1. Budget 2021-22 proposals rest on 6 pillars;fiscal deficit is set to jump to 9.5% of GDP in 2020-21 as per Revised Estimates.
6 pillars:health and well-being,physical,financial capital and infrastructure, inclusive development for aspirational India, re invigorating human capital, innovation and R&D & minimum government and maximum governance.Deficit is higher than 3.5% projected. Personal income tax slabs remain as is.
2. Budget 2021:137% hike in health & wellness budget, new PM Atmanirbhar Swasth Bharat scheme announced
Includes a '60,030 crore outlay on drinking water and sanitation,a '2,700 crore outlay on nutrition,'35,000 crore toward vaccination etc.The new scheme meant to strengthen the health system,will be launched with an outlay of Rs 64,180 crore over six years. Outlay for health and well-being is Rs 2,23,846 crore in 2021-22
3. Budget 2021: Increase in insurance FDI limit,PSB recapitalisation,Privatisation of 2 PSBs & 1 General Insurance
Increase in FDI limit in insurance from 49% to 74% & allow foreign ownership and control with safeguards; provision of Rs 20,000 crore for PSB recapitalisation in 2021-22; bad bank-like structure through ARC and AMC to be set up To Resolve NPAs. IPO of LIC as part of Rs 1.75- lakh-crore disinvestment plan
4. Budget 2021:Voluntary Vehicle scrapping policy,Production Linked Incentive scheme,Mega Investment Textiles Parks (MITRA)
Fitness test after 20 years for personal vehicles & 15 years for commercial vehicles.Rs.1.97 lakh cr in next 5 years for PLI schemes in 13 Sectors;Rs.2,217 crore to tackle air pollution for 42 urban centres with a million-plus population. 7 Textile Parks to be established over 3 years
5. Budget 2021:National Infrastructure Pipeline(NIP)Expanded To Cover 7,400 Projects.
Measures announced include:Rs.20,000 crore to set up & capitalise a Development Financial Institution(DFI);National Asset Monetization Pipeline to be launched;Rs. 5.54 lakh crore capital expenditure in BE 2021-22 ' sharp increase of 34.5% over BE 2020-21. NIP jointly funded:central 39%, state 40% & private sector 21%.
6. Budget 2021:Power discoms get second chance,gets Rs 3.05 trillion for 5 years for a revamped reforms-based result-linked scheme.
Scheme will provide assistance to DISCOMS for Infrastructure creation.Consumers to have alternatives to choose Distribution Company for enhancing competitiveness.A comprehensive National Hydrogen Energy Mission 2021-22 to be launched to generate hydrogen. 1.41 lakh circuit km of transmission lines added in past 6 years
7. Budget 2021:Rs 1,500 Crore Scheme to boost Digital Payments;lowers loan limit for debt recovery for NBFCs.
Value of loans that can be introduced for debt recovery under SARFAESI Act lowered to Rs.20 lakh from Rs.50 lakh for NBFCs having a minimum asset size of Rs.100 crore.Government also to facilitate setting up of a world class fintech hub in GIFT city. A single Securities Markets Code to be evolved as well.
8. Budget 2021: 100 new Sainik Schools, 750 Eklavya schools will be set up,National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) introduced.
15,000 schools to be strengthened by implementing all National Education Policy components;Rs 50,000 cr allocated for the National Research Foundation for over 5 years;NLTM to make policy and government documents available in major Indian languages. Central University to come up in Leh,Ladakh.
9. Railway Budget 2021: 57% jump in allocation with Rs.1.1 lakh crore, National Rail Plan for India(2030) by Indian Railways
Of this allocation,Rs 1.07 lakh crore will be for capital expenditure;100% electrification of broad gauge routes to be completed by Dec 2023;Metro lite & metro neo to provide metro rail systems at much lesser cost in Tier 2 cities and outer areas of Tier 1 National Rail Plan is to create a 'future ready' Railway system.
10. Budget 2021: Road Min gets 'highest ever' allocation of Rs 1.18 trillion. The allocation has gone up 2.5 times since 2014, when the new NDA government announced
an outlay of Rs 33,305 crore.Tamil Nadu, Kerala, West Bengal, and Assam will get highways worth Rs 2.27 trillion. 11,000 km of NH corridors to be completed by March 2022.
11. Budget 2021:Seven major ports worth '2,000 cr. to be privatised,maiden Gas Pipeline Project in J&K
Also announced a subsidy scheme of '1,624 crore for a period of 5 years for Indian shipping companies to encourage more merchant ships with Indian flags.Capacity of recycling shipyards would be doubled from 4.5 million light displacement tonne by 2024. Pipeline,part of plan to add 100 districts to City Gas Network.
