ECONOMICS: 55+ MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS

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ECONOMICS CURRENT AFFAIRS – 55+ IMPORTANT TOPICS: TARGET MAINS 2021

Under the Guidance of M K YADAV

INDEX

1 NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE (NIP) 2

2 FINTECH IN INDIA: POTENTIAL & CHALLENGES 4

3 INDICATIVE TOPIC COVERAGE: 25 MONTH'S ECO CURRENT AFFAIRS 7

CURRENT AFFAIRS (MAINS, 2021)

Intensive News Analysis (INA)

SAMPLE HANDOUTS & TOPIC LISTING

ECONOMICS: 55+ MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS

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1.1 NEWS IN FOCUS

• The Government inaugurated the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) Online Dashboard that is envisaged as a one stop solution for all stakeholders for information on infrastructure projects in India.

• The dashboard is being hosted on the India Investment Grid (IIG), an interactive online platform that showcases real-time investment opportunities to attract investors for PPP projects in India.

• The Report of the Task Force on NIP for 2019-2025 was previously released by the Finance Ministry.

1.2 BACKGROUNDER

ABOUT NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE (NIP)

• NIP is a first-of-its-kind, whole-of-government exercise to provide world-class infrastructure to citizens and improving their quality of life.

• It is Rs 111 lakh crore ($1.4 trillion) Investment plan for enhancing infrastructure in identified sectors for a period of 5 years, from 2020-25.

• Objective: To enable India to achieve the GDP of $5 trillion by 2024-25.

• Funding: jointly made by the Centre, states and the private sector in the proportion of 39:39:22.

• Sectors: includes both economic and social infrastructure projects

- Economic infra includes: Roads, energy, railways, shipping, steel etc.

- Social infra includes: Education, health, sports etc.

• Sectors such as Energy (24%), Roads (19%), Urban (16%), Railways (13%) and Irrigation (8%) amount to

around 80% of the projected capital expenditure in infrastructure in India.

1.3 NEWS ANALYSIS

SIGNIFICANCE OF NIP: MEETING INDIA’S INFRA REQUIREMENTS

• Boosts overall Infrastructure spending - The Infrastructure spending of Centre & States is expected to decline from 21% (FY 2013-19) to an estimated 5.5% (FY 2019-25). NIP would act as a fillip to increased Infrastructure spending ➔ boost to the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.

• Thrust to Economic Growth – A well planned NIP would lead to more infrastructure which, in turn, would drive demand, create capacity, increase labour productivity, improve ease of living, generate jobs, promote inclusive growth & achieve $5 trillion economy by 2025.

• Expand Government’s Fiscal Capacity: A well-developed infrastructure enhances the level of economic activity, creates additional fiscal space by improving the revenue base of the government, and ensures the quality of expenditure is focused on productive areas.

• Attract private investment from India and abroad - NIP helps devise effective models for co-working between the public and private sectors. - International cooperation – For eg. UK recently entered into a strategic partnership with India for

developing GIFT city under NIP.

• Rational project planning by Developers: NIP provides better view of project supply and provides time to be better prepared for project bidding. This reduces aggressive bids/ failure in project delivery and accumulation of stressed assets & NPAs.

• Banks/ financial institutions (FIs)/ investors: Identified projects are likely to be better prepared, and along with active project monitoring it would build investors’ confidence and drive animal spirits.

• Project execution - Coordination among different authorities and at different levels of government is essential to the timely and successful implementation of infrastructure projects. An overarching framework such as NIP can facilitate this.

NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE PIPELINE (NIP) 1




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• Align with other goals & commitments - SDG, Paris Climate Deal, Sendai framework, Coalition for Disaster Resilient infrastructure (CDRI) etc.

• 4th Industrial Revolution – Infrastructure boosted by NIP will secure India’s position as the world leader in emerging technological fields like IoT, 5G, AI, Blockchain, etc

NIP: KEY CHALLENGES – To be discussed in the Class WAY FORWARD: KEY RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE TASK FORCE

• Improving project preparation process - Project design and planning are crucial for a bankable project.

• Enhancing the execution capacity of private sector participants - PPP reforms to be expedited in the lines of

Kelkar Committee recommendations. - Collaborations and joint ventures with

strong global infrastructure developers must be facilitated to build domestic capacity.

• Improving capacity development of public execution agencies by establishing a robust project governance structure, use of agile planning, improving procurement process, strengthening people management, provide flexibility to hire top talent etc.

• Enabling environment - a robust policy framework and well-developed public institutions improve private participation by ensuring contracts are upheld and there is optimal risk-sharing.

• Institutionalisation and efficiency of dispute resolution - Adequate investments must be made in dispute resolution institutions and ministry level committees must be formed to resolve complex contractual disputes.

• Strengthening infrastructure quality - A National Framework for Infrastructure Quality must be laid down, based on global and national standards.

• Promoting competition - establish an anti-trust resolution mechanism, improve collaboration between the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and sector regulators etc.

• Financial sector reforms - Revitalising the bond and credit market, strengthening municipal bond market, revitalising assets monetisation, enabling user charge to finance infrastructure, solve challenges of the long term financing landscape etc.

• Performance monitoring and evaluation - A real time monitoring and evaluation tool to be used to help all stakeholders monitor actual

progress vis-à-vis initial estimates. NIP dashboard is a step in the right direction. - Need for a higher level of monitoring to deal with issues of stalled projects.

• National Land Management Corporation – to be established as an apex land management body to help in monetising state-owned surplus land assets in a systematic and specialised way.

Other Infra Initiatives announced in Budget (2021-22)

• Policy for Strategic Disinvestment

• National Monetization Pipeline

• National Rail Plan for India – 2030

• MetroLite and MetroNeo (Urban Infra) – for tier 2 and peripherals of tier 1 cities

• Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA)

• National Hydrogen Energy Mission

• Affordable housing

Infrastructure Financing: Recent Initiatives by GoI

• National Monetisation Pipeline

• Pradhan Mantri Gati Shakti programme

• National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) Act, 2021 passed

• National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) - equity infusion of ₹6,000 crore approved under ANBA 3.0

• Scheme for Financial Support to PPP in infrastructure (Viability Gap Funding).

• Interest-free 50-year loan to states for spending on capital projects.

• Proposal to allow foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to invest in REITs & InvITs.




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2.1 NEWS IN FOCUS

• India’s fintech sector saw investments worth $2 billion in the first half of 2021, almost matching the total investments garnered in 2020.

• The fast-emerging fintech sector is evolving as an alternative financial platform to offer a new and diverse financial services and products.

2.2 BACKGROUNDER

WHAT IS FINTECH?

• Fintech or Financial technology refers to technologically enabled financial innovation that can result in new business models, applications, processes, or products that have a meaningful impact on financial markets and institutions, as well as the provision of financial services to end customers.

• It uses technological tools such as information technology, internet, mobile, blockchain, artificial intelligence, etc. to innovate new financial services to the doorstep of the people.

• Application: m-banking, e-wallet, digital payment,

insurance, UPI, peer to peer lending etc.

• Examples: Paytm, Cred, Mobikwik, Policy Bazaar,

Capital Float, LendingKart, BankBazaar, Instamojo

etc.

KEY GROWTH DRIVERS OF FINTECH IN INDIA – To be discussed in the Class

2.3 NEWS ANALYSIS

SIGNIFICANCE & POTENTIAL OF FINTECH IN INDIA

• Enhanced customer experience - FinTech firms offer convenience, personalisation, speed, transparency,

accessibility, and ease of use – factors that empower customers.

• Reduced cost of transaction & improved quality of services - Fintech are not burdened with expensive

physical branch networks and the benefits of leaner operating models are passed on to customers.

• Financial inclusion - Enabling the outreach to unbanked population and vulnerable sections by the way

of Mobile banking and Payment banks using fintech tools.

• Formal Sources of Credit to Unserved/Underserved sectors: For eg.

- MSME – Paperless simple process of securing MSME loans along with value add services like Peer

to peer lending, crowd funding, invoice discounting, MSME Registration, financial advisory, etc

- Agriculture – Low cost credit and insurance services to farmers. E.g. PayAgri, Jai Kisan and FarMart

that connects with farmers and provides financial services.

FINTECH IN INDIA: POTENTIAL & CHALLENGES 2

Status of Fintech Sector in India

• FinTech ecosystem - 3rd largest globally.

• Fintech Market Growth rate – Among the fastest – 67% of the more than 2,100 fintech entities in India have been set up in the last five years. - Out of a total of 65 unicorns in India, around

1/6th are FinTech companies.

• FinTech Adoption Rate - highest globally, along with China.

• Sub-segment - Payments, Lending, Wealth Technology (WealthTech), Personal Finance Management, Insurance Technology (InsurTech), Regulation Technology (RegTech) etc.

• Neo-banks (with only digital presence) are emerging as a key segment for growth in the Indian Fintech space.




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• Innovative model of Risk Assessment

- Powered by artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), & data analytics, FinTechs can identify

risks, fake practices, spam information, and suggest the right course of action to customers and

Businesses for investment, and Banks for lending purposes.

- Offering credible credit scores lowers the credit risk for banks, lower NPAs, & enhances lending to

credible ‘thin-file clients’ like MSME, Farmers etc.

• Wider range of financial products - to enhance the choices for customers and induce competition in

the market. For E.g. virtual banking, m-wallet, new trading platform, online stockbroking & wealth

management investments.

• Efficient delivery of Govt. Benefits – Direct Benefit Transfers and other government benefits through

tech-enabled platforms. E.g. JAM trinity, Bharat Bill Payment System etc.

• Boost to Cashless Economy - Fintech revolution augments government’s vision of cashless economy by

reducing the dependency on cash and formalising economic transactions.

• New employment opportunities & Innovation – created by emerging start-ups & businesses in fintech.

• Allows continuity in market operations – For eg. During COVID 19 crisis, digital transactions have

helped people maintain social distancing and ensure the sustenance of market functions.

• Enhanced Security - Blockchain technology and biometrics provides secure way of financial transactions.

KEY INITIATIVES IN FINTECH SECTOR

KEY CHALLENGES FACED BY THE FINTECH INDUSTRY IN INDIA

• Financial & Digital literacy constraint: Only 24% Indians are financially literate and 20% are digital literate which can be a challenge in adoption of fintech product and services.

• Regulatory constraints

- Lack of clarity in regulation of emerging fintech industry creates an uncertainty in developing fintech policies.

- Lack of coordination between multiple regulators such as RBI, SEBI and IRDAI.

• Security constraints: Challenges relating to breach of financial data, data privacy, and customer data

protection.

• Infrastructural Constraints - Non-availability of digital infrastructure, unreliable access to electricity, data storage, data centres and weak Internet coverage/speed are major challenges.

• Trust and behavioural constraint - Indian consumers are known to have more comfort in physical transactions in the form of cash, than digital transactions.

NPCI Initiatives

• Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)

• Payment Banks and Small Finance Banks

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

• RuPay RBI Initiatives

• Regulatory relaxation for start-ups

• Regulatory Sandbox for FinTech

• RBI fintech innovation competition

• Simplification of KYC norms

Government Initiatives

• JAM (Jan Dhan Yojana, Aadhar, Mobile) Scheme

• India Stack Project

• Start up India

• Digital India Campaign

• Gujarat International Finance Tech-City (GIFT)

• Removal of surcharges & provision of Tax benefits on e-payments.




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• Skill gap - The shortage of skilled workforce also poses a challenge in developing fintech products/services in India.

• Funding constraints for start-ups - lack of seed funding and high cost of capital mobilisation to develop or scale up fintech business ideas.

• Accessibility constraints:

- Regional disparities between low-income states and high-income states; rural-urban divide pose a challenge in outreach.

- Digital Divide: more than 400 million people still have no access to the internet.

- Most Indian fintech start-ups are currently targeting upper and middle-income segments. WAY FORWARD (Including recommendations of Steering Committee on Fintech [Chair: Subhash Chandra Garg], set up by Finance Ministry). – To be Discussed in the Class ==========================================================================================




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Sr# TOPICS RELATED CURRENT AFFAIRS 1 PRIVATE PARTICIPATION

IN RAILWAYS • The bids for a public-private partnership (PPP) in passenger train operations

project were opened by Ministry of Railways.

2 ROAD SAFETY • The government in collaboration with the industry, and academia has launched Project iRASTE (intelligent Solutions for Road Safety through Technology and Engineering).

3 THE MOTOR VEHICLE (AMENDMENT) ACT, 2019

• As per GoI’s estimates, accidents across India have reduced by nearly 10% ever since the Motor Vehicles Act was amended in 2019.

4 PRIVATISATION OF DISCOMS: NEED,

CHALLENGES & WAY FORWARD

• The Union Ministry of Power has drafted a ‘Standard Bidding Document’ (SBD) for the privatisation of Power DISCOMs (Power Distribution Companies) in States/UTs.

• Cabinet approved the Reforms-based and Results-linked, Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme.

5 AFFORDABLE HOUSING: NEED, STATUS &

CHALLENGES

• Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MoHUA) recently initiated an Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHCs) for urban migrants/poor as a sub-scheme under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).

6 MODEL TENANCY ACT, 2021

• Model Tenancy Act, 2021 was approved recently by the Union Cabinet to streamline the process of renting property in India and aid the rent economy in the estate sector.

7 PRIVATISATION OF PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (STRATEGIC DISINVESTMENT): NEED &

CHALLENGES

• The government has approved a policy of strategic disinvestment of public sector enterprises that will provide a clear roadmap for disinvestment in all non-strategic and strategic sectors

• The Department of public enterprises (DPE) has now been made part of the finance ministry in a move to speed up the privatisation process.

8 NATIONAL INFRASTRUCTURE

PIPELINE (NIP)

• The Government inaugurated the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) Online Dashboard that is envisaged as a one stop solution for all stakeholders looking for information on infrastructure projects in India.

• On India’s 75th Independence Day, Prime Minister announced that the Centre will launch ‘PM Gati Shakti Master Plan’, a Rs.100 lakh-crore project for developing ‘holistic infrastructure’.

9 ASSET MONETISATION IN INDIA: NATIONAL

MONETISATION PIPELINE (NMP)

• GoI recently launched the National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), which is expected to fetch the government around ₹6 lakh crore in revenues.

10 LOGISTICS SECTOR IN INDIA: CHALLENGES AND

WAY FORWARD

• The Logistics Division under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry had unveiled plans for the ‘Freight Smart Cities’ to improve urban freight efficiency.

11 SAGARMALA PROGRAMME & COASTAL ECONOMIC ZONE (CEZ): A

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

• The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has asked the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways to provide reasons for the delay in the completion of projects under the Sagarmala programme.

12 CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF BHARATMALA PROJECT:

SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES

• 35 Multi-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLP) Projects to be developed under Public Private Partnership (PPP) across the country under the Bharatmala Pariyojana.

ECONOMICS 25-MONTH CURRENT AFFAIRS MODULE: MAINS 2021

: MAINS 2018 INDICATIVE TOPIC COVERAGE: (OCT’19 – NOV ‘21)




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13 CIVIL AVIATION SECTOR IN INDIA : CHALLENGES &

OPPORTUNITIES

• Union Civil Aviation Minister recently initiated a 100-day plan comprising of policy and reformative measures for development of airports and heliports for the holistic improvement of the civil aviation sector of the country.

14 MSME SECTOR : KEY CHALLENGES & FUTURE

PROSPECTS

• The Union Ministry of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises recently announced its decision to include retailers and traders under the MSME sector.

15 START UP INDIA: SUCCESSES & CHALLENGES

• India has emerged as the third largest startup ecosystem in the world after the US and China.

16 EASE OF DOING BUSINESS: INDIA'S PERFORMANCE

ASSESSMENT

• The recently launched National Single Window System a significant step for Ease of Doing Business, for investors system eliminates filing multiple applications across ministries and state government departments,

• World Bank has taken a decision to discontinue its annual ‘Doing Business’ report due to data collection irregularities, especially from China.

17 TELECOM SECTOR IN INDIA

• The Union Cabinet has approved a big-bang relief package for the stressed telecom sector.

18 ELECTRONIC INDUSTRY IN INDIA: OPPORTUNITY &

CHALLENGES

• Union Cabinet approved 3 schemes to position India as a global hub for Electronics System Design & Manufacturing (ESDM) & push further the vision of National Policy on Electronics (NPE) 2019.

19 E-COMMERCE IN INDIA • Proposed Amendments to the Consumer Protection (E-commerce) Rules, 2020.

20 SKILL INDIA MISSION - A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

• Government has achieved its skilling targets of training 1 crore youth under the Skill India Mission.

21 LABOUR LAW (CODE) REFORMS

• Implementation of rules under the four labour codes passed between 2019 and 2020 is deferred to October 1, 2021.

22 GIG ECONOMY: NATURE, POTENTIAL & CHALLENGES

• As a result of Covid-19 pandemic, with squeezed budgets, companies have increasingly started hiring in the gig workspace.

23 TOURISM SECTOR IN INDIA

• The Ministry of Tourism had formulated a Draft National Strategy and Roadmap for Development of Rural Tourism in India - An initiative towards Atmanirbhar Bharat.

24 INDIA'S EXPORT PREPAREDNESS

• NITI Aayog releases report on Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020

25 SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES (SEZ)

• Special Economic Zones (SEZ) have touched new heights in terms of performance in Exports, Investment and Employment.

26 FINTECH IN INDIA: POTENTIAL & CHALLENGES

• India’s fintech sector witnessed investments worth $2 billion in the first half of 2021, almost matching the total investments garnered in 2020.

27 FINANCIAL INCLUSION: 7 YEARS OF JAN DHAN

YOJANA: CRITICAL ANALYSIS

• Recently, the government has asked the banks to improve access of account holders in the Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) scheme to micro-credit and micro investment products, like flexi-recurring schemes.

28 DEVELOPMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS:

SIGNIFICANCE & CHALLENGES

• The National Bank For Financing Infrastructure And Development (NaBFID) ACT, 2021 recently received the assent of the President.

• NBFID will be the principal Development Financial Institution (DFIs) for infrastructure financing.

29 BANKING SECTOR CONSOLIDATION: NEED &

CHALLENGES

• Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has highlighted that the mega merger of public sector banks (PSBs) has led to a “turmoil” as the state-owned banks do not have the necessary talent for specialised functions like risk management and new financial technologies.

30 URBAN COOPERATIVE BANKS: REGULATORY

CHALLENGES

• Recently, a RBI appointed committee has suggested a four-tier structure for the Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs).




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31 MICRO FINANCE SECTOR IN INDIA: SIGNIFICANCE & REGULATORY REFORMS

• The RBI had recently proposed a new regulatory regime for microfinance with uniform set of guidelines for all lenders.

32 NEW BAD BANK: NEED & CHALLENGES

• The Indian Banks' Association (IBA) had recently moved an application to the RBI seeking licence to set up a ₹6,000 crore National Asset Reconstruction Company Ltd (NARCL) or bad bank.

• Union Cabinet recently approved the Rs 30,600 crore guarantee to back Security Receipts issued by National Asset Reconstruction Company Limited (NARCL) for acquiring stressed loan assets.

33 INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE (IBC)

• The Insolvency And Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2021 recently received the assent of the President

34 NON-BANKING FINANCIAL COMPANIES (NBFCS):

OPPORTUNITIES & CHALLENGES

• RBI recently proposed a four-layered regulatory structure for non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with progressive increase in intensity of regulation.

35 15TH FINANCE COMMISSION: KEY

RECOMMENDATIONS & ANALYSIS

• Government of India has recently issued the Guidelines for release and utilization of grants recommended by the 15th Finance Commission for Rural Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions for water and sanitation during the period 2021-22 to 2025-26.

36 GOODS & SERVICES TAX (GST) & FISCAL FEDERALISM

• India marked the fourth anniversary of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1, 2021.

37 TRANSPARENT TAXATION • ‘HONOURING THE HONEST' PLATFORM, Direct Tax Code, & Other Direct Tax Reforms

38 DIGITAL TAX: NEED, CHALLENGES -

EQUALISATION LEVY, BEPS, GLOBAL MIN.

ALTERNATE TAX

• The Centre Government is not considering extending the deadline for payment of Equalisation Levy/Digital Tax (introduced in the Union Budget 2020-21) by non-resident e-commerce players.

39 AGRICULTURE REFORM ACTS: NEED,

SIGNIFICANCE & CHALLENGES

• September 2021 marks one year of commencement of the three Farm Reform Acts.

40 WOMEN FARMERS: FEMINISATION OF

AGRICULTURE

• The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare recently celebrated the Mahila Kisan Diwas.

41 AGRICULTURE/FARM MECHANISATION

• Through Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) scheme, Government of India has released funds for various activities of Farm Mechanization like Establishment of Custom Hiring Centres, Farm Machinery Bank, High-tech Hubs and distribution of various agricultural machinery etc to different states.

42 NATIONAL MISSION ON EDIBLE OILS – OIL PALM

• The Union Cabinet has given its approval to launch the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) as a new Centrally Sponsored Scheme with a special focus on the North east region and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

43 INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF MILLETS - 2023

• United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution declaring 2023 the International Year of Millets, as proposed by India to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

44 PRADHAN MANTRI KRISHI SINCHAI YOJANA (PMKSY):

CRITICAL ASSESSMENT

• 6 Years of PM Krishi Sinchai Yojana




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45 ORGANIC FARMING • About 14,500-hectare area of Car Nicobar and Nancowry group of islands in UT of Andaman and Nicobar Islands became the first large contiguous territory to be conferred with organic certification under ‘Large Area Certification’ scheme.

46 HORTICULTURE SECTOR IN INDIA: PROSPECTS &

CHALLENGES

• Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare launched the Horticulture Cluster Development Programme (CDP).

• The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has provided an enhanced allocation of Rs. 2250 Crore for the year 2021-22 for ‘Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture’ (MIDH), a centrally sponsored scheme.

47 DAIRY SECTOR IN INDIA: POTENTIAL AND

CHALLENGES

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved an increase in interest subvention to 2.5% p.a, (from 2%) under the Dairy processing and Infrastructure Development Fund (DIDF) scheme.

48 INDIAN FISHERIES SECTOR: PRADHAN MANTRI MATSYA SAMPADA

YOJANA

• The Prime Minister launched the Rs 20,050 crore-Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY), as a part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan.

49 FOOD PROCESSING SECTOR IN INDIA: PM

SAMPADA YOJANA

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has launched an online portal for ‘Production Linked Incentive Scheme for Food Processing Industry’ (PLISFPI).

50 AGRICULTURAL EXPORTS • India broke into the top 10 list of agricultural produce exporters in 2019, according to a World Trade Organization (WTO) report on the trends in world agricultural trade in the past 25 years.

51 AGRICULTURE CROP INSURANCE: PM FASAL

BIMA YOJANA

• PM Fasal Bima Yojna (PMFBY) has completed 5 years of its operation.

52 15 YEARS OF MGNREGA: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

• MGNREGA completes 15 years of implementation

53 CIRCULAR ECONOMY: POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABLE

DEVELOPMENT

• NITI Aayog pitches for transition to Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy.

• Related Theme: National Non-ferrous Metal Scrap Recycling Framework, Vehicle Scrap Policy.

54 INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM IN INDIA

• India has been ranked 46th by the World Intellectual Property Organisation in the Global Innovation Index 2021 rankings.

55 ECONOMIC SLOWDOWN: CAUSES & GOVT.

MEASURES

• According to a UNCTAD report, India is expected to grow at 7.2 per cent in 2021 but economic growth could decelerate next year due to ongoing human and economic cost of the COVID-19 pandemic

56 AATMANIRBHAR BHARAT: A CRITICAL ANALYSIS

• Impact & Challenges of Aatmanirbhar Bharat on Indian Economy

=============================================================================================




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ECONOMICS: 55+ MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS