9 June 2019: UPSC Exam PIB Summary & Analysis

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June 9th 2019 PIB:-Download PDF Here

Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs attends the G20 Finance Ministers

Context:

Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Government of India, participated in the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors meeting and associated events during June 8-9, 2019 at Fukuoka, Japan.

Key Points:

• The minister noted the urgency to fix the issue of determining right nexus and profit allocation solution for taxing the profits made by digital economy companies.
• She noted that the work on tax challenges arising from the digitalisation of economy is entering a critical phase.
• She strongly supported the potential solution based on the concept of ‘significant economic presence’ of businesses taking into account the evidence of their purposeful and sustained interaction with the economy of a country.
• This concept was piloted by India and had also found support from many countries including the G-24.
• The minister also welcomed the commencement of automatic exchange of financial account information (AEOI) on a global basis with almost 90 jurisdictions successfully exchanging information in 2018. This would ensure that tax evaders could no more hide their offshore financial accounts from the tax administration.
• She made a case for the G20 to further expand the network of automatic exchanges by identifying jurisdictions including developing countries and financial centers that are relevant but have not yet committed to any timeline. She urged for appropriate action to be taken against non-compliant jurisdictions, and for the international community to come to a consensus on a toolkit of defensive measures.

Dealing with fugitive economic offenders

• The minister raised the issue of handling fugitive economic offenders who escape from their countries to flee justice.
• She informed about the fugitive economic offenders law passed by India which provides for denial of access to courts until the fugitive returns to the country.
• Sitharaman drew attention to the practice permitted by many jurisdictions, which allow economic offenders to use investment-based schemes to obtain residence or citizenship to escape from legal consequences and underlined the need to deal with such practices.

Other points discussed

• The minister highlighted the need for the G20 to keep a close watch on global current account imbalances to ensure that they do not result in excessive global volatility and tensions.
• She also asked them to remain cognizant of fluctuations in international oil market and study measures that can bring benefits to both the oil exporting and importing countries.
• The minister also emphasised on the importance of making investments in cost-effective and disaster resilient infrastructure for growth and development.
• Issue of aging: Ms. Sitharaman highlighted that closer collaboration between countries with high old age dependency ratio and those with low old age dependency ratio was necessary for dealing with the policy challenges posed by ageing.
• The minister also pressed the need for a holistic approach which encompasses plurality of pathways to achieve Universal Health Coverage, including through traditional and complementary systems of medicine.

No new cases of Nipah Virus disease in Kerala: Dr Harsh Vardhan

Context:

A year after the first Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala in May 2018, fresh cases were reported from Ernakulam in June this year.

Key Points:

• The Union Minister of Health and Family, Dr Harsh Vardhan stated today that “There have been no new cases of Nipah virus disease.” He also said that the patient who tested positive has improved.
• Currently in Kerala, 8 patients are there in the isolation ward and 7 of them were found negative for Nipah virus.
• Yesterday, four other patients from the isolation were discharged as their clinical condition improved.
• The Union Minister has directed the senior officers of the Ministry to review the status with the Kerala state government.

More on the Nipah Virus, here.

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Read previous ‘Best of PIB’ here.