Defence: India's indigenous defence production crossed 1.27 lakh crore rupees in FY2023-24, a 16.7 per cent increase. The target is 3 lakh crore rupees by 2028-29.
Economy: RBI flagged concerns about rising credit-deposit ratios in banks. The industry average stood at 78.8 per cent in December 2023.
Science: Earth reached its farthest point from the Sun (aphelion) in early July. Seasons are governed by axial tilt, not Earth-Sun distance.
India-France: PM Modi attended the Bastille Day parade in Paris as Guest of Honour on 14 July.
1. India's indigenous defence production: record 1.27 lakh crore
GS area: Economy, Science and Technology, Defence
India's defence production in FY2023-24 reached 1.27 lakh crore rupees, a 16.7 per cent increase over the previous year. Defence production has grown 60 per cent since 2019-20.
Composition: About 79 per cent from Defence Public Sector Undertakings and PSUs; 21 per cent from the private sector.
Target: 3 lakh crore rupees in defence production by 2028-29. Defence exports targeted at 50,000 crore rupees.
Global position paradox: India is simultaneously the world's largest arms importer (9.8 per cent of global arms sales, 2019 to 2023) and growing as an exporter. Self-reliance is a long way off for high-end platforms.
Key platforms: INS Vikrant (first indigenous aircraft carrier), INS Arihant (nuclear submarine under Advanced Technology Vessel programme), Akash/Prithvi/Agni missile series, Tejas light combat aircraft.
Policy framework: Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020 under Atmanirbhar Bharat. iDEX (Innovations for Defence Excellence) supports startups and MSMEs. Positive Indigenisation Lists specify products that can no longer be imported.
IGMDP: The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (1983) is the historical foundation for India's missile capabilities, producing Agni, Prithvi, Akash, Trishul, and Nag missiles.
2. Balance of Payments explained: reading the data
GS area: Economy
India's current account showed a surplus in Q4 FY2024. Understanding BoP components matters for prelims.
Current account: Records transactions in goods (merchandise trade), services (IT, tourism, shipping), primary income (salary, interest, dividends), and secondary income (remittances, grants). India's current account deficit is structural because merchandise imports (particularly oil) exceed exports.
Q4 FY2024 surplus: Driven by strong services exports and high remittances from the Indian diaspora. Current account deficit for full FY2024 was 0.7 per cent of GDP, very low by historical standards.
Capital account: Records FDI, FPI, external commercial borrowings, and NRI deposits. India typically attracts net capital inflows.
Key distinction: A current account surplus is NOT the same as a trade surplus. India ran a goods trade deficit but an overall current account surplus in Q4 because services and remittances more than compensated.
BoP disequilibrium: When a country persistently runs a BoP deficit, its foreign exchange reserves deplete. The RBI intervenes to manage the exchange rate.
The Reserve Bank of India flagged concerns about rising credit-deposit (CD) ratios in commercial banks.
Definition: The CD ratio is the percentage of a bank's deposits that have been lent out as loans.
Industry average: 80 per cent. As of December 2023 it stood at 78.8 per cent.
RBI concern: Banks with CD ratios above 75 per cent (especially private sector banks) were growing loans faster than deposits. This compresses net interest margins and increases liquidity risk.
Risk: If depositors withdraw money and the bank has lent out most of its deposits, it may struggle to meet demand. The Liquidity Coverage Ratio is a related concept requiring banks to hold enough liquid assets to survive 30 days of stress outflows.
Context: Credit growth was running at 16 to 17 per cent year-on-year in early 2024 while deposit growth lagged at 13 to 14 per cent.
Thazhakara, a gram panchayat in Alappuzha district of Kerala, created one of the first People's Biodiversity Registers in the state.
Legal basis: The Biological Diversity Act 2002 mandates every local body to maintain a People's Biodiversity Register (PBR) documenting local biodiversity, habitats, folk varieties, and traditional knowledge.
Contents: Names and habitats of local species, traditional uses of plants and animals, folk medicine knowledge, and agrobiodiversity.
National Biodiversity Authority: The apex statutory body under the Biological Diversity Act. It regulates access to India's biological resources and ensures benefit-sharing with local communities.
Nagoya Protocol: An international protocol under the Convention on Biological Diversity. Governs access and benefit-sharing of genetic resources. India ratified it in 2012.
Static linkage: Biodiversity legislation (Environment), community conservation.
5. Sea groynes: coastal protection technology
GS area: Geography, Environment
Sea groynes are structures built perpendicular to the shoreline and extending into the water. They trap sediment transported along the coast (longshore drift) and reduce erosion.
How they work: Longshore drift moves sediment parallel to the coast. A groyne intercepts this movement, causing sediment to accumulate on its updrift side while depleting the downdrift side.
Kerala coastline: Among the most erosion-vulnerable in India. Rising sea levels and stronger monsoon waves are accelerating erosion along the Arabian Sea coast.
Biorock technology: An alternative approach used at Rameshwaram involves running low-voltage electrical current through seawater to precipitate calcium carbonate onto steel structures, creating artificial reef habitat.
Indo-French Liver and Metabolic Disease Network (InFLiMeN): Launched to tackle non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). One in three Indians has fatty liver according to recent estimates. The network focuses on low-cost diagnostics suitable for India's healthcare system.
SEHER Programme (revisit): The Women Entrepreneurship Platform and TransUnion CIBIL partnership for financial literacy among women entrepreneurs. Potential to generate 30 million new women-owned enterprises.
Aphelion point: Earth at its maximum distance from the Sun (about 152 million km) in early July. Perihelion (minimum distance, about 147 million km) in early January. Seasons are caused by axial tilt, not this distance variation.
Practice MCQs
Check yourself
Consider the following statements about India's defence production in FY2023-24: 1. Total defence production crossed 1.27 lakh crore rupees. 2. Private sector contributed 79 per cent of this production. 3. India is also one of the world's largest arms importers. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
Check yourself
The People's Biodiversity Register (PBR) is mandated under:
Check yourself
A rising credit-deposit ratio in banks is a concern because it indicates:
Check yourself
The Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP) of 1983 produced which set of missiles?
Check yourself
Under the Nagoya Protocol, which India ratified in 2012, countries must: