Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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India eases bilateral transfer pricing norms

News

• In a move that could further improve India’s ease of doing business rankings, the Income Tax Department issued a clarification saying that it would allow mutual agreement procedures (MAPs) and advance pricing agreements (APAs) with all countries.

Beyond News

• Abandoning a stance that disallowed such agreements with major trade partners like France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and South Korea.
• It has now agreed to entertain such APAs and MAPs, regardless of whether that clause was in the agreement or not.

 APAs are meant to settle potential disputes in advance, while MAPs lay out the procedure to settle a dispute once it has happened.

• The Central Board of Direct Taxes has decided to accept “transfer Pricing MAP and bilateral APA applications regardless of the presence or otherwise of Paragraph 2 of Article 9 (or its relevant equivalent Article) in the DTAAs [double taxation avoidance agreements].

 Modi, Ivanka inaugurate Global Entrepreneurship Summit

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, along with United States President Donald Trump’s Adviser Ivanka Trump, inaugurated the Global Entrepreneurship Summit (GES-2017) in Hyderabad .

Why This News Important

• The eighth edition of the GES, which is coming for the first time to South Asia, will serve as a forum to celebrate and nurture entrepreneurship and provide opportunities to network.

Beyond News

• The summit is a gathering of hundreds of budding, ambitious and well-known entrepreneurs as well as investors and supporters of the eco-system.

Firms should resist investing in PoK: Seoul

News

• The South Korean government will warn companies planning to invest in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

Beyond News

• South Korea’s Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cho Hyun, said that,they have sent out a clear message that these companies must resist investing in the PoK. He was in Delhi at the time and told  government to be careful.
• South Korea’s Daelim had showed interest in the Chakothi Hattian hydropower project in Muzaffarabad. It is now reconsidering its decision.
• Organisations like Asian Development Bank and Korea Exim Bank have in the past refused to finance projects in territory claimed by India.

Can’t force govt. to frame a law: SC

News

• The Supreme Court said that, it respected the government’s “political compulsions” and would not compel it to ratify the UN Convention against Torture, or command it to frame a standalone anti-torture legislation.

Beyond News

• A Bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, refrained from passing any positive order on a public interest litigation petition filed by the former Union Law Minister Ashwini Kumar for a standalone anti-torture law.
• At the weekend, the judiciary faced a barrage of criticism for its “judicial activism.”

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Now, bacteria can power batteries

News

• Scientists from the Imperial College London have printed electronic circuits using cyanobacteria — microbes that can turn light into energy.

Beyond News

• Using a simple inkjet printer, they printed a carbon nanotube electrode surface and also the bio-ink of cyanobacteria on top of it.
• Unlike conventional solar cells that operate only when exposed to light, cyanobacteria can generate an electric current both in the dark and in light.
• Biophotovoltaic cells contain cyanobacteria or algae that converts light into energy. Currently one of the biggest challenges facing biophotovoltaic cells is producing them on a large scale.

Researchers showed that nine connected cells can power a digital clock or generate flashes of light from an LED.

The researchers also showed that the cells can generate a continuous power output over the course of a 100-hour period consisting of light and dark cycles.

Metro Rail to get hi-tech help to resolve snags on track

News

• In a move that could save passengers from being stranded in trains for hours due to snags that develop en route, Chennai Metro Rail plans to introduce a new technology that will allow them to control trains remotely and fix the problem within minutes.

Beyond News

• According to officials of the Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL), they plan to bring in an asset management system for their trains to sort out snags from the control room itself.
• The system will collect and transmit train parameters and data, and provide alerts in real time even when the train is in operation; it will transmit it to depot maintenance server.

Mizoram provides shelter to 1,300 Myanmar tribals fleeing clashes

News:

• The Mizoram government has given shelter and relief to around 1,300 tribals from neighbouring Myanmar’s restive Arakan State.

Beyond News:

• Those who crossed over to Mizoram were mostly Buddhists and Christians and they speak the same tribal language as the locals.
• The local villagers initially volunteered to provide food to the Arakanese people and arranged shelter for them.
• Mizoram has a 510 km border with Mynamar and 318 km with Bangladesh, guarded by the Assam Rifles and the Border Security Force, respectively.

In the past 12 weeks, over 622,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to southeastern Bangladesh to escape a military crackdown in Rakhine state.

 

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