Morning Brief: Data Protection Law On Way; Draft Anti-Conversion Bill Cleared; Apple Seeks More Tax Breaks

Good morning, dear reader! Here’s your morning news and views brief for today.

New Data Protection Law On Way: The Supreme Court was told on Tuesday that the government was planning a law to protect data and had set up a panel that would come up with suggestions to ensure that personal information was protected. Additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta said in the court during a hearing on the constitutional status of the right to privacy that retired Supreme Court judge B N Srikrishna-led 10-member panel had been tasked with drafting the law on data protection. Presently, India doesn’t have a separate law for protecting personal data, which at present is covered under the information technology act.

Jharkhand Clears Draft Anti-Conversion Bill: The Jharkhand government on Tuesday cleared the draft of an anti-conversion bill which discourages conversion to another religion through force or allurement. The Jharkhand Anti-Conversion bill is likely to be tabled in the upcoming monsoon session of the assembly beginning 8 August. It includes provisions such as a minimum jail term of three years and/or a fine of Rs 50,000, or both, for anyone found guilty of converting people. A four-year jail term and/or a fine of Rs 1 lakh, or both, would be meted out to anyone found converting a minor girl belonging to a Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. If passed, Jharkhand would become the sixth Indian state to have an ‘anti-conversion law’ following Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh.

More Than 11.4 Lakh PAN Cards Deactivated, Says Government: The government is moving at a brisk pace against those who are using multiple or fake permanent account number (PAN) cards. More than 11.44 lakh PAN cards were either deleted or de-activated in cases where multiple cards were found allotted to one person. Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said one PAN for one person is the guiding principle for allotment of PAN. He further said that as on 27 July, 1,566 PANs have been identified as 'fake' which were allotted to either non-existent person or in the names of persons with false identities. PAN is the key identifier of taxable entity and aggregator of all financial transactions undertaken by one person.

RBI Will Take Time To Count Scrapped Notes, Says Jaitley: The Reserve Bank of India is in the process of counting scrapped currency notes and will come out with the final figures once the fake notes were weeded out, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during a debate in Lok Sabha. He said the central bank had received the last tranche of scrapped currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 only in July and it would take time in counting the billions of notes. He added that demonetisation has squeezed terror funding in the country, including in Jammu and Kashmir, and therefore attackers are now targeting banks as they need more currency. On 8 November last year, the government had scrapped high denomination currency notes which amounted to around 86 per cent of the currency in circulation.

Poll Panel Seeks E-Ballot Option For NRI Voters: The dream of Indians living abroad to take part in the country’s election process is a step closer to reality. The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Tuesday that it had recommended to the government to let non-resident Indians (NRIs) cast votes from abroad, either through proxies or e-ballots. The commission said it was actively considering issuing elector photo identity cards to all overseas voters. Presently, NRIs cast their votes in the constituency he or she belonged to by being physically present at the polling station. The individual has to also show his or her original passport to poll officials.

ISRO To Launch ‘Back Up’ Navigation Satellite: By the end of this month, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) will launch its navigation satellite IRNSS-1H to augment the existing seven satellites of ‘NavIC’ or Navigation with Indian Constellation. “IRNSS-1H on board PSLV-C39 will be launched by the end of this month. The exact date will be decided shortly,” a senior ISRO official said. IRNSS-1H will be a “back up” navigation satellite for IRNSS-1A, one among the seven satellites in the constellation, as its three rubidium atomic clocks on board had stopped functioning. The Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System (IRNSS) is an independent regional navigation satellite system developed by India on par with US-based Global Positioning System. According to ISRO officials, the total cost of all the seven satellites was Rs 1,420 crore.

Government Planning Rs 3 Lakh Crore Highway Projects In Maharashtra: Gadkari: Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday the Union government is planning to undertake highway projects worth Rs 3 lakh crore in Maharashtra. “We have started work on projects worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore,” he said and added that a project on beautification of waterfront on both inland waterways and sea worth Rs 2,000 crore will be undertaken by Thane Municipal Corporation. “We have decided to make 50 per cent contribution to the project. Since the detailed project report for the first phase, which is worth Rs 500 crore, is ready so our initial installment would be of Rs 250 crore,” Gadkari said.

Apple Seeks More Tax Breaks: US technology giant Apple has asked India to extend tax breaks to its suppliers if the country seeks to become a manufacturing hub for iPhones and its components. This would enable the company to move from mere iPhone assembly in India – with the actual parts still made in China – to more of a true manufacturing operation. Indian government officials, however, say meeting this request would require a new policy that applies fairly to other device makers, too. “They want the same treatment to be given to the component manufacturers; the tax concessions, they want everything. But then some kind of policy will have to be evolved,” the officials said.

MUST READ OPINIONS AND COLUMNS

Indian Railways Can Still Beat Airlines: It is estimated that air passengers will outnumber rail AC-class passengers in 2019-20. Within the maximum speed limits of conventional tracks, Indian Railways could still compete and attract a sizeable number of air passengers towards rail.

India’s Complicated Infrastructure Story: The infrastructure story today is one where the Union government is playing a pivotal role using its resources for execution of new and stalled projects with the help of engineering, procurement, construction contractors and, to a limited extent, relying on a hybrid version of the PPP model.

Is India Like East Asia Or Latin America? Economists in the finance ministry believe the RBI has been too cautious in bringing down interest rates despite the fall in headline inflation. Does India resemble East Asia or Latin America? Is it a paragon of sensible policy or is it prone to macroeconomic adventures?

Brexit Isn’t The Biggest Worry For British Bankers: For Jeremy Corbyn, anything that shrinks the size of the financial sector, as Brexit will already, is a feature not a bug. He sees the financial industry as disproportionately powerful and has promised a ‘reckoning’ for those responsible for the financial crisis.

SWARAJYA SPECIAL

Vande Mataram: A Song That Transcends All Languages: Vande Mataram must not be reduced to languages, it embodies the historical cultural legacy of this land and a reason why its importance must be emphasised – starting from schools.

We hope you enjoyed reading our morning brief. Have a great day ahead!

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