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Modi Government creates a new Ministry of Co-operation (vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi)

Posted on by Business So Simple in Public Affairs

Posted Date:- Jul 06, 2021

In a historic move, a separate ‘Ministry of Co-operation’ has been created by the Modi Government for realizing the vision of ‘Sahkar se Samriddhi’.

This ministry will provide a separate administrative, legal and policy framework for strengthening the cooperative movement in the country.

It will help deepen Co-operatives as a true people based movement reaching upto the grassroots.

In our country, a Co-operative based economic development model is very relevant where each member works with a spirit of responsibility. 

The Ministry will work to streamline processes for ‘Ease of doing business’ for co-operatives and enable development of Multi-State Co-operatives (MSCS). 

The Central Government has signaled its deep commitment to community based developmental partnership. Creation of a separate Ministry for Co-operation also fulfils the budget announcement made by the Finance Minister.

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Cabinet Secretariat Press release dated 06 July 2021

Justice Department commemorates the milestone of crossing 9 lakh beneficiaries under its Tele-Law programme

Posted on by Business So Simple in Legal awareness

Justice Department commemorates the milestone of crossing 9 lakh beneficiaries under its Tele-Law programme


The event heralds beginning of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” in Department of Justice

Tele Law has potential to foster inclusive character of justice delivery and strengthening rule of law: says Law Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad during event

Tele-Law saw a surge of 369% growth in number of beneficiaries seeking legal advice during last one year: mentions Justice Department Secretary Shri Barun Mitra

Ministry of Law & Justice issued Press Release today 06th July 2021

Heralding the beginning of “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav” and to commemorate the milestone of reaching more than 9 lakh beneficiaries under its Tele-Law programme, Department of Justice organized an event here today. Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, Minister of Law and Justice, Electronics & Information Technology and Communications was the chief guest on this occasion. Today more than 50,000 Tele Law functionaries across the country got the chance to see and digitally connect with the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Law Minister Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad commended the efforts of VLEs, PLVs, State Coordinators and Panel Lawyers who have become a support pillar for connecting, and solving the day- to- day socio –legal concerns /conflicts of common citizens and facilitating the masses in availing benefits introduced for them under various schemes. The Minister appreciated the efforts of Department of Justice for collection and compilation of real time stories of the beneficiaries. Minister also mentioned about the potential of Tele Law to foster inclusive character of justice delivery and strengthening rule of law. 

A virtual tour of two of the remotest Common Service Centres (CSCs) in M. Rampur Panchayat of Kalahandi district in Odisha and CSC in Tullamulla Panchayat of Ganderbal district in UT of Kashmir was also made by Minister that revealed the reach of technology in the far flung areas. The tour helped in understanding the challenges that the VLEs/PLVs encounter in ensuring Tele-Law service reaches the masses. 

While speaking at the event, Shri Barun Mitra, Secretary, Department of Justice, Ministry of Law & Justice, said that Integrating smart technology through tele and video conferencing, Tele Law has mainstreamed legal aid to the marginalized by connecting them with a dedicated pool of Panel Lawyers either free of cost if so entitled or at nominal fees. A vast cadre of frontline Para Legal Volunteers and Village Level Entrepreneurs belonging to the local CSC neighborhood assist in awareness generation and online registration of beneficiaries needing advice. To ensure seamless penetration in remote geographical hinterlands for better beneficiary coverage, Department of Justice has also developed Tele-Law Mobile App for PLVs.

Highlighting the rapid expansion of Tele-Law initiative, Shri Mitra said, “Tele–Law began its humble journey in 2017 by covering 170 districts in 11 States through 1800 CSCs. In 2019, 115 Aspirational Districts were added taking the number of CSCs to 29,860. Department of Justice is proud that today Tele-Law is operational in 633 districts in 34 States/UTs covering 50,000 CSCs.”

He further said that Tele-Law saw a surge of 369% growth in number of beneficiaries seeking legal advice during last one year. This medium was extensively used by common citizens for asserting their rights and entitlements during the Covid Pandemic. We have touched a new milestone in June, 2021 with more than 9.5 lakh citizens being benefited by Tele-Law.

Tele-Law programme is presently operational in 633 districts (including 115 Aspirational Districts) across 34 States/UTs through a network of 50,000 CSCs.  The programme connects the disadvantaged and needy seeking legal advice from Panel Lawyers through e-interface platform available in Common Service Centres(CSC).

