Current Affairs 21st March

National Affairs

1. In New Delhi, PM Narendra Modi opens the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference 2023.

Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi officially opened the two-day Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference 2023 on March 18, 2023, in Subramaniam Hall, National Agriculture Science Complex (NASC), Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) Campus, PUSA New Delhi, Delhi. The purpose of the conference was to provide millets producers with market access and promote millets exports from India. 

 

In the global market, Indian millets are frequently referred to as “Shree Anna.” The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoCI) organized the conference through the Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA). 

 

Other Concurrent Events:

 

The PM introduced and visited the Show cum Purchaser Dealer Meet Structure

during the event. Additionally, he unveiled a commemorative stamp and coin.

 

A digital compendium of Indian millet (Shri Anna) startup publications and a millet book entitled “Shree Anna: A Comprehensive Overview,” based on the FSSAI’s millet standards.

2. Bilateral meetings between Agriculture Minister Narendra Singh Tomar and Ministers of Guyana, Suriname, Zambia, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka are held.

Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, met with counterparts from Guyana, Suriname, Zambia, Mauritius, and Sri Lanka at the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference 2023, which was held in New Delhi, Delhi, on March 19, 2023. The Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Food Programme (WFP) of the United Nations for cooperation between 2023 and 2027 during the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference 2023.

3. The first mines of Hindustan Zinc to receive the Greenco certification

The first GreenCo-certified mines are the Rampura Agucha Mine and Zawar Group of Mines of Hindustan Zinc Limited (HZL). They got the GreenCo Silver rating

from the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for their economical mining

activities.

 

The mines received certification for their excellent waste and material management, eco-friendly infrastructure and ecology, eco-friendly supply chain, reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and renewable energy initiatives.

 

GreenCo Rating is a holistic framework that uses a life cycle approach to evaluate companies based on how environmentally friendly their activities are. It is the “first of its kind in the world.”

 

Hindustan Zinc, a Vedanta Gathering Organization, is one of the world’s biggest and India’s just coordinated makers of Zinc-Lead and Silver.

4. India’s first BIS license for the production of fire-resistant steel is granted to JSPL.

At its Rail Mill and Special Profile Mill in Raigarh, Chhattisgarh, Jindal Steel and Power Ltd. (JSPL) has received India’s first Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) license to produce India’s first fire-resistant steel.

 

Built-in accordance with IS 15103, the fire-resistant steel structures can be used in high-temperature or fire-prone areas.

 

The new BIS 15103 grade of steel will be used to produce steel structures for infrastructure projects like industrial structures, refineries, bridges, metro rail projects, hospitals, and commercial and residential buildings. The fire-resistant steel can withstand temperatures up to 600 degrees Celsius for a maximum of three hours.

International Affairs

1. India’s food production will suffer from water stress by 2050: GCEW Document

According to the report “The What, Why, and How of the World Water Crisis:” published by the Global Commission on Economics of Water (GCEW), According to the findings of the Global Commission on the Economics of Water Phase 1 Review and Findings, productivity will suffer as a result of the water crisis and heat stress brought on by climate change in India and around the world by 2050. China would experience the greatest reduction in food supply, at 22.4%, while South America would experience a reduction of 19.4%.

 

The Netherlands’ government organizes GCEW, which is supported by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Assessment: Global irrigated food production and food security were projected using a large-dimensional computable general equilibrium model in the report.

 

Based on the intensity of the emissions of greenhouse gases, food supply decreases were predicted for two climate change scenarios or representative concentration pathways (RCP).

The optimistic RCP 4.5, based on a significant reduction in emissions, and the worst RCP 8.5.

 

Key Points:

 

The majority of African countries will see an increase of more than one third in the number of people experiencing severe food insecurity under the best-case climate change scenario of RCP4.5.

 

The “best case” situation for India is 6.52% fall in food supply while it was 16.1%

in the most dire outcome imaginable.

 

Water insecurity is linked to food insecurity, which affects between 72 and 81 crore people worldwide. 100 million people will face severe food insecurity as a result of the reduction in production.

 

Asian nations, including China and ASEAN individuals, who are presently net food

exporters, would become net food shippers by 2050. v. India has between 1100 and 1197 billion cubic meters (bcm) of available water. In contrast, it is anticipated that demand will increase from 550-710 bcm in 2010 to approximately 900-1,400 bcm in 2050. GCEW was launched at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in 2022 and is made up of 17 experts, community leaders, and practitioners from all over the world in the fields of science, policy, and front-line practice.

 

Note –  In another report named ‘Reversing the situation, the GCEW gave a seven-point

plan for aggregate activity: establishing just water partnerships, strengthening freshwater storage systems, reshaping the multilateral governance of water, ending water underpricing, phasing out subsidies in agriculture and water, and managing the global water cycle in a just and equitable manner.

2. RE Report from IRENA: In 2022, only 15% of global investments in renewable energy came from developing nations.

The developing world attracted only 15%, or approximately US$75 billion, of the total investments in renewable energy (RE) worldwide in 2022, as stated in the report “Global landscape of renewable energy finance, 2023” published in February 2023 by the Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) and the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA).

 

The creating and arising nations, which house around 70% of the world’s populace, got just 15% of worldwide interests in renewables in 2022. Countries like Brazil, Chile, and India account for the majority of RE investments.

 

Global investments in the sector reached a record high of $500 billion in 2022, according to the report.

 

The Report’s Key Finding:

 

Since 2018, the annual investments have been decreasing at an average of 36%, reaching 27% in 2017 and 15% in 2020.

 

Between 2015 and 2021, investments per capita decreased by 26% in South Asia; However, during the same time frame, India’s investment per capita increased by 34%. Investment per capita in South Asia decreased by 76% from $20 in 2015 to $5 in 2021, excluding India.

 

Between 2013 and 2020, only 0.84 percent of RE investments were made in the least developed nations, as defined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In 2022, global investment in technologies for the energy transition hit a record high of USD 1.3 trillion. 

 

These technologies include renewable energy (RE), energy efficiency, electrified transportation and heating, energy storage, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage. 

 

According to IRENA’s 1.5°C Scenario, the average annual investment required between 2021 and 2030 amounts to less than 40% of the global investment in RE, which reached a record high in 2022 at USD 0.5 trillion. vi. A 19% increase from 2021 saw global investments in energy transition technologies reach $1.3 trillion in 2022.

Banking and Finance

1. The publication “Women and Men in India 2022” from MoSPI: Women in India control 35.23 percent of SCB accounts and 20.07 percent of deposits.

As per the distribution of Social Insights Division(SSD), Public Factual Office (NSO), Service of Measurements and Program Execution (MoSPI), “Ladies what’s more, Men in India 2022”, Ladies in India holds 35.23% of ledgers in undeniably Booked Business Banks (SCB), yet just with 20.07% of absolute stores.

 

Rao Inderjit Singh, the Minister of State (Independent Charge), MoSPI, presented the 24th annual publication titled “Women and Men in India 2022” (A Statistical Compilation of Gender 

Related Indicators of India) on March 15, 2023, in New Delhi, Delhi.

 

The publication reports that there were 225.5 crore deposit accounts in SCBs at the end of January 2023, of which 79.44 crore are owned by women.

 

In all SCBs, as of January 2023, approximately 22.97% of officers, 30.74% of clerks, and 16.40% of subordinates are female.

 

Concerning “Women and Men in India 2022,”

 

The SSD team, led by Siljo V. K., Deputy Director General, Ms. R. Savithri, Additional Director General, Dr. Ziaul Haque, Director, Deputy Directors—Kuwar Alok Singh Yadav, Ms. Deepika Verma, Senior Statistical Officers—Rajesh Kumar Panwar, Junior Statistical Officers—Ravi Kumar, Shri Rajiv Roshan—prepared the publication.

 

This comprehensive document, which has been published by NSO since 1995, contains data on a variety of topics, including education, health, employment, and political participation, among others.

2. The new Guaranteed Income plan known as “ICICI Pru Gold” has been introduced by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.

The “ICICI Pru Gold” protection and savings-oriented participating life insurance plan has been launched by ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited. It will provide customers with life insurance protection and a guaranteed regular income for the rest of their lives, which can be used to meet their long-term recurring financial needs.

 

The insurance plan lets you choose between Immediate Income, Immediate Income with Booster, and Deferred Income depending on your savings needs.

 

Concerning the three plans:

 

Instantaneous Income: Customers might receive a regular income at the end of each policy year or month, followed by a lump sum at maturity (which occurs 30 days after the date the policy was issued).

 

Booster’s Immediate Income: This variation could empower the clients to

get extra ensured pay each fifth approach year notwithstanding the long lasting

pay, which starts following 30 days from the approach issuance date (which starts following 30 days from the arrangement issuance date).

 

Deferred Revenue: Under this, clients could pick when they need to begin

getting the pay according to their monetary necessities. Clients can begin getting

pay as soon as the second strategy year or as late as the thirteenth approach year. 

 

Other features include:

 

Customers of ICICI Pru Gold can also choose to store their earnings in a Savings Wallet rather than receiving them in regular payments.

 

Customers will also be able to use the “Premium Offset” feature to offset future premiums against the savings they have built up in their Savings Wallets.

Economy and Business

1. OECD raises India’s FY24 growth forecast by 20 basis points to 5.9%

The Association for Monetary Participation and Advancement (OECD) in its most recent

break standpoint report named ‘Delicate Recuperation’ has expanded its development projection for India by 20 premise focuses to 5.9% from 5.7% prior.

 

India’s development is projected to direct to around 6% in FY2023-24, in the midst of more tight monetary circumstances prior to getting to recuperate to around 7% in FY25 Worldwide development is projected to stay low in 2023 and 2024, at 2.6% and 2.9%,

individually.

 

Highlights:

 

The report also pointed to some good signs that the global economy is getting better, but it warned that the outlook is still uncertain because of risks like the war in Ukraine, changes in monetary policy, and pressures in global energy markets.

 

In addition, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) issued a warning that, as global interest rates rise, many emerging market economies, including those with low incomes, may have difficulty paying off their high debt and deficits. In 2023 and 2024, major emerging Asian economies are anticipated to experience low to moderate inflation rates (China).

 

The OECD increased its forecast for India’s inflation by 80 basis points to 5.8%.

Science and Technology

1. Income Tax Department launches AIS app for taxpayers

An Annual Information Statements (AIS) application has been launched by the Income Tax Department for taxpayers to provide detailed information about each transaction and receive feedback.

 

A comprehensive view of the Annual Information System—a collection of various information about taxpayers—is provided by the AIS app, a free mobile application. The taxpayer was able to check all of the details of their taxes and TDS (Tax Deducted at Source) with just one click after the app was released.

 

The AIS Information may be accessed through both the AIS app and the web portal because the information will be consistent across both platforms.

 

The AIS App:

 

TDS and Tax Collected at Source (TCS) data, as well as information on advance tax and self-assessment tax, are all displayed on Form 26AS as AIS, providing a comprehensive view of the taxpayer’s data.

 

The app allowed taxpayers to provide feedback on the AIS information that was displayed.

 

Under each section—TDS, SFT, and other information—AIS displays the reported value as well as the modified value—i.e., the value following feedback.

 

The launch of the app was intended to facilitate seamless prefilling of returns and encourage voluntary compliance.