Today’s daily current affairs briefing for UPSC aspirants explores the latest developments relevant to the upcoming civil services examination. Our focus today includes a critical analysis of recent policy changes, international affairs, and national developments, all of which play a pivotal role in shaping India’s socio-political and economic landscape. Stay informed and stay ahead in your UPSC preparations with our daily current affairs updates, as we provide you with concise, well-researched insights to help you connect the dots between contemporary events and the broader canvas of the civil services syllabus.
50 years of Indian Microfinance Sector
Tags: GS-3, Economy- Growth & Development- Finance sector
Why in the news?
- The Indian microfinance sector marks its 50th anniversary, having begun in 1974 with the establishment of the SEWA Bank in Gujarat, providing financial services to poor women.
About the Microfinance (Microcredit):
- About:
- Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus founded Grameen Bank in Bangladesh in 1976, laying the foundation for modern MFIs.
- RBI is the regulatory body for MFIs operating in the country.
- The Malegam Committee (2010) constituted by the RBI recommended a general framework for regulation of NBFCs –MFIs.
- It provides financial services such as low-cost loans to marginalized and poor individuals without formal banking services.
- It offers a wide range of services including banking, banking and microinsurance.
- Significance of Microfinance Sector:
- Potent tool for financial inclusion and socio-economic transformation.
- Empowerment of Women through Self Help Groups.
- Poverty reduction and overall rural development
- Challenges in the microfinance sector:
- Increased transaction costs for MFIs: Along with expanding services for many of the smaller borrowers.
- Lack of collateral: makes it harder to get the offer Cost.
- Increased interest: then charged by commercial banks.
- High cost of borrowing: MFIs often struggle to make cheap returns on financial provision.
- Other: Low-income digital literacy among the poor and the borrowers; has remained dependent on creditors.
- Government Initiatives for Microfinance in India:
- SHG-Bank Linkage Program: Aims to increase loans for Self Help Groups (SHGs) and shift their lending from non-income generating to production-based activities.
- Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY): Offers loans up to ₹10 lakh to small/micro enterprises through banks and NBFCs, categorized as Shishu, Kishore, and Tarun.
- 2024 Union Budget: Increased loan limit under PMMY from ₹10 lakh to ₹20 lakh for those who have successfully repaid loans under the Tarun category.
Source: ORF
Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024
Tags: GS-3, Economy- Report – Growth & Development
Why in the news?
- The World Intellectual Property Organization released the Global Innovation Index to help governments to assess innovation-led social and economic changes.
About the Global Innovation Index (GII):
- The Global Innovation Index (GII), co-published by WIPO, Cornell University, and INSEAD.
- Assesses innovation using criteria like institutions, human capital, research, infrastructure, and knowledge diffusion.
Key findings in the report:
- Switzerland tops the ranking, followed by Sweden, the US, and Singapore.
- India climbs to 39th globally out of 133 economies evaluated.
- India ranked first among lower middle-income economies and in the Central and Southern Asia region.
- India’s strengths include ICT service exports, venture capital received, and intangible asset intensity.
- GII 2024 Theme: Highlights the importance of social entrepreneurship, which focuses on innovative solutions to social/environmental challenges, prioritizing impact over profit.
Significance of Social Entrepreneurship:
- Economic Contribution: Generates around $2 trillion in global GDP.
- Employment Creation: Supports 10-11 million social enterprises and approximately 30 million social entrepreneurs, helping millions achieve sustainable livelihoods.
- Social Impact: Addresses critical issues like poverty, environmental degradation, and racial and social injustice.
About WIPO:
- Genesis: Established in 1967 as a specialized agency of the United Nations.
- Objective: Promotes a balanced and accessible international Intellectual Property (IP) system to reward creativity, stimulate innovation, and support economic development.
- Members: 193 members, including India (since 1975).
- Major Treaties: India is a member of the Paris Convention (1998), Berne Convention (1928), and Patent Cooperation Treaty (1998).
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.
Source: : Live Mint
India Signs Agreement on Marine Biodiversity
Tags: GS-3, Ecology & Environment- Biodiversity
Why in the news?
- Recently, India signed an international agreement to protect marine biodiversity on the high seas at the United Nations General Assembly.
Agreement on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (High Seas Treaty):
- About:
- Type: International treaty under UNCLOS.
- Aim: Conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction.
- Key Features:
- Establishes marine protected areas in biodiversity-rich ocean zones under stress.
- Prohibits sovereign rights over marine resources from the high seas.
- Significance:
- Boosts India’s strategic presence beyond its EEZ.
- Supports SDGs, especially SDG 14 (Life Below Water).
- Advances India’s marine conservation, research, and use of traditional and scientific knowledge.
- Key Issues Addressed:
- Fair sharing of marine genetic resources.
- Area-based management tools, including marine protected areas.
- Environmental impact assessments.
- Capacity-building and technology transfer.
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS):
- Adoption: adopted in 1982 and come in force since 1994.
- Purpose: Establishes a legal framework for governing the world’s oceans, addressing all aspects of maritime law and ocean resource management.
About High Seas:
- Definition: Areas beyond the jurisdiction of any country, outside of a nation’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), territorial sea, or archipelagic waters.
- Ownership: High seas and resources are not owned or regulated by any country.
- Coverage: High seas make up 64% of the world’s oceans.
Legal Boundaries of Maritime Zones of Ocean and Airspace:
Source: AIR
Textile Sector in India
Tags: GS-3, Economy- Growth & Development- Industry
Why in the news?
- About 12 textile companies are set to receive the first set of incentive payment under the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme.
About PLI:
- The PLI scheme, launched in 2021 with a budget of ₹10,683 crore, aims to boost production of man-made fibres (MMF), apparel, MMF fabrics, and technical textiles.
- \The Ministry of Textiles has outlined a roadmap to create 4.5 to 6 crore jobs in the textile sector by 2030 and expand the market size to $350 billion from the current $165 billion.
Significance of the Textile Sector in India:
- Economic Contribution: Accounts for 2.3% of India’s GDP and 7% of industrial output.
- Employment: Second-largest employer after agriculture, with 45 million direct and 100 million indirect jobs.
- Exports: Contributes 12% to total export earnings; textile and apparel exports stood at $44.4 billion in FY 2023.
- Diverse Segments: Includes handloom, power loom, and mill sectors; India is a leader in cotton, jute, and silk production.
Key Segments of the Textile Industry:
- Cotton Textiles: India is the largest global producer of cotton, with over 30% of the world’s production.
- Handloom and Handicrafts: Home to over 4.3 million weavers, preserving cultural heritage and generating rural employment.
- Technical Textiles: Focuses on functional textiles for healthcare, automotive, and agriculture; projected to grow to $23 billion by 2025.
- Man-Made Fibres (MMF): Contributes 30% to the market, including synthetic fibres like polyester, offering durability and versatility.
Current Challenges Facing the Textile Sector:
- Raw Material Fluctuations: Cotton price volatility impacts costs and profitability.
- Technological Upgradation: Many units use outdated technology, requiring modernization for global competitiveness.
- Environmental Concerns: The industry is resource-intensive, requiring eco-friendly practices for sustainability.
- Competition: Faces competition from Bangladesh, Vietnam, and China, which offer lower costs and faster production.
- Regulatory Hurdles: Complex regulatory norms and access to government schemes pose challenges.
Government Initiatives to Boost the Textile Sector:
- PLI Scheme: A ₹10,683 crore scheme to promote man-made fibres and technical textiles, expected to attract ₹19,000 crore in investments and create 7.5 lakh jobs.
- National Technical Textiles Mission: A ₹1,480 crore mission to make India a leader in technical textiles.
- ATUFS: Provides financial support for upgrading machinery, modernising the industry.
- Skill Development Programs: Initiatives like Samarth train 10 lakh youth in textile-related trades.
- MITRA Parks: Seven parks with world-class infrastructure aimed at attracting investments and boosting competitiveness.
Source: BS
Llama 3.2
Tags: GS-3, Science & Technology- innovation & technology
Why in the news?
- Recently, Meta has announced its new free and open-source large language model (LLM), Llama 3.2, during Meta Connect 2024.
What is Llama 3.2?
- About:
- It is an open-source large language model developed by Meta.
- Features:
- It has both image and text processing abilities.
- It includes voice interaction features, allowing users to engage in conversations with the AI using voice commands.
- This model includes both small and medium-sized variants at 11-billion and 90-billion parameters and 3.2 variants.
- lightweight text-only models at 1-billion and 3-billion parameters that fit into select mobile and edge devices.
- It has vision models and can understand charts and graphs, caption images and locate objects from natural language prompts.
- The bigger model can also pinpoint details from images to create captions.
- Applications:
- Advanced AI applications like AR apps with a real-time understanding of video, visual search engines that distribute images based on content, or document analysis tools that can summarise large portions of text.
Source: FE
Kasturirangan Committee
Tags: GS-3, Ecology & Environment- Environmental policy
Why in the news?
- Recently, the Karnataka government rejected a report of the High Level Working Group on Western Ghats[2013] headed by Dr. K. Kasturirangan.
Recommendations of Kasturirangan Committee:
- It recommended 37%of the total area of Western Ghats as eco-sensitive, making a number of projects/activities eco destructive.
- Following this, the Environment Ministry issued a draft notification in 2014 declaring biologically and culturally diverse areas as Eco-sensitive Areas.
- Report recommended a blanket ban on mining, quarrying, setting up of red category industries and thermal power projects.
- Apart from this, the earlier Western Ghats Ecology Expert Panel (WGEEP) [2011] headed by Prof. Madhav Gadgil recommended 75% Western Ghats be declared environmentally sensitive.
- It was found controversial by many states leading to the appointment of the Kasturirangan committee.
Source: IE
SASTRA Ramanujan Prize
Tags: GS-3, Science & Technology – Achievement in the science
Why in the news?
- Recently, Alexander Dunn has been awarded the prestigious 2024 SASTRA Ramanujan Prize.
About the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize:
- About:
- Instituted in 2005, the SASTRA Ramanujan Prize is awarded annually by SASTRA University in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu.
- Eligibility:
- The prize is conferred annually to mathematicians from across the world who are less than 32 years of age, working in an area influenced by the Srinivasa Ramanujan.
- The age limit is 32 years to commemorate the fact that Ramanujan accomplished a phenomenal body of work in this short span.
- Cash prize:It carries a citation and an award of $10,000.
- Other recipients:Manjul Bhargava and Akshay Venkatesh
- Contribution of Dunn:
- Dunn is being recognized for his outstanding contributions to analytic number theory, particularly his joint work with Maksym Radziwill in solving the Kummer-Patterson Conjecture on bias related to cubic Gauss sums.
- Contributions of Srinivasa Ramanujan:
- Analytical Theory of Numbers: Ramanujan made groundbreaking contributions to the field, especially in number theory and elliptic functions.
- Partition of Whole Numbers: Advanced the study of partition functions, providing formulas and insights into the decomposition of numbers.
- Hypergeometric Series & Euler’s Constant: Made significant strides in these areas, influencing further mathematical research.
- Formulas: 3,900 Formulas compiled a vast body of work, including a notable infinite series for Pi.
- Intuitive Mathematics: Contributed to game theory and other areas, often based on intuition rather than formal proof, showcasing his unique mathematical genius.
Source: TH
The Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus)
Tags: GS-3, Ecology & Environment-Biodiversity- species
Why in the news?
- Recent scientific advancements have shed light on strategies to bolster its survival.
- Distribution: It is native to the Iberian Peninsula in southwestern Europe, including Portugal and Spain.
- Habitat: It lives in Mediterranean forests composed of native oaks and abundant undergrowth and thickets. It favours a mixture of dense scrub for shelter and open pasture for hunting.
- Physical description: Has long legs and a short tail with a black tip. Its coat is tawny with dark spots, and it bears a characteristic “beard” around its face and prominent black ear tufts.
- Diet: It feeds on the European rabbit (makes up over 80% of its diet), other small mammals, such as rodents, hares, and birds, as well as larger prey such as deer.
- Conservation Status: IUCN: Endangered | CITES: Appendix II
- Threats: Illegal hunting, habitat loss and degradation, decreasing food base, caught illegally or hunted with dogs, etc.
Source: TH
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