[WpProQuiz 678]
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17th June 2021| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement(AWE)
Topics for Today’s questions:
GS-1 Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India
GS-2 Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.
GS-3 Awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, robotics, nano-technology, bio-technology and issues relating to intellectual property rights.
GS-4 Aptitude and foundational values for Civil Service;
Questions:
Question 1)
Q.1) The caste system is the bane for the Indian society. It has brought many evils in the society. What are the steps taken by the Indian Government to overcome the harms of the system? Suggest measure to bring about true equality among the people. (15 marks)
Question 2)
Q.2) What is right to be forgotten and how it is related to the right to privacy? Examine the issues related to the implementation of the right to be forgotten. (10 Marks)
Question 3)
Q.3) As the world moves towards the global taxation reforms, what are the factors India needs to consider? Also examine the significance of the imposition of equalisation levy by India on non-resident e-commerce operators. (10 Marks)
Question 4)
Q.4) “Emotions are irrational, unproductive and subjective. They should never guide administrative actions”. Do you agree?
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
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Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
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Direct Tax collections surge in 2021-22
India’s direct tax collections in the first two and a half months of 2021-22 stand at nearly ₹1.86 lakh crore, double the collections over the same period of last year that was affected by the national lockdown.
Surge in direct tax collections
- The jump in the direct tax collections reflects healthy exports and a continuation of various industrial and construction activities.
- This supports our expectation that GDP will record a double-digit expansion.
What are Direct Taxes?
- A type of tax where the impact and the incidence fall under the same category can be defined as a Direct Tax.
- The tax is paid directly by the organization or an individual to the entity that has imposed the payment.
- The tax must be paid directly to the government and cannot be paid to anyone else.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.All revenues received by the Union. Government by way of taxes and other receipts for the conduct of Government business are credited to the:
(a) Contingency Fund of India
(b) Public Account
(c) Consolidated Fund of India
(d) Deposits and Advances Fund
Types of Direct Taxes
The various types of direct tax that are imposed in India are mentioned below:
(1) Income Tax
- Depending on an individual’s age and earnings, income tax must be paid.
- Various tax slabs are determined by the Government of India which determines the amount of Income Tax that must be paid.
- The taxpayer must file Income Tax Returns (ITR) on a yearly basis.
- Individuals may receive a refund or might have to pay a tax depending on their ITR. Penalties are levied in case individuals do not file ITR.
(2) Wealth Tax
- The tax must be paid on a yearly basis and depends on the ownership of properties and the market value of the property.
- In case an individual owns a property, wealth tax must be paid and does not depend on whether the property generates an income or not.
- Corporate taxpayers, Hindu Undivided Families (HUFs), and individuals must pay wealth tax depending on their residential status.
- Payment of wealth tax is exempt for assets like gold deposit bonds, stock holdings, house property, commercial property that have been rented for more than 300 days, and if the house property is owned for business and professional use.
(3) Estate Tax
- It is also called Inheritance Tax and is paid based on the value of the estate or the money that an individual has left after his/her death.
(4) Corporate Tax
- Domestic companies, apart from shareholders, will have to pay corporate tax.
- Foreign corporations who make an income in India will also have to pay corporate tax.
- Income earned via selling assets, technical service fees, dividends, royalties, or interest that is based in India is taxable.
- The below-mentioned taxes are also included under Corporate Tax:
- Securities Transaction Tax (STT): The tax must be paid for any income that is earned via security transactions that are taxable.
- Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT): In case any domestic companies declare, distribute, or are paid any amounts as dividends by shareholders, DDT is levied on them. However, DDT is not levied on foreign companies.
- Fringe Benefits Tax: For companies that provide fringe benefits for maids, drivers, etc., Fringe Benefits Tax is levied on them.
- Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT): For zero tax companies that have accounts prepared according to the Companies Act, MAT is levied on them.
(5) Capital Gains Tax:
- It is a form of direct tax that is paid due to the income that is earned from the sale of assets or investments. Investments in farms, bonds, shares, businesses, art, and home come under capital assets.
- Based on its holding period, tax can be classified into long-term and short-term.
- Any assets, apart from securities, that are sold within 36 months from the time they were acquired come under short-term gains.
