Union Budget 2024-25: Highlights –Interim Budget

A budget is a forecast of the government’s revenue and expenses for a future period, typically the upcoming financial year. The Union Budget gives a detailed account of the government's finances over the previous fiscal year, summarises new tax proposals for the upcoming fiscal year, and estimates revenue and expenditure for the next fiscal year.

The Union Budget accounts for the government's finances during the fiscal year from April 1 to March 31. The first Budget in pre-independent India was presented in 1860 by James Wilson of the British Indian Government. After independence, India's first Budget was presented in 1947 by Finance Minister RK Shanmukham Chetty.

• The budget for 2024-25 was the final budget of the NDA government’s second term. 
• The budget this year was interim, as the government will be facing a general election in April-May this year. The full budget will be presented in July by the new government.

Union Finance Minister Nirmal Sitharaman presented the budget for Financial Year 2024-25 on February 1.

Interim Budget                                  An interim budget is a type of temporary financial plan for the government, which will replace a full budget in case Parliament is short on time or general elections are approaching. The interim budget ensures that the government keeps essential services running and covers expenditures for the first few months of the fiscal year.

Full Budget and Interim Budget

Full Budget	Interim Budget
A full-length budget is a comprehensive financial plan that covers all aspects of government spending, revenue generation, and policy reforms for an entire fiscal year.	An interim budget is a temporary plan that authorises the government to withdraw money from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet expenditure for the April-July period.
The full budget is presented by the government that is going to continue into the next fiscal year.	An interim budget is presented by the outgoing government before general elections or a new government is set to come to power.
There is scope for major policy changes and new schemes.	It does not introduce major policy changes or new schemes.
A full union budget is presented annually.	An interim budget is presented during election year.
It involves detailed discussion on schemes, policies and allocations.	An interim budget is devoid of the usual scrutiny and debate in Parliament.
A full-length budget provides a long-term vision for economic growth, capital investment, and social welfare initiatives.	An interim budget ensures continuity and prevents financial disruption during political transitions.

 

Union Budget?

The Union Budget is the annual financial statement of the Union Government of India that is presented every year on the 1st of February by the Finance Minister (FM) in the Lok Sabha.

• Budget preparation: The Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, is the nodal body responsible for preparing the Budget document.
• Budget classification: The Union Budget is classified into the Revenue Budget and the Capital Budget.
  • Revenue Budget: This is the part of the budget that deals with the money the government expects to receive and spend within a year. It includes income from taxes and other regular sources.
  • Capital Budget: This is the part of the budget that deals with the government’s assets and liabilities. It includes big expenses like building infrastructure or buying equipment.
• Budget Parts:
  • Part A: This is the macroeconomic part of the budget where various schemes and priorities of the government are announced, and allocations are made to several sectors.
  • Part B: This part deals with the Finance Bill, which contains taxation proposals such as income tax revisions and indirect taxes. 
    • A Finance Bill is a Money Bill as defined in Article 110 of the Constitution.
    • The Speaker has the final authority to determine whether a bill is a Money Bill.

Constitutional Provisions Related to India's Union Budget

• Constitutional provision: As per Article 112 of the Indian Constitution, the Union Budget is a statement of the government's estimated receipts and expenditures. 
  • It is also known as the Annual Financial Statement of the Government; however, the term "budget" is not mentioned in the Constitution.
• Key Budget documents: Apart from Budget Speech, other major documents include:
  • Annual Financial Statement (Article 112)
  • Demands for Grants (Article 113)
  • Finance Bill (Article 110)
  • Fiscal Policy Statements mandated under the FRBM Act, 2003, including 
  • The Macro-Economic Framework Statement and 
  • The Medium-Term Fiscal Policy cum Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement.

Article 266      All revenue receipts generated by the Government of India shall be credited to the Consolidated Fund of India.

Revenue raised through provident fund, Postal insurance, etc, shall be credited to the Public Account of India.

Article 267      A Contingency Fund of India has to be set up by the Parliament to meet unexpected or unforeseen expenditures.

 

Objectives of Union Budget

The Union Budget lies at the foundation of India's economic system and is extremely crucial for the economy's functioning. The Union Budget aims to achieve several key objectives:

• Economic growth: The budget aims to stimulate rapid and balanced economic growth in the country.
• Social Justice and Equality: It seeks to promote social justice and equality, ensuring benefits are distributed across all sections of society.
• Resource allocation: The budget ensures the effective allocation of resources to minimise unemployment and poverty.
• Fiscal stability: It aims to maintain fiscal stability by controlling prices, reducing wealth and income disparities, and reforming the tax system.

 

History and Evolution of Budget in India

• Pre-independence: The first-ever budget in India was presented on April 7, 1860, by Scottish economist James Wilson from the East India Company.
  • It was in this budget that ‘income tax’ was introduced for the first time.
• Post-independence: Independent India’s first budget was presented on November 26, 1947, by R K Shanmukham Chetty, the finance minister at the time.
  • The first budget was supposed to last for seven and a half months, following which the next budget was to be implemented from April 1, 1948. 
  • John Mathai, who became the finance minister after the resignation of Mr Chetty, presented the Union Budgets of 1949-50 and 1950-51. This was the first time a budget was prepared for a United India, including all princely states.
  • Until 2017, the Railway Budget of the country was separately introduced in the parliament. Currently, it has been merged with the Union Budget.

Process of Union Budget

• Announcement of Date: The government will announce the budget presentation day beforehand. It will also announce whether it will be a full-length budget or interim budget.
• The Halwa Ceremony: The Halwa ceremony marks the beginning of budget documents printing. It usually takes place five days before the presentation of the budget.
• Printing the Budget Document: The officials and staff of the Finance Ministry, involved in budget printing, will have to follow a lock-in period.
• During the lock-in period, they are not allowed to have contact with the outside world.
• Meeting the President: The finance minister has to take the President’s approval before presenting the budget in the Parliament.
• The Cabinet Meeting: A Union Cabinet meeting is held at 10a.m on the budget day. After getting the approval from the cabinet, the Finance Minister presents the Union Budget in Parliament of India.
• The Finance Minister’s Speech: The Union Finance Minister will give a speech in the Lok Sabha to provide the direction in which the government wishes to move in the coming financial year, the growth targets and the major thrust areas. 
  • The speech also contains a financial statement that gives estimated receipts and expenditures of the central government for the forthcoming fiscal year and a review of the current fiscal year.
• Discussion on the Budget: After the speech by the finance minister, a general discussion is held to discuss the budget document.
• Departmental Scrutiny: After general discussions, the departmental standing committee of the Parliament examines the demands for grants.
• Voting on Demand for Grants: Every member of Lok Sabha has to vote on each demand for grants. Voting is allowed on only demand for grants, and no voting is allowed on the expenditure charged on the consolidated fund of India. 
• Passing an Appropriation Bill: Since no money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund of India without an appropriation made by law, a bill in this regard is introduced to provide for the appropriation out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Passing of Finance Bill: Finally, a Finance Bill is introduced in the house to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the following year.

 

 Types of Budgets

Governments have three main types of budgets - balanced, surplus and deficit. A few other types of budgets exist, as explained below:

Type of Budget	Description
Balanced Budget	- A budget where the government’s expected revenue for the financial year equals its expended expenditure.
Deficit Budget	- A budget where the government’s expected spending exceeds expected revenue for the financial year. - The deficit is usually covered by borrowing or using a reserve surplus.
Surplus Budget	- A budget where the government’s predicted income or revenue exceeds planned expenditures. - It can be used to lower aggregate demand and reduce inflation.
Zero-Based Budget	- An approach to planning and preparing the budget from scratch, or 'zero bases’. - It is a systematic cost management process that considers the efficient allocation of income to fixed expenditures, variable expenses, and savings.
Gender Budget	- A process of examining the budget of a government or other organisation to assess the extent to which it promotes gender equality. - It is used to identify and track the allocation of resources for women, men, and gender-related issues.

Iconic Budgets

Over the years, budgets have been crucial in catalysing structural reforms and shaping India's economic progress. Some iconic budgets that significantly impacted India are:

• Black Budget (1973-74): Presented by Y B Chavan, it was called the ‘Black Budget’ due to a fiscal deficit of Rs 550 crore during a period of financial distress.
• Carrot & Stick Budget (1986): VP Singh’s budget was a step towards ending the licence raj in India.
  • It introduced the Modified Value Added Tax (MODVAT) to reduce tax cascading and launched a drive against economic offenders.
• Epochal Budget (1991): Manmohan Singh’s budget marked the beginning of economic liberalisation in India, reducing customs duty and promoting exports.
• Dream Budget (1997-98): P Chidambaram used the Laffer Curve principle to lower tax rates and increase collections.
  • It also introduced major tax reforms and simplified the excise duty structure.
• Millennium Budget (2000): Yashwant Sinha’s budget laid the roadmap for the growth of India’s IT industry by phasing out software export incentives and reducing customs duty on computer-related items.
• Rollback Budget (2002-03): Also presented by Yashwant Sinha, this budget is remembered for the withdrawal or rollback of several proposals.
• Once-in-a-Century Budget (2021): Nirmala Sitharaman’s budget aimed to revive the economy through infrastructure and healthcare investments, privatisation, and robust tax collections.

