03 March 2025 : Daily Current Affairs

1. Urban cooperative banks urgently need to get their act together

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 13)

Problems with Urban Cooperative Banks (UCBs)

• Fraud and Mismanagement: UCBs have frequently faced financial irregularities, including frauds such as the ₹122-crore scam at New India Cooperative Bank (NICB) and the ₹6,250-crore Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank scam.
• Weak Governance: Many UCBs suffer from poor internal controls, ineffective boards, and conflicts of interest, leading to financial instability.
• Dynastic Control: Some UCBs are controlled by family-dominated groups, affecting decision-making and increasing the risk of corruption.
• Inadequate Oversight: Internal audits, risk management mechanisms, and statutory audits often fail to detect irregularities in time.
• Liquidity Issues: Many UCBs lack the financial strength to withstand economic shocks, affecting depositors’ confidence.
• Delayed Action: Authorities often act only after large-scale frauds are exposed, leading to depositor panic and financial instability.

Way Forward

• Stronger Regulatory Oversight: The RBI should enhance supervision, conduct more frequent inspections, and enforce strict compliance measures.
• Governance Reforms: Improve board accountability, implement independent audits, and eliminate dynastic control.
• Timely Intervention: Early detection of financial stress can help prevent large-scale frauds and protect depositors’ money.
• Revival Strategies: Encourage mergers with financially sound entities, including small finance banks and NBFCs, to ensure stability.
• Deposit Protection: Ensure prompt disbursal of insured deposits and consider innovative rescue models like Unity Small Finance Bank.

2. PLI 2.0: Expanding Beyond Sales to Strengthen India’s Manufacturing and Exports

(Source – Indian Express, Section – Cover Page- Page No. – 01)

Analysis of the news:                            

Expanding Metrics Beyond Incremental Sales

• The government is considering linking PLI incentives to additional metrics such as domestic value addition and incremental exports instead of just incremental sales.
• This shift aims to deepen India’s manufacturing base, strengthen supply chains, and enhance global competitiveness.

Challenges in Value Addition and Localization

• Despite the PLI scheme’s success in attracting OEMs and contract manufacturers, value addition remains low across key sectors.
• To increase domestic manufacturing capabilities, deeper integration of local suppliers and component manufacturers is necessary.
• Enhancing localization in electronics manufacturing is particularly crucial to reduce dependence on imports and improve India’s global competitiveness.

Need for Large-Scale Manufacturing and Exports

• A significant hurdle in achieving self-reliance is the lack of large-volume manufacturing, which is essential to lower costs through economies of scale.
• Since India’s domestic market size is relatively small in sectors like telecom and electronics, expanding exports is critical to sustain production at scale and integrate into global supply chains.

Role of Foreign OEMs in Strengthening Ecosystem

• One proposed strategy is to leverage foreign OEMs to accelerate India’s manufacturing ecosystem.
• These firms have well-established supply chains and greater bargaining power with semiconductor and technology vendors.
• Over time, Indian firms can move up the value chain, similar to how Japan, South Korea, and China successfully developed their industries.

Job Creation and Sectoral Performance

• The PLI scheme’s impact on job creation has been uneven. While mobile phones, food processing, and pharma have performed well, textiles and advanced chemical cells have lagged.
• Aligning incentives with domestic value addition and exports could enhance employment generation across sectors.

Way Forward

To maximize the impact of PLI 2.0, India must:

1. Encourage localization of component manufacturing to boost value addition.
2. Expand export-oriented production to achieve economies of scale.
3. Strategically engage foreign OEMs to integrate domestic firms into global supply chains.
4. Enhance R&D investments and logistics infrastructure to improve global competitiveness.

A structured approach in PLI 2.0 could make India a global manufacturing hub, reducing reliance on imports and driving long-term economic growth.

3. The Strategic Impact of GeM on India’s Economy

(Source – https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2107510 )

Introduction

• Public procurement is essential for a country’s economic growth and affects citizens’ lives.
• Efficient and transparent government purchases ensure optimal use of public funds and create business opportunities.
• This leads to increased employment, innovation, and overall societal progress.
• In India, the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has revolutionized public procurement, benefiting government buyers, local entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses.

