About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

• BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking, and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• The BIS is the successor of the Indian Standards Institution (ISI), which was created in 1947 to ensure quality control and competitive efficiency in the rapid industrialization expected in the early decades of India’s independence.
• BIS is functioning under the administrative control of the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution.
• BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways: providing safe, reliable quality goods; minimizing health hazards to consumers; promoting exports and imports substitute; control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification, and testing.
• It operates product certification schemes through which it grants licenses to manufacturers covering practically every industrial discipline, from agriculture and textiles to electronics.
• Certification by the BIS is mandatory for certain classes of products—such as milk powder, X-ray equipment, and gas cylinders—that directly affect public health and safety.
• In other cases, voluntary, or optional certification or self-certification by the manufacturer may be permitted.
• The BIS employs a large staff of engineers, scientists, and statisticians; testing is carried out in its own laboratories as well as in independent facilities that demonstrate compliance with laboratory guidelines established by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). 
• The agency is headquartered in New Delhi and maintains regional and branch offices throughout the country.

Q1) What is the International Organization for Standardization (ISO)?

ISO is an independent, non-governmental international organization made up of members from the national standards bodies of 168 countries. The Central Secretariat of ISO is in Geneva, Switzerland. India is one of the founding members of ISO. It develops standards for the world impacting a diverse range of business and social sectors.

Source: Proposals worth over ₹340 Crore screened seeking testing facilities in government laboratories across sectors from Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

About Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)

• It is a provision in the Income Tax Act of India.
• It primarily applies to companies and is designed to ensure that companies that report substantial book profits but pay little to no income tax due to various exemptions and deductions are subject to a minimum level of taxation.
• The primary objective behind the MAT tax in India is to curb tax avoidance by companies that manipulate their financial statements to reduce their taxable income artificially.
• With the introduction of MAT, companies have to pay a fixed percentage of their profits as MAT.
• MAT is applicable to all companies, including foreign companies. 
  • However, it does not apply to companies that have been granted exemption under Section 10AA of the Income Tax Act, which pertains to Special Economic Zones (SEZs).
• MAT is calculated under Section 115JB of the Income-tax Act. 
• All companies are required to pay corporate tax based on which is higher of the following:
  • Normal Tax Liability: Tax computed as per the normal provisions of the Income-tax Law, i.e., by applying the relevant tax rate to the taxable income of the company.
  • Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT): Tax computed at 15% (previously 18.5%) on book profit plus cess and surcharge.
• MAT is calculated on the "book profits" of a company, which is different from the taxable profits computed under the regular provisions of the Income Tax Act.
• What is MAT credit? When the amount of MAT for a company is greater than its normal tax liability, the difference between MAT and normal tax liability is called MAT Credit. 

Key Facts about Vivad se Vishwas (VSV) Scheme

• “Vivad se Vishwas Scheme” or “No Dispute but Trust Scheme” is a direct tax scheme introduced by the Government of India in 2020 for settling disputes between taxpayers and the income tax department.
• It aims to minimize tax-related litigation.
• Under this scheme, the interest and penalty associated with the disputed tax amount is completely waived off on the final settlement of the disputed tax amount. 
• There was a time limit set for the payment of taxes under the scheme.

Q1) What is Cess?

Cess is a form of tax charged/levied over and above the base tax liability of a taxpayer. A cess is usually imposed additionally when the state or the central government looks to raise funds for specific purposes. Cess is not a permanent source of revenue for the government, and it is discontinued when the purpose of levying it is fulfilled. It can be levied on both indirect and direct taxes.

Source: Assessee entitled to Claim Credit for MAT under VSV Scheme for year under consideration: ITAT [Read Order] 

About Anthropocene Epoch

• It is an unofficial unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems.
• The word Anthropocene is derived from the Greek words anthropo, for “man,” and cene, for “new,” coined and made popular by biologist Eugene Stormer and chemist Paul Crutzen in 2000.
• There are numerous phenomena associated with this proposed epoch, such as global warming, sea-level rise, ocean acidification, mass-scale soil erosion, the advent of deadly heat waves, deterioration of the biosphere, and other detrimental changes in the environment.
• What is the Geological Time Scale?
  • Earth’s history is divided into a hierarchical series of smaller chunks of time, referred to as the geologic time scale.
  • These divisions, in descending length of time, are called eons, eras, periods, epochs, and ages.
  • These units are classified based on Earth’s rock layers, or strata, and the fossils found within them. 
  • From examining these fossils, scientists know that certain organisms are characteristic of certain parts of the geologic record. The study of this correlation is called stratigraphy.
• Current Epoch: Officially, the current epoch is called the Holocene, which began 11,700 years ago after the last major ice age. 
• Debate:
  • Scientists still debate whether the Anthropocene is different from the Holocene.
  • The term Anthropocene has not been formally adopted by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), the international organization that names and defines epochs. 
  • The primary question that the IUGS needs to answer before declaring the Anthropocene an epoch is if humans have changed the Earth system to the point that it is reflected in the rock strata.

Q1) What is the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS)?

The International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), founded in 1961, is one of the World’s largest scientific organizations. It encourages international cooperation and participation in the earth sciences in relation to human welfare and is a member of the International Council for Science (ICSU). Membership is open to countries or defined regions. IUGS has over 120 members representing over a million geoscientists.

Source: Proposal to mark a new chapter in Earth’s history rejected, scientists say

About Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019

• The Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to provide a path to Indian citizenship for Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Buddhists, Jains, and Parsis who migrated from neighbouring Muslim-majority countries such as Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan, before December 31, 2014.
• Under the CAA, migrants who entered India till December 31, 2014, and had suffered “religious persecution or fear or religious persecution” in their country of their origin would be made eligible for accelerated citizenship.
• It relaxed the residence requirement for naturalisation of these migrants from twelve years to just six.
• The cut-off date for citizenship is December 31, 2014, which means the applicant should have entered India on or before that date.
• The law exempts the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Tripura as included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution, including the tribal areas of Karbi Anglong in Assam, Garo Hills in Meghalaya, Chakma district in Mizoram, and Tribal areas district in Tripura.
• It also includes a provision for the cancellation of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) registration if the OCI cardholder violates any provision of the Citizenship Act or any other applicable law. 

Q1) What is Overseas Citizen of India (OCI)?

The OCI Scheme was introduced by amending the Citizenship Act, 1955, in August 2005. Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) of certain categories as specified in the Citizenship Act, 1955 are eligible for being OCI cardholders. It provides long-term visa-free travel and stay in India and gives the cardholders a host of privileges normally not given to a foreign national.

Source: Citizenship Amendment Act rules notified, four years after the law was passed