Viability Plan 2.0 for RRBs
Context: The Department of Financial Services (DFS) has approved a revised Viability Plan 2.0 for a period of three years from 2025-26 to 2027-28.
UPSC Online Courses
About the Viability Plan 2.0 for RRBs
- Objective: Strengthens financial stability, governance, and long-term sustainability of Regional Rural Banks through a revised 3-year framework (2025–28).
- Institutional Continuity: Builds on earlier viability plan (2021–25) introduced by Department of Financial Services to improve monitoring and performance.
- Coverage: Applicable to all 28 RRBs across India, ensuring uniform reform and oversight.
- Four Key Pillars: Focuses on
- Operational excellence
- Asset quality
- Profitability
- Growth
- Performance Metrics: Tracks ~30 parameters including Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR), credit-deposit ratio, Non-performing assets (NPAs) and digital adoption.
- Alignment with National Goals: Supports rural credit expansion, financial inclusion, digital banking, and implementation of government schemes.
- Expected Impact: Enhances efficiency, competitiveness, and resilience of RRBs in evolving financial sector conditions.
Regional Rural Banks (RRBs)
- Establishment: RRBs were set up under the Regional Rural Banks Act, 1976 on the recommendation of the Narasimham Committee on Rural Credit (1975).
- Objective: Promote financial inclusion and provide banking services in rural areas, especially to small farmers, artisans, and weaker sections.
- Sponsor Banks: Each RRB is sponsored by a public sector bank that provides capital and managerial support.
- Ownership Pattern: Tripartite structure —
- Government of India: 50%
- Sponsor Bank: 35%
- State Government: 15%
- Recent Consolidation (One State–One RRB):
- Structural Change: Number of RRBs reduced from 43 to 28, adopting a one state–one RRB model.
- Objective: Improve operational efficiency, governance, capital strength, and digital service delivery in rural banking.
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0
Context: The Union Cabinet has approved the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) 5.0.
About the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme 5.0
- ECLGS 5.0 is a government-backed credit guarantee scheme to boost liquidity for businesses during external shocks like the West Asia crisis.
- Implementing Agency: National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company Limited (NCGTC).
- Eligible Borrowers: MSMEs, non-MSMEs, and scheduled passenger airlines with standard loan accounts.
- Coverage:
- 100% guarantee for MSMEs
- 90% guarantee for non-MSMEs and airline sector
- Target Credit Flow: Aims to mobilise ₹2.55 lakh crore additional credit, including ₹5,000 crore earmarked for airlines.
- Loan Quantum:
- Up to 20% of peak working capital (Q4 FY26), capped at ₹100 crore.
- Airlines: up to 100% additional credit, capped at ₹1,500 crore per borrower.
- Tenure & Moratorium:
- MSMEs/non-MSMEs: 5 years (including 1-year moratorium).
- Airlines: 7 years (including 2-year moratorium).
- Impact: Supports liquidity, job protection, supply chain stability, and economic resilience, especially in crisis-hit sectors.
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS)
- ECLGS was launched in 2020 under the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package to help businesses affected by the COVID-19 lockdown.
- Objective: Provide emergency working capital support to MSMEs and stressed sectors to meet operational liabilities and restart economic activity.
- ECLGS 1.0: Provided collateral-free additional credit up to 20% of outstanding loans as on 29 February 2020.
- Covered MSMEs, business enterprises, and MUDRA borrowers with 100% government guarantee.
- ECLGS 2.0: Focused on 26 stressed sectors identified by the Kamath Committee and the healthcare sector.
- ECLGS 3.0: Offered credit up to 40% of outstanding loans for sectors like hospitality, tourism, and leisure.
- ECLGS 4.0: Provided 100% guaranteed loans up to ₹2 crore for setting up oxygen generation plants.
- Benefited hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and medical colleges with interest capped at 7.5%.
Hantavirus
Context: A suspected outbreak of hantavirus infection aboard a cruise ship in the Atlantic Ocean has resulted in the deaths of three passengers and infections among several others.
About Hantavirus
- Nature of the Virus: Hantaviruses are a group of rodent-borne viruses primarily transmitted to humans through contact with infected rats, mice, and their droppings, urine, or saliva.
- Human-to-human transmission is extremely rare.
- Symptoms: Fever, muscle pain, fatigue, cough, and breathing difficulty.
- Diseases Caused:
- Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) affecting lungs.
- Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome (HFRS) affecting kidneys.
- Treatment: There is no specific cure; treatment mainly involves supportive and intensive medical care.
- Preventive Measures:
- Rodent control and sanitation reduce transmission risk.
- Proper food storage and waste management prevent contamination.
- Avoiding rodent-infested areas lowers infection risk.
UPSC Online Coaching
Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
Context: EAM S. Jaishankar Begins Official Visit to Jamaica, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago.
- These countries share a special connection with India owing to the presence of Girmitiya communities.
About Girmityas
- Meaning of Girmitiya: “Girmitiya” refers to Indians who were taken by European colonial powers, particularly the British, to overseas colonies as indentured labourers during the 19th and early 20th centuries.
- Origin of the System: This system emerged after the abolition of slavery, when plantation economies in regions such as the Caribbean, Fiji, Mauritius, Africa, and Southeast Asia required large-scale labour for sugar, tea, rubber, and other cash-crop plantations.
- Origin of the Term: The term originated from the word “agreement,” pronounced as “girmit” by Indian labourers who signed labour contracts.
About Jamaica
- Location: Island nation in the Caribbean Sea, connected to the Atlantic Ocean.
- It is part of the Greater Antilles (the group of the larger islands in the Caribbean, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico).
- Capital and Largest City: Kingston.
