29 January to 3 February 2018: We have
prepared the Top 10 Weekly Current Affairs to help every competitive
exam aspirant to revise the weekly current affairs with ease. It covers
some major topics like Union Budget 2018, Economic Survey 2017-18 and
occurrence of Super Blue Blood Moon among others.
Union Budget 2018: Major HighlightsThe
Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on February 1, 2018 presented the
Union Budget 2018 in the parliament. In the independent India, this will
be the 88th budget and the fifth of the Modi Government.
• Operation Green will be launched for agriculture with corpus of Rs 500 crore.
• Rs 1290 crore allocated for restructured bamboo production mission.
• Ujjwala Yojana, the free LPG connection scheme will be expanded to eight crore women.
• The Saubhagya Yojana will be another focus for the government.
• Budget 2018 proposes to treat education holistically without segmentation from pre-nursery to Class 12.
• Revitalising of Infrastructure and Systems of Education (RISE) will be launched by 2019.
•
National Health Protection Scheme will be launched to cover 10 crore
poor and vulnerable families. Under this, up to Rs 5 lakh will be
provided to each family per year in secondary and tertiary care
institutions. This scheme will have 50 crore beneficiaries.
• Mass
formalization of MSME sector is happening after demonetization and GST.
Online loan sanctioning facility will be refurbished to speed up the
complete process by banks.
• Rs 1. 48 lakh crore have been allocated for the Indian Railways for the year 2018-19.
• UDAN scheme will now connect 56 unserved airports and 31 unserved helipads in the country.
• Recapitalisation: The Union government will recapitalise public sector banks to help them lend an additional Rs 5 lakh crore.
•
The total expenditure of the Union government is Rs 21.57 lakh crore.
The projected fiscal deficit of the FY 2018-19 is 3.3 per cent of the
GDP.
Union Budget 2018: Agriculture SectorThe
Budget 2018 has identified Agriculture Sector as one of the key drivers
of the economy. The government wants to assist farmers to earn 1.5
times the production cost, and the Minimum Selling Price (MSP) for the
Kharif Crops has been set at 1.5 times the produce price.
The
government would be setting up an Agri-Market Infrastructure Fund with a
corpus of `2000 crore for developing and upgrading agricultural
marketing infrastructure in the 22000 Grameen Agricultural Markets
(GrAMs).
Government plans to launch ‘Operation Green’ with a
corpus of Rs 500 crore. It will promote Farmer Producers Organizations
(FPOs), agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional
management.
Union Budget 2018: Health, MSME and Social WelfareNational
Health Protection Scheme will be launched to cover 10 crore poor and
vulnerable families. Under this, up to Rs 5 lakh will be provided to
each family per year in secondary and tertiary care institutions. This
scheme will have 50 crore beneficiaries. This scheme will generate lakhs
of jobs, particularly for women.
Mass formalization of MSME
sector is happening after demonetization and GST. Online loan
sanctioning facility will be refurbished to speed up the complete
process by banks. Rs 3 lakh crore is allocated as target for the Mudra
Yojana for the year 2018-19. Additonal measures will be taken to boost
the growth of venture capital funds and angel investors.
187
projects have been sanctioned under Namami Gange. Namami Ganga programme
outlay has been increased with an all round development plan for
villages and cities along the river Ganga.
Union Budget 2018: Infrastructure SectorThe
government is planning to develop connectivity infrastructure in the
border areas. While the construction on the Rohtang tunnel has been
completed, the construction of Zojila pass tunnel is progressing well.
The government has also proposed to construct a tunnel under the Sela
pass.
Rs 1. 48 lakh crore have been allocated for the Indian
Railways for the year 2018-19. 18000 km of railway line will be doubled
to eliminate capacity constraints. The government would be laying
special focus on safety. Hence, special attention would be paid to the
maintenance of track infrastructure.
The regional connectivity
scheme- UDAAN would be connecting 56 underserved airports and 36
underserved helipads in the country. The operation has already started
in 16 such airports.
Union Budget 2018: Fiscal Expenditure & Taxation ReformsThe
total expenditure of the Union government is Rs 21.57 lakh crore. The
projected fiscal deficit of the FY 2018-19 is 3.3 per cent of the GDP.
In
previous years, the growth rate of direct taxes have been significant.
Till January 2018, growth rate of 18.7 per cent was recorded. Over 85
lakh new taxpayers filed their returns. The number of effective
taxpayers increased from 6.47 lakh crore to 8.27 lakh crore in the
previous financial year.
No changes in personal income tax slabs.
Majorly, the personal income tax collection comes from the salaried
class. Around 1.89 crore returns were filed in 2017 and Rs 1.44 lakh
crore was paid as taxes.
Economic Survey 2017-18: Key HighlightsThe Economic Survey 2017-18 was tabled in the Parliament on January 29, 2018 by Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• The transformational Goods and Services Tax (GST) was launched at the stroke of midnight on July 1, 2017.
•
The Twin Balance Sheet (TBS) problem was decisively addressed by
sending the major stressed companies for resolution under the new Indian
Bankruptcy Code.
• Policy vigilance will be necessary in the coming
year, especially if high international oil prices persist or elevated
stock prices correct sharply, provoking a ‘sudden stall’ in capital
flows.
• The Goods and Services Tax (GST) embodies and heralds a
radical alteration and enlargement in the understanding of the Indian
economy.
• India’s unprecedented climb to historically high levels of
investment and saving rates in the mid-2000s has been followed by a
pronounced, albeit gradual, decline.
• This current episode of investment and saving slowdown is still ongoing.
•
The survey observes a long-term trend of rising temperatures, declining
average precipitation and increase in extreme precipitation events.
•
The survey observes that India’s performance in 14 out of the 17
indicators of women’s agency, attitudes, and outcomes has improved over
the last 10-15 years.
• The survey notes that India under-spends on research and development (R&D), even relative to its level of development.
Economic Survey 2017-18: Top 10 facts on Indian Economy• There has been a 50 per cent increase in unique taxpayers under the GST in comparison with the pre-GST system.
• More than 30 per cent when formality is defined in terms of social security provision.
•
States that export more internationally and trade more with other
states tend to be richer. However, the correlation is stronger between
prosperity and international trade.
• The top one per cent of Indian
firms account for 38 per cent of exports. In all other countries, they
account for a substantially greater share such as 72, 68, 67 and 55 per
cent of exports in Brazil, Germany, Mexico and US respectively.
•
The relief from embedded state taxes (ROSL) announced in 2016 boosted
exports of ready-made garments (but not others) by about 16 percent.
•
Parents continue to have children until they get the desired number of
sons. This kind of fertility-stopping rule leads to skewed sex ratios
but in different directions:
• The tax department’s petition rate is
high, even though its success rate in litigation is low and declining
well below 30 per cent.
• Cross-country experience shows that growth
slowdowns are preceded by investment slowdowns but not necessarily by
savings slowdowns may not.
• Own direct tax collections by Indian
states and local governments are significantly lower than those of their
counterparts in other federal countries
Indian Navy launches third Scorpene Class Submarine INS KaranjINS
Karanj, the third Scorpene class submarine constructed by Mazagon Dock
Shipbuilders Limited, was launched by the Indian Navy on January 31,
2018.
The submarine was launched by Reena Lanba, President of
Navy Wives Welfare Association following the recitation of Sanskrit
shlokas from the Atharva Veda and traditional ceremonies associated with
the launch of naval platforms.
Following the launch, the
submarine was towed to Mumbai Port Trust for separation from the
pontoon. INS Karanj will now undergo rigorous trials and tests, both in
harbour and at sea before it is commissioned into the Navy.
Total Lunar eclipse, Super Blue Blood Moon to be seen around the worldIn
a rare celestial occurrence, people around the world would be able to
witness a total lunar eclipse and a super blue moon today, January 31,
2018.
The event is being termed as a super blue blood moon and
would be a rare lunar event to watch. According to National Aeronautics
and Space Administration (NASA), the celestial event is a lunar trifecta
where three particular events are colliding including total lunar
eclipse, blue moon and the super moon phenomena.
Those living in
the United States, Alaska and Hawaii will be able to see a pre-dawn
‘super blue blood moon’ while the rest of the world will enjoy the best
view of the lunar eclipse.
Luckily for India, residents here
would also be able to witness the super blue blood moon. According to BM
Birla Science Centre's Director BG Sidharth, the lunar eclipse would be
visible from India with the moon taking a red-brown glow, also called
the ‘Blood Moon’.
US lifts ban on refugees from 11 ‘high risk’ nationsThe
United States on January 29, 2018 announced that it is lifting the ban
that it had imposed on refugees from 11 nations, which it termed as
high-risk countries.
Despite resuming the process of accepting
the refugees, the US Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen stated
that those seeking to enter the US would have to come under much
tougher scrutiny than in the past. She said that the refugees will have
to undergo tougher screening procedures and risk-based assessments
before getting admission into the nation.
The new screening
measures include additional interviews of applicants’ family members and
close scrutiny of potential ties to organized crime. The move comes as
President Donald Trump presses for a sharp turn in overall US
immigration policy.
