Senior Citizens and disabled people getting postal ballot to their doorsteps.
Seeking
to make the procedure to opt for postal ballot more convenient for those above
80 years of age and people with disabilities, the Election Commission has come
out with a set of new instructions.
The
form required to opt for the postal ballot would be delivered at the residence
of all those aged above 80 and people with disabilities by the booth level
officer under his polling station. It would be up to these two categories of
voters to opt for postal ballot.
“If
he/she opts for postal ballot, then the BLO will collect the filled-in form
12-D from the house of the elector within five days of the notification and
deposit it with the returning officer forthwith,” according to the October 3
letter sent by EC to all State chief electoral officers.
These
instructions have been issued based on the feedback the poll panel received
from civil society and media during its visit to poll-bound Bihar last week.
The
EC said the fresh instructions would be applicable to all elections and bye lections.
As
per the instructions, the returning officer would deploy polling teams, which
will deliver and collect the postal ballot on pre-informed dates and then
deposit it with the returning officer.
Apex
court acts against involuntary narco tests.
Involuntary
administration of narco or lie detector tests is an “intrusion” into a person’s
“mental privacy”, a Supreme Court judgment of 2010 has held.
•The
judgment is significant amid reports that the Uttar Pradesh government wants to
subject the Hathras rape and murder victim’s family members to these tests.
•The
consequences of such tests on “individuals from weaker sections of society who
are unaware of their fundamental rights and unable to afford legal advice” can
be devastating, the court said.
•It
may involve future abuse, harassment and surveillance, even leakage of the
video material to the Press for a “trial by media.” Such tests are an affront
to human dignity and liberty, and have long-lasting effects.
•An
ndividual’s decision to make a statement is the product of a private choice and
there should be no scope for any other individual to interfere with such autonomy,”
the apex court had held.
National
Medical Commission (NMC)
The
National Medical Commission (NMC) has recently replaced the Medical Council of
India (MCI), as per the gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Health
and Family Welfare.
•
MCI was established in 1934 under the Indian Medical Council (IMC) Act, 1933
with the main function of establishing uniform standards of higher qualifications
in medicine and recognition of medical qualifications in India and abroad.
•
The old Act was repealed in 1956 and a new act was enacted in its place. The
new act was further modified in 1964, 1993 and 2001.
•
The government dissolved the MCI in 2018 and replaced it with a Board of
Governors (BoG), which was chaired by a member of NITI Aayog.
•
The IMC Act, 1956 stands repealed after the gazette notification, and has been
replaced by The National Medical Commission Act that came into existence on 8th
August 2019.
•
The change is aimed at bringing in reforms in the medical education sector and
especially aimed at replacing the MCI, which was tainted by corruption and
other problems.
•
The NMC will function as the country’s top regulator of medical education.
•
It will have four separate autonomous boards for Undergraduate medical
education, Postgraduate medical education, Medical assessment and rating and
Ethics and medical registration.
•
The common final year Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS)
examination will now be known as the National Exit Test (NEXT), according to
the new medical education structure under the NMC.
•
The NEXT will act as licentiate examination to practice medicine, the criteria
for admission to postgraduate medical courses, and also for screening of
foreign medical graduates.
•
The NEXT will also be applicable to institutes of national importance such as
all the All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in a bid to ensure a
common standard in the medical education sector in the country. NEET is
conducted by the National Testing
Agency
(NTA).
China
moves towards closer ties with Bangladesh.
Chinese
President Xi Jinping said he stands ready with Bangladesh leaders to better
align the two countries’ strategies and jointly promote the construction of his
multi-billion dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) to take the strategic
partnership of the two countries to new heights.
Mr.
Xi made the remarks on Sunday in an exchange of congratulatory messages with
his Bangladesh counterpart, Mohammad Abdul Hamid, on the 45th anniversary of
the establishment of the bilateral diplomatic relationship.
With
over $26 billion Chinese investments and $38 billion dollars funding
commitments, Bangladesh is one of the largest recipients of China’s massive
infrastructure project.
China
has also offered zero-tariff treatment to 97% of Bangladesh’s exports by adding
5,161 more items to the existing list of 3,095 duty-free products.
The
BRI seeks to build rail, maritime and road links from Asia to Europe and Africa
in a revival of ancient Silk Road trading routes.
Earlier,
China had sent medical team to Bangladesh to share its experience of handling
coronavirus, which had emerged first in Wuhan in December last year.Bangladesh
is also among a dozen countries where the clinical trials of Chinese vaccine
are under way.
Quad
Discusses Indo-Pacific Infrastructure and 5G
Senior
officials from the Foreign Ministries of “the Quad” group of countries — India,
the U.S., Australia and Japan — met virtually on Friday, during the United
Nations high level week, as part of their periodic consultations on the
Indo-Pacific Region.
Highlights:
•
Officials discussed ongoing and proposed practical cooperation in the areas of
connectivity and infrastructure development.
•
Noting the importance of digital connectivity and secure networks, the
officials discussed ways to promote the use of trusted vendors, particularly
for fifth generation (5G) networks.
•
In an effort to stop Chinese G5 giant Huawei from setting up shop networks in
other countries, U.S. Secretary of State Michael Pompeo has been promoting
“clean telcos” — a list of companies considered by the U.S. administration to
be free from security risks and the risk of surveillance by the Chinese
government.
•
Other topics discussed by the Quad officials, included counter-terrorism, cyber
and Maritime Security, and Quality Infrastructure in the Region.
ASEAN Inclusiveness:
•
Both countries’ statements say the officials committed support to the concept
of ASEAN-centrality in the Indo-Pacific and ASEAN’s leadership in the
architecture of the region.
•
The U.S. statement says the officials “explored ways to work together in the
Mekong sub-region, in the South China Sea, and across the Indo-Pacific to
support international law, pluralism, regional stability, and post-pandemic
recovery efforts”.
•
The MEA statement says the officials reiterated their readiness to work with
ASEAN and all other countries towards realising “a common and promising vision
for the Indo-Pacific”.
•
The U.S. statement describes collective efforts to advance “a free, open and
inclusive Indo-Pacific region”.
•
The phrase normally used by US is “free and open Indo-Pacific”.
•
India had, at least initially since the Quad was revived after a ten year
hiatus in 2017, been hesitant for the Quad to be seen as a framework to exclude
or contain China. Prime
Minister
Narendra Modi had articulated an inclusive vision for the Indo Pacific in 2018
atthe Shangri La Dialogue in Singapore, when India-China relations were on a
high relative to this year, when there have been tensions and clashes along the
Line of Actual Control (LAC).
Centre
starts implementing Swaminathan commission recommendations.
Indian
Minister has said that the Central Government has started implementing the
recommendations of the Swaminathan Commission and is working towards doubling
the income of farmers by 2022.
The
minister while addressing a press conference in Osmanabad today assured the
farmers that the recent laws will not affect the minimum guaranteed price or
market committee for agricultural commodities but will provide alternative
selling options to the farmers for their agricultural products.
•Minister
further said that the Central Government under the leadership of PM Modi has
started various schemes including Kisan Credit Card, Prime Minister crop
insurance scheme, Prime Minister irrigation scheme among others.
7).
PM set to inaugurate RAISE 2020 summit on artificial intelligence.
Indian
P M Modi will inaugurate the Summit RAISE 2020 - ‘Responsible AI for Social
Empowerment 2020 today. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
and NITI Aayog are organizing the Mega Virtual Summit on Artificial
Intelligence from today to 9th of October.
The
summit will discuss cross-sector subjects like ‘Leveraging AI for Pandemic
Preparedness’, the Impetus that Innovation Places on Digitisation’, Inclusive
AI and Partnerships for Successful Innovation.
In
the spirit of 'SabkaSaath, SabkaVikas', Prime Minister Modi plans to leverage
AI for inclusive development, representing the country's 'AI for All' strategy.
Directed by the Prime Minister’s vision,
India
will soon stand out in the international community not just as a leader in the
Artificial Intelligence field, but also as a model to show the world how to
responsibly direct AI for social empowerment.
The
summit will be a global meeting of minds to exchange ideas and chart a course
for using AI for social transformation, inclusion and empowerment in areas like
Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Mobility, among other sectors.
During the summit, delegates and experts in research, policy and innovation on
Artificial Intelligence will join from across the globe.
The
Summit will also feature some of the most exciting startups working in
Artificial Intelligence-related fields. Start-ups chosen through the AI
Solution Challenge will showcase their solutions in the AI Startup Pitch fest
scheduled on 6th October.
MoeFCC
to bring in detailed plan for improving quality of zoos.
Environment,
Forest and Climate Change Minister PrakashJavadekar said that a detailed plan
will be prepared to improve the quality of zoos across the country. He said,
budget allocation will be enhanced to improve the experience of people who
visit zoos.
The
Minister today virtually interacted with children as part of Wild Life Week
2020 and gave away the PraniMitra Award. He congratulated all the awardees who
have shown exemplary compassion towards zoo animals.
Mr.Javadekar
said, an economic valuation of ecosystem service of national zoos in Delhi
showed that nature gives you more than what you spent on it.
He
said, government is committed to creating more zoos in the country and efforts
will be made to promote public participation in conservation of wildlife. He
said, development of zoos can ensure coordination between wildlife and humans.
Kitata
and Kosgei wins London marathon.
Ethiopian
Shura Kitata outsprinted Kenya’s Vincent Kipchumba to win a thrilling London
Marathon on Sunday as a stunned World record holder EliudKipchoge faded late in
the race to suffer his first defeat since 2013.
In
cold, wet conditions, 24-year-old Kitata edged clear in the final metres to win
by one second over Kipchumba in a relatively slow two hours, 05.41 minutes.
Scrub
Typhus in North East.
Recently,
an outbreak of Scrub Typhus (also known as Bush Typhus), a bacterial disease,
has caused 5 deaths and 600 infections in Nagaland’s Noklak district bordering
Myanmar.
•
The North East Region is also suffering from an outbreak of diseases like
malaria, Japanese encephalitis and Covid-19 pandemic. The cattles have also
been affected by African swine fever.
•
It is caused by Orientia tsutsugamushi (Bacteria)
•
It spread through bites of Larval Mites of family trombiculid, also called
Chiggers.
•
Its symptoms are Fever, headache, body aches, and sometimes rash.
•
It occurs in rural areas of Southeast Asia, Indonesia, China, Japan, India and
northern Australia.
•
It has no vaccine available.
About Typhus:
•
It is a group of bacterial infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus,
scrub typhus, and murine typhus.
•
The Epidemic typhus is due to Rickettsia prowazekii spread by body lice.
•
The Scrub typhus is due to Orientia tsutsugamushi spread by chiggers.
•
The Murine typhus is due to Rickettsia typhi spread by fleas.
•
Napoleon’s army was infected with Epidemic Typhus during his invasion of Russia
in 1812 causing it to Retreat.
Focus on UPSC Mains.
Domestic
Systemically Important Insurers.
The
Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC), General Insurance Corporation of
India and The New India Assurance Co have been identified as Domestic
Systemically Important Insurers (D-SIIs) for 2020-21 by insurance regulator,
the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
About Domestic Systemically
Important Insurers:
•
D-SIIs are perceived as insurers that are ‘too big or too important to fail’
(TBTF).
•
D-SIIs refer to insurers of such size, market importance and domestic and global
interconnectedness whose distress or failure would cause a significant
dislocation in thedomestic financial system. Thus, the continued functioning of
D-SIIs is critical for the uninterrupted availability of insurance services to
the national economy.
•
The IRDAI would identify D-SIIs on an annual basis and disclose the names of
such
Insurers
for Public Information.
Requirements for D-SIIs:
•
The three public sector insurers have been asked to raise the level of
corporate governance.
•
Identify all relevant risks and promote a sound risk management culture.
•
The D-SIIs will also be subjected to enhanced regulatory supervision of the
IRDAI.
Reasons:
•
The insurance sector had Grown Exponentially in the last 15 years and a few of
the insurers have a Sizeable Market share and Interconnected with other
Financial Institutions as well.
•
With perception of TBTF and the perceived expectation of government support may
amplify risk taking, reduce market discipline, create competitive distortions,
and increase the Possibility of Distress in Future.
Concerns:
•
Given the nature of operations and their systemic importance, the failure of
D-SIIs has the potential to cause significant disruption to the essential
services they provide to the policyholders and, in turn, to the overall
economic activity of the country.
•
These considerations require that D-SIIs should be subjected to additional
regulatory measures to deal with the systemic risks and moral hazard issues.
•
Systemic risk is the possibility that an event at the company level could
trigger severe Instability or collapse an Entire Industry or Economy.
•
Moral hazard is a situation in which one party gets involved in a risky event
knowing that it is protected against the risk and the other party will incur
the cost. It arises when both the parties have Incomplete Information about
Each Other.
Background:
•
In January 2019, IRDAI announced the formation of a committee on D-SIIs.
•
The constitution of the committee came in the backdrop of the International
Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS) asking all member countries to have
a regulatory framework to deal with Domestic-SIIs.
•
The IAIS is a voluntary membership organization of insurance supervisors from
over 200 jurisdictions, constituting 97% of the world's insurance premiums. It
is the international standards-setting body for the Insurance Sector.
About Domestic Systemically
Important Bank (D-SIBs):
•
D-SIB means that the bank is too big to fail. According to the Reserve Bank of
India (RBI), some banks become systemically important due to their size, cross-
jurisdictional activities, complexity and lack of substitute and
interconnection. Banks whose assets exceed 2% of GDP are considered part of
this group.
•
Presently, the State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank, and HDFC Bank have been
identified as DSIBs in India.
Significance of D-SIBs:
•
Should such a bank fail, there would be significant Disruption to the Essential
services they provide to the Banking System and the Overall Economy.
•
The too-big-to-fail tag also indicates that in case of distress, the government
is expected to Support these Banks.
•
Due to this perception, these Banks Enjoy certain Advantages in funding. It
also means that these banks have a different set of policy measures regarding
systemic risks and moral Hazard Issues.
PCA
Decision on Retrospective Taxation by India.
The
Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA) recently ruled that India’s retrospective
imposition of a tax liability, as well as interest and penalties on Vodafone
Group for a 2007 deal was violation of the Bilateral Investment Treaty with
Netherlands and the arbitration rules of United Nations Commission on
International Trade Law (UNCITRAL).
About the News:
•
In May 2007, the British telecommunication company Vodafone Group had bought a
67% stake in a company called Hutchison Whampoa.
•
For this, the Indian government for the first time raised a demand of capital
gains and withholding tax from Vodafone, under the Income Tax Act of 1961. The
government argued that Vodafone should have deducted the tax at source before
making a payment to
Hutchison.
•
In 2012, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Vodafone Group.
•
Later, the Finance Act was amended (2012) giving the Income Tax Department the
power to retrospectively tax such deals.
•
Vodafone then initiated arbitration in 2014 invoking the Bilateral Investment
Treaty signed between India and the Netherlands in 1995.
•
The International Arbitration Tribunal at Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled
that the government’s demand is in breach of fair and equitable treatment.
•
The government must cease seeking the dues from Vodafone.
•
This was a unanimous decision meaning that India's appointed arbitrator also
ruled in favour of Vodafone.
•
India has said it would study the order and all its aspects and take a decision
on further course of action including legal remedies before appropriate fora.
•
According to Indian Government, as Vodafone had not paid the initial tax demand
and interest and penalty on it, the question of India paying back the amount
does not arise.
•
India has the option to move to Singapore International Arbitration Centre as
well.
About
Capital Gains Tax:
•
It is the tax paid on income that derives from the sale or exchange of an
asset, such as a stock or Property that's Categorized as a capital asset.
What
is Retrospective Taxation?
•
It allows a country to pass a rule on taxing certain products, items or
services and deals and charge companies from a time behind the date on which
the law is passed.
•
Countries use this route to correct any anomalies in their taxation policies
that have, in the past, allowed companies to take advantage of such loopholes.
•
Retrospective Taxation hurts companies that had knowingly or unknowingly
interpreted the tax rules differently.
•
Apart from India, many countries including the USA, the UK, the Netherlands,
Canada, Belgium, Australia and Italy have Retrospectively Taxed Companies.
Bilateral
Investment Treaty:
•
On 6th November, 1995, India and the Netherlands had signed a BIT for promotion
and protection of investment by companies of each country in the other’s
jurisdiction.
•
The two countries would ensure that companies present in each other’s
jurisdictions would at all times be accorded fair and equitable treatment and
shall enjoy full protection and
security
in the territory of the other.
•
The BIT between India and the Netherlands expired on 22nd September, 2016.
•
Vodafone invoked BIT as its Dutch unit, Vodafone International Holdings BV, had
bought the Indian business operations of Hutchison Telecommunication
International Ltd. This made it a transaction between a Dutch firm and an
Indian firm.
About
United Nations Commission on International Trade Law:
•
UNCITRAL was established in 1966 as a subsidiary body of the United Nations
General Assembly (UNGA).
•
It is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of
international trade law.
•
To further the progressive harmonization and modernization of rules on
international business and reform Commercial Laws.
•
It adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law on International Commercial Arbitration in
1985 and the UNCITRAL Conciliation Rules in 1980.
•
The UNGA has recommended the use of the said Model Law and Rules in cases where
a dispute arises in the context of international commercial relations and the
parties seek an
amicable
settlement of that dispute by recourse to conciliation.
•
India has also incorporated these uniform principles of Arbitration and Dispute
Resolution (ADR) in the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 which has been
amended several
times.
•
The Arbitration Act provides for ADR mechanisms like arbitration,
conciliations, etc. for national and international stakeholders.
Significance:
•
Vodafone’s win in the arbitration against the government in the retrospective
taxation is very significant as it may cause other similarly placed companies
to seek arbitral reliefs.
•
India is entangled in more than a dozen such cases against companies over
retrospective tax claims and cancellation of contracts. The exchequer could end
up paying billions of dollars in damages if it loses.
•
To reduce future arbitration claims, India has ended such bilateral investment
agreements
with
over 50 countries and is working on a new law to protect foreign investors by
offering relief from possible policy changes even as it upholds the right to
tax them.
•
The victory of Vodafone at PCA may provide it some relief as the telecom sector
is already facing a number of issues and challenges. The ruling comes days
after the Supreme Court allowed a period of 10 years for telecom companies to
clear Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) related dues, Causing Heavy Financial burden
on the Telecom Sector.
