Hyderabad: This article is in continuation to last week’s article, https://telanganatoday.com/column-your-approach-to-current-affairs-for-tspsc-exams ECONOMY This is the most dynamic subject in the syllabus. Reasons being – The policies of the Government change frequently depending on the global scenario and the local requirements. – The subject includes a lot of data which changes frequently. – Economy for competitive exams […]
Hyderabad: This article is in continuation to last week’s article, https://telanganatoday.com/column-your-approach-to-current-affairs-for-tspsc-exams
ECONOMY
This is the most dynamic subject in the syllabus. Reasons being
– The policies of the Government change frequently depending on the global scenario and the local requirements.
– The subject includes a lot of data which changes frequently.
– Economy for competitive exams is not just the theory part of the economy. It also includes social development for which the government initiates a number of measures in the form of schemes, policies and missions.
The most important developments that a candidate should focus on in Economy are:
· Terms – a number of new terms are used to explain and define new developments and measures in the economy.
Example – Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao proposed “helicopter money” during the lockdown imposed due to the first wave of the Covid-19.
Helicopter Money:
1. This is an unconventional monetary policy tool aimed at bringing a flagging economy back on track. It involves printing large sums of money and distributing it to the public. Under such a policy, a central bank “directly increases the money supply and, via the government, distributes the new cash to the population with the aim of boosting demand and inflation.”
2. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao said helicopter money can help states come out of this morass. He asked for the release of 5% funds from GDP by way of quantitative easing (QE).
Policies – are of two types – social policies and economic policies. Social policies of the Government deal with social development whereas economic policies focus on the economic growth of various sectors and the country. A policy of Government on a particular sector or issue or subject spells out its vision (aim) and approach (measures) towards that sector or issue or subject.
Example – National Education Policy which was drafted by a committee chaired by K Kasturirangan.
The committees associated with the policy; the purpose and highlights of the policy; any targets set under the policy; the previous policies on the same subject as a backgrounder.
Q. Consider the following statements about NEP 2020. Identify the incorrect statement/s
1. The policy replaces 10 2 structure of school curricula with a 5 3 3 4 curricular structure corresponding to ages 3-8, 8-11, 11-14, and 14-18 years respectively.
2. It aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2030.
Code:
A. 1 Only
B. 2 Only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: B. It aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education including vocational education from 26.3% (2018) to 50% by 2035.
Schemes
Missions and schemes are the most important part of the economy as far as the competitive exams are concerned. While both essentially focus on social development, missions are target oriented and time bound whereas schemes are implemented for welfare and progress. At times several schemes are launched to achieve the targets set under a mission.
Example:
Questions will be asked on the following details related to schemes and missions:
– The date and place of launch for all flagship programmes
– Purpose of the initiative
– Beneficiaries of the initiative – could be a social group (SC or ST or women or minorities) or a particular age group ( below 35 years for skill development) or BPL families
– Budget allocation
– Nodal agency responsible for the implementation of the initiative
– Targets to be achieved under the mission
– Steps in the implementation of the initiative
– Benefits from the initiative to the target segment
– Any similar scheme which was implemented earlier
1. PM Kisan Scheme:
– PM Kisan is a Central Sector scheme with 100% funding from Government of India.
– It has become operational from 1.12.2018.
– Under the scheme an income support of Rs.6,000 per year in three equal installments will be provided to all land holding farmer families.
– Definition of family for the scheme is husband, wife and minor children.
– State Government and UT administration will identify the farmer families which are eligible for support as per scheme guidelines.
– The fund will be directly transferred to the bank accounts of the beneficiaries (Cash Benefit Transfer).
– There are various Exclusion Categories for the scheme. Ex: All Institutional Land holders; Former and present holders of constitutional posts; Former and present Ministers; All Persons who paid Income Tax in the last assessment year.
– The PM-Kisan scheme (income support to farmers) has the second highest allocation in 2022-23 at Rs 68,000 crore.
– Allocation to the scheme has seen a marginal increase of 0.7% over the revised estimate of 2021-22.
2. Dalit Bandhu
– The Telangana Government has recently embarked on a magnanimous journey to solve the issues and problems faced by the Dalits in the State with the introduction of ‘Dalit Bandhu Scheme’.
– The scheme provides an one-time grant of Rs. 10,00,000 to the beneficiaries thereby instilling a sense of financial security and hope for a better future.
– The Telangana Government will handhold the beneficiaries for judiciously utilising the financial assistance.
ü Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao formally launched the Dalit Bandhu scheme in Shalapally of the Huzurabad Assembly constituency in Karimnagar district on 16th August 2021.
· Committees – The Government of India and the State Governments appoint committees to advise on various aspects and issues related to the economy. The name of the chairperson of the committee, its purpose and important recommendations are important for the exam.
Example – Ashok Dalwai committee was constituted by the Government of India to recommend measures to be taken to double farmers’ income.
Q. Consider the following statements regarding the Ashok Dalwai committee.
1. Recommended placing agricultural marketing in the Concurrent list.
2. The aim should be to raise agricultural export by a minimum of three times by 2022-23.
3. The report set a minimum target of 7,000 FPOs/VPOs, each of which could cover 1,000 farmers and/or 1,000 hectares.
Choose the correct answer
A. 1 and 2
B. 2 and 3
C. 1 and 3
D. 1, 2 and 3
Answer: D
Mergers/Acquisitions – Any major mergers in the public or private sector.
Example:
1. Piramal Group has completed the acquisition of housing finance firm Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) and a total consideration of Rs.34,250 crore has been paid for the same. As a part of the process, Piramal Capital and Housing Finance Ltd (PCHFL) merged with DHFL.
The acquisition marks the first successful resolution under the IBC route in the financial services sector, therefore important.
· Disinvestments
Examples:
1. Disinvestment of Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL)
ü HAL is the first major disinvestment carried out by the government for the 2021 fiscal for which it has set an ambitious target of Rs 2.1 trillion.
ü % of GoI’s shares disinvested: 14.82
ü Method of disinvestment: offer for sale (OFS)
ü Receipts: 4924.23 crore
ü GoI’s shareholding post disinvestment: 75.15 (initially, it was 89.97%)
To be continued…
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