International Affairs
Palestinian statehood resolution fails at UNSC
The UN Security Council has failed to adopt a Palestinian
statehood resolution that set a deadline for the withdrawal of Israeli forces
from Palestinian territories by 2017.
The long-anticipated draft tabled here last night drew the
support of eight countries - Argentina, Chad, Chile, China, France, Jordan,
Luxembourg, Russia - just one shy of the nine needed to pass a resolution in
the absence of a veto by any of the Council's five permanent members.
The United States and Australia opposed the resolution while the
United Kingdom, Nigeria, South Korea, Rwanda and Lithuania abstained. The
resolution failed to receive the required majority among members, the United
States also opposed the text, a move that would have seen the draft fail to
pass. The draft outlined a solution which fulfilled the vision of two
independent, democratic and prosperous states - Israel and a sovereign,
contiguous and viable State of Palestine - living side by side in peace and
security in mutually and internationally recognised borders.
It also outlined several parameters for the proposed solution -
with a one-year deadline for negotiations with Israel and a "full and
phased withdrawal of Israeli forces" from the West Bank by the end of 2017
and would have looked forward to welcoming Palestine as a full UN Member State
within the 12-month time frame, urging both parties to build trust and
negotiate in good faith.
The text also envisaged a "just solution" to the
status of Jerusalem as the capital of the two states and to the question of
Palestinian refugees as well as to all other outstanding issues, including
control of water resources and the fate of prisoners in Israeli jails.
Security arrangements for the transition would have required a
"third-party presence". Following the vote, Permanent Representative
of the US to the UN Samantha Power stressed her country's support for new ways
to constructively support both parties in achieving a negotiated settlement.
·
China’s Three Gorges Power Plant claims new
world record
China’s Three Gorges Power Plant, the largest hydropower project
in the country, generated 98.8 billion kwh of electricity in 2014, bettering
the world record for hydropower generation set by Brazil’s Itaipu hydroelectric
plant
Three Gorges Dam is the world’s largest power station in terms
of installed capacity, but with a much smaller capacity, Brazil’s Itaipu
hydroelectric plant had long been the champion of world hydropower generation.
Brazil’s dam generated 98.6 billion kwh of electricity in 2013.
According to officials three Gorges Corporation said 98.8
billion kwh is the equivalent of saving 49 million tonnes of coal consumption
and preventing the emissions of carbon dioxide by 100 million tonnes. The Three
Gorges Project generates electricity, controls flooding by providing storage
for water and adjusts shipping capacity on the Yangtze River, China’s longest
waterway.
·
Nepal to join Silk Road Economic Belt through
Tibet
China has taken a firm step to extend the Silk Road Economic
Belt to South Asia, by working out a blueprint of connecting Nepal with the
Eurasian transport corridor. Last month, Nepal formally signed a four-point
document endorsing the Silk Road Economic Belt — a pet project of President Xi
Jinping for connecting Asia with Europe along a land corridor, with China as
its hub. The agreement was signed during a meeting in Beijing of the
Nepal-China Inter-governmental Business and Investment Coordination.
Under the new Silk Route blueprint, the Chinese want to open up
the transportation channel from the Pacific to the Baltic Sea, from which would
radiate rail and road routes, which would also connect with East Asia, West
Asia, and South Asia. China wants to connect with Nepal and South Asia through
an extension of the Qinghai-Tibet railway.
·
Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track restored
Indian Railway’s construction company (IRCON) has restored the
rail track between Jaffna and Kankasanthurai in North Sri Lanka. This restored
commercial Yal Devi Express service was formally inaugurated. The track is
about 18 kilometres. This passes through the high security zone which was freed
from the control of Tamil tigers in 2009.
IRCON was established in 1976 by Union Government, it is wholly
owned by the Ministry of Railways. In 1995, it was renamed as IRCON
International Limited. Since its establishment, this company had undertaken
construction of railway projects in India and abroad especially in difficult
terrains. It has completed more than 300 major infrastructure projects in India
and over 121 major projects globally in more than 21 countries.
