TOPIC : GS 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.
Temporary respite
What is the news?
- The latest retail inflation and industrial output data from the National Statistical Office (NSO) offer some relief from the pall of gloom cast by the relentless second wave of the COVIDÂ19 pandemic.
- Provisional headline inflation slowed to a three-month low of 4.29% in April, helped by softer food prices and a statistical base effect.
- The rate using an imputed index for the yearÂearlier period was 7.22%.
- A separate NSO release showed March industrial output jumped benefiting again from the fact that the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had posted an contraction in March 2020, when the economy was halted by the start of a nationwide lockdown.
- A closer look at the inflation data reveals a substantial cooling in the prices of cereals, milk and milk products, vegetables, and pulses and products.
- While both cereals and vegetables saw a deflationary trend widen to respectively, dairy products,
- The have the second largest weight in the food and beverages category, also slid into deflation territory
- Price gains in pulses, which had been bothering monetary policy makers by having been stubbornly stuck in the double digits over an 18Âmonth stretch, decelerated into single digits to reach a 20Âmonth low.
- The combined impact slowed inflation across the food and beverages group by more than 250 basis points .
- The same Consumer Price Index data also point to persistent price pressures that could potentially fan faster inflation in the coming months
- At a time when the socioÂeconomic burden of the crippling pandemic and the impact of the lockdown that several States are resorting to is yet to be fully gauged.
- Price gains in meat and fish quickened and were little changed at in the case of eggs, while inflation in oils and fats accelerated almost 100 basis points.
- Transport and communication also remained in the doubleÂdigit range at despite benefiting from the virtual freeze in the pump prices of petroleum products that coincided with Assembly elections.
- Global crude oil starting to firm again and local petrol and diesel prices resuming their upward curve
- The prospect of commercial transport costs for transporting goods from factory and farm gates rising in the near term is very real.
- Mix rising international commodity prices and the outlook for inflation gets even more cloudy.
- Industrial production numbers may also provide cheer only for a limited period, aided in no small measure by output having cratered in the first few months of the last fiscal.
Way forward
- IHS Markit’s PMI survey for April showed new orders and output having slowed to eight month lows
- With the pandemic- triggered factory shutdowns threatening supply disruptions, industrial production and inflation face challenges.
- Policymakers must stay vigilant to ensure price stability even as measures to bolster demand are the need of the hour.
Mains question
Price stability must be maintained even as steps to boost demand are taken. Discuss
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- Venture Capital
Venture capital (VC) is a form of private equity and a type of financing that investors provide to startup companies and small businesses that are believed to have long-term growth potential. Venture capital generally comes from well-off investors, investment banks, and any other financial institutions. However, it does not always take a monetary form it can also be provided in the form of technical or managerial expertise. Venture capital is typically allocated to small companies with exceptional growth potential, or to companies that have grown quickly and appear poised to continue to expand.
Though it can be risky for investors who put up funds, the potential for above-average returns is an attractive payoff. For new companies or ventures that have a limited operating history (under two years), venture capital funding is increasingly becoming a popular even essential source for raising capital, especially if they lack access to capital markets, bank loans, or other debt instruments. The main downside is that the investors usually get equity in the company, and, thus, a say in company decisions.
- Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI)
It is a form of permanent residency available to people of Indian origin and their spouses which allows them to live and work in India indefinitely. Despite the name, OCI status is not citizenship and does not grant the right to vote in Indian elections or hold public office
The OCI scheme was introduced by The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2005 in response to demands for dual citizenship by the Indian diaspora. It provides Overseas citizens many of the rights available to resident citizens. However, in a notification issued in March 2021, the government of India has dramatically curtailed those rights. OCI status is not available to anyone who has ever been a Pakistani or Bangladeshi citizen, or who is a child, grandchild, or great-grandchild of such a person. The OCI program was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention held in Hyderabad in late 2005
- The mountain bongo
It is a critically endangered subspecies of the bongo, one of the largest forest antelopes, with a reddish-brown coat, with black, white and yellow-white markings. Both males and females have long, slightly spiralled horns. Bongos are rarely seen in large herds. Bulls are mostly solitary, while females with young form small herds of up to 10. They are mostly nocturnal.
Lifespan is up to 20 years. Critically endangered, with an estimated 100 individuals across four isolated locations in Kenya. The mountain bongo is found in the montane forests of the Kenyan highlands, including the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. The decline of the mountain bongo has been caused by habitat loss and illegal hunting with dogs. Disease (such as rinderpest) caught from grazing cattle is also thought to have been a significant factor in their historic decline. Habitat protection and monitoring of the small remaining populations is critical for their survival, while captive breeding and reintroduction to Mount Kenya could also play a role (there are more mountain bongo in captivity than in the wild). Tusk supports the Bongo Surveillance Programme, which studies and protects their largest population of about 50 in the Aberdares.
- Technology Development Board
Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body under the Department of Science & Technology, GOI promotes development, up-scaling and commercialization of indigenous technologies in the country by providing financial assistance to companies. Since its inception in 1996, the Board has provided such assistance in the form of soft loans, equity & in special cases grants to about 280 industrial concerns for commercialization of domestically developed technologies, and for innovation/technology-driven entrepreneurship.
PRELIMS QUESTION
Qn 1.Consider the following statement regarding to Mountain Bongo
- It is a vulnerable subspecies of the bongo
- The mountain bongo is found in the montane forests of the Kenyan highlands
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only                                (b) 2 only
(c). Both of them                (d). None of the above
Answer: B
It is a critically endangered subspecies of the bongo, one of the largest forest antelopes, with a reddish-brown coat, with black, white and yellow-white markings. Both males and females have long, slightly spiralled horns. Bongos are rarely seen in large herds. Bulls are mostly solitary, while females with young form small herds of up to 10. They are mostly nocturnal.
Lifespan is up to 20 years. Critically endangered, with an estimated 100 individuals across four isolated locations in Kenya. The mountain bongo is found in the montane forests of the Kenyan highlands, including the Aberdares and Mount Kenya. The decline of the mountain bongo has been caused by habitat loss and illegal hunting with dogs. Disease (such as rinderpest) caught from grazing cattle is also thought to have been a significant factor in their historic decline. Habitat protection and monitoring of the small remaining populations is critical for their survival, while captive breeding and reintroduction to Mount Kenya could also play a role (there are more mountain bongo in captivity than in the wild). Tusk supports the Bongo Surveillance Programme, which studies and protects their largest population of about 50 in the Aberdares.
Qn 2.Consider the following statement regarding to Technology Development Board
- It is a autonomous body under the Department of Science & Technology,
- It promotes development, up-scaling and commercialization of indigenous technologies in the country
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only                                (b) 2 only
(c). Both of them                (d). None of the above
Answer: B
Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory body under the Department of Science & Technology, GOI promotes development, up-scaling and commercialization of indigenous technologies in the country by providing financial assistance to companies. Since its inception in 1996, the Board has provided such assistance in the form of soft loans, equity & in special cases grants to about 280 industrial concerns for commercialization of domestically developed technologies, and for innovation/technology-driven entrepreneurship