Contents:
- India to invite Imran Khan for Shanghai Council meet
- China, U.S. sign initial trade agreement
- Adjusted Gross Revenue
- Rojgaar Sangi
INDIA TO INVITE IMRAN KHAN FOR SHANGHAI COUNCIL MEET
Why in news?
Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan will be invited to participate in the Heads of Government Council meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) that will be hosted in India in 2020.
More about SCO
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a Eurasian political, economic, and security alliance
- This was formed on 15 June 2001 in Shanghai, China
- The leaders of China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan were involved in the formation
- The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation Charter, formally establishing the Organisation, was signed in June 2002 and entered into force on 19 September 2003
- India and Pakistan joined SCO as full members on 9 June 2017 at a summit in Astana, Kazakhstan.
- The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO, it meets once a year and adopts decisions and guidelines on all important matters of the Organisation
- The SCO is widely regarded as the “alliance of the East”, due to its growing centrality in Asia-Pacific
CHINA, U.S. SIGN INITIAL TRADE AGREEMENT
Why in news?
- China will boost purchases of U.S. goods and services by $200 billion over two years in exchange for the rolling back of some tariffs under “phase one trade deal. ”
- President Donald Trump hailed the agreement as a win for the U.S. economy and his administration’s trade policies
ADJUSTED GROSS REVENUE
Why in news?
The Supreme Court has upheld the definition of Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) calculation as stipulated by the Department of Telecommunications
Background about telecom sector
- The telecom sector was liberalized under the National Telecom Policy, 1994 after which licenses were issued to companies in return for a fixed license fee.
- To provide relief from the steep fixed license fee, the government in 1999 gave an option to the licensees to migrate to the revenue sharing fee model.
Revenue sharing model with government
- Under this, mobile telephone operators were required to share a percentage of their AGR with the government as annual license fee (LF) and spectrum usage charges (SUC).
- License agreements between the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and the telecom companies define the gross revenues of the latter.
- AGR is then computed after allowing for certain deductions spelt out in these license agreements.
- The LF and SUC were set at 8 per cent and between 3-5 per cent of AGR respectively, based on the agreement.
Definition of AGR
- The dispute between DoT and the mobile operators was mainly on the definition of AGR.
- The DoT argued that AGR includes all revenues (before discounts) from both telecom and non-telecom services.
- The companies claimed that AGR should comprise just the revenue accrued from core services and not dividend, interest income or profit on sale of any investment or fixed assets.
ROJGAAR SANGI
Why in news?
Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority (CSSDA) has launched an app – ‘Rojgaar Sangi’.
Details
- The mobile application aims to connect trained candidates with the jobs. It will also help start-up companies to hire an office staff.
- The app has been developed with the help of National Informatics Centre (NIC).
- It will increase accessibility for skilled and trained candidates which in turn will increase job opportunities.
- The app is expected to benefit 7 lakh students who were trained under the courses offered by CSSDA.
