PIB – September 30 , 2019


GS- 3rd Paper

Topic- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Eight Core Industries

Context

Index of Eight Core Industries (Base: 2011-12=100) August, 2019, released.

About Core Industries

  • The eight Core Industries in decreasing order of their weightage: Refinery Products> Electricity> Steel> Coal> Crude Oil> Natural Gas> Cement> Fertilizers.
  • The Eight Core Industries comprise 40.27 per cent of the weight of items included in the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
  • The combined Index of Eight Core Industries stood at 128.2 in August, 2019.
  1. Coal (weight: 10.33 per cent)
  2. Crude Oil (weight: 8.98 per cent)
  3. Natural Gas (weight: 6.88 per cent)
  4. Refinery Products     (weight: 28.04 per cent)
  5. Fertilizers                  (weight: 2.63 per cent)
  6. Steel                           (weight: 17.92 per cent)
  7. Cement                       (weight: 5.37 per cent)
  8. Electricity                  (weight: 19.85 per cent)

Index of Industrial Production (IIP)

  • The Index of Industrial Production (IIP) is an index which details out the growth of various sectors in an economy such as mineral mining, electricity, manufacturing, etc.
  • It is compiled and published monthly by the Central Statistical Organisation (CSO), Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation six weeks after the reference month ends.
  • The Base Year of the Index of Eight Core Industries has been revised from the year 2004-05 to 2011-12 from April, 2017.

GS- 3rd Paper

Topic- Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

IPCC Meet on Climate Change

Context

India is hosting the Second Lead Author Meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III Sixth Assessment Report at New Delhi.

About IPCC

  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
  • It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988.
  • IPCC currently has 195 members. Thousands of people from all over the world contribute to the work of the IPCC.

Aims

  • It aims to provide political leaders with periodic scientific assessments concerning climate change, its implications and risks, as well as to put forward adaptation and mitigation strategies.

The IPCC has three working groups

  • Working Group I– dealing with the physical science basis of climate change;
  • Working Group II– dealing with impacts, adaptation and vulnerability;
  • Working Group III– dealing with the mitigation of climate change.
  • It also has a Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories that develops methodologies for measuring emissions and removals.

GS- 3rd Paper

Topic- Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.

Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

Context

Government of India, in consultation withthe Reserve Bank of India, has decided to issue Sovereign Gold Bonds.

The Sovereign Gold Bonds will be issued in six tranches from October 2019 to March 2020.

About Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme

  • Sovereign Gold Scheme is a scheme to provide an alternate option when it comes to owning gold.
  • Sovereign Gold Bonds are government securities denominated in grams of gold.
  • They are substitutes for holding physical gold.
  • The sovereign gold bond scheme was launched in November 2015 to reduce the demand for physical gold and shift a part of the domestic savings, used for the purchase of gold, into financial savings.

Objectives

  • The main objective of the scheme is to develop a financial asset as an alternative to purchasing metal gold.
  • This scheme aims to reduce the demand for physical gold, thereby keeping a tab on gold imports and utilising resources effectively.

Significance

  • With the Reserve Bank of India issuing these gold bonds, it brings in transparency and trust, providing an avenue wherein people can own gold without having to worry about its storage or safety.
  • Gold and crude oil have significant role in India’s widening current account deficit.
  • The government, however, chose not to increase import duty on gold when it raised duty on non-essential imports to narrow the current account deficit, fearing a surge in gold smuggling.

GS-2nd Paper

Topic- Parliament and State Legislatures – structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Electoral Bond Scheme 2018

Context

Government of India has notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018.

About Electoral Bond Scheme

  • Electoral Bond refers a bond which has its specified face value, mentioned on it like a currency note.
  • These bonds can be used by the individuals, institutions and organizations to donate money to the political parties.
  • These electoral bonds will be available in the denomination of Rs. 1,000, Rs. 10,000, Rs. 1 lac, Rs. 10 lacs and Rs. 1 crore.

Key features of Electoral Bond Scheme

  • Any citizen or institution or any company in India can purchase electoral bonds to fund registered political parties.
  • Every party which is registered under section 29A of the Representation of the Peoples Act, 1951 and has secured at least 1% votes polled in the most recent Lok Sabha or State election will be eligible to receive fund through electoral bonds.
  • Every donor has to provide his KYC detail to the banks.
  • Name of electoral bond purchaser will be kept confidential by the banks.
  • Electoral bonds will be valid for 15 days from the date of purchase.
  • No interest will be given by the banks on these bonds.
  • These bonds can be bought from selected branches of State Bank of India only.
  • The banks will have full information about the purchasers of the Electoral bonds.
  • The bonds will be available for purchase for a period of 10 days each in the beginning of every quarter. In the year of Lok Sabha elections; 30 days extra will be provided.
  • Bonds can be purchased in January, April, July and October months of each year.
  • Political parties will also have to inform election commission that how much money they got from Electoral bonds.

For Prelims-

‘Singapore India Hackathon 2019’

Context

PM addressed second edition of joint international hackathon ‘Singapore India Hackathon 2019’.

Highlights

  • India will host the second edition of joint international hackathon ‘Singapore India Hackathon 2019’ at IIT Madras.
  • 20 teams with 6 team members each (3 members from India and 3 members from Singapore) to participate.
  • Each team to have 2 mentors (1 from India and 1 from Singapore).
  • The Team with the most innovative solution will be presented with the prize money of $10,000.
  • The second, third and fourth winning teams will win $8,000, $6,000 and $4,000 respectively.
  • There will also be the ‘Prize of Encouragement’ for 6 more teams with $2,000 per team who will come up with solutions which have high potential to take forward.

Themes

  • This year the hackathon is focused on three themes–
  1. ‘Good Health and well-being’,
  2. ‘Quality Education’
  3. ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’.

Exercise Maitree – 2019

Context

Exercise MAITREE-2019 culminated on 29 Sep 2019 at Foreign Training Node, Umroi (Meghalaya).

Highlights

  • Exercise MAITREE-2019, the joint military training exercise between Indian Army (IA) & Royal Thailand Army (RTA) was held at Foreign Training Node, Umroi (Meghalaya).
  • It is an annual training event that is conducted in India and Thailand alternatively, since 2006.
  • The scope of this exercise covers company level joint training on insurgency & counter-terrorism operations in jungles and urban scenarios.
  • The joint military exercise between the Indian Army (IA) and the Royal Thailand Army (RTA) will give a boost to the defence cooperation and bilateral relations between the two nations.
  • The Royal Thailand Navy and the Indian Navy have been participating in Coordinated Patrols (CORPATs) in the Indian Ocean region since 2005.

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