44 labour laws to be amalgamated into 4

codes
Important Points
1. As part of legislative reforms of labour laws, the Centre has started the process of
codification and amalgamation of 44 Central labour laws into four codes in order to
simplify them. The four codes will pertain to labour, industrial relations, social
security and welfare and safety and working conditions.
2. For instance, the labour code on wages would be an amalgam of the Minimum
Wages Act, 1948, the Payment of Wages Act, 1936, the Payment of Bonus Act,
1965 and the Equal Remuneration Act, 1976.
3. Although labour laws were a concurrent subject, the States are on the same
page as they all feel the need for a conducive atmosphere for development. As part
of the codes being developed for wages, the Centre might issue directions to the
State governments in respect of wage fixation a power that now exclusively vests
with the States.
4. Shram Suvidha Portal was also developed as a unified web platform for ensuring
transparency and accountability in enforcement of labour laws while easing
complexity of compliance.

India eyes bankruptcy reform to ease

decades of gridlock
Important Points
1. The aim is to change Indias outdated and overburdened bankruptcy system so as
to modernise the process of liquidation or revival of companies that takes several
years and costs investors and taxpayers billions. India doesnt even have a single
bankruptcy code till now.

2. Under current rules, even deciding whether to save or liquidate an ailing company
can take years, leaving it in the hands of managers who can and do strip assets
with impunity. Under the proposed changes, a decision would have to be reached in
180 days even 90 days for fast-track applications. Cases such as the protracted
collapse of liquor tycoon Vijay Mallyas Kingfisher Airline empire have burnt
investors. Foreign and domestic investors say the difficulty in exiting ventures can
deter them from entering.
3. Troubled companies in India, or their creditors, largely turn to the Official
Liquidator, a government-appointed officer attached to the countrys high courts,
who administers assets and oversees liquidation. Banks can also turn to separate
Debts Recovery Tribunals (DRT). However, both are overstretched.
4. Proposed changes will scrap the Official Liquidator and introduce a system of
registered insolvency practitioners, with a regulatory body, working under a
company law tribunal. Practitioners, lawyers and drafters of the law hope it will
professionalise the process.

India moves up in ease of doing business

ranking
1. India improved its position from last years 134 to 130 in the World Bank Doing
Business 2016 ranking. The WB Doing Business reports, started in 2002, review
business regulations and their enforcement across 189 countries.
2. India also improved its distance to the frontier, a measure of a countrys absolute
performance. The improvement in two indicators, starting a business and getting
electricity, pushed India up the ladder, according to the report. Now, companies
can get connected to the grid and get on with their business, 14 days sooner than
before, the report said.
3. Among South Asian economies, India made the biggest improvement in business
regulation, increasing its distance to frontier score by 2 points and moving up in the
ease of doing business ranking from 134 to 130. India ranks in the top 10 in
Protecting Minority Investors (8), as its law grants minority shareholders strong

protection from conflicts of interest and provides extensive rights to shareholders in

major corporate governance, the report said.

Jaitley pledges a friendly tax regime, 25%

corporate tax
Important Points
1. Finance Minister Arun Jaitley reiterated the governments commitment to bring in
a reasonable and globally-competitive tax regime through reduction in corporate
tax rate to 25 per cent over the next four years, from the prevailing 34 per cent in a
staggered manner.
2. Noting that the public spending has been on the rise this fiscal, Mr. Jaitley called
on the private sector to join the government in increasing investment.
3. On the back of the surging indirect revenue collection, which rose 35.8 per cent in
the first six months of the fiscal to Rs.3.24 trillion, he expressed hope that this year,
he may not be forced to cut back on planned expenditure to meet the budgeted
fiscal deficit target.

FIIs continue to cut holdings in public sector

banks
Important Points
1. Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are cutting their holdings in state-run banks,
concerned over their bad-loan burden, which has outweighed the positive impact of
reforms proposed by the government to turn around the institutions. Delayed
projects also made it difficult for corporate borrowers to repay bank debt. Non
Performing Assets (NPAs) have continued to rise, and there are hidden NPAs which
are not always known.

2. The sharpest decline in FII holdings since the quarter ended June 2014 was for
Andhra Bank, which saw a 494 basis point drop to 5.9% in the September quarter.
One basis point is one-hundredth of a percentage point.
3. The sell-off was also driven by concerns including the shock devaluation of the
Chinese yuan, the timing of a US interest rate hike and delays to key reforms
legislation in India such as the land acquisition and goods and services tax bills.
4. On 14 August, under a plan called Indradhanush, the government unveiled a
sweeping action plan to revamp state-run banks, offering their management teams
the promise of performance incentives, including employee stock options and
introducing a new policy, under which each lender will be monitored on key
performance parameters.

RBI actions to bring annual FPI funds of

Rs.48,000 crore
Important Points
1. 50 basis points repo rate cut and slew of policy measures announced by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in the recent monetary policy review could attract an
average annual flow of Rs.48,000 crore in government bonds from foreign portfolio
investments (FPIs) for the next few years, says a report.
2. In the fourth monetary policy, the RBI said the limits for FPI investment in
government securities would be increased in phases to five per cent of the
outstanding stocks by March 2018, from the current level of 3.7 per cent.
3. Additionally, measures to enhance participation in state development loans by
bringing the FPI investment to two per cent by March 2018, are likely to enhance the
market appetite.

India pips US, China as No. 1 FDI

destination

Important Points
1. A ranking of the top destinations for greenfield investment (measured by
estimated capital expenditure) in the first half of 2015 shows India at number one,
having attracted roughly $3 billion more than China and $4 billion more than the US.
Last year, the US ranked number one greenfield destination by number of projects
and China coming in first by capital expenditure and India ranked fifth last year for
capital investment.
2. India has also moved up on the World Economic Forums Global Competitiveness
Index by 16 places to 55th position from 71st. This shows that several steps taken to
attract foreign investment including Make in India and Digital India has helped
revive the mood of investors.
3. But experts say there are several areas where the government needs to step up
reforms. The areas where investors want more reforms include tax policy, labour
laws, cutting red tape and issues linked to land acquisition.

Modi boots up Digital India with high-profile

Silicon Valley show
Important Points
1. In response to Modis Digital India road show in Silicon Valley, the commitments
made include a $150-million investment by Qualcomm into a fund for Indian startups, an ambitious project to let Google users be able to type in 10 Indian languages,
Microsofts promise to open up cloud computing services out of Indian data centres
and critical proposals from Tesla and Apple for long-term solutions in solar energy
and the app economy.
2. Google CEO Pichai said, Android is today available in many Indic languages but
we know that to push digital literacy forward it is really important for people to be
able to type in Indian languages. So next month, we will make it possible for people
to type in 10 Indic languages in India, including the Prime Ministers mother tongue,
Gujarati.

Sagarmala: Govt will fast-track green nod

Important Points
1. The government is embarking on the Sagarmala project aiming to trigger
industrial development along the coastline and develop smart cities near key ports
such as Kandla and Paradip. Sagarmala focuses on port modernization and
capacity augmentation, efficient and speedy evacuation besides port-led industrial
development and development of coastal communities.
2. Following the Chinese model of growth driven by port-led development, the
government has identified four industries which have strong linkages to ports
thermal coal, petroleum, oil and lubricants (POL), steel and containers to accelerate
growth.
3. The plan targets to bring down the logistic cost of products in India which is thrice
than Chinas currently, because of which Indian products cant compete globally so
far as prices are concerned. The government has also lined up to invest about Rs
70,000 crore on development of 12 major ports to increase their efficiency.

Odisha gets its 1st 100% solar-powered

village
Important Points
1. October 2 marked a life-changing transition for the 350-odd dwellers of Baripatha,
a tribal village 25km southwest of Bhubaneswar. It made history by becoming the
first village in the state to be entirely solar powered.
2. The Baripatha model is low-cost, low-maintenance and community-owned and
hence different from other solar projects across India. Till now, in all rural solar
projects, central units would supply power to households and these would draw
more than their shares.This would cause the central unit to overload and trip.
However, in Baripatha model, by providing individual solar units to each household,
these problems have been resolved.

India cites development challenges

Important Points
1. No country in the world has been able to achieve a Human Development Index of
0.9 or more without an annual energy availability of at least 4 tonnes of oil equivalent
(toe) per capita.
2. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar pointed out that solar power price has
reduced from Rs.18 /unit to Rs. 5.9 paisa/unit, matching almost thermal conventional
energy. The Minister also highlighted Indias Solar Alliance mission to connect
countries between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn, to help
generate more renewable energy to meet the non-fossil fuel target.
3. As far as financial resources for meeting the targets are concerned, India plans to
raise them both at home and seek assistance from the Green Climate Fund.

Govt. to build more bridges, roads in Naxalaffected States

Important Points
1. The government is working on a plan to bring in seamless connectivity between
the 10 Naxal-affected States by building bridges and roads. It plans to launch Road
Requirement Plan (RRP)-II. RRP-I, initiated by the previous govt. in 2009,
focused only on the 35 worst-affected districts but all 106 Naxal-affected districts are
likely to be covered by the new project.
2. More than one lakh men of the Central police forces have been deployed in these
States, and lack of inter-State connectivity has hampered their operations on many
occasions.

Govt plans welfare scheme for people in

mining zones

Important Points
1. The government announced a programme Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan
Yojana (PMKKKY) for welfare of people in the mining affected zones, which would
be funded through contribution made by the miners to district mineral foundations
(DMFs) in these areas. The DMFs are to be created in all mining impacted districts
in the country by the respective states for alleviating the miseries faced by locals in
those areas.
2. At least 60 per cent of the money in each DMF would be used drinking water
supply, health care, sanitation, education, skill development, women and child care,
welfare of aged and disabled people, skill development and environment
conservation. Also, gram sabhas approval would be mandatory for all programmes
and projects to be taken up under this programme and would also authenticate the
list of beneficiaries.

Emissions scandal: Govt issues notice to

Volkswagen
Important Points
1. The government has issued a showcause notice to the Volkswagen Group due to
discrepancies in emission levels recorded on-road and in laboratory conditions on
three of its diesel models in India Volkswagen Jetta, Volkswagen Vento and Audi
A4.
2. A senior official in the Ministry of Heavy Industries said, ARAI (Automotive
Research Association of India) has found significant variations in the emissions level
in on-road vehicles as compared to the laboratory measurements.
3. Volkswagen has admitted cheating in emissions tests on around 11 million diesel
vehicles globally. The scandal has pushed Volkswagen to report its first quarterly
loss in at least 15 years.

Govt frames rules for cab aggregators like

Ola, Uber
Important Points
1. Indias Ministry of Road Transport has issued guidelines for ride hailing services
such as Uber and Ola, identifying them as on-demand information technology-based
transportation aggregators and not taxi companies, although it is up to the states to
accept or reject this.
2. These guidelines come as a shot in the arm for Ola and Uber that have all along
claimed that they connect passengers with drivers by leveraging technology, and are
therefore not taxi companies. According to the guidelines, the aggregators must not
own or lease any vehicle, employ any drivers or represent themselves as a taxi
service, unless also registered as a taxi operator.
3. In contrast, the Maharashtra government has issued a City Taxi Scheme 2015,
encompassing taxi service providers as well as aggregators of taxis, which could
deal a blow to Ola and Uber. The regulations state that licensees should maintain a
fleet of a minimum 1,000 and a maximum of 4,000 taxis, a cap which may restrict
the businesses from scaling up in Mumbai, a key market.

Maggi passes safety test

Important Points
1. Nestl is set to resume manufacturing Maggi instant noodles in the country after
three government-accredited laboratories found samples safe for human
consumption.
2. The laboratories nominated by the Bombay High Court found lead below
permissible limits in all 90 samples of six variants of Maggi noodles sent for testing,
Nestl India said in a statement on 16/10/2015, adding actual sale would start only
after the newly manufactured products are also cleared by the designated three
laboratories.

India 2nd most optimistic in biz optimism,

says report
Important Points
1. According to the Grant Thornton International Business Report, a quarterly global
survey of 2,580 business leaders, India ranked second after Ireland in terms of the
business optimism with a survey showing that 86 per cent of Indian respondents are
bullish about an increase in revenue of their companies.
2. India is relatively insulated from the slowdown in China and sees a slight gain in
confidence, despite falling exports, the survey said while taking note of RBIs recent
interest rate cut by 50 basis points to support growth.
3. However, there was a fall in optimism on the rise of employment aspect with only
52 per cent Indian businesses hoping for the same. The concern based on the
results of this survey is the pessimism on employment, which is a key factor and
need for the country given the demographic dividend which could turn into a
demographic nightmare without adequate employment generation. The
Governments thrust on Make in India needs much more push to make it a reality
and that could salvage the situation, the report added.

NITI Aayog panel raps business

environment
Important Points
1. A panel of experts, asked by the NITI Aayog to examine the current initiatives on
innovation and entrepreneurship in India has found the countrys business
environment unfriendly and not conducive for corporate investment.
2. Complicated tax regime, difficulty in shutting down failing businesses, weak
intellectual property regime, unfavourable regulatory frame-work, complex and
cumbersome labour laws and infrastructure defict all create barriers to
entrepreneurship, the report said.

3. To change this, the panel headed by academician Tarun Khanna and comprising
representatives from corporate India, wants the government to have a thorough look
at the Companies Act, review Section 56 of the Income Tax Act in terms of
investment by angel investors in start-ups, frame a bankruptcy law to tackle the bad
debts of banks and undertake reforms in the labour sector.
4. To prevent the growth of unaccounted money, the committee recommended,
creation of an online nationwide portal for the registration of all land purchase, sale
deals by all entities and their beneficiaries, within 48 hours of a transaction, with
strict penal provisions.

Modis US visit to see MoU on developing

Indias start-ups
Important Points
1. The September 27 event, Start-up Connect, will see some 30-odd start-ups from
India showcase work being done in fields like agriculture, healthcare, energy,
biotechnology , technology business biotechnology , technol and finance to attract
partnerships and support from US investors and organisations like TiE Silicon Valley
that seek to spur mentoring, networking, funding and incubating activities.
2. The MoU will be signed between Indias NASSCOM and leading Silicon Valley
nonprofit The Indus Entrepreneurs to facilitate a start-up exchange and collaboration
programme to encourage and scale innovation in India.

Corporate tax exemptions phase-out may

end MAT
Important Points
1. As the government progressively reduces the corporate tax rate to 25 per cent
and phases out exemptions and deductions, the need for MAT goes away. If it
happens, it would reduce tax litigation.

2. As of now, 38 corporate tax deductions apply to industry, including benefits for

units set up in Special Economic Zones (SEZs), the northeast states, hilly states and
so on. Besides, tax incentives are offered for expenditure on scientific research,
funding charitable trusts and institutions and the like. Deductions are also offered to
sectors such as power, telecommunications, and infrastructure.
3. The government is also looking at setting a sunset date for most open-ended tax
concession schemes, alongside a five percentage point reduction in the corporate
tax rate in four years.
4. MAT is levied at 18.5 per cent and was meant for large companies that showed
book profits but took advantage of legal provisions to avoid paying corporate tax, via
dividend payments and other legal deductions to stated income.

RBI draft ECB norms: Firms may get

access to sovereign, pension funds
Important Points
1. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has proposed to allow domestic firms to borrow
from foreign regulated financial entities, pension funds, insurance funds, sovereign
wealth funds and other long-term investors as part of a major relaxation in fund
raising via external commercial borrowing route.
2. It has proposed to cap the minimum maturity of External Commercial Borrowing
(ECB) up to $50 million at 3 years and 5 years for amount exceeding $50
million. ECB funds can also be used to repay trade credit up to 3 years, payment
towards capital goods already imported, purchase of second-hand domestic capital
goods, plant machinery and on-lending to infrastructure Special Purpose Vehicle.
3. There will only be a small negative list which include stock market operations, real
estate activity and purchase of land. They will not be allowed to raise funds via
ECBs or rupee-denominated borrowing.

Ease of biz: Govt pushes states to

implement over 300 proposals
Important Points
1. The department of industrial policy and promotion (DIPP) has asked states to
implement 334 recommendations by December on the basis of which they will be
ranked in 2016.
2. We will also open a window for one week a month where the industry will be
given an opportunity to give their comments on the steps taken by states. After
taking their views we will instruct states accordingly, the official added. Further, the
department will also start a dashboard, a virtual platform, wherein all states will be
organised alphabetically and will move up the ladder as and when they take steps to
implement the measures advised by the Centre.
3. The focus of these suggestions are on streamlining the various permits given by
state governments, single-window for various clearances, no-objection certificates
for activities like tree felling and fire departments, digitisation of government records,
making tax system and construction permits simple and online.

Boosting entrepreneurship: Venture capital

funds can now invest 25% in India-linked
firms
Important Points
1. To boost entrepreneurship and prevent Indian firms shifting their businesses to
foreign countries, Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) allowed alternative
investment funds (AIFs) and venture capital funds (VCFs) to invest 25 per cent of
their funds into foreign companies having an Indian connection.
2. Until now, India-based venture capital funds were restricted to invest only 10 per
cent of their funds in Offshore Venture Capital Undertakings.

3. Sebi had proposed to raise the limits in April-end after it received representations
from the industry, indicating a major shift of Indian entrepreneurs outside India.
Many Indian entrepreneurs were setting-up their headquarters outside India with
back end operations and/ or research and developments being undertaken in India.

IT sector enters the slow lane

Important Points
1. The global slowdown is hurting Indias information technology (IT) services sector,
its biggest export segment, with a sharp deceleration in the growth of the top IT
companies, as global firms cut IT spends. Revenue growth in 2014-15 was the
slowest in five years, and the trend has continued in the June quarter of 2015-16,
too.
2. Analysts blame the fall in revenue growth on a global slowdown. According to
technology consulting firm Gartner, global IT services grew only 1.9 per cent in
2014; the sector is likely to contract 4.3 per cent this year.
3. Indian IT vendors have also been hit by a global trend of near-sourcing. While
the growth of global sourcing for services continues, buying patterns are changing
and include the use of more local or near-shore resources for certain services,
David Brown, global head (shared services & outsourcing advisory) KPMG
International, had written in a report.

Centre, states propose easy GST scheme

for small traders
Important Points
1. Traders and businesses above a specified annual turnover will have to get a
unique identification number for collecting goods and services tax (GST) from
consumers, while those with lesser annual sales can get a GST registration
voluntarily if they want to seek credit for the taxes previously paid, according to a
report on GST business process released by the government.

2. The report prepared by Union and state officials has also proposed a
compounding scheme for small traders who are marginally above the turnover
threshold for registration. They will be allowed to pay tax at a rate lower than the
standard rate of GST on their annual turnover, but will not get any credit for the
taxes previously paid.
3. Traders with inter-state transactions will have to compulsorily obtain GST
registration even if their turnover is below the specified threshold.

Govt asks industry to list top 5 tax issues

Important Points
1. The income tax department has issued letters to industry asking them to provide
their top five contentious tax issues. The department will, in turn, send across its
informal position on these matters to avoid litigation in future. This is the first
instance where the government is being proactive in offering its position in
accordance with the Income Tax Act to resolve contentious tax issues.
2. Industry had said there was a mismatch between the governments intent and the
verbal interpretation of the law and asked for filling of such gaps by bringing out
suitable clarifications or amendments.
3. The list of contentious tax issues is huge and ranges from transfer pricing, safe
harbour rules to taxation of subsidies.

India bags third slot in global startup space

Important Points
1. After the success in the IT services industries, India has no w emerged as the
youngest startup nation in the world with over 72 per cent of founders less than 35
years old. With the presence of more than 4,200 startups, the country has also
become the third largest startup base worldwide.

2. By registering a growth of 40 per cent over the last year, India has overtaken
Israel to become the third largest startup base after the U.S. and the U.K. Also,
theres a 50 per cent rise in share of female entrepreneurs in 2015 over 2014 in
India.
3. Bengaluru remains the hot destination for entrepreneurs to launch their business
and was ranked 15 globally. More than 65 per cent of the startups are located in
Bengaluru, Mumbai and NCR.

Last round of U.N. climate talks before

Paris summit
Important Points
1. U.N. climate negotiators will meet on 19/10/2015 in Bonn (Germany) for their last
session ahead of a major conference in Paris to hammer out the details of whats
envisioned to become the most ambitious agreement ever to fight global warming.
2. Some 150 countries including top emitters China, the United States, the European
Union and India have already made voluntary pledges to cut or curb their emissions
after 2020, when the deal is supposed to take effect.
3. Though major sticking points remain, including how to spell out the different
responsibilities of nations in various stages of development, rich and poor countries
have moved closer in recent years. But several analyses show those pledges wont
be enough to prevent levels of warming that many consider dangerous, so a key
element of the Paris deal would be a mechanism to raise those commitments over
time.
4. One of the most contentious issues is money. Rich countries have promised to
provide $100 billion annually by 2020 to help poor countries reduce their emissions
and deal with unavoidable impacts of climate change. But they are reluctant to make
any commitments beyond that and say the most advanced developing nations
should also chip in.

SC imposes green charge on commercial

vehicles entering Delhi
Important Points
1. Declaring that controlling Delhis pollution had become the requirement of the
day, the Supreme Court agreed to formalise in a judicial order a series of directions
to impose environment compensation charge on all light and heavy duty
commercial vehicles entering the National Capital. Environment compensation
charge would be imposed at the rate of Rs.700 for light duty vehicles and two-axle
trucks. Three and four axle trucks would be charged Rs.1,300.
2. The pollution charge would be collected from all 127 entry points into Delhi. The
court said the deterrent mechanism was an experiment for two months and was
subject to any modification after four months.
3. The Supreme Courts order would supersede all past orders on the issue,
including a recent one by the National Green Tribunal (NGT), imposing additional
tax on polluting trucks entering Delhi.

Sneezing monkey, walking fish found in

fragile Himalayas: WWF
Important Points
1. A monkey that sneezes when it rains and a walking fish are among more than
200 species discovered in the fragile eastern Himalayas in recent years, according
to conservation group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) which compiled this
data in a bid to raise awareness of the threats facing the ecologically sensitive
region.
2. The species include what the WWF described as a blue-coloured walking
snakehead fish, which can breathe air, survive on land for four days and slither up
to 400 metres (a quarter of a mile) on wet ground.

3. In its report, WWF warned of a series of threats to the species including

population growth, deforestation, overgrazing, poaching, mining and hydropower
development. Just 25 per cent of the regions original habitats remain intact, and
hundreds of species are considered to be globally threatened, the report said.
4. The report calls for more sustainable development in the region, singling out a
need for greener hydropower plants and government assistance for communities to
adapt to climate change.

Apex court seeks response on

compensatory pollution charges
Important Points
1. The Supreme Court sought a response from both the Central and Delhi
governments on why commercial vehicles should not cough up compensatory
pollution charges along with toll tax before entering the Capital city.
2. According to a report of the Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control)
Authority for NCR, a large number of commercial vehicles opt Delhi and NCR roads,
instead of the highways, as it is cheaper to traverse through the city.

Angela Merkel to focus on climate change

in talks with Modi
Important Points
1. A senior water ministry official said the two sides are expected to strike a deal for
the rejuvenation of the river Ganga in three big citiesKanpur, Patna and
Kolkata. Germany has vast experience of cleaning river Rhine, which was once
Europes most heavily polluted river.
2. And with Germany seen as a global leader in green technologies, there could be
a breakthrough in terms of technology transfers as well as provision of finances
something India has been pushing for with the developed world.

3. In fact, Germany is already helping India in developing clean energy. Germany

has been investing heavily in Indias green energy corridors. Since 2013, 1.15
billion (Rs.8,500 crore) have been allocated to support the construction of new
transmission lines and sub-stations.

Government initiates grow safe food

campaign
Important Points
1. The Government has taken several measures for proper use of pesticides by the
farmers including emphasis on integrated pest management (IPM) which promotes
biological, cultural and mechanical methods of pest and advocates need based,
judicious use of pesticides.
2. Also, pesticide residue data generated under the Monitoring of Pesticide
Residues at National Level are shared with State Governments and concerned
ministries/organisations to initiate the corrective action for judicious and proper use
of pesticides on crops with an integrated pest management approach and to
generate awareness amongst farmers.

At UN General Assembly, PM Modi pitches

for climate justice, war on poverty
Important Points
1. Reiterating the message of common but differentiated responsibilities on climate
action with the slogan of climate justice, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the UN
Sustainable Development Summit that India was already on the way to
implementing several of the Agenda 2030 goals adopted on 25/09/2015.
2. Modi called for more global emphasis and co-operation in developing renewable
sources of energy through innovation, finance and technology and, in an apparent
reference to the developed world, called for lifestyle changes to arrest environmental
degradation and move toward sustainable consumption.

3. He underline that industrialising India was already acting responsibly and

projected Indias ambitious plan to produce 175 GW of electricity through renewable
energy sources by 2022, the tax on coal, energy efficiency measures, improving
public transportation, cleaning up cities and rivers, and the waste-to-wealth project.

India to announce climate commitments on

Gandhi Jayanti
Important Points
1. India will announce on October 2 its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions
(INDCs) in the lead up to the Paris climate summit in December. October 1 is the
deadline for declaring the INDCs, and India will miss it by a day.
2. The INDCs of countries will form the basis for climate negotiations at the
Conference of Parties (CoP) 21 under the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) in Paris in December. Mr. Modi said in his U.N. speech that the
negotiations would have to be based on the idea of climate justice rather than
climate action.
3. Explaining the concept of climate justice, Mr. Swarup said: It is a question of
equity. When you talk about emissions, then you need to talk about per capita
emissions. Indias per capita emission is still 1.7 and Americas is 16 or 17.

India banks on subsidy cuts, higher taxes

on fuels
Important Points
1. To achieve the Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) of reducing
the emissions intensity of its GDP by 33 to 35 per cent by 2030 from the 2005 level,
India has said it will bank on fiscal measures including fuel subsidy cuts and
increased taxes on fossil fuels including diesel and petrol.

2. Over the past one year, India has almost cut its petroleum subsidy by about 26
per cent. The subsidies cuts and increased taxes on fossil fuels have turned a
carbon subsidy regime into one of carbon taxation.
3. One of the dedicated funds at the national level for meeting the costs of mitigation
is the cess on coal. This forms the corpus for the National Clean Environment Fund
used for financing clean energy, technologies, and projects related to it.
Also, Tax-free infrastructure bonds of Rs.5,000 crore ($794 million) are also being
introduced for funding of renewable energy projects during the year 2015-16.

Richest 1% own 53% of Indias wealth

Important Points
1. The richest 1% of Indians own 53% of the countrys wealth, according to the latest
data on global wealth from Credit Suisse. At the other end of the pyramid, the poorer
half of our countrymen jostles for 4.1% of the nations wealth.
2. The share of Indias richest 1% is far ahead than that of top 1% of the US, who
own a mere 37.3% of the total US wealth. But Indias finest still have a long way to
go before they match Russia, where the top 1% own a stupendous 70.3% of the
countrys wealth.
3. According to Credit Suisse, Indias wealth increased by $2.284 trillion between
2000 and 2015. Of this rise, the richest 1% has hogged 61%, while the top 10%
bagged 81%. The other 90% got the leftovers.