16th March, 2023 Current Affairs

Sakshi Education

NATIONAL
Govt introduces bill in Lok Sabha to strengthen tri-services commanders' powers

Government has introduced the Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control and Discipline) Bill, 2023 in Lok Sabha to strengthen tri-services commanders' powers.
The Bill seeks to empower the Commander-in-Chief or the Officer-in Command of Inter-Services Organisations in respect of service personnel for the maintenance of discipline and proper discharge of their duties.

DRDO-developed technology behind critical drug approved by DCGI for radiological and nuclear emergencies

The manufacturing and marketing licenses for the commercial use of Prussian blue insoluble formulations have been granted to Scott-Edil Pharmacia Limited, Himachal Pradesh and SkanttrLifescience, Gujarat by Drugs Controller General of India.
It is one of the critical medicines listed by the World Health Organisation for radiological and nuclear emergencies. Defence Ministry said, the drug will be available under the trade name of Pru-DecorpTM and PruDecorp-MG.
The formulations are used for decontamination of Cesium and Thallium and its Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient. The drug has been developed by the industry based on the technology of Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences, Delhi, a laboratory of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).

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INTERNATIONAL
US Senate confirms President Joe Biden's nominee Eric Garcetti as ambassador to New Delhi

The US Senate confirmed President Joe Biden's nominee Eric Garcetti as ambassador to New Delhi. Senators backed Garcetti by 52-42, as seven Republicans joined the majority of Democrats in supporting Garcetti.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer has said that the United States-India relationship is extremely important.

US recognizes McMahon Line as international border; Says Arunachal Pradesh is integral part of India

The US formally recognized the McMahon Line as the international boundary between India’s Arunachal Pradesh and China, and rejected Beijing’s claim that the northeastern state falls under Chinese territory. A bipartisan resolution, which was first introduced in the US Senate last month, on Tuesday acknowledged Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India and also supported India’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Apart from recognising the McMahon Line, the resolution also condemned Chinese provocations in the region, including China’s use of military force to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, construction of villages in contested areas, publication of maps with Mandarin-language names for cities featuring Arunachal Pradesh, and expansion of Beijing’s territorial claims over Bhutan.
Former US ambassador to Japan and Senator Bill Hagerty said that this bipartisan resolution expresses the Senate’s support for unequivocally recognising the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India.
The resolution, titled ‘Reaffirming the state of Arunachal Pradesh as Indian territory and condemning the People’s Republic of China’s provocations in South Asia’, came after one of the biggest clashes that took place in December last year between Indian and Chinese forces in Tawang, Arunachal Pradesh.

Commercial Bank, digital Bank in Qatar, announces launch of UPI remittance service to India

Commercial Bank, a digital Bank in Qatar, announced the launch of UPI remittance service to India, becoming the first bank in Qatar to offer this service. Customers can use Commercial Banking digital platforms to initiate UPI payments using UPI-ID. The transactions can be completed within 60 seconds and are available 24/7.
This represents a significant step forward in our efforts to enhance the customer experience and provide more convenient, secure, and accessible financial services to our clients. UPI is an innovative payment system that aligns with our commitment to offer seamless banking services to our customers and we are confident that these services will support us to meet the evolving needs of our customers in today's fast-paced digital world, he added.
UPI (Unified Payment Interface) is a fast and convenient payment system that allows customers to transfer money between bank accounts in real-time using UPI-ID. UPI-ID is a unique identifier that does not require bank account details or IFSC codes to create a beneficiary. Customers can use Commercial Banking digital platforms to make UPI payments using UPI-ID.
UPI-ID for the beneficiary can be easily created by visiting respective Indian Bank Digital Platforms and by following the steps required.

ECONOMY
India & World Bank signs loan agreement for construction of Green National Highway Corridors Project in 4 States

India and the World Bank have signed a loan agreement for the construction of the Green National Highway Corridors Project in four States. These States are Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
The agreement has been signed for the construction of 781 kilometers in these States, with loan assistance of 500 million dollars.
Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari said, the total project cost is over 7,662crores. The objective of the Green National Highway Corridors Project is to demonstrate safe and green highways keeping in view climate resilience and use of green technologies.

AP BUDGET 2022-23
The Finance Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Mr. BugganaRajendranath, presented the Budget for the state for the financial year 2022-23 on March 11, 2022.

The Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) of Andhra Pradesh for 2022-23 (at current prices) is projected to be Rs 13,38,575 crore. This is a growth of 11% over the revised estimates of GSDP for 2021-22 (Rs 12,01,736 crore). In 2021-22, GSDP is estimated to grow at 18% over the previous year (at current prices).
Expenditure (excluding debt repayment) in 2022-23 is estimated to be Rs 2,39,986 crore, a 24% increase over the revised estimates of 2021-22 (Rs 1,93,548 crore). In addition, debt of Rs 16,270 crore will be repaid by the state in 2022-23. In 2021-22, expenditure (excluding debt repayment) is estimated to be 10% lower than the budget estimate.
Receipts (excluding borrowings) for 2022-23 are estimated to be Rs 1,91,262 crore, an increase of 23% over the revised estimates of 2021-22 (Rs 1,55,324 crore). In 2021-22, receipts (excluding borrowings) are estimated to fall short of the budget estimate by Rs 21,923 crore (a decrease of 12%).
Fiscal deficit for 2022-23 is targeted at Rs 48,724 crore (3.64% of GSDP). In 2021-22, as per the revised estimates, the fiscal deficit is expected to be 3.18% of GSDP, lower than the budget estimate of 3.49% of GSDP.
Revenue deficit for 2022-23 is estimated to be Rs 17,036 crore, which is 1.27% of the GSDP. In 2021-22, the state is estimated to observe a revenue deficit of 1.63% of GSDP, as compared to a revenue deficit of 0.47% of GSDP, at the budget estimates stage.

Policy Highlights

Agriculture and allied activities: To address the problem of spurious seeds, fertilisers, and pesticides, 77 Agri Testing labs will be operationalised from Kharif 2022. The cost of installing electricity meters for agricultural pump sets will be borne by the state government. Further, Mobile Veterinary Ambulatory Clinics will be operationalised by purchasing 340 ambulances.

Education: In phase III of the Nadu-Nedu program, infrastructure in 24,620 schools will be upgraded. Under this program infrastructure facilities (such as furniture, fans, lights, and drinking water) in schools are upgraded.

Special Development Package: To implement development programs at the constituency level, in line with local needs and preferences, a Special Development Package Fund is being established. Every Member of Legislative Assembly will have two crore rupees at their disposal to implement development programs.

Budget Estimates for 2022-23

Expenditure (excluding debt repayment) in 2022-23 is targeted at Rs 2,39,986 crore. This is an increase of 24% over the revised estimate of 2021-22 (Rs 1,93,548 crore). This expenditure is proposed to be met through receipts (excluding borrowings) of Rs 1,91,262 crore and net borrowings of Rs 48,546 crore. Receipts (excluding borrowings) for 2022-23 are expected to register an increase of 23% over the revised estimate of 2021-22. In 2021-22, receipts are estimated to be 12% lower than the budget estimates.
In 2022-23, the state is estimated to observe a revenue deficit of Rs 17,036 crore, which is 1.27% of its GSDP. In comparison, in 2020-21 and 2021-22, the state observed a revenue deficit of 3.6% of GSDP (Rs 35,540 crore) and 1.63% of GSDP (Rs 19,545 crore), respectively.
Fiscal deficit in 2022-23 is estimated to be 3.64% of GSDP which is within the limit of 4% of GSDP permitted by the central government in Union Budget 2022-23 (of which, 0.5% of GSDP will be made available upon undertaking power sector reforms). In 2021-22, the state has estimated a fiscal deficit of 3.18% of GSDP, which is lower than the limit of 4.5% of GSDP permitted by the central government (of which, 0.5% of GSDP becomes available upon undertaking power sector reforms)
Committed expenditure: Committed expenditure of a state typically includes expenditure on payment of salaries, pensions, and interest. A larger proportion of the budget allocated for committed expenditure items limits the state’s flexibility to decide on other expenditure priorities such as developmental schemes and capital outlay. In 2022-23, Andhra Pradesh is estimated to spend Rs 38,607 crore on committed expenditure items, which is 20% of its revenue receipts. This comprises spending on interest payments (11%) and pension (9%). Note that this figure does not include the expenditure on salaries (which is not available). Committed expenditure (exclusive of salaries) in 2022-23 is estimated to increase by 11% over the revised estimate of 2021-22. Interest payments are estimated to decrease by 3%, whereas pension payments are estimated to increase by 34%.

Receipts in 2022-23

Total revenue receipts for 2022-23 are estimated to be Rs 1,91,225 crore, an increase of 24% over the revised estimate of 2021-22. Of this, Rs 1,02,143 crore (53%) will be raised by the state through its own resources, and Rs 89,083 crore (47%) will come from the centre. Resources from the centre will be in the form of state’s share in central taxes (17% of revenue receipts) and grants (29% of revenue receipts).
Devolution: In 2022-23, the state estimates to receive Rs 33,050 crore in the form of share in central taxes, an increase of 28% over the revised estimates of 2021-22.
State’s own tax revenue: Total own tax revenue of Andhra Pradesh is estimated to be Rs 91,050 crore in 2022-23, an increase of 24% over the revised estimate of 2021-22. Andhra Pradesh’s own tax revenue as a percentage of GSDP is estimated to rise from 5.7% of GSDP in 2020-21 (as per actuals) to 6.8% of GSDP in 2022-23 (as per budget estimate). In 2021-22, while GSDP estimate has been revised down by 14%, no change is estimated in state’s own tax revenue or any of its components as presented in Table 6 (leading to own tax to GSDP ratio rising from 4.6% at the budget stage to 5.2% at the revised stage).
State’s non-tax revenue: In 2022-23, the state is estimated to earn Rs 11,093 crore in the form of state’s own non-tax revenue, a 103% increase over the revised estimates of 2021-22. In 2021-22, state’s own non-tax revenue is estimated to register a decrease of 23% over the previous year.

Deficits and Debt Targets for 2022-23

The Andhra Pradesh Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2006 provides annual targets to progressively reduce the outstanding liabilities, revenue deficit, and fiscal deficit of the state government.

Revenue Balance: It is the difference between revenue expenditure and revenue receipts. A revenue deficit implies that the government needs to borrow to finance its expenses which do not increase its assets or reduce its liabilities. In 2022-23, Andhra Pradesh is estimated to observe a revenue deficit of Rs 17,036 crore, which is 1.27% of the GSDP. In comparison, in 2020-21 and 2021-22, the state is to observe a revenue deficit of 3.60% of GSDP (Rs 35,540 crore) and 1.63% of GSDP (Rs 19,545 crore), respectively.
Fiscal deficit: It is the excess of total expenditure over total receipts. This gap is filled by borrowings by the government and leads to an increase in total liabilities of the state government. In 2022-23, the fiscal deficit is estimated to be Rs 48,724 crore (3.64% of GSDP). It is within the limit of 4% of GSDP permitted by the central government in 2022-23 as per the Union Budget (of which, 0.5% of GSDP will be made available upon undertaking power sector reforms).
As per the revised estimates, in 2021-22, the fiscal deficit of the state is expected to be 3.18 % of GSDP, which is lower than the budget estimate of 3.49% of GSDP. This is lower than the 4.5% limit permitted by the central government for 2021-22 (of which, 0.5% of GSDP becomes available upon undertaking power sector reforms).
Outstanding liabilities: Outstanding liabilities is the accumulation of total borrowings at the end of a financial year. It also includes any liabilities on public account. At the end of March 2023, the outstanding liabilities of the state are estimated to be 32.79% of the GSDP.

Andhra Pradesh’s expenditure on six key sectors as a proportion of its total expenditure on all sectors. The average for a sector indicates the average expenditure in that sector by 30 states (including Andhra Pradesh) as per their budget estimates of 2021-22.

Education: Andhra Pradesh has allocated 12.7% of its total expenditure for education in 2022-23. This is lower than the average allocation (15.2%) for education by all states (as per 2021-22 Budget Estimates).
Health: Andhra Pradesh has allocated 6.6% of its total expenditure on health, which is higher than the average allocation for health by states (6%).\
Agriculture: The state has allocated 5.7% of its total expenditure towards agriculture and allied activities. This is lower than the average allocation for agriculture by states (6.2%).
Rural development: Andhra Pradesh has allocated 6.7% of its expenditure on rural development. This is higher than the average allocation for rural development by states (5.7%).
Police: Andhra Pradesh has allocated 2.9% of its total expenditure on police, which is lower than the average expenditure on police by states (4.3%).
Roads and bridges: Andhra Pradesh has allocated 1.9% of its total expenditure on roads and bridges, which is significantly lower than the average allocation by states (4.7%).

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
NASA unveils new generation of spacesuit for humanity's return trip to Moon

NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration ) has been unveiled a new generation of spacesuit for humanity's return trip to the Moon. The novel design of the spacesuit comes with specialist features to support astronauts as they conduct scientific experiments on the lunar surface. The prototype is said to be a better fit for female space travellers.
NASA said that it hopes to have the updated suit ready for the Artemis III mission to the Moon in 2025. When NASA announced that humanity would return to the moon after more than five decades, they promised to send the first woman and person of colour to the lunar surface. However, previous plans to send female astronauts to space have been scuppered by the lack of spacesuits in their size.
A well-fitting suit is crucial to prevent excessive fatigue and at worst, physical harm. The existing spacesuits worn by US space travellers have not been fully redesigned since 1981.

North Korea fires long-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast

North Korea fired a long-range ballistic missile off its eastern coast this morning. The launch took place hours before the leaders of South Korea and Japan were to meet at a Tokyo summit. The summit expected to be overshadowed by North Korean nuclear threats. Seoul said that it had detected the launch from the Sunan area in Pyongyang.
Meanwhile, Japan's defence ministry said, the ICBM-type projectile appeared to have flown higher than 6,000 km for about 70 minutes. The ministry said, it most likely landed outside Japan's exclusive economic zones, 200 km west of Oshima-Oshima Island in Hokkaido, northern Japan.
The latest launch also came amid the ongoing South Korea-US Freedom Shield exercise, which the North has decried as preparations for a war of aggression against it. Earlier, on Tuesday, North Korea also fired two strategic cruise missiles from a submarine in waters off its east coast

AWARDS
Tamil writer Sivasankari gets selected for Saraswati Samman for the year 2022 for her book SurvyaVamsam

Tamil writer Sivasankari has been selected for Saraswati Samman for the year 2022 for her book SurvyaVamsam.
It is a book of memoirs in Tamil language and was published in 2019. Saraswati Samman instituted by the K.K. Birla Foundation in 1991 is recognized as the most prestigious and the highest literary award in the country. It carries an award money of 15 lakh rupees, a Citation and a Plaque.

Three-time Grammy award winner Ricky Kej to hold live concert at Gateway of India on Sunday

Three-time Grammy award winner Ricky Kej will hold a live concert at the Gateway of India in Mumbai on Sunday (19th March) evening and release a special song dedicated to the National Gallery of Modern Art. An official statement informs that the “NGMA Amrit Mahotsav Video Anthem” has been composed by Ricky Kej himself.
The concert will be a free public event being organized as part of project ‘Mumbai Kaustubh’ under the aegis of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav. The show, organized by the Union Culture Ministry is a step towards developing Cultural Spaces in Mumbai.
The concert is a significant step towards promoting cultural spaces and art in Mumbai. NGMA plans to organize more such meaningfully curated events in the coming months that will provide meaningful creative engagements for a wider and diverse set of audience.

Published date : 16 Mar 2023 06:35PM