QUIZ – 2020: Insights Current Affairs Quiz, 13 March 2020

Solution: b)

The Finance Minister announced the NIRVIK scheme in the Union Budget 2020-21.

It will provide high insurance cover for exporters and reduce premium for small exporters. To achieve higher export credit disbursement, a new scheme NIRVIK is being launched which provides for high insurance cover, reduction in premium for small exporters and simplified procedures for claim, settlement.

Under the Scheme, also called the Export Credit Insurance Scheme (ECIS), the insurance guarantee could cover up to 90% of the principal and interest.

The Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC) cover will also provide additional comfort to banks as the credit rating of the borrower is enhanced to AA rated account. Enhanced cover will ensure that Foreign and Rupee export credit interest rates will be below 4%and 8% respectively for exporters. Under ECIS, insurance cover percentage has also been enhanced to 90% from the present average of 60% for the both principal and interest.

The Export Credit Corporation currently provides credit guarantee of up to 60 percent loss.

The development assumes significance as exporters have raised concerns over availability of credit.

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Solution: c)

 Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel launched PURVODAYA: Accelerated development of eastern India through integrated steel hub.

Purvodaya in steel sector is aimed at driving accelerated development of Eastern India through establishment of integrated steel hub. Eastern states of India (Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal) and Northern part of Andhra Pradesh collectively hold ~80% of the country’s iron ore, ~100% of coking coal and significant portion of chromite, bauxite and dolomite reserves. There is presence of major ports such as Paradip, Haldia, Vizag, Kolkata etc., with >30% of India’s major port capacity. In India’s march towards a $5 trillion economy, the 5 Eastern states can play a major role where steel sector can become the catalyst. This Eastern belt has the potential to add more than 75% of the country’s incremental steel capacity envisioned by the National Steel Policy. It is expected that out of the 300 MT capacity by 2030-31, over 200 MT can come from this region alone, driven by Industry 4.0.

The proposed Integrated Steel Hub, encompassing Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and Northern Andhra Pradesh, would serve as a torchbearer for socio-economic growth of Eastern India. The objective of this hub would be to enable swift capacity addition and improve overall competitiveness of steel producers both in terms of cost and quality.

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Solution: c)

National Ganga Council (NGC): Created in October 2016 under the River Ganga (Rejuvenation, Protection and Management) Authorities Order, 2016, dissolving the National Ganga River Basin Authority.

The council consists of chief ministers from five states along the Ganga — Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Uttarakhand, Bihar and Jharkhand along with nine Union ministers and NITI Aayog vice-chairman. The central objective of the council is to work on the “protection, prevention, control and abatement of environmental pollution in River Ganga and its rejuvenation to its natural and pristine condition and to ensure continuous adequate flow of water”. The council is supposed to meet every year.

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Solution: d)

The Gangetic river dolphins were officially discovered in 1801 and are one of the oldest creatures in the world along with some species of turtles, crocodiles and sharks, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). They once lived in the Ganges-Brahmaputra-Meghna and Karnaphuli-Sangu river systems of Nepal, India, and Bangladesh, but are now mostly extinct from many of its early distribution ranges, as per WWF.

In 2009, the Gangetic dolphins were declared India’s National Aquatic animal during the first meeting of the erstwhile National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) and it is placed under the “endangered” category by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Gangetic river dolphins can only live in freshwater, are blind and catch their prey in a unique manner, using ultrasonic sound waves. These dolphins prefer deep waters and, as per WWF, they are distributed across seven states in India: Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Their numbers have dwindled in the last few decades mainly because of direct killing, habitat fragmentation by dams and barrages and indiscriminate fishing.

In addition to the species being India’s national aquatic animal, the Gangetic dolphin has been notified by the Assam government as the state aquatic animal, too.

Some of the efforts made to preserve and increase the numbers of these dolphins include the setting up of the Conservation Action Plan for the Gangetic Dolphin (2010-2020), which has identified threats to Gangetic dolphins and impact of river traffic, irrigation canals and depletion of prey-base on dolphin populations.

Additionally, the Gangetic dolphins have been included in Schedule -I of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, which means they have the highest degree of protection against hunting. They are also one among the 21 species identified under the centrally sponsored scheme, “Development of Wildlife Habitat”.

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Solution: b)

Economic capital framework refers to the risk capital required by the central bank while taking into account different risks. The economic capital framework reflects the capital that an institution requires or needs to hold as a counter against unforeseen risks or events or losses in the future.

RBI had constituted a panel on economic capital framework. It was headed by Ex-RBI governor Bimal Jalan.

The expert panel on RBI’s economic capital framework was formed to address the issue of RBI reserves— one of the sticking points between the central bank and the government.