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  • Inter-state Tiger Relocation Project

    Sundari — a tigress shifted as part of India’s first inter-state translocation project in 2018 from Madhya Pradesh to Odisha has returned home.

    What is the news?

    • The five-year-old tigress Sundari spent 28 months in captivity in Satkosia Tiger Reserve, Odisha.
    • The two states lingered on the process for her relocation despite the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) shelving off the much-vaunted inter-state tiger translocation drive.

    What was the Tiger Relocation Project?

    • The tiger relocation project was initiated in 2018 wherein two big cats, a male (Mahavir) from Kanha Tiger Reserve and a female (Sundari) from Bandhavgarh from MP were relocated to Satkosia Tiger Reserve in Odisha.
    • The relocation was meant to serve two purposes
    1. to reduce the tiger population in areas with excess tigers to majorly reduce territorial disputes and
    2. to reintroduce tigers in areas where the population has considerably reduced due to various reasons

    How were Mahavir and Sundari chosen for the project?

    • Both the big cats were selected for the translocation project as per the NTCA guidelines and in collaboration with the Wildlife Institute of India and the GoI.
    • Two key factors were considered for choosing the animal — first, a dispersing young animal which is to find a new and second, an adult transient which was yet to establish any territory.

    What is the Satkosia Tiger Reserve and why was it chosen?

    • Encompassing an area of 963.87 sq km, the Satkosia Tiger Reserve spreads across four districts and has as its core area 523 sq km.
    • According to NTCA, Satkosia falls under reserves where “there is a potential for increasing tiger populations”.
    • Declared as a Tiger Reserve in 2007, Satkosia had a population of 12 tigers then. The numbers reduced to two in 2018.
    • The purpose of the relocation was to repopulate tigers in the reserve areas.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Q.With reference to India’s Desert National Park, which of the following statements is correct?

    1. It is spread over two districts.
    2. There is no human habitation inside the Park.
    3. It is one of the natural habitats of Great Indian Bustard.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1,2 and 3

    Unexpected outcomes of the project

    The project ran into trouble within weeks of initiation.

    • The arrival of the tigers was followed by severe protests by villagers living on the fringes of the reserve and the matter eventually snowballing into a poll issue.
    • Forest department officials were attacked and their offices burnt down by irate villagers most of whom were tribals.
    • The villagers feared the big cats would endanger their livelihoods, lives and livestocks. They also alleged that they were not consulted or informed prior to the translocation.
    • The major reason which contributed to the failure of the project was the lack of confidence and trust-building between the forest department and the villagers.
    • Within months of the translocation, Mahavir was found dead and was killed in poaching.

  • Places in news: Zabarwan Mountains

    Prime Minister has asked tourists to visit the tulip garden, located at the foothills of the Zabarwan range in Jammu and Kashmir.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Q.Siachen Glacier is situated to the

    (a) East of Aksai Chin

    (b) East of Leh

    (c)North of Gilgit

    (d) North of Nubra Valley

    Zabarwan Mountains

    • The Zabarwan Range is a short sub-mountain range between Pir Panjal and the Great Himalayan Range in the central part of the Kashmir Valley.
    • Specifically, the range is known to be what overlooks the Dal Lake and holds the Mughal gardens of Srinagar.
    • The Shankaracharya Temple is built on the edge of the central part of the Zabarwan Range.
    • The highest peak of this range is Mahadev Peak at 13,013 feet (3,966 m), which forms the distant background of the eastern mountain wall.
    • On the northern slopes of the central part of the range, there are three Mughal gardens built by Emperor Shah Jahan.
    • These include Chashma Shahi, Nishat Bagh and Shalimar Garden alongside the Pari Mahal (the fairy palace).
    • The Dachigam National Park is the main feature of the range which holds the last viable population of Kashmir stag (Hangul) and the largest population of black bear in Asia.

  • Applying the policy of self-reliance to health, infrastructure and green technologies

    The article highlights how Atmanirbhar Bharat policies can play important role in India’s post-pandemic recovery.

