Current Affairs for SSC CGL Exams - 20 October 2016

:: National ::

GST council deliberations ended without decision on tax structure

The GST Council’s third round of deliberations ended without a decision on the rates structure after most States objected to a proposal to levy an additional cess on demerit goods.
The proposal from the Centre that triggered objections was for the imposition of a cess over and above the Goods and Services Tax on ultra luxury and demerit goods such as big cars, aerated beverages and tobacco products.
Finance Minister told that the GST Council — comprising Ministers from all the States and headed by him — will meet next on November 3-4 to decide on the GST rates structure.
The Centre had proposed the cess as a means to finance the compensation it will have to pay States.

Railway station’s to be developed under Smart city plan

You can’t have a smart city without a smart railway station. Keeping that in mind, more than 500 railway stations in the country will ‘smarten up’ with better passenger amenities, easy access and integrated public transport hubs.
A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), signed between the Urban Development Ministry and the Railways, expects to redevelop railway stations and surrounding areas under the Smart City plan.
To begin with, 100 railway stations and an adjoining area of 300-800 acres would be redeveloped in the Smart Cities and the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) Cities plans.
At present, railway stations in 10 cities could be taken up for the redevelopment with the involvement of the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC).
They are Varanasi, Sarai Rohilla (Delhi), Bhubaneswwar, Lucknow, Varnasi, Jaipur, Kota, Thane, Margao (Goa), Tirupati and Puducherry.
Mr. Prabhu said that countries like Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, the U.K. and Belgium have shown interest in the redevelopment of railway stations.
A meeting of domestic and overseas bankers will be organised next week to discuss the financing of these redevelopment projects.
The scope of the MoU will be extended to over 500 cities in time. The cost of redeveloping about 500 acres in the Smart City Plans of 60 approved cities is approximately Rs. 1,500 crore.
The validity of the MoU is five years and can be extended with the consent of both the ministries.

:: India and World ::

India extended support to Myanmar

India extended support to Myanmar for a “better connected” future while welcoming State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi.
Both countries agreed to cooperate in security and strategic issues and signed three agreements.
Both sides signed three agreements following a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Ms. Suu Kyi, to assist insurance, power and banking sectors.
Reflecting on the agreements, Mr. Modi said the power agreement would help create a framework for advancing linkages between India and Myanmar.
The meeting between the two delegations was held three days after Ms. Suu Kyi attended the BRICS-BIMSTEC meet in Goa where she spoke about the “common concern” of terrorism.
Myanmar’s western province of Rakhine has been facing unrest since October 9 when a major terror strike killed several security personnel. Subsequently a major military campaign has begun to deal with the militants.
Mr. Modi’s comment on security cooperation between two countries came more than a year after India carried out military operation against militants along the Myanmar border.

Sino-Indian military exercise in Ladakh

India and China for the first time conducted military exercises in the state of Jammu and Kashmir in Eastern Ladakh amidst the growing uneasiness in the bilateral relationship.
The exercise comes in the backdrop of stalemate over India's multilateral disagreements with China over blacklisting of terrorists at the United Nations and membership of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
In 2010, China had refused to issue a visa to the Northern Army Commander Lt. Gen. B.S. Jaswal as part of a high-level exchange saying he “controlled” a disputed area.
This is the second joint tactical exercise under the “China-India Cooperation 2016” and was held in the Chushul area, where the two countries fought a brief but intense war in 1962.
The first exercise was held on the Chinese side in February in the area of Border Personnel Meeting Hut at Chushul Garrison of Eastern Ladakh, along with Chinese troops of Moldo Garrison.

:: Business and Economy ::

Draft bankruptcy bill to be ready soon

The draft bill on the resolution of bankruptcy of financial firms would put public sector financial companies on par with their private counterparts, according to Moody's Investors Service.
Under existing laws, resolution of public sector banks can only happen by order of the government and in the manner it directs,” according to a note prepared by Moody’s.
While the proposed law is a credit positive for banks, Moody's said it would be a deterrent for senior unsecured creditors due to their altered rankings.
This bill addresses the lacunae of a having a legally codified framework for resolution, and hence is a credit positive in terms of enhancing overall systemic stability.”
The note also highlighted the fact that once enacted, the Bill would create a significant delineation of regulatory powers between the Reserve Bank of India and the Resolution Corporation (RC), the organisation to be formed under the Bill.
A key role of the Corporation will be to assign risk ratings to financial sector companies based on their viability, according to the draft Financial Resolution and Deposit Insurance Bill, 2016.

Regional connectivity proposal may face problems

The government’s plans to boost regional air connectivity could hit a legal air pocket as leading domestic airlines have opposed the proposal to charge a levy on flights on major routes to fund subsidies for regional flights.
It said the government is not empowered to levy a tax on airlines to fund the regional connectivity scheme under the Aircraft Act of 1934.
As a part of its proposed regional connectivity scheme, the Union Civil Aviation Ministry had mooted amendments to the Aircraft Rules of 1937 in August to set up a regional connectivity fund to subsidise the losses of airlines that wanted to fly on regional routes.
The fund was proposed to be financed by a levy on domestic flights along with contribution from states and credit proceeds from other sources.
Passengers will be able to fly to unserved and underserved airports for a fare of Rs 2,500 an hour, under the scheme which is slated to be launched on October 21.
A levy in the nature of tax can only be levied having regard to the provisions contained in the Article 265 of the Constitution of India i.e. by authority of law.
The airlines said imposition of a regional connectivity levy would require amendment to the Aircraft Act, 1934 and not the rule and until then the draft rules would be “beyond the authority of law and in contravention to the Constitution of India.”
In its letter, the FIA said that Section 5(2) (ab) of the Aircraft Act of 1934 does empower the Centre to make rules for economic regulation of air services but it doesn’t authorise it “to introduce a levy in the nature of tax on air services.”