Important topics and their relevance in UPSC CSE exam for September 13, 2023. If you missed the September 12, 2023 UPSC CSE exam key from the Indian Express, read it here
THE WORLD
Thousands missing as two dams collapse, worsening Libya floods
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- A storm that has killed thousands of people and left thousands more missing in Libya is the latest blow to a country that has been gutted by years of chaos and division. The floods are the most fatal environmental disaster in the country’s modern history. Years of war and lack of a central government have left it with crumbling infrastructure that was vulnerable to the intense rains. Libya is currently the only country yet to develop a climate strategy, according to the United Nations.
• Map Work-Libya’s eastern city of Derna
• ‘The north African country has been divided between rival administrations and beset by militia conflict since NATO-backed Arab Spring uprising toppled autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011’-Know more in detail
• Since 2014. Libya has been split between two rival governments, each backed by international patrons and numerous armed militias on the ground-why?
• Do You Know- Much of Derna was constructed when Libya was under Italian occupation in the first half of the 20th century. It became famous for its scenic white beachfront houses and palm gardens.But in the aftermath of Gaddafi’s ouster in 2011, it disintegrated into a hub for Islamist extremist groups, was bombarded by Egyptian airstrikes and later besieged by forces loyal to Hiftar. The city was taken by Hiftar’s forces in 2019.Like other cities in the east of the country, it has not seen much rebuilding or investment since the revolution. Most of its modern infrastructure was constructed during the Gaddafi era, including the toppled Wadi Derna dam, built by a Yugoslav company in the mid 1970s.According to Jalel Harchaoui, an associate fellow specialising in Libya at the London-based Royal United Services Institute for Defence and Security Studies, Hiftar views the city and its population with suspicion, and has been reluctant to allow it too much independence. Last year, for instance, a massive reconstruction plan for the city was led by outsiders from Benghazi and elsewhere, not natives of Derna.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Libyan prime minister says 2,000 people believed dead in flooding in eastern Libya following storm
FRONT PAGE
Inflation sticky but off 15-month high, factory output shows uptick
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- India’s retail inflation rate eased to 6.83 per cent in August from a 15-month high of 7.44 per cent in July 2023, mainly due to a slide in prices of food items, especially vegetables, data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) Tuesday showed. The inflation print, however, continued to remain above the upper limit of the 4+/- 2 per cent band of Reserve Bank of India’s medium-term inflation target, making it the fourth instance of headline inflation staying higher than the upper limit of the target during this calendar year and the seventh such instance since August 2022.
• What is in sticky Consumer Price Index (CPI)?
• How India’s retail inflation is measured?
• Why the Retail inflation has stayed above the RBI Monetary Policy Committee’s tolerance band of 2-6 per cent for over three successive quarters?
• Why RBI is failing to meet the inflation target recently?
• For Your Information-Experts said though inflation is expected to rise further, the impact of deflation at the wholesale level may provide relief with a lag at retail level. “While overall food inflation has moderated, the worrying aspect is that the sequential upward momentum has continued for some food items like cereals, pulses and milk. There is risk of further upward pressure on food inflation given the skewed rainfall and low reservoir levels. The recent spike in global crude oil prices is also concerning. However, a comforting factor is that the continued deflation in WPI will have a lagged impact on CPI inflation going forward. While RBI will remain cautious, we expect an extended pause in policy rates in 2023,” said Rajani Sinha, Chief Economist, CareEdge Ratings.
• The Ministry of Finance said that prices of commodities like crude oil, iron ore and steel had sobered in global markets. What measures Government has taken so far to soften the prices of edible oils and pulses?
• What is Monetary policy?
• What is the primary objective of the monetary policy?
• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a Statutory Body-True or False?
• Under Section 45ZB of the amended (in 2016) RBI Act, 1934, the central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)- What is the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)?
• What are the steps taken by RBI to control inflation?
• What factor distinguishes India’s inflation from many other developed countries?
• What is Inflation?
• Know the Types of Inflation like Moderate Inflation, Galloping Inflation, Hyper-Inflation, Stagflation, Deflation, Core Inflation etc.
• What are the causes of Inflation in the present situation
• How Inflation is Measured in India?
• What is the Long term, Medium Term and Short-term impact of Inflation?
