WHY IN NEWS?

• The 43rd GST Council met under the Chairmanship of the Union Finance Minister recently.

Key points:

• As a COVID-19 relief measure, a number of specified COVID-19 related goods such as medical oxygen, oxygen concentrators and other oxygen storage and transportation equipment, etc., have been recommended for full exemption from IGST.
• In view of rising Black Fungus cases, the exemption from IGST has been extended to Amphotericin B.
• To support the LympahticFilarisis (an endemic) elimination programme being conducted in collaboration with WHO, the GST rate on Diethylcarbamazine (DEC) tablets has been recommended for reduction to 5% (from 12%).
• GST on MRO services in respect of ships/vessels shall be reduced to 5% (from 18%).
• An Amnesty scheme for small GST taxpayer’s was also announced, allowing filing of returns with reduced late fees.
• Annual return filing has also been simplified.

The Council has recommended amending the CGST Act to allow for self-certification of reconciliation statements, instead of getting it certified by Chartered Accountants

WHY IN NEWS?

• A committee was set up by National Green Tribunal (NGT) to submit report on alleged violation of norms in construction of a reservoir across Cauvery river at Mekedatu in Karnataka.
• NGT bench consisting of Justice K Ramakrishnan took suo motu cognizance of newspaper report regarding the dam. Report states Karnataka proposes to construct a dam across Cauvery river even though proposal was deferred by Cauvery Water Management Authority twice in past because of opposition from Tamil Nadu government.

Mekedatu Project

• The project was approved by Karnataka in 2017.  Rs 9,000 crore worth project started was with the aim of storing and supplying drinking water for Bengaluru city.
• It will also generate 400 megawatts of power. It is undertaken at deep gorge situated at the confluence of river Cauvery and its tributary Arkavathi.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Recently, India Biodiversity Awards 2021 were presented on the occasion of International Day for Biological Diversity on May 22.

Who are the winners?

• Krishi Avam Paristhitiki Vikas Sansthan (KRAPAVIS) won the award under the category ‘Sustainable Use of Biological Resources.’
• Shaji N.M., who is also called as ‘Tuber Man’ of Kerala has won in individual category of ‘Conservation of domesticated species.
• Khonoma Nature Conservation & Tragopan Sanctuary (KNCTS) in Nagaland won the award under ‘Sustainable Use of Biological Resources’ category.

What are India Biodiversity Awards?

• The India Biodiversity Awards initiative was started jointly by ministry of environment, forest & climate change; National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2012. It recognizes and honour outstanding models from grassroot level for biodiversity conservation, sustainable use of biological resources and governance.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Recently, US space agency NASA has announced to send its first mobile robot to the Moon in 2023. Mobile robot will search ice and other resources on and below the surface of moon. This mission is an example showing “robotic science mission” and “human exploration” go hand in hand.

About

• VIPER stands for Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover. It is a lunar rover which NASA has developed to explore South Pole of the moon. It will be delivered to surface of Moon in November 2023. The rover will explore the lunar resources in permanently shadowed areas of South Pole region of Moon. It will help in mapping water ice distribution and concentration. This mission is based on previous cancelled NASA rover concept called Resource Prospector. The rover will be carried through Griffin lander of Astrobotic under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative of NASA.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Recently, the West Bengal government has decided to set up a Legislative Council (Vidhan Parishad).
• For setting up the Council, a Bill has to be introduced in the Assembly and then a nod from the Governor is required. The Legislative Council in the State was abolished in 1969.

About:

Article 169 (Creation and Abolition):

• The Parliament can abolish a Legislative Council (where it already exists) or create it (where it does not exist) by a simple majority, that is, a majority of the members of each House present and voting, if the legislative assembly of the concerned state, by a special majority, passes a resolution to that effect.
• Currently 6 states have bicameral legislature- Maharashtra, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Special majority implies

• A majority of the total membership of the assembly and
• A majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of the assembly present and voting.

Composition:

• Under Article 171 of the Constitution, the Legislative Council of a state shall not have more than one-third of the total strength of the State Assembly, and not less than 40 members.
• Like the Rajya Sabha, the legislative council is a continuing chamber, that is, it is a permanent body and is not subject to dissolution. The tenure of a Member of the Legislative Council (MLC) is six years, with one-third of the members retiring every two years.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Senior IPS officer Subodh Kumar Jaiswal was appointed on May 25, 2021, as the new CBI director for two years, as per the personnel ministry order.
• Selection-Subodh Kumar Jaiswal was picked by the government from a panel of three officers who were shortlisted by PM Modi-led high-level selection committee consisting of the leader of the largest opposition party in Lok Sabha and the Chief Justice of India.
• The other two officers who were shortlisted for the top position were the other IPS Officer of Bihar Cadre Kumar Rajesh Chandra and Special Secretary in the Ministry of Home Affairs V.S.K. Kaumudi.

