Daily Current Affairs : 13th November 2020

Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

1. Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0
2. India’s Vaccination Coverage
3. Sichuan province with Nyingchi Rail line
4. Expansionary, Recessionary and Depression Phase of Economy

1 . Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan 3.0

Context : Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a fresh set of relief and stimulus measures for the economy worth ₹1.19 lakh crore, including a scheme to boost re-employment chances of formal sector employees who lost their jobs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

FM’s 12 Key announcements as part of Aatma Nirbhar Bharat 3.0

• Aatma Nirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana : A new scheme is being launched to incentivize job creation during COVID-19 recovery. If EPFO-registered establishments take in new employees without EPFO numbers or those who lost jobs earlier, the Yojana will benefit these employees. The scheme will be effective from October 1, 2020.
• Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Schemefor MSMEs, businesses, MUDRA borrowers and individuals (loans for business purposes), has been extended till March 31, 2021. Credit guarantee support scheme is being launched for Healthcare sector and 26 sectors stressed due to COVID-19. Entities will get additional credit up to 20% of outstanding credit; repayment can be done in five years (1 year moratorium + 4 years repayment).
• Production Linked Incentive worth ₹ 1.46 Lakh Crore is being offered to 10 champion sectors. : This will help boost competitiveness of domestic manufacturing. Will give a big boost to economy, investment, exports and job creation. A total amount of nearly 1.5 Lakh Crore has been earmarked across sectors, for next five years.
• ₹ 18,000 Crore Additional outlay for PM Awaas Yojana – Urban : This is over and above Rs. 8000 Crore already allocated this year; will help ground 12 Lakh houses and complete 18 Lakh houses; will create additional 78 Lakh jobs and improve production and sale of steel and cement, resulting in multiplier effect on economy.
• Support for Construction & Infrastructure – Relaxation of Earnest Deposit Money & Performance Security on Government Tenders : To provide ease of doing business and relief to contractors whose money otherwise remains locked up, performance security on contracts will be reduced to 3%. EMD for tenders will be replaced by bid security self-declaration. The relaxations will be till December 31, 2021.
• Income Tax relief for Developers & Home Buyers : Differential between circle rate and agreement value in real estate income tax is being increased from 10% to 20%. This is for primary sale of residential units up to ₹ 2 Crore (from date of announcement of this scheme, till June 30 2021).  The Income Tax relief provides incentive to middle class to buy homes.
• Platform for Infra Debt Financing : Govt. will make ₹ 6,000 Crore equity investment in debt platform of National Investment and Infrastructure Fund, which will help NIIF raise ₹ 1.10 Lakh Crore by 2025 for financing infrastructure projects.
• Support for Agriculture : Rs 65,000 crore for subsidized fertilizers : As fertilizer consumption is going up significantly, increased supply of fertilizers will ensure that forthcoming crop seasons will not be affected for want of adequate fertilizers.
• Boost for Rural Employment : Additional outlay of ₹ 10,000 Crore is being provided for PM Garib Kalyan Rozgar Yojana. Funds can be used for MGNREGA or for Gram Sadak Yojana, this will help accelerate rural economy .
• Boost for Project Exports : ₹ 3,000 Crore boost to be given for project exports through assistance given by India to developing countries under Indian Development and Economic Assistance Scheme (IDEAS Scheme). This will help EXIM Bank facilitate these Line of Credit development assistance activities and promote exports from India.
• Capital and Industrial Stimulus ₹ 10,200 Crore additional budget stimulus will be provided for capital and industrial expenditure on defence equipment, industrial infrastructure and green energy.
• R&D grant for COVID Vaccine : ₹ 900 Crore is being provided to Department of Biotechnology for research activities related to COVID-19 vaccine development. This does not include cost of vaccine or logistics for vaccine distribution (whatever is required for that will be provided)