    Decline of trade-led catch-up growth

    • The Asian Development Bank identifies India as an outlier, with the country’s GDP growth likely to range between eight and 10 per cent — as against 7.7 per cent for China and seven per cent for the Asian region.
    • The convergence between the rich and poor countries in the 1990s and 2000s was founded on high relative growth rates driven by globalisation and export-led growth.
    • The World Bank and many international think tanks are now projecting a process of de-globalisation, reduction in exports, and reduced service exports from the tourism, travel and hospitality sector in response to COVID.
    • So, the phenomenon of trade-led catch-up growth is declining.

    How Atmanirbhar Bharat is different from past strategies

    • India’s import substituting growth strategy of the 1960s did not succeed because the high protective customs barriers led to the growth of non-competitive industries.
    • The current Atmanirbhar Bharat project is different because tariffs are low and public investment is focused on non-tradable infrastructure rather than commodity production.

    1) Atmanirbhar in heath: Atmirbhar Swasth Bharat

    • Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat is a domestic non-trade dependent initiative which will invest over Rs 64,000 crore in setting up 17,800 rural and 11,000 urban health and wellness centres and 602 critical care hospitals in the country’s districts.
    • Today India has 29 health workers per 10,000 population, while we need 60 such professionals per 10,000 people, as per WHO norms.
    • Creating such a cadre will mean nearly four million new jobs, which can be self-paying.

    2) Infrastructure

    • China and emerging markets like Russia and Brazil have a fairly advanced transport and energy infrastructure.
    • India has a huge potential to renew its railways and highways and shift to solar energy from its current dependence on coal.
    • In fact, the country’s long-neglected fourth largest rail network in the world is undergoing rapid transformation.
    • While rail track coverage expanded by 5,000 km during 2010 to 2014-15, nearly 7,000 km of tracks were added between 2015 and 2020.
    • The Railways now aim to lay 9.5 km of track daily and have raised adequate capital for the same by leveraging domestic insurance funds.
    • Railways are also aiming for 100 per cent electrification and zero carbon footprint by 2024.
    • Electrified track has doubled from 20,000 km in 2012/13 to nearly 40,000 km in 2020.
    • The Centre’s decision to invest heavily in urban mass transit systems since 2014 has led to the rapid expansion of such services.
    • The resolution of financial problems of blocked PPP projects and smooth land acquisition process has increased the pace of construction of national highways.
    • Pace of construction of the national highway increased from 3,330 km per year during 2009-20014 to nearly 9,450 km in 2020-21.

    3) Renewable energy

    • Today over 55 per cent of India’s energy comes from coal but the share of renewable has been steadly increasing.
    • Starting with only 10 MW of solar power in 2010, India has installed nearly 35 GW of solar power by 2020.
    • This has been propelled by economic reforms which drove solar power prices down from Rs 17 per unit in 2010 to Rs 2.44 per unit in 2020.
    • The target of reaching 100 GW by 2022 can drive growth further.
    • Currently nearly 25 per cent of India’s electricity is used for pumping underground water for irrigation.
    • Providing irrigation energy from decentralised solar grids — solar power can be generated at the points on consumption.
    • This will reduce huge transmission losses and the associated carbon footprint of non-renewable energy sources.

    4) Privatising public sector outfits

    • The Centre’s shift towards privatising public sector outfits including banks, insurance companies and other PSUs can fund the growth of rail, road and energy infrastructure.
    • This will also foster efficiency in India’s credit system.
    • China achieved supernormal growth in infrastructure without access to international financing in the initial decades.
    • Recent studies have revealed that China’s financial decentralisation and commercial exploitation of state-owned lands was critical for the success.
    • In India, too, regional development authorities like the Mumbai Metropolitan Regional Development Authority and Maharashtra Industries Development Corporation have financed the metro, trans-harbour links and industrial infrastructure through a similar commercial land allocation model.
    • This model can be extended throughout the country to finance infrastructure expansion.

    Consider the question “How Atmanirbhar Bharat policies differ from the past import-substituting growth strategy? Examine the role Atmanirbhar Bharat can play in the post-pandemic recovery?” 

    Conclusion

    In such a way, Atmanirbharta with its various facets will pave the road of post-pandemic recovery.

