राजनीतिः खाद्य सुरक्षा पर रस्साकशी

विकसित देश अपनी कृषि सबसिडी को बहुत ऊंचे स्तर पर बनाए रखते हुए भी विकासशील देशों के लिए सबसिडी पर कृषि के सकल घरेलू उत्पाद के दस फीसद की अधिकतम सीमा थोपने में कामयाब रहे हैं। उनका शुरू से दबाव रहा है कि कोई भी विकासशील देश अपनी कृषि उपज के दस फीसद से ज्यादा रकम सबसिडी के रूप में न दे।अर्जेंटीना के ब्यूनस आयर्स में आयोजित विश्व व्यापार संगठन (डब्ल्यूटीओ) की ग्यारहवीं मंत्रिस्तरीय बैठक बिना किसी नतीजे के समाप्त हो गई। इसमें हिस्सा ले रहे देश खाद्य व कृषि सबसिडी को लेकर आम राय नहीं बना सके। क्योंकि अमेरिका व अन्य विकसित देश बहुपक्षीय व्यापार संस्था के सदस्यों द्वारा सार्वजनिक खाद्य भंडारण के मसले का स्थायी समाधान खोजने की अपनी प्रतिबद्धता से मुकर गए। भारत और उसके साथ खड़े डब्ल्यूटीओ के बहुसंख्यक सदस्य-देश चाहते हैं कि सार्वजनिक भंडारण, न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य और खाद्य सुरक्षा पर उन प्रतिबद्धताओं का पालन किया जाए, जो 2013 में बाली में और 2015 में नैरोबी के मंत्रिस्तरीय सम्मेलन में व्यक्त की गई थीं। बाली सम्मेलन में शामिल किए गए ‘शांति अनुच्छेद’ के तहत अगर सरकार सार्वजनिक खरीद के दस प्रतिशत के स्थापित मानक से ज्यादा जमा करती है तो भी उस पर कार्रवाई नहीं की जाएगी। दूसरी तरफ अमेरिका को इस पर कड़ी आपत्ति है। खाद्य सुरक्षा का यह विवाद उस समय और भी बड़ा हो जाता है जब अफ्रीका के कई देश मुख्य अनाजों के साथ खाद्य के अन्य पदार्थों की खरीद की छूट मांग रहे हैं और अमेरिका जैसे देश उसे सीमित करना चाह रहे हैं। इसलिए सवाल यह भी है कि सार्वजनिक खरीद सिर्फ गेहूं और चावल की होनी चाहिए या दूसरे खाद्य पदार्थों की भी।

मौजूदा विवाद में विकासशील देशों की मांग है कि धनी देश खेती पर अपनी सबसिडी घटाएं, जबकि अमेरिका, यूरोपीय संघ, जापान, कनाडा और आस्ट्रेलिया चाहते हैं कि ई-कॉमर्स और निवेश-सुविधा को बढ़ावा दिया जाए। विकासशील देश इसे अमीर देशों की तरफ से उठाया गया नया मुद्दा छोटे विक्रेताओं के विरुद्ध एमेजॉन जैसी बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपनियों के हित में उठाया गया कदम मानते हैं। बता दें कि भारत 2013 के खाद्य सुरक्षा अधिनियम से भी बंधा हुआ है और वह खाद्य भंडारण में होने वाले भारी खर्च के बावजूद इसकी राजनीतिक अहमियत को समझता है। यह प्रणाली सूखा, अकाल और दूसरी प्राकृतिक आपदाओं की स्थिति में नागरिकों का जीवन तो बचाती ही है, विश्व व्यापार को स्थिरता प्रदान करती है। जाहिर है, कोई भी वैश्विक प्रणाली बहुजन हिताय और बहुजन सुखाय पर ही चल सकती है और अगर वह केवल स्वजन हिताय पर जोर देगी तो अपने ही बोझ तले दब जाएगी।
भारत अन्य विकासशील देशों के साथ चाह रहा था कि दोहा दौर की फिर से पुष्टि की जाए। इसमें जी-33, कम विकसित देश (एलडीसी), अफ्रीकी समूह भी शामिल थे। ये समूह दोहा दौर का सफल निष्कर्ष चाहते हैं। जबकि विकसित देश कन्नी काटते रहे हैं।

गौरतलब है कि दोहा वार्ता में शामिल सभी मुद््दे भारत समेत सभी विकासशील देशों के लिए महत्त्वपूर्ण हैं। दोहा वार्ता में कृषि उपज पर सबसिडी देने के मुद््दे पर भारत और अमेरिका में बने टकराव के कारण बातचीत की प्रक्रिया रुकी हुई है। जबकि दोहा वार्ता का उद््देश्य विश्व व्यापार को सहज और सरल बनाना है। भारत का कहना है कि दोहा वार्ता लंबे समय से चल रही है तथा जटिल मुद््दों और हितों से संबंधित है। अत: इसके लिए समय-सीमा तय नहीं की जा सकती। दोहा वार्ता वर्ष 2001 में शुरू हुई थी। खाद्य सुरक्षा के मसले के स्थायी समाधान के लिए भारत ने प्रस्ताव किया था कि या तो 10 प्रतिशत खाद्य सबसिडी सीमा की गणना का फार्मूला बदला जाय जो 1986-88 की कीमतों पर आधारित है या विकासशील देशों की सरकारों की इस तरह की योजनाओं को सबसिडी की सीमा के दायरे से बाहर रखा जाए।
भारत का यह भी कहना है कि उसकी एक बड़ी आबादी अब भी गरीबी रेखा से नीचे है। इस आबादी को भोजन उपलब्ध कराने के लिए खाद्यान्न का बफर स्टॉक जरूरी है। हालांकि इस एग्रीमेंट के तहत बफर स्टॉक के अधिक होने की स्थिति में भारत इसका निर्यात नहीं कर सकता। जबकि विकसित देशों का कहना है कि यह खाद्यान्न सबसिडीयुक्त है और इससे बाजार-कीमत गलत तरीके से प्रभावित होती है। इतना ही नहीं, विकसित देश भारत द्वारा किसानों को दिए जा रहे न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य (एमएसपी) की भी एक सीमा तय करना चाहते हैं, जबकि भारत इसके खिलाफ है। भारत पहले भी यह मसला उठा चुका है।

साथ ही, खाद्य सुरक्षा, कृषि सबसिडी, खाद्यान्न भंडारण, किसानों के हित समेत व्यापार उदारीकरण और बाजार खोलने जैसे बेहद अहम विषयों पर विकसित और विकासशील देशों के बीच सीधा टकराव है। विकसित देशों द्वारा मुक्त व्यापार और पर्यावरण समेत कई नए मुद््दों को सम्मेलन में शामिल करने पर बल देने से भारत जैसे विकासशील देशों के लिए यह करो या मरो की स्थिति हो गई है। अमेरिका और अन्य विकसित देश भारत के सबसिडी कार्यक्रम पर लगाम लगाने की कोशिश कर रहे हैं। इसके विरोध में अन्य विकासशील देश भी लामबंद हैं। दरअसल, सबसिडी पर होने वाले व्यय का मूल्यांकन 1986-88 की कीमतों के आधार पर किया जाता है, जबकि उत्पादन की वास्तविक लागत उस आधार-मूल्य से कहीं ज्यादा बड़ी है। इसीलिए एक समूह के रूप में विकासशील देश व्यापार वार्ताओं में शुरू से विकसित देशों की ऊंची कृषि सबसिडी का मुद्दा उठाते रहे हैं।
लेकिन विकसित देश अपनी कृषि सबसिडी को बहुत ऊंचे स्तर पर बनाए रखते हुए भी विकासशील देशों के लिए सबसिडी पर कृषि के सकल घरेलू उत्पाद के दस फीसद की अधिकतम सीमा थोपने में अब तक कामयाब रहे हैं। विकसित देशों का शुरू से यह दबाव रहा है कि भारत समेत कोई भी विकासशील देश अपनी कुल कृषि उपज के दस फीसद से ज्यादा रकम अपने किसानों को सबसिडी के रूप में न दे। उनका माना है कि ऐसा करने पर बाजार में अनावश्यक विकृति पैदा होती है।

हालांकि विकसित देश अपने कृषि सेक्टर को सत्तर-अस्सी फीसद तक सबसिडी दे रहे हैं। विकसित देशों का यह भी कहना है कि भारत अगर उनसे कृषि सबसिडी कम करने की मांग करता है तो उसके एवज में उसे अपनी फसलों के न्यूनतम समर्थन मूल्य की एक अधिकतम सीमा तय करनी होगी, और ऐसा नहीं करने पर उसे जुर्माना भरना पड़ सकता है। विकसित देश एक तरफ जहां भारत समेत विकासशील देशों के खाद्य कार्यक्रम को नियम-कायदों के खिलाफ बता रहे हैं, वहीं वे कई अंतरराष्ट्रीय खाद्य कार्यक्रम चला रहे हैं और उनका वित्तपोषण कर रहे हैं। भारत का कहना है कि ये कार्यक्रम भी खाद्यान्न की अंतरराष्ट्रीय कीमतों को प्रभावित करते हैं और विकासशील देशों को इसका नुकसान उठाना पड़ता है। यही वजह है कि 2001 में शुरू हुए दोहा दौर से ही कई मुद्दों पर विकासशील और विकसित देशों के बीच टकराव है।

भारत समेत विकासशील देशों द्वारा खाद्यान्न के सार्वजनिक भंडारण के अलावा किसानों को खाद, बीज, कीटनाशक और सिंचाई से जुड़ी सबसिडी देने का मामला विवाद का एक प्रमुख विषय है। अमेरिका, यूरोपीय संघ समेत सभी विकसित देशों का कहना है कि भारत और अन्य विकासशील देशों का यह रवैया मुक्त बाजार व्यवहार के सिद्धांतों के खिलाफ है। जबकि भारत का कहना है कि 2014 में हुए व्यापार सुगमता समझौते के तहत उसे तब तक के लिए खाद्यान्न का बफर स्टॉक बनाए रखने का अधिकार है, जब तक कि इसका कोई स्थायी समाधान नहीं निकाल लिया जाता। बहरहाल, भारत सरकार यह सुनिश्चित करना चाहती है कि किसानों को पर्याप्त मुआवजा मिले और सार्वजनिक वितरण प्रणाली के लिए पर्याप्त मात्रा में खाद्यान्न हो। भारत यह भी चाहता है कि पहले उन मामलों पर सहमति बने, जो विकासशील और गरीब देशों के लिए ज्यादा अहमियत रखते हैं।

