Indian Express’s weekly UPSC News Express covers some of the most important topics in this week’s news to get you ready for UPSC-CSE. Try the MCQs and check the answers provided towards the end of the article.
MSME crisis
Program:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demography, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Main Exam: General Studies III: Inclusive Growth and Related Topics.
Why in the news?
A critical challenge facing the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector is delinquency in payments.
—Affected by Covid, small and micro units are expecting Rs 8. 7 lakh crore in pending contributions.
—However, the accumulation of overdue invoices as a percentage of sales is much lower for devices in the “medium” segment
Key issues to remember
—Microunits are those whose investments can be successful in Rs 1 crore and a turnover of less than Rs five crore. For small units, the investment limit is Rs 10 crore and a turnover is set at less than 50 crore. A unit qualifies as an average if it has investments of up to Rs 50 million with a turnover of less than Rs 250 million.
A crisil report showed that more than a quarter of Indian MSMEs have lost a market share of more than 3% due to the pandemic. And some of them experienced a contraction in their profit margins due to a sharp increase in commodity costs in fiscal year 2021, to 2020. This scenario is aggravated by delinquency.
The government, in 2020, had asked the PSUs and the 500 largest corporations to pay their contributions to the sector as a whole. This was done as part of the government’s plan to ensure sufficient liquidity for MSME pools, as well as a line of credit. for the sector under the Emergency Line of Credit Guarantee (ECLGS) program.
—Despite the Dictates of the Centre, the price of overdue invoices for the MSME sector increased to Rs 10. 7 lakh crore until the end of the 2021 calfinishar year.
Nitin Gadkari, then minister of MSMEs, reported in mid-2020 that state and central governments, their ministries and power supplies, and primary industries combined owed MSMEs around Rs five lakh crore.
—According to data from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, the percentage of MSMEs in India’s production in FY20 is 36. 9% and the share of exports of specific MSMEs in exports from all over India in FY21 is 49. 5%. One hundred, according to data from the General Directorate of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics.
A point to reflect: what are the demanding situations faced by MSMEs?
1. MCQ:
Which of the following statements are correct with reference to the new definition of MSMEs?
(2) a small enterprise, in which the investment in the factory and machinery or apparatus exceeds Rs ten million and the turnover exceeds Rs fifty million;
(3) an average enterprise, where the investment in the factory and machinery or apparatus exceeds fifty million rupees and the turnover exceeds one hundred and fifty million rupees.
Use of foreign reserves
Program:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development – Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demography, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Main exam: General studies III: India’s economy and problems of planning, mobilization, resources, growth, development and employment.
Why in the news?
From a peak of $642. 45 billion on Sept. 3, India’s foreign exchange reserves fell to $572. 71 billion on July 15. That’s a drop of nearly $70 billion in just over 10 months.
Key issues to remember
— A country accumulates foreign exchange reserves when its source of income from the export of goods and facilities exceeds invoices opposed to imports.
Current account surpluses lead to an accumulation of reserves, with the central bank absorbing all the foreign exchange surplus entering the country.
— The maximum apparent parallel that can be traced is that of families or enterprises, whose surplus source of income over the expenses or profits retained is added to their savings or reserves.
— Just as those savings/reserves can be used through other households, businesses, and the government, one country’s existing account surpluses can be invested in other countries. In doing so, it becomes a net exporter of “capital,” in addition to goods and services.
— A higher source of foreign exchange against the national currency leads to an appreciation of the national currency.
The 12 most sensitive countries with foreign exchange reserves at the end of 2021 have giant and persistent existing account surpluses, with the exception of India, the United States and Brazil.
India is an exception (along with the United States and Brazil) among countries that have accumulated foreign exchange reserves. Only one of the 11 years, 2020, recorded an existing account surplus in its balance of payments.
— Its reserves of $638. 5 billion in 2021 were despite existing account deficits totaling more than $400 billion over the 11 years. Reserves were accumulated through the importation of capital; that is, foreign surpluses and not their own.
—The deficit of the combined products industry during the 8 years from 2014/2015 to 2021/2022 was almost $1. 2 trillion. This was offset by a surplus of the “invisible”; the deficit was partially offset by a net surplus of $968 billion in the “invisibles. “invoice balance account.
The invisible ones basically come with the income from the export of software services, remittances from Indians and tourism.
— In the case of India, this income has consistently exceeded interest bills on loans, dividends, royalties, licensing fees, overseas and various advertising and monetary services.
• Capital flows attracted through India have only financed its surplus of imports over exports, but have also contributed to the accumulation of official reserves.
The United States and Brazil have had histories, but with existing account deficits larger than India’s and even relative to their reserves. In addition, existing foreign exchange reserves and account balances are of little importance to the United States when it owns the reserve currency used in maximum foreign transactions.
— In addition to existing account deficits and capital flows, there is a source of higher or depleted reserves: the valuation effect. Foreign exchange reserves are held in the form of dollars, as well as in currencies other than the dollar and gold, the price of which is, in turn, influenced by movements in exchange rates and gold prices.