- Regional Organisation: Member of CARICOM (Caribbean Community).
About Suriname
- Location: Country on the northeastern coast of South America.
- Capital: Paramaribo.
- Boundaries: Bordered by Guyana to the west, French Guiana to the east, Brazil to the south, and the Atlantic Ocean to the north.
- Regional Groupings: Member of CARICOM, United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM).
- Geographical Feature: More than 90% of Suriname is covered by tropical rainforests and forms part of the Guiana Shield–Amazon rainforest region, one of the world’s most biodiverse ecosystems.
- The Guiana Shield is an ancient geological formation spanning northeastern South America, covering parts of Venezuela, Colombia, Brazil, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
- Natural Resources: Rich in gold, oil, bauxite, and timber resources.
About Trinidad and Tobago
- Location: Southernmost archipelagic country in the Caribbean, comprising the islands of Trinidad and Tobago along with smaller islets.
- They are located near the northeastern coast of Venezuela.
- Capital: Port of Spain.
- Significance: Major exporter of liquefied natural gas (LNG) and petrochemicals.
Mission for Cotton Productivity
Context: The Union Cabinet has approved the “Mission for Cotton Productivity” with an outlay of ₹5,659.22 crore for the period 2026–27 to 2030–31.
Key Points about the Mission
- Vision: The mission aligns with the 5F vision (Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign) of the Government of India.
- Coverage: Initially, the Mission will cover 140 districts across 14 States.
- Focus:
- Productivity Enhancement Development of high-yielding, climate-resilient, and pest-resistant cotton varieties.
- Technology: Upscaling improved cotton production technologies like High Density Planting System (HDPS), Closer Spacing (CS), Integrated Cotton Management, and promotion of Extra Long Staple (ELS) Cotton.
- Quality and Infrastructure Improvement: Modernisation of ginning and processing factories, strengthening of standardised and accredited cotton testing infrastructure for contamination-free and globally benchmarked cotton.
- Branding and Market Reforms: Robust branding and traceability initiatives under Kasturi Cotton Bharat to position Indian cotton as a premium, sustainable, and globally trusted product.
- Kasturi Cotton Bharat is a certification and branding initiative for processed lint cotton bales.
- Sustainability and Diversification: Promotion of cotton waste recycling, circular economy practices, and diversification into natural fibres such as flax, ramie, sisal, milkweed, bamboo, and banana fibre.
- Implementation Framework: Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and the Ministry of Textiles.
About Cotton (genus Gossypium)
- Nature of Crop: Cotton is a semi-xerophyte fibre crop grown under tropical and subtropical climatic conditions.
- Climatic Requirements: It requires a minimum temperature of around 15°C for germination and 21°C–27°C for optimum growth.
- Warm days and cool nights during the fruiting stage improve boll development and fibre quality.
- Soil Requirements: Cotton grows best in well-drained soils and is cultivated in alluvial soils of Northern India, black cotton (regur) soils of Central India, and mixed black and red soils of Southern India.
- Major Cotton Zones:
- Northern Zone: Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan
- Central Zone: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
- Southern Zone: Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka
- Cotton Species in India: India is the only country cultivating all four major cotton species — arboreum, herbaceum, barbadense, and hirsutum.
- Rainfed Dependence: Nearly 65% of India’s cotton area is rainfed, making production highly dependent on monsoon performance.
- Pests and Diseases: Important threats include pink bollworm, whitefly, Cotton Leaf Curl Virus (CLCuV), boll rot, Tobacco Streak Virus (TSV).
- Government Measures: Key initiatives include promotion of Bt Cotton, Kapas Kisan App, and procurement operations through the Cotton Corporation of India (CCI).
- MSP for Cotton: Cotton is among the 14 Kharif crops covered under the MSP regime, with MSP recommendations made by the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
- Cotton Production in India: India’s cotton production stood at 290.91 lakh bales during 2025-26, with Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Karnataka and Rajasthan the top five producers in the country.
- India’s Global Position: India ranks second in global cotton production.
India’s First Green Methanol Plant
Context: India’s first port based green methanol plant is being set up at Deendayal Port Authority in Kandla, Gujarat to produce marine fuel for ships.
Key Features of Green Methanol Plant in Kandla
- Feedstock: Utilises Prosopis juliflora, converting an invasive weed into useful biofuel.
- Production Capacity: Pilot plant producing ~5 tonnes of methanol per day.
- Technology: Uses biomass gasification (to syngas) followed by catalytic conversion to methanol.
- Environmental Benefit: Reduces CO₂, NOx, SOx emissions and helps restore Banni grasslands ecosystem.
- Policy Relevance: Supports green shipping goals of International Maritime Organization and India’s green ports initiative.
- Significance: Promotes a circular economy by restoring native grasslands (removal of invasive species) while generating low-emission marine fuel.
Click to Know UPSC Coaching Centres in India
About Prosopis juliflora
- Origin: Prosopis juliflora is a thorny shrub/tree native to Central and South America (Mexican origin).
- Introduction in India: Brought by the British in the late 19th century to control desertification.
- It has since become one of the most aggressive invasive alien species in arid and semi-arid regions of India.
- Local Names: Known as Vilayati Babul (North India) and Gando Baval (Gujarat).
- Ecological Impact:
- Depletes groundwater
- Outcompetes native vegetation
- Increases soil salinity and degrades land
- Environmental Threat: Has spread aggressively, destroying grassland ecosystems.
- Major Concern: Has severely impacted Banni grasslands (Kutch), threatening species like Great Indian Bustard.
6 May 2026
.png)
Current Affairs
GS Foundation
Optional Course
Combo Courses
Degree Program