 

2024 – Interim Budget highlight

With the ‘mantra’ of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, and Sabka Vishwas’ and the whole of nation approach of “Sabka Prayas”, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman presented the Interim Union Budget 2024-25 in Parliament. The key highlights of the Budget are as follows: Part A

Social Justice

· Prime Minister to focus on upliftment of four major castes, that is, ‘Garib’ (Poor), ‘Mahilayen’ (Women), ‘Yuva’ (Youth) and ‘Annadata’(Farmer). ‘Garib Kalyan, Desh ka Kalyan’

· Government assisted 25 crore people out of multi-dimensional poverty in last 10 years.

· DBT of Rs. 34 lakh crore using PM-Jan Dhan accounts led to savings of Rs. 2.7 lakh crore for the Government.

· PM-SVANidhi provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors. 2.3 lakh have received credit for the third time.

· PM-JANMAN Yojana to aid the development of particularly vulnerable tribal groups (PVTG).

· PM-Vishwakarma Yojana provides end-to-end support to artisans and crafts people engaged in 18 trades.

 

Welfare of ‘Annadata’

 · PM-KISAN SAMMAN Yojana provided financial assistance to 11.8 crore farmers.

· Under PM Fasal BimaYojana, crop insurance is given to 4 crore farmers

· Electronic National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) integrated 1361 mandis, providing services to 1.8 crore farmers with trading volume of Rs. 3 lakh crore.

 

Momentum for Nari Shakti

· 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans given to women entrepreneurs.

· Female enrolment in higher education gone up by 28%.

· In STEM courses, girls and women constitute 43% of enrolment, one of the highest in the world.

· Over 70% houses under PM Awas Yojana given to women from rural areas. PM Awas Yojana (Grameen) · Despite COVID challenges, the target of three crore houses under PM Awas Yojana (Grameen) will be achieved soon.

· Two crore more houses to be taken up in the next five years.

Rooftop solarization and muft bijli

· 1 crore households to obtain 300 units free electricity every month through rooftop solarization.

· Each household is expected to save Rs.15000 to Rs.18000 annually.

 

Ayushman Bharat

· Healthcare cover under Ayushman Bharat scheme to be extended to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers.

 

Agriculture and food processing

· Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. · Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and 60000 individuals with credit linkages.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana has benefitted 38 lakh farmers and generated 10 lakh employment. 

Pradhan Mantri Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises Yojana has assisted 2.4 lakh SHGs and sixty thousand individuals with credit linkages. Other schemes are complementing the efforts for reducing postharvest losses, and improving productivity and incomes. 

For ensuring faster growth of the sector, Government will further promote private and public investment in post-harvest activities including aggregation, modern storage, efficient supply chains, primary and secondary processing and marketing and branding, said Sitharaman.

 

Research and Innovation for catalyzing growth, employment and development

· A corpus of Rs.1 lakh crore to be established with fifty-year interest free loan to provide long-term financing or refinancing with long tenors and low or nil interest rates.

· A new scheme to be launched for strengthening deep-tech technologies for defence purposes and expediting ‘atmanirbharta’.

 

Infrastructure

· Capital expenditure outlay for Infrastructure development and employment generation to be increased by 11.1 per cent to Rs.11,11,111 crore, that will be 3.4 per cent of the GDP.

 

Railways

· 3 major economic railway corridor programmes identified under the PM Gati Shakti to be implemented to improve logistics efficiency and reduce cost o Energy, mineral and cement corridors o Port connectivity corridors o High traffic density corridors

· Forty thousand normal rail bogies to be converted to Vande Bharat standards.

 

Aviation Sector

· Number of airports in the country doubled to 149.

 · Five hundred and seventeen new routes are carrying 1.3 crore passengers.

· Indian carriers have placed orders for over 1000 new aircrafts.

 

Green Energy

· Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT to be set up by 2030.

· Phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes to be mandated.

 

Tourism sector

· States to be encouraged to take up comprehensive development of iconic tourist centres including their branding and marketing at global scale.

· Framework for rating of the tourist centres based on quality of facilities and services to be established.

· Long-term interest free loans to be provided to States for financing such development on matching basis.

 

Investments

· FDI inflow during 2014-23 of USD 596 billion was twice of the inflow during 2005-14. Reforms in the States for ‘Viksit Bharat’

· A provision of Rs.75,000 crore rupees as fifty-year interest free loan is proposed to support milestone-linked reforms by the State Governments.

 

Revised Estimates (RE) 2023-24

· RE of the total receipts other than borrowings is Rs.27.56 lakh crore, of which the tax receipts are Rs.23.24 lakh crore.

· RE of the total expenditure is Rs.44.90 lakh crore.

· Revenue receipts at Rs.30.03 lakh crore are expected to be higher than the Budget Estimate, reflecting strong growth momentum and formalization in the economy.

· RE of the fiscal deficit is 5.8 per cent of GDP for 2023-24.

 

Budget Estimates 2024-25

· Total receipts other than borrowings and the total expenditure are estimated at Rs.30.80 and Rs.47.66 lakh crore respectively.

· Tax receipts are estimated at Rs.26.02 lakh crore.

· Scheme of fifty-year interest free loan for capital expenditure to states to be continued this year with total outlay of Rs.1.3 lakh crore.

· Fiscal deficit in 2024-25 is estimated to be 5.1 per cent of GDP

· Gross and net market borrowings through dated securities during 2024-25 are estimated at Rs.14.13 and Rs.11.75 lakh crore respectively.

 

It has provisions for a huge capital expenditure of ₹11.11 lakh crore while keeping the fiscal deficit under control. Macroeconomic takeaways from Interim Budget FY25 Fiscal Deficit target at 5.1% of GDP FY24 Fiscal Deficit seen at 5.8% of GDP Govt aims to reduce fiscal deficit to below 4.5% by FY26 FY25 Capex outlay at 3.4% of GDP FY25 Net market borrowing seen at ₹11.75 lakh crore FY24 Gross Market Borrowing seen at ₹14.1 lakh crore FY24 Total Expenditure Revised Estimates at ₹44.90 lakh crore FY25 divestment target at ₹50,000 crore FY24 divestment target cut to ₹30,000 crore

 

Here’s a list of money allocated to specific ministries: Ministry of Defence: ₹6.2 lakh crore Ministry of Road Transport and Highways: ₹2.78 lakh crore Ministry of Railways: ₹2.55 lakh crore Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution: ₹2.13 lakh crore Ministry of Home Affairs: ₹2.03 lakh crore Ministry of Rural Development: ₹1.77 lakh crore Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers: ₹1.68 lakh crore Ministry of Communications: ₹1.37 lakh crore Ministry of Agriculture and Farmer’s Welfare: ₹1.27 lakh crore

 

Towards meeting the commitment for ‘net-zero’ by 2070, the following measures will be taken: 

• Viability gap funding will be provided for harnessing offshore wind energy potential for initial capacity of one giga-watt. 
• Coal gasification and liquefaction capacity of 100 MT will be set up by 2030. This will also help in reducing imports of natural gas, methanol, and ammonia. 
• Phased mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) in compressed natural gas (CNG) for transport and piped natural gas (PNG) for domestic purposes will be mandated. 
• Financial assistance will be provided for procurement of biomass aggregation machinery to support collection

 

Here are key announcements made in the Budget speech by FM Nirmala Sitharman on infrastructure development.

- Infrastructure outlay increased by 11.1% to ₹11.11 lakh crore

- 50-year interest-free loans to state governments extended for another year under Gati Shakti master plan

- Three major economic railway corridor programmes will be implemented. These are: (1) energy, mineral and cement corridors, (2) port connectivity corridors, and (3) high traffic density corridors. 

- 40,000 normal rail bogies will be converted to the Vande Bharat standards to enhance safety, convenience and comfort of passengers.

- NAMO trains and metro rail services will be added in more cities

 

The government will formulate a comprehensive programme for supporting dairy farmers.

Efforts are already on to control foot and mouth disease, said FM Sitharaman.

The programme will be built on the success of existing schemes such Rashtriya Gokul Mission, National Livestock Mission, and Infrastructure Development Funds for dairy processing and animal husbandry. 

Matsya Sampada 

• Implementation of Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY) will be stepped up to

(1) enhance aquaculture productivity from existing 3 to 5 tons per hectare

(2) double exports to ₹1 lakh crore and 

(3) generate 55 lakh employment opportunities in the near future

Five integrated aquaparks will be setup

 

Social sector

Here are some of these announcements:

PM Awas Yojana (Grameen): 2 crore more houses will be taken up in the next five years to meet the requirement arising from increase in the number of families. 

Rooftop solarization and muft bijli: Through rooftop solarization, one crore households will be enabled to obtain up to 300 units free electricity every month.

Housing for middle class: Government will launch a scheme to help deserving sections of the middle class “living in rented houses, or slums, or chawls and unauthorized colonies" to buy or build their own houses.

Medical Colleges: Government plans to set up more medical colleges by utilizing the existing hospital infrastructure under various departments. A committee for this purpose will be set-up to examine the issues and make relevant recommendations. 

Cervical Cancer Vaccination: Government will encourage vaccination for girls in the age group of 9 to 14 years for prevention of cervical cancer.

Maternal and child health care: Upgradation of anganwadi centres under “Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0" will be expedited for 14 improved nutrition delivery, early childhood care and development

Ayushman Bharat: Healthcare cover under Ayushman Bharat scheme will be extended to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi Workers and Helpers. 

 

Quick Highlight Here are highlights: FM Sitharaman said that the Government pulled 25 crore people out of poverty in ten years. She noted that government provided free food for 80 crore people through various schemes. Direct Benefit Transfers of Rs. 34 lakh crore through PM Jan Dhan Yojana accounts has led to savings of ₹2.7 lakh crore. The PM Vishwakarma Yojana scheme provides end-to-end support to artisans. The government provided credit assistance to 78 lakh street vendors under the PM-SVANidhi scheme. 30 crore Mudra Yojana loans disbursed to women entrepreneurs. Upskilling and reskilling was a focus for the government, and over 1.4 crore youth were trained under the Skill India Mission. 43 crore loans sanctioned under PM Mudra Yojana. The Government will also expand the ‘Lakhpati Didi’ scheme to empower rural women and boost the rural economy. The Government highlighted the role of the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor can play in world trade. The Government will pay more attention to developing the East to fuel India’s growth. Inflation has moderated an is within the target band (2%-6%). Economic growth has picked up and the average real income of people increased by 50%. The Government will subsidise the construction of 30 million affordable houses in rural areas. The Centre will encourage cervical cancer vaccination and combine maternal and child health care schemes into one comprehensive programme. The Ayushman Bharat scheme will be expanded to all ASHA workers, Anganwadi workers and helpers. Government to encourage ‘Nano DAP’ for various crops and to expand its use for all agro-climactic zones. It will also formulate policies to support dairy farmers and defeat the Foot and Mouth Disease. The government will formulate a strategy achieve AtmaNirbharta (self-reliance) for oilseeds. This will cover research for high-yielding varieties, procurement, value addition and crop insurance. A new department — Matsya Sampada — to be set up to address the needs of fishermen.  40,000 normal rail bogeys will be converted to Vande Bharat standards. Government to enhance safety, convenience and safety of passengers. Government to focus on metros in a bid to provide transit-oriented development The Government has announced several schemes to turn Net Zero by 2070. This includes providing funding to harness offshore wind energy generation for an initial capacity of 1 Giga Watt, procuring biomass aggregation machinery and expanding the e-vehicle sector by encouraging more manufacturing and charging infrastructure. Spends on capital expenditure have been increased to ₹11.11 lakh crore for 2024-25. The Government will continue on path of fiscal consolidation to reduce fiscal deficit to 4.5% in 2025-26. The Government proposed to maintain the same tax rates for direct and indirect taxes, including import duties. The Government borrowings on a gross and net basis for 2024-25, at Rs. 14.13 lakh crore and Rs. 11.75 lakh crore, respectively, lower than 2023-24.

 

 

Part B

Direct taxes

•  FM proposes to retain same tax rates for direct taxes
• Direct tax collection tripled, return filers increased to 2.4 times, in the last 10 years
• Government to improve tax payer services
• Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 25000 pertaining to the period upto FY 2009-10 withdrawn
• Outstanding direct tax demands upto Rs 10000 for financial years 2010-11 to 2014-15 withdrawn
• This will benefit one crore tax payers
• Tax benefits to Start-Ups, investments made by Sovereign wealth funds or pension funds extended to 31.03.2025
• Tax exemption on certain income of IFSC units extended by a year to 31.03.2025 from 31.03.2024

 

Indirect taxes

• FM proposes to retain same tax rates for indirect taxes and import duties
• GST unified the highly fragmented indirect tax regime in India
• Average monthly gross GST collection doubled to Rs 1.66 lakh crore this year
• GST tax base has doubled
• State SGST revenue buoyancy (including compensation released to states) increased to 1.22 in post-GST period(2017-18 to 2022-23) from 0.72 in the preGST period (2012-13 to 2015-16)
• 94% of industry leaders view transition to GST as largely positive
• GST led to supply chain optimization
• GST reduced the compliance burden on trade and industry
• Lower logistics cost and taxes helped reduce prices of goods and services, benefiting the consumers

 

Tax rationalization efforts over the years

• No tax liability for income upto Rs 7 lakh, up from Rs 2.2 lakh in FY 2013-14
• Presumptive taxation threshold for retail businesses increased to Rs 3 crore from Rs 2 crore
• Presumptive taxation threshold for professionals increased to Rs 75 lakh from Rs 50 lakh
• Corporate income tax decreased to 22% from 30% for existing domestic companies
• Corporate income tax rate at 15% for new manufacturing companies

 

Achievements in tax-payer services

• Average processing time of tax returns has reduced to 10 days from 93 days in 2013-14
• Faceless Assessment and Appeal introduced for greater efficiency
• Updated income tax returns, new form 26AS and prefilled tax returns for simplified return filing
• Reforms in customs leading to reduced Import release time
• Reduction by 47% to 71 hours at Inland Container Depots
• Reduction by 28% to 44 hours at Air Cargo complexes
• Reduction by 27% to 85 hours at Sea Ports

 

Economy-then and now

• In 2014 there was a responsibility to mend the economy and put governance systems in order. The need of the hour was to:
• Attract investments
• Build support to the much-needed reforms
• Give hope to the people
• The government succeeded with a strong belief of ‘nation-first’
• “It is now appropriate to look at where we were till 2014 and where we are now”: FM
• The Government will lay a White Paper on the table of the house.

 

Context: The decision of the speaker of Maharashtra to recognise Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who left the Uddhav Thackeray-led group, as the leader of the actual Shiv Sena is a disregard for the legislative procedure and regulations.

The Speaker in a parliamentary democracy, particularly in India's Lok Sabha, holds a pivotal position in overseeing parliamentary proceedings. The essence of a parliamentary democracy lies in citizens electing representatives to legislate and make decisions for the nation.

Roles of the Speaker in a Parliamentary Democracy:

Ensure Smooth Proceedings: The Speaker presides over Lok Sabha meetings and joint sittings, facilitating debates and law passage.

Maintain Discipline: The Speaker upholds discipline, warning or removing disruptive members to ensure orderly proceedings.

Fix Agenda: In collaboration with the business committee and the Prime Minister, the Speaker sets the agenda for parliamentary meetings.

Permission for Questions: Members require the Speaker's permission to pose questions to ministers, preventing politically motivated queries.

Conduct House Business: The Speaker manages House business, allowing bill introductions, recognizing members, setting debate time limits, and conducting votes.

Interpret Rules: In case of disputes over House rules, the Speaker interprets them, and the interpretation is final.

Power to Adjourn: The Speaker can adjourn sessions if quorum isn't met or if disorderly conduct hinders House business.

Criticism Faced by the Office of the Speaker:

Impartiality Issues: Speakers, usually elected on party tickets, face criticism for potential bias, unlike the British convention of political neutrality.

Anti-Defection Law Challenges: Instances of disqualifying MLAs under anti-defection laws have been contested, questioning the Speaker's role.

Discretionary Power Critique: Speakers' discretionary powers, especially in declaring bills as money bills, have faced criticism, as seen in the Aadhar bill case.

Review Challenges: The Speaker's decisions are not subject to appeal or review, contrasting with the American system where appeals can be made.

Increased Disruptions: Frequent disruptions reduce time for important discussions, leading to accusations of bias in allocating time and harsher punishments.

In conclusion, while the Speaker holds a crucial role in maintaining parliamentary democracy's integrity, concerns about impartiality must be addressed to ensure effective functioning of the Indian Parliament.

 

Context: The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) recently found that over half of the nearly 10,000 hospital patients surveyed for a study were given antibiotics to prevent, rather than treat, infection. 

• The survey mapped patients treated on one to five days each at 20 tertiary care institutes across 15 States and two Union Territories between November 2021 and April 2022.
• It found that 55% of the patients surveyed were prescribed antibiotics as prophylaxis, or as a preventive; only 45% were prescribed antibiotics to actually treat infections; and of them, only 6% were prescribed the drugs after identifying the specific bacteria.

What is antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and how did India reach this stage?

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is the resistance of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents to which they were originally sensitive.Multiple types of bacteria, such as E. coli, Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, Staphylococcus aureus, and enterococcus, have developed resistance to even the latest generation antibiotics.

Factors contributing to the rise of AMR include inappropriate use of antibiotics in non-bacterial infections, both through prescribing practices and over-the-counter use:

• Inadequate laboratory facilities hinder the rapid identification of appropriate antibiotics based on cultures, leaving clinicians with limited guidance.
• Lack of sufficient training in antibiotic selection, escalation, and de-escalation contributes to the problem.
• Inadequate monitoring of AMR and insufficient control over antibiotic prescription and dispensing practices persist despite warnings.
• Incentivization of prescribing practices by the pharmaceutical industry adds to the problem.
• Inappropriate use of antibiotics in human, animal, and agricultural sectors generates drug-resistant bugs.
• Poor sanitation and inadequate infection prevention in healthcare institutions contribute to the spread of drug-resistant superbugs.
• AMR is a complex socio-economic and political challenge, requiring a comprehensive approach beyond scientific solutions by doctors and researchers alone.

Should there be standardisation for ensuring uniformity in prescribing antibiotics?

• Training doctors in appropriate antibiotic use is crucial, but the primary challenge lies in accurately diagnosing bacterial infections.
• Differentiating bacterial from non-bacterial infections relies heavily on clinical judgment, as laboratory and radiological investigations provide supporting information.
• Initial diagnosis of bacterial infections remains primarily clinical until more accurate and rapidly available diagnostic methods are developed.
• More than half of antibiotic prescriptions globally, as indicated by NCDC survey results, are unnecessary.
• Overcrowded outpatient units in both government and private hospitals limit the time available for proper patient examination and history-taking.
• Lack of access to rapid diagnostics and a widespread network of laboratories contributes to overprescription.
• Antibiotics are chosen as a quicker and more affordable option compared to extensive investigations like blood cultures.
• Although guidelines exist, the implementation of proper antibiotic prescription practices remains a challenge.
• Limited access to rapid diagnostics, inadequate laboratory facilities, and financial constraints drive doctors to opt for antibiotics as a pragmatic and cost-effective solution.
• Correcting factors such as improving access to rapid diagnostics, building a robust laboratory network, and addressing overcrowded outpatient units is essential to reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions and combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

How important is the judicial use of antibiotics in the world and what is the immediate danger that we face?

• Immediate threat of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) is evident, leading to increased mortality.
• Study shows 75% of patients with E. coli or Klebsiella infection in hospitals are resistant to third- or fourth-generation antibiotics.
• Concerns rise with high resistance to the next generation of antibiotics (carbapenem resistance).
• Trickle-down effects from poultry and agriculture, especially in industrialized agriculture, contribute to AMR.
• Infections in immuno-compromised patients, such as cancer patients, result in fatalities due to AMR.

What measures have been put in place by the Central government most recently to control AMR in India? And are they enough?

• In 2011, the first National Policy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance was introduced, accompanied by a ban on over-the-counter use of antibiotics (H1 rule), though not effectively implemented.
• In 2013, a modified H1 rule banning only second- and third-line antibiotics was introduced, but implementation remains a challenge.
• Acknowledgment of India's efforts in implementing measures to tackle AMR, with room for improvement and better enforcement of laws.
• The 2019 ban on colistin use in poultry farming is a significant step, considering colistin is a potent antibiotic for treating human infections.
• Emphasis on restricting access to reserve antibiotics to reduce the likelihood of resistance.
• Observation that countries with high privatized healthcare exhibit the highest per capita antibiotic usage, highlighting the importance of strengthening public health systems.
• States with well-established public health systems tend to have lower AMR rates, emphasizing the significance of planned expenditure, structured service delivery, and robust accountability in the public health sector.

Solutions:

• Tackling AMR requires a comprehensive approach beyond reducing antibiotic consumption.
• AMR is interconnected with governance, infrastructure, sanitation, poverty, and access to clean drinking water.
• Rationalizing antibiotics is crucial for AMR and patient safety, but addressing factors like hospital sanitation and infection control is equally vital.
• Small steps, similar to those emphasized during the COVID-19 pandemic, are essential in the fight against AMR.
• Despite health being a State subject, strong Centre-State coordination is crucial to effectively control Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR).
• Recognition that AMR cannot be tackled in isolation; interconnectivity with various stakeholders, including patients, is essential.

Context: The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu conferred Swachh Survekshan awards 2023 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi hosted by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). 

News:

• 13 awardees received felicitations under categories of Clean Cities, Cleanest Cantonment, SafaiMitra Suraksha, Ganga Towns and Best Performing State were given away.
• This year the cleanest city award showcased joint winners. Port city Surat bagged the top honours, alongside Indore, who had conquered the top spot alone for 6 consecutive years.
• In the category of cities with a population of less than 1 lakh, Sasvad, Patan and Lonavala secured the top three spots.
• Mhow Cantonment Board in Madhya Pradesh was adjudged the Cleanest Cantonment Board.
• Varanasi and Prayagraj won the top two awards amongst the Cleanest Ganga Towns.
• Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh won the top three awards for Best Performing State.  Chandigarh walked away with the award for the Best Safaimitra Surakshit Sheher.
• 110 awards were bestowed during the ceremony.

Swachh Survekshan

It was initiated by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) in 2016, serves as a competitive framework to incentivize cities to enhance urban sanitation, with large-scale citizen participation. Over the years, it has evolved into the world's largest urban sanitation survey.

Context: The Prime Minister held bilateral meetings with the President of Timor Leste and Mozambique, a day before the inauguration of the 10th edition of Vibrant Gujarat Global Summit.

About Timor-Leste or East Timor:

• Situated in the eastern Lesser Sunda Islands at the southern extremity of the Malay Archipelago, Timor-Leste is an island country.
• Its capital and largest city is Dili. Bounded by the Timor Sea to the southeast, the Wetar Strait to the north, the Ombai Strait to the northwest, and western Timor (part of the Indonesian province of East Nusa Tenggara) to the southwest, Timor-Leste holds a strategic location.

About Mozambique:

• Mozambique, officially known as the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in Southeastern Africa.
• It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the southwest.
• The capital and largest city of Mozambique is Maputo.
• The Mozambique Channel serves as a natural boundary, separating Mozambique from the Comoros, Mayotte, and Madagascar.
• In terms of drainage, the central region of Mozambique is dominated by the Zambezi River and its tributaries, while the Maputo River forms part of the southernmost boundary with Swaziland and South Africa.
• The Zambezi River cuts through the country's midsection.
• Mozambique, once a Portuguese colony, overseas province, and later a member state of Portugal, gained independence in 1975.

The Year 2023 marks the beginning of ‘Amrit Kaal’ - the 25-year period beginning from the 75th anniversary of its independence on 15^th August 2022, leading up to the centenary of its Independence, towards a futuristic, prosperous, inclusive and developed society, distinguished by a human-centric approach at its core.

India continues to be one of the fastest-growing economies of the world. The country's second quarter growth, 7.6 per cent, has been then highest in the world and India's GDP growth for the April-June quarter was 7.8 per cent.

Putting into effect the roadmap for making India a $5 trillion economy, the Government continues to focus on growth at the macro level and complementing it with all-inclusive welfare at the micro level, promoting digital economy and fintech, technology-enabled development, energy transition and climate action and relying on a virtuous cycle of investment and growth.

The Government has also focused on a capex-led growth strategy to support economic growth and attract investment from the private sector, increasing its capital investment outlay substantially during the last three years. Central Government’s capital expenditure has increased from 2.15 per cent of GDP in 2020-21 to 2.7 per cent of GDP in 2022-23.

The success of Government’s policies is further reaffirmed and underscored when the International Organisations like the World Bank and IMF recognise India as the fastest growing Emerging Market Economy (EME) in the world and applaud the resilient and stable growth India continues to witness.

 

G-20

The Year 2023 is also significant as India hosted the G20 Presidency from December 1, 2022 to November 30, 2023. The 43 Heads of Delegations - the largest ever in G20 - participated in the final New Delhi Summit in September 2023.

 

The G20 Finance Track under India's leadership addressed critical global issues, including the strengthening of Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) through the G20 Independent Expert Group's comprehensive report. The DEA played a pivotal role in fostering cooperation on crypto-assets, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Financial Stability Board (FSB) developing a Synthesis Paper adopted as the G20 Roadmap on Crypto Assets in October 2023.

 

During the G20 Indian Presidency, India steered the G20 agenda and hosted the Summit. The G20 consists of two parallel tracks: the Finance Track and the Sherpa Track. Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors lead the Finance Track, while Sherpas lead the Sherpa Track. The high point of the Leaders’ Summit was that a global consensus was arrived at in the form of New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration (NDLD).

The department facilitated debt restructuring efforts through the Common Framework and launched the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable, reinforcing its commitment to supporting vulnerable economies. Initiatives like the G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP) underscored efforts to enhance capacity-building in sustainable finance, particularly for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies.

Infrastructure development also received a boost through initiatives like the Harmonised Master List (HML) of Infrastructure Sub-sectors, the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), and the G20 Infrastructure Working Group's consensus on key deliverables. The DEA's strategic measures for promoting Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) include the VGF Scheme's expansion and the revamping of the Infrastructure Investment Project Development Fund (IIPDF).

The DEA also played a role in financial sector reforms, including the launch of the NSE IFSC-SGX Connect and the transition to a T+1 settlement cycle, positioning India as a pioneer in global securities markets.

In summary, the Department of Economic Affairs in 2023 has demonstrated a proactive and inclusive approach, contributing significantly to sustainable finance, climate action, infrastructure development, and financial sector reforms on both national and international fronts.

 

Following are some of the major achievements of the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, in 2023:

 

Sovereign Green Bonds:

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the Government announced that, as a part of the government’s overall market borrowings in 2022-23, sovereign Green Bonds will be issued to mobilize resources for green infrastructure. The proceeds will be deployed in sector projects which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

In pursuance of the above budget announcement, framework for Sovereign Green Bonds has been brought out by the Government of India to mobilise resources for green infrastructure projects which help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy.

The Government has raised ?16,000 crore, through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds in 2023 till date and these proceeds were allocated to the eligible schemes/projects of the Ministries/Departments such as New and Renewable Energy, Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Housing and Urban Affairs, Railways etc. In the FY 2023-24, Government has decided to raise ? 20,000 crore through issuance of Sovereign Green Bonds.

 

Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC):

The introduction of the Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) reflects the government's dedication to women's financial inclusion. With total number of accounts opened are at 14,83,980 with deposit of Rs. 8,630 crore as on July 2023, this initiative empowers women economically, offering an attractive 7.5% interest rate compounded quarterly.

Mahila Samman Savings Certificate (MSSC) was launched by the Government of India to commemorate the Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav. MSSC account may be opened by women of any age group including the girl child with a minimum deposit of ?1000/- and maximum deposit of ?2 Lakhs for a period of two years. This scheme is available for a two-year period up to March 2025. The facility of partial withdrawal and premature closure on compassionate grounds are also available under this Scheme. Government of India has authorized Department of Posts, all Public Sector Banks and four Private Sector Banks to operate MSSC.

The maximum deposit for the senior citizen saving scheme has been enhanced from Rs 15 lakhs to Rs 30 lakhs.

The maximum deposit limit for the Post office monthly Income savings scheme is enhanced from Rs.4.5 lakh to Rs.9 lakh for a single account and from Rs.9 lakh to Rs.15 lakh for a joint account.

 

Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY)

The Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) is a savings scheme initiated by the Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, specifically designed for the benefit of the girl child. The scheme was launched as part of the ‘Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao’ campaign to promote the welfare of the girl child and encourage parents to save for their education and marriage expenses. So far, 3.2 crore accounts are active under the Scheme.

 

National Investment and Infrastructure Fund in 202:

•   NIIF launched its first bilateral fund, India-Japan Fund with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC); working with U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFC) towards setting up of a multi-billion dollar green-transition fund

G20 Finance Track under India’s G20 Presidency, 2023:

• India assumed the Presidency of the G20 from Indonesia on December 1, 2022.
• Through the theme of “Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” or “One Earth. One Family. One Future”, the Indian G20 Presidency aimed at ensuring that the G20 deliberations in 2023 were people-centric and action-oriented.
• Under the G20 Finance Track, a total of 35 meetings, including 4 meetings of G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors (FMCBG) and 5 meetings of Deputies, were held during the Presidency year. The FMCBG meetings were held on February 24-25, 2023, in Bengaluru, India; April 12-13, 2023, in Washington DC, US; July 17-18 in Gandhinagar, India; and October 12-13, in Marrakesh, Morocco.
• At the FMCBG meetings in February and July 2023, Chair Summaries including the outcomes of the meetings, were issued. In the fourth and final meeting of the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors held on the sidelines of the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group in Marrakesh in October 2023, the G20 FMCBGs unanimously adopted the G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communique. The Communique draws guidance from the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration (NDLD) and benefited significantly from the consensus that was reached at the Leaders’ Summit.

 

 

KEY OUTCOMES OF THE G20 FINANCE TRACK IN 2023:

Some of the key outcomes of the Finance Track are highlighted below.

Report of the G20 Independent Expert Group on Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs)

• With increasing development needs of low and middle-income countries as well as expanding global challenges such as climate change and pandemics, the pressure on global development financing is rapidly increasing. This has led to an increasing demand for strengthening the MDBs which play a key role in global development financing.
• The G20 Independent Expert Group (IEG) on Strengthening MDBs was set up by the Indian Presidency to provide guidance on how MDBs can be strengthened to meet the development needs as well as address global challenges. The Report was submitted in two volumes: Volume 1 in July 2023 and Volume 2 in September 2023 (after the Leaders’ Summit).
• In the New Delhi Leaders Declaration, the Leaders appreciated the work of the IEG and called for examining Volume 1 in conjunction with Volume 2.  This was done by G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors in October 2023 and the IEG’s Report has been unanimously welcomed by all G20 members.
• Volume 1 of the Report calls on MDBs to (i) address global challenges along with their core mandates of eliminating poverty and fostering shared prosperity; (ii) triple their sustainable lending level by 2030; and (iii) enhance their financial strength. Volume 2 of the Report provides recommendations to make MDBs better, bigger and bolder by, inter alia, suitably modifying their operating models, developing a whole-of-institution approach for mobilising more private capital and scaling up financing at an affordable cost.
• Going forward, the recommendations of this report will be discussed in detail by the G20 under the upcoming Brazilian Presidency to explore which among these recommendations can the MDBs be encouraged to pursue to enable them to build better, bigger and more effective MDBs.

 

 

IMF-FSB Synthesis Paper on crypto-assets:

 Crypto-assets have been in existence for more than a decade and have displayed significant volatility. Alongside their volatility, crypto-asset activities have also grown in complexity. So far, direct connections between crypto-assets and systemically important financial institutions, core financial markets, and market infrastructures have been limited. Nevertheless, they have the potential to emerge as a source of systemic risk in specific jurisdictions if they gain traction for payments or retail investments. The IMF has outlined key elements of an appropriate policy response including macroeconomic, legal and financial integrity considerations and implications for monetary and fiscal policies. In parallel, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) and standard-setting bodies (SSBs) have published regulatory and supervisory recommendations and standards to address financial stability, financial integrity, market integrity, investor protection, prudential and other risks derived from crypto-assets.

 

• At the request of the Indian G20 Presidency, the IMF and the FSB have developed a Synthesis Paper which was welcomed by the Leaders in the G20 New Delhi Leaders Declaration. The collective recommendations provide comprehensive guidance to help authorities address the macroeconomic and financial stability risks posed by crypto-asset activities and markets, including those associated with stablecoins and those conducted through so-called decentralised finance (DeFi).
• The paper also outlines a roadmap for policy implementation which has now been adopted as the G20 Roadmap on Crypto Assets in the October 2023 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Communique. This detailed and action-oriented roadmap sets out clearly the next steps and is essential to achieve the common goals of macro-economic and financial stability and to ensure effective, flexible, and coordinated implementation of the comprehensive global policy framework for crypto assets.
• Going forward, under the Brazilian Presidency, the IMF and FSB have been tasked to provide regular and structured updates on the progress of implementation of the G20 Roadmap on Crypto Assets. This will also continue in the subsequent Presidencies following the Brazilian Presidency.

 

 

G20 Principles for Financing Cities of Tomorrow:

• India’s G20 Presidency has focussed on the theme of urban infrastructure to develop Cities of Tomorrow which can be visualised as action-oriented spaces which focus on bringing a positive and lasting impact on the lives of their citizens and maximising the creative potential of their resources.
• The G20 Principles for Financing Cities of Tomorrow, endorsed during the New Delhi Leaders Summit, aim to guide the planning and financing of sustainable urban infrastructure. These principles provide a framework that holds the potential to guide Governments, MDBs and other development financing institutions in their planning and financing of sustainable urban infrastructure. Based on the preferred direction of growth of cities depending on their different stages of evolution, the key elements of these principles can be applied focusing on circular economy, investment efficiency, increasing private investments, institutional strengthening, and augmenting capacity of city administrations.
• The upcoming Brazilian Presidency has indicated that in 2024 they will take up the issue of inclusivity in urban infrastructure drawing from the G20 Principles and elaborate on it further by focussing on poverty and inequality reduction.

 

Mechanisms for timely and adequate mobilization of climate finance:

• Finance from all sources has not yet achieved the scale to address the climate goals established by countries, especially flows directed to developing countries. The availability of adequate, credible, and predictable, new, and additional climate finance for developing countries is key to developing countries' successful implementation of climate actions under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement (The Standing Committee on Finance, a body under the UNFCCC, has estimated that resources in the range of US$ 5.8 trillion to US$ 11.5 trillion are required till 2030 to meet the targets set by developing countries in their Nationally Determined Contributions and other communications).
• Till date the conversation on climate change in the G20 was focused on calling on developed countries to fulfil their climate finance commitment of USD 100 billion. In 2023, the G20 adopted an action-oriented approach and focused on identifying mechanisms for timely and adequate mobilization of climate finance, with an aim to deliberate on policy levers for low carbon development; and specific issues such as financing of early climate technologies.
• The recommendations on the mechanisms to support timely and adequate mobilisation of resources for climate finance prepared under the Indian Presidency were welcomed by the G20 Leaders in September 2023 during the Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi. Focus has also been placed on public finance, as an important enabler of climate actions such as leveraging much-needed private finance through blended financial instruments, mechanisms, and risk-sharing facilities, to address both adaptation and mitigation efforts in a balanced manner for reaching the ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), carbon neutrality and net-zero considering different national circumstances. This outcome also focused on financial solutions, policies, and incentives to encourage greater private flows for the rapid development, demonstration, and deployment of green and low carbon technologies.
• Going forward, the upcoming Brazilian Presidency of G20 has indicated that the work undertaken on climate finance in 2023 will feed into the work of the G20 Task Force on Global Mobilization against Climate Change which Brazil plans to set up in 2024.

