The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI)

The Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) (Hindi: भारतीय नौवहन निगम) (BSE: 523598) is a company owned by the Government of India based in Mumbai[1] that operates and manages vessels that services both national and international lines.

SCI was established on October 2, 1961 by the amalgamation of Eastern Shipping Corporation and Western Shipping Corporation. Two more shipping companies, Jayanti Shipping Company and Mogul Lines Limited were merged with SCI in 1973 and 1986 respectively.

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In News:

The Centre on Tuesday embarked on a two-pronged strategy, allowing disinvestment of 10 per cent of its stake in Shipping Corporation of India (SCI) and allowing it to raise additional equity of like quantum. The disinvestment in this Navratna company is expected to generate about Rs.1,300 crore. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has allowed a discount of 5 per cent to retail investors on the issue price and allowed reservation of shares of 0.50 per cent of the issue size along with discount of 5 per cent on the offer price for employees of the largest shipping company in the country owning 75 vessels. The ownership of the government in SCI will come down to 63.75 per cent from the current 80.12 per cent after the sale and further issue of shares. The government hopes to develop a road map for higher public participation in the company while ensuring that government equity did not fall below 51 per cent.

Judicial accountability bill

Public can lodge complaints against judges with a national oversight committee
The Union Cabinet on Tuesday approved a bill providing for a mechanism to deal with complaints against judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court.
The Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill sets judicial standards and makes judges accountable for their lapses. It will also mandate the judges of the High Courts and the Supreme Court to declare their assets and liabilities, including those of their spouses and dependents.
The bill to replace the Judges Inquiry Act retains its basic features, contemplates setting up of a national oversight committee with which the public can lodge complaints against erring judges, including the Chief Justice of India and the Chief Justices of the High Courts.
At present, there is no legal mechanism for dealing with complaints against judges, who are governed by ‘Restatement of Values of Judicial Life,' adopted by the judiciary as a code of conduct without any statutory sanction.
The five-member committee will be headed by a retired Chief Justice of India, appointed by the President, and have a serving Judge of the Supreme Court and a serving High Court Judge, both nominated by the Chief Justice of India; the Attorney-General; and an eminent person nominated by the President. This marks a change from the earlier proposal, in which the committee was to be headed by the Vice-President and to have the Chief Justice of India, a High Court judge and two distinguished jurists not involved in regular practice of law.
On receiving a complaint, the committee will forward it to a system of scrutiny panels. In the case of a complaint against a Supreme Court Judge, the scrutiny panel will consist of a former Chief Justice of India and two sitting Supreme Court judges, and in the case of a complaint against a High Court judge, the panel will have a former Chief Justice of the High Court and two of its sitting judges. The members of the Supreme Court panel will be nominated by the Chief Justice of India, and that of the High Court panels by the Chief Justice of the High Court concerned.
The scrutiny panels will have the powers of a civil court. For instance, they can call for witnesses and evidences. They will be required to give their report within three months to the oversight committee. In the case of a complaint against a Chief Justice, the oversight committee itself will conduct the scrutiny.
On receiving the report from the scrutiny panels, the oversight committee will set up a committee to further investigate the case. Like the scrutiny panels, the investigation committee will have the powers of a civil court; it will have the power to frame definite charges.
If the charges are not proved, the investigation committee can dismiss the case. Otherwise, it will give a report to the oversight committee, which can issue an advisory or warning if the charges are not too serious. If the charges are serious, the committee can request the judge concerned to resign. If the judge does not do so, the oversight committee will forward the case to the President with an advisory for his removal.
In such an event, copies of all relevant documents will be laid in Parliament and an impeachment motion moved. In the Lok Sabha, not less than 100 members will be required to move the motion, and in the Rajya Sabha not less than 50 members will be needed.
Official sources said that besides declaring their assets, judges would be required to file an annual return of assets and liabilities. All the details would be put up on the websites of the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
The bill will also require the judges not to have close association with any member of the Bar, especially those who practise in the same court.

Goods and Service Tax(GST) in India

1. Goods and Service Tax (GST) is going to be applicable from 01.04.2011 in India.
2. With the Implication GST all the other taxes like CST, VAT, Service Tax and Excised Duty will be abolished and only in type of tax as GST will be quoted in the Invoice.

GST : Goods and Sevice Tax

GST, also known as Goods and Services Tax, is slated to be a landmark reform of indirect taxes in India. All central and state taxes will come be merged into GST once it comes into effect.

Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a part of the proposed tax reforms that center round evolving an efficient and harmonized consumption tax system in the country. Presently, there are parallel systems of indirect taxation at the central and state levels. Each of the systems needs to be reformed to eventually harmonize them.

Implementation Phase

For the first year of implementation, the finance minister proposed 3 rates – a maximum rate of 20% and a lower rate of 12% for for goods, and 16% for services. According to him, in the 2nd year the rates should be 18%, 12% and 16%. By the third year, the finance minister said GST should move towards a single rate of 16%.

The revenue from GST will be shared equally by the states and centre.

Which Country introduced GST first?

In 1954, GST was introduced for the first time in France. Today this tax has spread across 140 countries.

How GST will have its impact in the revenue for producing States?

GST is a consumer based tax and not origin based. Under this structure of GST, the tax will be collected by the states where the goods or services actually consumed.

Who would be impacted by the implementation of GST?

All Business whether engaged in the sales or supply of services would be impacted by GST. If you are dealing Goods covered under GST or if you are rendering any service you will be covered under GST.

What are the various types of GST?

There are two types of GST

1. Unified or Single GST and
2. Dual GST.

What type of GST is expected to be applied in India?

In India, dual GST is expected to be proposed wherein Centre and State will be levying on the transactions of the value of Goods or Service. In India, due to federal structure, there is a proposal to introduce dual GST system.

What is dual GST?

Under dual GST, it is levied by both the Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) and State Goods and Service tax (SGST) will be levied on the taxable value of the transaction.

What will be the expected rate of GST?

The rate is expected to be in the range of 14 to 16%. Once the total GST is determined, the central and states have to agree on Central GST and State GST rates.

Will there be different rates for Goods and for Services?

There will be single rate of GST for Services and however for Goods there would be few rates as under:

• Revenue Neutral rates
• Merit Rates
• Special rates for gold, silver, precious metals around 1%
• Zero rate for goods of social importance.

Whether Inter State supply of services will be subjected to GST?

Yes. Whereas detailed study regarding place of supply rules is being designed and it will be a major challenge to the policy makers.

Nobel Prize

1. Dr. Robert G. Edwards' in vitro fertilization (IVF) technique marks a paradigm shift in the way many types of infertility are treated. The development of IVF, recognised by this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, has touched the life of millions of infertile people, giving them an opportunity to have children.
2. After the discovery of one form of carbon — fullerenes — was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1996, this year's Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to Andre K. Geim and Konstantin S. Novoselov, both at the University of Manchester, U.K., for succeeding in producing, isolating, identifying and characterizing another form of carbon — graphene.
   

United Nations Security Council

1. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action. Its powers are exercised through United Nations
2. The Security Council held its first session on 17 January 1946 at Church House, London.
   
3. There are 15 members of the Security Council, consisting of 5 veto-wielding permanent members and 10 elected non-permanent members with two-year terms.
   
4. Security Council members must always be present at UN headquarters in New York so that the Security Council can meet at any time.
5. The Security Council's five permanent members have the power to veto any substantive resolution: * China * France * Russia * United Kingdom * United States The five permanent members (also known as the P5 or Big 5) were drawn from the victorious powers of World War II. The five permanent members of the Security Council are also the only countries recognized as nuclear-weapon states (NWS) under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.( Since they tested nuclear weapon before 1967)
6. For the 2-year term which begins on the first day of 2011, India has been elected with a record vote of 187 out of 192 countries voting. The other elected non-permanent members for this 2-year period will be South Africa, Colombia, Germany and Portugal.
   

Nobel Prize

1. Literature Nobel for Mario Vargas Llosaj, Spanish Author
   

Anti-Defection Law

The Tenth Schedule — popularly known as the Anti-Defection Act — was included in the Constitution in 1985 by the Rajiv Gandhi ministry and sets the provisions for disqualification of elected members on the grounds of defection to another political party. The law was added via the 52nd Amendment Act, 1985

Ground for disqualification:
a) If an elected member voluntarily gives up his membership of a political party.
b) If he votes or abstains from voting in such House contrary to any direction issued by his political party or anyone authorised to do so, without obtaining prior permission. As a pre-condition for his disqualification, his abstention from voting should not be condoned by his party or the authorised person within 15 days of such incident.

Loopholes:
a) As per the 1985 Act, a ‘defection’ by one-third of the elected members of a political party was considered a ‘merger’.
Finally the 91st Constitutional Amendment Act, 2003, changed this. So now at least two-thirds of the members of a party have to be in favour of a "merger" for it to have validity in the eyes of the law.
b)Court has no jurisdiction on this matter. Speakers decides it