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  • [pib] ‘Bharat Padhe Online’ campaign

    Union HRD Ministry has launched a week-long ‘Bharat Padhe Online’ campaign for Crowdsourcing of Ideas for Improving Online Education ecosystem of India.

    ‘Bharat Padhe Online’ campaign

    • Students and teachers are the main target audience of this campaign.
    • Students who are currently studying in schools or higher educational institutions are the ones engaging with the existing digital platforms offering various courses etc. on a daily basis.
    • They can share what is lacking in the existing online platforms and how it can be made more engaging.
    • The educators across the country can also come forward to contribute with their expertise and experience in the field of education.

  • Financing the pandemic rescue package

    Context

    The priority for India is to ensure that it overcomes the COVID-19 pandemic and kick-starts GDP growth.

    Financing strategy for the 1.7 lakh crores package

    • Rather than fix the weaknesses in the macroeconomy: a high fiscal deficit of 7.49% and government indebtedness that was 69% of GDP in 2019, the government wants to overcome the pandemic.
    • When COVID-19 cases began to increase, the Government of India (GoI) swung into action by announcing a 21-day national lockdown and a ₹1.7-lakh crore (approximately $22.59 billion) rescue package.
    • Financing strategy: Available in the state disaster relief fund is ₹60,000 crore, comprising ₹30,000 crore of the outstanding balance and the Central government’s allocation of a similar amount for FY2021.
    • Hence, the GoI needs to raise an additional ₹1.1-lakh crore,e., 65% of the rescue package outlay.
    • Its financing strategy should be to raise long-term funds at cost-effective rates, with flexible repayment terms that allow it to take tactical advantage of market movements.
    • Following are some of the options that the government can explore to raise the required amount.

    1. GDP-linked bonds

    • The GoI may issue listed, Indian rupee-denominated, 25-year GDP-linked bonds that are callable from, say, the fifth year.
    • What GDP-linked means? The coupon (interest) on a GDP-linked bond is correlated to the GDP growth rate and is subject to a cap.
    • The issuer, the GoI, is liable to pay a lower coupon during years of slower growth and vice-versa.
    • The callable feature from the fifth year till maturity allows the GoI to effect partial repayments during high growth years and when it earns non-recurring revenues such as proceeds from disinvestment of public sector enterprises (PSEs).
    • The listing of bonds provides investors with an exit option.
    • Examples from the world: Costa Rica, Bulgaria and Bosnia-Herzegovina issued the first pure GDP-linked bonds in the 1990s.
    • Argentina and Greece issued warrant-like instruments similar to GDP-linked bonds in 2005 and 2012 respectively. India could learn from their experience.
    • Timely GDP data is a prerequisite: Publishing reliable and timely GDP data is a prerequisite for the successful issue of GDP-linked bonds, which the GoI may use to part-finance the COVID-19 rescue package and to diversify its borrowing sources.

    2. Streamlining PSEs

    • The 15 largest non-financial central PSEs (CPSEs) in the S&P BSE CPSE index contributed approximately 75% of the GoI’s ₹48,256.41 crore dividend income from PSEs in FY2020.
    • The Union Budget projected PSE dividends to increase by 25% to ₹65,746.96 crore in FY2021.
    • This milestone is unlikely to be achieved in the current environment.
    • The 15 CPSEs have accumulated sizeable non-core assets including financial investments, loans, cash and bank deposits in excess of their operating requirements, and real estate.
    • The return on these assets (excluding real estate) is around 200 basis points lower than the returns on their core businesses.
    • These CPSEs owe the government ₹25,904 crore as of end-March 2019.
    • These non-core assets must be monetised to repay statutory dues and upstream dividends to GoI.
    • Formation of HOLDCO: While loans and excess cash and bank deposits may be monetised within three months, streamlining investments and selling real estate is a time-consuming process.
    • It is imperative for the GoI to form a PSE and public sector bank holding company (‘Holdco’) along the lines of Singapore’s Temasek Holdings and Malaysia’s Khazanah Nasional Berhad.
    • The Holdco will enable PSEs to monetise their non-core assets at remunerative prices, maximise their enterprise value and focus on their core businesses.
    • The ₹30,168 crore loans that CPSEs have extended to employees, vendors and associates may be securitised or refinanced, with CPSEs guaranteeing loans extended to weak counterparties.
    • Excess liquidity with PSEs: It is essential that businesses maintain liquidity, especially during a downturn. However, the outstanding cash and bank deposits of the 15 CPSEs (₹64,253 crore) is in excess of their operating requirements.
    • CPSEs must determine the cash they require to meet, say, six months of operating expenses and use the excess cash to repay statutory dues and upstream dividends to the GoI.
    • Banks must extend to CPSEs committed lines of credit that the latter may draw down during exigencies.
    • Financial investments of PSEs be transferred to HOLDCO: The 15 CPSEs have accumulated ₹93,562 crore financial investments comprising listed and unlisted debt, equity and mutual fund units.
    • These exclude investments in associates and joint ventures.
    • The CPSEs ought to transfer these investments to Holdco, which can manage the portfolio and transfer the returns to the original investors.
    • Real estate holdings of PSEs: One important non-core asset, whose value is likely to exceed the combined value of other non-core assets, is the real estate holdings of PSEs.
    • In September 2018, the GoI identified properties of nine PSEs (Air India, Pawan Hans, Hindustan Fluorocarbons, Hindustan Newsprint, Bharat Pumps & Compressors, Scooters India, Bridge and Roof Co, Hindustan Prefab, and Projects & Development India) to be divested.
    • The GoI must mandate all PSEs and government departments to transfer their non-core properties to Holdco, which can opportunistically sell these properties and transfer the proceeds to the owners.

    Refrain from asking RBI to pay more dividend

    • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has allocated ₹1 lakh crore to carry out long-term repo operations in tranches and has reduced the repo rates by 75 basis points to 4.4% to help banks augment their liquidity in the wake of the pandemic.
    • Recognising the RBI’s liquidity requirements, the GoI must refrain from asking the RBI to pay more dividends that it can viably pay.
    • During the five years ending on June 30, 2019, the RBI paid the GoI 100% of its net disposable income, with its FY2019 dividends more than trebling to ₹1.76 lakh crore from ₹50,000 crore in FY2018.
    • The Bimal Jalan panel constituted in 2019 to review the RBI’s economic capital framework opined that the RBI may pay interim dividends only under exceptional circumstances and that unrealised gains in the valuation of RBI’s assets ought to be used as risk buffers against market risks and may not be paid as dividends.

    Conclusion

    The Bimal Jalan panel recommendation must be adhered to in letter and spirit. The GoI may finance the COVID-19 rescue package by issuing GDP-linked bonds, tapping PSEs’ excess liquidity and monetising non-core assets.

  • Is e-NAM portal capable of supporting farmers?

    Context

    • The union government has launched new features in electronic agriculture market platform (e-NAM), to decongest wholesale markets amid coronavirus threat.
    • Whether these features would solve the problems of farmers is a matter of question.

    What is e-NAM?

    • eNAM platform is an online trading platform for agricultural commodities in India.
    • It was launched on April 14, 2016 as a pan-India electronic trade portal linking agricultural produce market committees (APMCs) across all states.
    • It facilitates farmers, traders and buyers with online trading in commodities.
    • It helps in better price discovery and provides facilities for smooth marketing of their produce.

    Trading on e-NAM

    • Over 90 commodities including staple food grains, vegetables and fruits are currently listed in its list of commodities available for trade.
    • The farmer needs to upload details of his produce and a photo of the harvest on the platform.
    • It actually provided for evaluation and grading of produce.

    Why farmers don’t prefer e-NAM?

    • Lack of internet connectivity is another issue impeding progress.
    • Farmers feel more comfortable with physical trading rather than going online as they face issues with transportation for their produce.
    • Only 8.42 per cent of the total mandis are connected through the e-NAM platform.

    Issues with grading

    • There are no scientific sorting/grading facilities or quality testing machines.
    • The grading process makes farmers bring a sample of their produce that is evaluated and graded by agricultural assessors.
    • A report on the sample can be accessed by any buyer in any state before making the purchase, once graded by assessors.
    • The government realized the complexities allowed for gradation from a warehouse nearest to them and farmers need not commute to a mandi from remote areas.
    • It is, however, still not clear whether produce can be graded at the warehouse or not.

     

  • India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package

    The Centre has approved a centrally funded ‘India COVID-19 Emergency Response and Health System Preparedness Package’ with the objective of strengthening national and state health systems.

    About the Package

    • The package is 100 per cent centrally funded project under the National Health Mission.
    • It will be implemented in three phases from January 2020 to March 2024.
    • It aims at strengthening national and state health systems to support prevention and preparedness, procurement of essential medical equipment, consumables and drugs, etc.
    • The three phases of the project are Phase – 1 from January 2020 to June 2020, the second phase is from July 2020 to March 2021 and the third phase from April 2021 to March 2024.

    What are the major activities planned under this package?

    • The key activities to be implemented under Phase -1 includes support to states/UTs for the development of dedicated COVID-19 hospitals and other hospitals, isolation blocks, negative pressure isolation rooms, ICUs with ventilators, the oxygen supply in hospitals etc..
    • The central package will also assist the state/ UTs for the Procurement of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), N95 masks and ventilators, over and above what is being procured and supplied by the govt.
    • The activities under the first phase also include the disinfection of hospitals, government ambulances, etc.

  • [pib] Integrated Government Online Training (iGOT)

    The Union govt. has launched a training module for management of COVID-19 named ‘Integrated Government Online training’ (iGOT) on DIKSHA platform of MHRD.

    About iGOT

    • It is training module for management of COVID-19 on DIKSHA platform for the capacity building of frontline workers to handle the COVID-19 pandemic efficiently.
    • Courses on iGOT have been launched specially for Doctors, Nurses, Paramedics, Hygiene Workers, Technicians, Auxiliary Nursing Midwives (ANMs), State Government Officers, Civil Defence Officers, Various Police Organisations.
    • They are also available to NCC corps, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), NSS volunteers, Indian Red Cross Society, Bharat Scouts and Guides and other volunteers at the stage.

    Back2Basics: DIKSHA Portal

    • HRD ministry has launched Diksha Portal (diksha.gov.in) for providing a digital platform to a teacher to make their lifestyle more digital.
    • It aims to serve as National Digital Infrastructure for Teachers.
    • The portal will cover the whole teacher’s life cycle – from the time they were enrolled as student teachers in Teacher Education Institutes (TEIs) to after they retire as teachers.
    • It will enable, accelerate and amplify solutions in the realm of teacher education. It will aid teachers to learn and train themselves for which assessment resources will be available.

  • [pib] Kendriya Bhandar

    Kendriya Bhandar which functions under the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) has taken the unique initiative of providing “Essentials Kits” to needy families during the ongoing lockdown.

    About Kendriya Bhandar

    • The Central Govt. Employees Consumer Cooperative Society Ltd. is popularly known as Kendriya Bhandar.
    • It was set up in 1963 as a welfare project for the benefit of Central Govt. employees and public at large.
    • It is functioning under aegis of Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions and was registered with Delhi Registrar of Cooperative Societies.
    • Subsequently, it was registered with Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies, Govt. of India as a Multi-State Consumer Cooperative Society in September 2000.

  • Third mass bleaching of Great Barrier Reef

    A survey has found record sea temperatures had caused the third mass bleaching of the 2,300-kilometre Great Barrier Reef system in just five years.

    What is Coral Bleaching?

    • When corals face stress by changes in conditions such as temperature, light, or nutrients, they expel the symbiotic algae zooxanthellae living in their tissues, causing them to turn completely white.
    • This phenomenon is called coral bleaching.
    • The pale white colour is of the translucent tissues of calcium carbonate which are visible due to the loss of pigment-producing zooxanthellae.

    About Great Barrier Reef

    • The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
    • It is stretched for over 2,300 kilometres over an area of approximately 344,400 square kilometres.
    • The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

    Importance of Corals

    Coral reefs are some of the most diverse and valuable ecosystems on Earth.

