july- 10th july) 1. uganda becomes first african country
TRANSCRIPT
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ARTH 23 (1ST JULY- 10TH JULY)
1. Uganda becomes first African country to submit REDD+ results, paves way
for payments
Uganda has become the first African country to submit results for Reducing
emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD+) to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). REDD+ is a
mechanism developed by the parties to the UNFCCC to reduce emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation.
Keypoints-
The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said, results submission to the
UNFCCC has paved the way for potential results-based payments to the
country.
Results-based payments comprise the final REDD+ phase. It provides financial
incentives to developing countries that prove they stopped deforestation during
a certain period of time. This is done through rigorous UN-backed technical
evaluations.
In Uganda, the REDD+ program forms a part of the country’s National Climate
Change Policy that aims for a harmonised and coordinated approach towards
a climate-resilient and low-carbon development path for sustainable
development.
The country had launched its REDD+ programme in 2013. In 2017,
Uganda presented its first forest reference emission level of historical
average emissions from deforestation between 2000 and 2015 as required
under measurement, reporting and verification for REDD+ activities.
According to the FAO’s Global Forest Resources Assessment 2020, Africa had
the greatest annual rate of net forest loss, at 3.9 million ha, across the world
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in this decade. The rate of net forest loss also increased in Africa from 1990 till
this year.
Supporting African countries through all three REDD+ phases — readiness,
implementation and result-based actions — by providing tools and analysis of
how to design, implement and measure the results of REDD+ action is key to
reversing these trends.
3. GST @3: Goods and Service Tax regime completes 3 years
The Goods and Service Tax (GST) regime completes three years since it was first
introduced on July 1, 2017. The biggest tax reform for indirect taxes in India has
created a single market emulating international best practices, but hiccups
for taxpayers remain.
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Source- newspaper
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4. World Bank Sanctions $400 Million To Enhance Namami Gange Programme
The World Bank and the Government of India signed a loan agreement to enhance
support for the Namami Gange Programme that seeks to rejuvenate the Ganga river.
The USD 400 million operation comprises a loan of USD381 million and a proposed
guarantee of up to USD19 million. The Second National Ganga River Basin Project
will help stem pollution in the iconic river and strengthen the management of the river
basin, which is home to more than 500 million people. The National Ganga River
Basin Project (NGRBP) is an important component of Namami Gange. A World Bank-
funded National Ganga River Basin Project (Ganga -I) for an amount of USD600
million (Rs 4,535 crore) is currently ongoing and is approved up to December 31, 2021
for funding infrastructure projects of pollution abatement in the river Ganga.
Namami Ganga Programme
‘Namami Gange Programme’, is an Integrated Conservation Mission, approved as
‘Flagship Programme’ by the Union Government in June 2014 with budget outlay of
Rs.20,000 Crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution,
conservation and rejuvenation of National River Ganga.
5. Clean Energy can Support India's Economic Recovery post-COVID-19
A new report by NITI Aayog and Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) identifies how
COVID-19 is beginning to influence the clean energy transition in India, specifically
for the transport and power sectors. The report recommends principles and strategic
opportunities for the country's leaders to drive economic recovery and maintain
momentum towards a clean energy economy.
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Keypoints-
The new report, titled Towards a Clean Energy Economy: Post-COVID-19
Opportunities for India's Energy and Mobility Sectors, advocates for stimulus
and recovery efforts that work towards building a clean, resilient, and least-
cost energy future for India. These efforts include electric vehicle, energy
storage, and renewable energy programs.
The report lays out four principles as a framework for policymakers and other
key decision-makers considering programs to support India's clean energy future:
1) invest in least-cost-energy solutions, 2) support resilient and secure
energy systems, 3) prioritize efficiency and competitiveness, and 4) promote
social and environmental equity.
The report states that India's transport sector can save 1.7 gigatonnes of
cumulative carbon dioxide emissions and avoid about 600 million tonnes of
oil equivalent in fuel demand by 2030 through shared, electric, and connected
passenger mobility and cost-effective, clean, and optimized freight
transport.
