Goaltide Daily Current Affairs 2022
Current Affair 1:
INDIA’S EXTERNAL DEBT: A STATUS REPORT 2021-22
India’s external debt, at US$ 620.7 billion as at end-March 2022, grew by 8.2 per cent over US$ 573.7 billon as at end-March 2021. In rupees, it was estimated at ₹. 47.1 lakh crore as at-end March 2021 registering a growth of 12.4 per cent over ₹.41.9 lakh crore a year ago.
Commercial borrowings (CBs), NRIs deposits, trade credit and multilateral loans together account for about 90 per cent of the total external debt.
External debt as a ratio to GDP fell marginally to 19.9 per cent as at end-March 2022 from 21.2 per cent a year ago.
Short-term debt includes: (i) short-term trade credit up to 180 days as well as above 180 days and up to 1 year, (ii) foreign Institutional Investor (FII) investments in Government Treasury Bills and corporate securities, (iii) investments by foreign central banks and international institutions in Treasury Bills, and (iv) external debt liabilities of central bank and commercial banks. Short-term debt is considered as a part of volatile capital flows.
As at end-March 2022, the short-term debt as a ratio to total external debt rose to 19.6 per cent from 17.6 per cent a year ago, as mentioned before, on the back of the surging imports.
Foreign currency reserves, which act as a buffer to external sector vulnerabilities, stood lower at 97.8 per cent of external debt as at end-March 2022 than 100.6 per cent a year ago.
SECTOR-WISE CLASSIFICATION
India’s external debt could be classified into sovereign debt and non-sovereign debt.
Sovereign external debt (SED) comprises, inter alia, external assistance (from multilateral and bilateral sources) on government account, defence debt, investment in treasury bills/government securities by FPIs, foreign central banks and international institutions, and SDR allocations by the IMF. There has been a gradual but discernible increase in the share of non-sovereign debt over the years and thereby a fall in share of SED.
CREDITOR-WISE CLASSIFICATION
India’s external debt rose by 8.2 per cent to US $ 620.7 billion as at end-March 2022 over the level a year ago. Commercial lenders are the biggest creditors accounting for 36.7 per cent of the debt outstanding as at-end March 2022, followed by NRI depositors (22.4 per cent), short-term trade creditors (19.6 per cent), and multilateral lenders (11.7 per cent) (Figure 2.2). These four groups of creditors account for 89.7 per cent of the total debt.
CURRENCY-WISE CLASSIFICATION
INSTRUMENT-WISE CLASSIFICATION
Bilateral Debt
Current Affair 2:
Eastern Economic Forum
The 7th Eastern Economic Forum 2022 will take place on 5–8 September 2022 in Vladivostok.
About:
The Eastern Economic Forum is a key international platform for establishing and strengthening ties within the Russian and global investment communities, and for comprehensive expert evaluation of the economic potential of the Russian Far East, the investment opportunities it offers, and business conditions within advanced special economic zones.
The Eastern Economic Forum was established by decree of the President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in 2015 to support the economic development of Russia’s Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
The Forum business programme includes a number of business dialogues with leading partner countries in the Asia-Pacific region, and with ASEAN, a key integration organization uniting dynamically developing nations in Southeast Asia.
Current Affair 3:
Mutual recognition of academic qualifications between India and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
News:
The Union Cabinet granted ex post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of the Republic of India and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on mutual recognition of academic qualifications signed on 25.04.2022.
Mutual Recognition of Qualifications between India and UK aims to promote academic collaboration and student mobility.
The request from UK side to grant recognition to their One Year Masters Programme was considered, and during the meeting between the Education Ministers of the two countries held on 16 December 2020 in New Delhi, a decision was taken to set up a joint task force for this purpose.
The MoU aims to facilitate the mutual recognition of educational qualifications, periods of study undertaken, documents related to academic degrees/qualifications and accreditation by educational institutions within the two countries.
Professional degrees like Engineering, Medicine, Nursing and Para-Medical Education, Pharmacy, Law, and Architecture are out of the purview of this MoU.
It will also facilitate establishment of Joint/Dual degree courses between Higher Education Institutions, one of our objectives under NEP 2020 for Intel-nationalization of Education.
This MoU will promote bilateral exchange of information about educational structure, programs and standards and increase mobility of students and professionals between the two countries.
It will also encourage other areas of cooperation in education sector, development of study programs as mutually agreed upon by the Parties.
This MoU shall recognize equivalence in accordance with parity with regard to acceptability of qualifications as approved under national policy, law, rules and regulations of the two countries.
Current Affair 4:
PM SHRI Schools (PM Schools for Rising India)
The Union Cabinet approved a new centrally sponsored scheme - PM SHRI Schools (PM ScHools for Rising India). This will be a new scheme for development of more than 14500 schools across the country as PM SHRI Schools by strengthening select existing schools being managed by Central Government/ State/ UT Government/ local bodies.
PM SHRI Schools will showcase all components of the National Education Policy 2020, act as exemplar schools and also offer mentorship to other schools in their vicinity.
Key features
- PM SHRI will provide high-quality education in an equitable, inclusive and joyful school environment that takes care of the diverse background, multilingual needs, and different academic abilities of children and makes them active participants in their own learning process as per the vision of NEP 2020.
- PM SHRI Schools will provide leadership to other schools in their respective regions by providing mentorship.
- The PM SHRI Schools will be developed as green schools, incorporating environment friendly aspects like solar panels and LED lights, nutrition gardens with natural farming, etc.
- Pedagogy adopted in these schools will be more experiential, holistic, integrated, play/toy-based (particularly, in the foundational years) inquiry-driven, discovery-oriented, learner-centred, discussion-based, flexible and enjoyable.
- Focus will be on learning outcomes of every child in every grade.
- Linkage with Sector Skill Councils and local industry for enhancing employability and providing better employment opportunities will be explored.
- A School Quality Assessment Framework (SQAF) is being developed, specifying the key performance indicators to measure outcomes. Quality evaluation of these schools at regular interval will be undertaken to ensure the desired standards.
