World Bank Land Conference 2025

Context: India participated as a Country Champion at the World Bank Land Conference in Washington D.C., showcasing its rural land governance reforms.

About SVAMITVA Scheme (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas)

• Launched by: Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Government of India
• Objective: To provide rural landowners with legal ownership of their residential land through drone-based surveys and property cards.
• Implementation Of the Scheme: 
  • MoU Signing: Implementation starts with a Memorandum of Understanding between Survey of India and State Governments.
  • CORS Network Setup: Continuously Operating Reference Stations enable high-accuracy geo-referencing using Real-Time Kinematic corrections.
  • Drone Survey & GIS Mapping: Drones map village abadi areas; Geographic Information System (GIS) maps at 1:500 scale are created through the Gram Manchitra platform.
  • Verification & Dispute Resolution: Ground teams verify maps, resolve objections, and finalize property boundaries.
  • Property Card Issuance: Legal Property Cards (Sampatti Patrak) are issued to villagers digitally or in print.

About World Bank Land Conference, 2025

• The World Bank Land Conference 2025, explores effective strategies for enhancing land tenure security and land administration worldwide
• 2025 Theme: ‘Securing Land Tenure and Access for Climate Action’.
• This global forum brings together governments, development partners, civil society, academia, and the private sector to showcase policy-relevant research, discuss technical issues, and share best practices in the land sector.

Afrikaner

Context: Recently a group of Afrikaners who are recognised as refugees by the Trump administration, arrived at the Dulles airport in Washington.

About Afrikaner

• Identity: Afrikaners are white South African citizens who have descended from predominantly Dutch colonists who had first arrived in the mid-17th century. 
• Language: They speak a language called Afrikaans.
• Economic Role: Today, Afrikaners in South Africa amount to 7% of the country’s population, but own 70% of the country’s land. 
  • The vast majority of them are farmers.
• Reasons For Their Refugee Status by US: Trump granted refugee status to Afrikaners citing South Africa’s land expropriation law, which allows land seizure without compensation.

Madhya Pradesh: Mission D-3

Context: Mission D3, launched by tribal youths in November 2024 across Alirajpur and Jhabua districts in Madhya Pradesh, is a social movement to promote simpler, debt-free celebrations of weddings.

What is Mission D3?

• A social movement to eliminate 3Ds from weddings: Dowry (Dahej), Liquor (Daroo), and DJ music.
• It focuses on tribal communities (Bhil and Bhilala tribes).

Bhil 

• The Bhils (or Bheels) are one of the largest indigenous tribal groups in India.
• They mainly live in western and central India, especially in: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh. 
• They hold Scheduled Tribe (ST) status in multiple states. 

Bhilala

• The Bhilala tribe mainly lives in the Malwa and Nimar regions of Central India.
• The name Bhilala may have come from “Bhilwala”, meaning Rajputs ruling in Bhil territory.
• Social status: Bhilalas are mostly landowners and are called Mukhi, Darbar, or Thakur in local society.
• The Bhilala tribe, like the Bhil tribe, is recognized as a Scheduled Tribe (ST) in Madhya Pradesh, India.

‘My Bharat’ Portal

Context: Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports urged young people to join the ‘My Bharat’ portal to actively contribute to India’s development by 2047.

About ‘My Bharat’ Portal

• It is a technology-driven platform for youth empowerment aimed at: Youth development and Youth-led development. 
• Objective:  To empower youth and help them achieve their dreams while contributing to building a developed India (Viksit Bharat).
• Developed by: The Digital India Corporation.
• Key Features of MY Bharat
  • Experiential Learning Opportunities – Hands-on experience in various industries to improve practical skills.
  • Volunteer for Bharat – Encourages youth to participate in community service and contribute to society.
  • Resources & Mentorship – Offers guidance, industry connections, and expert advice for personal growth. 
  • Available in 15 Indian languages for wider reach.
  • Uses a phygital (physical + digital) approach to connect youth with real-world opportunities.

Treasury Bill

Context: India has rolled over a $50 million Treasury Bill to support the Maldivian economy.

• This is part of India’s emergency financial assistance, renewed annually since 2019.

About Treasury Bill (T-Bill)

• Definition: A short-term debt instrument issued by the government to meet funding needs.
• Characteristics:  Zero-coupon securities issued at a discount and redeemed at face value upon maturity
• Tenure: Presently issued in three tenors, namely, 91 day, 182 day and 364 day.
• Issuer in India: Reserve Bank of India (on behalf of the Government of India).
  • The auctions are held at RBI’s electronic platform called E-Kuber.
• Purpose: Used for short-term borrowing and cash flow management.
• Significance: Risk-free investment instrument; indicates sovereign commitment.

About Government Securities (G-Secs)

• G-Sec are tradable debt instruments issued by the Central or State Governments to manage fiscal deficits.
• Types:
  • Short-term: Treasury bills (T-Bills) with maturities of less than one year.
  • Long-term: Government bonds or dated securities with maturity of one year or more.
• Issuance: The Central Government issues both T-bills and bonds.
  • State Governments issue only bonds called State Development Loans (SDLs).
• Risk Profile: Considered risk-free due to government backing (termed gilt-edged instruments).

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