6. Steel imports worth Rs 20,000 crore avoided due to DMISP policy: Pradhan
The country has avoided steel imports worth over Rs 20,000 crore following DMISP
policy since its launch in 2017, the government launched the National Steel
Policy (NSP) with an aim to scale up India's steel making capacity to 300 million
tonnes by 2030 with an additional investment of Rs 10 lakh crore. The government
also rolled out the domestically manufactured iron and steel products policy (DMISP)
policy to boost the use of domestic steel products in government organisations. The
national infrastructure plan of Rs 102 lakh crore will generate steel demand across
sectors like civil aviation, roads, railways, energy etc.
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7. SERB launches ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ scheme to strengthen scientific
research mechanism
The Science and Engineering Research Board has launched a new scheme
called ‘Accelerate Vigyan’ to provide a single platform for research
internships, capacity building programs and workshops across the country.
The primary objective of this inter-ministerial scheme is to encourage high-end
scientific research and prepare scientific manpower , which can lead towards
research careers and knowledge-based economy. Accelerate Vigyan will
initiate and strengthen mechanisms for identifying research potential,
mentoring, training and hands-on workshop on a national scale.
8. Meity celebrates 5 years of Digital India
Shri Ravi Shankar Prasad, the Union Minister for Electronics & IT, Communications and
Law & Justice, has said that the digital journey has focused on empowerment,
inclusion and digital transformation and its positive impact is being felt in all aspects
of the lives of Indian citizens. The conference was organised by the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology to celebrate 5 Years of Digital India
progressing towards Digital Bharat – AatmaNirbhar Bharat.
Keypoints-
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The Digital India journey in the past 5 years has centred around empowerment,
inclusion, digital transformation.
It has positively impacted all aspects of the lives of Indian citizens identity
management through Aadhaar, Direct Benefit Transfer, Common Services
Centres, DigiLocker, mobile based UMANG services, participatory
governance through MyGov, Jeevan Pramaan, to UPI, Ayushman Bharat,
e-Hospital, PM-Kisan, e-NAM, Soil Health Cards, SWAYAM, SWAYAM
PRABHA, National Scholarship Portal, e-Pathshala, and so on.
A ‘National AI Portal’ and ‘Responsible AI for Youth’ was launched recently
to lay the foundation for an AI-powered future.
9. WB Approves $750 Million Emergency Response Program for Micro, Small, and
Medium Enterprises in India
The World Bank's Board of Executive Directors has approved a $750 million MSME
Emergency Response program to support increased flow of finance into the hands
of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), severely impacted by the COVID-
19 crisis. COVID-19 has placed the MSME sector – the backbone of India's economy –
contributing to 30 percent of India's GDP and 40 percent of exports, under severe
stress. This cash flow shortage is exacerbated by constraints to accessing finance,
potentially leading to solvency problems.
Keypoints-
The World Bank's MSME Emergency Response program will address the
immediate liquidity and credit needs of some 1.5 million viable MSMEs to
help them withstand the impact of the current shock and protect millions of jobs.
This is the first step among a broader set of reforms that are needed to propel the
MSME sector over time. The World Bank Group, including its private sector
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arm – the International Finance Corporation (IFC), will support the
government's initiatives to protect the MSME sector.
This program will support government's efforts to channel that liquidity to the
MSME sector by de-risking lending from banks and Non-Banking Financial
Companies (NBFCs) to MSMEs through a range of instruments, including credit
guarantees. Strengthening NBFCs and SFBs Improving the funding capacity of
key market-oriented channels of credit, such as the NBFCs and Small Finance
Bank (SFBs), will help them respond to the urgent and varied needs of the
MSMEs.
This will include supporting government's refinance facility for NBFCs. In
parallel, the IFC is also providing direct support to SFBs through loans and
equity.
10. RBI unveils liquidity scheme for NBFCs, HFCs
According to the RBI, the instruments will be CPs and NCDs with a residual maturity
of not more than three months and rated as investment grade. The Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) said the government has approved a scheme for non-banking finance
companies (NBFCs) and housing finance companies (HFCs) to improve their
liquidity position and avoid any potential systemic risks to the financial sector
through a special purpose vehicle (SPV).
Keypoints-
As per the government decision, SBI Caps which is a subsidiary of the State
Bank of India has set up an SPV (SLS Trust) to manage this operation.
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The SPV will purchase the short-term papers from eligible NBFCs and HFCs,
which will utilise the proceeds under this scheme solely for the purpose of
extinguishing existing liabilities.
