Black money bill
1)
The Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets (Imposition of Tax)
Bill, 2015 was tabled in Lok Sabha.
2)
It is a comprehensive new law for specifically dealing with black
money stashed abroad, also provides for a separate taxation of such money.
3)
Undisclosed income abroad will no longer be taxed under the Income
Tax Act. Tax on all foreign income will have to be paid at the flat rate of 30
per cent without any exemption, deduction, set off or carry forward losses that
the Income Tax Act permits.
4)
Wilful evasion : It provides for
criminal liability with enhanced punishment of jail for 3-10 years for wilful
evasion of tax on foreign income along with
a penalty equal to three times the amount of tax evaded or 90 per cent of the
undisclosed income or the value of the asset.
5)
Onus of prove : The onus will be on
the accused to prove that he/she is not guilty.
6)
There is a provision for the
limited compliance window offer. those availing would have to pay tax at the rate
of 30 per cent but concessional penalty would be equal to the tax amount.
7)
Income Tax Return : Failure to file returns
of foreign income or assets will attract a penalty of Rs. 10 lakh. Second and
subsequent offence will be punishable with rigorous imprisonment of 3- 10 years
with a fine of up to Rs. 1 crore.
8)
If passed by the Parliament, it would come into effect from April
1, 2016.
9)
Powers to tax
officials : The
tax authorities will have powers of discovery and inspection, issue of
summonses, enforcement of attendance, production of evidence and impounding of
account books and documents.
10)
Undisclosed holdings of less than Rs. 5 lakh at any time during a year
not reported out of oversight or ignorance will not entail penalty or prosecution.
11)
The right to appeal will be to the Income
Tax Appellate Tribunal and to jurisdictional High Courts and the Supreme Court
on substantial questions of law.
12)
To include tax evasion under the proposed legislation as a
scheduled offence the Bill proposes to amend the Prevention of Money Laundering
Act, 2002.
13)
It also empowers the Centre to enter into agreements
with other countries for the exchange of information, recovery of tax and
avoidance of double taxation.
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Life of Mass Orbiter Mission
1)
The Mars Orbiter has complete half a year around the Red Planet
and is going strong. It was designed for six months of work.
2)
The
MOM had done a good amount of mapping and imaging.
3)
It has been taking Martian surface pictures from distances of
around 500 km to 70,000 km.
4)
It has mapped the terrain, studied the chemicals present, looked for
methane, a sign of ancient or present life, and got a ringside view of a
passing comet in October, 2014.
5)
Its signals take 19 minutes to reach Earth one-way, longer than
the 11 minutes when it entered the Martian orbit six months ago.
6)
MOM can go on for at least another six months.
7)
Future challenge :
I.
MOM will go through a 15- day “blackout” or eclipsed period from
June 8 to 22. Communication with earth will be snapped as sun will block the planet
from Mars and MOM.
II.
During this period, the orbiter must take its own decisions in an
autonomous mode and will consume more fuel.
8)
How much longer it will last and with how much fuel will be left
will depend on this phase.
Ø If MOM keeps up its longevity
streak, it will next face a “whiteout” a year later when Earth will come
between Sun and Mars and communication will go blank again.
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Iran nuke talks
1)
Iran
and six world powers (P5 +Germany) broke off nuclear
negotiations ahead of schedule to allow members of the Iranian delegation to
attend the funeral of their President’s mother.
2)
The United States and Iran are drafting elements of a deal that
commits Tehran to a 40 percent cut in the number of machines it could use to
make an atomic bomb.
3)
In return, Iranians would get quick relief from some crippling
economic sanctions and a partial lift of a U.N. embargo on conventional arms.
4)
Agreement on those details of Iran’s uranium enrichment program
could signal a breakthrough for a larger deal aimed at containing the Islamic
Republic’s nuclear activities.
5)
The sides ultimately want to reach a full agreement by the end of
June.
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Imported coal helps eastern ports
1)
In the wake of Supreme Court-ordered cancellation of coal blocks,
there is stepped up demand for imported coal in the country.
2)
This has in turn helped the ports in the East to surpass the
annual cargo volume target.
3)
Kamarajar Port in Chennai, Krishnapatnam Port in Andhra Pradesh
and Paradip Port in Odisha are the biggest beneficiaries of the rise in coal
imports.
4)
These ports have been handling more coal with Madras High Court
banning Chennai Port Trust from handling iron ore and coal since September 2011
to check pollution.
5)
These three ports till date handled around 90 million tonnes (MT)
of thermal, pet coke and coking coal.
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33 per cent women quota in UT police
1)
The Union Cabinet cleared 33 per cent reservation for women in the
direct recruitment for non-gazetted posts of constables to sub-inspectors in the
police forces of all Union Territories, including Delhi.
2)
The decision is expected to instill confidence among women,
especially in Delhi where crime against women is very high and often the
victims are afraid to approach the police as they may have to deal with male
police officers.
3)
The decision has also been taken in the light of amendments
brought about in the Criminal Procedure Code in the wake of the 2012 gang rape
case in Delhi which requires that reports of crimes against women as well as their
statements must be collected by women officers only.
4)
Facts : The Delhi Police
currently has about 7,000 women police officers, which form merely 8 per cent
of its total strength. About 20,000 more women will have to be recruited.
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