To mark the occasion, the Minister for Law & Justice released a Special Postal cover on Tele-Law- Reaching the Unreached. The front cover depicts photo of Panel lawyer providing advice to the beneficiaries through video/tele conferencing. It also features the images of beneficiaries, who are seen talking to the Panel Lawyers, thus portraying their efforts in overcoming barriers of anxieties, fears and inherent hesitancy in using technological platforms. It also highlights the five steps that are used in connecting a beneficiary with the Panel Lawyer to seek legal advice at the Common Service Centres, truly uncovering why Tele-Law can be said a unique initiative in “Kanooni Salah ki Aur Anootha Kadam”.

Tele-Law is rightly moving in the direction of legal empowerment and in connecting the last mile through technology which is well documented in the booklet “Voices of the Beneficiaries”. The e–edition of the first and second edition of the Voices of the beneficiaries was released in September, 2020 and March 2021. The third edition along with the previous two editions was released by Hon’ble Minister. In his foreword to “Voices of the Beneficiaries” 3rd Edition, the Hon’ble Minister of Law and Justice Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad has underlined that the mainstreaming of legal aid underpins the precept of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikaas and Sabka Nyaya, as envisioned by the Prime Minister.

Inspired by the real time stories and true events, a short film on Tele-Law: Reaching the Unreached, was also released. In addition, 6 specific capsule of approximately one minute on the beneficiaries from the States of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Odisha, Jharkhand and UT of Kashmir have been developed highlighting the penetration and outreach of the programme.

New Signboard for CSCs providing Tele-Law service was released that has been rechristened as “कानूनी सलाह सहायक केंद्र“. The move is intended to bring prominence on the delivery of Legal advice and consultation service through Tele-Law as one of the key service amongst the bouquet of other services provided by these CSC centers.

Even though Tele-law programme is technology driven, its success is dependent on the working of field functionaries comprising of Village Level Entrepreneurs(VLEs), Para Legal Volunteers (PLVs), State Coordinators and Panel Lawyers. The event also marked felicitation of twenty best performing field functionaries under these categories in five zones of the country. The category wise details are as under:

Category

Names

State

Village Level Entrepreneur (VLEs)

Amrita Kumari

Jharkhand

Vijay Mohan Kasbe

Maharashtra

Harpreet Singh

Punjab

Thillai Revathi

Tamil Nadu

Taradeep Chandra

Chattisgarh

Para Legal Volunteers

(PLVs)

Deepshikha Das

Arunachal Pradesh

Vaijayanti Kalappa Bongarge

Maharashtra

Shraddhanjali Jha

Uttar Pradesh

Jesi

Tamil Nadu

Deeksha Varma

Chhattisgarh

State Coordinators

Shresan Kumar Pattnayak

Odisha

Yogesh Nikam

Maharashtra

Dr. Mukesh Lata

Punjab

Abin K.S.

Kerala

Chiranjay Janghel

Chhattisgarh

Panel Lawyers

Amit Kumar Barick

Odisha

Shwetanjali Mishra

Maharashtra, Rajasthan

Aksh Basra 

Punjab, Haryana

Chithralal M R

Kerala

Vikash Kumar

Bihar, Uttar Pradesh

Three of these winners and coincidently all of them female were able to attend the event physically that shows Tele Law programme is truly a movement towards women legal empowerment. Minister interacted with the awardees and encouraged them to mobilize awareness especially amongst the rural women and girls so that they could feel empowered.  He underlined the importance of Tele Law as a tool for ensuring gender justice.  The awardees are: –  

1. Ms. Shraddhanjali Jha, (PLV), from Sultanpur, Uttar Pradesh associated since 2017 and has registered & enabled 500+ cases of the beneficiaries.

2. Dr. Mukesh Lata (State Coordinator) of Punjab. She is associated since 2019 and has been closely working with DLSA officials, police authorities and the local bodies of districts.

3. Ms. Shwetanjali Mishra (Panel Lawyer) Maharashtra). She is associated since 2019 and has enabled 30000+ advices to the beneficiaries & got 34 success stories featured in the Voices of Beneficiaries

The event was attended by senior officials of Department of Justice, CSC e-Gov, India Post and National Legal Service Authority.

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh launches the Online Course Mobile App “Matsya Setu” for Fish Farmers

Posted on by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship

Release

Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh launches the Online Course Mobile App “Matsya Setu” for Fish Farmers

Posted Date:- Jul 06, 2021

Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Shri Giriraj Singh, today launched the Online Course Mobile App “Matsya Setu”. The app was developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA), Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad. The online course app aims to disseminate the latest freshwater aquaculture technologies to the aqua farmers of the country.

Matsya Setu app has species-wise/ subject-wise self-learning online course modules, where renowned aquaculture experts explain the basic concepts and practical demonstrations on breeding, seed production and grow-out culture of commercially important fishes like carp, catfish, scampi, murrel, ornamental fish, pearl farming etc. Better Management Practices to be followed in maintaining the soil & water quality, feeding and health management in aquaculture operations were also provided in the course platform. The modules are divided into small video chapters for the convenience of the learners, along with additional learning materials. In order to motivate the learners and provide a lively learning experience, Quiz/Test options were also provided for self-assessment. Upon successful completion of each course module, an e-Certificate can be auto-generated. Farmers can also ask their doubts through the app and get specific advisories from experts.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Giriraj Singh, Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, stated that capacity building of fish farmers is a very vital part of spearheading the Technology-led Aquaculture Development in the country. He emphasized that trainings should be provided on various activities including ornamental fisheries, seaweed culture, module on feed preparation, post harvest value addition. He emphasized to include inputs of successful farmers while providing training.

He stated that the app will be surely helpful for the farmers to learn the advancements in the technologies and Better Management Practices at their convenience. Learning the advanced technologies will certainly influence the adoption of scientific methods in fish farming; hence the productivity will be enhanced, and the income will be improved. This app can also be an important tool to disseminate the latest information on different schemes among the stakeholders, especially fishers, fish farmers, youth and entrepreneurs across the country, assist them and facilitate ease of doing business. He expressed confidence that the app will serve as a wonderful platform for the farmers for learning.

During the event, Union Minister interacted with progressive fish farmers from various places in the country and taken inputs from the farmers. During the interaction he enquired about the cost economics of the various fish culture practices and also asked some of the successful farmers to share videos of 1 to 2 minutes of their projects implemented.

While appreciating the efforts of the ICAR-CIFA & NFDB for bringing out the app for the benefit of the farmers. The Union Minister said that the app should be popularized widely and should reach every fish farmer in the country.

Shri Pratap Chandra Sarangi, Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.  Mr J.N.Swain, Secretary, Department of Fisheries, Government of India and senior officers of the Department of Fisheries were present.

Click here for more information on how to download and use the app

YouTube Video- Guidelines Under Section 9B & Section 45(4) of the Income Tax Act,1961 Circular No. 14 of 2021 issued on 02 July 2021)-Taxability on transfer of Capital Assets/Stock-in-trade from Firm/AOP/BOI to Partner/Member (Finance Act 2021-Section 9B, Section 45(4) & 48(iii))

Posted on by Business So Simple in Income Tax

Dear Sir,

Please find below YouTube Video Link on Guidelines Under Section 9B & Section 45(4) of the Income Tax Act,1961 Circular No. 14 of 2021 issued on 02 July 2021)-Taxability on transfer of Capital Assets/Stock-in-trade from Firm/AOP/BOI to Partner/Member (Finance Act 2021-Section 9B, Section 45(4) & 48(iii))


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2PttGpoQqoc

Regards,
Bipul Kumar

Wealth from Waste: Spent catalyst from industry can be an efficient catalyst for batteries

Posted on by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship, Science & Technology, Startups

Posted Date:- Jul 06, 2021

We are perhaps looking at a future in which industrial waste will form the base for energy storage in batteries. Scientists have shown that the spent catalysts from the energy industry or the raw material for recycling operation that deliver fresh catalysts and valuable metals work as an efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst and can catalyze the core reactions that facilitate the operation of metal-air batteries.

It can help develop new strategies for effectively using industrial waste for energy storage in batteries paving the way to realize the dream of achieving ‘today’s waste is tomorrow’s energy’.

Hydrogen energy offers a promising power generation route for the industry and transport sectors due to high energy density and clean output. One of the ways to produce hydrogen is by catalytic decomposition of methane using nickel catalyst embedded on alumina or zeolite. After several runs, the catalysts get spent due to carbon choking and lose their activity. The spent catalysts are typically subjected to energy-intensive processes such as high-temperature combustion for recycling, releasing a large amount of COx into the atmosphere during the process or chemical treatment for the reclamation of metal constituents. These protocols are neither economically viable nor environmentally friendly, thus demanding alternative avenues to efficiently use the spent catalyst.

One of the best possible routes is to use the retrieved spent catalyst for energy generation/storage applications. The composition of the given spent catalyst, Carbon nanotubes with Ni nanoparticles and porous alumina, may be ideal for direct use as electrocatalyst in electrochemical energy applications and thus, opens up a viable strategy for converting waste to wealth.

Dr C. Sathiskumar, Dr Neena S. John and Dr H.S.S. Ramakrishna Matte from the Centre for Nano and Soft Matter Sciences (CeNS), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, in collaboration with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) R&D Green Centre, Bengaluru, have demonstrated that the above-spent catalyst works as an efficient bifunctional oxygen electrocatalyst. It can catalyze both electrochemical oxygen evolution (OER) and oxygen reduction reactions (ORR), the core reactions that facilitate the operation of metal-air batteries.This research was recently published in the journal ‘Sustainable Energy Fuels’.

The spent catalyst shows stable current density for 20 hrs and 8 hrs towards OER and ORR. The potential difference for overall oxygen electrocatalyst (ΔE) reveals a superior bifunctional activity of the spent catalyst. Furthermore, the spent catalyst employed in Zn-air batteries displayed commendable charge-discharge performance up to 45 hrs with high reversibility.

The work supported by the Centre for High Technology (CHT)-Oil and Industry Development Board (OIDB), Hydrogen Corpus Fund help in effectively utilizing industrial waste for energy storage applications, thus producing green energy in a sustainable manner.

Publication links:

DOI: 10.1039/d1se00007a.

For more details Dr Neena S. John and Dr H.S.S. Ramakrishna Matte jsneena@cens.res.in, matte@cens.res.in can be contacted.

Ministry of Science & Technology Press release dated 06th July 2021

SS/RKP

GST Revenue collection for June2021-₹ 92,849 crore gross GST revenue collected in June’ 2021

Posted on by Business So Simple in GST

The gross GST revenue collected in the month of June’ 2021 is₹92,849 crore of which CGST is ₹16,424 crore, SGST is ₹20,397, IGST is ₹49,079 crore (including ₹25,762 crore collected on import of goods) and Cess is ₹6,949 crore (including ₹809 crore collected on import of goods).The above figure includes GST collection from domestic transactions between 5thJune to 5th July’2021 since taxpayers were given various relief measures in the form of waiver/reduction in interest on delayed return filing for 15 days for the return filing month June’21 for the taxpayers with the aggregate turnover uptoRs. 5 crore in the wake of covid pandemic second wave.

During this month the government has settled ₹ 19,286 crore to CGST and ₹ 16,939 crore to SGST from IGST as regular settlement.

The revenues for the month of June 2021 are 2% higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year.

GST collection after posting above Rs. 1 lakh crore mark for eight months in a row, the collection in June’2021 dropped below Rs. 1 lakh crore. The GST collection for June’2021 is related to the business transactions made during May’2021. During May’2021, most of the States/UTs were under either complete or partial lock down due to COVID. The e-way bill data for the month of May 2021 shows that during the month, 3.99 crore e-way bills were generated as compared to 5.88 crore in the month of April 2021, down by more than 30%.

However, with reduction in caseload and easing of lockdowns, the e-way bills generated during June 2021 is 5.5 crore which indicates recovery of trade and business. The daily average generation of e-way bill for the first two weeks of April 2021 was 20 lakh, which came down to 16 lakh in last week of April 2021 and further to 12 lakh in the two weeks between 9th to 22nd May. Thereafter, the average generation of e-way bills has been increasing and has reached again to 20 lakh level since week beginning 20th June. Therefore, it is expected that while the GST revenues have dipped during the month of June, the revenues will see an increase again from July 2021 onwards.

