Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Equalisation levy
Mains level: Paper 3- Global minimum tax and issues involve
The article deals with the issue of global minimum tax and how it matters to India in the changing digital landscape where data is the new oil.
Two pillars of global taxation reforms endorsed
- In the just-concluded G7 summit in the UK, the leaders endorsed the global taxation reforms premised on two pillars.
- One, that the multinational companies with at least a 10 per cent profit margin pay tax in countries where they operate and that would be 20 per cent of any profit above the 10 per cent margin.
- Two, a global minimum tax rate that envisages that multinational companies pay a tax of at least 15 per cent in each country they operate.
How companies monetise data
- The concept of tax on electronic transmission of data across borders was expressly prohibited under multiple WTO declarations.
- However, in the changed digital landscape, multinational corporations are mining big data, which has economic value, but not paying their fair share of taxes.
- Many of these tech firms provide their product for free to users, and based on user engagements, create a detailed profile of the user that would be used to sell ad space to the clients.
Efforts to find solution to tax avoidance
- The Union government had rightly introduced an equalisation levy at 2 per cent, targeted at non-resident e-commerce operators with a turnover greater than Rs 2 crore in the Union budget of 2020.
- India had an equalisation levy since 2016, initially at 6 per cent on specified services like online advertisement or provision of digital advertising space and was levied on non-resident firms, deducted by the payer.
- In the case of the amended equalisation levy, the responsibility lay with the operator and was applicable to earnings that have been made by selling advertisements based on the data collected within the country.
- The member-states of the OECD have been trying to find a solution to tax avoidance by multinational corporations under the Base Erosion and Profit Shifting Project since 2015.
- OECD had built a model around two pillars on which the G7 position has been announced.
Way forward for India
- India has to stand its ground.
- With the largest user base for Facebook, WhatsApp and YouTube, India will not be adequately compensated by the above two steps in global minimum tax.
- The government must also pass the Personal Data Protection Bill 2019 quickly so that provisions for data localisation, requiring Indian data to be stored and processed in the country are in place.
- This could be the ideal way to force tech firms to correctly evaluate the revenue generated from our sovereign data and thus tax it.
Consider the question “As the world moves towards the global taxation reforms, what are the factors India needs to consider? Also, mention the previous efforts made to find the solution to tax avoidance by the multinational companies.”
Conclusion
India must negotiate hard to come to an equitable position on the global tax and avoid as it harbours the largest user base of the social media companies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Electoral bond and issues related to it
Mains level: Paper 2- Issues with electoral bond
The article highlights the issues with the political funding through electoral bonds.
Changes made for the electoral bond and issues with them
- Earlier, only profit-making domestic companies could contribute to political parties; now loss-making companies can too.
- Earlier, foreign companies or companies where the controlling stake was held by a foreign company couldn’t contribute; now they can.
- India’s political parties could theoretically be fully funded by a foreign company operating in India or by a foreign entity through a shell company.
- Only the ruling party via the State Bank of India (SBI) has a full account of all donations being made via electoral bonds, to itself and to Opposition parties.
Issues in the Supreme Court verdict
- In March 2021, the Supreme Court refused to stay the sale of electoral bonds before the West Bengal elections.
- Instead, the judgment listed several documents which supposedly establish a paper trail on donations and do some ‘match the following’.
- This is impractical and plainly incorrect.
- The Right to Information (RTI) Act of 2005 enables easier access to information held by public authorities.
- Suggesting a “match the following” is incorrect for three reasons.
1) Full scale of registered entities in unknown
- If we set aside individual donors and focus just on registered entities, we will find that the full scale of registered entities is unknown.
- According to back-of-the-envelope calculations, there are close to 25 lakh potential donors comprising just companies and firms.
- This includes about 12.6 lakh active private limited companies as of January 31, 2021.
- Firms, unlike companies, have no regulatory mandate to submit their annual reports except for filing their annual tax returns, since their functioning is regulated by Acts other than the Companies Act of 2013.
2) No disclosure by companies about donation to political parties
- Even if registered companies filed annual financial statements, many do not disclose political donations.
- Conveniently, the Finance Bill of 2017 amended Section 182 of the Companies Act of 2013 to remove the requirement for declaring disaggregated donations to political parties.
- Even if registered companies filed annual financial statements, many do not disclose political donations.
3) Political parties do not need to disclose their donor
- Crucially, political parties do not need to disclose their electoral bond donors either.
- Strictly speaking, political parties are not even supposed to know their electoral bond donors.
- The only requirement is the annual audit reports with a total of all donations received via electoral bonds.
- These reports are submitted with great delays.
- Even if these reports are submitted on time, there is no way to match a donation of a company to that received by a political party as only aggregate amounts are available.
