Current Affair 1:

Vijayanagara kingdom

 

 

Salman Rushdie released a new novel “Victory City” – a fictionalized story of the Vijayanagara Kingdom.

The Vijayanagar Empire (1336-1646 A.D.)

Harihara and Bukka are the founders of the Vijayanagar City in 1336 A.D. on the southern banks of Tungabhadra. They made Hampi as the capital city. They served under Vira Ballala III, the Hoysala King

 

 

Vijayanagar Empire was ruled by four important dynasties and they are:

Sangama

Saluva

Tuluva

Aravidu

Harihara I

In 1336 A.D. Harihara I became the ruler of Sangama Dynasty. He captured Mysore and Madurai.In 1356 A.D. Bukka-I succeeded him

Krishnadeva Raya  (1509-1529 A.D.)

Krishnadeva Raya of the Tuluva dynasty was the most famous king of the Vijayanagar Empire

According to Domingo Paes, a Portuguese traveller “Krishnadeva Raya was the most feared and perfect king there could possibly be”.

Krishnadeva Raya‘s Conquests

He conquered Sivasamudram in 1510A.D and Raichur in 1512A.D. In 1523 A.D. he captured Orissa and Warangal. His empire extended from the river Krishna in the north to River Cauvery in the south; the Arabian Sea in the west to Bay of Bengal in the east.

ADMINISTRATION:

 

The king enjoyed absolute authority in executive, judicial & legislative matters.

The succession to the throne was hereditary.

Administrative units divided as: Mandalams, Nadus, Sthalas and finally into Gramas.

Mandaleshwar or Nayaka was the governor of Mandalam.

He had considerable autonomy- had right to issue coins of small denominations & right to impose new tax or remit old one.

Sources of income: land revenue, tributes, and gifts from vassals and feudal chiefs, customs at ports, & taxes on various professions.

The army consisted of cavalry, infantry, artillery and elephants.

Nayankar System – The top-grade officers of the army were known as Nayaks/Poligars.

They were granted land in lieu of their services which were called Amaram.

Manyams were tax free lands.

A body of 12 functionaries known as Ayangars, conducted village affairs.

 

SOCIO-ECONOMIC CONDITIONS:

 

The Sangama rulers were chiefly Saivaites and Virupaksha was their family deity.

The chief gold coin was the varaha or pagoda. The Perta was half a Varaha. Fanam was one tenth a pertha.

Tar was a silver coin. Jittal was a copper coin.

The chief items of export were cotton, silk, spices, rice, saltpeter and sugar.

The imports consisted of horses, pearls, copper, coral etc.

The art of shipbuilding had developed.

 

POSITION OF WOMEN:

 

Women occupied a high position and took an active part in the political, social and literary life of the empire.

Women even went to battles.

It was the only empire in Medieval India which employed women in state services.

Widow re-marriage was promoted.

 

CULTURAL CONTRIBUTIONS:

 

The chief characteristics of the Vijayanagara architecture were the construction of tall Raya Gopurams or gateways and the Kalyanamandapam with carved pillars in the temple premises.

The sculptures on the pillars were carved with distinctive features.

The horse was the most common animal found in these pillars.

The most important temples built: Vittalaswamy and Hazara Ramaswamy temples, the Stone chariot at Hampi.

The Varadharaja and Ekamparanatha temples at Kanchipuram.

Different languages such as Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada and Tamil flourished in the regions.

 

 

Current Affair 2:

India and South Korea

 

The year 2023 marks 50 years (ties established in 1973) of the establishment of full diplomatic relations between India and Qatar as well as India-South Korea

 

 

India-South Korea Relations Historical Background

Bilateral relations between both countries were initiated in 1962 and reached the Ambassador level in 1973.  The relationship was further strengthened with successive policies by the Indian government keeping the eastern partners at the centre.  India’s Look East and Act East policies refined the relationship and brought both countries closer to each other.  The changing global scenario and rising stature of India and the technological acumen of South Korea will further contribute to expanding the horizon of the relationship. 

Pillars of Cooperation

The main pillars of India-South Korea relations are listed below:

Cultural relations

The India-South Korea Relations dates back to 48 AD. Several Korean serials are highly popular in Tamil Nadu, Mizoram, and Manipur. In 1929 Rabindranath Tagore wrote the poem ‘Lamp of the East’ on Korea’s glorious past

Economic relations

South Korea has the fourth largest economic sector in Asia, and India is in the third position; this is a great foundation for friendship. Also, the Neutral Nations Repatriation Commission helps to create a broad society, along with democracy and vast international economic order. From January 2019 to 2020, the bilateral trade reported a transaction of US$17.3 billion trading food, unrefined metals, raw materials, and much more. Several companies like LG, Hyundai, Samsung, etc., have their establishments in India. India and South Korea made a pact for Overseas Development Assistance, where the latter decided to be a part of Maharashtra’s infrastructure project, the Mumbai-Nagpur Expressway

Political relations

India stayed beside Korea in all terms, especially after 1945, when Korea gained independence.Both these countries share high political values and also support each other. G-20, Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank (AIIB), and the East Asian Summit is operated by India-South Korea relations

People to People relations

Around 11000 Indian nationals, including 120 PIOs, currently reside in South Korea. Several Koreans also choose to live in India as it is a great destination to study.

Way Forward

India and South Korea relations have made great strides in recent years and have become truly multidimensional, spurred by a significant convergence of interests, mutual goodwill and high-level exchanges. However, there is massive scope to expand ties between India and South Korea and make it a unique relationship in Asia.

Political will and new imagination in diverse areas such as cultural relations, building on people-to-people contacts, harnessing democracy and liberal values, and cementing civilisational connections is the need of the hour to nurture the relations between these two nations.

 

 

Current Affair 3:

Monetary policy committee

 

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) hiked the Repo rate (or the rate at which the RBI lends funds to banks), by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent in a bid to rein in retail inflation.

RBI has projected GDP growth for the next fiscal (FY2024) at 6.4%

 

What is meant by Monetary Policy?

Monetary policy refers to the policy of the central bank – ie Reserve Bank of India – in matters of interest rates, money supply and availability of credit. It is through the monetary policy, RBI controls inflation in the country. RBI uses various monetary instruments like REPO rate, Reverse RERO rate, SLR, CRR etc to achieve its purpose. (This is explained well in one of our earlier articles – basics of economy concepts). In short, Monetary policy refers to the use of monetary instruments under the control of the central bank to regulate magnitudes such as interest rates, money supply and availability of credit with a view to achieving the ultimate objective of economic

 policy.

 

Structure of the Monetary Policy Committee

Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) was constituted as per Section 45ZB under the RBI Act of 1934 by the Central Government. The first meeting of MPC was conducted on 3rd October 2016 in Mumbai. The committee determines the policy interest rate required to achieve the inflation target. The MPC is required to meet at least four times in a year. The quorum for the meeting of the MPC is four members.  Each member of the MPC has one vote, and in the event of an equality of votes, the Governor has a second or casting vote. Once every six months, the Reserve Bank is required to publish a document called the Monetary Policy Report to explain the sources of inflation and the forecasts of inflation for 6-18 months ahead.

 

Monetary Policy Committee - Objectives

The monetary policy Committee is concerned with setting policy rates and other monetary policy decisions in order to achieve:

Price stability

Accelerating the growth of the economy

Exchange rate stabilization

Balancing savings and investment

Generating employment

Financial stability

The primary goal of the monetary policy committee is to maintain price stability while keeping growth in mind as per the monetary policy framework agreement. Price stability is a prerequisite for long-term growth.

In order to maintain price stability, inflation must be kept under control.

Every five years, the Indian government sets an inflation target. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) plays an important role in the consultation process for inflation targeting. The current inflation-targeting framework in India is flexible with a target of 4% with a band of +/-2%.

Current Affair 4:

farm mechanisation

 

 

NCAER (National Council of Applied Economic Research) has released a report on “Making India a Global Power House on Farm Machinery Industry”.

The report analyzed the non-tractor farm machinery industry from both demand and supply side perspectives and provides recommendations for reforms based on global practices.

 

 

 

About:

Mechanised agriculture is the process of using agricultural machinery to mechanise the work of agriculture.

To boost up mechanization in the agriculture sector, improved agricultural implements and machinery are essential inputs.

Level of farm Mechanization:

India stands at about 40-45% with states such as UP, Haryana and Punjab having very high mechanization levels, but north-eastern states having negligible mechanization.

This level of farm mechanization is still low as compared to countries such as the US (95 %), Brazil (75%) and China (57%).

 

 

Significance:

It plays a vital role in optimizing the use of land, water energy resources, manpower and other inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc to maximize the productivity of the available cultivable area and make agriculture a more profitable and attractive profession for rural youth.

It is one of the key drivers for the sustainable development of the agriculture sector.

Negative Impact:

Reduce workforce hence decreases farm employment.

Use of machinery increases pollution.

Sub mission on Agriculture Mechanization

Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has launched a Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) in 2014-15 with the objectives of increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions & difficult area where farm power availability is low.

To boost up mechanization in the agriculture sector improved agricultural implements and machinery are essential inputs for modern agriculture that enhance the productivity of crops besides reducing human drudgery and cost of cultivation.

Mechanization also helps in improving the utilization efficiency of other inputs therefore considered to be one of the most important segments of the agriculture sector to boost the income of farmers and growth of the agricultural economy.

For strengthening of agricultural mechanization in the country and to bring more inclusiveness Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) has been introduced with the main objectives of are

To promote ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ and ‘Hi-tech Hubs of High-Value Machines’

To offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small and fragmented landholding and high cost of individual ownership;

Creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities and

ensuring performance testing and certification of agricultural machines at designated testing centres located all over the country.

To empower the farmers through Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) scheme, Government of India has released funds for various activities of Farm Mechanization like Establishment of Custom Hiring Centres, Farm Machinery Bank, High-tech Hubs and distribution of various agricultural machinery etc to different states.

 

Current Affair 5:

Nordic country relations with India

 

 

The Nordic countries are ready to offer their technologies and expertise to India as it moves towards a green, digital, and innovative future.

 

The Nordic Countries are a group of countries in northern Europe.

There are 5 Nordic countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

 

 

Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are constitutional monarchies and parliamentary democracies. Finland and Iceland are democratic republics.

 

 

What is the Significance of Nordic Countries for India?

India and Nordic countries enjoy robust business partnerships though the economics of these countries individually is much smaller than those of the G20 countries. The combined GDP is over USD 1.6 trillion, with a per capita income of around USD 54,000. The total bilateral trade and services between India and the Nordic countries is USD 13 billion.

Areas of Cooperation: The countries which have technological prowess and growing business ties will explore cooperation in five areas of mutual interest.

These include green partnership, digital and innovation economy, trade and investment linkages, sustainable development, and collaboration regarding the Arctic region.

Apart from the United States, India is the only other country with which the Nordic countries have summit-level meetings.

Importance of India to Nordic Countries

India is the third-largest global economy at $9 trillion in purchasing power parity terms.

It is also the fastest-growing major economy with annual GDP growth of 7.4% in 2022-23.

India presents an ideal opportunity to these countries because of its large market as also its youth dividend. Maintaining peace, ensuring security and promoting sustainable economic development of the Arctic Region is another area which presents immense possibilities to strengthen the bilateral partnership.

 

The Nordic Countries are a group of countries in northern Europe.

There are 5 Nordic countries, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Iceland.

Denmark, Sweden, and Norway are constitutional monarchies and parliamentary democracies. Finland and Iceland are democratic republics

 

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