The government is focusing on the existing production-linked incentive (PLI) schemes for the 14 sectors and for the time being it has no plans to expand them to new sectors such as toys. According to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Secretary, Rajesh Kumar Singh, PLI schemes for sectors including pharmaceuticals, white goods, and electronics are progressing well and currently demand their full attention.

The government had previously intended to extend the production-linked incentive scheme to new sectors such as leather, toys, and new-age e-bikes in order to utilize the remaining budget allocated for the 14 sectors. Introduced in 2021, the PLI scheme encompassed 14 sectors, including telecommunications, white goods, textiles, medical devices manufacturing, automobiles, speciality steel, food products, high-efficiency solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell batteries, drones, and pharmaceuticals, with a budget of Rs 1.97 lakh crore.

Singh also revealed that the DPIIT has commissioned a third-party assessment of the PLI scheme focused on white goods, specifically air conditioners and LED lights. The study, assigned to the Arun Jaitley National Institute of Financial Management (AJNIFM), will evaluate the scheme from various perspectives and determine if any adjustments or modifications are necessary. Furthermore, the department plans twill conduct similar assessments for other initiatives, including industrial corridors.

Meanwhile, a recent case study conducted by the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow, under the supervision of the department revealed significant progress in the toys sector during the financial year 2022-23, compared to FY 2014-15. Notably, the analysis showcased a remarkable decline of 52% in toy imports, coupled with an impressive increase of 239% in toy exports during the mentioned period. Furthermore, the study identified an overall enhancement in the quality of toys available in the domestic market.

Over a span of six years, from 2014 to 2020, the government measures resulted in a doubling of toy manufacturing units, a reduction in dependence on imported inputs from 33% to 12%, and a significant increase in gross sales value with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 10%. 

In a major relief for air passengers, the country’s largest carrier IndiGo has removed fuel charges applicable on its domestic and international routes, effective January 4, 2024. The fuel charge, ranging up to Rs 1,000 per flight, was introduced in October 2023, following a sharp surge in aviation turbine fuel (ATF) prices.

On October 5, IndiGo introduced a fuel charge of up to Rs 1,000 on domestic and international routes. Under this pricing structure, passengers booking IndiGo flights will incur a fuel charge, per sector, based on the sector distance. 

Odisha’s ace gymnast Rakesh Kumar Patra and Agartala girl Dipa Karmakar emerged as the best man and woman gymnasts, respectively, in the Senior Artistic Gymnastic Championship that concluded  in Bhubaneswar  at the Kalinga Stadium on  Jan 6.

Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the event was the best platform to test their skill and the 31-year-old local favourite Rakesh made the most of it. “Age is a number and it all depends how strong you are in your mind. I am happy that today also I am fit to beat many young players,” he said after bagging the over-all men’s champion title along with gold (13.533) in individual still rings, silver (13.433) in parallel bar and bronze (12.233) in horizontal bar. Dipa won silver in Vaulting Table (12.700) and Uneven Bars (10.433). Results: Women Individual: Floor Exercise: Pranati Das (Railways, 11.900) , B Aruna Reddy (Telangana-B 11.867), Shatakshi Takke (Maharashtra, 11.533); Balancing Beam: Ritu Das (West Bengal, 13.167), Riddhi Hattekar (Maharashtra 10,933), Pranati Nayak (Railways, 10.433); Uneven Bar: Pranati Das (Railways, 10.433), Dipa Karmakar (Tripura, 10.433), Karishma (Odisha, 10.300); Vaulting Bar: Pranati Nayak (Railways, 12.833), Dipa Karmakar (Tripura, 12.467), Protistha Samanta (Railways, 12.400); Men’s Individual: Horizontal Bar: Yogeshwar (Harayana, 13.000), Gaurav Kumar (Services, 12.300), Rakesh Kumar Patra (Odisha, 12.233); Parallel Bar: Saif Tamboli (Services, 13.900), Rakesh Kumar Patra (Odisha, 13.433), Gaurav Kumar 9Services, 13.333); VaultingTable: Siddharth Verma (Railways, 13.134), Ujwal Naidu (Railways, 13.050), Bhaskar Das (Services, 13.017); Still Rings: Rakesh Kumar Patrea (Odisha, 13.533), Swathish K P (Kerala, 13.200), Tapan Mohanty (Odisha, 13.167); Pommel Horse: Harikrishnan J S (Kerala, 13.133), Siddharth Verma (Railways, 13.033), Yogeshwar (Haryana, 12.400). 

