Economic Survey Volume II

ECONOMIC SURVEY(Volume II)- By Sunya IAS
(Prelims perspective)
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INDEX
1) Reports, Indices and Survey 1
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2) Important DATA & Trends 4

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3) Environment Related 9
4) Schemes & Initiatives 13
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5) Economy Related 26
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6) Polity Related – Bodies & Acts 31

7) Miscellaneous Topics 35
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Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 0

1) Reports, Indices and Survey
 Annual Status of Education Report(ASER) 2020 = annual survey released by NGO

Pratham + urban areas are NOT covered + Schooling status is recorded for children in the
age group 3 to 16, and children in the age group 5 to 16 are tested for their ability to read
simple text and do basic arithmetic + It explores children’s performance on 4 competencies
that are identified as important predictors of future success, viz Cognitive Development,
Early Language, Early Numeracy, and Social and Emotional Development + ASER is
sample-based household survey and largest citizen-led survey in India + Every year since
2005(except in 2015), ASER is released
 Unified District Information System for Education plus(U-DISE+) = Unified District
Information System for Education (UDISE) initiated in 2012-13 integrating DISE for
elementary and secondary education is one of the largest Management Information Systems
on School Education + UDISE+ (UDISE plus) is an updated and improved version of
UDISE. The entire system will be online and will gradually move towards collecting data in
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real time. Data from 2018-19 is collected through this software + Department of School
Education & Literacy Ministry of Education
 Logistics Performance Index(LPI) = Released by the World Bank, assesses relative
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logistics efficiency of countries + On this index, India was ranked 44 out of 160 countries in
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2018 vis-à-vis rank of 54 in 2014 + India is among nine countries having area above ten-lakh
square kilometer out of 24 countries analyzed by LPI in 2018, with a score above three
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Logistics Planning and Performance Monitoring Tool

 Baltic Dry Index = The Baltic Dry Index, is issued daily by the London-based Baltic
Exchange + Baltic Dry Index (BDI) tracks the cost of shipping bulk dry goods, and is a
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leading economic indicator

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 US Dollar Index = is a measure of the value of the USD against a weighted basket of
currencies used by US trade partners + Ruppee is NOT among the currencies in basket + The
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index is designed, maintained, and published by ICE (Intercontinental Exchange, Inc.), with
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the name "U.S. Dollar Index"

 Goods Trade Barometer 2020 = given by WTO + WTO’s goods trade barometer index is a
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leading indicator that signals changes in world trade growth two to three months ahead of
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merchandise trade volume statistics. Its baseline value is 100, a value greater than 100
suggests above-trend growth while a value below 100 indicates below-trend growth
 Consumer Price Index(CPI)-Combined (C) Inflation = A comprehensive measure used
for estimation of price changes in a basket of goods and services representative of
consumption expenditure in an economy + Publised by Central Statistics Office (Ministry of
Statistics and Programme Implementation) + Considers both Goods and Services + It has
various categories and sub-categories for classifying consumption items and on the basis of
consumer categories like urban or rural + Accounts for Consumers + food inflation, which
contributes significantly to CPI-C is driven primarily by supply-side factors + CPI-C as the
headline target for monetary policy, changes in CPI-C anchor inflation expectations +

Headline inflation based on CPI-Combined (CPI-C) was on a downward path from 2014 to
2018(Though a rising trend was observed since 2019) + The rural-urban difference in CPI
inflation, which was high in 2019, saw a decline in 2020 + the major driver of CPI-C
inflation was the food and beverages group + Please Note: CPI(urban) takes into
consideration housing prices that are not a part of the CPI(rural) index
 Wholesale Price Index(WPI) = Amounts to the average change in prices of commodities at
the wholesale level + Published by Office of Economic Advisor (Ministry of Commerce &
Industry) + Measures Goods only + Accounts for Manufacturers and wholesalers + WPI
inflation declined from 4.3 per cent in 2018-19 to 1.7 per cent in 2019-20 and further to (-)
0.1 per cent in 2020-21 (Apr-Dec). It remained negative from April to July 2020 and stood at
1.2 per cent in December 2020 + The decline in WPI inflation in the current year is mainly
on account of fuel & power(Persistent volatility in the global crude oil prices during the year
led to fall in inflation of major fuel products)
 Consumer Price Index for Industrial Worker(CPI-IW) = Released by Ministry of Labour
+ CPI-IW is compiled and disseminated by the Labour Bureau on a monthly basis + It
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measures changes in the retail prices of a fixed basket of goods and services being consumed
by an average working-class family + is a price index released by the Labour Bureau to
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measure the impact of price rise on the cost of living for working class families spread across
certain select industries. The base year of CPI-IW has been revised from its earlier 2001 to a
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more recent base year of 2016

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Global Economic Policy Uncertainty (GEPU) Index = is a GDP-weighted average of

national EPU indices for 20 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France,
Germany, Greece, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, South Korea,
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Spain, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States + Each national EPU index
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reflects the relative frequency of own-country newspaper articles that contain a trio of terms
pertaining to the economy, uncertainty and policy-related matters
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 Digital Payments Index (DPI) = Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constructed a composite
Digital Payments Index (DPI) to capture the extent of digitisation of payments across the
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country + March 2018 is base period + It will be published on RBI’s website on a semi-
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annual basis from March 2021 + 5 broad parameters:

 Payment Enablers (weight 25%)
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 Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors (10%)

 Payment Infrastructure – Supply-side factors (15%)
 Payment Performance (45%) and
 Consumer Centricity (5%)
 S&P BSE CARBONEX = Launched in 2012 + the first index of its kind in India, tracks the
performance of the companies within the S&P BSE 100 index based on their commitment to
mitigating risks arising from climate change. The index was created to address market
demand for a sophisticated approach to portfolio management incorporating climate change
risk and opportunity.

 ESG Funds = ESG is a combination of three words i.e. environment, social and governance
+ it is a kind of mutual fund + Its investing is used synonymously with sustainable investing
or socially responsible investing + ESG fund focuses on companies with environment-
friendly practices, ethical business practices and an employee-friendly record + The fund is
regulated by Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) +The ESG funds are
increasingly becoming popular in the mutual fund industry in India + The first ESG mutual
fund was launched by the State Bank of India - SBI Magnum Equity ESG Fund
 Emerging Market Green Bonds Report 2019 = Amundi Asset Management (Amundi) and
International Finance Corporation (IFC) produced this report + Green Bonds Market is
growing at decent pace
 Global Climate Risk Index 2021 = It has been released by Germanwatch (an NGO based in
Germany) + Index analyses to what extent countries and regions have been affected by
impacts of weather-related loss events (storms, floods, heat waves etc. + India was the
seventh worst-hit country due to extreme weather events in 2019 (Mozambique is the worst-
affected) + There were eight tropical cyclones in India. Six of them were “very severe
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 World Investment Report 2020 = India improved its position from 12th in 2018 to 9th in
2019 in the list of the world’s largest FDI recipients according to the latest World Investment
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Report 2020 by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) + FDI
into India recorded almost 17 % jump during April-September 2020 over the corresponding
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period last year, despite the global slowdown, the COVID-19 pandemic, lockdown measures
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and supply chain disruptions + Services sector, being the largest recipient of FDI in India
 World Tourism Barometer = Released by United Nations World Tourism
Organization(WTO) + India ranked 23rd in the world in terms of international tourist arrivals
in 2019, falling slightly from the 22nd position in 2018
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 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index = India ranked 34th in Travel and Tourism
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Competitiveness Index 2019, improving significantly from its rank of 65 in 2013. Tourism
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contributed 5 per cent share to India’s total GDP in 2018-19. It also supports almost 13 per
cent of total employment in India + released by the World Economic Forum(WEF)
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 Global Survey on Digital and Sustainable Trade = The survey is led by ESCAP and
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jointly conducted biennially by the five United Nations Regional commissions (UNRCs) and
a growing number of global and regional partners + survey carried out every two years since
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2015 jointly by the five United Nations Regional Commissions (UNRCs) — ECA, ECE,
ECLAC, ESCAP and ESCWA. The fourth Survey has been launched in January 2021
 Time-Use survey = conducted by National Statistical Office (NSO), MoSPI + The primary
objective is to measure participation of men and women in paid and unpaid activities like
unpaid care giving activities, volunteer work etc + It also provides information on time spent
on learning, socializing, leisure activities, self-care activities, etc., by the household members
+ There seems to be an inverse relationship between age and the amount of time spent by
women on household chores, but a direct one between age and the time spent by men on
these

 Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report = A new reporting framework
called the ‘Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)’ has been
recommended to better reflect the intent and scope of reporting on non-financial
parameters + The BRSR would be integrated with the MCA 21 portal + The information
captured through BRSR filings should be used to develop a Business Responsibility-
Sustainability Index for companies + This framework has been recommended by
Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) under the Report of the Committee on Business
Responsibility Reporting
2) Important DATA & Trends
 India’s global trade during COVID Lockdown and subsequent Year

 India witnessed sliding exports of gems and jewellery, engineering goods, textile and
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 India witnessed improving exports of drugs and pharma, software and agriculture and
allied products
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 Supported by resilient software service exports, India is expected to witness a current
account surplus during the current financial year after a gap of 17 years + software
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services accounted for 49% of total services exports

 India’s Current Account: India’s current account deficit averaged 2.2 per cent of
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GDP in the last 10 years + Reversing this trend, current account balance turned into
surplus (0.1 per cent of GDP) in Q4: FY 2019-20 on the back of, among others, a
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lower trade deficit and a sharp rise in net invisible receipts + This quarterly surplus
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was registered after a gap of 13 years after Q4: FY 2006-07 + Given the trend in
imports of both goods and services, it is expected that India will end with an annual
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current account surplus of atleast 2 per cent of GDP – after a period of 17 years
 Balance on the capital account, on the other hand, is buttressed by robust FDI and FPI
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inflows
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 Import Commodities (as%): Crude Oil > Petroleum products > Gold > Telecom
instruments > Coal, Coke and Briquittes etc > Pearl, Precious, Semiprecious Stones >
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Electronics Components
 Top 10 Import Sources: China > USA > UAE > Hong Kong > Saudi Arabia > Germany >
Iraq > Indonesia > S Korea > Singapore
 Export Commodities (as %): Petroleum Products > Gems and Jewellery > Machinery and
mechanical appliances > Organic chemicals > Vehicles other than railway and parts thereof
 Top 10 Export Destination: USA > UAE > China > Hong Kong > Singapore > United
Kingdom > Netherland > Germany > Bangladesh > Nepal
 Central Government’s Fiscal Parameters (Absolute terms)
 Revenue receipts: Increasing steadily since 2014-15

 Gross Tax revenue: Increased steadily from 2014-15 till 2018-19, then decreased in
2019-20 and again increased in 2020-21
 Net tax revenue: Increasing steadily since 2014-15
 Non-tax revenue: No constant Trend between 2014-2021
 Non-debt capital receipts: No constant Trend between 2014-2021
 Non-debt receipts: Increasing steadily since 2014-15
 Total Expenditure: Increasing steadily since 2014-15
 Revenue Expenditure: Increasing steadily since 2014-15
 Capital Expenditure: Increased steadily from 2014-15 till 2017-18, then decreased
in 2019-20 and again increased in 2020-21
 Fiscal Deficit: Increased steadily from 2014-15 till 2019-20, then decreased in 2020-
21
 Revenue Deficit: No constant Trend between 2014-2021
 Primary Deficit: No constant Trend between 2014-2021
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Please note: All of them follows NO Particular trend if the figures are considered as percentage
of GDP
 Non-Tax revenue comprises mainly of interest receipts on loans to States and Union
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Territories, dividends and profits from Public Sector Enterprises including surplus of Reserve
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Bank of India (RBI) transferred to Government of India, receipts from services provided by
the Central Government and external grants
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 Non-debt Capital receipts mainly consist of recovery of loans and advances, and
disinvestment receipts + The contribution of Non-debt Capital receipts in the total pool of
Non-debt receipts have declined from 6.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 3.9 per cent 2019-20 PA,
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primarily due to shortfall in disinvestment proceeds + The major component of Non debt
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Capital receipts is disinvestment receipts that accrue to the government on sale of public
sector enterprises owned by the government (including sale of strategic assets)
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 Trends in Expenditure =
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 Revenue Expenditure (87%) > Capital Expenditure(13%)

 Revenue Expenditure: Interest payment > Salaries (pay & allowances) > Major
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subsidies > Pensions > Defence Services

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 Composition of taxes in Gross Tax Revenue in 2020-21: Direct Taxes(55%) > Indirect
taxes(45%)
 Composition of taxes in Gross Tax Revenue in 2020-21: GST(29%) > Corporation
Tax(28%) > Taxes on Income other than Corporation Tax (includes STT) (26%) > Union
Excise Duties(11%) > Customs (6%)
 Receipts from corporate and personal income tax have come down in 2019-20 PA
compared to the trend of improvement observed over the previous years. This is due to
the moderation in growth of the economy during 2019-20 and implementation of
structural reforms like Corporate Tax rate cut

 Component-wise grants recommended during Fifteenth Finance commission = Local
Bodies Grant > Post-Devolution Revenue Deficit Grant > Disaster Management Grant
(Union share)
 India: Potential to be the “pharmacy of the world” = Indian pharmaceutical industry is 3rd
largest in the world, in terms of volume, behind China and Italy and 14th largest in terms of
value + India almost doubled its share in world pharma exports in a span of ten years from
1.4 per cent in 2010 to 2.6 per cent in 2019 + India was at 11th position in terms of share in
world pharma exports in 2019 with Germany, Switzerland and USA occupying the top three
positions + India is the only country with largest number of US-FDA compliant pharma
plants (more than 262 including APIs) outside of USA + With 7.3% share in Total Exports,
pharmaceuticals exports are 3rd largest exported commodity + The pandemic, however,
exposed the excessive dependence of Indian pharmaceutical industry on China for sourcing
Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and Key Starting Materials (KSMs) + Top export
destinations: USA > China> UAE> Hong kong > Singapore
 External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) = refers to commercial loans raised by eligible
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Indian resident entities from non-resident lenders with a minimum average maturity of 3
years + can be in the form of bank loans, buyers’ credit, suppliers’ credit or securitized
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instrument(If the foreign money is used to finance the Equity Capital, it is termed as Foreign
Direct Investment) + ECBs are governed under the FEMA guidelines + advantages like
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lower interest rates, borrower can diversify investor base and government can direct inflows
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into specific sectors by allowing higher ECBs in them + As per the extant policy, 2019, end-
use restrictions relating to ECBs have been relaxed for specific eligible borrowers for their
working capital requirements, general corporate purposes and repayment of rupee loans.
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Refinancing is permitted only if the outstanding maturity of the original borrowing (weighted
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outstanding maturity in case of multiple borrowings) is not reduced and all-in-cost of fresh
ECB is lower than the all-in-cost (weighted average cost in case of multiple borrowings) of
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existing ECB. Further, only highly rated corporates (AAA) and Maharatna/ Navratna public
sector undertakings are permitted to participate in refinancing of existing ECBs
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 Status Report on India’s External Debt 2019-20: by Department of Economic Affairs,

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Ministry of Finance
 The ratio of foreign currency reserves to external debt stood at 85.5% in FY20
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 External debt as a percentage of GDP rose to 20.6% in FY20 from 19.8% a year
ago
 Sovereign debt has reduced while Non- sovereign debt especially Extra
commercial borrowing has increased
 India’s External Debt = US is the most heavily indebted country in the world with 23.9 per
cent of the total external debt stock. India is placed at 23rd position globally with an
estimated stock at US$ 554.4 billion as at end-June 2020 + India’s share of short-term debt,
at 18.9 per cent, is not only lower than the median share of 24.2 per cent, but also smaller
than that of any top 20 debtor countries + Further, among the SDDS and General Data

Dissemination Standards (GDDS) countries, India’s share of government sector in gross
external debt as at end-June 2020 at 18 per cent is modest and lower than the median share of
at 29.7 per cent + The India’s external debt to GDP ratio has been well below the optimal
zone over the years as it came down from 38.7 per cent as at end-March 1992 to as low as
17.1 per cent as at end-March 2006 (Figure B4.1).4 It remained range-bound around 23 per
cent during early 2010s. It is estimated at 20.6 per cent as at end-March 2020. Barring China,
leading emerging market economies have higher ratio than India’s.
 Money multiplier = measured as a ratio of M3/M0 which was mostly increasing from 1980s
onwards up to 2016-17, has however been declining since then + As on March 31, 2020, the
money multiplier was 5.5, slightly lower than 5.6 a year earlier. However, adjusted for
reverse repo - analytically akin to banks’ deposits with the central bank – Money Multiplier
turned out to be even lower at 4.8 by end-March 2020. Money multiplier has declined from
the recent peak of 5.8 in October 2018 to 5.5 as on January 1, 2021
Please Note: RBI publishes figures for four alternative measures of money supply, viz. M1,
M2, M3 and M4. om
 M1 = CU + DD (CU is currency (notes plus coins) held by the public and DD is net
demand deposits held by commercial banks)
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 M2 = M1 + Savings deposits with Post Office savings banks
 M3 = M1 + Net time deposits of commercial banks
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 M4 = M3 + Total deposits with Post Office savings organisations (excluding National

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Savings Certificates)
- M1 and M2 are known as narrow money. M3 and M4 are known as broad money
- Central bank money (M0) – obligations of a central bank, including currency and central
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bank depository accounts.

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- Commercial bank money (M1 and M3) – obligations of commercial banks, including
current accounts and savings accounts
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 Insurance penetration and Insurance Density = Insurance penetration is calculated as

percentage of insurance premium to GDP + Insurance density is calculated as ratio of
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insurance premium to population + In India, Insurance penetration which was 2.71 per cent
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in 2001 has steadily increased to 3.76 per cent in 2019 + As of 2019, the penetration for Life
insurance in India is 2.82 per cent, the penetration for Non-Life insurance is at 0.94 per cent(
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Life > Non Life) + Globally insurance penetration was 3.35 per cent for the life segment and
3.88 per cent for the non-life segment in 2019
 Oil Producing Crops Status:
 Production of total oilseeds is estimated to have increased in 2019-20 and 2020- 21
 Production of soyabean has declined significantly in 2019-20
 The kharif production of sunflower for 2020-21 is estimated to have declined as
compared to the previous year. The production of sunflower has been declining
continuously over the years,& only a marginal increase has been observed in 2019-20
 Production of mustard also has declined in 2019-20

 Food Production = In the year 2019-20 (as per fourth advance estimates), total food grain
production in the country is estimated at record 296.65 million tonnes which is higher by
11.44 million tonnes than the production of food grain of 285.21 million tonnes achieved
during 2018- 19
 Regional Distribution of Agricultural Credit in India in 2020-21 = the share of southern
region in agricultural credit was more than 40 per cent while it was less than 2 per cent for
the north-eastern region (NER) + This low coverage of the agricultural credit in NER is
because the total cultivable area in North Eastern States is only about 2.74 per cent of the
total GCA of the country + Moreover, community ownership of land is prevalent in most of
the NE States. These two factors affected the intake of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) loans in
NER as these loans are given against land documents + All loans under this financing facility
will have interest subvention of 3 per cent per annum up to a limit of ` 2 crores. This
subvention will be available for a maximum period of 7 years. Further, credit guarantee
coverage will be available for eligible borrowers from this financing facility under Credit
Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for a loan up to `
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2 crores
 India & Milk = India continues to be the largest producer of milk in the world + The rural
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sector has an estimated share of 57 per cent in the total consumption + The per capita
consumption in the urban areas (592 ml) remains higher than the rural areas (404 ml)
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 India & Fisheries = India is the second largest fish producing country in the world and
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accounts for 7.58 per cent of the global production + The fish production in India has reached
an all-time high of 14.16 million metric tons during 2019-20
 Break up of Food grains Allocation under Various Schemes = NFSA (including ICDS &
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MDM) > Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) Scheme > Festival,
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Natural calamity, etc. > Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme

 Data on Coal = Coal is the one of the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India + It
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accounts for 55 per cent of the country’s energy needs. Coal is not only the primary source of
energy in the country but is also used as an intermediary by many industries such as steel,
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sponge iron, cement, paper, brick-kilns, etc + India has the world’s 4th largest coal reserve
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and is 2nd largest producer after China, still India stands as 2nd largest coal importer
 Data on Textile and Apparels = The sector is the second-largest employment generator in
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the country, next only to agriculture + + India is the sixth-largest exporter of textile and
apparel products after China, Germany, Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Italy + The GoI is
implementing several schemes cutting across sectors such as the Amended Technology
Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS), Scheme for Integrated textiles park (SITP) and a
scheme called SAMARTH + ATUFS, is a revised version of TUFS and has the objective to
modernize and upgrade the technology of the Indian textile industry + SITP is for providing
world class infrastructure facilities [All schemes have been covered in your Monthly Notes]
 Data on Energy = India is the third-largest energy consumer in the world after USA and
China + With a share of 5.8 per cent of the world’s primary energy consumption, the Indian

energy consumption basket is primarily dominated by Coal and Crude Oil + India’s
indigenous crude oil production declined to 32.17 Million Metric Tonnes (MMT) in FY20 as
against 34.20 MMT in FY19
 India and Minerals = India produces as many as 95 minerals which include 4 hydrocarbon
energy minerals (coal, lignite, petroleum & natural gas), 5 atomic minerals (ilmenite, rutile,
zircon, uranium, and monazite), 10 metallic, 21 non-metallic, and 55 minor minerals
 Data on Satellite Launch = India has launched around 5-7 satellites per year in the recent
years. On the other hand, USA, Russia and China dominate the satellite launching services
with 19, 25 and 34 satellites respectively in 2019
 Data on Unemployment rates at all India level, for all ages, as per usual status, declined
marginally to 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 from 6.1 per cent in 2017-18
3) Environment Related
 National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) = 2008 + MoEFCC + There are 8
national missions forming the core of the NAPCC
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1. Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission = Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy + Launched in 2010 with the primary aim of achieving grid parity by
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2022 and with coal-based thermal power by 2030 + JNNSM has been revised twice
and now boasts a target of 100 GW of solar PV by 2022 + The cumulative capacity of
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36.9 GW was commissioned till November 2020

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2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency = Ministry of Power + Based on

the Energy Conservation Act, 2001 + To achieve growth with ecological
sustainability, Financing for PPP to reduce energy consumption and Energy
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incentives, including reduced taxes on energy-efficient appliances

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3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat = Ministry of Urban Development +

Promoting energy efficiency as a core component of urban planning by extending the
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existing Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) + The mission is being

implemented through three programmes: Atal Mission on Rejuvenation and Urban
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Transformation, Swachh Bharat Mission, and Smart Cities Mission

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4. National Water Mission = Ministry of Jal Shakti + Focuses on monitoring of ground

water, aquifer mapping, capacity building, water quality monitoring and other
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baseline studies + The National Institute of Hydrology is the nodal agency to get the
State Specific Action Plan (SSAP) for the water sector for 16 selected states. Five
States have completed the first phase of SSAP
5. National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem = Department of
Science and Technology + To continuously assess the health status of the Himalayan
Ecosystem. Enable policy bodies in their policy formulation functions + The key
achievements include setting up of the Centre of Glaciology at Wadia Institute of
Himalayan Geology + A national network programme on Himalayan Cryosphere has
been launched + A mega programme named Human and Institutional Capacity

Building (HICAB) programme for the Indian Himalayan Region was launched during
the 2018-19 and six state level knowledge networks have been supported in the states
of Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur and
Arunachal Pradesh in the Himalayan Region + In addition, three Centres of
Excellence, one each at Kashmir University, Sikkim University and Tezpur
University have been supported under the mission
6. National Mission for Green India = Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate
Change + Improved ecosystem services by Increasing forest/tree cover by 5 m ha and
improving quality of forest cover on another 5 m ha (a total of 10 m ha)
7. National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture = Ministry of Agriculture +
Enhancing food security by making agriculture more productive, sustainable,
remunerative, and climate resilient
8. National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change = Department of
Science and Technology + The efforts undertaken here would feed into the Indian
National Network for Climate Change Assessment (INCCA) which is a stock taking
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exercise conducted every two years as part of the national obligations under
UNFCCC + Key achievements include setting up of 12 Centres of Excellence and 10
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State Climate Change Centres + 8 Global Technology Watch Groups (GTWGs) in the
areas of Renewable Energy Technology, Advance Coal Technology, Enhanced
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Energy Efficiency, Green Forest, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustainable Agriculture

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and Manufacturing have been set up

 Global Technology Watch Groups(GTWGs) = In order to keep pace with the state of the
art technologies emerging globally on key sectors of the economy, Global Technology Watch
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Group (GTWG) have been set up for technology assessment, evaluation, prioritization, risk
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assessment and foresight in the areas of climate change adaptation and mitigation +
Department of Science & Technology(DST) has set up GTWGs in 8 technology sectors.
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These include; Renewable energy, Energy efficiency, Green Forest, Sustainable habitat,
Water, Sustainable Agriculture, Manufacturing and Clean Coal Technology + These GTWGs
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are being implemented by involving relevant experts, concerned mission directors/officials

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from the ministries spearheading the national missions and policy makers in above identified
sectors
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 Voluntary National Review = NITI Aayog presented India’s second Voluntary National
Review (VNR) at the United Nations High-level Political Forum (HLPF) on Sustainable
Development, 2020 + India’s first VNR was presented in 2017 + The VNR 2020 report titled
- Decade of Action: Taking SDGs from Global to Local + NITI Aayog is responsible for
overall coordination and monitoring of the SDGs in the country, in close collaboration with
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI)
 Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP) = Central Sector Scheme + 2014 + MoEFCC + to
build and support the scientific and analytical capacity for assessment of climate change in
the country, establish appropriate institutional framework and implement climate actions at a

total cost of Rs 290 crores for a duration of five years + Two important components of the
CCAP scheme are the
 National Carbonaceous Aerosols Program (NCAP): NCAP is a multi-institutional
program being implemented by a consortium of 17 institutions led by IIT Bombay. It
was inaugurated in the year 2017-18 and is a five-year duration project
 Long-Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO): LTEO is project under the CCAP
scheme for duration of 5 years and was started in the year 2019-2020. The duration of
CCAP was initially from 2017-18 to 2019-20 and this was later on extended till 2020-
21
 Long-Term Ecological Observatories(LTEO) Programme = were launched by India to
study the effects of climate change + Under the programme, eight long-term ecological
observatories are opened to study the health of eight different biomes + Ministry of
Environment, Forest and Climate Change + Long Term Ecological Observatories (LTEO) for
Climate Change Studies are one of the components under the ‘Climate Change Action
Programme’ + A Science Plan of LTEO was released during the 21st Conference of Parties
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to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at Paris in December 2015
+ First phase of the LTEO Programme includes creating a network of field sites to assess the
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health of eight different biomes of the country namely; Western Himalaya, Eastern
Himalaya, North-Western Arid Zone, Central Indian Forests, Western Ghats, Andaman &
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Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Sundarbans

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 National Adaptation Fund on Climate Change (NAFCC) = a Central Sector Scheme with
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) as the National
Implementing Entity was operationalized in 2015-16 + This scheme has continued beyond
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the 12th Five Year Plan till 31st March 2020 + The aim of NAPCC is to support concrete
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adaptation activities which are not covered under on-going activities through the schemes of
State/UT and National Governments
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 India's 2nd Biennial Update Report (BUR) = submitted to UNFCCC in 2018 + The second
biennial update report aims to provide an update to India’s first biennial report to the United
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Nation’s body on climate change. The report contains five major components including
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national circumstances, national greenhouse gas inventory, mitigation actions, finance,

technology and capacity building needs and support received and domestic monitoring,
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reporting and verification arrangements

 Climate Bond Initiative = Climate Bonds Initiative is an international organisation working
solely to mobilise the largest capital market of all, the $100 trillion bond market, for climate
change solutions + It is an international, investor- focused not-for-profit organization
 International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) = India joined the European
Commission-led International Platform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) in October 2019 as
one of the founding members + In 2019, India joined the International Platform on
Sustainable Finance (IPSF) to further boost the environmentally sustainable investments +
Launched by European Union with other Countries + It will be introduced at the IMF and

World Bank Group Annual Meetings, in Washington D.C. + To reach the Paris targets,
trillions of investments in sustainable infrastructure will be needed over the next decades +
The launch of this Platform is essential to stimulate investment and redirect capital flows
towards our climate objectives at the scale required for the most important economic
transition
 Global Commission on Adaptation (GCA) = United Nations Global Commission on
Adaptation (GCA) was launched in Hague in 2018 by then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-
moon + to encourage the development of measures to manage the effects of climate change
through technology, planning and investment
 International Solar Alliance (ISA) and Related Initiatives
 International Solar Alliance (ISA) has recently launched two new initiatives – a
‘World Solar Bank’ and ‘One Sun One World One Grid Initiative’ - of global
import that are poised to be instrumental in bringing about solar energy revolution
globally + The proposed World Solar Bank would cater to the need for dedicated
financing window for solar energy projects across the members of ISA + It is
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expected to provide low-cost financing at favorable terms for solar energy projects as
well as engage in co-financing with other multilateral/bilateral development financial
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institutions. The ‘One Sun One World One Grid’ vision was laid down by the
Hon’ble Prime Minister of India at the first assembly of the ISA
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 ISA Secretariat has recently launched a ‘Coalition for Sustainable Climate Action’
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comprising of global public and private corporates. The partner organisations under
the coalition would benefit from the network and the platform provided by ISA to
leverage and demonstrate their expertise in promoting sustainable development
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globally
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 ISA organized the First World Solar Technology Summit (WSTS) in 2020 with an
objective of showcasing to Member Countries the state of the art and next-generation
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solar technologies. The summit also provided a platform to deliberate on the way
forward for increasing access to new technologies at an affordable cost
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 World Solar Technology Summit(WSTS) = First World Solar Technology Summit

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(WSTS) was organized by The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry
(FICCI), as the convenor of ISA Global Leadership Task Force on Innovation, worked with
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the International Solar Alliance (ISA) in organizing the summit + ISA also launched its
technology journal, Solar Compass 360
 Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure(CDRI) = UK was confirmed as the first co-
chair of the Governing Council on the India-led global Coalition for Disaster Resilient
Infrastructure (CDRI) + CDRI is co-chaired by India and a representative of another national
government nominated by rotation every two years + CDRI was announced by India’s PM at
the UN Climate Action Summit 2019 held in USA + Its other founding members include:
Australia, Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Maldives, Mexico, Mongolia, Rwanda, Sri
Lanka and the UK + It is a voluntary international grouping, linking governments, UN

agencies, banks, private sector groups, and academia to develop the resilience of
infrastructure systems to climate and disaster risks + It is second major coalition launched by
India outside the UN, after the International Solar Alliance + Its secretariat is in New Delhi +
CDRI can be seen as complementing ISA’s efforts
 One Planet Summit = co-organized by France, United Nations and World Bank since 2017
+ brings together governments, international organizations, businesses and NGOs for
preservation of biodiversity
4) Schemes & Initiatives
 Application for Remedies in Trade for Indian industry and other Stakeholders(ARTIS)
or ARTIS Portal = Directorate general of trade remedies(DGTR) has introduced online
portal to submit online petitions for different trade remedies like anti-dumping duty,
safeguard duty and countervailing duty + The portal is named ARTIS (Application for
Remedies in Trade for Indian industry and other Stakeholders) + Applicants can monitor the
current status of their applications through online portal
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 Central Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System(CPGRAMS) = Centralized
Public Grievance Redress And Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) is an online web-enabled
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system over NICNET developed by NIC, in association with Directorate of Public
Grievances (DPG) and Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances
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(DARPG). CPGRAMS is the platform based on web technology which primarily aims to
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enable submission of grievances by the aggrieved citizens from anywhere and anytime
(24x7) basis to Ministries/Departments/Organisations who scrutinize and take action for
speedy and favorable redress of these grievances. Tracking grievances is also facilitated on
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this portal through the system generated unique registration number + Ministry of Personnel,
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Public grievance and Pensions

 Innovation for Defence Excellence(iDEX) = launched in 2018 + intends to engage
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industries including MSMEs, Start-ups, Individual Innovators, R&D institutes and Academia
and provide them grants/funding and other support to carry out R&D, which has potential for
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future adoption for Indian defence and aerospace needs + iDEX will be funded and managed
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by Defence Innovation Organization (DIO), and will function as the executive arm of DIO +
DIO is a ‘not for profit’ company registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act 2013. Its
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two founding members are Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) & Bharat Electronics
Limited (BEL) - Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). HAL and BEL are navratna
companies
 Labour Market Information System(LMIS) = National Skill Development
Agency(NSDA) under the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship has launched
a single window platform to aggregate supply and demand trends in the Indian skill
development ecosystem, referred to as the National Labour Market Information System
(LMIS) + National Skill Development Agency(NSDA) is an autonomous body under
Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship that anchors the National Skill

Qualifications Framework and allied quality assurance mechanisms for synergizing skill
initiatives in the country
 Software for Estimate Calculation Using Rural rates for Employment(SECURE) =
Ministry of Rural Development + Software to ensure that state governments don’t inflate
their estimates of the materials needed for a project. The software will generate an estimate
after being fed inputs on a project + All estimates under MGNREGS is generated with the
use of SECURE software from the Programme’s Management Information System since
2018 in around 26 states
 Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) = Approved during COVID
Lockdown for MSMEs and MUDRA borrowers + Under the Scheme, 100% guarantee
coverage to be provided by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC)
for additional funding of up to Rs. 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested MUDRA
borrowers + The credit will be provided in the form of a Guaranteed Emergency Credit Line
(GECL) facility + The Scheme would be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL
Facility during the period from the date of announcement of the Scheme + NCGTC was
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incorporated under the Indian Companies Act, 1956 in 2014 was set up by the Department of
Financial Services, Ministry of Finance + will be implemented over period of 5 years +
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Tenor of the loan under Scheme shall be 4 years with a moratorium period of one year on the
principal amount + No Guarantee Fee shall be charged by NCGTC from the Member
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Lending Institutions (MLIs) under the Scheme + loans under this scheme would attract a risk
weight of a minimum 20% since these don’t come with direct government guarantee. This
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facility is similar to the loans that are guaranteed by the Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for
Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)

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Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 2.0 = Emergency Credit Line
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Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 2.0 was expanded by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee
Company Limited (NCGTC) + Under the scheme, 100% loan guarantee would be provided
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by NCGTC + While the ECLGS 1.0 will remain, the ECLGS 2.0 will cover entities in 26
stressed sectors identified by Kamath Committee, plus the health sector + It provides a one-
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year moratorium on loans and four years + Facility under ECLGS 2.0 shall be on ‘Opt-in’
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basis - to enable eligible borrowers to choose whether they wish to opt in the GECL facility
 Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) Scheme =
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CGTMSE is a fund which provides guarantee for loans given to MSEs i.e. in case borrowers
fails to give back loans, bank will get their money from this fund + Now loans given by
NBFCs can also be covered under this fund + Mudra loans are guaranteed by Credit
Guarantee Trust for Micro And Small Enterprises (CGTMSE)
 COVID Vaccine Intelligence Network (Co-WIN) System = a digitalised platform –
provides real-time information of vaccine stocks, their storage temperature and
individualised tracking of beneficiaries of the vaccine on a real-time basis + Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology + CoWIN will allow the system to monitor the
utilisation, wastage, coverage of Covid-19 vaccination + Till now, Universal Immunisation

Programme has been using a vaccine intelligence system called eVIN (electronic vaccine
intelligence network) and CoWIN is essentially an extension of eVIN
 Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network(eVIN) = It is an innovative technological solution
aimed at strengthening immunization supply chain systems across the country + It aims to
provide real-time information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage temperatures across
all cold chain points in the country + It is being implemented under National Health Mission
(NHM) by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare + Since April 2020, eight Indian States are
using the eVIN application with 100 % adherence rate to track State specific COVID-19
material supplies
 Faceless Assessment Scheme = (earlier called the e-assessment Scheme and renamed in
August 2020) + In 2020, the scope of Faceless Assessment Scheme 2019 was broadened by
bringing all the pending assessment cases across the country within the purview of the
Scheme and declaring that any order passed outside the scheme shall be invalid + Under
Faceless Appeals Scheme, 2020, all Income Tax appeals will be finalised in a faceless
manner under the faceless ecosystem with the exception of appeals relating to serious frauds,
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major tax evasion, sensitive & search matters, International tax and Black Money Act + The
Scheme establishes a National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFApC) as the apex body for
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conduct of e-appeal proceedings in a centralized manner. Under the NFApC are Regional
Faceless Appeal Centers (RFAC) to facilitate the e-appeal proceedings. The Appeal Units,
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headed by one or more Commissioner (Appeals) and are placed under the RFAC. The
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NFApC will be the only point of contact between the taxpayer and the underlying Appeal
Units; and Appeal Units and NeAC/Assessing Officer. All internal and external
communication takes place electronically and the assessee or the Assessing Officer are not
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required to attend the proceedings personally or through an authorised representative + The

