Current affairs July 4

Launch of Sampoornata Abhiyan by NITI Aayog

In a significant move to accelerate the development of India’s most challenging regions, NITI Aayog will launch the ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’ on July 4, 2024. This ambitious three-month campaign aims to achieve saturation in key indicators across 112 Aspirational Districts and 500 Aspirational Blocks, marking a new chapter in India’s journey towards inclusive growth.

The Vision Behind Sampoornata Abhiyan

The ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’, meaning “Completeness Campaign”, represents a concentrated effort to bring about holistic development in historically lagging areas. By focusing on six crucial indicators, the campaign seeks to ensure that no one is left behind in India’s progress.

Key Focus Areas for Aspirational Blocks:

1. Antenatal Care Registration: Increasing the percentage of pregnant women registered within the first trimester.
2. Diabetes Screening: Enhancing the screening rate for diabetes among the targeted population.
3. Hypertension Screening: Improving the screening rate for hypertension in the block.
4. Supplementary Nutrition: Ensuring pregnant women receive regular nutrition under the ICDS Programme.
5. Soil Health Cards: Generating soil health cards against the collection target.
6. Self-Help Groups: Providing revolving funds to a higher percentage of SHGs.

Key Focus Areas for Aspirational Districts:

1. Antenatal Care Registration: Similar to the block-level focus.
2. Supplementary Nutrition: Ensuring pregnant women receive regular nutrition.
3. Child Immunization: Increasing the percentage of fully immunized children (9-11 months).
4. Soil Health Cards: Distributing soil health cards to farmers.
5. School Electrification: Ensuring functional electricity in secondary schools.
6. Timely Textbook Distribution: Providing textbooks to children within one month of the academic session’s start.

Implementation Strategy

To ensure the success of ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’, NITI Aayog has outlined a comprehensive strategy:

1. Action Plans: Districts and blocks will develop three-month action plans to achieve saturation in the six indicators.
2. Monthly Tracking: Progress will be monitored on a monthly basis.
3. Awareness Campaigns: Implementation of awareness and behavior change initiatives.
4. Field Visits: District officials will conduct concurrent monitoring through field visits.
5. Collaborative Approach: NITI Aayog will work in tandem with Central Ministries, Departments, and State/UT Governments for effective implementation¹²³⁴.
6. The Bigger Picture: Aspirational Districts and Blocks Programmes
7. The ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’ is a subset of the broader Aspirational Districts Programme and the Aspirational Blocks Programme. Both these initiatives, launched by the Hon’ble Prime Minister in 2018 and 2023, respectively, aim to fast-track development in India’s most challenging regions.
8. Aspirational Districts Programme:
9. •             Launched in January 2018
10. •             Covers 112 districts
11. Focuses on 5 themes: Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture & Water Resources, Financial Inclusion & Skill Development, and Infrastructure
12. Progress measured on 81 indicators
13. Aspirational Blocks Programme (ABP):
14. Launched in January 2023
15. Covers 500 blocks across 329 districts
16. Focuses on 5 themes: Health & Nutrition, Education, Agriculture and Allied Services, Basic Infrastructure, and Social Development
17. Progress measured on 40 indicators
18.  
19. The Road Ahead
20. As India steps into its 77th year of independence, the ‘Sampoornata Abhiyan’ is seen as a fitting national commitment to growth with inclusion. With measurable outcomes in health, education, agriculture, and social development set for this campaign, it has at its heart tangible change in the lives of millions.
21. In sum, this would involve transforming at least one district and one block in each state into model areas of development, processes that could then be replicated in the remaining districts and blocks of the country. Much hope is riding on these identified regions to achieve new milestones in their journey toward progress during the next three months of the campaign. Yes, herein are the paraphrased versions of the provided topics.

Current affairs July 4

1. Bihar’s Bottle Gourd Production: Bihar stands as the leading state in India for bottle gourd production, averaging around 3.5 lakh tons annually. The state’s high yield is attributed to its favorable climate and fertile soil, making it an ideal region for cultivation. This substantial output places Bihar among the top bottle gourd farming states in India.
2. Austrian Grand Prix 2024: The 2024 Austrian Grand Prix was marked by unexpected developments, culminating in a remarkable victory for George Russell of Mercedes. Held at the renowned Red Bull Ring in Spielberg, Austria, this race highlighted the unpredictable nature of Formula 1 and the prowess of drivers who can seize sudden opportunities.
3. National Security Council Appointments: The government has recently bolstered the National Security Council (NSC) with several high-profile appointments. Rajinder Khanna, former chief of the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), has been elevated to Additional National Security Adviser (NSA). Additionally, T V Ravichandran and Pavan Kapoor have been appointed as Deputy NSAs.
4. Uttar Pradesh Nodal Investment Region Bill: The Uttar Pradesh state government has approved the draft for the Uttar Pradesh Nodal Investment Region for Manufacturing (Construction) Area Bill (NIRMAN)-2024. This initiative, led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, is part of a broader strategy to elevate the state’s economy to the one trillion dollar mark.
5. New Dutch Prime Minister: Former spy chief Dick Schoof has become the new Prime Minister of the Netherlands, leading a right-wing coalition focused on implementing the “strictest-ever” immigration policy. Schoof, 67, previously headed the Dutch Secret Service and succeeds Mark Rutte, who served for 14 years.
6. Paytm’s ‘Health Saathi’ Plan: Paytm has introduced ‘Health Saathi’, a healthcare and income protection plan for its merchant partners, starting at ₹35 per month.
7. New MD & CEO of SBI General Insurance: SBI General Insurance Company Ltd. has appointed Shri Naveen Chandra Jha as its new Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer. He takes over from Shri Kishore Kumar Poludasu, who was nominated by the parent company, State Bank of India.
8. Dr. BN Gangadhar’s Appointment: Dr. BN Gangadhar, previously the acting chairperson, has now been officially appointed as the head of the National Medical Commission. This move is a significant step towards stabilizing the leadership of this important organization.
9. Sujata Saunik’s Historic Appointment: Sujata Saunik, an IAS officer from the 1987 batch, made history on July 1 by becoming the first woman to serve as the chief secretary of Maharashtra, ending a 64-year precedent. She took over from Nitin Kareer in the chief secretary’s office on the sixth floor of Mantralaya and is scheduled to retire in June next year.

10-In a notable acknowledgment of feminist literature and studies, writer, critic, and feminist activist P. Geetha has received the inaugural K. Saraswathi Amma Award. This esteemed award, established by WINGS (Women’s Integration and Growth Through Sports) Kerala, signifies a crucial moment in recognizing feminist contributions to literature and social discourse.

11-P. Geetha’s influential work “Aan Thachukal” (Male Creations), which analyzes the scripts of M.T. Vasudevan Nair, earned her this prestigious honor. The book critically examines gender representations in literature, a theme that strongly aligns with the legacy of K. Saraswathi Amma.

12-The FSR is a half-yearly, comprehensive publication involving contributions from all financial sector regulators in India. It reflects the collective assessment of the Sub-Committee of the FSDC on current and emerging risks to the stability of the Indian financial system. This July 2024 issue of the FSR covers, inter alia, global and domestic macro-financial risks, the soundness and resilience of financial institutions, regulatory initiatives, and assessment of systemic risk.

Global Macrofinancial Risks

The global economy and the financial system are in a robust condition despite facing far-reaching risks and uncertainties. While the near-term prospects have improved, there are several factors that are working as downside risks:

• Disinflation Pitstops: The challenges of achieving the last mile of disinflation have hardly been accomplished.

• High Public Debt: The high degree of public debt in countries is ever-increasing.

• Stretched Asset Valuations: Inflated valuation of assets in financial markets.

• Economic Fragmentation: Greater economic divisions among countries

• Geopolitical Tensions: Continuing geopolitical conflicts and associated economic effects

• Climate Disasters: More frequent and stronger climate-related disasters

• Cyber Threats: Rising threats from cyber attacks and security breaches

Clearly, emerging market economies are most vulnerable to such external shocks and spillovers.

Risks to Domestic Macrofinancial

The strong macroeconomic fundamentals and stable financial system have helped in the continuous expansion of India’s economy. Critical elements driving growth were:

• Moderating Inflation: Trend of reducing inflation rates

• Strong External Position: High foreign exchange reserves and friendly trade balances

• Fiscal Consolidation: Continued fiscal consolidation aimed at cutting fiscal deficit and managing public debt.

These factors have strengthened business and consumer confidence, with domestic financial conditions further strengthened by the sound balance sheets of financial institutions.

Soundness and Resilience of Financial Institutions

Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCBs)

SCBs have registered an impressive turnaround in profitability and asset quality:

• Profitability: Return on assets and return on equity are at 1.3 percent and 13.8 percent respectively.

• Non-Performing Assets: Gross and net NPAs are at multi-year lows of 2.8 percent and 0.6 percent respectively.

• Capital Buffers: The capital-to-risk-weighted-assets ratio and the common equity Tier 1 ratio were 16.8% and 13.9%, respectively, comfortably above the minimum prescribed norm.

Stress tests for credit risk at the system level show that SCBs have sufficient capital buffers to absorb adverse stress scenarios.

Urban Co-operative Banks and Non-Banking Financial Companies

• UCBs: The CRAR of UCBs rose to 17.5% in March 2024.

• NBFCs: The system-wide CRAR of NBFCs eased marginally to 26.6 per cent, remaining well above the regulatory minimum.

The consolidated solvency ratio in the insurance sector is also far higher than the threshold limit of 150 per cent. The stress tests conducted on mutual funds and clearing corporations indicate that these entities are adequately resilient.

Regulatory Initiatives and Other Developments in the Financial Sector

Global Initiatives

Recent international regulatory reforms are focused on:

• Strengthening financial stability.

• Ensuring consistent and updated implementation of international standards.

• Protecting the banking system from interconnectedness with non-banking financial institutions.

• Dealing with the risks arising from the digitalization of finance.

• Enhancing climate-related risk assessments.

• Enhancing resilience to cyber risks.

Country Efforts

From India’s perspective, the efforts of regulators, through the above measures, tend to attain an increased safety and resilience of the financial system:

• By prescribing proportionate regulations

• Through the use of technology to attain better customer service, governance, and risk management

• By avoiding procyclicality as far as possible and promoting efficiency.

Systemic Risk Assessment

In the latest systemic risk survey conducted in May 2024, all major risk groups to domestic financial stability have been classified as ‘medium.’ Key findings are:

• Optimism in Domestic Financial System: Participants were optimistic about the health of India’s financial system.

• Global Spillover Risks: Risks from global spillovers recede as confidence in the Indian financial system has risen.

•             Short-term Risks: The three most prominent short-term risks were geopolitical, tightening of global financial conditions, and capital outflows.

Reports Highlights

•             The global economy remains exposed to an extended period of elevated geopolitical tensions, high public debt, and slow last mile of disinflation. Despite all this, the global financial system has continued to be resilient, and financial conditions have been stable.

The Indian economy and the financial system remain strong and resilient, underpinned by macroeconomic and financial stability. Alongside the improving balance sheets, funding to economic activity has also picked up through sustained credit expansion by banks and financial institutions.

Capital-to-risk-weighted assets ratio and common equity tier 1 of scheduled commercial banks stood at 16.8 percent and 13.9 percent respectively in March 2024.

• GNPA ratio of SCBs declined to a multi-year low of 2.8 percent and the NNPA ratio to 0.6 percent at March 2024.

• Macro-stress testing for credit risk reveals that SCBs would be able to sustain compliance with the minimum capital requirements, and the system-level CRAR would remain at 16.1 percent, 14.4 percent, and 13 percent respectively in March 2025 under baseline, medium, and severe stress scenarios. These are stringent, conservative assessments under hypothetical shocks; results should not be interpreted as forecasts.

• NBFCs are in good health with a CRAR of 26.6 percent, GNPA ratio of 4 percent and return on assets of 3.3 percent as of March 2024 respectively.