CCEA approved Water Shed Program

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on 7 October 2015 approved implementation of the World Bank assisted National Watershed Management Project Neeranchal with a total outlay 2142.30 crore rupees.
The project will be implemented at the national level as well as in the nine states of Andhra Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Rajasthan and Telangana.
The government’s share in the project is 50 percent and the rest cost will be borne by the World Bank.
The project aims at achieving the major objectives of the Watershed Component of the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayi Yojana (PMKSY) and for ensuring access to irrigation to every farm (Har Khet Ko Pani) and efficient use of water (Per Drop More Crop).
Concerns addressed by Neeranchal:
• To bring about institutional changes in watershed and rainfed agricultural management practices in the country.
• To build systems that ensure watershed programmes and rainfed irrigation management practices are better focussed, more coordinated and have quantifiable results.
• To devise   strategies   for   the   sustainability   of   improved   watershed management practices in programme areas, even after the withdrawal of project support.
• To support   improved   equity, livelihoods and incomes through forward linkages on a platform of inclusiveness and local participation.
About Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP)
The Integrated Watershed Management Programme (IWMP) was launched in 2009-2010 by the integration of various area development programmes of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR), including the Drought Prone Areas Programme (DPAP), the Desert Development Programme (DDP) and the Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP). However, the IWMP will be implemented as the Watershed Component of PMKSY from 2015-2016 onwards.

Fiscal Deficit

The Controller-General of Accounts (CGA) in the second week of October 2015 announced that India’s fiscal balance turned from deficit to surplus for the first time in 8 years.
Fiscal deficit-difference between revenue and expenditure excluding borrowings- for August 2015 was pegged at -15808 crore rupees that indicates surplus of revenues over expenditure.
The surplus amount in the exchequer is significant due to the fact that the fiscal deficit was 73005 crore rupees during the same period in the previous fiscal-August 2014.
In August 2015, the total expenditure was only 131214 crore rupees against the total revenue of 147022 crore rupees.
The government could achieve surplus due to sharp surge in revenue receipts and decline in its total expenditures.
However, the 15.8 thousand crore rupees surplus was not wide enough to offset the fiscal deficit in the 2015-16 financial year.
Between April and August 2015, the cumulative fiscal deficit was 3.69 lakh crore rupees against 3.97 lakh crore rupees during the same period in 2014.

How To Improve Monitoring of CSR

Union Home Secretary, on 7 October 2015 submitted its report on how to improve monitoring of CSR spending to government.

The panel was set up by the Union Corporate Affairs Ministry to suggest steps to improve monitoring of CSR spending.

The panel in its report recommended uniform tax treatment for all CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) activities under Companies Act 2013 and leniency towards non-compliant companies in the first 2 to 3 years of the law.
Main Highlights of the Report
• It suggests that under the Companies Act, 2013, certain class of profitable entities is required to spend at least 2 percent of their three-year annual average net profit towards CSR activities. The first year of implementation of Companies Act was financial year that lasted from April 2014 to March 2015 and compliance reports would be available by the end 2015.
• It says that the differential tax treatment for expenditure on various CSR activities may create distortion in the allocation of funds across development sectors.
• It says that there should be uniformity in tax treatment for CSR expenditure across all eligible activities. At present, certain activities such as contribution to the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund qualify for exemption.
• It also asked to provide further clarity on applicability of section 135, which deals with CSR provisions.
• It also says that the leniency may be shown to non-compliant entities in initial two or three years to enable them to graduate to a culture of compliance, since these years would be a period of learning for all the stakeholders. The liberal view can be taken at least for smaller companies, it added.
• It says that the government should have no role in monitoring of SCR expenditure by corporate and this should be the job of their respective boards.
• It also suggests that government should have no role to play in engaging external experts for monitoring the quality and efficacy of CSR expenditure of companies.