Daily Current Affairs December 30 2021 | Latest News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi has inaugurated the Kanpur Metro Rail and Bina-Panki multi-product pipeline:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the 54th Convocation Ceremony of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.
• During his visit to Kanpur Mr Modi also inaugurated the completed section of the Metro Rail Project in the city. This section is nine-kilometre long from IIT, Kanpur to Moti Jheel.
• The Prime Minister inspected the Kanpur Metro Rail Project and undertook a metro ride from IIT Metro Station to Geeta Nagar.
• The entire length of the Metro Rail Project in Kanpur is 32 kilometres and is being built at a cost of over 11,000 crore rupees.
• The Bina-Panki Multi-product Pipeline Project was also inaugurated by the Prime Minister.
• It is a 356 Km long project with a capacity of around 3.45 million metric tonnes per annum.
• Extending from Bina refinery in Madhya Pradesh to Panki in Kanpur, the project has been built at a cost of over 1,500 crore rupees.
• It will help the region access petroleum products from the Bina refinery.

PM has visited Uttarakhand and inaugurate & lay foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17500 crore:

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has visited Haldwani, Uttarakhand on 30th December, 2021 and has inaugurated & lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17500 crore.
• Among the 23 projects, the foundation stone will be laid for 17 projects worth over Rs 14100 crore.
• These Projects cover a wide array of sectors/areas across the state including irrigation, road, housing, health infrastructure, industry, sanitation, drinking water supply among others.
• The programme will witness inauguration of 6 projects including multiple road widening projects, a hydropower project in Pithoragarh and projects to improve sewerage network in Nainital.
• The cumulative cost of the projects being inaugurated is over Rs 3400 crore.
• Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the Lakhwar Multipurpose Project to be built at the cost of about Rs 5750 crore.
• This project was first conceived in 1976 and was lying pending for many years.
• Prime Minister will also inaugurate two sewage treatment plants of 7 MLD and 1.5 MLD capacity constructed at the cost of about 50 crores at Ramnagar, Nainital.
• Also, Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone of the construction of nine sewage treatment plants (STPs) in Udham Singh Nagar, to be built at the cost of about 200 crores; and a 78 crore project for upgradation of Sewerage system in Nainital.
• Prime Minister will also inaugurate the 5-Megawatt capacity Suringad-II run of the river hydroelectric project built by Uttarakhand Jal Vidyut Nigam (UJVN) Limited at Munsyari in Pithoragarh district built at a cost of about Rs 50 crore.

India has achieved its NDC target with total non-fossil based installed energy capacity of 157.32 GW:

• At COP 21, as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India had committed to achieving 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030.
• The country has achieved this target in November 2021 itself.
• The country’s installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity stands at 150.54 GW as on 30.11.2021 while its nuclear energy based installed electricity capacity stands at 6.78 GW.
• This brings the total non-fossil based installed energy capacity to 157.32 GW which is 40.1% of the total installed electricity capacity of 392.01 GW.
• In line with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s announcement at the recently concluded CoP26, the Government is committed to achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil fuel sources by the year
• During the last 7.5 years, India has witnessed the fastest rate of growth in renewable energy capacity addition among all large economies, with renewable energy capacity growing 1.97 times and solar energy expanding over 18 times.
• India’s wind power potential at hub height of 120 meters is 695 GW.
• The wind power installed capacity has grown 1.9 times during past 7.5 years to about 40 GW and 9.67 GW of projects are at various stages of commissioning.
• India has the 4th largest wind power capacity in the world.

IIT Madras recognised as Most Innovative Educational Institute in India for third consecutive year:

• The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has been recognised as the Most Innovative Educational Institute in India for the third consecutive year.
• It has been Ranked #1 in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) launched by the Innovation Cell of the Ministry of Education, Government of India.
• IIT Madras is in the ‘CFTIs (Centrally Funded Technical Institutions)/Central University/Institute of National Importance (Technical)’ category.
• As many as 1,438 higher education institutions (HEIs), including all IITs, NITs, and IISc, participated in the third edition of ARIIA Rankings as compared to 674 HEIs last year.
• This third edition of ARIIA has a special framework for non-technical institutions which will further strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem in our education institutions.
• ARIIA 2021 has rankings for six categories of institutions –
• CFTIs (Centrally Funded Technical Institutions) /Central University/Institute of National Importance (Technical);
• State University and Deemed University (Govt & Govt aided)(technical);
• Government College/Institution (Govt and Govt Aided)(technical);
• University & Deemed University (Self-finance/private)(technical);
• Private college/Institute (self-finance/private)(technical);
• Institute of National Importance, Central University and CFIs (non-technical) and General (non-technical).

Click here to read more;

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Indian Army establishes Quantum Laboratory in Mhow, Madhya Pradesh:

• The Army is making steady, yet significant strides in the field of emerging technology domains. The Army, with support from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has recently established the Quantum Lab at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to spearhead research and training in this key developing field.
• Army Chief Gen M M Naravane was briefed on the facility during his recent visit to
• The Army has also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre at the same institution with over 140 deployments in forward areas and active support of industry and academia.
• Training on cyber warfare is being imparted through a state of art cyber range, and cyber security labs.
• Indian Army in the field of Quantum Technology will help leapfrog into next-generation communication and transform the current system of cryptography in the Indian Armed Forces to Post Quantum Cryptography (PQC).

Click here to read more;

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND ECONOMY

Central Bank of India, NPCI tie-up to launch RuPay debit card for corporates:

• Central Bank of India (CBoI) has announced its partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch ‘RuPay Business Platinum Debit Card’ for firms/corporates.
• This card offers an ATM withdrawal limit of ₹1 lakh along with a purchase of up to ₹3 lakh at POS or E-Commerce, to its users
• Further, card users can withdraw up to ₹75,000 at ATMs abroad and perform purchases globally worth up to ₹3 lakh at POS and international online merchants.
• Along with Purchase Protection coverage of ₹2 lakh, customers using this card will get accidental death and air accident coverage worth ₹10 lakh and ₹20 lakh respectively and the Cardholders will be able to earn reward points on every purchase.
• The users of this card will also have access to domestic and international airport lounges twice per quarter and two times a year, respectively.

About CBI

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 21 December 1911
• MD & CEO: Matam Venkata Rao
• Tagline: Central to You Since 1911, Build a better life around us

About NPCI:

• The National Payments Corporation of India is the specialised division of Reserve Bank of India which is under the jurisdiction of Ministry of Finance, Government of India.It was created by RBI for operating retail payments and settlement systems in India.
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 2008

RBI extends direction for PMC Bank till March 2022:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the validity of its directions for the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank from January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022, but it will be subject to review.
• Action with regard to sanction of the scheme of amalgamation of PMC Bank with Unity Small Finance Bank Ltd. (USFB) is in process
• The RBI had earlier, on November 22, 2021, issued a draft scheme for amalgamation of the bank, inviting suggestions and objections, till December 10, 2021, from members, depositors and other creditors of PMC Bank and Unity Small Finance Bank.
• Depositors of the Bank, in their suggestions to the RBI on the draft amalgamation scheme, want immediate payment of 25 per cent of the amount that will remain in their account after the initial payment of up to ₹5 lakh and payment of the balance in three installments over three years.
• The PMC Depositors Forum wants Unity SFB to pay the same rate of interest to the depositors of the erstwhile PMC Bank as it will pay to its new depositors.
• PMC Bank has been under RBI directions with effect from the close of business on September 23, 2019.

About RBI:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
• Governor: Shaktikanta Das

Click here to read more;

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

RBI appoints Yogesh Dayal as an additional director on RBL Bank’s board     

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Yogesh K Dayal, its chief general manager, as an additional director on the board of private lender RBL Bank for a period of two years.
• The appointment came into effect on December 24, 2021 & till December 23, 2023 or till further orders.
• It is conferred under Section 36 AB of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
• Dayal is a career central banker who has worked with the RBI in various capacities for over 25 years.
• He has held positions in the central bank’s monetary policy department, as well as the departments related to banking supervision, information technology, currency management and payment and settlement system besides financial inclusion and development.

About RBI :

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founded: 1 April 1935
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das
• Repo Rate : 4.00%
• Reverse Repo Rate : 3.35 %
• Bank Rate : 4.25%
• Cash reserve ratio (CRR) : 4.0%
• Statutory liquidity ratio (SLR) : 18.00%

About RBL Bank :

• Founded: August 1943
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Interim MD & CEO : Mr Rajeev Ahuja

Kamlesh Gandhi appointed Co-Chairman of FIDC

• Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has announced Kamlesh Gandhi, CMD of MAS Financial Services has been appointed as Co-Chairman, FIDC in addition to Umesh Revankar, CEO and MD of Shriram Transport Finance Group.
• These appointments were taken as Sanjay Chamria resigned as the Co-Chairman and Director, FIDC.
• Dinanath Dubhashi, MD and CEO, L&T Finance Holdings has been appointed as an additional Director of FIDC.

About FIDC :

• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formed : 2004
• Director General : Mr Mahesh Thakkar
• FIDC is a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) cum Representative Body of the Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFCs), registered with the Reserve Bank of India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : AWARDS & HONORS

Padma Bhusan Anil Prakash Joshi wins Mother Teresa Memorial Award 2021    

• Environmentalist Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, who was conferred upon the Padma Bhushan in 2021, has been awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021.
• Vidyut Mohan, the winner of the Earthshot Prize, and Ridhima Pandey, a young environmental activist from Uttarakhand, were also the recipients of the award.
• The awardees were felicitated by Dr Abraham Mathai, the founder chairman of the foundation.

Note :

• The Harmony Foundation hosted the 17th Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021.
• The award identifies a theme and honors individuals and organizations who work to improve environmental sustainability.

Key Notes :

• Dr Joshi was awarded for his efforts as a changemaker in the environmental sustainability sector by impacting over 10,000 villages in the Himalayan region through his Himalayan Environmental Studies & Conservation Organization.
• Vidyut was acknowledged for his seminal and ingenious efforts in combating air pollution through his social enterprise Takachar.
• Ridhima, received the award for her spectacular courage, and indomitable spirit as a youth environmental activist who has galvanized national participation to stop climate change.

About Mother Teresa Memorial Award :

• Mother Teresa Awards have been given since 2004 annually or biannually.
• It is an initiative of Harmony Foundation, an organization created by Dr. Abraham Mathai in Mumbai.
• The award is presented to honor individuals and organizations that promote peace, equality and social justice.
• The awards are given in honor of Mother Teresa.

About Harmony Foundation :

• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founded : 2005

Anukrti Upadhyay’s Kintsugi wins the Sushila Devi Award 2021

• Anukrti Upadhyay has won the Sushila Devi Award 2021 for the Best Book of Fiction for her critically acclaimed novel, Kintsugi, which was published under its prestigious Fourth Estate imprint.
• The Ratanlal Foundation and the organizing Committee of the Bhopal Literature and Art Festival announced the winner.
• This prize has been instituted by the Shri Ratanlal Foundation.

Note :

• Previous winners have been Namita Gokhale (Things To Leave Behind), Shubhangi Swarup (Latitudes of Longing) and Avni Doshi (Girl in White Cotton).

About Kintsugi :

• Kintsugi is a novel about young women breaching boundaries, overcoming trauma, and challenging the social order.
• It is the story of Meena, rebellious and unexamined, and Yuri, as complex as Meena is naive.
• It is also the story of Haruko who has dedicated herself to her art, and of Leela who is determined to break gender roles and learn the traditional gold-craft of her community.

About Anukrti Upadhyay :

• Anukrti Upadhyay writes in both English and Hindi.
• She stunned readers and critics alike with the twin novellas Daura and Bhaunri in 2019, and delighted Hindi readers with short story collection Japani Sarai.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

NASA launches world’s most powerful space telescope

• World’s largest and most powerful space telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, has been launched successfully into orbit in an Ariane rocket from the European Space Agency’s base in French Guiana.

Purpose :

• To make breakthrough discoveries on the origins of the Universe and Earth-like planets beyond our solar system.

About James Webb Space Telescope :

• The James Webb Space Telescope is Jointly built by NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Canadian Space Agency.
• The Webb telescope will reach its destination in solar orbit some 5 million km from Earth – about four times farther away than the moon.
• It will be the largest telescope ever placed in space and 100 times more powerful than Hubble.
• It will see farther into our origins, from the formation of stars and planets, to the birth of the first galaxies in the early Universe.
• It intends to show humans what the Universe looked like even closer to its birth nearly 14 billion years ago.

About NASA :

• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• Founder: Dwight D. Eisenhower
• Founded: 29 July 1958, United States
• Administered by: Steve Jurczyk, Bill Nelson

Click here to read more;

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

Telangana Tops in the Implementation of SPMRM

• Telangana was the first in the implementation of the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Rurban Mission (SPMRM), Tamil Nadu and Gujarat secured the second and third positions respectively.

Top 5 States :

Rank	States
1	Telangana
2	TamilNadu
3	Gujarat
4	Punjab
5	Chattisgarh

Top 5 Clusters :

Rank	Cluster
1	Ryakal (Sangareddy, Telangana)
2	Jukkal (Kamareddy, Telangana)
3	Aibawk (Aizawl, Mizoram)
4	Murmunda (Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh)
5	Vaniyangudi (Sivaganga, Tamil Nadu)

About SPMRM :

• Shyama Prasad Mukherji Rurban Mission (SPMRM) was launched on 21st February, 2016 by the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) & it is a centrally sponsored scheme.
• A predecessor to SPMRM was the Provision of Urban Amenities to Rural Areas (PURA), announced in 2003.
• Aim : To stimulate local economic development, enhance basic services, and create well planned Rurban clusters.
• To develop 300 clusters in the country holistically by provisioning of economic, social and physical infrastructure facilities.
• There are 2 categories of clusters: Non-Tribal and Tribal

Objectives :

(i) Sanitation,

(ii) Piped Water Supply,

(iii) Solid and Liquid Waste Management,

(iv) Village Street Lights and Electrification,

(v) Access to Village Streets With Drains,

(vi) Inter Village Roads Connectivity,

(vii) Public Transport,

(viii) Skill Development Training Linked to Economic Activities,

(ix) Agri-Services Processing and Allied Activities,

(x) Health,

(xi) Education,

(xii) Digital Literacy,

(xiii) Citizens Service Centres,

(xiv) LPG Gas Connection,

(xv) Environment,

(xvi) Employment Generation and SHG Formation,

(xvii) Tourism Promotion,

(xviii) Sports Infrastructure,

(xix) Social Infrastructure,

(xx) Rural Housing,

(xxi) Social Welfare.

About Ministry of Rural Development :

• Union Minister : Giriraj Singh
• Minister of State : Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti, Faggan Singh Kulaste
• Ministry Executive : Nagendra Nath Sinha

NITI Aayog Releases Fourth Edition of State Health Index

• NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the State Health Index for 2019–20.
• The report, titled “Healthy States, Progressive India”, ranks states and Union Territories on their year-on-year incremental performance in health outcomes as well as their overall status.
• The report was released jointly by NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant, Additional Secretary Dr Rakesh Sarwal, and World Bank Senior Health Specialist Sheena Chhabra.
• It has been developed by NITI Aayog, with technical assistance from the World Bank, and in close consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW).
• The State Health Index is an annual tool to assess the performance of states and UTs.
• It is a weighted composite index based on 24 indicators grouped under the domains of ‘Health Outcomes’, ‘Governance and Information’, and ‘Key Inputs/Processes’.
• To ensure comparison among similar entities, the ranking is categorized as ‘Larger States’, ‘Smaller States’ and ‘Union Territories’.
• On overall ranking based on the composite index score in 2019–20, the top-ranking states were Kerala (1) and Tamil Nadu (2) among the ‘Larger States’, & while Uttar Pradesh (19th) was the worst.
• Among the smaller states, Mizoram (1) and Tripura (2) were the best performers and Nagaland (8) was at the bottom.
• Among the union territories, Chandigarh was on top, followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli at number 2 and Delhi at number 3 & the puducherry was the worst overall performer.
• Among the ‘Larger States’, in terms of annual incremental performance, Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Telangana are the top three ranking states & Karnataka ranked 19th with least.
• Among ‘Smaller States’, Mizoram (1) and Meghalaya (2) registered the maximum annual incremental progress & Goa ranked 8th with least.
• Among UTs, Delhi, followed by Jammu and Kashmir, showed the best incremental performance & Chandigarh ranked 7th with least incremental performance.

About State Health Index :

• The State Health Index has been compiled and published since 2017.

Objective :

• To track progress on health outcomes and health systems performance, develop a healthy competition and encourage cross-learning among states and UTs
• The reports aim to nudge states/UTs towards building robust health systems and improving service delivery.

