2 February 2024

• Budget continued: Day two coverage unpacks the budget's four pillars and flagship scheme data. PM-KISAN has assisted 12 crore farmers.
• Banking: RBI directed Paytm Payments Bank to stop accepting fresh deposits and credit transactions. Deadline for nodal account closure: 29 February 2024.
• Environment: Five new Ramsar wetland sites were added. India's total Ramsar site count rose to 80.
• International: Jordan's geography entered the news after a drone strike on a US military base (Tower 22) in the country.

GS area: Economy, Government Schemes

The second day of budget coverage detailed the four pillars and their flagship numbers. Every figure below has appeared or can appear in prelims questions.

• PM-Jan Dhan Yojana: Direct benefit transfers of 34 lakh crore rupees since inception. Savings of 2.7 lakh crore rupees by plugging leakages.
• PM-KISAN: 12 crore farmers received 6,000 rupees each per year in three instalments. Transfers go directly to bank accounts.
• PM Fasal Bima Yojana: 4 crore farmers covered under crop insurance annually.
• e-NAM (National Agriculture Market): 1,361 mandis integrated. Trading volume at 3 lakh crore rupees.
• PM Awas Yojana-Grameen: Three crore houses targeted in the next phase; 70 per cent of completed houses allotted to rural women.
• Rooftop Solarisation: 1 crore households to receive 300 free electricity units monthly. Announced as a new initiative in the budget.
• Non-fossil fuel electricity capacity: 44 per cent of installed capacity in 2023, up from 30 per cent in 2004.

Static linkage: Economy (government schemes, agriculture, direct benefit transfer), Environment (renewable energy targets).

GS area: Economy (Banking Regulation)

The Reserve Bank of India directed Paytm Payments Bank Limited to stop accepting fresh deposits, credit transactions, and fund transfers after 29 February 2024. The RBI also directed the bank to close its nodal accounts by that date. The reason cited was persistent non-compliance findings from an external audit.

Key distinctions for prelims:

• Paytm Payments Bank: A payments bank licensed under the RBI. Payments banks cannot lend but can hold deposits up to a limit and offer payment services.
• What RBI allowed: Unlimited withdrawals and transactions on existing balances were still permitted.
• UPI impact: Paytm's UPI services were among those affected because they were routed through the bank's nodal accounts.
• Why nodal accounts matter: Merchants route their UPI collections through nodal accounts held at a bank. Closure of these accounts severs the payment pipeline.

Static linkage: Economy (RBI, banking regulation, payments banks, UPI).

GS area: Environment and Ecology

India added five new sites to the list of Ramsar Convention wetlands, raising the national total to 80. The five new sites:

• Aghanashini Estuary: Karnataka.
• Magadi Kere Conservation Reserve: Karnataka.
• Ankasamudra Bird Conservation Reserve: Karnataka.
• Karaivetti Bird Sanctuary: Tamil Nadu.
• Longwood Shola Reserve Forest: Tamil Nadu.

The Ramsar Convention (formally: Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially as Waterfowl Habitat) was signed in Ramsar, Iran, in 1971. Contracting parties commit to maintaining the ecological character of designated sites and using wetlands wisely.

World Wetlands Day falls on 2 February. The theme for 2024 was "Wetlands and Human Wellbeing". India celebrated the day at Sirpur Lake in Indore, itself a designated Ramsar site.

Static linkage: Environment (international conventions, wetlands, biodiversity).

GS area: Governance (Education Policy)

The National Mission for Mentoring (NMM) was launched on 29 July 2022, starting in 30 Kendriya Vidyalayas. The mission aligns with the National Education Policy 2020, which positions mentorship as a key lever for teacher quality improvement. The mission pairs experienced educators with teachers who need support.

The National Education Policy 2020 replaced the 34-year-old NEP 1986. Its key features include:

• Restructuring school education from 10+2 to 5+3+3+4.
• Flexibility in subject choices at higher secondary level.
• Emphasis on mother tongue or regional language as medium of instruction up to class 5.
• Target: 6 per cent of GDP on education.

Static linkage: Governance (education policy, NEP 2020).

GS area: Economy, Environment

The Interim Budget announced a Blue Economy 2.0 initiative focused on sustainable use of ocean resources. Specific measures include restoration of coastal habitats, expansion of coastal aquaculture and mariculture, and establishment of five integrated aquaparks. The budget also proposed enhancing the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana.

• PMMSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana): Launched in 2020. Targets doubling fisheries exports and creating 55 lakh employment opportunities. Total outlay is 20,050 crore rupees.
• PM-MKSSY (Pradhan Mantri Matsya Kisan Samridhi Sah-Yojana): A new sub-scheme announced separately. Outlay of 6,000 crore rupees over four years. Provides digital work-based identities to around 40 lakh micro-enterprises.
• Blue Economy: Defined as the sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and ocean ecosystem health.

Static linkage: Economy (fisheries, maritime economy), Environment (coastal ecosystems).

GS area: Science and Technology

Researchers at the Physical Research Laboratory in Ahmedabad published a study on the origin of interplanetary dust that causes zodiacal light. Zodiacal light is a faint, diffuse glow visible in the night sky, caused by sunlight scattered by dust particles orbiting the Sun in the plane of the solar system (the ecliptic). The study attempts to trace whether comets or asteroid collisions contribute more dust.

PRL is an autonomous research institute under the Department of Space, Government of India. It conducts research in space and allied sciences.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (space science, research institutions).

• Jordan geography: Tower 22, a US military base in northeastern Jordan near the Syrian and Iraqi borders, was struck by a drone. Jordan is a constitutional monarchy and a founding member of the Arab League. It borders Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south and southeast, and Israel and the Palestinian Territories to the west.
• Computerisation of RCS and ARDB offices: The budget announced digitising Registrar of Cooperative Society offices and Agricultural Rural Development Banks as part of the "Sahkaar Se Samriddhi" vision for cooperative sector empowerment.