Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020

The Major Port Authorities Bill, 2020 was passed in Lok Sabha on September 23, 2020. The bill replaces the Major Ports Act, 1963. It aims to regulate, operate and plan major ports in India. The bill will provide greater autonomy to ports in the country.

Key provisions

• The bill specifically deals with the major ports including the Vishakhapatnam, Paradip, Mormugao, V.O. Chidambaranar, New Mangalore, Kolkata, Kandla, Mumbai, Jawaharlal Nehru Port, Chennai, Cochin port.
• As per the Bill,  ports will be managed by Port Authorities Board and every port will have a port authority that will act under the leadership of a central board.

Port Authority Board

• The Port authority boards will replace the port trusts.
• The board comprises of chairperson, members from respective state governments, representatives from Defence Ministry, Railway Ministry, and Customs Department.
• The chairperson of the board will be appointed by the Central Government.
• The board will also include two to four independent members who will represent the interests of the port authorities.
• The board will be empowered to use its properties and fix scales of rates for assets.

Other functions

• Adjudicatory Board: The Adjudicatory Board will do the functions of the tariff authority of the ports. It will review the stressed PPP projects and adjudicate on the disputes related to the rights of major ports.

• Financial Powers: The board will be empowered to raise loans from any scheduled banks and financial institutions. For the loans greater than 50%,  the board will require prior sanction from the central government.

• Corporate Social Responsibility: The board also has the power to use its funds to provide social benefits including health, education, skill development, environment, and housing.

 

U-RISE Portal Launched in UP

 The Uttar Pradesh government has launched a unified portal called ‘U-Rise’- Unified Re-imagined Innovation For Student Empowerment. The portal will guide students in learning, career counseling, and getting employment in the state. The portal has been developed by Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam Technical University.

Key Facts

• Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched the portal in Lucknow on September 24, 2020.
• The programme will connect students with practical and technical knowledge.
• Uttar Pradesh is the first state to launch a unified portal along with the implementation of National Education Policy (NEP) -2020.
• Around 20 lakh students and technical experts will get benefit from this portal who are getting vocational and technical education.
• The e-content, e-library, and online courses from this portal will be accessible by students even in the remote areas of the state.
• This portal would benefit students and empower them by providing every possible information including online exams, digital assessment, digital content, internship, digital examination papers, webinars, e-library, recorded video content as well as employment.

Five States to raise financial resources through Open Market Borrowings

Union Finance Ministry Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman has granted permission to raise additional financial resources of Rs. 9,913 crore to five states through Open Market Borrowings (OMBs). The five states Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka,  Goa, and Tripura.

Key Facts

• This permission allows Karnataka to raise Rs. 4,509 crore.
• Andhra Pradesh can borrow Rs. 2,525 crore.
• Telangana got permission to borrow Rs. 2,508 crore
• Goa can raise Rs. 223 crore and
• Tripura can raise Rs. 148 crore.

Why these States have been granted permission?

• The permission has been granted because these States have successfully implemented the One Nation One Ration Card System.
• Further, In light of the unprecedented pandemic the Central Government had also allowed additional borrowing limit of up to 2% of Gross State Domestic Product  (GDP) to the States for the current financial year.

Open Market Borrowing or Open Market Operation

The buying and selling of government securities in the open market is termed as open market operations.  It is done by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) only. When RBI wants to infuse liquidity or money into the monetary system, it purchases government securities in the open market. Thus, providing liquidity to the  commercial banks. On other hand it sells securities to curbs liquidity. Thus, RBI indirectly controls the money supply and influences short-term interest rates. There are two kinds of OMOs:

1. Outright Purchase (PEMO) – It is permanent. The purchase involves the outright selling or buying of government securities.
2. Repurchase Agreement (REPO) – It is short-term and subjected to repurchase.

One Nation One Ration Card

It is an ambitious plan of Department of Food & Public Distribution on order to ensure the delivery of food security entitlements to beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013. It provides food security entitlements irrespective of their physical location anywhere in the country.

Kerala Tourism’s Human by Nature campaign won PATA Grand Award

 Kerala Tourism’s internationally-acclaimed ‘Human by Nature’ campaign won the prestigious PATA (Pacific- Asia Travel Association) Grand Award 2020 for Marketing. This gives a huge stimulus to tourism industry in the state which has been severely affected due to COVID-19 pandemic.

• Awards were announced during a virtual presentation ceremony in Beijing.
• Kerala has bagged one of the three PATA Grand Awards.
• This year’s PATA Gold Awards was supported and sponsored by the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) for the first time.

Human By Nature Campaign

The idea of a new campaign was put forth by Kerala Tourism. It was then conceptualized and scripted by Stark Communications. The campaign showcases the culture and daily life of the people of Kerala. The campaign has helped in achieving Kerala’s record growth rate of 17.2 per cent in 2019 which stands to be the highest growth rate in tourism arrivals in 24 years. The campaign also helped in reviving the tourism sector after the Flood in 2018 and outbreak of Nipah virus there.

The PATA Grand Award

The PATA Gold Awards was incepted in 1984. It recognizes exceptional achievement in a variety of endeavors. It acknowledge and reward the very best of Asia Pacific’s travel industry. PATA Grand and Gold Awards winning projects has set industry standards for excellence and innovation, serving as examples for others to follow.

CBDT Launched Faceless Income Tax Appeals

The Central Board of Direct Taxation (CBDT) has launched the faceless income tax appeals today on September 25, 2020. The announcement was made by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhayay. He made his statement during the launch of Faceless Assessment and Taxpayers’ Charter under the “Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest” platform. Under the new mechanism, all appeals will be finalized in a faceless manner. However, it will be barring the cases of major tax evasion, black money act, serious frauds, and international tax to follow the same mechanism.