Prelims Focus – 1st February 2024
1.Draft Indian Stamp Bill, 2023
In News: The Union Government has proposed repealing the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and introducing Draft Indian Stamp Bill, 2023 for the stamp duty regime in the country.
- A stamp duty is essentially a central authority tax, which is levied to sign in files, like an agreement or transaction paper among two or more parties, with the registrar.
- Duty to be Paid: Usually, the amount distinctive is fixed based totally on the document’s nature or is charged at a certain percentage of the agreement fee said within the file.
- Applicability: Stamp duties can be levied on bills of change, cheques, promissory notes, bills of lading, letters of credit score, guidelines of insurance, switch of shares, debentures, proxies and receipts.
- Legality: Stamp responsibilities are widely wide-spread as valid evidence in a courtroom of law.
- They are levied with the aid of the Centre but appropriated by using the concerned states inside their territories beneath Article 268 of the Constitution.
- Need for the Bill: Several provisions of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 have now become redundant or inoperative, also there is a loss of uniform regulation for all Indian states concerning stamp obligations.
2.Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023
In News: Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) 2023 was released by Transparency International.
- Transparency International is the global civil society organisation founded in 1993 and is based in Berlin, Germany.
- It ranks 180 countries and territories around the globe by their perceived levels of public sector corruption.
- The index uses a scale of 0 to 100, where 0 indicates for highly corrupt and 100 indicates for very clean.
3.Voluntary Carbon Market in Agriculture Sector
In News: The Union government has recently launched a framework to promote voluntary carbon markets in the agriculture sector.
- About 54.6 percent of the country’s workforce is engaged in agriculture and allied sectors’ activities, with the share of the agriculture sector in the gross domestic product being 18.6 percent.
- The initiative will accelerate the adoption of environment-friendly agricultural practices along with benefitting the farmers.
4.Eravikulam National Park (ENP)
Recent news:The Eravikulam National Park will be temporarily closed during the breeding season of the Nilgiri tahr, its main resident species.
About:
- This park is located in the Idukki district of Kerala, along the Western Ghats.
- It became a National Park in 1978 and spans an area of 97 square kilometres.
- The park is home to the highest peak south of the Himalayas, Anamudi, which is located on its southern side.
- Additionally, the park is known for the rare Neelakurinji flower that blooms every twelve years.
- The climate in the park is characterised by heavy rainfall during the southwest and retreating monsoons, making it one of the wettest areas in the world.
- The park is mostly covered in rolling grasslands, with patches of shola forests in the upper parts of the valley.
5.Kangaroo Lizard Species
Recent news: A new species of kangaroo lizard has been found in the Western Ghat region. It is the second species in the Agasthya Gama genus, with the first species, Beddomii, previously discovered in the Sivagiri hills of Tamil Nadu.
About:
- The tiny lizard has a maximum length of 4.3cm and belongs to the Agamidae family.
- It feeds on small insects, runs quickly, and hides in dry leaves to avoid predators.
- Unlike other lizards, it is not a good climber due to its reduced fifth toe.
- It is found only in the Western Ghat and has a slightly dark head, dull olive brown body, a broad dark brown stripe on its dewlap, and a white throat.
- Its body is also covered in brick yellow scales.
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