Nationwide electronic or e-way bill system for inter-state movement of goods has been rolled
out from 1st April, 2018.
Under this system businesses and transporters have to produce before a GST inspector e-way bill
for moving goods worth over Rs 50,000 from one state to another.
The Bill is touted as an anti-evasion measure that would help boost tax collections by clamping
down on trade that currently happens on cash basis.
Background:
The e-way bill provision of the goods and services tax (GST) was first introduced on February 1.
However, its implementation was put on hold after the system developed glitches in generating
permits.
The system has been designed and developed by National Informatics Centre (NIC).
The GST Council has decided on a staggered roll-out of the e-way bill starting with inter-state
from April 1 and intra-state from April 15.
Bharat stage emission standards -known as Bharat Stage (BS)- are emission standards to regulate
the output of air pollutants from internal combustion engines and spark-ignition engines
equipment, including motor vehicles.
The standards and timeline for implementation are set by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB)
under Ministry of Environment & Forests and climate change.
The standards are based on European regulations and were first introduced in 2000.
Since then, various stages Bharat Stage compatible fuel and ungraded and modified vehicles were
introduced throughout the country.
The harmful emissions that are identified for regulations in different Bharat Stages (BS) are
carbon monoxide (CO), unburnt hydrocarbons (HC), Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and Particulate
matter (PM).
Each stage specifies a certain limit on the pollutants released, Higher the Bharat Stage goes lesser
it emits pollutants. BS-I, BS-II and BS-III stages were launched in 2000, 2005 and 2010
respectively.
One of the major differences between BS-IV and BS-VI fuel is the presence of Sulphur. The BS-VI fuel is
expected to reduce the amount of Sulphur released from 50 parts per million (ppm) to 10 ppm.
Other cities like Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram, Faridabad, Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and
Pune will also switch over to cleaner BS-VI grade fuel from January 1, 2019.
APY became operational from June 1, 2015 with an aim to provide affordable universal access
to essential social security protection to unorganized work force of country, which makes major
chunk of labour force (88%).
It had replaced Swavalamban scheme.
It is available to all citizens of India in the age group of 18-40 years (thus minimum period of
contribution by subscriber is 20 years).
Under scheme, subscriber will receive a minimum guaranteed pension of Rs.1000 to Rs.5000
per month, depending on his contribution, from age of 60 years.
There is no exit to the scheme before the age of 60.
In case of death of subscriber, the spouse of the subscriber shall be entitled for the same amount
of pension till his or her death.
StartupBlink is a global map and directory of startups, coworking spaces, accelerators, investors
and reporters.
Startupblink report includes a global ranking index which has been compiled by measuring
startup ecosystem strength and activity in 125 countries and 900 cities.
The rankings have been compiled in association with ANSYS Startup Program and are based on
thousands of data points gathered since 2014, including data collected by StartupBlink’s
representatives in more than 70 chapters around the world.
Entrepreneurs can refer the rankings to determine if a particular city has suitable business
environment and resources needed to support their goals.
Highlights of the Report:
India’s 37th rank outlines that there is still much to be done in terms of ease of doing business,
startup policies and easing tax compliance.
Certain facts:
The Government of India notifies inclusion of castes/communities in the Central List of Other
Backward Classes for different States/Union Territories on the basis of advice tendered by
National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC) under Section 9(1) of the NCBC Act, 1993.
The NCBC determines inclusion or otherwise of castes/communities in the Central List of OBCs
on the basis of norms established w.r.t. social, educational, economic, representation in Central
Services and Miscellaneous parameters.
A total of 120 entries containing castes, their synonyms and sub-castes have been notified in
the Central List of Other Backward Classes in the last three years.
It is a statutory body established under NCBC Act, 1993 in the aftermath of Mandal Case (1992)
judgement.
It was established on directives of Supreme Court as it had ordered to set up permanent statutory
body to look into complaints of under-inclusion, over-inclusion or non-inclusion of any class of
citizens in list of OBCs.
Members of NBFCs:
NCBC comprises Chairman, Social Scientist, two persons having special knowledge in matters
of backward classes and member secretary.
NCBC examines request for inclusion of castes into backward classes and hear complaints of
over and under inclusion.
Its advice is generally binding upon central government.
Further, every 10 years, the central government undertakes revision of the lists by consulting it.
The commission has powers of a civil court in few matters.
Features: To provide fast, efficient and transparent services for ease of doing business in all sectors the
complete export food chains have been integrated in this digital platform. Primary production, chain
catch, aquaculture pond, dairy farms and apiaries are all linked. Processing units, testing laboratories,
official controls and exports have complete traceability.
Portals:
One lab one assessment portal: It provides unified approach to all stakeholders like accreditation
bodies, regulators and laboratories by bringing them together on a common platform. Simplified
procedures for granting joint certification and joint decisions helps in reducing cost, time and multiplicity
of assessment.
The Export Alert Monitoring Portal: It monitors non-compliances raised by importing countries. The
portal will enable monitoring of alerts and action taken by multiple organizations involved in initial
certification in the food safety & biosecurity and analyzing the trend, understanding the trade barriers
to reduce the alerts and enhance the export trade.
About EIC:
ECI was established by Central Government under Section 3 of Export (Quality Control and
Inspection) Act, 1963.
It was established to ensure sound development of export trade of India through Quality Control
and Inspection and for matters connected thereof.
EIC is advisory body to Central Government. It is empowered to notify commodities which will
be subject to quality control and inspection prior to export.
It establishes standards of quality for such notified commodities. It also specifies type of quality
control and inspection to be applied to such commodities.
