In order to “cleanse the system of political funding in the country” and in keeping with the government’s

desire to move to a cashless economy, Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Tuesday expanded on
some of the details of the electoral bonds scheme. The scheme, announced during the 2017 Budget,
aims to account the donations made to all major political parties.

What is it?

An electoral bond is designed to be a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note — in effect, it will be
similar to a bank note that is payable to the bearer on demand and free of interest. It can be purchased
by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India.

How do you use it?

The bonds will be issued in multiples of ₹1,000, ₹10,000, ₹1 lakh, ₹10 lakh and ₹1 crore and will be
available at specified branches of State Bank of India. They can be bought by the donor with a KYC-
compliant account. Donors can donate the bonds to their party of choice which can then be cashed in via
the party's verified account within 15 days.

What are the other conditions?

Every party that is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 (43 of
1951) and has secured at least one per cent of the votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or
State election will be allotted a verified account by the Election Commission of India. Electoral bond
transactions can be made only via this account.

The bonds will be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in the beginning of every quarter,
i.e. in January, April, July and October as specified by the Central Government. An additional period of 30
days shall be specified by the Central Government in the year of Lok Sabha elections.

As explained by Mr. Jaitley, the electoral bonds will not bear the name of the donor. In essence, the
donor and the party details will be available with the bank, but the political party might not be aware of
who the donor is. The intention is to ensure that all the donations made to a party will be accounted for
in the balance sheets without exposing the donor details to the public.

Will it be tax deductible?

During the Budget presentation in February 2017, the Finance Minister had proposed that the maximum
amount of cash donation that a political party can receive be capped at ₹2,000 and that parties be
entitled to receive donations by cheque or digital mode, in addition to electoral bonds.

In a press conference that followed, he had added that donations would be tax deductible. “A donor will
get a deduction and the recipient, or the political party, will get tax exemption, provided returns are filed
by the political party,” said Mr. Jaitley.

The Australia Group is a multilateral export control regime (MECR) and an informal group of countries
(now joined by the European Commission) established in 1985 (after the use of chemical
weapons by Iraq in 1984) to help member countries to identify those exports which need to be
controlled so as not to contribute to the spread of chemical and biological weapons.[1]

The group, initially consisting of 15 members, held its first meeting in Brussels, Belgium, in September
1989. With the incorporation of India on January 19, 2018, it now has 43 members, [2] including Australia,
the European Commission, all 28 member states of the European Union, Ukraine, and Argentina. The
name comes from Australia's initiative to create the group. Australia manages the secretariat.

The initial members of the group had different assessments of which chemical precursors should be
subject to export control. Later adherents initially had no such controls. Today, members of the group
maintain export controls on a uniform list of 54 compounds, including several that are not prohibited for
export under the Chemical Weapons Convention, but can be used in the manufacture of chemical
weapons. In 2002, the group took two important steps to strengthen export control. The first was the
"no-undercut" requirement, which stated that any member of the group considering making an export
to another state that had already been denied an export by any other member of the group must first
consult with that member state before approving the export. The second was the "catch-all" provision,
which requires member states to halt all exports that could be used by importers in chemical or
biological weapons programs, regardless of whether the export is on the group's control lists.
[3]
Delegations representing the members meet every year in Paris, France.[4]

The E-way bill, an accompaniment to the nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST), has got almost as
much media attention as the term input tax credit in the last few months. But after being rolled out on
February 1, 2018 with much fanfare, the E-way bill has met with the same fate as some of return filings
on the GST. It been deferred indefinitely after taxpayers complained of technical glitches that stymied all
their attempts to generate it online.

What is e-way bill?

The E-way bill, short form for electronic way bill, is a document to be generated online under the GST
system, when goods of the value of more than ₹50,000 are shipped inter-State or intra-State. The E-way
bill must be raised before the goods are shipped and should include details of the goods, their consignor,
recipient and transporter.

The transporter has to carry the invoice and the copy of E-way bill as support documents for the
movement of goods. He can also carry the E-way bill number, mapped to an RFID (radio frequency
identification device).

Though check-posts have been abolished under GST, a consignment can be intercepted at any point for
the verification of its E-way bill, for all inter-State and intra-State movement of goods. If a consignment is
found without an E-way bill, a penalty of ₹10,000 or tax sought to be evaded, whichever is greater, can
be levied.

GST laws flexibly allow any of the parties to a transaction — the consignor or the recipient — to generate
the E-way bill, provided they are registered. Whether goods are transported on one’s own or hired
conveyance, by air, rail or road, the E-way bill has to be generated. Where the goods are handed over to
a transporter for conveyance by road and neither the consignor nor the consignee has generated the E-
way Bill, the transporter becomes liable to generate it.

When the consignor or transporter generates the E-way bill, the recipient for the consignment has to
either accept or reject it on the portal. If no action is taken by the recipient in 72 hours, it shall be taken
as accepted.

Why is it important?

One of the key arguments in favour of GST was its ability to unify India as a market and do away with
bothersome inter-State check-posts. Data from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, tells us
that a typical truck in India spends 20 per cent of its time in inter-state check points. This varies from 20-
30 minutes in some States such as Rajasthan and Maharashtra, but goes upto to two hours in Bihar or
Jharkhand.

Both the GST levy and the E-way bill were expected to root out such transit delays, while at the same
time plugging tax evasion. Every E-way bill generated by a sender or buyer of goods is to be
automatically updated in the outward sales return (GSTR1) of the supplier, leaving little scope for tax
evasions on shipments. In the previous tax regime, tax officials had to manually cross-check the way bill
with the tax returns filed, to verify if all the consignments came within the tax net.

Also, a single electronic way bill for the movement of goods throughout the country was expected to
save tons of paperwork and sidestep various inter-state clearances for buyers, sellers and transporters. In
the previous tax regime, each State framed its own rules for the movement of goods from and to it.

Why should I care?

Logistical speed-breakers cost the Indian economy an extra $45 billion or 4.3 per cent of GDP every year,
a McKinsey report says. Therefore, any change in the system that brings about even small benefits is to
be welcomed. If you are a retail investor in the shares of manufacturing companies, remember, seamless
shipments perk profits and returns. The LPI Survey by World Bank in 2014 put logistics costs at 14 per
cent of the total value of goods in India, while it is only 6-8 per cent in other major countries. The GST E-
way bill combination was expected to trim logistics costs by 20 per cent.

While all this looks pretty good on paper, it is contingent on the GST backbone working flawlessly to root
out errors and mismatches, even when deluged by traffic.

The bottomline

Teething problems are inevitable. In implementing the E-way bill, we shouldn’t let the perfect be the
enemy of good.
Biogeochemical Cycle Definition

A biogeochemical cycle is one of several natural cycles, in which conserved matter moves through
the biotic and abiotic parts of an ecosystem.

In biology, conserved matter refers to the finite amount of matter, in the form of atoms, that is present
within the Earth. Since, according to the Law of Conservation of Mass, matter cannot be created or
destroyed, all atoms of matter are cycled through Earth’s systems albeit in various forms.

In other words, the Earth only receives energy from the sun, which is given off as heat, whilst all other
chemical elements remain within a closed system.

The main chemical elements that are cycled are: carbon (C), hydrogen (H), nitrogen (N), oxygen (O),
phosphorous (P) and sulfur (S). These are the building blocks of life, and are used for essential processes,
such as metabolism, the formation of amino acids, cell respiration and the building of tissues.

These fundamental elements can be easily remembered with the acronym CHNOPS.

Each of these elements is circulated through the biotic components, which are the living parts of an
ecosystem, and the abiotic components, which are the non-living parts.

The abiotic components can be subdivided into three categories: thehydrosphere (water),
the atmosphere (air) and the lithosphere(rock).

The biosphere is a term which can be used to describe the system that contains all living organisms,
including plants, animals and bacteria, as well as their interactions among and between each other, and
their interactions with the Earth’s abiotic systems. The biosphere is sometimes called the ecosphere, and
can be defined as the sum of all ecosystems.

Biosphere system
With this knowledge, the words “biogeochemical cycle” can be easily broken down. “Bio-” is the biotic
system, “geo-” is the geological component, and “chemical” is the elements which are moved through a
“cycle”.

At particular stages of their cycling, any of the elements may be stored and accumulated within a
particular place for a long period time (e.g. within a rocky substrate, or in the atmosphere). These places
are called “sinks” or “reservoirs”.

A “source” is anything from which an element is output, for example volcanoes give off large amounts of
carbon in the form of CO2, while human waste is a source for nitrogen, sulfur and phosphorous.

Examples of Biogeochemical Cycle

The Water Cycle

The biogeochemical cycle of water, or the hydrological cycle describes the way that water (Hydrogen
Dioxide or H2O) is circulated and recycled throughout Earth’s systems.

All living organisms, without exception, need water to survive and grow, making it one of the most
important substances on Earth. In complex organisms it is used to dissolve vitamins and mineral
nutrients. It is then used to transport these substances, as well as hormones, antibodies, oxygen and
other substances around and out of the body. It also aids in the enzymatic and chemical reactions
required for metabolism, and it is used for temperature regulation.

On a geographical level, the biogeochemical cycle of water is responsible for weather patterns. The
temperature, the amount, and the movement of water, have an effect all weather systems. As water in
its various forms (vapor, liquid and ice) interacts with its surroundings, it alters the temperature and
pressure of the atmosphere, creating wind, rain and currents, and is responsible for changing the
structure of earth and rock through weathering.

Although there is no real beginning to the water cycle, 97% of the world’s water is stored within the
oceans, so here is a logical place to start.

Water cycle
Of the ocean water, a very small proportion becomes frozen at it reaches the poles, and is stored as ice
within glaciers.

Some of the surface water is heated by the sun, and evaporation takes place. In this process, the liquid
water is converted into water vapor and is taken up in to the atmosphere. As the water rises, it cools
and condensation occurs. This results in the water being stored within the atmosphere in the form of
clouds.

As the clouds are moved around the earth’s atmosphere they collide and grow. Eventually the water
droplets grow large enough so that they are heavy enough to fall as precipitation (rain) or as snow,
depending on the environmental conditions.

Most of the snow that falls is either stored as ice caps, or melts to form streams and rivers.

Some of the water that makes it to the ground is affected by gravity and flows back in to the ocean
via surface runof. Furthermore some of this water joins with freshwater streams and rivers, which
eventually lead to the oceans, or it may be stored within lakes and reservoirs. This freshwater can be
consumed by animals, who cycle the water through their bodies.

Much of the water that fell as rain, soaks in to the ground through infiltration. Here it either infiltrates
deep into the rock, and forms huge stores called aquifers or it remains relatively close to the surface
as groundwater flow.

The groundwater is taken in by the roots of plants and is used for photosynthesis. The water is then
released into the atmospheric through evapotranspiration or is consumed when the plants are eaten.

Some of the groundwater emerges from springs and surface water bodies, eventually making its way
back to the ocean.

The Carbon Cycle

As a main component of biological compounds, carbon can be found in all living things, as well as many
non-living things such as minerals, the atmosphere, the oceans and the interior of the earth.

Although carbon is an essential component for life, it is only due to a specific balance of atmospheric
components and conditions that life, as we know it, is able to exist. Therefore, it is important that a
balance between the amount of carbon stored in sinks and the amount that is emitted from various
sources is maintained.

Although all biogeochemical cycles of carbon are linked, it is simpler to vizualise them using two systems.

Ecological succession is the process of change in the species structure of an ecological community over
time. The time scale can be decades (for example, after a wildfire), or even millions of years after a mass
extinction.[1]
The community begins with relatively few pioneering plants and animals and develops through
increasing complexity until it becomes stable or self-perpetuating as a climax community. The "engine"
of succession, the cause of ecosystem change, is the impact of established species upon their own
environments. A consequence of living is the sometimes subtle and sometimes overt alteration of one's
own environment.[2]

It is a phenomenon or process by which an ecological community undergoes more or less orderly and
predictable changes following a disturbance or the initial colonization of a new habitat. Succession may
be initiated either by formation of new, unoccupied habitat, such as from a lava flow or a
severe landslide, or by some form of disturbance of a community, such as from a fire, severe windthrow,
or logging. Succession that begins in new habitats, uninfluenced by pre-existing communities is
called primary succession, whereas succession that follows disruption of a pre-existing community is
called secondary succession.

Succession was among the first theories advanced in ecology. The study of succession remains at the
core of ecological science. Ecological succession was first documented in the Indiana Dunes of Northwest
Indiana[3] which led to efforts to preserve the Indiana Dunes. [3][4] Exhibits on ecological succession are
displayed in the Hour Glass, a museum in Ogden Dunes

 Factors of soil formation

 Parent material

 Climate

 Biota (vegetation)

 Topography

 Time

The SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) and ratings agency Crisil have launched CriSidEx,
India’s first MSE Sentiment Index for micro, ...

........ currentaffairs.gktoday.in/crisidex-crisil-sidbi-launches-indias-mse-sentiment-index-
02201852324.html © GKToday

Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is a Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India programme
to uplift rural India. The programme is being launched in collaboration with the Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs), National Institutes of Technology (NITs) National Institute of Technical Teachers'
Training and Research (NITTTRs)and other leading Government Engineering Institutes like College of
Engineering, Pune across the country.[1]
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan is being coordinated and steered by IIT Delhi.[2] The programme involve engaging
with neighbouring communities and using technologies for their upliftment. [3][4]

Recently an article has been published outlining a roadmap for rural India.This could supplement the
strategies to be adopted in the program.

Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD, also called Biological Oxygen Demand) is the amount of dissolved
oxygen needed (i.e. demanded) by aerobic biological organisms to break down organic material present
in a given water sample at certain temperature over a specific time period. The BOD value is most
commonly expressed in milligrams of oxygen consumed per litre of sample during 5 days of incubation at
20 °C and is often used as a surrogate of the degree of organic pollution of water

The Eight Basic Consumer Rights

1 Right to Basic Needs, which guarantees survival, adequate food, clothing, shelter, health care,
education and sanitation. With this right, consumers can look forward to the availability of basic and
prime commodities at affordable prices and good quality.

2 Right to Safety—the consumer should be protected against the marketing of goods or the provision of
services that are hazardous to health and life.

3 Right to Information—the consumer should be protected against dishonest or misleading advertising

or labeling and has the right to be given the facts and information needed to make an informed choice.

ADVERTISEMENT

4 Right to Choose—the consumer has the right to choose from among various products at competitive
prices with an assurance of satisfactory quality.

5 Right to Representation—the right to express consumer interests in the making and execution of
government policies.

6 Right to Redress— the right to be compensated for misrepresentation, shoddy goods or unsatisfactory
services.

7 Right to Consumer Education, which is the right to acquire knowledge and skills necessary to be an
informed customer.

8 Right to a Healthy Environment—the right to live and work in an environment which is neither
threatening nor dangerous and which permits a life of dignity and well-being.

Read more: http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/1386/the-eight-basic-consumer-rights/#ixzz5FLL632hp

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