Inverted Duty Structure
Ministry of Commerce and Industry shared certain items to Ministry of Finance to address Inverted Duty Structure (IDS).
- Refers to situation where import duties on input goods are higher than on finished goods.
- Impact of IDS –
- Affects domestic industry, manufacturers’ have to pay high price for raw material than on finished products.
- Creates working capital issues for the taxpayers as their resources remain blocked in the form of Input Tax Credit (ITC) due to high input tax.
- Leads to refund-related issues under the GST regime.
Wind Shear
Recently, a plane of Singapore Airlines experienced severe mid-air turbulence (irregular motion of the air).
- Change in wind speed, wind direction, or both, over some distance.
- Occurs either horizontally or vertically.
- Occur at – Both high and low altitude.
- Usually associated with Jet streams, mountain waves or temperature inversion layers, thunderstorms etc.
Geopolitical Recession
Political scientist Ian Bremmer defines a geopolitical recession as a situation where established global power frameworks are crumbling.
- Boom and bust cycles experienced by Geopolitics, like economic recession
- During geopolitical recession, responding to a crisis becomes significantly more challenging due to the decreased resilience of political institutions.
- Reasons for current geopolitical recession – Long-term rise of China and the Global South, combined with a decline of European and Japanese economic power. Tensions over trade between the US and China
Animal Diplomacy
Malaysia is aiming to improve its environmental image by putting forward “orangutan diplomacy”, a type of Animal diplomacy.
- Involves giving or lending animals as a sign of friendship or goodwill between countries.
- Considered as an element of soft power.
- Key Examples – China’s panda diplomacy; Australia’s koala diplomacy, etc.
Shallow Aquifer Management (SAM)
SAM pilot models was recently launched in Telangana.
- Sustainable urban water management technique
- Involves drilling shallow water borewells to pump out water.
- The underneath layers are recharged during rainfall causing rise in water tables.
- Part of – Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs