[WpProQuiz 418]

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court, in its recent judgement delivered on the 16^th of August, has widened the legal definition of a family, ruling that family benefits be extended to same-sex couples, blended families and other families the court considers “atypical.”The decision establishes a precedent to further India’s easing of the conservative (and anti-LGBTQ +) laws from the colonial era. “Familial relationships may take the form of domestic, unmarried partnerships or queer relationships,” the court stated, adding that the law “must not be relied upon to disadvantage families which are different from traditional ones.” In this article, we will analyse the issue in detail.

KEY HIGHLIGHTS OF THE JUDGEMENT

• The SC ruled that atypical families were as deserving of both legal protection and benefits of social welfare legislation as traditional families.
• The conformation to the heteronormativity of the term ‘family’ leaves out a section of our population from enjoying various facets of life. Certain laws in India are non-accommodative of emerging modern families.
• The Supreme Court observed that atypical families were as deserving of both legal protection and the benefits of social welfare legislation as traditional families. Structural as well as attitudinal changes are essential for the progress of the family system.
• Equality is not achieved with the decriminalisation of homosexuality alone but must extend to all spheres of life, including the home, the workplace, and public places. Till today, the LGBTQ + community remains closed off to civil rights.

CHALLENGES ASSOCIATED WITH DIFFERENT LAWS

SAME-SEX MARRIAGES

• The Supreme Court of India has decriminalised homosexuality by partially striking down section 377 of the IPC.
• Same-sex couples now have the legal right to cohabit and conduct their personal affairs without any fear of persecution, but the law does not permit same-sex marriages in India yet.
• Denial of the basic legal right to marry based on sexual orientation is objectionable and unconstitutional, violating the constitutional rights of the right to equality and liberty.
• LGBTQ + people do not get legal and social recognition as well as the state benefits that married people enjoy.

ADOPTION

• In India, adoption is governed by both secular as well as personal laws. For Hindus, there is the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act, of 1956 (HAMA), and for other religions, there is the Juvenile Justice Care and Protection of Children Act, 2015.
• The latter Act is secular and allows adoption regardless of the religion of the person. Adoption laws discriminate against LGBTQ + couple. According to regulation 5(3) of the Adoption Regulation Act, 2017, the words “‘husband” and “wife” are used and do not recognise the right to adoption in the case of same-sex couples.
• There is a different set of adoption rules applied in the case of men and women, and thus the applicability of such laws with regard to trans-couples will lead to ambiguity.
• There is no clarity about how the adoption laws shall operate if a person undergoes a sex change. Same-sex couples are not allowed to adopt a child and there are no laws for the same.

SURROGACY

• The new surrogacy bill passed in Parliament prohibits single people and LGBTQ+ to have their own children through surrogacy.
• This new bill reiterates the notions of the “archaic family system” which is not in sync with new modern families.
• The essentials of the bill are so stringent that even a heterosexual couple cannot fulfil the requisite condition. The essentials of the bill are so stringent that even a heterosexual couple cannot fulfil the requisite conditions.

INHERITANCE LAWS

• Hindus are governed by the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, while Muslims and Parsis have their own customary laws and then there is an Indian Succession Act, 1925 which applies to all Indians who are married under the Special Marriage Act, 1954.
• Gender is irrelevant when it comes to inheritance, inheritance happens based on nearness, but then inheritance laws are restricted only to heterosexual marriages. So, to apply the principles of inheritance to the LGBTQ + community, it is essential to recognise the concept of same-sex marriage.
• There have been constant demands for the legal recognition of Hijra families, especially after the NALSA judgement.
• However, the law continues to undermine the legal existence of such families firstly in the subsequent versions of the Private Member Bills in 2014 and then after the passing of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, in 2019.
• The language of laws should be made completely gender-neutral so that even transgender people or the person who undergoes sex change shall face no discrimination in inheritance.

MATERNITY BENEFITS

• At present, the Maternity Benefit Act of 1961 provides maternity leaves and benefits only to cisgender women who give birth, adopt, or rely on surrogacy to have a child.
• There are two implications of this law.
• Firstly, it reiterates the same archaic ideas and notions that it is the sole responsibility of the mother to take care of and nurture the child while the father can be waived this duty. Secondly, it does not take into cognisance the fact that there can be a possibility of alternative families such as the LGBTQIA + families.
• Therefore, it is essential that the language of this law must be gender-neutral so that even LGBT + families can also have access to parental benefits and further, it can also serve as a progressive step in the direction to eliminate gender biases reinforced by the maternity benefit legislation. Indian society is still very conservative when it comes to marriage.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Indian society is still very conservative when it comes to marriage. Indians are still not able to accept inter-caste marriages, therefore, accepting same sex marriage is still too far fetched, but this cannot be a valid justification to deny the whole LGBTQ + community the right to marry.
• Reform for LGBTQ + inclusion cannot be complete without a law recognising the concept of “families of choice”. Family laws remain exclusionary because they do not account for gender beyond the binary and the many diverse forms of relationships that exist in a society, which may or not be based on conjugality. Some of the restrictions can now be potentially challenged under the robust framework of equality and non-discrimination that has been recognised.
• The LGBTQ community needs an anti-discrimination law that empowers them to build productive lives and relationships irrespective of gender identity or sexual orientation and places the onus to change on the state and society and not the individual.
• Government bodies, especially those related to Health and Law and Order need to be sensitised to ensure that the LGBTQ community is not denied public services or harassed for their sexual orientation.

THE CONCLUSION: Though there are many judgments to mention the role of the judiciary in upholding the rights of the LGBT community, there are challenges to implementing these judgments in letter and spirit. Judiciary played its role, and now government and society has to play their role by giving rights and acceptance to the LGBT community.

QUESTION FOR MAINS EXAMINATION:

Q1. “Same-sex parents and other “atypical” or non-traditional families in India are now eligible for the same social benefits as “traditional” families”. Discuss in light of the recent judgement by the Supreme Court.

Q2. Examine the role played by the judiciary in protecting and promoting the rights of the LGBT community.

HEALTH ISSUES

1. WHAT IS SICKLE CELL ANEMIA?

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-II-HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Union Finance Minister recently announced the Central Government’s plan to launch a mission to eliminate sickle cell anemia by 2047.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Sickle cell anemia:

• It is an inherited blood disorder.
• It affects hemoglobin, the molecule in red blood cells that delivers oxygen to cells throughout the body.
• People with this disease have atypical hemoglobin molecules called hemoglobin S, which can distort red blood cells into a sickle, or crescent, shape.
• These sickle cells also become rigid and sticky, which can slow or block blood flow.

What causes it?

• The cause of Sickle cell disease is a defective gene, called a sickle cell gene.
• A person will be born with sickle cell disease only if two genes are inherited—one from the mother and one from the father.

Symptoms:

• Early stage: Extreme tiredness or fussiness from anemia, painfully swollen hands and feet, and jaundice.
• Later stage: Severe pain, anemia, organ damage, and infections.

Treatments:

• The only cure for this disease is bone marrow or stem cell transplantation.
• However, there are treatments that can help relieve symptoms, lessen complications, and prolong life.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY & CLIMATE CHANGE

2. HEIMANG TREE

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-III-ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Despite recent studies highlighting the Heimang’s remarkable adaptability, it hasn’t yet been used much in commerce.

THE EXPLANATION:

ABOUT HEIMANG

• The Heimang tree grows widely in Manipur and other north-eastern regions
• Its fruit have a citrus-like tartness and, it is packed with nutrients such as polyphenols, flavonoids, and antioxidants.
• Traditional healers of Manipur called Maibas or maibis, prescribe heimang for common gastrointestinal problems like diarrhoea and dysentery.
• It is also recommended to eat water-soaked fruit for indigestion and stomach ulcer.
• The research found that compounds isolated from the stem of the heimang tree can significantly suppress HIV-1 activity in vitro.
• Local communities in the state also use heimang leaves to prepare a herbal shampoo called chinghi by boiling them with rice water.

