Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Paving the way for big-ticket asset monetisation in the public sector, Niti Aayog has identified over 50 assets that could be put on the block.

About NLMC

• The Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of a new government-owned firm for pooling and monetising sovereign and public sector land assets. 
• The National Land Monetisation Corporation (NLMC) is being formed with an initial authorised share capital of ₹5,000 crore and paid up capital of ₹150 crore.
• The government will appoint a chairman to head the NLMC and hire private sector professionals with the expertise required for asset monetisation in areas such as real estate market research, legal due diligence, valuation, master planning, investment banking and land management.

Objectives

• The NLMC will undertake monetisation of surplus land and building assets of Central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) as well as government agencies. 
• With monetisation of non-core assets, the government would be able to generate substantial revenues by monetising unused and under-used assets.
• The proposal is in pursuance of the Budget announcements for 2021-22, which included an ambitious National Monetisation Pipeline (Refer Pulse August 2021 edition) to garner revenues from public assets.
• The new corporation will also help carry out monetisation of assets belonging to public sector firms that have closed or are lined up for a strategic sale. As per the plan, the surplus land and building assets of such enterprises may be transferred to the NLMC, which will then manage and monetise them.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• The Ministry of MSME has conducted an awareness programme for the MSME Innovative Scheme.

About

• The Ministry of MSME has launched the MSME Innovative Scheme (Incubation, Design and IPR) to promote and support untapped creativity of the MSME sector.
• It will act as a hub for innovation activities facilitating and guiding development of ideas into viable business propositions which benefits society directly.
• The scheme is a holistic approach to unify, synergize and converge 3 sub-components and interventions with a single purpose.
• MSME Innovative is a new concept for MSMEs with a combination of innovation in incubation, design intervention and by protecting IPR in a single mode approach to create awareness amongst MSMEs about India’s innovation and motivate them to become MSME Champions.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Every year, people across the world celebrate Earth Day on April 22 to show their support for the protection of the earth and the environment.
• Events on the day include plantation drives, protests, awareness sessions, competitions for children, and so on.

About World Earth Day

• The World Earth Day, also known as the International Mother Earth Day, is celebrated every year on April 22 under which countries across the globe come together to create more awareness about the dire need to protect our environment.
• The day focuses on the global climate crisis that is worsening with each passing day.
• On this day, the emphasis is on the increasing environmental problems, including overpopulation, loss of biodiversity, depleting ozone layer and rising pollution.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• More than 42 lakh property cards have been distributed in nearly 32 thousand villages under the SVAMITVA scheme.

About the scheme

• SVAMITVA (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas) scheme is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India.
• It is a central sector scheme that aims to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties so that they can use their property for economic purposes. The scheme is for surveying the land parcels in rural inhabited areas using Drone technology. 

Objectives

• The outcome from the scheme would include updating the record of rights in the revenue/property registers and issuance of property cards to the property owners. This would facilitate monetisation of rural residential assets for credit and other financial services.
• It will also lead to creation of accurate land records for rural planning and determination of property tax.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is aiming to carry out a landing experiment (LEX), a critical component of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme

About the experiment

• RLV-LEX involves taking an unmanned, winged prototype to an altitude of about 2.3 km to 2.4 km on a helicopter and releasing it to land.
• The prototype will be released 3.7 km away from the airstrip and it must travel the distance autonomously, gain velocity, maintain control and come in like any typical aircraft, touching down with the rear wheels first. A parachute will then be deployed for braking.

Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme

• The cost of access to space is the major deterrent in space exploration and space utilization. A reusable launch vehicle is the unanimous solution to achieve low cost, reliable and on-demand space access.
• Currently, ISRO employs expendable rockets such as the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV) for space missions.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• Aiming to give a boost to the export value chain, the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Research Development Corporation (NRDC).
• The MoU has been inked for utilizing both the organizations’ expertise by working together to synergize the activities in the interest of agriculture and allied sectors for bringing better value to the stakeholders. The MoU has been signed for the implementation of the Agri Export Policy and to strengthen the export value chain.
• The MoU’s mandate is to infuse and disseminate technologies jointly with APEDA in the areas of climate-resilient agriculture related to zero carbon emission farming to produce residue/carbon-free food for exports.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• The Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) received the prestigious Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration, 2020 for its scheme ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ (ONORC). The award was presented under the category Innovation (General)-Central.
• The landmark plan of ONORC is a countrywide innovation that allows all NFSA beneficiaries, particularly migrant beneficiaries, to claim either full or part foodgrains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) of choice in the country through existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar authentication in a seamless manner. The system also allows their family members back home, if any, to claim the balance of foodgrains on same the ration card.

PDS in India

• Under the National Food Security Act, 2013, about 81 crore persons are entitled to buy subsidized foodgrain — rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg, and coarse grains at Re 1/kg — from their designated Fair Price Shops (FPS) of the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
• PDS is operated under the joint responsibility of the Central and the State Governments.
• The Central Government, through Food Corporation of India (FCI), has assumed the responsibility for procurement, storage, transportation and bulk allocation of food grains to the State Governments.
• The operational responsibilities including allocation within the State, identification of eligible families, issue of Ration Cards and supervision of the functioning of Fair Price Shops (FPSs) etc., rests with the State Governments.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• On the occasion of the 75th anniversary of Indian Independence & ongoing Azadi ka Amrit Mahotasav, India Post Payments Bank (IPPB), a 100% government owned entity under Department of Posts (DoP) announced the launch of Fincluvation– a joint initiative to collaborate with Fintech Startup community to co-create and innovate solutions for financial inclusion.

About Payments banks 

• Payments banks are the new age banks with limited facilities. These banks mostly operate through the small vendors and shopkeepers. It exists in between the mobile wallet and regular banks.
• Payments banks are permitted to set up their own outlets such as branches, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Business Correspondents (BCs), etc. to undertake only certain restricted activities permitted to banks under the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• A payments bank provides following services to its customers:

• Accept demand deposits (restricted upto 2 lakh)
• Remittance services
• Mobile payments
• Fund transfers
• Debit card and associated services (Payments banks, however, cannot issue credit cards)
• Net Banking services
• Sell third-party financial products like insurance and mutual funds

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• With the vision to promote sustainable trade and create market linkages, a mega buyer-seller meet was recently organized at Jammu and Kashmir under One District One Product initiative of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

About the scheme

• One District One Product One District One Product (ODOP) scheme was launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The objective is to convert each District of the country into an Export Hub by
  • Identifying products with export potential in the District,
  • Addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products,
  • Supporting local exporters/manufacturers to scale up manufacturing, and
  • Find potential buyers outside India with the aim of promoting exports,
  • Promoting the manufacturing & services industry in the District and generating employment in the District.
• The programme aims to promote local indigenous specialised products and the crafts of each district through various development initiatives, including providing loans to local production units, artisans, and farmers; establishing common facility centres; helping market these products at a global level; etc.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context

• India has stressed on the importance of the United Nations Guiding Principles of Humanitarian Assistance and reiterated its call for immediate cessation of violence and hostilities in Ukraine.
• Speaking at the UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine’s humanitarian situation, India’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, R Ravindra said that humanitarian action must always be guided by the principles of humanitarian assistance that are humanity, neutrality, impartiality, and independence.

About UNSC

• The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) was established in 1946 as one of the six principal organs of the UN. It is generally viewed as the apex of the UN system.
• It is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.
• Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorization of military action through Security Council resolutions.
• It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.