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The Economic Survey 2017-18 • The Department of Economic Affairs, Finance Ministry of presents the Economic Survey in the parliament every year, just before the Union Budget. It is prepared under the guidance of the Chief Economic Adviser • Last year, for the first time, the government presented a mid-term economic survey in the month of August. • Economic Survey reviews the developments in the Indian economy over the previous 12 months, summarizes the performance on major development programs, and highlights the policy initiatives of the government and the prospects of the economy in the short to medium term. • The 2017-18 document tabled by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in Parliament. • The theme for the Economic Survey 2017-18 was pink, apparently to confront Indian society’s notorious preference for sons, and the gender injustice faced by women. Implicit in adopting pink is the assumption that it is the colour preferred by women. Here are the top highlights of the Economic Survey: 1. Growth: Indian GDP grow by 6.75% in 2017-18, Indian GDP will grow by 7-7.5% in 2018-19 2. Industry growth=4.4%, Service Growth=8.3%, Agriculture Growth=2.1% for the year 2017-18. Govt has to increase Agriculture growth to achieve its target to double the farmer income by 2022. 3. According to the Economic Survey for the current fiscal 2017-18, the Indian IT industry grew 8 per cent to $140 billion (Rs 8,91,700 crore) in fiscal 2016-17 from $129 billion (Rs 8,256 crore) in the previous fiscal (2015-16). 4. The Economic Survey has predicted gross value added for FY18 at 6.1 percent as against 6.6 percent for the previous financial year. 5. Fiscal deficit target of 3.2% of GDP for 2017-18 and aims to lower it to 3% in 2018-19.However, less- than-expected revenue collections, especially after implementation of GST, and higher expenditure could generate fiscal pressures. Fiscal Deficit: The difference between total revenue and total expenditure of the government is termed as fiscal deficit. It is an indication of the total borrowings needed by the government. While calculating the total revenue, borrowings are not included. 6. There has been a 50% increase in the number of indirect taxpayers after GST. 7. Survey calculates that demonetisation-cum-GST has produced 1.8 million additional income tax payers. 8. New income tax filers are up 10.1 million since demonetisation, against an annual average rise of 6.2 million in the previous two years. 9. The Survey noted that five States — Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, and Telangana — account for 70% of India’s exports. 10. Direct tax collections have risen 18% this year, almost double the nominal GDP growth rate of 9.5%. This favourable trend suggests improved compliance after tax reforms and the attack on black money. This could finally lift India's tax-to-GDP rate to significantly high levels after stagnation for three decades. 11. India's firm export structure is egalitarian: That means the top 1% of Indian firms(Like TCS,Infosys etc) account for only 38% of exports,unlike in other countries where they account for substantially greater share – (72, 68, 67 and 55 percent in Brazil, Germany, Mexico and USA respectively). 12. Formal non-agricultural payroll much greater than believed: this data show the % rise in person involved in other sector rather Agriculture. It became evident that when “formality” was defined in terms of social security provisions like EPFO/ESIC, the formal sector payroll was found to be about 31% of the non- agricultural work force. When “formality” was defined in terms of being part of the GST net, such formal sector payroll share was found to be 53%. 13. The foreign exchange reserves grew by 14.1% on a year-on-year basis from the end of Dec 2016 to end of Dec 2017. The forex reserves as per 2016-17 were estimated at USD 370 billion. It grew to USD 409.4 billion in 2017-18. 14. Substantial avoidable litigation in tax arena which government action could reduce: The survey points out that tax departments in India have contested in several tax disputes but with a low success rate of below 30%. About 66% of pending cases account for only 1.8% of value at stake. It further states that 0.2% of cases account for 56% of the value at stake. That means if Rs 1000cr of tax dispute are there, then only 0.2% of case for Rs 560 cr of tax dispute and about 66% of case for value of nearly 20cr. So there is large no of cases for small value, which have to clear immediately. 15. ‘Gender and Son Meta-Preference:The data highlights another seemingly known fact that Indian society exhibits a strong desire for a male child. It points out that most parents continued to have children until they get a desired number of sons. The survey gives details of various scenarios leading to skewed sex ratios and also gave a comparison on sex ratio by birth between India and Indonesia. 16. Extreme weather adversely impacts agricultural yields: The survey captures the footprints of climate change on the Indian territory and the consequent adverse impact on agricultural yields. Extreme temperature increases and deficiency in rainfall have been captured on the Indian map and the geographical changes in agricultural yields are brought out from such data. The impact was found to be twice as large in non-irrigated areas as in irrigated ones. 17. ‘Feminisation’ of agri-sector: The Survey has observed that the growing rural to urban migration by men has led to ‘feminisation’ of the agriculture sector. There has been a substantial rise in the number of women in multiple roles as cultivators, entrepreneurs, and labourers. October 15 to be celebrated Women Farmer's Day every year

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18. The Economic Survey has observed that the quality of hygiene and sanitation had a significant impact on improving the health outcomes. The Swachh Bharat Mission has increased the sanitation coverage in rural India from 39% in 2014 to 76% in January 2018. 19. 'India needs to be a net producer of knowledge': As India emerges as one of the world’s largest economics, it needs to gradually move from being a net consumer of knowledge to becoming a net producer, the Survey has noted. 20. Agriculture, education, and employment will be areas of focus in the medium term, according to the Economic Survey. 21. The main threats to the growth boom projected by the Survey include rising oil prices — an increase of $10 per barrel could hit growth by 0.2-0.3 percentage point. The International Monetary Fund predicts a further rise of 12% in oil prices next fiscal year. 22. Of the top achievements this year, the Survey lists upgrade of India's credit rating by Moody's, and the jump of 30 places into the top 100 in the World Bank's Ease of Doing Business rankings. India 6th wealthiest country: New World Wealth Report According to New World Wealth Report, India was ranked sixth in list of wealthiest countries with total wealth of US $8,230 billion in 2017. Top 10 Wealthiest Countries are United States (1st, total wealth held US $ 64,584 billion), China (2nd, $24,803 billion), Japan (3rd, $19,522 billion), United Kingdom (4th, $9,919 billion), Germany (5th, $9,660 billion). India’s GDP growth fell to 7.1% in 2016-17 from 8.2% in 2015-16: CSO According to Central Statistics Office (CSO) data, in line with the earlier official estimate of the country’s GDP growth in the last fiscal, India’s gross domestic product during 2016-17 grew at 7.1 per cent. India slips to 42nd place on EIU Democracy Index; US at 21st India has slipped to 42nd place on an annual Global Democracy Index amid “rise of conservative religious ideologies” and increase in vigilantism and violence against minorities as well as other dissenting voices. While Norway has again topped the list, followed by Iceland and Sweden, compiled by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), India has moved down from 32nd place last year and remains classified among “flawed democracies”. Paytm, AGTech launch mobile gaming platform Gamepind Chinese gaming and entertainment company AGTech Holdings Limited has entered a joint venture with Paytm to launch Gamepind, a mobile gaming platform with social and casual games that include rewards. Gamepind includes casual games, contests, and sports games, combined with a rewarding and engaging winning experience for the end user. Google Forays Into Hyperlocal News Through ‘Bulletin’ App Google has introduced a new app named “Bulletin” that allows anybody to submit stories for and about their communities. This is a free, lightweight app for telling a story by capturing photos, video clips and text right from your phone, published straight to the web. The app is made for contributing hyperlocal stories about your community.

NATIONAL Government launches GeM 3.0 • The Ministry of Commerce & Industry has launched third version of the Government e-Marketplace (GeM 3.0) . The earlier version GeM 2.0 was launched as pilot project in August 2016. • GeM is an Online Market platform to facilitate procurement of goods and services by various Ministries and agencies of the Government. It has been envisaged as National Procurement Portal of India • It aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement of goods and services and eliminate corruption. It functions under Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D), Ministry of Commerce and Industries. Government inks $250 Million Loan Agreement with ADB to Improve Rural Connectivity in 5 States • TheUnion Government has inked $250 Million Loan Agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to Improve Rural Connectivity in 5 States viz. Assam, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY). • It is first tranche Loan of the $500 million Second Rural Connectivity Investment Program for India approved by the ADB Board in December 2017. PMGSY was launched in year 2000. Government inks $100 Million loan agreement for Project to Boost Rural Economy of Tamil Nadu The Union Government has inked $100 million Loan Agreement with World Bank for Project to Boost Rural Economy of Tamil Nadu. The loan is from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and has a 5-year grace period and maturity of 19 years. India becomes third largest producer of crude steel • According to recent report published by World Steel Association (WSA), India has overtaken US to become the world’s third largest steel producer in 2017. • China has remained world leader by producing 831.7 MT in 2017, followed by Japan 104.7 MT , India 101.4 million tonnes (MT). • WSA is a non-profit organisation and is one of the largest industry associations in world.It was founded in July 1967 and is headquartered in Brussels, Belgium. Himachal Pradesh launches Zero Budget Natural Farming project to promote organic farming • Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister, Jai Ram Thakur launched Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF) project to promote organic farming.