  • Vehicles scrappage policy: A step forward but a missed opportunity

    The much-awaited draft policy on vehicle scrappage is finally out. But the draft policy also misses an opportunity: Of designing the policy as an effective stimulus programme for green recovery in the sector to achieve deeper and quicker air quality benefits.

    Background

    • The policy outlines the criteria for defining end-of-life vehicles and scrapping them.
    • It also makes provision for scrapping facilities for safe disposal of waste and material recovery.
    • This is an important step forward towards building infrastructure for organised and scientific scrapping of old vehicles.

    The proposal

    • This proposed policy seeks to phase out unfit vehicles to reduce vehicular pollution, meet the climate commitments, improve road safety and fuel efficiency, formalize informal vehicle scrapping industry and recover low-cost material for the automotive, steel and electronics industry.
    • The policy expects to spin jobs and attract investment as well.
    • It is a big positive for supporting a network of well-equipped scrappage facilities with adequate environmental safeguards to stop unsafe dismantling that contaminates the environment.

    Must read:

    New Vehicle Scrappage Policy

    Issues with the policy

    (1) Advisory nature

    • This policy has only ‘advised’ the state governments and the automobile industry to provide voluntary incentives to the owners of old vehicles.
    • The central government has not committed to make it a fiscal stimulus strategy for quicker renewal of ageing, heavy-duty vehicle fleet with BS-VI vehicles — or to link other segments with targeted electrification.

    (2) Achieving fleet renewal

    • The focus on targeted fleet renewal for maximum emissions gains is still weak.
    • The proposed policy puts the entire onus of incentivizing fleet renewal on the state governments.
    • They have been advised to waive off a big chunk of road tax and registration fees on replacement vehicles.
    • These are important sources of state revenue, and the reaction of the state governments is still not known.

    (3) No stimulus

    • The more compelling question is whether the central government would consider a centrally supported stimulus programme for post-pandemic green recovery.
    • This is the global trend wherein governments have been giving conditional bailouts or tax support linked to emissions targets.

    What can be an effective strategy?

    (1) Transportation vehicles

    • For heavy-duty vehicles, the policy can take a more nuanced approach.
    • Consider that some truck owners may want to only dispose of the very old trucks without replacing them. But others may want to scrap and replace the older trucks.
    • In that case, a rebate can be given to the owners of end-of-life vehicles who are interested in ‘only scrapping’ the vehicle without immediately replacing them.
    • And this rebate can be given based on a scrappage certificate from authorized scrappage centres.
    • Old trucks with more economic life left can get a comparatively higher incentive as that will give higher emissions benefits.

    (2) Personal vehicles

    • For these vehicles, the central incentive can be linked with replacement with electric vehicles.
    • This can be added to the normal scrapping of end-of-life vehicles as already proposed in the draft policy. This can maximise air quality gains.
    • Personal vehicles are numerous and general public support for their fleet renewal can divert a lion’s share of the allocated budget from the priority heavy-duty segment.
    • Therefore, the public support for the personal vehicle segment can be linked only with voluntary electrification.

    Build-in manufacturers’ responsibility

    • The new policy also needs to align with the mandate for the manufacturers to meet targets for recyclability of material.
    • Make this mandatory as part of the scrappage policy.

    We have AIS 129

    • It is encouraging that the Automotive Industrial Standard-129 (AIS 129) on reuse, recycling and material recovery from vehicles were framed in 2015.
    • This requires 80-85 per cent of the material used in vehicle manufacturing by mass to be recoverable/recyclable/reusable at the end of life.
    • AIS-129 also restricts the use of heavy metals including lead, mercury, cadmium, hexavalent chromium, etc, and asks for the coding of plastics to inform dismantlers.
    • The requirement of recyclability should be extended to 85-95 per cent to maximise material recovery as well as energy recovery from residual waste like used oil, non-recyclable rubber etc.

    Way forward

    • This first-ever formal scrappage policy in India is urgently needed to help build infrastructure for safe disposal and material recovery to minimise environmental hazards.
    • But India would be adopting scrappage policy during these unprecedented pandemic times, so it is necessary to leverage this targeted fleet renewal with well-designed central support for a post-pandemic green deal.

  • Bad bank is good move

    The article explains the important role bad bank can play in cleaning up the balance sheets of the banks.

    How India banks dealt successfully with pandemic

    • Indian banks were written off in the early days of the pandemic due to expectations of an exponential jump in non-performing assets.
    • Only after the banks consistently talked about the lower number of restructuring requests, and the higher provision coverage ratios that the markets began to get convinced.
    • What finally turned the corner were the budget announcements related to the financial sector
    • There are several reasons for this good performance by the banks.
    • First, banks in India and globally were much better capitalised prior to the pandemic.
    • Second, Indian banks had built up a sizeable buffer to provide for bad assets negating any surprise on balance sheets during and even after the pandemic.
    • Third, independent research shows that as the size of the middle class grows to about two-thirds of Asian households.
    • Banks in Asia, including in India, have begun to adjust for this steady growth in the size of pie by experimenting with new business models, rationalising costs and providing faster and superior customer digital experience, as was clear during pandemic.
    • Fourth, Indian banks and the RBI brought about financial discipline much before the pandemic.

    Creation of Bad Bank

    • The budget this year has the provision for reation of a bad bank.
    • The proposed structure envisages setting up of a National Asset Reconstruction Company (NARC) to acquire stressed assets in an aggregated manner from lenders, which will be resolved by the National Asset Management Company (NAMC). 
    • A skilled and professional set-up dedicated for Stressed Asset Resolution will be ably supported by attracting institutional funding in stressed assets through strategic investors, AIFs, special situation funds, stressed asset funds, etc for participation in the resolution process.
    • The net effect of this approach would be to build an open architecture and a vibrant market for stressed assets.

    How it will work

    • Banks may first transfer those assets to the proposed bad bank with a 100 per cent provision on its book and then based on the experience they will decide on transferring assets with less than 100 per cent provisioning at a later date.
    • It is also being speculated that of the total amounts recovered, a specified percentage will be in the form of security receipts.
    • These receipts will reside in the bank balance sheets, but will carry a zero-risk weight, with full government guarantees for a specified period of time.

    How it will benefit the banks

    • The benefits of this process includes the recovered value, and significant lending leverage because of three factors:
    • One, capital being freed up from less than fully provisioned bad assets.
    • Two, capital freed up from security receipts because of a sovereign guarantee.
    • Three, cash receipts that come back to the banks and can be leveraged for lending, also freeing up provisions from the balance sheet.
    • There are several international success stories of a bad bank accomplishing its mission and there is no reason to believe why India cannot accomplish its objective.
    • The current Indian approach will drive consolidation of stressed assets under the AMC for better and faster decision making.
    • This will free up management bandwidth of banks enabling them to focus on credit growth, leading to an enhancement in their valuations.
    • Governance of the AMC and its independence is central to its successful functioning, there are multiple suggestions to make.
    • These include keeping majority ownership in the private sector, putting together a strong and independent board, a professional team, and linking AMC compensation to returns delivered to investors.

    Consider the question “What is a bad bank? How its creation could help the banking sector?”

    Conclusion

    The creation of a bad bank will help the banking sector contribute more in the growth of the country

  • Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP)

    In the presence of PM and Jal Shakti Minister, the CMs of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have signed an agreement to implement the Ken Betwa Link Project (KBLP).

    Must read:

    Interlinking of rivers: Significance & Challenges

    What is the Ken Betwa Link Project?

    • The Ken-Betwa Link Project is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for the interlinking of rivers.
    • Under this project, water from the Ken River will be transferred to the Betwa river. Both these rivers are tributaries of the river Yamuna.
    • The project is expected to provide annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares, drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people and also generate 103 MW of hydropower.

    The Project has two phases:

    • Under Phase-I, one of the components — Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses — will be completed.
    • While in the Phase-II, three components — Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha barrage — will be constructed.

