Daily Current Affairs 12 January 2024 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 12 January 2024 focuses on the Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

Direct Tax Collection in India

Source: The Hindu
GS III: Economics

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. How it helps

Why in the News?

The net Direct Tax collection is 80.61% of the total Budget Estimates of Direct Taxes for F.Y. 2023-24.

News in Brief

• India’s net direct tax collections touched ₹14.7 lakh crore by January 10.
• This meeting over four-fifths of this year’s target and reflecting a growth of 19.4% over the same period of 2022-23.
• The Central Board of Direct Taxes said that provisional direct tax collections continue to register ‘steady growth’ with gross collections rising 16.77% to ₹17.18 lakh crore.
• It led by a 26.11% rise in Personal Income Tax (PIT) inflows.
• Corporate Income Tax or CIT collections grew at a relatively muted pace of 8.32%.

Tax in India

• Direct tax is the tax that is paid directly to the government by the person or company on whom it is levied.
  • Income tax, wealth tax, corporation tax, and property tax are some examples of direct tax.
• Indirect taxes are those that are collected by intermediaries from individuals and corporations who bear the burden of the tax and passed on to the government.
  • Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an example of indirect tax.
  • Corporation tax forms a large chunk of the government’s tax revenue.

Major Taxes

• Income Tax:
  • Governed by the Income Tax Act, individuals and businesses are liable to pay income tax on their earnings.
  • Income tax rates vary based on the income slab in which an individual or entity falls.
  • The income tax system includes provisions for deductions, exemptions, and rebates.
• Goods and Services Tax (GST):
  • GST is a comprehensive indirect tax that replaced various indirect taxes at the central and state levels.
  • It is levied on the supply of goods and services and is administered by the Goods and Services Tax Council.
  • GST is categorized into Central GST (CGST), State GST (SGST), and Integrated GST (IGST).
• Corporate Tax:
  • Corporates are subject to corporate income tax, which is applicable to the profits earned by companies.
  • The rate may vary based on the type of company and its turnover.
• Customs Duty:
  • Customs duty is imposed on goods imported into India.
  • The rates and regulations are governed by the Customs Act.
• Excise Duty:
  • Excise duty is a tax levied on the production or manufacture of goods in India.
  • However, with the implementation of GST, excise duty has been subsumed into the GST regime.
• Service Tax:
  • Service tax was replaced by GST, and now services are taxed under the GST framework.
• Securities Transaction Tax (STT):
  • Applicable to transactions in the securities market, STT is levied on the purchase and sale of securities.
• Property Tax:
  • Property tax is imposed by local municipal bodies on the value of a property.
• Wealth Tax:
  • Wealth tax was abolished in the Finance Act, 2015, and is no longer applicable.
• Professional Tax:
  • Levied by state governments on the income earned by professionals.

Supreme Court Concern on GM Mustard

Source: The Hindu
GS II: Important International institutions, agencies and fora- their structure, mandate

Overview

1. News in Brief
2. Genetically Modified Crops

Why in the News?

The Supreme Court has raised concerns regarding the biosafety of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11, which has been approved by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) for environmental release.

News in Brief

• The Supreme Court questioned the Centre on why reports of the court-appointed Technical Experts Committee (TEC) on the biosafety of genetically modified (GM) crops were not looked into by the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
• The GEAC functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC).
• It has been tasked with the appraisal of proposals relating to the “release” of GM organisms and products (ordinarily considered hazardous) into the environment.
• A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Sanjay Karol asked Attorney General R Venkataramani whether the GEAC considered the TEC reports before the October 25, 2022 decision to approve the environmental release of transgenic mustard hybrid DMH-11.

Genetically Modified Crops

• GM technology involves inserting DNA into the genome of an organism.
• Plants can be genetically modified by inserting a particular DNA sequence into their genome to confer new or different traits.
• This can include altering the plant’s growth pattern or providing disease resistance to it.
• The additional DNA is incorporated into the genome of the GM plant, which is what the seeds generated by these plants will do.
• Over the years, there has been a heated discussion around GM crops.
• Benefits cited by their supporters include an increase in production, lower input costs, increased insect resistance, and a decreased demand for pesticides.
• The critics assert that these crops have a negative influence on food security and human health.

GM Mustard

• The Delhi University Center for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants created the genetically altered mustard variety known as DMH (Dhara Mustard Hybrid)-11.
• In DMH-11 mustard genes from soil bacterium makes mustard — generally a self-pollinating plant — better suited to hybridisation than current methods.
• The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GMEC) approved the commercial production of Mustard DMH-11 in 2022.

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