Climate change and Nobel Prize in this week’s Quicko Bytes.
What’s happening this week?
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The government launches a faceless e-assessment for taxpayers, Nobel Prize and Climate Change
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‘Our whole universe was in a hot, dense state, then nearly 14 billion years ago expansion started’… ‘The Big Bang Theory’ theme song gets a surprise mention by academy member Ulf Danielsson during the Physics Nobel Prize announcement in Stockholm. The show had its finale in May, with Sheldon and Amy winning the Nobel Prize for physics. YAY!
The 3 musketeers… The Chemistry noble prize was awarded to 3 scientists — John D Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, and Akira Yoshino’s — for developing lithium-ion batteries. The batteries were developed by the trio in the 1970s are widely used form mobile phones to laptops and Electic Vehicles, which laid the foundation of a wireless, fossil-fuel-free society.
Did you get your tax refund yet?
Haven’t filed your ITR yet? The due date was 31st August 2019, file a belated ITR and the claim eligible refund. The due date for ITR filing with a tax audit is extended to 31st October 2019 from 30th Septemeber.
Also in Taxes… Income Tax Department took a big step by launching faceless e-assessment. It eliminates physical interference between the Assessing Officer and the assessee. The ITD has already identified over 58,000 cases under the plan to be handled by 8 different assessment units.
We are here to help! Drop us a message and ask us your tax-related queries.
The only constant is ‘Change’… Earth’s climate has been ever-changing. The past changes in climate change are attributed to small variations in Earth’s orbit — which leads to alteration in the solar energy the climate receives.
This is Us… The current climate change of global warming is attributed to human activity since the mid 20th Century, which resulted in higher levels of green-house gases like carbon dioxide — which are of heat-trapping nature.
Too much change isn’t good. Ask the Climate — Micheal Scott (The Office)… The rapid climate change is pushing up the global temperature, warming of oceans, a decrease in snow cover, a rise in sea level and extreme climatic events.
Swedish Sixteen… the sixteen-year-old Greta Thunberg from Sweden is becoming the face of climate change activism after the moving speech at the U.N and is being considered for the Nobel Peace Prize that is to be announced this week.
Climate and money…as per Moody’s report, climate change could cost the global economy $69 trillion by 2021. Protests for policies… A group of climate change activists in a ‘die-in’ demonstrations poured fake blood on Wall Street’s ‘Charging Bull’ statue and activists in London block major central roads to pressurize the government to create climate-friendly policies.
Back in India… Aarey forests or Mumbai’s Lungs — as it is called — is a green belt in suburban Goregaon with over 500,000 trees. The Bombay high court last week gave permission to cut trees for a shed of the upcoming Metro project in the city. The Mumbai Metro Rail Corp. (MMRC) planned to cut nearly 2,600 trees. The Supreme Court ordered the state government to not cut any more trees until the next hearing on 21st October 2019 in the response of a PIL.
Work-in-progress…India has raised a pitch for financial and technological support from developed nations to achieve the Paris Agreement Goals of keeping the global temperature rise below 2-degree celsius. India is also going to collaborate with China and Pakistan to gauge the impact of climate change on the Hindu Kush Mountains, while simultaneously working on Clean India Mission.
Let’s hope the climate likes this change.
“Aarey Kon Re? (Who is it?)” — Aaditya Thackeray
