Important Facts for Prelims (July 17th, 2018)

• 17 Jul 2018

Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram

• Keeping in mind the educational empowerment and employment oriented skill development of Minority communities, the Central Government renamed and restructured Multi-sectoral Development Programme (MsDP) as Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram (PMJVK).
• The programme aims to develop socio-economic and basic amenities assets like school, college, polytechnic, girls hostel, ITI, skill development centre etc for the minority communities.
• 80% of the resources under the PMJVK have been earmarked for projects related to education, health and skill development.
• About 33 to 40 % of resources under the PMJVK have been specifically allocated for women-centric projects.
• The revised scheme is further leading to a lessening of the gap between the national average and the minority communities with regard to backwardness parameters.
• Earlier only those Cluster of Villages which were having at least 50% population of Minority Community was taken. The population criteria have been lowered to 25% for inclusive growth.
• The restructured programme aims to provide better socio-economic infrastructure facilities to the minority communities particularly in the field of education, health & skill development.
• This would further lead to a lessening of the gap between the national average and the minority communities with regard to backwardness parameters.
• MsDP was launched in 2008-09 by the Ministry of Minority Affairs.
• The developmental gaps/deficits in identified backward minority concentration areas are addressed by topping up of existing Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) of various Central ministries/departments.
• It also provides for taking up innovative projects which are not covered by any of the existing CSS of various ministries.
• Other schemes which aim at the inclusive growth of the minority communities
  • Seekho aur Kamao
  • Usttad
  • Garib Nawaz Kaushal Vikas Yojana
  • Nai Manzil
  • Nai Roshni
  • Begum Hazrat Mahal Girls scholarships

Wholesale Inflation at a 4-Year High of 5.77%

• Inflation at the wholesale level rose to 5.77% in June, up from 4.43% in May which is also the highest since December 2013. This rise is driven in large part by rising fuel prices along with rising food inflation.

Wholesale Price Index

• Wholesale Price Index (WPI) measures the average change in the prices of commodities for bulk sale at the early stage of transactions.
• WPI basket does not cover services.
• In India, WPI is also known as the headline inflation rate.
• In India, Office of Economic Advisor (OEA), Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry calculates the WPI.
• The base year of All-India WPI has been revised from 2004-05 to 2011-12 in May 2017 to align it with the base year of other macroeconomic indicators like the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
• The new definition of wholesale price index does not include taxes in order to remove the impact of fiscal policy.
• The change in base year was recommended of the Working Group under the chairmanship of Late Dr Saumitra Chaudhuri.

IMF Cuts India's Growth Forecast for 2018 to 7.3%

• The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projected India’s growth rate as 7.3% in 2018 and 7.5% in 2019 as against 6.7% in 2017.
• However, the latest growth rate projection for India is slightly less — 0.1 percentage point in 2018 and 0.3 percentage points in 2019 — than its April projections. Yet, India remains the fastest growing country among major economies.
• In its updated World Economic Outlook (WEO) report, the IMF noted that the reduction in growth is because of negative effects of higher oil prices on domestic demand and faster-than-anticipated monetary policy tightening due to higher expected inflation.
• The IMF also projected the global growth to reach 3.9% in 2018 and 2019.

World Economic Outlook

• The World Economic Outlook (WEO) is a survey conducted and published by IMF.
• It is published biannually and partly updated two times a year.
• It analyzes economic developments and policies in its member countries. It also projects developments in the global financial markets and economic system.
• The IMF also publishes Global Financial Stability Report.

M777 Ultra-Light Howitzer (ULH)

• In November 2016, India signed a deal with the U.S. government under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme for 145 M777 guns.
• The M777 is a 155 mm, 39-calibre towed artillery gun made of titanium and aluminium alloys and weigh just four tonnes, making it transportable by helicopters.