Daily Mains Practice Questions 08-02-2023

Q. 3

Q. 2) female BCs

KEY POINTS

·        The war in Ukraine, which began a year ago this month, is accelerating the breakdown of familiar geopolitical antinomies, such as Europe and Asia.

·        Nothing illustrates the new landscape more powerfully than South Korea’s emergence as a major supplier of arms to Europe, which is at war with itself.

·        Korea’s rise in the European theatre highlights two important new strategic trends. One, Asia has long ceased to be a passive theatre for rivalry among the Western powers.

·        China’s alliance “without limits” unveiled last year with Russia has broken through that mental block. The US has, in turn, responded by promoting greater cooperation between NATO and America’s Asian allies.

·        Right now South Korean arms are making their way to Ukraine through third countries or replenishing the arsenals of those sending their weapons to Kyiv.

·        Domestic political opposition from the left and warnings from Moscow have made Seoul rather cautious about direct arms sales to Ukraine.

·        Meanwhile, Korean arms sales to Europe are surging. Poland alone is expected to bury nearly $16 billion worth of arms from South Korea.

·        Tokyo plans to double defence spending over the next five years. Japan is also tying up with European and American arms companies to develop fighter aircraft, missiles and drones for domestic use as well as exports.

KEY POINTS

·        Business Correspondents (BCs) are the vital cog for the financial inclusion strategy of every bank, with over 95 per cent of banking outlets in rural regions being operated by them.

·        Female customers, especially in rural areas are reluctant to visit bank branches as the male staff often deal summarily with them, which hinders women’s agency and in turn decreases their engagement with formal financial institutions.

·        One Gram Panchayat One BC Sakhi initiated by the Ministry of Rural Development is an ambitious plan to increase these numbers and deploy at least one BC Sakhi in every Gram Panchayat by the end of 2023-24.

·        Lack of funds to invest in hardware required to operate as a BC. Only a handful of banks extend equipment support to BCs in general and expect them to have the ability to invest in handheld devices, laptops, and Point of Sale machines.

·        The current BC/Business Facilitator certification mandated by the RBI from the Indian Institute of Banking and Finance provides a 10th pass as the minimum qualification to appear for the examination.

·        Building on an understanding of their crucial role and the challenges that currently persist in the ecosystem, concerted efforts must be made by policymakers as well as individual institutions involved to prioritise creating an inclusive and well-supported BC ecosystem.

KEY POINTS

·        The Budget for 2023-24 has attempted to address the aspirations of different segments of society. It is a good effort in a difficult situation.

·        Government expenditure is budgeted to grow at 7.5% while nominal GDP growth is estimated to fall from 15.4% in 2022-23 to 10.5% in 2023-24.

·        Thus, the total expenditure relative to GDP is shown to fall from 15.3% in 2022-23 (RE) to 14.9% in 2023-24 (BE). The composition of government expenditure, however, would be growth positive.

·        Increase in the Centre’s capital expenditure is budgeted at 37% while that in revenue expenditure is only 1.2%.

·        According to the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, as amended in 2018, the Centre is mandated to take appropriate steps to limit its fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP by March 31, 2021 although this is an operational target.

·        The MTFP statement does not indicate the year by which the government aims to reach the mandated debt-GDP target of 40%.

·        One implication of the high level of Centre’s debt-GDP ratio is for interest payments relative to revenue receipts, which is budgeted at 41% in 2023-24.

·        Any further reduction in the fiscal deficit will cut expenditures which may not be appreciated. However, a stronger fiscal consolidation road map over the medium term.

Kindly review

KINDLY REVIEW