Economy
Resolution Framework 2.0
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Resolution Framework 2.0 (highlights) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions + GS III economic development)
What's the NEWS

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced several measures to protect small and medium businesses, individual borrowers from the adverse impact of the intense second wave of COVID-19 across the country.
• It has also made provisions for banks to advance loans to businesses and restructure loans for enhancing liquidity in the system to help mitigate the crisis.

Resolution Framework 2.0 (highlights)

• Considering that the resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic in India has made individual borrowers, small businesses and MSMEs most vulnerable
• The RBI has allowed borrowers i.e. individuals and small businesses and MSMEs having aggregate exposure of up to Rs.25 crore, who have not availed restructuring under any of the earlier restructuring frameworks (including under the Resolution Framework 1.0 dated August 6, 2020), and who were classified as ‘Standard' as on March 31, 2021, eligible to be considered under Resolution Framework 2.0.
• Restructuring under the proposed framework may be invoked up to September 30, 2021 and shall have to be implemented within 90 days after invocation.
• In respect of individual borrowers and small businesses who have availed restructuring of their loans under Resolution Framework 1.0, where the resolution plan permitted moratorium of less than two years, lending institutions have been permitted to use this window to modify such plans to the extent of increasing the period of moratorium and/or extending the residual tenor up to a total of 2 years. Other conditions will remain the same.
• In respect of small businesses and MSMEs restructured earlier, lending institutions have been permitted as a one-time measure, to review the working capital sanctioned limits, based on a reassessment of the working capital cycle, margins.

GSAP-2.0.

• The RBI announced that it will undertake a purchase of government securities of ₹35,000 crore in the next two weeks under the newly introduced GSAP-2.0.

Special three-year long-term repo operations (SLTRO)

• To provide further support to small business units, micro and small industries, and other unorganised sector entities adversely affected during the current wave of the pandemic, it has decided to conduct special three-year long-term repo operations (SLTRO) of ₹10,000 crore at repo rate for the Small Finance Banks, to be deployed for fresh lending of up to ₹10 lakh per borrower. This facility will be available till October 31, 2021.

Priority Sector Lending

• Lending by SFBs to Micro- Finance Institutions (MFIs) for on-lending will be classified as Priority Sector Lending.
• In view of the fresh challenges brought on by the pandemic and to address the emergent liquidity position of smaller MFIs, SFBs are now being permitted to reckon fresh lending to smaller MFIs (with asset size of up to Rs.500 crore) for on-lending to individual borrowers as priority sector lending. This facility will be available up to March 31, 2022.

Over draft (OD) and WMA enhanced

• To enable the State governments to better manage their fiscal situation in terms of their cash-flows and market borrowings, maximum number of days of over draft (OD) in a quarter is being increased from 36 to 50 days and the number of consecutive days of OD from 14 to 21 days.
• This facility will be available up to September 30, 2021.
• The Ways and Means Advance (WMA) limits of states have already been enhanced on April 23, 2021.

Bilateral Relations
INDIA-UK VIRTUAL SUMMIT

Relevance IN - Prelims (about the virtual summit highlights + about Enhanced Trade Partnership' (ETP) + Mains ( GS II Bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and The Rt Hon'ble Boris Johnson, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom held a Virtual Summit

Know! the summit highlights

• India and the UK enjoy long standing friendly ties and share a Strategic Partnership underpinned by mutual commitment to democracy, fundamental freedoms and the rule of law, strong complementarities and growing convergences.
• An ambitious ‘Roadmap 2030' was adopted at the Summit to elevate bilateral ties to a ‘Comprehensive Strategic Partnership'.
• The Roadmap will pave the way for a deeper and stronger engagement over the next ten years in the key areas of people to people contacts, trade and economy, defence and security, climate action and health.
• The two Prime Ministers launched an ‘Enhanced Trade Partnership' (ETP) to unleash the trade potential between the 5th and 6th largest economies of the world and by setting an ambitious target of more than doubling bilateral trade by 2030.
• As part of the ETP, India and the UK agreed on a roadmap to negotiate a comprehensive and balanced FTA, including consideration of an Interim Trade Agreement for delivering early gains.
• The enhanced trade partnership between India and UK will generate several thousands of direct and indirect jobs in both the countries.
• The UK is India's second largest partner in research and innovation collaborations.
• A new India-UK ‘Global Innovation Partnership' was announced at the Virtual Summit that aims to support the transfer of inclusive Indian innovations to select developing countries, starting with Africa.
• Both sides agreed to enhance cooperation on new and emerging technologies, including Digital and ICT products, and work on supply chain resilience.
• They also agreed to strengthen defence and security ties, including in the maritime, counter-terrorism and cyberspace domains.
• Both Prime Ministers reiterated commitment to climate action to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement and agreed to closely engage in the run up to CoP26 hosted by the UK later this year.

UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) agreement

• British Trade Secretary Liz Truss and Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal have signed the UK-India Enhanced Trade Partnership (ETP) agreement, aimed at doubling bilateral trade by 2030.
• ETP has been launched to unleash the trade potential between the 5th and 6th largest economies of the world and by setting an ambitious target of more than doubling bilateral trade by 2030
• As part of the ETP, India and the U.K. agreed on a roadmap to negotiate a comprehensive and balanced FTA, including consideration of an Interim Trade Agreement for delivering early gains.
• The enhanced trade partnership between India and U.K. will generate several thousands of direct and indirect jobs in both the countries
• The ETP is said to create immediate opportunities for British businesses in India across industries including food and drink, life sciences and the service sector.
• Non-tariff barriers on fruit and medical devices will be lowered, allowing British businesses to export more of their products to India and boosting U.K. growth and jobs.
• It also commits both sides to addressing immediate market access barriers as well as continuing to seek further opportunities on the road to an FTA.
• The trade barriers addressed by the ETP include lifting restrictions to enable fruit producers across the U.K. to export British apples, pears and quince to India for the first time and improved access for medical devices through the acceptance of U.K. Certificates of Free Sale in India
• The bilateral trade between India and the U.K. stood at $15.45 billion in 2019-20 as against $16.87 billion in 2018-19, according to India's commerce ministry data.

