17th March 2017 The Hindu and PIB News / Daily Current Affairs

17th March 2017


1)The Centre on Wednesday cleared the long-awaited National Health Policy 2017, which promises to increase public health spending to 2.5% of GDP in a time-bound manner and guarantees health care services to all Indian citizens, particularly the underprivileged.

The policy aims to move away from ‘sick care’ to ‘wellness.


Targets:- 
The government will pursue ambitious targets like reducing Under Five Mortality to 23 by 2025 and Maternal Mortality Ratio from current levels to 100 by 2020,
and Infant Mortality Rate to 28 by 2019.

2)SARKARIA COMMISSION on CENTRE STATE had mentioned about the Hung Assembly Case(As recently a debate ws there on Manipur and Goa elections  that why Governor allowed BJP to For the govt. and not Congress) :

The Commission report specifically dealt with the situation where no single party obtained absolute majority. It provided the order of preference the Governor should follow in selecting a Chief Minister in such a fluid situation:

(1)An alliance of parties that was formed prior to the elections.
(2) The single largest party staking a claim to form the government with the support of others, including independents.
(3) A post-electoral coalition of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the government.
(4) A post-electoral alliance of parties, with some of the parties in the alliance forming a government and the remaining parties, including independents,supporting the government from outside.

Though the Sarkaria Commission Report has not been still implemented but it had clearly mentioned about the Hung Assembly Case.

3)CAG pulls up I-T Dept. on shell companies:

The Comptroller and Auditor- General (CAG) has pulled up the Income Tax Department for not putting to use the tools at its disposal for effective action against shell companies that conceal unaccounted-for income and generate black money, specifically with respect to Maharashtra Sales Tax Department findings.

What are Shell Companies:- A shell corporation is a corporation without active business operations or significant assets. These types of corporations are not all necessarily illegal, but they are sometimes used illegitimately, such as to disguise business ownership from law enforcement or the public.

4)Start-up Firms may soon ind it easy to wind up: To enable faster exit for start-ups and to bring the winding up process in line with global best practices, the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) has written to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to notify start-ups as ‘Fast Track firms.’

“Once this is notified, start-ups shall be able to wind up their business within a period of 90 days from making an application for the same.

5)New Zealand river gets legal status as a person:  

Name of the River:- Whanganui river has been formally declared a living entity.

This River is worshipped/Respected by MAORI People.

Who are Maori People:- Maori People are indigenous people of New Zealand. (Polynesia)

This is First such move in the world.