CAG audit in Rice mill scam
1)
The CAG is conducting an audit of financial dealings between government
institutions and rice mills in eight major rice producing States - Andhra
Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Chhattisgarh, Odisha and
West Bengal.
2)
There are serious allegations that black money to the tune of Rs.
200 crore is being generated every day through under or non-reporting of
earnings from sale of paddy by-products by the millers.
3)
Paddy by-products :
i.
Rice bran is used to extract oil
ii.
husk is used to fuel power plants
iii.
apart from human consumption, broken rice is used in breweries, to
make laundry starch and other products.
4)
The Central and State governments procure rice through the Custom Milled Rice (CMR) and the Levy Rice mechanisms for public distribution system.
A.
Under CMR, government institutions get paddy from farmers at the minimum
support price and give it to mills under an agreement.
B.
Under the levy system, millers purchase paddy from farmers, mill
it into rice and sell it to the government.
5)
Under both schemes, the government collects 68 kg of parboiled or
67 kg of raw rice per 100 kg paddy.
Ø There is no clarity about
the total quantity and pricing of the rest of the 32-33 kg by-products of
paddy, neither in government audited balance-sheets nor in rice millers’ accounts.
6)
The custom milling agreement with the government stipulates that
millers will retain the by-products.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Spectrum auction fetches record amount
1)
Facts
& Figures :
a)
bidding
for spectrum allocation in 4 bands of airwaves : 2100 MHz, 1800 MHz, 900 MHz
and 800 MHz
b)
the
permits will be valid for 20 years
c)
19
days of fierce bidding
d)
8
operators
e)
115
rounds in auctions
f)
govt.
was expecting to raise about Rs. 82000 crore
g)
the
auction concluded at Rs. 1,09,874 crores
h)
About
11 per cent of the spectrum went unsold
2)
The
govt. will not announce the name of the successful bidders as a case is pending
before the Supreme Court.
3)
The
high bidding for spectrum is also likely to impact consumers with call and SMS
tariff going up.
4)
Depending
on the band, carriers will have to pay as much as 33 per cent of their final
bid within 10 days of the auction's conclusion and the rest in ten annual
installments starting in 2017.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
J&K not under Disturbed Areas Act
1)
The
J&K govt. has admitted that the Disturbed Areas Act, 1997 has expired.
2)
It
means that the J&K police does not have the kind
of powers that Central forces enjoy under the Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir)
Special Powers Act.
3)
The J&K government would denotify some areas from the
Disturbed Areas Act, although the process will be gradual.
4)
The fact that the DAA is no longer in force does not mean that the
Armed Forces (Jammu and Kashmir) Special Powers Act is no longer valid.
5)
The DAA of 1997 has nothing to do with AF(JK)SPA. For the
AF(JK)SPA to be applicable, a region or regions has to be notified as a
disturbed area under section 3 of the AF (JK)SPA and not under DAA.
6)
The government in 2001 notified the whole of Jammu and Kashmir
(leaving out Leh and Kargil) as disturbed under section 3 of AF(JK)SPA.
7)
According to a Supreme Court ruling in 1997, the notification for
places as Disturbed Areas cannot exist in perpetuity and has to be for a
limited duration and there should be periodic review of the declaration before
the expiry of six months.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
