During the Budget speech Union finance minister announced multiple schemes towards the protection and conservation of India’s natural heritage, including mangroves and wetlands.

Finance Minister recently stated that municipal bodies will be allowed to issue bonds for improving their infrastructure, and cities will be incentivised to improve their creditworthiness over the bonds

Finance Minister recently said that as many as 38,800 teachers will be hired for Ekalavya Model Residential Schools.

About Ekalavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS)

• EMRS started in the year 1997-98 to impart quality education to ST children in remote areas to enable them to access the best opportunities in education and to bring them at par with the general population.
• EMRS are established in the States/UTs from the grants received under Article 275(1) of the Constitution of India.

Features:

• • EMRS are co-educational residential schools from Class VI to XII.
  • Eklavya schools will be on par with Navodaya Vidyalayas and will have special facilities for preserving local art and culture besides providing training in sports and skill development.
  • Each school has a capacity of 480 students with equal number of seats for boys and girls.
  • Non-ST students can be admitted in these schools on seats up to 10% of the total seats.
  • CBSE curriculum is followed in these schools, and education is completely free.
• The National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS), an autonomous organization  has been set up under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to establish and manage EMRS across the country. 
• Government Target: As per the Budget 2018-19, every block with more than 50% ST population and at least 20,000 tribal population will have an EMRS by the year 2022.

Daily The Hindu Vocabulary |02.02.2023

1. CARPING (ADJECTIVE): (अवगुण ढूंढ़नेवाला): find fault 
Synonyms: complaining, bellyaching 
Antonyms: complimentary, forgiving 
Example sentence: They deserve recognition, not carping criticism. 

2. CASTIGATE (VERB): (सज़ा देना): to punish 
Synonyms: berate, chasten 
Antonyms: exonerate, forgive 
Example sentence: The teacher castigated him for his incomplete homework. 

3. CAVIL (VERB): (दोष ढूंढना): quibble 
Synonyms: object, complain 
Antonyms: accept, agree 
Example sentence: This is not the time to cavil about petty details. 

4. COERCE (VERB): (विवश करना): to force a person into doing something 
Synonyms: compel, press 
Antonyms: help, aid 
Example sentence: She was never coerced by her husband into bringing money from her parents. 

5. CHARY (ADJECTIVE): (सावधान): careful 
Synonyms: cautious, watchful 
Antonyms: careless, hasty 
Example sentence: She should be chary of the strangers. 

6. DETERIORATE (VERB): (बिगड़ जाना): get worse 
Synonyms: decline, worsen 
Antonyms: improve, get better 
Example sentence: The condition of her sister has deteriorated. 

7. DEMURE (ADJECTIVE): (संकोची): shy 
Synonyms: reserved, modest 
Antonyms: forward, brash 
Example sentence: I was thinking that Deepti was demure by nature but I was wrong. 

8. DERANGED (ADJECTIVE): (विक्षिप्त): mad 
Synonyms: crazy, insane 
Antonyms: calm, normal 
Example sentence: A deranged man killed 14 people in the city. 

9. DEBACLE (NOUN): (पतन): downfall 
Synonyms: beating, disaster 
Antonyms: triumph, victory 
Example sentence: The poor batting performance resulted in the debacle of the team. 

10. DEVOUT (ADJECTIVE): (धर्मनिष्ठ): religious 
Synonyms: pious, devoted 
Antonyms: unbelieving, insincere 
Example sentence: No doubt, my mother is a devout lady.

Q.1 Amrita Sher-Gil, who was recently in news is:

A) A painter

B) A Kathak Dancer

C) A social activist

D) None of these

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.2 Turnersuchus hingleyae, which was recently seen in the news, is:

A) An Asteroid

B) A new exoplanet

C) An ancient marine crocodile

D) None of these

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.3 With reference to the Heimang tree, consider the following statements:

1. It is mainly found in the Southern part of India.
2. The fruits of this tree consist of antioxidant agents.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A) 1 Only

B) 2 Only

C) Both 1 and 2

D) Neither 1 nor 2

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.4 With reference to the Red-headed vulture, consider the following statements:

1. It is categorized as a critically endangered species under the IUCN Red List.
2. It is only found in the Himalayan Region.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A) 1 Only

B) 2 Only

C) Both 1 and 2

D) Neither 1 nor 2

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.5 With reference to the Yaya Tso Lake, consider the following statements:

1. It is located in the Ladhak Region.
2. It is a large breeding site for the black-necked crane.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A) 1 Only

B) 2 Only

C) Both 1 and 2

D) Neither 1 nor 2

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.6 With reference to the Economic Survey, consider the following statements:

1. It is prepared by the Economics Division of the Department of Economic Affairs in the Finance Ministry.
2. The first Economic Survey in India was presented in the year 1991-92.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A)1 only

B) 2 only

C) Both 1 and 2

D) Neither 1 nor 2

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.7 Consider the following statements Tax buoyancy and Tax Elasticity:

1. Tax Elasticity refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.
2. Tax buoyancy refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in tax rate.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

A) 1 only

B) 2 only

C) Both 1 and 2

D) Neither 1 nor 2

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.8. Perseverance rover, recently seen in the news, is a Mars mission of which of the following space agencies?

A) European Space Agency

B) NASA

C) ISRO

D) Canadian Space Agency

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.9 Haifa port, recently seen in the news lies in which of the following country?

A) Iraq

B) Saudi Arabia

C) Israel

D) Somalia

For Explanation : CLICK HERE

Q.10.With reference to the PM CARES Fund, consider the following statements:

Daily The Hindu Vocabulary |1.02.2023

1. CONCEDE (VERB): (स्वीकार करना) accept 
Synonyms: cede, admit 
Antonyms: deny, refuse 
Example Sentence: I had to concede that I’d overreacted. 

2. ENCROACH (VERB): (अधिक्रमण करना) violate 
Synonyms: trespass, infringins
Antonyms: shun, abide 
Example Sentence: Rather than encroach on his privacy she might have kept to her room. 

3. CONCURRENCE (NOUN): (मेल) unanimity 
Synonyms: synchroneity, simultaneity 
Antonyms: disagreement, denial 
Example Sentence: Shivya is in the habit of making evasion from every situation. 

4. PERSECUTE (VERB): (सताना) harass 
Synonyms: torment, domineer 
Antonyms: comfort, console 
Example Sentence: The major kept on persecuting the soldiers. 

5. GIGANTIC (ADJECTIVE): (विशाल) huge 
Synonyms: enormous, immense 
Antonyms: small, slight 
Example Sentence: A gigantic lily grows at a height of 10 feet’s. 

6. RAMPAGE (NOUN): (हंगामा) binge 
Synonyms: disturbance, violence 
Antonyms: calm, peace 
Example Sentence: Sarmishtha ravaged all our weekend plans. 

7. TRECHAREOUS (ADJECTIVE): (विश्वासघाती) disloyal 
Synonyms: faithless, unreliable 
Antonyms: faithful, reliable 
Example Sentence: Advaik is a treacherous junk-dealer. 

8. SANGUINE (ADJECTIVE): (आशावादी) confident 
Synonyms: hopeful, optimistic 
Antonyms: pessimistic, depressed 
Example Sentence: Vishal is a sanguine person in every adverse situation. 

9. ORDAIN (VERB): (भयाक्रांत) impose 
Synonyms: order, proclaim 
Antonyms: unworried, unruffled 
Example Sentence: Vikram knows the ministry will never ordain him as a priest. 

10. AGHAST (ADJECTIVE): (स्‍वादहीन) horrified 
Synonyms: anxious, appalled 
Antonyms: delicious, pungent 
Example Sentence: Dinner tastes insipid.

UPSC Notification 2023

UPSC has released the UPSC Official Notification on its official website. It becomes very important to know various facets of the examination right from the syllabus to the exam pattern to the need for the examination at each level. Aspirants can check all the details like UPSC Syllabus, UPSC Vacancies, UPSC Eligibility Criteria, etc. from the UPSC Notification 2023.

Apply Online – CLICK HERE

IB Recruitment 2023 Apply Online

IB Recruitment 2023 Apply Online: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has started accepting application forms from eligible candidates for recruiting 1675 vacancies of Security Assistant/Executive (SA/Exe) & Multi-Tasking Staff/General (MTS/Gen) Group ‘C’ (Non-gazetted, NonMinisterial) posts. The IB Recruitment 2023 Apply Online will remain available till 17th February 2023 (11:59 pm). Interested candidates have to submit their online application form for Intelligence Bureau Recruitment 2023 for which the direct link to apply, steps to fill IB Recruitment Application form, application fees, and other details have been discussed in the below article.

Apply Now – Click Here

Apply Now – Click Here

Read More About IB SA / MTS – Click Here

The Economic Survey 2022-23 prepared by a team of economists led by chief economic adviser Anantha Nageswaran analyses developments in the economy in the past year and makes projections for the following year.

• India is the 3^rd largest economy in the world in PPP terms and the 5^th largest in market exchange rates.
• GDP – The Indian economy is expected to expand 7% in real terms in 2022-23.
• It has been projected to be around 6.0 to 6.8% in 2023-24 depending on the trajectory of economic and political developments globally.
• Global growth is forecasted to slow to 2.7% in 2023 as per IMF’s World Economic Outlook, October 2022.
• Private consumption – As a percentage of GDP, private consumption recovered to 58.4% in the second quarter of 2022-23, due to rebound in contact-intensive services such as trade and transport.

• Inflation – India’s retail inflation rate peaked at 7.8% in April 2022, above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) upper tolerance limit of 6%.
• Tax collection – The gross tax revenue registered a year-on-year growth of 15.5% from April to November 2022 driven by robust growth in the direct taxes and GST.
• Capital expenditure – The Centre’s capital expenditure rose to 2.5% of GDP in 2021-22.

• Non-performing assets – The gross non-performing assets ratio of scheduled commercial banks fell to a seven-year low of 5%.
• CRAR – The Capital-to-Risk Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR) remains healthy at 16.0.
• Fiscal deficit – The survey expressed confidence that the Union government should be able to meet the fiscal deficit target of 6.4% of GDP for this financial year.
• The government aims to lower the fiscal deficit to 4.5% of GDP by FY26 from a target of 6.4% of GDP in this fiscal year.

• Education – As a share of total GDP, the budgetary allocation for education was at 2.9%.
• Health – The out-of-pocket expenditure as a percentage of total health expenditure declined to 48.2 % in 2018-19.
• Food security – Schemes like PM-Kisan and PM Garib Kalyan Yojana have helped in ensuring food security and their impact was also endorsed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
• Inclusion – The JAM (Jan-Dhan, Aadhaar and mobile) trinity and direct benefit transfers has brought the marginalised sections into the formal financial system.
• Employment – Labour markets recovered beyond pre-Covid levels, in both urban and rural areas, with unemployment rates falling to 4.2% in 2020-21.
• Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) is indirectly creating opportunities for rural households to diversify their sources of income generation.  

• Private investment – Private investment in agriculture rose to 9.3% in 2020-21.
• Institutional credit – Institutional credit to the agricultural sector continued to grow to Rs 18.6 lakh crore in 2021-22.
• MSP – The minimum support price for all mandated crops was fixed at 1.5 times of the all-India weighted average cost of production from 2018.
• Foodgrain production – Foodgrain production in India saw sustained increase and stood at 315.7 million tonnes in 2021-22.
• India stands at the forefront to promote millets through the International Year of Millets initiative.

• India became the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer globally.
• The production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes were introduced across 14 categories, with an estimated capex of Rs 4 lakh crore over the next five years, to plug India into global supply chains.

• The services sector is expected to grow at 9.1% in 2022-23.
• India was among the top ten services exporting countries in 2021.
• India’s e-commerce market is projected to grow at 18% annually through 2025.

• Exports – Merchandise exports were 332.8 billion dollars for April-December 2022 as India diversified its markets to Brazil, South Africa and Saudi Arabia.
• India entered into a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with the United Arab Emirates and an economic cooperation and trade agreement with Australia in 2022.
• Remittances – India continued to be the largest recipient of remittances in the world, netting 100 billion dollar in 2022.
• Remittances are the 2^nd largest major source of external financing after service exports.
• Forex reserves – As of end-November 2022, India was the 6^th largest foreign exchange reserves holder in the world.

• India declared the Net Zero Pledge to achieve net zero emissions goal by 2070.
• India achieved its target of 40% installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuels ahead of 2030.
• A mass movement LIFE– Life style for Environment was launched.
• Sovereign Green Bond Framework (SGrBs) were issued in 2022.
• National Green Hydrogen Mission enables India to be energy independent by 2047.

• Physical Infrastructure- Projects that are currently active include
  • National Infrastructure Pipeline
  • National Monetisation Pipeline
  • Gati Shakti
  • National Logistics Policy
• Digital Public Infrastructure
  • Unified Payment Interface (UPI)-based transactions grew in value (121%) and volume (115%) terms between 2019-22.
  • Rural internet subscriptions witnessed a 200% increase, between 2015 and 2021.

• The Survey narrates about six challenges faced by the global economy.
  1. COVID-19 related disruptions in economies
  2. Russian-Ukraine conflict and its adverse impact along with disruption in supply chain
  3. Central Banks led by Federal Reserve responding with policy rate hikes to curb inflation, leading to appreciation of US Dollar and widening of Current Account Deficits (CAD) in net importing economies
  4. The prospects of global stagflation compelling the nations to protect their respective economic space, thus slowing cross-border trade
  5. China’s slowdown induced by its policies
  6. Loss of education and income-earning opportunities brought in by the pandemic

Why in News ?

• Armenia appealed to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) to order Azerbaijan to dissolve the road blockade isolating Nagorno-Karabakh. Nagorno-Karabakh is within Azerbaijan but had been under the control of ethnic Armenian forces since 1994 when a separatist war ended.
• The conflict can be traced back to the pre-Soviet era when the region was at the meeting point of Ottoman, Russian and the Persian empires.
• The self-declaration of independence by Nagorno-Karabakh in September 1991 in the backdrop of an imminent collapse of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) resulted in a war between Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh — supported by Armenia.

Context

Context:

• In the recent Bomb blast in Pakistan’s mosque near the police line area took around 100 lives, and was considered as an act which the nation has to pay for its deeds.

Behind the attack:

• Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP): TTP is a group belong to Pakistani version of the Sunni Islamist insurgency. The blast bears the hallmarks of a TTP attack which targeted at security personnel.
• Result of misdeeds: Pakistan was largely seen as one of the victors of the Afghan civil war and supported Taliban’s capture of Kabul.
• Historical support to terror groups: As Pakistan since its inception has supported terrorist groups and several times it backfired its own people and territory.

The Army conducted a joint training exercise ‘Trishakti Prahar’ in North Bengal close to the strategic ‘Siliguri’ corridor.

• The Trishakti Prahar exercise is a joint training exercise between the Indian Army, the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).
• The exercise enabled rehearsal and coordination amongst them for quick movement and employment of forces across North Bengal.
• It was designed to test the Security Forces’ ability to fight using the most modern tools and weapons in a networked, integrated environment.
• A Fire Power Exercise aimed at synergising the firepower assets of the forces to orchestrate an integrated battle was also held.

Siliguri corridor

• The Siliguri corridor, also called Chicken’s neck, is a stretch of land located in West Bengal.

​​​​​​​

• Geostrategic significance – The narrow stretch of land is about 20-22 km wide.
• The Siliguri corridor connects the Northeast India to the rest of the country.
• It shares borders with Nepal and Bhutan in the north and Bangladesh in the south.
• It is also very close to the India-Tibet-Bhutan trijunction at the Doklam plateau, where Indian and Chinese troops saw a stand-off in 2017.

Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh announced that ‘Visakhapatnam’ will be the new capital of the state.

• Visakhapatnam is a coastal city, often called “The Jewel of the East Coast” located on the east coast of India.
• The city was named ‘Visakhapatnam’ after the god of Valour – Vishakha.
• The port city hosts one of the major ports in India.
• It is also home to the Eastern Naval Command of the Indian Navy.
• Historically, the city was part of several kingdoms such as Kalinga, Vengi, Pallava, Chola and Vijayanagara.

• Capital of AP – Andhra Pradesh was bifurcation in 2014 into Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
• The former state capital, Hyderabad, became part of Telangana, but would serve as the two states’ joint capital for 10 years.
• In 2015, Amaravati was proposed to be the capital of Andhra Pradesh.
• In 2020, a proposal to trifurcate the state capital was floated.
  1. Visakhapatnam as executive capital
  2. Amaravati as legislative capital
  3. Kurnool as the judicial capital
• In 2021, Andhra Pradesh High Court ordered the state government to develop Amaravati as the sole capital within 6 months.
• The Andhra Pradesh government obtained a partial stay on the order from the Supreme Court.
• In January 2023, Vishakhapatnam is announced as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh.

The AP government is about to host a Global Investors Summit in March at Vishakhapatnam.

The city will also host the G20 Summit Working Group Committee later in March.

National Security Advisor of India and his American counterpart to launch the US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).

• The US-India initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET) is a platform to accelerate strategic convergence and policy alignment.
• iCET aims to elevate and expand the strategic technology partnership and defence industrial cooperation between the 2 countries.
• This initiative was unveiled by President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 2022 Quad Leaders’ Summit in Tokyo.
• The iCET will be spearheaded by the National Security Council of both the United States and India.
• The iCET is expected to remove barriers in technology transfers and co-production in the areas of critical and emerging technologies

The next iCET meeting will take place in New Delhi in late 2023.

• They also signed a new Implementation Arrangement for a Research Agency Partnership between the National Science Foundation and Indian science agencies.
• It helps to expand collaboration in a wide range of areas and to build a robust innovation ecosystem between the 2 countries.