In News

Recently, the NITI Aayog released the India Innovation Index 2022.

Major Highlights of the report

• The third edition of the index solidifies the scope of innovation analysis in the country by adopting the framework of the Global Innovation Index (GII) and expanding the number of indicators from 36 to 66 across seven key pillars.

• Karnataka has topped again in the ‘Major States’ category. According to the report, Karnataka’s high score can be attributed to its peak performance in attracting FDI and a large number of venture capital deals.
  • Karnataka was followed by Telangana, Haryana, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Bihar and Gujarat were at the bottom of the index.
• Manipur is leading the ‘North East and Hill States’ category.
• Chandigarh is the top performer in the ‘Union Territories and City States’ category.
  • Chandigarh topped the knowledge worker pillar, Delhi topped the business environment and investment pillars.
• As per the report, India’s average innovation score is arguably insufficient, given the country’s ambitious targets to be named among the top 25 nations in the Global Innovation Index.
  • Countries that spend less on GDERD fail to retain their human capital in the long run and the ability to innovate is dependent on the quality of human capital;.
• The report recommended that the private sector needs to pick up pace in R&D. Taking the evidence from countries like South Korea, USA, and Germany, where the presence of private players is quite evident, the report noted that public expenditure is productive up to some extent; once the growth follows a trajectory, it is desirable to shift to R&D mostly drive by the private sector.
• The report also noted that the country has not performed well in the knowledge worker pillar, as much as it has in the human capital pillar.
• The report also observed that innovation is skewed against the manufacturing sector due to the problems pertaining to and the missing middle. This requires inexorable efforts to overcome challenges and make the best use possible.

About the Index

• There are 7 pillars in the index—five ‘Enabler’ pillars measure the inputs and two ‘Performance’ pillars measure the output. In last year’s edition, there were 36 indicators, this year there are 66 indicators.

• All the indicators in the Enabler pillar covers the features that are crucial for promoting innovation within a state/UT.
• Indicators in the Performance pillar represent a nation’s benefits in knowledge creation and competitiveness.
• All the indicators of the index capture both the aspects of the market as well as the state, thereby covering all macroeconomic and microeconomic indicators necessary.

Source:

• India Innovation Index:

In News

Social media giant Meta and the Ministry of Tribal Affairs have recently announced to extend their collaboration to launch the second phase of the Going Online As Leaders (GOAL) programme-GOAL 2.0.

About GOAL Programme

• GOAL (Going Online as Leaders) was launched as a pilot project in  2020and was completed by 
• It aimed at the digital empowerment of tribal youthand women through the concept of mentor and mentee.
• The mentees in the first phase were provided training across three pillars namely:
  • Communication & Life Skills
  • Enabling Digital Presence
  • Leadership & Entrepreneurship
• The programme is fully fundedby Meta (Facebook India).
• GOAL 2.0:
  • Goal 2 program will be open to all people from tribal communities.
  • In Phase-I, the digital mentorship was provided online by attaching one mentor to 2 mentees.
• Objective:
  • • The program aims to upskill and digitally enable tribal youth via Facebook live sessions and Meta Business Coach, a digital learning tool.
    • There will be a special focus on more than 10 lakh members of 50000Vandhan Self-Help Groups.

• • • They will bedigitally trained with regard to market demand, packaging, branding and marketing of their products.
    • The GOAL 2 will enable maximum participation and percolation of benefitsof the training within the tribal youth with the provision of Chatbot, need based on line sessions from Industry experts in different fields as per requirements from the mentees.
• Stakeholders Involved:
  • • The Ministry of Tribal Affairs in coordination with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technologywill be providing 6 digital classes in each of the 175 Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS) selected under the program.
  • Implementation: The project is being implemented by The Education and Research Network, which is an autonomous organization under the Ministryof Electronics and Information Technology (MeITY).

Source:

• The second phase of the GOAL Programme (GOAL 2.0) was launched on 28th June 2022 with an aim to digitally upskill tribal youth: Shri Arjun Munda
• Meta, Tribal Affairs Ministry launches the second phase of GOAL 2.0 to digitally skill tribal youth

Image source:

• https://www.indianbureaucracy.com/tribal-affairs-ministry-launches-going-online-as-leaders-programme/

In News

The Indian rupee has been witnessing a steady decline this year, losing more than 6% against the U.S. dollar since the beginning of 2022, falling to an all-time low against the U.S. dollar this week.

About the News

• The rupee is currently volatile and touched a series of record lows against the American currency.
• Concerns over economic growth amidst multi-year high inflation, interest rate hikes, persistent foreign funds outflow, high crude oil prices, and volatile domestic equities is plaguing the Indian economy amidst the fall of rupee.
• India’s forex reserves have also dropped below $600 billion, plunging by more than $50 billion since September 3, 2021, when forex reserves stood at an all-time high of $642 billion.
  • The drop in India’s forex reserves is believed to be largely due to steps taken by the Reserve Bank of India to support the rupee.
  • It may also be due to a fall in the dollar value of assets held as reserves by the RBI.

Reasons for the fall in Rupee

• Impact of Fed Rates: Since the beginning of the year, the S. Federal Reserve has been raising its benchmark interest rate causing investors seeking higher returns to pull capital away from emerging markets such as India and back into the U.S.
  • This, in turn, has put pressure on emerging market currencies which have depreciated significantly against the U.S. dollar so far this year.
• CAD: India’s current account deficit (CAD), which measures the gap between the value of imports and exports of goods and services, is expected to hit a 10-year high of 3.3% of gross domestic product in the current financial year.
  • This means that India’s import demand amid rising global oil prices is likely to negatively affect the rupee unless foreign investors pour sufficient capital into the country to fund the deficit.
• Inflation: Consistently higher domestic price inflation in India is also a reason for the consistent decline of the rupee.
  • Higher inflation in India suggests that the RBI has been creating rupees at a faster rate than the U.S. Federal Reserve has been creating dollars.

 How Rupee value is determined?

• The value of any currency is determined by demand for the currency as well as its supply.
  • When the supply of a currency increases, its value drops, and when the demand for a currency increase, its value rises.
• In the wider economy, central banks determine the supply of currencies, while the demand for currencies depends on the amount of goods and services produced in the economy.
• In the forex market, the supply of rupees is determined by the demand for imports and various foreign assets.
  • The demand for rupees in the forex market, on the other hand, depends on foreign demand for Indian exports and other domestic assets. For eg., when there is great enthusiasm among foreign investors to invest in India, it can lead to an increase in the supply of dollars in the forex market which in turn causes the rupee’s value to rise against the dollar.

 Way Forward

• The rupee is likely to continue to depreciate against the dollar given the significant differences in long-run inflation between India and the U.S.
• The central bank could make greater use of spot market intervention, which would run down central bank reserves or may just opt to let the rupee weaken according to macroeconomic fundamentals.
  • As a matter of policy, the Indian central bank has usually tried to slow down or smoothen, rather than reverse or prevent, the fall in exchange value of the rupee against the U.S. dollar.
  • The aim of the RBI’s policy is to allow the rupee to find its natural value in the market but without undue volatility or causing unnecessary panic among investors.
• The RBI has been trying to rein in domestic consumer price inflation, which hit a 95-month high of 7.8% in April, by raising rates and tightening liquidity.

Sources:

• Explainer | The free fall of the rupee
• Rupee is falling against US dollar but why?
• RBI may need to tweak its forex strategy, allow rupee to weaken

On July 22, 1947, our National Flag was adopted. The top saffron colour indicates the strength and courage of the country. The white middle band indicates peace and truth with Dharma Chakra. The green shows the fertility, growth and auspiciousness of the land. The idea of a single Indian flag was first raised by the British rulers of India after the revolution of 1857 having western heraldic standards design. Mahatama Gandhi first proposed a Tricolour flag to the Indian National Congress in 1921 with a spinning wheel inscribed on the white strip. Pingali Venkayya designed the national flag.

In the initial flag designed by Venkayya, there was a spinning wheel, instead of the Ashoka Chakra. The Tricolour was first hoisted on April 13, 1923, by Congress workers in Nagpur, during a procession to protest the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre. The spinning wheel was replaced by the Ashoka Chakra In the flag adopted by the ad hoc committee formed by the Constituent Assembly on June 23, 1947.

Sources:

• National Flag Adoption Day: Know its history, significance, facts:
• Har Ghar Tiranga: PM Modi urges Indians to hoist Tricolour as he recalls struggle for freedom:

• Context: Researchers and environmentalists have been considering synthetic biology or synbio as a potential tool to preserve biodiversity and restore the natural ecosystem
• The term ‘synthetic biology’ wasfirst used by Barbara Hobomin in 1980, to describe bacteria that had been genetically engineered using recombinant DNA technology.

• Synthetic biologyrefers to the science of using genetic sequencing, editing, and modification to create unnatural organisms or organic molecules that can function in living systems.
• It enables scientists to design and synthesise new sequences of DNA from scratch.
• The term was used to describe the synthesis of unnatural organic molecules that function in living systems.
• More broadly in this sense, the term has been used with reference to efforts to ‘redesign life’.
• This technology could be helpful in use for sustainable production of bioenergy, drugs, food, for thecapture of carbon dioxide from industrial emissions etc.

Source:

• Can synthetic biology offer solutions to environmental challenges?
• Can synthetic biology offer solutions to environmental challenges?

Image source:

• https://arstechnica.com/science/2016/12/the-armys-looking-into-putting-bacteria-into-its-electronics/

• Context: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has recently approved the construction of the Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road new rail line. 
• Ambajiis a famous pilgrimage temple site located in Gujarat, which is included in 51 Shaktipeeths.
• The total length of the new rail line will be 116.65 km.

• The project will be completed by 2026-27 and is expected to generate direct employment for about 40 lakh man days.
• The route will go via Rajasthan's Sirohi district,as well as Gujarat's Banaskantha and Mahesana districts. 
• It wouldenhance connectivity and improve mobility leading to the overall socio-economic development of the region. 
• As itconnects the important pilgrimage sites, it will facilitate easy travel for millions of devotees.
• It would alsofacilitate faster movement of agricultural and local goods, and further enhance connectivity between Gujarat and Rajasthan. 

Source:

• Gujarat commences work on Taranga Hill-Ambaji- Abu Road Rail Line
• Cabinet approves Taranga Hill-Ambaji-Abu Road new rail line project worth Rs 2,798 crore

Image source:

• https://indiarailinfo.com/blog/post/5411901/0

• Context: Coal mining operations have resumed in a part of eastern Assam’s Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve almost two years after they were suspended.
• Dehing Patkai National Park is a part of the 937 sq. km Dehing Patkai Elephant Reserve that includes the British-era coal mines and oil refinery town Digboi.
• It is located in the districts of Dibrugarh and Tinsukia.

• Also known as the Jeypore Rainforest, it is a deciduous rainforest interspersed with semi-evergreen and lush green flora, the only patch of virgin rainforest in Assam.
• Dehing is the name of the river that flows through this forest and Patkai is the hill at the foot of which the sanctuary lies. 
• The National Park is endowed with rich bio-diversity with unique vegetation and diversified fauna such as Chinese Pangolin, flying fox, wild pig, sambar, barking deer, gaur, serow and Malayan giant squirrels.

Source:

• Coal mining operations resume in Assam elephant reserve
• Dehing Patkai Wildlife sanctuary

Image source:

• https://twitter.com/mahilacongress/status/1263778425954635777

• Context: Actor Emilia Clarke has said she suffered the condition of aneurysm twice while filming for Game of Thrones.
• Aneurysm is a swelling of the arteries and veins in any part of the body, and is caused by weakening of the walls.
• It occurs most commonly in the aorta, back of the knees, brain or intestines. If the aneurysm gets ruptured, it can even cause internal bleeding and stroke.