GeM’s Impact on Startups and Women Entrepreneurs

• Startups have secured orders worth ₹35,950 crore through GeM.
• Women entrepreneurs form 8% of the seller base, with 1,77,786 Udyam-verified women micro and small enterprises (MSEs) registered.
• These women-led businesses have fulfilled orders worth ₹46,615 crore.

What is GeM?

• GeM is an online platform for public procurement in India.
• It was launched on August 9, 2016, by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• The goal is to create a transparent and open procurement system for government buyers.

Core Principles of GeM

Openness

• GeM ensures access to all relevant information about sellers, goods, and services.
• It provides database insights for better decision-making and price assessment.

Fairness

• The platform provides equal opportunities to all sellers, big and small.
• No seller receives preferential treatment, ensuring a competitive market.
• Policies support preferential market access while maintaining fair competition.

Inclusiveness

• All government buyers and sellers can participate in GeM.
• The platform offers training and onboarding assistance to new users.
• Special support is provided to those unfamiliar with GeM operations.

Key Features of GeM

SWAYATT: Promoting Ease of Doing Business

• This initiative enhances business opportunities for startups, women entrepreneurs, micro and small enterprises, self-help groups, and youth from disadvantaged backgrounds.
• It focuses on training and onboarding last-mile sellers.

Startup Runway 2.0: Showcasing Innovation

• Provides startups an opportunity to present innovative products and services to government buyers.
• A dedicated category exists for startups, regardless of DPIIT certification.
• Supports “Make in India” by encouraging procurement from Indian startups.

Womaniya: Empowering Women Entrepreneurs

• Promotes products made by women entrepreneurs and self-help groups.
• Special categories include handicrafts, home decor, office furnishings, organic foods, and accessories.
• Supports the government’s initiative of reserving 3% procurement for women MSME entrepreneurs.

MSME SC/ST Entrepreneurs on GeM

• GeM collaborates with stakeholders to promote MSME participation, focusing on SC/ST entrepreneurs.
• Government departments and public sector enterprises must procure 25% from MSMEs, including 4% from SC/ST entrepreneurs.

The Saras Collection: Celebrating Handcrafted Excellence

• Features handcrafted items such as textiles, decor, furnishings, accessories, and personal care products.
• Products are sourced from top self-help groups across India.

Conclusion

• GeM has transformed public procurement in India by ensuring transparency, efficiency, and inclusiveness.
• GeM continues to evolve, aiming to create a sustainable, open, and competitive marketplace for public procurement.

Prelims Facts

1. Euclid space telescope discovers new ‘Einstein ring’ in nearby galaxy

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 7)

Gravitational Lensing and Einstein Rings

• Massive objects like galaxies bend light from distant objects, creating a lensing effect.
• Sometimes, the bent light forms a circular pattern called an Einstein ring.

Discovery of a New Einstein Ring

• The Euclid space mission recently discovered an Einstein ring in galaxy NGC 6505, 590 million light-years away.
• This ring was initially detected in an unfocused image during early mission testing.
• The ring’s existence was later confirmed with clearer images.

Significance of Gravitational Lensing

• Light bends due to the distortion of spacetime by massive objects, as predicted by the general theory of relativity.
• Gravitational lenses can magnify and distort distant galaxies, creating multiple images.

Scientific Importance of the Discovery

• The new Einstein ring helps scientists study the universe’s expansion and dark matter.
• Dark matter, which makes up 30% of the universe’s mass-energy, interacts only through gravity.
• Euclid aims to discover 100,000 gravitational lenses, though finding similar nearby rings is unlikely.

2. Planetary parade: worlds on show

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 7)

What is Planetary Parade?

• A planetary parade occurs when multiple planets align in the night sky as seen from Earth.
• These alignments happen because all planets orbit the Sun in the same plane, called the ecliptic plane.

• The planetary parade on February 28, 2024, involved seven planets: Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
• Closer planets were visible to the naked eye, while Uranus and Neptune required telescopes.
• Parades involving three or four planets occur every few years, but seven- or eight-planet alignments are rare.
• The next major planetary parade will happen in 2040, involving six planets.
• These events are visually spectacular but not scientifically significant.

3. Research team discovers two more species of jumping spiders in wildlife sanctuary in Kerala

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 3)

Epidelaxia falciformis sp. nov. (70 words)

• Discovered in Kulathupuzha, Kollam, during a field expedition in December 2022.
• Males measure 4.39 mm in length.

