Repo Rate
Category: Economy
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut the policy repo rate by 25 basis points to 6.25% in a bid to revive economic growth.
- The RBI also simultaneously changed the stance of the policy to ‘neutral’ from ‘calibrated tightening,’ which indicates that the central bank remains ready to move in either direction based on incoming data. The move will enable banks to lower their lending rates.
IP Index
Category : International
- India has jumped eight places to 36th position on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index.
- IP index analyses the IP climate in 50 global economies.
- India’s eight-point jump in 2019 from 44th position in 2018 is the highest increase among 50 nations mapped by the index.
Global Warming
Category : Environment
- Rising temperatures increase the concentration of aerosols in the atmosphere that cause air pollution.
- While climate change is warming the ocean, it is warming the land faster, which is bad news for air quality all over the world.
- The contrast in warming between the continents and sea, called the land-sea warming contrast, drives up the aerosol concentration in the atmosphere.
- Aerosols are tiny solid particles or liquid droplets suspended in the atmosphere. They can come from natural sources, like dust or wildfires, or human made sources such as vehicle and industrial emissions.
- Aerosols affect the climate system, including disturbances to the water cycle, as well as human health. They also cause smog and other kinds of air pollution that can lead to health problems.
- A robust response to an increase in greenhouse gases is that the land is going to warm faster than the ocean. This enhanced land warming is also associated with increased continental aridity.
- The increase in aridity leads to decreased low cloud cover and less rain, which is the main way that aerosols are removed from the atmosphere.
Atal Bhujal Yojana
Category: Social Sector
- The World Bank has approved Atal Bhujal Yojana (ABHY), a Rs.6000 Crore scheme, for sustainable management of ground water with community participation.
- The funding pattern is 50:50 between Government of India and World Bank.
- The identified over-exploited (OE) and water stressed areas for the implementation of the scheme fall in the States of Gujarat, Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
- ABHY envisages active participation of the communities in various activities such as formation of ‘Water User Associations’, monitoring and disseminating ground water data, water budgeting, etc.
NSDF
Category: Sports
- Assistance from National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) has been given during last four years to sportspersons for their customized training belonging to 22 sports disciplines.
- The selected athletes are provided financial assistance for their customised training at Institutes having world class facilities and other necessary support.
- Funds from NSDF are released to the sportspersons directly or to the coaches / academies associated with their customized training. State-wise details of sportspersons given assistance from NSDF are not maintained.
PM-KISAN
Category : Agriculture
