Relevance IN - Prelims ( about TIWB + about South South cooperation) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations - India and Bhutan)
What's the NEWS

• Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched its programme in Bhutan
• India was chosen as the Partner Jurisdiction and has provided the Tax Expert for this programme.

• This programme is expected to be of about 24 months' duration through which India in collaboration with the UNDP and the TIWB Secretariat aims to aid Bhutan in strengthening its tax administration by transferring technical know-how and skills to its tax auditors, and through sharing of best audit practices.
• The focus of the programme will be in the area of International Taxation and Transfer Pricing.
• This programme is another milestone in the continued cooperation between India and Bhutan and India's continued and active support for South-South cooperation.

• It is a term historically used by policymakers and academics to describe the exchange of resources, technology, and knowledge between developing countries, also known as countries of the Global South.
• The Global South is making increasingly significant contributions to global development. The economic and geopolitical relevance of many countries has grown.
• In the past, south-south cooperation focused on sharing knowledge and building capacities, but the countries of the Global South and new financial institutions have recently also become increasingly active in development finance.
• It derives from the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (BAPA) by 138 UN Member States in Argentina, on September 18, 1978.
• The plan established a scheme of collaboration among least developed countries, mostly located in the south of the planet.
• It also established for the first time a framework for this type of cooperation, and incorporated in its practice the basic principles of relations between sovereign States: respect for sovereignty, non-interference in internal affairs and equality of rights, among others.
• The BAPA defined as well a series of new and concrete recommendations aimed at establishing legal frameworks and financing mechanisms at the national, regional, interregional and global levels.
• The division of "North" and "South" is used to refer to the social, economic and political differences that exist between developed countries (North) and developing countries (South).
• North-South cooperation, which is the most traditional type of cooperation, occurs when a developed country supports economically or with another kind of resources a less favored one, for example, with financial aid during a natural disaster or a humanitarian crisis.
• Triangular cooperation, as the name implies, involves three actors, two from the South and one from the North. The latter, which can also be an international organization, provides the financial resources so that the countries of the South can exchange technical assistance on a specific topic.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( increase in FDI flow - facts for Prelims and Mains GS III - economic development)
What's the NEWS

• Measures taken by the Government on the fronts of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy reforms, investment facilitation and ease of doing business have resulted in increased FDI inflows into the country.

The following trends in India's Foreign Direct Investment are an endorsement of its status as a preferred investment destination amongst global investors:

• India has attracted total FDI inflow of US$ 6.24 billion during April, 2021and it is 38% higher as compared toApril, 2020 (US$4.53 billion).
• During April, 2021FDI Equity inflows amounting to US$ 4.44 billion were reported in the country which is an increase of 60% over the FDI Equity inflow of April, 2020 (US$ 2.77 billion).
• During April, 2021,Mauritius is the top investing country with 24% of the FDI Equity inflows, followed by Singapore (21%) and Japan (11%).
• ‘Computer Software & Hardware' has emerged as the top sector during April, 2021 with around 24%share of the total FDI Equity inflow followed by Services Sector (23%) and Education Sector (8%) respectively.
• Karnataka is the top recipient state during April, 2021 with 31% share of the total FDI Equity inflows, followed by Maharashtra (19%) and Delhi (15%).

Government Schemes
Government approves extension of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY), from July 2021 up to November, 2021

Relevance In - Prelims( about PM- GKAY + NFSA) + Mains ( GS II governance + government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister has approved allocation of additional foodgrain under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (Phase IV) - for another period of 5 months i.e. July to November, 2021 @ 5 kg per person per month free of cost for maximum 81.35 Crore beneficiaries covered under National Food Security Act (NFSA) (Antyodaya Anna Yojana and Priority Households) including those covered under Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Anna Yojana" (PM-GKAY)

• In 2020, Government of India had announced the "Pradhan Mantri GaribKalyan Anna Yojana" (PM-GKAY) for all beneficiaries covered under the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA) as part of the pro-poor PM GaribKalyan Package for the period April-November, 2020.
• Around 80 Crore NFSA beneficiaries were allocated additional 5 kg of food grains (Wheat or Rice), free of cost for a period of 8 months (April-November 2020), thereby ensuring food security of poor/vulnerable beneficiaries/households in the wake of economic disruptions caused by the COVID-19 outbreak in the country.
• Under PM-GKAY2020, (April - November 2020), a total of about 321 Lakh MT foodgrains was allocated by the Department to all States/UTs, about 305 Lakh MT food grains lifted by States/UTs and a total of about 298 LMT of foodgrains (i.e. around 93% of allocated quantity)

