DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 11th September 2024

 Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – Polity

Context: The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council meeting held recently broadly agreed on the need to reduce the tax rate for health and life insurance premiums from 18 per cent but the specific proposal has now been referred to the Group of Ministers (GoM) for further discussion.

Background: –

• The GST regime came into force after the Constitutional (122nd Amendment) Bill was passed by both Houses of Parliament in 2016. More than 15 Indian states then ratified it in their state Assemblies, after which then-President Pranab Mukherjee gave his assent.

Key takeaways

• The GST Council is a constitutional body in India responsible for making recommendations to the Union and State governments on issues related to Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• It was established under Article 279A of the Indian Constitution.

Composition of the GST Council:

• Chairperson: The Union Finance Minister
• Members:
  • The Union Minister of State in charge of Revenue or Finance.
  • The Minister In-charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government.

Decision-Making Process of the GST Council:

• Meetings: The Council meets periodically to discuss issues related to GST, including tax rates, exemptions, the threshold for tax liability, and dispute resolution mechanisms.
• Voting:
  • Decisions in the GST Council are made based on a voting structure.
  • The Union Government has 1/3rd of the total votes.
  • All the State Governments together have 2/3rd of the total votes.
• Weighted Voting:
  • Every decision requires a three-fourths majority of the weighted votes of members present.
  • This structure ensures a balance between the Centre and the States, allowing them to work collaboratively on GST-related matters.
• Consensus: In practice, most decisions of the GST Council are taken by consensus rather than formal voting, promoting a cooperative federalism approach.

Role of the GST Council:

• Tax Rates and Slabs: It decides GST rates for different goods and services, and can modify them periodically based on economic needs.
• Exemptions and Thresholds: It determines which goods or services should be exempt from GST and sets the threshold for GST registration.
• Dispute Resolution: The Council can recommend mechanisms to resolve disputes between the Centre and States regarding GST implementation.
• The GST Council plays a crucial role in harmonizing tax policies across the country, avoiding cascading taxes, and ensuring that GST functions efficiently as a unified tax system.

Source: Indian Express

 Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: The Finannce Ministry has shot down a proposal from the Agriculture Ministry to provide a one-time incentive of Rs 20,000 per hectare to farmers who adopt natural farming, saying it was much higher than what was earlier approved.

Background: –

• The Agriculture Ministry had circulated a Cabinet note in July last week seeking the Finance Ministry’s approval for the incentives to be provided to farmers under the proposed National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF).

Key takeaways

• The Agriculture Ministry defines natural farming as a “chemical-free” farming system that uses only inputs produced using livestock and plant resources.
• Natural farming works with the natural biodiversity, encouraging the soil’s biological activity and managing the complexity of living organisms, both plant and animal to thrive along with food production system.
• Important practices, essential for adoption of natural farming includes:
  • No external inputs
  • Local seeds (use of local varieties),
  • On-farm produced microbial formulation for seed treatment (such as bijamrita),
  • On-farm made microbial inoculants (Jivamrita) for soil enrichment,
  • Cover crops and mulching with green and dry organic matter for nutrient recycling and for creating a suitable micro-climate for maximum beneficial microbial activity in soil.
  • Mixed cropping,
  • Managing diversity on farm through integration of trees
  • Management of pests through diversity and local on-farm made botanical concoctions (such as neemastra, agniastra, neem ark, dashparni ark etc);
  • Integration of livestock, especially of native breed for cow dung and cow urine as essential inputs for several practices and
    Water and moisture conservation

Additional Information

• The Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF), a State government’s initiative launched through Rythu Sadhikara Samstha (RySS) seven years ago, has won the 2024 Gulbenkian Prize.
• APCNF is recognized as the world’s largest agroecology programme, benefiting over a million smallholder farmers across 5,00,000 hectares in Andhra Pradesh.The APCNF programme empowers small farmers by enabling them to switch to natural farming methods.

