Daily Current Affair (5 July 2024)

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Ahead of Budget, DPIIT backs India Inc’s call to remove angel tax

Industry said that Angel Tax is creating a hurdle in capital formation
Based on consultations with the startup ecosystem, we have recommended the removal of angel tax.
Investments in startups had already been slowing. The Indian private equity and venture capital investments in 2023 stood at $39 billion compared to $62 billion in 2022, as per a report by Bain & Company. This resulted in job losses in Indian startups too.

Angel tax

The angel tax was first introduced in 2012 to deter the generation and use of unaccounted money.
Angel tax – which is income tax at the rate of 30.6 per cent – is levied when an unlisted company issues shares to an investor at a price higher than its fair market value.
It was imposed only on investments made by a resident investor.However the Finance Act 2023 proposed to extend angel tax even to non-resident investors from April 1.
The discounted cash flow (DCF) method for resident investors.
The tax department prescribed five valuation methods for non-resident investors: comparable company multiple method; probability weighted expected return method; option pricing method; milestone analysis method; and replacement cost method.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT)

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) was established in the year 1995 and was reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development. The department was earlier called Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion and was renamed as DPIIT in January, 2019.
In 2018, matters related to e-commerce were transferred to the Department and in 2019, the Department has been given charge for matters related to Internal Trade, welfare of traders and their employees and Startups. The mandate for integrated development of Logistic Sector has also been allocated to DPIIT in November, 2021.
The role of DPIIT is to promote industrial Development of the Country by facilitating investment in new and upcoming technology, accelerate & foreign direct investment and support a balanced development of industries & trade.

Source :- IE , DPIIT
Context

Brahmaputra’s lone female gharial’s long wait for a mate could end soon

The gharial (Gavialis gangeticus), also known as gavial or fish-eating crocodile.
Mature females are 2.6 to 4.5 m (8 ft 6 in to 14 ft 9 in) long, and males 3 to 6 m (9 ft 10 in to 19 ft 8 in.
It also preys on fish, but has a broader prey base than the gharial including snakes, turtles, birds, mammals and dead animals
It has been listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007.
Loss of habitat because of sand mining and conversion to agriculture, depletion of fish resources and detrimental fishing methods continue to threaten the population.
In 1976, two breeding centres were established in Uttar Pradesh, one in Kukrail Reserve Forest and one in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.

Habitat

Ramganga River in Corbett National Park.
Ganges in Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary.
Girwa River in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.
Chambal River in National Chambal Sanctuar.
Parbati River, a tributary of the Chambal Rive
Yamuna, Son river, Mahanadi river.

Context

Congress demands a White Paper on Agnipath scheme

What is a 'white paper'?

A White Paper serves as a crucial tool for informing policymakers, stakeholders, and the public about the government's policies, initiatives, and their intended impact on the economy. It offers a detailed assessment of economic indicators, reforms, and their implications for various sectors.

Characteristics of White Papers:

Comprehensive Information: Offers detailed and comprehensive information on a particular topic, issue, or policy.
Objective Tone: Maintains an objective and neutral tone, presenting information and analysis without strong opinions or biases.
Policy Recommendations: May include proposals or recommendations for policy changes, initiatives, or reforms based on thorough analysis and research.
Authoritative Sources: Often cites authoritative sources, research findings, and expert opinions to support arguments and recommendations.
Educational and Informative: Aims to educate stakeholders, policymakers, and the public about complex issues, providing insights and analysis to facilitate informed decision-making.

Source : IE, ET.
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Brain-eating amoeba’ claims Kerala boy’s life

Naegleria fowleri, commonly known as "brain-eating amoeba," lives throughout the world in warm and shallow bodies of fresh water, such as lakes, rivers and hot springs.
It also lives in soil. It’s considered a free-living organism because it doesn’t need a host to live.
It infects people when it enters their body through the nose.
This usually happens when you’re swimming, diving or doing something like water skiing in infected water
The symptoms include headache, fever, nausea, vomiting, altered mental status, and seizures.

Context

More link expressways on the cards to connect with tourism & religious circuits

The Government of Uttar Pradesh has setup an Authority called"Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority" (UPEIDA) under UP Industrial Area Development Act. 1976.

Agra-Lucknow Access Controlled Expressway Project (Greenfield)

Agra-Lucknow Expressway is a 302.222 Km long 6 Lane (Expandable to 08 lanes) Access Controlled (Greenfield) Expressway with 08-lane wide structures for future expansion of the expressway to 08 lanes.
The expressway starts at Agra inner ring road, passes through Firozabad, Mainpuri, Etawah, Auraiya, Kannauj, Kanpur Nagar, Hardoi, Unnao distt. and ends on SH-40 in Lucknow.

