GS-I: Sign language dictionary gets 4,000 new words.

News

Around 4000 words are likely to be added to the Indian sign language dictionary in 2020.

Aim:

The aim of developing the Indian Sign Language Dictionary was to remove communications barriers between the deaf and hearing communities.

Work Under Way:

On the occasion of International Sign Language Day Minster of Social Justice and Empowerment said the addition of 4,000words to the sign language dictionary would be done by 2020.Right now the work of identifying signs for words cross categories including administration medical, legal, education, agriculture with the help of the hearing impaired community.

About ISL Dictionary Dictionary :

• Dictionary has developed in both print & video format.
• ISLR&TC has developed this dictionary for to offering deaf & hearing people maximum words to learn & expressing their feelings, ideas.
• Dictionary consists of various categories of words, like, everyday terms, legal terms, medical terms, academic terms & technical terms.

GS-III: Renewable energy target to be more than doubled.

News

India’s renewable energy target will be increased to 450GW ,PM Modi said at United Nations Climate Action Summit. India today has come not just to talk about the seriousness of this issues but to present a practical approach a road map.

Renewable energy in India –Progress, Challenges, Opportunities

The government had set an ambitious target to achieve 175GW renewable energy but India extended the target 450GW of Renewable Energy capacity by 2022. According to BP Energy Outlook report 2019 the consumption of coal 56% in 2017 decline to at least 48% in 2040. This shows that India has adopting clean energy technology .If necessary measure are not taken , India will not be able to adapt to the era defining by sustainable energy technologies.

What is Renewable Energy?

• Energy generated from renewable sources (which are constantly replenished) is known as renewable energy. Example: solar power, wind energy, tidal energy, geothermal energy etc.
• In recent years renewable energy is globally established as the mainstream energy sources.
• This is mainly due to policy initiatives and targets that have sent a positive signal to the industries.
• Despite the progress in renewable adoption it is insufficient to achieve the goals under the Paris Agreement or SDG 7 within the deadline.

Why is it important for India?

Reduce Oil Demand:

• It is evident that India has a vast amount of renewable resources.
• What India doesn’t have is the conventional energy sources like petrol and diesel.
• India imports 84 % of its oil needs.
• If India opts for renewable energy source the global oil prices won’t affect India’s economy.

Rural Electrification:

• India still has many locations that do not have access to electricity.
• Electrification of remote areas and inaccessible terrains is not possible using grid connectivity.
• This is because renewable energy sources are inexhaustible and the sourcing is versatile.

Government Policy Initiatives in the Renewable Energy Sector:

Way forward:

It is estimated that India has the capacity to extract 900GW from commercially available sources like wind , hydro energy ,bio energy etc.

High financial assistance is essential for this nascent sector to grow.

Bulk production can reduce the production cost.

It is essential to integrate the new technologies with the existing infrastructure to reduce the cost of renewable technology.

GS-III: Making the grand India PSB mergers work.

News

The initial enthusiasm of market analysts to the bank merger announcement is giving way to wariness and scepticism.

The procedure of Bank Merger

• An application for merger is submitted by the concerned banks to the Central Registrar of Cooperative Societies (CRCS).
• A copy of the application is also sent to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) along with valuation report and information relevant for consideration of the scheme of merger.
• The RBI then examines the scheme in respect to the interests of depositors and conveys its decision to the CRCS.

What is the rationale behind the mergers?

• It was the Narasimham Committee in the late 1990s that recommended consolidation through a process of merging strong banks.
• There are too many banks in India with sizes that are minuscule by global standards with their growth constricted by their inability to expand.
• Given this, the biggest plus of the mergers is that they will create banks of scale.
• According to the government, banks have been merged on the basis of likely operating efficiencies, better usage of equity and their technological platform.
• But the move marks a departure from the plan to privatise some of the banks or bring in strategic investors to usher in reform in the sector.
• The government has decided amalgamation as the “best route” to achieve banking sector scale.
• This is also expected to support the target of achieving a $5 trillion economic size for India in 5 years.
• However, mergers may not lead to any immediate improvement in their credit metrics.

How effective could the merger be?

• Bank consolidation is a good move towards improving efficiency of the PSBs.
• This would enable the consolidated entities to meaningfully improve scale of operations and help their competitive position.
• Given that the merged banks are on similar technology platform, the integration should be smoother.
• However, there may not be any immediate improvement in their credit metrics as all of them have relatively weak solvency profiles.

What are the challenges and priorities now?

• Mergers are driven by synergies in products, business, geographies or technology and most important, cost synergies.
• There may be some geographical synergies between the banks being merged now.
• But unless banks realise cost synergies through branch and staff rationalisation, the mergers may not mean much to them or to the economy.
• This is where the government’s strategy becomes significant.
• Evidently, public sector banks are overstaffed.
• But the key reforms to be made are at the board level, including in appointments, especially of government nominees.
• These are often political appointees, with little exposure to banking.

Way forward:

While such consolidation can result in handsome productivity gains, what matters is the quality of execution by stable and committed leadership aided by shrewd and benign ownership.