Current Affair 1:

Government Data Roundup: Three reports.

 

Report 1: Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers for September 2022

Brief about the report/data:

The Consumer Price Index for Industrial Workers is compiled each month by the Labour Bureau, an associated office of the Ministry of Labour & Employment, using retail prices gathered from 317 markets dispersed across 88 industrially significant centres in the country. On the last working day of the next month, the index—which is compiled for 88 centres & All-India—is released. This press release contains the index for September 2022.

Key Highlights:

1. For September 2022, the All-India CPI-IW climbed by 1.1 points to 131.3. Comparing it to the gain of 0.24 percent between the same months a year earlier, it climbed by 0.84 percent over the preceding month in terms of the percentage change.
2. The Food & Beverages group exerted the most upward pressure on the current index, contributing 0.68 percentage points to the overall change.
3. Inflation stood at 6.49 percent year over year for the month, up from 5.85 percent the month before and 4.40 percent in the same month a year before.
4. Similarly, food inflation was 7.76 percent, up from 6.46 percent in the previous month and 2.26 percent in the same month a year ago.

 

Report 2:

Third Advance Estimates of the area & production of horticultural crops for 2021-22

Brief about the report:

 

The advanced estimate of agriculture production presents a detailed estimation of the production of agricultural products in a financial year and its share in the GDP. The assessment of the production of different crops is based on the data received from States and validated with information available from other sources. This data is useful for deciding on budget allocation and gives an idea of the contribution of this sector to the GDP.

Key Highlights:

1. The estimated total horticulture production for the year 2021–2022 is 342.33 million tonnes, up roughly 7.73 million tonnes (or 2.3%) from the previous year (final).
2. Vegetable production is expected to increase to 204.84 million tonnes from 200.45 million tonnes in 2020–21.
3. Against a production of 102.48 million tonnes in 2020–21, 107.24 million tonnes of fruits are estimated to be produced this year.
4. Production of onions is estimated to increase to 31.27 million tonnes from 26.64 million tonnes in 2020–21.
5. The estimated production of potatoes is 53.39 million tonnes, down from 56.17 million tonnes in 2020–21.
6. As opposed to 21.18 million tonnes in 2020–21, 20.33 million tonnes of tomatoes are expected to be produced in 2021-22.

 

 

Report 3:

Brief about the report:

The Reserve Bank of India under Section 35A of the Banking Regulation Act of 1949, Section 45L of the Reserve Bank of India Act of 1934, Section 11 of the Credit Information Companies (Regulation) Act of 2005, and all other provisions and laws that permit it to do so, issued Master Directions on Information Technology Governance, Risk, Controls, and Assurance Practices, which the Regulated Entities (REs) will be required to execute.

These Directions incorporate consolidated and updated guidelines/instructions/ circulars on IT Governance, Risk, Controls, Assurance Practices and Business Continuity/ Disaster Recovery Management. Some of the key aspects are mentioned below.

Key Highlights:

1. REs shall establish a Board-level IT Strategy Committee (ITSC) with a minimum of two directors as members. A minimum of one member should be highly experienced in leading and managing IT initiatives. The IT Strategy Committee shall meet at least on a quarterly basis.
2. REs must set up a solid IT governance framework with the governance structures and procedures required to achieve their business and strategic goals.
3. The Head of IT Operations must be a person with a senior enough position who is also technically proficient and experienced in IT-related matters. The usage of IT in the RE will be decided upon with significant input from the Head of IT Operations.
4. REs shall have a ‘Change Management’ procedure for dealing with any changes in technology and processes to ensure that such changes take place in a controlled and reliable manner.
5. REs should also have a documented data migration policy detailing the processes for data migration, keeping in mind the integrity of data and confidentiality.
6. REs shall establish a robust IT Risk Management Framework, and they shall define metrics for system performance, recovery, and business resumption, for each IT system application.

Current Affair 2:

National Crime Records Bureau’s annual ‘collapse report

 

On 30 October 2022, a suspension bridge over a river in the city of Morbi, Gujarat collapsed, resulting in around 140 deaths and more than 180 injured. The bridge was a 19th-century structure, that was reopened 5 days prior to the incident, following a lengthy closure for repairs.

The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB)’s annual ‘Accidental Deaths & Suicides in India’ (ADSI) report provides data relating to accidents in the country, including the figures for accidents involving bridge collapses. 

Here is a look at the trend over the years regarding bridge collapses in the country.

Decline in the number of accidents due to ‘Collapse of Structure’

Accidents relating to the Collapse of a Bridge are categorised under the Collapse of a Structure in the ADSI report. The category also includes the collapse of other structures such as Residential buildings, Commercial buildings, Dams, etc. Compared to the other structures in the category, the accidents relating collapse of bridges are fewer. The major share of accidents in this category is the collapse of residential buildings.

In 2021, there were 1576 recorded accidents relating to the Collapse of structures, out of which 1158 incidents were related to the collapse of residential buildings.

Number of Accidents due to Collapse of Bridge has reduced

There is a significant drop in the number of accidents due to the collapse of bridges. As per the latest ADSI report for 2021, there were 8 cases of Accidents due to the collapse of the bridge in the year 2021 compared to 9 such incidents in 2020.

Jharkhand reported the highest number of Accidents due to collapse of Bridge

Among the states, the highest number of accidents due to the Collapse of Bridges was reported from Jharkhand. ADSI report provides a State-wise break-up of the accidents due to the collapse of bridges in recent years.

In 2021, out of the 8 accidents across the country, 5 were in Jharkhand. Even in earlier years, Jharkhand consistently had the highest number of accidents due to bridge collapses. The only exception was in 2019 when 7 such incidents were reported in Jharkhand and 8 in Bihar.

As per the latest reports, the recent bridge collapse in Morbi, Gujarat has resulted in the death of around 140 people. 

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