CURRENT AFFAIRS
28 August 2020
NATIONAL NEWS:
A) GST compensation: States get 7 days to choose between two options.
The Centre on 27 August has proposed 2 options for States to borrow in order to meet compensation shortfall. The States will come back within 7 days and then GST Council will take final decision. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman after chairing a five-hour meeting of the GST Council, said that the Centre will work with the RBI to facilitate borrowing so that interest rates do not vary. The meeting was called to discuss the means to meet the compensation shortfall. Initial estimate of total compensation requirement was around ₹3 lakh crore. The Government expects collection through GST compensation to be around ₹65,000 crore, while the remaining ₹2,35,000 crore would be the shortfall. So now there are two options left to meet this shortfall. Option 1: States, through a special window of the RBI, will be able to borrow ₹97,000 crore at a reasonable rate of interest. Option 2: The entire GST compensation gap of ₹2,35,000 crore of this year can be borrowed by the states, again through a special window of the RBI.
The repayment of principal and interest would be linked to compensation cess receivables. This means cess could be levied beyond five years on 29 items falling in the 28% category such as automobiles, cement, and air-conditioners. Sitharaman said that the aim would be to facilitate borrowing through a special window of the RBI. If the States rushed to open market, then there would be a possibility of varying interest rates. She also explained that additional 0.5% borrowing under FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act) of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) as provided under Atmanirbhar Bharat can be used for this purpose.
B) 2004 verdict on sub-classification of SC/STs needs to be reconsidered, says Supreme Court.
On 27 August, the Supreme Court held that the verdict of 2004 which was holding that the ]states do not have the power to further sub-classify the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes in order to grant quotas in jobs and admissions to educational institutions needs to be revisited. A 5 Judge bench said that the verdict of the constitution bench in the E.V. Chinnaiah case in 2004 needs to be reconsidered. Hence, the matter is placed before the Chief Justice of India for appropriate direction. The bench said that the 2004 verdict in its view was not correctly decided and states can make laws to give preferential treatment by sub-classifying caste within SC/STs. The bench referred the case, filed by the Punjab government against a high court order, before CJI JJustie Bobde so that a larger bench can be set up to revisit the order that was passed earlier.
C) Covid Watch: Numbers and Developments.
The number of reported coronavirus cases from India stood at 33,76,468 with the death toll at 61,623. Indian on 27 August registered its highest single-day spike of over 75,000 new cases.
D) SC refuses ‘general directions’ allowing Muharram processions.
The Supreme Court on 27 August has refused to pass general directions to allow Muharram processions across the country between the pandemic restrictions. The Court cited that an order like that would lead to chaos and targeting a particular community for spreading the virus. Just a few days ago, while allowing prayers at 3 Jain temples in Mumbai, the CJI had orally remarked that the court found it strange that the states are willing to allow those activities which involves economic interests. But if it involves any religion, then they cite Covid and say that they cannot open. It was pointed out that the court had permitted the annual chariot procession related to the Jagannath Puri temple festivities during the pandemic. But the CJI replied that those permissions were given for specific places and not the entire country. There were no general directions passed.
E) Delhi High Court halts insolvency proceedings against Anil Ambani.
The Delhi High Court on 27 August has stopped insolvency proceedings against Reliance Group chairman Anil Ambani under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). The Court prohibited him from disposing of any of his assets. Anil Ambani had filed a plea with the Delhi High Court challenging the appointment of a resolution professional over a roughly ₹1,200 crore ($163 million) personal guarantee which he had given to the State Bank of India (SBI) for giving loans to his companies. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), earlier in this month had appointed a bankruptcy administrator in order to verify the claim of SBI that Ambani offered about ₹ 1,200 crore of personal guarantees to seek the loan.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
A) Republicans defend cops after yet another shooting of a black man.
The Republicans defended the law enforcement on the third night of their convention because the nation has faced renewed tensions as the police shooted a Black man in Wisconsin. The shooting of the black man has sparked the protests in a state which could be a deciding role in the presidential elections going to held in November. The Vice-President of United States argue that the Democratic leaders are allowing lawlessness to prevail in cities from coast to coast. He and others described the cities as wracked by violence, though protests in most places have been largely peaceful. The black man was shot by the police on Sunday in Wisconsin, as soon as he leaned into his car. His children witnessed the whole scenario. Hundreds of people rallied outside the police headquarters of Kenosha, hours after he was shot by the police. As the protests went on, many cars were set alight and a night-time curfew was eventually take place. The protests have been continuing for four days now.
B) TikTok CEO resigns from his post.
The chief executive officer of TikTok, Kevin Mayer has quit the company. The famous video maker application company has said in a statement. His resignation comes some days after the popular short-form video-sharing app and one of its employees separately sued U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration over his executive order banning transactions in the US. They described the order of Trump as a pretext to fuel anti-China rhetoric as he seeks re-election. The CEO of TikTok iina letter to the staff said that It is with a heavy heart that he wanted to let them all know that he have decided to leave the company.
C) Russia for concluding fighter, helicopter deals by year-end.
Russia is hopeful of concluding contracts for MiG-29 and SU-30MKI fighters jets and 6 Ka-31 helicopters by the end of this year. The representative of the Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC) told this at the ongoing Army 2020 expo in Russia. The deliveries of S-400 long-range air defense systems will begin by the end of 2021 and could not be accelerated further. The official representative of the FSMTC said that they are aware that the Indian government has allocated additional funds for the procurement of additional batches of Russian MiG-29 and SU-30 MKI jets and six Ka-31 choppers. They anticipate that the respective contracts can be signed before the end of 2020 if the official requests come to them in due time.
