Question Answer

● A Swiss Challenge is a method of bidding, often used

in public projects, in which an interested party initiates
a proposal for a contract or the bid for a project. The
government then puts the details of the project out in
the public and invites proposals from others interested
in executing it. On the receipt of these bids, the original
contractor gets an opportunity to match the best bid.
● Applied to the ongoing bankruptcy cases, a Swiss
Challenge may entail two rounds of bidding for a
1. Discuss the Swiss Challenge model.
distressed company or its assets. Assume that
Company A wins the first round of bidding by quoting a
price of ₹5,000 crores for a power plant. This will be
made public and the second set of bids invited. If
Company B quotes ₹5,500 crores, Company A will be
offered a second opportunity to match it. If it refuses,
Company B would be declared the winning bidder. If
Company A steps up, then it will bag the power plant at
₹5,500 crores.

● A Green-field investment is a type of foreign direct

investment (FDI) in which a parent company creates a
subsidiary in a different country, building its operations
from the ground up. In addition to the construction of
new production facilities, these projects can also include
the building of new distribution hubs, offices, and living
quarters.
● A green-field investment provides the sponsoring
company with the greatest degree of control.
● A green-field investment poses greater risks and a
greater commitment of time and capital than other
2. What is Green-field Investment? types of foreign direct investments.
Pros and Cons of Greenfield investment:

Pros Cons
● Tax breaks, financial ● Greater capital outlay.
incentives.
● Everything will be ● More complex to plan.
done to specifications.
● Complete control of ● Longer-term
the venture. commitment.

3. Discuss the UDAY scheme.
4. What do you mean by AT & C
losses?
5. What do you mean by the operating
ratio in railways?
6. Write a note on DDUGJY.
● UDAY or Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojna was
launched in November 2015 to help loss-making
discoms turn around financially, with support from their
State governments.
● For many decades, State discoms have been supplying
electricity at tariffs that are far below cost. For obvious
political reasons, States have been wary of revising
power tariffs in line with rising costs.
● Inefficiencies in power distribution such as large
transmission and distribution losses on power have
further strained the finances of the discoms, who have
been borrowing heavily from banks to keep themselves
running. Therefore, the loss-making discoms have piled
up a massive load of debt on their books; it totaled 4.8
trillion in September 2015.
● Under the scheme, States will take over three-fourths
of the debt of their respective discoms. The
governments will then issue ‘UDAY bonds’ to banks and
other financial institutions to raise money to pay off the
banks. The remaining 25 percent of the discom debt will
be dealt with in one of the two ways —
○ Conversion into lower interest rate loans by the
lending banks or,
○ be funded by money raised through discom
bonds backed by a State guarantee. Backing
from the State will help bring down the interest
rate for the discoms.
● In return for the bailout, the discoms have been given
target dates by which they will have to meet efficiency
parameters such as the reduction in power lost through
transmission, theft, and faulty metering, installing
smart meters, and implementing GIS (geographic
information system) mapping of loss-making areas.
States will also have to ensure that power tariffs are
revised regularly.
The concept of Aggregate Technical & Commercial losses
in power transmission provides a realistic picture of the loss
incurred during power transmission. It is a combination of
energy loss (Technical loss + Theft + inefficiency in billing)&
commercial loss (Default in payment + inefficiency in the
collection).
The operating ratio (OR) is the amount of money the
railways spend to earn each rupee. A higher ratio indicates a
poorer ability to generate a surplus.
Introduction:
 ● The Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana is
an Indian government scheme intended to provide an
uninterrupted power supply to the rural parts of India.
The scheme shortened to DDUGJY is christened in
honor of political thinker Deen Dayal Upadhyaya.
Objectives:
● To provide electricity to all villages.
● Feeder separation to ensure sufficient power to farmers
and regular supply to other consumers.
● Improvement of sub-transmission and distribution
networks to improve the quality and reliability of the
supply.
● Metering to reduce the losses.
Features:
● Separation of agriculture and non-agriculture feeders.
● Strengthening and augmentation of sub-transmission
and distribution infrastructure in rural areas including
metering of distribution transformers
feeders/consumers.
● Rural electrification as per CCEA approval for
completion of the targets laid down under RGGVY.
● To ensure rapid electrification, feeder separation, and
strengthening of rural distribution infrastructure.
● It is necessary to monitor progress intensively for
smooth and fast implementation of electrification.

Introduction:
Integrated Power Development Scheme was launched on 3rd
December 2014. It is a flagship scheme of the Ministry of
Power.
Components:
The IPDS has the following components:
1. To strengthen the sub-transmission and distribution
networks across urban areas.
2. The distribution transformers/feeders/consumers in the
urban areas are to be metered.
7. Write a note on IPDS.
3. The power distribution sector is to be strengthened
under R-APDRP.
4. The power distribution sector to be IT-enabled.
5. IPDS also includes the schemes for Enterprise Resource
Planning (ERP) and IT enablement of balanced urban
towns.
6. The 4041 towns mentioned in the 2011 census are
covered under the IPDS scheme.
7. The scheme permits underground cabling to include
additional demand of States and smart metering
 solutions for performing the UDAY States and Solar
panels on Govt. buildings with net-metering.
Objectives:
Broad objectives of the Scheme are as follows:
1. 24×7 Power supplies for consumers.
2. Reduction of AT&C losses as per trajectory finalized by
MoP in consultation with States.
3. Providing access to power to all households.

Introduction:
● The Bharatmala Pariyojana was announced by Mr. Nitin
Gadkari, the Minister of Road Transport and Highways
of India to improve the road network in the country.
● The budget for the scheme will be managed by the cess
collected on petrol and diesel and the tax collected at
toll booths, apart from the budgetary support provided
by the Government.
Components:
● Economic Corridor – As per the guidelines of the road
construction project, the construction of 9000kms of
Economic Corridors will be undertaken by the central
government.
● Feeder Route or Inter Corridor – The total length of
the roads, which fall under the Feeder Route or Inter
Corridor category, is a whopping 6000 kms.
● National Corridor Efficiency Improvement –
5000kms of roads constructed under the scheme will
8. Write a note on the Bharatmala
fall in the category of National Corridor for the better
Pariyojana.
connection between roads.
● Border Road and International Connectivity –
Connecting the cities and remote areas, which are
situated in the border regions, the project has kept
provision for constructing 2000kms roads that fall in the
Border Road or International Connectivity category.
● Port Connectivity and Coastal Road – To connect
the areas that are dotted along the shorelines and
important ports, the central government has ordered
the construction of 2000km of roads.
● Green Field Expressway – The main stress will be
given to the construction and development of Green
Field Expressway for better management of traffic and
freight.
● Balance NHDP Works – Under the last segment, the
project will see construction and maintenance of about
10,000kms of new roads.
Features:
 The scheme was initiated to improve road traffic and improve
trade through road transportation. Some other key features of
the Bharatmala Pariyojana include
1. The main aim was to improve the quality of roads to
bring in a wave of development in every corner of the
country.
2. The construction of new roads is another important
feature of the announcement for this scheme.
3. The Government plans to finish the construction of all
the roads, under this scheme, within a period of five
years.
4. Since the funds provided by the Government may not
be sufficient for the construction of roads, hence the
Ministry relies on various other sources for the
completion of this project.
5. The project aims to construct multiple roads and for the
proper execution of the project, the Ministry has
decided to divide the project into various categories for
proper construction of the roads.

Introduction:
Components:
9. Discuss the Sagarmala Project.
● The Sagarmala Project has been initiated by the
Government of India after the Cabinet approved it in
2015 to promote port-led development in India.
● The project aims to harness the 7500 km long coastline
of the country to unleash its economic potential.
● The project also seeks to boost infrastructure for
transporting goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently,
and cost-effectively.
1. Port Modernization & New Port Development –
extending the capacity of existing ports and developing
new ports.
2. Port Connectivity Enhancement – improving
port-hinterland connectivity, optimizing cost and time of
cargo movement through multi-modal logistics solutions
including domestic waterways.
3. Port-linked Industrialization – Developing industrial
clusters close to ports and developing Coastal Economic
Zones.
4. Coastal Community Development – Promoting
sustainable development of coastal communities
through skill development & livelihood generation
activities, fisheries development, coastal tourism, etc.
5. Coastal Shipping & Inland Waterways Transport –
To move cargo through sustainable inland and coastal
waterways mode.

10. Write a note on PM-Saubhagya.
11. Discuss the condition of the Power
Sector in India.
Objectives:
Reduction of logistics cost of EXIM is the vision of the
SagarMala project. The objectives of the project are:
● Decreasing the cost of transporting domestic cargo by
optimizing the modal mix.
● Identifying future industrial capacities near the coasts
to reduce the logistics cost of bulk commodities.
● Developing discrete manufacturing clusters close to
ports to enhance export competitiveness.
● Optimizing the time-cost of export-import container
movement.
States under the project:
● The Sagarmala Projects are being undertaken in the
states of Gujarat, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra
Pradesh, Kerala, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and
Tamil Nadu.
Total projects identified under the Sagarmala:
● For 2015-35, 574 projects have been identified under
the Sagarmala Project.
Introduction:
● With an aim to provide last mile electrical connectivity
and ensure electrification of all willing rural and urban
households, the Prime Minister launched Pradhan Mantri
Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana, also known as Saubhagya
Scheme.
● The funds will be provided largely by the central
government to all the States and Union Territories.
Objectives:
The scheme aims to fulfill the following goals and objectives:
● Reduced environmental degradation by ruling out the
use of Kerosene for lighting purposes.
● Improved educational services.
● Improved health services.
● Improvement in communication.
● Improvement in public safety and quality of life,
primarily for women.
● Increased employment opportunities.
● Increased economic activity.
● The Ministry of Power which started functioning
independently in 1992 is primarily responsible for the
development of electrical energy in the country.
● India ranks third globally in terms of electricity
production.
● As per the Paris Accord on Climate Change, India made
a pledge that by 2030, 40% of installed power
 generation capacity shall be based on clean sources, it
was determined that 175 GW of renewable energy
capacity will be installed by 2022.
○ This includes 100 GW from solar, 60 GW from
wind, 10 GW from bio-power, and 5 GW from
small hydropower.
● India has 5th Global position for overall installed
renewable energy capacity, 4th position for wind power,
and 5th position for solar power.
● As of October 2018, a total of around 73.35 GW of
renewable energy capacity has been installed in the
country, which includes around 34.98 GW from Wind,
24.33 GW from solar, 4.5 GW from Small Hydro Power,
and 9.54 GW from Bio-power.
● The power sector has a 100% foreign direct investment
(FDI) permit, which boosted FDI inflows in the sector.

Introduction:
● The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All
(UJALA) scheme was launched by PM Narendra Modi
on 1st May 2015 under the government of India.
● The Ujala Scheme was established by replacing the
Bachat Lamp Yojana as a joint initiative of Public Sector
Undertaking of the Government of India, Energy
Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) under the Union
Ministry of Power and the Electricity Distribution
Company.
Objectives:
● The UJALA scheme also known as the LED-based
Domestic Efficient Lighting Programme (DELP) aims to
12. Write a note on UJALA Yojana.
promote the efficient usage of energy for all i.e., its
consumption, savings, and lighting. This scheme is
considered the world’s largest program.
● Aims to promote efficient use of energy at the
residential level.
● Enhance the awareness of consumers about the efficacy
of using energy-efficient appliances and aggregating
demand to reduce the high initial costs, thus facilitating
higher uptake of LED lights by residential users.
● According to the UJALA scheme, LED bulbs would be
distributed by the Electricity Distribution Company at
subsidized rates to every grid-connected customer with
a metered connection.

● Inland Water Transport (IWT) is a fuel-efficient,

13. Write a note on Inland Waterways in
environment-friendly and cost-effective mode of
India.
transport having the potential to supplement the
 overburdened rail and congested roads. For this,
however, it is necessary that IWT mode is developed
with public funding at least to a threshold level at which
the private sector would get attracted to this model.
● As per constitutional provisions, only those waterways
which are declared as National Waterways come under
the purview of the Central Government while the rest of
the waterways remain in the purview of the respective
State Government.
● Since the formation of IWAI, five waterways namely:
1. Ganga
2. Brahmaputra
3. West Coast Canal with Udyogmandal and Champakara
Canals.
4. Kakinada-Puducherry Canals system along with
Godavari and Krishna rivers.
5. East Coast Canal with Brahmani river and Mahanadi
delta have been declared as National Waterways.
6. One more waterway namely the Barak river is under
consideration by the Central Government for declaration
as a National Waterways.

Introduction:
● UDAN is a regional connectivity scheme spearheaded by
the Government of India (GoI). The full form of UDAN is
‘Ude Desh ka Aam Nagarik’ and aims to develop smaller
regional airports to allow common citizens easier access
to aviation services.
Features:
● The scheme duration is for 10 years.
● Airlines participating in UDAN are selected through a
competitive bidding process.
● The Central government will provide the following:
○ Subsidy to cover Value Gap funding (VGF) for
14. Write a short note on the UDAN
participating airlines.
scheme.
○ Concessional GST on tickets booked using the
scheme.
○ Codesharing for flights under the policy.
● State Governments will extend the following measures:
○ GST reduction to 1% for 10 years.
○ Coordination with oil companies to facilitate
refueling facilities.
○ Provide land for airport and ancillary
development.
○ Trained security personnel.
○ Utilities at subsidized rates.
○ 20% of VGF.
 ● Airport operators such as AAI will provide the following
concessions:
○ No parking, landing, and storage charges at
participating airports.
○ Nil TNLC (Terminal Navigation Landing Charges).
○ Allow ground handling by the airline selected
through the bidding process.
○ RNCF (Route Navigation and Facilitation Charges)
will be discounted to 42.4% of normal rates by
the Airports Authority of India.
Objectives:
● Operationalization and development of 425 underserved
or unserved airports in the country.
● Boost inclusive economic development by providing
faster connectivity.
● Development of air transport infrastructure in remote
areas aiding job growth.

UDAN 1.0
● Under this phase, 5 airlines companies were awarded
128 flight routes to 70 airports (including 36 newly
made operational airports).
UDAN 2.0
● In 2018, the Ministry of Civil Aviation announced 73
underserved and unserved airports.
● For the first time, helipads were also connected under
phase 2 of the UDAN scheme.
UDAN 3.0
Key Features of UDAN 3 included:
● Inclusion of Tourism Routes under UDAN 3 in
coordination with the Ministry of Tourism.
15. Discuss different phases of the UDAN ● Inclusion of Seaplanes for connecting Water
Scheme. Aerodromes.
● Bringing in a number of routes in the North-East Region
under the ambit of UDAN.
UDAN 4.0:
● The 4th round of UDAN was launched in December
2019 with a special focus on North-Eastern Regions,
Hilly States, and Islands.
● The airports that had already been developed by the
Airports Authority of India (AAI) are given higher
priority for the award of VGF (Viability Gap Funding)
under the Scheme.
● Under UDAN 4, the operation of helicopters and
seaplanes has also been incorporated.
 Privatization of the railway is supported on the following
grounds:
1. Once the railways permit private players, there is scope
for capacity augmentation. This is a very pertinent
point because, in 2018-19, 8.85 crore people were on
the waiting list and railways were able to provide
reservations to only 16% of the waiting list passengers.
2. The Railway Board says five crore intending passengers
could not be accommodated during 2019-20. Travel
demand was in excess of supply during festivals and
summer seasons. The demand exceeded the capacity of
16. What is the need for the privatization
railways.
of the Indian Railway?
3. The main objective of this move is to introduce a new
train travel experience for passengers who are used to
traveling by aircraft and air-conditioned buses.
4. Cleanliness in trains and quality of food could be
addressed with privatization.
5. Time is precious, and the punctuality of trains needs to
be improved.
6. With the infusion of more funds through the private
sector, there is scope for bringing in more technology
thereby increasing the safety and comfort aspects of
trains.

1. From some quarters there is criticism that railways are

the common mode of transportation for common man,
hence they will face the brunt of price rise in the
railway’s ticket fares.
2. There is criticism that the move to privatize railways will
17. What are the challenges or criticisms of
affect the job opportunities of people belonging to the
the Privatization of the railway?
economically and socially backward class.
3. Many trade unions like AITUC, HMS, CITU, and
independent federations like AIDEF and AIBEA opposed
the decision of the government.
4. Private players may find it difficult to compete due to
various complex factors.

Following are the objectives of the National Rail Plan 2030

(NRP):
1. To generate capacity ahead of demand by 2030, which
in turn would cater to growth in demand up to 2050.
18. What are the objectives of the National
2. To raise the modal share of Railways from the current
Rail Plan 2030?
27% to 45% in freight by the year 2030 as part of a
national commitment to decrease carbon emission and
to continue to sustain it.
3. To forecast traffic growth in both passenger and freight
year on year up to 2030 and on a decadal basis up to
 2050.
4. To frame strategies based on both operational capacities
and commercial policy programs to heighten the modal
share of the Railways in freight to 45% by 2030.
5. To bring down the transit time of freight significantly by
enhancing the average speed of freight trains from the
current 22 kmph to 50 kmph.
6. To diminish the overall cost of rail transportation by
almost 30% and pass on the benefits to the customers.
7. To map the growth in demand on the Indian Railway
route map and simulate the capacity behavior of the
network in the future.
8. To identify the bottlenecks that would arise in the future
based on the above simulation.
9. To select projects along with appropriate technology in
both track work, signaling, and rolling stock to reduce
these bottlenecks well in advance.

● The formation of the IMF was initiated in 1944 at the

Bretton Woods Conference. IMF came into operation on
27th December 1945 and is today an international
organization that consists of 189 member countries.
Headquartered in Washington, D.C., IMF focuses on
fostering global monetary cooperation, securing
financial stability, and facilitating and promoting
international trade, employment, and economic growth
around the world. The IMF is a specialized agency of the
United Nations.
● The breakdown of international monetary cooperation
during the Great Depression led to the development of
the IMF, which aimed at improving economic growth
and reducing poverty around the world.
19. Write a note on the International
● The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was initially
Monetary Fund (IMF).
formed at the Bretton Woods Conference in 1944. 45
government representatives were present at the
Conference to discuss a framework for postwar
international economic cooperation.
● The IMF became operational on 27th December 1945
with 29 member countries that agreed to abide by this
treaty. It began its financial operations on 1st March
1947. Currently, the IMF consists of 189 member
countries.
● The IMF is regarded as a key organization in the
international economic system which focuses on
rebuilding the international capital along with
maximizing national economic sovereignty and human
welfare.
 India is a founder member of the IMF. India’s Union Finance
Minister is the Ex Officio Governor on the IMF’s Board of
Governors. Each member country also has an alternate
governor. The alternate governor for India is the Governor of
the RBI. There is also an Executive Director for India who
represents the country at the IMF.
20. Discuss in brief about India & IMF. ● India’s quota in the IMF is SDR 13,114.4 million giving
India a shareholding of 2.76%.
● This makes India the eighth largest quota-holding
country in the organization.
● In 2000, India completed the repayment of all the loans
it had taken from the IMF.
● Now, India is a contributor to the IMF.

● Supplementary Foreign Exchange Reserves are defined

and maintained by the International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and are known as Special Drawing Rights.
● When there was a shortfall of highly preferred foreign
exchange reserve assets such as US Dollars and Gold,
Special Drawing Rights were created in 1969 by the
International Monetary Fund (IMF).
● XDR is the currency code of Special Drawing Rights.
● The International Monetary Fund (IMF) allocates Special
Drawing Rights (SDR) to different countries.
● Private parties cannot hold Special Drawing Rights
(SDR). During the 2009 global financial crisis to give
21. What do you mean by SDR? liquidity in the global economic system more than $ 180
billion XDR was allocated. It is usually held by a few
organizations and IMF member countries.
● The International Monetary Fund reviews a group of key
international currencies over a time period of 5 years
and then decides the value of Special Drawing Rights.
● The latest currency that was added to the basket of
currencies by the International Monetary Fund to
determine the value of XDR is the Chinese Yuan in
2016.
● The other international currencies in the basket of
currencies are the British Pound, Japanese Yen, US
Dollar, and Euro.

There is no market for SDR. A country that wants to sell SDR

will notify the SDR department. This department will help in
22. How is SDR traded? settling the trade between seller and buyer. Exchanging
currency and SDR is not prohibited. SDR is predominantly
traded through Voluntary Trading Agreements (VTA).

23. How are SDRs allocated by the IMF?
24. What is the Reserve Tranche
Mechanism?
● An allocation requires the Board of Governors' approval
by an 85 percent majority of the total voting power of
the members in the SDR Department.
● Once agreed, the general allocations of the Special
Drawing Rights (SDRs) are distributed to the member
countries on the basis of their quota shares at the
International Monetary Fund.
● A reserve tranche is a portion of the required quota of
currency each member country must provide to the
International Monetary Fund(IMF) that can be utilized
for its own purposes without a service fee or economic
reform conditions.
● The IMF is funded through its members and their quota
contributions. The reserve tranche is basically an
emergency account that IMF members can access at
any time without agreeing to conditions or paying a
service fee.
● In other words, a portion of a member country’s quota
can be withdrawn free of charge at its own discretion.