Daily News Analysis:-
Source -Indian express
Why in News?
- SAFE-HAVEN appeal and good returns have attracted investors towards physical gold as well as gold exchange-traded fund (ETF) as an investment avenue.
- Gold ETFs saw net inflows of Rs 1,660 crore in the second quarter of the current fiscal.
- Risk-off sentiments caused due to the Middle East conflict, which started in early October, also ensured flows into gold ETFs continued in the month.
What is gold ETF?
- Gold ETF, a fund that’s traded on the stock exchange aims to track the domestic physical gold price.
- They are passive investment instruments that are based on gold prices and invest in gold bullion.
- In short, gold ETFs are units representing physical gold which may be in paper or dematerialised form.
- One gold ETF unit is equal to 1 gram of gold and is backed by physical gold of very high purity. Gold ETFs combine the flexibility of stock investment and the simplicity of gold investments, as per the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI).
- Gold ETFs are represented by 99.5 percent pure physical gold bars. Gold ETF prices are listed on the website of BSE/NSE and can be bought or sold any-time through a stock broker. Unlike gold jew-ellery, gold ETF can be bought and sold at the same price pan-India, according to AMFI.
What advantages do gold ETFs provide to investors?
- Buying physical gold has its own risks, including impurities, storage and theft, which impact the returns on the asset.
- “Gold ETFs are comparatively safer as they are governed by tight regulations and are traded on exchanges on a real-time basis.
- Moreover, the price of gold and its returns in an ETF is the same as physical gold and the cost of buy-ing gold ETF is lower as compared to buying the yellow metal,” Ashwini Kumar, Head Market Data, ICRA Analytics, said, high-lighting the reasons behind grow-ing investor interest in investing in gold ETFs.
- When one invests in gold ETFs, purity of gold is guaranteed and each unit is backed by physical gold of high purity. Investment in gold ETFs is a tax-efficient way to hold gold as the income earned from them is treated as long-term capital gain. There is no wealth tax and no security transaction tax.
https://www.ft.com/content/464d8d78-a843-11e7-ab66-21cc87a2edde
Source- The Hindu
Why in News?
- The Delhi government’s attempt to alleviate severe pollution in Delhi by resorting to artificial rain or cloud seeding is an experimental endeavor with no evidence so far that it will be successful in non monsoon months.
- Though cloud seeding has been attempted since the 1940s and was pioneered by the United States military, having clouds deliver enough rain over a desired region continues to be a nebulous endeavor.
What is Cloud Seeding?
- It is a kind of weather modification technology that aims to artificially stimulate rainfall by dispersing substance chemicals (like silver iodide, sodium chloride, potassium chloride or dry ice) into the clouds that serves as ice nuclei or condensation nuclei for moisture to form rain droplets. It works only when there are pre-existing clouds in the atmosphere.
- It uses planes (now even drones) to spray clouds with chemicals to condense smaller particles into larger rain droplets. It is a cost effective way to increase rainfall rates by approximately 10% to 30% per year.
Has cloud seeding succeeded earlier?
- Seeding has been attempted during the monsoon in Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu. More recently, the fourth phase of the Cloud Aerosol Interaction and Precipitation Enhancement Experiment (CAIPEEX-IV) was carried out in drought-prone Solapur in Maharashtra during the monsoon seasons of 2018 and 2019.
- The experiment pointed to a relative en-hancement of 18% in rainfall. But the picture that emerged was complicated.
Can it help tackle air pollution?
- Cloud seeding has so far not been tried as a pollution-fighting strategy in India. “There are a few cases where China tried weather management options.
- In India, investigations have not been done on this aspect (impact of cloud seeding on pollution). Our conditions are different, and we will need a dedicated study on this.
- “Clouds and their processes are complex.If you do something, it is not known whether, or how much, rain it will produce. Also, clouds can rain naturally.
Source -Indian express
Why in News?
- THE CENTRE is considering a new policy for electric vehicles (EVS) that will incentivise manufactur-ers, including foreign original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) looking to set up base in India, as part of a comprehensive policy for the sunrise sector, said official sources.
What is the issue?
- While the government currently runs different schemes for EV promotion, including the FAME and PLI schemes, the pro-posed policy will differ from these as it will roll out direct incentives linked to quantum of investments rather than offer consumer subsi-dies, sources said.
- The policy would aim at increasing the do-mestic value addition in EV ecosystem to at least 50 per cent, and seeks to expedite adoption of EVS in the country
About EV
- Vehicles that run entirely or mostly on electricity are referred to as electric vehicles. Electric vehicles are particularly environmentally friendly. They consume little to no fossil fuels, have fewer moving components that need to be maintained, and have minimal operating expenses.
India’s EV Market
- India is the fifth largest car market in the world and has the potential to become one of the top three in the near future — with about 40 crore customers in need of mobility solutions by the year 2030. Keeping in mind the goals set under the Paris agreement, we need a mobility which is Sustainable for future climate changes.
Electric Vehicles and India
- The push for Electric Vehicles (EVs) is driven by the global climate agenda established under the Paris Agreement to reduce carbon emissions in order to limit global warming.
What are the different types of EVs?
- Any vehicle propelled by an electric drivetrain, taking electric power from a portable, electrical energy source, is called an Electric vehicle (EV).
- In a hybrid EV, an internal combustion engine (ICE) is used to produce electricity with an electrical generator.
- A small battery is used in a hybrid EV as an energy buffer to store the electricity.
- The battery can’t be charged from the grid.A battery EV or a plugin EV – has no ICE and hence no tailpipe emissions. And it can only be charged from the grid. A plugin hybrid EV is still a hybrid EV.
- This larger battery can also be charged from the grid. This means a plugin hybrid operates like a fully electric vehicle as long as there is energy in the battery. A fuelcell EV uses a fuel cell to produce electricity for the drivetrain together with a small battery buffer to manage variations.
Government Initiatives for promoting EV
- The Go Electric campaign aims to create awareness on the benefits of EVs and EV charging infrastructure. India is among a handful of countries that support the global EV30@30 campaign, which aims for at least 30% new vehicle sales to be electric by 2030.
- The Ministry of Power, in its revised guidelines on charging infrastructure (MoP Guidelines), has prescribed that at least one charging station should be present in a grid of 3 km and at every 25 kms on both sides of the highways.
- The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has also amended the Model Building Bye Laws, 2016 (MBBL) to mandate setting aside 20% of the parking space for EV charging facilities in residential and commercial buildings.
- The Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME)scheme II, which provides incentives for EV manufacturers and buyers. These incentives include subsidies, tax rebates, preferential financing, and exemptions from road tax and registration fees.
Source -The Hindu
Why in News?
- To help small and marginal farmers who do not have the capacity to hold their produce in warehouses and wait for better prices, the Centre plans to incentivise them under a scheme likely to be named PMKisan Bhai (Bhandaran Incentive) scheme.
About PMKisan Bhai (Bhandaran Incentive)
- Kisan Bhai aims to empower farmers by helping them retain and store their crops postharvest.
What is PM KISAN?
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PMKisan) scheme
- The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-Kisan) scheme is a flagship initiative of the Government of India to provide income support to farmers.
- The scheme was launched in 2019 and has benefited more than 120 million farmers. Under the scheme, eligible farmers receive Rs 6,000 per year in three equal instalments directly into their bank accounts.
- To make the scheme more accessible and convenient for the farmers, the government has also launched a mobile app called PM-Kisan.
- The app allows farmers to check their payment status, update their details, register for the scheme and access other information related to the scheme.
- The app is available in 22 languages and can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the PM-Kisan portal.
Objectives of PM KISAN
- To provide income support to all eligible land-holding farmers and their families. PM-KISAN scheme also aims to supplement the financial needs of the farmers in procuring various inputs to ensure proper crop health and appropriate yields, commensurate with the anticipated farm income.
Key Advantages under the scheme
- Under the PM KISAN scheme, all landholding farmers’ families shall be provided the financial benefit of Rs.6000/per annum per family. It will be paid in three equal installments of Rs.2000 /- each, every four months.
Problems associated with the PM KISAN
- Scheme Lack of Database: The government did not have a good database of farmers when the scheme was hastily introduced just before the 2018 elections. Identification of Beneficiary Farmers is challenging
- No provisions for tenants or landless farmers: According to the 2011 census, there were 14.3 crore landless farmers who are not eligible for this programme.Mostly because they are contract farmers and not the landowners. Giving inadequate financial assistance.
- Implementation problems:Such as disputed land titles and insufficient land records. The stability of farm earnings and agricultural output have suffered from a lack of infrastructure and unpredictability in the agricultural markets.
