Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and climate action needs an investment of about $5-6 trillion, which in turn will create business opportunities of about $90 trillion, G20 Sherpa Shri Amitabh Kant said in an interaction with the media recently.

He was addressing the media after the completion of a 2-day G20 policy workshop on ‘A Green and Sustainable Growth Agenda for the Global Economy’ in New Delhi. Kant reiterated that there is no shortage of resources with around $350 trillion funds available globally for investment, of which $150 trillion are aligned with Institutional Funds.

He, however, pointed out that the challenge is lack of adequate bankable project pipeline, and emphasised on the need for a Global Project Accelerator Fund in order to de-risk projects. Niti Aayog vice-chairman Suman Bery also reiterated that there is no shortage of funds for sustainable growth for emerging countries, but project preparation and data remain a big challenge.

Amitabh Kant cited IMF data saying that 80% of the global growth is going to come from emerging markets, and therefore, there is a need to alter the global financial architecture and the flow of resources to provide better impetus to this growth.

Emphasising the role of NITI Aayog in enabling the green transition, CEO, Niti Aayog, BVR Subrahmanyam, said that NITI has a fundamental role in creating ecosystems that facilitate the adoption of frontier technologies.

He cited the successful example of transformation in the electric vehicle space where NIiti Aayog played a pioneering role. Further he highlighted that the role of States in the implementation of green energy projects will be pivotal and Niti Aayog will provide the required support to States in this endeavour.

The 2-day G20 policy workshop was organised by Niti Aayog in collaboration with International Development Research Centre (IDRC) and Global Development Network (GDN).

The country's per capita income is likely to grow by close to 70 per cent to USD 4,000 by fiscal 2030 from USD 2,450 in fiscal 2023, helping it become a middle-income economy with USD 6-trillion GDP, more than half of which will be coming in from household consumption, says a research report.

Per capita, income/GDP has risen from USD 460 in fiscal 2001 to USD 1,413 in fiscal 2011 and further to USD 2,150 in fiscal 2021.

The biggest growth driver will be external trade which may nearly double to USD 2.1 trillion by 2030 from USD 1.2 trillion in fiscal 2023 when the GDP printed in at USD 3.5 trillion, Standard Chartered Bank said in a weekend report which assumes a 10 per cent nominal GDP growth annually from now on.

According to the report, the second biggest growth driver will be household consumption which is seen jumping to USD 3.4 trillion by fiscal 2030, which as big as the current size of the GDP, from USD 2.1 trillion in fiscal 2023.

Household consumption is as much as 57 per cent of GDP now. Last week Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that he would ensure that the economy becomes USD 5 trillion during his next term in office, which will make it the third largest after the US and China.

Currently, Japan is in the third slot and Germany at four. The report sees as many as nine states growing to the upper middle-income country status with USD 4,000 in per capita income, up from just one now, the report said sans naming the state.

Currently, Telangana leads in the per capita income league table with Rs 2,75,443 or USD 3,360 in FY23, followed by Karnataka with (Rs 2,65,623), Tamil Nadu (Rs 2,41,131), Kerala (Rs 2,30,601), and Andhra Pradesh with Rs 2,07,771.

But StanC report sees Gujarat leading on this from by fiscal 2030, followed by Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh. The report also did not name the other three states, though.

Among these Telangana, Delhi, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat and Andhra together account for 20 per cent of the national GDP today, and will have a per capita GDP of USD 6,000 by fiscal 2030.

On the other hand, large states UP and Bihar, which together make up 25 per cent of the population, will have per capita income below USD 2,000 even in fiscal 2030, which still be two times their fiscal 2020 levels.

Currently, the household consumption expenditure accounts for 57 per cent of its GDP and if household expenditure share falls by 1 per cent, the size of the consumer market will still be the size of the economy today.

The overriding growth enabler will continue to be the higher share of the working age population. The share of the working-age population in the country in 2020 was 64.2 per cent, which will rise to 64.8 per cent, and may marginally slip to 63.6 per cent in 2040 and further down to 61.1 per cent in 2050.

The Indian women's hockey team produced a dominant performance to comfortably beat hosts Spain 3-0 and win the 100th Anniversary Spanish Hockey Federation - International Tournament. Vandana Katariya (22nd minute), Monika (48th) and Udita (58th) were the goal scorers as India remained unbeaten in the tournament.

Q1. Name the state  government  which is still waiting for financial assistance from the Centre for providing shelter to over 12,600 people from ethnic strife-torn Manipur?

1. Assam
2. Nagaland
3. Meghalaya
4. Mizoram
5. None of These

Q2. Name the state /UT  government which   has directed officials to post selfies with the flag, soil and earthen lamp on their display pictures on the social media handles on Independence Day as part of ‘Meri Mitti, Mera Desh’ campaign ?

1. Manipur
2. Punjab
3. Jammu and Kashmir
4. Delhi
5. None of These

Q3. The Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren  has  nod for the set-up of the nation's first hydrogen fuel-related plant in

1. Ranchi
2. Jamshedpur
3. Giridih
4. Deoghar
5. None of These   

Q4. Name the country which has  warned it would retaliate if its citizens were attacked in Niger, after protesters tried to enter its embassy in the capital, Niamey ?

1. France
2. US
3. Germany
4. Russia
5. None of These

Q5. The Indian women defeated  Spain 3-0 to win Spanish Federation hockey tournament in

1. Barcelona
2. Granada
3. Valencia
4. Madrid
5. None of These

Answers

1---------------------4    Mizoram

2---------------------3   Jammu and Kashmir

3--------------------2  Jamshedpur

4--------------------1   France

5--------------------1  Barcelona

Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are the top three states with the maximum number of children trafficked between 2016 and 2022, while Delhi has seen an alarming 68 per cent rise from pre to post-Covid times, according to a new study by an NGO.

These statistics have been unveiled in a comprehensive report titled 'Child Trafficking in India: Insights from Situational Data Analysis and the Need for Tech-driven Intervention Strategies', jointly compiled by Games24x7 and the Kailash Satyarthi Children's Foundation (KSCF), founded by Nobel Peace Laureate Kailash Satyarthi.

The report, released on July 30 to mark the 'World Day Against Trafficking in Persons', painted a troubling picture of the child trafficking crisis in the country.

The report showed that Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Andhra Pradesh are the top three states with the maximum number of children trafficked between 2016 and 2022. Notably, Delhi has witnessed a 68 per cent increase in child trafficking cases from pre to post-Covid times.

In the top district in child trafficking, Jaipur City emerged as the hotspot in the country, while the other four top slots in the list were found to be in the national capital.

During this period, as many as 13,549 children under the age of 18 were rescued who also form a sample size of some of the analysis. The report revealed that 80 per cent of the rescued children fell within the age group of 13 to 18 years, while 13 per cent were aged nine to 12 years, and over 2 per cent were even younger than nine years.

This indicated that child trafficking affects children of various age groups, making it a pervasive issue.

Police have arrested gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad's lawyer Vijay Mishra, who was wanted in the Umesh Pal murder case.

A number of cases, including those under the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, Explosives Act and the Indian Penal Code, are pending against him.

Umesh Pal, the main witness in the 2005 murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, and his two security guards were shot dead on February 24.

Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, the main accused in this case, were killed when assailants opened fire at them near a medical college here in April

Ahmad's wife Shaista Parveen, another wanted accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, is still absconding

Kuki leader and BJP MLA Paolienlal Haokip, who shot into the limelight after ethnic violence erupted in Manipur, said the way forward to finding a solution to the state's racial conflict is by creating three separate Union territories.

Haokip in an interview to PTI advocated giving "political and administrative recognition to the ethnic separation" in the state, upping the ante from earlier vaguely explained demands for a "separate administration" for Kuki areas made by fellow Kuki community leaders.

However, Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh and Meitei groups led by COCOMI (Coordinating Committee on Manipur Integrity, an umbrella body of several Imphal-based organizations) have strongly voiced their opposition to any moves to "break up" the state, and analysts say the Central government, which is holding talks with Kuki groups - Kuki National Organisation and United Peoples Front, is also against such a formulation.

In a sudden move, the centre has suspended the director of the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) that prepares the National Family Health Survey (NFHS) over alleged irregularities.

However, sources privy to information claimed that the suspension order of IIPS Director and senior professor K S James was issued because the government was reportedly “unhappy with the unfavourable health data, especially on anemia, and on the number of the toilet in the country, which was contrary to their claims, didn’t go down well with the centre.”

The letter of suspension, issued by Amrit Lal Jangid, joint director in the Statistics Division of the Union Health Ministry, is dated July 28.