UPSC Key- February 9, 2023: Know about RBI hikes repo rate, Disable, Disability and Domestic workers in India

RBI hikes repo rate to 6.5%, projects GDP growth at 6.4%

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization, of resources, growth, development and employment

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- IN A move that will lead to further increase in lending and deposit rates, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday raised the repo rate by 25 basis points (bps) to 6.5 per cent in its fight against inflation. At its last meeting for the current financial year, the six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) headed by RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das projected the real GDP growth at 6.4 per cent for 2023-24.

• Was the decision to hike rates unanimous?

• Why Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hiked the repo rate?

• What is repo rate?

• After hike, what is the Current Repo Rate?

• What is Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) Rate?

• What happens when Repo Rate and CRR is increased?

• How this move will impact overall Economy?

• What does accommodative stance mean with respect to monetary policy?

• For Your Information-The decision to raise the repo rate — the rate at which RBI lends money to banks to meet their short-term funding needs — was taken in a 4:2 majority, with MPC members Ashima Goyal and Jayanth Varma voting against the hike. The rate-setting panel also continued with its stance of “withdrawal of accommodation” to ensure that inflation remains within the target going forward, while supporting growth.

• What is Monetary Policy Framework?

• “As a general rule, when RBI is more concerned about containing inflation it raises interest rates (thus depressing economic activity), and when it wants to stimulate growth it brings down interest rates”-Critically analyse RBI’s stand to meet the inflation target recently?

• The latest monetary policy review was significant for a variety of reasons-Why?

• What are the steps taken by RBI to control inflation?

• What is Monetary policy?

• What is the primary objective of the monetary policy?

• There are two aspects to any monetary policy-What are they?

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a Statutory Body-True or False?

• Under Section 45ZB of the amended (in 2016) RBI Act, 1934, the central government is empowered to constitute a six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)- What is the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)?

• What is the composition of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)?

• The amended RBI Act, 1934 provides for the inflation target be set by the Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank, once in every five years-What is inflation target?

• What are the various Instruments of Monetary Policy to control Inflation?

• How Inflation is Measured in India?

• What do you understand by Wholesale Price Index (WPI) and Consumer Price Index?

• What is CPI-based Inflation or Retail Inflation?

• The base year of Wholesale Price Index (WPI)?

• Base Year for Consumer Price Index (CPI)?

• Impact of increase in the REPO and CRR on Money Supply on an Economy-Inflation or Deflation?

• Know about these terms-Bank Rate, Reverse Repo Rate, Liquidity Adjustment Facility (LAF), Marginal Standing Facility (MSF) etc.

• New Standard for Measuring Inflation in India and Old Standard for Measuring Inflation-Key Differences

• Do You Know-Monetary policy essentially deals with the supply and cost (interest rates) of money in an economy. The RBI’s MPC meets every two months to assess the state of monetary activities, and may tweak the repo rate — the interest rate at which the RBI lends to commercial banks — in a manner that reduces price fluctuations in the economy while keeping the inflation rate (the rate at which the general price level in the economy grows) at a reasonable level.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Reading RBI’s policy review

📍RBI’s unfinished task

📍Size of Indian banks much larger to be affected: Das

📍RBI hikes interest rates by 25 bps: what it means?

Disability activists flag Manmohan’s shift to RS last row for wheelchair

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-WITH FORMER Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s designated seat in Rajya Sabha being shifted from the front row to the last row this session to allow wheelchair movement, disability rights activists are calling for greater political representation of persons with disabilities (PwDs) and creative solutions to make public buildings more accessible. According to Congress sources, Singh’s office asked the party to change his seat as it was difficult for him to walk to the front row. The party then arranged for him to be seated in the back row, near the aisle.

• Disabled population Statistics given by Census 2011-Know the Data

• Supreme Court on Ravinder Kumar Dhariwal and Anr. v. Union of India and Ors-Know the Key Points

• Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPwD Act)-Know the Key highlights

• Disable and Disability-Know these terms (Multidimensional approach like Social, Physical, Economical-try to connect the dots)

• What are the Constitutional Frameworks for Differently abled in India?

• Know the Government Programmes and initiatives for Disabled in India

• United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) and International Day of Persons with Disabilities by the United Nations.

• Disability and Rehabilitation Services in India-What are the Issues and Challenges

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How much of India’s population lives with disabilities?

📍Ex-PM Manmohan Singh shifted to last row in Rajya Sabha for easy movement in wheelchair

Used hot tongs, blades on me: Girl on Gurgaon ordeal; employers held

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies I: Social empowerment

• General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

• General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Police in Gurgaon arrested a couple Wednesday for allegedly torturing and assaulting a minor girl who they had hired as a domestic help. Police said the 17-year-old girl, who hails from Jharkhand, was allegedly tortured over five months before she was rescued Tuesday and admitted to a hospital with multiple injuries.
Police identified the arrested accused as Manish Khattar and his wife Kamaljeet Kaur. Police said Manish worked as a deputy manager with a prominent life insurance company and his wife had been working with a public relations firm in Gurgaon.

• What is the percentage of domestic workers in India?

• Is there any law for domestic workers in India?

• What are the social security for domestic workers?

• Who conducted All India Survey on domestic workers?

• What is the labour law for domestic workers in India?

• Who are the workers of unorganised sector in India?

• What are the problems faced by domestic workers in India?

• “The Ministry of Labour and Employment, has acknowledged the importance of domestic work to households and the need to improve welfare and regulatory measures for promoting decent work for domestic workers. Also, for the very first time, domestic workers have been recognized as workers in the Unorganized Sector Social Security Act, 2008”-Critically Analyse India’s unorganised sector especially in the context of domestic workers

• Do You Know-According to official statistics, there are 4.75 million domestic workers in India, three million of whom are women, the International Labour Organisation, along with others are firm that the real number is much more, ranging from a wide 20 to 80 million.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Domestic worker draft policy for minimum wages, social security

📍Migrant and informal workers must have social security

THE CITY

After Turkey, question for Delhi: How safe is city in event of earthquake

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.

Mains Examination: 

• General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

• General Studies III: Disaster and disaster management.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Delhi’s location makes it vulnerable to earthquakes and the city will have to keep itself prepared, though a major one may not have affected the city in over 200 years, said seismologists. While a large earthquake may not originate in Delhi itself, it is prone to the impact of earthquakes originating in Himalayas, said Kusala Rajendran, seismologist and retired professor, Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

• Earthquake zones in India-Know in detail

• Map Work-Earthquake Prone Zones in India

• Which are the 4 seismic zones of India?

• Do You Know-Delhi lies in seismic zone-IV going by seismic zonation map of the Bureau of Indian Standards. The country is classified into four seismic zones, zone-V being the most active seismically and zone-II being the least active. The problem with Delhi is that it is in the Gangetic plain and is built on alluvium. According to Kusala Rajendran, seismologist and retired professor, Centre for Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, “as energy passes through soft alluvium, it gets amplified. With Bhuj earthquake, buildings collapsed some distance away in Ahmedabad since it was located in the Sabarmati basin. If energy passes towards Delhi, there can be higher amplification and damage can be higher than what we anticipate.”

• What is Earthquake?

• What are the pre disaster measures taken to manage earthquake disaster?

• What is post-disaster management of earthquakes?

• Do shallow earthquakes cause greater damage?

• For Your Information-As we know, the earth’s outermost surface, crust, is fragmented into tectonic plates. The edges of the plates are called plate boundaries, which are made up of faults. The tectonic plates constantly move at a slow pace, sliding past one another and bumping into each other. As the edges of the plates are quite rough, they get stuck with one another while the rest of the plate keeps moving. Earthquake occurs when the plate has moved far enough and the edges unstick on one of the faults.

• Why earthquakes remain unpredictable?

• What exactly causes earthquakes?

• Can earthquakes be predicted?

• What is focus or seismic focus of Earthquake?

• What is epicentre of Earthquake?

• The intensity of earthquake is highest in the epicentre and decreases as one moves away-True or False?

• Earthquakes take place in the lithosphere-True or False?

• What is seismic waves or earthquake waves?

• What is Body waves and Surface waves?

• Know in detail-Primary waves (p-waves), Secondary waves (s-waves), L-waves and Rayleigh waves

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍In quake-hit Turkey, 10 Indian nationals stuck, one missing: MEA

EXPLAINED

When words are ‘expunged’ from the records of Parliament

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Parliament and State legislatures—structure, functioning, conduct of business, powers & privileges and issues arising out of these.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Portions of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s speech delivered in Lok Sabha on Tuesday (February 7) have been expunged — or removed — from the records of Parliament by the orders of the Speaker. The expunging of certain words, sentences, or portions of a speech from the records is fairly routine procedure, and is carried out in accordance with laid down rules. The decision on which parts of the proceedings are to be expunged lies with the Presiding Officer of the House.

• What are the rules on expunging from the record?

• Do You Know-Under Article 105(2) of the Constitution, “no Member of Parliament shall be liable to any proceedings in any court in respect of anything said…in Parliament or any committee thereof”. However, MPs don’t enjoy the freedom to say whatever they want inside the House.

• What are “unparliamentary” expressions?

• How is the decision to expunge a word (or portion of a speech) taken?

• What happens after a word has been expunged?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍His remarks on PM-Adani links expunged, Rahul Gandhi says, ‘Can’t eliminate voice of democracy’

📍4 things Rahul Gandhi said in Parliament about Adani Group

DESIGNATED SURVIVOR

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Comparison of the Indian constitutional scheme with that of other countries.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- On Monday night, as President Joe Biden delivered the annual State of the Union Address, nearly every top-level member of the federal government was at the Capitol — from members of Congress, the military brass, US Supreme Court justices and senior officials of the Biden administration. However, one member of Biden’s government was missing — by design. Labor Secretary Marty Walsh was given the duty of being the “designated survivor”, tasked with taking charge of the government — just in case an unforeseen tragedy wiped out or incapacitated the rest of the government officials gathered for the speech.

• What is the point of having a designated survivor?

• Who can be a designated survivor?

• Do You Know- To be a designated survivor, one must be eligible to become United States’ President. If a higher ranking official survives the attack, the designated survivor gives way to them when they are fit to lead. A number of different members of the federal government have been chosen as designated survivors over the years, from the Attorney General (the highest ranking designated survivor till date) to the Secretaries of Commerce, Veteran Affairs, Transportation, and Health, among others.

• When did the ritual start?

• Is there a designated survivor concept in India also?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Designated Survivor: New, but not improved Jack Bauer

Microsoft Bing, OpenAI, and the changing future of search on the Internet

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-The future of search will be different. That’s what was clear after Microsoft’s surprise AI event last night in collaboration with OpenAI, the tech startup behind ChatGPT and Dall-E. At the event, Microsoft announced plans to integrate its Bing search with more artificial intelligence (AI) features, powered by a new and bigger language learning model (LLM) from OpenAI. Based on what Microsoft showcased, Bing search will be more conversational and interactive, almost like a smart AI assistant, rather than just showcasing endless links – which is the case right now.

• What is the new Bing search all about?

• So basically Bing search is turning into ChatGPT?

• What about the accuracy of answers?

• So will Bing search finally defeat Google?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍How Microsoft’s OpenAI-powered Bing could change the way world searches for information

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