TOPIC : GS 2 Issues Relating to Development and Management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
A lending hand
What is the news?
The Reserve Bank of India’s move to step in and join the fight against the second wave of the pandemic through the announcement of measures aimed at alleviating any financing constraint for those impacted.
Crisis around Pandemic
It includes the healthcare sector, State governments and the public timely intervention.
The fast pace at which new COVID19 infections and fatalities have been mounting in recent time has not only overwhelmed the nation’s health infrastructure
It also begun to significantly impair economic activity, just as the economy appeared to have turned the corner from last year’s weak contraction.
Stressing crisis is imperative to both save lives and restore livelihoods
Policy Measures
RBI Governor Mr. Das proposed a calibrated response, mooting a 50,000 crore term liquidity facility to
a. Boost credit availability for ramping up COVIDrelated problems
b. Creating healthcare infrastructure and services.
Lenders have been urged to quickly lend under this ‘priority sector’ classified scheme :
a. The entities including vaccine manufacturers
b. Hospital and pathology labs
c. Suppliers of oxygen and ventilators
d. Importers of COVID related drugs and logistics firms
The scheme would also cover patients requiring treatment
It failed to spell out how those most in need of financial assistance to cover their surging medical bills could borrow the funds.
In directing the flow of credit to the sector most in focus at the moment, the RBI has signalled it is awareness of the burden on healthcare and allied providers.
The lending capital stressed banks would be willing to write into their ‘COVID loan books’ remains to be seen.
The central bank’s focus on
a. Small borrowers including unorganised businesses and
b. MSM enterprises, both through enhanced provision of credit via
c. Small finance banks and a fresh resolution framework for existing borrowings,
These economic participants were already among the worst hit during last year’s contraction.
Eligible
The norms laid down for resolution including the proviso that only those borrowers who had not already availed of restructuring assistance and whose loans were ‘standard’ as on March 31, 2021, would be eligible for fresh resolution
Way forward
RBI was also unreasonably optimistic about the economic impact of the second wave, even as he granted that “high frequency indicators are emitting mixed signals”.
Its position that the dent to aggregate demand is likely to be only moderate is based on the fact that so far this year, the restrictions to contain the spread of the virus have been largely localised.
With more and more voices from the Opposition to top industry groups urging a nationwide lockdown to break the chain of transmission, RBI may need to very quickly revisit his assumptions.
Mains question
The RBI has signalled it is aware of the burden on health-care providers during the period. Crtically Analyse
Sources: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/a-lending-hand-the-hindu-editorial-on-rbi-and-indias-second-coronavirus-wave/article34502008.ece
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
1. The Heritage Foundation
It a US Conservative think-tank, recently launched the “Economic Freedom Index”. This is the first time the index has been published since the COVID-19 pandemic overturned lives as well as global economies and the scoring reflects a small extent how governments have responded to the health crisis. The index ranks 12 indicators from property rights to financial freedom under four categories rule of law, size of government, regulatory efficiency and open markets
The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom is an annual guide published to measure the progress made in advancing economic freedom which it claims brings greater prosperity. The Foundation also believes that “the ideals of economic freedom are strongly associated with healthier societies, cleaner environments, greater per capita wealth, human development, democracy, and poverty elimination.”
Sources : https://www.business-standard.com/article/economy-policy/economic-freedom-index-singapore-ranks-first-india-26th-in-asia-pacific-121030800462_1.html
2. Dudhwa National Park
The Dudhwa National Park is a national park in the Terai belt of marshy grasslands of northern Uttar Pradesh, India. It is part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve in the Kheri and Lakhimpur districts. It is located on the Indo-Nepal border in the Lakhimpur Kheri District, and has buffers of reserved forest areas on the northern and southern sides. It represents one of the few remaining areas of the diverse and productive Terai ecosystem, supporting many endangered species, obligate species of tall wet grasslands and species of restricted distribution.
The forests, especially the sal forests, have always been very dense and can be categorized into northern tropical semi-evergreen forest, northern Indian moist deciduous forest, tropical seasonal swamp forest and northern tropical dry deciduous forest. Together with the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and the Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary it forms the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/male-tiger-found-dead-in-ups-dudhwa-tiger-reserve/article34126588.ece
3. Large Area Certification
Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under its flagship scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) has launched a unique quick certification programme “Large Area Certification” (LAC) to harness these potential areas. The areas having chemical input usage history are required to undergo a transition period of minimum 2-3 years to qualify as organic.
During this period, farmers need to adopt standard organic agriculture practices and keep their farms under the certification process. On successful completion, such farms can be certified as organic after 2-3 years. The certification process also requires elaborate documentation and time to time verification by the certification authorities. Under LAC requirements are simple and the area can be certified almost immediately. LAC is a Quick certification process that is cost-effective and farmers do not have to wait for 2-3 years for marketing PGS organic certified products.
Sources : https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?.
4. Kidd Creek Mine
It is an underground base metal mine north of Timmins, Ontario, Canada. It is owned and operated by Swiss multinational Glencore Inc. The mine was discovered in 1963 by Texas Gulf Sulfur Company. In 1981 it was sold to Canada Development Corporation. Ore from the Kidd Mine is processed into concentrate at the Kidd Metallurgical Site, located southeast of the mine, which until 2010 also smelted the ore and refined the metal produced. Kidd Mine is the world’s deepest copper-zinc mine
The Kidd deposit is one of the largest volcanogenic massive sulfide ore deposits in the world, and one of the world’s largest base metal deposits. It lies within the Abitibi greenstone belt. The mine has the oldest-known flowing water on Earth. A billion year old water sample collected from the mine was added to the collection at Ingenium in Ottawa
Sources: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-why-finding-the-oldest-water-on-earth-matters-in-the-quest-for-life-on-mars-7295729/
PRELIMS QUESTIONS
1. Consider the following statement with reference to Large Area Certification
a. Ministry of Rural Development has launched the programme
b. It is cost-effective and farmers do not have to wait for 2-3 years for marketing PGS organic certified products
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only (b) 2 only
(c). Both of them (d). None of the above
Answer : B
Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under its flagship scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna (PKVY) has launched a unique quick certification programme “Large Area Certification” (LAC) to harness these potential areas. The areas having chemical input usage history are required to undergo a transition period of minimum 2-3 years to qualify as organic.
During this period, farmers need to adopt standard organic agriculture practices and keep their farms under the certification process. On successful completion, such farms can be certified as organic after 2-3 years. The certification process also requires elaborate documentation and time to time verification by the certification authorities. Under LAC requirements are simple and the area can be certified almost immediately. LAC is a Quick certification process that is cost-effective and farmers do not have to wait for 2-3 years for marketing PGS organic certified products.
2. Economic Freedom Index is released by
a. UNESCO
b. World economic forum
c. World Bank
d. The Heritage Foundation
Answer: D
The Heritage Foundation a US Conservative think-tank, recently launched the “Economic Freedom Index”. This is the first time the index has been published since the COVID-19 pandemic overturned lives as well as global economies and the scoring reflects a small extent how governments have responded to the health crisis. The index ranks 12 indicators from property rights to financial freedom under four categories rule of law, size of government, regulatory efficiency and open markets
The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom is an annual guide published to measure the progress made in advancing economic freedom which it claims brings greater prosperity. The Foundation also believes that “the ideals of economic freedom are strongly associated with healthier societies, cleaner environments, greater per capita wealth, human development, democracy, and poverty elimination.”