Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Diatoms
Mains level: Not Much
The Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad has relied on a forensic test known as diatom tests for leads in an alleged murder case of a person inviting high stage political drama.
What are Diatoms?
- Diatoms are photosynthesizing algae that are found in almost every aquatic environment including fresh and marine waters, soils, in fact, almost anywhere moist.
- Diatoms have cell walls made of silica, each species has a distinct pattern of tiny holes in the cell wall (frustule) through which they absorb nutrients and get rid of waste.
- A diatom is a photosynthetic, single-celled organism which means they manufacture their own food in the same way plants do.
Diatoms are important as they:
- provide the basis of the food chain for both marine and freshwater micro-organisms and animal larvae
- are a major source of atmospheric oxygen responsible for 20-30% of all carbon fixation on the planet
- can act as environmental indicators of climate change
- form the basis of some household goods such as pest/mite prevention and mild abrasive
Never underestimate UPSC. Try this PYQ before you reach any conclusion.
Q.Which one of the following is the correct sequence of a food chain?
(a) Diatoms-Crustaceans-Herrings
(b) Crustaceans-Diatoms-Herrings
(c) Diatoms-Herrings-Crustaceans
(d) Crustaceans-Herrings-Diatoms
What is a diatom test?
- Diagnosis of death by drowning is deemed as a difficult task in forensic pathology.
- A number of tests have been developed to confirm the cause of such deaths with the diatom test emerging as one of the most important tests.
- The test entails findings if there are diatoms in the body being tested.
The science behind
- A body recovered from a water body does not necessarily imply that the death was due to drowning.
- If the person is alive when he enters the water, the diatoms will enter the lungs when the person inhales water while drowning.
- These diatoms then get carried to various parts of the body, including the brain, kidneys, lungs and bone marrow by blood circulation.
- If a person is dead when is thrown in the water, then there is no circulation and there is no transport of diatom cells to various organs.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Read the attached story
Mains level: NA
PM Modi will be on a two-day visit to Bangladesh where he will take part in commemorations of some epochal events there.
Bangabandhu shrine in Tungipara
- Located about 420 kilometres from Dhaka, Tungipara was the place of birth of Rahman, the architect of the 1971 Bangladesh War of Independence.
- This is also the place where he lies buried inside a grand tomb called the ‘Bangabandhu mausoleum’.
- Millions of people gather here every year on August 15, to observe the day when Rahman was assassinated by a group of disgruntled army officers.
Harichand Thakur’s shrine in Orakandi
- Thakur was the founder of the Matua Mahasangha, which was a religious reformation movement that originated in Orakandi in about 1860 CE.
- At a very early age, Thakur experienced spiritual revelation, following which he founded a sect of Vaishnava Hinduism called Matua.
- Members of the sect were the namasudras who were considered to be untouchables.
- The objective of Thakur’s religious reform was to uplift the community through educational and other social initiatives.
- Members of the community consider Thakur as God and an avatar of Vishnu or Krishna.
- After the 1947 Partition, many of the Matuas migrated to West Bengal.
‘Sugandha Shaktipith’ (Satipith) temple in Shikarpur
- Modi is also scheduled to visit the Sugandha Shaktipeeth which is located in Shikarpur, close to Barisal.
- The temple, dedicated to Goddess Sunanda is of immense religious significance to Hinduism.
- It is one of the 51 Shakti Pith temples.
- The Shakti Pith shrines are pilgrimage destinations associated with the Shakti (Goddess worship) sect of Hinduism.
Rabindra Kuthi Bari in Kushtia
- The Kuthi Bari is a country house built by Dwarkanath Tagore, the grandfather of Nobel laureate and Bengali poetic giant Rabindranath Tagore.
- The latter stayed in the house for over a decade in irregular intervals between 1891 and 1901.
- In this house Tagore composed some of his masterpieces like Sonar Tari, Katha o Kahini, Chaitali etc. He also wrote a large number of songs and poems for Gitanjali here.
- It was also in this house that Tagore began translating the Gitanjali to English in 1912, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Ancestral home of Bagha Jatin in Kushtia
- Jatindranath Mukherjee, better known as ‘Bagha Jatin’ (tiger Jatin) was a revolutionary freedom fighter.
- He was born in Kayagram, a village in Kushtia district, where his ancestral home is located.
- Jatin acquired the epithet ‘Bagha’ after he fought a Royal Bengal Tiger all by himself and killed it with a dagger.
- Jatin was the first commander-in-chief of the ‘Jugantar Party’ which was formed in 1906 as a central association dedicated to train revolutionary freedom fighters in Bengal.
- This was the period when Bengal was seething with nationalist furore against Lord Curzon’s declaration of Partition of the province.
- Inspired by Jatin’s clarion call, “amra morbo, jagat jagbe” (we shall die to awaken the nation), many young revolutionaries joined the brand of the freedom struggle that the Jugantar Party represented.
His legend:
- Jatin is most remembered for an armed encounter he engaged in with the British police at Balasore in Orissa.
- They were expecting a consignment of arms and funds from Germany to lead an armed struggle when the British found out about the plot and raided the spot where the revolutionaries were hiding. A
- lthough Jatin lost his life in the Battle of Balasore, his activities did have an impact on the British forces.
- The colonial police officer Charles Augustus Tegart wrote about Jatin: “If Bagha Jatin was an Englishman, then the English people would have built his statue next to Nelson’s at Trafalgar Square.”
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Asset Monetisation Pipeline
Mains level: Paper 3- Asset monetisation
The article discusses the government’s proposal to monetise assets and proposes the idea of an independent commission to carry out the task of monetisation.
Roadmap for monetisation of asset: National Monetisation Pipeline
- Finance Minister had introduced a roadmap for monetisation of asset in the Union Budget.
- In the budget, the government proposed to launch a ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’ to assess the potential value of underutilised and unused government assets.
- A number of countries including the United States, Australia, Canada, France and China have effectively utilised this policy.
- In India too, the concept was suggested by a committee led by Vijay Kelkar on the roadmap for fiscal consolidation in 2012.
- The committee had suggested that the government start monetisation as a key instrument to raise resources for development.
- It asked the government to use these resources for financing infrastructure needs.
Why monetisation
- The global pandemic forced the government to increase spending.
