Syllabus subtopic:
Prelims and Mains focus: about the recommendations by FFC and the action taken by the government; types of deficits; about finance commission
News: The finances of revenue-deficit states may be hit as the Finance Minister in her budget allocated only 40% of the Rs.74,340 crore revenue deficit grants for FY21, which was recommended by the 15th Finance Commission (FFC), despite having accepted its proposal.
Background
Recommendations made by the FFC
3. Special grants & nutrition grants
Types of deficits & how they are calculated
1. Revenue Deficit:
What does it mean?
A revenue deficit indicates that the government doesn't have sufficient revenue for the normal functioning of the government departments. In other words, when the government starts spending more than it earns, it results in Revenue Deficit. Revenue Deficit forces the government to disinvest or cover the shortage by borrowing.
Remedial measures:
In the case of Revenue Deficit government usually tries to curtail their expenses or increase its tax and non-tax receipts. This can be done by introducing new taxes or increasing the tax on people in higher-earning slabs.
2. Fiscal Deficit:
The excess of total expenditure over total receipts excluding borrowings is called Fiscal Deficit. In other words, the Fiscal Deficit gives the amount needed by the government to meet its expenses. Thus a large Fiscal Deficit means a large amount of borrowings.
What does it mean?
Simply put a Fiscal Deficit is a measure of how much the government needs to borrow from the market to meet its expenditure when its resources are inadequate.
Remedial measures:
3. Primary Deficit:
Primary Deficit is Fiscal Deficit of the current year minus interest payments on previous borrowings. While Fiscal Deficit represents the government's total borrowing including interest payments, Primary Deficit shows the amount of borrowing excluding interest payments.
What does it mean?
Primary Deficit shows the amount of government borrowings specifically to meet the expenses by removing the interest payments. Therefore, a zero Primary Deficit means the need for borrowing to meet interest payments.
Remedial measures:
A higher Primary Deficit reflects the amount of new borrowings in the current year. Since this is the amount on top of already existing borrowings (Fiscal Deficit) similar measures can be taken to reduce the amount of borrowings.
About Finance Commission (FC)
Source: Livemint
Syllabus subtopic: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and Agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
Prelims and Mains focus: about the West Asia peace plan and issues around it; about OIC and its significance for India
News: The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has said it rejects US President Donald Trump's recently unveiled Middle East plan.
Background
US President Donald Trump had described his long-delayed plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as a "win-win solution" for both sides.
About OIC
India and OIC
India’s former External Affairs Minister (EAM) Sushma Swaraj addressed the inaugural session of the 46th Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers on March 1, 2019, in Abu Dhabi as a “guest of honor”. The moment was phenomenal in itself: for the first time in 50 years, since OIC’s inception, India attended it.
India was invited to attend the first summit of the OIC 50 years ago in 1969 in Morocco. But the Indian delegation had to return midway due to a withdrawal of the invitation after Pakistan’s objection. It was a setback for Indian diplomacy, as it could not further become a part of the second largest inter-governmental organization in the world (after the United Nations). Pakistan’s adamant stance toward India’s non-entry in the grouping has ensured even today that India is neither a member nor an observer of the OIC, despite having one of the largest Muslim populations in the world. Countries like Thailand and Russia are observer members, despite having a significant minority Muslim population.
In addition to this, the OIC’s stand on the Kashmir issue questions the state of Jammu and Kashmir as a legitimate part of India. The organization has been generally supportive of Pakistan’s concerns over Jammu and Kashmir. With regards to this, the OIC has been issuing statements criticizing alleged atrocities and human rights violations in the state.
But winds of change have been blowing for India. India is the third largest economy in the world, one of the biggest importers of hydrocarbons like gas and oil, and one of the largest exporters of labor, with more than 8 million Indians living in West Asia, especially in the Gulf region. West Asia and India’s growing economic and energy interdependence makes it difficult for the former to ignore the latter.
India’s presence at the 46th OIC meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers is historic, but it still remains a stepping stone toward larger engagement with the OIC and the Muslim world. Article 4 (1) of the OIC Charter states the need for consensus among the OIC Council of Ministers for deciding on granting observer status to a state. Consensus-building for India’s entry in the grouping without Pakistan’s support is inconceivable. Thus, it remains in India’s interest to engage positively with Pakistan on this issue and collectively work for the ideals to which the OIC is committed.
With mushrooming concerns like the rise of Islamophobia, cross-border terrorism, extremism, and instability in the world order, the OIC has become more relevant than ever before. Active engagement in the grouping by India, home to around 10 percent of the Muslims in the world, can add more substance to the existence and working of the OIC.
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus subtopic: Appointment to various Constitutional Posts, Powers, Functions and Responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.
