Today in History (August 3rd, 1492)
On this day, in 1492, Columbus’s first transatlantic voyage began to find the westward route to India.
Summary of Today’s News
Jeddah Peace Talk
Saudi Arabia is hosting peace talks on the Russia-Ukraine war on August 5 and 6, 2023, in Jeddah. The talks involve countries such as Ukraine, the U.S., India, Brazil, and some European nations. Ukraine seeks support for its 10-point peace plan, aiming to end the conflict that has been ongoing for 17 months.
India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF)
The 13th Ministerial-level meeting of the India-US Trade Policy Forum (TPF) in Washington, DC, has established a more conducive environment for businesses to enhance trade and investment between the two nations. TPF is a vital platform for ongoing trade engagement, focusing on resolving trade and investment matters through five key groups: Agriculture, Investment, Innovation, and Creativity (intellectual property rights), Services, and Tariff and Non-Tariff Barriers.
Niger Coup
The military in Niger detained the President Mohamed Bazoum on July 26 and carried out a coup, leading to the overthrow of the government. Niger, a landlocked country in West Africa with its capital in Niamey, is bordered by Libya to the northeast, Chad to the east, Nigeria to the south, Benin and Burkina Faso to the southwest, Mali to the west, and Algeria to the northwest.
Mining of Minerals
India’s Parliament passed a law permitting the auction and mining of newly discovered lithium and other minerals (like titanium, beryl, niobium, and zirconium) to the private sector by removing these minerals from the list of atomic minerals, enabling private companies to explore and mine them.
Vivad Se Vishwas scheme
The Vivad Se Vishwas scheme was launched in 2020 to reduce tax litigation. It allows settling disputed tax, interest, penalty, or fees related to assessment or reassessment orders. The dispute is settled on payment of 100% of the disputed tax and 25% of the disputed penalty, interest, or fee. In return, the taxpayer is granted immunity from levy of interest, penalty, and institution of any proceeding for prosecution for any offense under the Income-tax Act regarding matters covered in the declaration. However, disputes related to wealth, securities transactions, commodities transaction tax, and the equalization levy are not eligible for the scheme.
