EDITORIALS & ARTICLES
8th April 2021
Payments bank deposit limit doubled by RBI
Recently, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced that it has increased the maximum end of day balance for payment banks to Rs. 2 lakh from Rs. 1 lakh.
Key Highlights
- The extant 'Guidelines for Licensing of Payments Banks' issued in 2014, allowed payments banks to hold a maximum balance of ₹ 1 lakh per individual customer.
- The limit of maximum balance at end of the day has been enhanced for the following objectives:
- Encourage payments bank’s efforts for financial inclusion; and
- Expand payments bank’s ability to cater to the needs of MSMEs, small traders and merchants
- The enhancement of limit will help boost the payment banks access to greater client network and improve digital transactions across the country.
- In September 2013, the Reserve Bank of India constituted a committee headed by Dr Nachiket Mor to study 'Comprehensive financial services for small businesses and low income households'.
- In August 2015, RBI had given in-principle approval to 11 entities to start payments bank.
- The Airtel Payments Bank was the first one to launch payments bank in the country.
- India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) had started operations at two pilot branches in January 2017.
- Some other popular payments banks are Paytm Payments Bank and Fino Payments Bank.
Payments Bank
- They are a type of savings account which can accept a restricted deposit but cannot issue loans or credit cards to customers.
- They can operate both current as well as saving accounts and can provide all other services like ATM cards, fund transfers, bill payments, recharges, net banking among others to the account holders.
- The payments banks are allowed to make personal payments and receive remittances from the cross border on the current accounts.
- The payments banks will have to deposit the amount in the form of a Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) with RBI as other commercial banks do.
- The payments Banks will have to invest a minimum of 75% of its demand deposits in government treasury/securities bills with maturity up to one year.
- They can hold a maximum of 25% in currents and fixed deposits with other commercial banks for operational purposes.
Advantages of Payments Bank
- Financial Inclusion: Its aim is to provide small savings accounts, payments and remittance services to migrant labour workforce, low income households, small businesses, and other unorganised sector entities.
- These banks currently offer interest rates similar to that being offered by regular banks.
- The central bank has extended the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) facilities to digital payments intermediaries.
- The payments banks offer zero balance or no minimum balance accounts without any additional fee and thereby differ from commercial banks.
- The RBI seeks to increase the penetration level of financial services to the remote areas of the country with payments banks.
What a Payments Bank cannot do?
- The payments banks cannot accept fixed or recurring deposits.
- A payments bank is not allowed to give any form of loan or issue a credit card, which is also a form of unsecured personal loan.
- The payments banks cannot accept deposits from the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP)
Recently, the governor of RBI has announced a new programme called Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP).
Need for Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP)
- It will reiterate the RBI’s commitment to maintain the current accommodative policy stance until the economy is back on track.
- It aims to seek to quell the concerns of market participants over rising bond yields.
- The primary concern of the market was the government’s huge borrowing programme and the subsequent supply of high-quality paper that could have possibly pushed the yields higher.
What is Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP)?
- Under G-SAP, the RBI will purchase government securities worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the first quarter of FY22.
- It is a structured purchase program which will definitely calm investors’ nerves and help market participants to bid better in scheduled auctions and reduce volatility in bond prices.
Significance of Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP)
- The G-SAP aims to provide more comfort to the bond market in the backdrop of the government’s elevated borrowing for this year, which the RBI has to ensure goes through without causing disruption.
- It will provide certainty to the bond market participants with regard to RBI’s commitment of support to the bond market in FY22.
- The market participants have always wanted to know the RBI’s Open Market Operations (OMO) purchase calendar, and the RBI has now provided that to the market through G-SAP.
- It will help reduce the spread between the repo rate and the 10-year government bond yield which will help to reduce the aggregate cost of borrowing for the Centre and states in FY22.
Lab on Wheels Programme
Recently, the Education Minister of Delhi has launched the ‘Lab on Wheels’ Programme.
- It is an initiative of Delhi Technological University.
- It will have students of the university travelling in a bus across Delhi to teach government school students and underprivileged children.
- It will comprise 16 computers, two televisions, one 3D printer, one laptop, cameras and one printer.
- It will be Wi-Fi enabled, with 100 per cent power back up and fully air-conditioned.
- “Under the ‘Extension and Field Outreach Programme’, the DTU students will be helping 44 lakh government school students to find their own path, to think, implore and realise their dreams.
What is the idea behind Lab on Wheels?
- The idea is to impart education in the fields of Mathematics and Science to those students who come from marginalised and poor economic backgrounds.
- It aims to pique their interests in these subjects while pursuing higher education.
- It is hoped that it becomes mutually beneficial, if some of these students decide to take admission in DTU once they finish schooling.
Coverage of Lab on Wheels programme
- The programme will initially target 12 schools.
- The bus will function in three shifts of three hours each from 8 am to 11 am, 11 am to 2 pm and 2 pm to 5 pm.
- Each shift will have two volunteers (DTU students) teaching 16 students if it’s a computer lab, or 25 students if it’s regular classroom teaching.
India-Seychelles High Level Virtual Event
Recently, the Prime Minister of India will take part in a high level virtual event with the President of the Republic of Seychelles.
Key Highlights
- The high level virtual event will feature the following:
Joint e-inauguration of the new Magistrates’ Court Building in Seychelles
- The new Magistrates’ Court Building in the capital city Victoria is India’s first major civil infrastructure project in Seychelles built with grant assistance.
- The Magistrates’ Court is a state of the art building which will substantially enhance the capacity of the Seychelles judicial system and aid in better delivery of judicial services to the people of Seychelles.
Handing over of a Fast Patrol Vessel to Seychelles Coast Guard
- It is a 50-m Fast Patrol Vessel, which is a modern and fully equipped naval ship.
- It is named as 'PS Zoroaster' and is the fourth ship to be gifted by India to Seychelles to strengthen its maritime surveillance capabilities.
- The other vessels gifted by India include PS Topaz (2005), PS Constant (2014), Patrol Boat Hermes (2016).
- It has been made in India by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata.
- It is being gifted to Seychelles under Indian grant assistance to strengthen its maritime surveillance capabilities.
Handing over of a 1 MW Solar Power Plant
- The 1 MW ground-mounted solar power plant at the Romainville Island of Seychelleshas been completed.
- It is a part of the ‘Solar PV Democratization Project’ which is being implemented in Seychelles by the Government of India under grant assistance.
Inauguration of 10 High Impact Community Development Projects (HICDPs)
- It will be implemented by the High Commission of India in collaboration with local bodies, educational and vocational institutions.
- They aimed at implementing small people-oriented projects which contribute significantly towards the socio-economic development and improvement of local communities.
Significance of India-Seychelles relationship
- Seychelles occupies a central place in the Prime Minister’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ - ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’ and ‘Neighbourhood First Policy’.
- The inauguration of these key projects demonstrates India’s privileged and time-tested role as a reliable partner of Seychelles for meeting its infrastructural, developmental and security requirements.
- It is a testimony to the deep and friendly ties between the people of India and Seychelles.
- India’s economic and security outreach, and the leveling out of its relations with island nations in its neighborhood, is also aimed at rebuilding supply chains that have been ruptured by the pandemic.
- India is seeking to recalibrate the global supply chain system through alternatives to the Beijing-led Belt and Road Initiative.
- The Seychelles’ importance is high for India as New Delhi strives to tackle piracy in the Western Indian Ocean as well as battle terrorist threats from the sea.
- Seychelles also forms a crucial part of India’s overall Africa outreach and in its Indo-Pacific vision of free, open, and rules-based maritime order.
Classical Swine Fever (CSF) and Sheep Pox
Recently, the ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute has transferred the ‘Technology - CSF & Sheep Pox Vaccines’ to M/s Hester Biosciences through Agrinnovate India Limited.
Classical Swine Fever (CSF)
- It is an important disease of pigs that causes 100% mortality.
- It is also known as hog cholera.
- It is a contagious viral disease of domestic and wild swine.
- It is caused by a virus of the genus Pestivirus of the family Flaviviridae, which is closely related to the viruses that cause bovine viral diarrhoea in cattle and border disease in sheep.
- The humans are not affected by this virus and swines are the only species known to be susceptible.
Transmission of Classical Swine Fever (CSF)
- The most common method of transmission is through direct contact between healthy swine and those infected with CSF virus.
- The virus is shed in saliva, nasal secretions, urine, and feces.
- CSF virus can survive in pork and processed pork products for months when meat is refrigerated and for years when it is frozen.
Treatment of Classical Swine Fever
- In India, the disease is controlled by a lapinized CSF vaccine (Weybridge Strain, U.K.) produced by killing large numbers of rabbits.
- The ICAR-IVRI has developed a Cell Culture CSF Vaccine using the Lapinized Vaccine Virus from foreign strain in order to avoid killing of rabbits.
- The Indigenous CSF Cell Culture Vaccine (IVRI-CSF-BS) developed by using an Indian field isolates has a huge export potential.
- The Vaccine can produce a large number of doses (60 Lakhs approx.) easily from only one 75 cm² Tissue Culture Flask due to its very high titre.
Sheep Pox
- It is is a severe viral disease in sheep which is economically important in small ruminants.
- It is a serious and often fatal disease characterized by widespread skin eruption.
- It is a highly contagious disease of sheep caused by a poxvirus different from the benign orf (or contagious ecthyma).
Transmission of Sheep Pox
- The transmission is usually by aerosol after close contact with severely affected animals containing ulcerated papules on the mucous membranes.
Treatment of Sheep Pox
- The live attenuated Sheep Pox Vaccine using indigenous strain was developed by the Institute for preventive vaccination in the sheep population.
- The developed Vaccine uses indigenous Sheep Pox Virus Strain [SPPV Srin 38/00]and is adapted to grow in the Vero cell line which makes the Vaccine production to be easily scalable.
- It has been evaluated both in-house and field as it protects the Vaccinated animals for a period of 40 months.
