Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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224 new species of plants and 372 animal species discovered in India last year

News

• Scientists and taxonomists have documented 596 new species of flora and fauna from India in the year 2018.
• The details of the discoveries were made public by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) and the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

Findings

• Of the 596 species, 372 come under fauna (311 invertebrates and 61 vertebrates). The newly identified 224 plant species include seed plants, pteridophytes, bryophytes, fungi and lichen.
• About 31% of the plant species were discovered in the Himalayas. In the case of animals, the Western Ghats remained a biological hotspot from where about 50% of the species were found.
• The plants discovered this year includes close wild relatives of many potential horticulture, agriculture, medicinal and ornamental plants. The discoveries include plants belonging to groups Amomum (wild cardamom), Cycads, Rubus (raspberry), Syzygium (wild jamun), Terminalia, Balsams, Zingibers and also seven trees and 10 orchids.
• The BSI has placed emphasis on molecular DNA technology and phylogeny to confirm the discoveries.
• Kerala recorded the highest number of discoveries with 59 species. West Bengal, a state with both Himalayan and coastal ecosystems, recorded 38 and Tamil Nadu recorded 26.
• With these new discoveries, the updated list of animal species in India has risen to 1,01,681 which is about 6.49% of all the species in the world.
• The number of plant species in the country has been updated to 49,441 which is 11.5% of all flora in the world. Over the past ten years, BSI has recorded discovery of 3,225 plant species.
• Other than the discoveries, 139 species of animals were added to the fauna of India as new records. In terms of plants, 193 taxa of plants were added to flora of India as new records.
• Last year, 539 new species of plants and animals were discovered, which included 300 species of animals and 239 species and sub-species of plants.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

India, France to hold mega air exercise in July

News

• The Indian and French Air Forces will carry out a two-week-long mega air exercise in France in a boost to military-to-military ties between the two countries.
• A fleet of Sukhoi 30 fighter jets of the Indian Air Force will engage in dogfights with France’s Rafale multirole aircraft in simulated scenarios as part of the ‘Garuda’ exercise.

Trump threatens to ramp up trade war

News

• President Donald Trump threatened to hit China with tariffs on “at least” another $300 billion worth of Chinese goods but said he thought both China and Mexico wanted to make deals in their trade disputes.

Beyond News

• Tensions between the world’s two largest economies have risen sharply since talks aimed at ending a festering trade war broke down in early May.
• Trump said on Thursday that talks with China were ongoing, no face-to-face meetings have been held since May 10, the day he sharply increased tariffs on a $200 billion list of Chinese goods to 25%, prompting Beijing to retaliate.
• Trump also sought to reassure allies rattled by his nationalist rhetoric by saying the bonds between them were “unbreakable” on the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.
• The Commerce Ministry also issued a report on how the U.S. has benefited from years of economic and trade cooperation with China, saying U.S. claims that China has taken advantage in bilateral trade were groundless.
• Adding to concerns China may target U.S. companies in the trade war, the Ministry last week said it was drafting a list of “unreliable entities” that have harmed Chinese firms’ interests.
• The International Monetary Fund warned that escalating tariff threats were sapping business and market confidence and could slow global growth that is currently expected to improve next year.
• Mexican and U.S. officials are also set to resume their talks in Washington aimed at averting an imposition of tariffs on Mexican goods.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

RBI waives NEFT/RTGS fee, to review ATM fees

News

• In a move to encourage digital transactions, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to waive off charges for fund transfer via Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) which is meant for large-value, instantaneous fund transfers and the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) System for other fund transfers.

Beyond News

• While the charges are levied on banks, they, in turn, pass it to the customers.
• Separately, the banking regulator would review the charges levied on customers while operating automated teller machines (ATMs).
• A committee will be set up, under the chairmanship of the chief executive officer, Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), ‘to examine the entire gamut of ATM charges and fees.’
• At present, customers are charged for using other banks’ ATMs beyond a particular number of transactions.
• The Committee is expected to submit its recommendations within two months of its first meeting.

Panel to focus on employment

News

• The government set up a 10-member Cabinet Committee on Employment and Skill Development with Prime Minister as its chairman.

Beyond News

• Employment data for 2017-18, released on May 31 after the Lok Sabha elections, said India’s unemployment rate rose to 6.1% in the period, the highest in 45 years.
• The panel on employment is one of two Cabinet committees set up to spur economic growth and rackle unemployment.
• With the GDP falling to 5.8% in the last quarter of 2018-19, lowest in last five years, the committee on economic growth will prepare a road map to bring the economy back on the growth trajectory.
• The GDP growth for 2018-19 was 6.8 %, against the target of 7.2 %.
• The fall in growth is result of dip in the performance of the core sectors of the economy, as the eight core sectors coal, crude oil, natural gas, refinery products, fertilisers, steel, cement and electricity recorded a growth of just 2.6 % in April, compared with 4.6% in the same month last year.

RBI cuts interest rate by 25 bps, revises GDP growth to 7%

News

• The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India reduced the repo rate at its second meeting this year by 25 basis points to 5.75% to address growth concerns.
• The stance of the policy has also been changed from neutral to accommodative. The decision was unanimous.

Beyond News

• The MPC notes that growth impulses have weakened significantly as reflected in a further widening of the output gap compared to the April 2019 policy.
• The RBI has revised GDP growth projection for the current financial year from 7.2% to 7%. The path of CPI inflation is revised to 3.0-3.1% for H1:2019-20 and to 3.4-3.7 % for H2:2019-20, with risks broadly balanced.
• The governor said banks transmitted only 21 basis points of the cumulative 50 basis points rate cut (in February and April).
• The banking regulator also took steps to boost digital transactions as it decided to waive off the charges for fund transfer by Real Time Gross Settlement System (RTGS) which is meant for large-value instantaneous fund transfers and the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) System for other fund transfers.
• In addition, a committee has also been formed to review the charges in transactions in automated teller machines. The rate cut could lead to reduced EMIs on housing, vehicle and personal loans if banks decide to pass on the benefit.

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