News that Matters

20.10.2016 1. GST Council met earlier this week.  Differences appeared over the levy of cess on  luxury and environmentally sensitive goods and it prevented a decision on slabs for the proposed goods and services tax (GST). 2.  T he Govt of India had proposed four slabs of 6%, 12%, 18% and 26%. While luxury and environmentally sensitive goods were to be in the top bracket, they were also supposed to face a cess, as  an interim measure to deal with compensation . The cess on coal alone was expected to fetch Rs 26,000 crore annually , with the levy on other goods expected to rake in another Rs 24,000 crore. This money will flow into a dedicated fund and is proposed to be used for compensating states for any revenue loss on implementing GST.  3.   However, states such as Kerala and Tamil Nadu opposed the plan to levy a cess on luxury goods and instead suggested that the top slab of 26% be increased. They backed a higher burden on tobacco, while insisting...

Karva Chauth 1.          Karva Chauth   is a day long festival celebrated by   Hindu   women in many countries. 2.   In this festival, married women   fast   from sunrise to moonrise for the safety and longevity of their husbands. 3.     The festival is traditionally celebrated in the states of   Madhya Pradesh ,   Rajasthan , parts of   Uttar Pradesh ,   Himachal Pradesh , Haryana , and   Punjab .   4.   The festival falls on the fourth day after the   full moon , in the   Hindu lunisolar calendar   month of   Kartik . 5.     Sometimes, unmarried women also join the fast for their   fiancés   or desired husbands. 6.     The fast begins with dawn.   Women apply  mehndi and other cosmetics to themselves and each other. The day passes in meeting friends and relatives and gift exchanges. Parents ofte...

बिहार का बत्तीसगामा: जो दहेज ले, उसे समाज-निकाला  दहेज बुरी बात है, इसे लेना और देना, दोनों ही खराब है। पर यह आज के समाज का सच भी है। खास कर, बिहार जैसे पिछड़े प्रदेश में। शहर हो या हो गाँव, बिना दहेज के शादी होना एक अजूबा ही समझिए। क्या अनपढ़ और क्या अतिशिक्षित, क्या गरीब, और क्या अमीर, क्या तथाकथित उच्च तबका, या फिर कोई और, सब के सब इस सामाजिक बुराई में बराबर साझेदार हैं। जैसा दूल्हा, वैसा दहेज। जो जितना दहेज ले पाये, उसे उतना ही श्रेष्ठ मानता है ये समाज। ऐसे में, इस देश में एक ऐसा  भी समाज है, जहाँ दहेज लेना-देना गुनाह माना जाता है और ऐसा करने पर समाज से अलग कर दिये जाने की परंपरा है। और ये परंपरा काफी पहले से चलती आ रही है और अब भी चल रही है। आश्चर्य ये है कि यह समाज कहीं और नहीं, बल्कि बिहार की ही धरती पर है। इसे बत्तीसगामा समाज कहते है। यह 32 गावों का एक संगठन है और यह बिहार के मधुबनी एवं दरभंगा जिले में सक्रिय है। सालों से यहाँ दहेज न लेने की परंपरा चली आ रही है। अगर कोई यह परंपरा तोड़ता है, तो उसे समाज से निकाल दिया जाता है। फिर उस परिवार से समाज का कोई भी सदस्य...

2016 BRICS summit, Goa, India 1.     The 2016 BRICS summit held from 15 to 16 October 2016 at  Goa was the eighth annual  BRICS summit , an international relations conference attended by the heads of country or heads of government of the five member  countries  Brazil ,  Russia ,  India ,  China  and  South Africa . 2.     India holds the chair of the BRICS from February 2016 to December 2016. 3.     In July 2015, during the  7th BRICS summit , it was announced that  India  will host the 8th BRICS summit in 2016. In March 2016,  Goa  was announced as the venue of the summit. 4.     The first BRICS film festival was held at  New Delhi  from 2 September to 6 September 2016. 5.     The environment ministers of BRICS nations held a meeting on 16th September 2016 in Goa, they agreed on a memorand...

India readies to set right water issues with China India has been low in exploiting hydropower potential in the northeastern region of the country especially on rivers flowing from China. But the recent discussion after the Uri attack has forced the government to rethink. It is now contemplating acceleration of the region’s hydropower potential, especially Arunachal Pradesh, to establish its right on the waters of the Brahmaputra and have a strong ground against China which recently blocked a small tributary of the Brahmaputra river. The Union Power, Environment and Water ministries are now working together to kick-start stalled hydropower projects in the Northeast and a report in this regard has already been submitted to the PMO. The government is working on a two-pronged strategy to deal with it - ease green clearance process and push smaller hydro projects. A sources in the water Resources Ministry stated that a lot of discussions have taken place after the Ur...