DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS

By admin: Feb. 18, 2023

49th meeting of GST Council to take place in New Delhi

Tags: National Economy/Finance National News

The 49th meeting of the GST Council was held on 18 February in New Delhi.

An overview of the news

• The meeting, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, discussed setting up appellate tribunals and mechanisms to prevent tax evasion in the pan masala and gutkha business.

• After the Union Budget was presented earlier this month, the GST Council meeting has offered to extend the 50-year interest-free loan to states for one more year.

About GST Council

• To implement GST, the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both the Houses of the Parliament in 2016.

• The GST Council has been notified as a constitutional body to deal with issues related to GST.

• It is a joint forum of the Center and the States which was established by the President in accordance with Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution.

Members of GST Council

• Union Finance Minister (Chairman), Union Minister of State (Finance) from the Centre.

• Each state minister in charge of finance or taxation or any other minister may be nominated as a member.

Functions of GST Council

• To make recommendations to the Center and the States on important issues relating to GST.

• It also decides on various rate slabs of GST. 

What is the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?

• It was introduced through the 101st Constitution Amendment Act, 2016.

• It is one of the biggest indirect tax reforms in the country and was introduced with the slogan of ‘One Nation One Tax’.

• GST subsumes indirect taxes like excise duty, value added tax (VAT), service tax, luxury tax etc.

Twelve cheetahs brought from South Africa to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh

Tags: National National News

Twelve cheetahs from South Africa were brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on 18 February. Of the 12 cheetahs, seven are male and five are female.

An overview of the news

• The first group of Namibian cheetahs reached Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh on 17 September 2022 under the cheetah reintroduction programme.

• The second batch of Cheetahs started their journey to Kuno on 17 February 2023 from Tambo International Airport in Gauteng.

• The aircraft landed at Gwalior Air Force Base in Madhya Pradesh on 18 February.

• The onward journey was undertaken in Mi-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force.

• Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav and Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan released the cheetahs in their quarantine enclosures.

• The health of the cheetahs will be checked and then they will be kept in quarantine for a month.

Reintroduction Action Plan 

• Reintroduction of a species means releasing it in an area where it is capable of surviving.

• Under the scheme, 50 cheetahs will be released in various national parks of the country over a period of 5 years.

Extinction of cheetahs 

• The last cheetah of the country was found dead in the year 1947 in Chhattisgarh and in the year 1952 it was declared extinct in the country.

• Habitat loss, conflict with humans, poaching and high susceptibility to diseases are the major causes of their extinction.

About ‘Project Cheetah’ 

• This is a one of its kind project in which a species is being brought out of the country (from South Africa / Namibia) and restored to the country.

• The subspecies of the extinct cheetah in India was the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) and the subspecies of the cheetah being brought back to the country is the African cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus jubatus).

• Research has shown that the genes of both these subspecies are similar.

Qatar lifts ban on frozen seafood from India

Tags: International News

Marine Products Exports Development Authority (MPEDA) has said that Qatar partially lifted a ban imposed last year on the import of frozen seafood from India on 18 February.

An overview of the news

• The ban will continue on exports of chilled seafood, which accounts for about a third of the West Asian country's total seafood exports in 2021-22 with the worth of Rs 143 crore.

• Frozen seafood is stored at minus 20 degrees, while chilled seafood is stored at 3-4 degrees Celsius.

• In the current financial year, India's seafood exports to the West Asian country stood at around Rs 90 crore, with prawns taking the number one spot.

• China has also lifted the suspension of shipments from 99 Indian seafood processing and export units. 

• Now seafood exports are expected to cross USD 8 billion in the current fiscal.

Why was the ban imposed?

• This ban was imposed in November 2022.

• Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria that causes cholera infection, was reportedly detected in consignments exported from India to Qatar ahead of the FIFA World Cup. After this these food products were banned.

Railways launches Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train

Tags: National National News

Indian Railways on 17 February launched Bharat Gaurav Deluxe AC Tourist Train - Shri Ram-Janaki Yatra: Ayodhya to Janakpur from Safdarjung Railway Station, Delhi.

An overview of the news

• This train will cover two most important pilgrimage sites Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Janakpur in Nepal.

• The train will pass through Ayodhya, Nandigram, Sitamarhi, Janakpur, Varanasi and Prayagraj during its seven-day journey.

• The train has four first-AC coaches, two second-AC coaches, two rail restaurants and a library.

• It can carry 156 tourists.

• The fare will start from Rs 39,000 per person.

• The tour package also includes night stay in an AC hotel and vegetarian food.

• This initiative will strengthen bilateral ties and also promote cultural ties between India and Nepal.

• The introduction of Bharat Gaurav Tourist Train is in line with the "Dekho Apna Desh" initiative of the Government of India to promote domestic tourism.

Khalistan Tiger Force and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force declared as terrorist organisations

Tags: National National News

The central government on 17 February declared Khalistan Tiger Force, and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force as terrorist organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). 

An overview of the news

• Apart from this, Punjab resident Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, the mastermind of the 2021 attack on the intelligence headquarters of Punjab Police, has been declared a terrorist.

• The government has so far designated 54 individuals as terrorists and 44 organisations as terrorist organisations.

Khalistan Tiger Force

• It came into existence in 2011 as an offshoot of terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa International.

• It is a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

• It is a militant organization whose aim is to revive militancy in Punjab.

• This organisation is promoting various acts of terrorism including targeted killings in Punjab.

• Its agenda is the formation of a separate state of Khalistan.

Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF)

• It has been formed with cadres of terrorist organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed.

• It has been found involved in infiltration attempts, smuggling of narcotics and arms and carrying out terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.

• It draws its cadres from Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul-Jihad-e-Islami and various banned terrorist organisations.

Harvinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda

• He hails from Lahore and is associated with the banned Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), a terrorist-designated group.

• He is accused of masterminding the attack on the intelligence headquarters of the Punjab Police in 2021.

• He has direct links with Pakistan-based terrorist groups and is also involved in large-scale smuggling of drugs, arms, ammunition and militant hardware.

• He has been involved in various crimes like murder, attempt to murder, contract killing, dacoity and extortion in Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

• He is the 54th person to be declared a terrorist by the government.

Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar is new Army Vice Chief

Tags: Defence Person in news

The Indian Army has named Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar as the new Vice Chief of the Indian Army, while current Vice Chief Lt Gen BS Raju has been transferred to the South Western Army Command (Jaipur) as Army Commander.

An overview of the news

• At present, Suchindra Kumar is serving as Deputy Chief of Staff (Strategic) at the Army Headquarters.

• BS Raju will succeed Lt Gen AS Bhinder, who is retiring as the Chief of the South Western Army Command on February 28.

• Lt Gen NSR Subramani has been promoted to the rank of Army Commander. He will be the new commander of the Army's Central Command in Lucknow. He is currently the Chief of Staff in the Northern Command.

About MV Suchindra Kumar

• Lt Gen MV Suchindra Kumar is an alumnus of the National Defense Academy, Khadakwasla, Pune.

• He has completed several courses including Defense Services Staff College in Wellington, Higher Command Course in Mhow and National Defense College in New Delhi.

• He has also attended specialised training programs like 'Cooperative Security in South Asia' in Sri Lanka and 'United Nations Senior Mission Leaders Course' in Egypt.

• He was first commissioned into the Assam Regiment in June 1985 and has had an illustrious career in the Indian Army.

Tulsidas Balaram, legendary Indian footballer, passes away aged 86

Tags: Person in news

Tulsidas Balram, one of the country's finest footballers and a member of the golden era (1951-1962) of Indian football, passed away on February 16 due to multiple organ failure in Kolkata. He was 86 years old.

An overview of the news

• He played in two Olympics in 1956 and 1960 and reached the pinnacle of Asian football when India, under the guidance of legendary coach Syed Abdul Rahim, won the Asian Games gold in Jakarta, beating South Korea 2-1 in 1962.

• He was also a part of the Indian football team in the 1956 and 1960 Olympics.

• In the 1960 Rome Olympics, he scored spectacular goals against Hungary and Peru.

• He also captained the country's famous football club East Bengal based in Kolkata.

• He was called by the name of Chunni Goswami, PK Banerjee and Tulsidas Balram 'Holy Trinity' (Trimurti).

• Balram, who was awarded the Arjuna Award, had a great performance in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

• India, who were drawn in the 'Group of Death' along with Hungary, France and Peru, lost 1-2 to Hungary in the first match, but Balram got himself into the pages of history by scoring a goal in the 79th minute.

• Balram mostly played as 'Center Forward' or 'Left Winger'.

• Due to tuberculosis, his career lasted only for 8 years (1955 to 1963) and he had to say goodbye to the game at the age of 27.

• Born on 4 October 1936 in Ammuguda village of Garrison City, Secunderabad to a Tamil family, Balaram scored 131 goals, including 14 for India, in seven seasons.

Jaishankar unveils bust of Sardar Vallabhai Patel in Fiji's capital Suva

Tags: International News

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar unveiled the bust of Sardar Vallabhai Patel at India House in Fiji's capital Suva on 17 February.

An overview of the news

• Jaishankar was in Fiji from February 15 to 17, where he participated in the 12th World Hindi Conference.

• He held bilateral meetings with Fiji's leadership during his first visit to Suva on 16 February.

• Jaishankar met the President of Fiji, Ratu William Katonivere, at State House and along with the President of Fiji launched a Government of India funded project for solarization of the Pacific Heads of State Residence at State House in Suva.

• The project is a Solar Head of State initiative launched by the Pacific Islands Development Forum (PIDF) in Fiji and funded by the India-UN Development Partnership Fund.

• The leaders of the two countries took stock of bilateral relations and discussed ways to further strengthen the development partnership between India and Fiji in various sectors including capacity building, health, education, agriculture and information technology.

• The External Affairs Minister inaugurated the renovated Girmit Gallery at the Fiji Museum.

• The gallery depicts the journey of Girmits (Indian indentured labourers) in Fiji.

• India and Fiji signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and official passports.

First state-level ‘shrimp mela’ in Punjab

Tags: Festivals State News

Punjab's first state level 'Prawn Fair' began on February 17 at Enakheda village in Muktsar district.

An overview of the news

• This mela is an effort of the state government to create more awareness about shrimp farming.

• This fair is being organised to make farmers aware of various schemes for fish farming and to encourage more and more people to participate in it.

• In this, experts will help farmers understand about aquaculture.

• Shrimp farming began in the state in 2016-17.

What is shrimp farming?

• It is an aquaculture-based activity in marine or freshwater to produce shrimp for human consumption.

• Five south-western districts of Punjab, Muktsar, Fazilka, Ferozepur, Bathinda and Faridkot are known for shrimp farming.

Why was shrimp farming introduced in Punjab?

• South-west Punjab has saline groundwater which is not suitable for agriculture. Waterlogging is a perennial problem in this belt.

• Therefore, shrimp farming was proposed as a solution for farmers whose land was lying unutilized.

• Shrimp cultivation was started in 2016-17 on a one acre plot in Ratta Kheda village of Muktsar district.

• The project was a success, with a one-acre pond producing four tons of shrimp.

• The project was funded jointly by the central and state government.

• By 2022-23, a total of 1,212 acres of land has been taken up for shrimp farming in southwest Punjab, with a total production of 2,413 tonnes of shrimp.