• New Standard for Measuring Inflation in India and Old Standard for Measuring Inflation-Key Differences
• Steps or Measures Taken by GOI to Control Inflation
• What do you understand by Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index? WPI and CPI is published by whom?
• What’s the RBI assessment on inflation recently?
• Know these Terms-Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR), Open Market Operations (OMOs), Market Stabilisation Scheme (MSS), Repo Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) Bank Rate
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Everyday Economics: What are WPI and CPI inflation rates?
GOVT & POLITICS
SC rejects Govt plea to defer hearing on validity of sedition until House decision
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-The Supreme Court Tuesday said petitions challenging the constitutional validity of sedition law — Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code — need to be heard by a five-judge Constitution bench and directed that they be placed before the Chief Justice of India for this.
• Why the Centre urged the court to defer the hearing in this matter?
• What do you understand by ‘Sedition’?
• Sedition laws in India-Know about them
• Historical Background of Sedition Law-Who drafted it?
• When was sedition law used against Mahatma Gandhi and BG Tilak?
• What is Section 124A of Indian Penal Code?
• Punishment for the Offence of Sedition in India-Know in detail
• What is the fresh challenge to sedition law?
• Sedition laws in other countries-Compare and Contrast
• What is the Supreme Court’s stand on it?
• Supreme Court Decisions and Discussions on Sedition Law?
• Supreme Court’s Landmark decision in Kedar Nath Singh v. State of Bihar (1962) case and the Balwant Singh vs State of Punjab (1995) case-know in detail
• What are the Kedar Nath Singh guidelines?
• What does the Law Commission of India say on sedition?
• National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) report statistics on the Sedition Law-Know the facts and figures given by NCRB
• Problems with the sedition laws-Brainstorm
• Legal flaws and spurious interpretation of Sedition Law?
• Mahatma Gandhi on Section 124A as the “prince among the political sections of the Indian Penal Code designed to suppress the liberty of the citizen”-Decode the Quote
• How Section 124A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) contradicts Article 14 and Article 21 of the Indian Constitution?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Why government’s use of sedition law reveals a colonial mindset
THE EDITORIAL PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Maharashtra is again on the brink of deep social unrest. If the current demand of the Marathas is not quickly satisfied, the large community that is spread across the state could respond in unpredictable ways. On the other hand, conceding their demand will result in the OBCs getting agitated, thus threatening the social fabric. In fact, the state’s social fabric is already stressed and more social conflicts will further add to the incipient tensions. There is a sense of déjà vu in attempts to respond to this situation.
• What is Maratha reservation issue?
• What are the Marathas demanding?
• What is the History and Status of the Maratha Reservation Demand?
• Who are the Marathas?
• Why Marathas demanding for reservation?
• For Your Information-In June 2019, the Bombay High Court upheld the constitutional validity of the Maratha quota under the Socially and Educationally Backward Classes (SEBC) Act, 2018. While ruling that the 16 per cent quota granted by the state was not ‘justifiable,’ the HC reduced it to 12 per cent in education and 13 per cent in government jobs, as recommended by the Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission.The HC, however, said that the limit of reservation should not exceed 50%. However, in exceptional circumstances and extraordinary situations, this limit can be crossed. It said that this will be subject to availability of quantifiable and contemporaneous data reflecting backwardness, inadequacy of representation and without affecting the efficiency in administration.The court heavily relied on the findings of the 11-member Maharashtra State Backward Class Commission (MSBCC) headed by Justice G M Gaikwad (retd). The commission surveyed nearly 45, 000 families from two villages from each of 355 talukas with more than 50 per cent Maratha population.The report submitted on November 15, 2018 said the Maratha community is socially, economically and educationally backward. The HC expressed satisfaction over the data and observed that the commission had conclusively established the social, economic and educational backwardness of the Maratha community. It had also established inadequacy of representation of Maratha community in public employment in the state.
• In May 2021, a five-judge Constitution bench of the Supreme Court headed by Justice Ashok Bhushan struck down the provisions of Maharashtra law providing reservation to the Maratha community-Why?
• What is 1992 Indra Sawhney (Mandal) judgment?
• One immediate demand from the Marathwada region is that the state government should grant Kunbi status to all Marathas-Why?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Maratha reservation: A long history of political tug-of-war and litigation
THE IDEAS PAGE
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s Interests.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-The singular act of admitting the largest developing country regional grouping — the African Union (AU) — into the G20, has given its 18th Summit under India’s dynamic presidency a special place in the history of global economic and financial governance. In one stroke, the second-largest continent, Africa, with a population more than that of India and China, gets wholly represented in an elite decision-making body. It adds to the sheen of Bharat G20 being the most ambitious of presidencies with 111 outcomes and presidency documents, tripling the substantive work for India, the Global South and the global kutumbakam.
• India’s G20 Presidency has paved the way for the African Union’s permanent membership in the G20- What you know about African Union?
• Map Work- Member Countries of African Union
• From G20 to G20 plus one-why African Union matters?
• What is the AU?
• “By insulating the G20 as best as possible from the vagaries of big-power rivalry, India guided the agenda to the Global South and its priorities”-Discuss
• For Your Information- The AU is an intergovernmental organisation of the 55 member states located on the continent of Africa. Launched on July 9, 2002, the grouping is the successor of the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was formed in 1963 (more on this later). The AU seeks to build “an Integrated, Prosperous and Peaceful Africa, driven by its own citizens”, according to its website.The AU’s secretariat, the African Union Commission, is based in Addis Ababa. Collectively the group has a gross domestic product (gdp) of $3 trillion with some 1.4 billion people.
• Why was the AU formed?
• What are the objectives of the AU?
• What are the notable achievements of the AU?
• Do You Know-Many of the AU’s peacekeeping missions have helped governments tackle terrorism across Africa, from the Sahel to northern Mozambique. Over the years, the organisation’s interventions have prevented violence in countries like Burundi, the Central African Republic, Comoros, Darfur, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Mali.AU’s diplomatic efforts have also resulted in resolving conflicts in Africa. Last year, it brokered a peace deal between the Ethiopian Government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) in South Africa, almost two years after the two entities began fighting.The establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), which came into force in 2021, is yet another achievement of the organisation. With 54 member countries as signatories, AfCFTA is the world’s largest new free trade area since the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994.It seeks to increase intra-African trade through deeper levels of trade liberalisation and enhanced regulatory harmonisation and coordination. The AfCFTA will increase Africa’s income by $450 billion by 2035 and increase intra-African exports by more than 81%, according to the World Bank estimates.Of the AU’s 55 members, 54 are in the United Nations. Only one African country, South Africa, has been an original member of the G20. No presidency ever risked amending the membership for fear of competing rivalries. It has been India’s case that not only must the G20 reflect the priorities of the Global South, but must include those who are underrepresented, particularly from Africa. The AU has double the number of countries than the EU.The AU has been invited to G20 meetings and some presidencies have held African outreach events in a manner of telling them what is good for them. It is India that has actually taken the initiative of talking with them rather than at them.
• What have been the shortcomings of the AU?
• What can be the upshot of AU’s inclusion in G20?
• “India aspires to bring the Global South to the centre of the G20 agenda”-Discuss
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍WHAT IS THE AFRICAN UNION, THE LATEST MEMBER OF G20
EXPRESS NETWORK
IISc develops technique to detect cancer early, killing infected cells
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- In a boost to cancer research, scientists at the Indian Institute of Science(IISc) have proposed a novel approach for cancer treatment with a potential of early detection and killing of lung and cervical cancer cells.
• “Researchers exploited the anti-cancerous properties in the hybrid gold and copper sulphide nanoparticles, particularly to target malignancy progressing to form a solid tumour mass in the body”-Know more in detail
• For Your Information-World over, cancer is one of the highest causes of mortality. Numerous studies have warned about its rising burden in both developing and developed countries. A study published in the Bio Medical Central Journal in May 2022 has estimated India’s cancer cases to touch 29.8 million by 2025. It stated that the disease burden would be the highest among the populations in North and northeast India. Moreover, over 40 per cent of India’s total cancer burden would be contributed by the seven leading cancer sites — lung (10.6%), breast (10.5%), oesophagus (5.8%), mouth (5.7%), stomach (5.2%), liver (4.6%), and cervix uteri (4.3%).
• Indian Institute of Science-know in brief
• Know about Cervical cancer
• What is the main cause of cervical cancer?
• How common is cervical cancer in India?
• Who developed the new qHPV vaccine?
• How effective is the new vaccine?
• Why cervical cancer is most common in India?
• How many types of HPV vaccines are there and who should get it?
• What is quadrivalent vaccine?
• WHO‘s Global Strategy to Accelerate the Elimination of Cervical Cancer 2030-Know in detail
• HPV vaccination and cervical cancer incidence in India-Know in detail
• Do You Know-Cervical cancer forms 16.5% of the total cancer cases in Indian women and is the second most common type of cancer amongst women in the country after breast cancer. In India, cervical cancer accounted for 9.4 per cent of all cancers and 18.3 per cent (1,23,907) of new cases in 2020 according to a report in the Indian Journal of Gynaecologic Oncology (December 2021).
• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)-Under which nodal Ministry or Independent body?
• For Your Information– India accounts for about a fifth of the global burden of cervical cancer, seeing 1.25 lakh cases and 75,000 deaths a year. The SII vaccine is quadrivalent, meaning it protects against the four most common strains of the virus known to cause cancers — HPV 16, 18, 6, and 11. Around 83 per cent of invasive cervical cancers are attributed to HPV 16 or 18 in India.
• The vaccine, Cervavac is a big step in preventive healthcare in the country-How?
• Why India needs to put more emphasis on preventive healthcare?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Experts discuss latest breakthroughs in cancer treatment
EXPLAINED
Double whammy: High inflation, falling consumer sentiment
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.
Main Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story-Prime Minister Narendra Modi has successfully turned the routine rotational presidency of the G20 into an event to showcase India’s growing economic might. However, domestically, data suggests that consumer sentiment has taken a beating over the past month.
• According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s (CMIE) Economic Outlook, consumer sentiments fell by 1.5 per cent in August 2023-Why?
• Before that, what is the consumer sentiment?
• How important is consumer sentiment?
• Consumer sentiment indicates what?
• What affects consumer sentiment?
• “To be sure, this drop in sentiments is not just of academic significance; it can have a real impact on the economy and Indian businesses who are gearing up for making the best sales of the year in the forthcoming festive season”-Comment
• What’s triggering this turnaround in sentiments?
• “What does not help consumer sentiments, especially when the outlook on incomes is turning weaker, is sustained high levels of consumer inflation”- Compare Consumer sentiments and consumer inflation.
• India’s GDP growth outlook: Back to the Hindu rate?
• What is “Hindu rate of growth”?
• Who coined the phrase Hindu rate of growth?
• For Your Information-The first thing to know is that contrary to what many readers might believe, the term “Hindu rate of growth” has been in use in India’s economic history literature since 1982 when an Indian economist, Raj Krishna, coined it. To be sure, Krishna was not someone who aligned with the ideologies of the Congress-led governments of that time. “Chicago-trained and, in the political climate of the time, with a reputation for being somewhat of a right-winger, he (Krishna) was perhaps a more acute observer of the Indian economy than most of his peers,” states Pulapre Balakrishnan, professor of economics at Ashoka University, in his piece titled “The recovery of India: Economic growth in the Nehru era”.
• Anyhow, when did India outgrow the Hindu rate of growth?
• So, is India reverting to the Hindu rate of growth?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Consumer Sentiment: Definition, Measurement, Importance
📍ExplainSpeaking | Is India reverting to the Hindu rate of growth?
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- The only new and clear deliverable on climate action at the recent G20 summit was a commitment to work towards tripling global renewable energy capacity by 2030. According to an assessment by the International Energy Agency (IEA) earlier this year, this single measure could prevent 7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions by 2030. Not surprisingly, in the past few years, countries have been repeatedly urged to accept this as a goal.
• What is the global renewable energy capacity for 2030?
• What is the India’s renewable energy capacity for 2030?
• “For countries like India and China, the growth of renewable energy is also the most preferred way to contribute to the global fight against climate change, and bring down the role of fossil fuels in their economies”-Discuss
• Why tripling capacities within seven years is an ambitious task?
• Do You Know-The current global installed capacity of renewable energy is just short of 3,400 GW. In 2022, about 295 GW of new capacity was added, the highest ever. To triple the total capacity by 2030, the world would have to add nearly 1,000 GW of new capacity every year. That is what agencies like the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) and the IEA, and climate activists and civil society organisations have been pushing for. “Tripling renewable capacity by 2030 is an ambitious, yet achievable goal. Annual capacity additions have more than doubled from 2015 to 2022, rising by about 11% per year on average. Just a slightly higher annual growth rate would put renewables on track to meet the 2030 capacity target,” the IEA said in a recent assessment. It acknowledged that a higher annual growth rate would require much stronger policy push from governments. “It is the single most important lever to bring about the reduction in carbon dioxide emissions needed by 2030. Expansion at that speed would allow renewable power generation growth to outpace total electricity demand, which is expected to increase strongly in the coming years — supported by the electrification of energy systems, the increasing use of cooling as temperatures climb, and robust demand growth in emerging and developing economies,” IEA said.
• Tripling renewable capacity by 2030 is an ambitious, yet achievable goal-How can we achieve this goal?
• How International Solar Alliance (ISA) can help in achieving the Tripling renewable capacity by 2030?
• For Your Information-The key to achieving this target would be the mobilisation of adequate financial resources and creation of opportunities — infrastructure, policy environment, skill development — in countries with low penetration of energy access. As part of their climate action plans, about 135 countries have promised to create or enhance their renewable energy capacities, but as of now most of the new capacity addition is happening in a handful of large developing countries. India and China together account for more than 50% of global capacity additions in each of the last five years. In 2022, out of the 295 GW of additional capacity installed throughout the world, China alone added 140 GW, or nearly 48%. The tripling target cannot be achieved without the rapid growth in demand from other developing countries, mainly in Africa. The addition of the African Union in the G20 is expected to provide the right impetus for this. Also, it is likely that this commitment is adopted by the COP28 climate change meeting in Dubai this year, in which case it will have global ownership.It is here that a multilateral body like the International Solar Alliance (ISA) — set up after Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed it in 2015 — has a crucial role to play. Solar energy constitutes more than 50% of new renewable energy capacity additions every year and is pivotal to the growth of renewables. In 2022, out of the 295 GW of new renewable capacity created, 191 GW, or 65%, came from solar energy. The ISA was created specifically for the purpose of rapidly scaling up solar energy across the world, but it is still to realise its full potential.Ajay Mathur, director general of ISA, acknowledged that the big growth in solar utilisation was still to come. “Through the year, the International Solar Alliance has worked with the G20 Presidency towards fast tracking development, in the G-20 countries and globally, while also mitigating climate change by promoting solar utilisation. This can be done in three ways. First, we need to build the knowledge and capacity of all countries to produce, transport and use low and zero carbon hydrogen. ISA has launched the Green Hydrogen Innovation Centre to enable this action,” Mathur said. “Second, we need to enable solar mini grids to provide universal energy access, especially where grid extension is too expensive. Guarantees help in crowding-in private sector investment into solar mini grids. We are proud to provide such a guarantee to our member countries in Africa. And the third action is to build entrepreneurs in these countries who can, with help, become the Amazons of tomorrow, supplying solar energy across countries and regions. We have recently identified, and are strengthening, 20 solar start-ups in Africa. We now look at the Asia & Pacific Region, and then the Latin America & Caribbean region,” he said.
• What are issues and other big challenges?
• For Your Information-According to an IRENA outlook, investments of about 5.3 trillion USD would be required per year, till 2050, to enable the energy transition that will limit the global rise in temperatures to within 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.“Global investment across all transition technologies reached a record high of 1.3 trillion USD in 2022. Yet annual investment would need to more than quadruple to remain on the 1.5°C pathway,” IRENA said in a recent report.But even if the tripling target is achieved by 2030, it alone would not be sufficient for the 1.5 degree Celsius goal. According to current projections, the greenhouse gas emissions in 2030 would exceed the 1.5 degree Celsius compatible levels by about 24 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent. Renewable energy, if tripled, would be able to avoid only 7 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent, or less than one third of what is required.It is for this reason that many climate observers were disappointed with the G20 outcome. The G20 meeting skirted most of the contentious issues — greater emission cuts, phase-out of fossil fuels, massive mobilisation of financial resources — and stuck to previously stated positions.
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Express View on G20 and climate action: Green step forward
Gadkari mentions tax on diesel vehicles: why is the fuel under pressure?
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.
Mains Examination: General Studies III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari said on Tuesday (September 12) that people needed to move away from fuels such as petrol and diesel, and that if the use of diesel-run vehicles (and equipment such as diesel-run generators) continued, he might consider proposing to the Finance Minister that an additional 10% GST be imposed on these vehicles as “pollution tax”.
• Why is there a pushback against diesel?
• What about diesel-run cars?
• But why have carmakers started to move away from diesel?
• What is the reason an individual user might prefer diesel to petrol?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍India’s diesel price dilemma – making the rich pay more
ECONOMY
Singapore, US, UK top the out bound investment list, includes 3 tax havens
Syllabus:
Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development
Main Examination: General Studies III: Effects of liberalization on the economy
Key Points to Ponder:
• What’s the ongoing story- Singapore was the largest beneficiary of outward direct investment (ODI) by Indian firms with the country getting Rs 2.03 lakh crore ($ 24.48 billion) or 22.3 per cent of the total ODI during the financial year 2023. Total outward direct investment by Indian firms rose by 19.46 per cent to Rs 9.11 lakh crore ($ 109 billion) in FY2023 as against Rs 7.62 lakh crore last year, data from a Reserve Bank of India study shows.
• What Is an Outward Direct Investment (ODI)?
• What are the different types of Outward Direct Investment (ODI)?
• What are the tweaks in overseas investment norms?
• Do You Know-The US received Rs 1.24 lakh crore (13.6 per cent share) and the UK got Rs 1.16 lakh crore (12.8 per cent) as ODI from India in FY2023. The top ten countries accounted for as much as 85 per cent of the ODI. Switzerland received Rs 28,228 crore ($ 3.40 billion).Significantly, three jurisdictions known for tax benefits are in the top ten countries that received Indian ODI. Bermuda received Rs 12,582 crore ($ 1.51 billion), Jersey Rs 11,661 crore ($1.40 billion) and Cyprus Rs 9,985 crore ($1.20 billion), RBI data shows. Bermuda, for example, imposes no taxes on profits, income, dividends, or capital gains. It has no limit on the accumulation of profit, and has no requirement to distribute dividends, according to a PWC report. Meanwhile, the US was the largest source of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) in India in fiscal year 2023, followed by Mauritius, the UK and Singapore with the top ten countries accounting for over 90 per cent of the flows.
• Inward foreign direct investment (FDI) and Outward Direct Investment (ODI)-Compare and Contrast
• What is a tax haven?
• For Your Information-Essentially, a tax haven is a place where foreigners may receive income or own assets without paying high rates of tax upon them. A tax haven is a country that offers foreign businesses and individuals minimal or no tax liability for their bank deposits in a politically and economically stable environment. They have tax advantages for corporations and for the very wealthy, and obvious potential for misuse in illegal tax avoidance schemes.Companies and wealthy individuals may use tax havens legally as a means of stashing money earned abroad while avoiding higher taxes in the U.S. and other nations.Tax havens may also be used illegally to hide money from tax authorities at home. The tax haven can make this work by being uncooperative with foreign tax authorities. In recent times, tax havens are under increasing international political pressure to cooperate with foreign tax fraud inquiries.While the tax haven status does bring some benefits to the tax haven country, it is one of the objects of this article to dispel the myth that the tax haven status is a panacea for a country’s economic problems.
• What is regulatory oversight of Tax Havens?
• What are the advantages of a tax haven?
• How does a nation benefit from being a tax haven?
• What are the prohibitions for overseas investments?
• What Is a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)?
• What Is a Foreign Institutional Investor (FII)?
• What Is Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)?
• Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI) and Foreign Institutional Investor (FII)-Know the Differences
• What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI)?
• What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Institutional Investor (FII)?
• What Are the Advantages and Disadvantages of Foreign Portfolio Investment (FPI)?
• Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) in India?
Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:
📍Outward Direct Investment: Meaning, Overview, History
📍Tax Haven: Definition, Examples, Advantages, and Legality
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📍With eye on defaulters, Centre tweaks overseas investment rules: The changes, explained
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