National Nutrition Strategy
- To address the slow pace of decline in the under nutrition and to bring nutrition to the centre-stage ofthe National Development Agenda, NITI Aayog has drafted the National Nutrition Strategy.
- The Strategy lays down a roadmap for effective action, among both implementers and practitioners, in achieving our nutrition objectives.
- It envisages a framework wherein the following four determinants of nutrition work together to accelerate decline of under nutrition in India –
- Uptake of health services,
- Food,
- Drinking water & sanitation and
- Income & livelihoods.
- Currently, there is a lack of real time measurement of these determinants, which reduces our capacity for targeted action.
- The framework envisages a Kuposhan Mukt Bharat - linked to Swachh Bharat and Swasth Bharat.
- It enables states to make strategic choices, through decentralized planning and local innovation, with accountability for nutrition outcomes.
Surya Kiran
- India and Nepal began their 12th edition of joint military exercise with around 300 troops each side in Rupandehi district in the western part of Nepal.
- It focuses on counter-terrorism and forest fighting operations.
- According to the Indian Army officials, the Surya Kiran is the largest joint exercise in terms of troop participation.
- Disaster management and joint operations for disaster relief will also be a part of the exercise.
- The exercise will provide the two armies a platform to exchange experiences, ideas and skills.
- Surya Kiran series of exercises are held alternately in India and Nepal.
Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs)
- Following the global financial crisis of 2008, it was observed that problems faced by certain large and highly interconnected financial institutions hampered the functioning of the financial system.
- This in turn negatively impacted the real economy.
- It was decided to identify such institutions and prescribe them higher capital requirements.
- Following this, RBI had started listing D-SIBs from August 2015.
- The banking regulator prescribes higher capital requirements for such entities.
- HDFC Bank is the second largest private sector lender of the country
- RBI has added HDFC in the list of D-SIBs.
- State Bank of India and ICICI Bank are also in this category.
Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC)
- CVC is the chief of the country’s top anti-corruption body- Central Vigilance Commission.
- Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) is an autonomous apex Indian governmental body created to address governmental corruption.
- It is free of control from any executive authority, charged with monitoring all vigilance activity under the Central Government of India.
- The Commission shall consist of
- A Central Vigilance Commissioner - Chairperson;
- Not more than two Vigilance Commissioners - Members;
- Recently allegations were raised in a PIL, challenging the appointments as “arbitrary, illegal and in violation of the principle of institutional integrity.”
- The Centre told the Supreme Court that K.V. Chowdary was appointed Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC), with the “unanimous consensus” of a high-profile committee led by the Prime Minister in June 2015.
Advance Pricing Agreement
- The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has entered into Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) between Indian Company and UK based Company.
- An APA is a contract, usually for multiple years, between a taxpayer and at least one tax authority specifying the pricing method that the taxpayer will apply to its related-company transactions.
- It was introduced in IT act, 2012.
- It helps taxpayers voluntarily resolve transfer pricing disputes in a cooperative manner reducing the incidence of double taxation.
- It also involves resolving both the future and existing transfer pricing audits and adjustments.
- It fosters a non-adversarial tax regime.
- Unilateral APA – It involve agreements between only the taxpayer and one government.
- Bilateral APA – Tax payer enter into APA with more than one tax authority.
- Transfer Pricing - A transfer price is the price at which different divisions of a same company transact good or services with each other.
- Transfer pricing are used when individual entities of a large multi-entity firm are treated as separately run entities.
Source: The Hindu, Indian Express, PIB