• In order to provide further relief to the taxpayers desirous of settling disputes under Vivad se Vishwas Scheme, the Government has recently further extended the date for making payment without additional amount from 31st December 2020 to 31st March 2021.
• The last date for making declaration under the Scheme has also been notified as 31st December 2020.

Vivad se Vishwas scheme

• It is a direct tax scheme announced in Budget 2020, for settling tax disputes between individuals and the income tax department.
• The Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020 was enacted on 17th March, 2020 with the objective:

1. To reduce pending income tax litigation
2. To generate timely revenue for the Government
3. To benefit taxpayers by providing them peace of mind, certainty and savings on account of time and resources that would otherwise be spent on the long-drawn and vexatious litigation process.

• Earlier, the scheme offered complete waiver on interest and penalty to the taxpayers with a full and final settlement of the dispute if the scheme was availed by March 31, 2020.
• An individual opting for settlement after March 31, 2020 was required to pay additional 10 per cent penalty on the disputed tax amount.
• It was later extended to 30th June, 2020. Later again, this date was extended further to 31st December, 2020.

• A group of Scientists from Wadia Institute of Himalayan Geology (WIHG), Dehradun, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, have found through observations and detailed mapping of geological features that the suture zone of Himalaya that was conventionally thought to be locked is tectonically active. 

Indus Suture Zone (ISZ)

• The suture zone of the Himalayas or the Indus Suture Zone (ISZ) is located in the Ladakh region where Indian and Asian Plates are joined.
• It has been found to be tectonically active, as against current understanding that it is a locked zone.
• This could have major implications in terms of earthquake study, prediction, understanding the seismic structure of the mountain chains well as its evolution.
• Himalaya were known to be made up of north dipping thrusts like the Main Central Thrust (MCT), the Main Boundary Thrust (MBT), and the Main Frontal Thrust (MFT).
• As per the established models, all of these thrusts except MFT are locked, and overall deformation in Himalaya is being accommodated only along with the MFT.
• The new findings, which suggest a more remote fault at the suture zone being neo-tectonically active, could call for a serious relook into the existing evolutionary models using new techniques and a larger geological database.

• Researchers from the Netherlands Cancer Institute have recently discovered two “unexpected” areas in the back of the nasopharynx.
• When researchers were studying scans from about 100 people, they found a bilateral structure at the back of the nasopharynx and these glands had similar characteristics of salivary glands.

Salivary Gland Systems

• These are part of exocrine gland systems of Human Body.
• The salivary gland system in the human body has three paired major glands and over 1,000 minor glands that are spread throughout the mucosa.
• The three major salivary glands are called parotid, submandibular and sublingual.
• These glands produce saliva necessary for swallowing, digestion, tasting, mastication and dental hygiene.
• Researchers have proposed the name “tubarial glands” for their discovery.
• The proposed name is based on their anatomical location.
• Even so, it is not clear yet if these glands will be classified as a conglomerate of minor glands, as a major gland, a separate organ or a new part of an organ system.
• The researchers believe that these glands would qualify as the fourth pair of major salivary glands.
• The researchers believed that the new location of salivary glands will be a good news for patients with head and neck tumours as radiation oncologists will be able to bypass this area to avoid any complications during treatment.

• The Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement for Geo-Spatial Cooperation or BECA, long in the making, has finally been signed by India and the US recently.

Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA)

• It is the last of the pacts that America signs with close partners.
• It is essentially a communication agreement proposed between the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency of the US Department of Defence and the Ministry of Defence of the Government of India.
• It will allow India and the US to share military information including advanced satellite and topographic data such as maps, nautical and aeronautical charts and geodetic, geophysical, geomagnetic and gravity data.
• Most of the information shared will be unclassified.
• However, the pact includes a provision of sharing classified information with safeguards to prevent it from being shared with any third party.
• Supplemented by highly accurate US satellites, this geospatial information can help in navigation and, more importantly, in targeting military assets.
• India and the US have already signed three key foundational agreements — General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) in 2002, the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016 and Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) in 2018.
• LEMOA gives access, to both countries, to designated military facilities on either side for the purpose of refuelling and replenishment.

• Recently, Kabartal Wetland (Bihar) and Asan Conservation Reserve (Uttrakhand) have been designated as Ramsar sites.
• Earlier in 2020, India designated 10 more wetlands as a Ramsar site, taking the total number from 27 to 37.
• With 2 more inclusions, the total number of Ramsar sites in India is 39, the highest in South Asia.

Kabartal Wetland

• It is known as Kanwar Jheel, it covers 2,620 hectares of the Indo-Gangetic plains in the Begusarai district of Bihar.
• It acts as a vital flood buffer for the region besides providing livelihood opportunities to local communities.
• It is also a valuable site for fish biodiversity with over 50 species documented.
• It is an important stopover along the Central Asian Flyway, with 58 migratory waterbirds using it to rest and refuel.
• Five critically endangered species inhabit the site, including three vultures – the red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Indian vulture (Gyps indicus) – and two waterbirds, the sociable lapwing (Vanellus gregarius) and Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri).

Asan Conservation Reserve

• ACR is a 444-hectare stretch of the Asan River running down to its confluence with the Yamuna River in Dehradun district of Uttarakhand.
• It is Uttarakhand's first Ramsar Site.
• The damming of the River by the Asan Barrage in 1967 resulted in siltation above the dam wall, which helped to create some of the Site’s bird-friendly habitats.
• These habitats support 330 species of birds including the critically endangered red-headed vulture (Sarcogyps calvus), white-rumped vulture (Gyps bengalensis) and Baer’s pochard (Aythya baeri).
• Other non-avian species present include 49 fish species, one of these being the endangered Putitora mahseer (Tor putitora).