$100 million
What is it? The size of the deal the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has awarded L&T Infotech to create software products and solutions to detect tax evaders.
Why is it important? Under criticism for its demonetisation move after almost all the high-value currency notes made invalid were returned to the central bank, the government had defended it on the grounds of widening the tax base, among other things. With this deal, the Centre hopes to nab tax evaders using social media analytics where tax returns would be cross-referenced with social media posts that reflect spending patterns of individuals. L&T Infotech says it would create a “semantic web” where web pages would be stacked and tagged in a manner that would enable computers to read them directly.
Tell me more: Of the 125 crore plus people in the country, just 1.5% pay taxes. Further, of those, the top 0.1% pay over a fourth of total taxes.
78,275
What is it? The number of people affected by a fresh wave of floods in Assam.
Why is it important? The north-eastern state has already lost 157 people to floods this year (as of the first week of September), with lakhs displaced. In the most recent flood occurrence, nearly 16,000 animals and over 300 hectares of crop area were affected. In the last five years, 2013 was the only year in which Assam did not see flood-related deaths.
Tell me more: Besides Assam’s topography, man-made problems, including deforestation, encroachment of river banks and destruction of wetlands, are responsible for the occurrence of floods every year. According to the Central government, China is supposed to share hydrological data with India to understand downstream water levels of the Brahmaputra river, but did not this year.
90%
What is it? The percentage of voters who voted “yes” for Catalonia to break away from Spain in an unauthorised, violent referendum on Sunday, according to a spokesman for the Spanish region’s government.
Why is it important? Catalonia’s regional leader Carles Puigdemont intends to present the results to the Catalan Parliament in the next few days, escalating the standoff with the national government, which has called the referendum illegal. Catalonia makes up 16% of Spain’s population and 19% of its GDP.
Tell me more: According to the Catalan government, the region has 5.34 million voters and 2.26 million votes were cast on Sunday, for a turnout of 42%. Meanwhile, on Sunday itself, football club Barcelona played a Spanish first division league match in an empty Camp Nou, beating Las Palmas 3-0, after the league rejected the Catalonian club’s demand for a postponement.
1
What is it? The world ranking of the Indian cricket team in the one-day international (ODI) format as per ICC (International Cricket Council) rankings, when updated next. This follows the 4-1 win against Australia in the ODI series that concluded on Sunday.
Why is it important? India will hold the top spot in the ICC rankings in both the test and ODI formats. In the third format, T20, it is ranked fifth, and has a three-match series coming up against Australia.
Tell me more: In the ODI format, India’s last bilateral series loss was in January 2016, in Australia. Since then, India has won six bilateral ODI series, beating New Zealand, England and Australia at home, and Zimbabwe, West Indies and Sri Lanka outside India.
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