National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013

• The enactment of the National Food Security Act, (NFSA) 2013 on July 5, 2013 marks a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to rights based approach.
• The Act legally entitles upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population to receive subsidized foodgrains under Targeted Public Distribution System.
• About two thirds of the population therefore is covered under the Act to receive highly subsidized foodgrains.
• As a step towards women empowerment, the eldest woman of the household of age 18 years or above is mandated to be the head of the household for the purpose of issuing of ration cards under the Act.
• The Act is being implemented in all the States/UTs, and on an all India basis, out of maximum coverage of 81.34 crore persons, around 80 crore persons have been covered under NFSA at present for receiving highly subsidized foodgrains.
• The identification of beneficiaries by States/UTs is a continuous process, which involves exclusion of ineligible/fake/duplicate ration cards and also exclusion on account of death, migration etc. and inclusion on account of birth as also that of genuine left-out households.
• One of the guiding principles of the Act is its life-cycle approach wherein special provisions have been made for pregnant women and lactating mothers and children in the age group of 6 months to 14 years, by entitling them to receive nutritious meal free of cost through a widespread network of Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) centres, called Anganwadi Centres under ICDS scheme and also through schools under Mid-Day Meal (MDM) scheme.
• Higher nutritional norms have been prescribed for malnourished children upto 6 years of age.
• Pregnant women and lactating mothers are further entitled to receive cash maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000 to partly compensate for the wage loss during the period of pregnancy and also to supplement nutrition.
• NFSA defines the joint responsibility of the Centre and State/UT Government. While the Centre is responsible for allocation of required foodgrains to States/UTs, transportation of foodgrains up to designated depots in each State/UT and providing central assistance to States/UTs for delivery of foodgrains from designated FCI godowns to the doorstep of the FPSs, the States/UTs are responsible for effective implementation of the Act, which inter-alia includes identification of eligible households, issuing ration cards to them, distribution of foodgrain entitlements to eligible households through fair price shops (FPS), issuance of licenses to Fair Price Shop dealers and their monitoring, setting up effective grievance redressal mechanism and necessary strengthening of Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
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• NFSA covers upto 75% of the rural population and 50% of the urban population under under Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) and priority households. While AAY households, which constitute poorest of the poor are entitled to 35 kg of foodgrains per family per month, priority households are entitled to 5 kg per person per month.
• Corresponding to the all India coverage of 75% and 50% in the rural and urban areas, State-wise coverage under NFSA was determined by the erstwhile Planning Commission (now NITI Aayog) by using the NSS Household Consumption Survey data for 2011-12.
• Foodgrains under NFSA were to be made available at subsidized prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per kg for rice, wheat and coarse grains respectively for an initial period of three years from the date of commencement of the Act (July 13, 2013).

DIRECT BENEFIT TRANSFER (DBT)

• National Food Security Act (2013) provides for reforms in the TPDS including schemes such as Cash transfers for provisioning of food entitlements. In pursuance of enabling provisions under section 12 of NFSA for cash transfer, Govt. notified ‘Cash Transfer of Food Subsidy Rule, 2015' in Aug 2015.
• The DBT experiment aims to (i) reduce the need for huge physical movement of foodgrains (ii) provide greater autonomy to beneficiaries to choose their consumption basket (iii) enhance dietary diversity (iv) reduce leakages (v) facilitate better targeting (vi) promote financial inclusion

Governance
Cabinet approves merger of Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited (CRWC) with Central Warehousing Corporation (CWC)

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about CRWC and CWC) + Mains ( GS II governance - accountability and transparency)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved to merge and transfer all assets, liabilities, rights and obligations of ‘Central Railside Warehouse Company Limited' (CRWC), a Mini-Ratna Category-II Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) incorporated under the Companies Act, 1956 in 2007 with its holding enterprise ‘Central Warehousing Corporation' (CWC).

Benefits of Merger

• The merger will unify similar functions of both the companies (i.e., warehousing, handling, transportation) through a single administration to promote efficiency, optimum capacity utilization, transparency, accountability, ensure financial savings and leverage railway siding for new warehousing capacities.
• It is estimated that management expenditure of Railside Warehouse Complexes (RWCs) will come down by Rs. 5 crore due to savings in the corporate office rent, salary of employees, and other administrative costs.
• The capacity utilization of RWCs will also improve as there will be potential for CWC to store commodities other than commodities of cement, fertilizer, sugar, salt and soda being stored presently.
• The merger will facilitate setting up of at least 50 more Railside warehouses near the goods-shed locations.
• This is likely to generate employment opportunities equivalent to 36,500 mandays for skilled workers and 9,12,500 mandays for unskilled workers. The merger is expected to be completed within 8 months of the date of decision.

