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The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday unanimously decided to keep key interest rates unchanged, raised its GDP growth projection for 2023-24 to 7% from 6.5%, and retained its average inflation forecast at 5.4%, while warning that inflation could spike through November and December.
We have made significant progress in bringing inflation below 5% despite intermittent blips… The target of 4% inflation is yet to be reached and we have to stay the course. Headline inflation remains volatile due to supply shocks.
There was no immediate relief for borrowers as the key repo rate remained unchanged at 6.5%. While food inflation has moderated from the double-digit levels of July to 6.2% in October, the Governor said the inflation outlook would be considerably influenced by uncertain food prices.
Editorial
India’s alarming ‘fixed dose combination’ problem (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
A group of academics from India, Qatar and the United Kingdom recently published a worrying new study in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Policy and Practice (2023, 16:39) on the volume of unapproved and even banned fixed dose combination (FDC) of antibiotics that are being sold in India.
Using sales data of the pharmaceutical industry, the study documents that in the year 2020, 60.5% FDCs of antibiotics (comprising 239 formulations) were unapproved and another 9.9% (comprising 39 formulations) were being sold despite being banned in the country.
That so many of these unapproved or banned FDCs contain antibiotics is alarming because of the increasing prevalence of antibacterial microbial resistance (AMR) in India.
FDCs are combinations of one or more known drugs and can be useful in the treatment of some diseases since the combination can improve patient compliance.
For instance, if a patient has to take three different medications for a particular treatment, she may forget to take one. But if all three medications are combined into one tablet or one syrup, the chance of her forgetting to take one or two of the drugs is reduced.
For diseases such as AIDS, it is well documented that FDCs have proven to be very useful in improving patient compliance, which at the end of day improves treatment outcomes.
Bridge this deficit between India and Sri Lanka (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
The announcement by Sri Lanka’s President Ranil Wickremesinghe, recently, about a proposal to establish land connectivity with India has come none too soon. Twenty years ago, in Chennai, Mr. Wickremesinghe, then Prime Minister, while delivering a lecture, floated the idea of building a bridge linking Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu with Talaimanar in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka.
This was part of his larger vision of regional economic integration, encompassing his country and the southern States of India and aimed at generating more opportunities for economic growth.
He has been discussing the concept of economic integration on many an occasion and at several international fora. But, whenever groups and parties claiming to represent the interests of Sinhalese-Buddhists expressed their opposition to the proposal on the ground that this would not benefit Sri Lanka, the talk of having expanded physical connectivity would die down.
In December 2015, when India’s Road Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari informed the Lok Sabha that the Asian Development Bank was willing to fund the bridge project of ₹24,000 crore, Sri Lanka’s response was muted followed by sharp criticism from the project opponents.
News
New climate draft seeks renewable energy capacity expansion (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
The latest draft of the Global Stocktake, one of the key documents being negotiated at the UN’s climate summit in Dubai, has linked the tripling of renewable energy capacity with a “phase-out”, or a time-bound ending, of the use of fossil fuels.
Though by no means final and only offered as an “option”, it expresses a strong push by the leadership at the COP-28 climate talks to move towards ending the fossil fuel economy.
Tripling renewable energy capacity globally by 2030 ensuring that the increase in renewable energy capacity is strategically implemented to displace fossil fuel-based energy, thereby significantly reducing global reliance on non-renewable and high-emission energy sources, appears as one of the options that participant Ministers can deliberate upon and choose to retain or exclude in the final version of the agreement, expected on December 12. The draft can be viewed on the UN climate website.
Private Bill seeks power for Assemblies to recall Governors (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
The discussion in the Rajya Sabha on a private member’s Bill to amend the Constitution saw members demanding a system to fix the accountability of Governors.
The Bill, moved by CPI(M) MP V. Sivadasan, sought to provide powers to the State Assemblies to remove Governors.
Mr. Sivadasan said in the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill that the stature and dignity of the Governor’s office required that the person who held such a position enjoyed the legitimate support of the people and was accountable to the people of the State.
