DAILY GK 22,23 JAN

 DAILY  GK 22,23 JAN

1.              EXPORT OBLIGATION RELAXED FOR HOTEL, HEALTH, EDUCATION SECTORS

·                On January 20, 2023, the Central Government relaxed export obligation under the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme for the hotel, healthcare, and educational sectors.

·                For the years 2020-21 and 2021-22, these sectors will not be required to maintain average export obligation for EPCG authorizations issued to them. They will also have the option to extend the export obligation period for a longer duration, without having to pay any additional fees.

·                The export period would be extended from the date of expiry for the duration equivalent to the number of days the export obligation period falls between February 1, 2020, and March 31, 2022.

·                EPCG scheme is Administered by the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and governed by the Foreign Trade Policy (FTP) of India, the EPCG scheme is a trade promotion scheme implemented by the Central Government enabling duty-free import of capital goods for the purpose of export production in India.

·                It aims to encourage the production of goods for export by providing import duty concessions on capital goods.

 

2.              INDIA’S 1ST STEM INNOVATION AND LEARNING CENTER IN CHENNAI

·                The American India Foundation (AIF) inaugurated India’s 1st STEM Innovation and Learning Centre (SILC) under the scheme of Vanavil Mandram and launched Drone and Satellite Launch Vehicle (DSLV) Mission at the Government Higher Secondary School, MMDA Colony, Chennai, Tamil Nadu (TN).

·                SILC is designed to serve as a one-stop solution for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) among students and instructors.

·                The aim of SICl is to raise curiosity among students in advanced STEM courses.

·                It consists of a Technology Corner, which is equipped with a smart lab, for Teachers, which will make it easier for teachers to lead techno-pedagogy-enabled classes for the students and to receive training in the DE Way of Teaching (DEWoT),

 

3.              ACUTE MALNUTRITION THREATENS THE LIVES OF 30 MILLION CHILDREN- UN

·                The United Nations (UN) agencies issued a call to action for the “UN Global Action Plan on Child Wasting” in an effort to accelerate the enactment of timely and decisive measures to safeguard the most vulnerable children in the 15 countries heavily impacted by the unprecedented food and nutrition crisis.

·                In the 15 worst affected countries, 40 million children (under five) live in severe food poverty and 27 million children experience severe food insecurity.

·                The Global Action Plan on Child Wasting is a collaborative effort of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and the World Health Organization (WHO).

·                The action plan aims to prevent, detect, and treat acute malnutrition among children in the 15 worst-affected countries: Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Chad, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Haiti, Kenya, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Yemen.

·                Wasting or Acute Malnutrition, is a kind of undernutrition induced by a reduction in food consumption and/or sickness, resulting in rapid weight loss or oedema.

 

4.              INDIANS REMITTED NEARLY USD 2 BILLION UNDER LRS SCHEME

·                According to the most recent Reserve Bank of India (RBI) data on “Outward Remittances under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) for Resident Individuals,” Indians remitted about USD 1.99 billion in November 2022 under the LRS.

·                The Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) of the RBI was launched in 2004, with an initial ceiling of USD 25,000.

·                The scheme allows all residents, including minors, to freely remit up to USD 250,000 each fiscal year for any permitted current or capital account transaction, or combination of both.

·                According to the RBI data, Indians have remitted around USD 17.28 billion in outward remittances under the LRS to date (until November 2022) in the fiscal year 2022-23 (FY23).

 

5.              RBI TO DIRECT INFLATION TOWARD A 4% TARGET BY 2024

·                According to the article titled “State of the Economy” published in the “January 2023 bulletin” of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the RBI’s 2023 monetary policy objective is to keep inflation within the required tolerance band (2%-6%) and lead it towards the medium-term target of 4% by 2024, which is the second milestone.

·                According to provisional data issued by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on January 12, 2023, Retail inflation, as measured by Year-on-year (y-o-y) fluctuations in the all-India Consumer Price Index (CPI), slowed to 5.7% in December 2022 from 5.9% in November 2022. It was driven by a significant drop in food inflation.

·                In 2023, India’s economy, which now surpasses the UK as the world’s fifth largest, will have a USD 3.7 trillion economy at current prices and exchange rates.

·                According to International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates, India would rise to fourth place in 2025 and third place in 2027, with a USD 5.4 trillion economy.

 

6.              INDIA’S FIRST 5G-ENABLED DRONE, SKYHAWK

·                Startup firm IG Drones has developed India’s first 5G-enabled drone namely ‘Skyhawk’ that is capable of vertical take-off and landing (VTOL), and can be used in defence and medical applications, among other sectors.

·                It can carry a 10 kg payload and has an endurance of around five hours.

·                It uses Artificial intelligence (AI) and thermal imaging capabilities which can monitor border intrusion and also during regular patrolling by the defence forces.

·                IG Drones startup is formed out of the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) campus in Odisha’s Sambalpur.

 

7.              HIMACHAL PRADESH TARGETS TO BE 1ST ‘GREEN ENERGY STATE’ BY 2025

·                Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chief Minister(CM) of Himachal Pradesh(HP) announced that Himachal Pradesh targets to become the “first Green Energy State” by the end of 2025.

·                The government is set to invest in Solar plants and will install 500 MW Solar projects during the year 2023-24. 200 MW of this would be installed by HPPCL.

·                CM noted that the Solar projects up to 150 MW capacity would be installed by HIMURJA through private participation.

·                The capacity of the projects will range from 250 KW to 1 MW

 

8.              14-DIGIT ULPIN LAUNCHED IN LADAKH

·                R K Mathur, Lieutenant Governor(LG) of the Union Territory(UT) of Ladakh, launched a 14-digit Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) in Ladakh. The initiative was welcomed by both hill councils of Kargil and Leh.

·                The ULPIN would support the digitisation of land records and also reach a conclusive land titling.

·                The LG termed ULPIN as a “game changer” and the next step in ‘SVAMITVA’(Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) for digitisation and computerisation of land revenue records.