Implications
- Electoral bonds give political power to companies, wealthy individual donors, and foreign entities, thus diluting the universal franchise of one voter-one vote.
- Every vote is not equally valuable if companies can influence policies through hidden donations.
- The winner of this arrangement is the ruling party, whether at the Centre or in a State, and the loser is the average voter.
Way forward
- Companies and political parties could exercise moral leadership and voluntarily disclose the identity of recipients and donors, as the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha recently did.
Conclusion
Opacity in political funding goes against the basic tenets of democracy. What we need is a system of political funding which is transparent and fair.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: What are cryptocurrencies
Mains level: Paper 3- Regulating cryptocurrencies
As India struggles to come up with an appropriate approach towards cryptocurrencies, the growing trend of the adoption of cryptocurrencies across the world offers a lesson.
Rising global trend of embracing cryptocurrencies
- El Salvador became the first country in the world to adopt bitcoin as legal tender.
- The U.K. has classified cryptocurrency as property.
- The U.K. has sought to regulate the functioning of crypto-businesses while still imposing some restrictions to protect the interests of investors.
- On the other hand, while there is no exact legal classification of cryptocurrency in Singapore, there is now a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading.
- In the U.S., the open approach taken by the authorities has resulted in the trade in cryptocurrency being both taxed and appropriately regulated.
India’s approach
- Between 2013 and 2018, the government’s response to the rise of virtual currencies was cautionary, alerting users to the potential risks posed by cryptocurrency transactions.
- Instead of developing a regulatory framework to address these issues, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in April 2018, effectively imposed a ban on cryptocurrency trading.
- This ban was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2020.
- The court reasoned that there were alternative regulatory measures short of an outright ban through which the RBI could have achieved its objective of curbing the risks associated with cryptocurrency trading.
- India’s next move lies in the draft Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill, 2021.
- The draft Bill proposes to criminalise all private cryptocurrencies while also laying down the regulatory framework for an RBI-backed digital currency.
What should be India’s approach?
- The global regulatory attitude towards cryptocurrencies offers valuable insights into the alternative ways to achieve balanced regulation.
- In India, the absence of an existing legal classification of cryptocurrency should not be the impetus to prohibit its use.
- The government should use this as an opportunity to allow private individuals the freedom to harness a powerful new technology with appropriate regulatory standards.
Consider the question “As India finds itself at a crossroads of prohibition and regulation in its tryst with cryptocurrencies, globally, the inclination towards permissive regulation recognises the freedom of choice given to people. In light of this, examine the advantages and concerns with the cryptocurrencies and suggest the approach India should adopt towards the cryptocurrencies.”
Conclusion
Regulations to avoid the pitfall and not the outright ban is the right way towards the cryptocurrencies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: G7
Mains level: Open Societies Pact
India has signed off on a joint statement by G-7 and guest countries on “open societies” that reaffirm and encourage the values of “freedom of expression, both online and offline, as a freedom that safeguards democracy and helps people live free from fear and oppression”.
What is the Open Societies Pact?
- The ‘Open Societies Statement’ was adopted at the end of an outreach session titled ‘Building Back Together—Open Societies and Economies’, where PM Modi was invited as a lead speaker.
- The joint statement was signed by the G-7 countries, and India, South Korea, Australia and South Africa, with host British Prime Minister Boris Johnson calling them “Democracies 11”.
- It refers to “politically motivated internet shutdowns” as one of the threats to freedom and democracy.
- It affirms “human rights for all, both online and offline, as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other HR instruments, and opposition to any form of discrimination, so that everyone can participate fully and equally in society”.
Why needs such a pact?
- Democracy and freedom were a part of India’s civilizational ethos”.
- However, the common concern is that open societies are particularly vulnerable to disinformation and cyber-attacks.
Impact of the pact
- While the statement is directed at China and Russia, India has been under scrutiny over Internet curbs in Jammu and Kashmir.
- Moreover, the center is locked in a face-off over its new IT rules with tech giants such as Twitter, which described a police search at its offices in India last month as a “potential threat to freedom of expression”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Silverline Project
Mains level: Not Much
Last week, the Kerala cabinet gave the green light to begin acquiring land for SilverLine, its flagship semi high-speed railway project.
What is the SilverLine project?
- The SilverLine Project entails building a semi high-speed railway corridor through the state linking its southern end and state capital Thiruvananthapuram with its northern end of Kasaragod.
- It is billed as one of the biggest infrastructure enterprises being pushed by the ruling Left government.
- The line is proposed to be 529.45 km long, covering 11 districts through 11 stations.
- When the project is realized, one can travel from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram in less than four hours on trains traveling at 200 km/hr.
- The current travel time on the existing Indian Railways network is 12 hours.
- The project is executed by the Kerala Rail Development Corporation Limited (KRDCL), a joint venture between the Kerala government and the Union Ministry of Railways.
What was the need for the project?
- It has long been argued by urban policy experts that the existing railway infrastructure in the state cannot meet the demands of the future.
- Most trains run with an average speed of 45 km/hr due to a lot of curves and bends on the existing stretch.
- The government claims the SilverLine project is the need of the hour as it can take a significant load of traffic off the existing railway stretch and make travel easier and faster for commuters.
- This will in turn reduce the congestion on roads and help reduce accidents and fatalities.
Issues with the Project
- The unofficial deadline for the project is 2025 but many would say it’s not a realistic target, given the laborious nature of land acquisition in a highly densely populated state like Kerala.
- Acquiring land, especially from private players, in urban areas remains the key challenge for the project.
- There’s also significant opposition to the project by environmentalists citing potential damage to the state’s ecosystem in the path of the proposed route.
- They fear irreversible impact to the state’s rivers, paddy fields, and wetlands, triggering floods and landslides in the future.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Precision Iodine Value Analyzer
Mains level: Not Much
The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-Central Scientific Instruments Organization (CSIR-CSIO) has developed and transferred the technology of Precision Iodine Value Analyzer (PIVA).
What is Precision Iodine Value Analyzer?
- It is an instrument for the measurement of the degree of unsaturation (iodine value) in vegetable oils.
- This indigenous food testing equipment was recognized by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on World Food Safety Day on June 7, 2021.
- It has applications in oil extraction units, quality control and assurance labs, food regulatory authorities, soaps and cosmetics, bakeries, meat industry, paint industry, biodiesel analysis, and charcoal industry.
- It is also useful in determining adulteration in edible oils and fats.
Measuring iodine value
- Iodine value is conventionally determined using manual titration and a few analytical instruments based on automated titration.
- However, these methods take a longer time to analyze, are costly, and use toxic chemicals.
- Researchers at CSIR-CSIO developed a rapid analysis technique that takes just three minutes to carry out the same analysis.
- Currently, PIVA has been calibrated and tested for coconut, sunflower, mustard, palm, rice bran, soybean, groundnut, olive oil, and ghee.
- This new development is a part of the ongoing effort to strengthen the food testing capabilities by introducing quick and advanced food testing kits.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Rice Bran Oil
Mains level: Health risks posed by Edible oils
The Department of Food and Public Distribution today E-launched “NAFED Fortified Rice Bran Oil”.
Rice Bran Oil
- Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the hard outer brown layer of rice called chaff (rice husk).
- It is known for its high smoke point of 232 °C (450 °F) and mild flavor, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods such as stir-frying and deep-frying.
- It is popular as a cooking oil in the Indian subcontinent.
- It has a composition similar to that of peanut oil, with 38% monounsaturated, 37% polyunsaturated, and 25% saturated fatty acids.
- It is generally safe for consumption for most people when used in moderate amounts. However excessive usage of rice bran oil can lead to stomach discomfort.
What is NAFED oil?
- Rice Bran oil from NAFED will be fortified and it will be ensured that it will contain additional nutrients and vitamins.
- This Rice bran oil will be marketed by NAFED (National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd).
- According to the FSSAI, fortified oil can help a person fulfill 25-30% of the recommended dietary intake for vitamins A and D.
- NAFED Fortified Rice Bran Oil will be available at all NAFED Stores and also on various online platforms.
Benefits of the NAFED oil
- This initiative will significantly reduce the country’s consumption dependence on imported edible oil in the future.
- This will provide opportunities for Indian edible oil manufacturers further, and also will give an impetus to the Aatmnirbhar Bharat initiative.
- It will provide easy access to NAFED branded high-quality rice bran oil, which will also give a boost to the indigenous oil manufacturing industry.
Health benefits of rice bran oil
- Rice Bran oil has multiple health benefits, including lowering cholesterol levels due to its low trans-fat content and high monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fat contents.
- It also acts as a booster and reduces the risk of cancer due to the high amount of Vitamin E it contains.
- This oil is recommended by The American Heart Association and the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the best substitutes for other edible oils.
About NAFED
- NAFED is an apex organization under the Ministry of Agriculture that deals with marketing cooperatives for agricultural produce in India.
- It is registered under the Multi-State Co-operative Societies Act.
- It was set up with the object to promote Cooperative marketing of agricultural produce to benefit the farmers.
- Agricultural farmers are the main members of NAFED, who have the authority to say in the form of members of the General Body in the working of NAFED.
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