Daily Current Affairs 20 October 2020 | UPSC CUrrent Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) India's first multi-modal logistics park

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari will lay the foundation stone for India's first multi-modal logistics park in Assam. The multi-modal logistics park will be constructed at an estimated cost of ₹694 crores, an official statement said.
The multi-modal logistic park will be developed under the ambitious Bharatmala Pariyojna.
The ₹693.97 crore park will provide direct connectivity through air, road, rail, and waterways to the people.

Multimodal Logistics Park(MMLP)

Multimodal Logistics Park(MMLP) provides all types of transportation facilities at a place for the end-user or defined as a rail, road, ship, airplane based inter-modal traffic handling facilitation complex comprising container terminals, bulk cargo terminals, warehouses, banking, and office space, and facilities for mechanized handling, sorting/grading, cold chain, aggregation/desegregations, etc. to handle freight traffic. The key components of Multimodal Logistics Park are warehousing, transport, and value-added services. The concept of multimodal logistics parks is relatively new in India.

Source: Mint

2) Buy-backs

India has asked at least eight state-run companies to consider share buy-backs in the fiscal year to March 2021, as New Delhi searches for ways to raise funds to rein in its fiscal deficit.
However, some PSUs, particularly in the oil sector, may not be able to do buybacks, the sources warned, as the government’s stake is just sufficient to ensure its position as a majority holder. The government stake in these companies is about 51% and there is a competing claim on their cash in the form of huge Capex commitment and dividend payments
But for those with sufficient funds and capital expenditure below target for this fiscal year, the government could seek approval from the Cabinet to prune its stake to less than 51% in individual firms without giving up control

Share Buyback

A Share Buyback (also known as a share repurchase), is when a company buys its own outstanding shares to reduce the number of shares available on the open market.
Company's with their reserves (past accumulated profit) can buyback the shares. Share buyback can be of two types as explained

In the first case, shares were purchased from all the owners proportionately, so that after the buyback, the number of shares held by every owner will be less, but percentage ownership remains the same.
In the second case, the share was purchased only from some few owners, so, after the buyback, the number of shares held by the remaining owners will remain the same but percentage ownership increases.

Companies buy back shares for several reasons, such as to increase the value of remaining shares available by reducing the supply or to prevent other shareholders from taking a controlling stake.
If the company wants and it has cash then it can "buy back" the shares from the existing owners (the owner can be Govt. also in case of PSUs). So, the company pays the cash to the owner and the owner gives the "shares" to the company (basically the company is purchasing shares from the owners), this is called share buyback. There can be different cases in share buyback, for example, the company can purchase shares from a particular owner or it can purchase from all the owners proportionately.
Now, the shares which the company will get, it is nothing for the company. These shares get extinguished and it has no value for the company.
Let me elaborate: I borrowed Rs. 100 from you and in return, I gave you a "slip" where it is written that I owe you Rs. 100. Now, this slip is a liability for me an asset for you. But the moment I return Rs. 100 to you and you give this slip back to me, then this slip is neither asset nor liability for me. Think of the "shares" like the "slip"
2) Government has asked PSUs to consider share buyback so that the government can reduce its fiscal deficit, as it is a source of revenue for the government.
Share buyback helps in building/increasing the market price of the shares. This gives a positive impression in the market that the company is buying its own shares expecting a future increase in price
If the PSU decides to buy back the shares from a particular owner (for example Govt.) then it may be possible that Govt's ownership gets reduced to below 51% (or 50%) and Govt. loses the management control in the PSU. BUT there is a way (as per the Company's Act 2013) to still control the management of the company even if the ownership falls below 50%.
Some PSUs are also facing pressure in terms of capital expenditure and dividend payment, so the buyback can become difficult with the limited amount of cash lying with the PSUs.

Source: The Hindu

3) Growth through infrastructure and manufacturing

India needs to create 90 million non-farm jobs by 2030 to avoid economic stagnation.

What is the importance of these two sectors?

Construction- 24 million non-farm jobs could come from construction alone by 2030, 16 million from real estate, and 8 million from infrastructure.
Manufacturing- This sector could generate one-fifth of the incremental annual GDP (about $750 billion) and close to 11 million new non-farm jobs by 2030.

How India can trigger construction growth and what are the reforms needed?

To generate its share of employment, the construction sector needs to grow at about 8.5%, nearly double its 4.4% growth rate over financial years 2012-13 to 2018-19. The following steps can trigger this growth
Spend about 8% of GDP on infrastructure annually for the next 10 years.
Build 25 million affordable homes over the decade.

Reforms required

Real estate reforms- India could include generously increasing incentives for homeownership and creating rental stock.
Tax incentives– At the central level, substantially raising tax deductions limits on mortgages and rental incomes, as well as introducing tax incentives for investments in rental housing stock could be considered.
For example- The US, which offers tax-deductible interest of up to $750,000 on mortgage loans and an effective low-income housing tax credit incentive.
Rationalizing stamp duties and registration fees, introducing regulatory amendments in rent-control policies, launching digitally-enabled, single-window clearances to reduce time delays in affordable housing construction.
Bringing the goods and services tax on modern construction methods in line with in-situ buildings.
High land-price-to-average-income ratio– In terms of per square-meter price to per-capita GDP, it is about 6.0 in Mumbai and 3.8 in Bengaluru versus 0.5 in Bangkok and 0.2 in Beijing. To narrow this gap, India could do two things.
Release 20 to 25% of underused but buildable public-sector land.
Reform zoning regulations in the top 300 cities by population.

What are the proposed ways to turbocharge Manufacturing?

Structural reforms– India could introduce targeted, time-bound, and conditional incentives to reduce the cost disadvantage that Indian manufacturers face while competing with companies from China and Vietnam, among other countries.
Free trade warehousing zones– Indian states could also create powerful demonstration effects by establishing port-proximate manufacturing clusters that contain free-trade warehousing zones.
They could provide land at lower costs, plug-and-play infrastructure, and common utilities, apart from expedited approvals.
Reduction in costs– India also needs to consider reducing its factor costs of power and logistics. Both these costs could be reduced 20–25% by enabling franchised and privatized distribution company models, reducing cross-subsidy surcharges, and establishing multi-modal freight ecosystems.

4) Australia to Join Malabar Exercise

Recently, Australia has agreed to join the Malabar Exercise at India’s request. The exercise is scheduled to be held in November 2020.

2020 Malabar Exercise:

The 2020 Exercise is expected to be held in the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea. In 2019, the exercise was conducted off the coast of Japan.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the exercise had been planned in a ‘non-contact - at sea’ format.
Its objective is to enhance safety and security in the maritime domain.

Australia’s Inclusion:

The issue of Australia’s inclusion in Malabar had again come up for discussion at the Quad foreign ministers meet in Tokyo held in October 2020. Thereafter, India invited Australia to join the Exercise.
Quad is the informal strategic dialogue between India, the USA, Japan, and Australia with a shared objective to ensure and support a free, open, and prosperous” Indo-Pacific region.
The move will bolster the ability of India, Australia, Japan, and the United States to work together to uphold peace and stability across the Indo-Pacific region.
It is also expected to further lay the foundations for the eventual formalization of the Quad grouping.

Background:

Despite regular requests from Australia, India resisted issuing the invitation due to its concerns that the move would give the appearance of a ‘quadrilateral military alliance’ aimed at China.
In 2017, Australia had requested observer status in the Malabar Exercise.
China has repeatedly expressed strong opposition to any expansion of the Malabar Exercise, which it sees as a multilateral naval construct designed to “counter and contain” it.
However, the recent India-China tensions over the situation at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) may have brought more flexibility to India's decision-making process.
Japan and the U.S.A also have been pressing India for Australia’s inclusion in Malabar Exercise.

Other Cooperation Between Quad Members:

India and Japan had signed a military logistics agreement in September 2020.
India has signed maritime information-sharing agreements for Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) with Australia and Japan and a similar agreement is under discussion with the U.S.A.
MDA is defined by the International Maritime Organization as an effective understanding of anything associated with the maritime domain that could impact the security, safety, economy, or environment of a country.
India and U.S.A. are also stepping up efforts to conclude the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) ahead of the Indo-US 2+2 ministerial meeting on 26-27 October 2020.
BECA, a key military pact, will allow India to use U.S.A.’s geospatial intelligence and enhance the accuracy of automated systems and weapons like missiles and armed drones.
BECA is one of the four foundational military communication agreements between the two countries. The other three being GSOMIA, LEMOA, CISMOA.
GSOMIA: General Security Of Military Information Agreement
LEMOA: Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement
CISMOA: Communications and Information Security Memorandum of Agreement
Defense and Foreign ministers of the two countries will Participate at the 2+2 ministerial meeting.

Malabar Exercise

It is an annual trilateral naval exercise between the navies of India, Japan, and the USA which is held alternately in the Indian and Pacific Oceans.
It began as a bilateral naval exercise between India and the USA in 1992 and was expanded into a trilateral format with the inclusion of Japan in 2015.
The Exercise is aimed to support free, open, and inclusive Indo-Pacific and remains committed to a rules-based international order.
It is also aimed at interoperability with an emphasis on humanitarian assistance, surface war maneuvers, anti-submarine warfare, counter-terror operations, gunnery training, and aerial surveillance.

Source: The Hindu

5) Fertilizer Subsidy

The Centre is working on a plan to restrict the number of fertilizer bags that individual farmers can buy during any cropping season.

Fertilizer Subsidy:

Farmers buy fertilizers at Maximum Retail Prices (MRP) below their normal supply-and-demand-based market rates or what it costs to produce/import them.
For example, the MRP of neem-coated urea is fixed by the government at Rs. 5,922.22 per tonne, whereas its average cost-plus price payable to domestic manufacturers and importers comes to around Rs. 17,000 and Rs. 23,000 per tonne, respectively.
The difference, which varies according to plant-wise production cost and import price, is footed by the Centre as a subsidy, which goes to the companies.
The MRPs of non-urea fertilizers are decontrolled or fixed by the companies. However, the Centre pays a flat per-tonne subsidy on these nutrients to ensure reasonable prices.
The per-tonne subsidy ranges from Rs. 10,231 to Rs. 24,000 for different types of fertilizers.
Decontrolled fertilizers retail way above urea, as they attract lower subsidy.
In April 2020, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) cut the subsidy for non-urea fertilizers, which was about 3% lower than the previous year.

Subsidy Mechanism:

From March 2018, a new direct benefit transfer (DBT) system was introduced, wherein subsidy payment to the companies would happen only after actual sales to farmers by retailers.
Each retailer has a point-of-sale (PoS) machine linked to the Department of Fertilisers’ e-Urvarak DBT portal. Anybody buying subsidized fertilizers is required to furnish their Aadhaar or Kisan Credit Card (KCC) number.
Only upon the sale getting registered on the e-Urvarak platform can a company claim subsidy, with these being processed every week and payments remitted electronically to its bank account.

Loophole:

Currently, the Centre follows a “no denial” policy where anybody, non-farmers included, can purchase any quantity of fertilizers through the PoS machines.
It allows for bulk buying by unintended beneficiaries, who are not genuine or deserving farmers.
There is a limit of 100 bags that an individual can purchase at one time but it does not stop anyone from buying any number of times.

Reason Behind the Restriction Plan:

The main motive is to curb diversion, which is natural with any under-priced product.
For example, urea whose basic MRP (excluding taxes and neem-coating cost) has been raised by hardly 11% since April 2010.
Being super-subsidized, urea is always prone to diversion for non-agricultural use.
For example, it is used as a binder by plywood/particle board makers, cheap protein source by animal feed manufacturers, or adulterant by milk vendors, apart from being smuggled to Nepal and Bangladesh.

Proposed Measures:

Discussions are going on to cap the total number of subsidized fertilizer bags that any person can buy during an entire Kharif or Rabi cropping season.
It is expected that it would end even retail-level diversion and purchases by large buyers masquerading as farmers.
A reasonable cap for a total of 100 bags only once would easily cover the seasonal requirement of a 20-acre farmer. Those wanting more can well afford to pay the unsubsidized rates for the extra bags.

Other Associated Costs to the Farmers:

Apart from fertilizers, there are other things for which farmers need to pay like Goods and Service Tax (GST) and other taxes on inputs.
It ranges from 12% on tractors, agricultural implements, pumps, and drip/sprinkler irrigation systems to 18% on crop protection chemicals.
Fertilizer itself is taxed at 5%.
Excise and value-added tax on diesel.
And since there’s no GST on farm produce, farmers cannot claim any input tax credit on their sales, unlike other businessmen.

Source: Indian Express

6) Centre to Borrow on Behalf of States to meet the GST shortfall

Recently, the Centre has decided to borrow an estimated revenue shortfall of Rs. 1.1 lakh crore as loans to States to meet the GST shortfall.

Key takeaways

The borrowing will not have any impact on the fiscal deficit of the Government as the Centre is acting as a mediator only.
The Centre will borrow the loan and pass on to the states.
The amounts will be reflected as the capital receipts of the state governments and it will be a part of financing its respective fiscal deficits.

Background of the news

The economic slowdown due to covid-19 had reduced both GST and cess collections in FY 2019-20, due to which there was a 40% gap (shortfall) between the compensation paid and cess collected.
The Centre distinguished the GST shortfall into two types: (1) Due to GST implementation itself; (2) due to the impact of Covid-19.
The fall of GST revenue due to Covid-19 was termed as an act of God.
Also, the GST Compensation Act, 2017 guaranteed states that they would be compensated for any loss of revenue in the first five years of GST implementation, until 2022, using a cess levied on sin and luxury goods. It did not foresee an act of God.
Thus, The Centre had earlier refused to compensate for GST shortfall arising due to covid-19 to the states.
In August 2020 at the GST Council meeting, the Centre had proposed two options to states to meet the shortfall: (1) A special window could be provided, in consultation with the RBI so that the states can get Rs. 97,000 crore at a reasonable rate of interest. The amount can be repaid after five years (of GST implementation) ending 2022 from cess collection; (2) Another option is that this entire gap of Rs. 2.35 lakh crore can be met by the borrowing by the states in consultation with RBI.
However, many states were against these two options and were planning to move the Supreme Court over the issue.

Benefits of the recent decision

The borrowing by the Centre would avoid differential rates of interest that individual states may be charged for their respective State Development Loans (SDLs).
The country’s general government debt, which includes both the Centre’s and States’ borrowings will not increase due to this step.
The States that get the benefit from the Special Window may borrow a lesser amount from the additional borrowing facility of 2% of Gross State Domestic Product under the Atma Nirbhar Package.

Goods and Services Tax

GST was introduced through the 101st Constitution Amendment Act, 2016.
It is an indirect tax on the supply of final goods and services.
It has subsumed indirect taxes like excise duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), service tax, luxury tax, etc.
It is levied at the final consumption point.
It is levied only on the value addition.
It is collected on goods and services at each point of sale in the supply line.
The GST avoids the cascading effect of tax on tax which increases the tax burden on the end consumer.
Tax Structure under GST:

Central GST to cover Excise duty, Service tax, etc.;
State GST to cover VAT, luxury tax, etc.;
Integrated GST to cover inter-state trade.

It has a 4-tier tax structure for all goods and services under the slabs- 5%, 12%, 18%, and 28%.