Criteria to appoint a CBI director

• As per the guidelines by the Supreme Court set in 2004, the officers from the four oldest serving batches of IPS are considered for the position of CBI director.
• Officials with experience in anti-corruption investigations or CBI, from the senior-most four batches of Indian Police Services, are preferred for the top post.
• Those candidates who are left with less than six months in their retirement will not be considered.

About Subodh Kumar Jaiswal

• Subodh Kumar Jaiswal, a 1985-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) Officer of Maharashtra Cadre, has currently been serving as the Director-General of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• His previous experiences also include serving with the Special Protection Group (SPG) that provides security to the Prime Minister of India and the country’s intelligence agency, Research & Wing Analysis (RAW).

WHY IN NEWS?

• During a two-day virtual meeting hosted by the United Kingdom, which currently holds the presidency of the G7, environment ministers from seven industrialised nations, or the G7 grouping, agreed to accelerate efforts to combat global warming.

About

• By the end of 2021, they also agreed to discontinue government support for new coal-fired power plants.
• Compared with the previously set target of 2 degrees, support has been expanded to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.
• They also promised to take the necessary steps to reduce deforestation, overfishing, promote biodiversity, and address the issue of ocean plastic.
• They also pledged to prevent future outbreaks of COVID-19-like diseases from spreading from animals to humans.

G7 Group

• Member countries -United States, the U.K., France, Japan, Germany, Italy, and Canada.
• The first six countries were the original members of the G6. Its first summit was held at Rambouillet, France, in 1975.
• Canada joined in 1976, making it the G7.
• In 1997, Russia joined, making it the G8.
• However, in 2013, the G8 became G7 once again when Russia invaded Crimea. The other G8 members imposed sanctions against Russia, including exclusion from the G8.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Union Ministry of Women and Child Development, Government of India, is to set up One-Stop Centres (OSCs) in 10 missions across 9 countries. It will be set to curb the cases of violence against women.
• One OSC will be set up each in Kuwait, Oman, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar, Canada, Australia and Singapore. TWO OSCs will be set up in Saudi Arabia.
• The countries have been identified by the MEA based on the Indian Diaspora population and that these centres will be run by the MEA, though they will be funded by the WCD Ministry.
• Currently, about 701 One Stop Centres are operating in country since 2015 across 35 states & Union Territories. Through these centres, three lakh women have been provided assistance since in 2015.
• This is a centrally sponsored scheme, funded through Nirbhaya Fund.
• Launched in 2015 by Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD).

Objectives

• To provide integrated support and assistance to women affected by violence and in distress, both in private and public spaces, under one roof, and to facilitate immediate, emergency, and non-emergency access to a range of services such as police, medical, legal aid, and counselling, as well as psychological support, in order to combat all forms of violence against women.

WHY IN NEWS?

• Guillermo Lasso, a conservative, assumed presidency of Ecuador on May 24, 2021 and has become first right-wing leader in 14 years in Ecuador.

Guillermo Alberto Santiago Lasso Mendoza

• He is a banker, businessman, writer and politician who recently became 47^th president of Ecuador. He is the first center-right president in two decades.

Ecuador

• Ecuador is a country in north-western South America.
• It is surrounded by Colombia to the north, Peru to the east & south, and Pacific Ocean to the west. Galapagos Islands in Pacific is also a part of Ecuador.
• Capital-Quito; Official language- Spanish.
• It is a founding member of United Nations, Non-Aligned Movement and Organization of American States.
• It is the first country in world to recognise rights of nature or ecosystem rights through Constitution of Ecuador in 2008.

WHY IN NEWS?

• According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), Emerging-market nations’ struggle to move out of covid-19 pandemic-induced economic crisis can hurt developed nations. It said, crisis has “Ricochet impact” on the developed and advanced economies.
• IMF suggests that, developed nations should be doing all to ensure better & equitable access to vaccines and equitable recovery. Poorer nations are facing the risk of increasing interest rates even though, their economies aren’t growing.

What is Ricochet Impact?

Ricochet means rebound, bounce, or skip off from surface, particularly in projectile cases.

About International Monetary Fund (IMF)

• Headquarters -Washington, D.C.
• Setup in 1944, started functioning at 1945.
• It has 190 countries as members.
• They work together to boost global monetary cooperation, secure financial stability, promote high employment, facilitate international trade, and sustainable economic growth. It also takes measures to reduce poverty across the world..
• IMF plays an important role in management of balance of payments issues and international financial crises.