12 Jan 2024

#GS3: – 01. PM Gati Shakti

PM Gati Shakti in the years to come will become a planning tool of infrastructure not only for India or Asia, but for the entire world.
– Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal
Key Terms/Issues : PM Gati Shakti

#GS3: –  02. Tourism in India

India received 7.2million foreign tourists in the first 10 months of 2023, a leap fromthe4.6 million in the year- ago period. The last two months, for which data is yet to come, are peak tourist months; so,the full-year total could surpass the pre-pandemic (2019) figure of 10.9 million.The return of tourists is welcome, but fact is that India does not attract as many tourists as it should. In 2019, Thailand and Japan received about twice as many Visitors as India,Vietnam had nearly the same number, And China welcomedawhopping65milliontourists. One can argue that India offers an experience vastly different from the beaches of Phuket or the war memorials of Vietnam. India has 42 cultural and natural properties identified as Unesco World Heritage Sites,the sixth most in the world. But it lags behind top countries on the list in terms of tourism:Mexico and the UK, for instance, draw far more visitors than India does.
–Federation of Automobile Dealers’ Association (FADA)

#GS3: – 03. India’s Strategic Oil Reserves

India has limited oil storage capacity,with space for only 39 million barrels of crude— barely enough for eight days of consumption—to use in the even to fan emergency.It has instead sought to lease out space, but refiners have expressed limited appetite. That could mean the undergrounds tor age caverns remain empty unless market conditions turn.

A combined 13.5 million barrels of storage space at Visakhapatnam and Mangalore are currently empty.

One of the two 5.5 million- Barrel caverns at the Mangalore site has been leased to Abu Dhabi National Oil Co.
– Commentary in News

#GS3: –  04. Sustainable Fuels

We are working on Sustainable Aviation Fuel SAF, we are looking at putting in place at least 1–5% recommendation to use sustainable aviation fuel recommendation from 2027 onwards because we have not
become part of the initial phase (of Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation), we have become part of the second phase.
-Civil Aviation Minister J. Scindia Note : Sustainable aviation fuel is any fuel with properties similar to those of conventional jet fuel, but with lower carbon emissions.CORSIA (Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation) is the first global market-based measure by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations agency, to reduce emissions from international aviation. In 2016, the Montreal-based ICAO agreed to establish COR- SIA framework, to set a carbon-neutral growth target from 2019 onwards. As per ICAO, the adoption of CORSIA has been chalked out under three phases: a pilot phase (2021–2023); first phase (2024–2026); and a second phase (2027–2035). The participation of countries in the pilot and first phase is voluntary.
Key Terms/Issues : Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)

#GS3: –  05. Importance of Investor Summits : Vibrant Gujrat

Lakshmi Mittal unveiled plans for the world’s largest steel plant in Gujarat by 2029 and Suzuki committing ₹35,000 crore Investment to the state. Ambani spotlighted Reliance’s $150 billion investment in Gujarat over a decade, while Adani pledged ₹55,000 crore till 2025 and ₹2 trillion More in five years. Micron Technology’s chief executive officer

Sanjay Mehrotra announced the operationalization of the first phase of Micron’s assembly and test facility in Gujarat by early2025. Additionally, Tata Group revealed plans to build A new semi conductor fabrication plant in Gujarat, with operations set to begin this year.
– Commentary in News

#GS2: – 06. Chinese growth and India Imperatives

The global unemployment rate is expected to inch up to 5.2% this Year primarily because of a rise in joblessness in advanced economies.
-International Labour Organization (ILO)

#GS3: – 07. Inverted Duty Structure

Indian policymakers are expected to fix inverted import duties for sectors like textiles, leather and engineering goods, so that inputs are not charged at a higher rate than ready-to-use products.

An inverted duty regime tends to work against ‘Make in India.’ In any case,for Indian factories to participate more in global value chains,we must rationalize our tariff regime so that it is not an outlier a mid globally sprawled participants with lower charges,and assure investors of rate stability in the future.

Of course, since not all players would be able to survive sudden import- barrier drops, a definitive reversal of our tariff trend would carry the risk of a shake-up with more losers than winners. To mitigate this, a calibrated reduction path may be needed. Still, minimally, what’s important is to signal a clear direction in which our policy is headed.There would be fiscal implications too, no doubt, but tariffs should not be treated as a revenue source. In any case, the money lost would be far out-Weighed by the eventual gains if manufacturers achieve the competitiveness needed to become ‘China plus’ suppliers to the world at large.

Commentary in News Key Terms/Issues : Import Duties