·
Beji Caid Essebsi sworn in as President of
Tunisia
Tunisia's President Beji Caid Essebsi has pledged to work
towards national reconciliation after winning the country's first free
election. After taking his oath of office on 31st December, he told parliament
he would be "the president of all Tunisians". The 88-year-old secured
victory in the elections that were conducted in the third week of December,
over incumbent Moncef Marzouki.
Essebsi was speaker of parliament under President Zine
al-Abidine Ben Ali, who was ousted in 2011 in the first "Arab Spring"
uprising. Tunisia is the only Arab country to have moved from authoritarian
rule to democracy since a wave of popular uprisings spread across the region.
Essebsi became the first freely elected leader of Tunisia since it gained
independence from France in 1956.
Persons
·
Sathiyavathy:
The Centre has appointed M. Sathiyavathy as the director-general of civil
aviation. She replaces Prabhat Kumar, who has been removed from the post within
a year of his appointment. She is only the second woman officer to hold
Director General post after Prem Lal who held the post in early 1980s.
·
Devadas:
Rajan Devadas, Indian-American photojournalists whose lenses chronicled
U.S.-India relations for more than half-a-century, died of cardiac arrest at
the Hebrew Home of Greater Washington on 27th December. He won Padma Shri
award, he has covered the U.S. visit of every Indian Prime Minister — from
Jawaharlal Nehru to Manmohan Singh — besides photographing every U.S. President
— from John F Kennedy to George W Bush. Devadas, was born in Thiruvananthapuram,
Kerala in 1921, spent much of his childhood in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, and
studied at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
·
Aziz Qureshi: Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi, who had taken the Union
government to Supreme Court for alleged attempts to ease him out of office, was
today shifted to Mizoram. A Presidential communiqué said that Mr Qureshi has
been transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his
term till May 2017 and Meghalaya Governor KK Paul will take his place.
Mr Paul, who was appointed as Governor of Meghalaya on July 8,
2013, will continue to hold additional charge of Governor of Manipur till
further orders, it said.
Mr Qureshi, who was among the Governors appointed by the UPA
government, was reportedly told by Home Secretary Anil Goswami to quit after
the NDA government took charge at the Centre. He had approached the Supreme
Court against attempts to ease him out.
·
Nadimatla Sridhar: IAS officer Nadimatla Sridhar has been appointed as the
Chairman and Managing Director of State-owned coal mining company Singareni
Collieries Company Limited. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on
30th December approved the appointment of Sridhar after its CMD Sutirtha
Bhattacharya was selected by the Centre to serve as the chairman of Coal India
Limited recently.
·
Mittal:
A.K. Mittal was appointed as the new Chairman of Railway Board succeeding
Arunendra Kumar, who superannuated on December 31.
Pradeep Kumar, who was General Manager of the North Central
Railway holding additional charge of Northern Railway, has become new Member
Staff succeeding Mr. Mittal.
The Railways also filled the post of Member Electrical, which
was lying vacant for more than six months after the retirement of Kulbhushan in
July 31 this year. Navin Tondon, General Manager of South Eastern Central
Railways, has been appointed Member Electrical.
V.K. Gupta, Member Engineering, has been given additional
responsibility of Member Mechanical at the Board.
·
Radhakrishnan: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Chairman K.
Radhakrishnan retired on 31st December. Shailesh Nayak, who is Secretary, Union
Earth Sciences Ministry, will hold additional and interim charge as Chairman
for a month or until a regular chief is named, said an order by the Secretary,
Appointments’ Committee of the Union Cabinet.
Dr. Radhakrishnan led ISRO in many achievements over the past
five years after he took over the reins in November 2009. The historic Mars
Orbiter Mission was launched and guided to an orbit around the red planet under
his leadership. The partial experimental sub-orbital flight of the GSLV
Mark-III heavy-lift launch vehicle was another success. The early part of his
chairmanship was marred by the Antrix-Devas S-band satellite controversy and
the cancellation of that deal in February 2011. Dr. Radhakrishnan took over
from G. Madhavan Nair in October 2009 as the seventh chief of the space
establishment.
