Important Current Affairs for January 5 2022
- Posted by Vizmins Official Post
- Categories Current Affairs
- Date January 8, 2022
Index
GST compensation
- In NEWS
- Basic information about GST
- What is this compensation?
- How is the GST compensation fund funded?
- Why states are demanding the extension?
- Computation of the shortfall
- How can the deadline be extended?
China constructing bridge on Pangong lake in Ladakh
- In NEWS
- Visualize Pangong Lake
- About Pangong Tso
- What are Fingers
- Importance of Pangong Tso
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)
- In News
- What is the importance of this meet in the current scenario?
- About NPT
Russia vs NATO in Ukraine
- In NEWS
- Background of Ukraine issue
- About NATO
Shortage of Computer Chips
- In NEWS
- Why are there shortages?
- Impact and concerns posed by the shortage
- Efforts by India
- What are semiconductor chips?
5G rollout
- In NEWS
- What is 5G?
- Features and Benefits of the 5G technology
GST Compensation
In News:
- Finance Ministers of several States have demanded that the GST compensation scheme be extended beyond June 2022.
Basic Information about GST
- States to cede almost all their powers to impose local-level indirect taxes and agree to let the tax be subsumed into the GST.
- States would receive the SGST (State GST) component of the GST, and a share of the IGST (integrated GST)
What is this compensation?
- Revenue shortfalls arising from the transition to the new indirect taxes regime (GST) would be made good from a pooled GST Compensation Fund for a period of five years
- The 5 years time limit ends in June 2022.
How is the GST Compensation Fund funded?
- This corpus is funded through a compensation cess that is levied on so-called ‘demerit’ goods.
- The items are pan masala, cigarettes and tobacco products, aerated water, caffeinated beverages, coal, and certain passenger motor vehicles.
Why states are demanding the extension?
- Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the overall economy and more specifically States’ revenues
- Revenues had been adversely impacted by the introduction of GST,
- The hit from the pandemic (Covid-19) had pushed back any possible rebound in revenue
- States had been forced to spend substantially more to address the public health emergency and its socio-economic fallout on their residents.
Computation of the shortfall
- The computation of the shortfall is done annually
- It is done by
- Projecting a revenue assumption based on 14% compounded growth from the base year’s (2015-2016) revenue
- Calculating the difference between that figure and the actual GST collections in that year.
How can the deadline be extended?
- The GST Council have to first recommend it
- Then, the Union government have to move an amendment to the GST law allowing for a new date beyond the June 2022 deadline
China constructing bridge on Pangong lake in Ladakh
In News
- China is constructing a bridge in eastern Ladakh connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Tso (lake).
Visualize Pangong Tso lake
About Pangong Tso
- Pangong Tso literally translates into a “conclave lake”.
- Pangong means conclave in Ladakhi and Tso means lake in Tibetan language.
- Situated at over 14,000 feet, the Lake is about 135 km long.
- It is formed from Tethys geosyncline.
- The Karakoram Mountain range, which crosses Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, China and India, with heights of over 6,000 meters including K2, the world’s second highest peak, ends at the north bank of Pangong Tso.
- Its southern bank too has high broken mountains sloping towards Spangur Lake in the south.
- The lake’s water, while crystal clear, is brackish, making it undrinkable.
The lake has mountain spurs of the Chang Chenmo range jutting down, referred to as fingers.
There are eight of them in contention here. India and China have different understandings of where the LAC passes through.
Indian view
India has maintained that the LAC passes through Finger 8, which has been the site of the final military post of China.
India has been patrolling the area – mostly on foot because of the nature of the terrain – up to Finger 8.
But Indian forces have not had active control beyond Finger 4.
China’s view
China, on the other hand, says the LAC passes through Finger 2.
It has been patrolling up to Finger 4- mostly in light vehicles, and at times up to Finger 2.
Importance of Pangong Tso
- Pangong Tso is strategically crucial as it is very close to Chusul Valley, which was one of the battlefronts between India and China during the 1962 war.
- China appears to keep India constricted in the region by taking strategic advantage of looking over the Chusul Valley, which it can do if it advances along with Pangong Tso.
- China also does not want India to boost its infrastructure anywhere near the LAC. China fears it threatens its occupation of Aksai Chin and Lhasa-Kashgar highway.
- Any threat to this highway also puts Chinese rather imperialist plans in Pakistan-occupied territories in Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir, and beyond in Pakistan.
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
In NEWS
- Permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the U.K. and U.S. have pledged to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict.
What is the importance of this meet in the current scenario?
- Permanent UN Security Council members China, France, Russia, the U.K., and the U.S. have pledged to prevent atomic weapons spreading and to avoid nuclear conflict.
- The rise of China meanwhile has also raised concerns that tensions with Washington could lead to conflict, notably over the island of Taiwan.
About NPT
- It is a multilateral treaty aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons
- It includes three elements:
- non-proliferation,
- disarmament
- peaceful use of nuclear energy.
- The treaty was signed in 1968 and entered into force in 1970.
- What does it mean?
States without nuclear weapons will not acquire them.
States with nuclear weapons will pursue disarmament.
All states can access nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, under safeguards.
- The Treaty defines nuclear weapon states (NWS) as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967.
- The five nuclear-weapon states are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
- The Treaty does not affect the right of state parties to develop, produce, and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
- Non-nuclear weapons states are not to receive nuclear weapons from any transfer or, and are not to manufacture or acquire them.
- NNWS must accept the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards on all nuclear materials on their territories or under their control.
- India stand on NPT
- India is one of the only five countries that either did not sign the NPT or signed but withdrew (Pakistan, Israel, North Korea, and South Sudan)
- India always considered the NPT as discriminatory and had refused to sign it.
- Treaty is selectively applicable to the non-nuclear powers and legitimized the monopoly of the five nuclear weapons powers.
Ukraine issue
In NEWS
- Russia has stationed more than 1,00,000 troops at its border with aspiring NATO member Ukraine.
- Russia says
- only if NATO withdraws its forces from all countries in Europe that joined the alliance after May 1997, would they de-escalate the military build-up.
- It means no NATO forces in
- Baltic nations (Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania)
- Central European states (Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic)
- Balkan states (Croatia and Slovenia)
- Russia also wants NATO to drop plans of any further expansion
- This means NATO committing to not accepting Ukraine and Georgia as members.
- Western Countries says
- Russia’s proposals are unrealistic.
- Ukraine and every other country have the right to determine their own foreign policy.
Background of Ukraine issue
- November 2013
- Euromaidan (European Square) was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine
- The protests were sparked by the Ukrainian government’s decision to suspend the signing of an association agreement with the European Union,
- Ukraine’s pro-Russia government instead chose closer ties to Russia and the Eurasian Economic Union.
- Euromaidan (European Square) was a wave of demonstrations and civil unrest in Ukraine
- March 2014
- Russia annexed Crimea, an autonomous peninsula in southern Ukraine
- This region has strong Russian loyalties,
- The annexation was done on the pretext that it was defending its interests and those of Russian-speaking citizens.
- Russia annexed Crimea, an autonomous peninsula in southern Ukraine
- September 2014
- 12-point ceasefire deal in the capital of Belarus(Minsk)
- Between Ukraine and the Russian-backed separatists
- The ceasefire was violated by both parties
- 2015
- a peace agreement was signed again in Minsk
- It was signed by representatives of Russia, Ukraine, the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the leaders of two pro-Russian separatist regions.
- It was designed to end the fighting in the rebel regions and hand over the border to Ukraine’s national troops.
About NATO
- It is an intergovernmental military alliance.
- Established by the Washington treaty.
- Treaty that was signed on 4 April 1949.
- Headquarters — Brussels, Belgium.
- Headquarters of Allied Command Operations — Mons, Belgium.
Shortage of Computer Chips
In NEWS
- There are signs of the global chip shortage creating disruptions in the manufacturing industries dependent on these chips
Why are there shortages?
- The stay-at-home shift: This pushed chip demand beyond levels projected before the pandemic. Lockdowns spurred growth in sales of laptops to the highest in a decade.
- Fluctuating forecasts: Automakers that cut back drastically early in the pandemic underestimated how quickly car sales would rebound. They rushed to re-up orders late in 2020, only to get turned away because chipmakers were stretched supplying computing and smartphone giants like Apple Inc.
- Stockpiling: PC makers began warning about tight supplies early in 2020. Then around the middle of that year, Huawei Technologies Co. began building up inventory to ensure it could survive U.S. sanctions that were set to cut it off from its primary suppliers. Other companies followed suit, hoping to grab share from Huawei.
- Disasters: A bitter cold snap in Texas in February led to power outages that shut semiconductor plants clustered around Austin. A plant in Japan was damaged by fire in March, disrupting production for months.
Impact and concerns posed by the shortage:
- Countless industries have been affected as global demand for semiconductor chips continues to outstrip supply.
- Chip shortages are expected to wipe out USD 210 billion of sales for carmakers this year, with production of 7.7 million vehicles lost.
- The semiconductor shortage will severely disrupt the supply chain and will constrain the production of many electronic equipment types.
- The chip shortage directly impacts consumers as prices of everyday appliances and electronic goods — from TV to smartphones — have increased due to the global supply chain disruption.
Efforts by India to achieve self-sufficiency in the manufacturing of semiconductors:
- India is finalizing plans to manufacture semiconductor chips in a big way, as a part of its ‘Make in India’ initiative.
- The nation is offering more than USD 1 billion in cash to each semiconductor company that sets up manufacturing units in the country.
- Chips made locally will be designated as “trusted sources” and can be used in products ranging from CCTV cameras to 5G equipment.
- In December 2021, India invited an “expression of interest” from chipmakers for setting up fabrication units in the country or for the acquisition of such manufacturing units.
What are Semiconductor Chips?
- Semiconductors — also known as integrated circuits (ICs), or microchips — are most often made of silicon or germanium, or a compound like gallium arsenide.
- It’s the thing that makes electronic items smart and faster.
- Made from a material, usually silicon, that “semi-conducts” electricity, the chip performs a variety of functions.
- Memory chips, which store data, are relatively simple and are traded like commodities.
- Logic chips, which run programs and act as the brains of a device, are more complex and expensive.
5G services
In NEWS
- The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has said that Gurugram, Bengaluru, Kolkata, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Delhi, Jamnagar, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Hyderabad, Lucknow, Pune, and Gandhi Nagar would be among the first cities to get 5G services in 2022.
What is 5G?
- 5G is the next generation of mobile broadband that will eventually replace, or at least augment 4G LTE connection.
Features and benefits of the 5G technology:
- It Operates in the millimeter-wave spectrum (30-300 GHz) which has the advantage of sending large amounts of data at very high speeds.
- It Operates in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum.
- Its Reduced latency will support new applications that leverage the power of 5G, the Internet of Things (IoT), and artificial intelligence.
- Increased capacity on 5G networks can minimize the impact of load spikes, like those that take place during sporting events and news events.
Quiz for Current Affairs 6 January 2022
Tag:2022, 5G, Current Affairs, GST, NATO, Pangong Tso lake, Semiconductor, Ukraine issue, UPSC
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