Economy

The current account shows the records of exports and imports of both the material goods and services of a country with the rest of the world. Export and import of goods are totally different from the export and import of services. While goods are tangible and called as merchandise or visible trade, and of which … Read more

The scheme is implemented by Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) functioning as the nodal agency at the national level. At the state level, the scheme is implemented through State KVIC Directorates, State Khadi and Village Industries Boards (KVIBs), District Industries Centres (DICs) and banks. In such cases KVIC routes government subsidy through designated banks … Read more

Tax incidence:  Tax incidence is the entity on whom tax is imposed. It is the distribution of the overall tax burden between sellers and buyers in an economy.     Tax burden:       It is the total amount of tax paid by a particular group of people, an industry etc especially as compared to what other … Read more

Objectives of the Agriculture Export Policy are as under: To double agricultural exports from the present US $ 30+?Billion to US $ 60+?Billion by 2022 and reach US $ 100 Billion in the next few years thereafter, with a stable trade policy regime. To diversify our export basket, destinations and boost high value and value-added agricultural exports … Read more

It is anew Umbrella Scheme “Pradhan Mantri AnnadataAaySanraksHan Abhiyan’ (PM-AASHA).  The Scheme is aimed at ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers for their produce as announced in the Union Budget for 2018. The new Umbrella Scheme includes the mechanism of ensuring remunerative prices to the farmers and is comprised of   Price Support Scheme (PSS): … Read more

End of license raj On 24 July 1991, Prime Minister Narasimha Rao announced the end of the license-permit Raj and Finance Minister Manmohan Singh presented a historic budget that rolled out economic liberalisation in India. It proposed getting rid of the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices asset limit totally. Industrial licensing would be abolished for … Read more

the reasons are as follows:   Unlike east Asian crisis, Indian economy was on economic growth path with slight interruption. India maintained and followed strong prudential norms in terms of offering of credit. Boom period didn’t become the excuse for reckless loan giving. There were also control over the cooperates to take loan from foreign … Read more

Recommendations are as follows: Expand the outreach of the formal credit system to reach the really poor and needy. Reduce rate of interest for crop loans to 4 per cent simple, with government support. Moratorium on debt recovery, including loans from non-institutional sources, and waiver of interest on loans in distress hotspots and during calamities, … Read more

Industrial Corridor refers to a set of infrastructural spending allocated to a specific geographical area, with the aim of stimulating industrial development. An industrial corridor aims to crease an area with a cluster of manufacturing or other industry. The major Indian Industrial Corridors are: Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC); Bengaluru- Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC); Chennai-Bengaluru Industrial … Read more

DRAFT NATIONAL RESOURCE EFFICIENCY POLICY was released by the Ministry for Environment, Forest and Climate Change for public comments.  The Policy notes that the material consumption in India has increased by six times from 1.2 billion tonnes in 1970 to 7 billion tonnes in 2015. It is expected to double by 2030, in view of … Read more

The Revenue Budget comprises revenue receipts and expenditure met from these revenues. The revenue receipts include both tax revenue (like income tax, excise duty) and non-tax revenue (like interest receipts, profits). Capital Budget consists of capital receipts {like borrowing, disinvestment) and long period capital expenditure (creation of assets, investment). Capital receipts are receipts of the … Read more

Gender budgeting entails the dissection of government budget to establish its gender differential impacts and to ensure that gender commitments are translated in to budgetary commitments. Gender Budgeting is a powerful tool for achieving gender mainstreaming so as to ensure that benefits of development reach women as much as men. It was adopted in 2005. … Read more

Launched by the Hon’ble PM in January, the ‘Transformation of Aspirational Districts’ programme aims to quickly and effectively transform these districts. The broad contours of the programme are Convergence (of Central & State Schemes), Collaboration (of Central, State level ‘Prabhari’ Officers & District Collectors), and Competition among districts driven by a mass Movement. With States … Read more

The National Old Age Pension Scheme has been renamed as Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOPS) and formally launched on 19th November, 2007. Under this Scheme, central assistance is available as per the following criteria: ? Age of the applicant (male or female) is 60 years or more. ? The applicant is a … Read more

The scheme for Remission of Duties or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP) will replace Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS) for reimbursement of taxes & duties for export promotion. Textiles and all other sectors which currently enjoy incentives upto 2 per cent over MEIS will transit into RoDTEP. In effect, RoDTEP will more than adequately … Read more

Tax Revenue: Union Excise Duties: They are, presently, by far the leading source of revenue for the Central Government and are levied on commo­dities produced within the country, but exclu­ding those commodities on which State excise is levied (viz., liquors and narcotic drugs). The most important commodities from the revenue point of view are sugar, … Read more

An external commercial borrowing (ECB) is an instrument used in India to facilitate Indian companies to raise money outside the country in foreign currency. The government of India permits Indian corporates to raise money via ECB for expansion of existing capacity as well as for fresh investments. Other such external sources of finance/capital include FCCBs … Read more

The major objective of PMKSY is to achieve convergence of investments in irrigation at the field level, expand cultivable area under assured irrigation, improve on-farm water use efficiency to reduce wastage of water, enhance the adoption of precision-irrigation and other water saving technologies (More crop per drop), enhance recharge of aquifers and introduce sustainable water … Read more

Farmers FIRST: The objectives of the ‘Farmer FIRST’ initiative is to move beyond the production and productivity and to privilege the complex, diverse & risk prone realities of the farmers through enhancing farmers-scientists contact with multi stakeholders participation for technology development and application. The project has been conceptualized with focus on Enriching Farmers –Scientist interface; Technology … Read more

Vidyanjali – (School Volunteer Programme) is an initiative of the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Department of School Education & Literacy to enhance community and private sector involvement in Government run elementary schools across the country under the overall aegis of the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. This programme has been envisaged to bring together people willing … Read more

In India there is large inequality in terms of wealth. To set off this bridge Govt resorts to  subsidies for resource redistribution and to achieve social welfare of the masses. Over the periods of time different political class have used subsidies to garner votes. There are various advantages of subsidies:   Empowerment and security to … Read more

Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP) gives an option to a company looking for exploring hydrocarbons to select the exploration blocks on its own, without waiting for the formal bid round from the Government. UnderOpen Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP), a bidder intending to explore hydrocarbons like oil and gas, coal bedmethane, gas hydrate etc., may apply … Read more

Accelerating Growth of New India’s Innovations or AGNIi is a national initiative under the guidance and support of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India. It is being handled by Invest India. AGNIi provides a platform for innovators to scale up their market-ready products by creating pathways for licensing, technology transfer and market … Read more

A public-private partnership (P3) is a contractual arrangement between a public agency and a private sector entity, typically of a long term nature. Through this agreement, the skills and assets of each sector (public and private) are shared in delivering a service or facility for the use of the general public. In addition to the … Read more

Labour reforms essentially mean taking steps in increasing production, productivity, and employment opportunities in the economy in such a manner that the interests of the workers are not compromised. “Essen­tially, it means skill development, retraining, redeployment, updating knowledge base of workers-teachers, promotion of leadership qualities, etc. The recommendation of NITI aayog are: Codification of labour … Read more

Unorganised sector: unorganised sector  is defined as a  production or service oriented enterprise owned by individuals or self employed workers (one who is not working for an employer and is engaged in an unorgnised sector job earning an income below a threshold or owning land below a notified limit) and if workers are employed, then … Read more

A credit rating agency (CRA, also called a ratings service) is a company that assigns credit ratings, which rate a debtor’s ability to pay back debt by making timely principal and interest payments and the likelihood of default. An agency may rate the creditworthiness of issuers of debt obligations, of debt instruments, and in some … Read more

The Gold Monetization Scheme is a welcome step initiated by the Government of India to  unlock the unused and idle gold lying in households and institutions and bring them into  mainstream and release the capital locked in for use in the economy for its development.  The key objectives of this scheme are stated as under: … Read more

Quantitative or General methods are those which are used by the central bank to influence the total volume of credit and money supply in the banking system, without any regard for the use to which is put while qualitative or selective measures are those which are used by the central bank to regulate the flow … Read more

P-Notes or Participatory Notes are Overseas Derivative Instruments that have Indian stocks as their underlyingassets.  These instruments are issued by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) registered with SEBI. It allows foreign investors to buy stocks listed on Indian exchanges without being registered with SEBI.  It gained popularity as foreign institutional investors (FIIs) started betting on stocks … Read more

In the last few years, a large number of farmers have committed suicide.  Cases of suicides have been reported from states such as Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, Punjab, Rajasthan, Orissa and Madhya Pradesh. Some of measures suggested include: Provide affordable health insurance and revitalize primary healthcare centres. The National Rural Health Mission should be … Read more

It is a Central Sector Scheme under which the CGST and Central Government‘s share of IGST paid by Charitable Religious Institutions on purchase of specific raw food items shall be reimbursed to them.  The charitable religious institutions include Temples, Gurudwara, Dharmik Ashram, Mosques, Dargah, Church, Matth, Monastries etc. The objective of the scheme is to … Read more

