AssamExam

Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma launched the Department of Forest and Environment’s Amrit Brikshya Andolan web portal/mobile application and the Wood-based Industry (WBI) registration web portal, along with the theme song for the Amrit Brikshya Andolan. It is an initiative aimed at planting a total of 1 crore commercially-viable saplings across the State by individuals from various walks of life. 

Digital payments across India registered a growth of 13.24 per cent in a year through March 2023, as per RBI’s index that measures the adoption of online transactions.

RBI’s Digital Payments Index (RBI-DPI) stood at 395.57 at end-March 2023 compared to 377.46 in September 2022 and 349.30 in March 2022. The index is a base to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the country.

The Supreme Court said that the President of India retains power to scrap Article 370, after Constituent Assembly dissolved in 1957. Clause (3) of Article 370 gave the President power to notify the Article inoperative or modify it. But a provision had made it necessary that such a move would have to be recommended by the Jammu and Kashmir Constituent Assembly.

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry has set up a working group to decriminalise laws to further promote ease of doing business. The group comprised representatives from industry associations, business chambers, legal professionals, and officials of seven ministries. It would also have representatives of the National Housing Bank, NABARD and CPCB.

The Karnataka government launched the Gruha Jyothi free power scheme, which aims to provide free electricity up to 200 units for every household in the state. About 2.14 crore households will get benefited from the Gruha Jyothi scheme./bg_collapse]

Q7. Which institution releases the ‘Rice Price Index’?

1. World Bank
2. NITI Aayog
3. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)
4. International Monetary Fund (IMF)

Show Answer

In July 2023, the United Nations food agency reported that the rice price index rose by 2.8%, reaching its highest level in nearly 12 years. The increase was driven by strong demand and export restrictions imposed by India, affecting prices in key exporting countries, as indicated by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s All Rice Price Index.

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Council, in its 51st meeting held recently, decided to stick to its earlier decision to impose a 28 per cent tax on the full-face value of the bets placed on online gaming, casinos and horse-trading. The council said a 28 per cent GST would apply from October 1.

Union Minister of Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari unveiled the prototype of the world’s first Bharat Stage (BS)-VI-compliant electrified flex-fuel car, developed by Toyota Kirloskar Motor. The car, which runs on 100 per cent ethanol (E100), is based on the Toyota Innova HyCross. It can cover 40 per cent of its distance on ethanol and the remaining 60 per cent on electric, with the petrol engine shut off.

The total number of ITRs for AY 2023-24 filed till 31st July, 2023 are more than 6.77 crore, which is 16.1% more than the total ITRs for AY 2022-23 (5.83 crore) filed till 31st July 2022. Over 64.33 lakh ITRs were filed on a single day-on 31st July, 2023.