Most Important CA for UPSC Prelims 2021 April-July Set-16

Table of Contents

STATE FINANCES

Government has issued fresh guidelines on the ‘Scheme of Financial Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure’ for the financial year 2021–22.
financial assistance is provided to the State Governments in the form of 50-year interest free loan.
helped to sustain state level capital expenditure in the pandemic year.
Capital expenditure creates employment, especially for the poor and unskilled, has a high multiplier effect, enhances the future productive capacity of the economy, and results in a higher rate of economic growth.
Central Government has now decided to continue the scheme in the year 2021-22.

Issues with State Finance

Shortfall in tax collections
Lowering Share of States in divisible pool
Increased reliance on borrowing
Deteriorating financial situation of discoms
Shortfall in GST compensation

UNEMPLOYMENT IN INDIA

unemployment rate rose to 11% in the year 2020 (highest in three decades), according to the International Labour Organization (ILO).
Covid-19 crisis, India had been experiencing slower economic growth and rising unemployment – problems that were dramatically worsened by the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown.
Informal nature of economy:
Lack of technological adaptation
Supply chain disruptions
Lay off in MSMEs
Lack of fallback options for women
Disguised unemployment in agriculture
Job losses among Indian Diaspora

LAND BANKS

The Department of Investment and Public Asset Management has finalised the structure of the Land Bank Company that will be tasked with selling land parcels owned by government departments and public sector
Proposal to be before the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for its approval.
In line with Canadian model, the land special purpose vehicle (SPV) will be set up as a company.
Company is expected to develop assets of PSUs into revenue generating projects.
The SPV will also house experts to resolve disputes that have hampered sales of such properties.
Land bank is a governmental entity or non-profit corporation that helps manage and dispose of vacant properties, vacant land, or tax-delinquent properties so that vacant property can be redeveloped for a more productive use.
State governments began to “bank” land in the 1990s, particularly in the post-liberalisation period.
Till 2017, most Indian states either already had a sizeable land banks or were in the process of creating
NITI Aayog’s strategy for New India @ 75 suggested to adopt the system of using Geographic Information System (GIS) based maps at all levels to create preapproved land banks for manufacturing facilities.
- Land use efficiency
- Addressing inordinate delay in disposing Government land:
- Boost to economic growth
- Boosts Investment
- Ease of Doing Business

SOCIAL STOCK EXCHANGE

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) made public the Technical Group (TG) report on Social Stock Exchange (SSE).
SSE functions as a regulated funding platform to allow For-Profit Social Enterprises (FPEs) and not-for-profit organisations (NPO) with a social purpose, to raise funds.
Brings together social organizations (FPEs and NPO) and impact investors, especially institutional investors whereby latter can buy stake in the form of bonds from listed organizations.
preserve the social and environmental mission of the organizations, giving the investors opportunities to mitigate socio-economic problems through investments that also have the potential to produce financial returns.

Prominent SSEs

Improved market access
Synergy between investor and investee in social aims:
Transparency and accountability
Performance- based Philanthropy
Reduced burden on government
SSE for COVID-19
Social impact reporting
Tax benefits
Setting up a Self-Regulatory Organization and Information Repositories
Rigorous regulatory scrutiny
Awareness campaigns

COVID-19 VACCINE AND IP WAIVER

Recently, the United States (US) announced support for waiving intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines.
Initiated by India and South Africa,
UNAIDS is leading the global effort to end AIDS as a public health threat by 2030 as part of the Sustainable Development Goals.
asked the World Trade organization (WTO) to waive certain conditions of the Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement that could impede timely access to affordable medical products to combat Covid-19.
The goal is to reduce the barriers to countries producing their own vaccines particularly for the lowest income

.Factors against IP waiver

IP is not the main barrier to accessibility
Expanding production capacity is not instantaneous
Alternative to IP waiver is already available
IP remains useful for dealing with the current emergency situation
Supply of raw material
Capacity building
Resolving other issues

FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY

The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has launched an online portal for ‘Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry’ (PLISFPI).
To support creation of global food manufacturing champions commensurate with India’s natural resource endowment and support Indian brands of food products in the international markets.
It is a Central Sector Scheme with an outlay of Rs. 10900 crore.
Scheme will be implemented over a six year period from 2021-22 to 2026-27.
Incentivising manufacturing of four major food product segments: Millets based products, Processed Fruits & Vegetables, Marine Products, Mozzarella Cheese
Support for branding and marketing abroad.

Scheme is open to:

Proprietary Firm or Partnership Firm or Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) or a Company registered in India
- Co-operatives
- SME and making an application for seeking approval for coverage under the Scheme.
Coverage under the PLI Scheme will not affect eligibility under any other scheme and vice versa
According to MoFPI, if any raw product of agriculture, animal husbandry or fisheries is transformed in such a way that
its original physical properties undergo a change,
the transformed product is edible and
has commercial value, then it comes within the domain of FPI.
Significant value addition (increased shelf life, shelled and ready for consumption etc.), such produce also comes under food processing, even if it does not undergo manufacturing processes.
The key sub-segments of FPI in India are Dairy, Fruits & Vegetables, Poultry & Meat processing, Fisheries, Food retail, etc.

FERTILISER SUBSIDY

Recently, the subsidy for Diammonium phosphate (DAP) fertiliser was increased from Rs. 500 per bag to Rs. 1200 per bag, an increase of 140%.
The Indian fertilizer industry can broadly be divided into two categories, depending on the nutrient composition:

nitrogenous fertilizers and
phosphatic and potassic (P&K) fertilizers.

Indian fertilizer industry is third largest in the world in terms of production and second largest in terms of consumption. (SBI report)
India fertilizers market is projected to register a CAGR of 11.9% during the forecast period (2021-2026).

PULSES

To achieve self-sufficiency in pulses, Union government formulated strategy for Kharif 2021 season.

A detailed plan for both area expansion and productivity enhancement for Tur, Moong and Urad has been formulated.
Certified seeds of High Yielding varieties (HYVs) will be distributed free of cost to increase area through intercropping and sole crop.
More than 20 lakh mini-kits (almost ten times more than the last year) of seeds to be distributed amounting to Rs. 82.01 crores.

Pulses in India

The dry, edible seeds of plants in the legume family, pulses are a category of superfoods that includes chickpeas, lentils, dry peas and beans.
India continues to be the
- Largest producer (about 25 per cent of global production),
- Largest consumer (about 27 per cent of world consumption) and
- Largest importer (about 14 per cent) of pulses in the world.
20 per cent of the area under foodgrains and contribute around 7-10 per cent of the total foodgrains production in the
Though pulses are grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons, Rabi pulses contribute more than 60 per cent of the total production.
Gram is the most dominant pulse having a share of around
40 per cent in the total production followed by Tur/Arhar and Urad/Black Matpe.
Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka are the top pulses producing States.