Union Budget 2016-17: Fiscal

Discipline

01-MAR-2016

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presentedthe Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, governance and ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

The following are the new initiatives proposed in the Budget 2016-17aimed at achieving pudent management of government financesand delivery of benefits to the needy.

• The fiscal deficit in 2015-16 (Revised Estimates) and 2016-17(Budgetary Estimates) has been retained at 3.9 percentage and 3.5 percentage of GDP respectively.

• Revenue Deficit target is capped from 2.8 to 2.5 percentage in RE 2015-16.

• The total expenditure in the Budget for 2016-17 has been projected at 19.78 lakh crore rupees, consisting of 5.50 lakh crore rupees under Plan and 14.28 lakh crore rupees as Non-Plan expenditure.

• The increase in Plan expenditure is in the order of 15.3 percentageover 2015-16 BE.

• Plan Allocations have given special emphasis to sectors like agriculture, irrigation, social sector including health, women and child development, welfare of SCs and ST, minorities, infrastructure, etc.

• Continuing with the policy of higher empowering States, the total resources being transferred to States are 99681 crore rupees more over RE 2015-16 and 246024 crore rupees more over Actuals of 2014-15.

• To improve the quality of Government expenditure, every new scheme being sanctioned by Government will have a sunset date and outcome review.

• To avoid overlapping of expenditure, 1500 Central Plan Schemes were rationalised and restructured into about 300 Central Sector and 30 Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Plan vs Non-Plan Expenditure

In order to correct the present skewed allocations in the budget because of Plan and Non-Plan classification of Government expenditure and to facilitate Revenue and Capital classification, the Plan-Non-Plan classification will be done awaywith from fiscal 2017-18. The Union Finance Ministry will closely work with the State Finance Departments to align Central and State Budgets in this matter.

Committee on FRBM Act, 2003

A committee will be formed to review the implementation of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003. The committee will suggest its opinions on the following issues while remaining committed to fiscal prudence and consolidation.

• To suggest necessary amendments to the Act in the context of the uncertainty and volatility which have become the new norms of global economy

• To looking into introduction of having a fiscal deficit range by replacing the present system of having fixed numbers as targets

• To look into the feasibility of deriving a mechanism whereby fiscal expansion or contraction will be aligned with credit contraction or expansion respectively.

Union Budget 2016-17: Governance

and Ease of Doing Business

01-MAR-2016

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presentedthe Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, governance and ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

The following are the new initiatives proposed in the Budget 2016-17to achieve the goal of Minimum Government and Maximum Governance and to enable people to realize their full potential.

Union Budget 2016-17: Financial

Sector Reforms

01-MAR-2016

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presentedthe Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

Herein we present the new initiatives proposed to reform financial sector that are aimed at building trust and improving predictability.

Following measures were announced to reform financial sector -

• A comprehensive Code on Resolution of Financial Firms will be introduced as a Bill in the Parliament during 2016-17. This Code will provide a specialized resolution mechanism to deal with bankruptcy situations in banks, insurance companies and financial sector entities. This Code, together with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2015, when enacted, will provide a comprehensive resolution mechanism for our economy.

• Statutory basis will be provided for Monetary Policy Frameworkthrough amendments to the RBI Act, 1934. And, a Monetary Policy Committee will be set up through the Finance Bill, 2016. A committee-based approach will add lot of value and transparency to monetary policy decisions.

• A Financial Data Management Centre will be set up under the aegis of the Financial Stability Development Council (FSDC) to facilitate integrated data aggregation and analysis in the financial sector.

• To improve greater retail participation in Government securities, RBI will facilitate their participation in the primary and secondary markets through stock exchanges and access to Negotiated Dealing System – Order Matching Segment (NDS-OM) trading platform.

• New derivative products will be developed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in the Commodity Derivatives market.

• To facilitate deepening of corporate bond market, the following measures were announced.

a) LIC of India will set up a dedicated fund to provide credit enhancement to infrastructure projects. The fund will help in raising the credit rating of bonds floated by infrastructure companies and facilitate investment from long term investors.

b) RBI will issue guidelines to encourage large borrowers to access a certain portion of their financing needs through market mechanism instead of the banks.

c) Investment basket of foreign portfolio investors will be expanded to include unlisted debt securities and pass through securities issued by securitisation Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs).

d) For developing an enabling eco system for the private placement market in corporate bonds, an electronic auction platform will be introduced by SEBI for primary debt offer.

e) A complete information repository for corporate bonds, covering both primary and secondary market segments will be developed jointly by RBI and SEBI.

f) A framework for an electronic platform for repo market in corporate bonds will be developed by RBI.

g) The enactment of the proposed Insolvency and Bankruptcy Codewould also provide a major boost to the development of the corporate bond market.

• To tackle the problem of stressed assets in the banking sector, Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) have a very important role.

• Amendments in the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 proposed to tackle the problem of NPAs in the banking sector. The changes will also enable the sponsor of an ARC to hold up to 100 percentage stake in the ARC and permit non-institutional investors to invest in Securitization Receipts.

• A comprehensive Central legislation will be introduced in 2016-17 proposed to deal with the rising instances of illicit deposit taking schemes. The law is of significance as the worst victims of these schemes are the poor and the financially illiterate.

• Amendments to the SEBI Act, 1992 will be introduced in 2017 to provide for more members and benches of the Securities Appellate Tribunal.

Public Sector Banks and General Insurance Companies

• To support the Banks in dealing with the problem of NPAs, 25000 crore rupees will be infused towards recapitalisation of Public Sector Banks in 2016-17.

• The Bank Board Bureau (BBB) will be operationalized during 2016-17 and a roadmap for consolidation of Public Sector Banks will be spelt out. The BBB was formed under chairmanship of former CAG Vinod Rai on 28 February 2016.

• The process of transformation of IDBI Bank has already started. Government will take it forward and also consider the option of reducing its stake to below 50 percent.

• For speedier resolution of stressed assets, the Debt Recovery Tribunals will be strengthened with focus on improving the existing infrastructure, including computerised processing of court cases, to support reduction in the number of hearings and faster disposal of cases.

• Credit creation target under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) is pegged at 180000 crore rupees for 2016-17.Under the scheme, which was launched in April 2015 to fund the small entrepreneurs, Banks and NBFC-MFIs sanctioned one lakh crore rupees to over 2.5 crore borrowers in 2015-16.

• To provide better access to financial services, especially in rural areas, a massive nationwide rollout of ATMs and Micro ATMs will be undertaken in Post Offices over the next three years that is till 2019.

• The general insurance companies owned by the Government, like New India Assurance, United India Insurance, etc, will be listed in the stock exchanges to ensure higher levels of transparency and accountability.

• A bill to amend the Companies Act, 2013 will be introduced in the 2016-17 budget session. The proposed bill would also improve the enabling environment for start-ups by mandating the registration of companies in one day.

• The Director General of Supplies and Disposal (DGS&D) will establish a technology driven platform to facilitate transparency and efficiency in procurement of goods and services by various Ministries and agencies of the Government.

• The Price Stabilisation Fund will be provided with a corpus of 900 crore rupees to support market interventions in procurement of pulses.

• Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat programme will be launched to link States and Districts in an annual programme that connects people through exchanges in areas of language, trade, culture, travel and tourism. The programme marks the celebration of 70th Anniversary of independence.

• Following three initiatives were announced to avoid leakage indisbursement of government subsidies.

1) A bill for targeted delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies,Benefits and Services by using the Aadhaar frameworkwill be introduced in the budget session of 2016-17. A social security platform will be developed using Aadhaar to accurately target beneficiaries. This will be a transformative piece of legislation which will benefit the poor and the vulnerable.

2) Direct Benefit Transfer for delivering fertilizer subsidies will be used on pilot basis in a few districts across the country. It seeks to improve the quality of service delivery to farmers.

3) Out of the 5.35 lakh Fair Price Shops in the country, automation facilities will be provided in 3 lakh Fair Price Shops by March 2017.

Indian Railways launched bar coding

system for unreserved tickets

01-MAR-2016

Indian Railways on 1 March 2016 launched bar coding system for unreserved tickets to bring transparency and prevent revenue leakage in the ticketing system in New Delhi.

The project will be introduced at nine ticket counters in the stations of New Delhi, Old Delhi and Nizamuddin as a pilot project.

The system will prevent the circulation of unauthorised tickets which are affecting the railways’ revenue.

As per the decision of Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the encrypted Quick Response (QR) Code on the unreserved tickets would be printed through thermal printers.

Bar Code Technology

The bar coding feature includes details like ticket number, stock number, fare, source station, destination station, number of adults, number of children, train type, class code and date of journey, that are printed in the form of encrypted QR code.

In this technology, the printing can be done through thermal printer on thermal stationery alone. Therefore, fraud by taking out carbon copy of the ticket or erasing of data and printing of other information on it will be detected by scanning its QR.

