Daily Mains Practice Questions 03-03-2023

KEY POINTS

·        The last few years have ushered in a harsh new reality where crises are the norm rather than the exception.

·        Pandemics, economic slumps and extreme weather events were once tail-end risks, but all three have hit South Asia in rapid succession since 2020.

·        This is deeply distressing because the knowledge, skills, and health that people accumulate  their human capital  is a critical source of the resilience that countries rely on for recovery.

·        To strengthen resilience and protect the well-being of future generations, governments across South Asia need to take urgent policy action and invest in human capital.

·        But South Asia is also home to over one third of the world’s stunted children. And a child born in the region today can, by the age of 18, expect to attain only 48% of their full productive potential.

·        The poorest and most vulnerable people fell further behind. For example, in Bangladesh, the poorest students lost 50% more in terms of learning than the richest students.

·        While the outlook is grim, it is important to remember that well-designed and implemented interventions can make a difference if governments act fast.

·        Since services are provided by different individual sectors, human development systems must be able to coordinate efficiently across sectors.

KEY POINTS

·        The National Statistical Office’s latest release of GDP data estimates a further deceleration in growth in the October-December 2022 quarter.

·        Gross Value Added (GVA) growth slowed to 4.6%, from the second quarter’s 5.5%, as the estimates for manufacturing suggested a continuing contraction (minus 1.1%), albeit narrower than July-September’s shrinkage (minus 3.6%).

·        Sequentially too manufacturing appears to have shrunk (minus 2.4%). Growth in three of the five services sectors including the crucial trade.

·        On the expenditure front, the mainstay private final consumption expenditure lost some momentum with its percentage share of overall GDP easing to 61.6%, from 63% in the year-earlier quarter.

·        That this happened in the traditional festival quarter when consumption spending usually peaks ought to be cause for concern and suggests that the relentless pace of retail inflation is eroding consumptive capacity.

·        The CEA, however, has suggested that if the year-earlier manufacturing output data used to calculate the year-on-year growth had remained unrevised.

·        Gross fixed capital formation, which reflects investment by businesses in new capacity, contracted sequentially, with its share of GDP slipping to 31.8%, from 34.2% in the July-September period.

·        That the data revisions have essentially made it that much harder to draw meaningful conclusions, spotlights the challenges to crafting policy solutions, as top central bank officials have frequently pointed out.

KEY POINTS

·        According to the ‘Report on Working Group on Tourism’ ( 2011), the travel and tourism sector was projected to generate 780 jobs in India per Rs1 crore of investment compared to 450 jobs in the manufacturing sector for a similar investment.

·        There exists much more scope to increase the footfall of international tourists in India.

·        India accounted for a mere 1.2 per cent share in international tourist arrivals and ranked 23rd globally for the same in 2019.

·        It is important to note that medical tourism accounted for 6.4 per cent of all foreign arrivals in India in 2019.

·        Leveraging new business models like telemedicine can further enhance the sector’s productivity.

·        While the attraction of India as a tourist destination is beyond doubt, the focus must be laid on facilitating and smoothening access and experience.

·        It is important to simplify the process of registering online with the Foreigner Regional Registration Office (FRRO).

·        Establishing FRRO help-desks at major Indian airports and hospitals will provide visitors with the information to complete the process online.

·        Besides, even undertaking small steps aimed at facilitating the ease of travelling like creating common passes to visit multiple heritage sites, providing foreign exchange counters at each tourist site.

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