1. Government has directed government departments to give preference to domestically produced electronics products instead of products imported from outside but this can be done only when adequate provisions are made to check the stagnant attitude of domestic manufacturers which may let them think that government is going to purchase from us, then what would be the incentive to constantly enrich quality. Also it needs to be looked upon that the progress in quality production is same for domestically produced and imported goods as the tendency of Red Tap-ism needs to be checked. For this properly planned procurement process should be formulated and implemented.
2. Excise duty concessions on automobiles (Cars, two wheelers and SUV) and white goods have ended on 31st December. They were implemented during the UPA Govt. tenure as these sector were struggling then. Now the incumbent NDA Govt. in order to contain the fiscal deficit to 4.1 percent of GDP has not extended the excise duty concessions as they had done earlier for 6 months. It is expected that by doing this Govt. is going to raise Rs. 1000 crore in the months of January, February and March. TV cost will also rise.
3. Ques. What are White Goods?
Ans. Good painted in white enamel finish have been known as White Goods. They are Refrigerators, Air Conditioner, etc. As now a days the colour of these items have changed to make them more attractive still these items are known as white goods.
4. Ques. What are brown goods?
Ans. Small and light electronic items like Television, Radios, computers and Digital media players like MP3 player and Walkman are known as Brown Goods.
5. Ques. What are Gray Goods?
Ans. Authentic and genuine branded goods are called as Gray goods.
6. Ques. What is a Gray Market?
Ans. Gray Market is a place where genuine branded goods are sold but the place of selling is not authorized. When an unauthorized dealer sells gray goods in authorized market then also it is a gray market.
7. Pulse prices are going down and in order to help domestic producers whose pulses will be costlier than the imported one, Agriculture Ministry has proposed setting up a 10% import duty on gram (chana). Currently there is a complete ban on export of pulses of all varieties and there is also a ban on edible oils bulk export. The ban on the export of both the items is proposed to be lifted soon.
8. 3 Mega Regional Negotiations that are going to make a significant impact on global trade are –
(a) Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between European Union and the US.
(b) Trans Pacific Partnership between the US and 11 other economies of the World.
(c) Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) involving Association of Southeast Asian Nations, China and 5 other economies which are Australia, Japan, India, South Korea and New-Zealand.
In coming days TTIP and TPP will be more effective than RCEP.
9. If India adds n GDP per unit of Carbon Dioxide emission the US adds 4n GDP and many European Countries who use energy efficiently adds 6n GDP. So India needs to use its energy more efficiently and properly to minimise wastages.
10. The Govt. is expected to suffer a tax revenue shortfall of Rs. 1.05 lakh crore. So in order to contain the fiscal deficit to 4.1% of GDP a lot of diverse steps are needed to be taken. These include –
(a) Cutting expenditure and spending of Govt. departments and Ministries.
(b) Disinvestment of Public Sector Enterprises.
(c) In accordance with the guidelines which have been put forward by Department of Public Enterprises the profit making Public Sector Undertakings have to pay 20% dividend of Profit After tax and this dividend will be 30% for energy and infrastructure Public Sector Undertakings.
Actually in practice PSUs have to pay much more as dividend. There is one drawback of PSUs paying higher dividends to the Government as PSUs will be left with less cash for investment be they new or existing.
Excessive dividends for short term fiscal relief can jeopardize the long term investment climate. So either the PSU can be pay dividends to Govt. also known as Dividend Distribution Tax or it can use the money for Public Investment. A balancing act is necessary on part of Government.
Leery word means distrustful or suspicious.
Evangelist means one who promulgates or promotes something enthusiastically.
11. TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) has been consistently pursued by Michael B Froman. He was Deputy National Security Advisor on International Economic Affairs under the George W Bush Presidentship and is currently the chief evangelist of Mr. Obama.
It will be a trade agreement involving 12 nations which account for 40% of the global economic trade. As the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has been envisaged to increase trade with Europe, TPP is for Asian countries.
Many issues need to be resolved before negotiating it completely.
12. Banks have been mandated to give as loan 40% of their funds to the priority sector which includes the agriculture sector, housing, education, micro and small enterprises, small scale industries etc. Lending to these sectors is on a decrease now a days.
13. Section 69A of the Information Technology Act has been used by the Central Government to block 32 websites some of which are vimeo.com, archive.org
14. Hamara Jal Hamara Jeevan initiative to be launched by Union Water Resources Minister Uma Bharti during the India Water week to be organized from Jan 13 to 17. This initiative will deal with creating awareness among people to conserve and judiciously utilize water. It will be undertaken in all districts of the country.
15. Differences in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) was not recognized at UN Economic and Social Commission For Asia and Pacific (ESCAP) hall in Bangkok.
16. PPC (Plant Protection Code) which is on the basis of Codex Alimentarius (International food standards and guidelines has been presented on 1st January 2015 to make tea produced in India healthy and safe to consume. Recently a Greenpeace report alleged the presence of pesticide residues present in the tea produce. The PPC document entails safe production method of tea and also encourages the tea manufactures to review their PPF (Plant protection formulation). The PPF deals with the chemicals that can be wed in while manufacturing tea.
17. Bharatiya Governance model that has been recently revealed while saying about the resolution for the establishment of National Institution for Transforming India Aayog (NITIE).
18. Dongria Kondh is a very vulnerable tribal group of South Western Odisha which faces a war with Vedanta over mining issues. They speak Kui language.
19. NITI Aayog will comprise as chairperson the PM. Governing council will have chief Ministers and Lt. Governors of the Union Territories and the regional council will have PM and CM. Vice-Chairman of the NITI Aayog will be appointed by the Prime Minister and Central Ministers would be its ex officio members.
20. In view of National Interest the Govt. has started putting restraints on the activities of four American NGO’s which are Avaaz, 350.org, Sierra club and Bank Information Centre (BIC). The MHA had ordered RBI to stop funding from foreign sources in these NGO accounts.
Previously Green peace NGO foreign funding was stopped as it was protesting against Kudankulam nuclear power plant. A report of the Intelligence Bureau has said that foreign funded environmental NGO’s are deliberately targeting development projects in India in order to take the project down.
Repudiate – (Meaning) refuse to accept or be associated with deny the truth of.
Diabolical means very bad.
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