Daily Prelims Booster 28th September 2023

1) Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA), 1958: Union Ministry of Home Affairs has extended AFSPA in parts of Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh by another 6 months.  

• It grants special powers to the armed forces to bring back order in disturbed areas.  
• Disturbed areas declared under Section 3 of AFSPA Act, 1958 when a part or whole state/UT is in such a condition that the use of armed forces in aid of civil power is necessary.  
• Declared by Governor of state and administrator of Union Territory or by Central government.  
• AFSPA grants extraordinary powers under Section 4 of AFSPA Act and immunity (Section 6) to the armed forces to bring back order in the disturbed areas 

2) Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP): Ministry of Commerce & Industry announced extension of RoDTEP support till 30th June 2024.  

• Introduced as a duty remission scheme on exports.  
• It provides a mechanism for reimbursement of taxes, duties, and levies, which are currently not being refunded under any other mechanism.  
• Based on: the globally accepted principle that taxes and duties should not be exported, and taxes and levies borne on exported products should be either exempted or remitted to exporters.  
• It is WTO-compatible and is being implemented in an end-to-end IT environment 

3) Angel Tax: Ministry of Finance has notified changes to Rule 11UA of the Income Tax Rules under the Income Tax Act 1961.  

• Rule 11UA is concerned with the valuation of shares for the purpose of levying Angel Tax.  
• Angel tax is levied when an unlisted company issue shares to an investor at a price higher than its fair market value.  
• Earlier, it was imposed only on investments made by a resident investor. But Budget 2023-24 proposed to extend it to non-resident investors from April 1, 2024. 

4) Avoid – Shift – Improve (ASI) Framework: World Bank Group in its report titled ‘Decarbonizing Urban Transport for Development’ recommended the ASI framework to decarbonize urban mass transport.  

• Avoid: Promote access with fewer or shorter trips to address overall demand for transport activity.  
• Shift:  Promote a SHIFT of passenger or freight trips from more carbon-intensive modes to less carbon-intensive modes.  
• Improve: Improve efficiency and quality of vehicles, operations, and fuels 

Places in News: 

1) Nicaragua (Capital: Managua) 

• Political Features:  
• Largest country in Central America.  
• Bordering Countries: Honduras (north) and Costa Rica (South)  
• Geographical features  
• Rivers: San Juan, Coco, Río Grande de Matagalpa, etc.  
• Lakes: Lake Nicaragua, Lake Managua, Lake Tiscapa, etc.  
• Volcanoes: Masaya, Cerro Negro, Mombacho, etc. 
• Highest peak: Mogotón peak.