9 PM Current Affairs Brief – March 14, 2019

CBDT yet to set up angel tax exemption infrastructure The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has not set up the back-end infrastructure required to automatically exempt registered start-ups from angel tax.However,CBDT has asked its officers to avoid taking coercive measures against companies that have received notices under the angel tax. Angel Tax is a 30%… Continue reading CBDT yet to set up angel tax exemption infrastructure

Officers with six months’ tenure can be named DGP: Supreme Court The Supreme Court has issued clarification on its last year order on police reforms.It said that officers who have a minimum of six months tenure left in service shall be considered for the post of director general of police (DGP). Earlier,the court had ruled… Continue reading Officers with six months’ tenure can be named DGP: Supreme Court

We want all nations to stop buying Iran oil The US has not ended the sanctions waiver provided to eight countries.It has allowed them to continue purchasing Iranian crude oil as these countries showed significant reduction in oil purchase from the Iran after United States had reimposed sanctions. The US had granted exemptions to (a)China… Continue reading We want all nations to stop buying Iran oil

Xi’s BRI faces criticism during China’s annual political sessions China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) has come under criticism at the annual political sessions of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the National People’s Conference (NPC). The main criticism stems from China giving out huge loans valued at billions of US dollars to… Continue reading Xi’s BRI faces criticism during China’s annual political sessions

U.K. unveils tariff plan for ‘no-deal’ scenario UK Government has announced temporary tariff plans if it leaves the European Union without a transition deal.The tariff plans are (a)eliminate import tariffs on a wide range of goods and (b)keep the border between Ireland and Northern Ireland free of customs checks. The tariff plans would apply both… Continue reading U.K. unveils tariff plan for ‘no-deal’ scenario

Karnataka has most number of stolen artefacts The Ministry of Culture has said that Karnataka tops the list in India in terms of stolen antiquities. Antiquity is an article or object (example: coin, sculpture, painting or epigraph, or anything taken from a building or cave) that is at least 100 years old. These illustrates the… Continue reading Karnataka has most number of stolen artefacts

Swachh Survekshan 2019 rewarding wrong end of waste management? A study by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has reported that Swachh Survekshan rankings are flawed. The study has found that the ranking system was skewed towards cities that had only recently adopted various cleanliness measures. The survey has ranked many cities poorly despite… Continue reading Swachh Survekshan 2019 rewarding wrong end of waste management?

Malappuram boy diagnosed with West Nile fever A boy from Malappuram district, Kerala has been diagnosed with West Nile fever. The West Nile fever is a zoonotic diseases. Zoonotic diseases are those that are naturally transmissible from vertebrate animals to humans. West Nile fever is caused by the West Nile Virus. Birds are the natural… Continue reading Malappuram boy diagnosed with West Nile fever

India could save trillions in healthcare costs if Paris climate goals are met: Global Environmental Outlook The 6th Global Environment Outlook (GEO) has estimated that India could save at least $3 trillion in healthcare costs if it implemented policy initiatives coherent to the Paris Agreement. The 6thGEO has been released at 4th session of UN Environment… Continue reading India could save trillions in healthcare costs if Paris climate goals are met: Global Environmental Outlook

Environment damage behind a quarter of premature deaths, diseases: UN report The 6th Global Environment Outlook (GEO) has been released at the 4th session of UN Environment Assembly. The 4th session is being held at Nairobi, Kenya from 11-15 March, 2019. The theme for the session is “Innovative Solutions for Environmental Challenges and Sustainable Consumption and Production”.… Continue reading Environment damage behind a quarter of premature deaths, diseases: UN report

SC pulls up Assam government over inadequate functioning of foreigner’s tribunal The Supreme Court has accused the Centre and the Assam government for being negligent about tackling the inflow of illegal migrants into Assam and their deportations. Further, the court has expressed concerns about the poor functioning of Foreigner Tribunals in the state. According to… Continue reading SC pulls up Assam government over inadequate functioning of foreigner’s tribunal

Election Commission won’t disturb staff involved in NRC work The Assam National Register of Citizens (NRC) Coordinator has informed the Supreme Court that the Election Commission has agreed to not withdraw personnel involved in the NRC work. The central government had previously stated 167 companies of combined armed police forces were need to be pulled… Continue reading Election Commission won’t disturb staff involved in NRC work

Fares fly high as planes grounded Air fares has increased causing inconvenience to passengers. The rise in air fares has been due to demand and supply gap after a large number of aircrafts were grounded due to variety of reason such as a) safety precaution, b) maintenance issues, c) financial crisis of airlines, and, d)… Continue reading Fares fly high as planes grounded