Current Affairs Questions

Explanation :

Context: Prime Minister during Mann Ki Baat address made a mention of the garbage-to-power plant being commissioned inside the Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Agriculture Market in Bowenpally. Vegetable and fruit waste is used to generate power to the extent of 500 units a day and 30 kilos of green manure at the plant.

• Biomethanation is a process by which organic material is microbiologically converted under anaerobic conditions to biogas.
• Three main physiological groups of microorganisms are involved: fermenting bacteria, organic acid oxidizing bacteria, and methanogenic archaea.
• Unlike other kinds of waste treatment processes, this process is completely self-sufficient and doesn’t require an external power source.
• The system is completely sealed and enclosed and collects every bit of the gas for utilization. This includes a whole host of harmful greenhouse gases.

Benefits

• Generation of gaseous fuel;
• Can be done on a small-scale;
• Enclosed system enables all the gas produced to be collected for use. Green house gases emission to the atmosphere is avoided;
• Free from bad odour, rodent and fly menace, visible pollution and social resistance;
• Modular construction of plant and closed treatment needs less land area; and
• Production of biogas and high grade soil conditioner.

Explanation :

Context: Review petition of over 1,000 tribals from Mysore District, Karnataka for recognition of their claims over forest land under the Scheduled Tribes and Other Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, has been rejected by the local authorities.

Forest Rights Act

• The Act passed in 2006 grants legal recognition to the rights of traditional forest dwelling communities.
• It recognize and vest the forest rights and occupation in Forest land in forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD)who have been residing in such forests for generations.
• The Act also establishes the responsibilities and authority for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance of FDST and OTFD.

Rights under the Act

• Title Rights – i.e. ownership – to land that is being farmed by tribals or forest dwellers as on 13 December 2005, subject to a maximum of 4 hectares; ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family as on that date, meaning that no new lands are granted.
• Use Rights – to minor forest produce (also including ownership), to grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.
• Relief and Development Rights – to rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement; and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection.
• Forest Management Rights – to protect forests and wildlife.

Eligibility Criteria

According to Section 2(c) of Forest Rights Act (FRA), to qualify as Forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribe (FDST) and be eligible for recognition of rights under FRA, three conditions must be satisfied by the applicant/s, who could be “members or community”:

• (i)Must be a Scheduled Tribe in the area where the right is claimed; and
• (ii)Primarily resided in forest or forests land prior to 13-12-2005; and
• (iii) Depend on the forest or forests land for bona fide livelihood needs.

And to qualify as Other Traditional Forest Dweller (OTFD) and be eligible for recognition of rights under FRA, two conditions need to be fulfilled:

• (i)Primarily resided in forest or forests land for three generations (75 years) prior to 13-12-2005.

Explanation :

• Border adjustment tax is a short name for a proposed destination-based cash flow tax (DBCFT).
• It is a value-added tax on imported goods and is also referred to as a border-adjusted tax, destination tax or border tax adjustment.
• The border adjustment tax (BAT) levies a tax depending on where a good is consumed rather than where it is produced.
• It is a fiscal measure that imposes a charge on goods or services in accordance with the destination principle of taxation.
• BAT seeks to promote “equal conditions of competition” for foreign and domestic companies supplying products or services within a taxing jurisdiction.

Explanation :

• The Reserve Bank of India gives temporary loan facilities to the centre and state governments as a banker to government. This temporary loan facility is called Ways and Means Advances (WMA).
• The scheme for the Central Government was introduced on April 1, 1997, after putting an end to the four-decade old system of adhoc (temporary) Treasury Bills to finance the Central Government deficit.
• The WMA scheme is designed to meet temporary mismatches in the receipts and payments of the government.
• The government can avail of immediate cash from the RBI, if required.
• But it has to return the amount within 90 days.
• If the WMA exceeds 90 days, it would be treated as an overdraft.
• The interest rate on overdrafts would be 2 percent more than the repo rate.
• Further, the RBI provides an overdraft facility when the WMA limit is breached. The overdraft is not allowed beyond 10 consecutive working days.

Types of WMA

There are two types of Ways and Means Advances — normal and special.

• Special WMA or Special Drawing Facility is provided against the collateral of the government securities held by the state. After the state has exhausted the limit of SDF, it gets normal WMA. The interest rate for SDF is one percentage point less than the repo rate.
• The number of loans under normal WMA is based on a three-year average of actual revenue and capital expenditure of the state.

Explanation :

• The Dividend Distribution Tax(DDT) is a tax levied ondividends that a company pays to its shareholders out of its profits.
• DDT is taxable at source and is deducted at the time of the company distributing dividends. The dividend is the part of profits that the company shares with its shareholders.
• Under Section 115-O, the Income Tax Act, any domestic firm which is declaring or distributing dividend has to pay DDT at the rate of 15 percent on the gross amount of dividend.
• The tax has to be paid to the government within 14 days of the dividend declaration, distribution or payment whichever is earliest.
• If DDT is not paid within the given time period, interest at a rate of 1 percent per month or part thereof starts getting accumulated till the amount is paid. The tax is paid separately, over and above the company’s income tax liability.

Explanation :

• AIFs refer to any privately pooled investment fund, (whether from Indian or foreign sources), in the form of a trust or a company or a body corporate or a Limited Liability Partnership (LLP).
• In India, AIFs are defined in Regulation 2(1) (b) of Securities and Exchange Board of India (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012.
• Venture capital, private equity, hedge funds, managed futures,art and antiques, commodities and real estate are examples of AIFs.

Categories

• Category I: Mainly invests in start- ups, SME's or any other sector which government considers economically and socially viable.
• Category II: These include private equity funds or debt funds for which no specific incentives or concessions are given by the government or any other Regulator
• Category III: Alternative Investment Funds such as hedge funds or funds which trade with a view to make short term returns or such other funds which are open ended and for which no specific incentives or concessions are given by the government or any other regulator.

Explanation :

• The eight core sector industries consist of coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertiliser, steel, cement and electricity.
• These comprise 27 percent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 29^th July, 2019, the three-month long fieldwork of 7th Economic Census began from Tripura.
• The fieldwork in other States and Union Territories would be undertaken in August and September, 2019.
• The seventh Economic Census is being conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. The ministry has partnered with CSC e-Governance Services India Limited, a Special Purpose Vehicle under the Ministry of Electronics and Information.
• Data would be collected through door-to-door survey of each household and commercial establishment under the provisions of Collection of Statistics Act 2008.
• The census would cover all establishments, including household enterprises, engaged in production or distribution of goods and services.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• The six-member panel led byformer RBI governor Bimal Jalanwas formed on December 26, 2018, to review the Economic Capital Framework (ECF)for the Reserve Bank after the finance ministry wanted the RBI to pursue global best practices and transfer more surplus to the government.
• It has been charged with the responsibility of assessing the top practices followed by central banks globally in the process of assessment and provisions for risks. The government and the RBI under its former governor Urjit Patel had been at odds over the Rs 9.6 lakh crore surplus capitals with the central bank.
• The finance ministry was of the view that the buffer of 28% of gross assets maintained by the RBI is well above the global norm of around 14%.
• Other Members of the panel: Rakesh Mohan, Subhash C Garg, NS Vishwanathan, Bharat Doshi and Sudhir Mankad.
• Past Committees to deal with the ideal size of RBI's reserves:
• V Subrahmanyam (1997)
• Usha Thorat (2004)
• Y H Malegam(2013)

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online

Explanation :

• On 30^th July, 2019, RBI imposed a penalty on two online payment solutions providers Mobikwik Systems and Hip Bar for non-compliance of regulatory guidelines.
• Mobikwik Systems Private Limited has been slapped a fine of Rs. 15 lakh while Hip Bar Pvt. Ltd faced a fine of Rs. 10.85 lakh.

Source: Civil Services Chronicle Online