Quality of Research in Universities

Quality of Research in Universities

In order encourage research and development in the country, University Grants Commission (UGC) has laid out a number of schemes, award, fellowships, chairs and programmes under which financial assistance is provided to institutions of higher education as well as faculty members working therein to undertake quality research in almost all areas of knowledge across disciplines. These schemes include:

(i) Special Assistance Programme (SAP);

(ii) Basic Scientific Research (BSR);

(iii) Universities & Colleges with Potential for Excellence (UPE/CPE);

(iv) Research Scientists;

(v) Digital repository of research and teaching material;

(vi) Minor and Major Research Projects (MRP);

(vii) Research Fellowships;

(viii) Scholarships and fellowships in engineering and technology;

(ix) Research awards;

(x) Research workshops, seminars and conferences; and

(xi) Emeritus fellowship

The Government has also emphasized the need for promoting research that is socially relevant. For this purpose, two schemes namely Impacting Research Innovation and Technology (IMPRINT) and Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) have been launched. IMPRINT focuses on research in higher educational institutions, with an allocation Rs.487.00 crore for a period of three years beginning 2016-17. The cost of the project is met to the extent of 50% by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and the remaining 50% by the participating Ministry/Department. UAY promotes industry sponsored, outcome-oriented research projects with an outlay of Rs.475.00 crore for a period of two years beginning 2016-17. The project cost is met to the extent of 50% by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) and 25% each by the Industry and the participating Ministry/Department. UAY is the best example of industry academia collaboration.

India ranked 60th most innovative country on the Global Innovation Index-2017

India ranked 60th most innovative country on the Global Innovation Index-2017

India currently ranks 60th out of 127 countries on the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2017 as compared to 66th rank on GII 2016. In order to make India an innovation- driven economy, NITI Aayog, Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) together launched a mega initiative “India Innovation Index” that will rank states on Innovations through country’s first online innovation index portal that will capture data on innovation from all Indian states on innovation and regularly update it in real time.

Further, the Smart India Hackathon and Smart India Hardware Hackathon have been launched to improve the innovative abilities of the students in the Higher Education Institutions. The Smart India Hackathon has received huge response when it was launched in 2017 and this would be continued as annual event.

The Government is also promoting research parks (RPs) and technology business incubators (TBIs) which would nurture and promote the innovative ideas till they become commercial ventures.

The projects for promoting research and innovation like the IMPRINT and Uchhatar Avishkar Yojana (UAY) have brought focused attention of the scientific community on the need for promoting innovation.

The Start Up India initiative of the Government has also put in place a mechanism for identifying and incubating the innovative ideas.

improving the quality of technical education

With a view to improving the quality of technical education so as to increase employability of the students, the following action plan has been approved by the AICTE:

1. Planning: Long-term Perspective Plans will be prepared for technical education at State level, so that quality issues being faced may be addressed in a focused and planned way in consultation with the concerned State Governments.  This will be a guiding document while approving new institutions by AICTE.
2. Selection:  The students for the technical courses shall be selected based on a standardized examination.
3. Induction training: Every student, on admission, shall be put through a mandatory Induction training to reinforce the fundamental concepts and the required language skills required for the technical education. The model curriculum and the periodicity of this induction training will be separately notified by the AICTE.
4. Revision of curriculum:  Every affiliating Technical University shall constitute subject-wise industry consultation committee (ICC) with the mandate of examining the existing curriculum and for making suitable changes in the curriculum every year. This process shall be completed in the month of December each year for the courses to be offered in the coming Academic year. Each institution, while applying for approval, shall certify completion of this process, which will be mandatory.  

5. Mandatory internships: Every student in technical institution shall do three internships each spanning 4 to 8 weeks before completion of the under-graduation. The responsibility will be on the institution for helping the students in finding suitable industry or organisation for the internship.
6. Industry readiness: All students passing out of the undergraduate courses shall be imparted technical and soft skills required for working in the industry encompassing – managerial skills, entrepreneurial skills, leadership skills, communication skills, team-working skills and technical skills. 
7. Promoting innovation/start-ups: There shall be efforts at every level for promoting innovation and creativity in the students. The innovation drives like Hackathon shall be promoted, so that innovative ideas would emerge that can be incubated in the start-up centres.
8. Exam reforms: The final exams being conducted by the institutions shall test the understanding of the concepts and the skill – rather than the subject knowledge. A model exam format would be prepared and shared with the institutions and the technical universities for suitable adoption. This aspect would be reviewed at the time of approval.  
9. Training of teachers: Every teacher in each of the technical education disciplines shall mandatorily undergo an annual refresher course delivered through SWAYAM portal, encapsulating all the major advances in the field of their study. Online courses would also be prepared and delivered through the SWAYAM platform for improving the pedagogical techniques of the teachers. The participation in the courses by at least 50% of the faculty would be a mandatory condition for approval of the institution. Similarly, there should be leadership training to the heads of the institutions once in 2 years. These trainings would also be hosted through the SWAYAM platform.
10. Mandatory accreditation: At least half of all the programmes in the technical institutions shall be accredited through the NBA before 2022. Unless there is credible progress each year, the approval of the institutions can be refused. In order to assist the institutions in meeting the mandatory requirements for applying for accreditation, a separate mechanism will be put in place.

Further, AICTE is implementing schemes namely National Employment Enhancement Mission (NEEM) and Employability Enhancement Training Program (EETP) to enhance the employability of the students. In addition, AICTE has also partnered with Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME), Govt of India, Internshala, NETiit and LinkedIn to provide internship opportunities and industry exposure to students for aligning their technical knowhow with industry requirements.

There is no provision in AICTE Act, 1987 for closing down of engineering colleges by the Government. However, the colleges willing to close down can apply on the online portal of AICTE.

year end review of ministry of finance 2017

Historic year for the Ministry of Finance with significant recognition by Moody’s Investors Service upgrading India’s local and foreign currency issuer ratings after 13 years; India moving up 30 ranks in the World Bank’s Doing Business Report  and visible signs of financial system cleansing by the Demonetization exercise.

Transformational Reforms - Overhauling of Indirect Tax System by the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) to replace multiple Central and State taxes and a New Direct Tax Code also initiated to re-write the Income Tax Act.

Recapitalization of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and an Alternative Mechanism for their consolidation. The Financial Inclusion and Social Security Schemes – PMJDY and APY achieved significant milestones

Redefining fund raising by Disinvestment, the Government launched a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF), BHARAT 22 as a unique blend of 22 stocks of CPSEs, PSBs & strategic holding of SUUTI.

Enhancing the quality of life remained primary goal for Government when it put into implementation the recommendations of the 7th Central Pay Commission to benefit more than 48 Lakh Central Government Employees.

Year End Review – 2017  Ministry of Finance

Major achievements of the Ministry of Finance pertaining to the concerted efforts made by all the five constituent Departments of the Ministry viz. Department of Economic Affairs (DEA); Department of Revenue; Department of Financial Services (DFS); Department of Investment Promotion and Asset Management (DIPAM) and Department of Expenditure (DOE) are as follows:

I . Department of Economic Affairs

• Overall fundamentals of the economy remained strong for the Year 2017-18

Macroeconomic Indicator	For Year 2017-18
GDP Growth Rate (%)	6.0 (Up to Q2)
CPI	3.6% (Q2)
WPI	3.6% (Q2)
Current Account Deficit	US$ 14.3 billion (Q1)
Trade Deficit	US$ 41.2 billion (Q1)
External Debt to GDP Ratio (%)	20.2
FDI Inflows	US$ 1,350.93 million (As on October, 2017)
Foreign Exchange Reserves	US$ 401,942.0 million (As on December 1, 2017)

(Source ; RBI Bulletin)

Manufacturing, electricity, gas, water supply & other utility services and trade, hotels, transport & communication and services related to broadcasting sectors registered growth of over 6.0 percent in Q2 of 2017-18 over Q2 of 2016-17.

• Moody's Investors Service upgraded Government of India's local and foreign currency issuer ratings to Baa2 from Baa3 and changed the outlook on the rating to stable from positive after a period of 13 years in recognition of the Government’s commitment to macro stability which led to low inflation, declining deficit and prudent external balance along with Government’s fiscal consolidation programme
• India’s ranking in World Bank’s doing Business Report rose to 100 - 30 places up over its rank of 130 in the Doing Business Report 2017 - highest jump in rank of any country in the Ease of Doing Business (EoDB) Report, 2018. This made India the only country in South Asia and BRICS economies to feature among most improved economies of the EoDB Report this year.
• Reversal of the deceleration trend in overall growth, the real GDP growth data for the Second Quarter of Fiscal Year 2017-18 showed growth at 6.3 percent, a substantial increase from 5.7 percent in the first quarter. Real GVA growth showed similar increase from 5.6 percent in the first quarter to 6.1 percent in the second quarter. Acceleration in growth this quarter was helped by a rapid growth in manufacturing which increased from 1.2 percent in the first quarter to 7 percent in the Second Quarter. Robust growth of 7.6 percent in electricity and other utilities, and 9.9 percent in trade, transportation and communications also powered this acceleration. Overall, the services sector recorded a growth of 7.1 percent in the second quarter. The rate of growth of gross fixed capital formation also increased from 1.6 percent in the first quarter to 4.7 percent in the second quarter. Real private consumption growth broadly held steady at 6.5 percent. ​
• One year after the landmark move to cleanse the economy of Black money, 8th November 2017 was a day to recount the successes of the continued operations after Demonetization with High Denomination Notes been brought down by 50% of value in circulation, 50 lakh new bank accounts opened to enable cashless transaction of wages, 26.6% increase in number of taxpayers added from FY 2015-16 to FY 2016-17 and 27.95% increase in number of e-returns filed, the value of IMPS transactions increasing almost 59% from August 2016 to August 2017, 2.24 Lakh shell companies were struck off, undisclosed income worth Rs. 29,213 crore was detected and admitted and revenues of the ULBs across the country increased.
• Constitution of the Fifteenth Finance Commission was notified on 27th November 2017 to look into issues of  distribution between Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be divided between them;  the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India and  to review the current status of the finance, deficit, debt levels, cash balances and fiscal discipline efforts of the Union and the States, and to recommend a fiscal consolidation roadmap for sound fiscal management, taking into account the responsibility of the Central Government and State Governments to adhere to appropriate levels of general and consolidated government debt and deficit levels, while fostering higher inclusive growth in the country, guided by the principles of equity, efficiency and transparency.
• The Logistics Sector was granted Infrastructure status in the 14th Institutional Mechanism (IM) Meeting held on 10th November, 2017 to meet the need for integrated Logistics sector development in view of the fact that the logistics cost in India is very high compared to developed countries. It will thus enable the Logistics Sector to avail infrastructure lending at easier terms with enhanced limits, access to larger amounts of funds as External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), access to longer tenor funds from insurance companies and pension funds and be eligible to borrow from India Infrastructure Financing Company Limited (IIFCL).
• As a significant milestone in the operationalization of the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), NIIF signed its first investment agreement with a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) to mobilize 1 billion USD over the long term into the fund.
• Further to this, an Investors’ Roundtable was organised by the Department of Economic Affairs in Singapore to showcase to foreign investors slew of investor friendly reforms undertaken by the Government. Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley visited Singapore, USA and Bangladesh inviting foreign investment for India primarily in the Infrastructure Sector.
• India also hosted the 9th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue, 52nd Annual Meeting of African Development Bank (AfDB), 2017 and the 2nd Annual Meeting of the New Development Bank (NDB) in New Delhi. India will also host the 3rd Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) at Mumbai on 25th and 26th June 2018.
• Other significant initiatives of the Department of Economic Affairs also included revision of the base year of All-India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) from 2004-05 to 2011-12, release of the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP), institutionalization of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), approval for the phasing out of Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB), revision of the guidelines of Sovereign Gold Bonds (SGB) Scheme and the country’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) becoming operational at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT),Gandhi Nagar (Gujarat) in April 2017.

II . Department of Revenue

GST

Key features

• Goods and Services Tax (GST) was rolled out on the midnight of 30 June 2017 and came into effect from 1 July 2017.
• GST is administered by both Centre and States and has subsumed several state and central indirect taxes such as State VAT, Central Excise Duty, Purchase Tax and Entry Tax.
• GST is bringing transparency and accountability in business transactions along with ensuring ease of doing business and rationalization in tax rates.
• GST has removed the hurdles in inter-State transactions resulting in the setting up of a common market.
• GST allows taxpayers to take credit of taxes paid on inputs (input tax credit) and utilize the same for the payment of output tax.

GST evolving and responding to needs of the hour

• Subsequent to the rollout of GST, 22 States in India abolished their check posts for smooth movement of goods across the country on 3rd July 2017.
• Goods and Services Network (GSTN) released a simple excel based template to facilitate taxpayers in preparing and filing their monthly returns with maximum ease and minimal cost. The template is available on GST Common portal and can be used by taxpayers to collate all invoice related data on a regular basis. The offline tool was unveiled on 17th July 2017.
• The Government of India set up a Central Monitoring Committee on 21st July 2017, headed by the Cabinet Secretary, to monitor the impact of GST.  
• On 16th November 2017, the Union Cabinet approved the establishment of National Anti-profiteering Authority, an apex body, to ensure that the full benefits of input tax credits and reduced GST rates on supply of goods or services flow to the consumer. The authority, led by Shri B.N. Sharma, is playing a key role in bolstering the confidence of consumers with regards to GST.

Highlights from GST Council meetings (April – December)

• GST council was constituted on 15 September 2016 and has conducted 24th meetings since its formation
• This financial year commenced with 14th GST Council meeting held on 18th and 19th May 2017 at Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The fitment of rates of goods were discussed, and the Council approved the GST rates for goods at nil rate, 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. Also, rates of GST Compensation Cess for certain goods was also approved. Eighteen sectoral groups were constituted to seek feedback from the trade and industry and ensure smooth launch of GST.

• In its 15th meeting, the GST Council finalised the rates of tax and cess to be levied on the commodities remaining after the fitment exercise in the 14th GST Council Meeting. Also, approval of amendments to the draft GST Rules and related Forms was on the agenda.
• In its 16th meeting, held on 11th June 2017, the GST Council approved service tax exemptions and GST rated for services.
• In the 17th meeting held on 18 June 107, the GST Council announced relaxation in return filing and relaxation in GST rates for certain services such as accommodation in hotels.
• In the 18th Meeting held on 30th June 2017, the GST Council reduced tax rate on fertilizers to 5% from 12% and cut the tax rate on exclusive tractor parts to 18% from 28%. 
• In the 19th Meeting held on 17th July 2017, took stock of the implementation of GST and increased the cess on cigarettes.
• In the 20th meeting held on 5 August 2017, the Council recommended that Central Government move legislative amendments required for increasing the maximum ceiling of cess leviable on certain motor vehicles.
• In the 21st meeting held on 9th September 2017, the Council revised the schedule for return filing and set up a Group of Ministers for monitoring the IT challenges.
• Subsequent to the 21st GST Council meeting, a Group of Ministers (GoM) was constituted to monitor and resolve the IT challenges faced in the implementation of GST. Also, a Committee on Exports was constituted under the convenorship of the Revenue Secretary to look at the issues of export sector and recommend to the GST Council suitable strategy for helping the export sector in the post-GST scenario.
• GST Council, in its 22nd Meeting, announced a slew of relief and incentives for exporters to enhance the export competiveness of India.
• GST Council, in its 23rd meeting, slashed GST rate from 28% to 18% on 178 items to bring relief to consumers by way of reduction in price of these goods.
• The Council also proposed changes in the Composition Scheme such as increasing the eligibility for composition to Rs. 1.5 crore, and uniform tax rate of 1% for manufacturers and traders. The changes will be implemented after the necessary amendment of the CGST Act and SGST Acts.
• GST Council, in its 24th Meeting held through video conferencing on Saturday, 16th December, 2017 decided that Inter-State e-way Bill will be made compulsory from 1st of February, 2018; the System will be ready to roll-out on a trial basis latest by 16th January, 2018;Trade and transporters can start using this system on a voluntary basis from 16th January, 2018; The Uniform System of e-way Bill for Inter-State as well as Intra-State movement will be implemented across the country by 1st June, 2018.

Direct tax

• Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified new Safe Harbour Regime on 8th June, 2017 to minimise transfer pricing disputes, provide certainty to taxpayers, align safe harbour margins with industry standards, and to enlarge the scope of safe harbour transactions.
• Aaykar Setu, a new taxpayer service module, was launched on 10th July 2017 to provide better taxpayer services and minimise the direct physical interface between assesses and tax assessing authorities. The module provides live chat facility, compiles various tax tools, generates dynamic updates and includes important links to several processes of the ITD.
• Income Tax Department undertook a slew of measures to widen the tax base and bring about efficiency, transparency and fairness in tax administration. Some of the initiatives include – introduction of Single Page ITR-1 (SAHAJ) Form for taxpayers with income up to Rs. 50 lakhs and slashing of corporate tax to 25% for companies with turnover of up to Rs. 50 crore. With these initiatives, the numbers of taxpayers increased significantly from 4.72 crore in F.Y. 2012-13 to 6.26 crore during F.Y. 2016-17 as of 18th September 2017.
• As part of the Government’s efforts to widen the tax base, Direct Tax collections for F.Y. 2017-2018 reached Rs. 4.39 lakh crore up to October 2017, accounting for 15.2% growth from the corresponding period last year.
• Government constituted a Task Force on 22nd November 2017 to review the Income-tax Act, 1961 and draft a new Direct Tax Law in consonance with economic needs of the country.

Demonetisation and Operation Clean Money

Income Tax Department (ITD) has been undertaking extensive enforcement action including search and seizure, and surveys largely based on the information received during the demonetisation period. 

• ITD launched Operation Clean Money (OCM) on 31st January 2017 to leverage technology for e-verification of cash deposits made during the demonetization period i.e. 9th November to 30th December 2016. The operation involves the use of advanced data analytics, allowing for optimization of government resources and causing minimum inconvenience to the taxpayers.
• Extensive enforcement action by the Income Tax Department (ITD) during 9th November 2016 to 28thFebruary 2017 has led to seizures worth over Rs 818 crore and detection of undisclosed income of over Rs 9,334 crore. The impact of Government action translated to an increase of 21.7 % in the returns of Income received in FY 2016-17, 16% growth in Gross Collection (the highest in the last five years), 14% Growth in Net Collection (the highest in last three years) and above 18%, 25% and 22% growth in Personal Income Tax, Regular Assessment Tax and Self-assessment Tax respectively.
• The Income tax Department conducted more than 1100 searches and surveys and issued over 5100 verification notices in the cases of suspicious high value cash deposits or related activities during 9 Nov 2016-10 Jan 2017. With these actions, the undisclosed income of over Rs. 5,400 crore was detected.
• As part of the second phase of Operation Clean Money, ITD leveraged the information received under the Statement of Financial Transactions to identify 5.56 lakh new persons whose tax profiles were inconsistent with the cash deposits done by them during demonetization as of July 2017.
• Subsequent to demonetisation, 91 lakh taxpayers were added to the tax net as of May 2017 as a result of action taken by the Income Tax Department.
• A Multi-Agency Group (MAG) was constituted during November 2017 to facilitate co-ordinated and speedy investigation of cases pertaining to Paradise Papers and Panama Papers.

Combatting corruption and pilferage

• A task force was constituted in July 2017 to effectively tackle the malpractices by shell companies.
• The Government of India undertook various measures to curb benami transactions across the country. Some of the measures include setting up of 24 Benami Prohibition Units (BPUs) for taking effective action under the Benami Act and empowering relevant authorities to attach and eventually confiscate benami properties.
• Department of Financial Services advised banks in September 2017 to put restrictions on bank accounts of over two lakh struck-off companies and use enhanced diligence while dealing with companies.
• The Income Tax Department intensified actions under the new Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Amendment Act, 2016 (the Act) w.e.f. 1st November, 2016 and framed the Prohibition of Benami Property Transactions Rules, 2016.

