24th July, 2024 Current Affairs

NATIONAL
C-DOT signs agreement with IIT, Roorkee and Mandi for “Development of ‘Cell-Free’ 6G Access Points”

• In a significant step towards developing Indigenous technology, the Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT), a premier Telecom R&D centre of the Department of Telecommunications (DoT), Government of India, signed an agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) and Indian Institute of Technology, Mandi (IIT Mandi), for the development of ‘Cell-Free’ 6G Access Points. Both the IITs are collaborating to develop this technology.
• The agreement is signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund (TTDF) scheme of Department of Telecommunications, Government of India, which has been designed for providing funding support to domestic companies, Indian startups, academia and R&D institutions involved in technology design, development, commercialization of telecommunication products and solutions. This scheme aims to enable affordable broadband and mobile services, playing a significant role in bridging the digital divide across India.
• Traditional mobile networks use cellular topologies in which each cell is serviced by a single base station like 4G/5G to service mobile customers. ‘Cell-Free’ Massive MIMO (multiple-input and multiple-output) eliminates the idea of cells and cell boundaries by deploying several access points (APs) across a vast region to serve many user devices at the same time. A large number of APs are dedicated to each user within their coverage area, meaning a single user may be supported by many Aps. This  ensures  ubiquitous connectivity to the users, eliminates dead zones, enhances signal strength, and significantly boosts data speeds, offering an exceptional user experience even in densely populated areas.
• This  6G project will focus on developing  APs for enabling the upcoming 6G radio access networks and also aims to contribute to the 6G standardization activity, drive commercialization, generate intellectual property rights (IPRs), and develop a skilled workforce to support the emerging 6G landscape.

INTERNATIONAL
US Secretary Of State Antony Blinken To Visit Asian Countries Including Vietnam, Laos, Japan, Philippines, Singapore & Mongolia

• The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit  Asian countries including Vietnam, Laos, Japan, the Philippines, Singapore and Mongolia for a series of international and bilateral meetings. Beginning from today Blinken’s eight-day trip aimed at strengthening ties with Indo-Pacific allies and partners.
• His priority will be to assure them that the United States remains committed to the region. Blinken’s attendance will be more important to show that the changing political landscape in the US would not affect the trajectory of American foreign policy, at least while Biden is president.

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ECONOMY

LAUNCH OF ‘TRIPUT

• The first of two Advanced Frigates under construction by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) for the Indian Navy, was launched on 23 Jul 24 at GSL, Goa. The ship has been named Triput, after the mighty arrow, representing the indomitable spirit of Indian Navy and its ability to strike far and deep.
• The contract for building two Triput class Advance Frigates was signed between the Ministry of Defence and Goa Shipyard Limited on 25 Jan 19. The ship is designed for combat operations against enemy surface ships, submarines and air crafts. The Triput class ships are 124.8 m long and 15.2 m wide, with a draught of 4.5 m. Their displacement is approx. 3600 tons and speed a maximum of 28 knots. The ships are equipped with stealth features, advanced weapon & sensors and platform management systems.
• Being constructed at GSL, the Triput class of ships are follow on ships of the Teg and Talwar class ships acquired from Russia. These frigates are being constructed for the first time indigenously by an Indian Shipyard.  In line with the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ initiative, a large percentage of the equipment fit, including weapons & sensors is of indigenous origin, thereby ensuring that large scale defence production is executed by Indian manufacturing units, generating employment and capability enhancement within the country.

ANDHRA PRADESH
Assistance to states: Plan will be formulated to enhance human resources, infrastructure and economic opportunities inBihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha, and Andhra Pradesh. Financial support of Rs 15,000 crore will be provided through multilateral development organisations toAndhra Pradesh for a new capital this year.

BUDGET SPECIAL
Budget Highlights

• Expenditure: The government is estimated to spend Rs 48,20,512 crore in 2024-25, 8.5% higher than the actualexpenditure in 2023-24. Interest payments account for 24% of the total expenditure, and 37% of revenue receipts.
• Receipts: The receipts (other than borrowings) in 2024-25 are estimated to be Rs 32,07,200 crore, 15% higher than theactual expenditure in 2023-24. Tax revenue, which forms major part of the receipts, is also expected to increase by 11%over the actual expenditure 2023-24.
• GDP: The government has estimated a nominal GDP growth rate of 10.5% in 2024-25 (i.e., real growth plus inflation).
• Deficits: Revenue deficit in 2024-25 is targeted at 1.8% of GDP. This is lower than the actual revenue deficit of 2.6% ofGDP in 2023-24. Fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is targeted at 4.9% of GDP, which is lower than the actual fiscal deficit of5.6% of GDP in 2023-24.
• New Schemes: Rs 62,593 crore has been allocated to the Department of Economic Affairs for New Schemes (details notavailable). The allocation is for capital expenditure, and accounts for 6.8% of the total capital outlay

Rs 6.22 lakh crore allocated to MoD, highest among Ministries, in Regular Union Budget 2024-25; 4.79% higher than FY 2023-24

• In the Regular Union Budget of Financial Year (FY) 2024-25, Ministry of Defence (MoD) has been allocated Rs 6,21,940.85 crore (approx. US $75 Billion), the highest among the Ministries. While maintaining the allocation made to MoD during interim budget, the Government has made an additional allocation to the tune of Rs 400 crore on innovation in defence through the Acing Development of Innovative Technologies with iDEX (ADITI) scheme.

• Through this scheme, MoD is engaging with start-ups/MSMEs and innovators to develop Def-Tech solutions and supply the Indian military with innovative and indigenous technological solutions. A grant of upto 50% of Product Development Budget with enhanced limit (Max) of Rs 25 crore per applicant will be awarded as per extant iDEX guidelines.
• The allocation to MoD for FY 2024-25 is higher by approx. Rs one lakh crore (18.43%) over the allocation for FY 2022-23 and 4.79% more than allocation of FY 2023-24. Out of this, a  share of 27.66% goes to capital; 14.82% for revenue expenditure on sustenance and operational preparedness; 30.66% for Pay and Allowances; 22.70% for Defence Pensions, and 4.17% for civil organisations under MoD. The total allocation comes out as approx. 12.90% of  Budgetary Estimate of Union of India.
• The allocation is aimed to promote ‘Aatmanirbharta’ in defence technology & manufacturing and equipping the Armed Forces with modern weapons/platforms along with creation of job opportunities for the youth.