Daily Quiz: UPSC Prelims Marathon – July 3, 2018

The fund is to help regulate the price volatility of important agri-horticultural commodities like onion, potatoes and pulses were also added subsequently. The PSF is utilized for granting interest free advance of working capital to Central Agencies, State/UT Governments/Agencies to undertake market intervention operations

Soil Health Card scheme was launched in 2015 in Rajasthan. The card informs farmers about nutrients status of the soils along with the recommendation on appropriate dosage of nutrients to improve soil health and fertility.  The card will be issued once in every 3 years to a farm so that nutrients deficiency can be regularly detected and improved. This scheme is being implemented in collaboration with State Governments with 50:50 fund sharing pattern.

The N.K. Singh panel recently submitted its report on revising the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act. The five-member committee included Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel, former Finance Secretary Sumit Bose, Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian, and National Institute of Public Finance and Policy Director Rathin Roy.

At the Central level, the following taxes are being subsumed:

(a) Central Excise Duty,

(b) Additional Excise Duty,

(c) Service Tax,

(d) Additional Customs Duty commonly known as Countervailing Duty, and

(e) Special Additional Duty of Customs.

At the State level, the following taxes are being subsumed:

(a) Subsuming of State Value Added Tax/Sales Tax,

(b) Entertainment Tax (other than the tax levied by the local bodies), Central Sales Tax (levied by the Centre and collected by the States),

(c) Octroi and Entry tax,

(d) Purchase Tax,

(e) Luxury tax, and

(f) Taxes on lottery, betting and gambling.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016

The Code creates time-bound processes for insolvency resolution of companies and individuals. These processes will be completed within 180 days. If insolvency cannot be resolved, the assets of the borrowers may be sold to repay creditors.

The resolution processes will be conducted by licensed insolvency professionals (IPs). These IPs will be members of insolvency professional agencies (IPAs). IPAs will also furnish performance bonds equal to the assets of a company under insolvency resolution.

Information utilities (IUs) will be established to collect, collate and disseminate financial information to facilitate insolvency resolution.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) will adjudicate insolvency resolution for companies. The Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) will adjudicate insolvency resolution for individuals.

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India will be set up to regulate functioning of IPs, IPAs and IUs.

Currency chests are branches of selected banks authorisedby the RBI to stock rupee notes and coins.

The programme was launched to give access to cheap credit to poor and small fledgling businesspersons with the objective to provide self-employment. Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency Ltd. [MUDRA] is an NBFC supporting development of micro enterprise sector. Under the scheme, loans are given to non-farm income generating enterprises in manufacturing and trading and services whose credit needs are below Rs.10 lakh. MUDRA provides refinance support to Banks / MFIs for lending to micro business. Public sector, regional, rural, State and urban cooperative banks to eligible for refinancing from MUDRA.