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scheme establishes a National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) in Delhi, headed by

Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, as the sole point of contact between the
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Department and the taxpayer

 Scheme for Special Assistance to States for Capital Expenditure = has been approved
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wherein special assistance is being provided to the State Governments in the form of 50-year
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interest free loan up to an overall sum not exceeding 12,000 crore + Aim: To boost capital
expenditure by the State governments which are facing a difficult financial environment this
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year due to the shortfall in tax revenue arising from the Covid-19 pandemic + The scheme
was announced by the Ministry of Finance as a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package +
All the States except Tamil Nadu have availed benefits of the scheme
 Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products(RoDTEP) = India's various export
promotion schemes including Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS), were
challenged by the United States in WTO in early 2018. The final report of the WTO panel
observed that MEIS is a "prohibited subsidy" and needs to be withdrawn, against which an
appeal has been filed by India. In order to continue supporting the industry and to eliminate
any uncertainty amongst the exporting community, Government has rolled out a new WTO

compliant scheme, namely Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP),
for all export goods with effect from 1st January, 2021 + Under this Scheme, duties and taxes
levied at the Central, State and local levels, such as electricity duties and VAT on fuel used
for transportation, which are not getting exempted or refunded under any other existing
mechanism will be refunded to exporters in their ledger account with Customs. The credits
can be used to pay basic customs duty on imported goods or transferred to other importers –
facilitating ease of transactions for exports + The RoDTEP rates would be notified by the
Department of Commerce
 E-Sanchit = e-Storage and computerised handling of indirect tax documents + Central Board
of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) has launched e- Sanchit (e-Storage and Computerized
Handling of Indirect Tax documents) for paperless processing, uploading of supporting
documents, to facilitate the trading across Borders + It has already been made available to
importers and exporters in the country and as a next step, CBIC is extending this facility to
PGA (Participating Government Agencies)
 Turant Customs = Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs launches its flagship
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programme 'Turant Customs' at Bengaluru & Chennai + Importers will now get their goods
cleared from Customs after a faceless assessment is done remotely by the Customs officers
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located outside the port of import
 Bharatmala Pariyojana = centrally-sponsored and funded the Road and Highways project +
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It is an umbrella program for the highways sector that focuses on optimizing the efficiency of
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freight and passenger movement across the country + The ambitious umbrella programme
has subsumed all existing Highway Projects including the flagship National Highways
Development Project (NHDP), launched in 1998 + Under Phase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana,
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implementation of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years (from 2017 to 2022) has been
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approved
 Sagarmala Programme = initiative of the Government of India to modernize India’s Ports
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so that port-led development can be augmented and coastlines can be developed to contribute
to India’s growth + Union Ministry of Shipping has been appointed as the nodal ministry for
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this initiative + To implement this, State governments set up State Sagarmala committees,
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headed by the chief minister or the minister in charge of ports + At the central level, a
Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) setup to provide equity support to assist various
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special purpose vehicles (SPVs) setup for various projects

 Logistics Planning and Performance Monitoring Tool (LPPT) = under planning +
Ministry of Commerce & Industry + to improve Logistics across different sectors
 India Logistics Platform (iLOG) = Several IT-based solutions have been deployed by
government over the years such as
 Indian Customs EDI Gateway (ICEGATE) and Single Window Interface for Trade
(SWIFT) developed for trade facilitation
 Port Community System (PCS) for cargo handling at seaports
 Freight Operations Information System (FOIS) by Indian Railways

 VAHAN (National Vehicle Registration System) by Ministry of Road Transport and
Highways.
However, each system owner has adopted a different approach, leaving critical gaps that
require manual or offline processing at various stages. Therefore, a comprehensive platform
iLOG is being developed for integrating all logistics related digital portals + The component
systems that would be developed simultaneously and later latched on to iLOG through open
APIs are secured logistics document exchange (Aadhaar and Blockchain-based security
protocols); truck visibility & positioning platform (integrated with e-way bill and Vahan);
National e-registry of warehousing; digital trucking; logistics account number (LAN); digital
Green corridor; digital port decongestion and container tracking & management system
 Operation Greens = MoFPI + announced in budget to address price volatility of perishable
commodities like potato, tomato and onion and benefit both producers and consumers + on
lines of operation flood + will promote farmers producers organisations(FPOs) and
professional management + central sector scheme + to ensure availability of TOP crops
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throughout the country round the year without price volatility + NAFED will be the Nodal
Agency to implement price stabilisation measures
 Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid&) Electric Vehicle in India (FAME
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India) Scheme = 2015 + Ministry of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises + to encourage
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progressive induction of reliable, affordable and efficient electric and hybrid vehicles + The
Phase-I of the Scheme was extended from time to time and the last extension was allowed till
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31st March, 2019. Based on outcome and experience gained during the Phase-I of FAME
India Scheme and after having consultations with all stakeholders including industry and
industry associations, the Government notified Phase-II of FAME India Scheme in 2019,
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which is for a period of 3 yrs. This phase aims to generate demand by way of supporting
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7000 electric buses (e-bus), 5 lakh electric three wheelers (e-3W), 55000 electric four
wheeler passenger cars (including strong hybrid) (e-4W)and 10 lakh electric two wheelers (e-
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2W)
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 2nd Phase of FAME-India = implemented over the period of 3 years from 2019-20 to 2021-
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22 + main objective of the scheme is to encourage faster adoption of electric & hybrid
vehicle by the way of market creation and indigenization + Electrification of the public &
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shared transport + Local manufacturing: Special incentives will be given for local
manufacturing of critical components for electric vehicles, especially the lithium ion batteries
+ Establishment of charging infrastructure + stresses upon the indigenization of the entire EV
value chain + Offering incentives to Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) to invest in
setting up a charging network + Under FAME -2 scheme, withdrawal of subsidies on EVs
using lead acid batteries & low-speed electric two-wheelers + FAME-Phase 2 has been
introduced to achieve the target of more than 30% electric vehicles by 2030( a more realistic
goal in comparison to the earlier target of 100% EVs by 2030)
 Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (KUSUM) Scheme/PM-KUSUM
Scheme = KUSUM aims to provide energy sufficiency and sustainable irrigation access to

farmers + to provide extra scheme to farmers by giving them an option to sell additional
power to the grid through solar power project set up on their barren lands + to promote
decentralised solar power production + 10 years scheme + Ministry of New and Renewable
Energy + “annadata” can be “urjadata” too + Budget proposed to expand the scheme to
provide 20 lakh farmers for setting up stand-alone solar pumps and another 15 lakh farmers
solarise their grid-connected pump sets + (Budget proposed a scheme to enable farmers to set
up solar power generation capacity on their fallow/barren lands and to sell it to the grid
would be operationalized)
 National Animal Disease Control Programme (NADCP) = for control of Foot & Mouth
Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis for vaccinating all cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat and pig
population against FMD and all bovine female calves of 4-8 months of age against
brucellosis. The programme has a total outlay of `13,343 crores for five years (2019-20 to
2023-24) + Target is of Controlling of diseases by 2025 and Eradication by 2030 + The
disease of FMD and brucellosis are common among livestock such as- cow, buffaloes, bulls,
pigs, sheep and goats. Both the diseases have a direct negative impact on trade of milk and
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other livestock products + government intends to eliminate Foot and Mouth disease,
brucellosis in cattle and also peste des petits ruminants(PPR) in sheep and goat by 2025
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 Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) = was announced in Budget 2020 +
aims to bring about the Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of
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the fisheries sector in India + With the scheme, highest ever investment of Rs. 20050 crores
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are being made in the fisheries sector + It will be implemented over a period of 5 years from
FY 2020-21 to FY 2024-25 in all States/Union Territories
 Prime Minister-Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME) =
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Centrally Sponsored Scheme + Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), in

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partnership with the State/ UT Governments, has launched an all India Centrally Sponsored
PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises Scheme (PM FME Scheme) for
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providing financial, technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food
processing enterprises with total outlay of Rs 10,000 crores over the period 2020- 2025 + The
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scheme is expected to benefit 2 lakh micro food processing units through credit linked
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subsidy + Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODOP) approach to reap benefit of scale
in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products. The
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States need to identify one food product per district keeping in view the existing clusters and
availability of raw material. Support for common infrastructure and branding & marketing
would be for that product. The Scheme also places focus on waste to wealth products, minor
forest products and Aspirational Districts [LAST Sentence could be used by UPSC to frame
Question]
 Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (PMKSY) = Ministry of Food Processing
Industries (MoFPI) + Under the umbrella scheme Pradhan Mantri Kisan SAMPADA Yojana,
the Ministry is implementing various component schemes which, inter-alia, includes (i)
Mega Food Parks, (ii) Integrated Cold Chain and Value Addition Infrastructure, (iii)

Infrastructure for Agro-processing Clusters, (iv) Creation of Backward and Forward
Linkages (v) Creation/ Expansion of Food Processing & Preservation Capacities, and (vi)
Operation Greens
 Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) = For sale of wheat and rice so as to check inflationary
trend in prices of foodgrains + Selling is done By Food corporation of India (FCI) + Recently
Food Ministry has allowed NGOs and charitable organisations to directly buy wheat and rice
from the Food Corporation of India at Open Market Sale Scheme rates without going through
the e-auction process + So far, only State governments and registered bulk users like roller
flour mills were allowed to do so
 Fortification of Rice & its Distribution under Public Distribution System = To address
the issue of anaemia and micro-nutrient deficiency and to promote nutrition security in the
country, a centrally sponsored pilot scheme on “Fortification of Rice & its Distribution under
Public Distribution System” was approved for a period of 3 years beginning in 2019 + The
pilot scheme is being funded by Government of India in the ratio of 90:10 in respect of North
Eastern, Hilly and Island States and 75:25 ratio in the rest of the States + The pilot scheme
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will focus on 15 Districts, preferably one district per state during the initial phase of
implementation
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 Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS) = Department of Food
& Public Distribution in collaboration with all States/UTs is implementing a central sector
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scheme namely “Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)” the

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validity of which is extended up to 31.03.2022. The main objective of the scheme is to

introduce nation-wide portability of ration card under National Food Security Act (NFSA)
through ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ System. This system will enable the ration card
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holders to lift their entitled foodgrains from any fair price shop (FPS) of their choice
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anywhere in the country by using their same/existing ration card. At present, the facility is
seamlessly enabled in 32 States/UTs covering nearly 69 crores beneficiaries (86 per cent of
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the total NFSA population) in the country. Under this system, equivalent food subsidy
through DBT (Cash Transfer) is provided to portability beneficiaries in Chandigarh and
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Puducherry instead of subsidised foodgrains

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 Private Entrepreneurs Guarantee (PEG) Scheme = formulated in 2008 + in which storage

capacity is created by private parties, CWC and State Government Agencies for guaranteed
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hiring by FCI + After a godown is constructed and taken over by FCI, storage charges are
paid to the investor for a guaranteed period of 9/10 years irrespective of the quantum of food
grains stored
 Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme = Launched in 2003 on pilot basis to include
grain-based distilleries and not just molasses-based ethanol + it would encourage ethanol
production from grains like barley, maize, corn and rice + Ethanol can be mixed with
gasoline to form different blends + As ethanol molecule contains oxygen, it allows engine to
more completely combust fuel, resulting in fewer emissions and thereby reducing occurrence
of environmental pollution + Since ethanol is produced from plants that harness the power of

the sun, ethanol is also considered as renewable fuel + Ministry of Petroleum and Natural
Gas + The Government has set 10 per cent blending target for mixing ethanol with petrol by
2022 & 20 per cent blending target by 2030 + With a view to achieve these blending targets,
Government is encouraging sugar mills and molasses based standalone distilleries through
various financial assistance to enhance their ethanol distillation capacity + The ethanol
supply under Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme, which was only about 38 crore litre
in 2013- 14, has increased to about 189 crores litre during Ethanol Supply Year (ESY) 2018-
19 and it was 173 crores litre in ESY 2019-20. In the ESY 2020-21, about 325 crores litre
ethanol is targeted to be produced to achieve 8.5 per cent blending and in ESY 2021-22, it is
targeted to achieve 10 per cent blending by producing more than 400 crores litre of ethanol +
Government has also allowed conversion of surplus stock of rice with FCI and Maize to
ethanol so that these targets of blending can be achieved smoothly
 Startups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) Scheme = enables a start-up to seek
assistance from any empanelled facilitator to file and prosecute their application. The
facilitator can claim payment for the services given to the start up from the Office of the
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Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks (O/o CGPDTM) on submission of
certificate in prescribed format + 2016 + The Scheme is implemented by the office of
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CGPDTM and provides facilitators to start ups for filing and processing of their applications
for patents, designs and trademarks. Professional charges of the facilitators are reimbursed by
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the office of CGPDTM as per provisions under SIPP scheme + The Office of the Patents,
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Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM) is a subordinate office under the Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
 Fund of Funds for Startups (FFS) = "Fund of Funds for Startups" (FFS) at Small Industries
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Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for contribution to various Alternative Investment