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• The project aims to increase agriculture produce and the income of farmers by the year 2022.ZBNF is set of natural farming methods where cost of growing and harvesting plants is zero. • It is a farming practice that believes in natural growth of crops without adding any fertilizers and pesticides or any other foriegn elements. Note: Sikkim is the India first organic sate. India to Host Informal WTO Ministerial Gathering in Trade ministers from various countries including Australia, Japan and Switzerland met for an informal WTO ministerial gathering in Davos, Switzerland. India was represented by Deepak Jagdish Saksena, ambassador and permanent representative to the WTO. India announced that it will host an informal WTO Ministerial gathering in March 2018. The meeting would be held in New Delhi on March 19-20. Odisha CM launches Startup India-Odisha Yatra Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the Startup India-Odisha Yatra. The Chief Minister said the Yatra van would travel to 60 educational institutions across the 16 districts of the state. During the yatra, 500 innovative ideas were likely to be pitched. ‘Aadhaar’ is Oxford’s first Hindi word of the year The Hindi Word of the Year as announced by Oxford Dictionaries for 2017 is ‘AADHAAR’. ‘Aadhaar’ also becomes the first Oxford Dictionaries Hindi Word of the Year. The accompanying shortlisted words include Notebandi, Swachh, Vikaas, Yoga and Bahubali, reflect the social, cultural, political and economic trends and events that have been part of 2017. Jaipur to host global spice meet in February The third edition of international spice conference will be held at Jaipur, Rajasthan from February 4-7. Over 750 delegates from various countries including representatives of international spice associations, policymakers, farmers, etc are expected to participate in the four-day meet. 3-day international bird festival to be held at Dudhwa A three-day international bird festival will be held at the Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh from February 9 with nearly 200 leading ornithologists expected to attend. Eminent documentary maker Mike Pandey would act as the brand ambassador of the festival. Assam Governor releases stamp on footballer Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi released a postage stamp on legendary footballer Dr Talimeren Ao during his birth centenary. Ao was instrumental in popularising football in Assam. He was captain of the Indian football team in their first official match in the 1948 London Olympics. India cheapest country to live in after South Africa: Survey India is ranked second only to South Africa as the cheapest country to live or retire, according to a recent survey survey by GoBanking Rates of 112 countries. Among the most expensive countries in the survey are Bermuda (ranked 112), Bahamas (111), Hong Kong (110), Switzerland (109) and Ghana (108). Yogi inaugurates Mahesra bridge connecting Nepal to east UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated the long-awaited Mahesra over bridge at Sonauli-Gorakhpur National highway (NH80). The bridge would connect Gorakhpur and other east UP districts to Nepal. It will also become a major route for people going from Gorakhpur to Balrampur, Maharajganj and Gonda. MCD launches new app to improve civic services Mobile App 311 was launched by Delhi’s Lt Governor Anil Baijal. It is a mobile application of the three municipal corporations of Delhi (MCD) that was launched in a bid to enhance engagement of citizens in resolution of grievances and improvement of civic services in the city. Once a complaint is submitted by citizens in via the 311 App, it will be resolved by the designated officers of that locality identified by the geo-tagged photo.

AWARD Dr Vinod Paul receive WHO’s IhsanDoğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize NITI Aayog member Dr Vinod Paul became first Indian to be awarded prestigious IhsanDoğramacı Family Health Foundation Prize by World Health Organisation (WHO). It will be formally presented at World Health Assembly to be held in Geneva, Switzerland in May 2018. Soumitra Chatterjee presented with France’s Legion d’Honneur: Legendary Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee (83) was awarded France’s highest civilian award, Legion d’Honneur. He was presented the medal by French Ambassador Alexandre Ziegler at a function in Kolkata, West Bengal. Venkiah Naidu confers BAI’s Lifetime Achievement Award on Padukone: Vice President Venkiah Naidu conferred Badminton Association of India (BAI) Lifetime Achievement Award to 1983 World Championship medallist . Calicut University confers D.Litt on Mohanlal, P.T.Usha: Calicut University conferred honorary Doctor of Letters (DLitt) on actor Mohanlal and athlete P T Usha at a special convocation ceremony. Pilavullakandi Thekkeparambil Usha often called the "queen of Indian track and field".[6] She is nicknamed as the Payyoli Express. Parliamentary Group to confer Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards to five MPs 1. For 2013-Dr Najma Heptulla: She is former Rajya Sabha MP, current governor of Manipur. 2. For 2014-Hukumdev Narayan Yadav: He is Lok Sabha MP and represents the Madhubani constituency of Bihar. 3. For 2015-Ghulam Nabi Azad: Former Chief minister of J&K and Presently, he serves as the Leader of opposition in Rajya Sabha. 4. For 2016-Dinesh Trivedi: He is Lok Sabha MP and politician from the All India Trinamool Congress party. 5. For 2017-Bhartruhari Mahatab: He is Lok Sabha MP and member of the Biju Janata Dal political party.

