Indian Economy | Topic: Issues Relating to Growth & Development - Public Finance, Taxation & Black Money Incl
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Page 1 Grim Sovereign Tangle: The Hindu Editorial on GST compensation standoff2 India ranked in the top 50 nations in the Global Innovation Index5 A labour law, more beneficial7 RBI alters priority sector norms to help start-ups, farmers avail loans10 GST reform needs a new grand bargain12 Start-Up Village Entrepreneurship Programme (SVEP) is propelling enterprises in rural areas and building rural entrepreneurs16 Press Note on Global Multidimensional Poverty Index and India24 Reorganising debt28 Larger and better29 Cabinet approves asset monetization of subsidiaries of Power Grid Corporation of India limited through infrastructure investment trust31 The twisted trajectory of Bt cotton34 What is the TCS on foreign remittances?38 Atal Innovation Mission Launches Aatmanirbhar Bharat ARISE-ANIC Initiative40 Delhi set to receive Kisan Rail43 PM to launch Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana on 10th September46 Post-COVID ‘new normal’ might be marked by greater economic, social and political divisions52 Government of India Expands the support to Artisans manifold, for making Agarbatti, to make India Aatm- Nirbhar54 An agriculture-led revival as flawed claim57 The Code on Social Security, 201961 India Post launches Five Star Villages Scheme to ensure 100% rural coverage of postal schemes72 Draft Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 202078 Prime Minister launches PM Matsya Sampada Yojana, e-Gopala App & several initiatives in Bihar86 Shri Mansukh Mandaviya launches ‘SAROD-Ports’ today93 Smothering the housing rights of the urban poor97 For a different yardstick: on 'Doing Business' report101 Urban employment as the focal point104 The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020108 The Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill, 2020112 FDI IN DEFENCE SECTOR114 Government Initiatives for Steel Industry120 Finance minister introduces Banking Regulation (Amendment) Bill in Lok Sabha122 The Farmers' Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Bill, 2020124 The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Bill, 2020130 National Research Centre on Camels136 Page 2 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2020-09-03 GRIM SOVEREIGN TANGLE: THE HINDU EDITORIAL ON GST COMPENSATION STANDOFF Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues relating to Growth & Development - Public Finance, Taxation & Black Money incl. Government Budgeting Three years after India’s new indirect tax regime was introduced with a slogan of ‘One Nation, One Tax’, it faces an existential crisis. Despite its patchy structure with too many rates, complex compliance requirements and multiple mid-course changes, the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), overseen together by the Centre and the States, had begun to almost serve as an exemplar of co-operative federalism. All of those gains have quickly unravelled as the slowdown in the economy, exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdowns, has thrown all revenue calculations to the wind. The Centre is obliged to pay to the States, for a period of five years, compensation for revenue shortfalls in return for their having ceded the power to levy the multiple taxes that were subsumed into the GST. Last week, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asserted, at what may have been the most tenuous GST Council meeting so far, that the Centre will not be able to meet the compensation shortfall. With GST collections sharply undershooting all targets this year, the Centre estimates compensation payable for the full year at 3-lakh crore. But just 65,000 crore is expected in the cess kitty used to pay out the compensation. In July, the Centre paid out the last instalment of compensation for the last fiscal and is, so far, yet to pay anything for this year. States have now been given two options, both requiring them to borrow from the market. The Centre contends that only 97,000 crore of the revenue shortfall is from implementation of the GST, while 1.38-lakh crore is due to extraordinary circumstances posed by an ‘Act of God’ (the pandemic). States can either borrow 97,000 crore, without having it added to their debt and with the principal and interest paid out from future cess collections, or they can borrow the entire 2.35-lakh crore shortfall, but will have to provide for interest payments themselves. The Finance Ministry has argued that higher borrowing by the Centre will push up interest rates and dent India’s fiscal parameters. At best, this is specious — total government debt, including States’, is what rating agencies look at. Several States have rejected both options and some, including Tamil Nadu, have urged the Centre to rethink in view of their essential and urgent spending needs to curb the pandemic and spur growth. A staring match is in the offing. It is up to the Centre to resolve this impasse in a way that future GST reforms do not fall victim to the trust deficit engendered by this standoff, the pandemic response is strengthened and all-round government capital spending to bolster sagging demand not derailed. For now, the only certainty is that the compensation cess levied on demerit goods will stay on beyond 2022, and may even be raised, affecting several businesses, including the jobs- intensive auto sector. You havecrackIAS.com reached your limit for free articles this month. To get full access, please subscribe. Already have an account ? Sign in Start your 14 days free trial. Sign Up Find mobile-friendly version of articles from the day's newspaper in one easy-to-read list. Move smoothly between articles as our pages load instantly. Page 3 Enjoy reading as many articles as you wish without any limitations. A one-stop-shop for seeing the latest updates, and managing your preferences. 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Sign In Start your 14 days free trial Sign Up You can support quality journalism by turning off ad blocker or purchase a subscription for unlimited access to The Hindu. Sign up for a 30 day free trial. Page 4 END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com crackIAS.com Page 5 Source : www.pib.gov.in Date : 2020-09-04 INDIA RANKED IN THE TOP 50 NATIONS IN THE GLOBAL INNOVATION INDEX Relevant for: Indian Economy | Topic: Issues relating to Growth & Development - Demographic Economics & Various Indexes India has climbed 4 spots and has been ranked 48thby the World Intellectual Property Organization in the Global Innovation Index 2020 rankings. In midst of the Covid -19 pandemic, it comes as an uplifting news for India, and is a testament of its robust R&D Ecosystem. India was at the 52nd position in 2019 and was ranked 81st in the year 2015. It is a remarkable achievement to be in a league of highly innovative developed nations all over the globe. The WIPO had also accepted India as one of the leading innovation achievers of 2019 in the central and southern Asian region, as it has shown a consistent improvement in its innovation ranking for the last 5 years. The consistent improvement in the global innovation index rankings is owing to the immense knowledge capital, the vibrant startup ecosystem, and the amazing work done by the public & private research organizations. The scientific ministries like the Department of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology and the Department of space have played a pivotal role in the enriching the national innovation Ecosystem. The NITI Aayog has been working tirelessly to ensure optimization of national efforts in this direction by bringing policy led innovation in different areas such as EVs, biotechnology, Nano technology, Space, alternative energy sources, etc. The India Innovation Index, which was released last year by the NITI Aayog, has been widely accepted as the major step in the direction of decentralization of innovation across all the states of India. A constant thrust in monitoring and evaluating India’s position in global rankings has be provided by the NITI Aayog, including the global innovation index. India must aim high and double its efforts in improving its ranking in the global innovation index.