STIMULUS MUST PRECEDE LIFTING OF LOCKDOWN

Why in news? The Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) has said that before the lockdown is lifted, adequate notice should be given and an economic package announced. Views of the CII The principle should be that we look at opening up in concentric circles around the red zones. The radiating heat map should turn from […]

RESUME INDUSTRIAL ACTIVITY IN 15 SECTORS: DPIIT

Why in news? The Commerce and Industries Ministry has called for far-reaching measures to be taken to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown, urging the Home Ministry to allow relaxations of the restrictions on a number of industry sectors. Recommendations Industrial activity be restarted in at least 15 sectors, including heavy electricals, electronics and […]

INDIA’S FOREIGN TRADE: MARCH 2020

Why in news? India’s overall exports (Merchandise and Services combined) in April-March2019-20* are estimated to be USD 528.45billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-) 1.36per cent over the same period last year. Overall imports in April-March 2019-20* are estimated to be USD 598.61billion, exhibiting a negative growth of (-)6.33per cent over the same period last […]

NATIONAL AGRICULTURE MARKET PORTAL E-NAM TO COMPLETE FOUR YEARS

Why in news? The pan-India Agriculture trading portal e-NAM will be completing four years of implementation on 14th April 2020. e-NAM e-NAM  was an innovative initiative  in agricultural marketing to enhance farmers accessibility digitally to multiple number of markets & buyers and to bring transparency in trade transactions with the intent to improve price discovery […]

NEW DEFINITION OF MSMES SOON

Why in news? Union Minister for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) told the Rajya Sabha on 19th March 2020, that the government would come out with a new definition of MSMEs, which are currently defined on the basis of investment in plant and machinery, by the end of the ongoing session. What are MSMEs? […]

WORST SINGLE DAY FALL FOR SENSEX

Why in news? The Sensex on 9th March 2020 witnessed its worst fall since demonetisation in 2016 as the sell-off in stocks continues unabated. The Nifty hit a one-year low. 5 factors causing this crash Oil price crash Crude oil prices tanked over 30 per cent following Saudi Arabia’s decision to cut prices and raise […]

GLOBAL CRUDE OIL WAR BRINGS GOOD TIDINGS FOR INDIA

Why in news? Major oil buyers such as India are set to gain following Russia’s refusal to back broader cuts in crude oil production by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (Opec). Details Crude prices are on a tailspin after Russia did not agree to Opec’s proposal for an additional production cut of 1.5 […]

Recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks to improve CRAR

Why in news: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for continuation of the process of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks (RRBs) by providing minimum regulatory capital to RRBs for another year beyond 2019-20, that is, up to 2020-21. This is for those RRBs which are unable to maintain minimum Capital to Risk weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) […]

Cabinet approves construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the construction of Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover. The construction of the flyover will be taken up by the Ministry of Railways.  Aligarh-Harduaganj flyover: The total length of the Aligarh-Harduaganj railway flyover will be 22 Km.  The construction of teh flyover is expected to be completed by 2024-25. The total cost estimated for […]