Ministry of Finance Press release dated 06 July 2021

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News update-Income Tax, Financal awareness & Legal awareness-06 July 2021 (ET, Livemint, Financial express)

Posted on by Business So Simple in News Desk

*Income Tax*

1. *How banks, mutual funds and companies will check if you have filed ITR- 06 July 2021*-

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/tax/how-banks-mutual-funds-and-companies-will-check-if-you-have-filed-itr/articleshow/84057122.cms

2.  *What are income tax benefits available on donations made?-05 July 2021*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/tax/what-are-income-tax-benefits-available-on-donations-made/articleshow/84087217.cms

3. *Tax optimiser: NPS, perks can help Jaiswal cut tax by over Rs 90,000-05 July 2021*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/tax/tax-optimiser-nps-perks-can-help-jaiswal-cut-tax-by-over-rs-90000/articleshow/84090506.cms

*Financial awreness*

1. *Best credit card practices for young earners*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/borrow/best-credit-card-practices-for-young-earners/videoshow/83984216.cms

2. *Faced with medical emergency? Here are 10 quick loan options*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/borrow/faced-with-medical-emergency-here-are-10-quick-loan-options/articleshow/83799577.cms

3.  *How to stop being overconfident with your money*

https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/how-to-stop-being-overconfident-with-your-money-11625513424840.html

4. *NRIs can continue investing in PPF account*

https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/nris-can-continue-investing-in-ppf-account-11625514753558.html

5. *Govt leaves General Provident Fund interest rate unchanged at 7.1% for Jul-Sept*

https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/government-declares-7-1-interest-rate-on-provident-fund-of-its-employees-11625497547793.html

6.  *Ten simple money rules for investing success*

https://www.livemint.com/money/personal-finance/ten-simple-money-rules-for-investing-success-11625490136514.html

*Legal awareness*

1. *Legal rights of husband over property of Hindu wife who dies without will*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/legal/will/legal-rights-of-husband-over-property-of-hindu-wife-who-dies-without-will/articleshow/83804054.cms

2. *Does a daughter lose legal claim over father’s property after marriage?*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/legal/will/does-a-daughter-lose-legal-claim-over-fathers-property-after-marriage/articleshow/83866135.cms

3. *Money & relationships: Who gets the child’s custody in a divorce?*

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/wealth/legal/will/money-relationships-who-gets-the-childs-custody-in-a-divorce/articleshow/83865998.cms

Ministry of Finance issued Press Release on 05th July 2021 giving relaxation in electronic filing of Income Tax Forms 15CA/15CB till 15th July 2021

Posted on by Business So Simple in Income Tax

As per the Income-tax Act, 1961, there is a requirement to furnish Form 15CA/15CB electronically. Presently, taxpayers upload the Form 15CA, along with the Chartered Accountant Certificate in Form 15CB, wherever applicable, on the e-filing portal, before submitting the copy to the authorised dealer for any foreign remittance.

In view of the difficulties reported by taxpayers in electronic filing of Income Tax Forms 15CA/15CB on the portal www.incometax.gov.in, it had earlier been decided by CBDT that taxpayers could submit Forms 15CA/15CB in manual format to the authorized dealer till 30th June, 2021.

It has now been decided to extend the aforesaid date to 15th July, 2021. In view thereof, taxpayers can now submit the said Forms in manual format to the authorized dealers till 15th July, 2021. Authorized dealers are advised to accept such Forms till 15th July, 2021 for the purpose of foreign remittances. A facility will be provided on the new e-filing portal to upload these forms at a later date for the purpose of generation of the Document Identification Number.

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Setting up of Advisory Council for Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC)

Posted on by Business So Simple in Entrepreneurship, Science & Technology

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry has initiated a project on Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC). The task has been assigned to Quality Council of India (QCI). ONDC aims at promoting open networks developed on open sourced methodology, using open specifications and open network protocols independent of any specific platform. ONDC is expected to digitize the entire value chain, standardize operations, promote inclusion of suppliers, derive efficiencies in logistics and enhance value for consumers.

An advisory council has been constituted to advise the Government on measures needed to design and accelerate adoption of ONDC. The members of the Advisory council will be:

  1. Shri R.S. Sharma, CEO, National Health Authority
  2. Shri Nandan M. Nilekani, non-executive Chairman of Infosys
  3. Shri Adil Zainulbhai, Chairman, QCI and Capacity Building Commission
  4. Ms Anjali Bansal, Founder & Chairperson, Avaana Capital
  5. Shri Arvind Gupta, Co-founder & Head, Digital India Foundation
  6. Shri Dilip Asbe, MD & CEO, NPCI
  7. Shri Suresh Sethi, MD & CEO, NSDL
  8. Shri Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary-General, CAIT
  9. Shri Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI

Additional Secretary (ITeC),DPIIT shall be the cove nor of the Advisory Council.

Ministry of Commerce & Industry Press release dated 05 July 2021