    Regions benefitting from KBLP

    • The project lies in Bundelkhand, a drought-prone region, which spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
    • It will be of immense benefit to the water-starved region of Bundelkhand, especially in the districts of Panna, Tikamgarh, Chhatarpur, Sagar, Damoh, Datia, Vidisha, Shivpuri and Raisen of Madhya Pradesh and Banda, Mahoba, Jhansi and Lalitpur of Uttar Pradesh.
    • It will pave the way for more interlinking of river projects to ensure that scarcity of water does not become an inhibitor to development in the country.

    What about the Panna tiger reserve?

    • Out of the 6,017 ha of forest area coming under submergence of Daudhan dam of Ken Betwa Link Project, 4,206 ha of the area lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.

    Previous examples of river-linking

    • In the past, several river linking projects have been taken up. For instance, under the Periyar Project, the transfer of water from the Periyar basin to the Vaigai basin was envisaged.
    • It was commissioned in 1895.
    • Similarly, other projects such as Parambikulam Aliyar, Kurnool Cudappah Canal, Telugu Ganga Project, and Ravi-Beas-Sutlej were undertaken.

    Recent developments on the interlinking of rivers in India

    • In the 1970s, the idea of transferring surplus water from a river to a water-deficit area was mooted by the then Union Irrigation Minister Dr K L Rao.
    • Rao, who himself was an engineer, suggested the construction of a National Water Grid for transferring water from water-rich areas to water-deficit areas.
    • Similarly, Captain Dinshaw J Dastur proposed the Garland Canal to redistribute water from one area to another.
    • However, the government did not pursue these two ideas further.

    The National Perspective Plan

    • It was in August, 1980 that the Ministry of Irrigation prepared a National Perspective Plan (NNP) for water resources development envisaging inter-basin water transfer in the country.
    • The NPP comprised two components: (i) Himalayan Rivers Development; and (ii) Peninsular Rivers Development.
    • Based on the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) identified 30 river links—16 under the Peninsular component and 14 under the Himalayan Component.
    • Later, the river linking idea was revived under the then Vajpayee Government.

    Ken Betwa Link Project is one of the 16 river linking projects under the Peninsular component.

    Clearances required for a river-linking project

    • Generally, 4-5 types of clearances are required for the interlinking of river projects.
    • These are Techno-economic (given by the Central Water Commission); Forest Clearance and Environmental clearance (Ministry of Environment & Forests); Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan of Tribal Population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs) and Wildlife clearance (Central Empowered Committee).

  • Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RODTEP) Scheme

    The notification of benefit rates payable to exporters under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products (RODTEP) scheme is expected to take more time as it is facing ‘teething issues’.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Among the following, which one is the largest exporter of rice in the world in the last five years? (CSP 2019)

    (a) China

    (b) India

    (c) Myanmar

    (d) Vietnam

    RODTEP Scheme

    • RoDTEP is a scheme for Exporters to make Indian products cost-competitive and create a level playing field for them in the Global Market.
    • It has replaced the current Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, which is not in compliance with WTO norms and rules.
    • The new RoDTEP Scheme is a fully WTO compliant scheme.
    • It will reimburse all the taxes/duties/levies being charged at the Central/State/Local level which are not currently refunded under any of the existing schemes but are incurred at the manufacturing and distribution process.

    Why need such a scheme?

    • The scheme was announced last year as a replacement for the Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS), which was not found not to be compliant with the rules of the World Trade Organisation.
    • Following a complaint by the US, a dispute settlement panel had ruled against India’s use of MEIS as it had found the duty credit scrips awarded under the scheme to be inconsistent with WTO norms.

    Back2Basics: Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS)

    • MEIS was launched with an objective to enhance the export of notified goods manufactured in a country.
    • This scheme came into effect on 1 April 2015 through the Foreign Trade Policy and will be in existence till 2020.
    • MEIS intended to incentivize exports of goods manufactured in India or produced in India.
    • The incentives were for goods widely exported from India, industries producing or manufacturing such goods with a view to making Indian exports competitive.
    • The MEIS covered almost 5000 goods notified for the purpose of the scheme.

  • PM-Kisan: Income support to farmers needs to be more inclusive

    The article highlights the challenge of exclusion error in the PM-KISAN and suggests measures to deal with the issue by drawing on the success of KALIA and Rythu Bandhu.

