Daily Current Affairs for TNPSC Group Exams, Upsc Exams, SSC, RRB, BANK & All Government Exams – The Hindu – 06 July 2022

1. Centre to soften punitive steps in environment cases

Front Page.
GS 2,3; Govt Policies and Interventions, Environment.
The Union Environment Ministry proposes to soften the provisions of the Environment Protection Act (EPA) by replacing a clause that provides for imprisoning violators with one that only requires them to pay a fine. This, however, does not apply to violations that cause grave injury or loss of life.

2. Indian aviation needs a strong and steady tailwind

Page 6.
GS 2,3; Govt Policies and Interventions, Technology, Growth and Development.
Though there are frequent modifications under the India’s Aircraft Act, 1934 and Aircraft Rules, 1937 overarching mother Act and Rules, India has not kept pace with modern technology in aerospace, increasing costs to the industry and ultimately affecting passenger growth. Regulators are not popular in any country. India’s statutory regulatory authority, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, needs to be modernised, well-staffed, motivated and incentivised. There need to be aviation professionals in charge rather than the ubiquitous bureaucrat from the Indian Administrative Service There needs to be a comprehensive overhaul and deep reforms.

3. Helping Sri Lanka more meaningfully

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GS 2, IR.
The economic crisis in Sri Lanka has significantly reduced incomes, reduced the availability and affordability of food and thus increased the risk of food insecurity, particularly of the most vulnerable households. India has emerged as the foremost partner for Sri Lanka at this time. It has provided assistance of about $3.5 billion this year to manage the shock caused by this economic catastrophe, compounded by the government’s incompetence, mismanagement and corruption. A strategic intervention such as this, which aids recovery and includes relief with dignity, should be the basis of any future assistance. The housing programme earned goodwill for India. A programme guaranteeing employment and supporting production will be a meaningful follow-up to that. Such an intervention will also be in India’s interest.

4. The relentless march of FPIs to the exit gate

Page 8.
GS 3, Economy, Growth and Development.
Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs) have been on a selling spree in India. June 2022 witnessed the worst selloff since March 2020 — when India announced a nationwide lockdown — at ₹50,000 crore. Post pandemic, recovery in the Indian economy has been uneven. As the industry was grappling with this challenge, came Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which led to a rise in global prices. Add to this mix the U.S. Federal Reserve raising the benchmark interest rate starting March this year. All of these have made Indian assets ‘risky’. When FPIs sell their holdings and repatriate funds back to their home markets, the local currency takes a beating. With a weaker rupee, we have to shell out more funds to import the same unit of goods.

5. The status of China’s Belt and Road Initiative in South Asia

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GS 2, IR.
In 2013, Chinese President Xi Jinping, during his visits to Kazakhstan and Indonesia, expressed his vision to build a Silk Road Economic Belt (SERB) and a 21st Century Maritime Silk Road (MSR), to break the “bottleneck” in Asian connectivity. Thus, the Belt and Road initiative was born. The biggest project under BRI is in Pakistan, the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). Over time, China pledged $62 billion in low interest loans and financing from Chinese state-owned banks and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Bangladesh, which joined the BRI in 2016, has been promised the second highest belt and road investment by China in South Asia after Pakistan. Multiple studies show that Bangladesh has been able to benefit from the BRI while maintaining diplomatic and strategic ties with both India and China. It has managed to not upset India by getting India to build infrastructure projects similar to BRI in the country.

6. Centre asks States to boost paddy sowing

Page 12.
GS 2,3; Govt Policies and Interventions, Cropping Patterns, Irrigation, Agriculture.
The Centre has asked the State governments to take steps to increase the sowing of paddy in the wake of reports that the sown area has shrunk. The meeting discussed nutritional safety, particularly on fortified rice. Odisha secured the first rank for the implementation of the National Food Security Act (NFSA). Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh stood second and third, respectively, in the index. The findings showed that most States fared well in digitisation, Aadhaar seeding, and e-POS installation. Exercises such as conducting and documenting social audits thoroughly and operationalising functions of State food commissions across States and Union Territories will further bolster the true spirit of the Act.

7. Navy eyes govt. route to buy carrier-based jets

Page 12.
GS 3, Technology and Security.
The Navy is looking for an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) with either France or the U.S. to procure new fighter jets to operate from its aircraft carriers, as the country’s first indigenous aircraft carrier Vikrant is all set to be commissioned next month coinciding with 75 years of Independence. The Navy also has a Russian¬ origin carrier, INS Vikramaditya, in service.

8. Sri Lanka bankrupt, crisis may last until 2023: PM

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GS 2, IR.
Sri Lanka is bankrupt and the acute pain of its unprecedented economic crisis will linger until at least the end of next year. Mr. Wickremesinghe said the IMF expects Sri Lanka’s economy to shrink by 7% this year, even worse than the dire forecasts issued by the country’s central bank.