Current Affairs 18th June 2017

Current Affairs 18th June 2017

• Switzerland signed automatic exchange of information with India on - 16th June 2017
• Special Gandhi Darshan train flagged off by - Gujarat CM

Current Affairs 18th June 2017

Switzerland signed automatic exchange of information with India on - 16th June 2017

Switzerland ratified the automatic exchange of financial account information with India and 40 other jurisdictions to facilitate immediate sharing  of details of suspected black money on 16th June 2017. The country has, however, sought strict adherence to data security and confidentiality.
Speaking on the development, the Swiss Federal Council said that the implementation has been planned for 2018 and  the first set of data is expected to be exchanged in 2019. Swiss Federal Council is the top governing body of the European nation.
Important Highlights

• The Indian government will be given the exact date shortly from which the automatic exchange would be starting.
• As per the draft notification which is approved by the Swiss Federal council, there won't be further delay in its implementation and it is not subject to any
  referendum.
• The decision follows hectic discussions between Switzerland and India for the introduction of the Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) on tax matters under the guidance of G20, other global organisations and OECD.
• The information exchange will be carried out on the basis of Multilateral Competent Authority Agreement (MCAA) on the Automatic Exchange of Financial Account Information, which in turn is based on the international standard for the information exchange which Organisation developed for Economic Cooperation and Development.
• Situation report will be prepared by the prior to the Swiss Federal Council before first data exchange, which is planned for autumn in 2019.
• Speaking further on its implementation, the council stated that the AEOI will be activated with each territory or individual state by means of  a specific federal command within the dispatch framework.
• It will be checked whether the states and territories concerned effectively meet the requirements under the standard, especially those concerning data security and confidentiality during the process.

Special Gandhi Darshan train flagged off by - Gujarat CM

The Chief Minister of Gujarat,Vijay Rupani flagged off Astha Tourist Train, a special Gandhi Darshan train from Sabarmati railway station on 17th June 2017 on the occasion of centenary celebrations of the historic Sabarmati Ashram founded by Mahatma Gandhi.
Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) and the tourism department of Gujarat government jointly planned this project.

Important Highlights

• Following its departure from Sabarmati railway station in Ahmedabad, the train would be travelling to and fro for 10 days to Bihar’s Betitah and Motihari.
• Champaran was the first place where Mahatma Gandhi staged satyagraha in 1917 in order to remove the indigo farmers misery.
• The 15-coach train has a pantry car, 13 sleeper coaches and two guard coaches with a total passengers capacity of 840 seats.
• The train would be visiting important tourist places like Sevagram Ashram in Wardha and Chaparan Satyagraha Monument in Bettiah and Motihari related to Gandhiji’s freedom movement.
• Those boarding the train would also get an opportunity to visit popular religious destinations like
  Triveni Sangam in Allahabad, Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi and Mahabodhi temple and other religious places in Gaya.
• The total trip duration would be nine nights and ten days. It would be back to Sabarmati on 26th June.