Recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks
Context :
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has given its approval for continuation of the process of recapitalization of Regional Rural Banks to improve their Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio.
Benefits :
- A financially stronger and robust Regional Rural Banks with improved CRAR will enable them to meet the credit requirement in the rural areas.
- RRBs are primarily catering to the credit and banking requirements of agriculture sector and rural areas with focus on small and marginal farmers, micro & small enterprises, rural artisans and weaker sections of the society.
- With the recapitalization support to augment CRAR, RRBs would be able to continue their lending to these categories of borrowers under their PSL target, and thus, continue to support rural livelihoods.
Background :
- Consequent upon RBI’s decision to introduce disclosure norms for Capital to Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) of RRBs with effect from March 2008, a committee was set up under the Chairmanship of Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty.
- Based on the Committee’s recommendations, a Scheme for Recapitalization of RRBs was approved by the Cabinet in its meeting held on 10th February, 2011 to provide recapitalization support.
High protein wheat variety
Context :
Scientists from Agharkar Research Institute (ARI), Pune, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology, Government of India, have developed a biofortified durum wheat variety MACS 4028, which shows high protein content.
Key facts :
- A semi-dwarf variety, has shown the superior and stable yielding ability.
- It is resistant to stem rust, leaf rust, foliar aphids, root aphids, and brown wheat mite.
- The MACS 4028 variety is also included by the Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) programme for United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to alleviate malnutrition in a sustainable way and can boost the Vision 2022 “Kuposhan Mukt Bharat”, the National Nutrition Strategy.
- MACS 4028, the development of which was published in the Indian Journal of Genetics and Plant Breeding, is a semi-dwarf variety, which matures in 102 days and has shown the superior and stable yielding ability of 19.3 quintals per hectare.
Why Need New Variety :
Wheat crop in India is grown under six diverse agroclimatic zones. In the peninsular zone of India (Maharashtra and Karnataka states), wheat cultivation is majorly done under rainfed and limited irrigation conditions. Under such conditions, the crop experiences moisture stress. Hence, there is a high demand for drought-tolerant varieties.
Hantavirus
Context :
Reports have emerged of another virus surfacing in China.
What is Hantavirus :
The Hantavirus comes from a family of viruses that spreads mainly from rodents and can cause a range of diseases, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The Hantavirus — claimed the life of a man in south west China’s Yunnan province on March 23, 2020.
How its transmits :
The virus can emerge from the rodent’s feces, urine or saliva and can travel through air. Humans can become infected if they are bitten by an infected animal.
Symptoms :
- The symptoms of the infection are fatigue, muscle ache and fever.
- The muscle ache appears particularly in thighs, hips, back and also in shoulders.
- The affected person can also experience stomach pain, diarrhoea, vomiting and headache.
- In more serious cases, it can lead to kidney failure and lung disease.
The mortality rate from a Hantavirus infection is between five and 15 per cent.
Tokyo Olympics 2020 , postponed
Context :
The International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee have decided to postpone the Tokyo 2020 Summer Games to the summer 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19)
Highlights :
- The Olympics Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020.
- The decision came after some of the major sporting nations like Australia and Canada withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
- The nations withdrew in the backdrop of limited international travel, difficulty in training and exposed risk of contracting or spreading the disease.
- Must be rescheduled to a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021, to safeguard the health of the athletes, everybody involved in the Olympic Games and the international community.
Flame to stay in Japan :
The Olympic flame will stay in Japan. It was also agreed that the Games will keep the name Olympic and Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020,” the statement concluded.
The Olympics, which has experienced boycotts, terrorist attacks and protests, but has been held every four years since 1948, would be the highest-profile event affected by the virus that has killed thousands and closed sports competitions worldwide.
Historic Postponement :
- The organisers have postponed the event for the first time in its 124-year modern history.
- The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896 at Athens (Greece).
- It is also considered as the first postponement of an Olympics in peacetime.
- Earlier, the games were not held during World War II considering the turmoil across the world.
- In 1940, Japan was to be the first Asian country to host the Olympics.
- But its military aggression in Asia forced the annulment of the Olympics scheduled in Japan.
- The 1940 Olympics is known as the “Missing Olympics” after the Games were switched to Helsinki (Finland) before finally being scrapped because of World War II.
Kurzarbeit scheme
Why in News? Amid the all-round disruption caused to the economy by the novel coronavirus outbreak, a concern across the world is the possibility of loss of jobs.
Germany’s Kurzabeit is being mentioned time and again in this context. Also, the German cabinet is planning to extend the benefit of short-time work allowance by the first half of April through legislation.
About Kurzarbeit :
Kurzarbeit is German for “short-work”.
The policy provides for a short-time work allowance, called kurzarbeitgeld, which partially compensates for lost earnings during uncertain economic situations.
The policy was rolled out during the 2008 economic crisis while its origins date back as far as the early 20th century, before and after World War I.
How it works :
- The scheme aims to address workers who are impacted by loss of income due to shortened work hours during such times.
- They can apply for short-term work benefits under the scheme, with the government stepping in to pay employees a part of their lost income.
- This helps the companies retain their employees instead of laying them off, and allows the latter to sustain themselves for a period of up to 12 months.
Quantum of payment :
Payment under Kurzarbeit is calculated on the basis of net loss of earnings. As per Germany’s Federal Agency for Work, short-time employees generally receive about 60 per cent of the flat-rate net wage, In case there is at least one child in the house of the short-time worker, he/she receives 67 per cent of the flat-rate net wage.