News In Shorts

• The GSI is a new Chinese initiative that seeks to challenge the Western-led global governance system and de-legitimize the United States’ role in Asia. 
• The GSI, Global Development Initiative and Global Civilisation Initiative (GCI) are three key new initiatives proposed by Mr. Xi that will underpin China’s foreign policy.

• RoDTEP is a WTO-compliant scheme. It replaced the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme (MEIS).
• The new RoDTEP scheme is designed to ensure the refund of all embedded taxes and duties, including those that were not refunded or reimbursed under the MEIS scheme
• Eligibility to claim benefits of the RoDTEP scheme:
  • Every exporter of goods in India is eligible to obtain the benefits under the RoDTEP scheme, subject to certain conditions.

• Lithium reserves were discovered during exploration by the Geological Survey of India (GSI) in the Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.
• Lithium reserves are also a key component in India’s ambition to expand EV penetration by 30% by 2030.

About: Lithium

• Lithium is a raw material critical for making batteries for electric vehicles. 
• Lithium-ion batteries have a high energy density resulting in a high power-to-weight ratio.
• It also works better in a variety of temperatures and is more energy-efficient. As a result, it is a safer and more dependable procedure than other ones.

After J&K, Lithium reserves were also discovered on Revant hill in Degana in Rajasthan’s Nagaur district (In GSI Survey). These can meet 80% of the country’s demand.

• The bonds (redeemable, taxable, non-convertible, non-priority sector, unsecured, social securities of face value ₹1 lakh each) of five-year tenure were issued privately to eligible institutional investors under the Sustainability Bond Framework (SBF).

About: Social bonds

• It is also known as social impact bonds (SIB), the bond issuer raises funds for a project that has some socially beneficial implications.
• SBF seeks to finance and refinance new or existing eligible green and social projects.
• Eligible social projects include affordable basic infrastructure, access to essential services, affordable housing, employment generation, food security, socioeconomic advancement, and empowerment.
• Projects that promise energy efficiency, including green buildings, energy storage, and smart grids, would also be eligible.

NABARD: NABARD is a Development Bank with a mandate for providing and regulating credit for the development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other allied economic activities in rural areas to promote the prosperity of rural areas.

• The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has announced Ms. Waheeda Rehman will be honored with the Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award for the year 2021.
  • Last year, it was presented to Asha Parekh.

About: The Dadasaheb Phalke Award

• It was introduced in 1969 to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema who directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra in 1913.
• The award comprises a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion, a shawl, and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh.
• It recognises the recipient’s ‘outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema’.