Madhukranti Portal
Recently, the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare Shri Narendra Singh Tomar launched ‘Madhukranti Portal’ and Honey Corners of NAFED.
- It is an initiative of National Bee Board (NBB), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under National Beekeeping & Honey Mission (NBHM).
- It is being developed for online registration to achieve traceability source of Honeyand other beehive products on a digital platform.
- The technical and banking partner for development of this digital platform is Indian Bank.
- It is aimed at creating a database of all stakeholders involved in Honey and other hive products’ production, sales and marketing chain.
- The online registration/ traceability system for source of Honey & other beehive products will help in checking the quality & source of adulteration of honey.
- The system will also enable consumers/public to know the source of honey and assure quality of the products.
National Bee Board (NBB)
- A Central Sector Scheme titled 'Development of Beekeeping for Improving Crop Productivity' during the VIII plan (1994-95) by the Ministry of Agriculture.
- A Beekeeping Development Board functioned under the Chairpersonship of Secretary to coordinate the Beekeeping activities.
- The Department facilitated efforts by providing seed money through Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC) for enabling the private sector to join hands in forming the National Bee Board (NBB).
- The NBB was established as a Registered Society under Societies Registration Act, XXI of 1860 in 2000.
- The NBB is promoted by the Small Farmers' Agri-Business Consortium (SFAC).
- Its primary objective is overall development of Beekeeping by promoting Scientific Beekeeping in India to increase the productivity of crops through pollination.
Anamaya
Recently, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched ‘Anamaya’.
- The Tribal TB Initiative was launched by both the Ministries to fulfil the Prime Minister’s goal of ‘TB MuktBharat’ by 2025, five years ahead of the global deadline.
- The Union Minister exalted the Prime Minister’s grand vision of a New India to celebrate 75 years of our independence and spoke how upliftment of tribal societies continues to be a crucial fulcrum to the whole exercise.
- The tribal population disproportionately shares the burden of poverty, death and diseases compared to their non-tribal counterparts and face a myriad of obstacles when accessing public health systems.
- It includes the lack of health facilities in indigenous communities and cultural differences with the health care providers.
Anamaya
- It is a Tribal Health Collaborative.
- It is a multi-stakeholder initiative supported by Piramal Foundation and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF).
- The Ministry will undertake several activities as part of this Collaborative such as:
- Establishment of a Health Cell to closely monitor healthcare delivery in the tribal areas; and
- Devising mechanisms to implement the Tribal Health Action Plan
- It will begin its operations with 50 tribal, aspirational districts (with more than 20 per cent ST population) across six high tribal population states.
- It will be extended to 177 tribal districts over the next 10 years.
Significance of Anamaya
- It will converge efforts of various Government agencies and organisations to enhance the health and nutrition status of the tribal communities of India.
- It envisions building a sustainable, high-performing health ecosystem to improve health of our tribal population.
- It will bring together governments, philanthropists, national and international foundations, NGOs to end “all preventable deaths” among the tribal communities of India.
- It aims to build a sustainable, high-performing health eco-system to address the key health challenges faced by the tribal population of the country.
PLI Scheme ‘National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules’
Recently, the Union Cabinet has approved the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy'sproposal for implementation of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 'National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV (Photo Voltaic) Modules'.
- India has set an ambitious target of 175 gigawatts (GW) of renewable energy capacity by 2022 which includes 100 GW from solar and 60 GW from wind energy.
- The Solar capacity addition presently depends largely upon imported solar PV cells and modules as the domestic manufacturing industry has limited operational capacities of solar PV cells and modules.
- India desperately needs to break out of the low-cost low-quality loop many parts of solar manufacturing especially that in the MSME sector is stuck in.
- India’s solar cell (component of a solar panel) manufacturing capacity stands at 3 GWand of module (finished product) is 5 GW, while the country’s solar power generation capacity stands at 32 GW.
Key Features of PLI Scheme ‘National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules’
- The solar PV manufacturers will be selected through a transparent competitive bidding process.
- The PLI will be disbursed for 5 years post commissioning of solar PV manufacturing plants, on sales of high efficiency solar PV modules.
- The PLI amount will increase with increased module efficiency and increased local value addition.
- The outcomes/ benefits expected from the scheme are as follows:
- Additional 10,000 MW capacity of integrated solar PV manufacturing plants,
- Direct investment of around Rs.17200 crore in solar PV manufacturing projects
- Demand of Rs.17500 crore over 5 years for 'Balance of Materials',
- Direct employment of about 30,000 and indirect employment of about 120,000 persons,
- Import substitution of around Rs.17500 crore every year, and
- Impetus to Research & Development to achieve higher efficiency in solar PV modules
Significance of National Programme on High Efficiency Solar PV Modules
- It is aimed at achieving manufacturing capacity of Giga Watt (GW) scale in high efficiency solar PV modules with an outlay of Rs.4,500 crore.
- It will reduce import dependence in a strategic sector like electricity.
- It will also support the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative.
- It will make the sector more operational and accessible to foreign players.
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