• Blood vessels of the brain and the heart are the most common locations to get seriously affected and the swelling can be of two types: Either the complete blood vessel is swollen or a specific side of the blood vessel can bulge out from the sides.
• It can occur anywhere throughout the circulatory system, but most commonly develop along the aorta (the body’s main artery that runs the length of the trunk) and in blood vessels of the brain.
• Aneurysms are potentially fatal if they rupture.
• Causes include smoking, age, high cholesterol, obesity, hypertension or tissue disorders.

Source:

• Explained: Emilia Clarke says she suffered two brain aneurysms; how do they affect blood vessels?
• Aneurysm

Image source:

• https://www.verywellhealth.com/brain-aneurysm-overview-3146347

Essence: A year has passed since the disclosures about the Pegasus Project revealed the threat to India’s democracy. Despite the severity of the issue, there has been official apathy and opaqueness in their response. The Supreme Court has constituted a technical committee to examine whether the spyware had been used on Indian citizens.

An overhaul of surveillance laws is necessary to prevent the indiscriminate monitoring of people and entities by the state and private actors. Unfortunately, legislative proposals by the Union Government for surveillance reform do not exist.

Why should you read this article?

• To understand the status/ action taken by the government in the Pegasus case

Source:

• In Pegasus battle, the fight for surveillance reform:

Essence: Prime Minister’s recent speech in which he has referred to free “revdi” (freebies) culture has brought focus back on issues related to subsidies and freebies. Author points out that while it is easy to see all subsidies with the same lens, policy makers should differentiate between different types of subsidies and how different sections of people see them.

Using data is also important because lack of it demonizes few types like food subsidy while making other types of subsidies like tax waivers to corporations invisible. Article supports the view that rationalizing subsidies will free up huge fiscal space. But it also bats for the view that some subsidies like “Universal Basic Income” bring a real difference in the lives of many vulnerable peoples.

Why should you read this article?

• To understand different sides of debate around freebies and subsidies.

Source:

• We need to disentangle good subsidies from bad:

Background

• These ethnic communities in Aaray villages of Mumbai live a self-sufficient life in small hamlets scattered throughout the forest, breeding chickens for a living and growing crops.
• For the past six years, Cassandra has worked with a team of three to assist families from Aarey villages and Madh Island ,primarily Adivasi Warli women, in becoming self-sufficient.

About the Efforts of Cassandra

• Cassandra observed that in comparison to the Mumbai’s progress, tribal area development has lagged. This fuelled the desire to work for the betterment of the tribes. 
• Apart from raising awareness, she also fosters Mumbaikars' involvement with different ethnicities, resulting in cultural fusion and a give and take on both sides.
• They have an ongoing programme called #TRibalLunch in which they entice Mumbaikars to visit Aarey Forest — the world's only natural Urban Forest.
• #TRibalTAdka is a revenue-generating income model in which women earn money by selling food, organic vegetables, and handicrafts, and Mumbaikars may have a first-hand taste of real Maharashtrian cuisine in one of the village homes.
• Another improvement brought about by the group is the installation of bio-toilets in eight settlements in Aarey Forest and Madh Island.
• With the help of crowdfunding and government support, the group was able to obtain 23 zig-zag sewing machines, each costing Rs 8,000, smokeless stoves for over 2,500 people, and 350 menstruation cups through the #SurekhaMenstrualCupProject.

Quote: Civilization is the progress toward a society of privacy. The savage's whole existence is public, ruled by the laws of his tribe. Civilization is the process of setting man free from men.- Ayn Rand.

Source:

• Biotoilets to Borewells: How One Mumbaikar Is Helping 2500 Warli Tribal Families: