Aadhaar can be interchanged with PAN for filing tax returns
ForPrelims and mains : GS III Indian Economy
In news
- More than 120 crore Indians now have Aadhaar. Whereas, according to data with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), 42 crore PAN cards have been issued, of which only 23 crore have been linked with Aadhaar.
- The Union Budget 2019-20 has proposed to make Aadhaar interchangeable with PAN, thereby allowing people without PAN to file income tax returns using only their Aadhaar.
- The Income Tax Department shall allot PAN to such persons on the basis of Aadhaar after obtaining demographic data from the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI).
- It has been made clear that the intent is not to replace PAN with Aadhaar as the primary identity proof when it comes to income tax.
- It has been proposed allotting Aadhaar to non-resident Indians, arriving in India, on an expedited basis.
- So far, non-resident Indians with an Indian passport had to wait for 180 days after their arrival in India before they can apply for Aadhaar. The Budget proposed to remove this waiting time.
International Court of Justice
For Prelims and Mains: All about ICJ and comparison with ICC, Jadhav’s case and what can India do now in this case?
Context: International Court of Justice likely to deliver verdict in Kulbhushan Jadhav case this month.
About ICJ: What is it?
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial body of the UN. Established in 1946 to replace the Permanent Court of International Justice, the ICJ mainly operates under the statute of its predecessor, which is included in the UN Charter.
It has two primary functions: to settle legal disputes submitted by States in accordance with established international laws, and to act as an advisory board on issues submitted to it by authorized international organizations.
Members of the Court:
The International Court of Justice is composed of 15 judges elected to nine-year terms of office by the United Nations General Assembly and the Security Council. These organs vote simultaneously but separately. In order to be elected, a candidate must receive an absolute majority of the votes in both bodies. In order to ensure a measure of continuity, one third of the Court is elected every three years. Judges are eligible for re-election.
Who nominates the candidates?
Every state government, party to the Charter, designates a group who propose candidates for the office of ICJ judges. This group includes four members/jurists of the Permanent Court of Arbitration (machinery which enables arbitral tribunals to be set up as desired and facilitates their work) also picked by the State. Countries not part of the statute follow the same procedure where a group nominates the candidates.
Each group is limited to nominate four candidates, two of whom could be of their nationality. Within a fixed duration set by the Secretary-General, the names of the candidates have to be sent to him/her.
What are the qualifications of ICJ judges?
- A judge should have a high moral character.
- A judge should fit to the qualifications of appointment of highest judicial officers as prescribed by their respective states or.
- A judge should be a juriconsult of recognized competence in international law.
Independence of the Judges:
Once elected, a Member of the Court is a delegate neither of the government of his own country nor of that of any other State. Unlike most other organs of international organizations, the Court is not composed of representatives of governments. Members of the Court are independent judges whose first task, before taking up their duties, is to make a solemn declaration in open court that they will exercise their powers impartially and conscientiously.
In order to guarantee his or her independence, no Member of the Court can be dismissed unless, in the unanimous opinion of the other Members, he/she no longer fulfils the required conditions. This has in fact never happened.
Fiscal deficit target revised downwards to 3.3%
For Prelims and mains GS III Indian Economy
In news
- The government is estimating a fiscal deficit of 3.3% of GDP in financial year 2019-20, lower than the 3.4% estimated earlier in the interim Budget presented in February.
- The main reason for this is an increase on the revenue side, while expenditure is being controlled.
- To achieve this goal(of 3.3%), it is relying on one-off disinvestment income, as well as higher taxes on the rich, and increased excise duties on petrol, diesel, precious metals and tobacco products.
- Also, the government had budgeted a dividend from the Reserve Bank of India amounting to about ₹90,000 crore.
- The government has cut the allocations for several major schemes. Most significant of these is the ₹4,334 crore cut for the Swachh Bharat scheme .
Private funds needed for Swachh Bharat
For Prelims and mains GS III Indian Economy, GS II Governance
In news
- 99.2% of rural India is now open defecation-free & therefore the next goal of the Swachh Bharat should be to have 100% safe and scientific disposal of solid and liquid waste.
- The safe and scientific disposal of solid and liquid waste would include improvement in working conditions for sanitation workers and manual scavengers, sewer construction and water availability, treatment of industrial effluence, drain bio-remediation, river surface cleaning, apart from other measures.
- Government must also allocate adequate resources to undertake such measures and apart from this, private partnerships such as through corporate social responsibility, crowd funding aligned with local government financing, among other measures can be undertaken to finance scientific disposal of waste.