—A depreciation of the U. S. dollar U. S. or higher gold costs lead to valuation gains on existing reserve stocks. A strong dollar or a drop in gold costs, likewise, reduces the part of reserves that is not in dollars.
Point to ponder: Foreign exchange reserves have accumulated as a buffer against currency volatility, external shocks, and capital flows stalls. Explain.
2. MCQ:
Which of the following statements is correct?
(a) A country accumulates foreign exchange reserves when its bills opposed to imports exceed the source of income from the export of goods and services.
(b) A higher source of foreign currency opposed to the national currency leads to an appreciation of the national currency.
(c) Foreign exchange reserves are held in the form of dollars as currencies other than the dollar and gold, the values of which are influenced by movements in exchange rates and gold prices.
(d) India is an exception among countries that have accumulated foreign exchange reserves.
Suspension of Members
Program:
Preliminary Review: India’s Policy and Governance
Main review: Parliament and state legislatures: structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers and privileges and problems arising from them
Why in the news?
— During this week, the two in Parliament suspended 27 deputies between them.
“Both chambers suspended those MPs because they interrupted the debates, it is not easy to debate on rising costs and increasing GST rates on fundamental needs. Suspended MPs have a fifty-hour dharma in the parliament complex, and opposition parties are not easy to revoke the suspensions.
Key issues to remember
“It is the government, not Parliament, that makes a resolution of the parliamentary calendar. Therefore, the resolution on the time to be had with Parliament for discussions rests with the government. Parliamentary procedure also gives priority to government affairs over other debates taking a stand in parliament.
“In this regard, Parliament has not updated its regulations for the past 70 years to give opposition parties a voice in selecting the timetable for discussions. Members interrupting the debates of the House.
—The rules for the proper functioning of Parliament have not changed since 1952. First, it is possible for spokespersons to order a member to withdraw from the House for any disturbance of public order. If the member continues to disrupt the House, the president may “appoint” the legislator. After that, the House could move a move to suspend the member until the end of the session. These powers are not unusual for spokesmen in both chambers.
In 2001, during the tenure of President GMC Balayogi, the Lok Sabha replaced its regulations to give the president more powers to deal with serious and disorderly conduct. Under this new rule, the Spokesperson can “appoint” a member, who will then be automatically suspended for five days or the rest of the session. This rule eliminates the need for the House to adopt a motion to suspend. Rajya Sabha has not incorporated this provision into its proceedings.
Article 122 of the Constitution stipulates that parliamentary deliberations may not be challenged before a court: “No official or member of Parliament to whom this Constitution or powers are conferred through or under this Constitution for the conduct or conduct of business, or for the execution of order, in Parliament shall possibly be subject to the jurisdiction of any court with respect to the exercise through it of such powers. “
“In some cases, however, the courts have intervened in the procedural functioning of legislatures. For example, the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly approved a solution to its 2021 monsoon consultation by postponing 12 BJP MPs for a year. The case reached the Supreme Court, which ruled that the solution was useless in law beyond the rest of the monsoon consultation.
Point to ponder: Is the obstruction of Parliament “in democracy”?
3. MCQ:
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
1. The origin of the purposes of the President and Vice-President would possibly lie in the provisions of the Government of India Act, 1919.
2. The nomenclatures from President and Vice-President to President and Vice-President, respectively, were amended by the Government of India Act, 1935.
3. Article 122 of the Constitution stipulates that parliamentary proceedings may not be challenged before a court.
Cheetahs at Kuno Wildlife Reserve
Program:
Preliminary examination: General problems on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change
Main review: general studies III: conservation, pollutants and environmental degradation, environmental impact in the evaluation.
Why in the news?
— 70 years after the cheetah extinction, the Indians plan to introduce them to the Kuno Wildlife Reserve.
Key issues to remember
India and Namibia on Wednesday signed a memorandum of understanding to reintroduce the African cheetah to India. The memorandum of understanding signed through the EU’s Minister of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Bhupender Yadav, and Namibia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah in New Delhi, also focuses on cooperation in conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.
The Asian cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952 and is a critically endangered species that survives only in Iran. In 1947, records of the presence of the cheetah in India were shown, but the 3 surviving men were shot dead by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Surguja State in the present-day Guru Ghasidas National Park in Chhattisgarh.
The Indian government has been reintroducing cheetahs to India since the 1960s and 1970s, but over the past decade, those plans have gained momentum.
At the time, the government tried to bring Asian cheetahs from Iran because it was the only country with a surviving population of the species, but Tehran declined, in part because of the incredibly small number of populations of the species, all of which were in the wild.
Then, in September 2009, during Jairam Ramesh’s tenure as environment minister, those plans gained traction when the minister pushed the task as a task involving the reintroduction of the “only giant mammal that disappeared in India. “At the time, there were indications that cheetahs would be imported from the Cheetah Conservation Fund (CCF) in Namibia or from other captivity facilities founded in South Africa.
While those advances were happening, the government’s Asian Lion Reintroduction Project, an initiative involving the reintroduction of the last wild asian lion population discovered in Gujarat’s Gir Forest National Park, took a stand simultaneously.
The task was to identify a new population of Asiatic lions at the Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh. But this proposed movement was fiercely contested by the Gujarat state government, for several reasons, one of which was that lions were icons of the state.
The dispute reached the Supreme Court of India, which in April 2013 threw a stone into the pond. In its order, the Supreme Court stated: “At this stage, in our opinion, the resolution taken through the MoEF (Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change) to introduce African cheetahs first into Kuno, then Asiatic lions, is arbitrary and illegal and a flagrant violation of the legal needs of the Wildlife Protection Act.
“The MoEF’s order to bring African cheetahs to Kuno complies with the law and is rescinded. “One of the grounds for annulment included the Supreme Court’s objections to flying in an exotic species while ignoring the wishes of local species.
“But the Indian government is not willing to abandon its proposal. The government’s National Tiger Conservation Authority approached the court with a petition for review in 2016, once it again applied for permission to reintroduce cheetahs into Kuno.
The government argued that cheetahs would conserve other species in the sanctuary, adding grasslands. The court proceedings highlighted the government’s plans, which included the option of introducing African cheetahs into the country’s other national parks and sanctuaries.
The biggest challenge facing conservation in India is how habitat connectivity helps maintain self-sufficient (genetically viable) metapopulations to meet their ecological functions. Argue
4. MCQ:
According to the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972, which of the following animals would not be hunted by anyone under certain provisions of the act?
1. Gavial
2. Indian wild donkey
3. wild ox
Ramsar Sites
Program:
Preliminary examination: General problems on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change
Main review: general studies III: conservation, pollutants and environmental degradation, environmental impact in the evaluation.
Why in the news?
EU Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav tweeted Tuesday that five Indian wetlands received Ramsar’s popularity as “wetlands of foreign importance. “
With the addition of these five wetlands, the number of Ramsar sites in India exceeds 54, that of any country in South Asia.
Key issues to remember
The Ramsar Convention, established in 1971, is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action and external cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and their resources.
— The Ramsar Convention on Wetlands defines wetlands as “areas of marshes, swamps, peatlands or waters, whether herbaceous or artificial, permanent or temporary, stagnant or current, sweet, brackish or salty, to which are added spaces of seawater whose intensity at low tide exceeds six meters”.
— The Convention defines the wise use of wetlands as “the improvement of their ecological character, achieved through the application of ecosystem approaches, in the context of sustainable development”.
The Indian government’s definition of wetlands excludes river canals, rice paddies, and other spaces where advertising takes place.
—The 2017 Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Standards notified through the EU Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change describe wetlands as:
“area of marshes, swamps, swamps or waters; are of herbs or synthetic, permanent or temporary, stagnant or running, sweet, brackish or salty, to which are added bodies of seawater the intensity at low tide of not exceeding six metres, and yet arrive with river channels, rice fields, synthetic bodies of water/reservoirs specially constructed for drinking water purposes and structures specially constructed for aquaculture purposes, salt production, recreation and irrigation”.
Overall, the wetland canopy accounts for 6. 4% of the world’s geographical matrix In India, according to the National Wetland Inventory and Assessment compiled through the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), wetland cover accounts for 4. 63% of the country’s overall geographical matrix.
—Of the 1,52,600 km2, inland grass wetlands account for 43. 4% and coastal grass wetlands 24. 3%. India has 19 types of wetlands. In the distribution of wetlands across the state, Gujarat leads with 34,700 km² (17. 56% of the state’s overall geographic domain), or 22. 7% of the country’s overall wetlands thanks to a long coastline. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh (14,500 km²), Uttar Pradesh (12,400 km²) and West Bengal (11,100 km²).
The new wetlands that have been added to the list are the Karikili Bird Sanctuary, the Pallikaranai Swamp Forest Reserve and pichavaram Mangrove in Tamil Nadu, Sakhya Sagar in Madhya Pradesh and the Pala Wetland in Mizoram.
India’s count of 5 designated wetlands is the largest network of Ramsar sites in South Asia. Of the 5 four sites, 10 are in UP, 6 in Punjab, four in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Jammu and Kashmir.
The countries with the maximum number of Ramsar sites are the United Kingdom (175) and Mexico (142), according to the Ramsar list.
—Bolivia has the largest domain with 148,000 km2 coverage of the Convention.
Point to ponder: what are the migratory routes?
5. MCQ:
Which of the following statements is/are correct?
(a) 1 and (b) 1 and 2
(c) 2 (d) None
Responses to MCQs – 1 (a)Array 2 (a)Array 3 (d)Array four (d)Array five (c)
Response to MCQ – UPSC Essentials: Case Study of the Week – The Impact of Social Media on the Mental Health of Young Indians