The third advance estimates released released by the Ministry of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare said that horticultural crops output is expected to go up marginally to 313.85 million tonnes (mt) in 2018-19 compared with 311.71 mt produced in the previous year. Production of fruits and vegetables such as potato, onion, banana and citrus fruits will go up significantly. How are vegetables expected to perform? production of vegetables is projected to go... Read More...
What are its recommendations? To address gaps in credit delivery to the agriculture sector, Government of India, in partnership with State governments, should set up a credit guarantee fund for the agriculture sector. This scheme for the agriculture sector should be on the lines of credit guarantee schemes implemented in the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) sector. In order to consult States and build consensus among them over reforms related to agriculture,... Read More...
What is Bombay blood group? Bombay blood group is the rarest blood group. First found in Bombay (Mumbai) in India 1952, hence called Bombay blood group. It is observed to occur in 1 out of every 250,000 people except in parts of India where the incidence has been observed to be as much as 1 in every 7,600. Why is it called HH Group? It is also called the HH group. The pec... Read More...
What is a business cycle? A business cycle refers to periods of expansion or recession. During expansions, the economy is growing. It has indicators like employment, industrial production, sales, and personal incomes. The indicators are on a rising trend. During recessions, the indicators decrease. Decreasing indicators show that the economy is contracting. What indicates that the Indian economy currently is in a slowdown? The country's economy is showing signs of slowdown, with hi-freq... Read More...
How did it start? After the Arab Spring uprising in 2011, President, Ali Abdullah Saleh handed over power to his deputy, Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi. Hadi could not control the country well. Who are the Houthis and which country is allegedly supporting them? The Houthi movement of local Shias took advantage of the new president's weakness and occupied some areas and took over San... Read More...
What is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)? Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is a concept that suggests that it is the responsibility of the corporations operating within society to contribute towards economic, social and environmental development that creates positive impact on society at large. The concept revolves around that fact the corporations needs to focus beyond earning just profits. The term became popular in the 1960s and now is formidable part of business operations. Why should the company take up CSR? Read More...
How did the Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav episode begin? Kulbhushan Sudhir Jadhav is an Indian national. Pakistan government alleged that he was arrested in the Pakistani province of Balochistan on charges of terrorism and spying for India's intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing. The Pakistani government stated that he was a serving commander in the Indian Navy who was involved in subversive activities inside Pakistan and was arrested in 2016 during a counter-intelligence operation in Balochistan. Indian foreign ministry said he had been "kidnapped from Iran and his subsequent presen... Read More...
What is repo rate? It is the rate at which commercial banks borrow from the RBI What is monetary policy transmission ? When RBI changes rates and so on, if the same is reflected in the policies of the banks, it is called transmission. Is the change in the repo rate made by the RBI being passed on by the banks? Curbing inflation or stimulating growth by raising or lowering the cost of money is the key objective of monet... Read More...
What is the IBC? The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) is the bankruptcy law of India which seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy. What are its aims? The bankruptcy code is a one stop solution for resolving insolvencies which previously was a long process that was not economically viable. The code aims to protect the interests of creditors, enable faster recovery, bring in investment and make the process of doing business less cumbersome... Read More...
What does Art.371 deal with? Article 371 of the Indian Constitution deals with special provisions for eleven states of the Indian Union. As part of XXI of the Constitution of India, Article 371 grants special provisions to some states in the country. Part XXI deals with Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions but the word `temporary' is not used for the Art.371. Which states are the beneficiaries? Ranging from Article 371-A to Article 371-J, this Article gives special... Read More...
Strengths of Indian economy India is one of the fastest growing major economies and is currently ranked as the world’s seventh largest economy (2019). India’s commitment to fiscal discipline, sound external position, unprecedented foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, comprehensive structural reforms, and enhanced emphasis on social protection and financial inclusion have provided a robust framework for sustaining strong and inclusive growth going forward. India’s performance in the Doing Business Ranking, Global Competitiveness Index, Logistics Performance Index and Global Innovation I... Read More...
How does it affect the erstwhile State of J&K? The Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act, 2019 contains provisions to reorganise the State of Jammu and Kashmir into two union territories, one to be called Jammu and Kashmir, and the other Ladakh on 31 October 2019. The former will have a legislative assembly whereas Ladakh will be administered by a Lieutenant Governor alone. The Union Territory of Ladakh will include the districts of Leh and Kargil. All other districts will remain with Jammu and K... Read More...
What was Fani? Fani, a rare summer cyclone in the Bay of Bengal, hit eastern India on May 3. It is one of the strongest cyclones. Storm surges and powerful winds reaching 125mph threw off roofs, damaged power lines and uprooted countless trees. But the worst-affected state, Odisha, has been successful in keeping the loss of life and numbers of affected people to a minimum. This is the result of a very effective strategy of disaster preparation and quick responding. How much damage did it cause? According t... Read More...
Introduction: India has been an all-weather friend of Bhutan. India supported Bhutan’s admission in the United Nations and has been with the tiny Himalayan nation since decades assisting it for having a distinct place in the global sphere. Even smaller than Nepal in size and population, Bhutan or Druk Yul (Land of thunder dragon) is dependent on India -the two sharing geographical and socio-cultural proximity. What is the history of bilateral ties? ▪ India and Bhutan have been sharing ties s... Read More...
What is the Historical background? India's links with Bangladesh are civilisational, cultural, social and economic. There is much that unites the two countries – a shared history and common heritage, linguistic and cultural ties, passion for music, literature and the arts. India gave a variety of support during the Bangladesh Liberation War in 1971. With the onset of economic liberalization in South Asia from early nineties, they forged greater bilateral engagement and trade. The historic Ganges Water Sharing Treaty was concluded in 1996. India and Bangladesh are close strategic partners in c... Read More...
What is Art.370? Article 370 of the Indian constitution gave special status to Jammu and Kashmir allowing it to have a separate constitution, a state flag and autonomy over the internal administration of the state. The article was drafted in Part XXI of the Constitution: Temporary, Transitional and Special Provisions. Article 370 embodied following special provisions for Jammu and Kashmir: It exempted the State from the complete applicability of the Constitution of India. The State was allowed to have its own C... Read More...
Why should we study migration patterns in India? One important facet of study on population is the study of migration arising out of various social, economic or political reasons. For a large country like India, the study of movement of population in different parts of the country helps in understanding the dynamics of the society better. At this junction in the economic development, in the country, especially when many states are undergoing faster economic development, particularly in areas, such as, manufacturing, information technology or service sectors, data migration profile of population has become m... Read More...
What is NCBC? • 102nd Constitution Amendment Act, 2018 provides constitutional status to the National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC). • It has the authority to examine complaints and welfare measures regarding socially and educationally backward classes. • Previously NCBC was a statutory body under the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment What is the background? • Two ... Read More...
The government in the Union Budget 2019-20 has taken away the powers of the National Housing Bank (NHB) to regulate housing finance companies (HFCs) and handed them to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Act is amended to give the RBI powers to regulate the HFC sector. NHB was part of the RBI till April 2019 when the government decided to take it over. NHB, besides being the refinancer and lender, is also regulator of the housing finance sector. This gives a somewhat conflicting and difficult mandate to NHB. That is why ... Read More...
What does Art.9 say? Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution is a clause in the national Constitution of Japan outlawing war as a means to settle international disputes involving the state. In its text, the state formally renounces the sovereign right of belligerency and aims at an international peace based on justice and order. The article also states that, to accomplish these aims, armed forces with war potential will not be maintained. It also forbids Japan from maintaining an army, navy or air force. Therefore, in strictly legal terms, the Se... Read More...