Highlights
- Economy: India's November 2024 GST collections and manufacturing PMI data reinforced the economy's resilience.
- Environment: The Global Plastics Treaty talks in Busan ended without agreement; the next session will seek to finalise the treaty in 2025.
- Defence: The new Pamban vertical-lift bridge, India's first, was nearing completion and due for inauguration.
- Governance: The Network Readiness Index 2024 highlighted India's rise to 49th globally. Constitution Day commemorations wrapped up.
1. GST: India's indirect tax architecture
GS area: Economy, Polity
November is when monthly GST collections are released. The architecture is worth a consolidated review.
- GST: Goods and Services Tax. A unified indirect tax replacing a web of central and state levies. Introduced by the 101st Constitutional Amendment Act (2016).
- Structure: CGST (Central GST), SGST (State GST) and IGST (Integrated GST for inter-state transactions).
- Four rate slabs: 5, 12, 18 and 28 per cent. Essential goods at nil or 5 per cent. Luxury and demerit goods at 28 per cent.
- GST Council: Chaired by the Union Finance Minister. Includes state Finance Ministers. A federal body that recommends rates and rules.
- Compensation: States were guaranteed 14 per cent annual revenue growth for five years (2017-22). The compensation cess on luxury goods funded this.
- Monthly collections: GST collections regularly exceeded 1 lakh crore rupees per month through 2024.
- Import: Intra-state transactions attract CGST plus SGST. Inter-state transactions attract IGST, which is later apportioned.
Static linkage: Taxation, federalism, economic reforms.
2. India's manufacturing sector: end-November review
GS area: Economy
Manufacturing PMI and IIP data released in November captured India's industrial output trend.
- PMI: Purchasing Managers' Index. Compiled by S&P Global for India. A reading above 50 indicates expansion; below 50 indicates contraction.
- India's manufacturing PMI in November 2024: Remained in expansion territory.
- IIP: Index of Industrial Production. Released monthly by MoSPI with a two-month lag. Covers mining, manufacturing and electricity sectors.
- Make in India: Launched 2014. Aims to increase manufacturing's share of GDP from approximately 15 per cent to 25 per cent.
- PLI scheme: Production Linked Incentive generated 12.50 lakh crore rupees in production by August 2024 across 14 sectors.
Static linkage: Economy, industrial policy, manufacturing.
3. New Pamban Bridge: engineering milestone
GS area: Science and Technology, Infrastructure
India's first vertical-lift railway sea bridge neared inauguration.
- Name: New Pamban Bridge.
- Location: Rameswaram Island to Mandapam, Tamil Nadu. It crosses the Pamban Channel between the Indian mainland and Pamban Island (on which Rameswaram is located).
- Length: 2.078 kilometres with 99 spans.
- Lifting mechanism: The central span rises vertically using electromechanical drives to allow tall vessels (fishing boats, small cargo ships) to pass beneath.
- Control: Interlocked with train control signals. The bridge cannot open while a train is on or near it.
- Design: Supports double railway lines and is designed to be electrified in the future.
- Predecessor: The original Pamban Bridge (1914) was India's first sea bridge. The new bridge runs parallel to it.
Static linkage: Infrastructure, engineering, geography (Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu).
4. COP29 wrap: key outcome summary
GS area: International Relations, Environment
November ended with the COP29 agreement in force and post-conference analysis shaping the debate ahead of COP30.
- Finance deal: 300 billion dollars annually from developed nations by 2035. Broader 1.3 trillion dollar total mobilisation goal.
- Article 6 carbon markets: Finalised. Country-to-country trading (6.2) and UN carbon market (6.4) now have agreed rules.
- Baku Adaptation Roadmap: Launched to support National Adaptation Plans of least developed countries.
- Loss and Damage fund: Operationalised at COP28 in Dubai (2023). Not the focus of Baku but referenced in access discussions.
- Next COP: COP30 in Belem, Brazil, November 2025. The Nationally Determined Contributions update cycle is due.
- India's message: The 300 billion figure is inadequate. Private finance (loans) cannot substitute for public grants in covering adaptation costs in developing countries.
Static linkage: Climate change, UNFCCC, international negotiations.
5. India's digital infrastructure: end-year review
GS area: Economy, Governance
India's digital progress in 2024 was tracked by multiple indicators.
- 5G coverage: 98 per cent of districts reached 5G coverage in 21 months after the spectrum auction. The fastest 5G rollout globally.
- UPI: Unified Payments Interface. Processed over 15 billion transactions per month in late 2024. Interoperable with Singapore's PayNow and Bhutan's payment system.
- India Stack: Digital public infrastructure comprising Aadhaar, UPI, ONDC and DigiLocker. Exported as a model to multiple developing countries.
- BharatNet: Provides broadband connectivity to gram panchayats. Target: 6 lakh gram panchayats.
- ONDC: Open Network for Digital Commerce. A government-backed interoperable e-commerce network challenging platform monopolies.
Static linkage: Digital India, fintech, government schemes.
6. Briefly noted
- Rs-26 Rubezh: Russia's solid-fuelled ICBM used in a November 2024 strike on Ukraine. Range: 5,800 km. MIRV-capable. First use of an ICBM in live combat.
- Mealworm bioplastics: Research confirmed mealworm gut bacteria can degrade polystyrene. The gut microbiome (Proteobacteria and Firmicutes) breaks down plastic chains. Potential bioremediation application at scale if the enzyme pathways can be isolated.
- SAREX-24: Eleventh Coast Guard search and rescue exercise, held in Kochi. Tests inter-agency coordination between the Coast Guard, Navy, Air Force and Cochin Port Authority.
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