According to the RBI, the instruments will be CPs and NCDs with a residual
maturity of not more than three months and rated as investment grade.
The facility will not be available for any paper issued after September 30, 2020
and the SPV would cease to make fresh purchases after September 30, 2020
and would recover all dues by December 31, 2020 or as may be modified
subsequently under the scheme.
11. Start-up Village scheme has generated 1.33 lakh jobs in 2 years
According to the Ministry of Rural Development, over 64,000 rural enterprises have
been formed under the Start-up Village Entrepreneurship Programme(SVEP) which
have generated an estimated 1.3 lakh employment opportunities across States in
two years.
SVEP
It was launched in 2015-16 as a sub-scheme under the Deendayal Antyodaya
Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission(DAY-NRLM). Its aim is to help the
rural households including women to set up enterprises, to enable rural poor to
set up their enterprises by developing a sustainable model for Village
Entrepreneurship promotion through integrated ICT techniques, develop local
resources by training a pool of village level community cadre (CRPEP), help the
rural entrepreneurs to access finance for starting their enterprises from the NRLM
SHG and federations, the banking systems including the MUDRA bank.
12. India plans to enhance trade with Bangladesh
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India is adopting a multi-pronged strategy to enhance trade and business
partnership with Bangladesh amid Beijing's recent efforts to woo Dhaka with duty-free
access to its products. While Chinese trade concessions can push Bangladesh into a
“dual deficit and debt trap”, India is activating various connectivity initiatives for
seamless movement of Bangladeshi products to the landlocked northeastern
states and other parts of India. Bangladesh is India’s biggest trade partner in South Asia.
Bilateral trade between India and Bangladesh has grown steadily over the last decade.
India’s exports to Bangladesh in FY 2018-19 stood at $9.21 billion and imports during
the same period was at $1.04 billion.
13. Labour ministry notifies draft rules under wage code
The government has reissued draft rules under the labour code on wages that gives
minimum wages a statutory right for all workers. Through the notification, the
government has asked stakeholders to raise objections and offer suggestions within
a period of 45 days.
Keypoints-
The wage code universalises the provisions of minimum wages and timely
payment of wages to all employees, irrespective of the sector and wage ceiling.
At present, the provisions of both the Minimum Wages Act and Payment of
Wages Act apply on workers below a particular wage ceiling working in
scheduled employments only.
The wage code will ensure the “right to sustenance” for every worker and
intends to increase the legislative protection of minimum wage from existing
about 40% to 100% workforce.
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It also introduces the concept of statutory floor wage which will be computed
based on minimum living conditions and extended qualitative living conditions
across the country for all workers.
The criteria laid down for determination of minimum wages in the latest draft is
also the same as earlier – a net intake of 2,700 calories per day per
consumption unit, 66 metre of cloth per year per standard working class family,
which includes a spouse and two children apart from the earning worker – an
equivalent to three adult consumption units.
Housing rent expenditure to constitute 10% of the food and clothing
expenditure; fuel, electricity and other miscellaneous items of expenditure to
constitute 20% minimum wage and expenditure for children education,
medical requirement, recreation and expenditure on contingencies to
constitute 25% of minimum wage.
While fixing the minimum rate of wages, the central government shall divide the
concerned geographical area into three categories – metropolitan area, non-
metropolitan area and the rural area.
14. India moves up a rank to become second-largest source of FDI for UK
According to new UK government figures released, India invested in 120 projects and
created 5,429 new jobs in the UK to become the second-largest source of foreign
direct investment (FDI) after the US in 2019.
Keypoints-
The Department for International Trade (DIT) inward investment statistics for
2019-2020 found India moving up from its previous third-largest spot,
representing an overall 4 per cent FDI increase for the UK on 2018-2019 with
1,852 new inward investment projects in the 2019/2020 financial year.
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The US remains the number one source of FDI for the UK, delivering 462
projects and 20,131 jobs, followed by India, Germany, France and China and
Hong Kong.
The latest UK FDI figures show that while the number of new jobs as a direct
result of foreign investment has declined — a global trend as seen in other FDI
reports this year — the number of jobs safeguarded by FDI increased by 29 per
cent.
