Synopsis of Economic Survey 2013-14

Ok, let’s come to the Economic Survey 2013-14 which is extremely useful for upcoming exams like RBI Grade B, IBPS PO etc. You can get the complete Economic Survey here :

Economic Survey 2013-14

It consists of 14 chapters. Let’s have a look on the whole matter briefly:

1. Prepared by: The draft of the Economic Survey is prepared by Dept of Economic Affairs having the inputs from CSO(Central Statistical Organization) which is subsequently under Ministry of Statistics and project Implementation). Ministry of Statistics and project Implementation also prepared union Budget as well.

2. The key highlights are:

• India’s economy expected to grow between 6.1 percent to 6.7 percent in 2013-14. GDP Growth rate was just 5.0 percent in 2012-13.
  
• Slowdown in the rate of growth of services to 6.6 percent in 2012-13 contributed to a slow in overall growth. Growth in Manufacturing and Agriculture also declined.
• FDI in retail may pave the way for investment in new technology and marketing of agricultural produce in India.
• Non-performing assets (NPA) of the banking sector increased from 2.36 percent of the total credit advanced in March 2011 to 3.57 percent of total credit advanced in September 2012.
• The survey calls for a widening of the tax base, and prioritization of expenditure as key ingredients of a credible medium term fiscal consolidation plan. Some measures taken in Union Budget 2013-14 include levy of Service Tax on all air-conditioned eating places, 10% surcharge on income of individuals earning more than 1 crore rupees in a financial year.
• Expenditure on social services also increased considerably in the 12th Plan, with the education sector accounting for the largest share followed by health.
•  India is on track to meet its fiscal deficit target of 5.3% of GDP this fiscal year, and to narrow it down to 4.8% of GDP next year.
• The Economic Survey 2012-13 recommended curbing imports, mainly of gold, in a bid to reduce India’s current account deficit, which stood at 4.2% of GDP last year and is projected to be at similar levels this year.
• The study said a priority should be to reduce waste in social spending through projects like direct-cash transfers to the poor. India’s spending on social welfare increased from 5.9% of GDP in the year that ended March 31, 2008 to an estimated 7.1% of GDP in the current year.

3. Some key points to remember:

• GDP Growth Rate of India : 2013-4.7% and in 2012-4.5% [was >9% in 2005,’06,’07] and [<5% in ’86,’87 and 2012,’13]
• Contribution in GDP shares:

                                    Service Sector                            : 60%

                                   Industry                                      : 26%

                                   Agriculture and allied sector :14%

• But shares in Employment:

                                   Agriculture> Services> Industry

• IMF World GDP:

                                  2013 – 3%

                                  2014 – 3.6%

Upcoming Article: Synopsis of Union Budget 2013-14

Renaissance Art-World History

Debarat Mukherjee_Renaissance Arts

PIB Releases_Jan 2014_Vol 1

1. PARAM Supercomputer Among the Most Power Efficient Systems of the World

The Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) has achieved a significant milestone with PARAM Yuva II supercomputer being ranked 1st in India, 9th in the Asia Pacific Region and 44th in the world among the most power efficient computer systems as per the Green500 List announced at the Supercomputing Conference (SC`2013) in Denver, Colorado, USA.

Supercomputers, in general, consume a lot of electrical power and produce much heat that necessitates elaborate cooling facilities to ensure proper operation. This adds to increase in the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) of a supercomputer. To draw focus towards development of energy efficient supercomputers, Green500 ranks computer systems in the world according to compute performance per watt, thus providing a world ranking based on energy efficiency.

Energy consumed by supercomputers is measured at various Levels – L1, L2, L3 – for purpose of reporting. As the level increases, accuracy and rigor of measurement exercise also increases. It is also a measure of our capability and noteworthy that C-DAC is the second organization worldwide to have carried out the Level 3 measurement of Power versus Performance for the Green500 List.

PARAM Yuva – II uses hybrid technology – processor, co-processor and hardware accelerators – to provide the peak compute power of 520.4 Teraflop/s using 210 kiloWatt power. The interconnect network comprises of homegrown PARAMNet-III and Infiniband FDR System Area Network. This system is designed to solve large and complex computational problems. The system has 200 Terabytes of high performance storage, and requisite system software and utilities for parallel applications development.

2. President of the ICAI to Head the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA)

Shri Subodh Kumar Agrawal, President, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has been appointed as the President of the South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) for the year 2014 w.e.f. today. He was the Vice-President of SAFA for the year 2013.

SAFA, an Apex Body of SAARC is a forum of professional accountancy bodies in the SAARC Region. It was formed in the year 1984 and has at present the membership of 10 accounting institutions from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Maldives. Bhutan and Afghanistan have been given Observer Status. ICAI is one of the founder members of SAFA and also hosts its Permanent Secretariat at New Delhi.

3. Southern Grid synchronously connected with the National Power Grid -> Indian power system becomes one of the largest operating synchronous grids in the world

The Southern Grid has been synchronously connected to the rest of the Grid in the country. With this, the mission of  ‘One Nation – One Grid – One Frequency’ has been successfully accomplished.

Indian Power System is operating through five Regional Grids and a Pan India synchronous grid was envisaged for optimal utilization of the generation resources in the country. Till now, four regional grids namely Northern, Eastern, Western and North-eastern regions (NEW grid) were connected synchronously and Southern Region (SR) was connected to this NEW grid through HVDC links. Synchronous interconnection of SR with NEW grid was envisaged through high capacity 765 kV Raichur – Sholapur lines, as an ultimate step towards establishment of an “All India Synchronous National Grid” facilitating bulk transfer of power across regional boundaries.

4. Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013

The Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 has come into force from 1st Jan,2014 and the Land Acquisition Act 1894 stands repealed and cannot be invoked in any other acquisition proceedings since then.

The new Act will help in curbing the maoist menace in States like Jharkhand, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. Under the old Act of 1894, the tribals in these states were not given adequate compensation even after large scale displacements.

Apart from the revolutionary Land Acquisition Act which will provide just and fair compensation to farmers while ensuring that no land can be acquired forcibly, the  year also saw  Rural Development Ministry coming out with phase II of the Pradhan Mantri Gramin Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) to build and upgrade rural roads.  While the existing PMGSY scheme will continue, under PMGSY phase II, the roads already built for rural connectivity will be upgraded to enhance village infrastructure and better rural connectivity.  Another significant achievement was  granting approval for setting up of an independent society for transforming livelihoods and lives of rural households with an emphasis on women in tribal areas.

The Rural Development Ministry`s proposal to set up the Bharat Rural Livelihoods Foundation (BRLF) with a corpus of Rs 500 crore in partnership between the government and private sector organisations was another highlight of the Ministry.
The Ministry also announced important changes to its flagship MGNREGA programme seeking to ensure permanent and durable asset creation in rural areas and introduction of penalty for delayed wage payments.

This Year, the Rural Development Ministry also launched a new skill development scheme called Roshni for rural youth from 24 severely affected left-wing extremism  districts in the country. It aims at imparting skills and placement of 50,000 youth from these districts. The ministry selected six districts each from Jharkhand and Odisha, five from Chhattisgarh, two from Bihar and one each from Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra for the scheme. The programme will be implemented at a cost of Rs 100 crore over the next three years.
The year also saw strengthening of another skill development cum placement programme Himayat aimed at giving training and jobs to one lakh youth from poor families in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

5. Achievements of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment During 2013

    The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (Department of Social Justice & Empowerment) is entrusted with the empowerment of the disadvantaged and marginalized sections of the society. The Target groups of the Department are: (i) Scheduled Castes, (ii) Other Backward Classes, (iii) Senior Citizens and (iv) Victims of Substance Abuse.

• Scheduled Castes Development

  Revision in the Scheme of Post Matric Scholarship for the Scheduled Castes Students

  The objective of this Scheme is to provide financial assistance to scheduled caste students studying at post matriculation or post-secondary stage to enable them to complete their education. The financial assistance includes maintenance allowance, reimbursement of non-refundable compulsory fee, Book Bank facility and other allowances.

Scheme of Top Class Education for Scheduled Caste Students: Inclusion of New Institutions

SC students who secure the admission in the notified institutions are provided full financial support to meet the requirements of Tuition fees, living expenses, books and computer.

Notified Institutions include Indian Institute of Managements (IIMs), Indian Institute of Technology (IITs), National Institute of Technology (NITs), commercial pilot training institutions and reputed medical/law and other institutions of excellence.

 

Two new institutions have been added into the list w.e.f. April 2013 taking the total number of notified to 207.

Elimination of Manual Scavenging: New law for prohibition of Employment of   Manual Scavengers and their rehabilitation

 “The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013”has been passed by the Parliament and has come into force on 6^th December 2013.

The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill, 2012

        Extension of Tenure of the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis (NCSK)

Utilisation of 10% of Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) Funds for Skill Development

 The Finance Minister had, during his Budget Speech 2013-14, announced that 10% of Special Central Assistance (SCA) to Scheduled Castes Sub Plan (SCSP) Funds would be utilized for Skill Development.