Ahead of the Paris Olympics, the event was the best platform to test their skill and the 31-year-old local favourite Rakesh made the most of it. “Age is a number and it all depends how strong you are in your mind. I am happy that today also I am fit to beat many young players,” he said after bagging the over-all men’s champion title along with gold (13.533) in individual still rings, silver (13.433) in parallel bar and bronze (12.233) in horizontal bar. Dipa won silver in Vaulting Table (12.700) and Uneven Bars (10.433). Results: Women Individual: Floor Exercise: Pranati Das (Railways, 11.900) , B Aruna Reddy (Telangana-B 11.867), Shatakshi Takke (Maharashtra, 11.533); Balancing Beam: Ritu Das (West Bengal, 13.167), Riddhi Hattekar (Maharashtra 10,933), Pranati Nayak (Railways, 10.433); Uneven Bar: Pranati Das (Railways, 10.433), Dipa Karmakar (Tripura, 10.433), Karishma (Odisha, 10.300); Vaulting Bar: Pranati Nayak (Railways, 12.833), Dipa Karmakar (Tripura, 12.467), Protistha Samanta (Railways, 12.400); Men’s Individual: Horizontal Bar: Yogeshwar (Harayana, 13.000), Gaurav Kumar (Services, 12.300), Rakesh Kumar Patra (Odisha, 12.233); Parallel Bar: Saif Tamboli (Services, 13.900), Rakesh Kumar Patra (Odisha, 13.433), Gaurav Kumar 9Services, 13.333); VaultingTable: Siddharth Verma (Railways, 13.134), Ujwal Naidu (Railways, 13.050), Bhaskar Das (Services, 13.017); Still Rings: Rakesh Kumar Patrea (Odisha, 13.533), Swathish K P (Kerala, 13.200), Tapan Mohanty (Odisha, 13.167); Pommel Horse: Harikrishnan J S (Kerala, 13.133), Siddharth Verma (Railways, 13.033), Yogeshwar (Haryana, 12.400). 

Turning his star sports power to politics, colourful Bangladeshi cricketer Shakib Al Hasan is all but guaranteed to become a ruling party lawmaker with general elections on Jan 7  boycotted by the opposition.

Better known as the leading all-rounder of his era, the 36-year-old skipper has been on a whirlwind campaign for the ruling party of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Opposition parties withdrew from a vote they said would be neither free nor fair, accusing Hasina of ruling with an iron fist.

Shakib conceded he was not facing any serious obstacle to his election, but told AFP while on the hustings that the contest still made him anxious.

Shakib's campaign obliged him to take a temporary leave of absence from cricket.

He skipped a New Zealand tour where the team has shone without him, making history with their first one-day and Twenty20 wins against the Black Caps on the hosts' soil.

Shakib is the only person to have been ranked the number-one all-rounder in all three formats simultaneously by the International Cricket Council.

He was a teenager when he was recruited to the country's premier sports academy and just 19 at his international debut in 2006 as a batting all-rounder.

Q1. Name the Delhi Commission for Women chief who on Jan 5   has tendered her resignation after the Aam Aadmi Party announced her candidature for the Rajya Sabha elections ?

1. Atishi
2. Rakhi Birla
3. Bhavna Gaur
4. Swati Maliwal
5. None of These

Q2. The Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change submits proposals for Wetland City Accreditation (WCA) under the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands for the cities of

1. Indore, Bhopal and Udaipur
2. Ujjain , Dwarka and Jaipur
3. Ayodhya , Kashi and Mathura
4. Shillong , Sibsagar and Agartala
5. None of These

Q3. Name the country  in which  military government on Jan 4  has pardoned nearly 10,000 prisoners to mark the 76th anniversary of gaining independence from Britain ?

1. North Korea
2. Iraq
3. Myanmar
4. Syria
5. None of These

Q4. According to United Nations India is projected to grow in 2024 at 6.2 per cent

1. 6 per cent
2. 6.2 per cent
3. 6.5 per cent
4. 7.2 per cent
5. None of These

Q5. Name the  country which has s suspended the issuance of work permits to its citizens to travel to Russia and Ukraine following the death of at its  least 10 citizens who joined the Russian Army in the ongoing war between the two neighbours ?

1. Afghanistan
2. Myanmar
3. Nepal
4. Pakistan
5. None of These

Answers

1--------------------------4  Swati Maliwal

2----------------------------1   Indore, Bhopal and Udaipur

3----------------------------3   Myanmar

4------------------------------2  6.2 per cent

5------------------------------3  Nepal

Y S Sharmila, the daughter of former Andhra Pradesh chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy and founder of YSR Telangana Party, joined the Congress  on Jan 4 .

She also announced the merger of her YSR Telangana Congress with the Congress and said she would fulfil any responsibility given to her.

Sharmila joined the Congress in the presence of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and former party president Rahul Gandhi.

Sharmila is the younger sister of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy.

The centre has annulled, after tepid response from bidders, the expression of interest (EoI) for disinvestment of the Salem Steel Plant. The EoI for the strategic disinvestment of the TN plant, a unit of the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), was floated by the centre in 2019.

Notably, in 2019, the privatisation of the Alloys Steels Plant (ASP) in Durgapur was halted, and in 2022, the sale of the Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISP) in Bhadravati, Karnataka, was called off due to a lack of interest from bidders. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs had approved the strategic sale of these three units of SAIL in 2018.

The government aims to raise Rs 51,000 crore through disinvestment and strategic sale in the current fiscal year, but so far, only Rs 10,052 crore has been generated. S alem Steel Plant, a special steels unit of the SAIL pioneered the supply of wider width stainless steel sheets/coils in India.

The plant can produce austenitic, ferritic, martensitic & low-nickel stainless steel coils and sheets with an installed capacity of 70,000 tonnes per year in Cold Rolling Mill and 3,64,000 tonnes par year in Hot Rolling Mill. Its can produce 1,80,000 tonnes of slabs per annum. Additionally, the plant has country’s first stainless steel blanking facility with a capacity of 3,600 tonnes per year of coin and utility blanks.

In a significant decision, the Vishnu Deo Sai cabinet on Jan 3  decided to recommend a CBI) probe into the alleged corruption and irregularities in the recruitment of Chhattisgarh Public Service Commission (CGPSC) exam-2021. The state cabinet cited the youths’ interest and decided to hand over the complaints to the Central agency. The BJP had vowed to order such a probe in its manifesto.