National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 2nd April 2020

e-way bills

Topic: Economy

In News: With hundreds of trucks stranded across the country since March 15 when states started to lock their borders down culminating into a national lockdown announced by the Centre, transporters have raised concerns over potential penalties arising from expired e-way bills.

More on the Topic:

• According to notified e-way bill rules, every supplier requires prior online registration on the e-way bill portal for the movement of goods.
• Tax officials have the power to scrutinise the e-way bill at any point during transit to check tax evasion.
• The rules also specify that the permits for conventional cargo (other than over-dimensional carve) are valid for one day for the movement of goods for 100 km, and in the same proportion for the following days.
• In general, validity of the e-way bill cannot be extended but a commissioner may extend the validity period only through issuing notification for certain categories of goods.

About e way Bill:

• The E-way bill, short form for electronic way bill, is a document to be generated online under the GST system, when goods of the value of more than ₹50,000 are shipped inter-S
• tate or intra-State. The E-way bill must be raised before the goods are shipped and should include details of the goods, their consignor, recipient and transporter.
• The transporter has to carry the invoice and the copy of E-way bill as support documents for the movement of goods. He can also carry the E-way bill number, mapped to an RFID (radio frequency identification device).

Significance:

• Both the GST levy and the E-way bill are intended for rooting out such transit delays, while at the same time plugging tax evasion.
• Every E-way bill generated by a sender or buyer of goods is to be automatically updated in the outward sales return (GSTR1) of the supplier, leaving little scope for tax evasions on shipments.
• In the previous tax regime, tax officials had to manually cross-check the way bill with the tax returns filed, to verify if all the consignments came within the tax net.
• A single electronic way bill for the movement of goods throughout the country is saving tons of paperwork and sidestepping various inter-state clearances for buyers, sellers and transporters. In the previous tax regime, each State framed its own rules for the movement of goods from and to it.

Source: Hindu

Food Crisis amid Corona

Topic: International Affairs

In News: The heads of three global agencies WTO, FAO and WHO warned of the risk of a worldwide “food shortage” if authorities fail to manage the ongoing coronavirus crisis properly.

More on the Topic:

• Many governments around the world have put their populations on lockdown causing severe slow-downs in international trade and food supply chains.
• Panic buying by people going into confinement has already demonstrated the fragility of supply chains as supermarket shelves emptied in many countries.
• Uncertainty about food availability may spark a wave of export restrictions, creating a shortage on the global market
• Disruptions including hampering the movement of agricultural and food industry workers and extending border delays for food containers, result in the spoilage of perishables and increasing food waste.

Need of the hour:

• When acting to protect the health and well-being of their citizens, countries should ensure that any trade-related measures do not disrupt the food supply chain.
• There is a need to protect employees engaged in food production, processing and distribution, both for their own health and that of others, as well as to maintain food supply chains.
• Countries must ensure that response to COVID-19 does not unintentionally create unwarranted shortages of essential items and exacerbate hunger and malnutrition.

Source: Hindu

Ways and Means Advances (WMA)

Topic: Economy

In News: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has reviewed the Limits of Way and Means Advances for Center and States/UTs.

More on the topic:

• Under Section 17(5) of RBI Act, 1934, the RBI provides Ways and Means Advances (WMA) to the central and State/UT governments.
• WMA is a temporary liquidity arrangement with the central bank, which enables the centre and the states to borrow money up to 90 days from the RBI to tide over their liquidity mismatch between its inflow of revenues and outflow of expenditure.
• A higher limit provides the government flexibility to raise funds from RBI without borrowing them from the market.
• Interest rate for WMA is currently charged at the repo rate.
• The limits for WMA are mutually decided by the RBI and the Government of India.
• WMA is not a security as it is not tradable.

Source: Hindu

Price Monitoring & Resource Unit (PMRU)

Topic: Governance

In News: Jammu & Kashmir Union Territory has become 12th State where the Price Monitoring & Resource Unit (PMRU) has been set up by National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA).

More on the Topic:

• Price Monitoring & Resource Unit (PMRU) is a registered society and shall function under the direct control and supervision of State Drug Controller of respective states. The unit shall be funded by NPPA for its recurring and non-recurring expenses.

Mandates:

• Help NPPA and State Drug Controller in ensuring availability and accessibility of medicines at affordable prices.
• Organise seminars, training programs and other information, education and communication (IEC) activities in the areas of availability and affordability of medicines for all.
• Collect samples of medicines, collect and analyse data and make reports with respect to availability and over-pricing of medicines for taking action under the provisions of Drug Price Control Order (DPCO).

Source: PIB

Anti Smog Guns

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: Anti-smog guns have been installed at 14 large project sites in Delhi.

More on the Topic:

• The Supreme Court had said that anti-smog guns should be mandatory in projects that require environmental clearance from the State or Centre, and have a built-up area of over 20,000 square metres in Delhi.
• The anti-smog gun sprays nebulised water droplets into the air through high-pressure propellers, which help dust particles settle down.
• It is connected to a water tank and mounted on a vehicle, the device could be taken across the city to spray water to settle dust and other suspended particles.
• It can spray water up to a height of 50 metres and the results were positive as the spray acts like rain and settles dust particles and also PM 2.5.

Source: Hindu