Whenever the Staff inspects the tickets, they could scan the encrypted QR code and validate the information printed on the ticket to prevent any fraud.

Union Budget 2016-17: Infrastructure

and Investment

01-MAR-2016

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presentedthe Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation,infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

The objective of the initiatives under the infrastructure sector is to build modern infrastructure for a growing India in order to enhance efficiency and quality of life.

Road Sector Construction

• Sanction for construction of 10000 kms of new National Highwayswill be given in 2016-17. This will be much higher than in the two previous years.

• In addition, nearly 50000 kms of State highways will also be taken up for up-gradation as National Highways.

Policy reforms

Following procedural and policy reforms were suggested to fast-track the development of road sector.

• In the medium term, permit-raj will be abolished in the passenger traffic segment so that it will benefit the common man and the middle class.

• Government will enact necessary amendments in the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 and open up the road transport sector in the passenger segment.

• An enabling eco-system will be provided for the States which will have the choice of adopting the new legal framework.

• Under the new frame work, entrepreneurs will be able to operate buses on various routes, subject to certain efficiency and safety norms.

• The suggested policy changes will result in more efficient public transport facilities, greater public convenience, new investments, creation of new jobs for our youth, growth of start-up entrepreneurs and other multiplier effects.

Ports

• 450 crore rupees were allocated for Sagar Mala Project in 2016-17.The Union Cabinet gave its in-principal approval to the project in March 2015 to promote port-led direct and indirect development in the country.

• New greenfield ports will be constructed both in the eastern and western coasts of the country.

• 800 crore rupees were allocated for the development of this sector including development of National Water Highways.

Civil Aviation

• The Government will announce a comprehensive action plan for revival of unserved and underserved airports in the country.

• At present, there are about 160 airports and air strips with State Governments which can be revived at an indicative cost of 50 crore to 100 crore each. The Union Government will partner with the State Governments to develop some of these airports for regional connectivity.

• Similarly, 10 of the 25 non-functional air strips with the Airport Authority of India will also be developed.

Oil and Gas

• Amidst declining domestic production and raising imports, the stated objective is to achieve self-sufficiency in this sector through policy means.

• Gas production from deep-water, ultra deep-water and high pressure-high temperature areas, which are presently not exploited on account of higher cost and higher risks will be incentivized through appropriate policy changes.

• A proposal is under consideration for new discoveries and areas which are yet to commence production, first, to provide calibrated marketing freedom; and second, to do so at a pre-determined ceiling price to be discovered on the principle of landed price of alternative fuels.

Reforms in Public Private Partnership

Policy

In order leverage the potential of private sector in the development of infrastructure following three new initiatives were proposed to the policy on Public Private Partnership.

1) A Public Utility (Resolution of Disputes) Bill will be introduced during 2016-17 to streamline institutional arrangements for resolution of disputes in infrastructure related construction contracts, PPP and public utility contracts

2) Guidelines for renegotiation of PPP Concession Agreements will be issued, keeping in view the long term nature of such contracts and potential uncertainties of the real economy, without compromising transparency

3) A new credit rating system for infrastructure projects which gives emphasis to various in-built credit enhancement structures will be developed, instead of relying upon a standard perception of risk which often results in mispriced loans

Reforms in FDI Policy

Following reforms were suggested in the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and related policies in sectors covering the areas of insurance and pension, Asset Reconstruction Companies, Stock Exchanges, etc.

• 100 percent FDI will be allowed through FIPB route in marketing offood products produced and manufactured in India. This will benefit farmers, give impetus to food processing industry and create vast employment opportunities.

• Foreign investment will be allowed in the insurance and pension sectors in the automatic route up to 49 percent subject to the extant guidelines on Indian management and control to be verified by the regulators.

• 100 percent FDI in Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) will be permitted through automatic route. Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) will be allowed up to 100 percent of each tranche in securities receipts issued by ARCs subject to sectoral caps.

• Investment limit for foreign entities in Indian stock exchanges will be enhanced from 5 to 15 percent on par with domestic institutions. This will enhance global competitiveness of Indian stock exchanges and accelerate adoption of best-in-class technology and global market practices.

• The existing 24 percent limit for investment by FPIs in Central Public Sector Enterprises, other than Banks, listed in stock exchanges, will be increased to 49 percent to obviate the need for prior approval of Government for increasing the FPI investment.

• The basket of eligible FDI instruments will be expanded to include hybrid instruments subject to certain conditions.

• FDI will be allowed beyond the 18 specified Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) activities in the automatic route in other activities which are regulated by financial sector regulators.

• With a view to promote Make In India and following the practices in advanced countries, foreign investors will be accorded Residency Status subject to certain conditions. Currently, these investors are granted business visa only up to 5 years at a time.

• A Centre State Investment Agreement was proposed. This will ensure fulfillment of the obligations of the State Governments under Bilateral Investment Treaties. States which opt to sign these Agreements will be seen as more attractive destinations by foreign investors.

Central Public Sector Enterprises

related

• The Department of Disinvestment was renamed as the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).

• In order to utilize the assets of CPSEs for generation of resources for investment in new projects a new policy was approved by the Government.

• For this, divestment of individual assets like land, manufacturing units, etc. to release their asset value for making investment in new projects will be encouraged.

• In this regard, the NITI Aayog will identify the CPSEs for strategic sale.

• A comprehensive approach will be adopted for efficient management of Government investment in CPSEs by addressing issues such as capital restructuring, dividend, bonus shares, etc.

Funds Allocation

• For roads and highways 55000 crore rupees proposed for 2016-17. In addition, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) will be allowed to raise 15000 crore rupees through bonds.

• Total investment in the road sector, including Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) allocation of 27000 crore rupees, would be 97000 crore rupees during 2016-17.

• Together with the capital expenditure of the Railways, the total outlayon roads and railways will be 218000 crore in 2016-17.

• To augment infrastructure spending further, Government will permit mobilisation of additional finances to the extent of 31300 crore by NHAI, PFC, REC, IREDA, NABARD and Inland Water Authority through rising of Bonds during 2016-17.

• Overall, outlay for infrastructure is pegged at 221246 crore rupees in 2016-17. It is an increase of 22.5 percent over the 2015-16 for which 180610 crore rupees were allocated.

Justice HL Dattu took charge as

Chairperson of National Human Rights

Commission

01-MAR-2016

Former Chief Justice of India Justice Handyala Lakshminarayanaswamy Dattu on 29 February 2016 took charge as the Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission of India. He is the seventh Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission.

He became the 42^nd Chief Justice of India on 28 September 2014 and demitted office 2 December 2015.

Appointment of Chairperson and other

Members

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) was constituted under The Protection of Human Rights Act and it comprises of a Chairperson and four members. Chairperson of the NHRC is necessarily the former Chief Justice of India.

The Chairperson and the Members is appointed by the President of India on the recommendations of a Committee consisting of–

(a) The Prime Minister — Chairperson

(b) Speaker of the House of the People — Member

(d) Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha — Member

(e) Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha — Member

(f) Deputy Chairman of the Rajya Sabha — Member

• No sitting Judge of the Supreme Court or sitting Chief Justice of a High Court shall be appointed except after consultation with the Chief Justice of India.

• No appointment of a Chairperson or a Member shall be invalid merely by reason of any vacancy of any member in the Committee.

Vedanta Limited won first ever auction

of an Indian gold mine

01-MAR-2016

Vedanta Limited on 27 February 2016 won the nation’s first-ever gold mining lease auctioned by the Chhattisgarh Government. The company acquired the Baghmara (Sonakhan) gold mine with its highest bid of 12.55 percent of Indian Bureau of Mining (IBM) price of 74712 rupees/ troy ounce.

Following the auction, Vedanta will get the composite licence that includes prospecting as well as cum-mining lease.

The auction is expected to yield 82 crore rupees to the state exchequer in addition to the royalty of 25 crore rupees.

The mine is situated in Balodabazaar-Bhatapara district of Chhattisgarh, 130 km north-east of the state capital Raipur. It is one of the oldest explored deposits of the precious metal in Central India.

An estimated reserve found during the initial prospecting for gold in the region, that spreads over 607 hectares, is 2700 kg.

The four companies that participated in the auction were Rungta Mines Ltd, Vedanta Limited, Krishna Global Minerals Ltd and Sainik Mining and Allied Services Ltd.

The state government had invited bids for granting of mining lease through the auction of one gold block and the four limestone blocks on 8 December 2015.

Peru declared emergency after oil spill

Hits Rivers

01-MAR-2016

Peru on 29 February 2016 declared an emergency after a major oil pipeline burst affecting two rivers, namely Chiriaco and Morona, in the country's northwest. This emergency will continue to be in force for three weeks.

The pipeline burst poured 3000 barrels of crude oil into the two rivers, which are the main source of water and food for several indigenous communities.

The pipeline that spilled the crude oil in rivers is owned by Petro Peru, a state-owned oil company, reportedly used to transport between 5000 and 6000 oil barrels per day.

The government has told these communities not to eat fish from the polluted waters. This has been the third oil spill in less than a month and at least eight indigenous communities rely on the rivers for water.

2016 Iran Parliamentary and Assembly

of Experts Election results declared

01-MAR-2016

2016 Iran Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections results were declared on 29 February 2016. The elections were held for 290 parliamentary seats in which 146 seats are needed for a majority.

In the election claimed to be a fight between hardliners and reformists led by President Hassan Rouhani, no party was able to prove majority. The election, first in Iran after 2015 nuclear deal and the lifting of international sanctions, was held on held on 26 February 2016.

Final results showed seats being shared three ways between Rouhani's reformist and moderate allies, conservatives and independents. But the tallies suggested that the President would be able to muster support from key backers and create a working majority. This can happen as moderates and moderate conservatives have won enough seats to obtain a coalition majority over the hard-line bloc.

In the fight between the reformists and hardliners, the hardliners also lost their seats in the country’s 88-member Assembly of Experts (that will choose country's next supreme leader once Ayatollah Ali Khamenei dies during its eight-year term).

The results of the election and coalition majority once proved will help Iran to fetch a good image in the international arena. It will also help the nation in bringing in gradual changes in its nuclear programme, brokered by President Barack Obama and criticised by his American political adversaries.

Vedanta Limited won first ever auction

of an Indian gold mine

01-MAR-2016

Following the auction, Vedanta will get the composite licence that includes prospecting as well as cum-mining lease.

The auction is expected to yield 82 crore rupees to the state exchequer in addition to the royalty of 25 crore rupees.

An estimated reserve found during the initial prospecting for gold in the region, that spreads over 607 hectares, is 2700 kg.

The four companies that participated in the auction were Rungta Mines Ltd, Vedanta Limited, Krishna Global Minerals Ltd and Sainik Mining and Allied Services Ltd.

The state government had invited bids for granting of mining lease through the auction of one gold block and the four limestone blocks on 8 December 2015.

Peru declared emergency after oil spill

Hits Rivers

01-MAR-2016

The pipeline burst poured 3000 barrels of crude oil into the two rivers, which are the main source of water and food for several indigenous communities.

The pipeline that spilled the crude oil in rivers is owned by Petro Peru, a state-owned oil company, reportedly used to transport between 5000 and 6000 oil barrels per day.

2016 Iran Parliamentary and Assembly

of Experts Election results declared

01-MAR-2016

2016 Iran Parliamentary and Assembly of Experts elections results were declared on 29 February 2016. The elections were held for 290 parliamentary seats in which 146 seats are needed for a majority.

Union Budget 2016-17: Education,

Skills and Job creation

01-MAR-2016

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presentedthe Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure, financial sector reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

The minister announced various initiatives with a focus on empowering India’s youth and provide them with quality education, better skills and more job opportunities.

New Initiatives Education

Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA)

• It seeks to empower Higher Educational Institutions so that they become world class teaching and research institutionsand enhance affordable access to high quality education for ordinary Indians.

• It will be set up an initial capital base of 1000 crore rupees.

• It will be a not-for-profit organisation and will leverage funds from the market and supplement them with donations and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds.

• In the first phase, these funds will be used for infrastructure improvement in 10 public and 10 private institutions.

Digital Depository of Certificates

• Under this initiative, a Digital Depository for School Leaving Certificates, College Degrees, Academic Awards and Mark sheetswill be set up on the pattern of a Securities Depository.

• It will help Students, Higher Education Institutions and Employers to access degree certificates of candidates in digital form.

• It will help validate the authenticity, safe storage and easy retrieval of certificates.

Skill Development

• 1804 crore rupees allocated for various skill developments related initiatives in 2016-17.

• National Board for Skill Development Certification will be set up in partnership with the industry and academia under the Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana.

Job Creation Employees' Provident

Fund related

• The Union Government will pay the Employee Pension Scheme contribution of 8.33 percent for all new employees enrolling in EPFO for the first three years of their employment.

• This will incentivize the employers to recruit unemployed persons and also to bring into the books the informal employees.

• In order to channelize this intervention towards the target group of semi-skilled and unskilled workers, the scheme will be applicable to those with salary up to 15000 rupees per month.

• 1000 crore rupees allocated to implement this scheme in 2016-17.

Deductions under Section 80JJAA of

the Income Tax Act, 1961

• The Government proposed to broaden and liberalize the scope of the employment generation incentive available under Section 80JJAA of the Income Tax Act.

• The deduction will be available not only to assessees deriving income from manufacture of goods in a factory but to all assessees who are subject to statutory audit under the Act.

• Thus, a deduction of 30 percent of the emoluments paid to such employees can be claimed for three years.

• The minimum number of days for which they should be employed during the year is proposed to be reduced from 300 to 240 days.

• No deduction will, however, be admissible in respect of employees whose monthly emoluments exceed 25000 rupees.

• Also, no deduction will be admissible in respect of employees for whom the Government is paying the entire EPS contribution.

Career Service

• 100 Model Career Centres (MCCs) will be operationalised by the end of 2016-17.

• State Employment Exchanges will be inter-linked with the National Career Service platform. A National Career Service was launched in July 2015 and already 35 million jobs seekers have registered on this platform.

Model Shops and Establishments Bill

• The Union Government will circulate a Model Shops and Establishments Bill that can be adopted by the State Governments on voluntary basis.

• It will allow small and medium shops to remain open on all seven days, which is, at present, applicable only to shopping malls.

• The model bill will be prepared, among other things, keeping the interest of the workers in terms of mandatory weekly holiday, number of working hours per day, etc.

Strengthening existing

schemes Jawahar Navodaya

Vidyalayas Scheme

• 62 new Navodaya Vidyalayas will be opened in the remaining uncovered districts by 2017-18.

• The Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas Scheme was initiated in 1986.

• At present, there are approximately schools across India except Tamil Nadu.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY)

• The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in March 2015 an outlay of 1500 crore rupees.

• It seeks to impart skill training to youth with focus on first time entrants to the labour market and class 10 and class 12 drop outs.

• The scheme will scaled up to skill one crore youth over the next three years with an investment of 1700 crore rupees.

• New 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes (MSTIs) will be set up across the country.

• Entrepreneurship Education and Training will be provided in 2200 colleges, 300 schools, 500 Government ITIs and 50 Vocational Training Centres through Massive Open Online Courses.

• Aspiring entrepreneurs, particularly those from remote parts of the country, will be connected to mentors and credit markets.

Vice Admiral HCS Bisht took charge as

Commanding-in-Chief of Eastern Naval

Command

01-MAR-2016

Vice Admiral HCS Bisht took over as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Eastern Naval Command on 29 February 2016 in Visakhapatnam.

Besides, Atul Kumar Jain took charge as the Chief of Staff of Eastern Naval Command on 27 February 2016. He succeeded Vice Admiral Bimal Verma.

Bimal Verma was transferred as the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of the Andaman and Nicobar Command at Port Blair.

Indian Naval Commands

Indian Navy is organized into four commands. These are

• Eastern Naval Command: Headquartered at Visakhapatnam

• Western Naval Command: Headquartered at Mumbai

• Southern Naval Command: Headquartered at Kochi

• Andaman and Nicobar Command: Headquartered at Port Blair

Kerala declared first digital state of

India by President Pranab Mukherjee

01-MAR-2016

President Pranab Mukherjee on 27 February 2016 formally declared Kerala as the first digital state of India. The declaration was made after President launched a digital empowerment campaign in Kozhikode aimed at bridging the digital divide by 2020.

Besides the digital empowerment campaign, President Mukherjee also inaugurated Cyber Park, IT Park under the Uralungal Labour Contract Cooperative Society. He also launched the Kanivu Scheme and dedicated the Gender Park of the Department of Social Justice.

The State has a mobile tele-density of 95 percent and internet covered over 60 percent of the population.

Armaan Ebrahim won FMSCI

Motorsports Man of the Year Trophy

01-MAR-2016

Car racer Armaan Ebrahim on 28 February 2016 was awarded the Motorsports Man-of-the-Year Trophy at ceremony organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).

Ebrahim was presented with the Raymond Gautam Singhania Rolling Trophy and cash prize of 2 lakh rupees for his performance in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Series.

On the other hand, B.I. Chandhok received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to motorsports in the country.

About Armaan Ebrahim

• Armaan Ebrahim started his career in karting and became Formula LGB Champion in 2004.

• He later moved to Formula BMW Asia for the 2005 season.

• In 2005, he represented A1 Team India in the A1 Grand Prix Championship, driving in 6 races, before the team was disbanded due to lack of funds.

• In 2007, he drove in Formula V6 Asia where he captured five race wins and finished second in points.

• On 12 December 2008, he was announced as the first Asian driver to sign up for the rebirth of FIA Formula Two in 2009, driving car number six.

About Federation of Motor Sports

Clubs of India

• The FMSCI was founded in 1971 and is a long-standing member of the Federation Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM) and the Federation International de l’Automobile (FIA), the world bodies for 2/3 and 4 wheeler motor sport respectively.

• The FMSCI is the only national motor sport federation recognised by the Government of India for the promotion and control of motor sport in India.

• It is also affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association.

Armaan Ebrahim won FMSCI

Motorsports Man of the Year Trophy

01-MAR-2016

Car racer Armaan Ebrahim on 28 February 2016 was awarded the Motorsports Man-of-the-Year Trophy at ceremony organised by the Federation of Motor Sports Clubs of India (FMSCI).

Ebrahim was presented with the Raymond Gautam Singhania Rolling Trophy and cash prize of 2 lakh rupees for his performance in the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Series.

On the other hand, B.I. Chandhok received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his contribution to motorsports in the country.

About Armaan Ebrahim

• Armaan Ebrahim started his career in karting and became Formula LGB Champion in 2004.

• He later moved to Formula BMW Asia for the 2005 season.

• In 2005, he represented A1 Team India in the A1 Grand Prix Championship, driving in 6 races, before the team was disbanded due to lack of funds.

• In 2007, he drove in Formula V6 Asia where he captured five race wins and finished second in points.

• On 12 December 2008, he was announced as the first Asian driver to sign up for the rebirth of FIA Formula Two in 2009, driving car number six.

About Federation of Motor Sports

Clubs of India

• The FMSCI is the only national motor sport federation recognised by the Government of India for the promotion and control of motor sport in India.

• It is also affiliated to the Indian Olympic Association.

Oscar winning actor George Kennedy

died

01-MAR-2016

Oscar winning actor George Kennedy, who won Academy Award for the 1960s classic Cool Hand Luke, died in the city of Boise, Idaho on 28 February 2016. He was 91.

He won an Oscar in 1968 as Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dragline (a savage chain-gang convict) opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke. The movie garnered four Academy Award nominations, and Kennedy was named best supporting actor.

He won an Oscar in 1968 for Best Supporting Actor for portraying Dragline (a savage chain-gang convict) opposite Paul Newman in Cool Hand Luke.

He also made memorable appearances in Earthquake and Airport 1975.

After acting in serious roles for most of his career, Kennedy threw himself into comedy as Captain Ed Hocken, the sidekick to Leslie Nielsen’s bumbling cop Frank Drebin in the Naked Gun films.

His other films included The Dirty Dozen, The Eiger Sanction, Airport, Guns of the Magnificent Seven, Don't Come Knocking, The Gambler and Death on the Nile among others.

Union Budget 2016-17: Social Sector

01-MAR-2016

he Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presentedthe Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector,social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure, financial sector reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

The minister announced various initiatives to infuse new dynamism in social sector and empower the vulnerable at an estimated cost of151581 crore rupees in 2016-17.

New Initiatives

LPG connection to all BPL families

• The scheme seeks to provide universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.

• It is complimentary to Give It Up campaign under which 75 lakh middle class and lower middle class households who have voluntarily given up their cooking gas subsidy. The campaign was launched in March 2015 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

• Under this new scheme, LPG connections will be provided in the name of women members of poor households.

• 2000 crore rupees allocated for 2016-17 to meet the initial cost of providing these LPG connections.

• This will benefit about 1 crore 50 lakh households below the poverty line in 2016-17.

• The Scheme will be continued for at least two more years to cover a total of 5 crore BPL households.

• It will empower women and protect their health and will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking. It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.

New Health Protection Scheme

• Under this scheme, health cover up to one lakh rupees per familywill be provided to poor and economically weak families.

• For senior citizens of age 60 years and above belonging to this category, an additional top-up package up to 30000 rupees will be provided.

• This initiative is significant because catastrophic health events are the single most important cause of unforeseen out-of-pocket expenditure and pushes lakhs of households below the poverty line every year.

National Dialysis Services Programme

• It seeks to provide dialysis services at affordable cost in all district hospitals.

• Funds will be made available through Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode under the National Health Mission.

• It will benefit about 2.2 lakh new patients of End Stage Renal Disease who are added in India every year resulting in additional demand for3.4 crore dialysis sessions.

• In addition, certain parts of dialysis equipment were exempted from basic customs duty, excise/ Countervailing duties (CVDs) and special additional duty (SAD).

• The programme was launched as the existing 4950 dialysis centres are largely in the private sector and concentrated in the major towns. Moreover, these centres, because of their ownership and location, are able to meet only half of the demand.

National Scheduled Caste and

Scheduled Tribe Hub

• It will provide professional support to Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe entrepreneurs to fulfill the obligations under the Central Government procurement policy 2012.

• It will adopt global best practices and leverage the Stand Up India initiative.

• It will be implemented in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) in partnership with industry associations.

• Launch of the scheme also marks the 125th Birth Anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar and fulfill the government’s intention to make it the Year of Economic Empowerment for SC/ST entrepreneurs.

Birth Anniversaries

100 crore rupees each allocated for celebrating the birth centenary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay and the 350th Birth Anniversary of Guru Gobind Singh.

Strengthening existing schemes Stand

Up India Scheme

• It was approved by the Union Cabinet in January 2016 to promote entrepreneurship among SC/ST and women entrepreneurs.

• 500 crore rupees allocated for this scheme in 2016-17 and this will benefit at least 2.5 lakh entrepreneurs.

• It will facilitate at least two such projects per bank branch, one for each category of entrepreneur.

Prime Minister’s Jan Aushadhi Yojana

• To reinvigorate the supply of generic drugs 3000 new Jan Aushadhi Stores will be launched in 2016-17.

• The scheme was launched in July 2015 to supply high quality generic medicines at the prices lower than the current market prices.

Twitter launched #PositionOfStrength

campaign for women empowerment

01-MAR-2016

Micro-blogging site Twitter on 26 February 2016 launched#PositionOfStrengthcampaign to empower women to raise voices against any form of discrimination.

The movement aims at bridging the gender equality gap online in India and inspire the next generation of women leaders to have an influential voice in society.

The campaign was previously run in Australia and Ireland, but this is the first time that it arrived in Asia.

Key highlights of the campaign

• Twitter partnered with FICCI Ladies Organisation and Observer Research Foundation to engage more women to find their voices online, communicate safely with confidence and network with other like-minded women and the global community at large.

• As part of the movement, Twitter and its partners will host a series of roundtables and workshops with women leaders to explore increased empowerment and safety for women, both online and in the physical world, throughout the year.

• As part of supporting women on the platform, Twitter India will provide the users access to a safer online environment through the Twitter Safety Centre, which is also available in Hindi.

IGI airport bagged three international

awards

01-MAR-2016

Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) on 29 February 2016 received three international awards, including for best airport by size in the Asia Pacific region.

The ranking was announced by the ACI -- a trade association of the world's airports founded in 1991 -- for the 2015 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Awards.

Delhi airport has retained the world's number one position for the second consecutive year in 25 to 40 Million Passengers Per Annum category. The two other awards are for best airport by size & region Asia Pacific (25-40 MPPA) and second best airport by region (Asia Pacific). In retaining the title, the IGIA scored 4.96 on a scale of 1 to 5 in the ASQ survey.

IGIA is managed by Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL) -- a joint venture between the GMR Group, Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Fraport.

Airports Council International

Airports Council International (ACI) is the only global trade representative of the world’s airports. Established in 1991, ACI represents airports’ interests with governments and international organizations, develops standards, policies and recommended practices for airports, and provides information and training opportunities to raise standards around the world.

It aims to provide the public with a safe, secure, efficient and environmentally responsible air transport system.

Union Budget 2016-17: Rural Sector

01-MAR-2016

The Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on 29 February 2016 presented the Annual Financial Statement or the Union Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha. In his budget speech the minister listed nine pillars on which the Government will focus on in order to transform India into a developed nation.

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector,social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure, financial sector reforms, ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

Herein we present the new initiatives proposed and allocations made to energise rural India and transform lives of rural population.

New initiatives

Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan

• It seeks to develop governance capabilities of Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals.

• It will be implemented with 655 crore rupees in 2016-17.

Digital Literacy Mission Scheme

• A new Digital Literacy Mission Scheme will be launched to spread digital literacy in rural India.

• It is in addition to the existing National Digital Literacy Mission andDigital Saksharta Abhiyan (DISHA) and will cover 6 crore households by the end of 2018-19.

Revamped National Land Record

Modernisation Programme

• It will build an integrated land information management system at an estimated cost of 150 crore rupees.

• It will be implemented as a Central Sector Scheme under the Digital India Programme with effect from 1 April 2016.

Total funds allocated

For rural development as a whole, 87765 crore rupees are allocated in the 2016-17 Budget.

Funds under the 14th Finance Commission

• A sum of 2.87 lakh crore rupees will be given as Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities as per the recommendations of the 14th Finance Commission.