Prelims Factoids
Pressure Swing Adsorption
Relevance IN - Prelims (about the role of PSA)
What's the NEWS

• Amid the shortage of medical oxygen for treating COVID-19 patients, the IIT-Bombay has come up with an ingenious solution to help address the issue by converting a nitrogen unit into an oxygen generating unit

Know! more about the project

• The pilot project, which has been tested successfully, relies on a simple technological intervention of converting a Pressure Swing Adsorption nitrogen unit into a PSA oxygen unit
• The oxygen production could be achieved at "3.5 atm pressure with a purity level of 93% to 96%", the statement said.
• This gaseous oxygen can be utilised for COVID-19- related needs across the existing hospitals and upcoming COVID-19-specific facilities by providing a continuous supply of oxygen
• Conversion of nitrogen unit into an oxygen unit has been done by fine-tuning the existing nitrogen plant setup and changing the molecular sieves from Carbon to Zeolite
• Nitrogen plants, which take air from the atmosphere as raw material, are available in various industrial plants across India.
• Each of them could potentially be converted into an oxygen generator, thus helping us tide over the current public health emergency
• The pilot project is a collaborative effort among IIT-Bombay, Tata Consulting Engineers and Spantech Engineers, Mumbai, who deal with the PSA nitrogen and oxygen plant production

Prelims Factoids
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)
Relevance IN - Prelims (about the role of FIEO)
What's the NEWS

• Indian exporters are expecting a continuous growth in the country's outbound shipments despite an increase in COVID-19 cases as their order books are encouraging and there is a pick up in demand in rich markets.
• Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) said that in most of the States, manufacturing and export- related services have been exempted from restrictions and inter-State movement of cargo is permitted by the central government.
• India's exports in April jumped almost threefold to $30.2 billion even as trade deficit widened to $15.24 billion

Know! about Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO)

• It is the apex trade promotion organisation in India set up by the Ministry of Commerce, Government of India, and the private trade and industry segment in 1965.
• The organisation is responsible for representing and assisting Indian entrepreneurs and exporters in foreign markets.
• FIEO is the premier body of all export promotion councils, commodity boards, and export development authorities in India.
• It provides the crucial interface between international trading community of India and the central and state governments, financial institutions, ports, railways, surface transport and all others engaged in export trade facilitation.
• Directly and indirectly, it serves the interests of about 2,00,000 exporters from goods and services sector in the country.
• As an ISO 9001:2015 certified organization, it ensures high quality service to its members, associates and stakeholders, who contribute to more than 70 percent of India's exports.
• FIEO works in partnership with various academic institutions across the country to forge better academia-industry understanding to develop quality human resource to match the requirement of international trade.
• It organises specialised training/awareness programmes, seminars, workshops for export executives and entrepreneurs with the objective to develop entrepreneurship in international trade.
• FIEO developed and maintains the Indian Trade Portal website to keep members updated about trade policy matters and provide assistance.
• On 8 August 2018, Suresh Prabhu, the then Commerce and Industry Minister launched the Niryat Mitra application.
• The application gives the users access to FIEO's monthly and weekly publications, event calendar, online event registration, information articles, press releases, research publications, and other important announcements.

Environment Conservation
Enhancing climate resilience of India's coastal communities

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Enhancing climate resilience of India's coastal communities programme + about GCF)
What's the NEWS

• The forest authorities have launched the works pertaining to the restoration of 5,000 hectares of mangrove cover in the Krishna and Godavari estuaries and 200 hectares of salt marshes as part of the five-year project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Know! about Enhancing climate resilience of India's coastal communities

• The programme titled ‘Enhancing climate resilience of India's coastal communities' is being funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF).
• Of the 24 landscapes identified in Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Maharashtra for restoration at a cost of Rs.298 crore, nine are in the State.
• As part of the programme, the coastal communities would be provided with climate-adaptive livelihood options for the restoration of the targeted landscapes by mid-2025.
• Funds for the first phase of works have been received and the GCF project has already begun in the State.
• Of the 5,000 hectares of targeted mangrove cover, around 4,250 hectares are in the Krishna and Godavari estuaries in the surrounding areas to the Coringa and Krishna Wildlife sanctuaries.
• The mangrove restoration will be done by adopting the fish bone method
• The wild crab-fattening method, direct involvement of coastal communities in the mangrove restoration, cultivation of mussel are among the areas designed to provide the climate-adaptive livelihood options to the coastal communities for conservation and restoration of the targeted wetlands

Know! about GCF

• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is a fund established within the framework of the UNFCCC as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism to assist developing countries in adaptation and mitigation practices to counter climate change.
• The GCF is based in Incheon, South Korea. It is governed by a Board of 24 members and supported by a Secretariat.
• The objective of the Green Climate Fund is to "support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing country Parties using thematic funding windows".
• It is intended that the Green Climate Fund be the centrepiece of efforts to raise Climate Finance under the UNFCCC.

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