Know! about CWE and CRWE

• CWC is a Mini-Ratna Category-I CPSE set up in 1957 to provide for incorporation and regulation of Warehousing Corporations for the purpose of warehousing of agriculture produce and certain other commodities notified by the Central Government and for matters connected there with.
• CWC is a profit making Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) with authorized capital of Rs.100 crore and paid up capital of Rs. 68.02 crore.
• CWC formed a separate subsidiary company named ‘Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd.'
• (CRWC) on 10th July 2007 to plan, develop, promote, acquire and operate Railside Warehousing Complexes / Terminals / Multimodal Logistics Hubs on land leased from Railways or acquired otherwise.
• CRWC developed specialization, expertise and goodwill in development and operation of RWCs but due to shortage of capital and also due to some of the restrictive clauses in its MoU with Ministry of Railways, its pace of growth was not as expected.
• As CWC is the sole shareholder of CRWC and all the assets and liabilities and rights and obligations will be transferred to CWC, there will be no financial loss to either instead it will bring synergy.
• A separate Division with the name ‘RWC Division' will be created by CWC for handling operations and marketing of RWCs.

Prelims Factoids
Cabinet approves Agreement between India and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines for the Exchange of Information and Assistance in Collection with respect to Taxes

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the agreement + about Saint Vincent and The Grenadines - location)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister has approved an Agreement between the Republic of India and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines for the Exchange of Information and Assistance in Collection with respect to Taxes.

Details of the Agreement:

• This is a new Agreement between the Republic of India and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines. There was no such agreement in past between the two countries.
• Agreement mainly proposes to facilitate exchange of information between the two countries and to provide assistance to each other in collection of tax claims.
• Agreement also contains tax examination abroad provisions which provide that a country may allow the representatives of the other country to enter its territory (to the extent permitted under its domestic laws) to interview individuals and examine records for tax purposes.

Impact:

• Agreement between the Republic of India and Saint Vincent and The Grenadines will help in facilitating the exchange of information between the two countries including sharing of information held by the banks and other financial institutions encompassing the information regarding the legal and beneficial ownership.
• It will also facilitate the assistance in collection of the tax claims between the two countries.
• Thus, it will strengthen India's commitment to fight offshore tax evasion and tax avoidance practices leading to generation of unaccounted black money.

Background:

• There was no such agreement with Saint Vincent and The Grenadines in the past and India was negotiating this agreement since a long time.
• Finally, Saint Vincent and The Grenadines agreed to conclude this agreement with India which will promote tax cooperation between the two countries through exchange of information and assistance in collection of outstanding tax claims between the two countries.

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

• It is an island country in the Caribbean.
• It is located in the southeast Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, which lie in the West Indies at the southern end of the eastern border of the Caribbean Sea where the latter meets the Atlantic Ocean.
• The territory consists of the main island of Saint Vincent and the northern two-thirds of the Grenadines, a chain of 32 smaller islands.
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• Some of the Grenadines are inhabited - Bequia, Mustique, Union Island, Canouan, Petit Saint Vincent, Palm Island, Mayreau, Young Island - while others are not: Tobago Cays, Baliceaux, Battowia, Quatre, Petite Mustique, Savan and Petit Nevis. Most of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines lies within the Hurricane Alley.
• Saint Vincent has a British colonial history, and is now part of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States, CARICOM, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC).

International Organisations
BRICS Green Hydrogen Summit

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the green hydrogen summit - highlights) + Mains ( GS II - regional grouping)
What's the NEWS

• NTPC Ltd, India's largest energy integrated company under Ministry of Power anchored a two day workshop on Green Hydrogen, one of the most popular and demanding fields in the current times and considered to be the next carrier of energy.
• The online event saw leading experts from the Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa (BRICS) countries who shared their insights and professional views on the subject as well as the latest developments going on in their countries in the area of green hydrogen.

Know! about the meeting highlights

• India has launched an ambitious National Hydrogen Mission to introduce hydrogen purchase obligations for fertilizers, refineries involving private sector in transparent and competitive manner to produce green hydrogen.
• Five BRICS countries share a common vision of sustainable development and inclusive economic growth. Strengthening energy cooperation and ensuring affordable, reliable, accessible and secure energy for all, has always been a strategic area of importance in the agenda of BRICS countries.
• For India, the transition to a hydrogen economy will not only reduce India's import dependency on hydrocarbon fuels but also provide clean air to its citizens, reduce GHG emissions in absolute terms and fulfil India's Atmanirbhar Bharat vision.
• These BRICS countries are capable of ensuring that there is net-zero carbon emission since the cost of deployment of these emerging technologies in these countries is a fraction in comparison to that of other developed countries. The prevention of CO2 will have a worldwide positive impact.
• NTPC is pioneering Green Hydrogen Initiatives in India. NTPC which is undertaking extensive study, experimentations in the areas of Carbon Capture & Hydrogen has also announced a few pilot projects on Green Hydrogen to this.
• Green hydrogen is of great topical interest to all the countries including BRICS as it has a great amount of potential to ensure sustainable energy supply, increase the level of energy availability and minimize the negative impact on the environment.

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