- Long-term assets are levied if any income is generated from the sale of properties that have been held for a duration of more than 36 months.
Advantages of Direct Taxes
The main advantages of Direct Taxes in India are mentioned below:
- Economic and Social balance: The Government of India has launched well-balanced tax slabs depending on an individual’s earnings and age. The tax slabs are also determined based on the economic situation of the country. Exemptions are also put in place so that all income inequalities are balanced out.
- Productivity: As there is a growth in the number of people who work and community, the returns from direct taxes also increases. Therefore, direct taxes are considered to be very productive.
- Inflation is curbed: Tax is increased by the government during inflation. The increase in taxes reduces the necessity for goods and services, which leads to inflation to compress.
- Certainty: Due to the presence of direct taxes, there is a sense of certainty from the government and the taxpayer. The amount that must be paid and the amount that must be collected is known by the taxpayer and the government, respectively.
- Distribution of wealth is equal: Higher taxes are charged by the government to the individuals or organizations that can afford them. This extra money is used to help the poor and lower societies in India.
What are the disadvantages of direct taxes?
- Easily evadable: Not all are willing to pay their taxes to the government. Some are willing to submit a false return of income to evade tax. These individuals can easily conceal their incomes, with no accountability to the law of the land.
- Arbitrary: Taxes, if progressive, are fixed arbitrarily by the Finance Minister. If proportional, it creates a heavy burden on the poor.
- Disincentive: If there are high taxes, it does not allow an individual to save or invest, leading to the economic suffering of the country. It does not allow businesses/industry to grow, inflicting damage to them.
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Ordinance Factory Board corporatization gets Cabinet approval
Addressing a long-pending reform, the Union Cabinet has approved a plan to corporatize the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
Ordnance Factory Board (OFB)
- OFB consisting of the Indian Ordnance Factories is a government agency under the control of the department of defence production (DDP).
- It is engaged in research, development, production, testing, marketing and logistics of a product range in the areas of air, land and sea systems.
- OFB comprises 41 ordnance factories, nine training institutes, three regional marketing centres and four regional controllers of safety, which are spread all across the country.
Why are OFBs significant?
- OFB is the world’s largest government-operated production organization and the oldest organization in India.
- It has a total workforce of about 80,000.
- It is often called the “Fourth Arm of Defence” and the “Force Behind the Armed Forces” of India.
- OFB is the 35th largest defence equipment manufacturer in the world, 2nd largest in Asia, and the largest in India.
Why corporatization?
- Once implemented, the OFB, the establishment of which was accepted by the British in 1775, will cease to exist.
- It is a major decision in terms of national security and also make the country self-sufficient in defence manufacturing as repeatedly emphasized by PM.
- This move would allow these companies autonomy and help improve accountability and efficiency.
- This restructuring is aimed at transforming the ordnance factories into productive and profitable assets, deepening specialization in the product range, enhancing competitiveness, improving quality and achieving cost efficiency.
Adhering to past recommendations
- There have been several recommendations by high-level committees in the past for corporatising it to improve efficiency and accountability.
What about employees?
- All employees of the OFB (Group A, B and C) belonging to the production units would be transferred to the corporate entities on deemed deputation.
- The pension liabilities of the retirees and existing employees would continue to be borne by the government.
How would this be accomplished?
- The 41 factories would be subsumed into seven corporate entities based on the type of manufacturing.
- The ammunition and explosives group would be mainly engaged in producing ammunition of various calibre and explosives, with huge potential to grow exponentially.
- Similarly, the vehicles group would mainly engage in producing defence mobility and combat vehicles such as tanks, trawls, infantry and mine protected vehicles.
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Annual Review of State Laws Report, 2020
The COVID-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown had a huge impact on the working of the state legislatures in India. The PRS Legislative Research’s “Annual review of state laws 2020” shows that the productivity and efficacy of State legislatures are poor.
Annual Review of State Laws
- This report focuses on the legislative work performed by states in the calendar year 2020.
- It is based on data compiled from state legislature websites and state gazettes.
- It covers 19 state legislatures, including the union territory of Delhi, which together accounts for 90% of the population of the country.
Highlights of the report
(1) Sittings of states
- Compared with its average number of sitting days of 32 from 2016 to 2019, the Karnataka legislature, which is bicameral, met on 31 days last year, the highest for any State in 2020.
- The southern State was followed by Rajasthan (29 days) and Himachal Pradesh (25 days). For comparison, Parliament met for 33 days last year.
- In 2020, the average number of sitting days for the 19 States was 18, which was 11 less than the four-year (2016-19) average of 29.
- Kerala, which had the distinction of remaining at the top in the four years with an average of 53 days, had only 20 days of sittings of the legislature last year.
(2) Number of bills
- As for the number of Bills passed last year, Karnataka again topped the list with 61 Bills, followed by Tamil Nadu (42) and Uttar Pradesh (37). For this purpose, Appropriation Bills were excluded.
- Among poor performers under this category, Delhi passed only one Bill; West Bengal passed two Bills and Kerala three Bills.
(3) Time taken for passing bills
- On the duration of time taken to pass Bills, the previous year saw 59% of the Bills being passed by the legislature of the States on the day of introduction.
- A further 14% was adopted within a day of being introduced.
- Only 9% of the Bills were passed more than five days after introduction, some of which were referred to committees for further examination.
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India to launch Deep Ocean Mission
The Union Cabinet has approved the long-pending Deep Ocean Mission since 2018.
Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)
- Nodal Agency: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
- The mission proposes to explore the deep ocean similar to the space exploration started by ISRO.
- Underwater robotics and ‘manned’ submersibles are key components of the Mission which will help India harness various living and non-living (water, mineral and energy) resources from the seabed and deep water.
- The tasks that will be undertaken over this period include deep-sea mining, survey, energy exploration and offshore-based desalination.
- These technological developments are funded under an umbrella scheme of the government – called Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART).
Six major components
(1) Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible:
- A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean with suite of scientific sensors and tools.
- Only a very few countries have acquired this capability.
- An Integrated Mining System will be also developed for mining Polymetallic Nodules from 6000 m depth in the central Indian Ocean.
(2) Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services:
- A suite of observations and models will be developed to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales under this proof of concept component.
- This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of coastal tourism.
(3) Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity:
- Bio-prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep-sea bio-resources will be the main focus.
- This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Fisheries and allied services.
(4) Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration:
- The primary objective of this component is to explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal Hydrothermal Sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges.
- This component will additionally support the Blue Economy priority area of deep-sea exploration of ocean resources.
(5) Energy and freshwater from the Ocean:
- Studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant are envisaged in this proof of concept proposal.
- This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of offshore energy development.
(6) Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology:
- This component is aimed at the development of human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering.
- This component will translate research into the industrial application and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.
- This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Biology, Blue trade and Blue manufacturing.
Why need such a mission?
- Oceans, which cover 70 per cent of the globe, remain a key part of our life. About 95 percent of the Deep Ocean remains unexplored.
- For India, with its three sides surrounded by the oceans and around 30 per cent of the country’s population living in coastal areas.
- The ocean is a major economic factor supporting fisheries and aquaculture, tourism, livelihoods and blue trade.
- Oceans are also a storehouse of food, energy, minerals, medicines, modulator of weather and climate and underpin life on Earth.
Pre-requisites to this mission
- India has been allotted a site of 75,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Sea Bed Authority for the exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN).
Hunt for PMNs
- These are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt.
- Being able to lay hands on a fraction of that reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for the next 100 years.
- It has been estimated that 380 million metric tonnes of polymetallic nodules are available at the bottom of the seas in the Central Indian Ocean.
- India’s Exclusive Economic Zone spreads over 2.2 million square kilometers.
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[RSTV ARCHIVE] Ethanol Blending: Significance & Road Ahead
The Central Government has resolved to meet the target of 20 percent ethanol blending in petrol by 2025. This will help India strengthen its energy security, enable local enterprises and farmers to participate in the energy economy and reduce vehicular emissions.
In this article we shall discuss and analyze all aspects of this issue.
What is Ethanol Blending?
- An ethanol blend is defined as a blended motor fuel containing ethyl alcohol that is at least 99% pure, derived from agricultural products, and blended exclusively with petrol (gasoline).
- Ethanol, anhydrous ethyl alcohol having a chemical formula of C2H5OH, can be produced from sugarcane, maize, wheat, etc. which are having high starch content.
