16 May 2024

• Economy: WPI inflation rose to a 13-month high of 1.26 per cent in April 2024. CPI inflation for April came in at 4.83 per cent, an 11-month low overall but with food inflation at a four-month high.
• Labour: PLFS data showed 80 million additional jobs were created between 2017-18 and 2022-23, with women's employment growing over 8 per cent annually.
• Energy: At the World Hydrogen Summit 2024 in Rotterdam, India showcased its National Green Hydrogen Mission with the largest country pavilion.
• Environment: Tea production in Assam and West Bengal was projected to fall 40-50 per cent due to drought and heatwave conditions.

GS area: Economy (Price Indices)

The Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA), Ministry of Commerce and Industry, released Wholesale Price Index (WPI) data for April 2024.

• Headline WPI inflation: 1.26 per cent in April 2024, up from 0.53 per cent in March 2024. This was a 13-month high.
• Drivers: Food articles (vegetables and fruits) and manufactured products were the primary contributors to the rise.
• Who releases WPI: The OEA under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. This is distinct from CPI, which is released by MoSPI (Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation).
• WPI base year: 2011-12 (revised from 2004-05 in 2017).
• WPI versus CPI: WPI captures prices at the factory gate or wholesale level, covering 697 commodities. CPI captures retail prices paid by consumers, covering 299 items. WPI has a large weight for manufacturing; CPI has a large weight for food.
• Use: The RBI's Monetary Policy Committee targets CPI inflation (not WPI). WPI is used by businesses to adjust contracts and by the government to assess producer-level price trends.

Static linkage: Price indices, inflation measurement, monetary policy.

GS area: Economy (Monetary Policy)

MoSPI released Consumer Price Index (CPI) data for April 2024.

• Headline CPI inflation: 4.83 per cent in April 2024, an 11-month low for overall CPI.
• Food inflation: 8.7 per cent, a four-month high. Despite lower headline inflation, food prices remained a key concern.
• Core inflation: CPI excluding food and fuel continued its downward trend, indicating that demand-pull inflation was being controlled.
• RBI's target: The MPC targets 4 per cent CPI inflation, with a tolerance band of 2 to 6 per cent. April's 4.83 per cent was within the band but above the midpoint.
• MoSPI: The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation compiles and releases CPI through the National Statistical Office (NSO). This is a common MCQ trap: many students attribute CPI release to the RBI, which only targets CPI, not releases it.

Static linkage: MPC inflation targeting, CPI versus WPI, MoSPI.

GS area: Economy (Labour Markets)

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) data for 2022-23 showed significant employment gains, with notable improvements in women's workforce participation.

• Jobs created: 80 million additional jobs were created between 2017-18 and 2022-23, at an annual growth rate of approximately 3.3 per cent.
• Women's employment: Women's workforce participation grew at over 8 per cent annually during this period, faster than overall employment growth.
• Employment type breakdown: Self-employment accounted for 55.8 per cent of total employment; casual labour 22.7 per cent; regular wage/salaried employment 21.5 per cent.
• Informal sector: Approximately 82 per cent of the workforce remains in the informal sector, where workers lack formal employment contracts and social security benefits.
• Real wage growth: Despite employment growth, real wage growth (adjusted for inflation) was only 1.2 per cent annually, raising concerns about income quality.
• PLFS: The Periodic Labour Force Survey is conducted annually by MoSPI. It replaced the older NSSO Employment and Unemployment Survey. It uses a rotating panel design.

Static linkage: Labour market, employment policy, women's economic participation.

GS area: Economy (Energy)

India had the largest country pavilion at the World Hydrogen Summit 2024 held in Rotterdam, Netherlands, showcasing its National Green Hydrogen Mission.

• National Green Hydrogen Mission: Launched in January 2023. Outlay of Rs 19,744 crore. Target: production of 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen annually by 2030.
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
• Green hydrogen definition: Hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable sources. Distinguished from grey hydrogen (from fossil fuels without carbon capture) and blue hydrogen (from fossil fuels with carbon capture).
• Electrolyser: The device that uses electricity to split water (H2O) into hydrogen (H2) and oxygen (O2). India has awarded tenders for 412,000 tonnes of green hydrogen production capacity and 1,500 MW of electrolyser manufacturing.
• Applications: Green hydrogen can decarbonise hard-to-electrify sectors like steel, fertilisers, chemicals, and long-haul transport.

Static linkage: Green hydrogen policy, MNRE, energy transition.

GS area: Economy (Agriculture), Environment

The Tea Association of India (TAI) warned of a 40-50 per cent drop in tea production in Assam and 23-50 per cent in West Bengal due to drought and heatwave conditions.

• Tea Board of India: A statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce. Established in 1953 under the Tea Act, 1953. Headquartered in Kolkata. Has 31 members.
• India's position: India is the world's second-largest tea producer (after China) and the world's largest tea consumer. India accounts for approximately 30 per cent of global tea output.
• Growing conditions: Tea requires 150-300 cm of annual rainfall, temperatures of 20-30 degrees Celsius, and slightly acidic soil. High altitude and a period of cool weather enhance flavour.
• States: Assam and West Bengal together account for the largest share of India's tea production. Assam's Brahmaputra valley and West Bengal's Darjeeling are the most famous growing areas.
• Heatwave impact: Extended dry spells and high temperatures in early 2024 stunted new leaf growth (tea is harvested from young leaves), reducing flush yields.

Static linkage: Agricultural commodities, Tea Board, climate impact on agriculture.

• Smart Cities Mission update: By May 2024, 5,533 projects worth Rs 65,063 crore had been completed under the Smart Cities Mission. The Mission, launched in June 2015 for 100 cities, was extended twice, with a final deadline of June 2024. The Governance structure uses Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs), which bypassed some provisions of the 74th Constitutional Amendment (Nagarpalika Act).
• GPT-4o launch: OpenAI released GPT-4o ("Omni") on 16 May 2024, a unified multimodal model handling text, audio, and images simultaneously with a 232-320 millisecond response time. Its release on the free tier made advanced AI accessible to a large user base.
• Red Panda sighting: A red panda was sighted at Eaglenest Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh. The red panda (Ailurus fulgens) is the state animal of Sikkim. IUCN lists it as Endangered. It belongs to the family Ailuridae and CITES Appendix I prohibits its trade.