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SPORTS Australian Open 2018- Complete List of Winners S.No. Category Winner Runner Up Roger Federer Marin Cilic 1. Men's Singles (Switzerland) (Croatia) Caroline Wozniacki Simona Halep 2. Women's Singles (Denmark) (Romania) Oliver Marach (Austria) Robert Farah (Colombia) 3. Men's Doubles Mate Pavic(Croatia) J. Cabal (Colombia) Kristina Mladenovic (France) Elena Vesnina (Russia) 4. Women's Doubles Tímea Babos (Hungary) Ekaterina Makarova (Russia) Gabriela Dabrowski (Canada) Timea Babos (Hungary) 5. Mixed Doubles Mate Pavic (Croatia) Rohan Bopanna (India)

The Australian Open is a tennis tournament held annually in Park, Australia. The 2018 Australian Open is the 106th edition of the tournament. Roger Federer defeated Marin Cilic in the final. It was Federer's 20th Grand Slam titleand 6 th Australian Open. In women's' single, Caroline Wozniacki became the first Danish player to win a Grand Slam singles title, defeating Simona Halep in the final. Sandeep Lamichhane Becomes 1st Nepal player to Get IPL Contract: Sandeep Lamichhane became the first cricketer from Nepal to land a deal an IPL contract. He was picked by Delhi Daredevils in the player's auction. The 17-year-old, the only Nepal player in the IPL auction, was sold at his base price of Rs 20 lakh. Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan Wins Indonesian Masters: The world no.1 Tai Tzu Ying of Taiwan has defeated in the finals of the Indonesia Masters in Jakarta.Indonesia Capital- Jakarta, Currency- Indonesian rupiah. Melbourne Cricket Ground to host ICC World T20 2020 finals: Australia is going to host ICC World T20 2020. It was announced that Australia’s largest stadium Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) will host the final of both the men’s and women’s ICC World Twenty20 in 2020. Muscat to host Asian Champions Trophy 2018: The Asian Champions Trophy 2018 will be hosted by the Oman Hockey Association in Muscat between October 18 and 28, confirmed the Asian Hockey Federation (AHF). Oman is holding the event for the first time. : Sharath Kamal lifts National Men’s singles title for the eighth time Sharath Kamal beat top-seeded to win the men singles title for the eighth time, equalling the feat of Kamlesh Mehta in the 79th edition of the 11Even Sports Senior Nationals in Ranchi, Jharkhand. Suthirta Mukherjee from West Bengal emerged the new women champion, beating Hyderabad Nationals winner Manika Batra. Anu Kumar wins first gold medal of Khelo India School Games: Anu Kumar of Uttarakhand grabbed the first gold medal of the Khelo India School Games in 1500 metres at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium. MISCELLANEOUS High performance computing facility inaugurated at Noida • Ministry of Earth Science (MoES) has inaugurated high performance computer system (HPC) or supercomputer Mihir (meaning sun) at National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF), Noida. • With this, MoES has acquired HPC facility total of 6.8 Peta Flops (PF) which has been installed at two of its constituent units: 4.0 PF HPC facility named ‘Pratyush’ at Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM), Pune and 2.8 Peta Flops facility at NCMRWF, Noida. • It also improved India rank to 4th position after Japan, UK and US interms of dedicated HPC resources for weather/climate forecasts. INS Karanj: Third submarine of Scorpene class launched Indian Navy has launched Scorpene submarine INS Karanj at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd (MDL), Mumbai, Maharashtra. It the third Scorpene class submarine built by MDL under ambitious Project 75 of the Indian Navy. Hicky’s Bengal Gazette: 238th anniversary of India’s first newspaper celebrated Journalists and social activists celebrated 238th anniversary of India’s first newspaper the Hicky’s Bengal Gazette on january 29.Hicky’s Bengal Gazette (Original Calcutta General Advertiser) was an English language weekly newspaper published in Kolkata (then Calcutta) by James Augustus Hicky on January 29, 1780. VINBAX: Indian, Vietnam hold first military exercise in Jabalpur The India-Vietnam Bilateral Army Exercise (VINBAX-2018) was conducted at Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh. It is the first military exercise between the two countries. Vietnam- Capital: Hanoi, Currency: dong CM Naveen releases book on Biju Patnaik Odisha CM Naveen Patnaik released a book on his father — The Tall Man Biju Patnaik — written by Sundar Ganesan, who said his material on Biju Patnaik “was found scattered all over the world in countries like Indonesia, France, Germany, USA, Russia, , and other places”. ’s birthday to be celebrated as Delhi’s Football Day Celebrating the game, Football Delhi honoured the Indian football captain Sunil Chhetri, announcing his birthday to be celebrated as Delhi’s Football Day. Chhetri’s birthday falls on August 3.

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