1. NITI Aayog to release SDG India Index - Baseline Report 2018
• NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar, CEO Amitabh Kant and UN Resident Coordinator Yuri Afanasiev will release the Sustainable Development Goal, SDG India Index: Baseline Report 2018 in New Delhi.
• The SDGs, which came into being in September 2015, are in the Third year of global implementation.
• The SDGs are ambitious global aspirations on development that address key aspects of universal well-being, across different socio-economic, cultural, geographical divisions as well as the interconnectedness among the economic, social and environmental dimensions of development.
• NITI Aayog has the twin mandate to oversee the implementation of SDGs in the country and promote Competitive and Cooperative Federalism among States and Union Territories.
• In exercise of these roles, NITI Aayog has developed the SDG India Index, a comprehensive Index to measure the progress of States and Union Territories, through a single measurable Index and the First Baseline Report for 2018, prepared with the support of Global Green Growth Institute and UN in India.
2. PSU Banks recover Rs 2.33 lakh cr worth of bad loans during 4 years
• Minister of State for Finance Shiv Pratap Shukla informed Parliament that Public Sector Banks (PSBs) have recovered 2.33 lakh crore rupees worth of bad loans during the four years from financial year 2014-15 to fiscal 2017-18.
• In a written reply to the Lok Sabha yesterday, Mr Shukla informed that as per RBI data on global operations for PSBs, during the financial years 2014-15 to 2017-18, PSBs recovered 2,33,339 crore rupees, of which 32,693 crores were from written-off accounts.
• During 2014-15 to 2017-18, the PSBs witnessed reduction in their NPAs due to write-offs to the tune of 3,16,515 crore rupees.
• The Minister also said that aggressive lending practices, wilful default/loan defaults as well as corruption in some cases and economic slowdown were the primary reasons for spurt in stressed assets.
• Country`s largest lender SBI, stood on a gross bad loans of 2.02 lakh crore rupees as on September 30, 2018, showed the data furnished by the Minister which was sourced from the Reserve Bank.
• Among the rest of the 20 PSBs, Punjab National Bank had grossed NPAs to the tune of 80,993 crore rupees by end of second quarter of the current fiscal, IDBI Bank 50,690 crore rupees, Bank of India 50,338 crore rupees, Union Bank of India 48,575 crores.
• Bank of Baroda also had NPAs to the tune of 46,454 crores, Canara Bank 41,907 crores, Central Bank of India 37,411 crores, Indian Overseas Bank 35,607 crores and UCO Bank 28,822 crores.
3. Global debt hits all-time high of USD 184 trillion: IMF
• The International Monetary Fund said that global debt has reached an all-time high of 184 trillion US dollars with the United States, China and Japan accounting for more than half of it.
• According to the IMF report, the amount in nominal terms, is the equivalent of 225 per cent of the world GDP in 2017.
• On average, the world`s debt now exceeds 86,000 dollars per person, which is more than two and half times the average income per-capita.
• IMF said it is striking that the most indebted economies in the world are also the richer ones.
• Since the beginning of the millennium, China`s share in global debt has gone up from less than three per cent to over 15 per cent.
4. NITI Aayog releases Strategy Document for New India
• NITI Aayog unveiled its comprehensive national Strategy for New India, which defines clear objectives for 2022-23.
• Releasing the Document, Mr Jaitley said, reforms and entrepreneurship have to be accompanied by social consciousness.
• The Finance Minister said, the various verticals of NITI Aayog`s Strategy Document gives form to the Indian model which emphasises on faster growth and better resource utilisation to improve the quality of life for all.
• It vouches for the transformation of the rural economy, creating a policy environment that enables income security for farmers and modernising agricultural technology for doubling farmers income.
• Our correspondent reports the Strategy Document advocates empowering and encouraging women to participate across all sectors of the economy, to build a strong and inclusive New India.
• Later talking to media, NITI Ayog Vice Chairman Rajiv Kumar said, modernisation of the agriculture sector and creation of entrepreneurs are important to address the problems in the agricultural sector.
• NITI Ayog is of the view that farm loan waiver is not a solution to agriculture sector problems but a palliative.
• If state governments find that there is acute distress in farming community, they are entitled to waive off the farm loans as per their fiscal situation.
5. India becoming world`s fastest growing economy
• The government has said the share of the Indian economy in the world increased from 2.6 percent in 2014 to 3.2 percent in 2017 as per the World Development Indicators database.
• Minister of State for Finance, Pon Radhakrishnan said this in a written reply in Rajya Sabha.
• He said the average growth of the Indian economy during 2014-15 to 2017-18 was 7.3 per cent, which is the fastest among the major economies in the world.
• Indian economy is projected to be the fastest growing major economy in 2018-19 and 2019-20.
• This is borne by GDP growth of 7.6 per cent in the first half of 2018-19.
• As per the estimates available from Central Statistics Office, the per capita income of the country increased from 86,647 rupees in 2014-15 to 112,835 rupees in 2017-18, recording a 30.2 percent growth from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
6. Working to bring India in top 50 ranking of Ease of doing business
• The Chairman designate of Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs P K Das has said that they are working on parameters to bring India in top 50 ranking in terms of Ease of doing business as Prime Minister has desired.
• He was addressing media persons at the end of the two days Conference of Chief Commissioners of Customs and Direct Generals on Customs Tariff and Allied matters in Bengaluru.
• Mr.Das said that bottlenecks are removed in the speedy clearances of cargo with the help of technology to reduce procedural delays.
• He recollected that India’s Ease of Doing Business ranking witnessed quantum jump from 142 in 2014 to 77 this year.
• He said, the emphasis is on to reduce transaction cost and time lapse through faceless assessment of bills of Entry, single window clearance, electronic tracking system, up gradation of Customs labs and setting up of integrated Check posts in borders.
• He informed that Customs duties and other allied taxes collected from April this year were three lakh two thousand 937 crore rupees.