3. RED-HEADED VULTURE

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-III-ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, The Red-headed vulture was spotted in the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Red-headed vulture

• This is one of the 9 species of Vulture which are found in India
• It is also called the Asian King vulture or Pondicherry Vulture was extensively found in India but its numbers drastically reduced after diclofenac poisoning.
• Conservation status
• IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered
• Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule 1

ABOUT THE ASOLA BHATTI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

• It is located on the Southern Delhi Ridge of the Aravalli hill range on the Delhi-Haryana border and in Southern Delhi as well as northern parts of the Faridabad and Gurugram districts of Haryana.
• It is at the end of an important wildlife corridor that starts from Sariska National Park in Alwar, Rajasthan.
• Flora: Wide variety of trees, shrubs, herbs and grasses.
• Fauna: A large number of mammals, reptiles, amphibians, butterflies and dragonflies.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4. CAESIUM-137

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-III-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, a Caesium-137 capsule lost in transit was discovered in Western Australia using specialised detection equipment that detected radiation.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is Caesium?

• Caesium is a soft, flexible, silvery-white metal.
• It becomes liquid near room temperature, but easily bonds with chlorides to create a crystalline powder.

About the Caesium-137

• It is the most common radioactive form of caesium.
• It is produced by nuclear fission which is also one of the byproducts of nuclear fission processes in nuclear reactors and nuclear weapons testing.
• This radioactive metal has a half-life of 30.05 years – meaning in three decades it will have half of its original activity.
• Caesium-137 can cause serious illness when touched, leading to burns and acute radiation sickness.
• External exposure can increase the risk of cancer because of the presence of high-energy beta-gamma radiation. Prolonged exposure can even cause death.
• Internal exposure to it through ingestion or inhalation allows the radioactive material to be distributed in the soft tissues, especially muscle tissue, which increases cancer risk.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5. WHAT IS THE ‘MAHILA SAMMAN SAVING CERTIFICATE’ SCHEME?

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-II—ECONOMY-SCHEMES IN NEWS

THE CONTEXT: Finance Minister recently announced a new saving scheme ‘Mahila Samman Saving Certificate’ for women and girls in the Union Budget.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Mahila Samman Saving Certificate’ Scheme:

• The scheme offers deposit facility up to Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for a tenor of 2 years.
• It offers fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent.
• There are no tax benefits, but partial withdrawal is allowed in this scheme.
• This is a one-time scheme announced in Budget 2023 and will remain available for a two-year period i.e. up to March 2025.
• Benefit: It will encourage more women to adopt formal financial saving instruments.

Difference between Mahila Samman Saving Certificate and Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana

• The Sukanya Samriddhi Scheme is a small deposit scheme of the government of India meant exclusively for a girl child. The scheme is meant to meet the education and marriage expenses of a girl child.
• The current rate of interest offered by Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana is 7.6%, which is compounded annually.
• Account can be opened in the name of a girl child till she attains the age of 10 years.
• The total amount deposited in an account shall not exceed Rs 1,50,000 in a financial year.
• Sukanya Samriddhi scheme has tax benefits under Section 80C.
• The account matures after 21 years from the date of opening or on marriage of the girl child under whose name the account is opened, whichever is earlier.

[WpProQuiz 417]

ECONOMIC SURVEY 2022-23

THE CONTEXT: On National Teachers’ Day 2022, the Prime Minister announced a new initiative – PM SHRI Schools (PM ScHools for Rising India). This article presents the complete picture of the scheme and why such schools are needed to further the goals envisioned under the National Education Policy.

ABOUT PM SHRI SCHEME

PM ScHools for Rising India is a new scheme for the development of more than 14500 schools across the country by strengthening selected existing schools being managed by Central Government/ State/ UT Government/ local bodies. These schools will act as exemplary schools showcasing all components of the National Education Policy 2020 (NEP) and offering mentorship to other schools in their vicinity. This Scheme will deliver quality teaching for the cognitive development of students and will strive to create and nurture holistic and well-rounded individuals equipped with key skills required for the 21st century.

KEY FEATURES OF PM SHRI SCHOOLS

LEADERSHIP

• PM SHRI Schools will provide leadership to other schools in their respective regions by providing mentorship.

SUSTAINABLE LIFESTYLE

• The PM SHRI Schools will be developed as Green Schools, incorporating environment-friendly aspects like solar panels and LED lights, nutrition gardens with natural farming, waste management, plastic-free, water conservation and harvesting, the study of traditions/practices related to protection of the environment, climate change related hackathon and awareness generation to adopt a sustainable lifestyle.

PEDAGOGY

• The pedagogy adopted in these schools will be more experiential, holistic, integrated, play/toy-based (particularly in the foundational years), inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centric, discussion-based, flexible and enjoyable.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

• The focus will be on the learning outcomes of every child in every grade. Assessment at all levels will be based on conceptual understanding and application of knowledge to real-life situations and will be competency-based.

SKILL DEVELOPMENT

• Linkage with Sector Skill Councils and local industry for enhancing employability and providing better employment opportunities will be explored.

QUALITY ASSESSMENT

• A School Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF) is being developed, specifying the key performance indicators to measure outcomes. Quality evaluation of these schools at regular intervals will be undertaken to ensure the desired standards.

MAJOR INTERVENTIONS IN THE PM SHRI SCHOOLS

QUALITY AND INNOVATION

• Quality and Innovation through Learning Enhancement Programme, Holistic Progress Card, Innovative Pedagogies, Bagless days, Internships with Local artisans, Capacity building etc.

BENEFICIARY-ORIENTED ENTITLEMENTS

• Beneficiary-oriented entitlements under RTE Act. 100% of PM SHRI Schools will receive Science and Math Kits.

ANNUAL SCHOOL GRANTS

• Annual School Grants (Composite School grants, Library grants, Sports grants)

FOUNDATIONAL LITERACY AND NUMERACY

• Early Childhood Care and Education, including Bal Vatika and Foundational Literacy and Numeracy

EQUITY AND INCLUSION

• Equity and Inclusion, including the provision of safe and appropriate infrastructure for girls and Children with Special Needs (CWSN).

FLEXIBILITY

• Encouraging flexibility in the choice of subjects offered to students.

MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

• Encouraging mother tongue/local languages as a medium of instruction using technological interventions to help bridge language barriers.

DIGITAL INITIATIVES

• 100% of the PM SHRI Schools will be covered under Information and Communication Technology (ICT), smart classrooms and digital initiatives.

VOCATIONAL INTERVENTIONS

• Vocational interventions & Enhancing internship/entrepreneurship opportunities, especially with local industry.

SATURATION APPROACH

• A saturation approach will be adopted to develop these schools with all modern facilities. Science labs, Library, ICT facilities, Vocational labs etc. will be provided to all the schools.

Ø  The scheme also envisages convergence with existing schemes /Panchayati Raj Institutions/ Urban Local Bodies and community participation for infrastructure upgradation of the school and creation of facilities.

METHODOLOGY FOR SELECTING PM SHRI SCHOOLS

• Selection of PM SHRI schools will be done through Challenge Mode, wherein Schools compete for support to become exemplary schools. Schools would be required to self-apply on the online portal.
• A maximum of two schools (one Elementary & one Secondary/Senior Secondary) would be selected per block/ULB with an upper limit of the number of total schools across India.
• Geo-tagging of schools for the selection and monitoring of PM SHRI schools. The services of
• Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG-N) will be taken for geo-tagging and other related tasks. An Expert committee would be constituted for the final selection of schools.

IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY OF PM SHRI SCHOOLS

• PM SHRI Schools would be implemented through the existing administrative structure available for Samagra Shiksha, KVS & NVS. The other autonomous bodies would be involved on a specific project basis as required.
• These schools shall be monitored vigorously to assess progress and understand the challenges faced in implementing the National Education Policy 2020.

PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CURRENT EDUCATION SYSTEM – NEED FOR PM SHRI SCHOOLS

TEACHER-STUDENT RATIO

• According to UNESCO’s State of the Education report for India 2021, there are 11.16 lakh teaching positions that are vacant in schools. It clearly shows that there is a shortage of teachers in schools.
• Besides this, teachers are burdened with a lot of non-academic workloads, ultimately resulting in a divergence of their focus from teaching the students.
• According to a study done by the National Institute of Education Planning and Administration (NIEPA), teachers devote only around 19% of their time to teaching, while the rest of their time is spent on non-teaching administrative work.

ALLOTMENT OF FUNDS

• Funds are provided to the schools by the Central Government to the State Government. Every National Education Policy since 1968 has said that India needs to spend 6% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on education.
• The 2019-20 Economic Survey showed that in 2019-20, 52 years since that recommendation, India spent only 3.1% of its GDP on education.
• The requirements of the schools, like libraries, labs, and other infrastructural facilities, cannot be managed appropriately by the schools due to the lack of availability of money.

