# EWS Quota

• The Union Government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has taken a “considered decision” to revisit the criteria for economically weaker section (EWS) to provide reservation.
• The supreme Court had earlier asked the government to reveal the logic and study before zeroing in on the exact figure of 8 lakh rupees as the annual income limit to identify the EWS.
• The supreme Court was hearing a case filed by NEET aspirants challenging a July 29 notification announcing 27℅ quota to OBCs and and 10℅ reservation to EWS in All India quota category.

# GST structure

• The government can rationalise the GST rate structure without losing revenues by rejigging the four major rates of 5℅, 12℅, 18℅, and 28℅ with a three rate framework of 8℅, 15℅ and 30℅ , as per national Institute of public finance and policy (NIPFP) study.
• NIPFP is an autonomous think tank backed by the finance ministry.
• Multiple rate changes since the introduction of the GST regime in July 2017 have brought the effective GST rate to 11.6℅ from the original revenue neutral rate of 15.5℅.

# MGNREGS

• The finance ministry has allocated an additional fund of 10000 crore rupees as an interim measure for the Mahatma gandhi national rural employment gurantee scheme after it ran out of the fund allocated in the budget.
• This has been informed by the ministry of rural development.

# INS Vela

• The fourth scorpene class conventional submarine, INS Vela was commissioned into the Navy in Mumbai on Thursday.
• The Navy currently has 16 conventional and one nuclear submarine in service.
• It includes eight Russian kilo class submarine, four German HDW submarine, four French scorpion submarines and the indigenous nuclear ballistic missile submarinesubmarine INS Arihant.

# NFHS

• The fifth edition of the National family health survey has confirmed sign of a demographic shift in India.
• There are 1020 women for per 1000 men in NFHS – 5 survey.