Data release: The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 was released, showing rural monthly per capita expenditure rose 164 per cent since 2011-12.
Defence: DHARMA GUARDIAN (5th edition, India-Japan) and DOSTI-16 (India-Maldives-Sri Lanka) were ongoing military exercises.
Economy: India's venture debt financing market grew 50 per cent year-on-year in 2023 as startups sought non-dilutive capital.
Policy: Draft Consumer Protection guidelines on greenwashing were released for public comment.
GS area: Economy (Poverty, Living Standards, Statistical Data)
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2022-23. The previous survey was for 2011-12; the 2017-18 survey data was not officially released.
Key findings:
Rural MPCE (Monthly Per Capita Expenditure): 3,773 rupees in 2022-23, up 164 per cent from 1,430 rupees in 2011-12.
Urban MPCE: 6,459 rupees in 2022-23, up 146 per cent from 2,630 rupees in 2011-12.
Rural-urban gap narrowing: The rural-urban MPCE ratio in 2011-12 showed urban spending at 183.9 per cent of rural spending. By 2022-23, this had narrowed to 171.2 per cent. In simpler terms: the gap between city and village living standards is closing.
Policy relevance: HCES data feeds into poverty estimates, the Consumer Price Index weights, and direct benefit transfer targeting. The 11-year gap in published data had created uncertainty in all these calculations.
National Sample Survey (NSS): HCES is conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) under MoSPI, as a part of the NSS rounds.
2. Military Exercises: DHARMA GUARDIAN and DOSTI-16
GS area: International Relations (Defence Diplomacy)
Two significant military exercises were in progress:
DHARMA GUARDIAN 5:
Participants: India and Japan.
Location: Rajasthan, India.
Edition: 5th annual edition.
Focus: Counter-terrorism and jungle warfare operations. The exercise develops interoperability between the Indian Army and the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force.
India-Japan context: Japan is a Quad partner. The two countries have a Special Strategic and Global Partnership. Defence cooperation has deepened with Japan opening its ODA (Official Development Assistance) to India for defence infrastructure.
DOSTI-16:
Participants: India, Maldives, Sri Lanka (core participants); Bangladesh as an observer.
Focus: Maritime search and rescue, anti-piracy, and pollution response in the Indian Ocean.
India-Maldives context: Early 2024 saw strain in India-Maldives ties after President Muizzu took office and requested withdrawal of Indian military personnel.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) under MoCA released draft guidelines on the prevention of greenwashing. Public comments were invited until 21 March 2024.
Greenwashing: The practice of making misleading environmental claims about products, services, or a company's practices to appear more eco-friendly than reality supports.
Draft provisions:
Prohibition on environmental claims that are vague, unsubstantiated, or selective in their disclosure.
Requirement to disclose all material information, including negative environmental impacts.
Applies to advertisements, marketing materials, and endorsers.
Relevant Act: Consumer Protection Act 2019, which established the CCPA as the regulator for unfair trade practices and misleading advertisements.
CCPA: The Central Consumer Protection Authority has powers to initiate suo motu proceedings, recall products, and issue cease-and-desist orders.
India's venture debt market crossed one billion US dollars in 2023, recording a 50 per cent year-on-year increase.
What venture debt is: A form of debt financing for early-stage startups that do not have consistent revenue or hard assets to offer as collateral for traditional bank loans. Venture debt lenders assess the startup's investor backing and growth trajectory rather than just asset cover.
Advantage over equity: Founders avoid equity dilution, meaning they retain a larger ownership stake than if they had taken venture capital funding.
Who provides it: Specialised non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) and some foreign debt funds. In India, Trifecta Capital and Stride Ventures are active players.
Context: Venture debt grew rapidly as interest rates rose globally, making equity rounds harder to close. Startups bridged funding gaps using debt.
The Rashtriya Udyamita Vikas Pariyojana is a 22-week entrepreneurship training programme for beneficiaries of PM SVANidhi (the Street Vendor Microfinance Scheme).
PM SVANidhi: Provides collateral-free working capital loans to street vendors. Phase I: 10,000 rupees; Phase II: 20,000 rupees; Phase III: 50,000 rupees. The scheme was launched in June 2020.
RUVP delivery: Through 20 National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD) centres and 10 Indian Institute of Entrepreneurship (IIE) centres.
Target: 40 per cent women participation in RUVP programmes.
NATO's Steadfast Defender 2024: The largest NATO military exercise since the Cold War, conducted across Europe. It involved 90,000 troops from all 31 NATO allies. The exercise was explicitly framed as a demonstration of solidarity and deterrence capability against Russian aggression following the Ukraine invasion.
Draft Cinematograph Certification Rules 2024: The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting released draft rules for public comment (deadline 1 March 2024). The rules concern the certification of films by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). The Cinematograph Act 1952 governs film certification in India.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
The Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2022-23 was conducted by which organisation?
Check yourself
DHARMA GUARDIAN is a military exercise between India and:
Check yourself
DOSTI, a trilateral coast guard exercise, regularly involves which three countries?
Check yourself
PM SVANidhi, referenced in the context of entrepreneurship training programmes, provides: