Inflation- Its impact on the macroeconomic stability

Introduction

• Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose by 4.06% in January, marking a deceleration for a second straight month to a 16-month low.

Reasons in decline of retail inflation

• Bumper kharif crop: The Consumer Food Price Index reflected a gain of a mere 1.89% last month as vegetable prices saw a disinflation of 15.8% and cereal prices eased considerably for a second month in the wake of kharif crop arrivals.
• Good rabi harvest: Rising prospects of a good rabi harvest
• Vegetable production: Larger winter arrivals of key vegetables
• Avian flu fears: Softer egg and poultry demand on avian flu fears.

Associated risks with low inflation

• While inflation in pulses and products was at 13.4%, that for oils and fats stood at 19.7%. Eggs and meat and fish — two other key sources of protein — both posted double-digit rates of 12.9% and 12.5%, respectively, with price gains in the former barely registering any telling impact from the avian flu outbreak.
• From automobile manufacturers to builders, rising raw material costs are beginning to force them to pass on the impact to the end consumers.
• The latest IHS Markit India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) points to the sharpest increase in purchasing costs for more than two years as ‘a lingering supply-side squeeze’ fanned inflationary pressures and manufacturers raised their product prices at the fastest pace in over a year.
• Add to the mix the unrelenting and dizzying climb in transportation fuel prices to newer and newer record highs in recent days and the outlook for inflation becomes distinctly darker.
  • Diesel, the main fuel for freight carriage, has now exceeded ?80 per litre and is bound to feed into prices of almost everything being transported across distances — from fresh produce to intermediate and finished industrial goods.

Conclusion

• With banks still flush with liquidity, policymakers need to maintain a strict vigil to keep inflation from resurging and posing a threat to macro-economic stability.

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Extinction Rebellion

• Extinction Rebellion (XR) was launched in the United Kingdom in 2018, as a response to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report that declared,
  1. We only have 12 years to stop catastrophic climate change and
  2. We have entered the 6th mass extinction event.
• It is a global movement to persuade governments to act justly on the Climate and Ecological Emergency.
• It is a decentralised and politically non-partisan movement that uses,
  1. Non-violent Direct Action and
  2. Civil Disobedience.

Juvenile Justice Bill, 2021

• The Union Cabinet approved amendments to the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015.
• As per the amendment, the district magistrates (DM) and additional district magistrates (ADM) will monitor the functioning of various agencies responsible for implementation of the JJ Act in every district.
• The DM can independently evaluate juvenile police unit, specialised Child Welfare Committees (CWC) and registered Child Care Institution (CCI).
• The district child protection unit will function under district magistrate.
• Before becoming a member of the CWC, background and educational qualification checks will be done.
• Before registration of a CCI, DM will conduct its capacity and background check, and submit recommendations to state government.
• The definition of “child in need of care” and protection of the JJ Act has been expanded to include,
  1. Child victims of trafficking and drug abuse and
  2. Children abandoned by their guardian.
• At present, the Act has three categories of petty, serious and heinous crimes.

There is a proposal to appoint a nodal office in each embassy to monitor the child adopted abroad.

Afghani Chadar to Ajmer Dargah

• Afghanistan President has sent the first ever sacred 'Chadar' to the Ajmer Sharif Dargah through its diplomatic mission in New Delhi.
• This Chadar was given during the 809th 'Urs (Death Anniversary) Mubarak' of Khawaja Gharib Nawaz, which is ongoing in Ajmer.

Ajmer Sharif Dargah

• Ajmer Sharif Dargah is a Sufi shrine of Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti, who is well-known for his secular preachings.
• Located in Rajasthan, it was built by Mughal Emperor Humayun.
• This shrine has Chishti’s grave (Maqbara) inside a white marble dome, 11 arches and Persian inscriptions.
• There are several mosques inside the dargah complex, built by Akbar and Shah Jahan, who made it a point to visit Ajmer at least once a year.

Delimitation Commission to Hold Delimitation Exercise in J&K

• Delimitation Commission holds a meeting to seek views on the delimitation process of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.

Delimitation Act, 2002

• This Act was enacted to set up a Delimitation Commission for the purpose of effecting delimitation on the basis of the 2001 census.
• The Delimitation Commission would re-fix the number of seats for the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes based on the 2001 census, without affecting the total number of seats based on the 1971 census.
• The Act sought to lay down certain guidelines as to the manner in which such delimitation would be undertaken.
• The new Delimitation Commission was given the task of carrying out delimitation of Parliamentary and Assembly constituencies.
• This delimitation would apply to every general election and to every bye-election to the House of the People or a State Legislative Assembly held after the final orders of the Commission are published.

Majuli-Jorhat Bridge

• A 6.8 km-long two-lane major bridge is being constructed over the Brahmaputra between Majuli (north bank) and Jorhat (south bank) on NH-715K.
• This bridge will provide all-time access to the people living in Majuli town with rest of Assam to meet their health, education and day to day development activities.
• The constructions of this bridge also provide a safe evacuation access to the people of Majuli Island during flood in Brahmaputra River.

Majuli island is famous for Mishing tribe who practice Sattariya folk dance.

Circular Economy

• It is an economic system aimed at eliminating waste; and the continual use of resources.
• It is a system of resource utilization where reduction, reuse and recycling of elements prevail.
• Circular systems create a closed system, minimizing the use of resource input and the creation of waste, pollution and emissions.
• It is an alternative to a traditional linear economy.
• This linear economy is modelled on the take-make-waste industrial model (make, use, dispose of).
• Sustainable Development Goal 12 → responsible consumption and production→ requires changing the linear production model and shifting towards a circular economy.

Mahabahu-Brahmaputra project

• The Central Government has laid the foundation of the Mahabahu-Brahmaputra project to initiate developmental activities near the Brahmaputra and the surrounding areas of the Barak River and to provide seamless connectivity to the region.
• Under this project, the foundation stone of a four-lane bridge over the Brahmaputra River between Dhubri (North Coast) and Phulbari (South Coast) will be laid. The proposed bridge will be located on NH-127B, which originates from Shrirampur and terminates at Nongstoin on NH-106 in Meghalaya.
• It will connect Dhubri in Assam to Phulbari, Tura, Rongram and Rongjeng in Meghalaya.
• Along with this, the foundation stone of a two-lane bridge on the Brahmaputra River between Majuli (North Coast) and Jorhat (Southern Coast) will also be laid. The bridge will connect Nemtighat (towards Jorhat) and Kamalabari (towards Majuli).
• The ' Portal for Asset and Navigation Information- PANI' will act as a single-stop solution to provide information related to the navigation of rivers and their nature.

NASA's Perseverence Rover to Mars

After a seven months journey from Earth, the NASA Perseverance is in its final stretch towards the destination Mars.

About the Perseverance rover:

• Launched in July of 2020.
• It is expected to touch down on Mars at the Jezero Crater.
• The primary task of Perseverance is to seek signs of ancient life and collect samples of rock and regolith to possibly return these to Earth.
• Perseverance is fueled by electrical power by using the heat of plutonium’s radioactive decay.
• NASA Perseverance gets shape memory alloys to remain steady on the surface of Mars.

Why is this mission significant?

• Perseverance will carry a unique instrument, MOXIE or Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment which will manufacture molecular oxygen on Mars using carbon dioxide from the carbon-dioxide-rich atmosphere (ISRU means In Situ Resource Utilization: or the use of local resources to meet human needs or requirements of the spacecraft).
• It will carry Ingenuity, the first ever helicopter to fly on Mars. This is the first time NASA will fly a helicopter on another planet or satellite.

Previous Mars Missions by NASA:

• NASA has been sending rovers to Mars since 1997 when the Mars Pathfinder Mission was initiated.
• The second time, the space organization sent twin rovers, Spirit and Opportunity to Mars in 2003.
• The third attempt was by sending Curiosity in 2012.