EIC also exercises technical and administrative control over the five Export Inspection Agencies
(EIAs), one each at Chennai, Delhi, Kochi, Kolkata and Mumbai established by Ministry of
Commerce for purpose of implementing various measures and policies by it.
• The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) was approved by the Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) and launched on 29th September 2015.
• This framework outlines a methodology to rank higher educational institutions across the
country.
• The idea behind these rankings is to promote quality in education & encourage competition to
perform better and to set up new benchmarks of performance in Higher education space.
• The five parameters broadly cover “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and
Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity” and “Perception”.
• In this third edition of India Rankings, a total of 2809 institutions have participated in 9
categories.
• NIRF, in its first rankings in 2016, had four categories — universities, engineering, management
and pharmacy. In 2017, overall and college categories were added. This year also saw the
beginning of ranking of institutions in new areas like Medicine, Law and Architecture.
The Rankings in various categories:
Note: Institutions with less than 1000 enrolled students are not ranked in the Overall Category.
There were some institutions, which could not be placed in any of the 9 categories.
These institutions have been placed in special category status because of the quality of research
work and are mentioned below:
It proposes to include “National Commission for Protection of Child Rights” as deemed Member
of the Commission;
It proposes to add a woman Member in the composition of the Commission;
It proposes to enlarge the scope of eligibility and scope of selection of Chairperson, National
Human Rights Commission as well as the State Human Rights Commission; and
It proposes to incorporate a mechanism to look after the cases of human rights violation in the
Union Territories.
It proposes to amend the term of office of Chairperson and Members of National Human Rights
Commission and State Human Rights Commission to make it in consonance with the terms of
Chairperson and Members of other Commissions.
The Amendment will strengthen the Human Rights Institutions of India further for effective
discharge of their mandates, roles and responsibilities.
Moreover, the amended Act will be in perfect sync with the agreed global standards and
benchmarks towards ensuring the rights relating to life, liberty, equality and dignity of the
individual in the country.
The Reserve Bank of India has deferred the adoption of Indian Accounting Standards (Ind AS)
by banks, for a year (To be implemented till April 2019), due to unpreparedness of banks to
migrate to the new accounting system.
RBI has requested Government to amend Banking Regulation Act, 1949 as format of financial
statements as prescribed under Schedule 3 of Act is not amenable to reporting financial
statements under Ind-AS.
Banks and non-banking financial companies currently follow generally accepted accounting
principles (GAAP) standards.
Corporate entities started complying with IndAS with effect from 1 April 2016.
In February 2016, RBI had issued circular mandating commercial banks, barring regional rural
banks to implement Ind AS from April 1, 2018.
As part of this, RBI was asking banks to submit half-yearly returns based in Ind-AS format.
Key change under new rules was the need to provision for accounts based on expected loss,
instead of when account turns into a non-performing asset (NPA).
Because of this key change, it is estimated that scheduled commercial banks may need up to Rs
89,000 crore towards incremental provisioning for advances while transiting to Ind-AS regime.
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12 RBI constitutes inter-departmental group to study launching of fiat digital
currency:
The Reserve Bank of India has constituted an inter-departmental group to study and provide
guidance on feasibility to introduce fiat digital currency backed by it.
The committee is expected to submit the report by the end of June 2018.
Fiat Currency:
It is the currency that a government has declared to be legal tender. It is different from
cryptocurrency or virtual currency like Bitcoin which is not legal tender and not backed by the
government.
Fiat Digital Currency is the digital form of fiat money which is currently established as money by
government regulation or law.
As opposed to private digital tokens, fiat digital currency will be issued by the central bank.
It will constitute the liability of central bank and will be in circulation in addition to widely used
paper and metallic currency.
They will be based on blockchain technology which is the backbone of unregulated virtual
currencies like bitcoin.
Blockchain technology behind it has potential benefits for financial inclusion and enhancing the
efficiency of the financial system.
Central banks around world are exploring options of introducing ‘fiat’ digital currencies in
landscape of rapidly changing payments industry with technological evolution.
The emergence of private digital tokens such as virtual currencies and rising costs of managing
fiat paper and metallic money have led them to explore option of introducing ‘fiat digital
currencies’.
13 CBDT forms Working Group to assess tax risks of High Net Worth Individuals
migrating abroad:
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has constituted a five-member working group to
examine the taxation aspects related to High Net Worth Individuals (HNIs) who are migrating
abroad to other jurisdictions.
The Working Group will be headed by Pragya Sahay Saksena, a joint secretary with Foreign Tax
& Tax Research Division of CBDT.
It shall make recommendations for policy decision in respect of tax risks of the migrating
HNWIs.
The Group has also been empowered to coordinate with various divisions /directorates of Board
to formulate India’s position for various aspects related to taxation of migrating HNWIs.
It is the nodal policy-making body of the Income Tax (IT) department under Finance Ministry.
It is a statutory authority established under The Central Board of Revenue Act, 1963.
It is supreme body in India for framing policies related to direct taxes.
The composition of CBDT includes Chairman and six members.
The Reserve Bank of India has released the first bimonthly policy review for the financial year
2018-19.
The Monetary Policy report is published under Section 45ZM of the Reserve Bank of India Act,
1934.
Repo rate: It was unchanged at 6%. It is rate at which RBI lends to its clients generally against
government securities.
Reverse Repo Rate: It was unchanged at 5.75%. It is rate at which banks lend funds to RBI.
Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Rate: It was unchanged at 6.25%. It is rate at which scheduled
banks can borrow funds overnight from RBI against government securities. It is very short term
borrowing scheme for scheduled banks.
Bank Rate: It was unchanged at 6.25%. It is rate charged by central bank for lending funds to
commercial banks. Higher bank rate will translate to higher lending rates by banks. It influences
lending rates of commercial banks.
Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR): It was unchanged at 4%. It is amount of funds that banks have to keep
with RBI. The RBI uses CRR to drain out excessive money from system.
Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR): It was unchanged at 19.5%. It is amount that banks have to
maintain a stipulated proportion of their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) in form of liquid
assets like cash, gold and unencumbered securities, treasury bills, dated securities etc.
The decision of the MPC is consistent with the neutral stance of monetary policy in consonance
with the objective of achieving the medium-term target for consumer price index (CPI) inflation
of 4 per cent within a band of +/- 2 per cent, while supporting growth.
The CPI inflation re-projected at 4.7-5.1% for April-September (H1) and 4.4% for October-March
(H2) of F.Y. 2018-19 including estimated impact of an increase in the house rent allowance (HRA)
for central government employees under the 7th Central Pay Commission (CPC).
Excluding the impact of HRA revisions, CPI inflation is projected at 4.4-4.7% for April-September
(H1) and 4.4% for October-March (H2) of F.Y. 2018-19.
CPI inflation in Q4 of FY-18 is now re-projected at 4.5% from earlier projection of 5.1% due to
decline in inflation in food and fuel.
GDP Projection:
• RBI shifted projecting GDP (gross domestic product) as against GVA (gross value added) growth
earlier.
• GDP growth is projected to strengthen from 6.6% in 2017-18 to 7.4% in 2018-19 – in the range
of 7.3-7.4 per cent in H1 (April-September) and 7.3-7.6% in H2 (October-March) – with risks
evenly balanced.
• It also suggested that output gap is closing but downside risks on global trade protectionism,
market volatility and weak domestic public finances exists.
The World Health Day (WHD) is observed every year on 7th April to mark anniversary of founding
of World Health Organization (WHO) on this day in 1948.
Theme for 2018: ‘Universal Health Coverage: Health For All’. It aims to ensure that everyone,
everywhere should have access to essential quality of health services and should not experience
any financial hardship while getting quality medical service.
Former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon was elected as the new chairman of the Boao Forum
for Asia (popularly also known as ‘Asian Davos’, in a diplomatic boost to the think-tank modelled
after the World Economic Forum which is held annually in Davos.
The second session of the Boao forum was held in a town Boao in China’s Hainan province.
The theme was: ‘An Open and Innovative Asia for a World of Greater Prosperity’.
Ban Ki-moon is South Korean diplomat and was eighth Secretary-General of United Nations from
January 2007 to December 2016.
BFA is non-profit organisation that hosts high-level forums for leaders from government,
business and academia in Asia and other continents to share their vision on most pressing issues
in this dynamic region and the world.
It was established in the year 2001.
Its first meeting was held in April 2002 and since then it is held annually. Its fixed address is held
annually in Boao, Hainan province, China although it has Secretariat in Beijing.
The Forum is committed to promoting regional economic integration and bringing Asian
countries even closer to their development goals.
Some facts: The Federation of Chambers of Commerce of India (FICCI) is one of the founding
members of BFA and famous Industrialist Ratan Tata was one of the board members.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has launched 'Project Dhoop', an
initiative aimed at shifting the school assembly time to noon mainly between 11:00 a.m. to 1:00
p.m. to ensure maximum absorption of Vitamin D in students through natural sunlight.
Significance:
Micronutrients including vitamins are needed by people in only very small amounts, but these
are the "magic wands" that enable the body to produce enzymes, hormones and other
substances essential for proper growth and development.
As tiny as the amounts are, the consequences of their absence are severe particularly children
and pregnant women in countries like India.
National Safe Motherhood Day is observed on April 11 of every year to enforce that women
must have the availability and adequate access to care during pregnancy, childbirth and
postnatal services.
It is an initiative of the White Ribbon Alliance India (WRAI). It is an alliance of 1800 organizations.
In 2003, at the request of WRAI, the government declared 11th April as the National Safe
Motherhood Day, which is the anniversary of Kasturba Gandhi’s birth.
Theme 2018: Respectful Maternity Care
The Union government has set up a 12-member panel to review the enforcement of CSR
provisions under the Companies Act, 2014 as well as look at having a centralised scrutiny and
prosecution mechanism to deal with violations.
The 12-member panel is headed by Regional Director (Western Region) Manmohan Juneja.
There will be two sub-committees viz. legal and technical that will go into various aspects in
relation to compliance with CSR provisions.
The latest move by the Corporate Affairs Ministry, which is implementing the Companies Act,
comes little over four years after the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) norms came into force
on April 1, 2014.
The panel would revisit the guidelines for enforcement of CSR provisions and basis, including
structure of Centralised Scrutiny and Prosecution Mechanism (CSPM).
It will also look at methodologies for monitoring of compliance by companies with CSR norms for
having an effective CSPM.
The panel will revisit Schedule VII of Companies Act, 2013, on the basis of references received
from stakeholders, including ministries and department of centre and states, members of
Parliament, member of state legislatures and civil societies.
Schedule VII pertains to the board list of CSR activities that can be taken up under the Act.
It was constituted in February 2018 with an aim to ensure sustainable economic growth of North
Eastern Region (NER) and periodically review the development status in NER.
The forum will be co-chaired by the Vice-Chairman of NITI Aayog and Minister of State (I/C),
Ministry of Development of Northeastern Region (DoNER). The forum will have its Secretariat in
the Ministry of DoNER.
The NITI Forum for Northeast is tasked to identify various constraints on the way of accelerated,
inclusive and sustainable economic growth in the North East Region of the country and to
recommend suitable interventions for addressing identified constraints.
It will also review the development status in the NER.
Current News:
5 development missions launched: These were launched for sectors like horticulture, tourism
and food processing in the region.
Other missions will cover bamboo-based handicrafts and medium scale industries with focus on
‘Make in North-East’.
The focus of development projects in the region will be based on the concept of "HIRA" which
stands for Highways, Internet ways, Railways and Airways. The emphasis will also be on
education, health and skill development in the region.
India has been ranked 130th among 180 countries in the annual Index of Economic Freedom
report released by American think tank Heritage Foundation.
India’s score is 54.5 in 2018.
India was ranked 143rd with the score of 52.6 points in 2017.
India's overall score has increased by 1.9 points, led by improvements in judicial effectiveness,
business freedom, government integrity, and fiscal health.
The countries are ranked on a score of 0 (least free) to 100 (most free).
Countries are ranked under 5 categories according to their scores -- free (100-80), mostly free
(79.9-70), moderately free (69.9-60) mostly unfree (59.9-50) and repressed (49.9-0).
The score is based on 12 factors of economic freedom, separated into four categories, using
statistics from international organizations like World Bank, IMF, Economist Intelligence Unit and
Transparency International.
Property rights, government integrity, tax burden, judicial effectiveness, government spending, fiscal
health, business freedom, monetary freedom, labor freedom, trade freedom, investment freedom and
financial freedom.
The top 10 countries: Hong Kong, Singapore, New Zealand, Switzerland, Australia, Ireland, Estonia,
United Kingdom, Canada and UAE.
The Asian Development Outlook 2018 released by Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected
India’s economic growth to 7.3% in 2018-19 fiscal and further to 7.6% in 2019-20 fiscal.
The Asian Development Report is published every year in March/April with an update
published in September and brief supplements published in July and December.
ADB is a regional development bank which aims to promote social and economic development
in Asia.
It was established in December 1966. It is headquartered in Manila, Philippines.
Currently, it has 67 members of which 48 are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
As of 2014, Japan was largest shareholder (capital subscription) of ADB having 15.7% shares
followed by US (15.6%), China (6.5%), India (6.4%), and Australia (5.8%).
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to put in place a system for daily reporting of
individual transactions by banks under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).
LRS is facility provided by RBI for all resident individuals including minors to freely remit up to
certain amount in terms of US Dollar for current and capital account purposes or combination of
both.
The move is aimed at improving the monitoring and ensuring compliance with the LRS ceilings.
Indians were currently allowed to invest overseas $250,000 (Rs.1.5 crore) a year per person.
Current situation:
Currently, transactions under Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) are being permitted by
authorised dealer (AD) banks based on the declaration made by the remitter.
As such, it is difficult for the authorised dealer banks to monitor/ensure that a remitter has not
breached the prescribed limit by approaching multiple authorised dealer banks.
Now under tightened reporting norms, daily reporting system by Authorised Dealer (AD) banks
of transactions undertaken by individuals under LRS has been placed, which will be accessible to
all the other ADs.
It will be mandatory for banks to upload daily transaction-wise information undertaken by them
under LRS.
The scheme was introduced in February 2004 and its regulations are provided under Foreign
Exchange Management Act (FEMA), 1999.
Under LRS, individuals can make remittances for overseas education, travel, medical treatment,
maintenance to relatives living abroad, gifting and donations.
The remitted money can be used for purchase of shares and property as well.
Individuals can also open, maintain and hold foreign currency accounts with overseas banks for
carrying out transactions under it.
There are certain restrictions as well.
Under LRS, remittances cannot be used for trading on foreign exchange markets, purchase of
Foreign Currency Convertible Bonds issued abroad by Indian companies and margin or margin
calls to overseas exchanges and counterparties.
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Similarly, individuals are not allowed to send money to countries identified as ‘non-cooperative
jurisdictions’ by Financial Action Task Force (FAFT).
The Union government has extended the phase-1 of FAME (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing
of (Hybrid &) Electric Vehicles) India scheme for a further period of six months up to September
30, 2018.
The extension is deemed to have taken effect on 1st April 2018.
25 RBI switches back to GDP model from GVA model to measure economy:
The Reserve Bank of India has switched back to the gross domestic product (GDP)-based measure to
offer its growth estimates from the gross value added (GVA) methodology, citing global best practices.
Background:
Government had started analysing growth estimates using GVA methodology from January 2015
and had also changed the base year to 2018 from January.
Even the Central Statistical Office (CSO) has started using GDP model as supply-side measure of
economic activity as main measure of economic activity as main measure of economic activities
since January 15, 2018.
The GVA methodology gives picture of state of economic activity from producers’ side or supply side
whereas the GDP model gives picture from consumer’s side or demand perspective.
26 Special 301 Report: USTR again places India Priority Watch List
The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) released the 2018 Special 301 Report
identifying trading partners that do not adequately or effectively protect and enforce intellectual
property (IP) rights or otherwise deny market access to US companies that rely on protection of
their IP rights.
The report calls on US trading partners to address IP-related challenges with a special focus on
the countries identified on the Watch List and Priority Watch List.
The Special 301 Report is an annual review of the global state of IP protection and enforcement.
USTR conducts the review pursuant to Section 182 of the Trade Act of 1974.
USTR identified 36 countries on the Priority Watch List or Watch List.
China along with India have been placed on the Priority Watch List
India remains on the Priority Watch List this year for longstanding challenges in its IP framework
and lack of sufficient measurable improvements, particularly with respect to patents, copyrights,
trade secrets, and enforcement, as well as for new issues that have negatively affected US right
holders over the past year.
Minor Forest Produce (MFP) is a subset of forest produce and got a definition only in 2007 when
the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006,
was enacted.
Section 2(i) of the said Act defines a Minor Forest Produce (MFP) as all non-timber forest produce of
plant origin and includes bamboo, brushwood, stumps, canes, Tusser, cocoon, honey, waxes, Lac,
tendu/kendu leaves, medicinal plants and herbs, roots, tuber and the like.
About UNCCD:
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change is the nodal Ministry for this Convention, as
well as the other two Rio Conventions - United Nations Framework Convention to Combat Climate
Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity, having their genesis in the Earth Summit in 1992
in Rio De Janerio, Brazil.
29 NSE’s India Index Services & Products Ltd (IISL) launches Nifty equity
savings index
The index will capture performance of portfolio having exposure to equity, equity arbitrage and debt
instruments in similar way to the investment philosophy of equity savings funds.
The Nifty Equity Savings Index has a 35% exposure to Nifty 50 Total Return Index, 30% exposure to equity
arbitrage (long position in Nifty 50 Total Return Index and equivalent short position in Nifty 50 Futures
Index), 30% exposure to Nifty Short Duration Debt Index and 5% exposure to Nifty 1D Rate Index.
The base date for the index is April 1, 2005 and base value is 1,000. The index is calculated on an end-
of-day basis.
IISL, a subsidiary of the NSE provides a variety of indices and index related services and products
for the Indian capital markets.
It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra
The National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSE) is the leading stock exchange of India, located
in Mumbai.
The NSE was established in 1992 as the first demutualized electronic exchange in the country.
NSE was the first exchange in the country to provide a modern, fully automated screen-based
electronic trading system which offered easy trading facility to the investors spread across the
length and breadth of the country.
Vikram Limaye is Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO) of NSE.
NSE's flagship index, the NIFTY 50, the 50 stock index is used extensively by investors in India
and around the world as a barometer of the Indian capital markets.
Nifty 50 index was launched in 1996 by the NSE
About AIM:
With a view to give substantial boost to the innovation ecosystem and to catalyse the
entrepreneurial spirit in the country, Finance Minister in his Budget Speech 2015-16 announced
the Government's intention to establish the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and a mechanism to
be known as SETU in NITI with an initial sum of Rs. 500 crore and Rs. 1000 crore respectively.
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The AIM and SETU have been initiated as a follow up of Union Budget 2015-16 announcements.
Further, it was observed that AIM is a Mission and SETU is an approach. Therefore, there is one
umbrella scheme titled as 'AIM' which will have two sub-components – i) Innovation; and ii)
SETU, wherein the innovators would be supported and mentored as successful entrepreneurs.
The Atal Innovation Mission has two core functions: Entrepreneurship promotion through Self-
Employment and Talent Utilization, wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to
become successful entrepreneurs and Innovation promotion: to provide a platform where
innovative ideas are generated
To realize these two core objectives, AIM has different sub-components. Atal Incubation
Centers, Atal Tinkering Laboratories, Atal Grand Challenge Awards and Scale up Support to
Established Incubation Centers.
31 ITC ties up with NITI Aayog to train 2 lakh farmers to increase their income
NITI Aayog and ITC Ltd have planned to collaborate in the area of agriculture and allied sectors
in order to strengthen farming systems across 25 aspirational districts.
The partnership is for a period of four years till April 2022 with the prime objective of increasing
net returns from farming through reduction in costs of production and increasing productivity of
major crops in each of the identified district.
The 25 aspirational districts covers States of Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh,
Rajasthan, Bihar and Jharkhand.
ITC will promote best practices and technologies, set-up demonstration farms and also create
master trainers from government extension workers. Master trainers will be created at the block
level. The company will also work out the logistics to ensure the farmers are trained even at the
gram panchayat level.
Launched by the Centre in January, the ‘transformation of aspirational districts’ program aims
to quickly and effectively improve the performance of these districts across identified key
performance indicators in sectors which improves quality of life and economic productivity in
areas like health and nutrition, education, agriculture and water resource management, financial
inclusion, skill development and basic infrastructure.
Published every year since 2002 by Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the World Press Freedom
Index is an important advocacy tool based on the principle of emulation between states.
The Index ranks 180 countries according to the level of freedom available to journalists.
It is a snapshot of the media freedom situation based on an evaluation of pluralism,
independence of the media, quality of legislative framework and safety of journalists in each
country.
The degree of freedom available to journalists in 180 countries is determined by pooling the
responses of experts to a questionnaire devised by RSF.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has approved
Centrally Sponsored Scheme of National Bamboo Mission (NBM) under National Mission for
Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA) during remaining period of Fourteenth Finance Commission
(2018-19 & 2019-20).
The Mission would ensure holistic development of the bamboo sector by addressing complete
value chain and establishing effective linkage of producers (farmers) with industry.
Expenditure:
An outlay of Rs.1290 crore (with Rs. 950 crore as Central share) is provisioned for implementation
of the Mission during the remaining period of 14th Finance Commission (2018-19 and 2019-20).
Beneficiaries:
The scheme will benefit directly and indirectly the farmers as well as local artisans and associated
personnels engaged in bamboo sector including associated industries.
Since it is proposed to bring about one lakh ha area under plantation, it is expected that about
one lakh farmers would be directly benefitted in terms of plantation.
The Mission will focus on development of bamboo in limited States where it has social,
commercial and economical advantage, particularly in the North Eastern region and States
including Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka, Uttarakhand, Bihar,
Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
The Mission is expected to establish about 4000 treatment/ product development units and bring
more than 100000 ha area under plantation.
Background:
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) between India and Sao Tome and Principe on cooperation in the field of Medicinal
Plants.
Background:
India is one of the richest countries in the world in terms of biodiversity, having 15 agro-climatic
zones.
Out of the 17000-18000 species of flowering plants, more than 7000 are estimated to have
medicinal usage in folk and documented systems of medicine like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha &
Homoeopathy (AYUSH System of Medicine).
About 1178 species of medicinal plants are estimated to be in trade of which 242 species have
annual consumption levels in excess of 100 metric tonnes/year.
There is global resurgence in traditional and alternative health care systems resulting in world
herbal trade which stands at US$ 120 billion and is expected to reach US$ 7 trillion by 2050.
The Ministry of AYUSH is having mandate to promote, propagate and globalize the Traditional
Systems of Medicine including Ayurveda, Yoga and Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-Rigpa and
Homoeopathy.
It has taken numerous effective steps by entering into MoU with Malaysia, Trinidad & Tobago,
Hungry, Bangladesh, Nepal, Mauritius, Mongolia, Iran for cooperation in traditional medicine.
As per paragraph 6(1) of the Fifth Schedule {Article 244(1)} to the Constitution of India, the
expression 'Scheduled Areas' means ‘such areas as the President may by order declare to be
Scheduled Areas'.
In accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6(2) of the Fifth Schedule to the Constitution, the
President may at any time by order increase the area of any Scheduled Area in a State after
consultation with the Governor of that State; rescind, in relation to any State or States, any order
or orders made under this paragraph, and in consultation with the Governor of the State
concerned, make fresh orders redefining the areas which are to be Scheduled Areas.
The Scheduled Areas were first notified in the year 1950.
Subsequently, Constitution Orders specifying the Scheduled Areas were issued for State of
Rajasthan in1981.
Due to reorganization/creation of new districts and changes in population of Scheduled Tribes as
per 2011 Census, the Government of Rajasthan has requested for extension of Scheduled Areas
in the State of Rajasthan.
37 CCEA approves Minimum Support Prices for Raw Jute for 2018-19 season
The government has increased the minimum support price (MSP) of raw jute by Rs 200 per
quintal to Rs 3,700 per quintal for the 2018-19 crop season.
The increased MSP is based on recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and
Prices (CACP).
The decision would benefit jute farmers mainly in West Bengal, Assam and Bihar, which account
for 95 per cent of the country’s jute production.
The government in the Budget for 2018-19 had announced fixing MSPs at 1.5 times the cost of
production for various crops.
The Jute Corporation of India would continue to act as central nodal agency to undertake price
support operations at the MSP in jute growing states.
About MSP
Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to
insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the
sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for
Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
In formulating the recommendations in respect of the level of minimum support prices and other
non-price measures, the CACP takes into account a comprehensive view of the entire structure
of the economy of a particular commodity or group of commodities.
Other Factors include cost of production, changes in input prices, input-output price parity, trends
in market prices, demand and supply, inter-crop price parity, effect on industrial cost structure,
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effect on cost of living, effect on general price level, international price situation, parity between
prices paid and prices received by the farmers and effect on issue prices and implications for
subsidy
About CACP
38 Government signs loan agreement with World Bank for Innovate in India
for Inclusiveness Project
A Loan Agreement for IBRD credit of US$ 125 (equivalent) for the “Innovate in India for
Inclusiveness Project” was signed with the World Bank on 24th April, 2018.
The Objectives of the project is to nurture indigenous innovation, foster local product
development and accelerate commercialization process by bridging critical skill and infrastructure
gaps to promote affordable and innovative healthcare products generation for inclusive
development and increasing competitiveness in India.
National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)-India is a national level strategy for reduction in air
pollution levels at both regional and urban scales.
Goal of NCAP is to meet the prescribed annual average ambient air quality standards at all
locations in the country in a stipulated timeframe.
There are many ongoing government initiatives like National Air Quality Monitoring
Programme, National Ambient Air Quality Standards, National Air Quality Index, Forty two
action point, Environment Pollution (Prevention and Control) Authority, Graded Response
Action Plan, etc.
However, there are gaps in the ongoing government initiatives and existing air pollution status,
the need is felt for augmentation of our efforts towards mitigation of air pollution in mission
mode. Comprehensive strategy in NCAP is being envisaged to plug the gaps in maintenance of
air quality in the country.
40 Government inks $210 million loan agreement with World Bank for
Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project
The Government of India, the Government of Madhya Pradesh and the World Bank have signed
a 210 million dollar loan agreement for the Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project.
The project is expected to improve the durability, resilience, and safety of the gravel-surfaced
rural roads and enhance the capacity of the state to manage its rural roads network.
The new joint project will cover 10,510 km stretch of rural roads in Madhya Pradesh that fall
under the Chief Minister's Gram Sadak Yojana (CMGSY) programme.
Of this, 10,000 km will be upgraded from existing gravel to bituminous surface roads, while 510
km of new roads will be built to the same bituminous surface standard.
The project will undertake resilience measures such as surface sealing of roads, embankment
pitching and balancing culverts to prevent damages caused by extreme flood events.
About Malaria:
The disease is caused by the Plasmodium parasites, which is spread to people through the bite
of an infected female Anopheles mosquito, also known as malaria vectors.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for restructured Centrally
Sponsored Scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA).
The Scheme will be implemented during the period from 01.04.2018 to 31.03.2022 at the total
cost of Rs. 7255.50 crore with the Central Share of Rs. 4500 crore and that of State Share of Rs.
2755.50 crore.
This scheme will extend to all States and UTs of the Country and will also include institutions of
rural local government in non-Part IX areas, where Panchayats do not exist.
The implementation and monitoring of the activities of the scheme will broadly be aligned for
achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with main thrust on Panchayats identified
under Mission Antyodaya and 115 Aspirational districts as identified by NITI Aayog.