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Funds (AIF), registered with Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) which would
extend funding support to Startups + This is in line with the Start up India Action Plan
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unveiled by Government in January 2016 + The corpus of FFS is Rs.10,000 crore which shall
be built up over the 14th and 15th Finance Commission cycles subject to progress of the
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scheme and availability of funds + The FFS emanates from the Start up India Action Plan, an
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initiative of Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP)

 Startup Yatra = an initiative that travels to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities of India to search for
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entrepreneurial talent by conducting day long bootcamps + The Startup India Yatra is a
platform which aims to help entrepreneurs realize their startup dream. Entrepreneurs will also
have the opportunity to get incubated to succeed in their journey from idea to enterprise. The
Startup India Yatra aims to reach each and every district of the country + Department of
Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry
 Udyam Registration Portal = New Process of MSME Registration + a new portal for
Udyam Registration launched by the MSME Ministry + MSME registration process is fully
online, paperless and based on self-declaration + No documents or proof are required to be
uploaded for registering an MSME + There will be no need for renewal of Registration + No

enterprise is supposed to file more than one Udyam Registration + Registration Process is
totally free
 CHAMPIONS Online platform for MSME = GoI launched CHAMPIONS online platform
to help and handhold the MSMEs. ‘CHAMPIONS’ stands for Creation and Harmonious
Application of Modern Processes for Increasing the Output and National Strength + It is an
ICT based technology system aimed at making the smaller units big by solving their
grievances, encouraging, supporting, helping and handholding them throughout the business
lifecycle. The platform facilitates a single window solution for all the needs of the MSMEs +
It is a technology backed control room-cum-management information system. In addition to
ICT tools including telephone, internet and video conference, the system is enabled by
Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics and Machine Learning + It is also fully integrated on
real time basis with GoI’s main grievances portal CPGRAMS and MSME Ministry’s other
web based mechanisms + As part of the system, a network of 70 control rooms have been
created in a Hub & Spoke Model. The Hub is situated in New Delhi in Secretary MSME’s
office. The spokes are in the States in various offices and institutions of the Ministry + The
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GoI has also on boarded public sector banks to provide extended support for finance
facilitation/ resolving through CHAMPIONS platform
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 Infrastructure Viability Gap Funding (VGF) Scheme = Viability Gap Finance means a
grant to support projects that are economically justified but not financially viable + The
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scheme is designed as a Plan Scheme to be administered by the Ministry of Finance and

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amount in the budget are made on a year-to-year basis + Such a grant under VGF is provided
as a capital subsidy to attract the private sector players to participate in PPP projects that are
otherwise financially unviable + Projects may not be commercially viable because of the
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long gestation period and small revenue flows in future + The VGF scheme was launched in
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2004 to support projects that come under Public-Private Partnerships

 "New India New Railway" Initiative = The GoI has allowed the private players to operate
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in the Railways sector through the PPP mode under the "New India New Railway" initiative.
The initiative is expected to garner an investment of about ` 30,000 crores from the private
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sector + Ministry of Railways has identified over 150 pairs of train services for the
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introduction of 151 modern train sets or rakes through private participation + The private
entity shall be responsible for financing, procuring, operating, and maintenance of the trains
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and shall have the freedom to decide on the fare to be charged from its passengers. The
private entities that would undertake the project is being selected through a two-stage
competitive bidding process. The bidding process is expected to be completed by May 2021
and the private trains are likely to be introduced in 2023-24
 National Rail Plan (NRP) = It aims at developing adequate rail infrastructure by 2030 to
cater to the projected traffic requirements up to 2050 + NRP has attempted to map the entire
transport infrastructure of the country on a common platform + It has also assessed the
existing passenger and freight traffic carried on all modes and forecast the growth for the
period 2030 to 2050 and then strategize a significant modal shift to rail + The objective is to

increase the modal share of rail in freight from the current level of 27 per cent to 45 per cent.
Innovative financing has been devised to fund these priority projects + Indian Railway
Finance Corporation (IRFC) is mobilizing resources with sufficient moratorium period and
projects are being targeted to be completed well before the expiry of the moratorium period.
These priority projects are being planned in such a way that they will provide enough return
to service the debt
 Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission = GoI has been implementing
the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Urban Livelihoods Mission in all the statutory
towns to address the social & occupational vulnerabilities of the urban poor + Under the
mission, urban poor are imparted skill training for self and wage employment and assisted in
setting up self-employment ventures by providing credit at subsidized rates of interest + The
Mission also provides for shelters for urban homeless and infrastructure for street vendors +
Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
 PM Street Vendor’s Atmanirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi) = was launched as part of the
Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan for providing micro-credit facility to the street vendors to
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restart their businesses post COVID-19 lockdowns + This scheme targets to benefit over 50
lakhs street vendors who had been vending on or before March 24, 2020, in urban areas
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including those from surrounding peri-urban/ rural areas + Under the Scheme, the vendors
can avail a working capital loan of up to Rs 10,000 which is repayable in monthly
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instalments in the tenure of one year. On timely/ early repayment of the loan, an interest
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subsidy @ 7 per cent per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries
through Direct Benefit Transfer on quarterly basis + Union Ministry of Housing and Urban
Affairs (MoHUA)
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Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojan-Urban (PMAY-U) = has been rapidly moving towards
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achieving the vision for providing a pucca house to every household by 2022 + It has so far
approved more than 109 lakh houses of which over 70 lakh houses have been grounded for
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construction. More than 41 lakh houses have been completed and delivered. The GoI has
made additional outlay of ` 18,000 crore for the year FY21 through budgetary allocation and
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extra budgetary resources for the scheme under Atmanirbhar Bharat 3.0. Further, a sub
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scheme Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) under PMAY-U has been initiated
to address the needs of the migrant workers for decent rental housing at affordable rate near
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their work places + Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA)
 Light House Projects (LHPs) = LHPs under Global Housing Technology Challenge India
(GHTC-India) will be constructed across 6 cities in 6 states + GHTC-India under Ministry of
Housing and Urban Affairs to get the best globally available innovative construction
technologies through a challenge process + LHPs are model housing projects with houses
built with shortlisted alternate technology suitable to the geo-climatic and hazard conditions
of the region + These LHPs will act as live laboratories for all stakeholders leading to
mainstreaming of these global technologies in Indian context

 e-Visa Scheme = Under the e-visa scheme, foreigners do not have to meet any Indian official
before their arrival at the landing port + Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) + with five sub-
categories i.e. ‘e-Tourist Visa’, ‘e-Business Visa’, ‘e-Medical Visa’, ‘e-Conference Visa’ and
‘e-Medical Attendant Visa’. The e-Visa scheme is now available for 169 countries with valid
entry + MHA has also introduced e-FRRO services for those foreigners who are staying in
India and who need services like visa extension, visa conversion, exit permit, registration etc
 Padhna Likhna Abhiyan = An adult education scheme has been introduced in FY 2020-21
with financial outlay of ` 142.61 crore with a target to make 57 lakh learners’ literate + to
tackle the literacy-related challenges in the post COVID world + Ministry of Education +
'Padhna Likhna Abhiyan' aims total literacy by 2030
 PM eVIDYA Initiative = This initiative was announced for school and higher education
under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat programme in May, 2020 + It is a comprehensive initiative to
unify all efforts related to digital/online/on-air education to enable multi-mode and equitable
access to education for students and teachers + The four PM e-Vidya components of school
education are: om
 One Nation, One Digital Education Infrastructure: Under this component all
States/UTs have free access to a single digital infrastructure i.e, DIKSHA + In April,
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2020, Vidya Daan Portal was launched on Diksha as a national content contribution
program that leverages the DIKSHA platform and tools to seek and allow
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contribution/donation of e-learning resources for school education by educational

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bodies, private bodies, and individual experts

 One class, one TV channels through Swayam Prabha TV Channels: Swayam
Prabha DTH channels are meant to support and reach those who do not have access to
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the internet + 12 channels are devoted to telecast high quality educational

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programmes in school education + The pilot/beta version has been launched in

October, 2020
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 Extensive use of Radio, Community radio and Podcasts: Radio broadcasting is

being used for children in remote areas who are not online + 303 pieces of
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curriculum-based radio programmes (for Classes 1-8) have been produced by CIET-
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NCERT for its dissemination/ broadcast on 12 GyanVani FM Radio Stations, 60

Community Radio Stations, iRadio and Jio Saavn Mobile apps
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 For the differently-abled: One DTH channel is being operated specifically for
hearing impaired students in sign language. For visually and hearing-impaired
students, study material has been developed in Digitally Accessible Information
System (DAISY) and in sign language; both are available on NIOS website/ YouTube
+ 25 NCERT textbooks have also been converted into DAISY format
 Swayam MOOCs = A Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) platform + SWAYAM-
MOOCs project is intended to address the needs of school level 9-12 to Under Graduate and
Post Graduate students, covering all disciplines + Recently Swayam 2.0 launched to offer
online degree programmes with enhanced features and facilities by top ranking institutions +

for open schools and pre-service education: Online MOOC courses relating to NIOS (grades
9 to 12 of open schooling) are uploaded on SWAYAM portal. Around 92 courses have
started and 1.5 crore students are enrolled under Swayam MOOCs
 National Repository of Open Educational Resources (NROER) = NROER is an open
storehouse of e-content + NROER is developed by CIET, NCERT + launched in 2013
 PRAGYATA Guidelines = on Digital Education + Released by Ministry of Human
Resource Development (MHRD) + These are only advisory in nature and state governments
can formulate their own rules, based on local needs
 MANODARPAN Initiative = Ministry of Education + The ‘Manodarpan’ initiative for
psychosocial support has been included in the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, as part of
strengthening and empowering the human capital to increase productivity and efficiency
through reforms and initiatives in the education sector + aims to provide psychological
support and counselling to students, teachers and families for mental health and emotional
well-being
 National Council of Vocational Education and Training (NCVET) = It was notified by
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the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship in 2018 + It subsumed the existing
skill regulatory bodies- National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) & National Council for
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Vocational Training (NCVT) and will act as an overarching skills regulator + It regulates the
functioning of entities engaged in vocational education and training, both long and short
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term, and establishes minimum standards for the functioning of such entities
 Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 3.0 (PMKVY 3.0) = 3rd phase of Pradhan Mantri
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Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 3.0) + launched for the period of 2020-2021 + It would
make skill development more demand-driven and decentralised in its approach, with focus on
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digital technology and Industry 4.0 skills + 3.0 will be more trainee-centric and learner-
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centric + implemented by National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), under the

Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship + The basic premise for the scheme is to
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create skilled and certified workforce + Components of the Scheme are Short Term Training
(STT), Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) and Special Projects + STT is imparted to
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school/college dropouts or unemployed and Training is carried out according to the National
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Skills Qualification Framework(NSQF) + Individuals with prior learning experience or skills

are assessed and certified under Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component + Special
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Projects component is meant for projects that require some deviation from the terms and
conditions of Short-Term Training under PMKVY depending on special needs in terms of
geography, demography and social groups + District Skill Committees (DSCs) would be
playing a pivotal role under the guidance of State Skill Development Missions in PMKVY
3.0. DSC shall be the focal point of implementation of PMKVY 3.0 and shall play a major
role in preparation of District level plan, mobilization and counselling of candidates,
formation of training batches, monitoring of quality assurance and post training support + A
phase-wise introduction of vocational courses in schools shall be initiated in coordination

with Ministry of Education. This component shall be implemented for classes 9 to 12 to
expose students to skill development avenues
 Pradhan Mantri Rojgar Protsahan Yojana (PMRPY) = PMRPY was launched in 2016
with the objective to incentivise employers for creation of new employment. Under the
scheme, Government of India was paying 8.33 per cent of the employer EPS contribution for
all sectors in respect of these new employees + The scheme targeted employees earning upto
Rs 15,000 per month and with the aims to cover a large number of informal workers to the
formal workforce + The benefits of the scheme were extended to the textile sector under
Pradhan Mantri Paridhan Rojgar Protsahan Yojana(PMPRPY) for made-ups and apparels
sector with an additional 3.67 per cent of the employers EPF contribution, thus bringing the
total incentive to 12 per cent towards EPF and EPS both + The scope of the scheme was
further enhanced w.e.f. 01.04.2018 to provide the benefit of full 12 per cent employers’
contribution for all sectors + Ministry of Labour & Employment
 Fit Health Worker Campaign = launched at Auyshman Bharat-Health & Wellness Centres
(AB-HWCs) to enable the screening and early detection of non-communicable diseases in the
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Frontline-Health care workers
 Swachh Bharat Mission-Grameen (SBM-G) = Under SBM-G, rural sanitation coverage
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has made an incredible leap in the target achievement from 39 per cent in 2014 to 100 per
cent in 2019 with more than 10 crore toilets built since 2014 [Read more about SBM from
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your Monthly Notes]


