1. Which of the following is an outcome of recently held 12th WTO ministerial meeting?
- Waiver on intellectual property patents on Covid-19 vaccines.
- Exemptions on World Food Programme purchases from export restrictions.
- Curbing subsidies on illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
- Extension on moratorium on customs duties on e-transmission.
Choose the correct answer using the codes given below:
Correct Answer: D [1, 2, 3 & 4]
Notes:
- Recently, at the 12th WTO ministerial meeting, the 164-member WTO managed to arrive at a consensus on a modest trade package.
- The major areas of the Geneva package include: a temporary TRIPS waiver on vaccines to tackle the Covid-19 pandemic; a decision on disciplining fisheries subsidies; a consensus on exempting World Food Programme purchases from export restrictions; and an extension of moratorium on customs duties on e-transmission.
2. Windfall tax which was in news recently has been introduced by government of India on which of the following?
Correct Answer: C [Crude Oil]
Notes:
- A windfall tax is a higher tax rate on profits that result from a sudden windfall gain to a particular company or industry, often as the result of a geo-political disturbance, war or natural disaster that creates unusual spikes in demand and/or interruptions to supply.
- Historically, taxes on windfall profits have been imposed as a result of opportunistic ‘profiteering’ by companies.
- In July 2022, the government of India introduced windfall taxes amid domestic crude producers making unusual profits due to the global impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.
- Government of India imposed and later revised the windfall taxes on exports of crude oil, diesel and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF).
- It is important so that consumer taxes for domestic consumers can be reduced; inflation can be stabilised; government subsidy bill can be softened etc.
3. Tamil Nadu government has set up N Sundaradevan committee to provide tangible inputs to revive which of the following sectors?
Correct Answer: B [MSME]
Notes:
- An expert committee was set up by Tamil Nadu government under the chairmanship of former Industries Secretary N Sundaradevan. The Committee was mandated to provide tangible inputs to the State Government for the revival of MSMEs, bearing in mind socio-economic indicators such as combating unemployment, social support, structural, institutional, financial, technological and other infrastructural changes.
- Its recommendations include the adoption of ‘corridor and cluster’ approach in the long run and single window clearance in the short term. Under “Corridors and Clusters” approach, the State government should endeavour to bring as many enterprises as possible under the umbrella of one cluster or other, identify gaps in the value chain of those clusters and concentrate on plugging the gaps.
- In the medium term, there should be an initial approval free period.
- The Committee has also suggested strengthening the existing SIDBI’s Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises’ programme
- Tamil Nadu has an 11.13 per cent share of all MSME units in India, which is the highest among the States. Other States, including Maharashtra (10.43 per cent), Uttar Pradesh (9.89 per cent), West Bengal (7.21 per cent) and Gujarat (7.14 per cent) have a smaller share.
- According to the Sixth Economic Census, there are 50.29 lakh MSMEs in Tamil Nadu. However, the number of businesses in Tamil Nadu with GST registration is only around 10 lakh. This points to the informal nature of almost 80 per cent of the enterprises.