TOPIC : GS 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Catching up

What is the news?

• The Cabinet’s approval of a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the textile sector that is expressly targeted at the man­made fibre (MMF) and technical textiles
• It is segments is a belated acknowledgment by the Government that the ground has shifted in the global textiles trade.

Structural Change in the Demands

• A relentless shift in consumer preferences and fashion trends saw MMF surpass cotton as the fibre of choice in the 1990s, since vaulting its share in worldwide textile consumption to about 75%.
• India’s textile and clothing exports on the other hand have continued to remain dominated by cotton and other natural fibre­based products
• The MMF having contributed less than 30% of the country’s 35.6 billion in overall sectoral exports in 2017­18.
• The share remained relatively unchanged in the last fiscal as well when the sectoral exports were about $33 billion.

Policy making in the sector

• Policy makers have been aware of the need to bolster support for the MMF segment, the task of crafting initiative that enhanced investment in capacity creation, leading to increased exports, has been a while in coming.
• Decision on the focused PLI scheme, with a budgeted outlay of 10,683 crore, is the second time in 11 months that the Cabinet has approved what is broadly the same plan,

 

 

 

• The Government using the intervening period to incorporate amendments to the incentive structure based on industry feedback.
• The aim of the scheme is to specifically focus investment attention on 40 MMF apparel product lines, 14 MMF fabric lines and 10 segments or products of technical textiles.
• These 64 items have been chosen on account of being among the top traded lines in the global market as well as India having less than a 5% share in each of them.

Way Forward

• The inclusion of intermediate products at industry’s request also reflects the Government’s keenness to ensure the scheme ultimately delivers on the broader policy objectives.
• The incentives have been categorised into two investment levels.
• Firms investing at least 300 crore into plant and machinery over two years for making a specified product would need to hit a minimum turnover of 600 crore before becoming eligible to receive the incentive over a five-year period
• The second level an investment of 100 crore with a pre­set minimum turnover of 200 crore would enable qualification for the incentive.
• On the face of it, the scheme appears designed with a fair deal , but its operational success is likely to hinge on how new entrepreneurs and existing companies weigh the risk reward equation,
• At a time the pandemic­spurred uncertainty has already made private businesses leery of making fresh capital expenditure

 

Mains Question

Why the success of the PLI is likely to hinge on how entrepreneurs weigh the risk­reward equation ?

 

Sources : https://www.editorialwords.com/the-hindu-editorial-catching-up-sep-10-2021/

 

 

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

1. Botanical Survey of India

It  located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. It was founded on1890, is Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change’s organization for survey, research and conservation of plant wealth of India, flora and endangered species of India, including by collecting and maintaining germplasm and gene bank of endangered, patent and vulnerable plant species.

Botanical Survey of India also offers Fellowship for doing research in Plant Taxonomy and also offers post doctorate fellowships to those who are trained in Taxonomy and want to continue their research related to the mandate of BSI. part from the Publishing Flora of India series books, states floras, flora of Protected regions and Red Data Book of Indian Plants, BSI have also known for its various annual publications

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/bsis-collection-of-rare-paintings-dyes-fabrics-and-type-specimens-to-go-public/article36403450.ece

 

2. 2. The white-rumped vulture

It is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures die of kidney failure caused by diclofenac poisoning. The global population was estimated at several million individuals, and it was thought to be “the most abundant large bird of prey in the world”. As of 2016, the global population was estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals.

Conservation measures have included reintroduction, captive-breeding programs and artificial feeding or “vulture restaurants“. Two chicks, which were apparently the first captive-bred white-rumped vultures ever, hatched in January 2007, at a facility at Pinjore. It is closely related to the European griffon vulture . At one time it was believed to be closer to the white-backed vulture of Africa and was known as the Oriental white-backed vulture

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/8-critically-endangered-oriental-white-backed-vultures-fly-towards-survival-from-haryana/article36402117.ece

 

3. Advanced oxidation processes

It in a broad sense, are a set of chemical treatment procedures designed to remove organic and sometimes inorganic materials in water and wastewater by oxidation through reactions with hydroxyl radicals . In real-world applications of wastewater treatment, however, this term usually refers more specifically to a subset of such chemical processes that employ ozone O3, hydrogen peroxide or UV light. One such type of process is called in situ chemical oxidation.

The AOP procedure is particularly useful for cleaning biologically toxic or non-degradable materials such as aromatics, pesticides, petroleum constituents, and volatile organic compounds in wastewater. It can be used to treat effluent of secondary treated wastewater which is then called tertiary treatment. The contaminant materials are largely converted into stable inorganic compounds such as water, carbon dioxide and salts, i.e. they undergo mineralization. A goal of the wastewater purification by means of AOP procedures is the reduction of the chemical contaminants and the toxicity to such an extent that the cleaned wastewater may be reintroduced into receiving streams or, at least, into a conventional sewage treatment.

 

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/improved-water-management-system-for-toxic-textile-effluents-developed/article36404525.ece

 

4. Laos

It is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.

It  is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, and it lies mostly between latitudes 14° and 23°. Its thickly forested landscape consists mostly of rugged mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia with some plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand, where the mountains of the Annamite Range form most of the eastern border with Vietnam and the Luang Prabang Range the northwestern border with the Thai highlands. There are two plateaux, the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau at the southern end. Laos can be considered to consist of three geographical areas: north, central, and south.

Sources : https://indianexpress.com/article/world/laos-plastic-pollution-waste-management-challenges-vientiane-luang-prabang-5672080/

 

PRELIMS QUESTION

Which of the following are Landlocked Countries?

1. Laos
2. Bhutan
3. Uzbekistan
4. Bolivia

Choose the correct answer from the codes

given below:

1. a) 1 and 3 only
2. b) 2, 3 and 4 only
3. c) 1, 2 and 3 only
4. d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Answer : D

It is a socialist state and the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. At the heart of the Indochinese Peninsula, Laos is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast and Thailand to the west and southwest. Its capital and largest city is Vientiane.

It  is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia, and it lies mostly between latitudes 14° and 23°. Its thickly forested landscape consists mostly of rugged mountains, the highest of which is Phou Bia with some plains and plateaus. The Mekong River forms a large part of the western boundary with Thailand, where the mountains of the Annamite Range form most of the eastern border with Vietnam and the Luang Prabang Range the northwestern border with the Thai highlands. There are two plateaux, the Xiangkhoang in the north and the Bolaven Plateau at the southern end. Laos can be considered to consist of three geographical areas: north, central, and south.

 

2. Consider the following statement with regard to the white-rumped vulture
3. It has been listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List

 

 

1. Conservation measures have included reintroduction, captive-breeding programs and artificial feeding or vulture restaurants

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer : B

Answer :

It is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures die of kidney failure caused by diclofenac poisoning. The global population was estimated at several million individuals, and it was thought to be “the most abundant large bird of prey in the world”. As of 2016, the global population was estimated at less than 10,000 mature individuals.

Conservation measures have included reintroduction, captive-breeding programs and artificial feeding or “vulture restaurants“. Two chicks, which were apparently the first captive-bred white-rumped vultures ever, hatched in January 2007, at a facility at Pinjore. It is closely related to the European griffon vulture . At one time it was believed to be closer to the white-backed vulture of Africa and was known as the Oriental white-backed vulture