18th January, 2022 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL

National Technical Textiles Mission- New Projects

On January 17, 2022, Ministry of textiles cleared 20 strategic research projects, worth Rs 30 crores, in the areas of specialty fibres and geotextiles.

Key Points

These projects fall under government’s flagship programme ‘National Technical Textiles Mission.’
Out of 20 Research projects, 16 projects of specialty fibres were cleared. It includes:
5 projects in healthcare
4 projects in industrial and protective
3 projects in energy storage
3 projects in textile waste recycling, and
1 in agriculture
4 projects in geotextiles (infrastructure) were also cleared.
Several leading Indian Institutes, Centers of Excellence and Government Organizations including IITs, BTRA, DRDO, etc participated in the session that cleared projects strategic for the development of Indian economy.
These projects are step in the direction of Atmanirbhar Bharat, especially in Healthcare, Energy Storage, Agriculture, Industrial and Protective, Textile Waste Recycling, and Infrastructure.

World's largest Khadi flag displayed along Indo-Pak border in Rajasthan's Longewala

The world's largest national flag, the Indian Tricolor made from Khadi, was displayed along the India-Pakistan border in Rajasthan's Longewala, on the occasion of 74th Army Day.
Longewala, in the western part of the desert state's Jaisalmer district was the site of the iconic Battle of Longewala in 1971, which was fought during that year's war between the two neighbors.
The flag is 225 feet long, 150 feet wide and weighs around 1 thousand 400 kilogram, while the Ashoka Chakra in the center has a diameter of 30 feet.
The ‘Monumental National Flag’ is a creation of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission to mark the ongoing ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ celebrations.
70 Khadi artisans took 49 days to prepare the flag, the making of which created nearly 3500 man hours of extra work for Khadi artisans and allied workers. A whopping 4500 meters of hand-spun Khadi cotton bunting has been used in making the flag which covers the total area of 33 thousand 750 square feet.

Draft Notification on Six mandatory Airbags

Union government has started the process of making six airbags mandatory from October 1, 2022. Airbags will be made mandatory for all cars being sold in India.
Government issued a draft notification and asked for public comments and stakeholders’ comments on the proposed rule.
This notification is a follow-up to appeal made by Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari on August 3, 2021, to car manufacturers for providing 2 airbags across all variants of vehicles, one for the driver and other for co-passenger in front seat.
Rule for airbags for driver’s seat was made mandatory from July 1, 2019. Rule for one airbag for co-passenger came into effect from January 1, 2022.

INTERNATIONAL

WEF Davos Agenda

On January 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to deliver a special address at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos Agenda.
WEF Davos Agenda event is being held in virtual mode, amid the covid-19 pandemic, from January 17 to 21.
Event will he addressed by several heads of state, including Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Indonesian President Joko Widodo, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, and EU Commission’s chief Ursua von der Leyen.
It will also be participated by top industry leaders, international organizations and civil society. They will deliberate on critical challenges that the world is facing today and also discuss ways to address them.

Davos Agenda 2022
Two virtual summits are expected in the online summit:

On Covid-19 and
On technology cooperation in the fourth industrial revolution.

Online summit will also witness sessions on energy transition, Latin America outlook and scaling up climate innovation.
It is the starting point for the dialogue required for global cooperation in 2022. It will provide crucial insights into several critical challenges, through special addresses.
It will also mobilize government and business leaders, civil society, and international organizations to share their outlook, insights and plans related to global issues like social contracts, vaccine equality and climate change.
During the summit, several WEF initiatives will be launched to accelerate the race towards net-zero emissions, cyber resilience and economic opportunity of nature-positive solutions.

REPORTS

Oxfam India’s ‘Inequality Kills’ Report

According to Oxfam India “Inequality Kills” report, wealth of India’s richest families reached to a record high in 2021.
Report states that, 84 per cent of Indian households witnessed an income decline amid covid-19 pandemic.
Richest 98 Indians own the same wealth as bottom 552 million people.
Number of Indian billionaires increased from 102 to 142, during 2021.
Wealth of the top 100 families is Rs 57.3 trillion.

How inequality can be reduced?

According to report, inequality in India can be reduced by taxing higher on richest 10 per cent of the Indian population, to help in funding measures of reducing inequality. This fund could cover schemes for health care, education, and social security.
Oxfam further recommends to conduct at least two surveys every 10 years for measuring inequality and better social security for informal workers.
As per Oxfam, 4 per cent tax on wealth of 98 billionaires can fund the mid-day meal programme for 17 years.
1 per cent wealth tax of them will be enough to take care of total expenditure for school education a7 literacy, or fund Ayushman Bharat scheme for more than seven years.

APPOINTMENTS

Narendra Kumar Goenka appointed as new chairman of AEPC

Textile Ministry has said that Narendra Kumar Goenka has been appointed as new chairman of Apparel Export Promotion Council, AEPC.
Former chairman Padma Dr. A Sakthivel handed over the charge to him. Ministry said, Mr. Goenka has been associated with the Council for more than two decades. He was the Vice Chairman of the apex body of Indian apparel exporters before taking charge as Chairman of AEPC.
This major turnaround in apparel exports was possible due to the highly efficient management by the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the entrepreneurial spirit of the Indian apparel exporters.
With global demand picking up gradually and industry reporting handsome orders in hand, apparel exports are likely to pick up in 2022.
There is a need to strongly focus on efforts for promoting Brand India taking suitable measures to ensure sustainability and other social compliances.

ECONOMY

China now 18 trillion USD economy, GDP grew 8.1% in 2021

China’s GDP grew 8.1% in 2021 as the economy’s rapid recovery from the pandemic faded in the second half of the year amid worst power shortages, turmoil in the real estate sector and reduction in consumption due to COVID-19 restrictions.
China’s full-year GDP came in at 114.4 trillion-yuan (USD 18 trillion) in 2021, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed. The annual growth was partly due to a low comparison base in 2020, when the economy was disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic and grew by a mere 2.3%, the only major economy to have expanded that year.
Growth in the first, second, and third quarter were 18.3%, 7.9% and 4.9%, respectively. The fourth quarter growth was the weakest in one-and-half years. For the fourth quarter of 2021, the year-on-year growth rate was 4%, data from the NBS showed.
China sustained the continuous and steady recovery of the national economy but warned that the domestic economy is under the triple pressure of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations due to a complicated and uncertain external environment.
The spread of highly transmissible Omicron variant across China including in Beijing, Tianjin and the southern Guangdong province as well as the Delta variant’s resurgence in multiple cities has cast a shadow on the spending during the Lunar New Year holidays and the economic outlook for the first quarter of 2022, though this impact is likely to fade away by the second quarter. According to a report issued by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, China’s GDP growth is projected to moderate at around 5.5% in 2022.
The state media reported that growth of 8.1% was the fastest in nearly a decade and was well above the government’s annual target of achieving a growth rate above 6%.

Bilateral trade between India, China crosses 125 billion USD in 2021

Bilateral trade between India and China crossed 125 billion USD in 2021, according to Chinese customs data released.
Despite a protracted border standoff, Two-way trade between India and China in 2021 stood at 125.66 billion USD, up 43.3% from 2020 when bilateral trade was worth 87.6 billion USD.
In 2021, China’s exports to India were 97.52 billion USD, up 46.2%, while China imported 28.14 billion USD worth of goods from India, up 34.2%, according to statistics released by the General Administration of Customs (GAC) on Friday. Trade deficit between the two countries remained in favour of China – at $69 billion. The deficit in trade has been a constant source of friction between New Delhi and Beijing, with India complaining that China hasn’t given Indian companies access to sectors like pharmaceuticals.
In pre-pandemic times in 2019, the bilateral trade was 92.8 billion USD and both countries were aspiring to touch the mark of 100 billion USD. Due to COVID, India-China trade in 2020 declined to 87.6 billion USD, the lowest since 2017. In the first half of 2021, Chinese companies saw an increase in demand from India for medical equipment due to a devastating second wave of the corona-virus pandemic. According to the website of Indian Embassy in Beijing, the widening trade deficit with China can be attributed to two factors: narrow basket of commodities, mostly primary, for exporting to China and the lack of market access for most India’s agricultural products and the sectors where India is competitive in, such as pharmaceuticals, and IT.
Indian and Chinese border troops have been locked in a border standoff in eastern Ladakh since May 2020, when a violent clash in Pangong lake area led to both sides gradually deploying tens of thousands of soldiers as well as heavy weaponry along the border. Several rounds of military and diplomatic talks have only resulted in partial disengagement of troops until now as the two sides completed 14th round of military talks, 12th January.
GAC data showed on Friday that trade between China and the US soared by 28.7% and amounted to $755.6 billion in 2021 - maintaining a strong growth momentum and contributing 12% to China’s record $6 trillion foreign trade for the year.
China’s exports to the US increased by 27.5% in 2021, while imports grew by 32.7%, reaching $179.53 billion as phase 1 trade deal is completing two years in the coming week. The US maintained its place as China’s third-largest trade partner following ASEAN and the European Union as reported by state media.

Published date : 18 Jan 2022 05:48PM