- Let’s proceed with IMEC despite Gaza war, says Greek PM
- The Greek prime minister said that despite the Israeli war in Gaza destabilising plans for India Middle East economic corridor, India and Greece should persevere with the peace project.
- This also marked the inauguration of annual Raisina dialogue.
- Groundbreaking projects like India Middle East Corridor hold great promise to Supercharge Connectivity between India, the growth economies of the Middle East and Europe.
- Greece has also decided to join the Indo Pacific Oceans initiative launched by India.
- India, the US, Saudi Arabia, UAE, the European Union, Italy, France, and Germany are signatories to the IMEC., The proposed IMEC will consist of Railroad, Ship-to-Rail networks and Road transport routes extending across two corridors. The IMEC corridor will also include an electricity cable, a hydrogen pipeline and a high-speed data cable.
2. Manipur HC Withdraws contentious part of its order on ST tag for Meiteis
- A bench of the Manipur High Court ordered the removal of a paragraph which had instructed the Manipur government to consider the inclusion of Meiteis in the list of scheduled tribes.
- The contentious paragraph said the state government shall consider the case of the petitioners for the inclusion of the community in the scheduled tribe list expeditiously.
- The direction was called into question in the Supreme Court when tribal bodies appealed the high court’s order last year.
- The Meitei community, led by the Scheduled Tribes Demand Committee of Manipur (STDCM), has been demanding ST status since 2012, asking to provide them with constitutional safeguards to preserve their culture, language, and identity
3. Govt approves 100% FDI in space sector
- The Union Cabinet amended the existing foreign direct investment policy on space sector.
- Under the amended policy 100% FDI is allowed in space sector.
- The liberalised entry routes are aimed to attract potential investors to invest in Indian companies in space.
- The amended policy extends the facility of up to 74% FDI under the automatic route for satellite manufacturing and operation, satellite data products and ground/user segment.
- FDI is when a foreign entity acquires ownership or controlling stake in the shares of a company in one country, or establishes businesses there. It is different from foreign portfolio investment where the foreign entity merely buys equity shares of a company.
4. On financial devolution among states
- Various opposition ruled states from South India have claimed that they have not been receiving their fair share as per the present scheme of financial devolution.
- Article 270 of the constitution provides for the scheme of distribution of net tax proceeds collected by the union government between the centre and the states.
- The taxes that are shared between the centre and the states include corporation tax, personal income tax, central GST the centres share of the integrated goods and services tax, etc.
- This division is based on the recommendation of the Finance Commission that is constituted every five years as per the terms of article 280.
- The share of states from the divisible pool stands at 41% as per the recommendation of the 15th Finance Commission.
- The criteria are as follows – Income distance, Population, Area, Forest and Ecology, demographic performance, and Tax effort.
- It must be noted that states generate around 40% of the revenue and bear around 60% of the expenditure.
- The 15th Finance Commission was constituted by the President of India in November 2017, under the chairmanship of NK Singh. Its recommendations will cover a period of five years from the year 2021-22 to 2025-26.
5. Illegal lending apps on FSDC radar
- Fresh measures to curb unauthorised online lending apps operations could be on the anvil following deliberations on the issue at the financial stability and Development Council which is chaired by the Finance Minister.
- The Council has all financial sector regulators on board including the Reserve Bank of India.
- It emphasised the need for constant vigil and proactive efforts to detect emerging financial stability risks in the current domestic and global macro financial situation.
- The Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was constituted by an Executive Order of the Union Government as a non-statutory apex body under the Ministry of Finance in 2010. The Raghuram Rajan Committee (2008) on financial sector reforms first proposed the creation of FSDC.
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Indian Member of Parliament and author has been awarded with French Highest Civilian Honour Award. Winner Dr.Shasi Tharoor. Awarded for his contribution in Fostering Indo French Ties. Name of Award – Knight of the Legion of Honour
