India ranked 34th in TTCI of WEF
Context : India has ranked 34th in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) of the World Economic Forum for the year 2019. In 2013, India ranked 65th.
WEF analyzed 139 countries and scored each according to three sub-indices:
Regulatory Framework
Business Environment and Infrastructure
Human, Cultural, and Natural Resources
These sub-indices are, in turn, composed of 14 pillars of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness.
The Ministry of Tourism reported that India has gained popularity among overseas travellers as foreign tourist arrivals grew by 3.23% to 96,69,633 during January-November 2019. It also reported that 93,66,478 overseas travellers had arrived in January-November 2018.
Measures taken by Government:
- In 2019, the tourism ministry has taken several steps by opening 120 new peaks for mountaineering in order to boost inbound tourism. It has also reduced e-visa fees and reduced the GST rates on hotel room bookings, among others.
- The government also reduced GST on hotel rooms with tariffs of Rs.1,001-7,500 per night to 12%, while those above Rs.7,501 to 18%.
- Also, the government-sanctioned 77 projects for the development of thematic circuits and allocated an amount of Rs.6,035.70 crore, so far, under the Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
- Under the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) Scheme the Central government identified pilgrimage destinations. It sanctioned 28 projects that amount to Rs.840.02 crore.
TTCI :
The Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) is released by the World Economic Forum (WEF). The index measures the factors and policies that make a country a viable place to invest in the Travel and Tourism sector. This sustainability indicator can be used to calculate the status of the Travel and Tourism goal.
The top 10 countries of the Index are:
1) Spain
2) France
3) Germany
4) Japan
5) United States
6) United Kingdom
7) Australia
8) Italy
9) Canada
10) Switzerland
UJALA scheme marked the fifth anniversary on 5 January
Context : Government’s flagship programme Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) and LED Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP), marked its fifth anniversary on 5 January 2020. The schemes are being implemented and monitored by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Power Ministry.
UJALA :
UJALA initiative was launched on 5 January 2015 by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Under the scheme around 36.13 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across India. This has resulted in an estimated energy savings of 46.92 billion kilowatt-hour (kWh) per year. This measure avoided peak demand of 9,394 MW, and estimated greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction of 38 million tonnes CO2 annually.
SLNP :
Over 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed under the SLNP programme so far. It enables an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 1,161 MW and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 4.80 MT CO2 annually. The scheme has also helped in generating approximately 13,000 jobs to support the Central government’s Make in India initiative.
Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)
Context : Maharashtra has become the first state in the country to integrate its land records with the web portal of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). This will help in checking the cases of “over-insurance” — insurance of more land than in possession — as well as insurance of ineligible people.
About PMFBY :
Launched in April, 2016, after rolling back the earlier insurance schemes viz. National Agriculture Insurance Scheme (NAIS), Weather-based Crop Insurance scheme and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS).
Premium : It envisages a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for Kharif crops, and 1.5% for Rabi crops. The premium for annual commercial and horticultural crops will be 5%.
Objectives :
- Providing financial support to farmers suffering crop loss/damage arising out of unforeseen events.
- Stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
- Encouraging farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
- Ensuring flow of credit to the agriculture sector which contributes to food security, crop diversification and enhancing growth and competitiveness of agriculture sector besides protecting farmers from production risks.
Farmers to be covered :
All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have insurable interest in the crop are eligible.
Compulsory coverage : The enrolment under the scheme, subject to possession of insurable interest on the cultivation of the notified crop in the notified area, shall be compulsory for following categories of farmers:
- Farmers in the notified area who possess a Crop Loan account/KCC account (called as Loanee Farmers) to whom credit limit is sanctioned/renewed for the notified crop during the crop season. and
- Such other farmers whom the Government may decide to include from time to time.
Voluntary coverage : Voluntary coverage may be obtained by all farmers not covered above, including Crop KCC/Crop Loan Account holders whose credit limit is not renewed.
Challenges at present :
Insufficient reach and the issue of penetration.
Data constraints: With just around 45% of the claims made by farmers over the last three crop seasons data for the last rabi season is not available paid by the insurance companies.
Low payout of claims: The reason for the very low payout of claims is that only few state governments are paying their share of the premiums on time and till they do, the central government doesn’t pay its share either. Till they get the premium, insurance companies simply sit on the claims.
