Assam Cutrent Affairs – May 2018
( Covers all important Assam Current Affairs & GK topics for the month of May 2018 )
May 2018 – eBook Monthly PDF | May 2018 – Monthly Quiz PDF
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May 5
India ranked 11th in A.T Kearney FDI Confidence Index 2018
India is ranked 11th in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index 2018 released by the Global consultant A.T Kearney.
In year 2017, India ranked 8th in this index. It is the first time since 2015 that India has been pushed out of top 10, which could be attributed to implementation challenges of Goods and Services Tax (GST) which was introduced in 2017 along with demonetization announced in 2016 which rendered Rs 1000 and Rs 500 banknotes illegal.
On the positive side, India has held on to its position of being the second-highest ranking emerging market, which means that investors are ranking India highest in terms of their intention to invest there. The report said, “This confidence may be a result of the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, which aims to boost investment in India’s manufacturing sector as well as its pursuit of closer ties with the United States.”
The report noted that the high rank in terms of emerging market was due to reforms like the elimination of Foreign Investment Promotion Board, the governmental agency which was responsible for examining all potential foreign investment and liberalisation of overseas investment thresholds for the retail, aviation, and biomedical industries.
Highlights of the Report
- The top 5 Countries in the list are United States, Canada, Germany, United Kingdom and China.
- Along with India, countries like China and Singapore ranked lower than in the previous year in the FDI Confidence Index.
- Australia jumped to the eighth position and New Zealand, on its second year on the index, was placed at the 16th position.
- AT Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index was created in 1998. It is an annual survey by business executives that ranks countries in terms of their ability to attract FDI in the coming three years.
Point2Remeber: Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)
FDI is an investment which is made by a firm or an individual of one country into business interests located in another country. Usually, FDI occurs whenever an investor acquires foreign business assets, including owning or controlling interest in a foreign company or when an investor establishes foreign business operations.
4th Regional Conference on ‘Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure’ held in Bengaluru
The 4th Regional Conference on ‘Futuristic, Resilient and Digital Infrastructure’ organized by the Ministry of Finance in collaboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), and Research and Information System for Developing Countries (RIS) was organised in Bengaluru.
The 2-day Conference was a lead-up event to the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) which is going to be hosted by the Government of India on 25th and 26th June 2018 in Mumbai.
FACTILE – Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank that aims to support the building of infrastructure in the Asia-Pacific region.
- The bank currently has 64 member states while another 22 are prospective members for a total of 86 approved members and was proposed as an initiative by the government of China. The initiative gained support from 37 regional and 20 non-regional Prospective Founding Members (PFM), all of which have signed the Articles of Agreement that form the legal basis for the bank.
- The bank started operation after the agreement entered into force on 25 December 2015, after ratifications were received from 10 member states holding a total number of 50% of the initial subscriptions of the Authorized Capital Stock.
- The United Nations has addressed the launch of AIIB as having potential for “scaling up financing for sustainable development” for the concern of global economic governance.
- The capital of the bank is $100 billion, equivalent to 2⁄3 of the capital of the Asian Development Bank and about half that of the World Bank.
- The bank was proposed by China in 2013 and the initiative was launched at a ceremony in Beijing in October 2014.
HRD Ministry launches initiatives for Online Professional Development using SWAYAM
Human Resource Development Ministry launched a major and unique initiative of online professional development of 1.5 million higher education faculty using the Massive Open Online Courses(MOOC) platform SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active- Learning for Young Aspiring Minds).
In the first phase, 75 discipline-specific National Resource Centres (NRCs) have been identified to prepare online training material with focus on new and emerging trends, pedagogical improvements and methodologies for transacting revised curriculum.
FACTFILE – SWAYAM
- SWAYAM or Study Webs of Active –Learning for Young Aspiring Minds programme of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India, Professors of centrally funded institutions like IITs, IIMs, central universities will offer online courses to citizens of India.
- SWAYAM is an instrument for self-actualisation providing opportunities for a life-long learning. Here learner can choose from hundreds of courses , virtually every course that is taught at the university / college / school level and these shall be offered by best of the teachers in India and elsewhere.
- All courses would be offered free of cost under this programme however fees would be levied in case learner requires certificate.
- In the first phase, IIT Bombay, IIT Madras, IIT Kanpur, IIT Guwahati, University of Delhi, Jawahar Lal Nehru University, IGNOU, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, Banaras Hindu University, alone as well as with the help of faculty from foreign universities will be offering courses in areas of engineering education, social science, energy, management, basic sciences.
NITI Aayog collaborate with IBM to develop Precision Agriculture using AI
NITI Aayog and IBM have signed a Statement of Intent (SoI) to develop a crop yield prediction model using Artificial Intelligence to provide real-time advisory to farmers in Aspirational Districts. The Intent was signed in presence of NITI Aayog, CEO Amitabh Kant and IBM India, MD Karan Bajwa.
The partnership aims to work together towards use of technology to provide insights to farmers to improve crop productivity, soil yield, control agricultural inputs with the overarching goal of improving farmers’ incomes.
The first phase of the project will focus on developing the model for 10 Aspirational Districts across the States of Assam, Bihar, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
The scope of this project is to introduce and make available climate-aware cognitive farming techniques and identifying systems of crop monitoring, early warning on pest/disease outbreak based on advanced AI innovations.
IBM will be using artificial intelligence to provide all the relevant data and platform for developing technological models for improving agricultural output and productivity for various crops and soil types, for the identified districts.
Niti Aayog will facilitate the inclusion of more stakeholders on the ground for effective last mile utilisation and extension using the insights generated through these models.
May 6
GST Council approves single form for filing of returns
The Goods and Services Tax Council decided to convert the GST Network into a 100% government enterprise, and implement a single form for GST filing from the current three.
At its 27th meeting, the Council also decided to create a Group of Ministers to review the plan for imposition of a cess on sugar, which was meant to subsidise sugarcane farmers as their production cost is much higher than the selling price.
The Council also decided to create another GoM to consider implementation of a 2% incentive for digital transactions.
“After six months, there will be a single monthly return for everybody, except composition dealers and those who file returns with zero transactions. After this, for six more months, businesses will be able to avail provisional credit in the new form, even if their sellers have not uploaded their sales invoices. After this transitional period, the new GSTR form will roll out in full and businesses will only be able to avail of input tax credit if their sellers have uploaded the invoices,”Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia said.
“Businesses are relieved that they would no longer be penalised for their vendors’ omissions. Simplicity of the new return forms would be key to its successful adoption by businesses as past experience with complicated forms and processes indicates that complexity reduces compliance.”
Jaitley also said that the Council had decided that the government would buy the remaining 51% stake in the GST Network, which is currently under private sector ownership.
“The 50% of the States will be divided among themselves according to their GST ratios. The Council also recommended that the GSTN continue to employ people contractually and have the flexibility to get the best talent on the best terms from the market.”
FACTFILE – GST Council
- GST Council is the governing body of GST.
- It is chaired by the Union Finance Minister.
- As per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution, the GST Council had to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of Article 279A.
FACTFILE – Goods and Services Tax Network (GSTN)
- “Goods and Services Tax” Network (GSTN) is a nonprofit organisation formed for creating sophisticated network, accessible to stakeholders, government and taxpayers to access information from on a single source (portal).
- The portal is accessible to the Tax authorities for tracking down every transaction; while taxpayers have the ability of connect for their tax returns.
- The GSTN’s authorised capital is ₹10 crore (US$1.5 million) in which Central Government holds 24.5 percent of shares while the state governments hold 24.5 percent.
- The remaining 51 percent are held by non-Government financial institutions, HDFC and HDFC Bank hold 20%, ICICI Bank holds 10%, NSE Strategic Investment holds 10% and LIC Housing Finance holds 10%.
Point2Remeber – The GSTN software is developed by Infosys Technologies and IT network is maintained by the NIC.
No Nobel Prize in Literature This Year
The Swedish Academy decided to postpone the 2018 Nobel Prize in Literature, with the intention of awarding it in 2019. The decision has been taken in the wake of a sexual and financial scandal that has engulfed the Swedish Academy, the cultural institution responsible for awarding the prestigious prize.
According to the Swedish Foundations Act, the Nobel Foundation is ultimately responsible for fulfilling the intentions in the will of Alfred Nobel. For the first time since 1949, the secretive jury will not unveil a winner this autumn.
FACTFILE – The Nobel Prize in Literature
- The Nobel Prize in Literature is a Swedish literature prize that has been awarded annually, since 1901, to an author from any country who has, in the words of the will of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, produced “in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction”
- Though individual works are sometimes cited as being particularly noteworthy, the award is based on an author’s body of work as a whole. The Swedish Academy decides who, if anyone will receive the prize.
- The academy announces the name of the laureate in early October.
- It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895.
Odisha constitutes 5th State Finance Commission seeking to uplift Panchyati Raj System
To financially uplift panchyati raj system, Odisha constitutes 5th State Finance Commission. The commission will recommend the ways and means for devolution of resources from the state level to the panchayat institutions and urban local bodies.
The 5th State Finance Commission with former bureaucrat and State Election Commissioner Rabinarayan Senapati as its chairman for devolution of funds to the Panchayati raj institutions and urban local bodies (ULBs). Apart from Senapati, the commission consists of Panchayatiraj Secretary D K Singh, Dr. Asit Mohanty, a professor at Xavier Institute of Management, retired OAS officer Sanjib Kumar Mishra, Samsom Mohapatra, former professor of Utkal University as members and IAS officer D K Jena as member secretary.
The commission will make recommendations on the principles governing the distribution between state and Panchayati raj institutions and the municipalities of the net proceeds of taxes, duties, tolls, and fees leviable by the state and the grants in aid to the gram panchayats, panchayat samitis, zilla parishes or the municipalities from consolidated fund of the state.
FACTFILE – State Finance Commission
- Similar to the Finance Commission under Article 280, for the centre, since 1993, states also have State Finance Commission to review the financial position of the Panchayats and to make recommendations as to –
- The distribution between the State and the Panchayats of the net proceeds of taxes, duties, tolls and fees leviable by the State which may be divided between them and how allocation would be made among various levels of Panchayats; What taxes, duties, tolls and fees may be assigned to the Panchayats; Grant-in-aid to the Panchayats.
The Functions of the State Public Commission as given in the Articles 243 (I) and 243 (Y) of the Constitution, are as Follows:
- Reviewing the economic condition of the various Panchayati raj institutions and municipal bodies that are there in the state
- Taking such steps that help in boosting the financial condition of the various municipal bodies and Panchayati raj institutions in the state
- Allotting the funds to the various Panchayati raj institutions and municipal bodies in the state from the Consolidated Fund of the State
- Acting as an arbiter between the central and the state governments with regard to issues that are of financial nature
- Transferring funds that are granted by the central government to the state government
- Distributing between the various municipal bodies and Panchayati raj institutions that are there within the state and the state government the total proceeds of taxes, fees, tolls, and duties that are charged by the state government
- Determining the taxes, tolls, duties, and fees that may be levied by the various Panchayati raj institutions and municipal bodies that are there within the state.
May 2018 – eBook Monthly PDF | May 2018 – Monthly Quiz PDF
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