23 Jan 2024: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose
2. Pact signed for supply for green ammonia from India to Japan
3. Direct Tax Statistics

1. Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Syllabus: GS-1, Modern History

Prelims: Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, Parakram Diwas

Context:

Birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Details:

• The birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose has been celebrated as ‘Parakram Diwas’ in the country since 2021.

Read more about Parakram Diwas in the link.

2. Pact signed for supply for green ammonia from India to Japan

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy, Environment

Prelims: Green Ammonia

Context:

Indian Renewable Energy company, ACME and Japanese heavy industry major IHI signed a pact to supply Green Ammonia from India to Japan.

Details:

• Under this agreement, ACME and IHI plan to compete with the relatively cheaper but less environment-friendly blue ammonia supply with the active support and incentives being offered by the Central Government of India under the National Green Hydrogen Mission (NGHM) and the State Government of Odisha.
• The Green Ammonia will be produced at ACME’s 1.2 MMTPA Green Ammonia project being developed at Gopalpur in Odisha.
• Total investment for 1.2 MMT per annum plant will be 5 billion USD. 
• Both companies wish to partner across the value chain, starting from production to logistics, supply to Japanese customers and to create a market for green ammonia for use in a range of applications in power generation and various industrial uses in Japan to reduce the overall emissions.

About ACME:

• It is one of the largest renewable Independent power producers in India with a portfolio of more than 5 GW of renewable energy capacity.
• In 2021, ACME built what is perhaps the world’s first Green Ammonia plant in Bikaner, Rajasthan. 

What is Green Ammonia?

• Green ammonia is the ammonia that is produced by a 100% renewable and carbon-free process. 
• One way of making green ammonia is by using hydrogen from water electrolysis and nitrogen separated from the air.
• These are then fed into the Haber process (also known as Haber-Bosch), all powered by sustainable electricity. In the Haber process, hydrogen and nitrogen are reacted together at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia (NH3). 
• Ammonia is a pungent gas that is widely used to make agricultural fertilisers. The current process of making ammonia is not a ‘green’ process.
• The production of green ammonia could offer further options in the transition to net-zero carbon dioxide emissions.

3. Direct Tax Statistics

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy

Prelims: Direct Tax Statistics released, CBDT

Context:

CBDT released key direct tax statistics through time-series data.

Details:

• The CBDT has further released Consolidated Time-Series data as updated upto F.Y. 2022-23.
• The key highlights of some of these statistics are as under:
  • Net Direct Tax Collections have increased by 160.52% from Rs. 6,38,596 crore in F.Y. 2013-14 to Rs. 16,63,686 crore in F.Y. 2022-23. 
  • Gross Direct Tax Collections of Rs. 19,72,248 crore in F.Y. 2022-23 have registered an increase of over 173.31% compared to Gross Direct Tax Collections of Rs. 7,21,604 crore in F.Y. 2013-14.  
  • Direct Tax to GDP ratio has increased from 5.62% in F.Y. 2013-14 to 6.11% in F.Y. 2022-23.
  • The Cost of collection has decreased from 0.57% of total collection in the F.Y. 2013-14 to 0.51% of total collection in the F.Y. 2022-23.
  • The total number of ITRs filed in FY 2022-23 stands at 7.78 crore showing an increase of 104.91% as compared to total number of ITRs of 3.80 crore filed in FY 2013-14.
• The availability of the Time-Series data in the public domain will be useful for academicians, research scholars, economists and the public at large in studying long-term trends of various indices of the effectiveness and efficiency of Direct Tax administration in India.

Read previous PIB articles here.