Current Affairs Question - 26 November 2019

Explanation :

• The Sumatran rhinoceros, also known as the hairy rhinoceros or Asian two-horned rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is a rare member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five species of rhinoceros.
• The Sumatra rhino is the smallest of the rhinoceros species and the only rhino with two horns in Asia.
• They are now critically endangered, as per the IUCN red list.
• The Sumatran rhino once roamed as far away as the foothills of the Eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and eastern India, through Myanmar, Thailand, possibly to Vietnam and China, and south through the Malay Peninsula.
• Today, the species only survives on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Explanation :

• Budget 2018 amended the Central Road Fund Act, 2000, and renamed the Central Road Fund the Central Road and Infrastructure Fund.
• The objective of the amendment was to use proceeds of the road cess under CRIF to finance other infrastructure projects such as waterways, some portion of the railway infrastructure and even social infrastructure, including education institutions and medical colleges.
• The fund comprises of a cess imposed along with excise duty on petrol and diesel.
• As per the amendment, the share for each infrastructure areas and projects from the CRIF shall be finalised by a Committee, constituted by the Central government. The Committee will be headed by the Finance Minister.
• The amendment prescribes that road cess is first credited to the Consolidated Fund of India and later, after adjusting for the cost of tax collection, should go to the CRIF.
• Now, the administrative control of Central Road and Infrastructure Fund (CRIF) falls under the Ministry of Finance. Earlier it was under the domain of Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.