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As per the data by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy
(CMIE), India’s unemployment rate increased to a threemonth
high at 8% during November 2022. The unemployment rate in urban India was higher at 8.96% as compared to 7.21% in October 2022. On the other hand, rural unemployment rate slipped to 7.55% from 8.04% in October 2022. India’s unemployment rate in October 2022 was at 7.77% while in September 2022, it was at a low of 6.43%.
• Among the states, Haryana continued to have the highest unemployment rate in November at 30.6%,. It is followed by Rajasthan at 24.5%, Jammu and Kashmir at 23.9%, Bihar at 17.3% and Tripura at 14.5%.
• The states that witnessed the least unemployment rate in the previous month are Chhattisgarh at 0.1%, Uttarakhand 1.2%, Odisha at 1.6%, Karnataka 1.8%, and Meghalaya at 2.1%.
President of India Draupadi Murmu approved the Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Act Amendment Bill. This amendment will pave the way for redevelopment of dangerous or dilapidated Maharashtra Housing and Area Development Authority (MHADA) owned residential buildings, or Cess buildings.
• With this, MHADA has been empowered to directly take
over such cess buildings, where redevelopment is stalled, and redevelop them.
• Redevelopment of several buildings gets stalled due to
disputes between tenants and landowners.
• If any cess building is declared dilapidated by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation
(BMC), the owner of the building is given a chance to submit a redevelopment proposal within six months.
• If the owner fails to do so, the residents are given another six months’ time to submit a
redevelopment proposal, and if this is not done either, MHADA can take possession of the building for redevelopment.
• In such a case, the owner is provided compensation of a certain portion of value of the built-up area by ready reckoner rate.
• Presently, there are 56 cess buildings in Mumbai city, where redevelopment has been stalled or is incomplete.
The operational guidelines for the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for drones and drone components has been notified by the Ministry of Civil
Aviation (MoCA), after consultation with stakeholders,
including industry representatives. The PLI scheme, with a funding of Rs. 120 crore, has been authorized by the Government of India (GoI), and it would be implemented during the 2022-23 to 2024-25 period.
• The PLI will be extended only to companies in India
that manufacture drones and drone components.
• The total PLI for each manufacturer is Rs 30 crore, or 25% of the total financial outlay of Rs 120 crore.
• The scheme is open to Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and startups in India that manufacture drones and have an annual sales turnover of Rs. 2 crore.
• The eligibility threshold for manufacturers of drone components will be Rs. 0.5 crore.
• In order to claim PLIs, Indian non-MSMEs that manufacture drones must have an annual sales turnover of Rs. 4 crore.
• The minimal level for non-MSME drone component makers will be Rs 1 crore.
• Developers of software for drones and drone components will also be eligible for PLI, subject to regulation.
• Any excess incentives given to an applicant (for any cause, such as a sales return in the subsequent year or some other reason) will be adjusted from the incentives payable the following year (s).
• If there are no incentives payable in the subsequent year(s), the applicant must return the incentive along with interest computed at the 3-year SBI Marginal Cost of Lending Rate (MCLR) in effect as of the disbursement date, compounded annually, for the number of days holding the excess incentive.
• The applications will be evaluated by the Project Management Agency (PMA), which has been
designated by the GoI.
• The applications as recommended by the PMA will be examined by a committee chaired by the Civil Aviation Secretary.
• In addition, the scheme will be monitored by an Empowered Group of Secretaries chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
• They will take the necessary steps to ensure that the expenditure remains within the outlay approved by the Union Cabinet.
Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dr Justice D.Y. Chandrachud delivered at the 8th Dr L M Singhvi Memorial Lecture that the Constitution of India is a ‘feminist document and a product of true Indian imagination‘. The 8th Dr L M Singhvi Memorial Lecture was hosted by the OP Jindal Global University (JGU), on the theme ‘Universal Adult Franchise: Translating India’s Political Transformation into a Social Transformation‘. Jagdeep Dhankhar, Vice President of India, was the chief guest at the event.
• The Lecture commemorated the life and work of L M Singhvi(1931-2007), a diplomat, jurist,
lawyer, and Parliamentarian.
• At the same event, CJI D.Y. Chandrachud further stated that every form of “elite knowledge” of the democratic process that educated people are better decision-makers must be rejected.
• Dr Abhishek M. Singhvi, leading advocate, author and legal luminary, reminisced about his father Dr L M Singhvi.
• He recently established a Rs 2 crore endowment at OP Jindal Global University to provide access to a world-class education for disadvantaged young people.
According to the Tribal Development Report 2022 launched by the Bharat Rural Livelihood Foundation (BRLF), the Tribal communities(Adivasis) are at the bottom of India’s development pyramid.
• The Tribal Development Report, launched in 2 volumes, is the first of its kind report launched since 1947.
• This offers a status report on the overall macroeconomic situation, agriculture, land, energy, and water use, especially groundwater management.
• Goal of the report: To inform the stakeholders (policymakers, practitioners, activists, and academics) to help understand the scope of tribal issues.
• The report focus on the overarching theme of livelihoods for tribal communities from central India.
• On December 1, 2022, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) launched its pilot on retail digital currency rupee called ‘Digital Rupee – Retail segment (e-R)’, a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) which is an electronic form of sovereign currency.
