• Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship Samudra Prahari, a specialised pollution control vessel, is currently on an overseas deployment to ASEAN countries.
• This deployment is part of India’s ASEAN initiatives for marine pollution response, showcasing the pollution response capabilities of the ICG and its commitment to addressing marine pollution issues and enhancing capacity in the region.
• The ship is equipped with a Chetak helicopter in pollution response configuration, enhancing its capabilities in the area.

It is released by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

KEY HIGHLIGHTS

• The total debt stood at 238 percent of global gross domestic product last year, 9 percentage points higher than in 2019.
• In US dollar terms, debt amounted to $235 trillion, or $200 billion above its level in 2021.
• Private debt by households and non-financial corporations made the largest contribution to the overall decline.
• Global debt appears to have returned to its historical upward trend.
• China played a central role in increasing global debt in recent decades as borrowing outpaced economic growth.

• Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Mukhyamantri Sampoorna Pushti Yojana’ in the state for fulfilling the nutritional needs among the mothers, adolescent girls and children.
• Under the scheme provisions have been made to provide nutritional supplements to all adolescent girls between the ages of 15 to 19 years and additional dry food to pregnant women and expecting mothers, in addition with, the provision has been made to provide complete food to severely malnourished children, vitamin-enriched Chhatua (roasted gram glour) and eggs for moderately malnourished children and severely underweight children.
• The CM also launched the ‘Pada Pushti Yojana’.
  • Under the ‘Pada Pushti Yojana’ children in remote and tribal areas will be provided with high-quality-cooked food in their enclaves and villages.

• Tamil Nadu CM Stalin launched Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thittam in Kancheepuram.
• Under the scheme, ₹1,000 will be given as a rights grant every month, to 06 crore women heads of families in Tamil Nadu.
• The Tamil Nadu government will incur an expenditure of ₹12,000 crore annually, to implement this scheme.

• The World Economic Forum’s latest Chief Economists Outlook report was published recently.
• The report combines research, consultations, and surveys with leading economists to provide insights into policy development and economic trends.

MAJOR FINDINGS

• Around six in 10 people believe that global economic challenges may hinder progress towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• About 86% of those surveyed expect the recent global inflationary surge to ease.
• Over 60% of chief economists anticipate a weakening global economy in the coming year.
• Over 90% expect moderate or strong growth this year in South Asia, notably India.
• Meanwhile, the outlook for China, where “prospects of strong rebound have been clouded by deflationary pressures”, have dimmed.

• The value of the financial inclusion index (FI Index) for March 2023 stands at 60.1 as against 56.4 in March 2022, according to a statement released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

ABOUT THE INDEX

• The FI-Index has been constructed without any ‘base year’ and it reflects cumulative efforts of all stakeholders over the years towards financial inclusion.
• It ranges between 0 (complete financial exclusion) and 100 (complete financial inclusion).
• The FI-Index is published annually in July every year.
• RBI had introduced the FI-Index in 2021 with the purpose of capturing the extent of financial inclusion across the country.
• It comprises of three broad parameters – access (35 per cent), usage (45 per cent), and quality (20 per cent) with 97 indicators tracked.
• The index is responsive to ease of access, availability and usage of services, and quality of services.

NOTE-

• Financial inclusion refers to the efforts to provide access of financial tools and products to various segments of the society.
• In India, several banks, non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), micro-finance institutions (MFIs) and fintech companies are active in this field.

• Unified Portal for Agricultural Statistics (UPAg Portal– www.upag.gov.in) was launched recently.
• The portal was launched by Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare.
• The UPAg Portal is a crucial component of the Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture, aimed at harnessing the diversity of the agriculture sector and using data as a catalyst for growth.
• It is a pioneering initiative by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, to streamline data management in the agriculture sector.

KEY FEATURES OF UPAG PORTAL:

• Data Standardization: The portal standardizes data on prices, production, area, yield, and trade, making it accessible in one location, eliminating the need to compile data from multiple sources.
• Data Analysis: UPAg Portal will perform advanced analytics, offering insights such as production trends, trade correlations, and consumption patterns, aiding policymakers in making informed decisions.
• Granular Production Estimates: The portal will generate granular production estimates with increased frequency, enhancing the government’s ability to respond to agricultural crises swiftly.
• Commodity Profile Reports: Commodity profile reports will be produced using algorithms, minimizing subjectivity and providing users with comprehensive insights.
• Plug and Play: Users will have the flexibility to use the portal’s data to prepare their own reports, promoting data-driven decision-making.

• India has reached out to Australia seeking to restock monoclonal antibodies doses to combat the Nipah virus and is expecting 20 more doses soon, Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) reported.

• The monoclonal antibody has passed the phase-one trial and has been administered to 14 persons globally till now.
• The mortality among the infected is very high in Nipah — between 40% and 70% — compared to the mortality in COVID, which was 2% to 3%.

ABOUT THE ANTIBODIES

• Developed in the United States, the antibody was shared with an Australian university as part of a tech-transfer initiative.
• India got some doses of monoclonal antibodies from Australia in 2018.
• Currently, doses are available for only 10 patients.
• No one in India has so far administered the antibody.
• It has to be administered in the early stage of the infection.
• There is no authorised treatment for Nipah.

USE IN AUSTRALIA

• The monoclonal antibody is used in Australia for the Hendra virus, which is a bat-borne virus that is associated with a highly fatal infection in horses and humans.
• Numerous disease outbreaks in Australia among horses have been caused by Hendra Virus.
• Two doses of the antibody have to be given per person.

• Some commentators have speculated in recent weeks that the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai volcanic eruption in January 2022 is to blame for searing summer temperatures this year.
• It was one of the biggest volcanic eruptions in recorded history.
• Detonating underwater with the force of 100 Hiroshima bombs, the blast sent millions of tons of water vapor high into the atmosphere.

IMPACT

• Massive volcanic eruptions usually reduce temperatures because they spit out vast amounts of sulfur dioxide, which form sulfate aerosols that can reflect sunlight back into space and cool Earth’s surface temporarily.
  • But the Tonga eruption had another effect because it occurred underwater.
  • The Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai eruption is peculiar because, in addition to causing the largest increase in stratospheric aerosol in decades, it also injected vast amounts of water vapor into the stratosphere.
• Water vapor is a natural greenhouse gas that absorbs solar radiation and traps heat in the atmosphere.
• Several studies have proposed that, due to its larger and more persistent water vapor plume, the eruption could have a temporary net surface warming effect.

GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

• The volcano is located in the Tonga island of the South Pacific Ocean.
• It is part of the Tonga–Kermadec Islands volcanic arc formed due to the subduction of the Pacific Plate under the Indo-Australian Plate.
• It occurs along the Ring of Fire.

• The Finance Ministry has notified 31 benches of GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) which will be set up in all states and Union Territories.

DISTRIBUTION

AS PER THE NOTIFICATION-

• Gujarat and UTs — Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, will have two benches of the GSTAT;
• Goa and Maharashtra together will have three benches.
• Karnataka and Rajasthan will have two benches each, while Uttar Pradesh will have three benches.
• West Bengal, Sikkim and Andaman and Nicobar islands; and Tamil Nadu and Puducherry will together have two GSTAT benches each, while Kerala and Lakshadweep will have one bench.
• The seven North Eastern states — Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland and Tripura — will have one bench.
• All other states will have one bench of the GSTAT.

SIGNIFICANCE-

• Setting up of state-level benches of GSTAT would help businesses by way of faster dispute resolution.
• Currently, taxpayers aggrieved with ruling of tax authorities are required to move the respective High Courts.
• The resolution process takes a long time as High Courts are already burdened with backlog of cases and do not have a specialised bench to deal with GST cases.