• Recently, the government called off a three-week old tax imposed on the export of petrol. Windfall taxes on shipments of diesel and ATF, and on domestically produced crude oil was also cut.

What is windfall Tax?

• Windfall taxes are imposed by a government against certain industries when they experience above-average profits due to economic conditions.
• Windfall taxes are primarily directed on companies in a certain industry that sees the most windfall economically.

Background

• India imposed windfall taxes on July 1, following the super normal profits of energy companies. But since then, international oil prices have cooled down, and profit margins have eroded for both oil producers and refiners. International crude prices slumped on concerns of a global recession.
• On July 1, the government levied export duties amounting to Rs 6 per litre of $12 per barrel on petrol and ATF, while it imposed Rs 13 a litre or $26 a barrel on diesel. The government imposed Rs 23,260 per tonne or $40 per barrel windfall tax on crude production.

Objective

• The above taxes were slapped to garner more revenue as well as to limit exports.
• The government stated that the objective was to shore up domestic supplies as refiners were preferring to export than to meet the local requirements.
• The government expected to bring over Rs 1 lakh crore additional revenue in the full year.

 Implications

• Once the windfall taxes were imposed, the realised spread on diesel and petrol fell to near loss-making levels. The realisation on ATF and crude also dipped to below 15-year averages. After the windfall tax, the realised spread on petrol was just $2 per barrel. The diesel spread too fell in a similar manner to $30 a barrel, while ATF crashed to $25-30 a barrel.
• As per a report, the windfall tax scrapped away 40 per cent of earnings for oil producers. This is apart from the royalty and cess that they are required to pay.
• However, Brent crude price cooled off by $15-20 per barrel in the past couple of weeks to $100 per barrel.
• The government corrected the anomaly that was the result of the windfall taxes.
• The slashing of windfall taxes is expected to benefit Reliance that operates two oil refineries in Gujarat, out of which one is focussed only on exports, state-owned ONGC and Oil India Ltd, and Vedanta Ltd that account for almost all of the crude oil produced in the country, and Russia’s Rosneft-backed Nayara Energy, which operates a 20 million tonnes a year refinery at Vadinar in Gujarat.

• Recently, Punjab Chief Minister has been admitted to hospital, days after he had drunk a glass of water directly from River Kali Bein.

What is the Kali Bein?

• The 165-km rivulet starts from Hoshiarpur, runs across four districts and meets the confluence of the rivers Beas and Sutlej in Kapurthala.
• Along its banks are around 80 villages and half a dozen small and big towns.
• Waste water from there as well as industrial waste used to flow into the rivulet via a drain, turning its waters black, hence the name Kali Bein (black rivulet).
• Dense grass and weeds grew on the water until a cleaning project started.

Why did Bhagwant Mann drink water from it?

• The occasion was the 22nd anniversary of the cleaning project, which had started on July 16, 2000.

Significance of the Kali Bein

• The Kali Bein is of great significance to Sikh religion and history, because the first Guru, Nanak Dev, is said to have got enlightenment here.
• When Guru Nanak Dev was staying at Sultanpur Lodhi with his sister Bebe Nanki, he would bathe in the Kali Bein.
• He is said to have disappeared into the waters one day, before emerging on the third day.
• The first thing he recited was the “Mool Mantra” of the Sikh religion.

How did the cleaning project start?

• It was started by environmentalist Baba Balbir Singh Seechewal (now AAP Rajya Sabha MP), a former Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) member, with a handful of followers, without government help.
• They removed weeds, treated the water and spread awareness among residents.
• Six years of hard work paid off when then President A P J Abdul Kalam visited the site in 2006 and praised them for their effort.
• The then Congress government in Punjab then announced that it would take up the project to stop the discharge of untreated water into the rivulet.
• The government identified around 73 villages in three districts releasing sewer water into the Kali Bein.

• The winners of the 68th National Film Awards were announced in New Delhi.
• Established in 1954, the prestigious awards are administered by the Government of India’s Directorate of Film Festivals.
• Because of Covid-19 related delays, this year’s ceremony honoured films from 2020, across several categories.

Winners: Feature Films

• Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru
• Best Director: Sachy, Ayyappanum Koshiyum
• Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Tanhaji
• Best Actor: Suriya for Soorarai Pottru and Ajay Devgn for Tanhaji
• Best Actress: Aparna Balamurali, Soorarai Pottru
• Best Supporting Actor: Biju Menon, Ayyappanum Koshiyam
• Best Supporting Actress: Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli, Sivaranjaniyum Innam Sila Pengallum
• Best Screenplay: Soorarai Pottru, Shalini Usha Nair and Sudha Kongara
• Best Screenplay (Dialogue Writer): Madonne Ashwin, Mandela
• Best Music Direction (Songs): Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Thaman S
• Best Music Direction (Background Music): Soorarai Pottru, GV Prakash
• Best Male Playback Singer: Rahul Deshpande for Mi Vasantrao
• Best Female Playback Singer: Nanchamma, Ayyappanum Koshiyam
• Best Lyrics: Saina, Manoj Muntashir
• Best Audiography (Location Sound Recordist): Jobin Jayan, Dollu
• Best Audiography (Sound Designer): Anmol Bhave, Mi Vasantrao
• Best Audiography (Re-recordist of the final mixed track): Vishnu Govind and Sree Sankar for Malik
• Best Choreography: Sandhya Raju, Natyam
• Best Cinematography: Avijatrik, Supratim Bhol
• Best Costume Design: Nachiket Barve and Mahesh Sherla, Tanhaji
• Best Production Design: Anees Nadodi, Kappela
• Best Editing: Sreekar Prasad, Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum
• Best Make-up: TV Rambabu, Natyam
• Best Stunt Choreography: Rajasekhar, Mafia Sasi and Supreme Sunder, Ayyappanum Koshiyum
• Special Mention: Aimee Baruah for Semkhor, Vaanku, June, Kishore Kadam for Avwanchhit & Godakaath, and Varun Buddhadev for Toolsidas Junior
• Best Hindi Film: Toolsidas Junior
• Best Kannada Film: Dollu
• Best Malayalam Film: Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam
• Best Tamil Film: Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum
• Best Telugu Film: Colour Photo
• Best Haryanvi Film: Dada Lakhmi
• Best Dimasa Film: Samkhor
• Best Tulu Film: Jeetige
• Best Marathi Film: Goshta Eka Paithanichi
• Best Bengali Film: Avijatrik
• Best Assamese Film: The Bridge
• Best Child Artist: Anish Mangesh Gosavi for Tak-Tak
• Best Children’s Film: Sumi
• Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Talendanda
• Best Film on Social Issue: Funeral
• Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Mandela

• The Jal Shakti Ministry announced that Burhanpur has become the country’s first ‘Har Ghar Jal’ certified district, with all the 254 villages in the district having access to safe drinking water.
• Only 37 percent of households in the district had access to safe drinking water in August 2019 and in less than three years, all the houses are able to use the facility.
• In Madhya Pradesh, 42.71 percent of the households have been provided with a tap water supply as of July 22.
• Burhanpur as of August 15, 2019 had tap connections in just 37,241 houses. However, as of July 22, all the houses in the district – 1,01,905 have access to tap water in 254 villages, including in 43,701 tribal households.

• To combat malnutrition, the Una district administration will launch an initiative to provide highly nutritious packaged food at Anganwari centres for children and expecting and lactating mothers.
• The administration has roped in the CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur, which has developed packaged food products that have high nutritional content, for the initiative.
• According to Deputy Commissioner (DC) Raghav Sharma, the IHBT had come up with products such as spirulina bar, multi-grain energy bar, multi-grain high energy powder and fruit bar.
• Spirulina, which is an algae, is used to develop a super-food that has high content of essential minerals and vitamins.
• Initially, the district administration will enter into a year’s agreement with CSIR-IHBT to procure these food items. The agreement can be subsequently extended on the basis of the result.
• The institute was preparing a detailed project report and the data regarding the number of children and women in the district was being shared with them.
• The district Women and Child Welfare Department has been providing food items like chickpea, biscuits, wheat porridge and powdered milk to the children at Anganwari centres and the same items are being provided to expecting and lactating mothers.

