{"id":54470,"date":"2020-02-01T21:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-02-01T15:30:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/?p=54470"},"modified":"2020-02-26T18:05:11","modified_gmt":"2020-02-26T12:35:11","slug":"9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-1st-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-1st-2020\/","title":{"rendered":"9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 1st, 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.downtoearth.org.in\/news\/agriculture\/economic-survey-2019-20-what-it-says-on-stubble-burning-69067\">Economic\nSurvey 2019-20: What it says on stubble burning<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> Economic Survey 2019-20 has said that the number of stubble-burning\nincidents (61,332) in 2019 were the least in four years. However, the survey\nhighlights agricultural residue burning as a \u201cmajor concern\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:\n<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Stubble Burning:<\/strong> It is the practice of intentionally setting fire to residues which\nremains after the harvest of a crop. It is usually done to clear the field\nquickly for the next season and to burn off weeds and other pests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Steps taken<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Centre and states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh have\n declared \u201c<strong>zero tolerance policy\u201d<\/strong> on stubble burning.<\/li><li>In 2018, the Punjab government drafted an <strong>action plan<\/strong> to\n deal with stubble burning. Under the plan, the state has decided to\n provide straw management machinery at 80% subsidy to the cooperative\n societies and other groups and at 50% subsidy to individual farmers. <\/li><li><strong>Happy Seeder<\/strong>: It is a\n tractor-operated machine developed by the Punjab Agricultural University\n (PAU) in collaboration with Australian Centre for International\n Agricultural Research (ACIAR). It is used for in-situ management of paddy\n stubble (straw).<\/li><li><strong>Advanced Air Quality Early Warning System<\/strong>: It has been developed by Indian Institute of Tropical\n Meteorology, Pune, under MoES. The system uses data of stubble burning\n incidents from the past 15 years to predict the date and place of the next\n burning. <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Recommendations\nput forward by Economic Survey 2019-2020:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Agriculture conservation should\nbe promoted with \u201clow lignocellulosic\u201d crop residues such as rice, wheat and\nmaize. <\/li><li>Crop residue-based briquettes to\nbe encouraged<\/li><li>Thermal power plants in the vicinity\nto be encouraged to undertake co-firing of crop residues with coal<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"file:\/\/\/C:\/Users\/IAS\/Desktop\/February\/India%20has%20become%20Second%20Largest%20Emerging%20Green%20Bond%20Market%20after%20China\">Economic\nSurvey 2019-2020: India has become Second Largest Emerging Green Bond Market\nafter China<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> According to Economic Survey 2019-20, India has the Second largest\nEmerging Green Bond Market after China. India has also joined International\nPlatform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF) in 2019 to scale up the environmentally\nsustainable investments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Green\nBonds: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>These are fixed-income\nfinancial instruments issued for funding of specific projects which have\npositive environmental and climate benefits.<\/li><li>Yes Bank was the first Indian\nBank to issue Green Infrastructure Bonds (GIBs) in India in 2015.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Avenues\nwhere these funds can be invested:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Securities and Exchange Board of India\n(SEBI) has allocated eight high-level categories as \u201cgreen projects\u201d\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>renewable energy, <\/li><li>clean transportation, <\/li><li>sustainable water management, <\/li><li>climate-change adaptation, <\/li><li>energy efficiency, <\/li><li>sustainable waste management, <\/li><li>sustainable land use,<\/li><li>biodiversity conservation<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Additional\nInformation:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>International\nPlatform on Sustainable Finance (IPSF)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Launched in 2019 by Argentina,\nCanada, Chile, China, India, Kenya, Morocco and the European Union<\/li><li><strong>Aim:<\/strong> To scale up the mobilisation of\nprivate capital towards environmentally sustainable investments<\/li><li><strong>Objectives:<\/strong><\/li><li>promote best practices in\nenvironmentally sustainable finance;<\/li><li>Identify barriers and\nopportunities to scale up environmentally sustainable finance internationally;<\/li><li>Enhance international\ncoordination on environmentally sustainable finance issues.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/newsite\/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=197771\">Economic\nSurvey 2019-2020: service Sector in India<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The Economic Survey 2019-2020 has said that the services sector\u2019s\nsignificance in the Indian economy has continued to increase.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\nFacts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Contribution\nof Service Sector to the Indian Economy:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>55% of total size of the\neconomy and GVA growth,<\/li><li>Two-thirds of total FDI inflows\ninto India<\/li><li>38% of total exports<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Performance\nof India\u2019s Key Services Sub-Sectors:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Information Technology and Business Process Management (IT-BPM)\nServices<\/strong>: industry size reached about US$ 177\nbillion in March 2019. IT services constituted 51% of the IT-BPM sector<\/li><li><strong>Tourism<\/strong>: India ranked 22nd in the world\nin terms of international tourist arrivals in 2018 and accounts for 1.24% of\nworld\u2019s international tourist arrivals<\/li><li><strong>Port and Shipping Services<\/strong>: The shipping\nturnaround time (a key indicator of efficiency of the ports sector) at ports\nhas almost halved from 4.67 days in 2010-11 to 2.48 days in 2018-19.<\/li><li><strong>Space Sector<\/strong>: India spent about US$ 1.5\nbillion on space programmes in 2018<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/newsite\/PrintRelease.aspx?relid=197771\">Economic\nSurvey 2019-2020: <strong>Social Infrastructure, Employment and Human Development<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News<\/strong>: The Economic Survey 2019-2020 highlights the government\u2019s\ncommitment towards social wellbeing in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\nHighlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Expenditure on social services by the Centre and States<\/strong> (as a proportion of GDP): Increased from 6.2% in 2014-15 to 7.7% in\n2019-20.<\/li><li><strong>India\u2019s ranking in Human Development Index<\/strong>: Improved to 129 in 2018 from 130 in 2017.\nWith 1.34 % average annual HDI growth, India is among the fastest\nimproving countries.<\/li><li><strong>Total formal employment<\/strong>: increased from\n8% in 2011-12 to 9.98% in 2017-18<\/li><li><strong>Gender disparity in India\u2019s labour market<\/strong>: widened due to decline in female labour force participation\nespecially in rural areas and around 60% of productive age (15-59) group are\nengaged in full time domestic duties<\/li><li><strong>Housing:<\/strong> About 76.7% of the households\nin the rural and about 96% in the urban areas had houses of pucca structure.<\/li><li><strong>Vaccination<\/strong>: Mission Indradhanush has\nvaccinated 3.39 crore children and 87.18 lakh pregnant women.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1601353\">First Revised\nEstimates of National Income, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital\nFormation, 2018-19<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong> The National Statistical Office (NSO), Ministry of Statistics and\nProgramme Implementation has released the First Revised Estimates of National\nIncome, Consumption Expenditure, Saving and Capital Formation for the financial\nyear 2018-19.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\nHighlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gross Domestic Product: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Nominal GDP or GDP at current prices for the year 2018-19 is estimated as\n\u20b9 189.71 lakh crore representing a growth of 11% during 2018-19.<\/li><li>Real GDP or GDP at constant\n(2011-12) prices for the years 2018-19 stand at \u20b9 139.81 lakh showing growth of\n6.1% during &nbsp;2018-19<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Nominal Net National Income: <\/strong>At current prices for the year\n2018-19 stands at \u20b9 167.89 lakh crore showing growth of 10.8% during 2018-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gross National Disposable Income:\nestimated as \u20b9 192.63 lakh crore for the year 2018-19 showing a growth of 11.2%\nfor year 2018-19<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Saving<\/strong>: Gross saving during 2018-19 is estimated at \u20b9 57.13 lakh. The\nhighest contributor to Gross Saving has been the household sector.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Gross\nCapital Formation<\/strong>: At current prices is estimated\nat \u20b9 61.09 lakh crore for the year 2018-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Per\nCapita Net National Income at current prices<\/strong>: &nbsp;\u20b9 1, 26,521 in 2018-19<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Consumption Expenditure:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Private Final Consumption\nExpenditure (PFCE) at current prices is estimated at \u20b9 112.54 lakh crore for\nthe year 2018-19<\/li><li>Government Final Consumption\nExpenditure (GFCE) at current prices is estimated as \u20b9 21.04 lakh crore for the\nyear 2018-19<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/timesofindia.indiatimes.com\/business\/india-business\/economic-survey-thalinomics-and-the-common-man\/articleshow\/73798465.cms\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey:Thalinomics<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nEconomic Survey 2019-20 has included a chapter &#8216;Thalinomics:The economics of a\nplate of food in India&#8217;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nThalinomics:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Thalinomics is an attempt to\nquantify what a common person pays for a &#8216;thali\u2019(plate of food) in India.It\nassess whether a &#8216;thali&#8217; has become more or less affordable over the last few\nyears.<\/li><li>As per the survey, a vegetarian\nthali comprises a serving of cereals, &#8216;sabzi and dal&#8217; and the non-vegetarian\nthali comprises of cereals, sabzi and a non-vegetarian component.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What did\nthe survey found out?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The survey has found that Veg\n&#8216;thali&#8217; affordability has improved by 29% and non-veg Thali affordability by\n18% during 2006-07 to 2019-20.<\/li><li>This means that an average\nhousehold of five individuals that eats two vegetarian thalis a day gained\naround Rs 10,887 on average per year while a non-vegetarian household gained Rs\n11,787 on average per year.<\/li><li>It has also claimed that 2015-16\ncould be considered as a year when there was a shift in dynamics of thali\nprices as many reform measures were introduced to enhance agricultural sector.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"750\" height=\"731\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Picture1-6.png?resize=750%2C731&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54475\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.livemint.com\/budget\/economic-survey\/it-s-easier-doing-business-in-india-now-but-starting-up-is-still-hard-to-do-11580492222123.html\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey 2019-20:Ease of Doing Business<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nEconomic Survey has dedicated a chapter on the Ease of Doing Business in India.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\ntakeaways:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>In World Bank\u2019s Ease of Business\nrankings,India has recorded a jump of 14 positions at 63rd rank in 2019 against\nits rank of 77 in 2018.<\/li><li>India\u2019s improved ranking was on the\nback of reforms such as (a)dealing with construction permits (b)trading across\nborders and (c)resolving insolvency.<\/li><li>The turnaround time of ships in\nIndia has also almost halved to 2.48 days in 2018-19 from 4.67 days in 2010-11.<\/li><li>However,India still trails in\nparameters such as Ease of Starting a Business, Registering Property, Paying\nTaxes and Enforcing Contracts.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Problems in\nEase of doing business:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>According to the survey,Delhi\nrequires 26 licences and approvals to open a restaurant while Bengaluru\nrequires 36 and Mumbai needs 22.<\/li><li>On the other hand,China and\nSingapore require only four licences to open a restaurant.<\/li><li>Setting up and operating services\nor manufacturing business in India face a maze of laws as it has to conform\nwith 6,796 compliance items, which is a tedious and time-consuming task.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Suggestions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Focus on reducing time and cost of\nstarting a business in India, especially in the services sector which faces\nmany regulatory hurdles even for routine business.<\/li><li>Increasing digitalisation and\nseamlessly integrating multiple agencies onto a single digital platform can\nfurther reduce procedural inefficiencies in cross-border trade significantly.<\/li><li>Streamlining of logistics on Indian\nseaports needs close inter-ministerial coordination&nbsp;<\/li><li>Map out regulatory and process bottlenecks\nfor tourism and manufacturing and correct them at the central, state or\nmunicipal levels.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/news\/economy\/policy\/economic-survey-a-temasek-like-model-to-put-divestment-on-aggressive-track\/articleshow\/73799207.cms\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey:A Temasek-like model to put divestment on aggressive track<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nEconomic Survey 2019-20 has proposed a new structure of disinvestment called\nTemasek-like model to maximise returns from public sector enterprise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nDivestment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Disinvestment is defined as the\naction of an organisation (or government) selling or liquidating an asset or\nsubsidiary.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Economic\nSurvey on Divestment:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The survey examined the realized\nefficiency gains from privatization in the Indian context and bolsters the case\nfor aggressive disinvestment of CPSEs.<\/li><li>It presented an analysis of the\nbefore-after performance of 11 CPSEs which underwent strategic disinvestment\nfrom 1999-2000 to 2003-04.<\/li><li>It found that Financial indicators\nsuch as net worth, net profit, return on assets (ROA), return on equity (ROE)\nof the privatized CPSE\u2019s on an average have improved significantly.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Benefits of\ndivestment:<\/strong>The survey has suggested aggressive\ndisinvestment of CPSEs which will lead to&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>higher profitability.<\/li><li>Promotes efficiency.<\/li><li>Increases competitiveness.<\/li><li>Promotes professionalism.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nTemasek-like model:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Temasek like model is based on the\nexperience of Singapore&#8217;s Temasek Holdings Company.<\/li><li>Under this model,the government can\ntransfer its stake in the listed CPSEs to a separate corporate entity.&nbsp;<\/li><li>This entity would be managed by an\nindependent board and would be mandated to divest the government stake in these\nCPSEs over a period of time.<\/li><li>This will lend professionalism and\nautonomy to the disinvestment programme which in turn would improve the\neconomic performance of the CPSEs.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/business\/Economy\/economic-survey-2019-20-bigger-banks-needed-for-5-trillion-economy\/article30706141.ece\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey 2019-20:Public Sector Banks(PSBs)<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nEconomic Survey has dedicated an entire chapter to the status of public sector\nbanks and the NPA crisis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Survey on\nPublic Sector Banks:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Since 1969,India\u2019s Banking sector\nhas not developed proportionately to the growth in the size of the economy.<\/li><li>India will need at least eight\nbanks in the top 100 banks globally to become a $5 trillion\neconomy.Currently,it has only the State Bank of India with 55th rank in the\nworld\u2019s top 100 banks.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Problems in\nPSB\u2019s:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>PSBs are inefficient compared to\ntheir peer groups on every performance parameter.<\/li><li>In 2019,investment for every rupee\nin PSBs on average,led to the loss of 23 paise while in private banks it led to\nthe gain of 9.6 paise.<\/li><li>Credit growth in PSBs has been much\nlower than Private Banks for the last several years.<\/li><li>PSBs enjoy less strategic and\noperating freedom as compared to private banks.<\/li><li>Public Sector Banks are wary of\ntaking risks in lending or in renegotiating bad debt due to fears of harassment\nunder the veil of vigilance investigations.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Solutions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Employee Stock Ownership Plan(ESOP)\nfor the Public Sector Banks(PSBs) employees.<\/li><li>Representation on boards\nproportionate to the blocks held by employees to incentivize employees and\nalign their interests with that of all shareholders of banks.<\/li><li>Creating a Public Sector Banking\nNetwork(PSBN) similar to GSTN that uses technology to screen and monitor\nborrowers comprehensively to prevent any build-up of bad loans in the future.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.financialexpress.com\/budget\/economic-survey-calls-for-pro-business-policies-strengthening-invisible-hand-of-markets\/1841572\/\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey calls for strengthening invisible hand of markets<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>TheEconomic Survey 2020 has illustrated enormous benefits from enabling the\ninvisible hand of the market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Achieving\n$5 trillion economy:<\/strong>The survey has said that India\u2019s\naspiration to become a $5 trillion economy depends critically on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Strengthening the invisible hand of\nthe market.<\/li><li>Supporting it with the hand of trust.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nInvisible Hand:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The phrase Invisible Hand was\nintroduced by Adam Smith in his book &#8216;The Wealth of Nations&#8217;.<\/li><li>It states that unobservable market\nforce that helps the demand and supply of goods in a free market to reach\nequilibrium automatically is the invisible hand.<\/li><li>In other words,it basically assumes\nthat an economy can work well in a free market scenario where everyone will\nwork for his\/her own interest.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Suggestions:<\/strong>The\ninvisible hand needs to be strengthened by promoting pro-business policies to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>provide equal opportunities for new\nentrants, enable fair competition and ease doing business<\/li><li>eliminate policies that\nunnecessarily undermine markets through government intervention<\/li><li>enable trade for job creation\nand&nbsp;<\/li><li>efficiently scaling up the banking\nsector to be proportionate to the size of the Indian economy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/jobs\/economic-survey-suggests-widening-scope-of-make-in-india-to-create-4-crore-jobs-by-2025\/articleshow\/73798614.cms?UTM_Source=Google_Newsstand&amp;UTM_Campaign=RSS_Feed&amp;UTM_Medium=Referral\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey suggests Chinese formula to create 4 crore jobs by 2025<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Economic\nSurvey has outlined a strategy on how India can create 4 crore well-paid jobs\nby 2025 and 8 crore jobs by 2030.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Assemble in\nIndia for the World:<\/strong>The survey has said that the\nintegration of \u201cassemble in India for the world\u201d with government&#8217;s \u201cMake in\nIndia\u201d initiative can help:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Create 4 crore well-paid jobs by\n2025 and 8 crore jobs by 2030<\/li><li>Raise export market share to about\n3.5 % by 2025 and 6 % by 2030 and&nbsp;<\/li><li>Exports of network products can\nprovide one-quarter of the increase in value added required for making India a\n$5 trillion economy by 2025.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Chinese\ntype model:<\/strong>The Survey has suggested a strategy similar to\nthe one used by China to create jobs which is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Specialisation at large scale in\nlabour-intensive sectors especially network products.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Focus on enabling assembling\noperations at mammoth scale in network products.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Export primarily to markets in rich\ncountries.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Trade policy must be an enabler.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Impact of\nTrade agreements:<\/strong>The Survey also analyses the impact\nof India\u2019s trade agreements on overall trade balance:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>India\u2019s exports increased by 13.4 %\nfor manufactured products and 10.9 % for total merchandise<\/li><li>Imports increased by 12.7 % for\nmanufactured products and 8.6 per cent for total merchandise.<\/li><li>India gained 0.7 % increase in\ntrade surplus per year for manufactured products and 2.3 % per year for total\nmerchandise.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsonair.com\/Main-News-Details.aspx?id=379584\"><strong>President\nAddresses Joint Sitting of Parliament<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>Recently,President\nof India has addressed the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament at\nthe beginning of the Budget Session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nPresident Address:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Article 87 of the constitution\nprovides two instances when the President specially addresses both Houses of\nParliament.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The President of India addresses\nboth the Rajya Sabha and the Lok Sabha at the beginning of the first Session\nafter each general election when the reconstituted lower house meets for the\nfirst time.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The President also addresses both\nthe houses at the beginning of the first session of each year.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>First\nConstitutional Amendment,1951:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Originally,the Constitution had\nrequired the President to address both Houses of Parliament at the commencement\nof every session.&nbsp;<\/li><li>This requirement was changed by the\nFirst Amendment to the first session after each general election to the House\nof the People and at the commencement of the first session of each year.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>What is\nthere in the President address?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>All executive power is vested in\nthe President of India.The Council of Ministers headed by the Prime Minister\naids and advises the President who exercises his powers in accordance with such\nadvice.<\/li><li>Hence,the President\u2019s speech\nessentially highlights the government\u2019s policy priorities and plans for the\nupcoming year.It also provides a broad framework of the government\u2019s agenda and\ndirection.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.newsonair.com\/News?title=Prez-Kovind-to-inaugurate-34th-Surajkund-Mela-tomorrow&amp;id=379616\"><strong>President\nto inaugurate 34th Surajkund Mela&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>President\nof India will inaugurate the 34th Surajkund International Crafts Mela at\nFaridabad,Haryana.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nSurajkund Crafts Mela:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Mela is organized since 1987 by\nthe Surajkund Mela Authority &amp; Haryana Tourism in collaboration with Union\nMinistries of Tourism, Textiles, Culture and External Affairs.<\/li><li>The Mela showcases the handicrafts,\nhandlooms and cultural fabric of India and is the largest crafts fair in the\nworld.<\/li><li>For this year\u2019s mela,partner\ncountry in the fair is Uzbekistan and Himachal Pradesh is the theme-state.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.entrepreneur.com\/article\/345760\"><strong>Economic Survey 2020:\nIndia ranked third in entrepreneurship<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nEconomic Survey has a chapter on \u201cEntrepreneurship and Wealth Creation at the\nGrassroots\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Key\nHighlights:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>As per World Bank,India ranks third\nglobally in the number of new firms created with about 1.24 lakh new entities\ncoming up in 2018.<\/li><li>New firm creation in India\nincreased dramatically since 2014 as there was a 12.2 % cumulative annual\ngrowth rate of new firms in the formal sector during 2014-18 compared to 3.8 %\nduring 2006-2014.<\/li><li>However,a large number of India\u2019s\nenterprises operate in the informal economy which was not captured in the data.<\/li><li>New firm creation in the services\nsector is significantly higher than that in manufacturing, infrastructure or\nagriculture.<\/li><li>A 10 percent increase in\nregistration of new firms in a district yields a 1.8 % increase in Gross\nDomestic District Product(GDDP).<\/li><li>The overall Entrepreneurial\nactivity is highest in Delhi, Mizoram, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala, Andaman &amp;\nNicobar Islands, and Haryana.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The survey also endorses literacy\nand education as a criteria in fostering local entrepreneurship.<\/li><li>For instance,the eastern part of\nIndia has the lowest literacy rate of about 59.6% according to the census of\n2011.This is also the region in which new firm formation is the lowest.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Suggestions:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Enchanting ease of doing business\nand implementing flexible labour laws in job-creating sectors can create the\nmaximum number of jobs in districts and thereby in the States.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Literacy, education and physical\ninfrastructure can also foster entrepreneurship and thereby leads to job and\nwealth creation.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/economictimes.indiatimes.com\/markets\/stocks\/news\/eco-survey-suggests-dynamic-health-index-for-nbfcs-to-ensure-crisis-alert\/articleshow\/73802184.cms\"><strong>Economic\nSurvey suggests \u2018dynamic health index\u2019 for NBFCs to ensure crisis alert&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>The\nEconomic Survey has suggested the use of a \u2018health score\u2019 index for non-banking\nfinance companies(NBFCs).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nHealth Score Index:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The proposed Health Score Index will\naim to provide an early warning signs for liquidity crisis in a non-banking\nfinance company(NBFC) to tackle the problem of financial fragility.<\/li><li>The Index will use key financing\nparameters of refinancing risk such as a) Asset Liability Management (ALM) Risk\nb) Interconnectedness Risk c) Financial and Operating Resilience of an NBFC and\nd)Over dependence on short-term wholesale funding.<\/li><li>The index can range from -100 to\n+100 with higher scores indicating higher financial stability of the\nfirm\/sector.<\/li><li>Further,the index can also be used\nby policy makers to allocate scarce capital to stressed NBFCs in an optimal way\nto alleviate a liquidity crisis.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/m.economictimes.com\/news\/economy\/infrastructure\/funding-national-infra-pipeline-would-be-a-challenge-economic-survey-2019-20\/articleshow\/73799802.cms\"><strong>Funding\nNational Infra Pipeline would be a &#8216;challenge&#8217;: Economic Survey 2019-20&nbsp;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>According\nto Economic Survey,funding of the Rs 102 lakh crore National infrastructure\npipeline(NIP) unveiled by the Indian government would be a challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nNational infrastructure pipeline(NIP):<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Government had constituted a task\nforce headed by Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs to draw up a National\nInfrastructure Pipeline(NIP) from 2019-20 to 2024-25.<\/li><li>The task force has unveiled the\nNational Infrastructure Pipeline(NIP) with projects worth \u20b9102-lakh crore.<\/li><li>The private companies will account\nfor 22%-25% of the investments and the balance will come from the Centre and\nthe states in equal proportions.<\/li><li>The projects have been classified\nunder two broad categories namely economic infrastructure and social\ninfrastructure for both ease of doing business and ease of living.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Economic\nSurvey on NIP:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The pipeline can create well\nprepared infrastructure projects that will create jobs, improve ease of living\nand provide equitable infrastructure access to make growth more inclusive,.<\/li><li>However,raising funds for the\npipeline over the next five years will be a challenge.<\/li><li>The survey has indicated that huge\ninvestments in infrastructure due to NIP may lead to a high fiscal deficit\nwhich may increase bond yield thereby possibly crowding out private investment.<\/li><li>Further,the survey has also called\nfor the use of next generation infrastructure which will adopt physical\ninfrastructure and technology like Internet of Things and automation together\nto maximise the efficiency of physical infrastructure.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/pib.gov.in\/PressReleseDetail.aspx?PRID=1601327\"><strong>Beijing\nPlatform for Action<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>News:<\/strong>To\nmark 25 years of the adoption of the Beijing Platform for Action, Ministry of\nWomen &amp; Child Development(MWCD) has organized a National Consultation on the\nReview of Beijing+25.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Facts:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About\nBeijing Platform for Action:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The Beijing Declaration was a\nresolution adopted by the United Nations(UN) at the end of the Fourth World\nConference on Women on 15 September 1995.&nbsp;<\/li><li>The resolution adopted to\npromulgate a set of principles concerning the equality of men and women.<\/li><li>It covers 12 key critical matters\nof concern and areas for action considered to represent the main obstacles in\nwomen empowerment.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"726\" height=\"545\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/blogadmin.forumias.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/Picture2-5.png?resize=726%2C545&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-54476\"\/><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Economic Survey 2019-20: What it says on stubble burning News: Economic Survey 2019-20 has said that the number of stubble-burning incidents (61,332) in 2019 were the least in four years. However, the survey highlights agricultural residue burning as a \u201cmajor concern\u201d. Facts: Stubble Burning: It is the practice of intentionally setting fire to residues which&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/9-pm-current-affairs-brief-february-1st-2020\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">9 PM Current Affairs Brief \u2013 February 1st, 2020<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":61,"featured_media":48116,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-54470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-9-pm-brief","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/9-PM-Brief.png?fit=1000%2C500&ssl=1","views":{"total":0,"cached_at":"","cached_date":1704919084},"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/61"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48116"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumias.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}