·
Three new judges sworn in at Bombay High Court
Three new judges were sworn in at the Bombay High Court on 1st
January. Chief Justice Mohit Shah administered the oath of office to Kalidas
Laxmanrao Wadane, Indira K. Jain and Shalini Phansalkar Joshi. With this, the
strength of judges at the court has gone up to 67.
·
K.K. Paul:
Krishan Kant Paul will be sworn in as the sixth Governor of Uttarakhand on
January 8. A presidential communiqué said Mr. Paul, Meghalaya Governor, would
continue to hold the office of the Governor of Manipur. The current Uttarakhand
Governor, Aziz Qureshi, would be transferred to Mizoram.
·
R.K Srivastava: R.K Srivastava on 2nd January took over as the new chairman of
Airports Authority of India (AAI) replacing Sudheer Raheja. The government had
announced Srivastava’s appointment on December 19 for five years.
·
Koteeswaran:
R Koteeswaran has taken over as the Chairman and Managing Director of public
sector Indian Overseas Bank (IOB). Prior to this, Koteeswaran was serving as
Executive Director of Bank of India.
·
Gowarikar:
Vasant Ranchhod Gowarikar, a stalwart who played a key role in India’s space
programme, passed away in Pune on 2nd January. A chemical engineer with a
doctorate from Birmingham University, Dr. Gowarikar joined the Indian Space
Research Organisation in 1967, settling down in Thiruvananthapuram.
·
Kiran Vadodaria: Kiran B. Vadodaria of Sambhaav Metro was elected president of
Indian Newspaper Society (INS) for 2014-15 at its 75th annual general meeting
on 2nd January.
P.V. Chandran ( Grihalakshmi ) will be the deputy president,
Somesh Sharma ( Rashtradoot Saptahik ) the vice-president, Mohit Jain (
Economic Times ) the honorary treasurer and V. Shankaran the secretary-general
of INS.
·
Leela Samson: The ninth edition of dance festival at The Music Academy here
had a befitting start on Saturday with the title of ‘Natya Kala Acharya’ being
conferred on renowned Bharatanatyam artist Leela Samson. She was presented the
title and citation by Masanori Nakano, Consul General of Japan, Chennai.
·
Edward Brooke: Former US Senator Edward W Brooke passed away. He was the first
black in America to win election to the Senate. He is a liberal Republican who
became the first black in American history to win popular election to the
Senate, he died on 3rd December.
Brooke was elected to the Senate from Massachusetts in 1966,
becoming the first black to sit in that branch from any state since the
post-Civil War Reconstruction era and one of nine blacks who have ever served there
including Barack Obama.
Awards
|
· Peta awards: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and actor Rekha, who both follow
a vegetarian diet, have been crowned ‘hottest vegetarian celebrities’ by
animal rights organisation PETA India for making plant-based foods more
popular than ever in 2014.
This year’s competition named ‘PETA India’s hottest vegetarian
celebrities’ was tougher than ever — but no one was more deserving than Mr.
Modi and Ms. Rekha for the title, the organisation said in a release.
The two winners beat out a strong group of competitors,
including actors Amitabh Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut, Hema Malini, Shahid
Kapoor, Vidya Balan, R Madhavan and Vidyut Jammwal, it said.
·
GOPALA KRISHNA: Tamil Nadu Governor Rosaiah conferred Sangita Kalanidhi award
on musician T.V. Gopalakrishnan, the Sangita Kala Acharya award on musicians
Mangad K. Natesan and Alamelu Mani, the TTK award on Malladi Suribabu and
Udaiyalur Kalyanaraman and the Musicologist award on Padma Murthy.
|
Sports
Boxing recognised as national federation sport
Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports recognised Boxing
India (BI) as the governing body for representing boxing in India. In this
regard, the Ministry allowed Boxing India to use the name under the Emblems
& Names (Prevention of Improper use) Act, 1950 for all its future
correspondence.
BI already has been recognised as national federation by
International Boxing Association (AIBA) to represent boxing in India and
registered it as permanent member.
The registration is a stepping stone in expediting the administrative
formalities and streamlining the overall functioning and activities of Boxing
India.
