1)Culture of Karnataka :-
Background – Address by the President of India at the second Annual Convocation of the Central University of Karnataka . Thought the address itself is not important , however he touched upon few things that are part of our course and culture.
- Karnataka is a historical land marked by its multi-cultural, multi-ethnic and multi-lingual nature. Buddhism, Jainism, Veera-shaivism or Lingayitism and Islam have flourished here
- The Vachana Movement, Sufi saints, Keertanakaras and the Thatva Padakaaras have shaped the hearts and minds of the people of this region. Urdu and Persian literatures have flourished here and so to Kannada folk literature, which gave this region its indigenous identity.
- It is the seat of two universities in the past – Anubhava Mantapa of Basavanna and Mahmud Gawan’s Madrsa – both of which attracted intellectuals from across the country and abroad.
- It is also worth mentioning about Sannati, an ancient Buddhist centre of learning, and Nagavi Ghatikasthan.
Lingayatism /Veera- Shaivism and Basavanna:-
It is a distinct Shaivite denomination practiced in India. It makes several departures from mainstream Hinduism and propounds monotheism through worship centered on Lord Shiva (formless, infinite god) in the form of Ishtalinga.
Contemporary Lingayatism is a rich blend of reform-based theology propounded by Basava and ancient Shaivite tradition and customs, with huge influence among the masses in South India, especially in the state of Karnataka
108 Feet Basava Statue at Bidar
Anubhava Mantapa was an academy of mystics, saints and philosophers of the Lingayat faith in the 12th century. It was the fountainhead of all religious and philosophical thought pertaining to the Lingayat.
It was presided over by the mystic Allama Prabhu and numerous Sharanas from all over Karnataka and other parts of India were participants. This institution was also the fountainhead of the Vachana literature which was used as the vector to propagate Lingayata religious and philosophical thought.
Other giants of Lingayat theosophy like Akka Mahadevi, Channabasavanna and Basavanna himself were participants in the Anubhava Mantapa. The Anubhava Mantapa was originally called the Shivanubhava Mantapa
Vachana Sahitya:-
Vachana sahitya is a form of rhythmic writing in Kannada that evolved in the 11th century C.E. and flourished in the 12th century, as a part of the Sharna movement. The word vachanas literally means “(that which is) said”.
Poets – Madara Chennaiah, Basava
Mahmud Gawan’s Madrsa:-
The Madrasa of Mahmud Gawan (Madrasa-e-Mahmud Gawan) is an ancient university located in Bidar – the City of Whispering Monuments. This heritage structure is placed under the list of monuments of national importance. Founded by the prime-minister of the Bahamani empire in the late 15th century, it bears testimony to the scholarly genius of Mahmud Gawan.
Mahmud reportedly built the madrasa with his own money and it functioned like a residential University
2)All that is to be understood about Syrian Crisis:-
3)All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) :-
The survey covers all the Higher Education (HE) institutions of the country including Universities, Colleges and Stand-Alone institutions. The entire survey has been voluntary, based on motivation of respondents; and without any statutory mandate in place for collecting information of this nature
The major findings of the AISHE 2014-15 are as follows –
- Increase in overall enrolment from 27.5 million in 2010-11 to 33.3 million in 2014-15
- Improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratio which is a ratio of enrolment in higher education to population in the eligible age group (18-23) years from 19.4% on 2010-11 to 23.6% in 2014-15
- Gender Parity Index (GPI), a ratio of proportional representation of female and male, has marginally improved from 0.86 to 0.93 to the corresponding period.
- Number of institutions of higher education listed on AISHE portal has also increased significantly
The Survey was initiated in the year 2011 to prepare a robust data-base on higher education. Keeping in view the usefulness of data collected during the very first year, Ministry decided to make this survey an annual exercise of data collection in higher education sector.
4)Insurance Cover to Unorganised Labourers –
The Government has enacted ‘Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008’ for the welfare of unorganised workers. The Act provides for formulation of suitable welfare schemes for unorganised workers on matters relating to:
(i) life and disability cover,
(ii) health and maternity benefits,
(iii) old age protection
(iv) any other benefit as may be determined by the Central Government through the National Social Security Board.
The Rashtriya Swasthya Bima Yojana (RSBY) implemented by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare is a health insurance scheme which provides health and maternity benefits to the unorganized workers, listed in the Schedule I of the Unorganised Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008.
For insurance against death and disability, Department of Financial Services implements schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY) and Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY)
Ministry of Labour and Employment implements Aam Aadmi Bima Yojana (AABY) which covers death and disability along with a scholarship component for 2 children studying in class 9th to 12th standard
5) T K Vishwanathan Committee recommendation on Bankruptcy Law:-
Background:-
These changes are much-needed in the Indian context where, in most cases of large corporate defaults, banks are sitting ducks when it comes to recovery of money like in the case of Rs 7,000 crore default by Vijay-Mallya owned Kingfisher Airlines.
When the recovery process gets delayed by several years, the value of the underlying assets deteriorates. Large corporate defaults, including those by willful defaulters (promoters and companies, which have the ability to repay but wouldn’t do) form a significant part of the Rs 300,000 crore gross non-performing assets (NPAs) of Indian banks.
According to a 2014 World Bank report, the average time to resolve insolvency is four years in India, compared with 0.8 in Singapore and one year in London. The Vishwanathan panel too has observed that, the loan recovery rates obtained in India are among the lowest in the world. When default takes place, broadly speaking, lenders seem to recover 20 percent of the value of debt.
The biggest challenge for the bankruptcy code to work, however, is the intervention of judiciary in the insolvency cases
Recommendations:-
- It proposes creation of an insolvency regulator and setting a time limit of 180 days (which can be 90 days in special cases) to deal with insolvency resolution cases
- If 75 percent of the creditors approve the plan, the insolvency resolution process can kick off. If not, the adjudicating authority can order liquidation of the company
- It also recommended an administrative mechanism for resolving financial distress of viable MSMEs
- Speedy judicial resolution
- Provide a predictable system for
- (a) takeover of management or assets by the company administrator as part of the rescue process, and
- (b) governing the interrelationship between such administrator, the managerial personnel and the shareholders in the event of such takeover.
- Provide an enabling provision for raising ‘rescue finance’ and granting super-priority to such financiers as part of a scheme of revival
Insolvency:-When an individual or organization can no longer meet its financial obligations with its lender or lenders as debts become due. Insolvency can lead to insolvency proceedings, in which legal action will be taken against the insolvent entity, and assets may be liquidated to pay off outstanding debts
Bankruptcy:-Bankruptcy is a legal status of a person or other entity that cannot repay the debts it owes to creditors. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor.
Bankruptcy is not the only legal status that an insolvent person or other entity may have, and the term bankruptcy is therefore not a synonym for insolvency. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, bankruptcy is limited to individuals, and other forms of insolvency proceedings (such as liquidation and administration) are applied to companies. In the United States, bankruptcy is applied more broadly to formal insolvency proceedings.
Bankruptcy vs Insolvency :-
A state of insolvency can lead to bankruptcy. However, it is also possible that the state of insolvency could be temporary and fixable. Thus, insolvency does not necessarily lead to bankruptcy, but all bankrupt legal entities or persons are deemed to be insolvent.
6)Lok Sabha passed the National Water Way Bill :-
Read complete analysis here- http://upsctree.com/2015/12/10/09-and-10-dec-2015/
Yet to cover:-
Currently Juvenile Justice Bill (Amendment) and Bankruptcy bills are tabled in parliament , once the process is over we will cover it and analyze it depending upon the outcome of these bills.
Recent Posts
Petrol in India is cheaper than in countries like Hong Kong, Germany and the UK but costlier than in China, Brazil, Japan, the US, Russia, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, a Bank of Baroda Economics Research report showed.
Rising fuel prices in India have led to considerable debate on which government, state or central, should be lowering their taxes to keep prices under control.
The rise in fuel prices is mainly due to the global price of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel) going up. Further, a stronger dollar has added to the cost of crude oil.
Amongst comparable countries (per capita wise), prices in India are higher than those in Vietnam, Kenya, Ukraine, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Countries that are major oil producers have much lower prices.
In the report, the Philippines has a comparable petrol price but has a per capita income higher than India by over 50 per cent.
Countries which have a lower per capita income like Kenya, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan, and Venezuela have much lower prices of petrol and hence are impacted less than India.
“Therefore there is still a strong case for the government to consider lowering the taxes on fuel to protect the interest of the people,” the report argued.
India is the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation. It imports 85 per cent of its oil needs and so prices retail fuel at import parity rates.
With the global surge in energy prices, the cost of producing petrol, diesel and other petroleum products also went up for oil companies in India.
They raised petrol and diesel prices by Rs 10 a litre in just over a fortnight beginning March 22 but hit a pause button soon after as the move faced criticism and the opposition parties asked the government to cut taxes instead.
India imports most of its oil from a group of countries called the ‘OPEC +’ (i.e, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Russia, etc), which produces 40% of the world’s crude oil.
As they have the power to dictate fuel supply and prices, their decision of limiting the global supply reduces supply in India, thus raising prices
The government charges about 167% tax (excise) on petrol and 129% on diesel as compared to US (20%), UK (62%), Italy and Germany (65%).
The abominable excise duty is 2/3rd of the cost, and the base price, dealer commission and freight form the rest.
Here is an approximate break-up (in Rs):
a)Base Price | 39 |
b)Freight | 0.34 |
c) Price Charged to Dealers = (a+b) | 39.34 |
d) Excise Duty | 40.17 |
e) Dealer Commission | 4.68 |
f) VAT | 25.35 |
g) Retail Selling Price | 109.54 |
Looked closely, much of the cost of petrol and diesel is due to higher tax rate by govt, specifically excise duty.
So the question is why government is not reducing the prices ?
India, being a developing country, it does require gigantic amount of funding for its infrastructure projects as well as welfare schemes.
However, we as a society is yet to be tax-compliant. Many people evade the direct tax and that’s the reason why govt’s hands are tied. Govt. needs the money to fund various programs and at the same time it is not generating enough revenue from direct taxes.
That’s the reason why, govt is bumping up its revenue through higher indirect taxes such as GST or excise duty as in the case of petrol and diesel.
Direct taxes are progressive as it taxes according to an individuals’ income however indirect tax such as excise duty or GST are regressive in the sense that the poorest of the poor and richest of the rich have to pay the same amount.
Does not matter, if you are an auto-driver or owner of a Mercedes, end of the day both pay the same price for petrol/diesel-that’s why it is regressive in nature.
But unlike direct tax where tax evasion is rampant, indirect tax can not be evaded due to their very nature and as long as huge no of Indians keep evading direct taxes, indirect tax such as excise duty will be difficult for the govt to reduce, because it may reduce the revenue and hamper may programs of the govt.