LACK OF INFRASTRUCTURE

• Lack of infrastructural facilities like poor hygiene, lack of toilets, drinking water facilities, electricity, playground, etc., is one of the major loopholes in the education sector.

OLD CURRICULUM OF STUDY AND LACK OF PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE

• The old education system in India was mainly based on bookish learning, but nowadays, with the use of the internet and experiential learning methods, a lot has changed.
• The old curriculum of education mainly focuses on cramming up theories and concepts. No exposure is being provided to the students in the practical domain.
• Parents and teachers also focus on guiding the students to obtain high marks in the subjects rather than on practical knowledge and usability of the concepts. As a result, education has become a rat race.

HOW CAN PM SHRI SCHOOLS BE USEFUL?

• PM SHRI schools can become a medium to bring change envisaged by the New Education Policy (NEP). These schools will also need to find the solution to learning losses caused due to pandemic and ensure fruitful outcomes that can help the nation’s economy.
• As every region will have PM SHRI schools that will mentor other schools in their areas, it will also have a range of learning experiences, and good infrastructure, among others. These schools will include a variety of pedagogies and assessment systems along with vocational education, which will help in building the capabilities of young minds and make them future-ready.
• The schools will be energy-efficient with natural farming patches, equipped with rainwater harvesting systems and will enable the study of traditional environment-friendly practices.
• Career guidance and mentoring will be provided by the alumni, and parents will also be trained to become home mentors, which will ensure the holistic development of the child.

THE CONCLUSION: Education is a tool that empowers individuals in all aspects of their life. It widens his knowledge, skills, techniques, and his vision of the world. It also helps in inculcating moral and ethical values. Apart from all this, employment opportunities increase to a great extent along with higher income prospects. There is no doubt that the development of a country depends on the quality of its educational system. Adequate investment in the educational domain will help in increasing the efficiency and productivity of the manpower.  PM SHRI Scheme is a great step in the right direction to improve the quality of education and learning outcomes. However, for the PM SHRI schools to succeed, a teacher training programme must be in place to train the educators in the pedagogical practices proposed by the NEP.

Mains Practice Questions:

• ‘The schools will need to find ways to reverse the learning losses and ensure life outcomes that have a positive bearing on the nation’s economy.’ Discuss the role of the PM SHRI Scheme in light of the given statement.
• Transformation in the pedagogy sector by personalised learning through technology is today’s reality. Discuss how the digital initiatives under the PM SHRI Scheme will help in the holistic development of the students.

https://blog.lukmaanias.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/ECONOMIC-SURVEY-2022-23.pdf

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE UNION BUDGET 2023-24

PART A

• Per capita income has more than doubled to ₹1.97 lakh in around nine years.
• Indian economy has increased in size from being 10th to 5th largest in the world in the past nine years.
• EPFO membership has more than doubled to 27 crore.
• 7,400 crore digital payments of ₹126 lakh crore has taken place through UPI in 2022.
• 11.7 crore household toilets constructed under Swachh Bharat Mission.
• 9.6 crore LPG connections provided under Ujjwala.
• 220 crore covid vaccination of 102 crore persons.
• 47.8 crore PM Jan Dhan bank accounts.
• Insurance cover for 44.6 crore persons under PM Suraksha Bima and PM Jeevan Jyoti Yojana.
• Cash transfer of ₹2.2 lakh crore to over 11.4 crore farmers under PM Kisan Samman Nidhi.

• Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program with an outlay of ₹2200 crore to be launched to boost availability of disease-free, quality planting material for high value horticultural crops.
• 157 new nursing colleges to be established in co-location with the existing 157 medical colleges established since 2014.

• Centre to recruit 38,800 teachers and support staff for the 740 Eklavya Model Residential Schools, serving 3.5 lakh tribal students over the next three years.
• Outlay for PM Awas Yojana is being enhanced by 66% to over Rs. 79,000 crore.
• Capital outlay of Rs. 2.40 lakh crore has been provided for the Railways, which is the highest ever outlay and about nine times the outlay made in 2013-14.
• Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF)will be established through use of priority Sector Lending shortfall, which will be managed by the national Housing Bank, and will be used by public agencies to create urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.

• Entity DigiLocker to be setup for use by MSMEs, large business and charitable trusts to store and share documents online securely.
• 100 labs to be setup for 5G services based application development to realize a new range of opportunities, business models, and employment potential.

• 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan(Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme to be established for promoting circular economy at total investment of Rs 10,000 crore. 5 per cent compressed biogas mandate to be introduced for all organizations marketing natural and biogas.
• Centre to facilitate one crore farmers to adopt natural farming over the next three years. For this, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres to be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.
• Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana 4.0, to be launched to skill lakhs of youth within the next three years covering new age courses for Industry 4.0 like coding, AI, robotics, mechatronics, IOT, 3D printing, drones, and soft skills.
• 30 Skill India International Centres to be set up across different States to skill youth for international opportunities.
• Revamped credit guarantee scheme for MSMEs to take effect from 1st April 2023 through infusion of Rs 9,000 crore in the corpus. This scheme would enable additional collateral-free guaranteed credit of Rs 2 lakh crore and also reduce the cost of the credit by about 1 percent.
• Central Processing Centre to be setup for faster response to companies through centralized handling of various forms filed with field offices under the Companies Act.
• The maximum deposit limit for Senior Citizen Savings Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 15 lakh to Rs 30 lakh.

Targeted Fiscal Deficit to be below 4.5% by 2025-26.

• Agriculture Accelerator Fund to be set-up to encourage agri-startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas.
• To make India a global hub for ‘Shree Anna’, the Indian Institute of Millet Research, Hyderabad will be supported as the Centre of Excellence for sharing best practices, research and technologies at the international level.
• ₹20 lakh crore agricultural credit targeted at animal husbandry, dairy and fisheries
• A new sub-scheme of PM MatsyaSampada Yojana with targeted investment of ₹6,000 crore to be launched to further enable activities of fishermen, fish vendors, and micro & small enterprises, improve value chain efficiencies, and expand the market.
• Digital public infrastructure for agriculture to be built as an open source, open standard and inter operable public good to enable inclusive farmer centric solutions and support for growth of agri-tech industry and start-ups.
• Computerisation of 63,000 Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) with an investment of ₹2,516 crore initiated.
• Massive decentralised storage capacity to be set up to help farmers store their produce and realize remunerative prices through sale at appropriate times.
• Sickle Cell Anaemia elimination mission to be launched.
• Joint public and Private Medical research to be encouraged via select ICMR labs for encouraging collaborative research and innovation.
• New Programme to promote research in Pharmaceuticals to be launched.

• Rs. 10 lakh crore capital investment, a steep increase of 33% for third year in a row, to enhance growth potential and job creation, crowd-in private investments, and provide a cushion against global headwinds.
• Aspirational Blocks Programme covering 500 blocks launched for saturation of essential government services across multiple domains such as health, nutrition, education, agriculture, water resources, financial inclusion, skill development, and basic infrastructure.
• Rs. 15,000 crore for implementation of Pradhan Mantri PVTG Development Mission over the next three years under the Development Action Plan for the Scheduled Tribes.
• Investment of Rs. 75,000 crore, including Rs. 15,000 crore from private sources, for one hundred critical transport infrastructure projects, for last and first mile connectivity for ports, coal, steel, fertilizer, and food grains sectors.
• New Infrastructure Finance Secretariat established to enhance opportunities for private investment in infrastructure.
• District Institutes of Education and Training to be developed as vibrant institutes of excellence for Teachers’ Training.
• A National Digital Library for Children and Adolescents to be set-up for facilitating availability of quality books across geographies, languages, genres and levels, and device agnostic accessibility.
• Rs. 5,300 crore to be given as central assistance to Upper Bhadra Project to provide sustainable micro irrigation and filling up of surface tanks for drinking water.
• ‘Bharat Shared Repository of Inscriptions’ to be set up in a digital epigraphy museum, with digitization of one lakh ancient inscriptions in the first stage.
• ‘Effective Capital Expenditure’ of Centre to be Rs. 13.7 lakh crore.
• Continuation of 50-year interest free loan to state governments for one more year to spur investment in infrastructure and to incentivize them for complementary policy actions.
• Encouragement to states and cities to undertake urban planning reforms and actions to transform our cities into ‘sustainable cities of tomorrow’.
• Transition from manhole to machine-hole mode by enabling all cities and towns to undertake 100 percent mechanical desludging of septic tanks and sewers.
• iGOT Karmayogi, an integrated online training platform, launched to provide continuous learning opportunities for lakhs of government employees to upgrade their skills and facilitate people-centric approach.
• More than 39,000 compliances reduced and more than 3,400 legal provisions decriminalized to enhance Ease Of Doing Business.
• Jan Vishwas Bill to amend 42 Central Acts have been introduced to further trust-based governance.
• Three centres of excellence for Artificial Intelligence to be set-up in top educational institutions to realise the vision of “Make AI in India and Make AI work for India”.
• National Data Governance Policy to be brought out to unleash innovation and research by start-ups and academia.
• One stop solution for reconciliation and updation of identity and address of individuals to be established using DigiLocker service and Aadhaar as foundational identity.
• PAN will be used as the common identifier for all digital systems of specified government agencies to bring in Ease of Doing Business.
• 95 per cent of the forfeited amount relating to bid or performance security, will be returned to MSME’s by government and government undertakings in cases the MSME’s failed to execute contracts during Covid period.
• Result Based Financing to better allocate scarce resources for competing development needs.
• Phase-3 of the E-Courts project to be launched with an outlay of Rs. 7,000 crore for efficient administration of justice.

