Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 08 April 2022

::National::

Center plans sharper income tax scrutiny on rich farmers

Super-rich farmers will face stricter scrutiny by tax authorities, who will comb through details of agricultural income — tax-free under the law — in jurisdictions where farm income exceeds a threshold of ₹10 lakh a year, the finance ministry said in a response to questions to the parliamentary committee.
Dodging tax by passing off earnings as agricultural income is set to get tougher as robust checks are being introduced, the government has told Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee, which pointed to several lapses in granting blanket exemptions.
Super-rich farmers will face stricter scrutiny by tax authorities, who will comb through details of agricultural income — tax-free under the law — in jurisdictions where farm income exceeds a threshold of ₹10 lakh a year, the finance ministry said in a response to questions to the parliamentary committee.
In about 22.5% of cases, authorities approved tax-free claims without proper assessment and verification of documents, allowing scope for evasion of taxes, the committee said.
The panel released its 49th report, “Assessment related to Agricultural Income” on Tuesday. It is based on a report by the Auditor and Comptroller General of India.
One such case involved tax exemption of farm income of ₹1.09 crore as proceeds from the sale of farmland in Chhattisgarh.
Under section 10(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, agricultural income is exempted from tax. Any proceeds from rent, revenue or transfer of agricultural land and incomes from farming are considered as agricultural income under the law.
The income tax department said it did not have sufficient manpower to check all cases of fraud in all its jurisdictions, known as commissionerates.

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::International::

Bill introduced for automatic right to work to H-1B spouses in US

Two US Congresswomen on Thursday introduced a bill in the House of Representatives aimed at granting an automatic right to work for H-4 visa holders, who are the dependent spouses and children accompanying H-1B, H-2A, H-2B, and H-3 visa holders to the United States. Under the current rule, only certain categories of H-4 visa holders can apply for an employment authorization document.
Congresswomen Carolyn Bourdeaux and Maria Elvira Salazar introduced the H-4 Work Authorization Act which seeks to change the current law and grant the spouses of H-1B visa holding immigrants an automatic right to work after receiving their H-4 visa. It will remove the requirement for visa holders to apply for Form I-765, an Employment Authorisation Document (EAD).
The lawmakers said that numerous employers facing acute labour shortages and the new bill can fill labour gaps, deliver jobs, and help immigrant families thrive together.
“Right now, the spouses of highly-skilled immigrants have to fight through years of bureaucratic red tape before they are allowed to work in the United States,” Bourdeaux said in a statement.
“This bill removes these needless barriers to ensure families can contribute and prosper together. If we are going to continue to be competitive and attract the greatest minds and talent around the world, we must ensure that the family members of high-value immigrants are able to build a life and career in the United States, just like everyone else,” she added.
Currently, H-4 visa holders must apply for work authorization and wait for approval before they can work. Given the backlogs at US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), applications for EAD can take anywhere from six to eight months, with some applications taking over one year to be approved.
The lawmakers said that the Bill could also help to reduce the backlog of EAD applications at USCIS by providing immediate work authorization to H-4 visa holders and reducing the number of work authorizations USCIS must process.

::Economy::

Centre's March economy report: 5 billion UPI transactions, record GST collection

The Ministry of Finance On Thursday released its monthly economic review report for March this year, stating that the combined index of eight core industries registered a growth of 5.8 per cent in February 2022, the highest in the last four months.
According to the latest report by the finance ministry, the growth was witnessed on account of better output or natural gas, coal, refinery products etc. “The cumulative growth of Index of Eight Core Industries in the period April-February 2021-22 stood at 11.0 per cent as compared to the corresponding period of FY 2020-21,” the report added.
The key highlights of the Monthly Economic Review report are as follows:
> The government said that the GST collection stood at ₹1.42 lakh crore in March 2022, a double-digit growth of 14.7 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year and 45.6 per cent higher than the same period before the Covid-19 pandemic.
> Disruptions in supply due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict have triggered an increase in the international prices of multiple commodities, including edible oil. The international prices of sunflower oil have hiked, prompting an increase in demand for palm oil and soyabean oil, said the government while stating it had taken steps to cushion the effect of high edible oil prices by reducing import duties.
> The Centre has said that the global dynamics may eventually lower the crude oil prices to reasonable levels early in this new financial year.
>The government said that the volume of UPI transactions in March 2022 crossed the five billion mark for the first time.
> The government said that India continues to be one of the most favoured investment destination- with gross Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows rising to $69.7 billion between April 2021-February 2022. “The equity inflow component of FDI for this period has been pegged at USD 50.8 billion.

Flipkart raises internal IPO valuation to $70 billion, may list in 2023: Report

Walmart's Indian e-commerce company Flipkart has internally raised its IPO valuation target by around a third to $60-70 billion, and now plans a U.S. listing in 2023 instead of this year, two sources with direct knowledge of the plan told Reuters.
Flipkart, which competes with Amazon.com Inc in India's booming e-commerce space, had earlier set an IPO valuation goal of $50 billion, Reuters has reported.
The main reason for waiting for the IPO is due to Flipkart's internal plan to boost valuations further by focussing on two of its relatively new businesses -- online healthcare services and travel bookings, two of the sources with direct knowledge said.
Two separate sources familiar with Flipkart's plans said the ongoing global market turmoil sparked by the Russia-Ukraine crisis also forced the Indian company to reconsider its timeline.
Flipkart acquired Indian travel booking website Cleartrip in 2021, and this week launched a "Health+" app to offer medicines as well as other healthcare products and services.
"Flipkart thinks there is an even bigger upside of valuation than originally envisaged ... The travel business has started showing great signs already for them," said the first source.
The first source said the IPO valuation target could be as high as $70 billion, while the second said it could be between $60-65 billion.
Flipkart didn't respond to a request for comment.
Asked about the IPO's timeline, Walmart CFO Brett Biggs told an analysts conference in December that Flipkart's business was "performing almost exactly like we thought" and an "IPO is still very much in the cards", without specifying when the company will list.

::Sports::

Mumbai City FC eye history as they make AFC Champions League debut

Mumbai City FC endured a difficult outing in the latest edition of the Indian Super League (ISL), a campaign which exposed their inconsistency. The team got off to a flying start and scored 17 goals in the first six matches. However, fate soon took a U-turn and after a series of poor results, the defending champions eventually finished fifth on the points table.
However, as coach Des Buckingham said “what's done is done”, the Islanders now look to enter a new competition, in fact a bigger one, with fresh but realistic ambitions.
Mumbai are all set to make their debut in the AFC Champions League, making them the second Indian club after FC Goa to feature in the elite Asian football tournament. The team will lock horns with Al-Shabab FC, a Saudi Arabian club, on Friday night, who if assessed by the current form appear to be the easiest opponent for Mumbai in their group.
The team will then face Air Force Club Iraq, who have won the competition on three previous occasions and then Al Jazira, who currently enjoy the third position in the Arabian Gulf League.