Economy Current Affairs 2023-24

 National Turmeric Board

1. Board
• Chairperson (App. by CG)
• Four members to represent ministry of Commerce, Ayush, Agriculture and Pharmaceuticals.
• 8 Members - Turmeric value chain
• Work under ministry of commerce.
2. Turmeric (Curcuma Longa) in India
• India - Largest producer, consumer and exporter.
• India - 75% of global turmeric production.
• 30 varieties of turmeric are grown in India.
• Producing states - Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
• Main exporter - Bangladesh, UAE, USA and Malaysia.
• Topical plant belonging to Ginger family (Zingiberaceae)
• Temperature - 20-35 C
• Rainfall - 150cm
• Duration - Rhizomes are harvested 9 to 10 months after planting.
• Contains naturally active ingredients called "Curcumin".
3. Create demand on domestic and international level.
• Infrastructure, Logistics, Quality, Standardization
• Traditional knowledge, Clinical trial, R&D

Nobel Prizes 2023

1. Administer by Stockholm, Sweden = based on last will of Alfred Nobel (Dynamite, blasting cap, smoking gun powder).
2. Instituted in 1991 - Five categories
• Physics
• Chemistry
• Physiology or Medicine
• Literature
• Peace
• Economic sciences (1968) by Royal Bank of Sweden
3. What winners receive?
• Nobel diploma
• Medal
• 10 million  Swedish kronor - They have to deliver a lecture to receive the money.
4. Who awards the prizes?
• Physics, Chemistry and Economics - Royal Swedish academy
• Literature - Swedish Academy, Stockholm, Sweden.
• Medicine - Nobel Assembly at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
• Selection Committe - Norwegian Nobel Committe
• Nobel statutes prohibits their judges from discussing their deliberations for 50 years.
5. Claudia Goldin - Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences - Advancing understanding of women labor market.
• Proportion of women in paid works has tripled in many high income counties.
6. Status of Gender differences
• Global Status - 50% women in paid employment, Men (80%).
• South Asia - Only 25%
• Status in India - Female (24%) Male (76%) - 2022
• Vulnerable employment - Women (77.3%) and Male (72.9%).
• U-Shaped relationship - High for poorest countries, Low for middle income countries and again rise among high income countries.
• Earning Gap - Most skewed amongst in self-employed workers.
• Earning gap reduced - 76%n of men (2017) as compare to 70% in 2004.
• Opportunities - Women less likely to work in formal employment. Fewer opportunities - business expansion and career progression.
7. Factor influencing female labor force
• U-Shaped curve - Shows position association between economic growth and the number of women in paid employment.
• Social Norms - Marriage bars often prevented married women from continuing their employment.
• Technological innovations - contraceptive pills - women delaying marriage and childbirth, increasing education and career aspects.
• Monthly pay system - Abandoning of piecework contract and adoption of modern pay system.
• Parenthood effect - Women taking greater responsibility of than men in childcare (care economy).
8. Measure taken for reducing gender gap in India
• Code of Social Security 2020
• Enhancement in paid maternity leave - 26 weeks.
• Mandatory creche facility in establishments having 50 or more employees.
• Permitting women workers in night shift with adequate safety measures.
• Code on occupation safety, Health and Working conditions 2020.
• Employment of women in aboveground mines and managerial works where continuous presence may not be required.
• Code on Wages 2019
• No discrimination on ground of gender in employee.
• Training and Skill development
• Women Industrial Training Institute
• National Vocational Training Institute
• Regional Vocational Training Institute
  
9. Need for reducing gender differences.
• Most efficient use of society's resources.
• Improved economic efficiency.
• Improved labour productivity.
• Increase in income level and decrease in poverty.
• Achievement of SDGs.
10. Way Forward - Reducing gender differences in the workforce.
• Assessment - First understand why they existed.
• Collective action - Collective, coordinate and bold action by private and public sector.
• Investment - Brazil introduce emergency aid cash transfer program.
• Congenial environment - Reform to taxation, public spending, financial infrastructure and regulation. 
• Norway, the expansion of universal childcare increased the likelihood of mother's employment by 32%.
• Tackling biases and social norms - Gender based discrimination in social institutions cost the world economy 6 trillion according to OECD.
• Access to Microfinance - Increase female labour force participation.

Periodic Labour Force Survey

1. Launched by NSSO.
2. Employment and Unemployment indicators.
3. Labour force participation rate (LFPR) - Percentage of persons in labour force (working seeking or available to work) in the population.
4. Workers population ratio (WPR) - Percentage of employed person in the population.
5. Unemployment rate (UR) - Percentage of person unemployed among the persons in the labour force.
6. Activity Status - Determined on the basis of activity pursued by the person during the specified reference period.

Bond Yield

1. Bond Yield ↓ = Bond Price ↑
2. Bond Yield ↑ = Bond Price ↓

United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

1. Permanent Intergovernmental Organization of UN.
2. Est by UNGA in 1984
3. Membership - 195 Including India
4. Mandate - Four main area
• Trade and development
• Investment and Enterprise
• Technology and Innovation
• Macroeconomics and Development policies
5. Functions
• Help developing countries to participate in global economy.
• Support developing countries to use trade, investment, finance and technology.
6. Other reports of UNCTAD
•  Trade and Development Report
• World Investment Report
• Digital Economy Report
• Technology and Innovation Report
• Review of Maritime report
7. Released development report 2023.
8. Key findings
• Discuss current status of global economy.
• Global economic Outlook
• World economic growth projected - 2.4% in 2023
• Entire global economy slowed except east.
• India's Economic Projection
• Forecasted 6.6% (2023) and 6.2% (2024).
• Concern - Unemployment rate of 8.5% in June 2023, are rising rapidly.

Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework

1. PCA Framework for NBFC introduced on Dec 14, 2021.
2. RBI extended to PCA supervisory to owned NBFC.
3. Corrective Measure
• Discretionary action related to governance, capital, profitability and business.
• Restriction on dividend distribution/remittance of profit.
• Restriction on branch expansion.

RBI (Willful defaulters and large defaulters) directions, 2023

1. Willful defaulter 25 lakh से  ज्यादा खा गया
2. Large defaulter - 1 crore से ज्यादा खा गया 
3. Review and finalization - Within 6 months
4. Issue show cause notice
5. No additional credit facilities be granted up to 1 year. Payment करने के बाद भी. 

Card on file Tokenization

1. Used to replace card details by unique token or code.
2. Secure online purchase

52nd GST Council meet

1. District Mineral Foundation Trust are government authority - eligible for the GST exemption.
2. Reduction of GST rate from 28% to 5% on molasses.
3. GSTAT 
• Statutory body under central GST Act 2017
• Forum of second appeal in GST laws and the first common forum of dispute resolution between center and state.
• Here appeal against order passed by Appellate Authority or Revisional Authority.
• Minimum age of President and Member should be 50 years and tenure should be up to 70 tears and 67 years respectively.

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF)

1. Collaborative investment platform for international and Indian investors.
2. Three funds have been established by government.
• Master funds
• Funds of funds
• Strategic opportunity funds
3. Equity linked investment.

IRDAI issued SIMA VAHAK GUIDELINES

1. Insurance for all 
2. Women centric distribution channel
3. Bima Vahak

Critical and Energy Minerals

1. Royalty rates for Mining three critical and strategic minerals - Lithium, Niobium and Rare Earth Elements.
2. Enable Central Government to auction blocks for these critical minerals for the first time in the country.
3. Second Schedule of Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act (MMMDRA) Act 1957 deals with royalty rates of Minerals.
4. If not specified - royalty rate - 12%
5. Lithium (3%), Niobium (3%) and REE (1%).
6. Presently, India's mineral royalty rate is highest in the world.
7. Amendment in MMRDA in 2023 delisted six minerals.
8. Khanij Bidesh India Ltd - secure critical minerals.
9. Auction of Mining lease and composite license of 24 critical and strategic minerals.

India Smart Cities Awards Contest (ISCAC) 2022

1. By Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs
2. Top smart cities - Indore, Surat and Agra.
3. Top 3 states - Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan.
4. Top UT - Chandigarh

GOA Roadmap for Tourism

1. G20s Delhi declaration underlined the significance of 'Goa Roadmap for Tourism' as a vehicle to achieve SDGs.
2. It identifies five priority areas in Tourism
• Green Tourism
• Digitalization
• Skills
• Tourism MSMEs
• Destination Management
3. Delhi Declaration also noted the launch of 'Travel for LiFE initiative.

Scheme for Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Product (RODTEP)

1. Ministry of Commerce and Industries
2. Introduced duty remission scheme on exports.
3. Mechanism for reimbursement of taxes, duties and levies, which are currently not being refunded under any other mechanism.

Automatic Status Holder Certificate

1. Ministry of Commerce and Industry
2.  Director General of Commercial Intelligence and Statistics - Certificate would be provided to export electronics and other risk parameters.
3. Privileges of certificate
• Credibility to Indian exporters.
• Priority custom clearance and certain exemption.

Project Mariana

1. Jointly developed by three BIS Innovation Hub centers = Swiss + Singapore + Eurosystem Hub Centers.
2. Project tested the cross-border trading and settlement of wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDC).

Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023

1. India maintains 40th rank in Global Innovation Index (GII) 2023.
2. Released by World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO).
3. Co-publish annually by Cornell University, INSTED Business School and WIPO.
4. For a 13th consecutive year, Switzerland ranks first in the GII.
5. India has 4 technology clusters among the top 100 clusters : Bengaluru, Chennai and Mumbai.
6. World International Property Organization
• HQ - Geneva, Switzerland
• Objective - Developing a balanced and accessible international Intellectual Property (IP) system.
• Member - 193, India is member. 
• Structure - The General Assembly and the Coordination Committee.
7. Major Treaties
• Paris Convention - Protection of Industrial Property.
• Berne Convention - Protection of Literary and Artistic Works
• Patent Cooperation 
• India is a member of all treaty.
8. Multilateral Development Bank (MDBS).
• G20 Expert Group released a Report titled 'Bigger Bolder Better'  Multilateral Development Banks.
• 4th G20 finance ministers and central bank governors meeting - Marrakech.
• Report focused on reforms of MDBs on the of Bigger, Better MDB.
• MDB are financial institutions established by multiple member countries and governed by international law e.g.- Bretton Wood Institutions, Asian Development Bank etc.
9. Emerging Market Bond Index
• JP Morgan added Indian government bonds to its benchmark EMBI from June 2024.
• EBMI is a benchmark index for measuring total return performance of international government and cooperate bonds that meets specific liquidity and structural requirements.
• Inclusion in EMBI could potentially:
• Lower the country's sovereign borrowing costs.
• Help finance the current account deficit.
• Free up liquidity for domestic financiers to deploy in more productive assets.
• Increase demand for the rupee and support its value.