17 Jul 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Advance Authorisation Scheme
2. Bharat Dal
3. IEA Oil 2023 Report
4. Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022

1. Advance Authorisation Scheme

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy

Prelims: Advance Authorisation Scheme

Context:

DGFT implements the Advance Authorisation Scheme.

Advance Authorisation Scheme:

• The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) implements the Advance Authorisation Scheme under the Foreign Trade Policy, which allows the duty-free import of inputs for export purposes. 
• The eligibility of inputs is determined by Sector-specific Norms Committees based on input-output norms.
• Advance Authorisation Scheme allows the duty-free import of inputs, which are physically incorporated in an export product. 
• In addition to any inputs, packaging material, fuel, oil, and catalyst consumed/utilised in the production process of export product production, are also allowed.
• The quantity of inputs allowed for a given product is based on specific norms defined for that export product, which considers the wastage generated in the manufacturing process.
• Advance Authorisation covers manufacturer exporters or merchant exporters tied to supporting manufacturer(s).

2. Bharat Dal

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy, Agriculture

Prelims: Bharat Dal

Context:

Union Minister launched ‘Bharat Dal’.

What is Bharat Dal?

• Bharat Dal is the brand name given to the subsidised chana dal launched by the government.
• It is priced at Rs 60 per kg for one kg pack and Rs 55 per kg for a 30 kg pack.
• The retail outlets of the National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation (NAFED) in Delhi-NCR are selling the chana dal.
• It is a step towards making pulses available to consumers at affordable prices by converting the chana stock of the government into chana dal.
• The chana dal, under this arrangement, is also made available to state governments for supplies under their welfare schemes, police, jails, and also for distribution through their consumer cooperative outlets. 

3. IEA Oil 2023 Report

Syllabus: GS-3, Energy

Prelims: OIL 2023 Report Highlights

Mains: Energy mix

Context:

IEA launches Oil 2023 (Analysis & forecast to 2028) medium-term market report.

Details:

• The International Energy Agency (IEA) in collaboration with the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell (PPAC) under the aegis of the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry launched the Oil 2023 medium-term market report, titled: IEA Oil 2023 – Supply and demand dynamics to 2028.

Highlights of the report:

• Consumption of petroleum products in FY 2022-23: 
  • Overall consumption of petroleum products was at 223 MMT, with a growth of about 12% over the previous year. 
• India is the world’s 4th largest refiner, has the 4th largest LNG terminal capacity, 4th largest auto market and also 3rd largest biofuel producer.
• The growth of global oil demand is set to slow down, almost coming to a halt by 2028. 
  • This is due to hastened shift towards cleaner energy technologies for energy security concerns. 
  • The annual demand growth is expected to decline from 2.4 mb/d in 2023 to just 0.4 mb/d in 2028.
  • The use of oil for transport is set to decline after 2026 with the expansion of electric vehicles, the growth of biofuels and improving fuel economy reducing consumption.
• Around three-quarters of the 2022-28 increase will come from Asia, with India surpassing China as the main source of growth by 2027.
• As per the report, biofuel production expands by nearly 600 kb/d from 2022 to 2028, with Brazil, Indonesia and India combined accounting for 70% of this increase.
• According to the report, global upstream investments in oil and gas exploration, extraction and production are on course to reach their highest levels since 2015, growing 11% year-on-year to USD 528 billion in 2023.

4. Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022

Syllabus: GS-3, Economy; GS-2, Governance

Prelims: Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022

Context:

NITI Aayog released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022.

Export Preparedness Index:

• NITI Aayog released the third edition of the report titled ‘Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2022’ for States/UTs of India.
• EPI is a comprehensive tool which measures the export preparedness of the States and UTs in India.
• The 2022 report discusses India’s export performance amid the prevailing global trade context in FY22, followed by an overview of the country’s sector-specific export performance. 
• It also highlights the need to develop our districts as export hubs in the country and undertakes a district-level analysis of merchandise exports in the country.
• EPI assess the performance of the States and UTs across four pillars – Policy, Business Ecosystem, Export Ecosystem, and Export Performance. Each pillar is composed of sub-pillars, which in turn capture a state’s performance using relevant indicators.
• Read more on the Export Preparedness Index in the link.

Highlights of EPI 2022:

• Coastal States have performed well, with the states of Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Gujarat being the top performers in the Export Preparedness Index across the country, in all categories of states.
• The efforts of state governments in improving the policy ecosystem have led many states to create export promotion policies and district-level export action plans.
• However, there is a scope for improvement in the business and export ecosystem in many states which is necessary to improve their export performance.
• The top five performers are Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana in that order. The least performing state/UT is Lakshadweep.
• The report encourages state governments to create solutions to their context-specific challenges to exports.
• It also asks governments to invest more in R&D and also focus on products that are unique to their regions.
• The report aims to facilitate competitive federalism in the country which creates a spirit of healthy competition among the states and encourage peer learning among the states.

Read the previous PIB articles here.

July 17th, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here