• Kullu and Nahan were adjudged the best municipal council of 2021 and 2020, respectively, in the Atal Shresth Shahar Yojna (ASSY).
• Both the councils were awarded a sum of Rs 1 crore during a ceremony organised in the auditorium of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Institute of Mountaineering and Allied Sports at Manali.
• Manali and Kullu secured the second and third position, respectively, for the year 2020. Una and Baddi secured these positions, respectively, for the year 2021. Manali and Una were awarded Rs 75 lakh each while Kullu and Baddi got Rs 50 lakh each.
• In the nagar panchayat category for 2020, Chopal, Gagret and Kotkhai were awarded Rs 75 lakh, Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh, respectively as they got first, second and third position, respectively.
• In the same category for 2021, Arki bagged the first position while Sunni was second and Narkanda came third.
• According to Urban Development Minister Suresh Bhardwaj, at present there are 61 Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) in the state and new areas were being added to them from time to time.
• The state government has released a grant of Rs 679 crore to the ULBs in the period between 2017 to 2022 under the Fifth State Finance Commission.
• According to the recommendation of the Sixth State Finance Commission, a provision of Rs 184 crore has been made in the current financial year.

Felicitated with cash awards

• Chopal and Arki best nagar panchayats in 2020 and 2021, respectively
• In municipal council category, first, second and third placed towns were awarded Rs 1 crore, Rs 75 lakh and Rs 50 lakh, respectively.
• In nagar panchayat category, first, second and third placed towns were awarded Rs 75 lakh, Rs 50 lakh and Rs 25 lakh respectively.
• The govt has released a grant of Rs 679 crore to the ULBs in the period between 2017 to 2022.

• The Indian men’s 25m rapid fire pistol team comprising Anish Bhanwala, Vijayveer Sidhu and Sameer won the silver medal on the last day of the ISSF World Cup Changwon 2022 in South Korea.
• The medal helped India retain the top spot on the medals table with five gold, six silver and four bronze.
• South Korea managed just one bronze on the final day and finished with four golds, five silver and three bronze medals.
• This is the second time this year that the Indian shooters had topped the ISSF World Cup medals table. India finished with four gold medals at the ISSF World Cup in Cairo.

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) is working on developing space tourism capability in a bid to score a chunk of the pie, which is set to become a multi-million-dollar market in the coming years.
• As the country’s premier space agency Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is developing indigenous capabilities towards space tourism through the demonstration of human space flight capability to Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
• The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorization Centre (IN-SPACe) is seeking to promote active participation of private sector in carrying out end-to-end space activities, which includes space tourism as well.
• IN-SPACe, an independent nodal agency under Department of Space (DOS) allows space activities and usage of DOS owned facilities by Non-Government Private Entities (NGPEs) as well as to prioritise the launch manifest.
• Further, the single window agency, IN-SPACe promotes, handholds and authorizes the activities of the private sector in the space domain, including those by young entrepreneurs and students interested in the field of Space Science.
• The centre is also in process of coming up with mechanisms to enable sharing of technical facilities and expertise available across ISRO Centres with private entities.
• According to Science & Technology Minister Dr Jitendra Singh, Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) pursues international cooperation and relations with 61 countries in varied domains of space activities.
• The Department of Space (DOS) is in the process of drafting a comprehensive, integrated Space Policy, which shall provide direction to the activities of the private Indian space industry.

• NITI Aayog and the World Food Program released a report “Take Home Ration-Good Practices across the State/Union Territories.” 
• The report outlines a number of beneficial and creative techniques that the States and UTs have used to implement the Take Home Ration value chain.
• In this report, various good practices at the State/UTs level have been identified and are documented which would serve as a guidebook to policymakers and administrators in strengthening their Take-Home Ration system.”

Take Home Rations (THR) programme:

• In line with the government’s persistent efforts to ensure food and nutrition security, India has been implementing the ICDS.
• The Take Home Rations (THR) programme, which is part of the Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) under ICDS, offers fortified rations for use at home for children aged 6 to 36 months as well as pregnant and lactating women, with the goal of bridging the nutrition gap among them.
• SNP is provided in two ways: Take-Home Rations and Hot-Cooked Meals at Anganwadi Centers. THR might be given as raw ingredients or in packets that have already been cooked.

• India’s largest public sector lender, State Bank of India has launched its WhatsApp Banking services to make banking easier for its customers.
• Now, SBI customers can avail certain banking services using WhatsApp, which may come in handy for many as they do not have to download the app or go to the ATM anymore.
• SBI customers can get their Account Balance and view Mini Statement on WhatsApp.
• SBI WhatsApp Banking services will be available to customers when they send a message saying ‘Hi’ on the number 919022690226.
• State Bank of India will also offers WhatsApp-based services to its credit card holders through the platform under the name of SBI Card WhatsApp connect.
• Through this, SBI credit card customers can check their account summary, reward points, outstanding balance and make card payments.