15. MSDE launches ASEEM portal to help skilled people find livelihood
opportunities
The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) launched
‘Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping’ (ASEEM) portal to help skilled
people find sustainable livelihood opportunities. The ASEEM portal has been
envisioned to give a huge impetus to our persistent efforts to bridge the demand-
supply gap for skilled workforce across sectors, bringing limitless and infinite
opportunities for the nation’s youth.The initiative aims to accelerate India’s journey
towards recovery by mapping skilled workforce and connecting them with relevant
livelihood opportunities in their local communities, especially in the post Covid era.
Keypoints-
The Artificial Intelligence-based ASEEM will provide employers a platform to
assess the availability of skilled workforce and formulate their hiring plans.
ASEEM refers to all the data, trends and analytics which describe the
workforce market and will map demand of skilled workforce to supply.
ASEEM also available as an APP, is developed and managed by NSDC in
collaboration with Bengaluru-based company Betterplace specialising in blue
collar employee management.
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16. DGFT to revamp services through new digital platform
The Directorate-General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) is set to revamp its services
through a new digital platform. The move is aimed at eventually providing exporters
the option of a single online registration for all benefits significantly cutting down
paperwork and transaction time. In the subsequent phases, other services linked to
popular schemes such as Advance Authorisation and Export Promotion Capital
Goods and the export obligation discharge of importers, will be rolled out. The DGFT
move is in line with the government’s overall effort to improve India’s ranking in the
World Bank's Trading Across Borders parameter of its Doing Business Report.
17. Crisil appoints Shyamala Gopinath as Additional Director
The board of directors of Crisil has approved the appointment of Shyamala Gopinath
as an Additional Director (Independent) of the company with effect. Gopinath was
Deputy Governor at Reserve Bank of India for seven years till June 2011.
18. Indian health care underfunded, delivery poor: World Bank Report
In a presentation to the 15th Finance Commission, the World Bank is learnt to have
flagged “fault lines” in India’s health system that have been exposed due to Covid-
19.
While acknowledging the “significant progress” made in India’s health system over the
years, the World Bank Group on Health, Nutrition and Population is said to have
noted in its presentation that there were “large, persistent health gaps among
states” and that Covid-19 had exposed those.
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Keypoints-
The finance commission is consulting the World Bank ahead of deciding the
allocation of funds for the health sector.
Commission chairman NK Singh has already announced that a special chapter
would for the first time be included in its report on health and that an increased
fund allocation was in the offing.
The bank’s presentation is learnt to have pointed to insufficient focus on core public
health functions like disease surveillance, testing and contact tracing;
weaknesses in service delivery despite improvements in access, high
variations in quality of care, inadequate attention to urban health systems
and in municipalities, besides weak public financing for health.
India’s government health spending at a little over 1% of gross domestic
product is among the lowest in the world.
The high levels of out-of-pocket financing for health is pointed out as a risk
factor for impoverishment — the presentation pointed out that 60 million Indians
were pushed into poverty annually as a result of high spending on healthcare.
The World Health Organization recommends out-of-pocket spending be 15-20%
of total health spending.
It added that hospitalisation among the poor as seen through the PM-Jan Arogya
Yojana programme showed a decline of 64% during the early lockdown and
51% during the full 10 weeks. There was a 25% fall in deliveries at hospitals
and a 64% decline in cancer care.
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19. CBDT notifies income tax exemption on sovereign wealth funds’ income from
infra investment
The income tax (I-T) department has notified tax exemption on interest, dividend and
capital gain incomes of sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) and global pension funds
arising from their investment in Indian infrastructure.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) through a notification has widened the scope
of ‘infrastructure’ for the purpose of claiming income tax exemption under Section
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10 (23FE) of the I-T Act introduced via the Finance Act 2020. The said Section permits
a complete tax exemption to certain exclusive category of non-resident investors
on their income streams such as dividends, interest and capital gains.
20. Cabinet approves agri fund, rental scheme for migrants
The cabinet on approved an agriculture infrastructure fund worth Rs 1 lakh crore,
government’s largest federally funded programme in the farm sector, and green-lighted
an affordable rental housing scheme for migrant workers. It is part of the Rs 20 lakh
crore economic stimulus and relief package. The fund, in the form of special loans
with discounted interest rates, is meant for farm entrepreneurs, aggregators of farm
produce and for building infrastructure such as refrigerated storage, markets and
farm supply chains. The scheme running the fund shall begin in this fiscal year and
end in 2029.
