Dear Reader's,
INDIAN AFFAIRS
GoM
set up under Assam FM Himanta Biswa Sarma to review composition scheme
On October 6, 2017, Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, chaired
by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley constituted a group of
ministers (GoM) to make the ‘composition scheme’ more attractive and also
revisit GST rates on restaurants.About GoM to Review Compostion
Scheme:
i. The GoM has been set up under Assam Finance Minister Himanta
Biswa Sarma and will submit its report within 2 weeks.
ii. Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Sushil Modi, Jammu and
Kashmir Finance Minister Haseeb
Drabu, Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal
and Chhattisgarh Minister of Commercial Taxes Amar Agrawal are the
other members of the GoM.
iii. The GoM has been set up to make ‘composition
scheme’ more effective as only 15.50 lakh businesses out of the total
98 lakh registered under the goods and services tax (GST) regime have
opted for this scheme.
iv. As per the latest GST norms, businesses with annual sales up to
Rs. 1 crore can avail benefits under ‘composition scheme’ which permits liberal
quarterly tax return filing and payment scheme.
International Conference on Dialogue of
Civilizations – IV begins in New Delhi
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) in collaboration with National
Geographic Society is hosting an international conference on “Dialogue
of Civilizations – IV” from 8th – 15th October,
2017 at Delhi, Gandhinagar (in Gujarat) and Dholavira (in Gujarat).
About “Dialogue of Civilizations”:
i. “Dialogue of Civilizations” conference was initiated by
National Geographic Society in 2013.
ii. Objective of this conference is to encourage scholarly and
public discourse about the five ancient, literate civilizations of the
world, i.e. Egypt, Mesopotamia, South Asia, China and Mesoamerica.
iii. First conference of this series was inaugurated in Guatemala in 2013
followed by Turkey in 2014 and China in 2015.
iv. The present conference being held in India is the fourth in this
series. The final dialogue has been planned to be held in Egypt.
v.On October 8, 2017, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, Hon’ble Minister of
State (Independent Charge), Ministry of Culture & Minister of State for
Environment, Forest & Climate Change inaugurated the “Dialogue
of Civilizations – IV” in New Delhi.
Uttarakhand Govt. launches ‘Solar Briefcase’ to
provide electricity in remote areas
On October 8, 2017, Uttarakhand State Government and a charitable
funding agency named Swan Cultural Center and Foundation, launched
‘Solar Briefcase’ in Kedarnath Dham.
i. This initiative aims to provide electricity to far flung areas in
Uttarakhand.
ii. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat has
stated that around 47 villages and 1,40,000 families in Uttarakhand do not have
access to electricity. Moreover there are 60 villages in the state where
electrification has not yet been done due to the difficult terrain.
iii. In such situation, using off-grid electricity through solar
briefcase is a good option.
Quick Facts about Uttarakhand:
♦ Capital – Dehradun
♦ Current Chief Minister – Trivendra Singh Rawat
♦ Current Governor – Krishan Kant Paul
President Ram Nath Kovind launches Rs.100 crore
clean water initiative
On 8th October 2017, President Ram Nath Kovind launched Mata
Amritanandamayi Math (MAM)’s, ‘Jivamritam’ filtration system, a clean water
initiative, in Vallikkavu, Kollam district of Kerala.
‘Jivamritam’ filtration system:
