India-Australia Trade Agreement
Context:
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles said that duties on 100 percent tariff lines would be eliminated by Australia under the landmark India-Australia Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA).
Relevance:
GS II- International Relations
Dimensions of the Article:
- India-Australia ECTA
- Main features
- Dispute settlement mechanism
Olive Ridley Sea Turtles
Context:
Pairs of Olive Ridley Sea turtles have begun emerging on the sea waters off Gahirmatha Marine Sanctuary along the Odisha coast, marking the commencement of the annual mass nesting of these endangered marine species.
Relevance:
Prelims, GS-III: Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
- Breeding Grounds of the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle in India
- Threats to the Olive Ridley Sea Turtle
- Turtles and Turtle conservation in India
Development of Great Nicobar
Context:
Recently, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change gave environmental clearance for the ambitious Rs 72,000 crore development project on the strategically important Great Nicobar Island.
Relevance:
GS III: Environmental Pollution & Degradation
Dimensions of the Article:
- About the proposal
- About Andaman and Nicobar Islands:
- Purpose of the development project:
- Concerns
Birth Anniversary of Tipu Sultan
Context:
The birth anniversary of Tipu Sultan was observed recently, bringing his contested legacy to the forefront of political discourse once again.
Relevance:
GS I: Modern History
Dimensions of the Article:
- About Tipu Sultan
- Was Tipu Sultan a tyrant and a religious bigot?
- Some of the reforms Tipu Sultan introduced
CITES Agreement
Context:
India’s decision not to vote against a proposal to re-open the international trade in ivory at the ongoing conference of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) surprised many.
Relevance:
GS III: Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- Details
- CITES agreement
- Tussle over ivory
- India and ivory trade
Biodiversity Heritage Site
Context:
The Tamil Nadu government issued a notification declaring Arittapatti and Meenakshipuram villages in Madurai district the first biodiversity heritage site in the State.
Relevance:
GS III: Environment and Ecology
Dimensions of the Article:
- Arittapatti and Meenakshipuram villages:
- About Biodiversity heritage site
Loan Write-Off
Context:
Banks wrote off more than Rs 10 lakh crore in loans over the last five years, according to RBI data obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act.
Relevance:
GS III: Indian Economy
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is a loan write-off?
- Why do banks resort to write-offs?
What is a loan write-off?
- Writing off a loan essentially means it will no longer be counted as an asset.
- By writing off loans, a bank can reduce the level of non-performing assets (NPAs) on its books.
- An additional benefit is that the amount so written off reduces the bank’s tax liability.
Why do banks resort to write-offs?
- The bank writes off a loan after the borrower has defaulted on the loan repayment and there is a very low chance of recovery.
- The lender then moves the defaulted loan, or NPA, out of the assets side and reports the amount as a loss.
- After the write-off, banks are supposed to continue their efforts to recover the loan using various options.
- They have to make provisioning as well. The tax liability will also come down as the written-off amount is reduced from the profit.
- However, the chances of recovery from written-off loans are very low which raises questions about the assets or collateral against which the banks lent funds to these defaulters.
