1. India Bans the Import Of Drones
Tags: National News
Government of India has banned the import of drones in India to protect and encourage the domestic industry
The notification was issued by the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 9 february 2022.
However the government has allowed the import of drones and its components for Research and Development (R & D), Defence and Security purposes.
The import of drones will require the prior permission of the Government.
However the import of drones components will not require any permission from the Government of India.
Government Steps for Promotion of Drone Industry In India Drone Shakti
- In the Union Budget 2022-23 the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the Drone Shakti project of the government of India to promote startups.
- Start ups will be encouraged by the government to develop and manufacture drones in India so that the demands of drones in various sectors can be met indigenously .
- It announced a PLI(Productivity Linked Insurance ) scheme for the drone sector in September 2021 to encourage its manufacturing in India.
Kisan Drone
In the 2022-23 budget, Sitharaman also announced "Kisan Drones" the use of drones in spraying of insecticides and nutrients, and crop assessment, to help the farm community.
What is a Drone
Drones are also called pilotless aircraft or Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). It means it is not flown by humans but is remotely controlled by the humans. It is equipped with infrared cameras, GPS and laser. It is used in Space ,in the military, for transporting goods, for spraying insecticides for land mapping etc .
2. Number of LWE districts declines in India
Tags: National News
- The Government of India has informed the Rajya Sabha on 9 February 2022 that the number of the Left Wing Extremist(LWE) affected districts India has declined from from 96 in 2020 to 46 in 2021.
- The incidence of violence has been reduced by 70% to 509 in 2021 as compared to the 2018-19 period . The number of deaths has also come down to 147 in 2021 from 1005 in 2020.
Left Wing Extremist (LWE)
- Groups which are influenced by the ideology of Mao are called as Maoist /Naxal or left wing extremists in India. Mao was the leader of the Chinese communist party who set up the Modern People's Republic of China in 1949 after an armed revolution. It is based on communist ideology .
- Similarly people or groups like Communist Party of India (Maoist) want to overthrow the government set up in India after 1950 through an armed insurgency just like Mao did in China and set up a communist government in India .
Red Corridor
- The area where the left wing extremists are active is also called the Red Corridor .
- It is mainly active in the States of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Bihar, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Kerala.
Specialised Anti Left Wing Extremist (Naxal/Maoist) Forces
Special units have been raised in India to combat the threat of the left wing extremist in India.
Some of the important ones are :
COBRA of CRPF
Central Reserve Police Force has raised a specialised unit COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) for jungle warfare .
GreyHound
It is a specialised unit of both the Andhra Pradesh Police and Telangana Police to fight against the Left Wing Extremist active in their respective states.
Black Panther
It is a special unit of the Chhattisgarh Police to fight against the left wing extremist.
Special Operation Group (SOG)
It is the special force set up by the Odisha police to deal with Left wing extremist problems .
3. Western Railways’ Mumbai Division operate 100th Textile Express
Tags: National News
The 100th Textile express was flagged off from the Chalthan (Surat area )in the Mumbai Central Division of the Western Railways to Sankrail (Kharagpur Division) of the South- Eastern Railway.
- The first Textile express train was launched on 1 September 2021 by the Union Minister of State for Railways and Textiles Smt. Darshana Jardosh from Udhna (Surat ) to Danapur near Patna and Ram Dayalu Nagar near Muzaffarpur in Bihar.
Textile express trains are special goods trains of Indian Railways which were launched to carry the textile material from Surat, Gujarat to various parts of India. It was launched to provide a cost efficient transportation of Textile materials to various parts of countries from the textile hubs of Surat.
Transportation of goods through railways is more economical than the road sector .
The Gujarati city of Surat is famous for its textile industries . It is also known as the Diamond city of the world as around 90%of the world's rough diamond cutting and polishing is done in Surat.
Other Special Train of Railways
Indian Railways has also launched a special Kisan train for transportation of perishable agricultural commodities like fruits,vegetables,meat,poultry, fishery and dairy products.
The first kisan train was launched on 7 August 2020 from Devlali (Maharashtra) to Danapur (Bihar).
The 100th Kisan Rail was run on 28 December 2020 from Sangola (Maharashtra) to Shalimar (WestBengal).
4. Sri Lanka Foreign Minister G.L Peiris visit India
Tags: International News
Sri Lankan foreign Minister G.L Peiris was on a three day state visit to India from 6 to 8 February 2022.
It was his first Indian visit after assuming office ,he met Indian Foreign Minister Mr. S. Jaishankar ,the Indian Foreign Secretary Mr. Harsh Vardhan Shringla and the National Security Advisor Mr Ajit Kumar Doval.
Both countries agreed to schedule a meeting of the “Joint Working Group on Fisheries” to discuss the Palk Bay fisheries conflict.
Sri Lanka, which is facing a severe economic crisis has been helped by India recently . They are :
India has extended a $400 million currency swap facility to Sri Lanka
, It has deferred a $500 million loan repayment by Sri Lanka,
It has provided a Line of Credit for $500 million for fuel imports and another $1 billion is currently under negotiation.
5. Jammu and Kashmir integrated with the National Single window System
Tags: National News
- Jammu & Kashmir became the first Union Territory to join the National Single Window System (NSWS).
- NSWS was launched in September 2021 by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade(DPIIT) along with Invest India.
- It is a digital platform that serves as a guide for investors to identify and to apply for approvals as per their business requirements.
- At present 14 States/UTs are integrated with the NSWS. They are Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and Uttarakhand.
Objective of the National Single Window System
The main objectives of the NSWS are as follows :
1) To establish a single-window mechanism by integrating the services provided by various Central Ministries, Departments, and State Governments
2) To provide a one-stop-shop for procuring pre-establishment and pre-operation approvals and permits required to establish a business in India
3) To provide efficient, convenient, transparent, and integrated electronic service to investors, industries, and businesses
DPIIT
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) was established in the year 1995 and was reconstituted in the year 2000 with the merger of the Department of Industrial Development.
The department was earlier called Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion; and was renamed as DPIIT in January, 2019.
It comes under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
Important Function of the DPIIT
It helps in making the Industrial policy of the Government of India
It is the nodal body for matters related to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) .
It undertakes promotion of investment for industrial development of the country.
It is the nodal body for matters relating to Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) and administers law related to IPR.
Invest India
Invest India is a National Investment and Promotion Agency to promote India as an investment destination and encourage Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India.
It was set up as a company in 2009 and started its operation in 2010 .
It is a joint venture of the government and the private sector .
The Central and State Government holds 49% of the shares in Invest India and the rest 51% is with Industrial bodies ( Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), National Association of Software Services Companies of India (NASSCOM),Confederation of Indian Industries(CII).
6. Airtel Payment bank launches cyber insurance for its customer with ICICI Lombard
Tags: National News
India’s first payment bank ,Airtel Payment Bank has launched a cyber insurance policy for its customers in partnership with ICICI Lombard General Insurance company .
The Airtel payment bank customer can buy the policy from the Airtel Thanks App.
The bank’s policyholder will be provided financial protection by ICICI Lombard in case they are a victim of financial frauds while doing online transactions relating to banking, credit cards, debit cards etc.
Airtel Payment Bank :
- It started its operation January 2017 and is the first payment bank in India
- Its Headquarters: New Delhi
ICICI lombard General Insurance
- It is a joint venture of ICICI bank and Canada based Fairfax Financial Holdings.
- The Headquarters of ICICI Lombard General Insurance : Mumbai .
Concepts clearing
What is life Insurance and General Insurance
Life Insurance
- It is a contract between an insurance company and a human being where the company promises to pay a sum of money in case of the death of the human being .
- Important Life Insurance companies in India are LIC, ICICI Prudential,Max Life Insurance etc.
General Insurance
- Unlike life insurance in General Insurance, Non Human beings' life or objects which are not living are insured .
- For example crops insurance , cow insurance,buffallo insurance etc . They are living but they are non-human hence they will come under General Insurance .
- Some of the examples of non life objects are houses, cars, jewellery,etc. So if we insure our cars then it will come under General Insurance
Health Insurance
- In health insurance a person(human being ) is insured for hospitalisation where the insurance company will pay for hospital bills if the person falls ill.
- In India, Health Insurance can be provided by Life Insurance companies, General Insurance companies or specialised Health Insurance companies .
- It means it can be offered by LIC, ICICI Lombard or Star Health.
Insurance sector in India is regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).
Headquarters of IRDAI : Hyderabad
7. PM-CARES collects around Rs 11,000 crores in the first year of its operations
Tags: National News
The Government of India has disclosed that the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situation Fund (PM-CARES) received ₹10,990 crore in its first year till March 2021 as donations. Out of this ₹3,976 crore, or 36.17% of the money was spent for various relief and capacity building measures.
Major Utilisation of the Fund
For buying 66 million covid vaccines: Rs 1,392 crore
For buying 50,000 indian made ventilators : Rs 1,311 crore
For welfare of migrants,funds provided to states and Union Territories: Rs 1,000 crore .
PMCARES
To deal with the Covid pandemic ,the Government of India set up “Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund)” in March 2020 as a public charitable trust .
It was set up to deal with any type of public health emergency like covids or any other emergency due to natural /man-made disaster etc
It accepts public donations so as to meet its objectives.
Prime Minister is the ex-officio Chairman of the PM CARES Fund and Union Minister of Defence, Union Minister of Home Affairs and Union Minister of Finance are the trustees of the fund.
The headquarters of the fund is at : New Delhi
8. Railways launches Operation AAHT to curb human trafficking
Tags: National News
The Railway Protection Force (RPF) under the Ministry of Railways has launched a nationwide operation to curb human trafficking .
RPF will deploy its special units on important railway stations and trains, especially trains originating in the district bordering Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
Thousands of women and children from these countries are sold in various parts of the country for sexual exploitation, prostituion,slavery,organ transplant etc .
Law and order is a responsibility of the state government according to the India constitution . The registration,detection and prevention of crime is the responsibility of the Government Railway Police (GRP) under the respective state governments.
Railway Protection Force can assist the state government law enforcement agency in curbing human trafficking as railways is one of the most preferred network through which human smugglers uses for trafficking human especially children and women .
Article 23(1) of the constitution prohibits trafficking in human beings or persons.
9. ADB lends $4.6 billion to India in 2021
Tags: International News
The Manila based multilateral lending agency ,Asian Development Bank has lent $ 4.6 billion to the Government of India / State governments in 2021.
In 2021 the Asian Development Bank has signed various agreements with the Governments to fund 17 projects with a loan amount of $4.6 billion including $ 1.8 billion loan for India's coronavirus disease pandemic response programme.
Of the COVID-19-related assistance, $1.5 billion was towards vaccine procurement and $300 million to strengthen primary health care in urban areas and the country's future pandemic preparedness.
Out of the $4.6 billion in loans, $2.2-billion in loans will be provided to the 12 state government projects .
It has also lent $271 million to the private sector in 2021.
India is the largest recipient of the Asian Development Bank amongst all its borrower countries .
Asian Development Bank
It was set up in 1966.
Its headquarters is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines
Total member countries : 68
President of ADB : Masatsugu Asakawa of Japan
10. African Union Summit Meeting 2022
Tags: International News
The 35th African Union Summit meeting was held in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa on 5-6 February 2022.
The theme of the summit was “Strengthening Resilience in Nutrition and Food Security on the African Continent, Strengthening Agro-food systems, health and social protection systems for the acceleration of human, social and economic capital development.'’
African Union
It was founded in 2002 as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity. It focuses on integrating African states to drive Africa’s growth and economic development.
It has 55 member countries of Africa .
Total countries in Africa is 55.
- Its headquarters is at Addis Ababa,Ethiopia.
