GS PAPER II
Yuktdhara: Geospatial planning portal
Why in News
Recently, the Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj launched a new geospatial planning portal, ‘Yuktdhara’.
Yuktdhara
The name given to the portal is very apt as the word ‘Yukt’ is derived from ‘Yojanam’ (planning) and ‘Dhara’ indicates flow.- The portal ‘Yuktdhara’ will help in facilitating the new MGNREGA assets using remote sensing and geographic information system-based data.
- The portal will unite a wide variety of thematic layers, multi-temporal high-resolution earth observation data with the analysis tool.
- Planners will be able to analyse previous assets under various schemes and facilitate the identification of new works using online tools.
- Yuktdhara based plans will be prepared by the grassroots functionaries. They will be verified by the appropriate authorities for relevance and resource allocation.
- It will ensure the quality of the plan and enable the long-term monitoring of assets that have been created over the years.
- It will be progress-based disbursement of funds.
Objective of Yuktdhara
- The platform ‘Yuktdhara’ will act as a repository of assets (geo-tags) created under the various National Rural Development Programmes, such as MGNREGA, Per Drop More Crop Programmes, Integrated Watershed Management Programme, and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana, along with the field photographs.
Geospatial information
- Geospatial information is geography and mapping, which is basically place-based and locational based information.
- Geospatial planning is the use of a Geographic Information System (GIS) and Global Positioning System (GPS) that accurately store, collect, display and retrieve vast amounts of information in a spatial context.
Geo-portal Bhuvan
- Geo-portal Bhuvan is rich information base, analytical capabilities and satellite images;
- It has become a de-facto geospatial platform for the number of developmental activities in India.
GS PAPER II
Zero Hunger by 2030
Why in News
Recently, the Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized a National Webinar, ‘Localization of Sustainable Development Goals and Role of Panchayats – Goal No. 2 – Zero Hunger’.
Key Points
- It is inaugurated by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, and will be graced by the Ministry of State for Panchayati Raj.
- The representative of World Food Programme, UNDP, representatives of the Central Ministries/Departments like Department of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Department of Food & Public Distribution and Ministry of Food Processing Industries and Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India will be the principal speakers as the States / UTs and Panchayati Raj Institutions / Rural Local Bodies will be participating in discussions.
- A large number of Panchayats of all three tiers are expected to join the Webinar.
- The officers from the State/UT Panchayati Raj Departments will attend the webinar as some States/UTs are expected to be led by their Ministers of the Panchayati Raj Departments.
Sustainable Development
- Sustainable Development is the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. This definition of Sustainable Development was given by the Brundtland Commission in its report Our Common Future (1987).
- While the modern concept of sustainable development is derived mostly from the 1986 Brundtland Report, it is also rooted in earlier ideas about sustainable forest management and twentieth-century environmental concerns.
- As the concept of sustainable development, it has shifted its focus more towards the economic development, social development and environmental protection for future generations.
Sustainable Development Goals
- The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), also known as the Global Goals, were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 as a universal call to action to end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity.
- There are 17 SDGs are integrated; recognized that action in one area will affect outcomes in others, and that development must balance social, economic and environmental sustainability.
- Countries have committed to prioritize progress for those who’re furthest behind.
- The SDGs are designed to end poverty, hunger, AIDS, and discrimination against women and girls.
- The creativity, knowhow, technology and financial resources from all of society are necessary to achieve the SDGs in every context.
- The SDGs also explicitly include disability and persons with disabilities 11 times.
- The newly implemented 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development holds a deep promise for persons with disabilities everywhere.
- The year 2016 marks the first year of the implementation of the SDGs. At this critical point, #Envision2030 will work to promote the mainstreaming of disability and the implementation of the SDGs throughout its 15-year lifespan with objectives to:
- Raise awareness of the 2030 Agenda and the achievement of the SDGs for persons with disabilities;
- Promote an active dialogue among stakeholders on the SDGs with a view to create a better world for persons with disabilities; and
- Establish an on-going live web resource on each SDG and disability.
GS PAPER III
Small Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs)
Why in News
An expert committee constituted by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has suggested an umbrella organisation for Small Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs), which will allow them access to scale forming a network.
Key Points
- The larger UCBs are allowed to operate on a standalone basis with regulations similar to those of banks.
- The RBI must help with grants to set up the umbrella organisation, and once it stabilises, “it may explore the possibilities of converting into a universal bank and offer value-added services on behalf of its member banks.
- With suitable structural flexibility to operate as a bank, the umbrella organisation can be owned by the co-operative institutions even if it is a joint stock company, which may encourage the smaller UCBs to become an extended arm of such a bank.
- With the amendment to the Banking Regulation Act, the RBI has adequate power in regulating the UCBs and that should bring about a tiered regulatory structure for the UCBs, commensurate with their sizes.
- Before the amendment, the central bank was regulating only the ‘banking’ aspect of the cooperative banks, while the governance, audit, and winding-up related functions were driven by the state, for single state cooperative, and the central government for multi-state cooperative.
- The dual control has still not been eliminated by the amendment, but “a well-coordinated regulatory approach will, however, go a long way in ensuring a financially sound and well-managed UCB sector.
- The expert committee suggested that given the heterogeneity in the sector, “a tiered regulatory framework with more than two tiers is required to balance the spirit of mutuality and co-operation more prevalent in banks of smaller sizes and those with a limited area of operation vis-à-vis the growth ambitions of the large-sized UCBs to spread their area of operation and undertake more complex business activities on par with commercial banks”.