- In India, ethanol is mainly produced from sugarcane molasses by the fermentation process. Ethanol can be mixed with the gasoline to form different blends.
- As the ethanol molecule contains oxygen, it allows the engine to more completely combust the fuel, resulting in fewer emissions and thereby reducing the occurrence of environmental pollution.
- Since ethanol is produced from plants that harness the power of the sun, ethanol is also considered a renewable fuel.
Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme
- Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) programme was launched in January, 2003 for supply of 5% ethanol blended Petrol.
- The programme sought to promote the use of alternative and environment friendly fuels and to reduce import dependency for energy requirements.
- OMCs are advised to continue according priority of ethanol from 1) sugarcane juice/sugar/sugar syrup, 2) B-heavy molasses 3) C-heavy molasses and 4) damaged food grains/other sources.
- At present, this programme has been extended to whole of India except UTs of Andaman Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands with effect from 01st April, 2019 wherein OMCs sell petrol blended with ethanol up to 10%.
Ethanol blending in India
- Ethanol now is blended 10% to petrol, which started with 5% when the EBP was launched
- Last year 173 crore liters of petrol was blended with ethanol.
Why need 20% blending?
Mixing 20 percent ethanol in petrol holds multiple attractions for India.
- First, it can potentially reduce the auto fuel import bill by a yearly $4 billion, or Rs 30,000 crore.
- Second, it also provides for farmers to earn extra income if they grow to produce that helps in ethanol production.
- Third, and no less important, is the fact that ethanol is less polluting than other fuels and, per the NITI Aayog paper, “offers equivalent efficiency at a lower cost than petrol”.
What is needed to meet the blending target?
- Till 2014 an average of only 1.5 percent ethanol could be blended in India, that proportion has now reached about 8.5 percent.
- So, while in 2013-14, about 38 crore liters of ethanol were purchased in the country, that figure now stands at more than 320 crore liters.
- A majority of the ethanol units are concentrated in 4 to 5 states where sugar production is high but food grain-based distilleries are now being set up across India.
- There have been efforts to make ethanol from agricultural waste.
Response from automobile sector
- All automobile materials produced after 2009 are compatible with 10% ethanol. However they are not compatible with E20 (20 percent ethanol blend with petrol).
- The NITI Aayog paper said that two-wheelers and passenger vehicles that are now being made in the country “are designed optimally for E5 while rubber and plastic components are “compatible with E10 fuel”.
- The industry body the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) has guaranteed that “once a road-map for making E10 and E20 available in the country is notified… they would gear up to supply compatible vehicles in line with the roadmap”.
- All the components required can be made available in the country” and that “no significant change in the assembly line is expected”.
Why is 20% blending a significant decision?
- Ethanol blending will also, to a large extent, solve the problem of agricultural waste as well as sugar rates plummeting due to excess production, therefore providing security to sugarcane farmers.
- It can help accomplish dual goal of strengthening energy security with low carbon emission.
- It will enable local enterprises and farmers to participate in the energy economy.
- Reducing import bill is another significant benefit. India imports 85% of crude oil.
- Ethanol blending increases octane number thereby increasing fuel quality in terms of anti-knocking tendency (engine sound)
Hurdles in implementation
- In the previous fiscal, 87 per cent of ethanol used for India’s ethanol blending program was produced using sugar.
- The price of ethanol production in India ranges from $0.63 – $0.87 a litre, significantly higher than the US and Brazil where it is about $ 0.61 per litre.
- The procurement of ethanol by OMCs is governed by an administered pricing mechanism that fixes prices every year based on the raw material used.
- This fixing of the price of raw materials for production had led to India producing ethanol at prices higher than other countries.
- The report also highlighted the excessive use of water — estimated at 2,860 litres — for the production of one litre of ethanol from sugar.
Hence there is a need to move to more environmentally sustainable crops.
Way forward
- For attaining E100 i.e. cent percent clean mobility, ambitious ethanol blending program is a must.
- Emphasis should be laid on alternative of ethanol. Methanol with some modifications can also be used for blending.
- Major source of producing ethanol is sugarcane which is a water intensive crop. Hence we need more sustainable sources to produce Ethanol.
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