1. RBI EASES RULES TO BOOST FOREX INFLOWS
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a slew of temporary measures aimed at boosting foreign exchange inflows, including a doubling in the overseas borrowing limit for corporates and removal of interest rate ceilings for NRIs’ foreign currency deposits.
About:
- The move comes as persistent capital outflows and a widening trade deficit have led to a sharp depreciation in the Indian rupee to new lows against the dollar.
- In order to further diversify and expand the sources of forex funding so as to mitigate volatility and dampen global spillovers, it has been decided to undertake measures to enhance forex inflows while ensuring overall macroeconomic and financial stability.
- As part of the measures, banks have been exempted from maintaining the stipulated Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) and Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) on incremental FCNR(B) and NRE term deposits mobilised up to November 4.
- It also freed banks to temporarily raise fresh FCNR(B) and NRE deposits without reference to extant regulations on interest rates, with effect from July 7 and up to October 31, 2022.
- To encourage foreign portfolio investment into debt, the RBI said the choice of government bonds available for investment under the fully accessible route (FAR) would be widened, with all new issuances of G-Secs of 7-year and 14-year tenors, including the current issuances of 7.10% GS 2029 and 7.54% GS 2036, designated as specified securities.
- The RBI also temporarily doubled the annual limit for External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) to $1.5 billion or its equivalent.
Source : The Hindu
2. PDRD GRANT
The Finance Ministry released the fourth instalment of revenue deficit grant of ₹7,183 crore to 14 States for the current fiscal.
About:
- The States for which Post Devolution Revenue Deficit (PDRD) Grant had been recommended by the 15th Finance Commission during FY23 are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tripura, Uttarakhand and West Bengal.
- The 15th Finance Commission had recommended a total PDRD Grant of ₹86,201 crore to 14 States for FY23.
Source : The Hindu
3. VICE PRESIDENT OF INDIA
The Election Commission of India on July 5 issued the notification for the election of the Vice President of India. The term of office of Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu comes to an end on August 10.
About:
- Article 63 of the Constitution states that “there shall be a Vice-President of India”.
- Under Article 64, the Vice-President “shall be ex officio Chairman of the Council of the States” (Rajya Sabha).
- Article 65 says that “in the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the President by reason of his death, resignation or removal, or otherwise, the Vice-President shall act as President until the date on which a new President…enters upon his office”.
Election of the Vice-President
- Article 66 lays down the process of the election of the Vice-President.
- It says the Vice-President “shall be elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of the members of both Houses of Parliament in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot”.
- Article 66(3) says “No person shall be eligible for election as Vice-President unless he — (a) is a citizen of India; (b) has completed the age of thirty-five years; and (c) is qualified for election as a member of the Council of States”.
Source : Indian Express
4. SHARK BITES
A study in Nature Scientific Data describes the Australian Shark-Incident Database, with comprehensive reports of 1,196 shark bites in Australia over 231 years (1791–2022).
About:
- LOCATION OF BITE: Deaths most often occurred following shark bites to the torso, the analysis found.
- SHARK SPECIES: Tiger sharks were found proportionally responsible for the most fatalities of all shark species in Australia (38% of all tiger shark bites result in fatality), followed by bull sharks (32% of bites fatal), and white sharks (25% of bites fatal).
Source : Indian Express
5. WHEAT CONSUMPTION TRENDS IN INDIA
Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh have demanded more wheat in place of rice and asked the Centre to restore their original allocations under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013, or change the wheat-rice allocation ratio that was revised by the Union Food Ministry in May.
What was this revision?
- On May 14, Food Secretary announced that “after consulting with the states”, the Centre has reallocated some quantities by changing ratios of wheat and rice under the NFSA.
- For example, states getting wheat and rice at a 60:40 ratio will now get it at 40:60, while those getting allocations at 75:25 would now get these at 60:40. States where rice allocation has been zero will continue to get wheat.
- For small states, NE states and special category states, allocation has not been changed. According to the Food Ministry, the move would save about 61 lakh tonnes of wheat over the remaining 10 months (June-March) of the current financial year.
Which states are affected by the revision?
- Wheat allocation under NFSA was revised downward for 10 states: Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
- These states account for about 55.14 crore (67%) of the 81.35 crore beneficiaries under the NFSA.
- Gujarat and Uttar Pradesh, which have demanded restoration of their original allocations, are primarily wheat-consuming states.