·
Kumar Sangakkara becomes quickest batsman to
score 12000 Test runs
Sri Lanka veteran Kumar Sangakkara became the fifth cricketer to
surpass 12,000 runs and fast bowler Nuwan Pradeep took 4-63 to help the
visitors dismiss New Zealand for 221 on the opening day of the second test
Sangakkara, who was 33 not out at stumps, started the first test
in Christchurch needing 12 runs to reach the 12,000-run milestone but was out
for 6 and 1, delaying his admission to an elite group whose members include
Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Jacques Kallis and Rahul Dravid.
·
Pragyan Ojha suspended
Indian left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha has been barred from
bowling in competitive cricket after his action was found to be illegal. Ojha's
action was tested at the ICC-recognised centre in Chennai. The tests apparently
concluded that Ojha's elbow flexed more than the permissible limit of 15
degrees.
·
Dhoni retired from tests
Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni on 30th December
retired from Test cricket with immediate effect, citing strain of playing all
formats, after his team lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy to Australia in
Melbourne.
Virat Kohli will be the captain of the Indian Team for the
Fourth and Final Test against Australia to be played in Sydney from the 6th of
January 2015
Dhoni, wicketkeeper-batsman remains one of the most successful
captains ever for India, having led the side to the top of ICC rankings in
Tests and ODIs.
· Debut- On December
2nd, against Srilanka in Chennai
· December 12th, 2005:
Scored first half century
· April 11th, 2008:
First match as Captain, India won against South Africa in Kanpur (due to
absence of the then captain Anil Kumble, he became captain)
· March 5th, 2013: Dhone
became India’s most successful captain with 22 wins
· July 21st, 2014:
India’s historic win at Lords, England
Number of tests played: 90
Runs scored:
4876
Centuries:
6
Half centuries: 33
Top score:
224
·
WADA raises minimum ban for doping
Athletes convicted of doping will face a minimum four-year ban under
new rules which came into effect from January 1. Changes to the World
Anti-Doping Code increased the suspension for doping from two years. Other
changes include less leniency given for missed tests but possible reduced bans
for helping investigators. The revised code was agreed to by the World
Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) in November 2014.
·
60th National School Games begin
The 60th National School Games kick-started in New Delhi on 2nd
January and was declared open by Delhi's Brand Ambassador and two-time Olympic
Games medallist Sushil Kumar. The games will continue till January 8. Kumar
appealed to the players that these games should be competed in true sportsman
spirit.
The Sports Branch, Directorate of Education, Delhi government
has organised the National School Games at Chhatrasal Stadium. Around 9,600
players and official from 34 states and union territories and affiliated units
of SGFI are participating in 17 sporting events.
·
Reactors under IAEA safeguards
Paving the way for import of fuel for its nuclear reactors,
India will complete the process of placing its civilian reactors under
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards in the next two days. The
last two reactors — units 1 and 2 of the Narora Atomic Power Station in
Bulandshahar in Uttar Pradesh — will come under the safeguards of the
international atomic energy body in the next two days and the necessary paper
work is underway.
So far 20 facilities have been placed under IAEA safeguards. These
reactors are now eligible to use imported uranium.
This includes unit 1 and 2 of the Tarapur Atomic Power Station
(TAPS), units 1 to 6 of Rajasthan Atomic Power Station, units 1 and 2 of
Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, and units 1 and 2 of Kakrapar Atomic Power
Station.
·
About International Atomic Energy Agency
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an
international organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear
energy, and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear
weapons. The IAEA was established as an autonomous organization on 29 July
1957. Though established independently of the United Nations through its own
international treaty, the IAEA Statute, the IAEA reports to both the United
Nations General Assembly and Security Council.
·
IPCC future not tied to Paris Climate Deal
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the
leading UN body for the assessment of climate change, is continuing its work
for the betterment of environment, according to it’s Chairman RK Pachauri. He
said that the IPCC would continue its work, no matter whether countries arrive
at a global climate deal next year in Paris or not. Its successive
science-based reports had always been key inputs for negotiators in the past
over two decades.