    • They support more species per unit area than any other marine environment, including about 4,000 species of fish, 800 species of hard corals and hundreds of other species.
    • This biodiversity is considered key to finding new medicines for the 21st century. Many drugs are now being developed from coral reef animals and plants as possible cures for cancer, arthritis, human bacterial infections, viruses, and other diseases.
    • Healthy coral reefs support commercial and subsistence fisheries as well as jobs and businesses through tourism and recreation.
    • Local economies receive billions of dollars from visitors to reefs through diving tours, recreational fishing trips, hotels, restaurants, and other businesses based near reef ecosystems.
    • Coral reef structures also buffer shorelines against 97 percent of the energy from waves, storms, and floods, helping to prevent loss of life, property damage, and erosion.
    • When reefs are damaged or destroyed, the absence of this natural barrier can increase the damage to coastal communities from normal wave action and violent storms.

    Back2Basics

    Coral Reefs

    • Coral reefs are built by and made up of thousands of tiny animals—coral “polyps”—that are related to anemones and jellyfish.
    • Polyps are shallow water organisms which have a soft body covered by a calcareous skeleton. The polyps extract calcium salts from sea water to form these hard skeletons.
    • The polyps live in colonies fastened to the rocky sea floor.
    • The tubular skeletons grow upwards and outwards as a cemented calcareous rocky mass, collectively called corals.
    • When the coral polyps die, they shed their skeleton on which new polyps grow.
    • The cycle is repeated for over millions of years leading to accumulation of layers of corals shallow rock created by these depositions is called reef.

  • Delhi’s ‘5T’ war against virus

    Delhi CM has announced a “5T plan” created by his government to contain COVID-19 spread in Delhi. These five Ts are testing, tracing, treatment, teamwork and tracking-monitoring.

    5Ts strategy

    1)Testing

    • Testing when done on a mass scale enables the actual data of people affected by novel coronavirus.
    • Like South Korea, Delhi will be testing on a large scale.
    • Through rapid testing, the government will also be able to identify COVID-19 hotspots and take necessary action.

    2)Tracing

    • The second T is tracing, which involves identifying and quarantining people who have come in contact with infected persons.
    • Delhi authorities are taking the help of police to trace whether the people who have been advised to self-quarantine are actually doing it or not.

    3)Treatment

    • The third component is the treatment.
    • Serious patients who are suffering from heart diseases and patients above 50 years will be isolated in hospitals and the rest with minor symptoms will be kept in isolation in hotels and dharamshalas.

    4)Teamwork

    • The fourth element of the five-point plan is teamwork and collective efforts are being made to fight the virus.
    • All State governments must learn from each other and work together.

    5)Tracking and monitoring

    • The fifth T is tracking and monitoring.
    • The state should ensure that all these measures are in place and all the systems are functioning smoothly.

     

    Also read:

    ‘Bhilwara Model’ for containment of coronavirus

  • [pib] Biofortified Carrot ‘Madhuban Gajar’

     

    Madhuban Gajar

    • It is a biofortified carrot variety with high β-carotene and iron content developed by Shri Vallabhhai Vasrambhai Marvaniya, a farmer scientist from Junagadh district, Gujarat.
    • The variety is being cultivated in more than 1000 hectares of land in Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh during the last three years.
    • It is a highly nutritious carrot variety developed through the selection method with higher β-carotene content (277.75 mg/kg) and iron content (276.7 mg/kg) dry basis.
    • It is used for various value-added products like carrot chips, juices, and pickles.
    • This carrot variety possesses a significantly higher root yield (74.2 t/ha) and plant biomass (275 gm per plant) as compared to check variety.

  • [pib] “Samadhan” Challenge

     

    A mega online challenge – SAMADHAN – has been launched to test the ability of students to innovate.

    “Samadhan” Challenge

    • The Innovation Cell of the Ministry of HRD and All India Council for Technical Education in collaboration with Forge and InnovatioCuris has launched this online challenge.
    • Under the challenge, the students and faculty will be motivated for doing new experiments and new discoveries and provide them with a strong base leading to spirit of experimentation and discovery.
    • The students participating in this challenge will search and develop such measures that can be made available to the government agencies, health services, hospitals and other services for quick solutions to the Coronavirus epidemic and other such calamities.
    • Apart from this, through this challenge, work will be done to make citizens aware, to motivate them, to face any challenge, to prevent any crisis and to help people get livelihood.