9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – August 12th, 2022

Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• The slow execution of the police as an institution continues. Who will save it?
• What is the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022?
• Survey data on poverty and broad policy pointers
• Punishing Process
• Regulating digital lending
• The Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 is a colonial burden on Goa

GS Paper 3

• State Holds Back Nation
• In the field

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Over 7% Indians own digital currency; 7th highest in the world
• Gold ETFs log Rs 457 crore outflow in July
• Explained: What is the controversial ‘Butterfly Mine’ Russia has allegedly used in Ukraine?
• Freebies against democracy but legislation against them not advisable: SC
• Ministry of Heavy Industries launches Automated Online Data Transfer for capturing critical data related to Domestic Value Addition (DVA) from the PLI applicant’s ERP system to PLI Auto Portal
• Sebi proposes blue bonds concept for sustainable financing activities
• Explained: What RBI’s surveys tell about India’s economy
• National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) achieves target of training 1 million students on Intellectual Property(IP) awareness
• Global Employment Trends for Youth: Youth employment deteriorated in India: ILO report

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

The slow execution of the police as an institution continues. Who will save it?

News: The political “masters” tries to create a nexus between them and the police through police stations.

Why police stations are crucial for politicians?

Police stations and outposts are the forums where maximum citizen-police interactions take place.

If the officer in charge of the police station is impartial, efficient and compassionate, then no one will approach the local member of the legislature (MLA) or parliament (MP). So, the political leaders try to create a nexus.

How do the politicians create nexus with the police?

At station level: The strategy commonly used is to have a police station “manned” by an officer of choice who, in turn, pays daily obeisance to the politician along with that the officer does not bother to conceal.

The officer in charge would naturally allocate “beats” to constables who give more time to local “dadas” instead of investigating crime or maintaining order.

District police level: Politicians influence the district police chief to appoint cronies of his choice. This hand-picked team will collect from street hawkers, traders, merchants, restaurants and bar owners. The collection is redistributed between everyone in the station as the system is understood by all.

Money is needed by the officers to secure “good” postings, by politicians for their lifestyle desires and their parties for election purposes.

Posting of zonal Inspectors General of police: There are not many senior officers and many of them would look for “right” postings. The officer will also be provided with favourable media coverage and installed with great fanfare.

Influence on Judiciary: The judiciary is burdened with the weight of its mounting pendency. Further, for judges, post-retirement avenues are totally dependent on the executive.

The Indian Penal Code defines conspiracy as an illegal act and holds each conspirator to be equally responsible. But politicians de-construct and destroy institutions without any punishments.

What is the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022?

News: The Ministry of Home Affairs recently notified that the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022 will come into effect from August. It also repeals the existing Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920.

What are the salient provisions of the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022?

What is the use of identification details in criminal trials?

Measurements and photographs for identification have three main purposes. 1) To establish the identity of the culprit against the person being arrested, 2) To identify suspected repetition of similar offences by the same person and 3) To establish a previous conviction.

What was the need to replace the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920?

In State of UP vs Ram Babu Misra case: The Supreme Court highlighted the need for amending the Identification of Prisoners Act.

87th Report of the Law Commission of India in 1980: The Commission undertook a review of the Identification of Prisoners Act based on the Supreme Court ruling and the numerous amendments made to the Act by several States.

The commission recommended several amendments.

These include a) Expanding the scope such as “palm impressions”, “specimen of signature or writing” and “specimen of voice”, b)  Allowing measurements to be taken for proceedings other than those under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC).

What is the difference between the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 and the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022?

What are the concerns associated with the Criminal Procedure (Identification) Act, 2022?

The other concerns are,

1) The inclusion of derivative data such as “analysis” and “behavioural attributes” have raised concerns that data processing may go beyond recording of core “measurements”.

2) Unlike the Identification of Prisoners Act, 1920 the present Act allows for “measurements” to be taken if a person has been convicted/arrested for any offence, including petty offences. This has the following issues,

a) The necessity of taking measurements of such persons for investigation of offences is unclear, b) Likely to result in abuse of the law at lower levels, c)  overburdening of the systems used for collection and storage of “measurements”.

3) Large collection of data can also result in mass surveillance, with the database being combined with other databases such as those of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS).

What should be done?

Though the Act will aid police in predictive policing. Purposes for collecting “analysis” and “behavioural attributes” need to be better defined.

The Central government said that the privacy and data protection-related concerns will be addressed in the Rules formulated under the legislation and through model Prison Manuals that States can refer to. This has to be done at the earliest.

Survey data on poverty and broad policy pointers

News: Academics have questioned the quality of NFHS data on poverty statistics for various reasons.

About India’s Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI)

NITI Aayog used the survey data of NFHS 4 to estimate the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) and published the baseline report in 2021. The MPI is a product of the Head Count Ratio and Intensity of Poverty.

Rationale for the MPI: poverty is the outcome of simultaneous deprivations in multiple functions such as attainments in health, education, and standard of living.

Calculating method: NITI Aayog identified 12 indicators in these three sectors and calculated the weighted average of deprivations. The proportion of the population with a deprivation score greater than 0.33 to the total population is defined as the Poverty Ratio or Head Count Ratio.

Estimation of the Intensity of Poverty: is the weighted-average deprivation score of the multidimensionally poor. For instance, the Intensity of Poverty in Tamil Nadu declined from 39.97% to 38.78% during this period.

What are the concerns associated with the NITI Aayog’s poverty index?

Firstly, the overall population was deprived in most of the indicators individually, and they were higher than the population identified as multidimensionally poor.

Secondly, the strength of the MPI as an instrument for a data-driven public policy depends on the quality of survey data, namely the NFHS data.

What are the factors affecting the quality of NFHS data?

The National Sample Survey Organisation’s (NSSO) sample surveys have been debated among economists and statisticians, both in terms of sampling and non-sample errors, right from its initial days in the 1950s.

The NFHS data were collected in two time periods. One before the pandemic and the other post-lockdown period. The difference in time period interprets the statistics of the entire database. For instance, the deprivation in terms of nutrition and maternal health declined, and schooling and school attendance increased in the post-lockdown period.

The other issues with NFHS data are a) Arbitrariness in reporting the age of the dead, b) Differences in data quality between educated and uneducated respondents, c) Data quality based on differences in time taken to complete a survey of different household types, d) Market-based approach to decide the data collection process, etc.

All these have serious implications for health data such as fertility and death rates.

What should be done with the NFHS Data and to reduce poverty?

For improving the NFHS: a) India should improve the sample design and response quality, b) Analysing the data and finding the inferences from different databases on an issue would help improve data gathering systems. c) The government must continue to use survey data both to derive policy conclusions and also to help improve data quality.

For reducing poverty: a) The survey data gives only broad policy pointers whereas programmatic interventions should be curated with ground-level realities, b) People may be deprived severely in a few functions, but may not be multidimensionally poor. Hence, attacking poverty should not only be multidimensional but also universal.

Punishing Process

News: Recently, the Supreme Court (SC) granted permanent medical bail to Varavara Rao on technical grounds, i.e., medical condition, advanced age, adherence to bail conditions, and delay in framing charges.

Observations Made by the SC in this case

Stringent restrictions against bail in laws like Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) don’t hinder constitutional courts from protecting fundamental rights.

What are the issues in the bail provisions of India

At present, too many accused, who have not been proven guilty, are in jail.

The laws like UAPA have defeated the principle of bail as the norm & jail as an exception. Because UAPA requires judges to deny bail if police cases seem to be prima facie true. For example, the Bhima Koregaon case.

Many accused die before bail. For example, Stan Swamy died in judicial custody, while waiting for the Bombay High Court to decide on his plea for bail on medical grounds.

In many cases, even the framing of charges isn’t over.

Undertrials as a percentage of the prison population have been steadily increasing and are 76% at present.

The stringent bail provisions of custody and associated long process delays are nothing but a form of punishment.

The Way Forward

For Justice UU Lalit, who heard Rao’s plea, and will be the next CJI, the problem of undertrial prisoners must take top priority.

The SC bench had proposed a comprehensive bail law. It has reiterated that courts must decide on bail applications within two weeks. Further, investigators must set down reasons for arrest, which trial courts must carefully scrutinize.

Regulating digital lending

News: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has published the first set of norms to regulate digital lending in India. Norms are based on the recommendations of a working group that was set up In January 2021.

Needs for regulation on digital lending

At present, digital lending is a nascent segment in the Indian financial sector.

There are anecdotal allegations of many frauds in this segment in India. Therefore, actions must be taken to protect citizens from such frauds.

