Welcome to the online study with Mentor 4 BE. Here I am presenting the committees in News of past six months (Jan - June) 2016. This will help you in the upcoming bank exams as well to boost your general knowledge.
1) The PMO-appointed Empowered Committee on Innovative Collaborations
under NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya has taken over the appraisal of
the ambitious highspeed railway network to ascertain its way forward and how to
go about implementing the first section between Mumbai and Ahmedabad,
signifying the NDA government’s seriousness regarding the cost-intensive project.
2) Former Cabinet secretary T.S.R. Subramanian has been appointed
chairperson of a committee set up by the Human Resource Development Ministry to
draft the new education policy. The committee has been mandated to submit the
draft of the new policy no later than December 31, 2015.
3) The Union Government on 27 October 2015 constituted RV Easwar
Committee with a view to simplify the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The committee will be headed by Justice RV Easwar (Retd.), former Judge of
Delhi High Court and former President of ITAT.
4) A one-man committee to be headed by Justice (Retd) AP Shah was
constituted to look into acts of omission and commission and recommend
compensation to ONGC whose natural gas from Bay of Bengal block had flowed to adjoining
fields of Reliance Industries.
5) Justice (Retired) L Narasimha Reddy, former Chief Justice of
Patna High Court, will head the Judicial Committee to look into the
implementation of One-Rank, One-Pension (OROP) scheme for the exservicemen. The
panel was given a sixmonth deadline for submission of its recommendations.
6) Dr Arvind Subramanian led Committee has recommended standard
rate for Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 17 to 18 per cent. The Committee has
submitted its report to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in New Delhi.
7) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 20 January
2016 released the first report of the Alternative Investment Policy Advisory
Committee (AIPAC) for comments from the stakeholders. The 21-member committee
was constituted by the SEBI under the chairmanship of N R Narayan Murthy,
co-founder of Infosys, to suggest measures for development of the alternative
investment funds (AIFs) and startup eco-system in the country.
8) The Union Government constituted a committee of experts on defence spending. The committee will be headed by Lt Gen DB Shekatkar (retd).
9) The Union Ministry of Finance on 28 December 2015 released the
report of the Committee on Revisiting and Revitalising Public Private
Partnership (PPP) Model. The 9-member committee was headed by former Finance
Secretary Vijay Kelkar. The committee recognized the PPP Model in
infrastructure as a valuable instrument to speed up infrastructure development
in India.
10) Union Government on 11 January 2016 formed a five-member high
level committee to monitor the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Corridor (bullet
train project). The committee will be headed by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind
Panagariya.
11) Department of Posts on 1 January 2016 formed a one-man
committee to study issues related to Gramin Dak Sevaks including wage structure
and service conditions. The panel will be headed by Kamlesh Chandra, a retired
member of the Postal Services Board, which will be assisted by T Q Mohammad, a
senior administrative grade officer, as the secretary.
12) Union Government on 1 January 2016 constituted Shyam Benegal
Committee for holistic interpretation of the provisions of the Cinematograph
Act, 1952. The committee was formed with an aim to revamp Censor Board of
India.
13) The Companies Law Committee submitted its report to the union
government on 1 February 2016. It was constituted in June 2015 for examining
and making recommendations on the issues arising out of implementation of the
Companies Act, 2013. It was chaired by Tapan Ray Secretary, Ministry of
Corporate Affairs and consist 8 members and one member convener.
14) Supreme Court on 2 February 2016 appointed a committee under
former Chief Justice RM Lodha to sell assets of Pearls Agrotech Corporation Ltd
(PACL) and refund 49 thousand crore rupees to the investors. The investors
invested in the firm’s collective investment scheme (CIS) that was deemed
illegal by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI).
15) The Supreme Court (SC) on 29 January 2016 directed the Union
Government to set up a committee to investigate the living conditions and
salary structure of over 3 lakh nurses employed in private hospitals and
nursing homes across the country. The directive was given by a three-judge
Bench headed-by Justice Anil R Dave while hearing a petition filed by the
Trained Nurses Association of India.
16) The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on 20 January
2016 released the first report of the Alternative Investment Policy Advisory
Committee (AIPAC) for comments from the stakeholders. The 21-member committee
was constituted by the SEBI in March 2015 under the chairmanship of N R Narayan
Murthy, co-founder of Infosys, to suggest measures for development of the
alternative investment funds (AIFs) and startup eco-system in the country.
17) Suresh Prabhu, Minister of Railway has announced Ratan Tata to
head the Indian Railway Innovation Committee. The main aim is to carry out
detailed analysis leading to optimized investment decisions and operations.
18) Union Government constituted a committee to consider Scheduled
Tribe status to six Communities of Assam. The committee will be headed by
Special Secretary (Internal Security) Ministry of Home Affairs, Mahesh Kumar
Singla. The committee will recommend the modalities for granting of Scheduled
Tribe status to six Communities namely Koch Rajbongshi, Moran, Matak, Tai Ahom,
Chutia and Adivasi (Tea Tribes) in Assam.
19) The Finance Minister of West Bengal Amit Mitra on 19 February
2016 was named the chairman of the Empowered Committee of State Finance
Ministers on Goods and Services Tax (GST). Mitra will succeed Kerala Finance
Minister K M Mani who had to resign in November 2015 over corruption charges.
20) Information and Broadcasting Ministry has constituted a
three-member panel, headed by former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) BB
Tandon, to see that guidelines set for government advertisements by the Supreme
Court are followed. Senior TV journalist Rajat Sharma and ad-man Piyush Pandey
will be the other members of the committee.
21) The
Union Government constituted a high-level committee to suggest ways to
strengthen the border protection along the border with Pakistan. It will also
address the issue of gaps and vulnerability in border fencing along
Indo-Pakistan border. The committee will be headed by former Home Secretary Madhukar
Gupta and will submit its report in three months.
22) The Union Ministry of
Finance on 21 March 2016 constituted a Sub-Committee under the aegis of the
High Level Committee (HLC) to review issues related to excise duty. The
committee will be headed by former Chief Economic Advisor Dr Ashok Lahiri and
will review excise duty imposed on different jewellery articles in Budget
2016-17.
23) A Committee on Taxation of
e-commerce constituted by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to examine
the business models for e-commerce submitted its report on 21 March 2016.
25) Parkash Singh committee
constituted to inquire into the omission and commission on part of all officers
and officials of police and civil administration during Jat Quota agitation
submitted its report to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar.
26) The Estimates Committee of
Parliament, in its report on Ganga Rejuvenation recommended an overarching and
fully empowered authority headed by the Prime Minister. The committee is
chaired by BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi.
27) The Supreme Court of India
appointed a 3 member panel headed by former Chief Justice of India (CJI) RM
Lodha to oversee the functions of Medical Council of India(MCI). MCI is a
regulator of the medical profession and education in India. Other two members
of this panel are former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) Vinod Rai and
Dr. SK Sareen.
28) The union government has
constituted a five-member committee for a comprehensive review of the Fiscal
Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act. The committee will be headed
by the former revenue secretary N K Singh.
29) The Union Government has
constituted a 3 member committee to prepare a policy framework for taxi and
other transport operators. The committee will be headed by Sanjay Mitra,
Secretary of Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways.
30) The Union Government has
announced that the H.R. Nagendra Committee on Yoga Education in Universities
has recommended 7 programmes for implementation in universities.
31) The Shyam Benegal - headed
committee constituted by the Information and Broadcasting ministry to look
holistically into the functioning of the censor board submitted its report to
I&B minister Arun Jaitley.
32) Maharashtra Government
appointed taskforce headed by agriculture expert Kishore Tiwari submitted its
report to CM Devendra Fadnavis. The taskforce appointed to address agrarian
issues.
33) UP CM Akhilesh Yadav
appointed a judicial commission to probe into the recent Mathura violence
hours. The Judicial commission will be headed by retired Allahabad High Court
judge Justice Mirza Imtiyaz Murtaza.
34) The Rajiv Gauba Committee on
Decongestion of Traffic in Delhi submitted its report to the Union Ministry of
Urban Development.
35) Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has
constituted a high-level committee under the chairmanship of PWD minister
Satyendra Jain to look into the matters related to water bodies in the national
capital.
36) Anand Desai led Expert
committee set up to examine the Specific Relief Act, 1963 submitted its report
to Union Law & Justice Minister DV Sadananda Gowda.
37) Parliamentary Standing Committee’s report on the Consumer Protection Bill 2015 was tabled in Parliament. The committee headed by Telugu Desam Party MP J C Divakar Reddy in its report recommended holding celebrities accountable for misleading advertisements and stringent provisions including jail term up to five years and penalty up to 50 lakh rupees.
