Essential Facts for Prelims – CSE 2019. Daily Compilation of Important Factual Information from Relevant News Sources for Civil Services Prelims Exam (UPSC)
Angel tax
Category: Economy
- The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) agreed to compile a list of startups eligible for angel tax exemption.
- The government also decided to raise the maximum time limit below which a firm would be deemed eligible for angel tax exemption to 10 years from the earlier seven.
- Further, the paid-up share capital threshold below which startups would be eligible for an exemption has been set at ₹25 crore.
- In cases where the investment exceeds ₹25 crore, the firms would be eligible for exemption if the angel investors can prove a net worth of ₹2 crore or more in the previous financial year. For investments below ₹25 crore, no questions would be asked.
- Angel tax is imposed on the excess share capital raised by an unlisted firm, over and above the fair market value of its shares.
Ladakh
Category: Polity & Governance
- Jammu and Kashmir Governor granted Ladakh a divisional status, thus creating three administrative units of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh in the State.
- Earlier, Ladakh was a part of the Kashmir division.
- The move leaves the Kashmir valley geographically the smallest division at 15,948 sq. km, Jammu division at 26,293 sq. km and Ladakh, the biggest division, at 86,909 sq. km.
- Ladakh will now get its own Divisional Commissioner and Inspector General of Police.
- During the winter months, the entire Ladakh region remains cut-off from the rest of the country for almost six months. The remoteness and inaccessibility of the area makes it eligible for establishing a separate division.
- Ladakh’s Kargil and Leh districts already have separate hill development councils for local administrative powers.
Lion conservation
Category: Environment & Ecology
- The Centre and the Gujarat government have announced a Asiatic Lion Conservation Project.
- The Kuno-Palpur Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh was identified to be the most suitable for reintroducing the species.
Helina
Category: Defence & Security
- India test-fired its helicopter-launched version of one of the most-advanced anti-tank weapons.
- Helina is the helicopter-launched version of the Nag anti-tank guided missile with a hit range of 7-8 km.
1950
Category: Polity & Governance
- The Election Commission has launched a Voter Verification and Information Programme (VVIP) for citizens to cross-check their names, new registrations, changes in the voter details and corrections in the voter identity cards for the coming Lok Sabha election.
- The voter helpline number is 1950.
Green Cards
Category: International
- Two identical legislation backed by top companies from Silicon Valley, like Google, have been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate to end the per-country limit on green cards.
- They could benefit thousands of Indian professionals waiting to gain permanent legal residency.
- The U.S. currently offers 1,40,000 green cards every year to employment-based immigrantst.
- The existing law, however, provides that not more than 7% of these green cards can go to nationals of any one country — even though some countries are more populous than others.
- Because of this limit, a Chinese or an Indian postgraduate may have to wait half a decade or more for a Green Card, much longer than a student from a less-populated country.
GSP
Category: International
- India could lose a vital U.S. trade concession, under which it enjoys zero tariffs on $5.6 billion of exports to the United States, amid a widening dispute over its trade and investment policies.
- A move to withdraw the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) from India, the world’s largest beneficiary of a scheme that has been in force since the 1970s, would be the strongest punitive action against India since President Donald Trump took office in 2017, vowing to reduce the U.S. deficit with large economies.
PCA
Category:Economy
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lifted restrictions under prompt corrective action (PCA) on three public sector banks last week.
- There are eight more public sector banks (PSBs) that are under the PCA framework after restrictions were lifted from Bank of India, Bank of Maharashtra and Oriental Bank of Commerce.
- The government had infused capital in banks that was used to increase provisions and lower the net NPA ratio enabling RBI to lift restrictions on the three banks.
- Breaching net NPA ratio of 6% is one of the conditions that trigger restrictions.