    Exclusion in PM-KISAN

    • Budget FY22 announced an allocation of Rs 65,000 crore to the PM-Kisan scheme.
    • Since 2019, the PM-Kisan has been the largest component of the agriculture budget each year.
    • The scheme is targeted at farmers who own cultivable land as per land records of the state.
    • Unfortunately, this leaves out vulnerable sections such as tenant farmers, women farmers, tribal families and landless labourers.
    • The exclusion is the result of the challenge of first identifying these people, since our existing systems do not formally recognise them as farmers.

    The need to identify farmers

    • Despite 73.2% of rural women engaging in agriculture, only 12.8% are reported to own land.
    •  Among tribal communities, of the 20 million tribal families, less than 2 million have received individual forest rights pattas; the rest are ‘invisible’ and left out of government safety nets.
    • Landless agricultural labourers and tenant farmers account for close to 150 million people in rural India, and they too are not part of state land records.
    • Although there are multiple welfare schemes for farmers, there is no standard government definition of a farmer.
    • The 2007 MS Swaminathan Committee called out that the term ‘farmer’ would include any person actively engaged in growing crops and other agricultural commodities, and would include not only landholders, but also cultivators, labourers, sharecroppers, tenants and tribal families, amongst others.

    Learning from KALIA and Rythu Bandhu

    • Odisha has been a frontrunner in implementing an inclusive farmer welfare scheme, the KALIA.
    • The KALIA provides an unconditional income support of Rs 12,500 to landless agricultural households and an annual Rs 10,000 to small and marginal land-owning farmers as well as tenant farmers.
    • Odisha leveraged existing databases such as the Paddy Procurement Automation System, the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana and the National Food Security Act, and deployed close to 50,000 government staff at state, district and block levels to conduct extensive on-ground verification to identify eligible beneficiaries.
    • Telangana took a different approach prior to rolling out the Rythu Bandhu Scheme, a direct benefit transfer scheme for land-owning farmers.
    • The Rythu Bandhu Scheme targeted only land-owning farmers.
    • But the state took on the onus of updating land records before implementing the scheme.
    • The revenue and agriculture departments partnered to undertake a state-wide Land Records Updation Programme (LRUP).
    • This shows that updating and digitising land records databasse is possible with focused efforts.

    Way forward

    • Instead of every scheme having its own farmer beneficiary database, the ideal solution would be to leverage the existing land records databases in every state.
    • The design should ensure women’s names are not excluded.
    • Implementation of the Forest Rights Act 2006 needs to be accelerated so that tribal families receive forest rights pattas and become part of the land records database.
    • The next challenge is to build in incentives in the process to encourage the maintenance of the land record database, such that all future transactions such as sale, gift etc. are regularly updated to increase the reliability of the records.

    Consider the question “How lack of definition of farmer leads to inclusion and exclusion errors in the schemes for farmers. Suggest the measures to deal with the issue.”

    Conclusion

    The pandemic, more so than anything else, has highlighted the need for the government to have robust social security mechanisms to reach the most vulnerable sections of the population, and making PM-Kisan more inclusive is an important step in that direction.

    Source:

    https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/pm-kisan-income-support-to-farmers-needs-to-be-more-inclusive/2217436/

  • Factors driving FDI in India

    The article explains the four factors that explain the FDI inflows in India.

    India’s economic decade

    • Almost every major global company is either contemplating or operating on the assumption that India is a key part of their growth story.
    • Google, Facebook, Walmart, Samsung, Foxconn, and Silver Lake have been just a handful of the firms that made huge investments in Inda.
    • As a result, India saw the fastest growth in Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) inflows among all the major economies last year.
    • Meanwhile, India’s latest FDI totals still lags behind the highest tallies in other markets such as China and Brazil.

