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.
