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Ind AS

Indian Accounting Standard (abbreviated as Ind-AS) is the Accounting standard adopted by companies in India and issued under the supervision and control of Accounting Standards Board (ASB), which was constituted as a body in the year 1977. ASB is a committee under Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) which consists of representatives from the government department, academicians, other professional bodies viz. ICAI, representatives from ASSOCHAM, CII, FICCI, etc.   Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs), excluding regional rural banks (RRBs), were required to implement IndAS from April 1, 2018. The RBI has deferred the implementation of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS) for banks by one year.   Structure GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) is a collection of commonly-followed accounting rules and standards for financial reporting.International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS): It is a set of accounting standards developed by an independent, not-for-profit organization called the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).Indian Accounting Standards (Ind-AS): accounting standards issued under the supervision and control of Accounting Standards Board (ASB).   Current Status The banks currently follow Indian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (IGAAP) standards. They are issued by Accounting Standards Board (ASB) in India. IGAAP relies on the principle of prudence and historical cost of assets instead of their fair market valuation, while IndAS relies on the fair value of assets and liabilities and has a thrust on the substance of contracts more than their legal forms. IndAS provides guidance onvaluation techniques,inputs to valuation techniques (i.e. fair value hierarchy),concepts such as highest and best use,most advantageous market and principal market and fair value disclosures.IGAAP fair value may be entity-specific and not market-based. Under IndAS, fair value is a market-based measurement i.e. it is measured using the assumptions that market participants would use when pricing the asset or liability, including assumptions about risk.   This results in differences in the characterization of financial instruments as well as in revenue recognition.   Legislative change required to implement IndAS: The implementation of IndAS for public sector banks requires an amendment to the Banking Regulation Act. The schedule in Banking Regulation Act relating to financial statement disclosures needs to be changed to the IndAS format.Section 29 of the BR Act deals with the accounts and balance sheets of public sector banks. Private sector banks are covered by the Companies Act, which is based on the new accounting standards.Due to a delay in amending the BR Act, RBI is yet to issue operational guidelines for the implementation of the new accounting standards.   Importance of IndAS: Under the current rules, banks set aside money to cover loans that have turned bad.Under IndAS, they must make provisions after assessing the expected loss from the time a loan is originated rather than waiting for a trigger event.These norms, which are in line with international norms, the International Financial Reporting Standards, were designed to avoid credit shocks like those seen in the aftermath of the global financial crisis in 2008.#FancyJ