- The committee proposed a “liberal regulatory approach” for UCBs that meet a certain minimum level of capital and reserves (net worth) and CRAR requirements.
- The topmost of it would be large UCBs that should have the operational freedom to decide on their branch expansion in the same fashion as banks.
- These UCBs, which would function on par with commercial banks, must also be regulated similarly to banks.
- Other large UCBs that cannot function fully as a bank should be treated similarly to small finance banks (SFBs), with a similar structure of obligations and regulations.
- Membership of the umbrella organisation might also provide an extra comfort to the regulator as the smaller UCBs would benefit from the products and services provided by it.
- The committee preferred the use of Cloud services as it will standardise the information technology platform across all member UCBs and would eliminate the need to have the skills or hire services to maintain IT infrastructure.
- Due to the aggregation being done by the UO, it will provide to all member banks the benefit of innovation on an on-going basis, including the advantages from emerging advancements on the IT front at lower cost.
GS PAPER III
Global Crypto Adoption Index
Why in News
According to crypto analysis platform titled “Geography of Crypto-currency”, India ranked second in a list of 20 countries with the highest crypto-currency adoption rate.
Highlights of the bill
- Vietnam scored the first rank in the global crypto adoption index, and Pakistan secured the third rank.
- Emerging market economies took the top spots due to huge transaction volumes on peer-to-peer platforms (P2P) when adjusted for purchasing power parity per capita and internet-using population.
- Global adoption of crypto-currency grew over 800% in the past year, especially in emerging markets which indicate that people turn to virtual money to preserve their savings in the face of currency devaluation, to send and receive remittances and carry out business transactions.
Chainalysis Global Crypto Adoption Index
- The goal of index is to provide an objective measure of which countries have the highest levels of crypto-currency adoption.
- On the ranking methodology, Chainalysis ranks countries by their P2P trade volume and weights it to favour countries with lower purchasing power parity (PPP) per capita and fewer internet users to highlight countries where more residents are putting a larger share of their overall wealth into P2P crypto-currency transactions.
- Chainalysis 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index ranked 20 countries to measure the level of crypto-currency adoption and usage by individuals between July 2020 and June 2021.
GS PAPER III
Peer-to-peer lending
Why in News
Fintech firms such as Cred and BharatPe has recently launched peer to-peer (P2P) lending offerings.
Peer to-peer (P2P) lending
- Peer-on-peer a system through which people can directly borrow money from each other.
- P2P platforms carry out some basic background and credit checks on borrowers, and allow lenders to choose which borrowers to lend money to.
- Platforms also assist lenders through mechanisms like classifying borrowers into risk buckets.
- The loans given out are mostly unsecured personal loans at high rates and high risk.
- Most loans are very small—less than ₹1 lakh and for very short tenors. Under the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) rules, investors cannot lend more than ₹50,000 to a single borrower and a single borrower cannot borrow more than ₹10 lakhs.
RBI in Peer-on-peer lending
- RBI came out with P2P directions in 2017.
- Under these, P2P platforms have to register with RBI and have a net worth of at least ₹2 crore.
- The platform must submit information on transactions and borrowers to credit information companies.
- An investor/lender in a P2P platform cannot lend more than ₹50 lakh across all such platforms. If an investor lends more than ₹10 lakh, they have to submit a net worth certificate from a chartered accountant to the P2P platform of at least ₹50 lakh.
- These limits have been placed to diversify the risk of investors. The maturity of loans cannot exceed 36 months.
- According to a chart put out by LendDenClub, gross returns for Q1 of FY22 were 22.4% and default rate was 4.5% for its users.
- After adjusting for default rate and platform fees, lenders get 12%-15%.
- While evaluating a loan on this type of platform, take the default rate into account—your actual return will get reduced by this figure. These are pre-tax returns.
Process of levying tax
- Interest income is taxed as ‘other income’ and at slab rate. If pre-tax interest income is 12% and if individual in the 30% slab, the post-tax return after tax and cess comes to 8.25%.
- However, unlike bank interest, TDS is not deducted from P2P interest by P2P platforms.
- Lender should calculate their tax liability and pay self-assessment tax.
- Interest is generally taxed under an ‘accrual’ system, so one pay tax on interest when it gets accrued and not when you actually receive it in your bank account.
GS PAPER III
National Monetisation Pipeline
Why in News
Union finance Ministry launched the ‘National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP)’, through which the government aims to raise $81 billion by leasing out state-owned infrastructure assets over the next four years.
Key Points
- The proposal involves handing assets including roads, railways, airports, sports stadiums, power transmission lines and gas pipelines to private operators.
- This will help fund new capital expenditure without pressuring government finances.
National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP)
- According to the government vision, NMP is envisaged to serve as a medium-term roadmap for identifying potential monetisation-ready projects, across various infrastructure sectors.
- It consist a four-year pipeline of the Central Government’s brownfield infrastructure assets which will serve as a medium-term roadmap for the Asset Monetisation initiative of Centre, besides providing visibility to the investors.
- The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) estimates aggregate monetization potential of Rs.6 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Govt, over a 4-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.
Significance
- According to the Finance Ministry, asset monetisation, based on the philosophy of creation through monetisation, is aimed at tapping private sector investment for new infrastructure creation.
- It is necessary for creating employment opportunities, thereby enabling high economic growth and seamlessly integrating the rural and semi-urban areas for overall public welfare.
- The end objective of this initiative to enable ‘Infrastructure Creation through Monetisation’ wherein the public and private sector collaborate, each excelling in their core areas of competence, so as to deliver socio-economic growth and quality of life to the country’s citizens.