12. MCA amends definition of small companies, allows NRIs to incorporate One Person Companies(OPCs)
Paid up capital & turnover of small company shall not exceed Rs.2 cr & Rs.20 cr. Earlier it was Rs.50 lakh and Rs.2 cr.It will lighten compliance burden.Also reduced number of days a person has to stay in India to qualify as resident from 182 to 120. Allowed voluntary conversion of OPCs to private/public company.
13. Cabinet gives in-principle approval to privatise Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.
The government currently holds 100 per cent stake in the maker of crude steel. The PSU, that is a corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, comes under Ministry of Steel.Sale proceeds would be part of the disinvestment target for next fiscal. Govt has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh cr from disinvestment in 2021-22.
14. State Bank of India revises FY21 GDP estimates to 7%
SBI's Economic Research Department revised FY21 GDP estimates to -7.0%. Previously it had estimated GDP at -7.4%. The report was authored by SBI's Group Chief Economic Advisor Dr Soumya Kanti Ghosh. SBI is expecting FY 22 GDP to be 11%. Chairperson of SBI: Dinesh Kumar Khara HQ: Mumbai
15. India's real GDP will grow at 10.4% in FY22: India Ratings and Research
According to India Ratings and Research India's real GDP will grow at 10.4 per cent in FY22, after a 7.8 per cent contraction in the pandemic-impacted FY21. The agency expects headline retail inflation to cool down to 4.3 per cent in FY22. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) is headquartered in Mumbai.
16. Retail inflation eases to 4.06% in January; factory output grows 1% in December
Retail Inflation based on Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to a 16-month low of 4.06% in January mainly due to a sharp decline in food prices justifying the RBI's accommodative monetary policy stance. . Inflation based on CPI was at 4.59% in December. Retail Inflation: Change in the price index over a period of time
17. GDP to grow at 13.5% in FY22; economic activity on verge of normality': Nomura
Japanese brokerage Nomura said that economic activity is on the 'verge of normality' after a pandemic. It predicted that India GDP will grow at 13.5% in FY22. It expects real GDP to contract by 6.7 per cent in FY21. RBI projected growth of 10.5% for FY22. India's real GDP to grow at 11% in 2021-22: Economic Survey.
18. India recorded $1422 mn FDI inflow from UK in 2019-20: Grant Thornton report
According to Grant Thornton Bharat's Britain Meets the FDI inflow from the UK to India has increased from $898 million in 2015- 16 to $1,422 million in 2019-20. The report was prepared in collaboration with the CII and UK's Dept of International Trade. Maharashtra was the top destination for UK Companies.
19. Microsoft launches its new engineering hub India Development Center(IDC) in NCR
IDC NCR is Microsoft's third Development Center in India after Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The contemporary workspace is a step towards realizing IDC's vision of being a source of innovation for the next billion users by collaborating with global teams. IDC NCR workspace architecture is inspired by the Taj Mahal
20. India's first geothermal power project to be established at Puga village of Ladakh
Puga village of Ladakh was identified as a hotspot of geothermal energy by scientists. In the 1st phase of the project, 1 MW power generation capacity will be generated. The Geothermal Field Development Project is planned to commission by the end of 2022. Geothermal energy - Thermal energy generated & stored in Earth.
21. Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS) approved for the period of next four years starting from 2021-22.
SISFS has been approved for next 4 yrs starting from 2021-22. It will be implemented w.e.f. 1st April 2021. It aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry, and commercialization The scheme is expected to support about 3600 startups.
22. Indian-American scientist Bhavya Lal appointed Acting Chief of Staff of NASA
Lal brings extensive experience in engineering and space technology, serving as a member of the research staff at Institute for Defense Analyses Science and Technology Policy Institute from 2005 to 2020.She oversaw NASA's transition under President Biden. Will also serve as senior advisor for budget & finance at NASA.
23. Tata Motors names Marc Llistosella as new CEO, MD
He is the former President and CEO of Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation and Head of Daimler Trucks in Asia. Appointment with effect from July 1, 2021,he will succeed Guenter Butschek.Llistosella is currently on the board of Swedish transport company Einride. Tata Motors: Chairman:Natarajan Chandrasekaran; HQ:Mumbai.
24. 'Aatmanirbharta' named Oxford Hindi word of 2020
'Aatmanirbharta' implying self-reliance has been named by Oxford Languages as its Hindi word of the year 2020 as it 'validated the day-to-day achievements of the countless Indians who dealt with and survived the perils of a pandemic'. Previous Hindi words: Nari Shakti(2018), Samvidhaan(2019)
25. PM inaugurates World Sustainable Development Summit 2021
PM Narendra Modi inaugurated World Sustainable Development Summit 2021 via video conferencing. The theme of the Summit is 'Redefining our common future: Safe and secure environment for all'. It is a flagship event of The Energy and Resources Institute. Director- General of TERI: Dr Ajay Mathur Established in 1974.