PUNJAB

Cabinet okays draft of Bill on illegal colonies

The state Cabinet approved the draft of The Punjab Laws (Special Provisions for Regularisation of Unauthorised Colony) Bill, 2018.

The Bill, which paves the way for the regularisation of over 7,000 illegal colonies in the state, will be presented in the House during the Budget session beginning on Tuesday. The Housing Department has listed around 4,400 such colonies, while the rest are located in areas under the jurisdiction of local bodies.

A draft of the policy was recently submitted by the Cabinet sub-committee, headed by Health Minister Brahm Mohindra. Its other members were Local Bodies Minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa and Technical Education Minister Charanjit Channi.

Channi and another minister’s recommendation on empowering the minister concerned to be the final authority on approving regularisation cases of respective departments was not accepted by the Cabinet. The word “minister” has been replaced with “government”.

A senior government official said all unathorised colonies developed before March 19, 2018, would be regularised, with the regularisation charges paid earlier under the previous policies to be adjusted.

The amount received as charges for the regularisation of a colony will be used for providing basic infrastructure only to that colony. Payment of charges shall be in instalments within one year.

Committees of officers will be constituted to regularise the colonies and plots, and any developer applying for regularisation shall have a Residents’ Welfare Association (RWA) in place. The RWA can also submit an application for regularisation to the authority concerned under the provisions of the proposed Bill.

INTERNATIONAL

International Day of Forests: 21 March

The International Day of Forests was established on the 21st day of March, by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly on November 28, 2012.

Each year, various events celebrate and raise awareness of the importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit of current and future generations.

The theme of the International Day of Forests in 2018 is “Forests and Sustainable Cities”.

NCAA becomes the World’s First Trusted Digital Repository

National Cultural Audiovisual Archives (NCAA) project of the Ministry of Culture, Government of India, implemented by Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) has been certified as the world’s first Trusted Digital Repository as per ISO 16363:2012 standard, granted by Primary Trustworthy Digital Repository Authorisation Body Ltd. (PTAB), United Kingdom.

Leveraging this historic achievement, the plan for the next phase is to integrate about three lakh hours of audiovisuals materials, a corpus estimated based on a scoping survey conducted in 25 cities across the country, on this platform over the next five years.

· USA Bans Use Of Venezuelan Cryptocurrency- Petro

The Donald Trumpadministration banned all use by Americans of Venezuelan cryptocurrency (Petro) that its introduction is intended to skirt U.S. sanctions.
The prohibition applies to all people and companies subject to U.S. jurisdiction. In February 2018, cash-strapped Venezuela became the first country to launch its own version of bitcoin, the petrol.

· India Signs Double Taxation Avoidance Treaty With Hong Kong

India and Hong Kongsigned a double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA) that seeks to improve transparency in tax matters and help curb tax evasion and avoidance.
The agreement between India and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China was signed by Indian Ambassador to China Gautam Bambawale and Hong Kong Finance Secretary Paul Chan Mo-Po in Hong Kong.

Gk bit – Double taxation avoidance agreement (DTAA)

A DTAA is a tax treaty signed between two or more countries. Its key objective is that tax-payers in these countries can avoid being taxed twice for the same income. A DTAA applies in cases where a tax-payer resides in one country and earns income in another.
DTAAs can either be comprehensive to cover all sources of income or be limited to certain areas such as taxing of income from shipping, air transport, inheritance, etc. India has DTAAs with more than eighty countries, of which comprehensive agreements include those with Australia, Canada, Germany, Mauritius, Singapore, UAE, the UK and US.
DTAAs are intended to make a country an attractive investment destination by providing relief on dual taxation. Such relief is provided by exempting income earned abroad from tax in the resident country or providing credit to the extent taxes have already been paid abroad. DTAAs also provide for concessional rates of tax in some cases.

· GIC Re To Operate From Lloyds In London

General Insurance Corporationis going to start operations at the Lloyd’s London office in April 2018 thereby increasing its share of international business.
This will also facilitate Indian becoming a regional reinsurance center.
This will help GIC Re increase its share of international reinsurance business. The company had received approval to set up a syndicate at Lloyd’s of London in December 2017. GIC Syndicate 1947 will be the first Lloyd’s syndicate to be backed solely by capital from an Indian reinsurance group.

NATIONAL

· Ministry of Agriculture and Ministry of Skill Development ink MoU on skill development at KVK

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship have signed MoU to conduct skill development training programmes for agriculture and allied sector.
These skill development training programmes will be conducted at Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVKs).
The MoU will help to increase cooperation between both ministries and help in fulfilling Government’s dream of “Kaushal Bharat-Kushal Bharat”.
KVK is a project of ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) for testing and transfer of Agricultural technologies at the grassroots level.

· Third Edition Of National Conclave On Mines And Minerals

The Ministry of Mines organized the 3rd National Conclaveon Mines & Mineralsin New Delhi.
The event was inaugurated by the Minister of Mines, Narendra Singh Tomar.
Federation of Indian Mineral Industries (FIMI) has agreed to partner in the event.
A portal on Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY) scheme was also launched on the occasion.

Gk bit – Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKKY)

Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) is a programme launched on 17 September 2015 to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations. PMKKKY is implemented by the District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) of the respective districts using the funds accruing to the DMF from miners
District Mineral Foundation (DMF) is a trust set up under Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Amendment Act, (MMDRA) 2015 as a non-profit body in those districts affected by the mining works to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining related operations, in such manner as prescribed by the relevant State Government.
Under this scheme, the mining companies will need to contribute 10 to 30% of royalty for welfare of people directly or indirectly affected by mining.

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