Source: The Hindu

7) Assam-Mizoram Border Dispute

Recently, the Assam-Mizoram border witnessed firing over a territory dispute, which spotlights the long-standing inter-state boundary issues in the Northeast, particularly between Assam and the states which were carved out of it.
Mizoram borders Assam’s Barak Valley and the boundary between present-day Assam and Mizoram is 165 km long. Both states border Bangladesh.

Ongoing Tussle:

Residents of Lailapur village in Assam’s Cachar district clashed with residents of localities near Vairengte in Mizoram’s Kolasib district.
Earlier in October 2020, a similar clash took place on the border of Karimganj (Assam) and Mamit (Mizoram) districts.
Mizoram civil society groups blame “illegal Bangladeshis” (alleged migrants from Bangladesh) on the Assam side.

Background:

The boundary issue between present-day Assam and Mizoram dates back to the colonial era when inner lines were demarcated according to the administrative needs of the British Raj.
The issue could not be settled once and for all when the state was created in independent India. The result is both states continue to have a differing perception of the border.
Mizoram was granted statehood in 1987 by the State of Mizoram Act, 1986.
Assam became a constituent state of India in 1950 and lost much of its territory to new states that emerged from within its borders between the early 1960s and the early 1970s.
The Assam-Mizoram dispute stems from a notification of 1875 that differentiated Lushai Hills from the plains of Cachar, and another of 1933 that demarcates a boundary between Lushai Hills and Manipur.
During colonial times, Mizoram was known as Lushai Hills, a district of Assam.
Mizoram believes the boundary should be demarcated based on the 1875 notification, which is derived from the Bengal Eastern Frontier Regulation (BEFR) Act, 1873.
Mizo leaders have argued in the past against the demarcation notified in 1933 because Mizo society was not consulted.
The Assam government follows the 1933 demarcation, and that is the point of conflict.
According to an agreement between the governments of Assam and Mizoram, the status quo should be maintained in no man’s land in the border area.
In the Northeast’s complex boundary equations, clashes between Assam and Mizoram residents are less frequent than they are between other neighboring states of Assam, like with Nagaland.

Other Boundary Issues in Northeast:

During British rule, Assam included present-day Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, and Meghalaya besides Mizoram, which became separate states one by one.
Currently, Assam has boundary problems with each of them.
Assam-Nagaland:
Nagaland shares a 500-km boundary with Assam.
It achieved statehood in December 1963 and was formed out of the Naga Hills district of Assam and Arunachal Pradesh (then North-East Frontier Agency).
Violent clashes and armed conflicts, marked by killings, have occurred on the Assam-Nagaland border since 1965.
The boundary dispute is in the Supreme Court.
Assam-Arunachal Pradesh:

Both states have a boundary of over 800 km.
Arunachal Pradesh was granted statehood by the State of Arunachal Pradesh Act, 1986 in 1987.
Clashes were first reported in 1992 and since then, there have been several accusations of illegal encroachment from both sides, and intermittent clashes.
This boundary issue is also being heard by the Supreme Court.

Assam-Meghalaya:

The 884-km boundary between the two states also witnesses flare-ups.
Meghalaya came into existence as an autonomous state within the state of Assam in April 1970 comprising the United Khasi and Jaintia Hills and the Garo Hills districts. In 1972, it got statehood.
As per Meghalaya government statements, today there are 12 areas of dispute between the two states.

Source: Indian Express

8) Rationalisation of Autonomous Institutions

The Ministry of Finance has recommended that the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) “disengage” from five autonomous institutions working under it and merge two others, thus reducing the 16 autonomous organizations under the ministry to 9.

Background:

The recommendations are a part of the report that has been prepared by the guidelines prescribed under rule 229 of General Finance rules 2017.
Rule 229 pertains to ‘General Principles for setting up of Autonomous Organisations’.
The purpose of the report is to make specific and actionable recommendations for the rationalization of autonomous bodies to further the aim of ‘minimum government, maximum governance,’ ensuring efficient use of public funds.

Recommendations for MoEFCC:

Disengagement from the Wildlife Institute of India (WII-Dehradun), Indian Institute of Forest Management (IIFM-Bhopal), Indian Plywood Industries Research & Training Institute (Bengaluru), CPR Environmental Education Centre (Chennai), and Centre for Environment Education (Ahmedabad).
‘Disengagement’ will involve two aspects - phasing out government support to the institution in a time-bound manner, disassociating from the management of the institutions, and allowing the relevant industry/stakeholders to run them.
Disengagement by the government with a three-year timeline and a gradual budget reduction of 25% each year is recommended.
Both WII and IIFM can be converted to deemed universities.
The Society of Integrated Coastal Management (New Delhi) should be merged with the National Centre for Sustainable Coastal Management (Tamil Nadu), as both perform similar roles of promoting coastal management. This will avoid duplication of activities and attain economies of scale.
Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (Tamil Nadu), which receives Rs. 14 crores annually from MoEFCC, should be merged with the ministry.
Statutory bodies such as Central Pollution Control Board, Central Zoo Authority (CZA), National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), National Biodiversity Authority should continue to function under and with the financial support of MoEFCC.
These bodies should be encouraged to become ‘self-financed’.

Appreciation:

This is the first time ever that such an audit has been done of institutions which took around four years to get completed.
Making WII and other institutions into deemed universities will give more freedom to the institutions to initiate more courses and have enhanced faculties.

Criticism:

The disengagement will make these institutions worry about financial issues rather than research, which should be their prime focus.
The environment is a public issue and there must be good public institutions to safeguard it.
The government’s disengagement from these institutions is seen as ‘the first step towards sending them into private hands’.
If the government feels that funds are not being utilized properly or the institutions are not performing well, their officials should be held accountable rather than taking the route of disengagement as this will have an impact on those students who dream of studying these specialized subjects but cannot afford the high fees charged by private universities.

Other Related Steps:

Recently, the Ministry of Textiles has abolished the All India Handloom Board and the All India Handicrafts Board.
In 2018, the Union Cabinet had approved the proposal for closure of Autonomous Bodies, namely, Rashtriya Arogya Nidhi (RAN) and Jansankhya Sthirata Kosh (JSK), and the functions were proposed to be vested in the Department of Health & Family Welfare (DoHFW).

Autonomous Bodies

These are set up whenever it is felt that certain functions need to be discharged outside the governmental set up with some amount of independence and flexibility without day-to-day interference of the Governmental machinery.
These are set up by the Ministries/Departments concerned with the subject matter and are funded through grants-in-aid, either fully or partially, depending on the extent to which such institutes generate internal resources of their own.
These grants are regulated by the Ministry of Finance through their instructions as well as the instructions relating to powers for the creation of posts and etc.
The amount disbursed to autonomous/grantee bodies was Rs. 799.55 billion, which, in 2019-20, was increased to Rs. 943.84 billion.
They are mostly registered as societies under the Societies Registration Act, 1860, and in certain cases, they have been set up as statutory institutions under the provisions contained in various Acts.
These are a major stakeholder in the government’s functioning as they are engaged in diverse activities, ranging from formulating frameworks for policies, conducting research, and preserving cultural heritage, etc.
Institutes imparting technical, medical, and higher education fall in this category.

Source: Indian Express

9) Economic Performance Comparison Between India and China

According to the September 2020 Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) data, economic recovery after the lockdown has thrown up some paradoxes for India. However, China has recorded growth for the consecutive third quarter (July-September 2020).
CMIE is a leading business information company. It was established in 1976, primarily as an independent think tank.

Employment:

The CMIE data shows that there is a revival in employment amid a fall in labor force participation. The labor force participation rate (LFPR) is defined as the percentage of persons in the labor force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
However, usually, when more people find jobs a greater number should have come in looking for jobs.
The unusual trend can be explained by a rural-urban disaggregation of the data. Rural India is seeing an increase in jobs due to post-harvest activity whereas employment in urban India is decreasing.
Also, better quality and higher-paying jobs in urban areas are being lost and substituted by lower-paid rural jobs.
This phenomenon points to the fact that a reversal of migration back to the cities is not happening to the extent that it should have.

Inflation:

The supply-side shock due to lockdown has led to an increase in headline inflation mainly driven by an increase in food prices.
Headline inflation is a measure of the total inflation within an economy, including commodities such as food and energy prices.
However, the unexpected trend is the rise in core inflation i.e. non-food, non-fuel inflation, that too during a period when growth is set to register a record contraction.
Core inflation is the change in the costs of goods and services but does not include those from the food and energy sectors.
Ideally, the collapse in demand due to lockdown should have triggered a drop in core inflation.

Consumer Confidence:

Another unexpected development is evident in the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI)’s latest consumer confidence survey.
The central bank’s ‘current situation index’ fell to an all-time low in September 2020 even as its ‘forward-looking surveys’ show that consumer confidence for the year 2020-21 has improved.
The current situation index is a sub-index that measures overall consumer sentiment regarding the present economic situation.
So even as the current situation of households has been progressively worsening, the survey points to households reporting better prospects for the future.

Growth:

According to the recent IMF’s World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the Indian economy is going to be the worst affected among the comparative countries like China, the U.S.A., Pakistan, and Brazil.
India is not only going to be worst-affected in the short term but also in the medium term.
The IMF has also doubled the rate of Gross Domestic Production (GDP) contraction for India. However, globally the growth has become better.

China’s Economic Performance:

China’s economic growth continued to gain momentum in the third quarter, with the GDP expanding 4.9% from a year earlier in the July-September, 2020 period.
China is witnessing an increase in tourism; growth in industrial production and exports that have generated revenue and jobs for millions of Chinese people. However, Consumption is yet to regain its normal vigor in China.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted that China’s economy will expand by 1.9 % in 2020, making it the only major economy to register growth in a pandemic-hit year.
The economic rebound follows China’s broad return to normalcy in the early months of 2020, following sweeping Covid-19 curbs including stringent lockdowns, extensive contact tracing, and restrictions on international travel through the first half of the year.

Source: Indian Express

10) Ayushman Sahakar Scheme

The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched Ayushman Sahakar, a scheme to assist cooperatives in the creation of healthcare infrastructure in the country.

Formulated By:

National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC).
NCDC was set up under an Act of Parliament in 1963 for the promotion and development of cooperatives.
It functions under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
Recent initiatives include Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel (Youth-focused), Sahakar Mitra (Internship Programme), etc.

Features:

NCDC would extend term loans to prospective cooperatives to the tune of Rs.10,000 crore in the coming years.
Any Cooperative Society with a suitable provision in its bylaws to undertake healthcare-related activities would be able to access the NCDC fund.
The scheme covers establishment, modernization, expansion, repairs, renovation of hospital and healthcare and education infrastructure.
NCDC assistance will flow either through the State Governments/ UT Administrations or directly to the eligible cooperatives.
The scheme also provides working capital and margin money to meet operational requirements.
Further, the scheme provides interest subvention of 1% to women majority cooperatives.

Significance:

It has comprehensive approach-hospitals, healthcare, medical education, nursing education, paramedical education, health insurance, and holistic health systems such as AYUSH.
The Covid-19 pandemic has brought into focus the requirement for the creation of more facilities.
There are about 52 hospitals across the country run by cooperatives. They have a cumulative bed strength of more than 5,000. The scheme would give a boost to the provision of healthcare services by cooperatives.
The scheme aligns itself with the focus of the National Health Policy, 2017, covering the health systems in all their dimensions- investments in health, organization of healthcare services, access to technologies, development of human resources, encouragement of medical pluralism, affordable health care to farmers, etc.
It is in line with the National Digital Health Mission and would bring transformation in rural areas.
Cooperatives have a strong presence in rural areas, thus, cooperatives utilizing the scheme would revolutionize the way healthcare delivery takes place in rural areas.

Cooperatives

Definition:

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), a cooperative is an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social, and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly-owned and democratically-controlled enterprise.

Related Provisions of Indian Constitution:

The Constitution (97th Amendment) Act, 2011 added a new Part IXB right after Part IXA (Municipals) regarding the cooperatives working in India.
The word “cooperatives” was added after “unions and associations” in Article 19(1)(c) under Part III of the Constitution. This enables all the citizens to form cooperatives by giving it the status of the fundamental rights of citizens.
A new Article 43B was added in the Directive Principles of State Policy (Part IV) regarding the “promotion of cooperative societies”.

Source: PIB

11) Heeng Cultivation Project in India

Scientists at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology (IHBT), Palampur are on a mission to grow heeng (asafoetida) in the Indian Himalayas.
IHBT is the only laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in Himachal Pradesh.

Heeng:

It is a herbaceous plant of the Umbelliferae family. It is a perennial plant whose oleo gum resin is extracted from its thick roots and rhizome. The plant stores most of its nutrients inside its deep fleshy roots.
It is endemic to Iran and Afghanistan, which are also the main global suppliers of it. It is very popular in India and is used in cooking.
Climatic Condition: It thrives in dry and cold desert conditions. The plant can withstand a maximum temperature between 35 and 40 degrees, whereas, during winters, it can survive in temperatures up to minus 4 degrees.
Regions with sandy soil, very little moisture, and an annual rainfall of not more than 200mm are considered conducive for heeng cultivation.
During extreme weather, the plant can get dormant.
Properties: It has medicinal properties, including relief for digestive, spasmodic, and stomach disorders, asthma, and bronchitis.
The herb is used to help with painful or excessive bleeding during menstruation and premature labor.

India’s Heeng Cultivation Project:

Heeng is not cultivated in India. India imports about 1,200 tonnes of raw heeng worth Rs. 600 crore from Iran, Afghanistan, and Uzbekistan.
In 2017, IHBT approached the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR) with an experimental project idea to cultivate heeng in the Indian Himalayas.
In June 2020, the IHBT inked a Memorandum of Understanding with the agriculture ministry of Himachal Pradesh to jointly cultivate the heeng.
The agriculture ministry has identified four locations in the Lahul-Spiti valley and has distributed heeng seeds to seven farmers in the region.
However, the challenge for the scientists is that heeng seeds remain under a prolonged dormant phase and the rate of seed germination is just 1%.

Source: Indian Express

12) Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center

Recently, the NITI Aayog and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced the establishment of a Frontier Technologies Cloud Innovation Center (CIC), the first of its kind in India.
AWS is a subsidiary of Amazon, multinational tech, and online-shopping giant.
It provides on-demand cloud computing platforms and Application Programming Interfaces (API) to individuals, companies, and governments, on a metered pay-as-you-go basis.
CIC is part of the AWS CIC Global Program, which provides an opportunity for government agencies, nonprofits, and educational institutions, to come together on pressing challenges, apply design thinking, test new ideas, and access the technical expertise of AWS.
Frontier Technologies CIC will identify and prioritize projects as well as collaborate with local leaders, including subject matter experts at the state and district levels, to solve critical challenges.
Local enterprises, start-ups, researchers, and universities in India can experiment and build prototypes on AWS Cloud.
It is aligned to the visions of Aatmanirbhar Bharat Mission and the Atal Innovation Mission.
Aims of Frontier Technologies CIC:
To address societal challenges through digital innovation.
To enable budding innovators and start-ups and help in piloting state-of-the-art, cloud-centric digital innovations by leveraging emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT), robotics, etc.
To identify and deploy leading-edge technologies to drive continuous innovation in delivering citizen services.

Source: PIB