The IPCC had come out with its last (fifth) assessment report in
November ahead of the Lima climate talks. It is also most likely to come out
with its sixth assessment report in future, bringing more scientific information
to the table for policy-makers and general public on causes and impact of
climate-damaging greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere.
Amid speculation over the future of the IPCC once it submitted
its 'synthesis' report, its chairman R K Pachauri said his expectation was that
the body would also come out with the sixth assessment report (AR6) and a
decision in this regard would hopefully be taken by member countries in
February, 2015.
The IPCC is a scientific body which reviews and assesses the most
recent scientific, technical and socio-economic information produced worldwide
relevant to the understanding of climate change. It was established in 1988 to
provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of
knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic
impacts.
The body has since then come out with five successive assessment
reports, telling the global community how human activities are playing havoc
with environment and how it led to extreme weather events, melting of glaciers
and acidification of oceans due to global warming.
It was the IPCC second assessment report (AR2) of 1995 that had
provided important material and key inputs to negotiators in the run-up to
adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.
·
Sri Lankan flying snake, spotted
A flying snake, known to be endemic to Sri Lanka, has been
sighted in Andhra Pradesh's Seshachalam forests, forest officials and
researchers said.
According to researchers, this is the first time that Chrysopelea
taprobanica has been sighted outside the island nation.
The species, known to be found in dry zone lowlands and parts of
the intermediate climatic zones in Sri Lanka, was spotted at the Seshachalam
Biosphere Reserve in Chittoor district.
It was about a year ago that the species was seen in Chalama, a
core forest area about 25 km from the hill shrine of Tirumala.
Morphological studies and DNA tests proved that it was indeed
Chrysopelea taprobanica, which glides by stretching its body into a flattened
strip.However, the researchers have revealed this now after Checklist, a
journal of biodiversity data, mentioned it in its latest issue.
·
Low-cost phone launched by ICRISAT
A customised 'low-cost' phone cum tablet has been launched for
farmers by Hyderabad-based International Crops Research Institute for the
Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The device will allow information to be precisely
targeted at individual farmers who own small plots of land to help them
purchase inputs at lower prices, get a better price for their produce and link
them to markets, to put them on the path to prosperity, ICRISAT Director
General William Dar said, while launching the device on 29th December.
The device priced at USD 299, has been developed by ICRISAT's
Centre of Excellence in ICT Innovations for Agriculture in collaboration with
NUNC Systems, a city-based company.
Apart from regular phone services, developing world farmers
would receive free messages about weather and pest problems while sharing the most
competitive agricultural inputs and crop prices.
·
Modi pitches for greater autonomy to
Universities
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 3rd January pitched for greater
academic freedom and autonomy to universities and said educational institutions
“must be freed from the clutches of excessive regulation and cumbersome
procedures”. Speaking at the 102nd session of the Indian Science Congress at
the University of Mumbai, Modi said these were required to place the university
system at the “cutting edge of the research and development activities in the
country”.
Saying ease of doing research was as important as ease of doing
business, Modi promised the scientific community he would cut red tape.
He stressed the need to make investment in science and
technology a part of corporate social responsibility and said digital
connectivity must be “as much a basic right” as access to schools. He sought
efforts to “revive the romance” of science in society and “rekindle” the love
for it in children.
Indian Science Congress
The Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) owes its origin
to the foresight and initiative of two British Chemists, namely, Professor J.
L. Simonsen and Professor P.S. MacMahon. It occurred to them that scientific
research in India might be stimulated if an annual meeting of research workers
somewhat on the lines of the British Association for the Advancement of Science
could be arranged.
From this modest beginning with hundred and five members and
thirty five papers communicated for reading at the first session, ISCA has
grown into a strong fraternity with more than ten thousand members till to
date.
The Association was formed with the following objectives:
To advance and promote the cause of science in India
To hold an annual congress at a suitable place in India
To publish such proceedings, journals, transactions and other
publications as may be considered desirable.
To secure and manage funds and endowments for the promotion of
Science including the rights of disposing of or selling all or any portion of
the properties of the Association.
To do and perform any or all other acts, matters and things as
are conductive to, or incidental to, or necessary for, the above objects.
The first meeting of the Congress was held from January 15-17,
1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta, with the Honourable
Justice Sir Asutosh Mukherjee, the then Vice-Chancellor of the Calcutta
University, as President. One hundred and five scientists from different parts
of India and abroad attended and the papers numbering 35 were divided into six
sections-Botany, Chemistry, Ethnography, Geology, Physics, Zoology under six
Sectional Presidents.
·
Fiscal deficit hits 99% of full-year target in
April-November
The Central Government’s fiscal deficit for the April-November
period touched 99 per cent of the Budget estimate for 2014-15. The fiscal
deficit is the difference between the Government’s earnings and expenditure.
Data released by the Controller General of Accounts on 31st
December showed that the deficit in the first eight months of the financial
year touched Rs 5.25 lakh crore, against the Budget target of Rs 5.31 lakh
crore. In percentage terms, the deficit is 98.9 per cent, against 93.9 per cent
in the same period last year. The Government managed to collect just 43.4 per
cent of estimated receipts, while its expenditure was 59.8 per cent.
·
Udupi district achieves 100% coverage under
Jan Dhan
The Udupi district administration has announced 100 per cent
coverage of households under the Prime Minister’s Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY). The
PMJDY accounts opened after August 16 have a total balance of Rs5.51 crore.
Banks in the district were allotted 170 sub-service areas in 146 village
panchayats and 95 urban wards for the implementation of PMJDY.
·
Governance reform: Centre splits Chairman, MD
post in state-run banks
In a bid to improve governance, the Centre has separated the
posts of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) in nationalised banks. It has
also appointed Managing Directors (MD) for four banks, and they will also be
designated as Chief Executive Officer (CEO).
Two Reserve Bank committees, headed by AS Ganguly in 2002 and PJ
Nayak in 2014, had recommended separation of the post.
According to the Finance Ministry, henceforth, in public sector
banks, other than State Bank of India, the chairman will be a part-time board
member who would preside over the board meetings but will not be an executive
chairman. The procedure for selection of part-time chairmen would be announced
shortly, it added.
The four new MDs and CEOs are P Srinivas (United Bank of India),
Animesh Chauhan (Oriental Bank of Commerce), R Koteeswaran (Indian Overseas
Bank) and Kishor Kumar Sansi (Vijaya Bank).
The appointments are for three years or till the date of their
superannuation, whichever is earlier.
These banks and four others have been functioning without a CMD.
On October 27, the Government scrapped the existing selection process for
appointment of CMD and Executive Directors in public sector banks and decided
to initiate a new process, based on which the four names were selected.
A Finance Ministry statement said a replacement for Syndicate
Bank CMD SK Jain, who was suspended following his arrest in an alleged bribery
case, is still under consideration and would be decided shortly.For three large
banks — Bank of Baroda, Punjab National Bank and Canara Bank — the Centre has
decided to go for a fresh selection procedure, to be announced soon.
·
Central Bank revises rates on FCNR deposits
Central Bank of India has revised the interest rates on Foreign
Currency Non-resident (Bank) Account (FCNR-B). The new rates will be applicable
from 1st January
The bank now offers interest of 3.82 per cent on dollar
deposits, 3.5 per cent on pound deposits, 2.41 per cent on euro deposits, 3.86
per cent on Canadian dollar deposits and 4.74 per cent on Australian dollar
deposits (all of five-year maturity). These revised rates are valid till
January 31.
Want is FCNR account?
An FCNR account is a term deposit account that can be maintained
by NRIs and PIOs in foreign currency. Thus, FCNRs are not savings accounts but
fixed deposit accounts.
Prior to 2011, FCNR deposits were allowed to be maintained in
six currencies: US dollar, Pound Sterling (GBP), Euro, Japanese Yen, Australian
dollar and Canadian dollar. However, in October 2011, the RBI decided that
authorised dealer banks in India may be permitted to accept FCNR deposits in
any permitted currency. 'Permitted currency' for this purpose would mean a
foreign currency which is freely convertible and popularly include Danish
Krone, Swiss Frank and Swedish Krona among others.
