Current Affair 1:

What US easing sanctions on Venezuela, home to world’s largest oil reserves, could mean for India?

 

The US’ decision last month to ease some economic sanctions on Venezuela presents an opportunity for Indian refiners. It can also help India diversify its crude import basket further, given that it has also stopped importing crude from another sanctioned country, Iran, since 2019.

Indian oil imports pre-sanction & failure of joint ventures

Before the US imposed sanctions on Venezuela in 2017 and 2019, India consistently bought crude from the Latin American country.

The upward trend began in 2012, when India overtook China as the largest Asian buyer of Venezuelan crude. The Latin American country was the third largest supplier of crude to India that year. The peak was in 2014-2015 when India imported over 22,000 tonnes of Venezuelan crude, according to data from the Indian commerce ministry.

If you see imports from last two years:

Current Affair 2:

What is Generative AI?

 

Generative AI (GenAI) is a type of Artificial Intelligence that can create a wide variety of data, such as images, videos, audio, text, and 3D models. It does this by learning patterns from existing data, then using this knowledge to generate new and unique outputs.

GenAI can produce highly realistic and complex content that mimics human creativity, making it a valuable tool for many industries such as gaming, entertainment, and product design. Recent breakthroughs in the field, such as GPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) and Midjourney, have significantly advanced the capabilities of GenAI. These advancements have opened up new possibilities for using GenAI to solve complex problems, create art, and even assist in scientific research.

ChatGPT, with its 100 million users, stands as a testament to the rapid adoption and widespread impact of this cutting-edge technology.

Some applications:

 

Current Affair 3:

Impact of a falling exchange rate

 

A look at the economic impact of a fall in the exchange rate (termed depreciation or devaluation)

A fall in the exchange rate is known as a depreciation in the exchange rate (or devaluation in a fixed exchange rate system). It means the currency is worth less compared to other countries.

When there is a depreciation, and the exchange rate goes down

• Exports will be cheaper
• Imports will become more expensive

For example, a depreciation of the rupee makes Indian exports more competitive but raises the cost of importing goods into the India. Therefore, there will be an increase in exports and decrease in the quantity of imports.

Domestic firms will benefit from increased sales. This may lead to job creation and lower unemployment, especially in export industries.

Impact of depreciation on inflation

Inflation will tend to rise because –

• A depreciation increases the cost of imports so there will be an increase in cost-push inflation.
• A depreciation increases domestic demand, so there could be some demand-pull inflation
• A depreciation makes exports more competitive – without any effort. In the long-term, this may reduce incentives for firms to cut costs, and could lead to declining productivity and rising prices.
• The effect of a depreciation in the exchange rate depends on the state of the economy. If the economy is growing quickly and close to full capacity, then a fall in the exchange rate is likely to increase inflationary pressures. In a recession, the fall in the exchange rate may only cause some temporary cost-push inflation.

Current Affair 4:

Wet waste processing

 

For wet waste processing, mainly two technologies are being used, namely, (1) Bio methanation and (2) Composting.

Bio-methanation

Bio-methanation technology and its business viability has been proved by several Government Institutions and Private Entrepreneur.

Bio-methanation is a natural process of anaerobic degradation of organic materials resulting in production of biogas (a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide).

 

 

 

 

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