Syllabus: GS-II

Subject: International Relations (I)

Topic: Regional and global groupings

Issue: ASEAN

Context: ASEAN Foreign Ministers retreat meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos.

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

• It is a regional intergovernmental organisation in Southeast Asia.
• Established in 1967, with the signing of the Bangkok Declaration.
• Member States

Goals :

• Promote regional peace and stability
• Create a single market and economic region
• Accelerate economic growth, social progress, and cultural development.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:GS-III

Subject:Economy

Topic:Growth and Development, Inclusion

Issue: Economic growth report

Context: The Ministry of Finance released a report titled ‘The Indian economy — A review’ ahead of the Interim Union Budget.

Synopsis:

• The report pegged India’s real GDP growth at closer to 7% in 2024-25.
• The Indian economy will hit $5 trillion in the next three years, making it the third largest in the world.
• Structural reforms post 2014
  • Goods and Services Tax
  • The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
  • Push for infrastructure building
  • Demonetisation(led to a surge in the use of non-cash forms of payment)

Mains specific Statements/data

• Finance Ministry warned that “exporting one’s way to growth (China model) is no longer easy amid
  • onshoring and friend-shoring of production
  • increasing vulnerabilities of global supply chains due to events like pandemic and geopolitical tensions.
• The report listed three trends for the coming years —
  • The end of the era of hyper-globalisation in global manufacturing
  • The advent of Artificial Intelligence and
  • The energy transition challenge.
• 51 crore bank accounts under Jan Dhan Yojana opened of which 55 percent are women.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Economy(E)

Topic: Trade and External sector

Issue: RoDTEP Scheme

Context: The budgetary allocation for RoDTEP is likely to get a 10% increase in 2024-25.

Remission of Duty and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme

• Objective: To boost exports by rebating/refunding the embedded Central, State and local duties/taxes to the exporters that were so far not being rebated/refunded.
• The rebate is issued as a transferable electronic scrip by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Customs (CBIC) in an end to end IT environment.
• WTO compliant scheme – It replaced the Merchandise Export Incentive Schemes (MIES) which was ruled to be non-compliant of rules by the WTO.
• Administered by Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Benefits:

• Increases export competitiveness by reducing costs.
• Boosts export volumes by encouraging businesses to export more, leading to increased foreign exchange earnings and job creation.
• Reimbursement through transferable e-scrips simplifies the process.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Internal Security 

Context:
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) in India has launched the National Terrorism Data Fusion & Analysis Centre (NTDFAC), akin to the US Global Terrorism Database

Synopsis:

It compiles comprehensive details of terrorists, including fingerprints, videos, and social media profiles.

Equipped with advanced technology, the NTDFAC integrates various databases and aims to enhance counter-terrorism efforts through collaboration and continual improvement.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus: GS-III

Subject: Economy(E)

Context: The government has extended price control measures to non-urea fertilizers, unlike urea which has a fixed maximum retail price.

Synopsis:

• Non-urea fertilizers under the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) scheme were previously market-determined, but now the government has introduced “reasonable pricing”
• The guidelines impose indirect MRP controls by capping company profits based on their total cost of sales.
• This move extends detailed cost monitoring and price controls applicable to urea to other fertilizers, aiming to ensure fair pricing and prevent excessive profits.

Source: Indian Express