• This is a quantum jump of 228 percentage compared to the allocated made under the 13th Finance Commission period that is 2010-15.

• The funds allocated, translate to an average assistance of over 80 lakh per Gram Panchayat and over 21 crore per Urban Local Body.

Strengthening existing schemes

Deen Dayal Antyodaya Mission

• Every block in drought and distressed areas will be taken up as an intensive Block under this mission.

• It was launched in September 2014, seeks to alleviate urban and rural poverty through enhancement of livelihood opportunities through skill development and other means.

Mahatma Gandhi National Rural

Employment Guarantee Scheme

(MGNREGS)

• Cluster Facilitation Teams (CFTs) will be set up under the scheme to ensure water conservation and natural resource management.

• Formation of Self Help Groups (SHGs) will be speeded up to promote multiple livelihoods.

• These districts would also be taken up on priority under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchaii Yojna.

• A sum of 38500 crore rupees was allocated for this scheme in 2016-17. The allocation for this scheme in 2015-16 was 34699 crore rupees.

Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Rurban

Mission

• 300 Rurban Clusters will be developed under this mission that waslaunched in February 2016 by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Chhattisgarh.

• These Clusters will incubate growth centres in rural areas by providing infrastructure amenities and market access for the farmers. They will also expand employment opportunities for the youth.

Electricity

• 8500 crore rupees provided for Deendayal Upadhayaya Gram Jyoti Yojna and Integrated Power Development Schemes.

• At present around 13000 villages are not electrified and the goal is to achieve 100 percent village electrification by 1 May 2018.

Swachh Bharat Mission

• Priority allocation from Centrally Sponsored Schemes will be made to reward villages that have become free from open defecation.

• In order to continue the momentum under the mission 9000 crore rupees are allocated for 2016-17.

• Allocations for this mission in 2015-16 were 3625 crore rupees.

Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana

• Taking into account the 8000 crore rupees of States, around 27000 crore rupees will be spent on this scheme in 2016-17. Funds allocated for this scheme in 2015-16 was 18291 crore rupees.

• The target for covering the remaining 65000 unconnected habitations was advanced from 2021 to 2019.

• Since its launch in 2000 by the erstwhile NDA Government, 230000km of roads have been constructed.

Monitoring: District Level Committees (DLCs) will be set up under Chairmanship of senior most Lok Sabha MP from the district for monitoring and implementation of designated Central Sector and Centrally Sponsored Schemes.

Rahul Sachdev won 1st All India Open

Invitational Snooker Championship

2016

01-MAR-2016

Rahul Sachdev on 29 February 2016 won the 1st All India Open Invitational Snooker Championship 2016 in Aurangabad, Maharashtra.

This tournament was organized by Billiards and Snooker Association of Aurangabad and had no relation with Cue Sports India.

Rahul defeated Pushpender Singh of Railways in the final with 5-3 Score. Though Pushpender emerged as a strong contender and had lost only one frame before reaching the final while Rahul scored a break of 104.

Rahul sood as the runner up in Nationals in 2013 and it was his highest performance. It is major breakthrough in his career to win All India level Invitation tournament.

To reach final, Rahul ousted Laxman Rawat (Railways) 5-1 whereas Pushpender Singh knocked out Kamal Chawla of Railways 5-1.

Mahesh Kumar Singla committee

constituted to consider ST status to six

communities of Assam

01-MAR-2016

Union Government on 29 February 2016 constituted a committee to consider Scheduled Tribe status to six Communities of Assam. The committee will be headed by Special Secretary (Internal Security) Ministry of Home Affairs, Mahesh Kumar Singla.

The committee will recommend the modalities for granting of Scheduled Tribe status to six Communities namely Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom, Chutia and Adivasi (Tea Tribes) in Assam.

The Committee will submit its report by 31 May 2016.

The committee will consult with the Government of Assam and suggest the modalities for the required reservations, of shifting the existing reservation for these communities from OBC to ST.

UltraTech acquired cement units of

Jaiprakash Associates for 16500 crore

rupees

01-MAR-2016

UltraTech Cement Limited on 28 February 2016 entered into a binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Jaiprakash Associates Limited for the acquisition of its identified cement plants for an enterprise value of 16500 crore rupees.

The cement plants of Jaiprakash Associates to be acquired have a cement capacity of 22.4 mtpa situated in the states of Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Anadhra Pradesh and Karnataka.

Under the deal, UltraTech will pay an additional 470 crore rupees for completion of the grinding unit for 4 mtpa capacity under implementation.

The acquisition, which is subject to definitive agreements and regulatory approvals as may be required, will augment UltraTech’s cement capacity to 90.7 mtpa from the current 68.3 mtpa.

Portugal nominated ex-refugee chief

Antonio Guterres for UN Secretary-

General

02-MAR-2016

Portugal Government on 29 February 2016 nominated former Portuguese Prime Minister and head of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres as a candidate for General Secretary at United Nations.

Guterres served as Prime Minister in 1995-2002 and as UN Refugee Agency High Commissioner in 2005-2015.

With this, Guterres joined a list of six mostly Eastern and Central European candidates to succeed Ban Ki-moon on 1 January 2017. Ban took the office in January 2007.

According to the UN Charter, the UN Security Council recommends a candidate to the General Assembly, where he or she must garner no less than two-thirds of the votes to be appointed Secretary General.

India signed MoU with World Bank for

Madhya Pradesh Higher Education

Quality Improvement Project

02-MAR-2016

India on 1 March 2016 signed a financing agreement for IDA credit of 300 US dollars for the Madhya Pradesh Higher Education Quality Improvement Project with the World Bank.

The project was designed as a result based financing programme in which the funds will be released based on the achievement of specific results or disbursement linked indicators (DLIs).

The DLIs are designed to ensure increase in enrolment of full time students and transition rate, to achieve NAAC accreditation criteria by the participating Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and strengthening of governance structure.

The project has three components

• Grants Support to Higher Education Institutions

• State Level Initiatives

• Improving System Management.

Objectives of the Project:

• To increase the effectiveness of the Higher Education System in Madhya Pradesh

• To improve the standards of disadvantaged groups of students in selected Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

The Project will be closed on 31 August 2021.

Telangana Government to illuminate

25 municipalities with LED bulbs in

100 days

02-MAR-2016

The Telangana Government on 1 March 2016 decided to illuminate 25 municipalities in the state with Light Emitting Diode (LED) bulbs in 100 days.

A high level meeting by a group of ministers with the officials from the Energy Efficient Services Limited (EESL) decided that 90 lakh households in the state will be provided LED bulbs at reduced price.

Key highlights of the programme

• During the first phase of the programme, 12 lakh households in Medak, Nalgonda and Nizamabad districts will be supplied LED bulbs.

• The EESL will supply these bulbs to illuminate 12 lakh households in 25 municipalities.

• The government will bear the expenditure to supply two such LED bulbs to every household.

• In the second phase, the street lights in 25 municipalities will be replaced with LED bulbs.

Union Budget 2016-17: Tax Reforms – III

02-MAR-2016

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, governance and ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

In the tax reforms segment, the following new initiatives were proposed in the Budget 2016-17. Broadly, the provisions are related to tax litigation, simplification and rationalization of taxation and use of Technology for creating accountability.

Measure to reducing litigation and provide certainty in taxation

The following measures were announced to curb black money, provide a stable and predictable taxation regime.

Black Money

• Domestic taxpayers can declare undisclosed income or such income represented in the form of any asset by paying tax at 30 percent and surcharge at 7.5 percent and penalty at 7.5 percent, which is a total of 45 percent of the undisclosed income.

• Surcharge levied at 7.5 percent of undisclosed income will becalled Krishi Kalyan Surcharge (KKS) to be used for agriculture and rural economy.

• The window under this Income Disclosure Scheme will be availablebetween 1 June 2016 and 30 September 2016 with an option to pay amount due within two months of declaration.

• Declarants will have immunity from prosecution under the Income Tax Act, 1961 and the Wealth Tax Act, 1957. Immunity from Benami Transaction (Prohibition) Act, 1988 was also proposed subject to certain conditions.

Litigation related measures

Dispute Resolution Scheme

• Under this proposed scheme, no penalty will be imposed in respect of cases with disputed tax up to 10 lakh rupees.

• Cases with disputed tax exceeding 10 lakh rupees to be subjected to 25 percent of the minimum of the imposable penalty.
• Any pending appeal against a penalty order can also be settled by paying 25 percent of the minimum of the imposable penalty and tax interest on quantum addition.

• Certain categories of persons including those who are charged with criminal offences under specific Acts are proposed to be barred from availing this scheme.

• This scheme is of significance as at present there are about 3 lakh tax cases pending with the 1st Appellate Authority with disputed amount being 5.5 lakh crore rupees.

Retrospective Taxation

Taking into account opposition from various quarters on the sensitive issue of retrospective application of tax the Government announced following measures.

