Source: Indian Express.
I have already explained in detail about Unified Pension Scheme (UPS). You can also look at this article which gives a comparison of UPS, NPS and OPS.

Source: The Hindu (27th Aug)
Unified Lending Interface (ULI) is still in pilot phase. This will enable credit appraisal as it will help in fetching various financial and non-financial data (of the customers/borrowers) with their approval.

Credit appraisal is a process that financial institutions use to evaluate a borrower's credit history and financial profile to determine their ability to repay a loan.

This is my official whatsup channel. I have created this as a backup... due to the ongoing issues in Telegram. I will continue all my posts on Telegram. You may join my whatsup channel and if there is any issue on Telegram then we will shift to whatsup.
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Source: Indian Express

Govt. has approved 12 new greenfield industrial cities based on 'plug and play' and 'walk-to-work' model to attract FDI and boost manufacturing.

Plug and Play means Govt. will acquire land and get all the clearances done and the private player will just need to set up manufacturing units.

Walk to work means these industrial towns will have close residential complexes also and people can just walk to the workplace (industrial units) without requiring any vehicle or wasting time in traffic.

Source: Business Standard
Please read the complete article.

This was announced in the July Budget (2024-25). As per this model Public Sector Banks (PSBs) will have their own internal credit evaluation system for lending to MSMEs which will reduce the financing cost for MSMEs. Right now, if an MSME wants to raise credit from a PSB then it requires external credit ratings from a Credit Rating Agency (CRA) and for that MSMEs need to pay to the CRA.

Source: Business Standard

A very good article on Unified Lending Interface (ULI). Pls read the complete article.

Example, For a dairy farmer seeking a loan, the lender can find data from the milk cooperative to know about cash flows; land ownership status from land records of States; and insights into his financial condition through farming patterns. So what was once a blind spot for the lender would turn into a visible customer to do business with. With the help of ULI, the lenders can immediately know the income of the loan applicant and credit eligibility. Thus decision making would be automated and loans could be sanctioned and disbursed within minutes.

Yesterday, Cabinet approved seven major schemes for improving farmers’ lives and livelihoods with total outlay of Rs 14,235.30 Crore including 'Digital Agriculture Mission'. Just have a look:
https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2050899

Source: Indian Express
Digital Agriculture Mission

Source: Indian Express

'Countervailing Duty' is also called 'Anti-subsidy Duty'

Anti dumping Duty, Countervailing Duty and Safeguard Duty are WTO compliant remedial measures for international trade.

Source: Indian Express
A good article to read.

Source: Indian Express
Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity Agreement

Source: Indian Express

India has become a member of the Minerals Security Finance Network (MSFN) which involves 14 countries and European Union. MSFN is a US led initiative to strengthen cooperation among members to secure supply chain for critical minerals (cobalt, nickel, lithium and rare earth minerals) . This is required for our clean energy transition goals and electronics and semiconductor manufacturing because till now the supply chain of critical minerals are mostly located in China.

National Mission on Edible Oils
Approved by Union Cabinet Yesterday. The Mission will be implemented over a seven-year period, from 2024-25 to 2030-31, with a financial outlay of Rs 10,103 crore. The mission focuses on

1. Enhancing the production of key primary oilseed crops such as Rapeseed-Mustard, Groundnut, Soybean, Sunflower, and Sesamum

2. Increasing collection and extraction efficiency from secondary sources like Cottonseed, Rice Bran, and Tree Borne Oils

3. Targets to increase domestic edible oil production to 25.45 million tonnes by 2030-31 meeting around 72% of our projected domestic requirement. This will be achieved by promoting adoption of high-yielding high oil content seed varieties, extending cultivation into rice fallow areas, and promoting intercropping.

4. Over 600 Value Chain Clusters will be developed across 347 unique districts which will be managed by value chain partners such as FPOs, cooperatives, and public or private entities

5. The Mission will harness ongoing development of high-quality seeds by using cutting-edge global technologies such as genome editing.

6. The Mission aims to significantly enhance domestic oilseed production, advancing the goal of Atmanirbharta (self-reliance) in edible oils, thereby reducing import dependency and conserving valuable foreign exchange while boosting farmers' incomes.

7. It will also accrue significant environmental benefits in the form of low water usage and improved soil health and making productive use of crop fallow areas.

Note: Presently the country is heavily reliant on imports which account for 57% of its domestic demand for edible oils.

The above Economy Module (Pre cum Mains) Course will start on 11th Nov. and will be over by 31st Dec 2024. Classes will be from Monday to Saturday (5.00 to 7.30 pm). Its available in both Offline as well as Online (live). The other details will be provided soon.

Source: Indian Express
Quite informative fact.

FY 2023-24 (Centre)
Tax to GDP Ratio: 11.7%
Direct Tax to GDP ratio: 6.6%
Indirect Tax to GDP ratio: 5.1%

Proportion of Direct : Indirect tax = 56.7: 43.3

[States tax to GDP ratio is approx. 5.5% of GDP]

FY 2024-25: (Provisional) Centre
Personal: Rs. 11.87 lakh crore
Corporate: Rs. 10.2 lakh crore
GST: Rs. 10.6 lakh crore
Other Indirect taxes (Customs, Excise...): Rs. 5.5 lakh crore

Our Personal income tax is progressive while Corporate income tax is proportional. But Indirect taxes (GST & others) are regressive. So, it is always a better policy that tax collection should be more from direct taxes (as compared to indirect taxes) which is exactly happening in the economy.

Tax Buoyance (% change in tax revenue/ % change in nominal GDP) has crossed 2 which is very good sign for the economy.

Dear Students,

There is nothing much these days on current affairs in economy. So, focus on completing your static syllabus and keep on revising basic concepts. In economy, the focus of UPSC is also more on basic concepts. The present Government launched a lot of schemes and reforms in economy in the last 10 years since 2014. Now the focus is more on its execution, so you may not find new schemes/reforms much in future. So accordingly your focus should be on concepts, static things. Whenever something relevant comes in economy, I will keep on posting on this channel.

Regards
Vivek Singh

Source: The Hindu

MUDRA is mostly refinance scheme where Govt. provides funds to Banks/NBFCs and then they provide loans to Informal businesses without any collateral. But Govt. has set up a fund 'Credit Guarantee Fund for Micro Units' (CGFMU) which provides credit guarantee on these loans. Of course it will have a cost to Govt. but Govt. does this so that cost of credit remains cheap and accessible for the micro units.

There are three category of loans:

Shishu: < Rs. 50,000
Kishore: Rs. 50,000 < Rs. 5 lacs
Tarun: Rs. 5 lacs < Rs. 10 lacs

Now this Tarun category limit has been increased only for those who have already borrowed and repaid

Photo from Vivek Singh