22nd May Current Affairs

Contents

1. Nyay scheme for farmers in Chhattisgarh
2. Finance Commission: High Levels of Uncertainty
3. Trump suggests holding in-person G7 summit
4. 93 million urban informal workers affected: GoM report
5. 15% Cut in Funds for Tiger Reserves across Country

NYAY SCHEME FOR FARMERS IN CHHATTISGARH

Focus: GS-II Social Justice, Prelims

Why in news?

The Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana was launched in Chhattisgarh through video conferencing to mark the 29th death anniversary on 21^st May 2020.

Chhattisgarh becomes the first State to transfer financial aid directly into the accounts of farmers.

Key Features of the Rajive Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana

• Under the scheme Rs. 10,000 per acre will be deposited in the bank accounts of farmers as agriculture assistance grant for sowing crops such as paddy, maize and sugarcane.
• The Distribution will be based on registered area and area under cultivation during Kharif crop season 2019.
• It is expected that at least 19 lakh farmers will benefit from the scheme, for which the state government had allocated Rs 5,756 crore in the budget 2020-21.
• The money will be given to the farmers in four instalments.

-Source: The Hindu, The Wire

FINANCE COMMISSION: HIGH LEVELS OF UNCERTAINTY

Focus: GS-III Indian Economy, Prelims

Why in news?

India’s nominal GDP growth rate in 2020-21 could range between -6% and 1%, according to members of the 15th Finance Commission’s (XV-FC) committee on the fiscal consolidation roadmap.

Details of Uncertainty

• There are high levels of uncertainty, both with regard to the course of the pandemic and the fiscal pressures on the economy and the trend of economic recovery.
• There was also uncertainty on whether the economy would experience a V-shaped or U-shaped recovery.
• Nominal GDP growth does not take inflation into account, and is thus higher than real GDP growth.

XV-FC On health

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission’s high-level group on health has now recommended an immediate beefing up of health infrastructure in areas with a cluster of positive patients, and also discussed how to address the growing needs of rural health infrastructure and manpower, especially with migrants returning from the cities often carrying the virus to their villages.
• There is a wide disparity between the per capita health personnel available in various States.
• In the medium term, the government’s financial outlay on the health sector must increase significantly from the current 0.9% of GDP.

Finance Commission

• The Finance Commission (FC) is constituted by the President of India every fifth year under Article 280 of the Constitution.
• Finance Commission is a constitutional body.
• It was formed to define the financial relations between the central government of India and the individual state governments.
• FC determines the method and formula for distributing the tax proceeds between the Centre and states, and among the states.
• The Finance Commission also decides the share of taxes and grants to be given to the local bodies in states. This part of tax proceeds is called Finance Commission Grants, which is a part of the Union budget.
• The Finance Commission (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1951 additionally defines the terms of qualification, appointment and disqualification, the term, eligibility and powers of the Finance Commission.
• The Finance Commission consists of a chairman and four other members, who are appointed by the President of India.
• There have been fifteen commissions to date, the most recent was constituted in 2017.

Fifteenth Finance Commission

• The Fifteenth Finance Commission (XV-FC or 15-FC) is an Indian Finance Commission constituted in November 2017 and is to give recommendations for devolution of taxes and other fiscal matters for five fiscal years, commencing 2020-04-01.
• The main tasks of the commission were to “strengthen cooperative federalism, improve the quality of public spending and help protect fiscal stability”.

-Source: The Hindu

TRUMP SUGGESTS HOLDING IN-PERSON G7 SUMMIT

Focus: GS-II International Relations, Prelims

Why in news?

The U.S. President Donald Trump said on 20^th May 2020 he is considering hosting world leaders for the annual G7 summit at his Camp David retreat despite the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

Group of Seven (G7)

The Group of Seven (G7) is an international intergovernmental economic organization consisting of the seven largest developed economies (International Monetary Fund IMF- advanced economies) in the world.

G-7 Countries are:

1. Canada,
2. France,
3. Germany,
4. Italy,
5. Japan,
6. The United Kingdom and
7. The United States.

The European Union is sometimes considered an eighth member of the G-7, since it holds all the rights and responsibilities of full members except to chair or host the meeting.

• G7 Summit is an event conducted annually where world leaders from seven powerful economies of the world come together to discuss burning issues happening around the globe.
• The major purpose of the G-7 is to discuss and deliberate on international economic issues.
• G7 is capable of setting the global agenda because decisions taken by these major economic powers have a real impact. Thus, decisions taken at the G7 are not legally binding, but exert strong political influence.
• It sometimes acts in concert to help resolve other global problems, with a special focus on economic issues.

Some related Similar Groups:

• Amongst the G-7 France, West Germany, the U.S, Great Britain, and Japan form the G-5 Group of Five.
• Following the 1994 G7 meeting in Naples, Russian President held meetings with G-7 member countries, in what became known as the P-8 (Political 8).
• In 1998, after urging from leaders including U.S. President, Russia was added to the G-7 group as a full-time member, creating a formal G-8.
• G-20 was founded in 1999 after the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, it initially started off as a meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors.

Click Here to read more about the G-20

-Source: The Hindu

93 MILLION URBAN INFORMAL WORKERS AFFECTED: GOM REPORT

Focus: GS-III Indian Economy

Why in news?

As many as 93 million urban informal workers, across five sectors — manufacturing, construction, trade, tourism and hospitality — have been affected by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and the lockdown – according to an informal Group of Ministers headed by labour minister.

Details of Suggestions submitted

Creation of:

1. A database of the workers
2. A job card for every migrant worker returning to their village
3. A complete tweaking of the rural employment guarantee scheme that allows work in a private factory or construction site, with the employer paying wages above the MNREGA wage component which will continue to be paid by the government
4. An app named Kaushal (literally, skill) that allows workers to register for skill development courses and also reach out to potential employers.

The group also emphasised that there need to be confidence building measures to bring back migrant workers to the cities.

Other Observations

• The Centre for Monitoring of Indian Economy (CMIE) announcedlast weekthat 114 million jobs have been lost in April and unemployment is at a record high of 27.1%.
• The group also pointed out that even workers in the organised sector faced the risk of losing their jobs.

-Source: Hindustan Times

15% CUT IN FUNDS FOR TIGER RESERVES ACROSS COUNTRY

Focus: GS-III Environment and Ecology, Prelims

Why in news?

In what might come as a double whammy for tiger reserves across the country this year, the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) has decided to slash funds by 15% for each state.

Worrying Situation

• The prime tiger tourism season from March to June 15 has fallen flat due to the lockdown.
• Conservation efforts would suffer amid the alert issued by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau.
• With monsoon season around the corner, important road construction work will suffer.
• Internal road connectivity inside reserves is essential during the rainy season for effective patrolling to check poaching and other anti-forest activities.
• Even NTCA (National Tiger Conservation Authority) share of funding may be affected.

Click Here to read more about the NTCA, WCCB and more

-Source: Times of India