UPSC Daily Current Affairs- February 2, 2022 PDF Download

GS-I

Context

Recently, the Union Ministry of Culture has nominated Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysalas temples for consideration as a World Heritage site for the year 2022-2023.

• The sacred ensembles of the Hoysalas, built in the 12^th-13^th centuries and represented by the three components of Belur, Halebid and Somnathapura in Karnataka. 
• All these three Hoysala temples are protected monuments of the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). 
• The 'Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala' have been on UNESCO's Tentative list since 15th April, 2014 and stand testimony to the rich historical and cultural heritage of India. 
• Earlier, the UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre (WHC) had agreed to publish Hindi descriptions of India's UNESCO World Heritage Sites on the WHC website.

Features of Belur, Halebid, and Somnathapura temples

• Chennakeshava Temple, Belur
  • Construction of the temple commenced in 1117 AD and took 103 years to complete. 
  • The temple is dedicated to Lord Vishnu known as Chennakesava, which means beautiful (chenna) Vishnu (Keshava). 
  • The richly sculptured exterior of the temple narrates scenes from the life of Vishnu and his reincarnations and the epics, Ramayana, and Mahabharata.
  • However, some of the representations of Shiva are also included. 
• Hoysaleshwara Temple, Halebidu
  • The Hoysaleshwara temple at Halebidu is the most exemplary architectural ensemble of the Hoysalas extant today. 
  • Built-in 1121CE during the reign of the Hoysala King, Vishnuvardhana Hoysaleshwara. 
  • The temple, dedicated to Shiva, was sponsored and built by wealthy citizens and merchants of Dorasamudra. 
  • The temple is most well-known for the more than 240 wall sculptures that run all along the outer wall. 
  • Halebid has a walled complex containing three Jaina basadi (temples) of the Hoysala period as well as a stepped well. 
• Keshava Temple, Somanathapura
  • The Keshava temple at Somanathapura is another magnificent Hoysala monument, perhaps the last. 
  • This is a breathtakingly beautiful Trikuta Temple dedicated to Lord Krishna in three forms – Janardhana, Keshava and Venugopala. 
  • Unfortunately, the main Keshava idol is missing, and the Janardhana and Venugopala idols are damaged.

Characteristics of Hoysala Architecture

• Hoysala architecture is the building style developed under the rule of the Hoysala Empire between the 11^th and 14^th centuries, mostly concentrated in southern Karnataka. 
• Hoysala temples are sometimes called hybrid or vesara as their unique style seems neither completely Dravida nor Nagara, but somewhere in between. 
  • The Hoysala temples have a basic Darvidian morphology but show strong influences of the Bhumija mode widely used in Central India, the Nagara traditions of northern and western India, and the Karntata Dravida modes favoured by the Kalyani Chalukyas. 
  • Therefore, the Hoysala architects made considered and informed eclectic selections of features from other temple typologies which they further modified and then complemented with their own particular innovations. 
  • The result was the birth of a completely novel 'Hoysala Temple' form. 
• The Hoysala temples, instead of consisting of a simple inner chamber with its pillared hall, contain multiple shrines grouped around a central pillared hall and laid out in the shape of an intricately-designed star (stellate-plan). 
• Since they are made out of soapstone which is a relatively soft stone, the artists were able to carve their sculptures intricately. This can be seen particularly in the jewellery of the gods that adorn their temple walls.

About World Heritage Site

• Any of various areas or objects inscribed on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage List. 
• The sites are designated as having “outstanding universal value” under the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage 1972. 
  • The World Heritage Centre is the Secretariat to the 1972 Convention. 
• It provides a framework for international cooperation in preserving and protecting cultural treasures and natural areas throughout the world. 
• There are three types of sites: Cultural, Natural, and Mixed. 
  • Cultural heritage sites include hundreds of historic buildings and town sites, important archaeological sites, and works of monumental sculpture or painting.
    Example: Dholavira: a Harappan City. 
  • Natural heritage sites are restricted to those natural areas that have excellent ecological and evolutionary processes, unique natural phenomena, habitats of rare or endangered species etc.
    Example: Great Himalayan National Park Conservation Area. 
  • Mixed heritage sites contain elements of both natural and cultural significance.
    Example: Khangchendzonga National Park.
• No. of World Heritage Sites in India: India has 40 world heritage sites, including 32 cultural properties, 7 natural properties and 1 mixed site. Dholavira: a Harappan City is the recent addition. 
• Nomination Process: As per Operational Guidelines, 2019 of UNESCO, it is mandatory to put any monument/site on the Tentative List (TL) for one year before it is considered for the final nomination dossier. 
  • Once the nomination is done, it is sent to the World Heritage Centre (WHC), which will do the technical scrutiny of the same. 
  • Once the submission is made, UNESCO will communicate back by early March. After that the site evaluation will happen in September /October 2022 and the dossier will be taken up for consideration in July /August 2023.

