1. Coconut Community Farmers' Conference
Tags: Economy/Finance Summits National News
On October 14, 2022, the 'Coconut Community Farmers' Conference' was organised in Coimbatore.
Important facts
Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the Conference.
Tomar said that the government would continue to provide all possible assistance to the farmers in the coastal states to promote coconut cultivation in the country.
Efforts made in the field of research and development in recent years have resulted in the development of new technologies in farming and processing as well as improvements in existing technologies.
With the increase in the number of coconut based industries in the country, new products and employment opportunities are also increasing.
The contribution of coconut cultivation in the agricultural economy is very important. India is a leader in coconut cultivation.
Coconut production in India
India is one of the third largest producers of coconut in the world.
Tamil Nadu ranks first in coconut processing activities.
Coimbatore ranks first in terms of area under coconut cultivation, where coconut is cultivated in an area of 88,467 hectares.
Support is being provided for setting up 537 new processing units in India with a processing capacity of 3,638 million coconuts per annum, of which 136 are in Tamil Nadu.
Indonesia is the world's leading coconut producer, The Philippines is the world's second largest producer of coconuts.
2. IRDA fines Axis Bank Rs 2 crore and Max Life Insurance company Rs 3 crore
Tags: Economy/Finance
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has imposed a fine of Rs 3 crore penalty on Max Life Insurance company and Rs 2 crore on the Axis Bank on 14 October 2022, for violation of its rules in the Axis Bank-Max Life deal.
The insurance regulatory body stated that 2021 financial transactions between Axis Bank and Max Financial are in violation of IRDAI code.
What was the case?
According to the IRDAI” Axis Bank sold its stake of 0.998 per cent shares of Max Life in March 2021 to MFSL (Max Financial Service Ltd) and MSI (Mitsui Sumitomo International.) at Rs 166 per share.
Later, in March-April 2021, Axis Bank and its Group entities acquired 12.002 per cent shares from MFSL at a price range of Rs 31.51-Rs 32.12 per share. This is not in compliance with the directions issued by the Authority."
Hence IRDAI fined Axis Bank Rs 2 crore for making undue gains of substantial amounts by way of transactions in shares of Max Life Insurance and in violation of other norms.
Max Life Insurance Company was also fined Rs 3 crore in the same case for violating the IRDAI norms.
Currently, Axis Bank and its two subsidiaries -- Axis Capital Ltd and Axis Securities Ltd -- collectively own 12.99 percent of Max Life Insurance post approval of the deal in April last year.
Max Life Insurance Company is a joint venture between Max India limited and Axis Bank. The New Delhi based Insurance Company started its operation in 2001.
Prashant Tripathi is the CEO of the Max Life Insurance company.
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI)
It is the regulator of the Insurance sector in India.
It was set up in 1999. It was made a statutory body in April 2000 under the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority act 1999.
IRDAI was set up on the recommendation of the RN Malhotra committee on Insurance reform. The Malhotra committee was set up in 1993.
Headquarters: Hyderabad
Chairperson: Debasish Panda
3. Prime Minister Modi to inaugurate PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 on October 17
Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate PM Kisan Samman Sammelan 2022 on 17th October, 2022 at Mela Ground, Indian Agriculture Research Institute, Pusa in New Delhi.
Important facts
On this occasion, the Prime Minister will release Rs 16,000 Crores under the PM-KISAN flagship scheme as 12th instalment through Direct Benefit Transfer.
The Prime Minister will also inaugurate the Agri Start-up Conclave and Exhibition.
He will also inaugurate 600 PM Kisan Samridhi Kendras (PM-KSKs) of the Union Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
On this occasion he will also launch Bharat Urea Bags, India’s biggest move in fertilizers-One Nation One Fertilizer Scheme for Farmers.
During this event, the Prime Minister will launch an international weekly fertilizer e-magazine Indian Age.
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN)
It was launched on 24 February, 2019 by PM Modi to supplement financial needs of land holding farmers.
Under the scheme financial benefit of Rs 6000 per year in three equal instalments, every four month is transferred into the bank accounts of farmers’ families across the country through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode.
It is a central sector scheme with 100% funding by the Government of India.
It is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
So far, eligible farmer families have received benefits of more than Rs 2 lakh crore under PM-KISAN through 11 instalments.
4. Indian Railway to launch superfast Vande Bharat Freight Train
Tags: Economy/Finance
According to the Union Ministry of Railway, Indian Railway will soon introduce a freight version of the indigenous semi-High Speed Train, Vande Bharat.
Integral Coach Factory, Chennai which manufactures the bulk of the Vande Bharat train will also manufacture the initial Vande Bharat freight trains.
Features of the freight train
- The freight train will be an Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) train which will target the high-value time-sensitive cargo, which is presently being transported through other modes of transport.
- These super-fast parcel trains made of aluminium will run at a maximum speed of 160 Kmph and the inaugural service will be on Delhi NCR- Mumbai region route.
- The train will be 16 coach formations equipped with 1,800 mm wide automatic sliding plug doors and capacity to carry 264 tonnes payloads.
