UPSC EXAM QUIZ 02.12.2024

Explanation:

• Minister of Women and Child Development, Smt. Annapurna Devi launched the “Child Marriage Free India” Campaign in New Delhi.
• The campaign aims to eliminate child marriage and empower young girls. The campaign is aligned with the vision of a developed India (Developed India) by 2047.
• It also saw the launch of the “Child Marriage Free India Portal”, an innovative tool for citizens to report incidences of child marriage and enforce the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006.

Explanation:

• A high level committee chaired by Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah has approved a total outlay of Rs. 1115.67 crore for disaster mitigation and capacity building projects for various states.
• The decision will provide financial assistance from National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF) and National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF).

Key Points

Committee

• The Committee reviewed proposals for landslide risk mitigation in 15 states under National Disaster Mitigation Fund (NDMF).
• It also approved funding from National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) for training and capacity building initiatives of civil defence volunteers in all states and Union Territories.
• National Landslide Risk Reduction Project with a total cost of Rs. 1,000 crore was approved for 15 states.

Explanation:

• Central Government has recently announced “funding and guidance” for the winners of the ‘Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC)’.
• The initiative was launched by the Department of Consumer Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (Innovation Cell) in 2023, with the aim of finding innovative and scalable solutions to stabilize the tomato supply chain.
• The challenge specifically seeks solutions to problems faced in the production, distribution and price stability of tomatoes.

Tomato Grand Challenge (TGC) and ‘TOPs’

• In India, apart from tomatoes, onions and potatoes (collectively called ‘TOPs’) are major agricultural commodities, whose production and consumption is high.
• Their prices fluctuate heavily, which is challenging for both Indian consumers and farmers.
• These three vegetables account for more than one-third of the Consumer Price Index (CPI), and fluctuations in their prices create many problems.

Explanation:

• The government has proposed to raise the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) limit for Indian insurance companies from 74% to 100%.
• The FDI limit in the insurance sector was previously increased from 49 per cent to 74 per cent in February 2021.
• The government stated that the proposal to amend certain provisions of insurance laws aims to ensure the accessibility and affordability of insurance for citizens and foster the expansion and development of the insurance industry.
• The requirement of Net Owned Funds for foreign reinsurers is also proposed to be reduced from Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 1,000 crore.
• As per the economic survey, insurance penetration in India has slightly decreased from 4.2 per cent in FY22 to 4 per cent in FY23.
• The government is taking steps to open up the insurance market as part of a broader goal to achieve “Insurance for All” by 2047.

Explanation:

• CII's Ease of Doing Business and Regulatory Affairs Portal launched by Union Minister Piyush Goyal.
• On November 28, the CII Ease of Doing Business (EODB) and Regulatory Affairs Portal was launched to receive and monitor information on India's business environment and suggestions for improvement.
• The portal was launched at the 2nd Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)-Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) National Conference on Ease of Doing Business in New Delhi.
• The portal seeks to provide status and updates on major Ease of Doing Business initiatives undertaken by both the Government and CII.
• With a dedicated members-only dashboard, users can track progress and submissions on a real-time basis, ensuring transparency, accountability, meaningful and timely resolution of concerns.