GS-II

Context

Recently, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has released a Draft National Higher Educational Qualification Framework (NHEQF) as a part of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 to assess students at different levels. 

• The NEP 2020 aims at making “India a global knowledge superpower”. 
• Given the size of the higher education system and the diversity of institutions and programmes of study in India, the country needs to move towards developing a nationally accepted and internationally comparable and acceptable qualifications framework to facilitate transparency and comparability of higher education qualifications at all levels.

About Draft NHEQF

• The framework is not intended to promote a uniform curriculum or national common syllabus. The purpose is to bring up/elevate all HEIs (Higher Education Institutions) to a common level of benchmarking to ensure that all institutions are providing quality education. 
• The draft framework has outlined several learning level “descriptors” or parameters based on which students can be assessed at every level. 
• These parameters include generic learning outcomes, constitutional, ethical, and moral values, employment-ready skills, entrepreneurship mindset, and application of knowledge and skills among others. 
• The NHEQF has divided parameters into levels 5 to 10. 
  • Levels 1 to 4 cover the school education. 
  • The NHEQF level 5 represents learning outcomes appropriate to the first year (first two semesters) of the undergraduate programme of study, while Level 10 represents learning outcomes appropriate to the doctoral-level programme of study. 
• The NHEQF envisages that students on completion of a programme of study must possess and demonstrate the expected graduate profile/attributes acquired. 
• It also fixes the number of credits required to clear the different levels of the four-year undergraduate programme, postgraduate degrees and doctoral degrees. 
  • The NEP 2020 allows multiple entry and exits at the undergraduate level. It effectively means that students can exit after completing one year of undergraduate programme with a certificate, after two years with a diploma, after three years with a bachelor’s degree, or can complete four years and get an honours degree with a honours/research degree. 
  • A credit is a unit by which the coursework is measured.

Background of the National Qualifications Framework in India

• India recognized the need for NQF both for general education and for Vocational Education and Training (VET). 
• The Ministry of Labour and Employment developed the National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (renamed as Ministry of Education, after NEP 2020 recommendations) developed the Vocational Education Qualifications Framework (NVEQF). 
• These two frameworks were considered and used while developing the National Skills Qualifications Framework (NSQF) notified in 2013.

Context

Recently, the Kerala government has proposed to amend the Kerala Lokayukta Act, 1999 with an ordinance, a move that has drawn criticism from the opposition. 

• The proposed ordinance envisages to limit the powers of the anti-corruption watchdog.

Concept of Lokpal and Lokayuktas

• The Lokpal and Lokayukta Act, 2013 provided for the establishment of Lokpal for the Union and Lokayukta for States. 
• These institutions are statutory bodies without any constitutional status. 
• They perform the function of an "ombudsman” and inquire into allegations of corruption against certain public functionaries and for related matters. 
• The Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 provides for establishing a Lokpal headed by a Chairperson, who is or has been a Chief Justice of India, or is or has been a judge of the Supreme Court, or an eminent person who fulfills eligibility criteria as specified. 
  • Of its other members, not exceeding eight, 50% are to be judicial members, provided that not less than 50% belong to the SCs, STs, OBCs, minorities, or are women. 
  • The Lokpal was appointed in March 2019 and it started functioning since March 2020 when its rules were framed. 
  • The Lokpal is at present headed by former Supreme Court Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose. The Lokpal has jurisdiction to inquire into allegations of corruption against anyone who is or has been Prime Minister, or a Minister in the Union government, or a Member of Parliament, as well as officials of the Union government under Groups A, B, C and D. 
  • Also covered are chairpersons, members, officers and directors of any board, corporation, society, trust or autonomous body either established by an Act of Parliament or wholly or partly funded by the Centre. 
  • It also covers any society or trust or body that receives foreign contributions above Rs. 10 lakh.

What are the Proposed Changes?

• The Kerala cabinet has recommended to the Governor that he promulgates the ordinance. 
• The proposal sought to give the government powers to “either accept or reject the verdict of the Lokayukta, after giving an opportunity of being heard”. 
• By this ordinance, the quasi-judicial institution will turn into a toothless advisory body, whose orders will no longer be binding on the government.

Historical Background of Ombudsman in India

• In 1809, the institution of ombudsman was inaugurated officially in Sweden. 
• In the 20^th century, the Ombudsman as an institution developed and grew most significantly after the Second World War (1939-45). 
• In 1967, on the recommendations of the Whyatt Report of 1961, Great Britain adopted the institution of the ombudsman and became the first large nation in the democratic world to have such a system. 
• In India, the concept of constitutional ombudsman was first proposed by the then law minister Ashok Kumar Sen in parliament in the early 1960s. 
• The terms Lokpal and Lokayukta were coined by Dr. L. M. Singhvi. 
• In 1966, the First Administrative Reforms Commission recommended the setting up of two independent authorities- at the central and state level, to look into complaints against public functionaries, including MPs. 
• In 1968, Lokpal bill was passed in Lok Sabha but lapsed with the dissolution of Lok Sabha and since then it lapsed in the Lok Sabha many times. 
• In 2002, the Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution headed by M.N. Venkatachaliah recommended the appointment of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas; also recommended that the PM be kept out of the ambit of the authority. 
• In 2005, the Second Administrative Reforms Commission chaired by Veerappa Moily recommended that the office of Lokpal should be established without delay. 
• In 2011, social movement "India Against Corruption movement" led by Anna Hazare put pressure on the government at the Centre and resulted in the passing of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Bill, 2013.

How does Lokayukta Work in the States?

• Section 63 of the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 states: “Every state shall establish a body to be known as the Lokayukta for the State, if not so established, constituted or appointed, by a law made by the State Legislature”. 
• It will be created to deal with complaints relating to corruption against certain public functionaries, within a period of one year from the date of commencement of this Act. 
  • However, the law is a mere framework, leaving it to the states to decide the specifics. 
  • Given that states have autonomy to frame their own laws, the Lokayukta’s powers vary from state to state on various aspects, such as tenure, and need of sanction to prosecute officials. 
• When the 2013 Act was passed, Lokayuktas were already functioning in some states - including in Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka where they were very active. 
  • Following the Act and the intervention of the Supreme Court, most states have now set up a Lokayukta.

Context

The Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles launched the Free Trade Agreement negotiations with the United Kingdom. 

• The FTA is expected to facilitate the target of doubling bilateral trade between India and United Kingdom by 2030, set by the Prime Ministers of both the nations, in May 2021.

About Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)
Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are the arrangements between two or more trading alliances that primarily agree to lessen or dispose of customs tariff and non-tariff barriers on substantial trade between them.

Features of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs)

• The member nations of FTAs explicitly identify the duties and tariffs that are to be imposed on member countries when it comes to imports and exports. 
• FTAs typically cover trades in  (a) merchandise — such as agricultural or industrial products (b) services — such as banking, construction, trading and so forth (c) intellectual property rights (IPRs) (d) investment (e) government procurement (f) competition policy and so on. 
• FTAs additionally, for the most part, provide criterion called the ‘Rules of Origin (RoO)’, required for the determination of product’s country of origin for the imposition of the preferential tariff on International trade.  
  Note: Rules of Origin (RoO) are enforced with the issuance of a Certificate of Origin (CoO) by authorized agencies of the trading partner. 
• FTAs act as an exception to the Most Favoured Nation principle adopted by WTO (World Trade Organization).
  

Benefits of India-UK FTA

• The FTA negotiations with the UK is expected to increase our exports in Leather, Textile, Jewellery and processed Agri products. 
• It also expected to register a quantum jump in the export of Marine Products through the recognition of 56 marine units of India. 
• The Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on Pharma could provide additional market access. 
• There is also great potential for increasing exports in service sectors like IT/ITES, Nursing, education, healthcare, including AYUSH and audio-visual services. 
• Observing that UK was a major trade partner of India with substantial bilateral volume of trade in goods and services, the cooperation extended across areas like tourism, tech, startups, education, climate change, etc. 
• The two nations were looking forward to a mutually beneficial trade deal with balanced concessions and market access package in a wide range of sectors. 
• It will also contribute to integrating value chains and help augment our mutual efforts to strengthen the resilience of supply chains.

Areas of cooperation between India and UK

• Institutionalised dialogues: India and UK have a number of bilateral dialogue mechanisms in place, covering a wide spectrum of areas including political, trade, education, science & technology, defence etc. 
• Trade: UK is among India’s major trading partners and during the year 2014-15, UK ranked 18th in the list of India’s top 25 trading partners. India’s main exports to the UK are garments and textiles, machinery and instruments, petroleum products, footwear and leather. 
• Services: As per UK’s Office for National Statistics, India-UK bilateral trade in services in the year 2014 amounted to approx. £2.5 billion. 
• Investment: UK is the 3rd largest inward investor in India, after Mauritius, and Singapore with a cumulative equity investment of US $22.56 billion. 
• Economic Dialogue: Bilateral mechanisms like India-UK Economic & Financial Dialogue (EFD) and India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) form the basis of institutional engagements between the two countries. 
• Education: Education is an important plank of the India-UK bilateral relationship. Over the last 10 years, the relationship has grown substantially with the introduction of bilateral mechanisms such as the India-UK Education Forum UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI). 
• Indian Students: UK has traditionally been a favourite destination for international students. At present, there are approximately 20,000 Indian students pursuing Undergraduate and Postgraduate courses in the UK. 
• Cultural Linkages: Cultural linkages between India and UK are deep and extensive, arising out of shared history between the two countries. There has been a gradual mainstreaming of Indian culture and absorption of Indian cuisine, cinema, languages, religion, philosophy, performing arts, etc. 
• Indian Diaspora: The India Diaspora in UK is one of the largest ethnic minority communities in the country, with the 2011 census recording approximately 1.5 million people of Indian origin in the UK equating to almost 1.8 percent of the population and contributing 6% of the country’s GDP. 
• Geopolitical Significance: The Indian Ocean is identified as a vital arena for closer defence and security cooperation between the two countries. Further, India needs UK’s support on international fora for its aim to have a permanent seat in UNSC and full membership of NSG.

Issues in India-UK relations

• The UK does not have a government-to-government framework for arms sales to India, relying instead on commercial-led transactions. 
• UK is an active participant in Belt and Road Initiative of China for which India raised sovereignty issues. 
• Colonial hangover in public is affecting the policy makers of India to take decisions for close relations with UK. 
• Brexit raises major issues for Indian business:
  • Political uncertainty and oscillating business policy along with fluctuating market share and prospect.
  • Restructuring to set up EU subsidiaries of Indian companies.

GS-III

Context

The Union Finance Minister has announced the launch of the Digital Rupee — a central bank digital currency (CBDC) — 2022-23 onwards.

Who will launch the CBDC?

• The Reserve Bank of India will launch the CBDC from the upcoming financial year. 
• This follows the government’s plans to launch the CBDC that will be backed by blockchain technology.

What is a CBDC?

• CBDC is a legal tender issued by a central bank in a digital form.
• It is similar to a fiat currency issued in paper and is interchangeable with any other fiat currency.
• One chief difference will be that a Digital Rupee transaction will be instantaneous as opposed to the current digital payment experience.

Features of CBDC

• High-security instrument: CBDC is a high-security digital instrument; like paper banknotes, it is a means of payment, a unit of account, and a store of value. 
• Uniquely identifiable: And like paper currency, each unit is uniquely identifiable to prevent counterfeit. 
• Liability of central bank: It is a liability of the central bank just as physical currency is. 
• Transferability: It’s a digital bearer instrument that can be stored, transferred, and transmitted by all kinds of digital payment systems and services.

Need for CBDC

• Online transactions: India is a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions. 
• High currency in circulation: India has a fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio. 
• Cost of currency management: An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.

Why is CBDC preferred over Cryptocurrency?

• Sovereign guarantee: Cryptocurrencies pose risks to consumers.  They do not have any sovereign guarantee and hence are not legal tender. 
• Market volatility: Their speculative nature also makes them highly volatile.  For instance, the value of Bitcoin fell from USD 20,000 in December 2017 to USD 3,800 in November 2018. 
• Risk in security: A user loses access to their cryptocurrency if they lose their private key (unlike traditional digital banking accounts, this password cannot be reset). 
• Malware threats: In some cases, these private keys are stored by technical service providers (cryptocurrency exchanges or wallets), which are prone to malware or hacking. 
• Money laundering: Cryptocurrencies are more vulnerable to criminal activity and money laundering.  They provide greater anonymity than other payment methods since the public keys engaging in a transaction cannot be directly linked to an individual. 
• Regulatory bypass: A central bank cannot regulate the supply of cryptocurrencies in the economy.  This could pose a risk to the financial stability of the country if their use becomes widespread. 
• Power consumption: Since validating transactions is energy-intensive, it may have adverse consequences for the country’s energy security (the total electricity use of bitcoin mining, in 2018, was equivalent to that of mid-sized economies such as Switzerland).

What does the Budget announcement mean?

• The announcement in the Budget essentially expresses the government’s intention on cryptocurrencies and other virtual currencies. 
• The RBI has on several occasions flagged concerns of money laundering, terror financing, tax evasion, etc with private cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ether, etc and had planned to announce its own CBDC.

What does this change for citizens?

• There are several models proposed by technology experts on how the Digital Rupee could be transacted. 
• But a formal announcement by the Reserve Bank of India will likely detail how the Digital Rupee will be transacted by citizens.

Context

Union Budget 2022-23 provided for a new scheme, Prime Minister’s Development Initiative for North East (PM-DevINE) will be implemented through the North-Eastern Council.

About PM-DevINE

• It will fund infrastructure, in the spirit of PM GatiShakti, and social development projects based on felt needs of the northeast. 
• This will enable livelihood activities for youth and women, filling the gaps in various sectors. 
• While the Central Ministries may also pose their candidate projects, priority will be given to those posed by the States.

Some of the projects to be implemented

• Dedicated Services for the Management of Paediatric and Adult Haemotolymphoid Cancers in North East India, Guwahati.
• Construction of Aizawl bypass on western side, gap funding for passenger ropeway system for Pelling to Sanga-Choeling in West Sikkim.
• Gap funding for eco-friendly Ropeway (Cable Car) from Dhapper to Bhaleydhunga in South Sikkim.
• Pilot project for the construction of Bamboo Link Road at different locations in various districts in Mizoram.

Context

On 1^st February 2022, Indian Coast Guard (ICG) celebrated its 46th Raising Day. 

• ICG was established in August 1978 by the Coast Guard Act, 1978 as an independent Armed force of India. 
• As the fourth largest Coast Guard in the world, it has played a significant role in securing the Indian coasts and enforcing regulations in the maritime zones of India.

About Background

• It is an Armed Force, Search and Rescue and Maritime Law Enforcement agency under the Ministry of Defence. 
• It is headquartered in New Delhi. 
• The concept of forming ICG came into being after the 1971 war. The blueprint for a multidimensional Coast Guard was conceived by the visionary Rustamji Committee. 
• For effective command and control, the Maritime Zones of India are divided into five Coast Guard Regions, namely, North-West, West, East, North-East and Andaman & Nicobar, with the respective Regional Headquarters located at Gandhinagar, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata and Port Blair.

Functions of ICG

• Preventing Smuggling: One of the primary duties of the ICG is prevention of smuggling through maritime routes. 
  • It has jurisdiction over the territorial waters of India including contiguous zone and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). 
  • It is responsible for marine environment protection in maritime zones of India and is coordinating authority for response to oil spills in Indian waters. 
• Aid to Civil Authority: It has also rescued approximately 13,000 personnel till date during various ‘Aid to Civil Authority’ operations viz. assistance provided to civil authorities during floods, cyclones and other natural calamities; most recently during the recent floods in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Goa. 
  • It is also working in close coordination with Central and State agencies to put in place a robust coastal security mechanism. 
• Maritime Security: It is also collaborating with littoral countries to combat transnational maritime crimes and enhance maritime safety in its area of responsibility and in the Indian Ocean Region. 
  • Under SAGAR' - Security and Growth for all in the Region & 'Neighbourhood First' policy, the ICG has nurtured professional relationships across oceans and established ties with countries in the Indian Ocean Region for Ocean Peacekeeping. 
• Role in Disaster Management: The ICG has successfully averted major ecological disasters and emerged as the ‘First Responder’ in the region. 
  • For example, by undertaking a major fire-fighting and pollution response operation off the Sri Lanka coast, the most recent being ‘Sagar Aaraksha-II’ onboard Chemical carrier MV X-Press Pearl.

Context

The Union Budget starts with an announcement that India’s domestic output (GDP) is likely to grow 9.2% this year (2021-22) over last year — the highest among the world’s large economies.

Budget seeks to boost public investment

• This year’s Budget seeks to boost public investment by 35.4% at current prices over last year to raise its share in GDP to 2.9% from 2.2% last year. 
• Investment-led growth: The Budget hopes to trigger a virtuous investment-led output and employment growth by arguing in favour of the “crowding-in” effect of public investment on private investment. 
• Challenge of mobilising resources: The crux will be to mobilise resources to finance the investment as the Budget seeks to reduce the fiscal deficit ratio, as per the schedule laid out in the last Budget. 
• With the threat of higher (imported) inflation (on account of rising international oil prices) and rising interest rates (on account of the US Federal Reserve’s decision), meeting the ambitious investment target would be challenging, but it is worth attempting.

Decline in employment

• How the budget will address the sharp decline of three percentage points of GDP in private consumption, which is likely to be caused by loss of employment? 
• The derived demand for labour from an infrastructure boost may be limited, as the suggested projects are machinery intensive, not labour intensive. 
• The employment crisis would call for enhanced allocation for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) and initiating a similar scheme for meeting urban unemployment.

Stangnat manufacturing sector

• The manufacturing sector’s share in GDP has been stagnating at around 15% of GDP for quite a while. 
• Lack of demand is the real problem, with low capacity utilisation. Indeed, the proposed public investment would create demand for capital and intermediate goods. 
• But if a substantial share of such investment “leaks” out as imports, then the industrial output may not get the desired boost. 
• Growing import dependence: India has become an import-dependent economy, especially in China. 
• Despite the clarion call for Atmanirbhar Bharat, India’s trade deficit with China has gone up from $57.4 billion in 2018 to $64.5 billion in 2021. 
• And the deficit would be even higher if exports from China and Hong Kong to India are combined. 
• Improved EDB ranking and its limits: India launched the “Make in India” initiative in 2014-15 to raise the manufacturing sector’s share in GDP to 25% and create 100 million new jobs in the industry by 2022. 
• However, the Government diagnosed the principal barrier to increasing manufacturing in India as excessive and dysfunctional regulation holding back the private initiative. 
• The solution, it was argued, was to improve India’s rank in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EDB) index. 
• India did splendidly to improve its rank — from 142 in 2014 to 63 by 2019-20. 
• But the improved ranking failed the industrial sector miserably, with a steady slowdown, noted above. 
• Last year, the World Bank scrapped the index as it was flawed globally and reportedly politically motivated.

Limited success of PLI Scheme

• India launched a production linked incentive scheme (PLI) for numerous technology-intensive products, starting with mobile phone assembly a few years ago to augment production and reduce imports. 
• The Budget has mentioned the overwhelming response to the scheme. 
• However, evidence on the number of such projects that have taken off, their investment and employment generation and rise in domestic content in such industrial units is too sparse.

Conclusion
To sum up, the Budget for 2022-23 is a bold effort at public investment-led growth — quite similar to last year’s.