III        Department of Financial Services (DFS)

In order to strengthen the banks, which are the key pillars of the economy, the  Government decided to take a massive step to recapitalise PSBs in a front-loaded manner, with a view to support credit growth and job creation entailing mobilization of capital of about Rs. 2,11,000 crore over the next two years, through budgetary provisions of Rs. 18,139 crore, Re-capitalisation Bonds to the tune of Rs. 1,35,000 crore, and the balance through raising of capital by banks from the market while diluting government equity.

On 23rd August 2017, Cabinet gave in-principle approval for Public Sector Banks to amalgamate through anAlternative Mechanism (AM). The decision would facilitate consolidation among the Nationalised Banks to create strong and competitive banks. Subsequently on 1st Nov 2017, the composition of the Alternative Mechanism committee for consolidation of the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) was finalized.  Under the Chairmanship of the Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley and two other Members - Shri Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Coal and Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Defence, proposals from banks for in-principle approval to formulate schemes of amalgamation will be received and a Report on the proposals cleared by it will be sent to the Cabinet every three months.

The Government also undertook some major legislative changes to facilitate recovery and resolution of stressed assets. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 was enacted as a unified framework for resolving insolvency and bankruptcy matters to put in place safeguards to prevent unscrupulous, undesirable persons from misusing or vitiating the provisions of the Code.

• The Due Diligence Framework of the code was strengthened - Prior to approval of a Resolution Plan, the Resolution Applicants, including promoters, will be put to a stringent test with respect to their credit worthiness and credibility
• It registered National E-Governance Services Limited (NeSL) as an Information Utility (IU) under the IBBI (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017
• It also notified the IBBI (Grievance and Complaint Handling Procedure) Regulations, 2017 in the Gazette of India on 7th December, 2017.
• Loans extended under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) during 2017-18 crossed the target of Rs. 121450.31 crore till 8th December 2017. Under the scheme a loan of upto Rs. 50000 is given under sub-scheme ‘Shishu’ between Rs. 50,000 to 5.0 Lakhs under sub-scheme ‘Kishore’ and between 5.0 Lakhs to 10.0 Lakhs under sub-scheme ‘Tarun’. About 6.28 crore loans were extended to women entrepreneurs till 21st July 2017. 76% of the borrowers under PMMY were women entrepreneurs.
• The number of total bank accounts opened under Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)became 30.69 crore as on 29th November 2017. The number of zero balance accounts declined from 76.81% in September 2014 to less than 20% in Sept 2017. Also, more than 23.08 crore RuPay cards were issued to the account holders along with an overdraft facility of Rs. 5000/- till 29thNovember 2017. Also, all RuPay ATM-cum-Debit Cardholders were made eligible for accidental death and permanent disability insurance cover.
• Over 69 lacs subscribers joined Atal Pension Yojana, flagship program of the Government of India under financial inclusion and financial security, with contribution of Rs. 2690 crore till October, 2017.
• Government launched the Pradhan Mantri Vaya Vandana Yojana (PMVVY) to provide social security during old age and to protect elderly persons aged 60 and above against a future fall in their interest income due to uncertain market conditions.
• Till August 2017, about 52.4 crore unique Aadhaar numbers are linked to 73.62 crore accounts in India. As a result, the poor are able to make payments electronically. Every month now, about 7 crore successful payments are made by the poor using their Aadhaar identification.
• Maximum age of joining National Pension Scheme (NPS) was increased from the existing 60 years to 65 years under NPS- Private Sector

IV        Department of Disinvestment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM)

• The Central Government raised a total of Rs. 52,389.56 crore through disinvestment till 15thDecember, 2017 in the current Financial Year 2017-18.

• With the aim of using Exchange Traded Funds as a vehicle for divestment of shares to meet the target for CPSE’s disinvestment in 2017-18 set at Rs 72,500 crore, the Government launched a new Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) by the name BHARAT 22 on 14th November 2017, managed by ICICI Prudential, targeting an initial amount of about Rs.8,000 crore. Bharat-22 is a unique blend of 22 stocks of CPSE's, PSB's & strategic holding of SUUTI. Compared to energy heavy CPSE ETF, Bharat 22 is a well-diversified portfolio with 6 sectors (Basic Materials, Energy, Finance, FMCG, Industrials and Utilities). The strength of this ETF lies in the specially created Index S&P BSE BHARAT-22 INDEX and has been demonstrated in its performance from the time of its announcement in August 2017 wherein it has out-performed the NIFTY-50 and Sensex and raised about Rs.14,500 crore.

• Some of the other major disinvestments successfully done by the Department in the FY 2017-18 are,

NAME OF CPSES	% OF GOIS SHARES DISINVESTED	RECEIPTS (In Crores)	GOIS SHAREHOLDING POST DISINVESTMENT
OIL	5.6	1135.26	66.13%
NALCO	9.2125	1191.73	65.38%
HUDCO	10.193	1207.35	89.81%
SUUTI	Strategic Disinvestment	41.53.65	-
NIA	11.65	7653.32	85.44%
NTPC	6.63	9117.92	63.11%
GIC	12.5	9704.16	85.78%

(Source – DIPAM site)

• On 16th August 2017, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, had approved the proposal of Department of Investment and public Asset Management (DIPAM) for the strategic disinvestment (i) For setting-up an Alternative Mechanism (AM) consisting of the Finance Minister, Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Minister of Administrative Department, to decide on the matters relating to terms and conditions of the sale from the stage of inviting of Express of Interests (Eols) till inviting of financial bid; and (ii) For empowering the Core Group of Secretaries (CGD) to take policy decisions with regard to procedural issues and to consider deviations as necessary from time to time for effective implementation of decisions of CCEA. The approval will help in speedy completion of strategic disinvestment transactions.

V.  Department of Expenditure (DOE)

• General Financial Rules (GFRs), 2017 were released on 7th March, 2017 to enable an improved, efficient and effective framework of fiscal management while providing the necessary flexibility to facilitate timely delivery of services.
• 7th CPC - On 28th June 2017, the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi approved the recommendations of the 7th CPC on allowances with some modifications. The revised rates of the allowances came into effect from 1st July, 2017 benefitting more than 48 lakh Central Government Employees.

While approving the recommendations of the 7th CPC, the Cabinet had decided to set-up the Committee on Allowances (CoA) in view of substantial changes in the existing provisions and a number of representations received. The 7th CPC adopted a three-pronged approach in examining a total of 197 allowances which involved an assessment of the need for continuation of each allowance, appropriateness of the set of people covered by the allowance and rationalisation which involved clubbing of allowances with similar objectives. Based on the examination on these lines, the 7th CPC recommended that 53 allowances be abolished and 37 be subsumed in an existing or a newly proposed allowance. For most of the allowances that were retained, the 7th CPC recommended a raise commensurate with inflation as reflected in the rates of Dearness Allowance (DA). A new paradigm was evolved to administer the allowances linked to risk and hardship. The myriad allowances, their categories and sub–categories pertaining to civilians employees, CAPF and defence personnel were fitted into a table called the Risk and Hardship Matrix (R&H Matrix).

Promoting Digital Platforms

• Monitoring of funds through PFMS – On 27th October 2017, the Union Finance Minister, Shri Arun Jaitley made the use of Public Finance Management System (PFMS) mandatory for all the Central Sector Schemes of the Government of India to help in tracking and monitoring the flow of funds to the implementing agencies. These Central Sector Schemes (CSS) with a Budgetary Outlay of Rs.6,66,644 crore covered over 31% of the total Central Government expenditure during the Financial Year 2017-18. PFMS, with the capability of providing real time information on resource availability, flows and actual utilization has tremendous potential to improve programme/financial management, reduce the float in the financial systems by enabling ‘just in time’ releases and also the Government borrowings with direct impact on interest costs to the Government.

• Mobile friendly format website: The Finance Minister Shri Jaitley also launched the new website of the Department of Expenditure. As part of the Digital India Programme, the up-graded common landing webpage of the new website of the Department of Expenditure is a major step towards standardization and improvement in presentation and content delivery using the Content Management Framework (CMF).

• The Controller General of Accounts (CGA), launched the upgraded version of Central Pension Accounting Office (CPAO) website (www.cpao.nic.in) on 30th Nov, 2017 primarily to cater to the needs of central civil pensioners and other stakeholders in the Ministries/Departments and Banks. It provides a single window for both accessing pension related information and facilitating grievance Redressal of pensioners.

Public Expenditure Management in the North Eastern States

• The Department of Expenditure, also took several initiatives in the area of Public Expenditure Management in the North Eastern States with special focus on capacity building of the State Government officials and integration of the State Treasuries with the Union Public Financial Management System (PFMS) in order to improve the efficiency and transparency of public expenditure. The Government also released advance grant-in-aid of Rs.51.30 crore to Arunachal Pradesh for rescue and relief operations on account of flash floods

Public Expenditure on Infrastructure

• The Government has consistently increased Public Expenditure on Infrastructure in order to boost employment and provide renewed impetus to economic growth. The Government of India received Rs.7,67,327 crore (47.9% of corresponding BE 17-18 of Total Receipts) upto October 2017 comprising Rs. 6,33,617 crore Tax Revenues (Net to Centre), Rs. 95,151 crore of Non-Tax Revenues and Rs.38,559 crore of Non-Debt Capital Receipts. Non-Debt Capital Receipts consists of Recovery of Loans (Rs. 8,394 crore) and Disinvestment of PSUs (Rs. 30,165 crore). Rs.3,37280 crore has been transferred to the State Governments as Devolution of Share of Taxes by Government of India in this period.

• There has been a Special thrust on key development sectors including Rural Roads, Housing, Railways, Power, Highways and Digital Infrastructure. The CAPEX target of the Government of India for 2017-18 was Rs. 3.09 lakhs crore, which is 31.28% higher than last year, out of which Rs.1.46 lakhs crore was spent on capital works till September 2017. The Government launched a new Umbrella program for Road Building of 83,677 km of roads involving CAPEX of Rs.6.92 lakhs crore over next 5 years with an outlay of Rs.5,35,000 crore that would generate 14.2 crore man-days of jobs.