Future cases

Formation of Committee: A High Level Committee will be constituted to oversee any fresh case where the assessing officer proposes to assess or reassess the income in respect of indirect transfers by applying the retrospective amendment. The committee will be chaired by the Revenue Secretary and consist of Chairman, CBDT and an expert from outside.

In relation to past cases

• One-time scheme of Dispute Resolution: It will be introduced for ongoing cases under retrospective amendment.

• Penalty rates to be 50 percent of tax in case of under reporting of income and 200 percent of tax where there is misreporting of facts. This new graded regime will replace the existing authority given to the Income-tax Officer who can levy penalty at the rate of 100 to 300 percent.

• Disallowance will be limited to 1 percent of the average monthly value of investments yielding exempt income, but not exceeding the actual expenditure claimed under rule 8D of Section 14A of Income Tax Act.

• Time limit of one year for disposing petitions of the tax payers seeking waiver of interest and penalty.

• Mandatory for the assessing officer to grant stay of demand once the assesse pays 15 percent of the disputed demand, while the appeal is pending before Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals).

• Monetary limit for deciding an appeal by a single member Bench of ITAT enhanced from 15 lakhs to 50 lakhs rupees.

• 11 new benches of Customs, Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (CESTAT) will be set up

Simplification and rationalization of

taxation

• Many of the following measures were based on the recommendations of the Justice R V Easwar (Retd) Committeeon simplification of the provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961 that submitted its report in January 2016.

• 13 cesses, levied by various Ministries in which revenue collection isless than 50 crore rupees in a year will be abolished. This measure was announced to reduce multiplicity of taxes, associated cascading and to reduce cost of collection.

• Non-residents without PAN are currently subjected to a higher rate of TDS. It was proposed to amend the relevant provision to provide that on furnishing of alternative documents, the higher rate will not apply.

• The facility for revision of return, hitherto available to a service tax assessee only, will be extended to Central Excise assessees also.

• Additional options to banking companies and financial institutions, including NBFCs, for reversal of input tax credits with respect to non-taxable services.

• The Customs Act, 1962 will be amended to provide for deferred payment of customs duties for importers and exporters with proven track record. The proposed amendments seeks to reduce the cargo release time and the transaction costs of EXIM trade.

• Indian Customs Single Window Project to be implemented at major ports and airports starting from beginning of 2016-17. The project was announced in the 2014-15 Budget. The aim of this project is to provide a common platform to trade to meet the requirements of all regulatory agencies (including Animal Quarantine, Plant Quarantine, Drug Controller, Textile Committee etc.) involved in EXIM trade through message exchange.

• Increase in free baggage allowance for international passengers. The filing of baggage declaration will be required only for those passengers who carry dutiable goods.

Use of Technology for creating

accountability

Following measures were announced in order to augment usage of technology in taxation Department and make life simpler for a law abiding citizen and also for data mining to track tax evaders.

• e-assessment: Expansion in the scope of e-assessments to all assessees in 7 mega cities in the coming years. A pilot was run in 2015-16 for e-assessment to obviate the requirement for tax payers to visit the Income-tax offices.

• e-Sahyog: Income-tax Department (ITD) will fully expand this pilot initiative with a view to reduce compliance cost, especially for small taxpayers. The e-Sahyog seeks to provide an online mechanism to resolve mismatches in income-tax returns without requiring taxpayers to attend the Income-tax office.

• In matters pertaining to Income-tax Act, 1961 Government will pay interest at the rate of 9 percent per annum against normal rate of 6 percent per annum in case there is delay in giving effect to Appellate order beyond 90 days. The officers, who delay it, will be accountable for this loss to Government.

Zero Discrimination Day observed with theme Stand out

02-MAR-2016

1 March: Zero Discrimination Day
Zero Discrimination Day was observed across the world on 1 March 2016. The day was observed with the theme -Stand Out.

Zero Discrimination Day is an opportunity to join together against discrimination and celebrate everyone’s right to live a full and productive life with dignity. It calls for fair and just societies and urges people to value, embrace diversity and recognize the diverse set of talents and skills that each person brings.

On the day, the United Nations agency leading the world’s HIV/AIDS response today called on the international community to celebrate individuality stressing that embracing diversity brings valuable benefits to all societies around the world.

However, discrimination remains widespread – gender, nationality, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or religion can all unfortunately be the basis for some form of discrimination, the agency says. In only four out of 10 countries worldwide do equal numbers of girls and boys attend secondary school and 75 countries have laws that criminalize same-sex sexual relations.

UNAIDS launched its Zero Discrimination Campaign on World AIDS Day in December 2013, which picks up momentum with a Zero Discrimination Day on 1 March 2014. UNAIDS chose the butterfly as its transformative symbol.

Union Budget 2016-17: Tax Reforms –

II

02-MAR-2016

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, governance and ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

In the tax reforms segment, the following new initiatives were proposed in the Budget 2016-17. Broadly, the provisions are related to pensions, provision of affordable housing and mobilization of resources for agriculture, rural economy and clean environment.

Moving towards a pensioned society

• Withdrawal up to 40 percent of the corpus at the time of retirementto be tax exempt in the case of National Pension System (NPS).Annuity fund which goes to legal heir will not be taxable.

• In case of superannuation funds and recognized provident funds, including Employees' Provident Fund (EPF), 40 percent of corpus will be tax free in respect of corpus created out of contributions made after 1 April 2016.

• The above two measures were announced to achieve the objective of uniform tax treatment across different defined benefit and defined contribution pension plans. However, the PFO related measure became controversial as millions of middle class salaried employees in the private sector will be effected it.

• Monetary limit for contribution of employer in recognized Provident and Superannuation Fund was proposed at 1.5 lakh per annum for taking tax benefit.

• Exemption will be made from service tax for Annuity services provided by National Pension Scheme (NPS) and services provided by EPFO to employees.

• Service tax on Single premium Annuity (Insurance) Policies will be reduced from 3.5 to 1.4 percent of the premium paid in certain cases.

Measures for promoting affordable

housing

• 100 percent deduction for profits to an undertaking from a housing project for flats up to 30 sq. metres in four metro cities and 60 sq. metres in other cities, approved during June 2016 to March 2019, and is completed within three years of the approval. Minimum Alternate Tax will, however, apply to these undertakings.

• Deduction for additional interest of 50000 per annum for loans up to 35 lakh rupees will be sanctioned in 2016-17 for first time home buyers, where house cost does not exceed 50 lakh rupees.

• Distribution made out of income of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to the Real Estate Investment Trust (REITs) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (INVITs) having specified shareholding will not be subjected to Dividend Distribution Tax, in respect of dividend distributed after the specified date.

• Exemption from service tax on construction of affordable houses up to 60 square metres under any scheme of the Central or State Government including Public-private partnership (PPP) Schemes.

Resource mobilization for agriculture,

rural economy & clean environment

• Additional tax at the rate of 10 percent of gross amount of dividend will be payable by the recipients receiving dividend in excess of 10 lakh per annum. It will be in addition to the Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) that uniformly applies to all investors irrespective of their income slabs. This measure was announced in tune with the progressive taxation philosophy.

• Surcharge to be raised from 12 percent to 15 percent on persons, other than companies, firms and cooperative societies having income above 1 crore rupees.

• Securities Transaction tax in case of Options was proposed to be increased from .017 to .05 percent.

• Equalization levy of 6 percent of gross amount for payment made to non-residents exceeding 1 lakh rupees a year in case of Business-to-Business transactions. This was announced in order to tap tax on income, especially on online advertisements, accruing to foreign e-commerce companies from India like Google, Facebook, etc. In informal sense it is referred to as “Google Tax”.

• Krishi Kalyan Cess (KKC), at 0.5 percent will be imposed on all taxable services starting from 1 June 2016. Proceeds would be exclusively used for financing initiatives for improvement of agriculture and welfare of farmers. Input tax credit of this cess will be available for payment of this cess.

• Infrastructure cess, of 1 percent on small petrol, LPG, CNG cars, 2.5 percent on diesel cars of certain capacity and 4 percent on other higher engine capacity vehicles and Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs). No credit of this cess will be available nor credit of any other tax or duty be utilized for paying this cess.

• Excise duty of 1 percent without input tax credit or 12.5 percent with input tax credit on articles of jewellery [excluding silver jewellery, other than studded with diamonds and some other precious stones], with a higher exemption and eligibility limits of 6 crores and 12 crores respectively was proposed.

• Excise on readymade garments with retail price of 1000 or more raised to 2 percent without input tax credit or 12.5 percent with input tax credit.

• Clean Energy Cess levied on coal, lignite and peat renamed to Clean Environment Cess and rate increased from 200 per tonne to 400 rupees per tonne.

• Excise duties on various tobacco products other than beedi raised by about 10 to 15 percent. This measure was announced in order to discourage consumption of tobacco products that kill around 1.5 million Indians per annum.

• Assignment of right to use the spectrum and its transfers has been deducted as a service leviable to service tax and not sale of intangible goods.

• An amendment to the Finance Act, 1994 was proposed in order to make it clear that assignment of right to use the spectrum is a service leviable to service tax and not sale of intangible goods. With this amendment the Government is expected to generate 50000 crore rupees additional revenue.

Union Budget 2016-17: Tax Reforms –

I

02-MAR-2016

The nine pillars are - Agriculture and farmers' welfare, rural sector, social sector including healthcare, education, skills and job creation, infrastructure and investment, financial sector reforms, governance and ease of doing business, fiscal discipline, tax reforms to reduce compliance burden.

In the tax reforms segment, the following new initiatives were proposed in the Budget 2016-17. Broadly, the provisions are related to small tax payers, growth, employment generation and Make in India initiative.

Relief to small tax payers

• In order to lessen tax burden on individuals with income not exceeding 5 lakhs rupees per annum, the ceiling of tax rebate under section 87A was proposed to raise from 2000 to 5000 rupees. There are 2 crore tax payers in this category that will get a relief of 3000 rupees in their tax liability.

• The limit of deduction in respect of rent paid under section 80GG from was increased to 60000 per annum. At present, the people who do not have any house of their own and also do not get any house rent allowance from any employer get a deduction of 24000 rupees per annum from their income to compensate them for the rent they pay.

Measures to boost Employment and Growth

• The turnover limit under Presumptive taxation scheme under section 44AD of the Income Tax Act, 1961 will be increased to 2 crore rupees to bring big relief to a large number of assessees in the MSME category. At present, the turnover limit is 1 crore rupees and 33 lakh small business people are benefitting from it.

• The presumptive taxation scheme will be extended to professionals with gross receipts up to 50 lakh rupees with the presumption of profit being 50 percent of the gross receipts.

• The following 4 proposals were made in relation to phasing out deduction under Income Tax

1) The accelerated depreciation provided under IT Act will be limited to maximum 40 percent from 1 April 2017.

2) The benefit of deductions for research would be limited to 150 percent from 1 April 2017 and 100 percent from 1 April 2020.

3) The benefit of section 10AA to new SEZ units will be available to those units which commence activity before 31 March 2020.

4) The weighted deduction under section 35CCD for skill development will continue up to 1 April 2020.

• Following 2 changes were proposed in corporate income-tax rates

1) The new manufacturing companies which are incorporated on or after 1 March 2016 are proposed to be given an option to be taxed at 25 percent plus surcharge and cess provided they do not claim profit linked or investment linked deductions and do not avail of investment allowance and accelerated depreciation.

2) Lower the corporate tax rate for the next financial year for relatively small enterprises that is companies with turnover not exceeding 5 crore rupees (in the financial year ending March 2015), to 29 percent plus surcharge and cess.

• Start-ups: 100 percent deduction of profits for 3 out of 5 years will be allowed to startups which are setup between April 2016 and March, 2019. However, Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) will apply in such cases. And, capital gains will not be taxed if invested in regulated/notified Fund of Funds and by individuals in notified startups, in which they hold majority shares.

• 10 percent rate of tax on income from worldwide exploitation ofpatents developed and registered in India by a resident.

• Period for getting benefit of long term capital gain regime in case of unlisted companies is proposed to be reduced from 3 to 2 years.

• Complete pass through of income-tax to securitization trusts including trusts of Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs)will be allowed. This measure was announced to get more investment in ARCs which play a very important role in resolution of bad debts.

• Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) will be eligible for deduction the extent of 5 percent of its income in respect of provision for bad and doubtful debts.

• The determination of residency of foreign company on the basis of Place of Effective Management (POEM) was proposed to be deferred by one year.

• The Government expressed its commitment to implement General Anti Avoidance Rules (GAAR) from 1 April 2017. It was introduced for the first in the 2012-13 Budget and since then its implementation got delayed due to opposition from business firms.

• Service tax on services provided under the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Grameen Kaushalya Yojana, universal rural electrification scheme, and services provided by Assessing Bodies empanelled by Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship will be exempted.

• Exemption of service tax on general insurance services provided under Niramaya Health Insurance Scheme launched by National Trust for the Welfare of Persons with Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Mental Retardation and Multiple Disability was proposed.

• In order to meet the Government’s commitment to Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) initiative of OECD and G-20,the Finance Bill, 2016 included provision for requirement of country by countryreporting for companies with consolidated revenue of more than 750 million euros.

MAKE IN INDIA

Changes in customs and excise duty rates were announced in order to reduce costs and improve competitiveness of domestic industry. Few of the beneficial sectors are -

• Information technology hardware

• Capital goods

• Defence production

• Textiles, mineral fuels & mineral oils

• Chemicals & petrochemicals

• Paper, paperboard & newsprint

• Maintenance repair and overhauling [MRO] of aircrafts and ship repair

SC sought Union Government view on

petition challenging Triple Talaq &

Polygamy practices

02-MAR-2016

Supreme Court of India on 29 February 2016 sought the Union Government’s view on Triple Talaq and Polygamy practices in Muslim religion. The apex court issued notices to Union ministries of Law, Minority Affairs, and Women and Child development, seeking their views on the matter by 28 March 2016.

The National Commission for Women was also asked to submit its response.

The response of government was sought by a two judge bench of Justice Anil R Dave and Justice AK Goel on a plea filed by a Muslim woman Shayara Bano from Kashipur in Uttarakhand.

The petitioner who challenged her divorce in her plea also challenged the constitutionality of part of Muslim Personal Law Application Act, 1937 that seeks to validate polygamy (practices of marrying multiple women), triple talaq and nikah halala (bar against remarriage with divorced husband without an intervening marriage with another man).

She calls the provisions illegal, unconstitutional, and violative of Articles 14, 15, 21 and 25 of the Constitution. She also claims that these practices had no basis in Islam or Holy Quran.

The petitioner who was married to Rizwan of Uttar Pradesh on 11 April 2002 was divorced by her husband by uttering the word 'talaq' three times on 10 October 2015.

Union Government ordered rebidding

for 10050 crore rupees Zoji La tunnel

02-MAR-2016

Zoji La: A high mountain pass located on the Indian National Highway 1D between Srinagar and Leh in the western section of the Himalayan mountain range

The Zoji La tunnel was in news in the first week of March 2016. It was in news because the Union Government has ordered rebidding of the strategic 10050-crore rupees tunnel contract in Jammu and Kashmir, which was earlier given to IRB Infrastructure.

The decision to rebid the tunnel project was taken at a meeting, presided by Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari.

As some doubts were raised in respect of the project, rebidding was ordered to maintain complete transparency and uphold probity in public life.

Zoji La is 9 km from Sonamarg and provides a vital link between Ladakh and Kashmir. It runs at an elevation of approximately 3528 metres, and is the second highest pass after Fotu La on the Srinagar-Leh National Highway.

During the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947, Zoji La was seized by Pakistani fighters in 1948 in their campaign to capture Ladakh. The pass was captured by Indian forces on 1 November 1948 in an assault codenamed Operation Bison.

Cricketer Aaron Phangiso suspended

for illegal bowling action

02-MAR-2016

International Cricket Council (ICC) on 1 March 2016 banned South Africa left-arm spinner Aaron Phangiso from bowling. He was banned after his bowling action, which exceeded 15-degree level of tolerance permitted under the regulations, was found illegal.

Phangiso was reported by umpires after helping Highveld Lions reach the final of South Africa's domestic 50-over competition. He was reported for suspect action on 25 February 2016 while playing for Highveld Lions against Warriors at Wanderers.

The tests were conducted by an ICC accredited laboratory at the University of Pretoria's High-Performance Centre.

Phangiso, 32, is in the Proteas squad for World T20 that is scheduled to start from 8 March 2016 in India.

He will be able to play the T20 World Cup if he passes a re-test on 7 March 2016. Till then, he will remain with spin bowling Coach Claude Henderson and Cricket South Africa high performance manager Vinnie Barnes to try to remedy his action.

Moody’s Analytics cut its outlook for

China to negative

02-MAR-2016

US ratings agency Moody's Analytics in the first week of March 2016 cut its outlook for China from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’.

It was based on expectations that fiscal strength of Beijing would be sliding down and the negative outlook comes on the heels of fresh data suggesting economy of China is continuing to lose steam.

During the reaffirmation process of its current debt rating, Moody’s has alerted to have reforms to avoid a downgrade.

Highlights of Moody’s Report

• Without credible and efficient reforms, China's GDP growth would slow more markedly as a high debt burden dampens business investment and demographics turn increasingly unfavourable.

• The Agency put forward its concern over incomplete implementation of much needed reforms by China.

• Government debt would increase more sharply beyond expectations

• By saying that there was still time to address the current economic imbalances and implement reforms, the agency confirmed current rating of China as Aa3.

Short note on Economy of China

• China's economy is the second-largest in the world following United States of America.

• It is growing at the slowest rate in 25 years as it attempts to move from an export-led nation to one led by consumption and services.

• The slowdown in China's economy has created considerable uncertainty in financial markets and has led to sharp falls in commodity prices.

Three British scientists won Grete

Lundbeck European Brain Research

Prize

02-MAR-2016

Three British scientists, Tim Bliss, Graham Collingridge and Richard Morris, on 1 March 2016 won the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize, largest prize for neuroscience in the world.

The trio have won the award for their seminal work on understanding what happens in the brain when humans make and lose memories.

This is the first time the Brain Prize

has been won by an entirely UK team.

The award ceremony will take place in Copenhagen on 1 July 2016, where the prize will be presented by Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark.

Key findings of the trio

• The three researchers have shown how neurons in the hippocampus, the brain's learning portal that enables humans to store information, collaborate and provide a basis for understanding how humans go about remembering.

• They have shown how the connection between brain cells in the hippocampus can be strengthened through repeated stimulation, a phenomenon that is called long-term potentiation.

• The scientists have also described the mechanisms behind the phenomenon and have proven that long-term potentiation is the very basis for humans’ ability to learn, remember and navigate their surroundings.

• Their research results show that the brain is able to handle and adapt to new impressions and events, and this plasticity enables the brain to reorganise itself after damage such as stroke or sudden blindness.

About Grete Lundbeck European Brain

Research Prize

• The Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize, also known asThe Brain Prize, is an international scientific award.

• It honours one or more scientists who have distinguished themselves by an outstanding contribution to European neuroscience and who are still active in research.

• It was founded in 2011 by the Lundbeck Foundation.

• The prize is associated with a 1 million euro award to the nominees, who can be of any nationality. However, the research for which they are nominated must have been in Europe or in collaboration with researchers in Europe.

Windham-Campbell prizes for the year

2016 announced

02-MAR-2016

Columnist and author Jerry Pinto on 1 March 2016 was chosen for the 2016 Windham-Campbell Prize. Pinto, an Indian, won the award for his novel Em and The Big Hoom (published in 2012) in the fiction category.

Em and the Big Hoom was Pinto’s first work of fiction that tells the story of an unnamed narrator’s slow, painful attempt to come to terms with his mother’s bipolar disorder and suicidal tendencies.

The book narrates an acute exploration of the impact of mental illness on intimate relationships, as well as a window into the fraught lives of the Goan Christians of Mumbai.

Apart from Pinto, eight other writers were chosen for the award in three categories, namely fiction, non-fiction and drama. The winners will each receive 150000 dollar to support their work. List of 2016 Windham-Campbell Prize winners

Fiction

• Tessa Hadley (United Kingdom)

• CE Morgan (United States)

• Jerry Pinto (India)

Nonfiction

• Hilton Als (United States)

• Stanley Crouch (United States)

• Helen Garner (Australia)

Drama

• Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (United States)

• Hannah Moscovitch (Canada)

• Abbie Spallen (Ireland)

Jerry Pinto

He is an editor, journalist, novelist, poet, and translator and his works explores the pains of familial and political life. He has written several books, including

• Asylum and Other Poems (poetry collection)

• Surviving Women

• Helen: The Life and Times of an H-Bomb, an award-winning biography of Bollywood actress Helen Richardson Khan

• Reflected in water: writings on Goa

Windham-Campbell prizes

The Donald Windham Sandy M. Campbell Literature Prizes is an American literary award which offers prizes in three categories: fiction, non-fiction and drama. The award was established at Yale University in 2011 with the first prizes presented in 2013.

The awards is administered by the Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library and recognizes English language writers from anywhere in the world.

Veteran playwright Ratan Thiyam

named for 11th META theatre award

02-MAR-2016

Veteran playwright and director Ratan Thiyam was on 1 March 2016 named for Lifetime Achievement Award of the 11^th edition of the Mahindra Excellence Theatre Awards (META).

He was selected for the award for creating a new language in theatre and enriching the art form in various roles as writer, director, designer, composer and choreographer. He is the current chairman of the National School of Drama.

In the past, this award has been given to theatre greats such as Zohra Sehgal, Badal Sarkar, Khaled Chowdhury, Ebrahim Alkazi, Girish Karnad and Heisnam Kanhailal.

About META awards

META, instituted by the Mahindra Group, is one of the Indian theatre industry’s premier awards. It is recognise and reward all aspects of theatre production and stage craft.

The awards consist of a specially designed trophy and a cheque of 100000 rupees for the best production, 75000 rupees for best original playwright and 45000 rupees for all other award categories.

The Mahindra Group, through META, aims to increase awareness and appreciation of Indian theatre, making it the only national platform for recognising and rewarding theatre.

Basanta Bahadur Rana won gold in

50km race walk at National

Championships

02-MAR-2016

Olympian Basanta Bahadur Singh Rana on 28 February 2016 won the gold medal in men's 50km race walk event on the final day of the National Championships in Jaipur.

Rana clocked 4 hours 7 minutes 24 seconds to finish first on a fast Jaipur course.

Uttarakhand's Chandan Singh, who has already achieved Rio qualification mark in men's 20km event, finished second with a time of 4:09:50 while Jitender Singh Rathore of Rajasthan grabbed the bronze medal in 4:12:10.

In junior women's 10km race walk competition, Neena K T of Keralaclinched the gold. She clocked 53:12.49 to cross the finish line.Bhawna Jat of Rajasthan finished second in 53:27:79. Priyanka Patelof Uttar Pradesh clocked 53:32:95 to win the bronze medal.

Vikash Singh of Bihar won the gold in junior men's 10km race walk competition by clocking 44:32:50. Naveen of Delhi clocked 4:37:76 for the silver and Eknath Turamberker clocked 44:55:67 for the bronze medal.

About Basanta Bahadur Rana

• Basanta Bahadur Rana represented India in the 50 km race walk event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. His personal best in this event before the Games was 4:02:13 and he bettered it by clocking a time of 3:56:48, which was a national record then.

• Rana qualified for the Olympics at the 2012 IAAF World Race Walking Cup in Saransk, Russia in May 2012, with a B qualifying standard.

• He was trained by the former national record holder Gurdev Singh.

Haryana renamed Mustafabad village

as Saraswati Nagar

02-MAR-2016

Haryana government renamed village Mustafabad in Yamuna Nagar district to Saraswati Nagar. A notification to this effect was issued by Haryana Revenue and Disaster Management Department.

A paleo channel claimed as River Saraswati identified in Muglawali village of Haryana

The village is located about 20 kilometers from the district headquarters and officials say an old dried-up riverbed of Saraswati River exists near the village. Revenue records substantiate the claim.

BJP government in 2015 had decided to restore Saraswati creek from Adi Badri (christened as Saraswati Udgam Sthal (point of origin)) to Mustafabad in Yamunanagar district and set up Adi Badri Heritage Board.

In May 2015, aquifers were discovered during the excavation of the alignment of the underground channel of the river at Mugalwali village.

Work on Saraswati Revival Project launched in Haryana

Kerala State Film Awards 2015

announced

02-MAR-2016

State Minister for Forest Transport, Sports, Environment, and Cinema Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan on 1 March 2016 declared the winners of the prestigious Kerala State Film Awards 2015 in Thiruvananthapuram.

The award for the Best Actor went to Dulquer Salmaan for his performances in Charlie. Parvathy grabbed the trophy for the Best Actress for her performances in Ennu Ninte Moideen and Charlie. Sanalkumar Sashidharan's Ozhivu Divasathe Kaliwas named the Best Movie of 2015.

Complete list of winners:Award	Winner
Best Movie	Ozivu Divasathe Kali
Best Second Movie	Ameoba
Best Director	Martin Prakkat for Charlie
Best Actor	Dulquer Salmaan for Charlie
Best Actress	Parvathy for Charlie and Ennu Ninte Moideen
Best Character Actor	Prem Prakash for Nirnayakam
Best Character Actress	Anjali PV for Ben
Best Child artist (male)	Gourav Menon for Ben
Best Child artist (female)	Janaki Menon for Maalgudi Days
Best Cinematographer	Jomon T John for Charlie, Ennu Ninte Moideen and Neena
Best Scriptwriter	Unni R, Martin Prakkat for Charlie
Best Children's movie	Malayattom
Best Lyrics	Rafeeq Ahamed for Kaathirunnu Kaathirunnu
Best Music Director	Ramesh Narayanan for Edavapathy and Ennu Ninte Moideen
Best Singer (male)	Jayachandran for Njnanoru Malayali and Sharadambaram
Best Singer (female)	Madhusree Narayanan for Edavapathy

About Kerala State Film Award

• The Kerala State Film Awards are the film awards for a motion picture made in Kerala.

• The awards have been bestowed by Kerala State Chalachitra Academy since 1998 on behalf of the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala.

• The awards were started in 1969.

• The awardees are decided by an independent jury formed by the academy and the Department of Cultural Affairs, Government of Kerala