P2P lending is the popular type of crowd funding, whereby an internet platform collects small amounts of funds from individuals in a crowd to finance collectively a larger loan to individuals or businesses. Websites that facilitate peer-to-peer lending have greatly increased its adoption as an alternative method of financing.P2P lending is also known as social … Read more

Causes of Yes Bank crisis: Loan spree In the last five years, Yes Bank went on a loaning spree. Its total advances rose by 334% between FY14 and FY19, the highest rise among comparable banks in the period. Bad loans multiply Many borrowers started defaulting. The bank’s Gross NPA% (loans overdue for >90 days) zoomed … Read more

Disinvestment, or divestment, refers to the act of a business or government selling or liquidating an asset or subsidiary or the process of dilution of a government’s stake in a PSU (Public Sector Undertaking). The concept of disinvestment follows the dictum: The government has no business to be in business. Thus, the government continues to … Read more

India is mainly a rural country. Nearly 68% of the people reside in the rural area. The reasons for rural poverty are multi dimensional. The reasons are social, economical, geographical.   Economic cause Low agricultural productivity. Over reliance on agriculture.( quote the data) Unequal distribution of land and other assets Decline of Village industries Immobility … Read more

Shell companies are typically corporate entities which do not have any active business operations or significant assets in their possession.  A shell company may be a legal entity or not. Issues associated with shell companies: There is no clear definition of shell companies. Even under the companies act they are not defined. Out of the … Read more

The purchasing power of a currency refers to the quantity of the currency needed to purchase a given unit of a good, or common basket of goods and services.  Purchasing power is clearly determined by the relative cost of living and inflation rates in different countries. Purchasing power parity means equalising the purchasing power of … Read more

????????National Career Service is a Five Year Mission Mode Project launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister on 20th July, 2015. The project is being implemented by the Directorate General of Employment, Ministry of Labour & Employment. National Career Service (NCS) is a one-stop solution that provides a wide array of employment and career related services … Read more

One Nation One Ration Card Scheme which will allow portability of food security benefits will be available across the country from 1st July, 2020. This means poor migrant workers will be able to buy subsidized rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country. Highlights of the Scheme The scheme is all about inter-state … Read more

A Build Operate Transfer (BOT) Project is typically used to develop a discrete asset rather than a whole network and is generally entirely new or greenfield in nature (although refurbishment may be involved). In a BOT Project the project company or operator generally obtains its revenues through a fee charged to the utility/ government rather … Read more

FRBM act was brought to bring fiscal discipline in the Indian fiscal milieu. But the objectives of FRBM have been shifted for various reasons in the past due to global reasons as well as the domestic reasons. Hence FRBM panel was set up to review the act. The recommendation are explained hereunder which are nonbinding … Read more

GHI considers four parameters to for ranking countries: Undernourishment: share of the population that is undernourished, reflectinginsufficient caloric intake;Child wasting: share of children under the age of five who are wasted (low weightfor-height), reflecting acute under-nutrition;Child stunting: share of children under the age of five who are stunted (low heightfor-, reflecting chronic under-nutrition; andChild mortality: … Read more

Keynesian economics was developed by the British economist John Maynard Keynes during the 1930s in an attempt to understand the Great Depression. Keynesian Economics focuses on using active government policy to manage aggregate demand in order to address or prevent economic recessions. Thus it focuses on demand-side solutions to recessionary periods. Lowering interest rates is … Read more

In the last decades there has been a considerable increase in the number of technology based startups. Some 800+ startups are coming up every year, going by this trend by 2020 more than 11,500 start-ups are expected to get established in India, generating opportunities for over 2.5 lakhs people. The reasons for startups as drivers … Read more

The objective of Project CHAMAN is to provide strategic development to the horticulture sector, so as to increasefarmers income, a pioneer project called CHAMAN. The project is implemented by Mahalanobis is National CropForecast Centre (MNCFC)using remote sensing technology. Silent Features: Project CHAMAN carries out mapping of area and output of 7 horticultural crops in 12 … Read more

‘Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ (Self-reliant India Movement) was launched on May 12, 2020 with a special economic & comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crores which was aimed towards achieving the mission. The Mission focuses on the importance of promoting local products. The mission is also expected to complement “Make in India” initiative which intends to … Read more

. Mission Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) for ensuring housing for all in urban areas was launched in 2015 which is to be implemented during 2015-22. The Mission provides central assistance to all eligible families/ beneficiaries across all statutory towns for houses included under the mission. The coverage of the Mission was earlier limited to … Read more

Currency convertibility is the ease with which the currency of a country can be freely converted into any other foreign currency or gold at market determined exchange rate based on demand and supply for that currency. For example, convertibility of Indian rupee is the ease with which rupee be converted into any foreign exchange like … Read more