 

G20 Policy Recommendations for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains through DPI and New Financial Inclusion Action Plan 2024-26:

• This year, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) has been seamlessly integrated into the G20 discussions as one of key priorities under India’s G20 Presidency. Members recognised the significant role of DPI in helping to advance financial inclusion in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development.
• In this context, the G20 Policy Recommendations for advancing financial inclusion and productivity gains through DPI were formulated and unanimously endorsed by the G20. The document provides a set of action-oriented and customisable policy recommendations accompanied by a series of key considerations to help authorities maximize the potential of DPIs to advance financial inclusion and productivity gains. It also brings out the success achieved by India and other countries in leveraging DPIs to accelerate financial inclusion to the last mile and builds a global perspective on DPIs.
• To guide the financial inclusion agenda under the G20 for the years 2024-26, a new G20 Financial Inclusion Action Plan (FIAP) was also formulated and unanimously endorsed by the G20 at the New Delhi Summit. The plan will be implemented by the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI),  for three years starting 2024, with India as one of the newly appointed Co-Chairs. The new FIAP provides an action-oriented and forward-looking roadmap for rapidly advancing financial inclusion of individuals and MSMEs in G20 and beyond by focusing on action areas which, inter alia, focus on promoting technological, innovations and digital infrastructure including DPI thereby helping countries move closer to universal financial inclusion.
• Going forward, the G20 will continue its work for advancing financial inclusions in all three dimensions viz. access, usage, and quality, for individuals and MSMEs through innovative methods including DPI in support of inclusive growth and sustainable development. The financial inclusion work of the G20 till 2026 will be determined by the FIAP. The new FIAP will continue work of DPI for improving “last mile” access and quality inclusion for individuals and MSMEs.

 

Managing global debt vulnerabilities:

• The escalation of debt issues in vulnerable economies poses significant economic risks, potentially hindering their progress towards sustainable development.
• Under India’s G20 Presidency, the G20 members re-emphasised the importance of addressing debt vulnerabilities in low and middle-income countries. Progress has been achieved in debt treatment of both Common Framework (Zambia, Ethiopia, Ghana) and beyond Common Framework countries (Sri Lanka). The G20 has reaffirmed its commitment to uphold all the provisions outlined in the Common Framework for Debt Treatments and step up its implementation in a predictable, timely, orderly, and coordinated manner.

 

• Additionally, to accelerate debt restructuring efforts, the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR), a joint initiative of the IMF, World Bank, and the Indian G20 Presidency was launched earlier this year to strengthen communication and foster a common understanding among key stakeholders, both within and outside the Common Framework, for facilitating effective debt treatments.
• Going forward, the Brazilian Presidency is expected to continue with the ongoing momentum on the debt agenda.

G20 Sustainable Finance Technical Assistance Action Plan (TAAP):

• TAAP is a multi-year document consisting of recommendations for creating an enabling environment for enhancing capacity-building services and tailoring them according to local needs. TAAP aims to scale up capacity building and technical assistance in sustainable finance, especially for Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs) and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). The working group also developed voluntary recommendations for overcoming data-related barriers to climate investments.
• The Implementation Mechanism for TAAP will promote the effective implementation of the G20 Sustainable Finance TAAP by fostering collaborations, sharing knowledge, and tailoring capacity-building needs, especially in EMDEs and SMEs.

INITIATIVES TO BOOST INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENT

1. Harmonised Master List (HML) of Infrastructure Sub-sectors: As of now, HML list includes 37 Infrastructure sub sectors under 5 categories i.e., 1. Transport and Logistics, 2. Energy, 3. Water and Sanitation, 4. Communication and 5. Social and Commercial Infrastructure. The inclusion of any sector in the HML enables it to avail infrastructure lending at easier terms and External Commercial Borrowings (ECB), access to longer tenor funds from insurance companies and pension funds and be eligible to borrow from

India Infrastructure Financing Company Limited (IIFCL) etc.

In accordance with para 49 of the Union Budget for FY 23-24, an expert committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Shri Bibek Debroy, Chairman of the EAC to PM with the objective to undertake a comprehensive assessment of the characteristics/ parameters defining infrastructure and the financing framework for Amrit Kaal.

The Expert Committee had a series of stakeholder’s consultations and is finalising the recommendations and the final report of the committee is expected by 31st December 2023

2. National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP): Infrastructure is one of the key enablers for economic growth. The National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) comprises brownfield and greenfield infrastructure projects of above INR 100 Crores across both economic and social infrastructure sectors. The pipeline consists of projects implemented by all the States and Union Territories of India and 22 Infrastructure Ministries of Govt. of India.

NIP was launched with 6,835 projects and has expanded to capture over 9,288 projects with a total project outlay of Rs 108.88 lakh cr between 2020-2025. Transport (42%), energy (25%), water & sanitation (15%) and social infrastructure (3%) sectors amount to around 85% of the projected infrastructure investments under NIP. NIP projects are housed on the India Investment Grid (IIG) portal 

 

3. G20 Infrastructure Working Group: Infrastructure Working Group under the Indian G20 Presidency was able to bring a consensus amongst the members on four major deliverables namely i) the G20 Principles on Financing Cities of Tomorrow, ii) the G20/OECD Report on financing cities of tomorrow, iii) the G20/ADB Framework on Capacity Building of Urban Administrations, and iv) G20/WB Report on Enablers of Inclusive Cities.
4. Regulatory reforms for infrastructure financing: SEBI amended the InvIT Regulations further in 2023 to introduce a range of corporate governance and audit related prescriptions for InvITs. This will make this investment avenue even more safe, qualitative, and attractive in the long term for different investor classes in and outside the country.

 

5. RBI has recently introduced updated guidelines for Infrastructure Debt FundNon-Banking Financial Companies (IDF-NBFCs)  to enable them to access funds without a sponsor, finance Toll Operate Transfer projects as direct lenders and access external commercial borrowings in order to enhance the role of IDF-NBFCs in financing the infrastructure sector and to align the regulations governing infrastructure sector financing by Non-  Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs).

Initiatives for Promoting PPPs:

 

1. 1. VGF Scheme: Under the existing VGF Scheme, it had been observed that majority of the projects taking benefit of the scheme were from economic sectors like roads etc. In order to promote PPPs in social sector like health, education etc., the ambit of the existing VGF Scheme was expanded and the scheme was revamped in 2020 to include higher VGF support of upto 80% of CAPEX and upto 50% of OPEX for PPPs depending on project sector and contours. During 2023, EC has accorded ‘In-principle’ approval for VoC Port Project in Tuticorin, GoTN with TPC of ?7,055 Cr and GoI VGF share of ?1,450 Cr. Further, during 2023, Rs.410 Cr. have been disbursed under the VGF Scheme.
   2. Revamping of IIPDF: The existing IIPDF was structured as a revolving fund with disbursement in the form of a refundable loan. Due to these stringent provisions, there was not even a single proposal being received under IIPDF in the past 3-4 years. In order to improve the uptake of the IIPDF, the existing fund was revamped and launched as a Central Sector Scheme on 03.11.2022 to provide support to PPP project authorities for undertaking PPP Project Preparation. During 2023, 16 projects from 11 States with TA cost of Rs.33.40 Cr. have been approved for funding under IIPDF Scheme and many more in the pipeline stage.
   3. Empanelment of TAs: A long standing demand from the Central and State PSAs had been for providing a list of pre-qualified Transaction Adviser and streamlining the process of onboarding of Transaction Advisers for undertaking quality PPP project structuring. Accordingly, 12 TAs have been empanelled by DEA through an RFQ process and panel has been notified on 01.07.2022. further a Manual for the utilisation of the panel has also been issued. The TA panel has seen good uptake among states and has been utilised for over 40 PPP transactions till date.
   4. Policy measures and Documents for supporting and mainstreaming PPP ecosystem such as – Reference Guide for Setting up State PPP units, Reference Guide for PPP project Appraisal and Reference Guide for Project Implementation Mode Selection-Waterfall Framework etc. were prepared and developed.
   5. IT Innovations - Revamping of the PPPININDIA website and Best Practices online portals for PPPAC, VGF, IIPDF was undertaken to streamline the application process.
   6. PPP Appraisal - As the Central Nodal authority for appraisal of PPPs, the PPPAC housed in the DEA appraised VOC Port PPP Projects with TPC of ?7,056.00 Cr and Monetization of Telecom Tower Assets of BSNL under on Operate Maintain Transfer (OMT) Concession with TPC of Rs.4,200 Cr.

 

Knowledge Dissemination and promoting Cooperative Federalism:

During the period, a total of 3 Workshops were organised - Two State Outreach workshops, One workshop on ‘PPP Structuring Toolkit’. The workshops elicited good response and the impact was that the awareness of GoI schemes for promoting PPPs were disseminated and witnessed further traction.

Financial Sector Reforms

• To onshore the offshore, the NSE IFSC-SGX Connect (the Connect) was launched on July 29, 2022 by the Prime Minister which became fully operational on 3rd July, 2023 and now SGX Nifty derivatives are exclusively traded on NSE IFSC. Following the transition, all US dollar-denominated Nifty derivatives contracts are being exclusively traded on NSE IFSC. The average daily turnover of NIFTY Derivative contracts on NSE IX (Oct 2023) was 3.02 Bn.

 

• In line with the Union Budget (2022-23) announcement, enabling regulations for setting up of branches/campuses of foreign institutes have been notified. Deakin University and Wollongong University from Australia became the first two foreign universities to be granted in-principle approval to establish their branch campus at GIFT City. Both Universities are expected to commence courses in 2024.

 

• Setting up Gold Spot Exchanges: SEBI issued the framework for Gold Spot Exchange on 10 January 2022 and other necessary Regulations. Bombay Stock Exchange has already launched the Electronic Gold Receipt trading in its platform in October, 2022. EGRs will cater to all kinds of market participants i.e., retail, commercial, institutional etc.

T+1 Settlement:

In January 2023, India,  one  of  the  earliest  adopters  of  T+1  settlement  system  in  the  global  securities  market,  well  ahead of major developed and emerging markets. The clearing and settlement system of Indian securities market completed its transition to T+1 settlement cycle based on a phased implementation which was initiated in November 2021.

So far, under the T+2 settlement cycle, trades on the Indian stock exchanges were settled within two working days. For instance, if an investor buys/sells shares on a T (Trade) day, then the settlement of the trade, i.e. pay-in and pay-out of securities and funds would be completed within two working days i.e. by T+2 day. Under the T+1 settlement cycle, the settlement of such trade will take place within one working day i.e. by T+1 day, resulting in faster delivery of securities.

The switch to T+1 settlement cycle shall benefit investors by increasing market liquidity as the securities/funds of trades carried out on T day will be available on the next working day itself. An early settlement of funds/securities under a T+1 settlement cycle would also enable faster redemption for mutual funds, thereby benefiting the retail investors. In addition, T+1 settlement cycle include usher in a ecosystem of increased trading turnover and reduced settlement risk thereby leading to overall development of the securities market.

 India has become one of the very few large economies that switched from T+2 to T+1 settlement. The shorter settlement cycle (T+1) is in the interest of retail investor as it reduces the risk of non-payment or non-delivery of shares by the broker by one day, which is an improvement over the present system.  Further, faster trade settlements lead to better efficiency levels and further protect investors.

 

 

The Supreme Court recently opined that if the State of Rajasthan believes that the mining activities in the Aravali Range pose a threat to the environment, it can also prevent mining activities in the Aravalli Range.

About Aravalli Range

• It is a mountain range located in northwestern India.
• It is one of the oldest fold mountains in the world.
• It runs approximately 670 km (430 mi) in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Gujarat.
• The range contains a series of ridges and peaks, which have widths between 6 miles and 60 miles, and elevations that vary between 1,000 and 3,000 feet.
• The highest point of the Aravalli range is Guru Shikhar, which stands at an elevation of 5,650 feet on Mount Arbuda. 
  • It is 15 km from Mount Abu, which is a popular hill station in the Aravalli Range.
• Rivers: Three major rivers and their tributaries flow from the Aravalli, namely the Banas and Sahibi rivers, which are tributaries of the Yamuna, as well as the Luni River, which flows into the Rann of Kutch. 
• The Aravalli acts as the edge which separates the Thar desert from the plains and plateaus of eastern Rajasthan.
• Formation:
  • It is part of the Aravalli-Delhi orogenic belt, which is a large and complex geological structure formed due to the collision of tectonic plates during the Proterozoic era.
  • It is part of the Indian Shield, that was formed from a series of cratonic collisions.
  • In ancient times, Aravalli were extremely high, but since have worn down almost completely by millions of years of weathering. 
• The range is rich in mineral resources like copper, zinc, lead, and marble.
• It is divided into two sections: the Sambhar-Sirohi ranges, taller and including Guru Shikhar; and the Sambhar-Khetri ranges, consisting of three ridges that are discontinuous.
• There are several national parks and wildlife sanctuaries that fall within the belt of Aravalli Hills. Sariska National Park, Kumbhalgarh Sanctuary, and Mount Abu Sanctuary are among them.

The Non-Aligned Movement was formed during the Cold War as an organization of States that did not seek to formally align themselves with either the United States or the Soviet Union, but sought to remain independent or neutral.

• The basic concept for the group originated in 1955 during discussions that took place at the Asia-Africa Bandung Conference held in Indonesia.
• The first NAM Summit Conference took place in Belgrade, Yugoslavia, in September 1961.
• It has 120 members as on April 2018 comprising 53 countries from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and 2 from Europe (Belarus, Azerbaijan). There are 17 countries and 10 international organizations that are Observers at NAM.

 

Who founded: The Non-Aligned Movement was founded and held its first conference (the Belgrade Conference) in 1961 under the leadership of Josip Broz Tito of Yugoslavia, Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt, Jawaharlal Nehru of India, Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, and Sukarno of Indonesia.

 

Purpose: The purpose of the organization was enumerated in Havana Declaration of 1979 to ensure "the national independence, sovereignty, territorial integrity and security of non-aligned countries" in their struggle against imperialism, colonialism, neo-colonialism, racism, and all forms of foreign subjugation.During the cold war era the NAM played a vital role in stabilizing the world order and preserving peace and security. Non alignment of NAM doesn't mean the neutrality of state on global issues, it was always a peaceful intervention in world politics.

 

Principles

As J.L Nehru was founding members, the principles of NAM was largely guided by Panchsheel principles, some of them are:

• Respect for the principles enshrined in the charter of the United Nations and international law.
• Respect for sovereignty, sovereign equality and territorial integrity of all States.
• Peaceful settlement of all international conflicts in accordance with the charter of the United Nations.
• Respect for the political, economic, social and cultural diversity of countries and peoples.
• Defence and promotion of shared interests, justice and cooperation, regardless of the differences existing in the political, economic and social systems of the States, on the basis of mutual respect and the equality of rights.
• Respect for the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence, in accordance with the charter of the United Nations
• Non-interference in the internal affairs of States. No State or group of States has the right to intervene either directly or indirectly, whatever the motive, in the internal affairs of any other State.
• Promotion and defence of multilateralism and multilateral organisations as the appropriate frameworks to resolve, through dialogue and cooperation, the problems affecting humankind.

Objectives

• NAM has sought to "create an independent path in world politics that would not result in member States becoming pawns in the struggles between the major powers."
• It identifies the right of independent judgment, the struggle against imperialism and neo-colonialism, and the use of moderation in relations with all big powers as the three basic elements that have influenced its approach.
• At present, an additional goal is facilitating a restructuring of the international economic order.

 

Relevance of NAM

NAM: Importance Activities and positions

Issue/ Incident	Action by NAM
1961 Puerto Rico’s self-determination	·         The NAM organization has supported the discussion of the case of Puerto Rico’s self-determination before the United Nations.
1973 Self-determination of Western Sahara	·          The group has supported the discussion of the case of Western Sahara’s self-determination before the United Nation
2003 invasion of Iraq	·         In recent years the organization has criticized certain aspects of US foreign policy. ·         The 2003 invasion of Iraq and the War on Terrorism, its attempts to stifle Iran and North Korea’s nuclear plans, and its other actions have been denounced by some members of the Non-Aligned Movement as attempts to run roughshod over the sovereignty of smaller nations
Sustainable Development Goals and Millennium Development Goals	·         The movement is publicly committed to the tenets of sustainable development and the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals, but it believes that the international community has not created conditions conducive to development and has infringed upon the right to sovereign development by each member state ·          Issues such as globalization, the debt burden, unfair trade practices, the decline in foreign aid, donor conditionality, and the lack of democracy in international financial decision-making are cited as factors inhibiting development
Criticism of current UN structures	·         The movement has been outspoken in its criticism of current UN structures and power dynamics, stating that the organisation has been used by powerful states in ways that violate the movement’s principles ·         NAM has made a number of recommendations that it says would strengthen the representation and power of “non-aligned” states

 

 Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC)

• The Non-Aligned Movement Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation (NAM CSSTC) is an intergovernmental institution, which enables developing countries to increase national capacity and their collective self-reliance, forms part of the efforts of NAM
  • It is located in Jakarta, Indonesia
• The NAM CSSTC was set up a few years after the Cold War to promote development in developing countries and to accelerate growth
  • In 1995, at Cartgena de Indias, 140 nations gathered and accepted a final document for the establishment of the Centre for South-South Technical Cooperation in Indonesia
• The organisation aims to achieve the development goal of developing countries to achieve sustainable human development and enable developing countries to be equal partners in international relations

 

NAM & India

• For India, the concept of non-alignment began as a policy of non-participation in the military affairs of a bipolar world and in the context of colonialism aimed towards optimum involvement through multi-polar participation towards peace and security
  • Also, Indian non-alignment was a product of the Cold War, a bipolar world and India’s colonial experience and the non-violent Indian independence struggle
• The term “non-alignment” was coined by V K Menon in his speech at the United Nations (UN) in 1953, which was later used by Indian Prime Minister Jawahar Lal Nehru during his speech in 1954 in Colombo, Sri Lanka; in which he described the Panchsheel (five restraints) which would later become the basis of the Non-Aligned Movement
  • Nehru’s concept of non-alignment brought India considerable international prestige among newly independent states that shared its concerns about the military confrontation between the superpowers and the influence of the former colonial powers
  • By laying the foundation stone of ‘Non-Alignment Movement’, India was able to establish a significant role for itself as a leader of the newly independent world and in the multilateral organisations like the UN.
• First Criticism relating to NAM
  • The non-aligned nations were unable to fulfil the role of peacekeepers during the Indo-China war of 1962 and the Indo-Pakistan war of 1965 despite meaningful attempts.
  • The non-aligned response to the Bangladesh Liberation War and the following 1971 Indo-Pakistan War showed most of the non-aligned nations prioritised territorial integrity above human rights
  • It was during this period, that India’s non-aligned stance was questioned and criticized
• Present day importance of NAM to India
  • Global South Cooperation
    • India is widely perceived as a leader of the developing world. Thus, India’s engagement with NAM will further help in the rise of India’s stature as the voice of the developing world or global south
    • So, in times of increasing protectionism, NAM can provide a good platform
  • Strengthening of Multipolar World Order
    • This aspect being concurrent with India’s foreign policy, can be further complimented with the role of NAM
  • Push for India’s candidature in UNSC
    • NAM’s total strength comprises 120 developing countries and most of them are members of the UN General Assembly; which can act as a strong support for India’s candidature as permanent member of UNSC

NAM Relevance in present day world

• NAM has significant relevance in the present-day world as:
  • Earlier the NAM was a political movement, but now the movement is shifting its political concept to the economic. It’s also true that the bipolarity of the world is ended after the cold war but still the world has an economic gap between the first world and third world nations. So, as long as the economic gap among the nations exists the NAM continues as relevant in this present world order too
  • NAM continues to hold relevance to maintain world peace. It has played an active role to stand by its founding principles, idea and purpose, which mainly aims to establish a peaceful and prosperous world
  • NAM as an international organization is relevant due to its principles. The idea of preserving the independence of every nation to save the territorial integrity and sovereignty holds its relevance.
  • Around two-third nations belong to the United Nations and represent almost 55% of world population, hence NAM has a significant role to strengthen and support to the UN. So, as one of the largest international organizations, it continues to hold relevance as a platform
  • NAM has become an Integral part of foreign policy. NAM as foreign policy is very much relevant today. Many developing countries like India still follow NAM policy. The policy to avoid colonization and imperialism continues to remain valid for all small and developing countries
• NAM acts as catalyst to foster the co-operation between South-South nations. It raises issues that are of major concern for the south countries. It initiates economic, political and social development corner to achieve desired results of moving from developing to developed nations

• NAM has become defunct owing to following reasons:
  • Lack of Economic Pragmatism
    • Many of the economic ideas which were in vogue in the past are updated today. However, many NAM members are rooted in ideas of socialism and state control, ideas popular at the time of Nehru and Nassir
    • In this pursuance, they continue complaining about the IMF and the WTO but lack the muscle to do anything
    • So, Rather than complain about the new trade regime, the countries must adjust to changing realities and learn to derive strength from them
  • Duplicity of efforts
    • NAM today competes with G-7, ASEAN and the Commonwealth, which are similar groups of nations. The other groups are more effective, as they deal with economic and trade issues
    • NAM has no position even on issues like human rights, child exploitation and gender issues. As a result, its members have to follow the Western dictates in this regard.
  • Leadership
    • The statesmen who started NAM had a vision
    • But now, there is no leadership on global issues, and there are also disagreements among the members. As a result, the organization has no direction as to the path it should take
  • Lack of real issues with NAM
    • NAM desperately needs new issues and themes to focus so that it can play a meaningful role in world politics in the future
    • NAM could have provided some leadership on things like nuclear non-proliferation, child labour, poverty and terrorism, besides other social and economic issues

• Need of the hour: NAM’s revitalisation and not abandonment
  • At a time, where the World is transitioning from Diminishing Confrontation Towards Increasing Cooperation, the NAM’s new focus must be on eradicating poverty, hunger, malnutrition and illiteracy
• Also, for a replacement of the unipolar world by the multipolar world, NAM is perhaps even more relevant now to international relations and development that at any time in the history
• Thus, NAM should develop a progressive agenda on the fundamental values of democracy, human right and multiculturalism.
  • There are so many worldwide issues like greenhouse gas emissions, health concerns specially AIDS, drug trafficking, rising instances of poverty, food crisis and unemployment, to which the NAM’s spectrum could be enlarged with these increasing concern
• On the whole, ‘The need of the hour is to call out for NAM’s revitalisation for it to be able to cater to the 21st Century needs of Third World countries more efficiently,’

 

Recent NAM Summit

The 19th NAM Summit was held under Uganda's leadership in Kampala. Uganda has taken over as chair from Azerbaijan, to run until 2027.

• Theme: ‘Deepening Cooperation for Shared Global Affluence.’
• Key discussions at the summit:
  • Israel-Hamas war
  • India’s “Vishwaa Mitra” initiative
  • A call for multipolar world

Current members:

• • 120 countries: 53 from Africa, 39 from Asia, 26 from Latin America and the Caribbean and two from Europe.
  • It also includes the non-UN member state of Palestine, 17 other observer countries, and 10 observer organizations.
  • India is one of the founding members.

After the United Nations, NAM is the second-largest grouping of nations.

NAM does not have a permanent secretariat or a formal founding charter, act, or treaty. The summit usually takes place every three years.

Launch of “Alliance for Global Good- Gender Equity and Equality” by India at World Economic Forum, Annual Meeting Davos, 15-19 January, 2024
Shri Narendra Modi’s “Women-led Development” agenda resonates globally at the WEF 2024,  with committed support from WEF and over 10,000 businesses  worldwide
WEF hails India’s inclusive and remarkable growth story under the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and compliments the Indian government for its philosophy of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas”

Key Highlights?

1. The alliance is a response to the G20 Summit 2023 Leaders' Declaration and India's commitment to women-led development. It seeks to build on the initiatives of the Engagement Group and frameworks like Business 20, Women 20, and G20 EMPOWER.
2. The G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation (G20 EMPOWER) is an initiative that aims to increase women's leadership and empowerment in the private sector.
3. The primary objective of this new Alliance is to bring together global best practices, knowledge sharing and investments in the identified areas of women’s health, education, and enterprise.
4. Supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the alliance will be housed and anchored by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Centre for Women Leadership.CII is a non-government, not-for-profit, industry-led and industry-managed organisation that works to create and sustain an environment conducive to the development of India.
5. The WEF has come on board as a ‘Network Partner’ and Invest India as an ‘Institutional Partner’.Invest India is a national Investment Promotion & Facilitation Agency. It was set up in 2009 as a non-profit venture under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade. Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
6. The alliance aims to champion women-led development, leveraging India’s spectacular inclusive growth story and its philosophy of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas and Sabka Prayas” (Together with all, Development for all and Effort for all).

 

World Economic Forum (WEF)

• It is an international organization headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, that brings together individuals and political and business leaders each year to discuss significant issues that impact the global economy. 
• These include, but are not limited to political, economic, social, and environmental concerns.
• The WEF is best known for its annual WEF Meeting at Davos, the Swiss ski resort. 
  • The event regularly draws business and political leaders from around the world for a series of discussions about global issues.
• The WEF has no independent decision-making power but seeks to influence people to make decisions that benefit the global community.
• WEF meetings introduce new issues, trends, and organizations to members and the public for discussion and are commonly believed to influence corporate and public sector decision-making.
• The organization is funded through its membership, which includes many prominent business and political figures.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=2009981

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1997896

• BHISHM -Bharat Health Initiative for Sahyog, Hita and Maitri).
• It is a project that aims to provide immediate medical assistance during humanitarian crises or natural disasters.
• It is a joint project of the Indian Navy and the DRDO (Defence Research and Development Organisation).

The project also includes the world's first indigenous portable hospital.

• The 2^nd edition of the Ministry of Education’s flagship R&D Innovation Fair, IInvenTiv-2024 was inaugurated by Union Education Minister recently.

It aims to showcase the holistic impact of the research and innovation carried out by the country's top higher education institutes.

Harni Motnath Lake is a green lake in Vadodara, Gujarat, India.