Current Affairs Summary-November 2017
The Inter-State Council and the standing committee of the Inter-State Council have been reconstituted recently.
Article 263 of the constitution provides for the establishment of an Inter-State Council (ISC). Article 263 It shall be lawful for the President to establish an ISC for inquiring, discussing and advising upon:
(a) disputes which may have arisen between States;
(b) subjects in which some or all of the States, or the Union and one or more of the States, have a common interest; or
(c) such subject and, in particular, recommendations for the better co-ordination of policy and action with respect to that subject.
Its function is complementary to Supreme Court’s jurisdiction under Art 131 to decide a legal controversy between the governments.
The Commission under the Chairmanship of Justice R. S. Sarkaria in its report in 1988 recommended that:
o A permanent Inter-State Council called the Inter-Governmental Council (IGC) should be set up under Article 263.
Thus, in 1990, Inter-State Council was established
Composition of ISC
Prime Minister as the Chairman
Chief Ministers of all the States
Chief Ministers of Union Territories having Legislative Assemblies
Administrators of the Union Territories not having Legislative Assemblies
Governors of the States under the President’s rule
Six Central Cabinet Ministers, including Home Minister, to be nominated by the PM.
Recently, government has given the approval for setting up India’s first mega coastal economic zone (CEZ) at Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT) in Maharashtra.
The CEZ will stretch along north Konkan region spread across Nashik, Thane, Mumbai, Pune and Raigarh.
This is the part of setting up of 14 mega CEZs under the National Perspective Plan of the Sagarmala Programme.
National Perspective Plan (NPP) of the Sagarmala Programme.
It takes forward Sagarmala’s vision of substantially reducing export-import and domestic trade costs with a minimal investment.
Components of NPP of Sagarmala Programme ;
o Port Modernization & New Port Development : through the mechanization of berths and deepening of drafts to accommodate larger vessels and building of 5-6 new ports and 40 ports enhancement capacity programme.
o Port Connectivity Enhancement: 80 projects are being planned, include connectivity infrastructure projects like a heavy-haul rail corridor, freight-friendly expressways for efficient movement and development of strategic inland waterways.
o Port-linked Industrialization: 14 Coastal Economic Zones (CEZs) along the coastline, with cluster of industrial such as energy, bulk materials as well as discrete manufacturing segments.
Duty Drawback Scheme
The scheme pertain to refund of duty of customs and duty of central excise that are chargeable on imported and indigenous materials used in the manufacture of exported goods.
Income Tax Act 1961 (ITA) has provision for income tax, corporate tax, property tax
India endorsed the Base erosion and profit shifting (BEPS)– It is refers to tax avoidance strategies that exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules to artificially shift profits to low or no-tax locations.