• R & D grant for Lab Grown Diamonds (LGD) sector to encourage indigenous production of LGD seeds and machines and to reduce import dependency.
• Annual production of 5 MMT under Green Hydrogen Mission to be targeted by 2030 to facilitate transition of the economy to low carbon intensity and to reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports.
• ₹35000 crore outlay for energy security, energy transition and net zero objectives.
• Battery energy storage systems to be promoted to steer the economy on the sustainable development path.
• 20,700 crore outlay provided for renewable energy grid integration and evacuation from Ladakh.

• “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth” (PM-PRANAM)to be launched to incentivize States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
• ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes’, MISHTI, to be taken up for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, through convergence between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other sources.
• Green Credit Programme to be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act to incentivize and mobilize additional resources for environmentally sustainable and responsive actions.
• Amrit Dharohar scheme to be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities.
• A unified Skill India Digital platform to be launched for enabling demand-based formal skilling, linking with employers including MSMEs, and facilitating access to entrepreneurship schemes.
• Direct Benefit Transfer under a pan-India National Apprenticeship Promotion Schemeto be rolled out to provide stipend support to 47 lakh youth in three years.
• At least 50 tourist destinations to be selected through challenge mode; to be developed as a complete package for domestic and foreign tourists.
• Sector specific skilling and entrepreneurship development to be dovetailed to achieve the objectives of the ‘Dekho Apna Desh’ initiative.
• Tourism infrastructure and amenities to be facilitated in border villages through the Vibrant Villages Programme.
• States to be encouraged to set up a Unity Mall for promotion and sale of their own and also all others states’ ODOPs (One District, One Product), GI products and handicrafts.
• National Financial Information Registry to be set up to serve as the central repository of financial and ancillary information for facilitating efficient flow of credit, promoting financial inclusion, and fostering financial stability. A new legislative framework to be designed in consultation with RBI to govern this credit public infrastructure.
• Financial sector regulators to carry out a comprehensive review of existing regulations in consultation with public and regulated entities. Time limits to decide the applications under various regulations would also be laid down.
• To enhance business activities in GIFT IFSC, the following measures to be taken.
• Delegating powers under the SEZ Act to IFSCA to avoid dual regulation.
• Setting up a single window IT system for registration and approval from IFSCA, SEZ authorities, GSTN, RBI, SEBI and IRDAI.
• Permitting acquisition financing by IFSC Banking Units of foreign bank.
• Establishing a subsidiary of EXIM Bank for trade re-financing.
• Amending IFSCA Act for statutory provisions for arbitration, ancillary services, and avoiding dual regulation under SEZ Act
• Recognizing offshore derivative instruments as valid contracts.
• Amendments proposed to the Banking Regulation Act, the Banking Companies Act and the Reserve of India Act to improve bank governance and enhance investors’ protection.
• Countries looking for digital continuity solutions would be facilitated for setting up of their Data Embassies in GIFT IFSC.
• SEBI to be empowered to develop, regulate, maintain and enforce norms and standards for education in the National Institute of Securities Markets and to recognize award of degrees, diplomas and certificates.
• Integrated IT portal to be established to enable investors to easily reclaim the unclaimed shares and unpaid dividends from the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority.
• To commemorate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, a one-time new small savings scheme, Mahila Samman Savings Certificate to be launched. It will offer deposit facility upto Rs 2 lakh in the name of women or girls for tenure of 2 years (up to March 2025) at fixed interest rate of 7.5 per cent with partial withdrawal option.
• The maximum deposit limit for Monthly Income Account Scheme to be enhanced from Rs 4.5 lakh to Rs 9 lakh for single account and from Rs 9 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for joint account.
• The entire fifty-year interest free loan to states to be spent on capital expenditure within 2023-24. Part of the loan is conditional on States increasing actual Capital expenditure and parts of outlay will be linked to States undertaking specific loans.
• Fiscal Deficit of 3.5% of GSDP allowed for States of which 0.5% is tied to Power sector reforms.

Revised Estimates 2022-23:

• • The total receipts other than borrowings is Rs 24.3 lakh crore, of which the net tax receipts are Rs 20.9 lakh crore.
  • The total expenditure is Rs 41.9 lakh crore, of which the capital expenditure is about Rs 7.3 lakh crore.
  • The fiscal deficit is 6.4 percent of GDP, adhering to the Budget Estimate.

Budget Estimates 2023-24:

• The total receipts other than borrowings is estimated at Rs 27.2 lakh crore and the total expenditure is estimated at Rs 45 lakh crore.
• The net tax receipts are estimated at Rs 23.3 lakh crore.
• The fiscal deficit is estimated to be 5.9 percent of GDP.
• To finance the fiscal deficit in 2023-24, the net market borrowings from dated securities are estimated at Rs 11.8 lakh crore.
• The gross market borrowings are estimated at Rs 15.4 lakh crore.

PART – B

DIRECT TAXES

• Direct Tax proposals aim to maintain continuity and stability of taxation, further simplify and rationalise various provisions to reduce the compliance burden, promote the entrepreneurial spirit and provide tax relief to citizens.
• Constant endeavour of the Income Tax Department to improve Tax Payers Services by making compliance easy and smooth.
• To further improve tax payer services, proposal to roll out a next-generation Common IT Return Form for taxpayer convenience, along with plans to strengthen the grievance redressal mechanism.
• Rebate limit of Personal Income Tax to be increased to Rs. 7 lakh from the current Rs. 5 lakh in the new tax regime. Thus, persons in the new tax regime, with income up to Rs. 7 lakh to not pay any tax.
• Tax structure in new personal income tax regime, introduced in 2020 with six income slabs, to change by reducing the number of slabs to five and increasing the tax exemption limit to Rs. 3 lakh. Change to provide major relief to all tax payers in the new regime.

New tax rates                   

Total Income (Rs)                                          Rate (per cent)                         

Up to 3,00,000                                                            Nil

From 3,00,001 to 6,00,000                                       5

From 6,00,001 to 9,00,000                                      10

From 9,00,001 to 12,00,000                                    15

From 12,00,001 to 15,00,000                                  20

Above 15,00,000                                                        30

• Proposal to extend the benefit of standard deduction of Rs. 50,000 to salaried individual, and deduction from family pension up to Rs. 15,000, in the new tax regime.
• Highest surcharge rate to reduce from 37 per cent to 25 per cent in the new tax regime. This to further result in reduction of the maximum personal income tax rate to 39 per cent.
• The limit for tax exemption on leave encashment on retirement of non-government salaried employees to increase to Rs. 25 lakh.
• The new income tax regime to be made the default tax regime. However, citizens will continue to have the option to avail the benefit of the old tax regime.
• Enhanced limits for micro enterprises and certain professionals for availing the benefit of presumptive taxation proposed. Increased limit to apply only in case the amount or aggregate of the amounts received during the year, in cash, does not exceed five per cent of the total gross receipts/turnover.
• Deduction for expenditure incurred on payments made to MSMEs to be allowed only when payment is actually made in order to support MSMEs in timely receipt of payments.
• New co-operatives that commence manufacturing activities till 31.3.2024 to get the benefit of a lower tax rate of 15 per cent, as presently available to new manufacturing companies.
• Opportunity provided to sugar co-operatives to claim payments made to sugarcane farmers for the period prior to assessment year 2016-17 as expenditure. This expected to provide them a relief of almost Rs. 10,000 crore.

• Provision of a higher limit of Rs. 2 lakh per member for cash deposits to and loans in cash by Primary Agricultural Co-operative Societies (PACS) and Primary Co-operative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs).

• A higher limit of Rs. 3 crore for TDS on cash withdrawal to be provided to co-operative societies.

• Date of incorporation for income tax benefits to start-ups to be extended from 31.03.23 to 31.3.24.
• Proposal to provide the benefit of carry forward of losses on change of shareholding of start-ups from seven years of incorporation to ten years.

• Deduction from capital gains on investment in residential house under sections 54 and 54F to be capped at Rs. 10 crore for better targeting of tax concessions and exemptions.
• Proposal to limit income tax exemption from proceeds of insurance policies with very high value. Where aggregate of premium for life insurance policies (other than ULIP) issued on or after 1st April, 2023 is above Rs. 5 lakh, income from only those policies with aggregate premium up to Rs. 5 lakh shall be exempt.

• Income of authorities, boards and commissions set up by statutes of the Union or State for the purpose of housing, development of cities, towns and villages, and regulating, or regulating and developing an activity or matter, proposed to be exempted from income tax.
• Minimum threshold of Rs. 10,000/- for TDS to be removed and taxability relating to online gaming to be clarified. Proposal to provide for TDS and taxability on net winnings at the time of withdrawal or at the end of the financial year.
• Conversion of gold into electronic gold receipt and vice versa not to be treated as capital gain.
• TDS rate to be reduced from 30 per cent to 20 per cent on taxable portion of EPF withdrawal in non-PAN cases.
• Income from Market Linked Debentures to be taxed.
• Deployment of about 100 Joint Commissioners for disposal of small appeals in order to reduce the pendency of appeals at Commissioner level.
• Increased selectivity in taking up appeal cases for scrutiny of returns already received this year.
• Period of tax benefits to funds relocating to IFSC, GIFT City extended till 31.03.2025.
• Certain acts of omission of liquidators under section 276A of the Income Tax Act to be decriminalized with effect from 1st April, 2023.
• Carry forward of losses on strategic disinvestment including that of IDBI Bank to be allowed.
• Agniveer Fund to be provided EEE status. The payment received from the Agniveer Corpus Fund by the Agniveers enrolled in Agnipath Scheme, 2022 proposed to be exempt from taxes. Deduction in the computation of total income is proposed to be allowed to the Agniveer on the contribution made by him or the Central Government to his Seva Nidhi account.

INDIRECT TAXES

• Number of basic customs duty rates on goods, other than textiles and agriculture, reduced to 13 from 21.
• Minor changes in the basic custom duties, cesses and surcharges on some items including toys, bicycles, automobiles and naphtha.

• Excise duty exempted on GST-paid compressed biogas contained in blended compressed natural gas.
• Customs Duty on specified capital goods/machinery for manufacture of lithium-ion cell for use in battery of electrically operated vehicle (EVs) extended to 31.03.2024
• Customs duty exempted on vehicles, specified automobile parts/components, sub-systems and tyres when imported by notified testing agencies, for the purpose of testing and/ or certification, subject to conditions.

• Customs duty on camera lens and its inputs/parts for use in manufacture of camera module of cellular mobile phone reduced to zero and concessional duty on lithium-ion cells for batteries extended for another year.
• Basic customs duty reduced on parts of open cells of TV panels to 2.5 per cent.

• Basic customs duty on electric kitchen chimney increased to 15 per cent from 7.5 per cent.
• Basic customs duty on heat coil for manufacture of electric kitchen chimneys reduced to 15 per cent from 20 per cent.

• Denatured ethyl alcohol used in chemical industry exempted from basic customs duty.
• Basic customs duty reduced on acid grade fluorspar (containing by weight more than 97 per cent of calcium fluoride) to 2.5 per cent from 5 per cent.
• Basic customs duty on crude glycerin for use in manufacture of epichlorohydrin reduced to 2.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent.

• Duty reduced on key inputs for domestic manufacture of shrimp feed.

• Basic customs duty reduced on seeds used in the manufacture of lab grown diamonds.

• Duties on articles made from dore and bars of gold and platinum increased.
• Import duty on silver dore, bars and articles increased.

• Basic Customs Duty exemption on raw materials for manufacture of CRGO Steel, ferrous scrap and nickel cathode continued.
• Concessional BCD of 2.5 per cent on copper scrap is continued.

• Basic customs duty rate on compounded rubber increased to 25 per cent from 10 per cent or 30 per kg whichever is lower.

• National Calamity Contingent Duty (NCCD) on specified cigarettes revised upwards by about 16 per cent.

Legislative Changes in Customs Laws

• Customs Act, 1962 to be amended to specify a time limit of nine months from date of filing application for passing final order by Settlement Commission.
• Customs Tariff Act to be amended to clarify the intent and scope of provisions relating to Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD), Countervailing Duty (CVD), and Safeguard Measures.

• CGST Act to be amended

• to raise the minimum threshold of tax amount for launching prosecution under GST from one crore to two crore;
• to reduce the compounding amount from the present range of 50 to 150 percent of tax amount to the range of 25 to 100 percent;
• decriminalise certain offences;
• to restrict filing of returns/statements to a maximum period of three years from the due date of filing of the relevant return/statement; and
• to enable unregistered suppliers and composition taxpayers to make intra-state supply of goods through E-Commerce Operators (ECOs).

ECONOMIC SURVEY 2022-23: HIGHLIGHTS

State of the Economy 2022-23: Recovery Complete

• Recovering from pandemic-induced contraction, Russian-Ukraine conflict and inflation, Indian economy is staging a broad based recovery across sectors, positioning to ascend to the pre-pandemic growth path in FY23.
• India’s GDP growth is expected to remain robust in FY24. GDP forecast for FY24 to be in the range of 6-6.8 %.
• Private consumption in H1 is highest since FY15 and this has led to a boost to production activity resulting in enhanced capacity utilisation across sectors.
• The Capital Expenditure of Central Government and crowding in the private Capex led by strengthening of the balance sheets of the Corporates is one of the growth driver of the Indian economy in the current year.
• The credit growth to the MSME sector was over 30.6 per cent on average during Jan-Nov 2022.
• Retail inflation is back within RBI’s target range in November 2022.
• Indian Rupee performed well compared to other Emerging Market Economies in Apr-Dec2022.
• Direct Tax collections for the period April-November 2022 remain buoyant.
• Enhanced Employment generation seen in the declining urban unemployment rate and in the faster net registration in Employee Provident Fund.
• Economic growth to be boosted from the expansion of public digital platforms and measures to boost manufacturing output.

India’s Medium Term Growth Outlook: with Optimism and Hope

• Indian economy underwent wide-ranging structural and governance reforms that strengthened the economy’s fundamentals by enhancing its overall efficiency during 2014-2022.
• With an underlying emphasis on improving the ease of living and doing business, the reforms after 2014 were based on the broad principles of creating public goods, adopting trust-based governance, co-partnering with the private sector for development, and improving agricultural productivity.
• The period of 2014-2022 also witnessed balance sheet stress caused by the credit boom in the previous years and one-off global shocks, that adversely impacted the key macroeconomic variables such as credit growth, capital formation, and hence economic growth during this period.
• This situation is analogous to the period 1998-2002 when transformative reforms undertaken by the government had lagged growth returns due to temporary shocks in the economy. Once these shocks faded, the structural reforms paid growth dividends from 2003.
• Similarly, the Indian economy is well placed to grow faster in the coming decade once the global shocks of the pandemic and the spike in commodity prices in 2022 fade away.
• With improved and healthier balance sheets of the banking, non-banking and corporate sectors, a fresh credit cycle has already begun, evident from the double-digit growth in bank credit over the past months.
• Indian economy has also started benefiting from the efficiency gains resulting from greater formalisation, higher financial inclusion, and economic opportunities created by digital technology-based economic reforms.
• Thus Chapter 2 of the Survey shows that India’s growth outlook seems better than in the pre-pandemic years, and the Indian economy is prepared to grow at its potential in the medium term.

