PIB Summary and Analysis for RBI Grade B, NABARD Grade A : 4th Aug 2021

Daily PIB Summary & Analysis for RBI Grade B 2022, NABARD Grade A 2021, and SEBI Grade A Exam. In this Article we will discuss Press Information Bureau (PIB) Programs and their Summary for RBI Grade B Economics and Social Issue Section.

Press Information Bureau (PIB) releases news related to the policies, programmes, initiatives and achievements of the Government of India. PIB releases are important to be read for the RBI Grade B Exam however, equally important is to know which PIB release should be read.

The Press Information Bureau (PIB) is the nodal agency of the government of India to broadcast and publicize information on government policies, initiatives, achievements and working of every ministry and department within the government through its official website using various articles, images and photographs.

Government Signs US $ 250 Million Loan Agreement For Second Phase of Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project (DRIP)

• In order to enhance water security in the country and support sustainable development, the Government of India today signed a $250 million loan agreement with World Bankfor the Second Phase of Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP Phase II) to make existing dams and communities safe and resilient across India.

• The Ministry of Jal Shakti, ten (10) States namely Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Odisha, Rajasthan, and Tamil Nadu and the Central Water Commission attended the loan signing ceremony.

• The balanced US$250 million external funding from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is under consideration

• The Scheme has the participation of nineteen (19) States and three (3) Central Agencies. The Budget Outlay for both Phases is Rs 10,211 Cr for an implementation period of ten (10) years

• This programme complements the provisions in the Dam Safety Bill 2019, by ensuring capacity building of the dam owners as well as the proposed regulators, as well as creating necessary protocols for dam safety.

• It is likely to generate employment opportunities equivalent to approximately 10,00,000 person days for unskilled workers, and 2,50,000 person days for working professionals.

• In order to carry forward the momentum gained through ongoing DRIP, and expand it vertically and horizontally, the new Scheme, DRIP Phase II, co-financed by World Bank (WB) and Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) with US$250 million each, covers large dams in 19 states of the country.

The first phase of the DRIP programme, which covered 223 dams in 7 states, improved the safety and operational performance of selected dams, along with institutional strengthening through a system wide management approach, has been recently closed in March 2021.

CBIC launches Compliance Information Portal (CIP)

• The Central Board for Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) here today launched the Indian Customs Compliance Information Portal (CIP) for providing free access to information on all Customs procedures and regulatory compliance for nearly 12,000 Customs Tariff Items.

APEDA inks MoU with University of Agricultural Science, Bangalore for boosting agri-export specially from Karnataka

• MoU will help in development of agri entrepreneurs, technopreneurs capacity building, skill development with focus on building a collaborative approach for promoting export by creation of product specific cluster.
• According to the MoU, the key areas of cooperation include developing technologies jointly with APEDA for advance alertness, efficient & precision farming for enhancing quality exports; diversifying the export basket, destinations and boost high-value agri exports by establishing Brand India globally by increasing agri-exports from Karnataka under Agri Export Policy (AEP) announced by Government of India in 2018

India registered its highest ever annual FDI Inflow of US $81.72 billion during the last financial year 2020-21.

• India has registered its highest ever annual FDI Inflow of US $81.72 billion (provisional figure) during the last financial year 2020-21 as compared to US $ 45.15 billion in 2014-2015.
• In the last seven financial years (2014-20), India has received FDI inflow worth US$ 440.01 billion which is 58 percent of the FDI reported in the last 21 years (US$ 763.58 billion).

New Central Sector Scheme for industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir will help in creation of more employment opportunities and promotion of tourism in the region

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade has notified “New Central Sector Scheme for industrial development of Jammu and Kashmir” with financial outlay of Rs. 28,400 crore on 19/02/2021 and is effective from 01.04.2021 to 31.03.2037.

The scheme offers four incentives namely

1. Capital Investment Incentive,
2. Capital Interest subvention,
3. Goods & Service Tax Linked Incentive (GSTLI) and
4. Working Capital Interest Subvention

The estimated direct employment generation is anticipated to be nearly 78000 persons, however, the scheme has potential to trigger much more gainful employment indirectly and also, has potential to further promote tourism activities in Jammu and Kashmir

Various measures taken by Government for promotion of export.

Government is committed for promoting Indian exports in international markets and suitable interventions are done from time to time. The key schemes/interventions taken are:

1. The Foreign Trade Policy has been extended upto 30.09.2021 to provide a stable regime during the Covid-19 pandemic.
2. Schemes such as the Advance Authorization Scheme and the Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme are being implemented to enable duty free import of raw materials and capital goods for export production.
3. The Interest Equalization Scheme, which provides pre and post shipment Rupee export credit has been extended upto 30.09.2021.
4. Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme has been operationalized for exports with effect from 01.01.2021.
5. It has been decided to extend the Rebate of State and Central Levies and Taxes (RoSCTL) Scheme for apparel and made-up exports till March 2024.
6. Transport and Marketing Assistance (TMA) scheme for specified agriculture products provides assistance for the international component of freight and marketing of agricultural produce and to promote brand recognition for Indian agricultural products in the specified overseas markets.
7. A common digital platform for Certificate of Origin (CoO) has been launched to increase Free Trade Agreement (FTA) utilization by exporters. 
8. In order to leverage the full export potential of our vast country,  Districts are being promoted as Exports Hubs by identifying products and services with export potential in each district, addressing bottlenecks for exporting these products/services and supporting such local exporters/ manufactures through institutional and strategic interventions. District specific export action plans for 478 districts have been prepared.
9. Exports of services is being supported through negotiating meaningful market access through multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements, through participation in and organization of international fairs/exhibitions like the Global Exhibition on Services. An ‘Action Plan for Champion Sectors in Services’ is being developed  to give focused attention to identified Champion Services Sectors through  identified nodal Ministries/Departments.
10. Assistance is being extended to exporters under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) scheme for various activities such as export market research & product development, product registration, organizing / participating in fairs, exhibitions and Buyer Seller Meets (BSMs) abroad, Reverse Buyer Seller Meets etc.
11. In order to have a coordinated and focused attention on development of export infrastructure, a working group on infrastructure up-gradation has been constituted under National Committee on Trade Facilitation (NCTF) and a National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) has been formulated. This includes measures for improving road and rail connectivity to ports and smart gates at sea ports

To make domestic manufacturing globally competitive and to create global champions in manufacturing, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes in 13 sectors are being implemented.

The Government has initiated a review of some of the existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to maximize its export potential to benefit domestic industry as well as to make them more user friendly, simple and trade facilitative.

Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Bill 2021 passed in Parliament

• The bill allows tariff determination of a 'group of airports' by way of amending the definition of 'major airport.' The bill amends the provisions of the law in relation to tariffs for single airports.
• The intention of the government is to develop not only the high traffic volume & profitable airports but also the low traffic volume of non-profitable airports.
• The revenue earned by AAI from these airports will be utilized for the development of airports in Tier-II and Tier-III cities.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh says, the share of nuclear power in the total electricity generation in the country is about 3.1% in the year 2020-21.

• Says, the nuclear power capacity is expected to reach 22480 MW by the year 2031 from the current 6780 MW.
• There are presently 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW in operation and one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has been connected to the grid on January 10, 2021. 

News Source : Multiple PIB Articles