VISION

VISION IAS MAINS 365 Social Issues 2021 in English PDF

1)  Assam Celebrates Lachit Divas on 24 November

•Lachit Divas (Lachit Day) is celebrated annually in the Indian state of Assam on November 24, to mark the birth anniversary of the legendary Ahom army general Lachit Borphukan. Lachit Borphukan was born on 24 November 1622 in Charaideo and is known for his military intelligence in the Battle of Saraighat.

•Every year, since 1999, the ‘Lachit Borphukan Gold Medal’ is awarded to the best cadet passing-out from the National Defence Academy. The ‘Mahabir Lachit Award’ is given by the Tai Ahom Yuva Parishad in Assam to notable personalities. The cash prize of Rs 50000 and a sword is presented under this award.

2)  Martyrdom Day of ‘Guru Tegh Bahadur’ observed on 24 November

•Every year, November 24 is celebrated as Martyrdom Day of Guru Tegh Bahadur, the ninth Guru of Sikhs of Sikh religion. The day is celebrated as Shaheedi Divas of Guru Tegh Bahadur across the country. It was on 24 November 1675, Guru Tegh Bahadur sacrificed his life for the sake of people who did not even belong to his community. to protect religion, human values, ideals and principles.

3)  Amit Shah lays foundation stone of Rani Gaidinliu museum

•Union Home Minister, Amit Shah laid the foundation for ‘Rani Gaidinliu Tribal Freedom Fighters Museum’ in Manipur, through video conferencing. The museum will be set up at Luangkao village in the Tamenglong district of Manipur, which is the birthplace of freedom fighter Rani Gaidinliu. The proposed museum is being set up at an estimated cost of Rs 15 crore by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs. Such a museum in honour of the freedom fighters would imbibe a sense of nationalism among the youths.

4)  US, Australia and UK signed MoU in Nuclear Submarine Alliance

•Australia officially became a part of the new Nuclear Powered Submarine defence alliance with the United Kingdom and the United States after signing a deal with the countries in Canberra, Australia. Under the AUKUS deal, Australia will be provided with 8 nuclear-powered submarines capable of stealthy and long-range missions. It is the first agreement on technology signed by the three countries after the formation of the defence alliance AUKUS (Australia-UK-US).

5)  2025 Asian Youth Para Games will be hosted by Tashkent, Uzbekistan

•The 5th edition of the Asian Youth Para Games 2025 will be hosted by Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and the approval given by the Asian Paralympic Committee’s (APC) Executive Board. For the first time, ‘Asian Youth Games 2025’ and ‘Asian Youth Para Games 2025’ will be hosted in the same city & in the same venues.

6)  Abhijit Banerjee authored a book titled “Cooking to Save your Life”

•Indian-born American economist & Nobel laureate, Abhijit Banerjee has authored a new book (cookbook) titled “Cooking to Save your Life”. The book illustrated by France based illustrator Cheyenne Oliver is published by Juggernaut Books. He won the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences in 2019 along with Esther Duflo and Michael Kremer for their experimental approach to alleviating global poverty.

7)  Ban Ki-moon released his autobiography “Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World”

•A book titled ‘Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World’ is an autobiography of the Former United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. It consists of life experiences and challenges that the author faced in his life & elaborates his tenure in the United Nations (UN). He served as the 8th Secretary-General of the United Nations for a two 5-year term (2007-2016).

•In ‘Resolved: Uniting Nations in a Divided World’, published by HarperCollins India, Ban goes on to describe how he became a “man of peace” from a “child of war”. Former UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon’s first diplomatic posting was in India and he developed such a special connection that even 50 years later, he tells the Indian people that half of his “heart belongs in their country”.

8)  EAC-PM projected India’s GDP growth at 7.0-7.5% in FY23

•The meeting of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) members was held in New Delhi to examine the Indian economic growth in 2022-23 (FY23) and further. There, EAC-PM members projected India’s real Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 7-7.5% and a nominal rate of growth of more than 11% in FY23. They also projected growth of 5% in the current fiscal year (FY22) from a record contraction of 7.3% (-7.3%) in FY21.

9)  Goldman Sachs projects India’s GDP at 9.1% in FY22

•Wall Street brokerage, Goldman Sachs in its recent Macro Outlook 2022 note revised upward its projection for the gross domestic product (GDP) to 9.1 per cent, from the earlier estimate of 8 per cent for the calendar year 2022. For 2021-22 (FY22), it pegged economic growth at 8.5 per cent.

•For one, Goldman Sachs expects a rise in core inflation as manufacturers pass on input cost increases to consumers. As a result, the global research and brokerage house has pegged the headline consumer price inflation in India at 5.8 per cent year-on-year in 2022, from 5.2 per cent in 2021.

 Why in news?

The ‘Report of the Working Group on Digital Lending including Lending through Online Platforms and Mobile Apps’ has been released by the RBI.

What is digital lending?

• Digital lending is the process of availing credit online
• Digital lending is mostly preferred by those who are generally not able to avail any credit through the formal sources of finance like banks.

What digital lending models have been in place?

• Presently, there are three digital-lending models seen through the regulatory-approach lens.
• Bank/NBFC-owned digital platforms – They operate under the direct regulatory purview of RBI.
• Fintech companies’ proprietary digital platforms  - They work in partnership with banks/NBFCs, typically under an outsourcing arrangement to support sourcing of borrowers, assess creditworthiness using alternative data and recover the dues.
• Being mere intermediaries, these platforms are not required to seek any registration with RBI and are only indirectly regulated through RBI’s outsourcing guidelines applicable to Banks/NBFCs.
• Peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms - They usually involve the otherwise unregulated retail lenders.
•  RBI has mandated such platforms to seek registration as NBFC-P2P and thus they are directly regulated by RBI.

What is the significance of digital lending?

• Instant disbursal of funds
• Customer friendly application
• Paperless process
• Transparent and simplified process
• Reasonable interest rates
• Ensure swift payback
• Reduced credit gap
• Operating cost effieciency
• Financial inclusion – Example- JAM (Jan Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile) trinity

What are the concerns of digital lending?

• Unauthorised lenders
• Exorbitant rates of interest
• Use of coercive repayment methods
• Non consensual collection of user data

RBI report finds 600 illegal loan apps operating in India which are available on several app stores for Android users.

What are the key recommendations on digital lending?

• The working group was set up on January 13, 2021 with Jayant Kumar Dash, Executive Director of RBI as the Chairman.
• Loan servicing - The balance-sheet lending through the apps should be restricted to RBI-regulated entities.
• All loan servicing should be executed directly in a bank account of the balance-sheet lender and disbursements should always be made into the bank account of the borrower.
• Nodal agencies - Nodal agencies must be set up to run digital lending applications through stringent verification processes .
• Legislative measures - The group has recommended that in the medium term, the government may consider bringing in legislation to prevent illegal lending activities by introducing the ‘Banning of Unregulated Lending Activities Act’.
• Technology standards - Certain baseline technology standards should be developed when it comes to digital lending apps and compliance with those standards as a pre-condition.
• Algorithmic features used in digital lending has to be documented to ensure transparency.
• The group recommends that auditable logs should be kept for every action that a user performs on the app and that every fintech app must be signed/ verified in a secured manner.
• Data collection and usage - Data should be collected from the borrower with prior information on the purpose, usage and implication of such data and with the explicit consent.
• All such data must be stored in servers located in India.
• Reporting of lending activities - Lending by regulated entities (REs) through lending apps must be reported to credit bureaus.
• And only regulated entities can access bureau data for the purpose of collecting or reporting data on behalf of borrowers.
• Interest calculation - Interest must be calculated on the basis of the actual number of days and no prepayment penal rate of interest for short-term consumer credit.
• Shaping  the Self- Regulatory Organisations (SRO)- Standardised code of conduct for recovery to be framed by the proposed SRO in consultation with RBI.
• The group recommended the maintenance of a ‘negative list’ of Lending Service Providers by the proposed SRO.

What does the draft rule imply?

 Why in news?

The Trade Policy Forum (TPF), a premier forum to resolve trade and investment issues between India and the United States has been re-launched after four long years.

What is the status of India-US bilateral trade?

• The US remained India’s biggest trading partner and largest export market and the bilateral trade exploded from approximately 20 billion dollars in 2001 to over 145 billion dollars in 2019.
• The US investment in India amounts to 46 billion dollars.
• Over 2,000 US companies are located in India, including every major Fortune 500 companies.
• Over 200 Indian companies created about 125,000 jobs in United States across all states.
• The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus with India’s exports exceeding the imports.
• The top traded goods include pearls and precious stones, pharmaceuticals, machinery, electronics, clothing, vehicles, chemicals and fish products, optical, photo, medical apparatus and aluminium.

What are the key issues in the bilateral trade relations?

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APTI PLUS Current Affairs Monthly Magazine November 2021

1)  President Kovind presents Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra

President of India, Ram Nath Kovind presented Gallantry Awards and Distinguished Service Decorations in Defence Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan. Gallantry Awards have been instituted by the Government of India to honour the acts of bravery and sacrifice of the officers/personnel of the Armed Forces as well as other lawfully constituted forces and civilians. The order of precedence of these awards is Vir Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra.

Vir Chakra:

•Group Captain Abhinandan Varthaman was accorded the Vir Chakra by President Ram Nath Kovind for his role in pushing back Pakistan’s fighter jets in February 2019. Abhinandan Varthaman was Wing Commander then. In the ensuing aerial dogfight, he shot down a Pakistani F-16 fighter aircraft on February 27, 2019.

Kirti Chakra

•President Kovind accorded the second-highest peacetime gallantry award Kirti Chakra (posthumously) to Sapper Prakash Jadhav for neutralising terrorists in an operation in Jammu and Kashmir. His wife and mother received the award.

Shaurya Chakra

•Major Vibhuti Shankar Dhoundiyal was accorded the Shaurya Chakra (posthumously) for his role in an operation where five terrorists were eliminated and 200 kg explosive material was recovered. His wife Lt Nitika Kaul and mother received the award.

•Naib Subedar Sombir was accorded the Shaurya Chakra posthumously for killing an A++ category terrorist during an operation in Jammu and Kashmir. His wife Suman Devi and mother Rajendra Devi received the honour.

•The President also conferred the Shaurya Chakra to Major Maheshkumar Bhure who is an alumnus of Sainik School Satara. According to the citation, Major Bhure led an operation in which six top terrorist commanders were killed.

2)  Education Minister launches Centres For Nanotechnology at IIT Guwahati

•Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurated the state-of-the-art Centre for Nanotechnology and Centre for Indian Knowledge System at IIT Guwahati. He also released a book on NEP 2020 implementation. Assam Education Minister Ranoj Pegu was present on the occasion. IIT Guwahati has achieved excellent rankings in the various national and international ranking systems.

3)  Odisha celebrated ‘Boita Bandana’ Festival on Karthika Purnima

•On Karthika Purnima, which is also known as Boita Bandana is celebrated at various water bodies of Odisha. The festival is the maritime tradition that is celebrated as a testament to the maritime trade history of Kalinga, tradesmen and mariners known as sadhabas travelled on boitas (boats) to trade with distant island nations that share borders with the Bay of Bengal like Indonesia, Java, Sumatra and Bali.

4)  8,573 Venezuelan musicians set world’s largest orchestra record

•Venezuela has set a new Guinness World Record for the largest orchestra with 8,573 musicians playing together for more than five minutes. The record was set by the country’s National System of Youth and Children’s Orchestras, known as “El Sistema”. The previous such record for an orchestra was made by Russia when 8,097 musicians played together in St. Petersburg.

•The broadcast included a recording of Guinness World Records expert Susana Reyes announcing that the Venezuelan musicians had been successful in setting a new record after they played LaMarche Slave by Pyotr Tchaikovsky for more than five minutes.

5)  Andhra Pradesh Bags Best Marine State Award

Andhra Pradesh has been named the best marine state in the country by the Department of Fisheries. The Department of Fisheries under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying awarded best performing States for 2021-22 on 21 November 2021 on the occasion of the ‘World Fisheries Day, to recognise their accomplishments in the field and their contribution to the growth of the sector. The awards were announced by the Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Parshottam Rupala in Bhubaneswar.

Top States

•Marine states: Andhra Pradesh

•Inland states: Telangana

•Hilly and North East states: Tripura

Top Districts

•Best Marine District: Balasore in Odisha

•Best Inland District: Balaghat in Madhya Pradesh

•Best Hilly and NE District: Bongaigaon in Assam

6)  CII to organize 20th edition of ‘Connect 2021’ in Chennai

•The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organise its flagship event ‘Connect 2021’ from November 26 to 27 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. Connect is an international conference and exhibition on information & communication technology (ICT). Theme: “Building a Sustainable Deep T’ech’N’ology Ecosystem”.

7)  Pratham NGO won Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2021

•Pratham NGO has been awarded the Indira Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 for its work on expanding the scope for education in India. Its pioneering work for more than a quarter-century in ensuring that every child has access to quality education. Its innovative use of digital technology to deliver education. Its regular evaluation of the quality of education. Its timely response in making children learn amid Covid-19 restrictions.

8)  El Salvador Plans to Build World’s First ‘Bitcoin City’

•El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has announced that the country is planning to build the world’s first “Bitcoin City”. The new city is planned to be developed in the eastern region of La Union and will be initially funded by bitcoin-backed bonds. It would get geothermal power from a volcano. Bitcoin City will not levy any taxes except for value-added tax (VAT). One half of this VAT levied will be used to fund the bonds issued to build the city and the next half would be used to pay for services such as garbage collection.

9)  SBI Ecowrap report projects India’s GDP for FY22 between 9.3%-9.6%

•State Bank of India (SBI) economists in its research report “Ecowrap”, has revised upwards the GDP growth projection for India to the range of 9.3%-9.6% for FY22 (2021-22). Earlier this was estimated in the range of 8.5%-9%. The reason for the upward revision is a decline in the number of COVID cases.

•The analysis suggested that “India remained unscathed in Q3 from the global situation, which is marred by supply disruptions, stubborn inflation and surges of infections during Q3 2021.” As per the report, India has recorded only an 11 per cent increase in Covid-19 cases during Q3 this year the second-lowest among the top 15 most affected countries.

10)  A new book “India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win” by Syed Akbaruddin

•Senior Indian diplomat, Syed Akbaruddin has authored a new book titled “India vs UK: The Story of an Unprecedented Diplomatic Win”. The book features the behind-the-scenes details on India’s victory against the United Kingdom in the elections to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2017. Syed Akbaruddin, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN at the time, presents a behind-the-scenes account of India’s coming-of-age in world affairs through the prism of this momentous election.

11)  Anita Desai awarded Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award

•India’s one of the best-selling authors, Anita Desai has been conferred with the Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2021 to recognise her long literary career which spans over 50 years. Meanwhile, the Poet Laureate award for 2021 has been conferred upon Indian poet Adil Jussawala. Both these awards are presented to recognise exceptional work which has made a significant impact in the Indian literary field.

•The Twelfth Edition of Tata Literature Live! The Mumbai Litfest was organised from November 18th to 21st 2021. She has received several awards and honours in the course of her long-spanning literary career, including the Padma Bhushan, Sahitya Akademi Award and later Fellowship, and the Benson Medal of the Royal Society of Literature.

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