21 June 2024, The Hindu
Govt. to set up panel to suggest steps to improve NTA’s work
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
J&K to shape its future as State soon: PM
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GS 2: Functions and responsibilities of the Union and the States,
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived in Srinagar on June 20 amid tight security, said the day was not far when people will elect a new government and shape Jammu & Kashmir’s future as a State once again.
- He pledged to “teach a lesson to the enemies of J&K”, while referring to recent terror attacks.
- Mr. Modi said efforts were being made “to remove the gulf between hearts and from Delhi”.
Killer moonshine
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- Good governance is not only about keeping the routine going but also about anticipating obstacles and smoking out fault lines, preventing the loss of human life, at the very least.
- Over the last couple of days in Kallakurichi, in north Tamil Nadu, 39 people have died after consuming hooch laced with methanol.
- With others admitted in hospital in a critical condition, the toll might go up even further, rendering this one of the most devastating hooch tragedies in recent times.
- It is not as if the signs were not obvious, particularly after the hooch tragedy which claimed several lives in 2023 in Marakkanam and Madhuranthakam, also in north Tamil Nadu, where it was clear that industrial methanol was being diverted to the illicit brewing cottage industry.
- The relatives of those dead have spoken about the easy availability of cheap hooch in the region regularly, and that the cost of the local moonshine is much lower than the price of alcohol in the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited (TASMAC) shops.
Move ahead
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GS 2: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
- Revenues from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which completes seven years at the end of this month, hit a record high of ₹2.1 lakh crore in April that typically sees higher inflows due to a year-end compliance rush.
- Receipts in May, for transactions undertaken in April, were the fifth highest ever at ₹1,72,739 crore, rising almost 10% from a year ago, compared with a 12.4% uptick in the previous month.
- This was the slowest rise since July 2021 when the second COVID-19 wave had dented economic activity.
- In the nearly three years since then, GST revenues have generally grown at least 11%.
- Compared with the average monthly receipts of ₹1.68 lakh crore in 2023-24, taxes pertaining to the first month of this fiscal are 3% higher.
- Although gross revenues from domestic transactions grew 15.3%, accelerating from a 13.4% rise a month earlier, revenues from goods imports dipped for the second time in three months.
- Domestic revenue growth has also been uneven across States, with five recording a decline in May, and eight growing far slower than the national average.
- However, broader worries about GST revenues being underwhelming, voiced by the Union Finance Minister at a GST Council meeting in late 2021, have now receded.
Should not EVs and Hybrids be treated equally for govt. subsidies?
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GS 3: General awareness in the fields of IT, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nanotechnology, bio-technology
- India’s road transport sector contributes about 12% to the country’s CO2 emissions, according to the International Energy Agency, making it the third most greenhouse gas emitting sector after energy and agriculture.
- The Union Government has been attempting to fast track decarbonizing transport for the past almost a decade with the introduction of the Faster Adoption and Manufacture of hybrid and Electric Vehicles, or FAME in 2015.
- The third iteration of this policy is likely to be announced in this year’s Union Budget, with an expected outlay of Rs. 10,000 crore.
- FAME attempts to generate demand for EVs and hybrids by subsidizing retail sales, encouraging the manufacture of components and creating and nurturing an electric vehicle (EV) ecosystem nationwide.
- But the policy has undergone changes from when it was introduced, with a steady removal of subsidies for hybrids – or vehicles that run on both battery and internal combustion engines (ICE).
How dangerous is methanol poisoning?
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GS 2: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources
- As of 2 pm on June 20, as many as 34 people had died after consuming spurious liquor in Kallakurichi district of Tamil Nadu while more than 80 others were receiving treatment in hospitals.
- Immediately after news of the deaths broke, Chief Minister M.K. Stalin had the Collector transferred away and the district superintendent of police suspended.
- The State has also deployed 2,000 police personnel around the district.
- The tragedy echoes a similar incident a year ago in the State’s Chengalpattu and Villupuram districts, in which more than 20 people died after consuming spurious liquor.
- Liquor sales in Tamil Nadu are controlled by the State, through around 5,000 outlets.
‘Growth must not be on undue risks’
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GS 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilisation of resources, growth, development and employment
- Banks and NBFCs must take care to ensure that the vital pursuit of growth does not end up in an embrace of unacceptable risks, which could undermine both the institution and overall financial stability, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das observed on Thursday.
- “While business models may be designed to drive profitability and growth, they sometimes contain vulnerabilities that may not be apparent,” Mr. Das said in his address at the second global conference on Financial Resilience organised by College of Supervisors, RBI, Mumbai.
- “Pursuit of business growth is important, but it should never come at the expense of taking on unacceptable risks. Robust risk mitigants are essential for ensuring long-term success and resilience of a regulated entity as well as the overall financial system,” he stressed.
Jaishankar reviews energy projects in Sri Lanka visit
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GS 2: International Relations- India and its neighbourhood
- External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar on Thursday undertook a day-long visit to Colombo and discussed progress on key energy sector initiatives that India and Sri Lanka have agreed to jointly undertake.
- Participating in a ceremony with President Ranil Wickremesinghe, he commissioned a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) and handed over new homes built with Indian assistance.
- In his first bilateral visit abroad after being re-appointed to the post in the newly installed coalition government, EAM Jaishankar focused mostly on progress made in the implementation of ongoing India-backed projects across the island nation, sources said, in addition to meeting the Sri Lankan leadership, and senior politicians from the ruling and Opposition camp.
