Current Affairs 7 December, 2024

Daily Current Affairs

7 December, 2024

International Affairs

1. Process of Impeachment

Context:

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s Constitutional Power Suspension Supported by Governing Party Chief of South Korea

Why in News?

• Yoon Suk Yeol, the South Korean President, has been supported by Han Dong-hun, the chief of the governing party of South Korea, on the suspension of the constitution to declare martial law.
• Alternative parties are forcing a parliamentary vote on the impeachment of Yoon, referring to the short-lived declaration of martial law as an, ‘unconstitutional illegal rebellion-coup.’
• The impeachment motion can only pass into the two-thirds majority required with the help of some members of the president’s People Power Party.

Do you know the process of Impeachment in India?

2. World’s oldest known wild bird, 74-year-old Wisdom, lays eggs after four-year gap

Oldest Wild Bird on Earth, Wisdom, Albatross of Laysanan, Lays an Egg

• Wisdom, the 74-year-old layasan albatross, lays her egg at Midway Atoll National Wildlife Refuge.
• This is her first egg in four years and experts estimate this may be the 60th of her life.
• Wisdom has been returning to the atoll since 2006 along with her mate, Akeakamai.
• Typically, Laysan albatrosses mate for life and lay one egg annually.
• USFWS remains hopeful regarding the egg’s hatching because millions of seabirds migrate every year.
• Wisdom has produced close to 30 chicks in her lifetime, an extraordinary number in comparison to the 68 average lifespan of a Laysan albatross.

National Affairs

1. Faster Vande Bharat Parcel Services in pipeline by Indian Railways

• Indian Railways is working towards designing a much faster and smoother Vande Bharat parcel service meant for small, valuable, and fragile goods.
• These trains will operate as scheduled services over routes carrying high-value items and perishable export goods. Cost Much More Comfortable than Normal Rolling Stock.

About Vande Bharat Train:

• Development and Manufacturing of Vande Bharat Trains:
  Next, the finance minister proposes to develop and manufacture 400 New Vande Bharat Trains for the coming three years.
• Investment Potential:
  This includes potential investment for Rs 50,000 crores toward the 400 trains, as against the current train set of 16 cars at Rs 106 crore per train set of 16 cars-at 2018 pricing.

Read more…

2. Impact and Reasons for Cyclone Fengal

Cyclone Fengal: Overview

• Landfall Location: Puducherry
• Date of Landfall: November 30
• Storm Intensity: Low-intensity
• Wind Speed: 75-95 km/h

Impact

• Casualties: At least 12 deaths, mostly in Tamil Nadu
• Damage: Extensive flooding and heavy rain in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry
• Worst Affected Areas: Krishnagiri and Villupuram, North Tamil Nadu

IMD Classification

• Cyclone Categories:
  • Low Pressure
  • Depression
  • Deep Depression
  • Cyclonic Storm
  • Severe Cyclonic Storm
  • Very Severe Cyclonic Storm
  • Super Cyclone

Cyclone Fengal’s Impact

• Damage Relative to Intensity: More destructive than expected for a low-intensity storm
• Cause of Devastation: Stationary nature of the storm, remaining in the same position for nearly 12 hours

Key Factors

• Slow Movement: IMD attributes devastation to the storm’s slow movement, causing prolonged rainfall and flooding
• Fatalities: Devastation linked to stationary storm conditions leading to fatalities

3. Nafithromycin: Country’s First Indigenous Antibiotic

Breakthroughs by India in the Fight Against the Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Brief Overview of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR):

• AMR stands for Antimicrobial Resistance, which occurs when the pathogen becomes resistant to antibiotics and is responsible for making it difficult to cure infections, increasing the chances of mortality, morbidity, and catastrophe.
• AMR in India: India contributes to 6 lakh lives lost every year due to resistant infections, ringing an alarm bell for seeking the correct answers.
• Nafithromycin-the First Indigenous Antibiotic in the Country:
• Nafithromycin is India’s first indigenous Macrolide antibiotic, developed after three decades of research.
• Targeted Treatment: Mainly focusing on Community-Acquired Bacterial Pneumonia (CABP), caused by drug-resistant organisms.
• Developed By: Wockhardt, under the funding of Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) within the scope of the Biotech Industry Program.
• Clinical Trials: Phase 3 clinical trials happen with ₹8 crores found, developed with an outlay of ₹500 crores.
• Approval Status: Waiting for the final approval from the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO).

Key Benefits for Nafithromycin:

• Ten Times More Effective: 10 times more potent than the existing antibiotics like Azithromycin.
• Shortened Treatment Duration: Offers a high range treatment of three days, significantly shortening the time of recovery.
• Superior Safety Profile: Has minimal side effects and no major drug interactions.
• Dual Action: Treats both typical- and atypical drug-resistant bacteria.
• Target Population: Specially useful for children, the elderly, and people with comorbidities.

4. Struggle with Stone Crushing in Khatoli Ahir and Mahendragarh District

Context:

In Haryana’s Mahendragarh, stone cutting and crushing in the Aravali mountain range impacts health and agricultural output. Ashok Kumar reports on the sufferings of the people who live in close proximity to the crushing machines. Their homes and crops are covered in dust so thick it looks like snow.

Environmental Crisis in Khatoli Ahir Village

• Location: Khatoli Ahir village, Haryana, India
• Issue: Continuous operation of stone crushers since 2019
• Housing: Free plots allotted by Haryana government in 2012 under Indira Gandhi Awas Yojana
  • Only 20 families have moved into the houses
• Health Impact:
  • Dust from crushers enters homes, causing respiratory issues
  • Villagers have reported eating the dust
  • Increased health issues like skin allergies, labored breathing, and itchy eyes
• Agriculture:
  • Stone crushers located near agricultural fields, leading to reduced crop production
  • Dust from crushers settles on crops, especially in winter
• Government Action:
  • National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered closure of 72 stone crusher units in 2019
  • A report two years later showed 162 units, with 107 in Nangal Choudhary sub-division
  • Haryana State Pollution Control Board claims 81 stone crushers operational in the district
• Economic Impact:
  • Villagers spending all their savings on medicines and doctors’ fees
  • Many families migrating due to worsening health conditions
• Local Infrastructure:
  • Road to Dholera village covered with layers of grey stone dust from the crushers

Stone Crushing’s Broader Impact in Mahendragarh District

• Health Report:
  • 2021 report from Narnaul Civil Surgeon shows a sharp increase in air-borne diseases
  • Primary cause: Proliferation of stone crushers in the district
• NGT’s Role:
  • The report was part of compliance with the NGT’s 2020 order following multiple petitions against the crushers
• Legal Actions and Mobilization:
  • Tejpal Yadav and his brother Ajay Yadav mobilized the community against stone crushers in 2016
  • Filed petitions to the NGT in 2018 for closure orders and against illegal crushers
  • NGT directed closure of illegal polluting stone crushers in 2019
  • Compensation of ₹20 lakh imposed on each stone crusher under the “polluter pays” principle in 2020 and 2023
• NGT’s Orders Not Fully Implemented:
  • Despite legal orders, full implementation remains pending
  • Tejpal dedicates weekends and holidays to the legal battle and conducting community awareness meetings

Community Struggles and Resistance

• Local Activism:
  • Ajay Yadav, a former journalist, describes the fight as a mass movement against the stone-crushing and mining mafia
  • The Yadav brothers continue to rally the community through meetings (nukkad sabhas)
• Villagers’ Struggle:
  • Ongoing issues of health, economic hardships, and environmental degradation persist despite legal actions and mobilization

5. How the Supreme Court hears cases

Context:

A large number of cases are filed before the Supreme Court every year, even as thousands of other cases are already pending. How does the Supreme Court decide which cases to prioritise?

Prioritization of Special Leave Petitions (SLPs)

• SC prioritizes SLPs over full-length hearings.
• Three days a week for SLP hearings, Mondays and Fridays for fresh cases.
• Aims to reduce time on detailed hearings and clear backlog.

Current Case Backlog

• Over 82,000 pending cases.
• SC accepts only 14% of filed SLPs.
• 60,000 SLPs heard annually to decide admission.
• SLPs make up 92.4% of the docket.

Average SLP Hearing Duration

• Each hearing lasts 1 minute 33 seconds.
• Helps reduce pendency but extends delays for regular cases.

Previous Chief Justices’ Approach

• CJI D.Y. Chandrachud focused on regular hearings on Wednesdays and Thursdays.
• Regular case pendency reduced from 28,682 to 22,000 during his tenure (Nov 2022 – Nov 2024).

Supreme Court Registry’s Role

• Two divisions: administrative and judicial.
• Cases listed as “fresh matters.”
• Notices sent for replies if cases are not dismissed.
• Cases needing hearings listed for decisions on admission.

Conclusion

• Prioritizing SLPs reduces backlog but extends regular case pendency.
• Balanced approach needed to manage both SLPs and regular cases efficiently.

Banking/Finance

1. RBI keeps rates unchanged, cuts CRR by 50 bps to 4%

Context:

The monetary policy committee (MPC) of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday took a decision to keep the policy repo rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent-the status quo for an 11th straight time.

Key Highlights:

• On one hand, it reduced CRR or cash reserve ratio for 50 basis point to 4 per cent to increase the liquidity in the system and on the other hand lower its GDP projection for 2024-25 to 6.6 percent from 7.2 percent.
• This year’s inflation projection was raised by 30 bps to 4.8 percent.
• Repo rate means the rate at which RBI lends to commercial banks and CRR is percentage of deposits that banks have to keep with the central bank.
• One basis point is equal to one hundredth of a percentage point.

Food prices, which have driven up headline retail inflation in recent months, are expected to cool off in the January-March quarter, which might present a case for reducing rates in the next review of policy in February.

Cuts Cash Reserve Ratio reduces to 4 Percent

• The monetary policy committee of the Reserve Bank of India cut the cash reserve ratio (CRR) by 50 basis points to 4%.
• This cut will be made in two rounds of 25 basis points each, and will free up over ₹1.16 lakh crore from cash balances.

Reason Behind the CRR Cut

• The least expensive measure considering the issues on the timing and window of conventional rate cuts and foreign exchange costs was this CRR cut.

Benefit from CRR Cut

• The CRR would return to 4% of net demand and time liabilities. This would be the status prior to the policy tightening cycle that was begun in April 2022.
• Benefits are likely to flow from Q4FY25 and should be accretive to the NIM and return on assets for banks.
• This reduction is likely to benefit banks, especially those having a lesser exposure of loans linked to the marginal cost of funds based lending rate.
• Real estate firms hoped the banks would step up lending to the sector and ease liquidity after the RBI cut the cash reserve ratio.

RBI Revision of Ceiling on Interest Rate for NRI FCNR (B) Deposits

• RBI raised the interest rate ceiling for NRI FCNR (B) deposits to absorb the pressure of capital outlays from the domestic currency.
• For the remaining time in the fiscal year, banks will pay their customers up to a maximum of 500 bps over the alternate reference rate or ARR from the existing 250 bps.

Read more…

2.India´s forex reserves increased by $1.51 billion

Context:

Forex Reserves: Foreign currency assets in the country during the week ending November 29 rose by $1.51 billion to $658.091 billion from $656.582 billion RBI said on Friday..

Key Findings:

Current Trend in Forex Reserve: This Forex had been under a downtrend, and only last fortnight recorded an all-time high plunge of $17.761 billion.

• Last Peak Level in September: The reserves reached a record high of $704.885 billion by the close of September.
• Forex Reserve had declined to $656.582 billion after showing a decrease of $1.31 billion in the previous week.

Forex Reserves

It is the asset which RBI hold. In most cases, those reserves are kept in the currency of advanced countries like US Dollar, Euro, Japanese Yen, or Pound Sterling. It is used to underpin the liability-and-reserve-system created by other financial institutions or government which banks have deposited with them in safekeeping.

• It Allows for backing and lessening of confidence regarding monetary and exchange rate management policies.
• Provide capability for intervention in support of the national or union currency.
• Limit external vulnerability through provision of liquidity in foreign currency so as to enable it absorb shocks in crisis situations or when access to external borrowing becomes limited.

Purposes of Keeping Forex Reserves

• Keeps their currency firmly pegged.
• Retain liquidity in case of sudden economic crisis.
• Meet the nation’s foreign obligations and liabilities.

Why High Forex Reserves?

• High investments from the foreign portfolio investors along with enhanced FDIs.
• The dip in the crude oil prices has reduced the bill of oil imports, thus saving foreign exchange.

Significance of Forex Reserves

• Well-defined foreign reserves cushion better the developing market central banks against sharp declines of their respective currencies.
• Increasing Forex Reserves may actually attract the comfort of government regarding both the external and internal dn financial issues of India.

Components of Forex Reserves:

Assets in Foreign Currencies: A significant part of the reserves raised foreign currency assets by $2.061 billion, up to $568.852 billion. These assets reflect the impacts of the appreciation or depreciation of all currencies except the US.

Gold Reserves: Gold reserves fell by $595 million and now stand at $66.979 billion.

Special Drawing Rights: SDR’s rose by $22 million, now at $18.007 billion.

Reserve Position with IMF: The reserve position of India with International Monetary Fund increased by $22 million to stand at $4.254 billion.

3. Insurance Amendment Bill

Context:

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance Holds Reforms Under the Insurance Amendment Bill

Key Highlights:

• Welcomes the Insurance Amendment Bill which includes single composite licence and reduction in capital requirement.
• Urges for expeditious consideration by the Ministry so that insurance companies can be allowed to do business both life and non-life business lines.
• The Centre is reported to be working on a draft bill on the amendment of the Insurance Act and going up to 100% in foreign investment.

4. Bank raises limit for collateral-free agriculture loan

• The Reserves Bank of India raised the collateral-free agricultural loan limit from ₹ 1.6 lakh to ₹ 2 lakh.
• It has increased from ₹ 1 lakh in 2010 to ₹ 1.6 lakh in 2019.
• Enhance coverage of small and marginal farmers through the formal credit system.
• Credit to agriculture and allied activities grew on a yearly basis by 15.5% in October 2024.

Agri Business

1. PM KISAN

Context:

The Prime Minister of the Republic of India has delivered the 17th tranche of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN).

Highlights:

PMKISAN Scheme Payout to More than 95.8 Million Farmers

• Government distributed ₹ 20,657 crores among the farmers numbering more than 95.8 million.
• Minister of State for Agriculture Ram Nath Thakur said.
• PMKISAN scheme introduced since February 2019 to supplement cash needs of small and marginal farmers.

About Scheme

2. Centre to fix MSP at over 50%

Context:

Centre to fix MSP at over 50% and procure Farmers’ Produce: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Key Highlights:

• Buy rice with regard to MSP for crops with procurement of farmer produce at MSP, but also during the time of Modi regime, when his own party ruled.
• MSP and Farmer Support: Unlike that Congress, which did not agree to recommendations from MS Swaminathan Commission, MSP criteria set by Modi government, in 2019, are above 50 percent profit over the cost of production.
• Shri Chouhan admitted that there was a commitment from government to buy crops on MSP plus a 50% profit margin, so that farmers would be paid a fair price for their produce.

Increasing budget for agriculture:
-The agricultural budget has gradually increased from Rs. 21,900 crores in 2013-14 to Rs. 1,22,528 crores showing a commitment to the welfare of farmers and agricultural development.

• Important Initiatives of the Government for Farmers: Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana.
• Fertilizer Subsidies:
• More than Rs. 1.94 lakh crores has been provided in the form of fertilizer subsidy, enabling the purchase of such important commodities as urea and DAP.

3. Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture: Gujarat Forges Ahead on Generating Farmer IDs

The Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) of India

• Under the Digital Agriculture Mission, the Government has established an impressive watermark for itself of a major milestone in developing the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) in the hands of the most important mission in India.
• Gujarat was the first state of India to make possible generation of 25% of the targeted Farmer IDs for the state farmers on December 5, 2024.
• It is a unique digital identity of a farmer based on the Aadhaar, dynamically linked to the State’s land records system.
• A Multi-Mode Strategy has been developed by the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare for the States so that comprehensive coverage can be ensured in the generation of Farmer IDs.
• The Digital Agriculture Mission brought States and the Centre together to create the Digital Public Infrastructure for the Agriculture sector.