Source: Indian Express

 Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: The recent release of the scientific report in the Nature journal on the Swachh Bharat Mission’s (SBM) impact on the reduction in infant and child mortality broadly coincides with the 10-year anniversary of the programme.

Background:

• Announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his Independence Day speech to the nation from the Red Fort on August 15, 2014, it was formally launched on October 2 of the same year.

About Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM)

• India grappled with sanitation challenges, particularly in rural areas, affecting millions. In 2014, only 39% sanitation coverage was achieved, impacting vulnerable demographics, notably women and children.
• Responding to the imperative for comprehensive sanitation coverage, the Swachh Bharat Mission was launched on October 2, 2014.
• Main goal: Eliminate open defecation by October 2, 2019, targeting the construction of over 100 million household toilets for 550 million Indians.

Behavioral Change:

• The SBM was a Jan Andolan (mass movement) involving community-led initiatives to achieve Open Defecation Free (ODF) status.
• Focus on inspiring pride in villages through Gaurav Yatras (pride tours) upon achieving ODF status.
• Friendly competition among villages, districts, and states helped boost implementation.

Phase II of SBM:

• After October 2, 2019, when all Indian states declared themselves ODF, SBM entered its second phase.
• SBM Phase II was launched with the objective of achieving Sampoorn Swachhata, i.e., sustaining the ODF status and managing solid and liquid waste by 2024-25 and transforming all the villages from ODF to ODF Plus Model.

Health Impact:

• The Nature journal report (2024) validated SBM’s significant health outcomes, stating that the mission saved 60,000–70,000 lives of infants and children under five annually by reducing diseases caused by poor sanitation.
• Other health benefits included a reduction in diarrheal diseases and improved public health.

Dignity and Security of Women:

• One of the core benefits was enhancing the dignity and security of women and girls, by providing them access to safe and private sanitation facilities.

Economic Benefits:

• A UNICEF study estimated that villages achieving ODF status saved households approximately Rs 50,000 annually on healthcare costs and time savings.
• Reduction in medical costs due to lower incidence of water-borne diseases.

Global Lessons and Replication:

• Key global takeaway: the four Ps – Political leadership, Public financing, Partnerships, and People’s participation – recognized globally as essential for successful developmental programs.
• Example: Nigeria launched the Clean Nigeria Campaign after learning from SBM.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs):

• SBM contributed to the achievement of SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) by improving access to sanitation and hygiene.
• SBM was part of a broader suite of government initiatives aimed at improving the quality of life, such as:
  • Ujjwala Yojana (cooking gas cylinders),
  • Jan Dhan Yojana (bank accounts),
  • Awas Yojana (housing),
  • Ayushman Bharat (health insurance),
  • Jal Jeevan Mission (water supply).

Source: Indian Express

 Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – POLITY

Context: The Supreme Court has directed the Himachal Pradesh High Court collegium to consider again the names of two judicial officers it had first recommended for elevation to the Bench 21 months ago.

Background: –

• The direction from supreme court is unusual.

Procedure for appointing judges of High Courts

• The collegium system of appointment (and transfer) of judges of the Supreme Court and High Courts was laid down by the Supreme Court in Supreme Court Advocates-on-Record Association vs Union of India (1993), commonly known as the Second Judges Case.
• The ruling made the recommendations of the SC collegium binding on the Centre, and gave the power to appoint and transfer judges of the higher judiciary to the judiciary.
• Under the collegium system, judges choose judges — and while the government can delay their appointments, it cannot reject the collegium’s choice.
• In 1998, in response to a series of questions from then President K R Narayanan, the SC clarified how the collegium system would function. (Third Judges Case).
• The court said that collegiums for HC appointments would include the Chief Justice of India (CJI) and the two seniormost judges of the Supreme Court. This collegium would be required to consult the “Chief Justice and senior judges” of the HC concerned, the “seniormost” SC judge from that HC, as well as any SC judges who were “knowledgeable” about that HC.
• Following the opinion given by the SC in the Third Judges Case, the central government and the SC entered into a Memorandum of Procedure (MOP) in 1998, which detailed the process, from the beginning, for the appointment of HC judges.
• As a part of this process, the Chief Justice of the HC must consult two other seniormost judges at the HC — together forming the High Court collegium — and send their recommendations, with reasons, to the Chief Minister, the Governor, and the CJI.
• The Governor, based on the advice of the Chief Minister, will send the proposal to the Minister of Law and Justice at the Centre, who will conduct a background check and send the entire material to the CJI, who will consider it with the rest of the SC collegium.