About Atmanirbhar Bharat Rozgar Yojana,

• Under the scheme govt will provide subsidy for provident fund contribution for adding new employees to establishments registered with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). The central government will provide the subsidy for two years for workers who lost jobs between March 1 to September 30, and for new workers employed on or after October 1.
• Under the scheme, the government will pay the PF contribution for workers with wages up to Rs 15,000.
• The contribution of 24 per cent for both employers and employees for establishments employing up to 1,000 employees will be borne by the government; and for establishments employing more than 1,000 employees, 12 per cent of the employees’ share will be contributed by the government.
• The additional eligibility condition for the scheme specifies that the subsidy will be provided for employment of two new employees if the establishment has 50 or fewer employees, and will be paid for five new employees if establishments have more than 50 employees.
• The subsidy amount under the scheme, which will be operational until June 30, 2021, will be credited upfront only in Aadhaar-seeded EPFO accounts (UAN) of new employees.

2 . India’s Vaccination Coverage

Context : India has made significant progress in its vaccination coverage to prevent child pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths, according to the latest annual Pneumonia and Diarrhoea Progress Report released by the International Vaccine Access Centre (IVAC)

About the Report

• The report tracked progress by analysing 10 indicators from the latest available data on how countries are delivering key interventions — including breastfeeding, immunisation, care-seeking and antibiotics, oral rehydration solution (ORS), and zinc supplementation — shown to prevent pneumonia and diarrhoea deaths.

Key Findings of the Report

• India has achieved the global target of 90% coverage for three of the five vaccines whose coverage is monitored in the report. These vaccines are Diphtheria, Pertussis and Tetanus (DPT) vaccine, Measles-containing-vaccine first dose, Haemophilus influenzae type B, pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV), and rotavirus vaccine.
• Nearly every country included in the report lagged in access to treatments against pneumonia and diarrhoea. India failed to reach all four targets for treatment, the report stated, adding that the treatment for diarrhoea had the lowest coverage, with only 51% of children receiving ORS and 20% getting zinc.
• India’s coverage of rotavirus vaccine increased by 18 percentage points (35% rotavirus coverage in 2018 expanded to 53% in 2019), coverage against pneumococcal pneumonia increased by 9 percentage points (6% PCV coverage in 2018 expanded to 15% in 2019).
• Of the 15 focus countries included in the report, India is one of just four countries that exceeded targets for exclusive breastfeeding.
• Although there was progress in India in 2019, the COVID-19 pandemic threatens the hard-won gains because of disruptions caused in routine health services like immunisation and access to medical oxygen etc

3 . Sichuan – Nyingchi Railway Line

Context : China has begun work on a strategically significant railway line – its second major rail link to Tibet – that will link Sichuan province with Nyingchi, which lies near the border with India’s Arunachal Pradesh.

Importance

• Like the Qinghai-Tibet railway line, which in 2006 connected Lhasa to the hinterland, this will be the second such route linking the Tibet Autonomous Region (TAR) to the hinterland.
• It will run right up to Nyingchi near the border with India, which it will link to both Lhasa and Chengdu, the provincial capital of Sichuan. The entire line will run from Chengdu to Lhasa, connecting the two capitals of TAR and Sichuan and cutting the journey from 48 hours to 13 hours.
• The railway will help “transport advanced equipment and technologies from the rest of China to Tibet and bring local products out

Threat for India

• As the railway runs near China’s southwest border areas, it will largely improve the efficiency and convenience of military personnel and material transportation and logical supplies
• “If a scenario of a crisis happens at the border, the railway can also act as a ‘fast track’ for the delivery of strategic materials

4 . Expansionary, Recessionary and Depression phase of Economy

Expansionary & Recessionary Phase

• When the overall output of goods and services — typically measured by the GDP — increases from one quarter (or month) to another, the economy is said to be in an expansionary phase. And when the GDP contracts from one quarter to another, the economy is said to be in a recessionary phase.
• Together, these two phases create what is called a “business cycle” in any economy. A full business cycle could last anywhere between one year and a decade.

Depression

• Typically, recessions last for a few quarters. If they continue for years, they are referred to as “depressions”. But a depression is quite rare; the last one was during the 1930s in the US.