Karnataka

1. Debt Relief Bill,2018 – Waiving Loans from Moneylenders

• State cabinet on Friday passed the ‘Karnataka Debt Relief Bill 2018’, in a move to ease financial burden on small farmers, agricultural labourers and other weaker sections of society.
• The bill, a one-time offer, will be sent to the President for his consent. The bill proposes that any loans taken from non-institutional sources excluding non-banking finance corporations (NBFCs), stand null and void, and any pledged items such as gold and land documents, will have to be returned.
• The government’s decision is targeted at a large section of agricultural community who depend on non-institutional sources of credit, whose interest rates and collateral are much higher compared to institutional sources.
• Debt relief bills earlier passed in 1976 and 1980. Though the debt relief bill of 1980 was challenged in the Supreme Court, the decision was upheld in 1992.

General

2.Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act,2016

• Union govt notified the draft Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Rules, 2018 to facilitate utilisation of over Rs50,000 crore among states to expand India’s forest cover.
• About Rs50,000 crore has been collected in lieu of forest land diverted under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, for non-forest purposes such as industrial projects like mining.
• The Bill also establishes the National and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authorities to manage the National and State Funds.