Himachal Pradesh Issue

• In December 2022, the then HC collegium recommended district judges Chirag Bhanu Singh and Arvind Malhotra for elevation to the HC.
• On January 4, 2024, the SC collegium sent the recommendation back to the HC Chief Justice for reconsideration.
• However, on April 23, the High Court collegium recommended two other judicial officers for elevation to the HC, prompting Singh and Malhotra to approach the SC. They argued that the HC collegium had ignored their seniority (as the two seniormost district judges in the state) by recommending two others without first considering them again.
• The SC had in both the Second and Third Judges cases highlighted the importance of considering seniority among judges while making recommendations for appointments.

Source: Indian Express

 Syllabus

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday (September 10, 2024) convened the first meeting of the Governing Board of the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF).

Background: –

• The ANRF was conceived as a funding body to galvanise science and engineering research in the country.

About Anusandhan National Research Foundation

• The Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF) was established under the ANRF 2023 Act to promote and direct research and development (R&D) across India.
• ANRF acts as an apex body to oversee and guide scientific research efforts.
• The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), established by an act of Parliament in 2008, has been subsumed into ANRF.

Objectives and Functions

• Promote R&D: ANRF aims to seed, grow, and promote R&D and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.
• Strategic Direction: It provides high-level strategic direction for scientific research in the country, aligning with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP).
• Collaboration: ANRF forges collaborations among industry, academia, government departments, and research institutions.

Additional information

• The ANRF aims to establish a ₹50,000 crore corpus with ₹36,000 crore of it coming in from non-government sources. For the current financial year, the ANRF has been earmarked ₹2,000 crore in the Union Budget.

Source: The Hindu

Q1.) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the Anusandhan National Research Foundation (ANRF)?

1. The ANRF was established under the ANRF 2023 Act to promote and research and development (R&D) across India.
2. The Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB), established in 2008, has been subsumed into ANRF.
3. ANRF solely focuses on funding research through government sources, aiming to create a ₹50,000 crore corpus.
4. ANRF aligns its strategic direction with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP).

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 1, 2, and 4 only

(c) 2, 3, and 4 only

(d) 1, 3, and 4 only

Q2.) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding Natural Farming and the Andhra Pradesh Community Managed Natural Farming (APCNF) program?

1. Natural farming promotes the use of chemical-free inputs derived from livestock and plant resources.
2. Practices like mixed cropping, use of local seeds, and integration of livestock are essential components of natural farming.
3. The APCNF program is recognized as the world’s largest agroecology program, benefitting over a million smallholder farmers in Andhra Pradesh.
4. The APCNF program won the 2023 Gulbenkian Prize for empowering farmers to switch to chemical-intensive farming methods.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 2, and 3 only

(b) 1, 3, and 4 only

(c) 2, 3, and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, and 4 only

Q3.) Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the GST Council?

1. The GST Council was established under Article 279A of the Indian Constitution.
2. The voting structure of the GST Council gives the Union Government 2/3rd of the total votes and all State Governments combined 1/3rd.
3. Decisions in the GST Council require a three-fourths majority of the weighted votes of members present.
4. Most decisions in the GST Council are taken by consensus, promoting cooperative federalism.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1, 3, and 4 only

(b) 2 and 4 only

(c) 1 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, and 3 only

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  11th September 2024 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) –  b

Q.2) – a

Q.3) – a