INDEX 1. ECONOMY 1. Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) 05 2. Why are Petrol, Diesel prices rising? 06 3. India Energy Outlook Report, 2021 08 4. Accredited Investors 10 5. Blank-Cheque Company 10 2. ENVIRONMENT 1. Leatherback Nesting Sites could be Overrun by Andaman Project 12 2. Red Eared Turtle, a Threat to Water Bodies 15 2.1. ENVIRONMENT SNIPPETS 1. Dickinsonia 17 2. Mandarin Duck 18 3. Smallest Reptile in the World 19 4. Laschamp Excursion 20 5. Nathu La Pass 21 6. Mawsynram: Wettest Place on Earth sees a Decreasing Trend in Rainfall 21 7. Cherrapunji (Meghalaya) 22 8. Carbon Watch: India’s first app to assess one’s carbon footprint 23 9. Black-Necked Crane 24 10.Sitanadi Udanti Tiger Reserve 25 3.POLITY & GOVERNANCE 1. Bangladesh Authorities send more Rohingyas to Bhashan Char 26 2. Kiran Bedi Removed as Puducherry L-G 28 3. Puducherry L-G orders Floor Test 30 4. Hyderabad Declared as 2020 Tree City of the World 31 5. National Hydrogen Mission 33 6. SC orders NCLT Not to Pass Final Order on RIL-Future Deal 35 7. Rise in Winter Pollution 36 8. Assembly Election and Model Code of Conduct 38 www.iasgatewayy.comwww. Vetriiias.com / www.iasgatewayy.com Daily Current044-26265326/9884421666/9884472636 Affairs | Monthly Magazines | Online Tests 2 | P a g e 3.1. POLITY & GOVERNANCE SNIPPETS 1. Rashtriya Sanskriti Mahotsav 40 2. Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment) Bill, 2021 42 3. Digital Intelligence Unit (DIU) 44 4. Combating Vaccine Hesitancy 45 5. Mission ‘Lal Lakir’ 46 6. Dhubri-Phulbari Bridge 47 7. Demand for Greater Tipraland 47 8. Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) 48 9. UJALA and SLNP 48 10. National Commission for Scheduled Castes 50 11. Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code, 2021 51 12. City Innovation Exchange (CiX) 52 4. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 1. U.S. Vows to Pay over $200 Million to WHO 54 2. Intensified Mission Indradhanush 3.0 55 4.1. SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY SNIPPETS 1. Arjun MBT MK-1A 57 2. Human Challenge Trials 58 3. Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) 59 4. Epilepsy 60 5. Helina and Dhruvastra 61 6. Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP) 62 7. Silver Antimony Telluride 63 8. National Technology Awards 64 9. NAFLD (Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease) 65 5.1. ART AND CULTURE & MISCELLANEOUS 1. Thar Desert 67 2. Sant Ravidas 68 3. Pagri Sambhal Movement 69 4. Mannathu Padmanabhan 70 www.iasgatewayy.comwww. Vetriiias.com / www.iasgatewayy.com Daily Current044-26265326/9884421666/9884472636 Affairs | Monthly Magazines | Online Tests 3 | P a g e 5. Vijayanagar king Krishnadevaraya 71 6. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1. India, U.S. call for Rule of Law in Myanmar 73 2. United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Report 75 3. IAEA, Iran reach Temporary Nuclear Inspections Deal 77 4. Pakistan pitches Economic Corridor to Sri Lanka 79 5. India, China Foreign Ministers to establish hotline 82 6. Pakistan- Sri Lanka Relations 84 7. China denies entry to WHO experts 85 8. China’s Treatment of Uighurs 87 www.iasgatewayy.comwww. Vetriiias.com / www.iasgatewayy.com Daily Current044-26265326/9884421666/9884472636 Affairs | Monthly Magazines | Online Tests 4 | P a g e 1.1. ECONOMY SNIPPETS 1. Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs) Why in News? • Recently, the Sensex has risen 11.36%, post Union Budget 2021-22 presentation, due to increased Foreign Portfolio Investments (FPIs). Highlights: • The Sensex, otherwise known as the S&P BSE Sensex index, is the benchmark index of the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) in India. It comprises 30 of the largest and most actively- traded stocks on the BSE, and is the oldest stock index in India. • A stock is an investment that represents a share, or partial ownership, of a company. Corporations issue (sell) stock to raise funds to operate their businesses. Major Reasons for Inflow: • Stock market is responding to the Budget 2021-22 that has infused liquidity (money supply in market) in the Indian economy and been pro-growth with privatisation gaining ground. • Several reforms aimed at protecting shareholder rights and improving the ease of doing business have also been a contributing factor. • India, with a recovering economy, is moving back to a higher nominal growth trajectory versus the western world (which continues to struggle with the second wave of Covid and related lockdowns) and looks as a credible destination for growth seeking developed world investors. About Foreign Portfolio Investment: • The FPI and FDI are both important sources of funding for most economies. • A Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is an investment made by a firm or individual in one country into business interests located in another country. FDI lets an investor purchase a direct business interest in a foreign country. • Investors can make FDI in a number of ways. Some common ones include establishing a subsidiary in another country, acquiring or merging with an existing foreign company, or starting a joint venture partnership with a foreign company. • The FPI consists of securities and other financial assets passively held by foreign investors. It does not provide the investor with direct ownership of financial assets and is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market. www.iasgatewayy.comwww. Vetriiias.com / www.iasgatewayy.com Daily Current044-26265326/9884421666/9884472636 Affairs | Monthly Magazines | Online Tests 5 | P a g e • Examples of FPIs include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, exchange traded funds, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), and Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs). Significance: • Increased inflow of investments will conservatively allow to build forex reserves so that India has a buffer to maintain resilience in case of any future contagion from excessive liquidity and Rising Fiscal Deficits. Investments: • Sectors like private banks, Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) and Information Technology (IT) have seen foreign flows as Indian companies have exhibited resilience and demonstrated growth post lifting of the Lockdown Restrictions. • In 2020, the pharma sector was a preferred choice and the sector did very well. • The Banking stocks underperformed due to potential Non-Performing Asset (NPA) concerns. Now, the banking stocks are again sought after by the FPIs. 2. Why are Petrol, Diesel prices rising? Why in News? • Diesel and petrol prices have Hit Record Highs Across the Country. www.iasgatewayy.comwww. Vetriiias.com / www.iasgatewayy.com Daily Current044-26265326/9884421666/9884472636 Affairs | Monthly Magazines | Online Tests 6 | P a g e Govt Explanation: • The government reasons that global crude oil prices have risen by more than 50 per cent to over $63.3 per barrel since October, forcing oil retailers to increase pump prices. • That, however, is only partly true. • Indian consumers are already paying much higher than what they were paying last January, even though Crude Prices are yet to reach levels of early last year. Fuel Price Dynamics in India: • Retail petrol and diesel prices are in theory decontrolled — or linked to global crude oil prices. • It means that if crude prices fall retails prices should come down too, and vice versa. • But this does not happen in practice, largely because oil price decontrol is a one-way street in India. • When global crude oil prices fall and prices slide, the government slaps fresh taxes and levies to ensure that it rakes in Extra Revenues. • The consumer should have ideally benefited by way of lower pump prices, is forced to either shell out what she’s already paying or Spend even more for every litre of fuel. • The main beneficiary in this subversion of Price Decontrol is the Government. Why Crude Oil Prices are Rising Now? • Prices Collapsed in April 2020 after the pandemic spread around the world, and demand fell away. But as economies have reduced travel restrictions and factory output has picked up, global demand has improved, and prices have been recovering. • The controlled production of crude amid rising demand has been another key factor in boosting oil prices, with Saudi Arabia voluntarily cutting its Daily Output. What is the Impact of Taxes on Retail Prices of Auto Fuels? • The central government hiked the central excise duty on petrol to Rs 32.98 per litre during the course of last year from Rs 19.98 per litre at the Beginning of 2020. • It increased the excise duty on diesel to Rs 31.83 per litre from Rs 15.83 over the same period to boost Revenues as Economic Activity fell due to the Pandemic. • A number of states have also hiked sales tax on petrol and diesel to shore up their Revenues. How Much Tax do We Pay Now? • Currently, state and central taxes amount to around 180 per cent of the base price of petrol and 141 per cent of the base price of diesel in Delhi. www.iasgatewayy.comwww. Vetriiias.com / www.iasgatewayy.com Daily Current044-26265326/9884421666/9884472636 Affairs | Monthly Magazines | Online Tests 7 | P a g e • How will these hikes impact inflation? • Experts note that the impact of rising fuel inflation has been counterbalanced by declining food inflation, but that consumers with greater expenditure on travel are feeling the pinch of higher prices. Rising fuel inflation may pinch consumers who have to travel further for work and have access to affordable cereals etc. • The urban population would be more impacted by rising fuel prices than the rural population — however, a weak monsoon may lead to rural India being hit as farmers are forced to rely more on Diesel-Powered Irrigation. 3. India Energy Outlook Report, 2021 Why in News? • The International Energy Agency (IEA) has recently released the India Energy Outlook 2021 report. Highlights of the India Energy Outlook Report: (1) Energy Consumption ✓ India at present is the fourth-largest global energy consumer behind China, the United States and the European Union.