The approved scheme of RGSA will help more than 2.55 lakh Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs)
to develop governance capabilities to deliver on SDGs through inclusive local governance with
focus on optimum utilisation of available resources.
Background:
The Finance Minister, in his budget speech for 2016-17, announced the launch of new
restructured scheme of Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan (RGSA), for developing governance
capabilities of Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) to deliver on the Sustainable Development Goals
(SDGs).
A Committee under the Chairmanship of the Vice Chairman-NITI Aayog was then constituted to
restructure the existing scheme of this Ministry as Rashtriya Gram Swaraj Abhiyan.
In his Budget Speech for 2017-18, the Finance Minister announced to undertake a Mission
Antyodaya to bring one crore households out of poverty to make 50,000 Gram Panchayats
poverty free.
In India, 8.88 crore households are found to be deprived and poor households as per Socio
Economic Caste Census (SECC) of 2011 from the perspective of multi-dimensional deprivations
such as shelterlessness, landlessness, households headed by single women, SC/ST household or
disabled member in the family.
These households require targeted interventions under government’s various schemes and
programmes in areas such as wage creation, skill generation, social security, education, health,
nutrition and livelihood creation.
In this context, ‘Mission Antyodaya’ seeks to converge government interventions with Gram
Panchayats as the basic unit for planning by following a saturation approach by pooling resources
- human and financial - to ensure sustainable livelihoods
A Gram Panchayat is the basic unit for monitoring transformation and for ranking on the basis
of objective criteria.
Given the diverse size of Gram Panchayats, 5,000 Clusters comprising of nearly 50,000 Gram
Panchayats have been selected by the States purposively for implementing the 'Mission
Antyodaya' Framework.
In partnership with State Governments, Department of Rural Development in Dec 2017
completed the ranking of 50,000 Gram Panchayats on parameters of physical infrastructure,
human development and economic activities.
This ranking provided a baseline on physical infrastructure, human development and economic
activities. The progress over the years would be monitored both at the level of Households and
Gram Panchayats to see the change, that would be brought through interventions over the next
1000 days.
National Panchayati Raj Day (National Local Self-Government day) is the national day
of India celebrated by Ministry of Panchayati Raj on 24 April annually.
The Constitution (73rd Amendment) Act, 1992 that came into force with effect from 24th April,
1993 has vested constitutional status on Panchayati Raj institutions. This date thus marks a
defining moment in the history of decentralization of political power to the grassroots level.
Accordingly, the Government of India decided in consultation with the States to celebrate 24th
April as National Panchayati Raj Day.
The 73rd Amendment 1992 added a new Part IX to the constitution titled “The Panchayats”
covering provisions from Article 243 to 243(O); and a new Eleventh Schedule covering 29
subjects within the functions of the Panchayats.
According to recently released Migration and Development Brief by World Bank, India topped
as the highest recipient of remittances globally in 2017, with its diaspora sending back $69 billion.
Remittances to India picked up sharply by 9.9 per cent in 2017, reversing the previous year's dip,
but were still short of USD 70.4 billion received in 2014.
China ($64 billion), the Philippines ($33 billion), Mexico ($31 billion), Nigeria ($22 billion), and
Egypt ($20 billion) followed India.
Migration and Development Briefs are prepared by the Migration and Remittances Unit,
Development Economics (DEC).
The brief aims to provide an update on key developments in the area of migration and remittance
flows and related policies over the past six months.
It also provides medium-term projections of remittance flows to developing countries.
A special topic is included in each brief.
The brief is produced twice a year.
45 Diu Smart City: First to run on 100% Renewable Energy during daytime
Diu Smart City has become the first city in India, that runs on 100% renewable energy during
daytime setting a new benchmark for other cities to become clean and green.
Diu had been importing 73% of its power from Gujarat until last year.
It has now adopted a two-pronged approach whereby a 9 MW solar park spread over 50 hectares
rocky barren land has been developed besides installing solar panels on the roof tops on 79
government buildings thereby generating 1.3 MW annually.
Background:
The concept of observing Earth Day was formally proposed by John McConnell at UNESCO
conference on Environment in 1969.
Later in 1971, a proclamation was signed to observe international Earth Day annually on the
Vernal Equinox by UN Secretary-General U Thant.
It was first celebrated in 1970, and since then it is celebrated every year in more than 193
countries.
West Bengal government has given its approval to the State Forest Department to apply for
recognition under the Ramsar Convention.
Being conferred the status of a wetland of international importance will not only be a matter of
pride for the Sunderbans but also bring a lot of international scientific attention and intervention
to the area.
Sundarbans is vast contiguous mangrove forest ecosystem in the coastal region of Bay of Bengal
spread across India and Bangladesh.
It covers approximately 10,000 square kilometres of area of which 60% is in Bangladesh and
remaining in India.
It is located in delta region of Padma, Meghna and Brahmaputra river basins
The Indian Sunderbans, with 2,114 sq. km. of mangrove forests, comprise almost 43% of the
mangrove cover in the country according to a 2017 Forest Survey of India report.
Other than the forests, home to about 100 Royal Bengal tigers, the creeks and river systems of
the Sunderbans are also part of the reserve forest.
Once conferred a Ramsar site status, it will be the largest protected wetland in the country.
World Wetlands Day is celebrated every year on 2 February to raise global awareness about the value
of wetlands for humanity and the planet.
It also marks the adoption of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands in 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar.
Union Cabinet has approved an ordinance to allow courts to pronounce the death penalty to
those convicted of raping children up to 12 years of age.
The criminal law amendment ordinance seeks to amend the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Evidence
Act, the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences
(POCSO) Act to introduce a new provision to sentence convicts of such crimes to death.