Prelims and Mains focus: about the report and its significance; about CAG: powers, functions and independence
News: In a report tabled in Parliament on Monday, the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) pulled up the Army for deficiencies in the provision of special clothing, rations and housing for troops in high-altitude areas, including Siachen.
Audit of provisioning and procurement (2015-16 to 2017-18)
What did the report say on INDU?
What did the report say on the ‘Housing project’ for the army?
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus subtopic: India and its Neighborhood- Relations.
Prelims and Mains focus: about India’s efforts to extend its reach in the IOR; about Vanilla islands; about India-Madagascar relations
News: India’s flood relief outreach to Madagascar will be followed up this week, as the island’s Defence Minister travels to Lucknow and Delhi from Tuesday.
Background
Reworked approach by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)
Cooperation in Maritime domain
About the visit of Madagascar’s Defence Minister
India–Madagascar relations
India Navy operates a Coastal Surveillance Radar (CSR) station in Madagascar.
In 2013, scientists discovered that Madagascar and India were part of a single continent about 85 million years ago. The sliver of land joining them is called Mauritia.
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus subtopic: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Prelims and Mains focus: about the study: aim, need and key findings; about NCRB
News: The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) released its study on missing children and women.
Background
In 2019, the Supreme Court had directed the NCRB to “analyse the data on missing persons (especially on women and children) so that areas prone to persons being trafficked can be identified”.
About the study
Aim of the study
The study aims to identify the areas where registered cases of missing persons, specifically women and children, are higher than in other areas.
Need for the study
The need for the study arises because of the fact that incidents of missing women and children are not uniform across the country. Some parts of the country report higher incidents and such areas could be one of the source, transit or destination sites for child /women trafficking.
Key findings of the study
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus subtopic: Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Prelims and Mains focus: about the report: aim and key findings; about WHO
News: World Health Organization (WHO) report has released two global reports on February 4, which is World Cancer Day.
WHO report on cancer burdens and patterns in India in 2018
Aim: The report aims to set the global agenda on cancer, mobilise stakeholders and help countries set priorities for investing in cancer control and universal health coverage
Key findings:
Together, these account for 49 per cent of all new cancer cases.
Source: Indian Express
Syllabus subtopic:
Prelims and Mains focus: about the prohibition and its significance; about BIS; NGT; CPCB; water filtration technology
News: The Union Environment Ministry has published a draft notification that effectively prohibits users from installing membrane-based water purification, mainly reverse osmosis, systems in their homes if the water has been sourced from a supply that meets the Bureau of Indian Standards’ drinking water norms.
Why?
The Ministry has issued this order to comply with an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT), which has prohibited the use of reverse osmosis (RO) purifiers in places where total dissolved solids (TDS) in the supplied water are below 500 mg per litre.
Background
Why did NGT ordered a ban on RO filters?
The NGT had ordered a ban on RO filters on the grounds that they wasted water and that, in the process of removing salts, they often deprived drinking water of essential salts. RO while useful in reducing salts does not tackle bacterial agents or trace chemicals and manufacturers often claim that additional filtration is required to deliver potable water.
What are BIS regulations on drinking water?
How Does Reverse Osmosis Work?
Reverse Osmosis water purification process is accomplished by water pressure pushing tap water through a semi-permeable membrane to remove impurities from water. This is a process in which dissolved inorganic solids (such as salts) are removed from a solution (such as water).
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus subtopic: Major Crops - Cropping Patterns in various parts of the country
Prelims and Mains focus: about the locust attack; threat and action taken to contain it
News: Swarms of locusts were spotted in two border villages of Punjab’s Fazilka district, prompting the state Agriculture Department to sound a high alert.
Where did the attack originate from?
Emanating from Pakistan, the swarms of pests — three to four-km-long and one-km-wide — settled at the trees in these border villages.
What is the threat?
Any failure to control the pests could lead to serious implications for agriculture production in India, especially in Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Gujarat, which will ultimately hit commodity prices and food security.
Prompt action taken
What are Locusts?
Locusts, popularly known as ‘tiddi dal’, are short-horned grasshoppers. Their appearance in winter months is a new phenomenon.
Were there any previous locusts attack in India?
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus subtopic: Effects of Liberalization on the Economy, Changes in Industrial Policy and their Effects on Industrial Growth.
Prelims and Mains focus: about the Samurai loans raised by NTPC and its utility
News: India’s largest power generator NTPC Ltd has raised a $750 million-worth term loan in Japanese yen, claiming it to be the “largest ever” Samurai loan raised by any Asian corporate.
What are Samurai loans?
How were the funds raised?
What would be the funds used for?
Source: Indian Express
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