Gaps in assessment of crop loss: There is hardly any use of modern technology in assessing crop damages. There is lack of trained outsourced agencies, scope of corruption during implementation and the non-utilisation of technologies like smart phones and drones to improve reliability of such sampling.
Less number of notified crops than can avail insurance, Inadequate and delayed claim payment.
High actuarial premium rates: Insurance companies charged high actuarial premium rates. If states delay notifications, or payment of premiums, or crop cutting data, companies cannot pay compensation to the farmers in time.
Poor capacity to deliver: There has been no concerted effort by the state government and insurance companies to build awareness of farmers on PMFBY. Insurance companies have failed to set-up infrastructure for proper Implementation of PMFBY.
Sources: the Hindu.
Iran nuclear deal
Context : Iran has completely withdrawn from JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) nuclear deal. The announcement came after the US troops killed General Qassem Soleimani.
What was the iran nuclear deal :
Iran agreed to rein in its nuclear programme in a 2015 deal struck with the US, UK, Russia, China, France and Germany.
- Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPoA)Tehran agreed to significantly cut its stores of centrifuges, enriched uranium and heavy-water, all key components for nuclear weapons.
- The JCPOA established the Joint Commission,with the negotiating parties all represented, to monitor implementation of the agreement.
Why did Iran agree to the deal :
It had been hit with devastating economic sanctions by the United Nations, United States and the European Union that are estimated to have cost it tens of billions of pounds a year in lost oil export revenues. Billions in overseas assets had also been frozen.
Why has US pulled out of the deal :
Trump and opponents to the deal say it is flawed because it gives Iran access to billions of dollars but does not address Iran’s support for groups the U.S. considers terrorists, like Hamas and Hezbollah. They note it also doesn’t curb Iran’s development of ballistic missiles and that the deal phases out by 2030. They say Iran has lied about its nuclear program in the past.
Implications for India :
On Oil and Gas: The impact on world oil prices will be the immediately visible impact. Iran is presently India’s third biggest supplier (after Iraq and Saudi Arabia), and any increase in prices will hit both inflation levels as well as the Indian rupee.
It would impact the development of Chahbahar port.
INSTC: It will also affect these plans, especially if any of the countries along the route or banking and insurance companies dealing with the INSTC plan also decide to adhere to U.S. restrictions on trade with Iran.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation : China may consider inducting Iran into the SCO. If the proposal is accepted by the SCO, which is led by China and Russia, India will become a member of a bloc that will be seen as anti-American, and will run counter to some of the government’s other initiatives like the Indo-Pacific quadrilateral with the U.S., Australia and Japan.
Global Implications :
- Down trends in global economy.
- Fuel prices would reach high points.
- Iran may block Strait of Hormuz which is a strategic choke point which inturn would affect global trade.
- Giant economy like India, China and Russia will suffer.
- US may cancel airlines from US to India because they pass over Iran which would affect airspace industry.
Sources: Indian Express.
Project NETRA
Context : Indian Space Research Organisation has inked a pact with Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) to pave the way for collaboration in establishing optical telescope facilities under Project ‘NETRA’ for tracking space objects.
What is Project NETRA (Network for space object Tracking and Analysis) :
Under the project, the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre.
They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.
Significance of the project:
- The project will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian satellites.
- NETRA’s eventual goal is to capture the GEO, or geostationary orbit, scene at 36,000 km where communication satellites operate.
- The effort would make India a part of international efforts towards tracking, warning about and mitigating space debris.
Need:
Currently there are 15 functional Indian communication satellites in the geostationary orbit of 36,000 km; 13 remote sensing satellites in LEO of up to 2,000 km; and eight navigation satellites in medium earth orbits. Their protection is utmost importance for India.
Background:
- Space junk is an ever-growing problem with more than 7,500 tonnes of redundant hardware now thought to be circling the Earth. Ranging from old rocket bodies and defunct spacecraft through to screws and even flecks of paint – this material poses a collision hazard to operational missions.
- The rising population of space debris increases the potential danger to all space vehicles, but especially to the International Space Station (ISS), space shuttles, satellites and other spacecraft.
Sources: the Hindu.