Source : Indian Express
6. NOMINATED MEMBERS OF THE RAJYA SABHA
Legendary athlete P T Usha and music maestro Ilaiyaraaja were among prominent personalties nominated to Rajya Sabha.
About:
- Philanthropist and administrator of the Dharmasthala temple Veerendra Heggade and noted screen writer V Vijayendra Prasad were also nominated to the Upper House of Parliament.
- The Rajya Sabha had vacancies in the nominated category.
- Twelve members are nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President of India for six-years term for their contributions towards arts, literature, sciences, and social services. This right has been bestowed upon the President according to the Fourth Schedule (Articles 4(1) and 80(2)) of the Constitution of India.
Source : Business Standard
7. KONARK SUN TEMPLE
Visitors to the Sun Temple in Konark, Odisha, will soon be able to see the newly carved stones on the northern side of the jagmohan, or the assembly hall, of the World Heritage Site.
About:
- The pilot project started in 2019 with a study of the stones at the temple and an analysis of the historic drawings and photos from the 19th century onwards.
- Starting in 1901, the British government had placed plain stones across the site and filled the jagmohan with sand to preserve the structure of the 13th century temple. The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) carried out conservation works after the site was handed over to it in 1936.
- According to the National Conservation Policy (2014), Restoration may be undertaken on monuments with high architectural value and only in parts of a monument wherein there are missing geometric or floral patterns, or structural members of a monument which have been damaged recently.
- Konark Sun Temple is a 13th-century CE Sun temple at Konark about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northeast from Puri city on the coastline in Puri district, Odisha. The temple is attributed to king Narasimhadeva I of the Eastern Ganga dynasty about 1250 CE.
Source : The Hindu
8. NORTHEAST INFRASTRUCTURE
Prolonged disruption of road and rail transport across a major part of Northeast India due to floods and landslips has renewed the demand for fast-tracking projects for connectivity with the rest of the country through Bangladesh.
About:
- The Barak Valley in southern Assam and the southern half of Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura are dependent on the arterial Lumding-Badarpur railway line for transporting essentials from other parts of the country.
- The National Highway through Meghalaya shares some of the passenger and cargo load, while another through Dima Hasao in Assam has not quite been serviceable.
- The 185-km railway line connecting Lumding in Hojai district of central Assam and Badarpur in Karimganj district of southern Assam, much of it through the hill district of Dima Hasao, has been prone to landslips since the metre gauge track of 1899 vintage was realigned and converted to broad gauge in 2015.
- Badarpur is the junction from where the tracks branch out to Silchar (30 km away), Jiribam in Manipur, Bairabi in Mizoram and Agartala in Tripura. The two highways have a similar problem, particularly during the monsoon months of June to September.
- The Maitri Bridge across the Feni river connects Sabroom in Tripura and Ramgarh in Bangladesh, while efforts are on to take the railway line beyond Sabroom. Another railway line connecting Agartala and Akhaura in Bangladesh is in the works.
Source : The Hindu
9. AKHIL BHARATIYA SHIKSHA SAMAGAM
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam at Varanasi.
About:
- The Samagam is being organized by the Education Ministry in association with University Grants Commission and Banaras Hindu University.
- The three-day event will bring together over 300 Vice-Chancellors and Directors from public and private universities, educationists, policymakers, as also industry representatives.
- The summit will provide a platform for leading Indian Higher Educational Institutions to discuss, deliberate, and share insights on strategies, success stories, and best practices in implementing the National Education Policy-2020.
- The key highlight of the Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Samagam will be the adoption of the Varanasi Declaration on Higher Education which will showcase India’s extended vision and a renewed commitment to help achieve the goals of higher education system.
Source : All India Radio
10. INDIA ANIMAL HEALTH SUMMIT 2022
Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying inaugurated First India Animal Health Summit 2022 at NASC Complex, New Delhi.
About:
- It is being organized by Indian Chamber of Food and Agriculture (ICFA) and the Agriculture Today Group to understand the significance of animal health towards the broader objective of the country's food and nutrition security, rural incomes and prosperity and overall economic development.
- The two-day event will host a plethora of panel discussions ranging from topics such as Animal Health policy initiatives to Business environment & investment opportunities in the Animal Health sector. The deliberations evolved will later be documented and presented to authorities.
Source : PIB