How do wireless swiping machines work? What is the working principle?

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This type of machines work with GPRS data networks provided by a mobile service provider with the help of a GSM SIM. This is very similar to a wired swiping machine except that the internet connection to the device is established with wireless GPRS data. The firmware program installed in the device will transfer the data from the swiped Card (Card-owner’s name, card-number and expiry date of the card) to the merchant’s bank for payment process. A response message will be received by the device from the merchant’s bank depending on the result of this processing (transaction completed, failed etc).

A complete tax benefits details section wise.

Section 80c

Under Section 80C, the maximum tax exemption limit is Rs 1.5 Lakhs per annum. The various investments that can be claimed as tax deductions under section 80c are listed below;

# PPF (Public Provident Fund)
# EPF (Employees’ Provident Fund)5 years # Bank or Post office Tax saving Deposits
# National Savings Certificates (NSC)
# ELSS Mutual Funds (Equity Linked Saving Schemes)
# Children’s Tuition FeesLife Insurance. # PremiumSukanya Samriddhi Account. # Deposit SchemeSCSS (Post office Senior Citizen Savings Scheme)
# Repayment of Home Loan (Principal only)
# National Pension SystemNABARD rural Bonds
# Stamp duty charges for purchase of a new house

Section 80CCC

Contributions made towards Annuity plans available with any of the Life Insurance Companies for receiving pension from the fund can be considered for tax benefit. The maximum Tax deduction allowed under this section is Rs 1.5 Lakhs.

*Section 80CCD*

Employees can contribute to National Pension Scheme (NPS). The maximum contributions can be up to 10% of the salary (Basic+DA) for salaried or gross income in case of self employed. From 2017-18 and additional tax deduction of up to Rs 50,000 u/s 80CCD (1b) is allowed for excess employee contributions and this is over and above the limit of Rs 1.5 Lakhs.

The definition of Salary is ‘Basic + Dearness Allowance + any other bonus’. If the employer also contributes to Pension Scheme, the entire employer contribution (maximum 10% of the salary) can be claimed as a tax deduction under Section 80CCD (2). This is over and above the limit of Rs.1.5 Lakhs.

It is to be kindly noted that the total deductions under sections 80C, 80CCD (1) and 80CCC put together cannot exceed Rs 1,50,000 for the financial year 2017-18.

*Section 80DD*

Up to Rs 75,000 can be claimed for spending on medical treatments of your dependents (spouse, parents, children or siblings) who have 40% disability. The upto Rs 1.25 lakhs can be deducted in case of severe disability (80%).


Section 80DDB

Any individual below the age of 60 years can claim upto Rs 40,000 for the treatment of certain specified critical diseases. This can also be claimed for his/her dependents.

Senior Citizens (above 60 years) can claim upto Rs 60,000 and very Senior Citizens (above 80 years) can claim Rs 80,000 under this section.

It is mandatory for an individual to obtain a Medical Certificate from a specialist doctor in a Hospital, to claim Tax deductions under Section 80DDB

Section 80U

This section is similar to Section 80DD but here the Tax deduction is permitted for the employee himself who is physically or mentally challenged.

Section 80D

Upto Rs. 30,000 can be deducted towards the medical insurance premium for senior citizens (above 60 years) and upto Rs. 25,000 can be deducted towards medical insurance of self and dependents (spouse & children).

Additionally, a deduction of up to Rs. 25,000 towards medical insurance premium of parents (father/mother/both) is available. If both the parents (Father & Mother) are senior citizens, then the deduction allowed is up to Rs. 30, 000.

Section 24: Income Tax Benefit for Interest paid on Home Loan

Income tax benefit on payment of Interest paid on home loan is allowed for deduction under Section 24. The maximum deduction allowed under this Section for a self-occupied house property is upto Rs. 2 Lakhs.

In case, the home Loan has been taken for the property which is not self-occupied, there is no maximum limit prescribed and the entire interest paid is fully exempted.

If the taxpayer has availed a home loan for repair works or reconstruction, a maximum deduction of upto Rs 30,000 per financial year is permitted.

Section 80EE

In Budget 2017-2018, a new proposal has been made in which, first time home buyers are eligible for an ad.

https://youtu.be/npUpN8pv94o

Full view , as like institute class. 3 sure short marks conform

▶️GST Council decides to implement uniform system of e-way bill for movement of goods across the country by 1st June next year.

The Uniform System of e-way Bill for inter-State as well as intra-State movement of good will be implemented across the country by 1st June next year.

💢The decision to this effect was taken by the GST Council at its 24th Meeting.
💢The System for e-way bill generation will be ready by 16th of next month and the States may choose their own timings for its implementation on any date before 1st June next year.
✴️The rules for implementation of nationwide e-way Bill system on a compulsory basis will be notified on 1st February next year.

Advantage

It will bring uniformity across the States for seamless inter-State movement of goods.

Why Blood is Red?
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Each hemoglobin protein is made up sub units called hemes, which are what give blood its Red color. More specifically, the Hemes can bind iron molecules, and these iron molecules bind oxygen. The blood cells are red because of the interaction between Iron and oxygen.

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Fiscal Policy deals with the taxation and expenditure decisions of the goverment covered in the annual budget. Monetary Policy
deals with the supply of money in the economy and the rate of interest. In India, the goverment deals with fscal policy, while
the Central bank (RBI) is resoponsible for monetary policy

Fiscal policy
Fiscal policy or budgetary policy refers to the use by
the government of the various instruments such as
taxation, expenditure and borrowing in order to achieve
the objectives of balanced economic development, full
employment or to establish a welfare state.

Types of Deficit
Revenue deficitmeans the excess of current revenue expenditure over current revenue receipts. Revenue defcit indicates that the government cannot meet its current expenditure from its current revenue.
Revenue Defcit= Revenue expenditure – Revenue receipts

Budget defcit is the overall defcit, i.e. the excess of total expenditure over total revenues. It includes both capital and revenue items in receipts and expenditure. Traditionally, defcit fnancing in Indian budgets had meant flling this gap.
Budget Defcit= Total expenditure – Total receipts

Fiscal Deficit
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Fiscal deficit is budget deficit plus borrowings and other liabilities. Previously, when budgetary defcit was the prime consideration, borrowings from the market and receipts from national savings, provident funds, etc. were being treated as capital receipts. To this extent, government’s actual deficit was being understood. In other words, fscal defcit indicates
the total borrowing requirements of the government from all sources, whereas budgetary defcit only indicated government’s borrowing from RBI.
Fiscal defcit = Revenue receipts (net tax revenue and
non tax revenue capital receipts (only
recoveries of loans and other receipts) –
Total expenditure (Plan and non-plan)
or
Fiscal defcit = Budget defcit + Government’s market
borrowing and liabilities.

CURRENTS AFFAIRS OF ENERGY TOPIC OF GS PAPER 3.

Prelims: Draft NEP, Niti Aayog
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This article discusses the proposal of aligning energy prices with international rates and also the draft NEP.

A draft national energy policy proposing aligning energy prices with international rates will be put up for the approval of the Cabinet. 

IMPACT

If approved, energy prices across sectors would become market-driven and subsides would be limited to identified beneficiaries via direct benefit transfer, much on the lines of the LPG subsidy. 


The government think tank Niti Aayog in June released a draft National Energy Policy (NEP), on which it had been working since 2015.

Prime Minister had chaired interministerial consultations on the policy after the coal ministry expressed reservations over market-driven prices that would pose a threat to the monopoly and margins of Coal India. 

Draft NEP: Highlights

The policy will help India integrate with the global energy world without compromising on the energy needs of the poorest of the poor, who will continue to get subsidy on all forms of energy directly into their bank accounts through direct benefit transfer. 

The outward-looking policy is against any kind of subsidies at the production and distribution levels as it distorts the system. 

Instead, it has strongly vouched for DBT as the technological platform to transfer subsidies to the poor after the success of LPG.

In its draft policy, Niti Aayog said India’s energy demand was likely to soar around three times by 2040, leading to increase in overall primary energy imports.

 It had also made a case for a single regulator to govern India’s energy market to make ‘India’s economy energy-ready’ by 2040.


The NEP will replace the Integrated Energy Policy of the UPA regime and lay the road map for government push towards clean energy and reducing fuel import.


 According to the draft NEP, the period 2017-2040 is expected to witness a quantum leap in the uptake of renewable energy, drastic reduction in energy intensity, doubling of per-capita energy consumption and tripling of per-capita electricity consumption.

Infrastructure growth
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BLUE ECONOMY ?
Blue Economy is proving to be a catalyst in India’s progress and the performance of ports is a clear pointer towards Progress.


To serve the industry needs in a better wayIdentifying issues holding up new projects and understanding ways to improve efficiency Promoting coastal shipping and improving port infrastructure


Blue Economy: 

The Blue Economy is envisaged as the integration of Ocean Economy development with the principles of social inclusion, environmental sustainability and innovative, dynamic business models.

It is founded upon a systems approach, wherein renewable and organic inputs are fed into sustainably designed systems to fuel “blue growth”.

Such “blue growth” addresses the problems of resource scarcity and waste disposal, while delivering sustainable development that enhances human welfare in a holistic manner.

Blue Economy” has emerged as a term referring to a healthy ocean, supporting higher productivity.

The current focus is confined to marine products, including minerals, as if this is all it concerns.

The concept of blue economy is much broader and encompasses even maritime activities, such as shipping services.

From UPSC perspective, the following things are important:
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All aspects related to implementation and working of GST (A question was asked in Mains 2017 on it)

Problems associated with GST

The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) raised much hope that it would herald the emergence of a ‘good and simple tax’ with ‘one nation, one market, one tax’There has been considerable concern with the new tax, both in its structure and operational details, including the ease of paying the tax and filing returnsTrade and industry have been grappling with the problem of payment, filing the returns and claiming input tax credit, and exporters have been facing liquidity crises

History of GST

GST is a standard policy recommendation for every country going in for the structural adjustment programme of the International Monetary FundThe GST has taken centre-stage in many countries and is considered important in view of the competitive reduction in corporation tax rates due to high mobility of capitalOf over 165 countries which have adopted GST in one form or another, only five have repealed it (Belize, Ghana, Grenada, Malta and Vietnam), but have reintroduced the tax later

Desirable features of GST

It is important not to have too low thresholdsReasonably high thresholds will reduce the compliance burden to a large number of small businesses without much impact on revenueIn developing countries, a threshold closer to $100,000 would eliminate 75% of the taxpayers with a revenue loss of less than 4%

2. GST should have fewer rates

Multiple rates create classification problems, are harder to administer and would require the general rate of tax to be higherIt would also invite a lot of lobbying by special interest groups

3. It is important to prepare well before the plunge

Most countries take at least two years to prepare for the introduction of reform to ensure a smooth transitionThis is particularly necessary for developing and testing the technology platform, educating the tax collectors and taxpayers and to avoid any anomalies in the structure of the tax

Indian version of GST

Given that the reform had to be evolved by taking into account the views of 29 States, two Union Territories with legislatures and the Union government, compromises are inevitableIt is impossible to expect the structure of the tax to be idealSome bad initial features may be an essential compromise to get the tax accepted in the first placeHaving four tax rates and three rates of cesses should have been avoidedIt enormously complicates the technology platform to ensure input tax credit mechanism

Way Forward

Problems of transition to a major tax reform are unavoidable and most countries go through thisAll traders, in one way or the other, are being brought into the formal sector which would hurt some of themIt appears desirable to move immediately towards three slabs with the final goal of reducing the slabs to two
and to fix the threshold at ₹50 lakh.

Positive affects of changing the colonial era definition of Bamboo

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Bamboo: Grass from tree

Recently, the Lok Sabha amended Section 2(7) of the Indian Forest Act, 1927 which had led to bamboo being seen as timber

Earlier, a law dating back to the colonial era classified the plant as a tree

What is its significance?

 The significance of this amendment is not merely academic

Classifying bamboo as a grass will remove the forest department’s hold over the natural resource and open up a range of economic possibilities, including reducing dependence on bamboo imports

How was the colonial-era definition affecting India?

Bamboo was slotted as a “forest produce” and placed in the same category as palm and other trees

After Independence, generations of foresters interpreted this provision to imply that bamboo being a tree was under the control of the forest department

The woody plant would find its way to markets largely through auctions held by the department

This monopoly has come in the way of India becoming a major player in the 60 billion dollar global bamboo market. India has 30 per cent of the world’s bamboo resources, but still imports the plan

Huge demand and supply gap

According to a CII-India Development Foundation paper, “Industrialisation of the bamboo sector in India”, at 13 million tonnes (mt) a year, India has nearly 14 million hectares of bamboo forests, but the country’s share of the bamboo market is a measly 4.5 per cent

the country’s bamboo production is far short of the annual demand of 27 mt.

SC decision on Bamboo

In 1996, the Supreme Court ruled that “felled bamboo” was not timber

And, the Forests Rights Act (FRA), 2006, classified bamboo as a “non-timber forest produce”

But both the apex court and the FRA stopped short of aligning bamboo with its taxonomic classification

The way forward

Removing the colonial-era law could enable linking the bamboo sector with government initiatives such as Make in India

It will need some hand-holding like subsidies and bank loans schemes, though.

( 23 Dec )
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• The high court of this state has ordered to cut off electricity, water supplies to the unregistered commercial establishments - Himachal Pradesh

• The 20th Special Representatives level talks are underway between India and this nation – China

• This Indian female cricketer has been selected for both ICC Women's ODI Cricket Team of the Year and ICC Women's T20 International Cricket Team of the Year - Ekta Bisht

• This state’s assembly has passed a stringent bill, UPCOC, which is aimed at curbing organised crime and terror in the state - Uttar Pradesh

• The Union Cabinet on 20 December 2017 approved this new bill that seeks to establish an authority to safeguard consumers' rights - Consumer Protection Bill

• The Union government has imposed a 30 % import duty on these food grains - Chana, Masoor

• Person appointed as Officiating Chief of National Green Tribunal - Justice UD Salvi

• This city will host Commonwealth Games in 2022 - Birmingham

• Exercise conducted by Indian Army's Southern Command in Rajasthan - Hamesha Vijayee

• This state decided to beautify and upgrade the 187-year-old Babughat - West Bengal

• This Indian city was ranked 7th in most expensive office locations list as per JLL India Report 2017 - Delhi

• Union Government recently gave environmental clearance for Kaleshwaram Lift Irrigation Scheme in - Telangana

( 23 Dec)
===============
- ICGS Sujay: Offshore Patrol Vessel commissioned into by Indian Coast Guard

- DARPAN Project launched to improve financial inclusion of Rural Population

- Cabinet approves auctioning of 680 FM channels under Phase III

- The Union Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has launched SAMEEP (Students and MEA Engagement Program) to take Indian foreign policy to students across the country

- India selected as Chair of Ad Hoc Committee of Kimberley Certification Scheme

- ⭐️ Vijay Rupani Remains Gujarat Chief Minister, Nitin Patel His Deputy

- India-Switzerland Deal Inked for Information Exchange

- ⭐️ India's First design University Opens in Haryana

- ⭐️ Mamang Dai and Ramesh Kuntal Megh Win Sahitya Akademi Award 2017

- Loan Agreement Signed Between India & Germany for Pare Hydroelectric Plant Project

- ⭐️ Salman Khan Tops Forbes India Celebrity List 2017

( ⭐️ 👈🏻 Symbol Shows V-IMP News )

✅International Current Affairs

o India has sanctioned $25 million to help develop Myanmar's violence-hit Rakhine State.
o This comes after both nations signed an agreement on restoration of normalcy and development of the Rakhine State.

✅ National Current Affairs

o Today (23rd December) is Kisan Diwas (Farmer's Day).
o This day is observed to celebrate the birthday of Chaudhary Charan Singh, the 5th Prime Minister of India.
o He used to be referred to as the ‘Champion of India’s Peasants’ for his strive for the betterment of farmer’s lives in the country.

o Former Bihar Chief Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav was found guilty in the fodder scam case by a special CBI court in Ranchi today.

o What is this Fodder Scam ?
o Fodder scam is a series of financial irregularities where ₹950 crore was fraudulently withdrawn by Bihar's animal husbandry department by making a false paper trail of fodder, medicines, and equipment purchases.
o The scam was exposed in 1996, leading to Lalu Prasad Yadav's resignation as Bihar CM.

India’s poor performance in GHI and ways to improve position in coming years

As per 2017 Global Hunger Index (GHI) Report, published by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), India ranks 100 out 119 countries.

GHI scores are based on four indicators as follows:

Undernourishment: the share of the population that is undernourished (that is, whose caloric intake is insufficient);

Child wasting: the share of children under the age of five who are wasted (that is, who have low weight for their height, reflecting acute under-nutrition);

Child stunting: the share of children under the age of five who are stunted (that is, who have low height for their age, reflecting chronic under-nutrition); and
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Child mortality: the mortality rate of children under the age of five (in part, a reflection of the mix of inadequate nutrition and unhealthy environments)

Government interventions for tackling the problem of hunger in the country and to improve the position in GHI

Provision of foodgrains at highly subsidized prices to the targeted population through State Governments/ UT Administrations under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in terms of National Food Security Act, 2013 and Other Welfare Schemes (OWS) such as Mid-Day Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) Scheme, Rajiv Gandhi Scheme for Empowerment of Adolescent Girls, Annapurna Scheme etc.

National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 provides for coverage of up to 70% of the rural and up to 50% of the urban population thus covering about two-thirds of the population, for receiving food grains at highly subsidized prices of Rs.3, 2 and 1 per Kg. for rice, wheat and coarse grain respectively under TPDS

The Act also has a special focus on nutritional support to women and children.

Recently National Nutrition Mission has been approved under MWCD for addressing malnutrition status of the country in a comprehensive manner.
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