Current Affair 1:

Vehicle Scrappage Policy

 

The Vehicle Scrappage Policy, launched on August 13, 2021, is a government-funded programme to replace old vehicles with modern & new vehicles on Indian roads. The policy is expected to reduce pollution, create job opportunities and boost demand for new vehicles.

According to the new policy, commercial vehicles aged >15 years and passenger vehicles aged >20 years will have to be mandatorily scrapped if they do not pass the fitness and emission tests. The policy does not treat a vehicle as scrap just because of its age, but considers other factors such as quality of brakes, engine performance and others. The objective is to phase out old cars, reduce urban pollution levels and stimulate automotive sales, which continues to record slowdown amid India’s post-COVID recovery phase.

Under the policy, automated testing stations and scrapping facilities will be set up in phases.

An automobile industry body—the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM)—has urged the government to allow dealer workshops to function as inspection and certification stations, as establishing new ones may not be commercially viable and delay the policy developments and implementation.

The Vehicle Scrappage Policy extends many obvious benefits, besides pollution control and improved road safety factor. Union Minister Mr. Nitin Gadkari has highlighted those raw materials derived from scrapped vehicles such as copper, rubber, steel, aluminium and plastic can be reused in new vehicles, which can help reduce the price of new vehicles and subsequently, boost sales.

Some incentives for scrapping old vehicles and buying new ones are as follows:

• Manufacturers can give up to 5% discount for buying new vehicles
• Zero registration fee for new vehicle purchase
• Owners can receive scrap value equivalent of 4–6% of ex-showroom price of new vehicles
• States can give up to 25% and 15% rebate on road tax for personal and commercial vehicles, respectively

The policy will likely result in the following projected gains:

• 30% boost for the Indian automobile industry, from the current Rs. 4.5 lakh crore (US$ 61.46 billion) turnover to Rs. 10 lakh crore (US$ 136.59 billion) over the coming years
• Export component of Rs. 1.45 lakh crore (US$ 19.81 billion) in the current turnover is likely to go up to Rs. 3 lakh crore (US$ 40.98 billion)
• Decrease India’s huge Rs. 10 lakh crore (US$ 136.59 billion) crude import bill
• Attract new investments of ~Rs. 10,000 crore (US$ 1.37 billion) and create as many as 35,000 jobs

Current Affair 2:

India to host G-20 summit in 2023 for the first time

 

So, we will see a basic info about G-20.

The G20 is the international forum that brings together the world’s major economies. Its members account for more than 80% of world GDP, 75% of global trade and 60% of the population of the planet.

The forum has met every year since 1999 and includes, since 2008, a yearly Summit, with the participation of the respective Heads of State and Government.

In addition to the Summit, ministerial meetings, Sherpa meetings (in charge of carrying out negotiations and building consensus among Leaders), working groups and special events are organized throughout the year.

The G20 members are: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

How the G20 works?

The G20 does not have a permanent secretariat: its agenda and activities are established by the rotating Presidencies, in cooperation with the membership.

A “Troika”, represented by the country that holds the Presidency, its predecessor and its successor, works to ensure continuity within the G20. The Troika countries are currently Saudi Arabia, Italy and Indonesia.

Origins of the G20

• In 1999, in the wake of the 1997 economic crisis, the G7 Finance Ministers announced the creation of the “Group of 20”, aimed at including other countries in their discussions related to global economics and finance. The first official meeting of the G20 was held in Berlin in December that same year.
• Following the 2008 financial crisis, the United States proposed to increase the level of participation of the G20 to Heads of State and Government.
• At the 2009 Pittsburgh Summit, the Heads of State and Government decided to institutionalize the G20 as the main forum for global economic and financial cooperation.
• The G20 Leaders have met every year since 2010.

Current Affair 3:

Special Economic Zones (SEZ) and Domestic Tariff Area (DTA)

Source Link

SEZ is a specifically delineated duty-free enclave and shall be deemed to be foreign territory for the purposes of trade operations and duties and tariffs. The rest of the country area other than SEZs are called Domestic Tariff Area (DTA). Goods and services going from DTA to SEZ shall be treated as exports and goods coming from the SEZ area into DTA shall be treated as if these are being imported.

The present rule is: "SEZ units may import/procure goods and services from DTA without payment of import duty. But when SEZs are selling goods into DTA then Import/Customs Duty is imposed".

So, basically DTA —-> SEZ      no import duty on SEZs side

                         SEZ —--> DTA    there is import duty on DTAs side

But as per today's news (Hindu Page 12), The government is considering a proposal to allow producers in SEZs to sell their output to the domestic market (DTA) without treating them as imports by DTAs. So it will basically remove the import duty in case of SEZ——> DTA sale.

Current Affair 4:

‘Right to Sit’, the Tamil Nadu bill.

Source Link

The Tamil Nadu government formally presented a bill in the state assembly Monday requiring shops, storefronts, and commercial establishments to provide employees with seating facilities.

The Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2021, is inspired by a Kerala bill that was first tabled in July 2018 before it became a law in January 2019, after women textile workers in the state protested against harsh conditions in 2016.

“In every shop and establishment, suitable arrangements for sitting shall be provided for all workers so as to avoid ‘on the toes’ situation throughout the duty time, so that they may take advantage of any opportunity to sit which may occur during the course of their work,” the new Section 21B of the Tamil Nadu Shops and Establishments (Amendment) Act, 2021, says.

Why Tamil Nadu pushed for the case?

The problems faced by members of Tamil Nadu’s workforce in industries like jewellery and textiles have been widely reported on in recent years — workers were being forced to stand throughout their daily 10-12 hour shifts and not being allowed timely toilet breaks.

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