Current Affairs for UPSC IAS

The recent government estimates released show2 that India’s GDP contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21. While the pandemic has hit growth in countries across the world, several trends over the last decade show that the Indian economy was already worsening in the years before Covid-19.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year bond has fallen below 6%. The Reserve Bank of India’s decision to step up purchase of government securities under the government securities acquisition programme (G-SAP) had been one of the great reasons behind this reduction of yield.

The United States government announced support for waiving intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines, saying extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. United States Trade Representative said the US will pursue “text-based negotiations” on the waiver at the World Trade Organization (WTO).

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das has recently said that RBI is charting out the technology and procedure to roll out Central Bank Digital Currency in near future.

The RBI has announced its calendar for purchasing G-secs. It is Government Securities Acquisition Programme orG-SAP 1.0, aimed at providing more comfort to the bond market.

In a recent report on currency and finance (RCF) for the year 2020-21, the Reserve Bank of India said "the current numerical framework for defining price stability, i.e., an inflation target of 4 per cent with a +/-2 per cent tolerance band, is appropriate for the next five years”.

In Budget 2021 health sector is focused on by Government, which was severely hit by the unprecedented pandemic. The focus has been laid on healthcare and infrastructure with an eye on achieving the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.

The Atomic Minerals Directorate for Exploration and Research (AMD), has begun exploring uranium deposits in Arunachal Pradesh near the border with China.

Over dependency on Digital technology has weakened the financial inclusion in rural India.

Recently NITI Aayog released its last round of consolidation plans. In that, the NITI Aayog listed 6 banks for the privatization plan.