Current Affairs 15 & 16 December, 2024

Daily Current Affairs

15 & 16 December, 2024

International Affairs

1. S Korea Prez Impeached

Context:

South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol Impeached

Impeachment of the President in India

• Constitutional Provision
  • Article 61

Impeachment is the removal of the President from office if he has violated the Constitution. There is a proper procedure given under the Constitution of India, in which Parliament possesses the right to perform this activity. So far, not even a single President of India has been impeached.

Read more>>

2. US-Indian Relations Under Trump

Context:

President of IMD Business School, David Bach added that under the Donald Trump US will make relations with India transactional.

• According to Bach, it fits with the larger strategic policy to draw India into an alliance to check China.
• The ‘China-plus-one’ strategy would do better for India, driven less by the tariff threats by Trump but by the raging contest between the two largest economies in the world.
  • The China Plus One strategy is a business strategy that involves diversifying manufacturing and sourcing beyond China to other countries.
• India is ranked 39 on the IMD’s World Competitiveness Ranking. It still has space for improvement in managerial practices and productivity.

Also read: International Institute for Management Development (IMD)

3. New Zealand, India to Operate Free Trade Agreement

Context:

New Zealand has taken a fresh initiative to revive multi-lateral meetings under the FTA mechanism with India to enhance bilateral trade relations between the two nations.

Key Highlights:

• Free Trade Agreement between New Zealand goes into India because of an entirely new trade policy between countries, which is rather close to being implemented standard operating procedures.
• Fourteen years ago, FTA talks were put on hold by the absence of any formal rounds of negotiations from February 2015 onwards.
• India and New Zealand signed an agreement for negotiations over accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, a China-supportive Asian trade bloc.
• New Zealand called for expanding farm and forest product market access and alcoholic beverages access through the FTA.

Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership

• RCEP is a major economic deal between ASEAN members and FTA partners.
• It is the world’s largest trading bloc that promotes economic integration, trade liberalization, and cooperation.
• Note: India is a founding member of RCEP and withdrew from negotiations in 2019 over concerns for its domestic economy.

4. UK-India Free Trade Agreement

Context:

India and the UK are most likely going to resume discussions regarding their proposed Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the period from April to June, which is the first quarter of the UK’s fiscal year.

Key Highlights:

• All the chapters, covering about 26 of them to be negotiated, include goods, services, investments, intellectual property rights in their bilateral investment treaty discussions.
• The UK has agreed to a regime of work visas that will allow Indian professionals to live in the UK and work, subject to the possibility of future renewals, for a specified period.
• In return, India may allow a predetermined number of premium electric vehicles to be imported into the country with reduced duties on an annual basis.

5. Morocco Emerging as Gateway to Defence Exports of India.

Context:

An Indian delegation was recently in Rabat for the India-Morocco defence industry seminar focussed on opportunities in the defence sector.

Key Highlights:

• The seminar, being jointly organized by both Defense Ministries of the two countries, Indian Embassy in Morocco, and Society of Indian Defence Manufacturers.
• The seminar takes advantage of the ‘Make in India’ initiative of the Indian government.
• The seminar was a venue for joint ventures, sharing of technology, and probable procurement to Indian defense companies from Morocco.

National affairs

1. Violation of IP Laws

Context:

According to industry experts, AI web crawlers and spiders are causing performance issues on the web.

Highlights:

• The Data Collection websites for large language models from AI crawlers developing new bots that include Bytespider, PerplexityBot, ClaudeBot, and GPTBot.
• Traditional search engine crawlers like GoogleBot, AppleBot, and BingBot have been doing ethical scraping and scheduling for decades.
• Aggressive AI bots violate content guidelines, degrade performance of a website, add overhead cost, and pose security risks.

Intellectual Property Laws

• IP laws are laws governing the protection and enforcement of rights of the creators and owners of intellectual property.
  • IP refers to the creations of the mind, such as inventions, designs, literary and artistic works, and symbols, names, and images used in commerce.

• The basic reason behind having the IP laws is:
  • Encourage creativity and investment in research and development Protect inventors from unfair competitions.

Read more>>

2. COP16 Meeting on Desertification

Context:

UN-Sponsored COP16 Meeting on Desertification: Towards Global Approach

Highlights:

• The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) is convened every two years to debate issues concerning land.
• The necessity of introducing global mechanisms as recognized by all countries has shifted to a proactive approach for preventive efforts as opposed to a reactive approach.
  

UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)

• International legally binding treaty aimed at protecting and restoring land while reducing the impacts of drought.
• Adopted in 1994 and one of the three Rio Conventions.
• Main purposes:
  • to enhance living standards in drylands, retain land and soil productivity, reduce drought impacts, and promote local participation.
• Has 197 Parties, which consist of 196 countries and the European Union.
• The COP serves as the supreme decision-making body.
• COP16, held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Also read: COP29: Takeaways and Stand of India

3. Lothal: Indus Valley Civilization

Context:

Plans have made by Union union ports, shipping, and waterways minister Sarbananda Sonowal to develop an exclusive destination for domestic and foreign tourists at Lothal in the state of Gujarat.

Lothal was a beautiful town of the Indus Valley civilization that conveyed a glimpse of Harappan times.

Key Highlights:

• National Maritime Heritage Complex Museum, which is under construction, with a cost of over Rs 4000 crore, will consist of 14 galleries, a lighthouse museum, coastal state pavilions, a recreated Lothal city, four theme-based parks, an amusement park, and a nature conservation park.
• Waterway: through which tourists will be able to navigate around the city.
• Phase 1A of the project is around 60% completed.
• Lothal:
  • The port city is believed to have been built in 2,200 BC.

4. MFN treatment for India by Switzerland

Context:

The cessation of MFN treatment for India by Switzerland in terms of their double tax avoidance agreement does not adversely affect trade from January 1 as told by officials.

Know about: MFN treatment for India by Switzerland

5. Regularizing Overfishing though WTO framework

Context:

India is pushing for the use of a “per capita distribution of subsidies” criteria in order to discipline subsidies that result in overfishing and overcapacity under a World Trade Organisation (WTO) framework.

Highlights:

• India has brought a proposal before the WTO whose title reads, “Designing Disciplines for the Overcapacity and Overfishing Pillar: A Case for Intensity-based Subsidies Approach” for the purpose of disciplining overfishing and overcapacity caused by excessive subsidies.
• The said paper is scheduled for discussion at the General Council Meeting of the WTO in Geneva on December 16-17.

World Trade Organization

• An international organization with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Formation: 1 January 1995
• Director General: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
• Controls and promotes international trade.
• The World’s Largest International Economic Organization – 166 Members.
• Accounting for more than 98% of Global Trade and GDP.

World Trade Organization framework for addressing overfishing through the Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies

• Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies
  • In June 2022, this agreement actually banned subsidies that were harmful to increasing sustainability in fishing.
  • It was the first WTO agreement truly about the environment and the first one wholly meeting a Sustainable Development Goal (SDG).
• Negotiations for extended rules
  • WTO members are negotiating for more comprehensive rules that can regulate all subsidies that would be responsible for overfishing and overcapacity.

Know more about WTO?

6.  Places of Worship Act

Context:

Supreme Court’s Interim Order on Places of Worship Disputes

Highlights:

• The Supreme Court has recently restrained any further registration of cases for adjudication in respect of the issues related to places of worship disputes in India.
• The Division Bench of the Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna has even stopped the spate of litigation and interim orders.
• The suit aims to preserve the religious character of all places of worship in India.

Know about: Places of Worship Act, 1991

7. Carbon Markets

Context:

COP29, the ongoing climate conference in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku, has given a fillip to the idea of using carbon markets to curb carbon emissions by approving standards that can help in the setting up of an international carbon market as soon as the coming year.

Understanding Carbon Markets

• A carbon market is a market in which the rights to emit carbon can be purchased and sold.
• Governments have the right to define the limits of carbon emissions by the release of certificates known as carbon credits.
• Each credit corresponds to the equivalent of 1,000 kg of carbon dioxide.

Know about: COP29: Takeaways and Stand of India

Read more>>

8. ‘Jalvahak’ scheme 

Context:

The government on Sunday (December 15, 2024) unveiled a major policy for cargo promotion, ‘Jalvahak’, to boost long haul cargo movement via inland waterways across National Waterways (NW) on rivers Ganga, Brahmaputra and Barak.

Key Highligts:

• Ministry:
  • Union Minister for Ports, Shipping, and Waterways: Sarbananda Sonowal

• India launches its first scheduled cargo service from Haldia for National Waterway (NW) 1 and NW 2.
• The service runs along the stretch of Kolkata Patna Varanasi Patna Kolkata and also includes Kolkata and Pandu in Guwahati on NW 2 on the Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR).
• This is an initiative by aimed at focusing on moving cargo through waterways while decongesting existing railway and roadway networks.

Banking/Finance

1. Challenges in the Cybersecurity Framework of Banks in India

Context:

Banks will likely not meet the January 1 date for implementing a cybersecurity framework as defined by Sebi for their multinational lenders with custody and investment banking departments.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI) Cybersecurity and Cyber Resilience Framework (CSCRF)

It is a set of guidelines and standards to improve the cybersecurity of SEBI-regulated entities (REs). This framework was introduced on August 20, 2024. 

• The aim of CSCRF’s are: 
  • Anticipating: Preparing for cyber threats
  • Withstanding: Withstanding cyber attacks
  • Containing: Containing cyber attacks
  • Recovering: Recovering from cyber attacks
  • Evolving: Evolving to adapt to new cyber threats

3. Foreign Portfolio Investments in Indian Equities

Context:

Foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) invested $982 million in Indian equities during 2024, boosted by $13,357 million in the primary market through IPOs and QIB.

FPI stands for Foreign Portfolio Investment, which is a type of invest in securities and financial assets in another country. FPIs are a way to invest in overseas economies. 

• FPIs includes
  • FPIs can include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and other financial assets.

4. Sebi Regulations

Context:

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has notified a raft of changes to the listing obligation and disclosure requirements (LODR) regulations in areas such as related party transactions (RPTs), promoter reclassification, and secretarial audit.

Details of the Changes made by SEBI:

Key Terms:

The Listing Obligations and Disclosure Requirements (LODR) are a set of regulations that govern how listed companies communicate information, meet compliance requirements, and adhere to corporate governance norms. 

 Related Party Transactions (RPTs) It is a transaction between related parties which involves transfer of resources, services or obligations between them regardless of whether a price is charged.

A secretarial audit is a audit that ensures a company is following the laws and regulations set by the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and other governing bodies.

Also know about: Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)

Economy Editorials

1. New Role for RBI Governor

Context:

The appointment of Y V Reddy as the new central bank governor is a signal of continuity and change. His appointment is somewhat similar to that of Shaktikanta Das, who had taken over from D Subbarao in 2008. The task of the new governor is different from Subbarao, who took over the role just before the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings.

Summary of the Editorial

• Malhotra will have to handle shifting growth, inflation dynamics, and pressure on the rupee.
• Previous governors did face similar issues like East Asian crisis, taper tantrum, liberalization of economy in 1991 by Venkitaramanan, Jalan, Raghuram Rajan, and demonetization of high denomination currency notes in 2016 by Subbarao.
• Reddy’s stint was characterized by high growth and low inflation. Norms of regulations and safety valves were made strong.
• It is an open letter from a watcher at the central bank but not a recommendation. There are issues that need flagging, and unsolicited suggestions that need to be provided.
  Indian GDP Growth and RBI Monetary Policy
  Indian GDP came in at 5.4% in Q4 2024 below consensus of 6.5%.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) reduced the real GDP growth projection to 6.6%, down from 7.2%.
• The RBI hiked its CPI-based inflation forecast to 4.8% from 4.5% due to a 14-month high of 6.21 per cent year-on-year in October.

Read more>>

2. Investment and Current Account Deficit of India

Context:

• Last two years have witnessed nominal investment in India at about 33% of GDP and it is expected to remain at those levels in 2024-25.
• Current account deficit of India is expected to be only 0.7% of GDP in FY24, and will move to about 1.6% in H1FY25 compared to 1.2% in H1FY24.
• As a result, the CAD will hover around 1% of GDP in FY25, while absolute savings in the country would be 32% of GDP in that year, as was in the pre-pandemic period.
• India only managed to achieve a real GDP growth of 8.2% for FY24 which averaged at 8.3% in the last three years.

Know about: Comparing GVA and GDP

Read more>>

3. Economic conditions and of MSMEs

Context:

Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) are crucial to India’s economy, driving employment and local growth, but face challenges like limited access to credit and formalization. Despite efforts to boost their contribution to GDP, the sector has struggled, especially due to the impact of COVID-19.

• Role of MSMEs in India’s Economy:
  • MSMEs are vital to India’s growth but face challenges in contributing economically through credit access, formalization, and employment generation.
  • The Ministry of MSME aims to increase their contribution to GDP to 50% by 2025.
• Declining GDP Share of MSMEs:
  • The share of MSMEs in India’s GDP has decreased over time:
    • FY15: 32.2%
    • FY20: 30.5%
    • FY21: 27.3%
    • FY23: 30.1%
• Impact of COVID-19:
  • The pandemic has hindered MSME contributions, and the economic impact is expected to deter growth towards the 50% GDP target by 2025.
• Profitability Trends:
  • The profit-to-GDP ratio for listed companies stood at 5.2% in FY24, the highest since FY2011.
  • The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of Profit After Tax (PAT) for Nifty 500 companies from FY21 to FY24 is 34.5%.
• Agriculture’s Role:
  • Agriculture and allied activities have become more significant sources of GDP during the pandemic but remain below pre-COVID levels (16.8% in FY20).
• Credit Trends for MSMEs:
  • The percentage of outstanding credit to MSMEs from scheduled commercial banks is declining but increasing in absolute terms.
• Udyam Portal:
  • Launched in July 2020, the Udyam portal aims to register MSMEs, with an estimated 39.3 lakh new MSMEs expected to be inducted in the fiscal year.

Agri Business

1. Agriculture Marketing: ASHA

Context:

Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) arouses an eyebrow on the Draft National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing.

Key Highlights:

• It alleges that the draft tries to push the dead farm laws and to add deregulation of agricultural markets.
• It must be noted that the association has argued that the draft should have been produced with the widest national consultation although agriculture is a subject in the state.
• This might have been interpreted as an attempt through backdoor entry of repealed farm laws as the draft does not specify regulation of agricultural markets as one of the key strategies.
• There is no concrete proposal because the draft is about infrastructure gap bridging in agricultural marketing and excludes international trade policy effects on farmers.
• The policy encourages private and unregulated markets without availability of data and all issues related to it.

The Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture (ASHA) is a network of individuals and organizations that works to promote sustainable agriculture and food security.

• Established
  • 2010

Also read: National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing

Read more>>

2. NGT forms panel to probe tree felling in Faridabad govt. office

Context:

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has formed a panel to ascertain facts while hearing a plea regarding alleged illegal felling of several Pipal trees in the premises of the office of the Deputy Director of Animal Husbandry and Dairying in Haryana’s Faridabad.

Know more about NGT?

Facts to Remember

1. Ustad Zakir Hussain passes away

Ustad Zakir Hussain Qureshi (9 March 1951 – 15 December 2024) was an Indian tabla player, composer, percussionist, music producer and film actor.

2. Lanka prez lands in India

Sri Lankan president Anura Kumara Dissanayake arrived in India Sunday for his first visit abroad.

3. Olive Ridley Sea Turtle

• The second-smallest and most abundant in the Cheloniidae family.
• It is found in warm waters, as well as tropical and subtropical regions, notably within the Pacific and Indian Oceans.
• Mostly Found
  • Tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans.
• IUCN status
  • Endangered

4. Indian Tourism Sector to Double in Size Over 10 Years: WTTC

The Indian tourism sector is expected to double in size to $523 billion over the next 10 years, according to World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) President and CEO Julia Simpson.

5. Auto Expo 2025

The 17th edition of Auto Expo will see participation of 34 vehicle manufacturers, the largest number of participants till date, since the first edition of the marquee event in 1986.

Venues:

• New Delhi
  • Bharat Mandapam, Yashobhoomi and India Expo Mart