The Purvanchal Expressway

Starting point: Village Chand Sarai, located at Lucknow-Sultanpur Road (NH-731), district Lucknow.
Ending Point: Near village Haidaria on National Highway No.-19, before 18 KM of UP-Bihar border, in district Ghazipur. Total length 340.824 KM.
Total length of a fully access-controlled 06 lane expressway is 340.824 KM.
Other districts falling on the expressway – 1. Lucknow, 2- Barabanki, 3- Amethi, 4- Sultanpur, 5-Ayodhya, 6- Ambedkar Nagar, 7-Azamgarh, 8-Mau, 9-Ghazipur
Construction start in October 2018 , completed in 36 months and the deadline is October 2021.
The inauguration of this expressway has been completed on November 16, 2021 by Hon'ble Prime Minister at Kurebhar-Airstrip, district-Sultanpur.

Bundelkhand Expressway Access Controlled Project (Green Field)

Starting point of the project:- Near Bharatkoop at Jhansi-Prayagra National Highway Number-35 in district Chitrakoot.
Ending point of the project:- Near village Kudrail in district Etawah on Agra-Lucknow expressway.
Length of the project:- Total 296.070 KM.
Districts benefited from the project: Chitrakoot, Banda, Mahoba, Hamirpur, Jalaun, Auraiya, and Etawah.
Hon. ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated Bundelkhand Expressway at Village-Katheri, District- Jalaun. on 16 July 2022
This expressway will link the Bundelkhand area from the national capital Delhi through the Agra-Lucknow expressway and Yamuna expressway as well as will play a vital role in the development of the Bundelkhand area.

Gorakhpur Link Expressway

The total length of the fully access-controlled 04 lanes expressway is 91.352 KM.
Starting point: Jaitpur (District-Gorakhpur) NH-27.
Ending Point: Salarpur (District Azamgarh) at Purvanchal expressway.
Districts falling on the expressway – 1. Gorakhpur, 2- Azamgarh, 3- Ambedkarnagar, 4- Sant Kabir Nagar.

Ganga Expressway Entrance Controlled Project (Green Field)

Construction of fully access-controlled Ganga Expressway is proposed starting from N.H. 334, in district Meerut and ending in district Prayagraj. The foundation stone of this expressway has been completed on 18th December, 2021 by Hon'ble Prime Minister in district Shahjahanpur.
Districts benefited from the project:- Meerut, Hapur, Bulandshahar, Amroha, Sambhal, Badaun, Shahjahanpur, Hardoi, Unnao, Rai Bareli, Pratapgarh, and Prayagraj.
Length of project:- 594 KM approx.
Ending point of the project:- At Prayagraj bye pass of (N.H.-2) in district Prayagraj.

Yamuna Expressway

Yamuna Expressway is a 6-lane wide and 165.5 km long access-controlled expressway.
It is presently India's sixth longest expressway and connects Greater Noida with Agra. It was built to de-congest the older Delhi–Agra national highway (NH-2) or Mathura Road.

Lucknow–Kanpur Expressway

National Expressway 6 (NE-6), is an 6-lane access controlled expressway.
The expressway will connect Lucknow and Kanpur and will run parallel to NH-27 which connects Kanpur and Lucknow with a distance of about 85 km.Tourism Circuits in Uttar Pradesh.

Tourism Circuits in Uttar Pradesh
There were 13 tourism circuits in UP.

Buddhist Circuit :

Kapilvastu/Kaushambi / Kushinagar/ Sankisa / Sarnath/ Sravasti This Circuit has exclusive itinerary for Buddhist Pilgrimage and major Buddhist Sites of ancient periods.

Bundelkhand Circuit :

Bithoor, Chitrakoot, Jhansi, Kalinjar and Mahoba This circuit include all the areas that have been recognised under Bundelkhand Region of Uttar Pradesh. This circuit have all kinds of tourist places from ancient, medieval, modern to nature, wildlife and adventure tourism.

Braj Circuit:

Agra, Mathura, Vrindavan This circuit has all the areas that are called Braj Bhoomi i.e. places associated with Lord Krishna and his times.

Awadh Circuit :

Lucknow, Dewa Sharif, Naimisharanya, Ayodhya, Faizabad This circuit includes places that are mainly recognised with Lord Rama and his life events.

Vindhya-Varanasi Circuit :

Varanasi, Chunar, Vindhyachal This circuit too have places of pilgrimage, adventure tourism and festivals.

Wild Life-Eco tourism Circuit :

Dudhwa, Pilibhit, Katarniaghat This Circuit have all the places that have rich bio-diversity and dense forests of Terai Region of Uttar Pradesh.

Ramayana Circuit

Ramayana Circuit theme namely Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Nashik & Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu).