1. INDIA’S GDP
India’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 8.4% in the July to September quarter, compared to a 7.4% contraction a year ago, with the economy’s gross value added (GVA) rising 8.5%, the National Statistical Office said.
About:
- Factoring in the first quarter GDP growth of 20.1%, the first half of this year has recorded 13.7% growth and India is likely to record double digit growth for 2021-22 as a whole, the Finance Ministry’s Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Krishnamurthy Subramanian said.
- Economists, however, were not fully convinced about the extent and durability of this recovery and reacted with caution.
- Though the absolute GDP in the second quarter (Q2) was 0.3% higher than pre-pandemic levels, there were still many worrying areas.
- In particular the insipid private consumption spending that still languished below pre-COVID levels along with activity in employment-intensive sectors like construction and contact-intensive sectors like retail and hotels.
The base effect of negative growth last year also helped nudge the GDP numbers up, most independent economists say, although the CEA said the base effect by itself does not make the recovery ‘less noteworthy’.
Source : The Hindu
2. BARBADOS
Nearly 400 years after the country became a British colony, Barbados has become the world’s newest republic.
About:
- The Caribbean island nation removed Queen Elizabeth II as the head of the state in a ceremony attended by Prince Charles. Barbados, however, will continue to be one of the 54 Commonwealth nations.
- Dame Sandra Prunella Mason, who was selected to become the first president of Barbados last month, took over as the President of the country.
- There are no plans to change the flags, coat of arms, national pledge or national anthem. However, the terms “royal” and “crown” would be dropped from all official references.
- Hence, Royal Barbados Police Force will become Barbados Police Force and crown lands would become state lands.
Important Info :
History of Barbados
- Barbados, which is said to have been made a ‘slave society’ by the British, first became an English colony when a ship arrived at the Caribbean in 1625.
- On November 30, 1966, Barbados gained its independence.
Source : Indian Express
3. INDIA 5G SUBSCRIPTIONS
Fifth generation telecom services are likely to account for 39% of mobile subscriptions or about 500 million subscriptions in India at the end of 2027, according to a report by Ericsson.
About:
- The ‘Ericsson Mobility Report’ added that the total number of smartphone subscriptions is expected to be 810 million at the end of 2021 and is projected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 7%, exceeding 1.2 billion by 2027.
- Smartphone subscriptions accounted for 70% of total mobile subscriptions in 2021 and are projected to constitute around 94% in 2027, driven by rapid smartphone adoption in the country, it said, adding that 4G is expected to remain the dominant technology in India in 2027.
- However, 4G subscriptions are forecast to drop from 790 million in 2021 to 710 million in 2027, showing an annual average decline of 2%. Thus, 4G subscriptions are expected to reduce from 68% of mobile subscriptions in 2021 to 55% in 2027 as subscribers migrate to 5G.
Source : The Hindu
4. INSOLVENCY
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a three-member advisory panel to assist the Administrator of Reliance Capital Ltd. in the discharge of his duties.
About:
- The members of the Advisory Committee include Sanjeev Nautiyal, former Deputy MD, State Bank of India, Srinivasan Varadarajan, former Deputy MD, Axis Bank and Praveen P. Kadle, former MD and CEO, Tata Capital Ltd.
- The RBI had recently superseded the board of directors of Reliance Capital Ltd. (RCL), promoted by Anil Ambani’s Reliance Group and had appointed Nageswara Rao Y, former executive director, Bank of Maharashtra, as the Administrator.
- The central bank said it would shortly initiate the process of resolution of the company under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Rules, 2019. Reserve Bank will also apply to the NCLT, Mumbai for appointing the Administrator as the Insolvency Resolution Professional.
Important Info :
Reason
- The regulatory action is “in view of the defaults by RCL in meeting the various payment obligations to its creditors and serious governance concerns which the board has not been able to address effectively.
- In June 2019, auditors raised several red flags around Reliance Capital’s fourth-quarter results, including a lack of clarity in accounting methodology. The company has since then failed to make several debt obligation payments.
- The RBI’s move against Reliance Capital follows a similar step taken against Srei Infrastructure Finance Ltd. and Srei Equipment Finance Ltd. earlier this year.
Source: The Hindu
5. ‘GOVERNMENT-OWNED, CONTRACTOR-OPERATED (GOCO)’ MODEL
The Indian Army’s ambitious plan for modernisation of the Army Base Workshops (ABWs) and implementation of ‘Government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO)’ model is “delayed” and the original timeline for implementing the system lapsed in December 2019, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) said in its report tabled in the Parliament.
About:
- The implementation of GOCO model is fraught with risks and operational challenges as identified by the Headquarters Base Workshop Group.
- 385 out of the 1,077 affected civilian manpower of closed stations/static workshops are lying idle and the same situation may arise in ABWs, if these issues are not addressed while implementing the GOCO Model.
- ABWs carry out repairs and overhaul of weapons, vehicles and equipment of the Army.
- The GOCO model was meant to modernise the workshops as well free up Army personnel from maintenance work.
- Audit recommends that the Ministry of Defence formulate a strategy to mitigate all risks, including deployment of existing manpower, relating to GOCO implementation.
Source : The Hindu
6. CITIZENSHIP
More than six lakh Indians renounced citizenship in the past five years, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) informed the Lok Sabha.
About:
- In 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, the number of Indians who gave up citizenship stood at 1,33,049, 1,34,561, 1,44,017 and 85,248, respectively. This year, till September 30, 1,11,287 Indians gave up their citizenship.
- The reason for a large number of Indians surrendering their citizenship was not stated in the reply.
- Though, in 2018, the MHA revised Form XXII under Citizenship Rules for declaration of renunciation of citizenship, which, for the first time, included a column on “circumstances/reasons due to which applicant intends to acquire foreign citizenship and renounce Indian citizenship”.
- Recently, the MHA had simplified the process and provisions were made for the applicants to upload documents online and an upper limit of 60 days was fixed for the renunciation process to be completed.
Important Info :
- According to a Global Wealth Migration Review report, in 2019, India came second only to China when it came to high net worth individuals (HNIs) leaving the country. As many as 7,000 HNIs left India in 2019.
- In October, Amit Mitra, former Finance Minister of West Bengal, quoting a Morgan Stanley report, tweeted that “35,000 Indian Entrepreneurs of High Net Worth LEFT India between 2014-2020, as NRI/Immigrants. India RANKED No 1 IN EXODUS IN THE WORLD”.
Source: The Hindu
7. PANEL TO REVIEW EWS QUOTA
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment appointed a three-member committee to revisit the criteria for 10% reservation for economically weaker sections (EWS) in educational institutions and Government jobs, after a rap from the Supreme Court in November.
About:
- The panel comprises
- former Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey;
- Member Secretary, Indian Council of Social Science Research, V.K. Malhotra; and
- Principal Economic Adviser to the Government of India, Sanjeev Sanyal.
- former Finance Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey;
- It has been given three weeks’ time to complete its work.
- The Supreme Court last month observed that the the Centre could not “pull out of thin air” the ₹8 lakh annual income limit to identify economically weaker section for providing 10% quota and questioned if the attempt was to “make unequals equals”.
- The court is hearing petitions challenging the Government notice issued in July which provides for a 10% EWS quota in NEET admissions. The SC will hear the case next on January 6.
Source: The Hindu
8. InFinity FORUM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate InFinity Forum, a thought leadership Forum on FinTech, on 3rd December, 2021 at 10 AM via video conferencing.
About:
- The event is being hosted by International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), under the aegis of Government of India in collaboration with GIFT City and Bloomberg on December 3 and 4, 2021.
- Indonesia, South Africa and the U.K. are partner countries in the first edition of the Forum.
- InFinity Forum will bring together the leading minds of the world in policy, business, and technology to discuss and come up with actionable insight into how technology and innovation can be leveraged by the FinTech industry for inclusive growth and serving humanity at large.
- The agenda of the Forum will focus on the theme of 'Beyond'; with various sub themes including FinTech beyond boundaries, FinTech beyond Finance and FinTech Beyond Next.
- The forum will witness participation from over 70 countries.
Important Info :
About IFSCA
- The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar Gujarat, has been established under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019.
- It works as a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.
- At present, the GIFT IFSC is the maiden international financial services centre in India.
Source: PIB
9. AIR POLLUTION IN DELHI
The contribution of stubble burning in neighbouring States to the daily levels of PM2.5 – a chief pollutant – in Delhi was as high as 48% on November 7 and averaged 33.5% during the week after Deepavali (November 5-11).
About:
- This is the same period when air pollution spiked in the Capital, National Capital Region and several other north Indian States.
- The average contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s PM2.5 level in November was 14.6%, according to data from the government-run monitoring agency SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research).
- The highest contribution of stubble burning to PM2.5 in Delhi for a day was 58% in 2018, 43% in 2019, and 46% in 2020, said Gufran Beig, founder project director of SAFAR.
- After initial confusion on November 15, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central Government, had told the Supreme Court on November 17 that the contribution of farm fires to Delhi’s PM2.5 count was about 35% to 40% in October and November.
- The annual contribution is usually far lesser since the burning of stubble is only a seasonal activity and not all year round.
- Delhi usually experiences two spells of high air pollution during winter, one in October-November and the other in December-January.
- During October-November, one of the main reasons for the high pollution in Delhi and NCR is stubble burning. During the second spell, the main reason for air pollution is the transport of pollutants from the rest of the Indo-Gangetic Plain to Delhi combined with extreme cold and foggy conditions.
Source: The Hindu