.
• One can convert degrees Celsius to kelvins by adding 273.15; thus, the boiling point of water, 100°C, is 373.15 K.
• Absolute zero is theoretically the lowest possible temperature, the point at which all molecular motion would cease.
•  To convert Fahrenheit to Celsius (Centigrade), subtract 32 and divide by 1.8. To convert Celsius (Centigrade) to Fahrenheit, multiply by 1.8 and add 32.
•  Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian states, with Karnataka accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21% and Tamil Nadu (5% of overall production with 8,200 tonnes). Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather than direct sunlight anywhere in the world.
•  There are about 250,000 coffee growers in the country; 98% of them are small growers.
•  As of 2009, Indian coffee made up just 4.5% of the global production. Almost 80% of Indian coffee is exported; 70% is bound for Germany, Russia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, United States, Japan, Greece, Netherlands and France. Italy accounts for 29% of the exports. Most of the export is shipped through the Suez Canal
• Traditionally, India has been a noted producer of Arabica coffee but in the last decade robusta beans are growing substantially due to high yields, which now account for over 60 percent of coffee produced in India.
• Afghanistan, Pakistan and Nigeria are the only three countries in the world where polio is still not eliminated and continues to threaten the lives of millions of children. In 2018, Afghanistan had the most cases of polio among the three, with 21 cases reported across the country
• Islamist opposition to all forms of inoculation grew after the CIA organised a fake vaccination drive to help track down Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad. He was killed there by US forces in 2011. Some Talban and ultra-conservative religious leaders have also been known to spread rumours that vaccines contain ingredients forbidden in Islam, such as pork derivatives, or that can cause infertility as part of a Western plot to reduce the population.
• Polio is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus that invades the nervous system and can cause total paralysis within hours. It mainly affects children under the age of five.

 

 

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