After a tepid response to the earlier version of the Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for large electronics, the government on  May 17  approved the PLI 2.0 for IT hardware with a budgetary outlay Rs 17,000 crore.

The scheme will cover IT hardware covers laptops, tablets, all-in-one PCs, servers and ultra small form factor devices. The government expects the scheme, which will remain in force for six years, will lead to incremental production of Rs 3.35 lakh crore, investment of Rs 2,430 crore and create direct employment for 75,000 people during the scheme period.

The earlier version of the PLI for large electronics received a tepid response as cash incentives given under that plan ranged from 1-4% of the incremental sales. Telecom minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said the earlier version offered 2% incentives, which was quite low, whereas in the 2.0 version, the base incentive would be 5%. 

Vaishnaw added that the mindset regarding electronic manufacturing has changed in past eight years. Earlier, people would think of importing electronic items, now India manufactures cater to not just domestic demand, but also export.

Foreign exchange spending on personal expenses like gift, medical treatment through international credit cards will now be covered under the Reserve Bank of India’s liberalised remittance scheme (LRS), according to the Finance Ministry notification.

Under LRS, a resident can remit money abroad up to a maximum of $2.5 lakh per annum without RBI’s approval. Till now, payments made via international credit cards towards meeting personal expenses during foreign tours were exempt.

The government on May 16 notified the Foreign Exchange Management (Current Account Transactions) (Amendment) Rules, 2023, to include credit card payments in the LRS scheme. 

The government in the Union Budget 2023-24 had also raised tax collection at source (TCS) rates to 20% from 5%, on overseas tour packages and funds remitted under LRS. However, this doesn’t include remittances made for education and medical purposes.

State-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will cover all states of India with its 4G network by the end of 2023, said the company’s Chairman and managing director PK Purwar on Wednesday.

Purwar, while speaking on the sidelines of the World Telecom Day, also said the company will start deploying 4G networks in northern India first and simultaneously it will cover the entire country. 

However, Purwar refused to give exact datelines for 4G launch but assured that things are moving fast in the right direction. The 4G rollout by BSNL has been getting delayed as the telco planned to roll out its 4G network with indigenous technology.  The telco in November 2022 chose TCS as a vendor to supply 4G equipment for its 1 lakh sites.

The deal costs the company Rs 24,500 crore, which includes network gear for about Rs 13,000 crore, as well as third-party items and a 10-year annual maintenance contract (AMC). Recently, the Group of Ministers (GoM) approved the deployment of 1 lakh BSNL 4G sites in the country. Now the telco can anytime announce its commercial 4G services in the country.

Regarding the eroding market share in broadband connections, where BSNL was once the market leader, Purwar attributed it to the low speed provided and suggested upgrading to FTTH (Fiber-to-the-Home). The telco lost its top position in the segment to Jio in November 2021, just two years after the commercial launch of JioFiber. 

Q1. The state-owned telecom service provider Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) will cover all states of India with its 4G network by the end of

1. 2023
2. 2024
3. 2025
4. 2025
5. None of These

Q2.  Name the scheme of Reserve Bank of India under which foreign exchange spending on personal expenses like gift, medical treatment through international credit cards will now be covered 

1. liberalised remittance scheme
2. Restricted  remittance scheme
3. Open remittance scheme
4. International  remittance scheme
5. None of These

Q3. After a tepid response to the earlier version of the Production-linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for large electronics, the government on  May 17  approved the PLI 2.0 for IT hardware with a budgetary outlay  of

1. Rs 15,000 crore.
2. Rs 16,000 crore.
3. Rs 17,000 crore.
4. Rs 18,000 crore.
5. None of These

Q4. Name the  former prime minister of Britain  who has   urged her  successor Rishi Sunak to get tough with China on issues such as Taiwan, describing the democratic island as "an enduring rebuke to totalitarianism" ?

1. Theresa May
2. Liz Truss
3. Erna Solberg
4. Beata Szydlo
5. None of These

Q5. The  PM N  Modi will jointly host the 3rd Summit of the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC) with Prime Minister James Marape of

1. Fiji
2. Tonga
3. Tuvalu
4. Papua New Guinea
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------------------1   2023

2---------------------------------1  liberalised remittance scheme

3---------------------------------3  Rs 17,000 crore.

4----------------------------------2   Liz Truss

5----------------------------------4   Papua New Guinea

The Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), which in a joint operation with the Indian Navy seized over 2,500kg of methamphetamine off the Kerala coast, has started looking for Indian links to the contraband, believed to have belonged to the Haji Salim network.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA), which had named Karachi-based drug lord Haji Salim an accused in a 2021 drug bust, also collected details from the NCB regarding the seizure and arrested a foreign national on May 15.

According to sources, NCB is looking for agents in Tamil refugee camps with a history of drug running via sea routes. The bureau has widened its investigative net to Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

The NIA arrested a Sri Lankan agent from Chennai following the seizure of drugs from a boat with Lankan crew off Vizhinjam in 2021. Haji Salim was named an accused in the case and an arrest warrant is pending against him.

Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) posted an 18% increase in net profit in the January-March 2023 quarter as consolidated profits rose to F650 crore during the quarter from Rs 551 crore in the same quarter previous year. In the December 2022 quarter, the bank posted Rs 555 crore profit.

Realizing that unemployment will be a major poll issue in the year-end assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan-led BJP government approved on Mat 17 , the ‘CM Learn-Earn Scheme’ for unemployed youths in the state.

A special cabinet meeting chaired by the CM approved the Mukhya Mantri Sikho-Kamao (CM Learn-Earn Scheme) after seeing the detailed presentation of the scheme. Under the scheme, at least one lakh youths (local residents of MP, aged between 18 and 29 years, whose minimum educational qualification is Class XII or ITI pass or higher) will be provided training in private establishments, including reputed industries and companies.

After the training, the State Council for Vocational Training (SCVT) certificate will be given by the Madhya Pradesh State Skill Development and Employment Generation Board (MPSSDEGB).

The scheme will provide monthly stipend ranging between `8,000 and 10,000 to the youths along with training, skill upgradation, which will ultimately boost their employment opportunities and pave the way for a better way of earning in future.

As many as 703 work areas have been identified for training under the scheme, including establishments related to manufacturing sector, engineering, electrical, mechanical, civil, management, marketing, hotel management, tourism, travel, hospital, railway, IT sector, software development, banking, insurance, accountancy, chartered accountant and other financial services.

Establishments working in media, art, law and legal services, education-training and service sectors too will be included. The registration of establishments under the scheme for giving training will start from June 7, while registration of youth willing to learn will start from June 15.

Stressing the need to promote research in the pharmaceutical sector in UP, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on May 17  proposed to set up a pharmaceutical research and innovation institute in the state capital Lucknow soon.

Presiding over a high-level meeting, CM Yogi directed the authorities to explore the possibility of such an institution in Lucknow by making an assessment of the future needs of the pharmaceutical sector. He asked them to submit a detailed action plan on the proposal for the institute within the next fortnight by taking the best practices around the world into consideration.

The institute will promote not only research but manufacturing also in the pharma sector where the state is gearing up to play a significant role with focus on educational institutions, research labs and industry, he added.

Uttar Pradesh is the sixth-largest state in the nation in terms of the number of pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities.

Stressing three significant areas -- quality educational institutions, research labs, and industry – the CM said that the proposed pharma institute should encompass all three factors. The primary focus of the institute would be research and innovation besides acting as a bridge between other institutes and industries in the sector.