The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989

UMBRELLA-SCHEME: Scheme for Development of Scheduled Castes

The Umbrella Scheme would subsume the existing Schemes indicated below:-

                  i.   Post Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC Students,

                 ii.   Pre-Matric Scholarship Scheme for SC students (studying in Classes I & X),

               iii.   Pre-Matric Scholarship to the Children of those engaged in the unhygienic occupations,

               iv.   Up-gradation of Merit of SC students,

                v.   *Grant for construction of Boys & Girls Hostels for SC students,

               vi.   State Scheduled Castes Development Corporations,

             vii.   Protection of Civil Rights (PCR) Act, 1955 & Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.

            viii.   Pradhan Mantri Adarsh Gram Yojana

 

            Skill Development Training to Youths

 Principal Secretary to Prime Minister and National Skill Development Agency (NSDA) is monitoring the progress in regard to the persons being provided skill development training vis-à-vis the annual target set for the Ministry for the year 2013-14.

Issues Relating to Transgender Persons

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has been designated as the Nodal Ministry for Transgender Persons with effect from July 2012.

          International Day for Older Persons Celebrated On 1^st October 2013

 The Ministry observed the International Day for Older Persons (IDOP) on 1^st October 2013. The Ministry collaborated with Help Age India for organising an Inter-generational Walkathon at the India Gate Lawns, Rajpath, New Delhi on the morning of 1^st October 2013.

Department of Disability Affairs

Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill, 2013

The Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act, 1995 has been in force for over 17 years. In order to harmonize the provisions of this Act in line with the United Nations Convention on Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD), the Act has been reviewed and a new Bill namely   Rights of Persons Disabilities Bill, 2013 was finalized after extensive consultations with the Central Ministries/Departments, State Governments/UTs and various stakeholders.

Scheme of Assistance to Disabled Persons for Purchase/Fitting of Aids/Appliances (Adip Scheme)

 The main objective of the Scheme is to provide grant in aid to the various implementing agencies (NGOs/NIs/District Disability Rehabilitation Centres/ALIMCO/State Handicapped Development Corporation/other local bodies) to assist the needy disabled persons in procuring durable, sophisticated and scientifically manufactured, modern, standard aids and appliances that can promote their physical, social and psychological rehabilitation, by reducing the effects of disabilities and enhance their economic potential.  The aids and appliances supplied under the Scheme must be ISI.  The scheme also envisages conduct of corrective surgeries, whenever required, before providing an assistive device.

Setting up of National Institute for Inclusive and Universal Design

District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs)

 To create infrastructure and capacity building at District level for providing comprehensive rehabilitation services to the persons with disabilities at the grass root level and for facilitating at the district level for awareness generation, training rehabilitation professionals the Ministry provides assistance for setting up District Disability Rehabilitation Centres (DDRCs) in under-served districts of the country.  Until March, 2010, 199 DDRCs have been sanctioned.  Out of this 185 such DDRCs are functional as on date.

 

 

 

 

Water Security in India

1. Water Security is said to exist when all people of the country have access to water in sufficient quantity and quality to meet  livelihood needs throughout the year, without prejudicing the needs of other users.
2. affecting global economic development and the livelihoods of the poor.
3. Poor people suffer the most when resources are scarce.
4. India accounts for 2.45% of land area and 4% of the water resources of the world population. With the present population growth rate (1.9 per cent per year), the population is expected to cross the 1.5 billion mark by 2050.
5. The United Nations Human Development Report 2006 “Beyond scarcity: Power, poverty and the global water crisis” identified water availability per person (supply) was decreasing, while at the same time the amount of water that each person was using (demand) was increasing.
6. low agricultural water productivity and efficiency, combined with aging supply infrastructure, would make severe supply-demand gaps likely in many basins with currently planned crop choices.
7. India is one of the world’s leading crop producers. Over the years, there has been an increase in water consumption in the agricultural sector. The volume of water used for irrigation in India is expected to increase in by 68.5 Trillion (Tr) liters between 2000 and 2025.(Also due to the attributes needed for Green Revolution and BGREI)
8. Unless local and national communities come together and dramatically  improve the way we envision and manage water, there will be many hungry villages and degraded environments and the economic development of the country will be put at risk. Stakeholders that include farmers, industries, policy makers, administrators, non government organizations, etc.  will need to come together to formulate an integrated road map towards water resource security in India. Some resolution in this road map may require potentially unpopular policy changes and the adoption of water saving techniques and technologies The dialogue needed amongst stakeholders, then, is about India’s economic and social priorities and the challenges that are worth  tackling  to deliver or achieve water security, when every child in India would have easy access to water of the right quality, in the right quantity and at the right place.

 

A strong Government helps bureaucracy function effectively: National Interest

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