In news

The Union Cabinet has recently approved an enhancement in the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) of ₹50,000 crores, raising its limit to ₹5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being deployed for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors that were hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.

About ECLGS

• The scheme was launched by the Government of India as a special scheme in view of the COVID-19 crisis.
• The objective was to provide 100% guarantee coverage to Banks and NBFCs to enable them to extend emergency credit facilities to Business Enterprises/MSMEs in view of COVID-19 to meet their additional term loan/additional working capital requirements.

• Salient Features:
  • The amount of Emergency credit line to be extended to Business enterprise/MSMEs would be up to 20% of the total outstanding as of Feb 29, 2020.
  • 100% guarantee coverage for the additional funds sanctioned under the scheme.
  • Eligible borrowers are the enterprises with outstanding loans of up to Rs.50 crore as of February 29, 2020, and turnover of up to Rs.250 crore in FY 2019-20.
  • The interest rate charged is capped at 9.25% for banks and 14% for NBFCs.
  • Maximum tenure is 4 years from the date of disbursement.
  • The moratorium period on the principal amount is 12 months.
  • No Guarantee Fee shall be charged by National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC) from the Member Lending Institutions (MLIs) under the Scheme.

Components of ECLGS

• ECLGS-1.0 refers to the scheme for providing a 100% guarantee to member lending institutions in respect of eligible credit facility extended by them to its borrowers whose total credit outstanding (fund based only) across all lending institutions and days past due as of February 29, 2020, was up to Rs.50 crore and up to 60 days respectively.
• ECLGS-2.0 refers to the scheme for providing a 100% guarantee to member lending institutions in respect of eligible credit facilities extended by them to its borrowers in the 26 sectors identified by the Kamath Committee on Resolution Framework and Healthcare sector, whose total credit outstanding (fund based only) across lending institutions and days past due as on February 29, 2020, was above RS.50 crore and not exceeding Rs.500 crore and up to 60 days respectively.
• ECLGS 3.0 refers to the scheme for providing a 100% guarantee to member lending institutions in respect of eligible credit facilities extended by them to its borrowers in the Hospitality, Travel & Tourism, Leisure & Sporting sectors, whose total fund based outstanding across all lending institutions is up to Rs.500 crore and days past due are up to 60 days as on 29/02/2020.
• ECLGS 4.0 refers to the scheme for providing 100% guarantee cover to loans up to Rs 2 crore to hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and medical colleges for setting up on-site oxygen generation plants with the interest rate capped at 7.5%.

Source:

• ECLGS
• Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme – ECLGS 4.0
• ECLGS expanded to help hospitality, related sectors 

Image source:

• https://www.ugrocapital.com/emergency-credit-line-guarantee-scheme-1

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In news

• Recently, a delegation from Gabon visited India and interacted with the Indian business community.
• Earlier, the Vice President of India visited Gabon, where he signed two MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding).

India-Gabon Relations

Way Forward

• Diversifying the Cooperation: Exploring India-Gabon cooperation in green energy, services, health, and agriculture among other sectors is the need of the hour.
  • India and Gabon should broaden the base of their economic partnership and harness the complementarities in their economy to attract investments.
• Investing in Agriculture Cooperation: There are immense possibilities for agricultural cooperation and the transfer of knowledge in the farming sector from India to Gabon.
• Cooperation on Regional and Global Platforms: Both India and Gabon should work for stronger India-Africa cooperation for making international governance more equitable.
  • They must also work together towards an expanded and inclusive UN Security Council.

Content Source link:

• https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/jaishankar-wishes-indonesian-gabonese-foreign-ministers-on-their-i-day-122081700167_1.html,

Image Source Link:

• https://www.worldatlas.com/maps/gabon

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In news

According to the official data of ''Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation'', around 19 states in India crossed pre-Covid GSDP levels in FY22.

About the data

• The economies of 19 states and Union Territories have exceeded their pre-Covid (2019-20) levels, with seven recording double-digit growth rates during 2021-22, showing an analysis of official data for 21 states and UTs.
• Of these Kerala and Uttar Pradesh are the only exceptions; in 2021-22, their GSDP continued to be below the pre-Covid levels.

• Of these 21 states and UTs, Andhra Pradesh recorded the highest growth of 11.43 per cent, while Puducherry had the lowest (3.31%).
• Besides Andhra Pradesh, five other states and one UT – Rajasthan (11.04%), Bihar (10.98%), Telangana (10.88), Delhi (10.23%), Odisha (10.19%) and Madhya Pradesh (10.12%) – reported double-digit growth rates in 2021-22.
• In 2021-22, India’s GDP expanded at 8.7 per cent against a 6.6 per cent contraction in 2020-21.

Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP)

• GSDP is the sum total of value added by different economic sectors (Agriculture, Industry & Services) produced within the boundaries of the state.

• The State Domestic Product (SDP) or State Income is the most important indicator for measuring the economic growth of a State.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation compiles the GSDP figures as reported by the Directorate of Economics & Statistics of respective state governments.
• There are three equivalent approaches to measure the GSDP, namely production, income, and expenditure.

Source:

• 19 states cross pre-Covid GSDP levels in FY22; Kerala, UP lag

Image source:

• https://twitter.com/AboveStocks/status/1551458232773709824/photo/1

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• Context: Parts of Kerala have recently reported Tomato Fluamong children under five years of age.
• The infection is named‘tomato flu’ as it is associated with red, painful blisters that appear on a patient’s body that gradually enlarge to the size of a tomato.
• The ‘tomato flu’ is caused by Coxsackievirus A 16 which belongs to the Enterovirus (RNA virus) family. Humans are the only hosts for the enteroviruses (NPEVs).

• The virus is likely to be spread through close contact, and younger children are at risk for exposure and is rare in adults as they usually have immune systemsstrong enough to defend them from the virus.
• The symptoms of the illness include those of chikungunya and COVID which includehigh fever, rashes, and intense pain in joints.
• The viral infection is rare and is in an endemic state. It currently does not threaten life, is highly contagious and vigilant management is required to keep it at bay.
• The infection cannot be tamed through any drug currently.

Source:

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/new-virus-tomato-flu-detected-in-india-check-out-symptoms-cure/articleshow/93675850.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Image source:

• https://www.livemint.com/science/health/covid19-tomato-fever-exhibits-similar-symptoms-here-s-how-to-differentiate-11661074241814.html

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• Context: The Indo-Russian joint venture “Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL)”has informed that it will be manufacturing over 6.1 lakh AK-203 assault rifles costing over ₹5,000 crores in Amethi, Uttar Pradesh.
• The AK-203 assault rifles will replace the India-made INSAS assault rifles and the older AK-47.
• Training of Indian workers in the factory will begin shortly and the manufacturing process will reach 100% indigenisation in three years.
• Indo-Russian Rifles Private Ltd (IRRPL)was set up jointly between Advanced Weapons and Equipment India Limited (AWEIL) and Munitions India Limited (MIL)] of India and Rosoboronexport (RoE) and Kalashnikov of Russia.

• It is the biggest defence deal between the two nationsin recent years. The deal has a clause for complete technology transfer. The rifles will also be exported to friendly foreign nations.
• Kalashnikov has already delivered a batch of 70,000 rifles made in Russia as part of the larger AK-203 assault rifles order.
• The joint programmes between India and Russia include the Brahmos cruise missile programme, Sukhoi Su-30 MKI programme etc and the military hardware leased by India from Russia includes S-400 Triumf, Kamov Ka-226-200 (to be made under Make in India initiative), INS Vikramaditya aircraft carrier programme etc.

Source:

• Amethi unit is all set to make AK-203 rifles

Image source:

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/defence/ak-203-rifles-from-amethi-by-end-of-the-year-say-russian-officials/articleshow/93667713.cms?from=mdr 

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• Context: The Union Minister for Fisheries has recently launched the Online Market Placefeature, Aqua Bazar, in the MatsyaSetu mobile app.
• The MatsyaSetu app was developed by the ICAR-Central Institute of Freshwater Aquaculture (ICAR-CIFA),Bhubaneswar, with the funding support of the National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB), Hyderabad through the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana. 

• Through this platform, any registered vendor can list their input materials that will be displayed in the marketplace based on geographical proximity to the app user.
• Every listing will contain detailed information about the product, price, available quantity, supply area, etc. along with the seller’s contact details.
• The online marketplace will help the fish farmers and stakeholders to source the inputs such as fish seeds, feed, medicines, etc.,and services required for fish culture as well as farmers can also list their table-size fish for sale.
• It will certainly help the farmers to receive more business inquiries from buyers or buyer agents who procure fish, paving the way for increased awareness about the market situation and better price realization of farmers' produce.

Source:

• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1853126

Image source:

• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1853126

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• Context: Snailfish, recently found on an iceberg habitat in Greenland is found to survive in icy Arctic waters due to the presence of ‘antifreeze’ proteins in its bloodstream.
• This is said to be in trouble as the Arctic and its water is warming due to climate change.
• Snailfish is the only polar fish reported to have biofluorescence, the ability of an organism to convert blue light into green, red, or yellow light.

• It is rarely found in the Arctic due to prolonged periods of darkness in the region.
• On sequencing its entire transcriptome, the researchers have noticed that some of the most highly expressed genes were related to antifreeze proteins, which allows snailfish to prevent ice crystals from accumulating in their cells and body fluid.
• This is an extraordinary feature, rare among sea organisms.
• Fish cannot survive being partially frozen, unlike certain other reptile and insect species.
• The increased biodiversity that warmer waters bring to higher latitudes can increase competition, thereby jeopardising its position in the food chain.

Source:

• This fish can survive sub-zero temperatures; but will it beat climate change (downtoearth.org.in)

Image source:

• https://cosmosmagazine.com/science/arctic-snailfish-antifreeze-proteins/

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Essence – The editorial talks about the extent to which monetary policy is used for controlling inflation. It highlights the highly unpredictable nature of inflation. It also presents data to justify why central banks are preferring inflation control rather than stimulating the economy. Then it mentions the role of the Natural rate of interest in taking monetary policy decisions.

Towards the end, it mentions how in the past natural rate of interest was batted upon to control inflation. Then it presents the most estimate of the natural rate of interest which might be adhered to for better health of our economy.

Why should you read this editorial?

• To know the limits for hawkish monetary policy
• To know about the Natural Rate Of Interest.

Source:

• https://www.livemint.com/opinion/columns/unpredictable-inflation-makes-an-ideal-policy-rate-harder-to-set/amp-11661272874551.html

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Essence - The article highlights that the foundation for every society is rooted in education and health. The dream to have a developed India by 2047 thus needs to be anchored on equitable access to health and education for all.

It explains that Socioeconomic status determines access to health care facilities and also the amount and quality of interactions children have in their early life. The school environment can mitigate this to some extent, but it requires quality and committed teachers who are willing to go the extra mile.

Though India is known for global CEOs and medical tourism from across the globe, these are exceptions and not norms. While we have some of the best institutes in both health and education, equitable access is amiss. India needs functional primary healthcare institutions that aim at preventing illness and out-of-pocket expenses; and schools with teachers who can be the agents of change.

Why should you read this editorial?

• The article is a must-read to understand the root causes hindering equitable development.
• The article gives a road map for India’s future planning and policy formulation.

Source:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/india-at-75-looking-at-100-equitable-access-should-be-the-goal-8107747/

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Background: 

Europe is suffering from the worst drought in half a millennium, as a result of which rivers have dried up so much that ‘hunger stones’ have been revealed.

About Hunger stones

• Hunger stones are a common hydrological marker in the region that dates back to the pre-instrumental era.
• People occasionally preserved the memory of outstanding low water events by carving the year onto rocks emerging from rivers and lakes.

• The inscription on this hunger stone expresses that drought had brought a bad harvest, lack of food, high prices and hunger for poor people.
• The current drought has resulted in the drying up of major rivers in Europe such as the Rhine in Germany, the Po in Italy, the Thames in the United Kingdom and the Loire in France.
• Further, the annual information on hunger stones is often cross-checked with contemporary narrative information. It helps to reconstruct extreme droughts in the past in comparison with those in the present time.

Source:

• Carved in stone: What are these warning signs that Europe’s drought has revealed

Image source:

• Carved in stone: What are these warning signs that Europe’s drought has revealed

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