Keypoints-
While announcing the fund, the finance minister said the loans would benefit
private agricultural entrepreneurs and start-ups that aimed to buy the produce
of farmers and aim to reach global markets, but which did not have the
infrastructure.
The total credit will be disbursed over four years, starting with an initial sanction
of Rs 10,000 crore in the current financial year and Rs. 30,000 crore each in
the next three fiscal years.
The Rs 1 lakh crore fund, aimed at boosting farm infrastructure and logistics,
will offer medium to long term debt facility for investment in harvest
management projects and community farming assets.
All loans under the fund will have interest discount of 3% per year up to a limit
of Rs 2 crore. This benefit of this discount will be available for a maximum
period of seven years.
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21. Kharif 2019: A third of Fasal Bima claims not honoured
The Centre has written to state governments urging them to invoke the penalty clause
on insurance companies that have defaulted on settling the claims made by farmers
under the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). The move follows reports that
insurers are yet clear as much as a third of the over Rs 15,000 crore claimed by farmers
as crop insurance for the Kharif 2019 season, even as the new summer season began
on July 1. While four public sector insurers — AIC, Oriental, New India and National —
together were yet to settle claims of Rs 2,589 crore as on June 29, six companies
in the private sector could not clear Rs 2,142 crore.
22. 'Guidelines for evaluation of nano-based agri-input, food products in India'
released
These guidelines will help policy makers and regulators to frame effective provisions
for future novel nano-based products in the agri-input and food sectors of India.
The Agriculture Minister highlighted that the formulation of these ‘Guidelines’ is one of
the most important steps for delineating quality, safety and efficacy assessment of
the novel nano-formulations which can be commercialized. These guidelines are
also intended to provide transparent, consistent and predictable regulatory pathways for
nano-based agri-input and food products in the country.
23. 75% emerging infectious diseases zoonotic: UN Report
According to a new report published recently by the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP) and the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), about
60 per cent of known infectious diseases in humans and 75 per cent of all emerging
infectious diseases are zoonotic.
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Keypoints-
‘’Preventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic diseases and how to break the chain of
transmission was released on July 6, 2020, celebrated as ‘World Zoonoses Day’-
Zoonosis or zoonotic disease is a disease that has passed into the human
population from an animal source directly or through an intermediary species.
It identified seven anthropogenic driving factors leading to the emergence of
zoonotic diseases — increased demand for animal protein; rise in intense and
unsustainable farming; the increased use and exploitation of wildlife;
unsustainable utilisation of natural resources; travel and transportation,
changes in food supply chains and the climate change crisis.
The UNEP and ILRI emphasised on the importance of a ‘One-Health’ approach
to manage and prevent zoonotic disease outbreaks and pandemics, occurring at
the interface of human, animal and environment health.
The report made ten recommendations based on the One Health approach
that could aid a coordinated multi-sectoral response to future pandemics.
24. FCI says it sent record foodgrains for the poor, blames states for shoddy
distribution
The Food Corporation of India (FCI) says it has been supplying a record amount of
wheat, rice and pulses to the states, which are meant for poor beneficiaries under
the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and the recently-announced Pradhan Mantri
Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY).
While 81.35 crore beneficiaries are entitled to 5 kg of rice/wheat per person per month
under the National Food Security Act, they get an additional 5 kg of foodgrains per
person for the next three months under the recently announced PMGKY. According to
an official in the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of
Consumer Affairs, Bihar is the worst performing state followed by Madhya Pradesh.
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States such as Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, on the other hand, have been efficient
in the disbursal of foodgrains under both schemes.
NFSA
The National Food Security Act, 2013 was notified on 10th September,
2013 with the objective to provide for food and nutritional security in
human life cycle approach, by ensuring access to adequate quantity of
quality food at affordable prices to people to live a life with dignity.
The Act provides for coverage of upto 75% of the rural population and
upto 50% of the urban population for receiving subsidized foodgrains
under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS), thus covering about
two-thirds of the population.
The eligible persons will be entitled to receive 5 Kgs of foodgrains per
person per month at subsidised prices of Rs. 3/2/1 per Kg for
rice/wheat/coarse grains.
The existing Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) households, which constitute
the poorest of the poor, will continue to receive 35 Kgs of foodgrains per
household per month.