List of Major Financial Committees in India

 Here is the list of major financial committees running by Indian government. Committee NameFocus Area of CommitteeA.  C.  Shah CommitteeNBFCAbid Hussain CommitteeDevelopment of Capital marketsAdhyarjuna CommitteeChanges in NI Act and Stamp ActB. Eradi CommitteeInsolvency and Wind up lawsB. Venkatappaiah CommitteeAll India Rural Credit ReviewB.D. Shah CommitteeStock Lending SchemeBD Thakar CommitteeJob Criteria in bank loans (Approach)Bhagwati CommitteeUnemploymentBhagwati CommitteePublic WelfareBhave CommitteeShare Transfer ReformsBhide CommitteeCoordination between Commercial Banks and SFC’sBhootlingam CommitteeWage, Income and PricesC. Rao CommitteeAgricultural PolicyC.E. Kamath CommitteeMulti Agency approach in Agricultural FinanceChatalier CommitteeFinance to Small Scale IndustryChesi CommitteeDirect TaxesCook CommitteeCapital Adequacy of BanksDamle CommitteeMICRDandekar CommitteeRegional ImbalancesDantwala CommitteeEstimation of EmploymentsDave CommitteeMutual Funds (Functioning)Dharia CommitteePublic Distribution SystemD.R. Gadgil CommitteeAgricultural FinanceDutta CommitteeIndustrial LicensingG. Sundaram CommitteeExport CreditGadgil Committee (1969)Lead Banking SystemGodwala CommitteeRural FinanceGoiporia CommitteeCustomer Service in BanksG.S. Dahotre CommitteeCredit Requirements of Leasing IndustryG.S. Patel CommitteeCarry Forward System on Stock ExchangeHathi CommitteeSoiled BanknotesHazari Committee (1967)Industrial PolicyI.T. Vaz CommitteeWorking Capital Finance in BanksJ. Reddy CommitteeReforms in Insurance SectorJames Raj CommitteeFunctioning of Public Sector BanksJ.V. Shetty CommitteeConsortium AdvancesK. Madhav Das CommitteeUrban Cooperative BanksKalyansundaram CommitteeIntroduction of Factoring Services in IndiaKamath CommitteeEducation Loan SchemeKarve CommitteeSmall Scale IndustryK.B. Chore CommitteeTo review the Symbol of Cash Credit QKhanna CommitteeNon Performing AssetsKhusrau CommitteeAgricultural CreditL.K. Jha CommitteeIndirect TaxesL.C. Gupta CommitteeFinancial DerivativesMahadevan CommitteeSingle Window SystemMahalanobis CommitteeIncome DistributionMarathe CommitteeLicensing of New BanksM.L. Dantwala CommitteeRegional Rural BanksMrs. K,S, Shere CommitteeElectronic Fund TransferNariman CommitteeBranch Expansion ProgrammeNarsimhan CommitteeFinancial SystemOmkar Goswami CommitteeIndustrial Sickness and Corporate RestructuringP.R. Nayak CommitteeInstitutional Credit to SSI SectorP. Selvam CommitteeNon Performing Assets of BanksP.C. Luther CommitteeProductivity, Operational Efficiency and Profitability of BanksP.D. Ojha CommitteeService Area ApproachPillai CommitteePay Scales of Bank OfficersP.L. Tandon CommitteeExport StrategyP.R. Khanna CommitteeDevelop appropriate Supervisory Framework for NBFCPurshottam Das CommitteeAgricultural Finance and Cooperative SocietiesR. Jilani BanksInspection System of BanksR.S. Saria CommitteeAgricultural Finance and Cooperative SocietiesRaghavan CommitteeCompetition LawRaja Chelliah CommitteeTax ReformsRajamannar CommitteeCentre-State Fiscal RelationshipsRajamannar CommitteeChanges in Banking Laws, Bouncing of Cheques etc.Rakesh Mohan CommitteePetro Chemical SectorRam Niwas Mirdha Committee (JPC)Securities ScamRangrajan CommitteeComputerization of Banking IndustryRangrajan CommitteePublic Sector DisinvestmentRashid Jilani CommitteeCash Credit SystemRay CommitteeIndustrial SicknessR.G. Saraiya Committee (1972)Banking CommissionR.H. Khan CommitteeHarmonization of Banks and SsisR.K. Hajara CommitteeDifferential Interest Rates SchemeR.K. Talwar CommitteeCustomer ServiceR.N. Malhotra CommitteeReforms in Insurance SectorR.N. Mirdha CommitteeCooperative SocietiesR.V. Gupta CommitteeAgricultural Credit DeliveryS. Padmanabhan CommitteeOnsite supervision Function of BanksS. Padmanabhan CommitteeInspection of Banks (By RBI)Samal CommitteeRural CreditS.C. Choksi CommitteeDirect Tax LawShankar Lal Gauri CommitteeAgricultural MarketingS.K. Kalia CommitteeRole of NGO and SHG in CreditS.L. Kapoor CommitteeInstitutional Credit to SSISodhani CommitteeForeign Exchange Markets in NRI investment in IndiaS.S. Nadkarni CommitteeTrading in Public Sector BanksS.S. Tarapore CommitteeCapital Account ConvertibilitySukhmoy Chakravarty CommitteeTo review the working of Monetary SystemTambe CommitteeTerm Loans to SSITandon CommitteeFollow up of Bank CreditTandon CommitteeIndustrial SicknessTiwari CommitteeRehabilitation of sick Industrial undertakingsU.K. Sharma CommitteeLead Bank Scheme (Review)Usha Thorat PanelFinancial InclusionVaghul CommitteeMutul Fund SchemeVarshney CommitteeRevised methods for Loans (> 2 lakhs)Venketaiya CommitteeReview of Rural Financing SystemVipin Malik CommitteeConsolidated Accounting by BanksVyas CommitteeRural CreditWanchoo CommitteeDirect TaxesW.S. Saraf CommitteeTechnology Issues in Banking IndustryY.H. Malegam CommitteeDisclosure norms for Public IssuesY.V. Reddy CommitteeReforms in Small Savings #ARCHANA

TYPES OF CHEQUES

A cheque is an agreement between two individuals or organizations to make a payment. In simple words Cheque is an order to a bankto pay a stated sum from the drawer’s account, written on a specially printed form. Cheque is used to make safe and convenientpayment. It is less risky and the danger of loss is minimized.Types of ChequesBearer ChequeBearer Cheque refer to a cheque that is payable to whoever presents the cheque, rather than to a designated payee.Uncrossed/Open ChequeWhen a cheque is not crossed, it is known as an “Open Cheque” or an “Uncrossed Cheque”. The payment of such a cheque can beobtained at the counter of the bank.Crossed ChequeCrossing of cheque means drawing two parallel lines on the face of the cheque. A crossed cheque cannot be encashed at the cashcounter of a bank but it can only be credited to the payee’s account.Anti-Dated ChequeIf a cheque bears a date earlier than the date on which it is presented to the bank, it is called as “anti-dated cheque”. Such a cheque isvalid upto three months from the date of the cheque.Post-Dated ChequeIf a cheque bears a date which is yet to come (future date) then it is known as post-dated cheque. A post dated cheque cannot behonoured earlier than the date on the cheque.Stale ChequeIf a cheque is presented for payment after three months from the date of the cheque it is called stale cheque. A stale cheque is nothonoured by the bank.#Saarumathi

EDITORIAL

The consistent undermining of multilateralism by the U.S. must be countered This week has seen rounds of tit-for-tat tariffs between the U.S. and China, set off by U.S. President Donald Trump levying import duties of 25% and 10% on American steel and aluminium imports, respectively, in early March. Mr. Trump, who has repeatedly used the U.S. trade deficit of over $500 billion as a barometer for the country’s lot in the international trade order, has railed against the U.S. being treated “unfairly” by its trading partners, often singling out China. While it is true that China produces approximately half the world’s steel and that the European Union, India and other countries have complained about international steel markets being flooded with Chinese steel, only 3% of U.S. steel is sourced from China. Interestingly, among those exempted from the tariffs are Canada and Mexico, top sources for U.S steel imports. Mr. Trump has linked the threat of tariffs to the North American Free Trade Agreement, a trade deal among the U.S., Canada and Mexico that Mr. Trump has pried open for renegotiation. Earlier this week China retaliated with tariffs that would impact $3 billion worth of American goods. This was followed by the U.S. proposing tariffs on more than $50 billion of Chinese goods, including in the aerospace, robotics and communication industries — the outcome of an investigation of several months into whether Chinese policies were placing unreasonable obligations on U.S. companies to transfer technology and hand over intellectual property while setting up shop in China. Beijing responded with a second round of proposed tariffs impacting a similar value of U.S. imports into China. Mr. Trump has now asked the U.S. Trade Representative to examine if an additional $100 billion worth of goods can be taxed.Since the proposed tariffs have not kicked off, there may be room for negotiation. The economic ties between the countries are deep; China holds some $1.2 trillion in U.S. debt, and it is in everyone’s interest to avoid escalating matters. However, the larger cause for concern here is that Mr. Trump continues to undermine the World Trade Organisation and the international world trade order, now that it has served the West well and developing countries are in a significantly stronger position than when the WTO came into existence in 1995. Mr. Trump has pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, is pushing changes to NAFTA and has withdrawn from the Paris Agreement to combat climate change. While large-scale protectionism and unilateralism may please some of Mr. Trump’s constituents in the short run, undermining existing rules arbitrarily serves no nation, including the U.S., in the long run. In the current climate, it is therefore especially important for India to be a good steward for responsible globalisation.disruptive (adjective) – unconventional, unorthodox, or troublemaking/troublesome.undermine (verb) – weaken, diminish, reduce.multilateralism (noun) – a method of coordinating  relations between groups of three or more states (countries).counter (verb) – oppose, resist, negate.tit-for-tat (phrase) – retaliation, counterattack; revenge/retribution.set off (phrasal verb) – cause, start, prompt.trade deficit (noun) – a trade deficit (a deficit in the balance of trade) occurs when the value of a country’s imports exceeds that of its exports. It is also called a trade gap.barometer (noun) – measure, indicator, example.rail against (phrasal verb) – protest, condemn, criticize strongly.retaliate (verb) – hit back, counterattack, take revenge.obligation (noun) – necessary condition, essential, requirement.kick off (phrasal verb) – start, begin, usher in.pull (out) (phrasal verb) – withdraw, leave/quit, disengage.Trans-pacific Partnership (TTP) (noun)  – Twelve countries that border the Pacific Ocean and also representing approximately 40% of the world’s GDP signed up to the Trans-pacific Partnership (TPP) in February 2016, in order to eventually create a new single market, like the EU. The TPP countries are Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Canada and Mexico and the 12th nation, the U.S withdraw from the discussions of TTP before it became law.climate change (noun) – a long-term change in the Earth’s climate, or of a region on Earth (Courtesy: NASA).protectionism (noun) – the use of tariff and non-tariff restrictions on imports to protect domestic producers from foreign competition.unilateralism (noun) – a method of taking decisions (on international relations) by a state (country) individually without considering other states (countries).arbitrarily (adverb) – with random choice or personal whim.steward (noun) – responsible agent, custodian, caretaker.globalisation (noun) – the process of making the trade of goods and services equivalent in all nations#FancyJ

Important acts and sections in banking

Negotiable Instrument Act–1881The Bankers’Books Evidence Act–1891The ReserveBank of India Act–1934The Industrial Finance Corporation of India Act–1948The Banking Companies (Legal Practitioner Clients’ Accounts) Act–1949The Industrial Disputes (Banking and Insurance Companies) Act–1949The Banking Regulation(Companies) Rules–1949The Banking Regulation Act–1949The State Financial Corporations Act–1951The Reserve Bank of India (Amendment and Misc. Provisions) Act–1953The Industrial Disputes (Banking Companies) Decision Act–1955The State Bank of India Act–1955The State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act-1959The Subsidiary Banks General Regulation–1959The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act–1961(DICGC)The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act–1970The Regional Rural Banks Act–1976The Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertakings) Act–1980The Export-Import Bank of India Act–1981The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act–1981Chit Fund Act–1982Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions)Act–1985The National Housing Bank Act–1987SIDBI Act–1989The Special Court (trial of Offences relating to Transactions in Securities) Act–1992The Industrial Finance Corporation (Transfer of Undertakings and Repeal) Act–1993Industrial Reconstruction Bank (Transfer of Undertaking & Appeal) Act–1997The Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest Act–(SARFASI-2002)Industrial Development Bank (Transfer of Undertaking & Repeal) Act–2003Credit Information Companies (Rules & Regulation) Act–2005The Industrial Finance Corporation of India Act–1948The Banking Companies (Legal Practitioner Clients’ Accounts) Act–1949The Industrial Disputes (Banking and Insurance Companies) Act–1949The State Financial Corporations Act–1951The Reserve Bank of India (Amendment and Misc. Provisions) Act–1953The Industrial Disputes (Banking Companies) Decision Act–1955The State Bank of India Act–1955The State Bank of India (Subsidiary Banks) Act-1959The Subsidiary Banks General Regulation–1959The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation Act–1961The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Act–1981Chit Fund Act–1982Shipping Development Fund Committee (Abolition)Act–1985Sick Industrial Companies (Special Provisions)Act–1985The National Housing Bank Act–1987The Special Court (trial of Offences relating to Transactions in Securities) Act–1992The Industrial Finance Corporation (Transfer of Undertakings and Repeal) Act–1993Industrial Reconstruction Bank (Transfer of Undertaking & Appeal) Act–1997SIDBI General Regulations, 1990Banking Regulation (Companies) Rules 1949The Nationalised Banks (Management and Misc. Provisions)Scheme,1970NABARD General Regulations 1982Banking Companies (Period of Preservation of Records) Rules, 1985Banking Companies (Regulation)Rules,1985NABARD Bonds Regulations — 1988The Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006Factoring Act Rules, 2011SARFAESI (Central registry) Rules,2011Banker’s Books Evidence Act, 1891Banking Regulation Act, 1949Banking Companies (Legal Practitioners’ Clients’ Account) Act, 1949Banking Regulation (Companies) Rules, 1949Banking Companies (Acquisition and Transfer of Undertaking) Act, 1969Debts Recovery Appellate Tribunal (Procedure) Rules,1994Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999Indian Partnership Act, 1932Indian Stamp Act, 1899Indian Trusts Act, 1882Limitation Act, 1963Recovery of Debts due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act,1993Reserve Bank of India Act — 1934 Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881 Section 4 – Promissory noteSection 5 – Bill of exchangeSection 6 – ChequeSection 13 – Negotiable InstrumentsSection 123 – Cheque Crossed GenerallySection 124, 126 – Cheque crossed speciallySection 130 – Cheque bearing Not NegotiableSection 118 – Presumptions as to Negotiable Instruments Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 Section 17 – Defines Business of RBISection 18 – Deals with Emergency loans to BanksSection 22 – only RBI has the exclusive rights to issue currency notes in India.Section 24 – maximum denomination a note can be Rs. 10,000.section 26 – Describes the legal tender character of Indian bank notes.Section 28 – Allows the RBI to form rules regarding the exchange of damaged and imperfect notes.Section 31 – In India only the RBI or the central government can issue and accept promissory notes that are payable on demand.Section 42(1) – Every scheduled bank must have an average daily balance with the RBI#SUSHMITHA JEEVARATHINAM