    Issues faced by investors and factors driving investment

    • Frequent shifts in the policy landscape and persistent market access barriers are standard complaints levied against India by the business community.
    • The government’s push to build a “self-reliant” India has also rattled skittish investors and smaller companies that lack the resources to navigate on-the-ground hurdles.
    • Still, investors recognise that doing business in India — or any emerging market  — comes with inherent risks but that adaptation in approach is critical to success.
    • Four core dynamics drive this calculus and explain why multinational companies are making India an essential part of their growth story.

    4 Factors driving FDI in India

    1) India’s population

    • What India offers through its nearly 1.4 billion people and their growing purchasing power is uniquely valuable for multinationals with global ambitions.
    • No other country outside of China has a market that houses nearly one in six people on the planet and a rising middle class of 600 million.

    2) Shifting geopolitics

    •  Rising U.S.-China competition is forcing multinationals to rethink their footprints and production hubs.
    • Savvy countries such as Vietnam have capitalised on this opportunity to great effect, but India is finally getting serious about attracting large-scale production and exports.

    3) Digital connectivity

    • Cheap mobile data have powered a revolution across India’s digital economy and connected an estimated 700 million Indians to the Internet.
    • More than 500 million Indians still remain offline, this is a key reason why leading global tech companies are investing in India and weathering acute policy pressure.
    • Domestic Indian companies have also demonstrated their ability to innovate and deliver high quality services at scale.
    • The partnerships and FDI flows linking multinationals and Indian tech firms will continue to unlock shared market opportunities for years to come.

    4) National resilience

    • Despite facing the scourge of the novel coronavirus head on, India has managed the pandemic better than many of its western peers and restored economic activity even before implementing a mass vaccination programme.
    • These are remarkable developments, and yet they speak to India’s underlying resilience even in the face of historic challenges.

    Shared value creation

    • Unlocking opportunities in the Indian market cannot take the form of a one-way wealth transfer.
    • Companies need to demonstrate their commitment to India.
    • Successful companies do this by placing shared value creation at the heart of their business strategy.
    • They tie corporate success to India’s growth and development.
    • They forge enduring partnerships and lasting relationships, elevate and invest in Indian talent, align products with Indian tastes, and ultimately tackle the hardest problems facing India today.

    Consider the question “Despite the issues faced by the investors, India witnessed the fastest growth in the FDI inflows among all the major economies amid pandemic. In light of this, examine the factors driving the FDI in India.”

    Conclusion

    For leading companies with global ambitions and a willingness to make big bets, the rewards of investing in the Indian market are substantial and well worth pursuing.

  • Emerging crisis of obtaining Helium in India

    India imports helium for its needs and with the U.S. appearing set to cut off exports of helium since 2021, the Indian industry stands to lose out heavily.

    Helium is not just for balloons but it is the key ingredient for India’s high technology and the most sophisticated medical diagnosis.

    Helium on Earth

    • Helium is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2.
    • It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas, the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. Its boiling point is the lowest among all the elements.

    Its discovery

    • In 1906 a young Englishman by the name of Moris Travers arrived in Bangalore, to take up the position of the Director of Indian Institute of Science.
    • Travers extracted helium in small quantity by heating up monazite sand abundantly available in Kerala beach, in a pioneering effort.
    • Dutch physicist Kamerlingh Onnes liquefied Helium by cooling the gas to -270 degrees Celsius.
    • It is known that Onnes collected helium gas from the springs of Bath in Baden Baden, Germany for his liquefaction experiment.

    Helium in India

    • India’s Rajmahal volcanic basin is the storehouse of helium trapped for billions of years, since the very birth of our Earth from the Sun.
    • At present, researchers are mapping the Rajmahal basin extensively for future exploration and harnessing of helium.

    Why India needs Helium?

    • Every year, India imports helium worth Rs 55,000 crores from the U.S. to meet its needs.
    • Helium is used in medicine, scientific research, for blimp inflation, party balloons as well as having welding applications.
    • It finds many applications, mainly in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, in rockets and in nuclear reactors.

    US monopoly in Helium

    • The U.S. became the most important exporter of helium across the world.
    • It was soon realized that the U.S. was also the biggest storehouse of helium.
    • The US is now planning to switch off the export of helium from 2021.
    • Qatar is a possible exporter but acute political and diplomatic wrangles have made Qatar unreliable.