- Each train would have two refrigerated wagons — the first and last cars in the train, to ferry perishable items such as fruits and vegetables.
- According to the National Rail Plan ,the Railways is aiming to increase its share in freight transportation from the present 27% to 45% by 2030 through better infrastructure and business development plans.
Indian Railways first Vande Bharat Train service in South India
- The Indian railways plans to introduce Vande Bharat train services in South India on Chennai -Bengaluru and Mysuru route on 10 November.
- This will be the fifth train of the Vande Bharat series.
- Recently the Prime Minister inaugurated the 3rd and 4th Vande Bharat Train in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh respectively.
- The first Vande Bharat train was started on 15 February 2019 on the New Delhi to Varanasi route and the second route on which it runs is New Delhi to Katra.
New Vande Bharat trains
- Earlier, last month the new improved Vande Bharat Express 2.0 between Gandhinagar and Mumbai was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. It was the third train in the Vande Bharat series.
- Vande Bharat Express 2.0 is equipped with advanced state-of-the-art safety features including an indigenously developed Train Collision Avoidance System - KAVACH.
- The train can reach the speed of 0 to 100 kilometres per hour in just 52 seconds, and a maximum speed up to 180 kilometres per hour.
5. Maharatna Coal India to set up 1190 MW Solar Power Project in Rajasthan
Tags: Economy/Finance Science and Technology State News
The Government of India owned Maharatna Company, Coal India Limited (CIL) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Rajasthan Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Ltd (RUVNL), for setting up a 1,190-MW solar power plant in the Bikaner district of Rajasthan on 13 October 2022. The plant will be installed in a 2,000-MW solar park being developed by RVUNL in Poogal, Bikaner.
RVNUL CMD R K Sharma and Technical Director of Coal India Limited, V Reddy signed the MoU in the presence of Union Minister of Coal Prahlad Joshi and Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot in Jaipur.
Recently the e-commerce giant Amazon announced to set up its first solar plant in Rajasthan.
Rajasthan as an attractive destination for solar power
Rajasthan with Thar Desert is suitable for generation of solar power using the desert's intense heat. Furthermore, in comparison to the rest of the country, the state is thinly populated. Solar power plants in less populated areas enable clean energy to reach isolated communities that do not have access to electricity.
Rajasthan has the world's largest solar plant with a capacity of 2,245 MW in Bhadla of the Jodhpur district of the state.
In March this year the state government announced two new solar parks of 1,800 MW to be developed in the Jaisalmer and Bikaner districts of the state.
For the 800 MW project in Jaisalmer RNVUL was the developing agency while the 1,000 MW solar power project in Bikaner will be developed by Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation in the first phase.
Private solar project developer Rays Experts also announced in May this year that they will develop the world's largest solar park in Rajasthan with a capacity of 3000 MW. The project will be set up in Bikaner.
6. RBI prohibits regulated entities from using Brickwork Rating services
Tags: Economy/Finance
Reserve Bank of India has asked Banks and NBFC, Credit Information Companies and other financial entities regulated by it, to immediately stop obtaining any new ratings from Brickwork Ratings India.
Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) in its order dated 6 October 2022 had directed the Brickwork Ratings India, to wind up its operation within 6 months after a number of deficiencies were found in its working by a joint team of RBI and SEBI .
Credit Rating Agencies are regulated by SEBI in India. Brickwork is one of the seven Sebi-registered credit rating agencies. The others are CRISIL, CARE, ICRA, Fitch, Infomerics Ratings and Acuité Ratings & Research.
What is a Credit Rating Agency?
- Credit Rating agencies are financial companies which rate the credit worthiness of the government or the companies which want to raise capital from the market.
- Credit means loan and Credit worthiness means whether the borrower is capable of returning the loan on time or not and what is the level of risk involved.
- The Rating agency looks into the borrower's financial strength and weakness, the quality of its management, its field of business etc and then expresses its opinion .
- The credit rating agency expresses its opinion on the credit worthiness of the borrower by giving it ratings. Credit rating agencies typically assign letter grades to indicate ratings. Normally AAA is the highest possible rating for the borrower.
- It means that in the opinion of the credit rating agency the borrower's risk of default is very low and it will repay the loan on time.
- Greater the risk, lesser the rating. If the rating agency gives the borrower a junk rating then it means that the risk of default is highest.
Benefits of rating
- The credit rating agency's rating helps the investor/lender in determining the level of risk involved in giving loans to the borrower.
- It also helps the borrowers as the rating affects the interest rates. If the borrower has been given the highest possible rating then the borrower will get loans at cheapest possible rates. As the rating declines the level of risk increases and so is the rate of interest.
- Companies which have been given junk ratings find it difficult to borrow money from the market and if anybody agrees to provide it loan then the rate of interest is very high.
7. NSDL buys 5.6% stake in government’s e-commerce project ONDC
Tags: Economy/Finance
India’s first depository company National Securities and Depositories Limited (NDSL) has announced on 12 October 2022 that it has bought 5.6 per cent stake in the Government of India backed Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) for Rs 10 crore.
ONDC started its live beta testing on 30 September 2022 across 16 pin codes in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) invested an amount of Rs 10 crore in ONDC under the private placement route. Private placement means the shares were sold directly to the NSDL by the ONDC Company and it was not offered to the public.
ONDC was set up by the Union Commerce and Industry Ministry in 2022 to develop an open network for e-commerce in India. It is an ecommerce platform built by the government of India to enable the small kirana stores to access processes and technologies that are typically deployed by large e-commerce platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Last month, state-owned Bank of India acquired over 5.5 per cent stake in ONDC for Rs 10 crore. Apart from Bank of India, many companies like Microsoft, Paytm, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Axis Bank, Punjab National Bank, State Bank of India, Phone Pe and others have invested in the project.
8. IMF lauds DBT scheme, calls it 'logistic marvel'
Tags: Economy/Finance Government Schemes
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 12 October 2022 lauded the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme in India and described it as a "logistical miracle" considering the country's sheer size.
Important facts
The International Monetary Fund's deputy director, Paolo Mauro, said India's plan is a "logistic marvel that has helped hundreds of millions of low-income people".
He said that countries across the world should learn from the DBT scheme as it is very impressive.
He said that this program is specially targeted towards women, elderly and farmers and the technological innovation involved is commendable.
IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinches said that India has emerged as a bright light at a time when the world is facing imminent prospects of recession.
Gourinchas said that India needs some significant structural reforms to achieve the ambitious target of a $10 trillion economy.
The Chief Economist lauded India's digitization efforts and termed it as a game changer.
Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme
The process of transferring the subsidy amount directly into the account of the beneficiaries instead of providing it directly to the government offices is known as DBT.
In this context, transfer can be defined as the payment that the government makes directly to the beneficiary without receiving any return. Scholarships and subsidies are some examples.
The Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) Scheme was introduced on 1 January 2013.
Its main objective was to reform the government's distribution system and redesign the existing process in welfare schemes by making the flow of money and information faster, safer and fraud-free.
9. Center approves ‘Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE) Scheme’
Tags: National Economy/Finance Government Schemes
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To boost economic and social development in the North Eastern region the central government has decided to launch a 100% centrally funded scheme Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East Region (PM-DevINE). The scheme was approved by the Union Cabinet in a meeting held on 12 October 2022 and chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
PM-DevINE, was announced in the Union Budget 2022-23 to address development gaps in the North Eastern Region.
Duration of the Scheme
The scheme will be of four year duration from 2022-23 to 2025-26, which will coincide with the remaining period of the 15th Finance Commission.
Outlay on the scheme
The scheme is 100% centrally funded and the outlay for the scheme is Rs 6,600 crore for the next four years.
Who will implement the scheme?
The Scheme will be implemented by the Union Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER) through North Eastern Council or Central Ministries/ agencies.
Objectives of the new Scheme
PM-DevINE will provide support to infrastructure and social development projects which may be larger in size and will also provide an end-to-end development solution instead of isolated projects.
PM-DevINE will lead to creation of infrastructure, support industries, social development projects and create livelihood activities for youth and women, thus leading to employment generation.
The objectives of PM-DevINE are to:
(a) Fund infrastructure convergent, in the spirit of PM Gati Shakti;
(b) Support social development projects based on felt needs of the NER;
(c) Enable livelihood activities for youth and women;
(d) Fill the development gaps in various sectors.
North Eastern States in India
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Manipur, Tripura, Nagaland and Sikkim.
Union Ministry for Development of North Eastern Region: Kishan Reddy
10. Grant of Rs 22, 000 crore approved by the government for oil PSU to compensate for LPG loss
Tags: National Economy/Finance
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 12 October 2022 has approved a onetime grant amounting to Rs.22,000 crore to three Public Sector Undertaking Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs). The grant will be distributed among Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL).
In India LPG (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) is mainly used for cooking purposes and its price is linked to the International price. India imports about half of its requirement of LPG.
Government Subsidy on LPG
The Government of India has freed the price of the LPG and linked it with the International market. However, the government of India also provides subsidies on LPG cylinders to certain sections of society .
The Centre provides subsidy, through direct bank transfer, on 12 LPG cylinders (14.2 kg) a year per household. On purchases beyond 12 cylinders a year, the household has to pay the non-subsidised price.
Losses incurred by the PSU Oil Marketing Companies
In theory the prices of the LPG are determined by the international prices but in reality the government of India puts pressure on the PSU OMC not to increase the prices of LPG too much as it may hurt the public. So if the price of LPG goes up in the market and the prices are not increased in India then the loss is borne by the OMC.
During the period from June 2020 to June 2022, the international prices of LPG increased by around 300%. However, to insulate consumers from fluctuations in international LPG prices, the cost increase was not fully passed on to consumers of domestic LPG. Accordingly, domestic LPG prices have raised by only 72% during this period.
TO compensate the OMC government is giving them a grant.
Grant means that the OMC will not return the money back to the government .
Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas: Hardeep Puri