- Thus, total expenditure of the government has jumped to ₹34.50 trillion against the target of ₹30.42 trillion.
- On the flip side, revenue of the government is shrinking.
- As a result, total borrowing has increased by 2.3 times, from ₹7.96 trillion to ₹18.49 trillion.
- An increase in borrowing also increases interest cost.
- The ratio of interest payment to revenue receipts was 36.3% in 2019-20.
- As per revised data, it has increased to 44.5% in the current fiscal year and is projected at an all-time high of 45.3% in 2021-22.
- Almost half of the revenue is going towards servicing old debts. To revive the economy, capital expenditure is indispensable.
National Infrastructure Pipeline
- In this backdrop, the government has already launched the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), with 6,835 projects in December 2019.
- The project pipeline has been increased to 7,400.
- The NIP has its own specific target and the government is committed to achieve it in the coming years.
- It called for a major increase in funding.
- For 2021-22, the government has proposed to spend ₹5.54 trillion, which is 34.5% higher than the budgeted amount of 2020-21.
- Now, the government found that monetisation of government- and public sector-owned assets would be an important financing option for new infrastructure construction.
Model for monetisation of asset: REITs
- The government is looking at the Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) model for monetisation of assets.
- Under REITs, the land assets are transferred to a trust providing investment opportunity for institutional investors.
- The government has another option to lease or rent out the assets instead of going for monetisation.
- The government expects monetisation will generate ₹2.5 trillion in non-debt capital revenue.
- The objective of asset monetisation is to raise resources for future investment into the sector.
- A pipeline monetisation plan for Indian Oil, GAIL, and Hindustan Petroleum has been drawn up by the government.
- It is expected that the government will raise ₹0.17 trillion by selling stakes in these three companies.
Consider the question “What is asset monetisation? What strategy should be followed by the government in the monetisation of assets?
Conclusion
To handle effectively the task of monetisation of assets, the government should constitute an independent commission clothed with requisite powers and staffed by professionals and researchers to formulate and implement its monetisation initiative.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Digital lending and challenges
Digital lending has been on the rise in India. However, there are several concerns about the model. The article discusses these concerns and suggests the policy approach.
3 digital lending models
- Presently, there are three digital-lending models, seen through the regulatory-approach lens:
- 1) Bank/NBFC-owned digital platforms operating under the direct regulatory purview of RBI.
- 2) Fintech companies’ proprietary digital platforms, working in partnership with banks/NBFCs.
- Being mere intermediaries, these platforms are not required to seek any registration with RBI, and are only indirectly regulated through RBI’s outsourcing guidelines applicable to Banks/NBFCs.
- 3) Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, which usually involve the otherwise unregulated retail lenders.
- RBI has mandated such platforms to seek registration as NBFC-P2P; thus, they are directly regulated by RBI.
Issues with digital lending
- The specific issues are unauthorised lenders, exorbitant rates of interest, use of coercive repayment methods, and non-consensual collection or use of user data.
- These issues entail serious adverse implications for borrowers and have systemic implications, hampering the rise of legitimate fintech players.
Steps taken
- With a view to curb such practices, RBI, in 2020, issued a notification to Banks/NBFCs mandating additional disclosures/compliances, and an advisory to borrowers warning them against such platforms.
- Following the notification, Google removed several such loan apps from its PlayStore.
- The Digital Lenders’ Association of India (DLAI) also issued guidelines to help borrowers identify such unscrupulous platforms.
- In the regulatory pipeline on this front is the report of the working group on digital lending, constituted by RBI in January 2021.
Framing effective policy solutions
- Given the significant contribution of legitimate fintech players, it is important to ensure that any policy solutions to address such issues do not impede the growth of such players.
- The key to this lies in adoption of light-touch regulation, along with the effective implementation of the already proposed regulatory initiatives.
- For instance, the primary cause of the rising supply of unauthorised lending platforms is the existing credit information asymmetry that genuine lenders face in respect of small borrowers.
- Here, operationalising and on-scale implementation of RBI’s proposed ‘Public Credit Registry’ and the ‘Open Credit Enablement Network’ (an infrastructure protocol enabling digital low cost lending to small borrowers through access of consented data) would lead to increased participation of legitimate players and curb proliferation of unauthorised lenders.
- Another foundation for framing effective policy solutions lies in leveraging the interdependence and impact of each individual constituent of the digital lending ecosystem, on other constituents.
- Apart from lenders/platforms/borrowers, these constituents also include the digital lending industry associations, consent managers and technology developers.
- Regulators and industry associations working together can provide the necessary foundations for addressing these issues.
- Other solutions spear-headed by industry associations could be to establish ‘certification system’ based maintenance of a repository of lending platforms for easy identification of genuine players.
- Similarly, on the data protection aspect, a structural solution through coordinated efforts of various digital lending constituents is required.
Consider the question “Examine the factors aiding the growth of digital lending in India. What are the challenges the sector face? Suggest the measures to deal with these challenges.”
Conclusion
For the continued development of the Indian digital lending economy, it is important to implement policy solutions that adequately protect the borrowers from malpractices, while, at the same time, do not dampen innovation in this fast-evolving sector.
Source:-
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/soft-touch-regulation-for-digital-lending/2215702/
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Electoral Bonds
Mains level: Ensuring transparent elections
CJI has agreed to urgently hear a plea to stay the sale of a new set of electoral bonds on April 1, before Assembly elections in crucial states such as West Bengal and Tamil Nadu.
Note the denominations of the Electoral Bonds and the issuers.
What is the news?
- Data obtained through RTI has shown that illegal sale windows have been opened in the past to benefit certain political parties.
- There is a serious apprehension that any further sale of electoral bonds before the upcoming State elections would further increase illegal and illicit funding of political parties through shell companies.
What are Electoral Bonds?
- The electoral bonds were introduced on January 29, 2018.
- An electoral bond is like a promissory note that can be bought by any Indian citizen or company incorporated in India from select branches of the State Bank of India.
- The citizen or corporate can then donate the same to any eligible political party of his/her choice.
- The bonds are similar to banknotes that are payable to the bearer on demand and are free of interest.
- An individual or party will be allowed to purchase these bonds digitally or through a cheque.
How to invest?
- The bonds will be issued in multiples of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 100,000 and Rs 1 crore (the range of a bond is between Rs 1,000 to Rs 1 crore).
- These will be available at some branches of SBI.
- A donor with a KYC-compliant account can purchase the bonds and can then donate them to the party or individual of their choice.
- Now, the receiver can encash the bonds through the party’s verified account. The electoral bond will be valid only for fifteen days.
- The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities such as New Delhi, Gandhinagar, Chandigarh, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Mumbai, Jaipur, Lucknow, Chennai, Kolkata and Guwahati.
Issues with them
- The plea has argued that the sale of electoral bonds had become an avenue for shell corporations and entities to park illicit money and even proceeds of bribes with political parties.
- There are documents from the RBI and the Election Commission that say the electoral bonds scheme is detrimental to democracy.
Govt.’s view: Anonymity of the donor matters
- The government has defended the scheme in court, saying it allowed anonymity to political donors to protect them from “political victimisation”.
- The Ministry of Finance’s affidavit in the top court had dismissed the Election Commission’s version that the invisibility afforded to benefactors was a “retrograde step” and would wreck transparency in political funding.
- The government affidavit had said the clause of secrecy was a product of “well-thought-out policy considerations”.
- It said the earlier system of cash donations had raised a “concern among the donors that, with their identity revealed, there would be competitive pressure from different political parties receiving donation”.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not Much
Mains level: FDI in Insurance
The Rajya Sabha has passed the Insurance Amendment Bill 2021 that increases the maximum foreign investment allowed in an insurance company from 49% to 74%.
It is very intriguing to see several amendments in news these days. Isn’t it?
Insurance Amendment Bill
- The Bill seeks to amend the Insurance Act, 1938.
- The Act provided the framework for functioning of insurance businesses and regulates the relationship between an insurer, its policyholders and its shareholders.
- It also had provisions regarding the regulator (the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India).
Key highlights of the bill
The Bill seeks to increase the maximum foreign investment allowed in an Indian insurance company.
() Foreign investment
- The Act allows foreign investors to hold up to 49% of the capital in an Indian insurance company, which must be owned and controlled by an Indian entity.
- The Bill increases the limit on foreign investment in an Indian insurance company from 49% to 74%, and removes restrictions on ownership and control.
- However, such foreign investment may be subject to additional conditions as prescribed by the central government.
() Investment of assets
- The Act requires insurers to hold a minimum investment in assets which would be sufficient to clear their insurance claim liabilities.
- If the insurer is incorporated or domiciled outside India, such assets must be held in India in a trust and vested with trustees who must be residents of India.
- The Act specifies in an explanation that this will also apply to an insurer incorporated in India, in which at least: (i) 33% capital is owned by investors domiciled outside India, or (ii) 33% of the members of the governing body are domiciled outside India.
- The Bill removes this explanation.
Expected outcomes
- More capital at dispense: The FDI limit increase is also expected to provide access to fresh capital to some of the insurance companies, which are struggling to raise capital from their existing promoters.
- Better solvency: This would not only increase the solvency position for some insurers but would provide long-term growth capital for other companies to invest in newer technologies.
- Insurance penetration: These technologies would not only help in managing losses but also in customer acquisition and thus insurance penetration.
- Technological impetus: The additional funds could be used to invest in technology to adapt to the evolving customer needs like responsive service through digital platforms.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bitcoins
Mains level: Feasiblity of Bitcoins as currency
At a time when investors around the world are scrambling to follow the newest financial trend, very few are bothered about the carbon footprint that the cryptocurrency is leaving behind.
If Bitcoin were a country, it would consume more electricity than Austria or Bangladesh!
Footprint of Bitcoins
- T A recent study by Alex de Vries, a Dutch economist, has shown that Bitcoins leave behind a carbon footprint of 38.10 Mt a year.
- The annual carbon footprint of Bitcoins is almost equivalent to that of Mumbai, or to put it to a global perspective, as high as the carbon footprint of Slovakia.
- A recent study has shown that Bitcoins leave behind a carbon footprint of 38.10 Mt a year.
- According to a study titled ‘CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion (Highlights) 2017’, Mumbai’s yearly carbon footprint stands at 32 Mt, while Bangalore’s is at 21.60 Mt.
- Vries has been able to create a Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, one of the first systematic attempts to estimate the energy use of the bitcoin network.
Relation between creating bitcoins and electricity required
- Bitcoins are created by “mining” coins, for which high-tech computers are used for long hours to do complex calculations.
- The more coins there are in the market, the longer it takes to “mine” a new one and in the process, more electricity is consumed.
- As mining provides a solid source of revenue, people are willing to run power-hungry machines for hours to get a piece.
- In 2017, the Bitcoin network consumed 30 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity a year.
- As such, each bitcoin transaction roughly requires an average of 300kg of carbon dioxide – which is equivalent to the carbon footprint produced by 750,000 credit cards swiped.
Calculating the carbon footprint
- The major problem with mining Bitcoin is not its massive energy-consumption nature; it is the fact that most of the mining facilities are located in regions that rely heavily on coal-based power.
- Earlier, determining the carbon impact of the Bitcoin network was difficult as tracking down miners was never easy.
- As per the estimates of De Vries, roughly 60% of the costs of bitcoin mining is the price of the electricity used.
- The price of a Bitcoin stood at $42,000 and at this rate; miners would be earning around $15 billion annually.
Other impacts of Bitcoin mining
- The effects of cryptocurrency mining often spill over to other parts of the economy.
- With miners using high-tech computers for hours to formulate new blockchains, these machines do not last long.
- Manufacturers of Bitcoin mining devices need a substantial number of chips to produce these machines and recently, during the Covid-19 crisis, the world had witnessed a shortage of these chips.
- This shortage, now, in turn, started affecting the production of electric vehicles around the world.
What can be done to control the carbon footprint?
- The Dutch economist asks policymakers to follow the path shown by Québec in Canada, where a moratorium on new mining operations has been imposed.
- Although Bitcoin might be a decentralized currency, many aspects of the ecosystem surrounding it are not.
- Large-scale miners can easily be targeted with higher electricity rates, moratoria, or, in the most extreme case, confiscation of the equipment used.
- Governments can also ban cryptocurrencies from digital asset marketplaces as it will affect the prices of a digital currency.
India and the cryptocurrency
- The country, at present, has around 75 lakh cryptocurrency investors who have together pooled over Rs 10,000 crore into Bitcoins and other such digital currencies.
- The prices have surged by over 900%, courtesy of the worldwide boom – a single bitcoin that used to cost around Rs 4 lakh in 2020 now costs somewhere around Rs 41 lakh now.
- FM Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the Centre will take a “calibrated approach” and leave a window open for experiments with blockchain technology.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Artificial Photosynthesis
Mains level: Carbon sequestration through AP
Scientists have found a method to mimic nature’s own process of reducing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, namely photosynthesis, to capture excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Artificial Photosynthesis
- Artificial photosynthesis (AP) is a chemical process that mimics the natural process of photosynthesis to convert sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide into carbohydrates and oxygen.
- The term artificial photosynthesis is commonly used to refer to any scheme for capturing and storing the energy from sunlight in the chemical bonds of fuel (a solar fuel).
- Photocatalytic water splitting converts water into hydrogen and oxygen and is a major research topic of artificial photosynthesis.
- Light-driven carbon dioxide reduction is another process studied that replicates natural carbon fixation.
Try this PYQ:
Which of the following adds/add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on the planet Earth?
- Volcanic action
- Respiration
- Photosynthesis
- Decay of organic matter
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Challenges in AP
- Research on this topic includes the engineering of enzymes and photoautotrophic microorganisms for microbial biofuel and biohydrogen production from sunlight.
- This AP harnesses solar energy and converts the captured carbon dioxide to carbon monoxide (CO), which can be used as a fuel for internal combustion engines.
- In AP, scientists are essentially conducting the same fundamental process in natural photosynthesis but with simpler nanostructures.
- However, there are plenty of hurdles to overcome as a successful catalyst to carry out AP.
What have Indian researchers achieved?
- Indian researchers have designed and fabricated an integrated catalytic system based on a metal-organic framework (MOF-808) comprising of a photosensitizer that can harness solar power and a catalytic centre that can eventually reduce CO2.
- A photosensitizer is a molecule that absorbs light and transfers the electron from the incident light into another nearby molecule.
- The scientists have immobilized a photosensitizer, which is a chemical called ruthenium bipyridyl complex ([Ru (bpy)2Cl2]) and a catalytic part which is another chemical called rhenium carbonyl complex ([Re(CO)5Cl]).
- They have fabricated it inside the nano space of a metal-organic framework for artificial photosynthesis.
Outcomes of the research
- The developed catalyst exhibited excellent visible-light-driven CO2 reduction to CO with more than 99% selectivity.
- The catalyst also oxidizes water to produce oxygen (O2).
- The Photocatalytic assembly, when assessed for CO2 reduction under direct sunlight in a water medium without any additives, showed superior performance of CO production.
- Being heterogeneous, the integrated catalytic assembly can be reused for several catalytic cycles without losing its activity.
Back2Basics: Photosynthesis
- It is the process by which green plants and certain other organisms transform light energy into chemical energy.
- It is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism’s metabolic activities.
- This chemical energy is stored in carbohydrate molecules, such as sugars, which are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water – hence the name photosynthesis.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: HEMT
Mains level: NA
Indian Scientists from Bangalore have developed a highly reliable, High Electron Mobility Transistor (HEMTs) that is normally OFF the device and can switch currents up to 4A and operates at 600V.
We cannot deny the possibility of a complex S&T based prelims question. This newscard seems very technical. However many of you might be aware of the p-n junction diodes and conventional transistors.
What is HEMT?
- A high electron mobility transistor or HEMT is a type of field-effect transistor (FET) that is used to produce a high performance at microwave frequencies.
- The HEMT provides a fusion of low noise figure that comes combined with the unique ability to function at very high microwave frequencies.
- These devices are commonly used in aspects of radiofrequency designs that require high performance at high-frequency levels.
- They produce a high gain, which makes these transistors very useful as amplifiers. They can switch speeds very rapidly.
- And finally, they produce very low noise values as the current variations in these transistors are comparatively low.
Practical applications of HEMT
- HEMTs are used in applications where microwave millimetre wave communications are conducted.
- They are also used for radar, imaging, as well as radio astronomy.
- They are also used in voltage converter applications.
- These transistors are also ideal as digital on-off switches in integrated circuits, and to be used as amplifiers for huge amounts of current by using a small voltage as a control signal.
What is the news?
First-ever indigenous HEMT
- This first-ever indigenous HEMT device made from gallium nitride (GaN) is useful in electric cars, locomotives, power transmission and other areas requiring high voltage and high-frequency switching.
- It would reduce the cost of importing such stable and efficient transistors required in power electronics.
How does it work?
- Power electronic systems demand high blocking voltage in OFF-state and high current in ON-state for efficient switching performance.
- Specific transistors called HEMTs made of aluminium gallium nitride/ gallium nitride (AlGaN/GaN) provides an edge over silicon-based transistors as they allow the systems to operate at very high voltages, switch ON and OFF faster, and occupy less space.
- Commercially available AlGaN/GaN HEMTs use techniques to keep the transistor in a normally OFF state, which affects the stability, performance and reliability of the device.
- Therefore, to meet this need, researchers have developed a new kind of HEMT, which is in the OFF state by default and works like any other commonly used power transistor.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: USIAI Initiative
Mains level: Not Much
The US India Artificial Intelligence (USIAI) Initiative was recently launched.
USIAI Initiative
- This initiative focuses on AI cooperation in critical areas that are priorities for both countries.
- It has been launched by the Indo-U.S. Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF).
- The IUSSTF is a bilateral organisation funded by the Department of Science & Technology (DST), the GOI and the U.S. Department of States.
- USIAI will serve as a platform to discuss opportunities, challenges, and barriers for bilateral AI R&D collaboration, enable AI innovation, help share ideas for developing an AI workforce etc.
- AI R&D is being promoted and implemented in the country through a network of 25 technology hubs working as a triple helix set up under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS).
Back2Basics: Artificial intelligence (AI)
- Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions.
- The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving.
- The ideal characteristic of artificial intelligence is its ability to rationalize and take actions that have the best chance of achieving a specific goal.
- A subset of artificial intelligence is machine learning, which refers to the concept that computer programs can automatically learn from and adapt to new data without being assisted by humans.
- Deep learning techniques enable this automatic learning through the absorption of huge amounts of unstructured data such as text, images, or video.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: INS Dhruv
Mains level: India's naval arsenal
India Navy is set to commission INS Dhruv to track satellites, strategic missiles and map the Indian Ocean bed later this year.
INS Dhruv is no ordinary vessel for the Indian Navy. Read its stealth capabilities and utilities.
INS Dhruv
- INS Dhruv has been developed with the help of the DRDO and Indian Navy with India’s Strategic Force Command and National Technical Research Organisation (NTRO) as main intelligence consumers.
- The indigenously-developed surveillance ship has been built by Hindustan Shipyard Ltd at its Visakhapatnam facility under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan initiative.
- The 15,000-tonne ship, part of a classified project, will not only create maritime domain awareness for India in the Indian Ocean but also act as an early warning system for adversary missiles headed towards India.
Stealth capabilities
- INS Dhruv is equipped with active electronically scanned array radars, or AESA considered a game-changer in radar technology.
- It can scan various spectrums to monitor satellites of adversaries that are watching over India.
- It can also understand the range and true missile capability of adversary nations that it finds in the Indo-Pacific.
Benefits offered
- Once the vessel is commissioned, India will be the only country outside the P-5 – the US, the UK, China, Russia and France – to have this capability
- It will act as a major force multiplier to India’s ocean surveillance capabilities.
- It will be able to provide the Indian Navy with an “ECG of the Indian Ocean”.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Making lateral entry a success
It has been a while since the government introduced the provision of lateral entry into civil services. This article suggests the changes that need to be made in the system to attract the best talent and facilitating their success.
Administrative reforms in India
- The lack of administrative reform in India has frustrated many stakeholders for a long time.
- One of the key focus areas of such reform is enabling lateral entry into an otherwise permanent system of administrators.
- Eight professionals were recruited for joint secretary-level positions in various ministries.
- Some other positions at the joint secretary and director-level have been advertised.
Changes needed
1) Entry requirements need to be relaxed
- In the permanent system, IAS officers get promoted to joint secretary level after 17 years of service and remain at that level for ten years.
- If similar experience requirements are used for lateral entry, it is unlikely that the best will join because in the private sector they rise to the top of their profession at that age.
- To attract the best talent from outside at the joint secretary level, entry requirements need to be relaxed so that persons of 35 years of age are eligible.
2) Facilitating lateral entrants for success
- There are many dimensions to this. For a start, there are several joint secretaries in each ministry who handle different portfolios.
- If assigned to an unimportant portfolio, the chances of not making a mark are high.
- A cursory look at the portfolios of the eight laterally-hired joint secretaries doesn’t suggest that they hold critical portfolios.
- There must also be clarity in what precisely is the mandate for the lateral entrant.
- To be disrupters, lateral entrants need to be able to stamp their authority on decision making.
- For this to happen, there need to be more lateral entrants at all levels in ministries.
- In the functioning of government, there is a long chain in decision-making and a minority of one cannot override it.
- Also, it requires an understanding of the system and an ability to work with the “permanent” establishment.
- No training or orientation is provided for this.
Consider the question “What are the advantages of lateral entry in the civil services? What are the challenges in the success of lateral entrants? Suggest the measures to improve it.”
Conclusion
Lateral entry, like competition in any sphere, is a good thing. But serious thinking is required on entry requirements, job assignments, number of personnel and training to make it a force for positive change. Some reform of the “permanent” system — particularly its seniority principle — may be a prerequisite.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- E-commerce to aid MSMEs
Facilitating manufacturing through MSMEs
- A significant major contributor to the India growth story is going to be manufacturing.
- Manufacturing by small units, cottage units and MSMEs, if effectively facilitated, will be the game changer.
- For MSMEs to be sustainable and effective, the need of the hour is not just better automation but also more channels for accessing greater markets and opportunities to become a part of the national and global supply chains.
- E-commerce marketplaces are today the best possible enablers for this transformation at minimal cost, innovation and investment.
Need to invest in digital transformation and technology
- China captured the world market through the traditional method of having guilds and business centres.
- Today, digital empowerment is the key differentiator.
- Without that, our MSMEs will not be future ready.
- E-commerce allows products even from hinterlands to get to the national market, thus, providing opportunities to artisans and small sellers from Tier-2/3 towns to sell online to customers beyond their local catchment.
- By investing in supply chains, the e-commerce sector provides opportunities for MSMEs to partner them in supply and delivery networks.
- Start-ups and young brands are also finding opportunities to build national brands and even going global.
- This leads to additional income generation through multiple livelihood opportunities.
- Many offline stores are also adopting e-commerce to leverage these opportunities and the traditional and modern retail models are moving towards more offline and online collaborations.
Challenges in building robust e-commerce sector
1) No GST threshold exemption
- Sellers on e-commerce marketplaces do not get advantage of GST threshold exemption (of Rs 40 lakh) for intra–state supplies.
- Online suppliers have to “compulsorily register” even though their turnover is low.
- Offline sellers enjoy this exemption up to the turnover threshold of Rs. 40 lakh.
2) Principal place of business issue
- Today, the sellers, as in offline, are required to have a physical PPoB which, given the nature of e-commerce, is not practical.
- The government would do well to simplify the “Principal Place of Business” (PPoB) requirement especially for online sellers by making it digital.
- Replace physical PPoB with Place of Communication.
- Eliminating the need for state specific physical PPoB requirement will facilitate sellers to get state-level GST with a single national place of business.
3) Support MSMEs to understand e-commerce
- MSMEs should be provided with handholding support to understand how e-commerce functions.
- The government can collaborate with e-commerce entities to leverage their expertise and scale to create special on-boarding programmes.
- These can be provided by state governments.
- There is need to examine the existing schemes and benefits for MSMEs, which were formulated with an offline, physical market in mind.
4) Build infrastructure
- There is a need to build infrastructure — both physical and digital infrastructure is important for digital transformation.
- The road and telecom network will facilitate access to the consumer and enable the seller from remote areas to enter the larger national market as well as the export market.
- A robust logistic network and warehouse chains created by e-commerce platforms enable similar access and reach.
- The National Logistics Policy should focus on e-commerce sector needs.
5) Skilling policies for e-commerce sector
- Dovetail the skilling policy and programmes with the requirements of the e-commerce sector to meet future demand of the sector.
6) Steps to increase export via e-commerce
- We need to take specific steps to increase exports via e-commerce.
- There is a need to identify products that have potential for the export market, connect e-commerce with export-oriented manufacturing clusters, encourage tie-ups with sector-specific export promotion councils, leverage existing SEZs to create e-commerce export zones.
- India Posts can play a significant role by creating e-commerce specific small parcel solutions at competitive rates, building a parcel tracking system, and partnering with foreign post offices to enable customs clearances.
Way forward
- There is an urgent need to create a consolidated policy framework for e-commerce exports.
- Policies like the upcoming Foreign Trade Policy needs to be fully leveraged.
- The Foreign Trade Policy should identify areas and include e-commerce export specific provisions in the revised policy that comes into effect in April this year.
Consider the question “E-commerce marketplaces can help MSMEs in accessing greater markets and provide opportunities to become a part of the national and global supply chains. In light of this, examine the opportunities provided by e-commerce also mention the challenge the sector faces in India.”
Conclusion
By facilitating and supporting e-commerce, we can leverage the potential of MSMEs in manufacturing which could help in the economic growth of the country by creating job opportunities.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MMDR Amendment Bill, 2021
Mains level: Mining sector reforms
The coal and Mines Minister has introduced the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2021 in Lok Sabha to streamline the renewal of the auction process for minerals and coal mining rights.
MMDR Amendment Bill, 2021
The Bill seeks to amend the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957. The Act regulates the mining sector in India.
(1) Removal of restriction on end-use of minerals
- The Act empowers the central government to reserve any mine (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals) to be leased through an auction for a particular end-use (such as iron ore mine for a steel plant).
- Such mines are known as captive mines. The Bill provides that no mine will be reserved for particular end-use.
(2) Sale of minerals by captive mines
- The Bill provides that captive mines (other than atomic minerals) may sell up to 50% of their annual mineral production in the open market after meeting their own needs.
- The central government may increase this threshold through a notification. The lessee will have to pay additional charges for mineral sold in the open market.
(3) Auction by the central government in certain cases
- Under the Act, states conduct the auction of mineral concessions (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals).
- Mineral concessions include mining lease and prospecting license-cum-mining lease.
- The Bill empowers the central government to specify a time period for completion of the auction process in consultation with the state government.
- If the state government is unable to complete the auction process within this period, the auctions may be conducted by the central government.
(4) Transfer of statutory clearances
- Upon expiry of a mining lease (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals), mines are leased to new persons through auction.
- The statutory clearances issued to the previous lessee are transferred to the new lessee for a period of two years.
- The new lessee is required to obtain fresh clearances within these two years.
- The Bill replaces this provision and instead provides that transferred statutory clearances will be valid throughout the lease period of the new lessee.
(5) Allocation of mines with expired leases
- The Bill adds that mines (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals), whose lease has expired, may be allocated to a government company in certain cases.
- This will be applicable if the auction process for granting a new lease has not been completed, or the new lease has been terminated within a year of the auction.
- The state government may grant a lease for such a mine to a government company for a period of up to 10 years or until the selection of a new lessee, whichever is earlier.
(6) Rights of certain existing concession holders
- In 2015, the Act was amended to provide that mines will be leased through an auction process.
- Existing concession holders and applicants have been provided with certain rights.
- The Bill provides that the right to obtain a prospecting license or a mining lease will lapse on the date of commencement of the 2021 Amendment Act.
- Such persons will be reimbursed for any expenditure incurred towards reconnaissance or prospecting operations.
(7) Extension of leases to government companies
- The Act provides that the period of mining leases granted to government companies will be prescribed by the central government.
- The Bill provides that the period of mining leases of government companies (other than leases granted through auction) may be extended on payment of additional amount prescribed in the Bill.
(8) Conditions for lapse of mining lease
- The Act provides that a mining lease will lapse if the lessee: (i) is not able to start mining operations within two years of the grant of a lease, or (ii) has discontinued mining operations for a period of two years.
- However, the lease will not lapse at the end of this period if a concession is provided by the state government upon an application by the lessee.
- The Bill adds that the threshold period for lapse of the lease may be extended by the state government only once and up to one year.
(9) Non-exclusive reconnaissance permit
- The Act provides for a non-exclusive reconnaissance permit (for minerals other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals).
- Reconnaissance means preliminary prospecting of a mineral through certain surveys.
- The Bill removes the provision for this permit.
Why such a move?
- The move would likely lead to greater transparency in the auction process.
- There is a perception that states governments may in some cases prefer some bidders, and try to delay or cancel mining rights if their preferred bidders do not win mining rights.
Could the amendment face legal challenges?
- The amendment, if passed, was likely to face legal challenges particularly from state governments.
- If an act is passed in which any state government’s discretionary power is taken away or their rights or benefits are infringed, it is likely to be challenged in the Supreme Court.
(With inputs from PRS)
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CDRI
Mains level: India's leadership in Climate change mitigation
The Prime Minister has recently addressed the third edition of the annual conference of the Coalition for Disaster resilient Infrastructure (CDRI).
What is CDRI?
- The CDRI is an international coalition of countries, UN agencies, multilateral development banks, the private sector, and academic institutions that aim to promote disaster-resilient infrastructure.
- Its objective is to promote research and knowledge sharing in the fields of infrastructure risk management, standards, financing, and recovery mechanisms.
- It was launched by the Indian PM Narendra Modi at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in September 2019.
- CDRI’s initial focus is on developing disaster-resilience in ecological, social, and economic infrastructure.
- It aims to achieve substantial changes in member countries’ policy frameworks and future infrastructure investments, along with a major decrease in the economic losses suffered due to disasters.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) to Reduce Short Lived Climate Pollutants is a unique initiative of G20 group of countries
- The CCAC focuses on methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons.
Which of the above statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
Its inception
- PM Modi’s experience in dealing with the aftermath of the 2001 Gujarat earthquake” as the chief minister led him to the idea.
- The CDRI was later conceptualized in the first and second edition of the International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) in 2018-19.
- It was organized by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in partnership with the UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), the UN Development Programme, the World Bank, and the Global Commission on Adaptation.
Its diplomatic significance
- The CDRI is the second major coalition launched by India outside of the UN, the first being the International Solar Alliance.
- Both of them are seen as India’s attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change matters and were termed as part of India’s stronger branding.
- India can use the CDRI to provide a safer alternative to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) as well.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mullaperiyar Dam
Mains level: Interstate river water disputes in India
The Supreme Court has warned the Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary against the failure to give information on the rule curve for Mullaperiyar dam.
Do you know?
The Mullaperiyar dam is located in Kerala on the river Periyar but is operated and maintained by the neighbouring state of Tamil Nadu.
What is the Rule Curve?
- A rule curve or rule level specifies the storage or empty space to be maintained in a reservoir during different times of the year.
- Here the implicit assumption is that a reservoir can best satisfy its purposes if the storage levels specified by the rule curve are maintained in the reservoir at different times.
- It decides the fluctuating storage levels in a reservoir.
- The gate opening schedule of a dam is based on the rule curve.
- It is part of the “core safety” mechanism in a dam.
Why such a move?
- During the high-voltage hearing, the Tamil Nadu government blamed Kerala for delaying the finalization of the rule curve for the 123-year-old dam.
- Kerala government has accused Tamil Nadu of adopting an “obsolete” gate operation schedule dating back to 1939.
About Mullaperiyar Dam
- Mullaperiyar Dam is a masonry gravity dam on the Periyar River in the Indian state of Kerala.
- It is located on the Cardamom Hills of the Western Ghats in Thekkady, Idukki District of Kerala.
- It was constructed between 1887 and 1895 by John Pennycuick and also reached an agreement to divert water eastwards to the Madras Presidency area (present-day Tamil Nadu).
- It has a height of 53.6 m from the foundation, and a length of 365.7 m.
- The Periyar National Park in Thekkady is located around the dam’s reservoir.
- The dam is built at the confluence of Mullayar and Periyar rivers.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Project RE-HAB
Mains level: Man-animal conflict
The forest authorities intend to mitigate human-elephant conflict by installing bee boxes along the periphery of the forest and the villages under the Project RE-HAB.
On similar lines, try this PYQ:
Q.The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of:
(a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna
(b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves
(c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System
(d) Security of National Highways
Project RE-HAB
- Project RE-HAB stands for Reducing Elephant-Human Attacks using Bees. It is an initiative of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
- It intends to create “bee fences” to thwart elephant attacks in human habitations using honeybees.
- Bee boxes have been placed on the ground as well as hung from the trees.
- The boxes are connected with a string so that when elephants attempt to pass through, a tug causes the bees to swarm the elephant herds and dissuade them from progressing further.
- This idea stems from the elephants’ proven fear of the bees.
Areas covered by the project
- The pilot project was launched at four locations around Chelur village in the Kodagu district of Karnataka.
- These spots are located on the periphery of Nagarahole National Park and Tiger Reserve, known conflict zones.
Benefits offered
- The biggest advantage of Project RE-HAB is that it dissuades elephants without causing any harm to them.
- It is extremely cost-effective as compared to various other measures such as digging trenches or erecting fences.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fiscal deficits
Mains level: Paper 3- State budgets belies the hopes of public spending led recovery
The article highlights the trends emerging from the State budgets which dashes the hopes of public-spending led economic recovery.
State-level budget trends
- Over the past few weeks, several state governments have presented their budgets for the financial year 2021-22.
- The states, put together, account for a larger share of general government spending than the Centre.
- States’ spending stance is pivotal to the hopes of a government spending-led economic recovery.
5 Broad trends from the state budgets
- The broad state-level budget trends are based on 11 states that account for a little over 60 per cent of India’s GDP.
1) Offsetting the additional spending by Centre
- There is a collapse in states’ revenues and transfers from the Centre.
- Along with it, there is a “reluctance” among some states to borrow more to spend.
- Thus, the aggregate level spending by these states in 2020-21 will end up being lower than what they had budgeted for before the onset of the pandemic.
- The revised estimates peg their total expenditure to decline by around 6 per cent in 2020-21 from their budget estimates.
- If these trends were to hold for the other states as well, then it would imply that the additional spending by the central government, over and above its budget estimate is likely to be offset by the decline in spending by states.
2) From revenue surplus to revenue deficit
- This year, states which typically run revenue surpluses will run revenue deficits.
- The collapse in revenues meant that states that usually borrow to finance capital expenditure have had to borrow to finance their recurring expenditure (revenue expenditure) as well.
- As a consequence, capital spending by states has been cut sharply.
- States, though, expect the situation to reverse in the coming fiscal year, with most projecting a return to revenue surpluses even as the Centre will continue to run revenue deficits.
- This anomaly is unlikely to be resolved unless the root cause of the situation — the nature of the fiscal compact between the Centre and the states — is addressed.
3) Reluctance by states to borrow
- The Centre had raised the ceiling on their market borrowings from 3 to 5 per cent of GSDP.
- Of this 2 percentage point increase in the borrowing limit, part was unconditional while the remaining was subject to fulfilling Centre-mandated reforms.
- As per ICRA’s estimate, 17 states qualified based on the One Nation One Ration Card reforms, 15 qualified based on the ease of doing business reforms, seven partially completed power sector reforms, while six had completed the urban local body reforms.
- But, it is only the low-income states of Bihar, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh with already stretched finances that seem to have availed the additional borrowing space.
- The high-income states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka, all of whom had greater fiscal headroom going to the crisis, and were better placed to borrow more and spend, have not done so.
4) Aggressive fiscal consolidation
- As is the case with the Centre, states have, remarkably, budgeted for aggressive fiscal consolidation next year.
- The average fiscal deficit across these states is expected to fall by more than 1 percentage point of GSDP, more than twice the decline recommended by the 15th finance commission.
5) Ambitious revenue assumptions
- The aggressive consolidation next year is expected to be achieved not by expenditure compression, as is the case with the Centre, but by significant revenue enhancement.
- However, some revenue assumptions are quite ambitious, to say the least — some states have pegged their GST and VAT collections to grow far in excess of 30 per cent in 2021-22.
- A deterioration in fiscal marksmanship will mean that expenditure in the coming fiscal year will also end up being lower than what has been budgeted for.