Fiscal Developments: Revenue Relish

• The Union Government finances have shown a resilient performance during the year FY23, facilitated by the recovery in economic activity, buoyancy in revenues from direct taxes and GST, and realistic assumptions in the Budget.
• The Gross Tax Revenue registered a YoY growth of 15.5 per cent from April to November 2022, driven by robust growth in the direct taxes and Goods and Services Tax (GST).
• Growth in direct taxes during the first eight months of the year was much higher than their corresponding longer-term averages.
• GST has stabilised as a vital revenue source for central and state governments, with the gross GST collections increasing at 24.8 per cent on YoY basis from April to December 2022.
• Union Government’s emphasis on capital expenditure (Capex) has continued despite higher revenue expenditure requirements during the year. The Centre’s Capex has steadily increased from a long-term average of 1.7 per cent of GDP (FY09 to FY20) to 2.5 per cent of GDP in FY22 PA.
• The Centre has also incentivised the State Governments through interest-free loans and enhanced borrowing ceilings to prioritise their spending on Capex.
• With an emphasis on infrastructure-intensive sectors like roads and highways, railways, and housing and urban affairs, the increase in Capex has large-scale positive implications for medium-term growth.
• The Government’s Capex-led growth strategy will enable India to keep the growth-interest rate differential positive, leading to a sustainable debt to GDP in the medium run.

Monetary Management and Financial Intermediation: A Good Year

• The RBI initiated its monetary tightening cycle in April 2022 and has since raised the repo rate by 225 bps, leading to moderation of surplus liquidity conditions.
• Cleaner balance sheets led to enhanced lending by financial institutions.
• The growth in credit offtake is expected to sustain, and combined with a pick-up in private capex, will usher in a virtuous investment cycle.
• Non-food credit offtake by scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs) has been growing in double digits since April 2022.
• Credit disbursed by Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) has also been on the rise.
• The Gross Non-Performing Assets (GNPA) ratio of SCBs has fallen to a seven-year low of 5.0.
• The Capital-to-Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) remains healthy at 16.0.
• The recovery rate for the SCBs through Insolvency and Bankruptcy (IBC) was highest in FY22 compared to other channels.

Prices and Inflation: Successful Tight-Rope Walking

• While the year 2022 witnessed a return of high inflation in the advanced world after three to four decades, India caps the rise in prices.
• While India’s retail inflation rate peaked at 7.8 per cent in April 2022, above the RBI’s upper tolerance limit of 6 per cent, the overshoot of inflation above the upper end of the target range in India was however one of the lowest in the world.
• The government adopted a multi-pronged approach to tame the increase in price levels
  o Phase wise reduction in export duty of petrol and diesel
  o Import duty on major inputs were brought to zero while tax on export of iron ores and concentrates increased from 30 to 50 per cent
  o Waived customs duty on cotton imports w.e.f 14 April 2022, until 30 September 2022
  o Prohibition on the export of wheat products under HS Code 1101 and imposition of export duty on rice
  o Reduction in basic duty on crude and refined palm oil, crude soyabean oil and crude sunflower oil
• The RBI’s anchoring of inflationary expectations through forward guidance and responsive monetary policy has helped guide the trajectory of inflation in the country.
• The one-year-ahead inflationary expectations by both businesses and households have moderated in the current financial year.
• Timely policy intervention by the government in housing sector, coupled with low home loan interest rates propped up demand and attracted buyers more readily in the affordable segment in FY23.
• An overall increase in composite Housing Price Indices (HPI) assessment and Housing Price Indices market prices indicates a revival in the housing finance sector. A stable to moderate increase in HPI also offers confidence to homeowners and home loan financiers in terms of the retained value of the asset.
• India’s inflation management has been particularly noteworthy and can be contrasted with advanced economies that are still grappling with sticky inflation rates.

Social Infrastructure and Employment: Big Tent

• Social Sector witnessed significant increase in government spending.
• Central and State Government’s budgeted expenditure on health sector touched 2.1% of GDP in FY23 (BE) and 2.2% in FY22 (RE) against 1.6% in FY21.
• Social sector expenditure increases to Rs. 21.3 lakh crore in FY23 (BE) from Rs. 9.1 lakh crore in FY16.
• Survey highlights the findings of the 2022 report of the UNDP on Multidimensional Poverty Index which says that 41.5 crore people exit poverty in India between 2005-06 and 2019-20.
• The Aspirational Districts Programme has emerged as a template for good governance, especially in remote and difficult areas.
• eShram portal developed for creating a National database of unorganised workers, which is verified with Aadhaar. As on 31 December 2022, a total of over 28.5 crore unorganised workers have been registered on eShram portal.
• JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar, and Mobile) trinity, combined with the power of DBT, has brought the marginalised sections of society into the formal financial system, revolutionising the path of transparent and accountable governance by empowering the people.
• Aadhaar played a vital role in developing the Co-WIN platform and in the transparent administration of over 2 billion vaccine doses.
• Labour markets have recovered beyond pre-Covid levels, in both urban and rural areas, with unemployment rates falling from 5.8 per cent in 2018-19 to 4.2 per cent in 2020-21.
• The year FY22 saw improvement in Gross Enrolment Ratios (GER) in schools and improvement in gender parity. GER in the primary-enrolment in class I to V as a percentage of the population in age 6 to 10 years – for girls as well as boys have improved in FY22.
• Due to several steps taken by the government on health, out-of-pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure declined from 64.2% in FY14 to 48.2% in FY19.
• Infant Mortality Rate (IMR), Under Five mortality rate (U5MR) and neonatal Mortality Rate (NMR) have shown a steady decline.
• More than 220 crore COVID vaccine doses administered as on 06 January, 2023.
• Nearly 22 crore beneficiaries have been verified under the Ayushman Bharat Scheme as on 04 January, 2023. Over 1.54 lakh Health and Wellness Centres have been operationalized across the country under Ayushman Bharat.

Climate Change and Environment: Preparing to Face the Future

• India declared the Net Zero Pledge to achieve net zero emissions goal by 2070.
• India achieved its target of 40 per cent installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuels ahead of 2030.
• The likely installed capacity from non-fossil fuels to be more than 500 GW by 2030 resulting in decline of average emission rate by around 29% by 2029-30, compared to 2014-15.
  o India to reduce emissions intensity of its GDP by 45% by 2030 from 2005 levels.
  o About 50% cumulative electric power installed capacity to come from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources by 2030.
  o A mass movement LIFE– Life style for Environment launched.
  o Sovereign Green Bond Framework (SGrBs) issued in November 2022.
  o RBI auctions two tranches of ₹4,000 crore Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrB).
• National Green Hydrogen Mission to enable India to be energy independent by 2047.
• Green hydrogen production capacity of at least 5 MMT (Million Metric Tonne) per annum to be developed by 2030. Cumulative reduction in fossil fuel imports over ₹1 lakh crore and creation of over 6 lakh jobs by 2030 under the National green Hydrogen Mission. Renewable energy capacity addition of about 125 GW and abatement of nearly 50 MMT of annual GHG emissions by 2030.
• The Survey highlights the progress on eight missions under the NAP on CC to address climate concerns and promote sustainable development.
• Solar power capacity installed, a key metric under the National Solar Mission stood at 61.6 GW as on October 2022.
• India becoming a favored destination for renewables; investments in 7 years stand at USD 78.1 billion.
• 62.8 lakh individual household toilets and 6.2 lakh community and public toilets constructed (August 2022) under the National Mission on Sustainable Habitat.

Agriculture and Food Management

• The performance of the agriculture and allied sector has been buoyant over the past several years, much of which is on account of the measures taken by the government to augment crop and livestock productivity, ensure certainty of returns to the farmers through price support, promote crop diversification, improve market infrastructure through the impetus provided for the setting up of farmer-producer organisations and promotion of investment in infrastructure facilities through the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
• Private investment in agriculture increases to 9.3% in 2020-21.
• MSP for all mandated crops fixed at 1.5 times of all India weighted average cost of production since 2018.
• Institutional Credit to the Agricultural Sector continued to grow to 18.6 lakh crore in 2021-22
• Foodgrains production in India saw sustained increase and stood at 315.7 million tonnes in 2021-22.
• Free foodgrains to about 81.4 crore beneficiaries under the National Food Security Act for one year from January 1, 2023.
• About 11.3 crore farmers were covered under the Scheme in its April-July 2022-23 payment cycle.
• Rs 13,681 crores sanctioned for Post-Harvest Support and Community Farms under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund.
• Online, Competitive, Transparent Bidding System with 1.74 crore farmers and 2.39 lakh traders put in place under the National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) Scheme.
• Organic Farming being promoted through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• India stands at the forefront to promote millets through the International Year of Millets initiative.

Industry: Steady Recovery

• Overall Gross Value Added (GVA) by the Industrial Sector (for the first half of FY 22-23) rose 3.7 per cent, which is higher than the average growth of 2.8 per cent achieved in the first half of the last decade.
• Robust growth in Private Final Consumption Expenditure, export stimulus during the first half of the year, increase in investment demand triggered by enhanced public capex and strengthened bank and corporate balance sheets have provided a demand stimulus to industrial growth.
• The supply response of the industry to the demand stimulus has been robust.
• PMI manufacturing has remained in the expansion zone for 18 months since July 2021, and Index of Industrial Production (IIP) grows at a healthy pace.
• Credit to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) has grown by an average of around 30% since January 2022 and credit to large industry has been showing double-digit growth since October 2022.
• Electronics exports rise nearly threefold, from US $4.4 billion in FY19 to US $11.6 Billion in FY22.
• India has become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer globally, with the production of handsets going up from 6 crore units in FY15 to 29 crore units in FY21.
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows into the Pharma Industry has risen four times, from US $180 million in FY19 to US $699 million in FY22.
• The Production Linked Incentive (PLI) schemes introduced across 14 categories, with an estimated capex of ₹4 lakh crore over the next five years, to plug India into global supply chains. Investment of ₹47,500 crores has been seen under the PLI schemes in the FY22, which is 106% of the designated target for the year. Production/sales worth ₹3.85 lakh crore and employment generation of 3.0 lakh have been recorded due to PLI schemes.
• Over 39,000 compliances have been reduced and more than 3500 provisions decriminalized as of January 2023.

Services: Source of Strength

• The services sector is expected to grow at 9.1% in FY23, as against 8.4% (YoY) in FY22.
• Robust expansion in PMI services, indicative of service sector activity, observed since July 2022.
• India was among the top ten services exporting countries in 2021, with its share in world commercial services exports increasing from 3 per cent in 2015 to 4 per cent in 2021.
• India’s services exports remained resilient during the Covid-19 pandemic and amid geopolitical uncertainties driven by higher demand for digital support, cloud services, and infrastructure modernization.
• Credit to services sector has grown by over 16% since July 2022.
• US$ 7.1 billion FDI equity inflows in services sector in FY22.
• Contact-intensive services are set to reclaim pre-pandemic level growth rates in FY23.
• Sustained growth in the real estate sector is taking housing sales to pre-pandemic levels, with a 50% rise between 2021 and 2022.
• Hotel occupancy rate has improved from 30-32% in April 2021 to 68-70% in November 2022.
• Tourism sector is showing signs of revival, with foreign tourist arrivals in India in FY23 growing month-on-month with resumption of scheduled international flights and easing of Covid-19 regulations.
• Digital platforms are transforming India’s financial services.
• India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow at 18 per cent annually through 2025.

External Sector

• Merchandise exports were US$ 332.8 billion for April-December 2022.
• India diversified its markets and increased its exports to Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
• To increase its market size and ensure better penetration, in 2022, CEPA with UAE and ECTA with Australia come into force.
• India is the largest recipient of reimittances in the world receiving US$ 100 bn in 2022. Remittances are the second largest major source of external financing after service export
• As of December 2022, Forex Reserves stood at US$ 563 bn covering 9.3 months of imports.
• As of end-November 2022, India is the sixth largest foreign exchange reserves holder in the world.
• The current stock of external debt is well shielded by the comfortable level of foreign exchange reserves.
• India has relatively low levels of total debt as a percentage of Gross National Income and short-term debt as a percentage of total debt.

Physical and Digital Infrastructure

Government’s Vision for Infrastructure Development

• Public Private Partnerships
  o In-Principal Approval granted to 56 projects with Total Project Cost of ₹57,870.1 crore under the VGF Scheme, from 2014-15 to 2022-23.
  o IIPDF Scheme with ₹150 crore outlay from FY 23-25 was notified by the government on 03 November, 2022.
• National Infrastructure Pipeline
  o 89,151 projects costing ₹141.4 lakh crore under different stages of implementation
  o 1009 projects worth ₹5.5 lakh crore completed
  o NIP and Project Monitoring Group (PMG) portal linkage to fast-track approvals/ clearances for projects
• National Monetisation Pipeline
  o ₹ 9.0 lakh crore is the estimated cumulative investment potential.
  o ₹ 0.9 lakh crore monetisation target achieved against expected ₹0.8 lakh crore in FY22.
  o FY23 target is envisaged to be ₹1.6 lakh crore (27 per cent of overall NMP Target)
• GatiShakti
  o PM GatiShakti National Master Plan creates comprehensive database for integrated planning and synchronised implementation across Ministries/ Departments.
  o Aims to improve multimodal connectivity and logistics efficiency while addressing the critical gaps for the seamless movement of people and goods.

Electricity Sector and Renewables

• As on 30 September 2022, the government has sanctioned the entire target capacity of 40 GW for the development of 59 Solar Parks in 16 states.
• 17.2 lakh GWh electricity generated during the year FY22 compared to 15.9 lakh GWh during FY21.
• The total installed power capacity (industries having demand of 1 Mega Watt (MW) and above) increased from 460.7 GW on 31 March 2021 to 482.2 GW on 31 March 2022.

Making Indian Logistics Globally Competitive

• National Logistics Policy envisions to develop a technologically enabled, integrated, cost-efficient, resilient, sustainable and trusted logistics ecosystem in the country for accelerated and inclusive growth.
• Rapid increase in National Highways (NHs) /Roads Construction with 10457 km NHs/roads constructed in FY22 compared to 6061 km in FY16.
• Budget expenditure increased from ₹1.4 lakh crore in FY20 to ₹2.4 lakh crore in FY23 giving renewed push to Capital expenditure.
• 2359 Kisan rails transported approximately 7.91 lakh tonnes of perishables, as of October 2022.
• More than one crore air passengers availed the benefit of the UDAN scheme since its inception in 2016.
• Near doubling of capacity of major ports in 8 years.
• Inland Vessels Act 2021 replaced 100-year-old Act to ensure hassle free movement of Vessels promoting Inland Water Transport.

India’s Digital

• Unified Payment Interface (UPI)
  o UPI-based transactions grew in value (121 per cent) and volume (115 per cent) terms, between 2019-22, paving the way for its international adoption.
• Telephone and Radio – For Digital Empowerment
  o Total telephone subscriber base in India stands at 117.8 crore (as of Sept,22), with 44.3 per cent of subscribers in rural India.
  o More than 98 per cent of the total telephone subscribers are connected wirelessly.
  o The overall tele-density in India stood at 84.8 per cent in March 22.
  o 200 per cent increase in rural internet subscriptions between 2015 and 2021.
  o Prasar Bharati (India’s autonomous public service broadcaster) – broadcasts in 23 languages, 179 dialects from 479 stations. Reaches 92 per cent of the area and 99.1 per cent of the total population.
• Digital Public Goods
  o Achieved low-cost accessibility since the launch of Aadhaar in 2009
  o Under the government schemes, MyScheme, TrEDS, GEM, e-NAM, UMANG has transformed market place and has enabled citizens to access services across sectors
  o Under Account Aggregator, the consent-based data sharing framework is currently live across over 110 crore bank accounts.
  o Open Credit Enablement Network aims towards democratising lending operations while allowing end-to-end digital loan applications
  o National AI portal has published 1520 articles, 262 videos, and 120 government initiatives and is being viewed as viewed as a tool for overcoming the language barrier e.g. ‘Bhashini’.
  o Legislations are being introduced for enhanced user privacy and creating an ecosystem for standard, open, and interoperable protocols underlining robust data governance.