The Ordinance also prescribes the minimum punishment in case of rape of women to increase
from rigorous imprisonment of 7 years to 10 years, extendable to life imprisonment.
In case of rape of a girl under 16 years, minimum punishment has been increased from 10 years
to 20 years, extendable to imprisonment for rest of life, which means imprisonment till that
person’s natural life.
For speedy trial of rape cases, new fast track courts will be set up in consultation with States/UTs
and High Courts.
The ordinance also prescribes that there will be no provision for anticipatory bail for a person
accused of rape or gang rape of a girl under 16 years.
Existing provisions of the POCSO Act provide for life imprisonment, though after
the Nirbhaya case in 2012 the Centre had introduced the death penalty in cases where a woman
either dies or is left in a vegetative state after rape.
The Health Ministry has decided to roll out an initiative for prevention and control of viral
hepatitis.
It will have a budget of more than 517 crore rupees for three years.
Under the initiative, the ministry intends to scale up to 100 treatment and 665 testing centres
over a period of next three years in all states.
It is also proposed to establish 15 model treatment centres, which will function as referral
centres for diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C and assist in capacity building.
Components such as surveillance, awareness generation, immunisation, safe blood, injection
safety infection control, diagnosis of viral hepatitis, capacity building, research and monitoring
would be addressed under the initiative.
Hepatitis is most often caused by a virus and most common types of viral hepatitis are Hepatitis A,
Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C.
Viral hepatitis is recognised as a public health problem worldwide. India is committed to ending viral
hepatitis by 2030.
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), the worth of the economy, clocked in at $2.6 trillion for
2017, according to the database of the International Monetary Fund’s World Economic Outlook
(WEO).
India is now the world’s sixth largest economy, displacing France. The five economies ahead are
the United States, China, Japan, Germany and United Kingdom.
World liver day is observed on every 19 April, to spread awareness about liver related disease.
The 2018 theme for WLD is ‘Riding New Waves in Liver Diagnosis, Staging & Treatment’
According to WHO, liver diseases are the 10th most common cause of death in India.
The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has launched integration of e-SANAD
portal and NAD – National Academic Depository in a bid to make education system in India more
transparent.
About e- Sanad:
e-Sanad is aimed at online verification of the documents with an objective to extend contactless,
cashless and paperless document attestation service to applicants in India as well as abroad.
About NAD:
The National Academic Depository (NAD) is aninter-operable digital store house of academic
awards (degrees, diplomas, certificates, mark-sheets, etc.),available on 24 X 7 online mode.
It provides a system for lodging, retrieval, authentication and verification of academic awards in
digital format for students, academic institutions, boards, eligibility assessment bodies and other
user/verifying entities like bank, employer companies, government agencies and academic
institutions.
It was launched on 9 July 2017 and comprises of two interoperable digital depositories viz. NSDL
Database Management Limited (NDML) and CDSL Ventures Limited (CVL).
These digital depositories have ensured hardware, network facilities and software of prescribed
quality for smooth and secured operationalisation of NAD.
The first meeting of National Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges under POSHAN Abhiyaan was held
in New Delhi.
It has been set up under POSHAN Abhiyaan is the apex body to formulate overall policies, guide and
monitor all nutrition based schemes. The mandate of the Council is:
1. To provide policy directions to address India’s Nutrition Challenges through coordinated inter-
sectoral action
2. To coordinate and review convergence among ministries
3. To review programmes for nutrition on a quarterly basis
The Council will submit its report to the Prime Minister every six months.
POSHAN Abhiyaan was launched on 8th March 2018 by the Prime Minister in Jhunjhunu.
Stunting:
It is defined as the percentage of children, aged 0 to 59 months, whose height for age is below
minus two standard deviations (moderate and severe stunting) and minus three standard
deviations (severe stunting) from the median of the WHO Child Growth Standards.
In India, 38 per cent of children younger than five years of age are stunted, a manifestation
of chronic undernutrition.
Stunting and other forms of under-nutrition are thought to be responsible for nearly half of all
child deaths globally.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO) has
projected India to grow at 7.4% in 2018 and 7.8% in 2019. (See the image above)
It also held that India will again emerge as world’s fastest-growing major economy at least for
the next two years (2019 and 2020).
The Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, has decided to issue
sovereign gold bond, 2018-19-Series-I.
The sovereign gold bond 2018-19, Series-I, will be sold through banks, Stock Holding Corporation
of India Limited (SHCIL), designated post offices and recognised stock exchanges namely the
NSE and BSE.
Under the scheme, the bonds are denominated in units of one gram of gold and multiples
thereof.
The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has launched FIEO GlobalLinker- a digital platform for
MSME exporters to digitise their businesses and join a global community of growing businesses.
This initiative will help in expanding India's multi-focused export strategy and also aid in
connecting art and artisans to the market.
FIEO GlobalLinker is setup with a view to make the business growth of SMEs simpler, more
profitable and enjoyable.
It is a growing global network currently comprising over 140,000 SME firms, who are seeking
business collaboration and growth opportunities through the use of their electronic business card
and digital profiles created on the platform.
FIEO is available free of cost and it offers exporters a range of features and benefits like:
Business Opportunities: Exporters will be able to find clients, suppliers and advisors using the
search and review facilities. Creating a free e-commerce store for direct sales and improved chain
management.
The World Bank in its twice-a-year South Asia Economic Focus report has projected growth rate
of 7.3% for India in 2018 and 7.5% for 2019 and 2020.
The growth is expected to accelerate from 6.7% in 2017 to 7.3% in 2018 and to subsequently
stabilise supported by sustained recovery in private investment and private consumption.