The digital lenders are finding it hard to sell such products to digitally unaware customers who don’t understand the implications and fine print.

The central bank is concerned about the possibility of widespread defaults in this segment and cascading effects.

New Set of Norms

The RBI has created three buckets for entities in the digital loans market: (1) entities directly regulated by the RBI, (2) entities not regulated by the RBI but authorized to carry out lending in accordance with other provisions, and (3) entities involved in digital lending while being outside the purview of any regulations.

Set of new norms for the digital loan market

This market works on the basis of digital entities known as Lending Service Providers (LSP). These LSP act as intermediaries to arrange personal loans between lender and borrower. The loans are provided by a regulated entity, such as a bank.

In such cases, loan disbursements and repayments must be executed by direct transfers between the account of the borrower and the regulated entity providing the loan.

In this, any charges payable to the LSP in intermediation are paid by the regulated entity providing the loans, and not by the borrower.

Also, in any digital loan, a standardized key fact statement (KFS) must be provided to the borrower. Further, entities have to disclose the all-inclusive cost of digital loans in the form of an annual percentage rate (APR), which will be part of the KFS.

Any data collected from borrowers must be need-based, collected with a clear audit trail, and with explicit prior consent.

The borrower must have the “right to forget” where personal data can be deleted.

All digital lending products must be reported to credit information companies.

All digital loans must come with a cooling-off/look-up period during which the borrower can exit the loan by repaying the principal and the proportionate APR without penalty.

The regulated entities and the LSPs working with them must also have a nodal grievance redress officer to deal with FinTech and complaints related to digital lending. If any complaint is not resolved within a stipulated period of 30 days, a complaint can be lodged under the RBI’s integrated ombudsman scheme.

What should be done?

The RBI has said it would release a second set of norms after engagement with the government and other stakeholders.

The government needs to legislate for the norms and entities within the regulatory purview and should set up an institutional mechanism

The RBI could ensure greater transparency by mandating disclosure of all fees and charges.

The RBI could regularly release aggregated and anonymized data to give a sense of market size and growth rates.

The Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 is a colonial burden on Goa

News: Recently, a 28-member parliamentary standing committee visited Goa to study it in the context of the demand for a uniform civil code. The ministry of law has told the standing committee, that if the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 of Goa, requires review it must be looked into.

Case of Uniform Civil Code in Goa, Daman, and Diu

The Portuguese had occupied and established the Portuguese State of India in Goa, Daman, and Diu. They did not interfere with the local customs relating to family relations. Therefore, framed three separate codes of religion-based customary laws prevalent in Goa, Daman, and Diu.

One of them was the Portuguese Civil Code of 1867 which was extended to Goa, Daman, and Diu for the native subject.

Fourteen years after the advent of Independence, Goa and its affiliated territories were liberated and turned into a Union Territory (UT). Thereafter, the Goa, Daman, and Diu Administration Act of 1962 was enacted by the government which declared that all laws in force in the Goa, Daman, and Diu before their liberation would continue to be in force until amended or repealed.

Since then, the government has not made any significant amendments or repealed the pre-liberation family laws. Further, the Central governments have also not extended any central law on family rights, including the four Hindu law Acts of 1955-56, to any of the three territories.

The Government’s Stand

The Union Law Ministry has told the concerned standing committee of Parliament that the Portuguese civil code and its later amendments as in force in Goa may be reviewed if required.

Constitutional Mandate of Civil Codes in India

Article 44 of the Constitution of India requires the Central or State governments to endeavor toward enacting a uniform civil code (UCC) for the citizens throughout the territory of India.

What should be done?

The 21st Law Commission had given its opinion against the feasibility and need of such a code at this juncture.

The Law Ministry has told the parliamentary committee that enacting a uniform civil code would be possible only when a “sizeable majority” of the people seeks such a change in their personal laws.

GS Paper 3

State Holds Back Nation

News: India’s economic fundamentals and demographic composition can help it in making widespread prosperity a reality in the next two decades or so.

Strong Fundamentals of India

Economic Fundamentals

(1) The policy initiatives on infrastructure development, digitization of the economy, and a push towards rural development have created a conducive environment for inclusive growth.

(a) India’s transportation infrastructure has been improving steadily. Cities and towns in remote parts of the country are now much better connected. Therefore, there is increased mobility of labor, capital, and raw materials which could spur economic growth even in most interior parts of the country.

(2) Digitization of Indian Economy: In terms of digitization of the economy, India is by far the world leader in digital payments and transactions. For Example, in 2021, the number of real-time digital payment transactions in India was almost threefold that of China. The digital revolution has the potential to unlock the country’s entrepreneurial spirit.

(3) India has made commendable progress in improving the quality of life of its rural population. For example, rural India’s access to clean fuel for cooking increased from 18% of the population in 2012 to 54% in 2020.

Demographic Fundamental

India’s workforce can contribute to economic development through increased labor supply and higher productivity.

What is the metric to measure the increase in prosperity of India?

A key metric of the mass prosperity of any country is its per capita income. For India to come close to upper-middle-income countries on this metric, it needs a fourfold increase in its per capita income.

The Possible Measures to Achieve a Four-Fold Increase in Per-Capita Income

(1) Growth and distribution: (a) India’s GDP growth needs an average annual growth rate of 7% in the next 25 years, and (b) States like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh must grow at a much higher rate to catch up with more prosperous states like Gujarat and Haryana.

(2) Drivers of growth: India’s long-run economic growth will depend on an economic system that provides strong incentives for productivity gains through technological innovation and capital formation. For this India needs a market-based system, where the private sector is much involved

Can India achieve productivity gains and capital formation that can set it on a 7 % GDP growth rate path?

Although it is not easy, undoubtedly it is achievable due to the following reasons:

(1) India has irreversibly moved towards a market-based system since the 1991 liberalization.

(2) Furthermore, the speed of reform, like the pace of privatization has picked up in recent years.

What more measures do we need to move towards a 7% growth rate?

(1) India needs to speed up the privatization of the loss-making public sector banks: A market-based banking sector will be in a solid position to allocate capital efficiently and productively across different sectors of the economy. It will lead to the creative destruction of underperforming companies, and will eventually pave the way for sustained economic growth.

(2) In addition, India will also need a lot of new private enterprises like start-ups spread across the country to meet its growth target of 7%.

In the field

News: At present, the 11th agricultural census is being undertaken. This census is going to be vastly different and much more consequential than its past versions.

How is the 11^th agricultural census going to be very different?

For the first time, this huge exercise is being carried out fully digitally, on smartphones and tablets. It will make use of satellite mapping, drones, and digitized land records to ensure accuracy and early availability of data.

Issues in the implementation of agriculture and farmers-related ongoing schemes

Most of the subsidies, cheaper institutional credit, and other benefits, goes to absentee landlords instead of tillers of the land, tenants, share-croppers, and genuine farmers.

At present, policy planners have no precise idea of how many farmers and farm holdings are present in the country. For example, during the launch of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojana, farmers-related data collected during the 10th agricultural census 2015-16 was found to be inadequate.

The number of operational farm holdings found in the last census is believed to have changed substantially due to inheritance-driven division or fragmentation of land, sale, purchase, leasing, and diversion of farmland to other purposes. For example, many smallholders have become marginal farmers and a sizable section of the marginal farmers have turned into landless laborers since the 10^th census.

Parameters of the 11^th Agricultural Census

It would work to collect data on the number and size of the operational farm holdings, their class-wise distribution, land use, tenancy systems, and cropping patterns.

Importance of the 11^th Census

It would gather information based on operational holdings rather than their ownership. The former is more critical for precise targeting of resources, especially the financial and other sops being given to farmers by the Centre and state governments through income support and input subsidies as direct benefit transfers.

The government will use the updated statistics to reorient its farm policies to help small and marginal farmers to shift to relatively remunerative crops and agriculture’s allied activities.

It will help the government to improve the quality of the farm produce to global standards. This will contribute to enhancing its export potential.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Over 7% Indians own digital currency; 7th highest in the world

Source: The post is based on the article “Over 7% Indians own digital currency; 7th highest in the world” published in Livemint on 12th August 2022.

What is the News?

UNCTAD has released three policy briefs focuses on the implications of cryptocurrencies for the stability and security of monetary systems, and financial stability.

What are the key highlights from these reports?

Globally: Ukraine topped the list of countries with cryptocurrencies at 12.7%. It was followed by Russia (11.9%), Venezuela (10.3%), Singapore (9.4%), Kenya (8.5%) and the US (8.3%).

– Global use of cryptocurrencies has increased exponentially during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in developing countries.

– In 2021, developing countries accounted for 15 of the top 20 economies when it comes to the share of the population that owns cryptocurrencies.

India: Over 7% of India’s population owns digital currency in 2021.

– India ranked seventh in the list of top 20 global economies for digital currency ownership as a share of the population.

What are the risks of cryptocurrencies?

Firstly, if cryptocurrencies become widespread means they can even replace domestic currencies unofficially (a process called cryptoization), and this could jeopardize the monetary sovereignty of countries.

Secondly, while cryptocurrencies can facilitate remittances, they may also enable tax evasion and avoidance through illicit flows of funds to a tax haven where ownership is not easily identifiable.

What are the measures suggested by the report?

1) Ensure comprehensive financial regulation of cryptocurrencies through regulating crypto exchanges, digital wallets and decentralized finance. 2) Restrict advertisements related to cryptocurrencies as for other high-risk financial assets. 3) Provide a safe, reliable and affordable public payment system adapted to the digital era. 4) Agree and implement global tax coordination regarding cryptocurrency tax treatments, regulation and information sharing. 5) Redesign capital controls to take account of the decentralized, borderless and pseudonymous features of cryptocurrencies.

Gold ETFs log Rs 457 crore outflow in July

Source: The post is based on the article “Gold ETFs log Rs 457 crore outflow in July” published in Indian Express on 12th August 2022.

What is the News?

Gold Exchange Traded Funds(ETFs) witnessed a net outflow of Rs 457 crore in July as investors parked their money in other asset classes as part of their portfolio rebalancing strategy.

What are Gold Exchange Traded Funds(ETFs)?

Gold ETFs aim to track the domestic physical gold price. They are passive investment instruments that are based on gold prices and invest in gold bullion.

In short, Gold ETFs are units representing physical gold which may be in paper or dematerialised form. One gold ETF unit is equal to 1 gram of gold and is backed by physical gold of very high purity.

Hence, they basically combine the flexibility of stock investment and the simplicity of gold investments.

Benefits of Gold ETFs: 1) There is complete transparency on the holdings of an ETF and 2) There is no fear of theft as ETFs are safe and secure as units held in the Demat Account of the holder.

What are the reasons for Gold ETF’s outflow?

The significant Gold ETFs outflows seem to have risen out of investors’ expectations of a rising interest rate cycle leading to a fall in gold prices.

Also, a falling rupee is another factor that has likely impacted the demand and supply dynamics of gold. This trend has been witnessed globally too, with gold ETF’s posting significant outflows on the back of lower gold prices.

Explained: What is the controversial ‘Butterfly Mine’ Russia has allegedly used in Ukraine?

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained: What is the controversial ‘Butterfly Mine’ Russia has allegedly used in Ukraine?” published in Indian Express on 12th August 2022.

What is the News?

The UK Ministry of Defence in its intelligence assessment of the ongoing war in Ukraine has sounded an alarm on the possible use of ‘Butterfly Mines’ by the Russian military in Donetsk and Kramatorsk. 

What are Butterfly Mines?

The PFM-1 and PFM-1S are two kinds of anti-personnel landmines that are commonly referred to as ‘Butterfly mines’ or ‘Green Parrots’. These names are derived from the shape and colour of the mines.

These mines can be deployed in the field of action through several means, which include being dropped from helicopters or through ballistic dispersion using artillery and mortar shells. These mines glide to the ground without exploding and later explode on coming in contact. 

The main difference between the PFM-1 and PFM-1S mine is that the latter comes with a self-destruction mechanism which gets activated within one to 40 hours.

Why are these mines controversial?

The ‘Butterfly mine’ has earned a reputation for being particularly attractive to children because it looks like a coloured toy. It is very sensitive to touch and just the act of picking it up can set it off. 

These mines are also difficult to detect because they are made of plastic and can evade metal detectors.

Are these kinds of mines allowed in International Law?

The anti-personal mines are banned by the International Convention on Landmines but Russia and Ukraine are not signatories to it. 

However, there is a 1996 Amended Protocol II to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons-the Landmines Protocol to which Russia and Ukraine are signatories.

Freebies against democracy but legislation against them not advisable: SC

Source: The post is based on the article “Freebies against democracy but legislation against them not advisable: SC” published in Business Standard on 12th August 2022.

What is the News?

The Supreme Court has said that the legislation barring political parties from offering voters freebies is not advisable and to de-register them for making such promises would be “anti-democratic”.

What are Freebies?

Click Here to read about it

What are the Supreme Court’s observations on Freebies?

The Supreme Court acknowledged the impact of freebies promised by political parties on the country’s fiscal health was a serious issue. But it was not in favour of derecognising any party over it because that would be anti-democratic.

Note: The Supreme Court had earlier proposed to set up a committee with representation from the Niti Aayog, the Finance Commission, the Election Commission, the RBI and political parties to study the freebies issue. However, the election commission said that being a constitutional authority, it cannot be part of the committee. 

What are the other options suggested by petitioners to curb Freebies?

Include Freebies in RPA: One of the petitioners referred to a previous Supreme Court judgment in 2013 which suggested that a provision can be made under the Representation of People’s Act for political parties to say in their manifestos that they will not announce freebies in elections.

– However, the lawyer from the government said that such a provision would be difficult as most freebies are not part of parties’ manifestos but are declared during rallies and speeches.

Include Freebies as a corrupt practice: The definition of ‘corrupt practice’ may be enlarged to include freebies and there should be real consequences for making such promises.

Ministry of Heavy Industries launches Automated Online Data Transfer for capturing critical data related to Domestic Value Addition (DVA) from the PLI applicant’s ERP system to PLI Auto Portal

Source: The post is based on the article “Ministry of Heavy Industries  launches Automated Online Data Transfer for capturing critical data related to Domestic Value Addition (DVA) from the  PLI applicant’s ERP system to PLI Auto Portal” published in PIB on 11th August 2022.

What is the News?

The Ministry of Heavy Industries has launched Automated Online Data Transfer for capturing critical data related to Domestic Value Addition(DVA) from the PLI applicant’s ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system to PLI Auto Portal.

What is the PLI Scheme for the Auto Sector?

Launched in: 2021

Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Heavy Industries.

Aim: The scheme proposes financial incentives to boost domestic manufacturing of Advanced Automotive Technology(AAT) products and attract investments in the automotive manufacturing value chain.

Eligibility: The scheme incentivizes only those eligible AAT products for which a minimum of 50% Domestic Value Addition (DVA) is achieved.

– This criterion shall reduce imports from outside India, enable deep localization for AAT products in India and enable Indian Automotive Industry to be an important player in the global supply chain.

What has been launched by the Government?

All approved applicants of the PLI Scheme have their own ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) system. ERP is a type of software that organizations use to manage business activities. 

Now the Government has launched the Automated Online Data Transfer system to enable the smooth transfer of critical data related to Domestic Value Addition(DVA) from the applicant’s existing ERP system to the PLI Auto portal in a safe environment. 

This facility eliminates that paperwork by bringing in automation. It will also reduce the compliance burden on the part of the applicants on the one hand, and it will enable faster processing of claims on the other hand.

Sebi proposes blue bonds concept for sustainable financing activities

Source: The post is based on the article “Sebi proposes blue bonds concept for sustainable financing activities” published in Economic Times on 8th August 2022.

What is the News?

SEBI has proposed the concept of blue bonds as a mode of sustainable finance, saying such securities can be utilized for various blue economy-related activities, including oceanic resource mining and sustainable fishing.

What are Blue Bonds?

A blue bond is a debt instrument issued by governments, development banks or others to raise capital from investors to finance marine and ocean-based projects that have positive environmental, economic and climate benefits.

Like in the case of conventional bonds, investors lend money to a bond issuer, who agrees to repay the interest every year for the term of the bond plus the capital on a certain day. 

Similarly, in a blue bond, earnings are generated from the investments in sustainable blue economy projects. Furthermore, the issuance of a blue bond enables investors to fulfil their corporate social responsibilities and generate benefits for the ocean and humankind.

Which country issued the first blue bond?

The Republic of Seychelles launched the world’s first sovereign blue bond in 2018 raising a total of $15 million to advance the small island state’s blue economy.

What are the benefits of Blue Bond?

a) It offers an opportunity for private sector capital to be mobilized to support the blue economy. b) It helps in raising awareness about important marine issues while providing much-needed funding to projects. c) It will catalyze progress towards SDG 14 (Life Below Water).

Explained: What RBI’s surveys tell about India’s economy

Source: The post is based on the article “Explained: What RBI’s surveys tell about India’s economy” published in Indian Express on 10th August 2022.

What is the News?

RBI has released its latest Monetary Policy Review and Seven Surveys ranging from consumer confidence to GDP growth expectations. These surveys help in ascertaining how the economy is doing.

What are the surveys released by RBI?

Consumer Confidence Survey(CCS): It asks people across 19 cities about their current perceptions (in comparison with a year ago) and one-year ahead expectations on the general economic situation, employment scenario, overall price situation and own income and spending.

– Based on the responses, the RBI comes up with two indices: the Current Situation Index (CSI) and the Future Expectations Index (FEI).

Inflation Expectations Survey(IES): It tracks people’s expectations of Inflation.

OBICUS Survey: OBICUS stands for “Order Books, Inventories and Capacity Utilization Survey”. It covers several manufacturing companies in an attempt to provide a snapshot of demand conditions in India’s manufacturing sector.

– Note: A low level of Capacity Utilization(CU) implies that manufacturing firms can meet the existing demand without needing to boost production. This has negative implications for job creation and the chances for private sector investments in the economy.

Industrial Outlook Survey(IOS): It tries to track the sentiments of businessmen and businesswomen. It encapsulates a qualitative assessment of the business climate of Indian manufacturing companies.

Services and Infrastructure Outlook Survey (SIOS): It does a qualitative assessment of how Indian companies in the services and infrastructure sectors view the current situation and future prospects.

Bank Lending Survey(BLS): It captures the mood (qualitative assessment and expectations) of major scheduled commercial banks (SCBs) on credit parameters (loan demand and terms & conditions of loans) for major economic sectors.

Survey of Professional Forecasters (SPF): It is a survey of 42 professional forecasters (outside the RBI) on key macroeconomic indicators such as GDP growth rate and inflation rate in the current year and the next financial year.

National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) achieves target of training 1 million students on Intellectual Property(IP) awareness

Source: The post is based on the article “National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) achieves target of training 1 million students on Intellectual Property(IP) awareness” published in PIB on 11th August 2022.

What is the News?

National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission(NIPAM) has achieved a target of imparting Intellectual Property(IP) awareness and basic training to 1 million students on 31st July 2022, ahead of the deadline which was 15 August 2022

What is the National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission(NIPAM)?

Launched in: 2021 as part of “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav” celebrations.

Aim: 1) To provide awareness on intellectual property and its rights to 1 million students and 2) To inculcate the spirit of creativity and innovation to students of higher education (classes 8 to 12) and ignite and inspire the students of college/Universities to innovate and protect their creations.

Implemented by: Intellectual Property Office, the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks(CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Global Employment Trends for Youth: Youth employment deteriorated in India: ILO report

Source: The post is based on the article “Youth employment deteriorated in India: ILO report” published in The Hindu on 11th August 2022.

What is the News?

The International Labour Organisation(ILO) has released the Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022 report. The report provides an update on key youth labour market indicators and trends.

What are the key findings of the report?

Global findings

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on employment: The total global number of unemployed youths is estimated to reach 73 million in 2022, a slight improvement from 2021 (75 million) but still six million above the pre-pandemic level of 2019.

Gender Gap: Young women are worse off than young men exhibiting a much lower employment-to-population ratio(EPR). In 2022, 27.4% of young women globally are projected to be in employment, compared to 40.3 per cent of young men. This means that young men are almost 1.5 times more likely than young women to be employed.

Regional Differences: The recovery in youth unemployment is projected to diverge. For instance, high-income countries are the only ones expected to achieve youth unemployment rates close to those of 2019 by the end of 2022. Meanwhile, in the other country income groups, the rates are projected to remain more than 1% point above their pre-crisis values.

Green and Blue Future: The report said young people were well-placed to benefit from the expansion of the so-called green and blue economies centred around the environment and sustainable ocean resources respectively.

Findings related to India

The youth employment participation rate declined by 0.9% points over the first nine months of 2021 relative to its value in 2020. The situation is particularly severe for very young people aged 15-20 years

Online Education: The school closures in India lasted 18 months and among the 24 crore school-going children, only 8% of such children in rural areas and 23% in urban areas had adequate access to online education.

Female Labour Market: India has a very low youth female labour market participation and Indian young women experienced larger relative employment losses than young men in 2021 and 2022.

High Informal Sector: Domestic work is a highly informal sector in India and wages are extremely low and young women and girls are vulnerable to abuse.