EducatorIAS

 Status of India In Transport: As an emerging market, India is one of the largest car and two-wheeler manufacturers in the world. It also has the fourth-largest railway network and the fastest-growing aviation market. Our motor vehicle fleet is growing rapidly — with the vehicles plying on the road expected to almost double to over 200 million by 2030. Interestingly, the share of non-motorised transport in many Indian cities is high compared to similarly sized cities globally. It is reported that in Indian cities with populations of over 1 million, non-motorised transport accounted for more than 25 per cent of passenger trips, compared with approximately 14 per cent in London. The transport sector of India is the third most greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting sector and accounted for 14 per cent of our energy-related CO2 emissions. These emissions have more than tripled since 1990, and with India’s urban population expected to double by 2050, they are likely to increase further. The gove...

  The European Union’s (EU) Indo-Pacific region (IPR) strategy is, on many levels, similar to the Indian concept. First, they have almost the same strategic scope, paying much attention to East Africa and small island states and the position of the Indian Ocean within its respective Indo-Pacific strategy. For the EU, the scope of IPR is from the east coast of Africa to the Pacific Island States. Africa is Europe’s closest neighbour, and the EU-Africa strategic alliance is most crucial for the bloc in a multipolar world. 1   In India’s strategic vision, the IPR covers the entire Indian Ocean, extending from South Africa to Australia. It considers the Western Indian Ocean the most strategically significant IPR, while the Western Pacific and South Pacific are peripheral regions. 2   During his multiple visits to the Indian Ocean Island states, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi focused largely on countries with prominent Indian diasporic population, speaking fondly of Indi...

  A recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies assesses and ranks the cyber-capabilities of 15 different countries. India has been ranked as a tier three or lowest tier country. While the report notes some positives while assessing India, such as a vigilant private sector in cybersecurity matters, it highlights a siloed and fragmented government approach that dents India’s cyber resilience.   State of India’s Cybersecurity   A recent report by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) assessed the cyber capabilities of major states and their impact on international security, economic interdependence and military competition.  Cyber capabilities were assessed based on seven components –  presence of a cyber strategy and doctrine;  cyber governance structures,  specifically command and control;  cyber-intelligence capabilities;  cyber empowerment and dependence;  cyber security and resilience;  l...

Monetary policy and liquidity operations during 2020-21 were geared towards mitigating the impact of COVID-19 pandemic. The monetary policy committee (MPC) cut the policy repo rate by 115 basis points (bps) during March-May 2020, on top of a cumulative reduction of 135 bps during February 2019 to February 2020. Backed by conventional and unconventional liquidity measures, these actions bolstered financial market sentiments while ensuring orderly market conditions. Interest rates and bond yields declined across market segments and spreads narrowed, with a distinct improvement in monetary transmission.   In the face of COVID-19 related stress and the large contraction in output, and in consonance with the monetary policy stance, the Reserve Bank undertook several monetary policy measures, both conventional and unconventional, during 2020-21, driven by the goals of  (i) improving monetary transmission;  (ii)facilitating and incentivising bank credit flows;  (iii)address...

Millets are grown on marginal and un-irrigated land and procurement will help in doubling farmers income. Millets are more nutritious and hence would help India fight against malnutrition, Millets are more environment friendly and hence help in promoting sustainable agriculture and in preservation of environment, Local procurement and local consumption will save transportation and avoidable movement of other cereals and Shelf life of some coarse grains is more than three months. Coarse grains are procured by State Government Agencies/FCI from farmers as per extant guidelines. The major coarse grains crop covered under Minimum Support Price (MSP) are Jowar (Hybrid), Jowar (Maldandi), Bajra, Ragi, Maize and Barley. All millets, Maize and Barely are known as Coarse grains.In India, total 3,04,914 farmers have been benefitted during KMS 2020-21. Total of 1162886 (11.62 LMT) coarse grains have been procured during year 2020-21. revision of norms will result in encouraging procur...

India has lauded the Aspirational Districts Programme (ADP) as ‘a very successful model of local area development’that ‘should serve as a best practice for several other countries where regional disparities in development status persist for many reasons’.   The report said due to concerted efforts made under the ADP, previously neglected districts, including those in remote locations and those affected by Left Wing Extremism, ‘haveexperienced more growth and development in the last three years than ever before’. Notwithstanding some speedbumps in its journey, the APD ‘has been immensely successful in propelling development among the backward districts’.   The reportwas handed over today by UNDP India Resident Representative Shoko Noda to NITI Aayog Vice Chairman Dr Rajiv Kumar and CEO Amitabh Kant. It captures the progress of the Aspirational Districts Programme and makes recommendations for further improvements. The report is based on quantitative analysis of publicly availab...