• Identified by a brown carapace with a yellow-brown stripe.
• Females feature a yellow triangular-shaped mark on the prosoma.
• Unique copulatory organ traits distinguish the species.
• Highly adapted to the dense foliage of the Western Ghats.
• First recorded instance of the Epidelaxia genus in India.

Epidelaxia palustris sp. nov. (70 words)

• Discovered in Kulathupuzha, Kollam, in April 2023.
• Males measure 4.57 mm, while females measure 3.69 mm.
• Males have a pale brown band along their bodies.
• Females exhibit a yellow triangular-shaped mark on the prosoma and white orbital setae around their eyes.
• Unique reproductive structures in both sexes.
• Inhabits the Western Ghats’ dense foliage.
• Previously, the Epidelaxia genus was thought to be endemic to Sri Lanka.

4. In a first, private spacecraft lands upright on moon

(Source – The Hindu, International Edition – Page No. – 1)

Analysis of the news:

• Firefly Aerospace’s Successful Lunar Landing: The U.S. company landed its Blue Ghost Mission 1 on the Moon on March 3, 2024.
• First Upright Private Landing: Unlike the previous private mission, which tipped over, Blue Ghost remained stable and upright.
• Landing Site: Touched down near Mons Latreille, Mare Crisium on the Moon’s northeastern near side.
• NASA Partnership: Part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program to support Artemis missions.
• Scientific Goals: Carrying 10 instruments, it will study lunar soil, radiation, and navigation.
• Future Lunar Missions: Intuitive Machines’ Athena lander to attempt a southernmost landing on March 6.

5. The Dramatic Performances Act, 1876

(Source – Indian Express, Section – Explained- Page No. – 11)

Analysis of the news:

The Dramatic Performances Act, 1876

• Enacted by the British, this law allowed authorities to ban plays or performances deemed defamatory, seditious, or obscene.
• It granted magistrates sweeping powers, including search and seizure of performance venues and imprisonment for violations.

Post-Independence Status and Judicial Review

• The law was effectively invalidated in 1956 when the Allahabad High Court ruled it unconstitutional for violating Article 19(1)(a) (freedom of speech and expression).
• While various states had their own versions of the law, many were repealed in subsequent years.

Colonial Laws in Independent India

• Despite constitutional guarantees, several colonial-era laws continued to exist under Article 372, which allowed pre-independence laws to remain in force.
• The presumption of constitutionality does not apply to such laws, meaning they must be defended by the government when challenged.

Government Efforts to Repeal Archaic Laws

• Since 2014, the Modi government has repealed over 2,000 obsolete laws to improve governance and ease of doing business.
• However, some colonial-era laws, like the sedition law (now under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita), continue to be retained in modified forms.

6. Tea as a Natural Filter: Study Finds It Can Remove Heavy Metals from Water

(Source – Indian Express, Section – Explained- Page No. – 11)

Analysis of the news:                                 

How Tea Adsorbs Heavy Metals

• Tea leaves adsorb metal ions, meaning they stick to the surface of the leaves rather than dissolving in water.
• This process reduces the presence of harmful heavy metals in the final brewed tea, thereby lowering potential exposure.

Key Findings of the Study

1. Lead Removal Efficiency
   1. Tea preparation can remove about 15% of lead from drinking water, even when lead concentrations are relatively high.
   1. This estimate is based on a typical brewing method—one tea bag in a mug of water steeped for three to five minutes.
2. Impact of Steeping Time
   1. Longer steeping times significantly improve metal adsorption.
   1. Overnight brewing, such as for iced tea, can remove nearly all the metal content from water.
3. Effectiveness of Different Tea Bag Materials
   1. Cellulose tea bags performed better than cotton and nylon tea bags in adsorbing heavy metals.
   1. Cellulose, derived from wood pulp, has a larger surface area, making it more efficient in binding metal ions.
4. Influence of Tea Leaf Processing
   1. Finely ground black tea leaves absorbed slightly more metals than whole leaves.
   1. The wrinkled texture and porous structure of processed black tea enhance surface area, improving metal adsorption.

Implications for Public Health

• Tea is the most widely consumed beverage in the world, making this discovery highly accessible and significant.
• While the study does not suggest using tea as a primary water filtration method, it points to an additional public health benefit of tea consumption, particularly in areas with high heavy metal contamination.

 check more – 01 March 2025 : Daily Current Affairs