• In this regard, RBI issued Rs 1.71 crore to four participating banks based on their indents.
• In the retail pilot of the digital rupee, 8 banks have been
identified for phase-wise participation in four cities of Mumbai (Maharashtra), New Delhi (Delhi), Bengaluru (Karnataka), and Bhubaneswar (Odisha).
• It will cover select locations in closed user groups (CUG) which will include both the customers
and merchants.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and ABIS Exports India Private Limited (ABIS) entered into an agreement on sustainability-linked and blue-debt facility, a non-convertible debenture worth USD 16 million(in equivalent Indian rupee). This is to enhance food security in India by supporting the construction of a micro fish feed plant and by training up to 6,000 farmers in climate-resilient fish farming practices as well as
financial literacy.
• This is ADB’s first private sector sustainability-linked financing,
with adjustments in pricing when pre-defined sustainability
targets are met
• Targets include emissions reductions, water conservation, and farmer training. The sustainability-linked financing received an independent second-party opinion, consistent with industry principles.
• Through the partnership, both ADB and ABIS commits towards climate change mitigation and
adaptation, water conservation, ocean health, and the promotion of farmers’ capacity building.
William, Prince of Wales, announced the winners of the Earthshot Prize 2022, the 2nd edition of the annual awards, at the awards ceremony held at the MGM Music Hall in Boston, the United States of America(USA).
• to Protect and Restore Nature
• to Clean Our Air
• to Revive Our Oceans
• to Build A Waste-Free World
• to Fix Our Climate
Canara Bank received the Banker’s Bank of the Year Award 2022 for the India segment (Under Asia Pacific Region) at the Global Banking Summit, held in London, United Kingdom (UK) from 29th November 2022 to 1st December 2022
• The Bankers’ Bank of the year awards are considered to be on par with Oscar awards for the banking sector.
• The winners of the award are judged on their ability to deliver returns, strategy, innovation, technology and product and services in their respective geographies in the last 12 months.
India will assume the chairmanship of the Wassenaar Arrangement (WA), a multilateral technology control agreement, on 1st January 2023, for a period of one year.
Ireland’s ambassador Eoin O’Leary handed over the chairmanship to India’s ambassador Jaideep Mazumdar, permanent representative to the UN and international organisations in Vienna at the 26th annual plenary of the WA held in Vienna between 30th November and 1st December 2022.
• The WA is a multilateral export control regime established in 1996, monitors the transfers of conventional weapons and dual use goods. It has 42 members and operates on a voluntary basis, where decisions are made by consensus.
• The primary goal of the organisation is to restrict access to sensitive technologies for terrorist outfits.
• According to the Arms Control Association, every six months, members exchange information on deliveries of conventional arms to non-Wassenaar members that fall under eight weapon categories.
• The categories include battle tanks, armoured combat
vehicles (ACVs), large-calibre artillery, military aircraft/unmanned aerial vehicles, military and attack helicopters, warships, missiles or missile systems, and small arms and light weapons.
• The WA also maintains lists of technologies which are of interest. It includes tier 1 that denotes a list of basic items while tier 2 denotes sensitive or very sensitive technologies.
United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) or International Day of Disabled Persons is annually observed across the globe on December 3 to raise awareness about the situation of persons with disabilities in all aspects of political, social, economic, and cultural life.
• The day aims to promote the rights and well-being of people with disabilities at all levels.
• The theme of International Day of Persons with Disabilities 2022 is ‘Transformative solutions for inclusive development the role of innovation in fueling an accessible and equitable world’.
• The UN General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/47/3 on 14th October 1992 and declared December 3 of every year as International Day of Disabled Persons.
• The 1st observance of International Day of Disabled Persons was on 3rd December 1992.
• On 18 December 2007, the UN renamed the International Day of Disabled Persons as the International Day of Persons with Disabilities under the ‘Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities(CRPD) The 1st observance of the new name, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, was on 3rd December 2008.
Government of India (GoI) has named 21 uninhabited islands in the union territory (UT) of Andaman & Nicobar (A&N) after recipients of Param Vir Chakra, India’s highest wartime gallantry award with the support of Andaman administration and the Ministry of Defence (MoD). Out of the 21 islands, 16 are located in North and Middle Andaman district, while the remaining 5islands are in South Andaman. Among the islands, some fall under reserved forest while others have great potential for water sports, creek tourism and fishing.
• The first uninhabited island numbered ‘INAN370’ in North and Middle Andaman was named after Major Somnath Sharma and henceforth it will be known as ‘Somnath Dweep’.
• He was the first recipient of the Param Vir Chakra. He lost his life in the line of duty in 1947 while handling Pakistani infiltrators near Srinagar Airport.
• He was posthumously awarded the Param Vir Chakra for his gallantry and sacrifice during the Battle of Badgam.
• Another uninhabited island numbered ‘INAN308’ has been named after Subedar and Honorary Captain Karam Singh as ‘Karam Singh Dweep’.
• He fought in the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947 and has been awarded the Param Vir Chakra for saving a forward post at Richmar Gali, south of Tithwal (a small border-village in Jammu and Kashmir).