·
Excise duty on petrol, diesel hiked; no change
in retail price
The government on 1st January raised excise duty on petrol and
diesel by Rs 2 per litre each but retail pump rates will not be increased. The
third excise duty hike since November will help raise additional Rs 6,000 crore
during remaining three months of the current fiscal as the government took
advantage of a slump in global oil prices to five-year low to shore up revenue
without stoking inflation. The oil firms had 31st December skipped cutting rates
of the two fuels that had become necessary as international oil rates plunged
to their lowest level since May 2009.
The excise duty hike has now been set off against the reduction
in rates that was due because of slide in oil prices.
The slump in global oil rates had warranted a price cut of Rs
3.22 per litre in petrol and about Rs 3 in diesel and even after adjusting the
excise increase; oil firms will have a neat margin of over Re 1 per litre.
·
Tax disputes mechanism streamlined
The dispute resolution mechanism for matters relating to
international tax and transfer pricing has been streamlined. The Finance
Ministry has put in place a new framework that seeks to bring much-needed
rigour and neutrality to dispute resolution on international tax issues.
The new system, which replaces the one introduced in 2009, could
go a long way in reducing tax litigation. The Central Board of Direct Taxes
(CBDT) has introduced the new framework with effect from January 1.
The CBDT has now sought to correct the situation by staffing the
new panels with dedicated full-time commissioners.
Under the new dispensation, there will be five dispute
resolution panels — two each in Delhi and Mumbai and one in Bengaluru. These
panels have been assigned dedicated areas for coverage across various States so
that there is a pan-India rollout.
In the earlier regime, commissioners were taking up dispute
resolution as “additional work” and not functioning on a full-time basis. Under
the new framework, three commissioners will be assigned by the CBDT to each of
the five panels. There will also be a reporting structure for these
commissioners. The panel members in Delhi will report to the Principal Chief
Commissioner of Income-Tax (International Taxation).
On the other hand, the members in Mumbai and Bengaluru will
report to the Chief Commissioners of Income Tax (International Taxation) of the
West Zone (Mumbai) and the South Zone (Bengaluru), respectively. The Chief
Commissioner posts in Mumbai and Bengaluru have been newly created.
·
PM raises solar investment target to $100 bn
by 2022
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has ramped up his target for
solar energy as he bets on renewables to help meet rising power demand and
overcome the frequent outages
India gets twice as much sunshine as many European countries
that use solar power. But the clean energy source contributes less than 1 per
cent to India's energy mix, while its dependence on erratic coal supplies
causes chronic power cuts that idle industry and hurt growth.
Modi now wants companies from China, Japan, Germany and the
United States to lead investments of $100 billion over seven years to boost
India's solar energy capacity by 33 times to 100,000 megawatts (MW), said
Upendra Tripathy, the top official in the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
That would raise solar's share of India's total energy mix to
more than 10 per cent. In Germany, a leader in renewable energy, solar
accounted for about 6 per cent of total power generated in 2014.
India had earlier set an investment target of $100 billion for
the next five years for all types of renewable energy, with wind taking up
two-thirds of the total.
Solar energy in India costs up to 50 per cent more than power
from sources like coal. But the government expects the rising efficiency and
falling cost of solar panels, cheaper capital and increasing thermal tariffs to
close the gap within three years.
To create sufficient demand, power distributors will have to
raise renewable energy purchases to 8 per cent from 3 per cent by 2020. There
is also a plan to require new thermal plants to have a 10 per cent renewable
mix, which they can generate or buy from solar companies as credit.
India recently signed a $1 billion agreement with the Export-Import
Bank of the United States for companies willing to ship equipment from that
country. India is also thinking of solar bonds and helping foreign firms raise
rupee bonds to cut costs.
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RBI eases KYC norms for NBFCs
Amending rules for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with
regard to their Know-Your-Customer (KYC) exercise, the Reserve Bank of India,
on 2nd January, relaxed the time limit during which such due diligence is
required. The rules have been eased due to practical difficulties and
constraints in getting KYC documents at frequent intervals.