About NITI Aayog :

• Formed: 1 January 2015
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi
• Vice Chairperson : Rajiv Kumar
• CEO : Amitabh Kant

About World Bank :

• Founded: July 1944
• Headquarters: Washington, D.C., United States
• President: David Malpass
• MD & CEO : Anshula Kant

About Ministry of Health and Family Welfare :

• Founded: 1947
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Union Minister : Mansukh Mandaviya
• Minister of State : Bharati Pawar, Faggan Singh Kulaste

CURRENT AFFAIRS :SPORTS NEWS

Nitesh Kumar wins gold as 4th Para-Badminton National Championship

• World No. 7 Nitesh Kumar doubled his gold tally at the 4th Para-Badminton National Championship, which concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• Haryana’s Nitesh along with his partner Tarun defeated World No. 1 Paralympic Games gold medallist Pramod Bhagat and Manoj Sarkar in straight sets 21-19, 21-11 in the Men’s doubles finals to win the gold.
• Earlier Nitesh also won the gold medal in the Men’s singles category.
• World No 1 SL3 Para-Badminton player Parul Parmar from Gujarat also secured gold while Mandeep Kaur from Uttarakhand won Silver and Mansi won bronze.

In Women Wheelchair 1 category:

• Alphia James from Kerala – Gold
• Neerja Goyal from Uttarakhand – Silver
• Nirmala Mehta from Uttarakhand and Ranjeeta Maurya from Uttar Pradesh – Bronze.

In Women Wheelchair 2 category :

• Ammu Mohan from Karnataka – gold
• Shabana from Punjab – Silver
• Prema Biswas and Suman Rawat – bronze.

In Women SU5 category :

• Manisha from Tamil Nadu – Gold
• Arti – Silver
• Jyoti and Vaishali – Bronze medal.

In Women SL4 category :

• Jyoti from Haryana – Gold
• Chiranjita – Silver
• Kanak – Bronze.

In Women SH6 category :

• Nitya Sre from Tamil Nadu – Gold,
• Rhui – Silver
• Sasikala and Rachana – Bronze.

About 4th Para-Badminton National Championship :

• Fourth National Para Badminton Championship held at two venues, Railway Indoor stadium, Bhubaneswar in association with K.C. Memorial Trust and Udaan Badminton Academy under the aegis of Paralympic Committee of India (PCI) and Badminton Association of India.
• The event was organized by Para Sports Association of Odisha along with the Department of Sports and Youth Govt. of Odisha.
• It is the 3-day event saw over 500 athletes compete in 22 different categories.

Moyuka Uchijima wins ITF W25 Pune title

• Japanese tennis player Moyuka Uchijima beat fourth seed Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia 6-2, 7-5 in the singles final of the 20th edition of the NECC Deccan $25,000 Women’s ITF Championships.
• It was the fourth title in the professional circuit for Moyuka, and third of the season.
• The champion collected 65 WTA points and $3,935, and the runner-up won 40 points and $2,107.
• In the doubles final, top seeds Anna Danilina and Valeriya Strakhova prevailed 6-0, 2-6, 10-5 against the Japanese pair of Funa Kozaki and Misaki Matsuda.
• The doubles champion team got $1,437 and the runner-up $719.

About NECC :

• NECC – National Egg Coordination Committee
• Founded: 1982
• Chair : Dr. Banda Vasudev Rao
• General Manager : BSR Shastri
• National Egg Coordination Committee (NECC) is an association of poultry farmers in India with a membership of more than 25,000 farmers.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Seven-term Rajya Sabha MP Mahendra Prasad passes away

• Rajya Sabha MP from the Janata Dal(United) and industrialist Mahendra Prasad Passed away at the age of 81.

About Mahendra Prasad :

• Mahendra Prasad was born on 8 January 1940, Jehanabad, Bihar, India.
• He joined the Janata Dal and then its offshoots, first Rashtriya Janata Dal and then JD(U).
• His name was often prefixed with “King”; he remained in the Rajya Sabha since 1985 except for brief gaps.
• He is a Member of the Parliament of India representing Bihar in the Rajya Sabha.
• He was the founder of Aristo Pharmaceuticals & estimated to be one of the richest members of Parliament.
• He was a seven-term Rajya Sabha MP from Bihar and was also elected to the Lok Sabha once.
• Prasad was first elected to the Lok Sabha on a Congress ticket in 1980.
• He remained associated with the party for a long time and shifted his loyalties later as its fortunes declined in the state.

Former England Test Captain Ray Illingworth passes away

• Former England cricketer Ray Illingworth passed away at the age of 89.

About Ray Illingworth :

• Ray Illingworth born on 8 June 1932 in Pudsey, West Yorkshire, England.
• He was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator.
• He played 61 test matches for England between 1958 and 1973, scoring 1,836 runs at an average of 23.24 and he claimed 122 wickets.
• He captained England 31 times, winning 12 of those matches.
• He also has 24,134 first-class runs and 2,072 wickets and has led Yorkshire to three title wins from 1966 to 1968.
• He became the chairman of England’s Board of Test Selectors (1993-1996) and the England cricket coach (1995-1996).

UNION GOVERNMENT SCHEME

Production linked incentive (PLI)

Introduced in:

Production linked incentive (PLI) schemes were first introduced in India in March 2020, targeting three sectors.

The PLI concept has since expanded with schemes rolled out for multiple sectors to make India self-sufficient in manufacturing products and to cater to both domestic and international markets.

What is PLI:

PLI Scheme, as the Production Linked Incentive Scheme is commonly abbreviated as, is an initiative started by the Government of India to not only encourage foreign companies to find workforce in the country and thereby generate employment, but also encourage domestic and local production to create micro jobs.

As the name states, PLI scheme is an initiative that provides incentives to domestic industries to boost local production. When that happens, specifically tailored products emerge that satisfy a selected niche of target audience.

Domestic businesses also help in cutting down import bills.

As per the PLI scheme, the government encouraged domestic companies and establishments to set up or expand on manufacturing units to increase production, to which the government provides incentives on incremental sales.

According to the PLI scheme update in November 2020, the scheme aimed to include ten more labour intensive sectors of production—examples include food processing, textiles etc. in addition to the already existing sectors like allied equipment for mobile phones and assembly, pharma and medical devices.

Need of PLI Scheme:

The PLI scheme is essential in the country for many reasons.

The prime necessityis to neutralize the amount of imports and exports in the country in a non-discriminatory manner.

This is possible when domestic industries are given more and due importance.

Another reason is that India is primarily a labour intensive workforce owing to the population, and that the government could focus on capital influx for growth. But the capital intensive growth can generate returns only after a long time, a duration that foreign funding can afford.

So instead, the government shifting its focus to boost short term, under a year result driven industries, can potentially balance the trade into and out of the country.

Benefits:

The PLI scheme can also bring back old designs and product customs that can contribute heavily to the diversity, while also empowering forgotten artistry buried due to colonialism.

The framework of the PLI scheme is to reward increased production.

Due to the niche and specificity of PLI linked sectors, that mostly involve careful and attentive focus on manforce and creating, PLI can enhance building systems to adjust to climate change and even essentially reverse it in the many years to come.

Overview:

In the Union Budget 2021-22, presented on 1st February 2021, the Finance Minister announced an outlay of INR 1.97 Lakh Crores for the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes for 13 key sectors, to create national manufacturing champions and generate employment opportunities for the country’s youth. This means that minimum production in India as a result of PLI Schemes is expected to be over US$ 500 billion in 5 years.

PLISchemes are a cornerstone of the Government’s push for achieving an Atmanirbhar Bharat.The objective is to make domestic manufacturing globally competitive and to create global Champions in manufacturing. Thestrategy behind schemeis to offer companies incentives on incremental sales from products manufactured in India, over the base year. They have been specifically designed to boost domestic manufacturing in sunrise and strategic sectors, curb cheaper imports and reduce import bills, improve cost competitiveness of domestically manufactured goods, and enhance domestic capacity and exports.

The first three PLI Schemes were approved earlier in March, 2020

Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/Drug Intermediates (DIs) and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs): Department of Pharmaceuticals

Large Scale Electronics Manufacturing: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Manufacturing of Medical Devices: Department of Pharmaceuticals

 

and these were followed by another 10 New PLI Schemes in November, 2020.

