Daily Current Affairs – 18-02-2025

Tamil Nadu

Household Consumption Expenditure Survey

® According to the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey: 2023-24 results released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), the average Monthly Per Capita Consumption Expenditure (MPCE) was including freebies. ® The urban-rural MPCE gap reduced to 70% in 2023-24. ® Non-food items accounted for 53% (rural) and 60% (urban) of the total monthly expenditure. ® 9 of the 18 major states recorded higher MPCE than the all-India average. ® Top 5 states by urban MPCE: Telangana (₹8,978), Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh. ® Top 4 states by rural MPCE: Kerala (₹6,611), Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana. ® Sikkim had the highest overall MPCE (₹9,377 rural, ₹13,927 urban). ® Chhattisgarh had the lowest overall MPCE (₹2,739 rural, ₹4,927 urban). ® Chandigarh had the highest MPCE among UTs (₹8,857 rural, ₹13,425 urban). ® Meghalaya (104%) reported the highest rural-urban MPCE difference.

Nexus Assesment Report on Biodiversity

® The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) has released the “Nexus Assessment Report”. ® The report identifies five interconnected ‘ nexus elements’ : biodiversity , water , food , health and climate change . ® The report states that 90% of premature deaths from pollution are reported in Low-and-Middle-Income Countries ( LMICs ). ® Biodiversity is declining by 2% to 6% per decade. ® The unaccounted costs of current economic activities on the five nexus elements are estimated at a minimum of $10 trillion to $25 trillion per year. ® The report states that the annual finance gap to meet biodiversity requirements ranges from $300 billion to $1 trillion , and at least $4 trillion more is needed annually to meet the SDGs related to water, food, health, and climate change. ® Direct public subsidies to harmful economic activities are approximately $1.7 trillion per year, leading to environmentally damaging economic activities of around $5.3 trillion per year.

Home Ministry’s annual report 2023-24

® According to the 2023-24 annual report of the Ministry of Home Affairs , 2,331 foreigners were deported from India between April 2023 and March 2024. ® The highest number of deportees were from Nigeria (1,470), followed by Bangladesh and Uganda. ® Bangladesh (21, 08,734) ranks top in the number of visitors, followed by the USA and UK.

India’s aging population readiness

® India is ranked 123rd among 143 countries in terms of readiness to face the challenges of an ageing population, according to a study published in ‘Nature Aging’ . ® Switzerland is ranked top with a score of 82.3 , followed by Norway and Denmark . ® Rwanda is ranked last ( 143 rd). ® Singapore is ranked 10th overall and first among Asian countries. ® The study developed a “Global Aging Index” assessing 5 key domains: ® Well-being (2 5 %) ® Productivity & engagement (20%) ® Equity (18%) ® Cohesion (17%) ® Security (20%)

eCoo 2.0 System launched

® The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) has launched the enhanced Certificate of Origin (eCoO) 2.0 System to simplify the certification process for exporters.

Indian clusters join WEF initiative

® 13 new industrial clusters have joined the ‘ Transitioning Industrial Clusters ’ initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF) . ® The 5 new Indian clusters that joined the initiative are: 1. Gopalpur Industrial Park (Odisha) 2. Kakinada Cluster (Andhra Pradesh) 3. Kerala Green Hydrogen Valley (Kerala) 4. Mundra Cluster (Gujarat) 5. Mumbai Green Hydrogen Cluster (Maharashtra) ® The initiative aims to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions while promoting economic growth and employment.

Ethanol procurement price revised

® The Union Cabinet has revised the ethanol procurement prices for Public Sector Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) under the Ethanol Blended Petrol (EBP) Programme . ® The price of ethanol from C-Heavy Molasses (CHM) is increased to ₹57.97 per litre from ₹56.58. ® The OMCs have achieved an average ethanol blending of 14.6% as of ESY 2023-24 , to 707 crore litres.

Unified Pension Scheme launched

® The Ministry of Finance (MoF) has notified the Unified Pension Scheme (UPS) for central government employees. ® The scheme will come into effect from April 2025 and provide a guaranteed pension to retirees. ® The UPS is an upgrade of the National Pension Scheme (NPS) , launched in 2004 , and was recommended by a committee chaired by TV Somanathan in April 2023. Under the UPS: ® Employees will contribute 10% of their basic salary and Dearness Allowance (DA) ® The central government will contribute 18.5% ® Maharashtra was the first state to implement the scheme.