Current Affairs 11 May 2021 – IAS Current Affairs

Current Affairs 11 May 2021  focuses on Prelims-Mains perspective. Major events are :

1. Connected Commerce Report : NITI Aayog and Mastercard
2. Free Grain Under PMGKAY
3. Migration and Mobility Partnership
4. Commodities In Super Cycle
5. FCRA Amendments Impact NGO’s

Connected Commerce Report : NITI Aayog and Mastercard

Source : PIB
GS III : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Why in News ?

NITI Aayog and Mastercard today released a report titled Connected Commerce: Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive Bharat.

• The report identifies challenges in accelerating digital financial inclusion in India and provides recommendations for making digital services accessible to its 1.3 billion citizens.

See Also Other Report by NITI Aayog : Click Here

Key Facts

• The report highlights key issues and opportunities,with inferences and recommendations on policy and capacity building across agriculture, small business (MSMEs), urban mobility and cyber security.
• Key recommendations in the report include
  1. Strengthening the payment infrastructure to promote a level playing field for NBFCs and banks.
  2. Digitizing registration and compliance processes and diversifying credit sources to enable growth opportunities for MSMEs.
  3. Building information sharing systems including a fraud repository and ensuring that online digital commerce platforms carry warnings to alert consumers to the risk of frauds.
  4. Enabling agricultural NBFCs to access low-cost capital and deploy a phygital (physical + digital) model for achieving better long-term digital outcomes. Digitizing land records will also provide a major boost to the sector.
  5. To make city transit seamlessly accessible to all with minimal crowding and queues, leveraging existing smartphones and contactless cards, and aim for an inclusive, interoperable, and fully open system such as that of the London ‘Tube’.
• Key issues addressed during the knowledge series were 
  1. Acceleration of digital financial inclusion for under served sections of Indian society.
  2. Enabling SMEs to ‘get paid get capital and get digital and access customers, and ensure their continued resilience.
  3. Policy and technological interventions to foster trust and increase cyber resilience.
  4. Unlocking the promise of digitization in India’s agriculture sector.
  5. The essential elements of a digital roadmap to make transit accessible for all citizens.

Free Grain Under PMGKAY

Source : PIB
GS III : Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections

Why in News ?

Of the 40 lakh tonnes of free foodgrains promised under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana one lakh tonnes has been distributed so far.

Key Facts

• In the first 10 days, PMGKAY grains reached 2.03 crore of the 80 crore benefits with 13 States and Union  territories having started distribution.
• The States which have started distribution of the 5 kg of free rice and wheat include Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura and Uttarakhand.
• The progress is on expected lines, given the eight month experience of implementing the PMGKAY during the first wave of COVID19 in 2020.
• The Centre was also selling  its food grain stock at a discounted rate to NGOs and to State governments for those with State ration cards.
• Concerns Raised
  • Migrants are facing distress during the current local lockdowns.
  • They seeking a resumption of last year’s scheme to give free food grains to those without ration cards as well.

Failure of the Scheme : According to the Food and Public Distribution most of the free grain failed to be distributed to intended recipients. Later announced the extension of PMGKAY up to November 2020

Migration and Mobility Partnership

Source :The Hindu
GS II : Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests

Why in News ?

MoU with U.K specified time limit for verificatoin before Illegal Indian Migrants From UK who are sent back to India. 

• The MoU named as ‘Migration and Mobility Partnership Agreement’.

Background

Recently India and UK signed MoU on returning illegal migrants and Children. They will be grant emergency travel documents to return along with parents.

• The MoU, which has been in the works for the past three years
• It has been revised after India declined a proposal by the U.K. to use DNA sampling to establish the nationality of document-less illegal immigrants who the U.K suspects to be Indians.

Key Facts

• Children born to Indians staying illegally in the United Kingdom will be granted emergency travel documents to  return along with parents.
• It will be based on birth certificate issued by the British authorities based on a Memorandum of  Understanding (MoU) signed between the two countries on May 4.
• Why they return ?
  • British citizenship is not acquired by birth alone.
  • There are a combination of factors, including the year of birth and parents circumstances.
• Conditions for Returning
  • Before illegal immigrants identified by the U.K authorities are allowed to return government officials here will conduct a probe to establish if the person is indeed an Indian citizen or not.
  • The State police will be conduct the probe once a request is received by the Centre.
  • The U.K. will share its expertise to train specialists in the fight against document fraud and to provide its  expertise in the field of detection equipment.
  • If voluntary return is refused by the migrant, forced repatriation on a case-by-case basis will be resorted to by UK.
• How many Illegal Migrants are staying in UK ?
  • Earlier estimate by the U.K government there are around 1,00,000 Indians who entered illegally or are overstaying their visa in the U.K..
  • According to India the numbers is not more than  2,000.
• Time frame to verify the nationality
  • A person who holds an Indian passport and who has overstayed the visa will be not later than 30 days on the receipt of request from the U.K authorities.
• Time frame and Condition for Document less Person
  • A person has acknowledged that he is an Indian but does not have a passport or a Visa Overstayer  document the time limit to establish the nationality will be 90 days.
  • But here the U.K authorities  will have to provide either a national identity card, a driving licence or a birth certificate among others to the Indian authorities to authenticate her/his Indian nationality.
• U.K will also have to follow the same procedures if a British national is found staying illegally in India.
• MoU will continue for seven years until terminated by either participant giving three months’ prior written notice.
  • It will be revived automatically after seven years.

Benefits for India

• The pact will provide enhanced employment opportunities for 3,000 young Indian professionals annually
  • Tens of thousands of Indians study in the UK each year.
  • India has complained about a lack of employment opportunities available to them when they finish their studies.

Commodities In Super Cycle

Source : Indian Express
GS II : Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment

Why in News?

The board rise in global commodity prices is leading to input cost pressures. There is a growing concern as it is expected to have a bearing on cost of infrastructure development in India

• It have an impact on the overall inflation, economic recovery and policy making.
• This inflation that is leading to jump in prices and it is not demand driven.

Key Facts

Commodity super cycles are decade long periods in which commodities trade above their long-term price trend.

• Commodity super cycle resulting from recovery in global demand (led by recovery in China and the US), supply-side constraints and loose monetary policy of global central banks, most commodities are on an unprecedented bull run that is expected to extend.
• A commodity super cycle is a sustained period of abnormally strong demand growth that producers struggle to match, sparking an increase in prices that can last years or in some cases a decade or more.
• Commodity super cycles for Various commodity
  • Steel, the most commonly used input in construction sector and industries, is at all-time highs.
  • Sugar, corn, coffee, soy bean oil, palm oil have risen sharply in the US commodities market.
  • Metals including gold and silver are also on an upward trajectory.
  • Prices of copper are also at all-time highs, surpassing the previous peak.
  • Brent crude oil prices are also on a tear, nearing around $69 to a barrel with any potential rise above $72.
• Possible Reason
  • As a result of recovery in big economies like China and the US.
  • Money is diverted for asset making as a fear of Inflation.
• How does this Impact India ?
  • India having infrastructure development plan, Sandhu also feels that the sharp rise in prices of steel and cement is a bit of a worry.
  • Higher metal prices will lead to higher WPI inflation and so the core inflation may not come down.

FCRA Amendments Impact NGO’s

Source : The Hindu
GS II : Development processes and the development industry- the role of NGOs, SHGs, various groups and associations, donors, charities, institutional and other stakeholders

Why in News ?

The amendments to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) has crippled the work of many organisations who’re unable to obtain overseas funds.

• An NGO recently moved the Delhi High Court searching for exemption from the Union Home Ministry’s March 31 deadline to open an FCRA account with the SBI department.

Key Facts

• Registered NGOs can obtain overseas contribution for 5 functions
  • Social
  • Academic
  • Non secular
  • Financial
  • Cultural.
• An FCRA registration is obligatory for NGOs to obtain overseas funds and 22,591 FCRA registered NGOs.
• Issues Facing
  • Administrative delays especially during COVID period.
  • FCRA amendments made it compulsory for all trustees to register their Aadhaar card.
    • The trustees and members live in different parts of the country and getting documents together poses immense challenges due to COVID-19 restriction.
  • NGOs may provide their providers in containment zones and different areas the place curfew is imposed.
  • Latest amendment makes all overseas donations ought to be acquired within the SBI account.
  • It capped the executive bills at 20% of the overseas funds acquired earlier the higher restrict was 50%.
    • The modification additionally barred sub-granting by NGOs to smaller NGOs who work on the grassroots.

Daily Current Affairs : Click Here