Electronic/Technology Products: Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology

Pharmaceuticals drugs: Department of Pharmaceuticals

Telecom & Networking Products: Department of Telecommunications

Food Products: Ministry of Food Processing Industries

White Goods (ACs & LED): Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade

High-Efficiency Solar PV Modules: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy

Automobiles & Auto Components: Department of Heavy Industry

Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery: Department of Heavy Industry

Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles: Ministry of Textiles

Specialty Steel: Ministry of Steel.

Recent news:

The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has given its approval to introduce the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme in the following 10 key sectors for Enhancing India’s Manufacturing Capabilities and Enhancing Exports – Atmanirbhar Bharat.

Priority	Sectors	Implementing Ministry/Department	Approved financial outlay over a five-year period Rs.crore
	Advance Chemistry Cell (ACC) Battery	NITI Aayog and Department of Heavy Industries	18100
	Electronic/Technology Products	Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology	5000
	Automobiles & Auto Components	Department of Heavy Industries	57042
	Pharmaceuticals drugs	Department of Pharmaceuticals	15000
	Telecom & Networking Products	Department of Telecom	12195
	Textile Products: MMF segment and technical textiles	Ministry of Textiles	10683
	Food Products	Ministry of Food Processing Industries	10900
	High Efficiency Solar PV Modules	Ministry of New and Renewable Energy	4500
	White Goods (ACs & LED)	Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade	6238
	Speciality Steel	Ministry of Steel	6322
Total			145980

Daily CA On Dec 30 :

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has attended the 54th Convocation Ceremony of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.
• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has visited Haldwani, Uttarakhand on 30th December, 2021 and has inaugurated & lay the foundation stone of 23 projects worth over Rs 17500 crore.
• At COP 21, as part of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), India had committed to achieving 40% of its installed electricity capacity from non-fossil energy sources by 2030.
• The Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) has been recognised as the Most Innovative Educational Institute in India for the third consecutive year.
• The Army is making steady, yet significant strides in the field of emerging technology domains. The Army, with support from the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) has recently established the Quantum Lab at Military College of Telecommunication Engineering, Mhow in Madhya Pradesh to spearhead research and training in this key developing field.
• Central Bank of India (CBoI) has announced its partnership with the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) to launch ‘RuPay Business Platinum Debit Card’ for firms/corporates.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the validity of its directions for the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank from January 1, 2022 to March 31, 2022, but it will be subject to review.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Yogesh K Dayal, its chief general manager, as an additional director on the board of private lender RBL Bank for a period of two years & The appointment came into effect on December 24, 2021 & till December 23, 2023 or till further orders.
• Finance Industry Development Council (FIDC) has announced Kamlesh Gandhi, CMD of MAS Financial Services has been appointed as Co-Chairman, FIDC in addition to Umesh Revankar, CEO and MD of Shriram Transport Finance Group.
• Environmentalist Dr Anil Prakash Joshi, who was conferred upon the Padma Bhushan in 2021, has been awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial Award for Social Justice 2021.
• Anukrti Upadhyay has won the Sushila Devi Award 2021 for the Best Book of Fiction for her critically acclaimed novel, Kintsugi, which was published under its prestigious Fourth Estate imprint.
• World’s largest and most powerful space telescope, James Webb Space Telescope, has been launched successfully into orbit in an Ariane rocket from the European Space Agency’s base in French Guiana.
• Telangana was the first in the implementation of the Syama Prasad Mookerjee Rurban Mission (SPMRM), Tamil Nadu and Gujarat secured the second and third positions respectively.
• NITI Aayog has released the fourth edition of the State Health Index for 2019–20 & the report, titled “Healthy States, Progressive India”, ranks states and Union Territories on their year-on-year incremental performance in health outcomes as well as their overall status.
• World No. 7 Nitesh Kumar doubled his gold tally at the 4th Para-Badminton National Championship, which concluded in Bhubaneswar, Odisha.
• Japanese tennis player Moyuka Uchijima beat fourth seed Diana Marcinkevica of Latvia 6-2, 7-5 in the singles final of the 20th edition of the NECC Deccan $25,000 Women’s ITF Championships.
• Rajya Sabha MP from the Janata Dal(United) and industrialist Mahendra Prasad Passed away at the age of 81.
• Former England cricketer Ray Illingworth passed away at the age of 89.