BANKING REGULATION ACT 1949

The Banking Regulation Act 1949 is a legislation in India that regulates all banking firms in India. Initially, the law was applicable only to banking companies. But, 1965 it was amended to make it applicable to cooperative banks and to introduce other changes. There are total 55 Sections in the Banking Regulation Act, 1949. Some important sections are listed below:   Section 10BB: Power of Reserve Bank to appoint [chairman of the Board of directors appointed on a whole-time basis or a managing director] of a banking company. Section 11: Requirement as to minimum paid-up capital and reserves  Section 12:  Regulation of paid-up capital, subscribed capital and authorised capital and voting rights of shareholders Section 21: Power of Reserve Bank to control advances by banking companies Section 21A: Rates of interest charged by banking companies Section 22(1): Licensing of banking companies Section 23: Restrictions on opening of new, and transfer of existing, places of business Section 29: Accounts and balance-sheet Section 36AE : Power of Central Government to acquire undertakings of banking companies in certain cases Section 44A: Procedure for amalgamation of banking companies. Note: Amalgamation of two banking companies is under the provisions of Section 44A of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.Amalgamation of a banking company with a non-banking company is governed by sections 391 to 394 of the Companies Act, 1956. Section 47A: Power of Reserve Bank to impose penalty Section 49A: Restriction on acceptance of deposits withdrawable by cheque. #FancyJ

Reserve Bank of India Act 1934

The Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 is an Act to constitute a Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and provide the central bank (RBI) with various powers to act as the central bank of India. RBI Act 1934. Some important sections are listed below: Section 3: Establishment and incorporation of Reserve Bank. Section 4: Capital of the Bank. The capital of the Bank shall be five crores of rupees. Section 6: Establishment of Offices, branches and agencies Section 8: The composition of central board of Reserve Bank of India Section 17: The business that RBI can carry out Section 20: Obligation of the Bank to transact Government business.   Section 21: Bank to have the right to transact Government business in India. Section 21A: Bank to transact Government business of States on agreement. Section 22: Right to issue bank notes. Section 23: Bank Notes shall be issued by issue department of RBI Section 24: Denominations of notes. (1) Subject to the provisions of sub-section (2), bank notes shall be of the denominational values of 2,5,10,20,50,100,500,1000,5000 and 10000 rupees or of such other denominational values, not exceeding ten thousand rupees. Section 27: Re-issue of notes. The Bank shall not re-issue bank notes which are torn, defaced or excessively soiled. Section 26 (1): Defines legal tender of notes Section 26(2): Withdrawal of legal tender of notes Section 42: Cash reserves of scheduled banks to be kept with the Bank.Section 42 (1) : every scheduled bank must have an average daily balance with the RBI. Section 45(U): Defines repo, reverse repo, derivative, money market instruments and securities. The first schedule of the RBI Act 1934 defines the 4 areas under which the Indian states should come. The 4 areas are Western Area, Eastern Area, Northern Area, Southern Area The second schedule of the Act lists all the SCHEDULED BANKS in India. # ARCHANA

PREPAID PAYMENT INSTRUMENTS

PPIs are payment instruments that facilitate purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittance facilities, etc., against the value stored on such instruments.The prepaid instruments can be issued as smart cards, magnetic stripe cards, internet accounts, online wallets, mobile accounts, mobile wallets, paper vouchers and any such instruments used to access the prepaid amount.  CLASSIFICATION: PPIs that can be issued in the country are classified under three types viz. (i) Closed System PPIs, (ii) Semi-closed System PPIs, and (iii) Open System PPIs. CLOSED SYSTEM: These PPIs are issued by an entity for facilitating the purchase of goods and services from that entity only and do not permit cash withdrawal. As these instruments cannot be used for payments or settlement for third party services, the issuance and operation of such instruments is not classified as payment systems requiring approval / authorisation by the RBI. SEMI-CLOSED SYSTEM: These PPIs are used for purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittance facilities, etc., at a group of clearly identified merchant locations / establishments which have a specific contract with the issuer (or contract through a payment aggregator / payment gateway) to accept the PPIs as payment instruments. These instruments do not permit cash withdrawal, irrespective of whether they are issued by banks or non-banks. OPEN SYSTEM: These PPIs are issued only by banks and are used at any merchant for purchase of goods and services, including financial services, remittance facilities, etc. Banks issuing such PPIs shall also facilitate cash withdrawal at ATMs / Point of Sale (PoS) / Business Correspondents (BCs). ELIGIBILITY TO ISSUE: Only those entities who are incorporated in India,  have a minimum paid up capital of Rs. 5 crore and minimum positive net worth of Rs 1 crore at all times are permitted to issue such instruments.They should also be in compliance with capital adequacy requirements of RBI from time to time.#ARCHANA

EDITORIAL

Apart from an inquiry into the latest violence, there must be an aid package for the territoryProtests last week along Gaza’s border with Israel, which turned violent with Israeli troops killing 18 Palestinians, were long in the making. Gaza, the 225 sq km strip of land where over two million people live, has been under an Israeli blockade for over a decade. In recent years, Egypt has also joined the blockade, practically cutting off the strip from the rest of the world. The flow of both goods and people into and out of Gaza is heavily restricted. Life has become miserable under these conditions, and it is not an exaggeration when the territory is called one big open-air prison. Recent sanctions by the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority have not helped matters. Despite international calls and repeated warnings by rights groups, Israel has not eased its restrictions on the strip. It says they are in place for “security reasons” — the ruling Hamas is designated a terrorist group by Israel. It was against this background, amid mounting frustration and resentment against the status quo, that Hamas and other organisations in Gaza called for a six-week sit-in on the Israeli border to protest against the blockade as well as to support the Palestinians’ right to return to the lands that became Israel in 1948. Most Gaza residents are refugees of the first Arab-Israeli war or their descendants.There are conflicting views on what triggered the violence. Palestinians say Israeli soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters. Israel says force had to be used to stop the tens of thousands of protesters from crossing the border into its territory. The real picture can be ascertained only through an impartial international probe. But the U.S. has already blocked a move in the UN Security Council seeking such an inquiry. In the past, Israel has faced serious allegations of using force against Gazans. A UN-appointed commission probing the 2009 Gaza war accused both Israel and Palestinian militants of committing war crimes. While Hamas is designated a terrorist organisation by most Western countries, Israel has hardly been held accountable for its actions. With the Trump administration’s unconditional support for the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel could escape censure for the latest outbreak of violence in Gaza as well. The Palestinian leadership too deserves blame. Gaza and the West Bank are ruled by rival factions, Hamas and Fatah. Despite occasional declarations of unity, there have been no joint efforts to mitigate the suffering of Gaza’s people. For its part, the international community remains unresponsive when it comes to the grave rights violations in this Mediterranean enclave. Yet, the path ahead is clear. There has to be an international probe into the latest violence. World powers should urgently provide economic assistance to Gaza to save it from total collapse, and put incremental pressure on Israel to end the illegal blockade of the Gaza strip. But the question as usual is, who will put pressure on Israel?in the making (phrase) – developing, emergent,  up and coming.blockade (noun) – barricade, barrier, roadblock; disruption of  the (economic) activities (example-supply of essential goods and others) of an area.exaggeration (noun) – overstatement, magnification, overplaying.sanctions (noun) – action taken, or an order given to force a country to obey international laws by limiting or stopping trade with that country, by not allowing economic aid for that country, etc (Courtesy: VOA Learning English).amid (preposition) – in the middle of, surrounded by; during.status quo (noun) – the present situation, the current state, the existing state of affairs.descendant (noun) – heir, future generations, successors.ascertain (verb) – confirm, verify, discover/find out.impartial (adjective) – unbiased, unprejudiced, neutral/non-partisan.allegation (noun) – charge/claim, accusation; complaint.censure (noun) – blame, criticism, attack/condemn.outbreak (noun) –  outburst, sudden appearance/occurrence.faction (noun) – group, sect, bloc.mitigate (noun) – alleviate, modify, reduce/relieve.grave (adjective) – serious/severe, terrible, awful.incremental (adjective) – gradual, step-by-step.#FancyJ

EDITORIAL

As the GST e-way bill system is scaled up, the authorities must remain flexibleAfter an aborted attempt in February, the government has finally managed to successfully ###a href="http://www.thehindu.com/business/day-1-17-lakh-e-way-bills-generated/article23408581.ece" title="roll out the e-way bill system">roll out the e-way bill system for tracking the movement of goods under the Goods and Services Tax net from April 1. No major execution challenges have been reported by businesses so far, and the IT backbone that generates the e-way bills — that are now required even before goods are loaded for transport — has so far held up without glitches. On the first two days of the e-way system, which included a Sunday, 5.5 lakh e-way bills were generated, and the GST Network has said that the system is now geared to cope with a much higher capacity. Equally heartening is the revival in GST collections, that had dipped to ₹83,716 crore in November 2017, after a fairly robust ₹90,000 crore-plus inflow for the first three months of the new indirect tax system. As per final data released by the Centre on Monday, collections for the three months since then are far healthier than initial indications suggested, with February recording ₹89,264 crore, the highest since September 2017. Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia expects collections to pick up further as the authorities get a better sense of who is regularly filing returns and paying taxes. His confidence reflects the government’s belief that analytics deployed on GST data compiled for nine months would deliver a bigger bounty, even as e-way bills make it tougher to avoid tax dues.Everyone’s fingers are crossed that the e-way bill portal, which now has over 20,000 registered transporters and 11 lakh taxpayers, will hold up, going forward. It is important to note that since the system for tracking inter-State movement of goods was launched at the beginning of a financial year, the actual load that the portal will have to bear on a normal business day may be much higher than the initial trends. This is because many businesses had already moved and stocked up goods by March 31, ahead of the system kicking in, and are still completing usual year-end processes such as recording closing stock. A staggered schedule for rolling out e-way bills for intra-State trade in a few States at a time is expected soon. Given that India’s transport sector is still largely unorganised and many vehicle drivers are not fully conversant with the technical nuances, it is important that anti-evasion squads deployed to check e-way bills operate with a light touch to start with, and limit the frequency of inspections for goods moving across States. Else, the system could end up creating a bottleneck for transporting goods in a country where goods movement already takes inordinately long due to infrastructure deficiencies. A similar approach would be ideal for other anti-evasion measures in the pipeline, including the matching of invoices from buyers and sellers, and the reverse-charge mechanism (expected by June-end) under which large businesses would need to pay tax on behalf of unregistered small suppliers.scale up (phrasal verb) – increase.roll out (phrasal verb) – launch, introduce, organize/inaugurate.hold up (phrasal verb) – remain strong, effective, successful.glitch (noun) – problem, difficulty, issue/complication.heartening (adjective) – encouraging, boosting, comforting.dip (verb) – decrease, fall, decline.bounty (noun) – benefaction, offering, favour.keep one’s fingers crossed (phrase) – hope for the best to happen; hope for the good result.staggered (adjective) – unsteady, volatile, changing.conversant (adjective) – familiar with, acquainted with, knowledgeable about.nuance (noun) – fine distinction, subtle difference, detail / variation.a light touch (phrase) – the ability to do something effortlessly.bottleneck (noun) – a condition which appears as not solvable and so delays the process; snag, difficulty/problem.inordinately (adverb) – unreasonably, unjustifiably, excessively.in the pipeline (phrase) – on the way, in preparation, in the offing.reverse charge mechanism (noun) – it is a mechanism in which the recipient of the goods and/or services is liable to pay GST instead of the supplier.#FancyJ

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