[WpProQuiz 416]

INDIAN POLITY

1. 16TH FINANCE COMMISSION

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-II POLITY

THE CONTEXT: The Union government will soon kick off the process to set up the 16th Finance Commission, with the Finance Ministry likely to notify the terms of references for the constitutional body, tasked with recommending the revenue sharing formula between the Centre and the States and their distribution among the States, towards the latter half of this year.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 15th Finance Commission was set up in November 2017 with a mandate to make recommendations for the five-year period from 2020-21. While the Constitution requires a Finance Commission (FC) to be set up every five years, the 15th FC’s mandate was extended by a year till 2025-26, breaking the cycle.
• “In the normal course of things, the next Finance Commission should have been appointed by now, but since our report covered six years instead of five, it must be appointed this year,” the 15th FC’s chairperson N.K. Singh told The Hindu. In late 2019, the commission was asked to give a standalone report for 2020-21 and another report for an extended five-year period till 2025-26.
• The last time an FC was granted a six-year time frame was for the 9th Finance Commission, formed in June 1987. It was asked to submit a single year report for 1989-90 and a five-year report for the five years till 1994-95. These reports were submitted in 1988 and 1990, when the country’s Finance Ministers were S.B. Chavan and Madhu Dandavate, respectively. The 10th Finance Commission was still constituted in June 1992 within the five-year deadline specified by Article 280 of the Constitution, which has not been the case this time.
• “The commission is usually granted about two years to deliberate on its terms of reference, consult States and frame its recommendations, and the government should ideally have its report by October 2025 to consider it in time for Budget 2026-27 — where it will have to place its action taken report on the Commission’s report”.

VALUE ADDITION:

FINANCE COMMISSION

• Article 280 provides for this quasi-judicial body.
• It is constituted by the President every five years or even earlier.
• It is required to make recommendations to the President on the following matters:
  o Distribution of net proceeds of taxes shared between the centre and the states, and the allocation between the states, the respective shares of such proceeds
  o Principles which should decide the grants-in-aid as per article 275
  o Measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of the state to supplement the resources of panchayats and municipalities in the state based on the recommendation of the state finance commission
  o Any other matter referred to it by the President
  Some bills can be introduced in the Parliament only on the recommendation of the President so as to protect the financial interests of the states:
• A bill which imposes or varies any tax or duty in which states are interested
• A bill which varies the meaning of the term ‘agricultural income’ as defined for the purposes of the enactments relating to the income tax
• A bill which affects the principles on which moneys are or may be distributable to states; and
• A which imposes any surcharge on any specified tax or duty for the purpose of the centre.

HEALTH ISSUES

2. NEGLECTED TROPICAL DISEASES

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-II-HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: The recent World Health Organization (WHO) report said that Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) continue to disproportionately impact the most impoverished members of the international community.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Neglected Tropical Diseases

• Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are a diverse group of tropical infections which are common in low-income populations in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and the Americas.
• They are caused by a variety of pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, protozoa and parasitic worms (helminths).
• There are a diverse group of 20 diseases that are affecting more than 1 billion people who live in impoverished communities.
• They include Buruli ulcer, Chagas Dengue, Chikungunya, Echinococcosis; foodborne trematodes; human African trypanosomiasis; leishmaniasis; leprosy; Lymphatic filariasis, mycetoma, etc

Global Initiative to end NTDs
The WHO’s new road map for 2021–2030 calls for three strategic shifts to end NTDs:

• From measuring process to measuring impact.
• From disease-specific planning and programming to collaborative work across sectors.
• From externally driven agendas reliant on programmes that are country-owned and country-financed.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY & CLIMATE CHANGE

3. WHAT ARE INVASIVE PLANT SPECIES?

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-III-ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: The Nodal Centre for Biological Invasions (NCBI) at the Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI) has come out with a management plan to eradicate Senna spectabilis, the exotic invasive plant that is posing a severe threat to the State’s wildlife habitat.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Based on the results of the experimental study done at the Periyar Tiger Reserve, the plan envisages landscape-level management of the tree. The two key factors considered in developing the management protocol were the fast nature of the spread of the tree in natural forests, and restoration of natural forests based on landscape.

What are invasive species?

• Invasive alien species are plants, animals, pathogens and other organisms that are non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health.
• In particular, they impact adversely upon biodiversity, including decline or elimination of native species – through competition, predation, or transmission of pathogens – and the disruption of local ecosystems and ecosystem functions.

The impacts of invasive species include:

• Reduced biodiversity.
• Decreased availability and quality of key natural resources.
• Water shortages.
• Increased frequency of wildfires and flooding.
• Pollution caused by overuse of chemicals to control infestations.

VALUE ADDITION:

Senna spectabilis

• It is an invasive species.
• It is introduced as an ornamental species and for use as firewood from South and Central America.
• The species has become highly invasive in the Sigur plateau in both the core and buffer zones of the MTR.
• Senna spectabilis, along with Lantana camara, is among five major invasive weeds that had taken over vast swathes of the Nilgiris.
• Eucalyptus and pine, though exotic, do not spread as quickly as the other species and are considered easier to manage.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

4. CHINA’S BAIDU MAY LAUNCH CHATGPT

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-III-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: The BAIDU is a Chinese-based technology company. It offers a popular search engine in China called BAIDU. (Major search engines like Google are banned in China).

THE EXPLANATION:

• The company works on artificial intelligence and internet-related products. The headquarters of the company is in Beijing. The company is one of the largest AI companies in the world. The TECH giant is now planning to develop a chatbot similar to that of ChatGPT.

What is Baidu’s plan?

• The Beln Crypto report recently said that BAIDU is to launch a ChatGPT-like chatbot. Beln Crypto is one of the most popular and largest cryptocurrency news platforms in the world. BAIDU’s chat platform will have conversation-style interfaces just like ChatGPT.

Background

• BAIDU has been investing millions and millions of dollars in this AI platform. With this, the company is planning on shifting into a complete technology company and stopping all its online marketing services.

Features

• BAIDU’s chatbot is to be built on the Ernie system. ERNIE stands for Electronic Random Number Indicator Equipment. It is a hardware random number generator. It was invented to be used in lotteries and casinos.

ChatGPT

• It is a Microsoft product. Today it is at the peak of its success. Apart from BAIDU, other Chinese investors are also looking for ways to develop an AI chatbot just like ChatGPT.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

5. ECONOMIC SURVEY: WHAT IS IT AND WHAT TO EXPECT IN 2023

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE-GS-III-ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: The Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) will release the Economic Survey for the current financial year (2022-23). The survey is always presented a day before – typically January 31 since Union Budgets are scheduled for February 1 – the Finance Minister unveils the Union Budget for the next financial year (2023-24 in the present case).

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the Economic Survey?

• As the name suggests, the Economic Survey is a detailed report of the state of the national economy in the financial year that is coming to a close.
• It is prepared by the Economic Division of the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) under the guidance of the CEA. Once prepared, the Survey is approved by the Finance Minister.
• The first Economic Survey was presented for 1950-51 and until 1964, it was presented along with the Budget.
• Similarly, for the longest time, the survey was presented in just one volume, with specific chapters dedicated to different key sectors of the economy – such as services, agriculture, and manufacturing – as well as key policy areas – such as fiscal developments, state of employment and inflation etc. This volume carries a detailed statistical abstract as well.
• However, between 2010-11 and 2020-21, the survey was presented in two volumes. The additional volume carried the intellectual imprint of the CEA and often dealt with some of the major issues and debates facing the economy.
• Last year’s (2022) survey reverted back to a single volume format, possibly because it was prepared and presented while there was a change in guard in the CEA’s office and the current CEA – V Anantha Nageswaran – took charge when the survey was released.

What is the Economic Survey’s significance?

• Even though it comes just a day before the Budget, the assessment and recommendations carried in the survey are not binding on the Budget.
• Still, the survey remains the most authoritative and comprehensive analysis of the economy that is conducted from within the Union government.
• As such, its observations and details provide an official framework for analysing the Indian economy.

What should one look for in this year’s survey?

• The Indian economy has been struggling to grow at a fast pace since the start of 2017-18. The years immediately after Covid may have registered fast growth rates but that was just a statistical illusion. Many outside economists have argued that India’s potential growth itself has fallen from 8% to 6%.
• Along with a deceleration in growth, the economy has also witnessed historically high unemployment and a sharp rise in poverty and inequality during the Covid pandemic.
• The survey is expected to diagnose the true extent of economic recovery in the Indian economy and whether India’s growth potential has lost a step or not.
• The survey can be expected to paint future scenarios and also suggest policy solutions. For instance, what can be done to boost manufacturing growth in the country? How can India continue to grow fast at a time when both global growth and world trade is likely to remain muted.

[WpProQuiz 415]