Consider the question “The pandemic has upended the States’ fiscal space, which is evident in their budgets. In light of this, examine the trends emerging from the budgets of the States and their implications for the economy.”
Conclusion
Subdued general government spending during these tumultuous years heightens the risks to economic recovery. Considering the possibility of the economy exiting from this period with lower medium-term growth prospects, there is a strong case for greater government spending during these years.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Blockchain technology and its applications
Mains level: Paper 3- Central bank digital currency
The article discusses the advantages of central bank digital currency which could combine the advantages of both fiat money and cryptocurrency.
India’s suspicion of the cryptocurrencies
- In 2018, the Reserve Bank of India prohibited regulated entities from providing services to anyone who deals with or settles trades in any virtual currency.
- This was effectively banning Bitcoin trading in the country.
- The Supreme Court lifted this restriction in 2020.
- There were rumours earlier this year that a new law was in the works that would make it a crime to possess, issue, mine, trade or transfer crypto assets in India.
Thinking of digital currencies as asset not currency
- There are concerns over the speculative nature of cryptocurrencies.
- There are also law enforcement concerns around how digital currencies make it hard for the police to track down criminals.
- One of the most important attributes of a currency is that it should be a stable store of value, and Bitcoin is anything but.
- To deal with this difficulty, it will be helpful to think of digital currencies as just another asset—the digital equivalent of a scarce commodity that, like gold, certain collectors prize.
Difference between working of banks and cryptocurrencies
- Our financial system relies on banks to record transactions.
- It is a ‘permissioned’ ledger system in that only trusted intermediaries-registered banks under the supervision of the central bank-can make changes to the ledgers to certify that a given transaction has been completed.
- Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, are ‘permissionless’ systems that need no intermediary.
- Instead of a centralized ledger, transactions are recorded on a distributed database.
- A purely permissionless system has no need of banks.
Role of banks in maintaining financial health
- Central banks are not just intermediaries managing the great big financial ledger of the country, they are responsible for its financial health.
- To perform this function, they need to be able to take money out of the system when required or put money back into economic circulation.
- None of this is possible in a purely permissionless system.
Advantages of digitally native currencies
- Digitally native currencies are programmable and capable of being incorporated into smart contracts, offering various opportunities for innovative digital solutions.
- Since they can be directly allotted to citizens who don’t have a bank account, they are ideal for financial inclusion.
- Being digitally auditable, transactions can be audited, reducing the scope for illicit activity.
- The challenge is one of integrating the best that digital currencies have to offer into the traditional financial paradigm.
Central bank digital currencies as an alternative
- CBDCs are a completely re-engineered form of money that use a distributed ledger as their underlying technology layer, but are backed by suitable amounts of monetary reserves, just like normal fiat currency.
- Many countries have been toying with the idea of a central bank digital currency (CBDC).
- They are run by central banks along with select financial entities responsible for managing the distributed ledger.
- The best CBDCs will converge the best of both worlds—the programability and security of cryptocurrencies and the reserve-backed stability of fiat currency.
- Several countries are already testing this concept.
How central bank digital currency differs from cryptocurrency? What are its advantages?”
Conclusion
Banning technology has never made it go away. Instead, let’s make an effort to better understand it, and having done so, do all we can to create the digital currency our country needs.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now
Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Generalised System of Preferences
Mains level: Paper 2- Trade ties between India-U.S.
The article outlines the potential for India-U.S. collaboration in certain ares of trade which will bring many gains.
India-U.S. bilateral trade
- In the five years to 2019, bilateral trade grew at a CAGR of 7.7% per year to $146 billion.
- If we assume the same rate of growth, the $500 billion target will be achieved by 2036.
- To ensure this, the CAGR would need to be set at 11.9%.
- This is doable if the right policy actions are taken.
Areas of collaboration
1) Healthcare exchanges
- A collaborative response to the pandemic would contribute to global containment of the virus.
- Business partnerships are already taking place in the supply chain.
- As India becomes the hub of global vaccine distribution, building confidence in the Indian IPR regime, reviving the U.S.-India Health Dialogue, and mutually recognising standards and approvals will help drive healthcare exchanges.
2) Improving the macro trade architecture
- The macro trade architecture can be strengthened with a broad trade agreement focusing on resolving the low-hanging fruit.
- The U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum meetings can be revived along with a cross-sector track-2 group to look at convergence on issues such as market access.
- There is potential for flexibility from both sides for restoring the Generalised System of Preferences.
- The two countries should consider initiating discussions on a free trade agreement.
3) Trade in services
- Recent regulations in the U.S. have impacted labour mobility which can be addressed through immigration reforms for employment-based visa backlogs and smooth and timely processes.
- The MoU on labour cooperation signed in 2011 could be updated in line with India’s recent labour regulatory changes.
- This may also be a good time to reconsider a totalisation agreement pertaining to social security, given that both have already entered into such agreements with many of the same partner countries.
4) Defence industry ties
- Defence industry ties can be stepped up in coordination with industry.
- A defence dialogue including the private sectors of both sides could help in co-production and co-development in the defence and aerospace sectors.
5) Stepping up engagement of SMEs
- Five, engagement of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) can be stepped up.
- Smaller U.S. companies can find significant new opportunities for investments in India and sourcing from India.
- A U.S.-India SME CEOs Forum can be set up to catalyse such partnerships.
6) Clean energy and climate change
- The U.S.-India Strategic Energy Partnership should be geared towards joint investments in industrial decarbonisation, carbon dioxide removal and green hydrogen.
- The programmes of Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Research, Partnership to Advance Clean Energy Deployment and Promoting Energy Access through Clean Energy must be relaunched.
7) Digital economy partnership
- India has proved its ability in this space with new opportunities opening up in robotics, space, AI and electric vehicles.
- It is also important to disseminate information on India’s IPR regime improvements and work towards taking India off the U.S. Trade Representative IPR priority watchlist.
8) Other areas
- Other opportunities in the bilateral economic relationship include education, innovation and R&D, and agricultural trade and technology.
Conclusion
A closer economic partnership would bring gains to both sides in terms of GDP, employment, and productivity, given the complementary natures of their economies.
Get an IAS/IPS ranker as your 1: 1 personal mentor for UPSC 2024
Attend Now