Goods & Services Tax Council
18-Feb-2023: GST Council adopts the report of the Group of Ministers on GST Appellate Tribunal
The 49th GST Council met under the Chairpersonship of Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi.
- The GST Council adopted the report of the GoM on GST Appellate Tribunal with modifications. The final draft amendments will be circulated to State Finance Ministers in 5-6 days for comments.
- The GoM panel suggested that the tribunal should have two judicial members and one technical member from the Centre and States, along with a retired Supreme Court Judge as president.
- The GST Council decided to clear the pending balance of GST compensation to States. The pending balance for June 2022 amounts to Rs. 16,982 crore.
- The GST rate on Raab or liquid jaggery has been reduced from 18% to nil for loose products and 5% for pre-packaged and labelled ones.
- GST exemptions have been granted for coal rejects supplied to and by a coal washery and services provided by the National Testing Agency for conducting entrance exams for educational institutions.
Section 69A of the IT Act
10-Feb-2023: MeitY issued orders to ban 138 online betting platforms and 94 money lending apps
The Indian government has instructed the blocking of 138 online betting platforms and 94 money lending apps due to alleged links to China and containing content that is "prejudicial to the sovereignty and integrity of India."
Many of these apps have been the subject of complaints of extortion and harassment, as borrowers were charged exorbitant interest rates for small loans over the past three years.
Section 69A
Section 69A of the Information Technology Act of 2000 has become a hotly debated topic in recent years. It is a provision that allows the government to block websites and social media content that it deems objectionable. This provision was first introduced in 2008 and has been used multiple times to censor content on the internet.
Section 69A of the IT Act empowers the government to block public access to any online information that is deemed to be a threat to the country's sovereignty, integrity, defense, security, and public order. The provision allows the government to order intermediaries, such as internet service providers, to remove or block access to content that it deems offensive, without the need for a court order. The government can also order intermediaries to preserve electronic records related to the content that has been removed or blocked.
Left Wing Extremism(LWE)
8-Feb-2023: Meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee on Left Wing Extremism
Union Home and Cooperation Minister Shri Amit Shah chaired the meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee of Ministry of Home Affairs on Left Wing Extremism, in New Delhi.
Union Home Minister's Address on Left Wing Extremism
Three pillars of Ministry of Home Affairs’ policy to deal with Left Wing Extremism:
- Ruthless Approach to curb extremist violence
- Better coordination between Centre and States
- Public participation in development to eliminate support for Left Wing Extremists
Historic success in curbing Left Wing Extremism in the last eight years:
- Number of deaths of civilians and security forces reduced to under 100 for the first time after nearly 40 years in 2022.
- 76% reduction in violent incidents related to Left Wing Extremism observed in 2022 compared to 2010.
- Number of civilian and security personnel who lost their lives in Left Wing Extremism incidents reduced by 90% to 98 in 2022 compared to 1005 in 2010.
- Number of Left Wing Extremism-affected districts reduced to 45 from earlier 90.
- Number of districts under Security Related Expenditure (SRE) scheme reduced from 126 to 90 in April-2018 and further reduced to 70 since July-2021.
- Number of districts most affected by LWE reduced from 35 to 30 in April-2018 and further reduced to 25 since July-2021.
- Security forces established 175 new camps in Left Wing Extremism affected areas since 2019.
- Security forces reduced the security vacuum and made top leadership of Left Wing Extremists ineffective to break the backbone of Left Wing Extremism.
- Success achieved against Left Wing Extremism in difficult areas like Budha Pahad and Chakarbanda.
- Bihar, Jharkhand, and Odisha almost freed from Left Wing Extremism.