To appoint the Head of the State governments through executive orders is antithetical to the spirit of democracy and federal spirit.
The Bill sought amendments to the Constitution so that the Governor is elected by the members of an electoral college consisting of Legislative Assemblies of the States and elected members of the gram panchayats, municipalities and corporations of the States.
The election of the Governor shall be held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting at such election shall be by secret ballot.
Centre revises wheat stock limits to rein in prices, hoarding (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
The Centre revised the wheat stock limits on Friday as the increase in the prices of wheat and wheat flour (atta) remained unchanged in many parts of the country. For traders and wholesalers, the limit was reduced to 1,000 tonnes from 2,000 tonnes.
For retailers, the revised limit for each retail outlet is five tonnes. Big chain retailers can stock five tonnes for each of their outlets and 1,000 tonnes at all their depots.
For processors, the new limit is 70% of the monthly installed capacity multiplied by the remaining months of 2023-24. It was 75% of the annual installed capacity or quantity equivalent to monthly installed capacity multiplied by the remaining months of 2023-24, whichever is less.
The government said the decision was taken to manage the overall food security and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.
The moves have been taken under the Removal of Licensing Requirements, Stock Limits and Movement Restrictions on Specified Foodstuffs (Amendment) Order, 2023 of the Centre.
The Food Ministry asked all wheat stocking entities to register on the wheat stock limit portal and update the stock position every Friday.
World
U.S. FDA approves pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a pair of gene therapies for sickle cell disease, including the first treatment based on the breakthrough CRISPR gene editing technology.
The agency approved Lyfgenia from bluebird bio, and a separate treatment called Casgevy by partners Vertex Pharmaceuticals and CRISPR Therapeutics for the illness.
The Vertex/CRISPR gene therapy uses the breakthrough gene editing technology that won its inventors the Nobel Prize in 2020.
Sickle cell disease is a painful, inherited blood disorder that can be debilitating and lead to premature death. It affects an estimated 1,00,000 people in the U.S., most of whom are Black.
In sickle cell disease, the body makes flawed, sickle-shaped hemoglobin, impairing the ability of red blood cells to properly carry oxygen to the body’s tissues.
Putin to seek another term as President, extending his rule of over two decades (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Vladimir Putin moved to prolong his repressive and unyielding grip on Russia for at least another six years, announcing his candidacy in the presidential election next March that he is all but certain to win.
Mr. Putin still commands wide support after nearly a quarter-century in power, despite starting an immensely costly war in Ukraine that has taken thousands of his countrymen's lives, provoked repeated attacks inside Russia — including one on the Kremlin itself — and corroded its aura of invincibility.
A short-lived rebellion in June by mercenary leader Yevgeny Prigozhin raised widespread speculation that Mr. Putin could be losing his grip, but he emerged with no permanent scars. Prigozhin's death in a mysterious plane crash two months later reinforced the view that Mr. Putin was in absolute control.
Mr. Putin announced his decision to run in the March 17 presidential election after a Kremlin award ceremony.
Business
RBI enhances UPI payment limits, to set rules for online loan aggregators (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
Along with steps to protect borrowers availing loans online, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday enhanced the UPI payment limits for healthcare and education to ₹5 lakh from ₹1 lakh, and the limit on recurring e-payment mandates for credit card and insurance premia payments as well as mutual fund investments to ₹1 lakh from the current limit of ₹15,000.
While the RBI had introduced a regulatory framework for digital lending in late 2022, Governor Shaktikanta Das said that several concerns had come to the central bank’s notice relating to the web-aggregation of loan products that were harming consumers’ interests. He was referring to firms that aggregate loan offers from different lenders for customers to choose from.
It has, therefore, been decided to lay down a regulatory framework for web-aggregation of loan products. This is expected to result in enhanced customer centricity and transparency in digital lending.
The regulator also sought to get a better grip on the growing incidence of banks and non-banking finance companies partnering with fintechs by proposing the creation of a Fintech Repository by April 2024. FinTechs would be encouraged to provide relevant information voluntarily to this repository.