Current Affair 1:

Padma Awards

 

All information is taken form padmaawards.gov.in. So, don’t worry.

The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.

The Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.

Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, is announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day except for brief interruption(s) during the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997.

The award is given in three categories, namely,

• Padma Vibhushan for exceptional and distinguished service;
• Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of a high order; and
• Padma Shri for distinguished service.

All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However,

Government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards.

The awards are presented by the President of India usually in the month of March/April every year where the awardees are presented a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medallion.

The total number of awards to be given in a year (excluding posthumous awards and to NRI/foreigners/OCIs) should not be more than 120.

WHO DECIDES?

All nominations received for Padma Awards are placed before the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The Padma Awards Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes Home Secretary, Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members. The recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.

The award seeks to recognize works of distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields of activities/disciplines. An illustrative list of the fields is as under:

Art, Social work, Public Affairs, Science & Engineering, Trade & Industry, Medicine, Literature & Education, Civil Service, Sports, Others (fields not covered above and may include propagation of Indian Culture, protection of Human Rights, Wild Life protection/conservation etc.)

Current Affair 2:

Terms of the day

 

1. Regenerative capitalism

Regenerative capitalism refers to business practices that restore and build rather than exploit and destroy.

Watch this small video: https://youtu.be/t19HOqDuw38

 

2. Inflation Premium

Suppose presently the inflation in the economy is 6% and the bonds are being issued at a coupon/interest rate of 8%. So, basically it will give 2% real interest rate (real return) which is reasonably good and you may be willing to invest in bonds.

But, if most of the people think that going forward in the long run there are chances/risk of inflation going up and hence if they purchase this bond of 8% interest/coupon rate then in future they may loose as because of higher inflation in future their real return will be less than 2%.

So, if people think that there is inflation risk then they will demand some extra interest rate (return) above 8% to compensate for the higher risk of inflation. This extra interest/return demanded by the investors is called 'inflation premium'

Definition: The higher return that investors demand in exchange for investing in a long-term security where inflation has a greater potential to reduce the real return.

3. Financial literacy

Financial literacy is the ability to effectively manage a variety of financial skills, such as personal finance management, budgeting, and investing. Financial investments and services have recently become widespread among people of all economic backgrounds.

Importance of Financial Literacy in India

Financial literacy is one of the biggest assets of any country as it is directly proportional to the economic growth. The significance of financial literacy in India are as follow:

Development of rural areas: Reaching out to rural sections and working on their development can be achieved through financial literacy. This can be achieved by making people more aware about the available resources and right way of utilizing them.

Ease in borrowing: Based on an RBI study, 42.9% of population borrowed money from informal sources and pay higher interests. A strong financial education can help small traders make informed decisions and make the best use of available resources.

Ease in doing business transactions: The launch of Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana has led to an addition of 280 million new bank accounts. These accounts have led to an ease in doing business and has also promoted cashless transactions to a great extent.

Growth of MSMEs: MSMEs contribute to 29% of India’s GDP with 50% of the exports coming from this sector. Financial literacy can help small businesses grow and even bring new businesses to the market.

Current Affair 3:

5G rollout in India

 

Telecommunication is the fastest growing industry in India. With 1.189 billion telecom subscribers and 825 million Internet subscribers, India’s telecom industry is the second largest in the world

The 5G technology is the next-generation wireless communication standard, connecting gadgets, machines, enterprises and people. While 4G networks were primarily intended for phone use, 5G networks are intended for much more flexible use, eliminating the need for several specialized networks. They can even operate as multiple distinct networks at the same time.

5G rollout in India

The concept of 5G networks in India first came up in 2017, when the government organised a high-level forum to develop a path for the 5G technology in India. The timeline for the 5G rollout is as follows:

The 5G technology can play a significant role in the following industries:

Manufacturing: Artificial intelligence will analyse massive amounts of data to automate human activities such as quality control, standardization, precision checking and so on. End-to-end automation enabled by IoT will allow businesses to use robots for dangerous/repetitive work.

Smart cities and smart buildings: With Internet of Things (IoT) sensors capable of monitoring and collecting data on air quality, energy usage and traffic patterns for cities, civic authorities will be able to effectively manage operations.

Automobile: Self-driving vehicles that can communicate in real time with other adjacent vehicles and fixed roadway infrastructures will be introduced.

Healthcare: Remote diagnostics and procedures will become more popular, while medical device implants will easily gather and transmit health data to specialists, allowing for early disease identification.

Agriculture: Connected devices will translate data on weather conditions, crop health, chemical levels, pest presence and yield, enabling optimum labour allocation, cost and waste reduction, and yield. Monitoring of flora and wildlife and restoring ecological balance in accessible regions will become a reality.

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