DAILY CURRENT
AFFAIRS: 9 NOV 2017
(DAILY NEWS INDIA)
SHARED BY: WWW.DAILYGK.IN
1. PANEL UNDER M VINOD KUMAR BEGINS REVIEW OF GST LAWS TO REMOVE
GLITCHES
i. A committee headed by M Vinod Kumar, GST chief commissioner for
Karnataka has started a review of the laws governing Goods and Services Tax. The
committee has been set up to provide suggestions for smoothening the GST
regime, especially for small businesses who have been complaining of a an
increase in compliance burden.
ii. Another committee comprising industry representatives has also
been set up to provide external inputs on this matter. Besides, group of state
finance ministers has also suggested some changes to the existing structure.
iii. Next meeting of GST council is scheduled to be held on
November 10, 2017 in Guwahati, Assam. At this meeting, decision will be taken
on proposals from a ministerial panel for tax rate cuts on restaurants and for
further liberalization of the composition scheme meant for small businesses.
2. INDIA SIGNS LOAN AGREEMENT WITH WORLD BANK FOR US $119 MILLION
i. A Financing Agreement for IBRD loan of US$ 119 million for the
“Odisha Higher Education Programme for Excellence & Equity Project” was
signed with the World Bank.
ii. The Objective of the project is to improve the quality of
'students’ equitable access to selected institutions and enhance governance of
the higher education system in Odisha. This project will continue till November
2022.
3. INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION NORMS MADE STRINGENT
i. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has amended IBBI
(Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Resolution Process, 2016
to ensure that the corporate insolvency resolution process results in a
credible and viable resolution plan.
ii. As per the norm stipulated in this amendment, the antecedents,
credit worthiness and credibility of a resolution applicant, including
promoters will be checked by the Committee of Creditors before approving the
resolution plan.
ii. Besides, details pertaining to convictions, criminal
proceedings, disqualifications, categorisation as wilful defaulter as per RBI
guidelines, debarment imposed by SEBI and any transaction with the corporate
debtor in the last two years should also be furnished.
iii. The amendment also assigns greater responsibility on the
resolution professional and the Committee of Creditors. The resolution
professional will now have to submit
details about undervalued transactions and fraudulent transactions.
4. MAHARASHTRA GOVT TO SET UP VILLAGE CLIMATE RESILIENT COMMITTEES
i. The Maharashtra state government has decided to set up a
committee for the implementation of a Rs.4,000-cr project on climate resilience
agriculture in 5,000 villages of 15 districts in the state. The project would
be funded by the World Bank.
ii. With 82% of the states cultivable area falling under dry
farming coupled with consecutive drought, the state government has now decided
to push for this project. The 7-member panel, headed by the Principal Secretary
(Agriculture), has been set up with a target of selecting 4,000 drought-prone
villages for the implementation of the project.
iii. The committee would select 3,000 villages from eight
districts of Marathwada region, while the remaining 1,000 will be chosen from
six districts of Vidarbha. The panel has been asked to select indicators
related to weather, agriculture and social status of the villages of these two
districts based on which they would be ranked.
iv. The programme aims to reduce farmers’ dependence on
unpredictable weather cycles and enhance resilience of agriculture to climate
change and vulnerability through research and use of technology.
5. INDIA SLIPS TO 7TH POSITION IN BUSINESS OPTIMISM RANKING
i. As per Grant Thornton’s International Business Report, India
has slipped to 7th position in ‘business optimism’ index for the September 2017
quarter. This marks a drop by five places as compared to 2nd position
in the previous three months.
ii. ‘Business Optimism’ Rankings – Top 5 Countries: Indonesia, Finland,
Netherlands, Philippines and Austria.
6. GOVT NOTIFIES TAX AVOIDANCE PROTOCOL BETWEEN INDIA-NEW ZEALAND
i. Indian government has notified the third protocol with New
Zealand for the avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion
with respect to taxes on income. This protocol updates the existing protocol by
incorporating new provisions about
sharing of tax-related information as per the latest international standard.
ii. This protocol will not only help curb tax evasion and tax
avoidance between India and New Zealand but will also enable mutual assistance
in collection of taxes. Tax avoidance convention between India and New Zealand
came into force in December 1986. It was amended by a first protocol in 1997
and the second protocol in 2000.
7. SANJEEV KAUSHIK APPOINTED AS WHOLE-TIME MEMBER OF SEBI
i. Sanjeev Kaushik, a Kerala cadre IAS officer, has been appointed
as whole-time member of SEBI for a period of three years or till the age of 65
years, whichever is earlier.
ii. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved
Kaushik’s appointment. Kaushik replaces S Raman, who retired from the post of a
whole-time member in September 2017.
8. PRINCE OF WALES CHARLES ARRIVES INDIA ON 2-DAY VISIT
i. Prince of Wales, Charles Philip Arthur George arrived in New
Delhi on a 2-day visit to India. This visit is a part of their 10 day tour to
Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei and India.
ii. This visit will be the 9th visit of the Prince of Wales to
India. The visit is aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two
nations.
9. PRANNOY DEFEATS SRIKANTH TO EMERGE AS NEW NATIONAL CHAMPION
i. H.S Prannoy defeated World No 2 Kidambi Srikanth in a thrilling
finale to claim the men’s singles title at the 82nd Senior National
Championship, in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
ii. Second seed Prannoy, who achieved his career-best ranking of
World No. 11 recently, saw off top seed Srikanth 21-15 16- 21 21-7 in a
49-minute clash.
10. KERALA GOVERNMENT INKS MOU WITH INTEL, UST GLOBAL
i. The Kerala government inked an MoU with Intel and UST Global
for exploring the possibility of transforming the state into an electronic
hardware manufacturing hub.
ii. The MoU was signed by the state IT department, Intel and UST
Global in the presence of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan.
11. COAL INDIA LAUNCHED 'GRAHAK SADAK KOYLA VITARAN APP'
i. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways & Coal has
launched ‘Grahak Sadak Koyla Vitaran App’ benefitting customers of Coal India
Limited lifting coal through road mode.
ii. The customer friendly app, launched recently in Kolkata on
CIL’s Foundation Day, helps achieve transparency in despatch operations, as a
tool to monitor, whether the despatches are made on the fair principle of
‘First in First Out’.
12. BENGALURU BEATS SAN FRANCISCO IN CONFIDENCE TO GO DIGITAL
i. India's Silicon Valley - 'Bengaluru' - is the best host among
45 cities worldwide, according to a report from the Economic Intelligence Unit.
Bengaluru expressed the highest confidence in their digital environment based
on people and skills, financial environment, innovation and entrepreneurship
and new technology development.
ii. San Francisco came in second followed by two other Indian
cities, Mumbai and New Delhi while Tokyo, Yokohama and Berlin brought up the
rear.
13. MARY KOM BEATS A NORTH KOREAN, STORMS TO ASIAN BOXING
CHAMPIONSHIPS GOLD
i. Mary Kom won the gold medal in the Asian Boxing Championships
in the Light Flyweight category, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
ii. Mary Kom defeated North Korea’s Kim Hyang Mi in the final. Mary
Kom’s previous medal came in the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, where she became
the first Indian woman boxer to win gold in the Women’s Flyweight (51 kg)
category.
iii. This is Mary Kom’s 6th medal in the Asian Women’s Boxing
Championships and fifth gold medal. She has won four gold medals and one silver
medal in previous editions of the tournament.
14. WORLD RADIOLOGY DAY – NOVEMBER 8
i. World Radiology Day was observed all over the world on 8
November. The International Day of Radiology is an annual event promoting the
role of medical imaging in modern healthcare. It is celebrated on November 8
each year.
ii. It coincides with the anniversary of the discovery of x-rays
by Wilhelm Roentgen in 1895. Theme of World Radiology Day 2017 is Emergency
Radiology. It was first introduced in 2012, as a joint initiative, by the
European Society of Radiology, the Radiological Society of North America, and
the American College of Radiology.