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Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) = Goal of JJM is to enable every rural household get assured
supply of potable piped water at a service level of 55 litres per capita per day (lpcd) regularly
on long-term basis by ensuring functionality of the tap water connections + Also aims To
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provide Tap connection to every rural household by 2024 with a total outlay of Rs 3.60 lakh
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crore in partnership with States + JJM is a decentralized, demand-driven and community-

managed programme with the Gram Panchayat and/ or its sub-committee, i.e. Village Water
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and Sanitation Committee (VWSC)/ Paani Samiti/ User Group, etc. playing a key role in
planning, implementation, management, operation and maintenance of water supply systems
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+ JJM envisions empowering water supply department and local communities to function as
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water utilities for long-term water security in the country + JJM is an upgraded version of the
National Rural Drinking Water Programme (NRDWP), launched in 2009 + Ministry of Jal
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Shakti
 Samagra Shiksha Scheme = an overarching programme for the school education sector
extending from preschool to class 12, is being implemented with the broader goal of
improving school effectiveness measured in terms of equal opportunities for schooling and
equitable learning outcomes + The vision of the Scheme is to ensure inclusive and equitable
quality education from pre-school to senior secondary stage in accordance with the SDG for
Education + It subsumes the three Schemes of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), Rashtriya
Madhyamik Shiksha Abhiyan (RMSA) and Teacher Education (TE) + The scheme treats
school education holistically as a continuum from Pre-school to Class 12 + The main

outcomes of the Scheme are envisaged as Universal Access, Equity and Quality including
Vocational Education, Inclusive Education, increased use of Technology and strengthening
of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) + The scheme was launched in 2018-19 with the
following major features + The main outcomes of the Scheme are envisaged as Universal
Access, Equity and Quality including Vocational Education, Inclusive Education, increased
use of Technology and strengthening of Teacher Education Institutions (TEIs) + Under the
Samagra Shiksha Scheme, a National Mission to improve learning outcomes at the
elementary level through an Integrated Teacher Training Programme called NISHTHA
(National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement) was
contextualized and made 100 per cent online according to the needs of teaching and learning
during the COVID-19 pandemic [NISHTHA Already covered in Monthly Notes]
 Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan = Ministry of Education + It was launched in 2015 + It is a
convergent framework across School Education and Higher Education to motivate children
of the age group from 6-18 years in learning Science, Mathematics and Technology through
observation, experimentation, inference drawing, model building, etc
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 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas (KGBVs) = KGBV scheme under Sarva Shiksha
Abhiyan (SSA) + provides residential elementary educational facilities at upper primary level
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to girls belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes, minority
communities and families below the poverty line in Educationally Backward Blocks + Under
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the newly launched Integrated Scheme of School Education-Samagra Shiksha, provision has
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been made to upgrade the existing KGBVs at upper primary level to upto senior secondary
level in convergence with the erstwhile Girls Hostel Scheme
5) Economy Related
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 Commercial Paper = is an unsecured loan raised by firms in money markets through

instruments issued in the form of a promissory note + In India, commercial paper is a short-
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term unsecured promissory note issued by the Primary Dealers (PDs) and the All-India
Financial Institutions (FIs) for a short period of 90 days to 364 days + Most of the
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commercial paper investors are from the banking sector, individuals, corporate and
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incorporated companies, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Foreign Institutional Investors

(FIIs), etc. However, FII can only invest according to the limit outlined by the Securities and
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Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

 Consolidated Sinking Fund(CSF) = CSF was set up in 1999-2000 by the RBI to meet
redemption of market loans of the States + Initially, 11 States set up sinking funds but Later,
the 12th Finance Commission (2005-10) recommended that all States should have sinking
funds for amortisation of all loans, including loans from banks, liabilities on account of
NSSF National Small Saving Fund), etc + The fund should be maintained outside the
consolidated fund of the States and the public account + It should not be used for any other
purpose, except for redemption of loans + As per the scheme, State governments could

contribute 1-3% of the outstanding market loans each year to the Fund + The Fund is
administered by the Central Accounts Section of RBI Nagpur
 Technology Development Fund(TDF) = Technology Development Fund (TDF) has been
established to promote self-reliance in Defence Technology as a part of the ‘Make in India’
initiative + It is a programme of MoD (Ministry of Defence) executed by DRDO meeting the
requirements of Tri-Services, Defence Production and DRDO + Eligibility for TDF:
 Indian private and public industries, including MSMEs.
 Projects up to INR 10 Crores are eligible for funding; subject to a maximum of 90% of
the entire cost of the project. However, 100% of funding may be considered on a case-to-
case basis.
 In the event of research organisations or academia being involved in the work, their
contribution is limited to 40% of the efforts
 Price Stabilization Fund (PSF) = 2014-15 + to help regulate the price volatility of
important agri-horticultural commodities like onion, potatoes and pulses + for maintaining a
strategic buffer of aforementioned commodities for subsequent calibrated release to moderate
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price volatility and discourage hoarding and unscrupulous speculation + Department of
Consumer Affairs (DOCA) , Ministry of Consumer Affairs(recently transferred from
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Ministry of Agri) + Objective of the PSF was to safeguard the interest of the growers and
provide them financial relief when prices fall below a specified level + Central Sector
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Scheme + To support market interventions for price control of perishable agri-horticultural

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commodities + PSF will be maintained as a Central Corpus Fund by Small Farmers

Agribusiness Consortium (SFAC), a society promoted by Ministry of Agriculture
 Agriculture Infrastructure Fund = The fund has been launched as part of ‘Atmanirbhar
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Bharat’ (self-reliant India) to make farmers self-reliant + It is a new pan India Central Sector
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Scheme + The scheme shall provide a medium – long term debt financing facility for
investment in viable projects for post-harvest management Infrastructure and community
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farming assets through interest subvention and financial support + The duration of the
Scheme shall be from FY2020 to FY2029 (10 years) + Under AIF, Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be
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provided by banks and financial institutions as loans with interest subvention of 3% per
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annum on loans up to Rs. 2 crore + Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare +

Beneficiaries include farmers, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Farmer
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Producers Organizations (FPOs), Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups etc

 Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) = As a part of the Atma
Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan stimulus package, a Rs 15000 crores Animal Husbandry
Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) has been set up. The AHIDF will incentivize
investments by individual entrepreneurs, private companies including MSME, farmers
producers organizations (FPOs) and Section 8 companies to establish (i) dairy processing and
value addition infrastructure (ii) meat processing and value addition infrastructure, and (iii)
animal feed plant + The Government of India will provide 3 per cent interest subvention to
eligible beneficiaries. There will be a 2 year moratorium period for the principal loan amount

and 6 years repayment period thereafter. The interest subvention would be released to banks
every year by the Government based on entitlement claimed. The Government of India
would also set up a Credit Guarantee fund of ` 750 crores to be managed by NABARD.
Credit guarantee would be provided to those sanctioned projects which are covered under
MSME defined ceilings. Guarantee coverage would be upto 25 per cent of the credit facility
of borrowers. To ease out the application process, an online portal 'ahidf.udyamimitra.in' has
been developed by SIDBI through which applicants can apply online to avail loans under this
scheme
 Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) = The concessional
finance under the FIDF is provided by the Nodal Loaning Entities (NLEs) namely (i)
NABARD, (ii) National Cooperatives Development Corporation (NCDC) and (iii) All
scheduled Banks + provide concessional finance to State Governments/UTs and State
entities, cooperatives, individuals and entrepreneurs + India is the second largest producer of
fish and fresh water fish in the world
 Fixed Term Employment (FTE) = FTE is a contract in which a company hires an employee
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for a specific period of time + The employee is not on the payroll of the company + Their
payment is fixed in advance and is not altered till the term expires + Such contracts are given
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out for temporary jobs + It cannot be used to replace existing employees who are on a long
leave + Such workers are entitled to all statutory benefits (work hours, wages etc.) available
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to a permanent worker. However, other benefits such as Provident Fund is not available to
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them + The employers can terminate the contract on certain grounds (fraud, non-
performance, etc.) even before the due date + Recently, The Industrial Relations Code, 2020
allowed converting permanent jobs into fixed-term contracts
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Interest Coverage Ratio = The interest coverage ratio is a debt and profitability ratio used to
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determine how easily a company can pay interest on its outstanding debt + The interest
coverage ratio may be calculated by dividing a company's earnings before interest and taxes
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(EBIT) by its interest expense during a given period

 Zombie Lending = Zombie bank is a bank that is practically insolvent but continues to exist
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through hiding bad loans on their balance sheet. The bank can continue its operations by
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rolling over bad loans instead of writing them off. This process is called as forbearance
lending or zombie lending + Zombies are companies that earn just enough money to continue
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operating and service debt but are unable to pay off their debt + Zombies have Income
coverage Ratio Less than 1
 Quantitative Easing = Quantitative easing is a monetary policy whereby a central bank
purchases at scale government bonds or other financial assets in order to inject money into
the economy to expand economic activity
 Fiscal Stimulus = refers to increasing government consumption or transfers or lowering
taxes. Effectively this means increasing the rate of growth of public debt, except that
particularly Keynesians often assume the stimulus will cause sufficient economic growth to
fill that gap partially or completely

 Medium Term Fiscal Policy (MTFP) Statement = Medium-term Fiscal Policy Statement,
presented to Parliament under Section 3(2) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget
Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, sets out three-year rolling targets for four specific fiscal
indicators in relation to gross domestic product (GDP) at market prices — (i) Revenue
Deficit, (ii) Fiscal Deficit, (iii) Tax to GDP ratio and (iv) Total outstanding Debt at the end of
the year
 Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR) = EBRs are those financial liabilities that are raised by
public sector undertakings for which repayment of entire principal and interest is done from
the Central Government Budget + These borrowings made by the government owned entities
that are effectively becomes the debt of the government are known as extra budget
borrowings or resources. They are also known as off-budget resources. Both the centre and
states are making such borrowings
 State Development Loan = State Development Loans (SDLs) are dated securities issued by
states for meeting their market borrowings requirements. In effect, the SDL are similar to the
dated securities issued by the central government. Purpose of issuing State Development
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Loans is to meet the budgetary needs of state governments. Each state can borrow upto a set
limit through State Development Loans + SDL securities issued by states are credible
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collateral for meeting the SLR requirements of banks as well as a collateral for availing
liquidity under the RBI’s LAF including the repo + RBI facilitates the issue of State
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Development Loans securities in the market + SDLs are basically securities and they are
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auctioned by the RBI through the e-Kuber which is dedicated electronic auction system for
government securities and other instruments. RBI holds SDL auctions once in a fortnight +
The investors in SDL are basically commercial banks, mutual funds, insurance companies
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who are attracted by the slightly higher interest rate of SDL (compared to central government
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securities). In 2015, Government allowed Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) to buy SDLs up
to 2% of outstanding SDLs in the market
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 Laffer Curve = The Laffer curve shows how tax revenues change when the tax rate is either
increased or decreased. Typically, it has an inverted-U shape + The curve is used to illustrate
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Laffer's argument that sometimes cutting tax rates can increase total tax revenue
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 Debt Overhang = This refers to a situation where all current income gets used up in
repaying the accumulated debt, leaving little incentives to invest either in physical or human
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capital + Such borrowers are unlikely to receive new funding, either equity or debt, as the
ability of the borrower to repay additional loans or grow his/her business/farm is in question
 Currencies in News:
Malaysian – Ringgit South African – Rand
Thailand – Baht Mexican – Peso
Philippine – Peso Indonesian – Rupiah
Chinese – Yuan

 Mundell-Fleming Trilemma = aka the impossible trinity + that states that a country may
simultaneously choose any two, but not all of the three policy goals—monetary
independence, exchange rate stability, and maintain an open capital account(financial
integration)
 Central Repository of Information on large Corporates (CRILC) = RBI has set up a
Central Repository of Information on Large Credits (CRILC) to collect, store, and
disseminate credit data to lenders + Banks/Financial Institutions are expected to report
findings to CRILC + Banks will have to provide credit information to CRILC about their
borrowers with an aggregate fund-based and non-fund based exposure of and over Rs.5
Crores + CRILC was built in 2014 precisely to help financial institutions and banks to assess
their non-performing assets (NPAs) and also share this information with other institutions +
= Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs) with assets of Rs 500 crore and above were brought
under the CRILC reporting framework. Accordingly, UCBs shall report credit information,
including classification of an account as Special Mention Account (SMA), on all borrowers
having aggregate exposures of Rs 5 crore and above with them to CRILC
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 Core Inflation = Core inflation represents the long run trend in the price level. In measuring
long run inflation, transitory price changes should be excluded. One way of accomplishing
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this is by excluding items frequently subject to volatile prices, like food and energy
 National Housing Bank(NHB) = RBI held 100 percent stake in the NHB + To transfer
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RBI's stake in the NHB to the government, the Finance Bill 2018 amended the National
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Housing Bank Act, 1987 + Change in ownership from RBI to government will segregate
RBI's role as banking regulator and as owner of NHB + Statutory body + principal agency to
promote and regulate housing finance institutions in India both at local and regional level + It
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launched NHB Residex, the first official residential housing price index in 2007
 Buffer Stock = refers to a reserve of a commodity that is used to offset price fluctuations and
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unforeseen emergencies + Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs fixes the minimum

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buffer norms on quarterly basis: i.e as on 1st April, 1st July, 1st October and 1st January of
every financial year + The Government of India has given the task of procuring buffer stock
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to National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited (NAFED), Food

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Corporation of India (FCI) and Small Farmers Agri-business Consortium (SFAC) +

Example: Due to shortage of Onion in market NAFED is maintaining buffer stock of it.
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Recently it has released around 1 lakh MT of onion in market to stabilize its rising price
 Social Impact Bonds = Social Impact Bond is also called pay-for-success bond or pay-for-
success financing. A Social Impact Bond is basically a contract with public sector authority
where it pays for better social outcomes. It is a form of outcome-based contracting. It aims at
improving social outcomes for a specific group of citizens + Recently, The Pimpri
Chinchwad Municipal corporation (PCMC) and United Nations Development Programme,
India signed a Memorandum of Understanding to create the first Social Impact bond of India

6) Polity Related – Bodies & Acts
 Commission for Agricultural Costs & Prices(CACP) = It recommends MSPs for 22

mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane + CACP is an attached
office of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India. It came into
existence in January 1965 + CACP submits its recommendations to the government in the
form of ‘Price Policy Reports’ for 5 categories of crops every year + The categories are -
Kharif crops, Rabi crops, Sugarcane, Jute and Coconut + Importantly, while CACP
recommends MSPs, it is the “Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs” (CCEA) of the
Union government takes a final decision
 Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO) = It is the national regulatory
body for Indian pharmaceuticals & medical devices under Ministry of Health & Family
Welfare + responsible for approval of New Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down
the standards for Drugs + under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health &
Family Welfare + headquarter is located at New Delhi + Under the Drugs and Cosmetics
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Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down
the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs and coordination of the
activities of State Drug Control Organizations + CDSCO along with state regulators, is
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jointly responsible for grant of licenses of certain specialized categories of critical Drugs
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such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera

 National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority(NPPA) = NPPA was set-up as an independent
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Regulator on 29th August, 1997 for pricing of drugs and to ensure availability and
accessibility of medicines at affordable prices + The regulator is an attached office of the
Department of Pharmaceuticals (DoP), Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers + The functions
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of NPPA include fixation and revision of prices of Scheduled drugs under Drug (Price
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Control) Orders issued from time to time, as well as monitoring and enforcement of prices
and ensuring availability and accessibility of all medicines and medical devices, including
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non-scheduled drugs + Recently, It invoked extraordinary powers in public interest during

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COVID to ensure that policy enhances access to life saving drugs like Heparin and Medical
Oxygen + NPPA also invoked extraordinary powers in public interest under Drug Price
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control Order, 2013 and National Disaster Management Act to cap the price of Liquid
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Medical Oxygen (LMO) and the Oxygen Inhalation (Medicinal gas) for six months (UPSC
May ask the Question that which Body in India has power to take such actions)
 Defence Investor Cell = functional since 2018 under Department of Defence Production,
Ministry of Defence + playing a pivotal role of facilitator and guide to Defence entrepreneurs
regarding their queries/grievances + aims to educate the investors about the opportunities
available in Defence manufacturing Sector
 National Dairy Development Board(NDDB) = NDDB is an Institution of National
Importance set up by an Act of Parliament of India + It was founded by Dr. Verghese Kurien
in 1965 with headquarters at Anand, Gujarat + Fundamental to NDDB's efforts are
cooperative strategies and principles + NDDB has been reaching out to dairy farmers by

implementing other income generating innovative activities and offering them sustainable
livelihood
 National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) = National Mineral Exploration Trust
(NMET) was established in 2015 + Established in pursuance of subsection(1) of Section 9C
of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, with the objective to
expedite mineral exploration in the country
 New Space India Limited (NSIL) = a Central Public Sector Enterprise under Department of
Space + It has been mandated to transfer the technologies emanating out of Indian space
programme and enable Indian industry to scale up high-technology manufacturing base.
 Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) = Government
of India has also established Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-
SPACe) for promoting industries and attracting investment in space sector + IN-SPACe will
also hand-hold, promote and guide the private industries in space activities through
encouraging policies and a friendly regulatory environment + IN-SPACe is supposed to be a
facilitator, and also a regulator. It will act as an interface between ISRO and private parties,
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and assess how best to utilise India’s space resources and increase space-based activities
 Consumer Protection Act, 2019 = would replace the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 + It is
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not an amendment to the 1986 law, but a new consumer protection law + consumer is defined
in the act + Act defines consumer rights + The new act will be swift and less time consuming
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because of single-point access to justice(The old act provided for a three-tier consumer
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dispute redressal machinery at the National (National Consumer Disputes Redressal

Commission), State and District levels) + Consumer Protection Act, 2019 establishes the
Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) whose primary objective will be to
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promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumers + The government will notify the
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Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020 under the Act (Consumer Protection (E-
commerce) Rules, 2020 are mandatory and are not advisories) + A manufacturer or product
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service provider or product seller will be held responsible to compensate for injury or
damage caused by defective product or deficiency in services + provision is there of
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Alternate Dispute Resolution Mechanism of Mediation + State and District Commissions are
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empowered to review their own orders + As per the Consumer Disputes Redressal
Commission Rules, there will be no fee for filing cases up to Rs. 5 lakh + Consumer Disputes
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Redressal Commissions will be set up at the District, State and National levels for
adjudicating consumer complaints + Consumer Protection Councils will be established at the
district, state and national levels to render advise on consumer protection + Six “consumer
rights” provided in the new Act are
 the right to be protected
 the right to be informed
 the right to be assured
 the right to be heard
 the right to seek redressal

 the right to consumer awareness
 Recent Farm Reform ACTs
 Farmers’ Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act, 2020 = It
seeks to create an ecosystem where the farmers and traders enjoy the freedom of choice
relating to sale and purchase of farmers’ produce + The reform grants freedom to farmers
and buyers to transact in agricultural commodities even outside notified APMC mandis
ensuring competitive alternative trading channels to promote efficient, transparent and
barrier-free interstate and intra-state trade
 Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm
Services Act, 2020 = It seeks to provide for a national framework on contract farming
that protects and empowers farmers in their engagement with agri-business firms,
processors, wholesalers, exporters or large retailers for farm services and sale of future
farming produce at a mutually agreed remunerative price in a fair and transparent manner
 Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 = It seeks to remove commodities like
cereals, pulses, oilseeds, edible oils, onion and potatoes from the list of essential
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commodities. The reform ends the era of frequent imposition of stock-holding limits
except under extraordinary circumstances
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 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 had defined
MSMEs on the basis of investment in plant and machinery or equipment. Such investment
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was to be calculated at the original price thereof. This had disadvantaged the sector as it
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disincentivized investment and prevented the MSMEs to reap the benefits of economies of
scale and contribute more significantly to employment generation + In June-2020, GoI
revised the investment limits upwards and also included annual turnover of the enterprise as
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the additional criteria for the classification of MSMEs. The calculation of such investment
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would now be linked to the Income Tax Return as filed under the IT Act, thus allowing for
annual depreciation
td
 Mineral sector Reforms

 Amendments in the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957
hi
(MMDR Act) in 2015 heralded major reforms in this sector. The move towards grant of
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mineral concessions through auction as against the earlier method of ‘first-come-first-

served’ brought in transparency and removed discretion in the grant of mineral
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concessions
 MMDR Act was amended in January-2020 to provide for, inter-alia, transfer of all valid
statutory clearances vested with the old lessee to the new successful bidder up to a period
of two years for all brownfield mines, so that there is no disruption in production and
supply of raw material in the industry
 Establishment of the National Mineral Exploration Trust (NMET) for providing impetus
to exploration; uniform lease period of 50 years; dispensing of the requirement of
previous approval of the Central Government for grant of mineral concession other than

for atomic minerals, coal and lignite; establishing district mineral foundation for benefit
of people and areas affected by mining
 Essential Commodities Act (ECA), 1955 = enacted to control the production, supply and
distribution of, and trade and commerce in, certain goods considered as essential
commodities + Act itself does not lay out Rules and Regulations but allows the States to
issue Control Orders related to dealer licensing, regulate stock limits, restrict movement of
goods and requirements of compulsory purchases under the system of levy + Act also
provides for action to confiscate the stock seized; to suspend/ cancel licences, if any and
impose punishments like imprisonment + Act also gives the power to fix price limits, and
selling the particular commodities above the limit will attract penalties + Most of the powers
under the Act have been delegated by the Central Government to the State Governments with
the direction that they shall exercise these powers. Food and civil supply authorities in States
execute the provisions of the Act. Consequently, all wholesalers, distributors, and retailers
dealing in the product must reduce their inventories to comply with the Provisions +
According to recent Eco survey, frequent and unpredictable imposition of blanket stock
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limits on commodities under Essential Commodities Act (ECA) neither brings down prices
nor reduces price volatility. However, such intervention does enable opportunities for rent-
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seeking and harassment + The major commodity groups included in the Act are
 Petroleum and its products, including petrol, diesel, kerosene, Naphtha, solvents etc
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 Food stuff, including edible oil and seeds, vanaspati, pulses, sugarcane and its products
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like, khandsari and sugar, rice paddy

 Raw Jute and jute textiles
 Drugs- prices of essential drugs are still controlled by the DPCO
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 Fertilisers- the Fertiliser Control Order prescribes restrictions on transfer and stock of
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fertilizers apart from prices

 Onion and Potato
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 Seeds of food crops, fruits and vegetables, cattle fodder, Jute seeds and Cotton seeds
 Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act, 2020 = It will replace the Essential
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Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance, promulgated in June 2020 + The Bill seeks to amend
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the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 and empowers the central government in terms of
production, supply, distribution, trade, and commerce of certain commodities + It aims to
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"deregulate" agricultural commodities like cereals, pulses, oilseeds, onions and potatoes +
The extraordinary circumstances include war, famine, extraordinary price rise and natural
calamity of grave nature
 Code On Industrial Relations, 2020 = It combines the features of three erstwhile laws: Trade
Unions Act 1926,Industrial Employment (Standing Orders) Act, 1946 and Industrial Disputes Act,
1947 + It defines a ‘worker’ as any person who work for hire or reward. It excludes persons
employed in a managerial capacity with wages exceeding Rs 18000 + All industrial establishment
with 300 workers or more must prepare standing orders on classification of workers, information
workers about work hours, termination of employment and grievance redressal mechanisms + It is
required for an establishment having at least 300 workers to seek prior permission of the government

before closure, lay-off, or retrenchment + Provision of tribunals for settlement of disputes +
Introduced concept of fixed term employment + Re-skilling fund: To re skill those workers who are
fired from their jobs + code has expanded to cover all industrial establishments for the required notice
period and other conditions for a legal strike(Earlier these provisions were applicable only for public
utility services railways, airlines, etc.)
 Code On Occupational Safety, Health And Working Conditions, 2020 = It consolidates 13
existing acts regulating health, safety and working conditions. These include the Factories Act, 1948,
the Mines Act, 1952, and the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,1970 + It defines a
factory as any premises where manufacturing process is carried out and it employs more than: (i) 20
workers, if the process is carried out using power, or (ii) 40 workers, if it is carried out without using
power + Establishments engaged in hazardous activityincludes all establishments where any
hazardous activity is carried out regardless of the number of workers
 Code On Social Security, 2020 = Code replaces 9 laws related to social security. These include the
Employees’ Provident Fund Act, 1952, the Maternity Benefit Act, 1961, and the Unorganised
Workers’ Social Security Act, 2008 among others + The code is applicable to any establishment
(subject to size-threshold as may be notified by the central government) + Social security fund: The
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code states that the central government will set up such a fund for unorganised workers, gig workers
and platform workers + Provisions for registration of all three categories of workers - unorganised
workers, gig workers and platform workers + National Social Security Board: for the purposes of
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welfare of above three categories of workers
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7) Miscellaneous Topics
gm
 Agreement on Agriculture(AoA) = It was negotiated during the Uruguay Round (1986-

1994) + AoA is aimed to remove trade barriers and to promote transparent market access and
integration of global market + As of now, least developed countries are completely exempted
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from all kinds of reduction commitments under AoA of WTO + Developing countries may
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also be given 10 years exemption period from implementing reduction commitments under
AoA of WTO + Peace Clause: It was come into force in 2013 at 9th WTO Ministerial
td
Conference at Bali. According to it agricultural subsidies committed under AoA cannot be

hi
challenged until the permanent solution for subsidies is in place before 2017 + AoA is an
agreement under WTO which comprises specific commitments to reduce support and
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protection in the areas of domestic support, export subsidies and market access
 Domestic Support = The developed countries have to limit their domestic support
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(covered under amber box subsidies) within 5% + Developing countries to limit

within 10% of total agriculture production + The de minimis level or domestic
support subsidies of total agriculture production to be calculated from base year 1986
–1988 + The domestic support subsidies are categorized into three boxes that are as
follows:
 Amber Box: It contains all domestic support measures that are mean to distort
trade practices in agriculture

 Blue Box: It includes subsidies that are linked to one product, but that do not
increase according to production levels. At present there are no limits on
spending on blue box subsidies
 Green Box: These are subsidies which causes no or little trade distortion in
agriculture sector
 Market Access = This includes provisions related to tariffication, tariff reduction and
trade facilitation in agriculture products + Tariffication means that all non-tariff
barriers such as quotas, variable levies, minimum import prices, discretionary
licensing, state trading measures, voluntary restraint agreements etc. need to be
abolished and converted into an equivalent tariff + Developed countries have to
reduce tariffs by 36% originating from tariffication with minimum rate of reduction
of 15% for each tariff item over a 6 year period + Developing countries are required
to reduce tariffs by 24% originating from tariffication in next 10 years
 Export Subsidies = Developed Countries: These countries have to reduce their
export subsidies expenditure by 36% and volume by 21% in next 6 years from 1986 –
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1990 levels + Developing Countries: These countries have to reduce their export
subsidies expenditure by 24% and volume by 14% in next 10 years from 1986 – 1990
lc
levels
 National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) = constituted in India in August 2016
ai
with the Cabinet Secretary as the Chair + A National Trade Facilitation Action Plan
gm
(NTFAP) for 2017-2020 containing specific activities to further ease out the bottlenecks to
trade was prepared. For the period 2020 to 2023, a new NTFAP is under preparation + Many
of the commitments, which are otherwise due by 2022, have already been notified to WTO as
e
implemented viz. Establishment of a Single Window, Risk Management for clearance of

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goods etc + Further, the transparency notifications covering information on import and
export procedures, enquiry points, single windows etc., have also been notified in April, 2019
td
 India’s Engagement With WTO = India is one of the founding members of WTO + India
and South Africa jointly proposed “Waiver from Certain Provisions of the TRIPS Agreement
hi
for the Prevention, Containment and Treatment of COVID-19” for a limited time period,
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with a view to ensure that the intellectual property rights do not become a barrier in the
timely and affordable access to medical products, including vaccines and therapeutics, and
di
enable nations to deal effectively with the public health emergency arising out of COVID-19
pandemic + Some India & WTO related aspects are:
 Agreement on Agriculture (AoA): In agriculture, India along with many other
developing countries, have been demanding a permanent solution on the issue of public
stockholding for food security purposes + As per the Buenos Aires Ministerial Decision
(MC11) of December, 2017, WTO Members agreed to continue to engage
constructively to frame disciplines on fisheries subsidies by the next Ministerial
Conference (MC- 12) in 2020. The negotiations are ongoing and are being conducted in

the form of monthly cluster meetings under Negotiating Group on Rules (NGR) in the
WTO
 E- Commerce and WTO: WTO members agreed not to impose customs duties on
electronic transmissions in 1998 and since then, the moratorium has been extended
periodically at the ministerial meetings + India and South Africa made a joint
submission under the Work Program on E-Commerce titled, ‘The E-Commerce
Moratorium: Scope and its Impact’ in March, 2020, which, inter alia, argues that
reconsideration of the moratorium is important for developing countries to preserve
policy space for their digital advancement. In response to the failure to obtain a
multilateral mandate for rule-making in e-commerce, in January, 2019, a Joint
Statement on e-commerce was issued on behalf of seventy-six WTO members
supporting rule-making on e-commerce. India has NOT joined the said plurilateral
initiative(e-commerce initiative) + India believes that developing countries need to
focus on improving domestic physical and digital infrastructure, creating supportive
policy and regulatory frameworks and developing digital capabilities to bridge the
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digital divide and enable shared benefits of digitalization.
 WTO’s Appellate Body (AB) = Permanent body intended by the Dispute Settlement
lc
Understanding (DSU) to resolve appeals on issues of law + It is ordinarily composed of
seven members having a four-year term, with the possibility of one reappointment + Since
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July 2017, the United States has been stalling AB appointments on the pretext that it has not
been functioning in accordance with the DSU norms – precipitating the ‘Appellate Body
gm
crisis’ + With fewer than three members to hear any appeal since 10th December, 2019, the
AB is not able to function as mandated under the DSU. In the wake of this crisis, around 23
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WTO members have created a Multiparty Interim Arbitration (MPIA) mechanism that
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closely replicates the substantive and procedural + aspects of appellate review under the AB.
EU, China, Brazil, Australia, New Zealand are some of the key members of MPIA + India
td
has NOT joined MPIA yet. India supports the restoration and preservation of the normal
functioning of the two-stage binding WTO dispute settlement mechanism
hi
 Arctic Council = High-level intergovernmental forum for Arctic cooperation + was set up in
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1996 with the twin-mandate of environmental protection and sustainable development +

Headquarters: Tromsø, Norway + It comprises 8 member states, permanent participants and
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observers. Canada, Denmark, Finland, Russia, US, Iceland, Norway, Sweden are member
states + India became an Observer nation in 2013 (India is NOT a member)
 Private sector Participation in Defence Sector = In 2001, the Defence Industry sector,
which was hitherto reserved for the public sector, was opened up to 100% for Indian private
sector participation with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) up to 26%, both subject to
licensing + FDI policy was further liberalized in 2020 and FDI has been allowed under
automatic route up to 74% and above 74% through government route wherever it is likely to
result in access to modern technology or for other reasons to be recorded + Foreign
Investments in the Defence Sector shall be subject to scrutiny on grounds of Nations Security

and Government reserves the right to review any foreign investment in the Defence Sector
that affects or may affect national security
 Varuna Mitra = the 24×7 help desk launched by the Karnataka State Natural Disaster
Monitoring Centre + Launched in 2010, Varuna Mitra provides weather forecast at the gram
panchayat level for the benefit of farmers and the public
 Public Health Emergency of International Concern(PHEIC) = PHEIC is defined in the
International Health Regulations (IHR, 2005) as, “an extraordinary event which is
determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread
of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response” + Recent COVID-
19 Outbreak was declared as PHEIC + WHO has declared five global emergencies in the past
decade, including the Ebola epidemic + The Emergency Committee, made up of international
experts, provide technical advice to the WHO Director-General in the context of a PHEIC +
Please Note: IHR (2005), represents a binding international legal agreement involving 196
countries across the globe, including all the Member States of the WHO
 Subhashita = is a literary genre of Sanskrit epigrammatic poems + Subhashitas in Sanskrit
om
are short memorable verses, typically in four padas (verses) but sometimes just two, but their
structure follows a meter + Subhashitas are one of many forms of creative works that have
lc
survived from ancient and medieval era of India, and sometimes known as Suktis +
Subhashitas are known for their inherent moral and ethical advice + The authors of most
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Subhashita are unknown + The works of many ancient Indian scholars like Bhartṛhari (5th
gm
century CE), Chanakya (3rd century BC), Kalidasa (5th century AD), Bhavabhuti (8th
century AD), Bhallata (10th century AD), Somadeva Bhatta (11th century AD), Kshemendra
(11th century AD), Kalhana (12th century AD) are considered to be treasures of many
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valuable subhashitas. + he famous Panchatantra (3rd century BC) and Hitopadesha (12th
av
century AD) which is a collection of animal fables effectively use subhashitas to express the
inherent moral wisdom of their stories + The Vedas and ancient scriptures like Bhagavad
td
Gita, Puranas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata are also major sources of Subhashitas
 Biosimilars = A biosimilar is a biologic medical product (also known as biologic) highly
hi
similar to another already approved biological medicine (the 'reference medicine')

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 Central Institute of Post-Harvest Engineering & Technology((CIPHET) = Located in

Ludhiana, Punjab (Just Remember the Location)
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 Action for good Governance and Networking in India(AGNI) = NGO in Mumbai +

AGNI interacts with local government administrations and elected representatives to improve
the service to citizens and the city

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ECONOMIC SURVEY(Volume II)- By Sunya IAS

2) Important DATA & Trends 4

6) Polity Related – Bodies & Acts 31

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 0

 Annual Status of Education Report(ASER) 2020 = annual survey released by NGO

Logistics Planning and Performance Monitoring Tool

leading economic indicator

the name "U.S. Dollar Index"

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 1

more recent base year of 2016

Global Economic Policy Uncertainty (GEPU) Index = is a GDP-weighted average of

annual basis from March 2021 + 5 broad parameters:

 Payment Infrastructure – Demand-side factors (10%)

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 2

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 3

2) Important DATA & Trends

 India’s global trade during COVID Lockdown and subsequent Year

services accounted for 49% of total services exports

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 4

 Revenue Expenditure (87%) > Capital Expenditure(13%)

subsidies > Pensions > Defence Services

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 5

 Status Report on India’s External Debt 2019-20: by Department of Economic Affairs,

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 6

 M4 = M3 + Total deposits with Post Office savings organisations (excluding National

bank depository accounts.

 Insurance penetration and Insurance Density = Insurance penetration is calculated as

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 7

Natural calamity, etc. > Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Scheme

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 8

36.9 GW was commissioned till November 2020

2. National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency = Ministry of Power + Based on

incentives, including reduced taxes on energy-efficient appliances

3. National Mission on Sustainable Habitat = Ministry of Urban Development +

existing Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) + The mission is being

Transformation, Swachh Bharat Mission, and Smart Cities Mission

4. National Water Mission = Ministry of Jal Shakti + Focuses on monitoring of ground

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 9

Energy Efficiency, Green Forest, Sustainable Habitat, Water, Sustainable Agriculture

and Manufacturing have been set up

are being implemented by involving relevant experts, concerned mission directors/officials

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 10

Nicobar Islands, Jammu & Kashmir and Sundarbans

national circumstances, national greenhouse gas inventory, mitigation actions, finance,

reporting and verification arrangements

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 11

 World Solar Technology Summit(WSTS) = First World Solar Technology Summit

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 12

4) Schemes & Initiatives

Public grievance and Pensions

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 13

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 14

required to attend the proceedings personally or through an authorised representative + The

scheme establishes a National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC) in Delhi, headed by

Department and the taxpayer

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 15

special purpose vehicles (SPVs) setup for various projects

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 16

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 17

Centrally Sponsored Scheme + Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), in

Economic Survey Volume II| www.sunyaias.com Page 18

scheme namely “Integrated Management of Public Distribution System (IM-PDS)” the