28-29-11-21 Daily-Kerala-KPSC Current Affairs

Gulati Institute of Finance and (GIFT), a State Government-funded think tank, has urged the government to overhaul the land fair-value assessment system and hike electricity duty as measures to increase its revenue.

The state government had asked the agency early this year to make suggestions to improve the states revenue. The suggestions, touted as the ones that would ignite little public wrath, have appeared in elaborate form as articles in the latest edition ofKerala economy, a journal published by the institute.

Narayana claims the failure by the state in adopting modern methods for fixing fair value of land has led to a situation wherein the revenue from stamp duty and registration has slipped to 6.76% of the states own taxes and duties in 2020-2021, from 12% till 2010. It recommended the government to use remote sensing and GIS tools to continuously revise the land fair value in accordance with the market value of the land. Though the technology upgrade would require substantial Investment, phenomenal revenue increase would justify the same, he argues.

Even a small increment in duty for the domestic consumer category would bring large-scale revenue benefits. The domestic consumers alone would have contributed an additional revenue of Rs 2,349 crore in 2018-19 period if the electricity duty collected in the state were on par with that levied in Punjab andMaharashtra, said the report.
Kerala was one among the few states that dont charge electricity duty for RAILWAY traction. Since several other states collect electricity duty from railways, Kerala should also collect the same. The 10% duty on electricity consumption introduced in 1969 remains unchanged and hence a revision in the duty would be very much justifiable, the report argues.

The womens Involvement in Science & Engineering Research (WISER) program was Inaugurated on November 26, 2021.

Highlights:

WISER Program, first-of-its-kind, was launched to encourage Women in research and development by lateral entry.

It was started by Indo-German Science & Technology Centre (IGSTC) to support women researchers in R&D projects.

WISER programme will allow gender and the assistance of women in Science & Technology through IGSTCs program.

In accession to the open-ended flagship, the WISER program was launched as a 2+2 program of the IGSTC.

IGSTC’s program is a joint action of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), India, and Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education & Research (BMBF).

<a href="https://exam.pscnotes.com/multidimensional-POVERTY-index”>Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) Report On India was published by NITI Aayog.

Highlights:

The MPI report was made based on the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) for 2015-16.

As per NITI Aayogs report, in 2015-16, one in every four people in India was multidimensionally poor. It estimated that 25.01 per cent of the Population was multidimensionally poor.

MPI for 2021, Started by UNDP and OPHI, revealed that 27.9 per cent of Indias population were multidimensionally poor.

India was listed at 62nd position out of 109 nations on the index.

The index was developed based on 10 indicators like adequate Nutrition, lack of improved drinking water, or at least six years of schooling.

The Delhi government decided to join Kartarpur Sahib in Pakistan and Velankanni Church in Nadu in Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, the pilgrimage scheme, on 26 November.

Highlights:

As per the statement, the Delhi government will transfer the first batch of senior citizens of the city on free pilgrimage to Kartarpur Sahib on January 5, 2021.

The first batch of pilgrims to Velankanni Church will start on January 7. Delhi government also determined to add two more routes, apart from the current 13 yatra routes.

The two routes are Delhi-Velankanni-Delhi and Delhi-Kartarpur Sahib-Delhi. The devotees will travel on the Delhi-Velankanni-Delhi route in AC-III tier trains, while for Kartarpur Sahib, they will go in air-conditioned buses.

Dr Jitendra Singh, Minister of Science and Technology, presided at the 9th BRICS Science and Technology Meet on November 26, 2021.

Highlights:

During the discussion, the minister urged the BRICS countries to collaborate to develop cost-effective, sustainable, inexpensive, accessible, and scalable scientific solutions because they confront comparable and distinct difficulties.

He also advocated for the BRICS countries to be given their appropriate place in the Global Innovation Index.

This, he believes, may be accomplished through further enhancing collaboration in the sectors of Science, Technology, and Innovation.

The Global Innovation Index (GII) is an annual rating of countries based on their potential and achievement in innovation.

The World Intellectual Property Organization publishes the index in collaboration with INSEAD, Cornell University, and other organisations and institutions.

It is based on both subjective and objective data gathered from sources such as the International Telecommunication Union, the , and the World Economic Forum.

On December 6 2021, Russian President Vladimir Putin will officially visit New Delhi, India.

Highlights:

President Putin is to attend the 21st India-Russia Annual Summit with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This summit will be the leaders’ first meeting, following the BRICS Summit in November 2019 in Brasilia.

India-Russia Annual Summit was last held in September 2019, and PM Modi visited Vladivostok (Russia). The Annual Summit of 2020 was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The 2+2 Ministerial dialogue will happen between both countries on December 6, 2021.

It will be operated by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov & DEFENCE Minister Sergey Shoigu with their Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.