The Act also has a special focus on the nutritional support to women and
children. Besides meal to pregnant women and lactating mothers during
pregnancy and six months after the child birth, such women will also be
entitled to receive maternity benefit of not less than Rs. 6,000.
Children upto 14 years of age will be entitled to nutritious meals as per
the prescribed nutritional standards. In case of non-supply of entitled
foodgrains or meals, the beneficiaries will receive food security allowance.
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The Act also contains provisions for setting up of grievance redressal
mechanism at the District and State levels.
Separate provisions have also been made in the Act for ensuring
transparency and accountability.
25. Fiscal deficit hits 58.6% of Budget estimates
According to data released by the Controller General of Accounts (CGA), The Centre’s
fiscal deficit during the first two months of this fiscal stood at Rs 4.66 lakh crore or
58.6% of the Budget Estimate (BE) of Rs 7.96 lakh crore as against 52% of the
respective annual target. On the receipts side, shortfalls occurred in both tax and
non-tax inflows. Net tax receipts (after mandatory transfers to states) declined 71% to
Rs 33,850 crore in the first two months of FY21 against the required growth rate (BE
FY21 against FY20 actuals) of 21%. Non-tax revenues declined 62% in April-May this
fiscal compared with the required growth rate of 18% to achieve budget target this
fiscal. Non-debt capital receipts declined by 73% during the first two months of this
fiscal as against a required growth rate of a whopping 228% to meet the budget target
this fiscal.
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26. Germany to become first major economy to phase out coal, nuclear
power
German lawmakers have finalized the country's long-awaited phase-out of
coal as an energy source. The plan is part of Germany's 'energy transition' - an
effort to wean Europe's biggest economy off planet-warming fossil fuels and
generate all of the country's considerable energy needs from renewable sources.
Achieving that goal is made harder than in comparable countries such as France
and Britain because of Germany's existing commitment to also phase out nuclear
power by the end of 2022. Envision shutting down the last coal-fired power
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plant by 2038 and spending some 40 billion euros ($45 billion) to help affected
regions cope with the transition.
27. India stays lower-middle-income nation while Sri Lanka gets richer:
Report
According to the World Bank’s classification of countries by income levels
India continues to be a lower-middle-income country along with 46 others,
while Sri Lanka has climbed to the upper-middle-income group for the fiscal
year (FY) 2020.
Keypoints-
Sri Lanka entered the lower-middle-income group in FY 1999, from the
low-income category and continued for over two decades, before moving
to the upper-middle-income group this year, the data show. India
became a lower-middle-income nation from low-income in FY 2009.
The World Bank classifies economies based on gross national income
(GNI) per capita (current US$) calculated using what is called the Atlas
method. The Bank uses four income groups: low ($1,025 or less; Rs 70,069
or less), lower-middle ($1,026 to $3,995; Rs 70,137 to Rs 2,73,098), upper-
middle ($3,996 to $12,375; Rs 2,73,167 to Rs 8,45,955) and high ($12,376
or more; Rs 8,46,023 or more).
Of 218 economies, 80 are in the high-income group, 60 in the upper-middle,
47 in the lower-middle and 31 in the low-income group. The classification is
updated on the first day of July every year. The GNI per capita used for this
year’s classification is based on 2018 data.
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28. Injeti Srinivas appointed chairman of IFSCA
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet approved the appointment of Injeti
Srinivas as chairman of the International Financial Services Centres
Authority (IFSCA). The former corporate affairs secretary and 1983-batch IAS
officer of the Odisha cadre will head the IFSCA for a period of three years.
IFSCA
In 2020 The Central government notified that it has established International Financial
Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), a unified body to regulate all financial services in
International Financial Services Centres(IFSCs) in the country & its headquarters
will be at Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
29. UNAIDS report on the global AIDS epidemic shows that 2020
targets will not be met because of deeply unequal success
A new report by UNAIDS shows remarkable, but highly unequal, progress,
notably in expanding access to antiretroviral therapy. Because the
achievements have not been shared equally within and between countries, the
global HIV targets set for 2020 will not be reached. The report, Seizing the
moment, warns that even the gains made could be lost and progress further
stalled if we fail to act. It highlights just how urgent it is for countries to double
down and act with greater urgency to reach the millions still left behind.
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Fourteen countries have achieved the 90–90–90 HIV treatment targets
(90% of people living with HIV know their HIV status, of whom 90% are
on antiretroviral treatment and of whom 90% are virally supressed),
including Eswatini, which has one of the highest HIV prevalence rates in the
world, at 27% in 2019, and which has now surpassed the targets to
achieve 95–95–95.
Millions of lives and new infections have been saved by the scale-up of
antiretroviral therapy. However, 690 000 people died of AIDS-related
illnesses last year and 12.6 million of the 38 million people living with
HIV were not accessing the life-saving treatment.
Women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa continue to be the most affected and
accounted for 59% of all new HIV infections in the region in 2019, with
4500 adolescent girls and young women between 15 and 24 years old
becoming infected with HIV every week. Young women accounted for
24% of new HIV infections in 2019, despite making up only 10% of the
population in sub-Saharan Africa.
UNAIDS
The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) leads and inspires
the world to achieve its shared vision of zero new HIV infections, zero
discrimination and zero AIDS-related deaths. UNAIDS unites the efforts of 11 UN
organizations—UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, UNDP, UNFPA, UNODC, UN Women,
ILO, UNESCO, WHO and the World Bank—and works closely with global and
national partners towards ending the AIDS epidemic by 2030 as part of the
Sustainable Development Goals.
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30. Himachal first state with LPG gas connections in 100 percent households, says
Chief Minister
Himachal Pradesh has become the first state in the country where 100 percent
households have LPG connections.
Interacting with the beneficiaries of 'Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana'. Under
the central government's 'Pradhan Mantri Ujjawala Yojana', gas connections
were provided free of cost to women of rural areas, he said, adding that 1.36
lakh families of the state were benefited under the scheme.
The state government had launched 'Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana' to cover
the left out families in the state.
31.India Ranked 117th in SDG Index 2020, Sweden Tops: Sustainable
Development Report 2020
It was written by lead author Jeffrey Sachs and a team of independent experts
working at the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) and
Bertelsmann Stiftung (foundation in Germany), and published by Cambridge
University Press. According to the “Sustainable Development Report 2020-
The Sustainable Development Goals and Covid-19”, comprising of SDG index
2020, there will be many negative impacts on most of the United Nations (UN)-
mandated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) due to COVID-19
pandemic.
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India, which has ranked at 117th position with a score of 61.92 is also
facing major challenges in 10 of the 17 SDGs including zero hunger, good
health, gender inequality among others.
The index has been topped by Sweden.
The report contains data on changes over time in 17 SDG indicators, the
future of the SDGs amidst Covid-19, as well as calculations for trajectories
until 2030.
The 2020 report has reviewed the performance of 193 UN Member States
out of which 166 were ranked under SDG index 2020.
As per 2020 report COVID-19 had negatively affected several SDGs
including:
1.SDG 1 (no poverty)
2. SDG 2 (zero hunger)
3. SDG 3 (good health and wellbeing)
4. SDG 8 (decent work and economic growth)
5. SDG 10 (reduced inequalities)
Meanwhile, the pandemic had brought “immediate relief” in following SDGs:
1. SDG 12 (responsible consumption and production)
2. SDG 13 (climate action)
3. SDG 14 (life below water)
4. SDG 15 (life on land)
The report identifies five key measures that global cooperation should
include:
1. Disseminate best practices rapidly.
2. Strengthen financing mechanisms for developing countries.
3. Address hunger hotspots.
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4. Ensure social protection.
5. Promote new drugs and vaccines.
32.The Global E-Waste Monitor 2020
According to the UN’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020, a record 53.6 million metric
tonnes (Mt) of electronic waste was generated worldwide in 2019, up 21 per
cent in just five years. The new report also predicts global e-waste - discarded
products with a battery or plug - will reach 74 Mt by 2030, almost a doubling of e-
waste in just 16 years. This makes e-waste the world’s fastest-growing
domestic waste stream, fueled mainly by higher consumption rates of
electric and electronic equipment, short life cycles, and few options for
repair.
The Global E-waste Monitor 2020 (www.globalewaste.org) is a collaborative
product of the Global E-waste Statistics Partnership (GESP), formed by UN
University (UNU), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), and the
International Solid Waste Association (ISWA), in close collaboration with the
UN Environment Programme (UNEP). The World Health Organization (WHO)
and the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) also
substantially contributed to this year’s Global E-waste Monitor 2020.