GDP growth dips to 6.3% as manufacturing slides

• Manufacturing and mining output contracted year-on-year in the July-September quarter, dragging Gross Value Added growth to a slower-than-expected 5.6%, which together with high inflation and weak exports combined to slow overall Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth to a 6.3% pace, as per estimates released by the National Statistical Office.
• At a little over ₹75 lakh crore, India’s GDP in the first half of 2022-23 was 5.7% larger than the comparable pre-COVID level. The April to June quarter of this fiscal had witnessed GDP growth of 13.5%, with GVA expanding 12.7%.
• While growth in agriculture GVA quickened to 4.6% in the second quarter, from 4.5% in the preceding three months, manufacturing and mining GVA contracted 4.3% and 2.8%, respectively, in Q2 compared with a year earlier.
• For the first half of 2022-23, the Indian economy recorded 9.7% growth in GDP, compared with 13.7% in the same period last year, while GVA rose 9%, compared with its 12.8% surge.

About Gross State Domestic Product

• Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) is a measure in monetary terms, the sum total volume of all finished goods and services produced during a given period of time, usually a year, within the geographical boundaries of the State, accounted without duplication.
• Significance:
  • Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) or State Income is the most important indicator for measuring the economic growth of a State.
    • These estimates of the economy, over a period of time, reveal the extent and direction of the changes in the levels of economic development.
  • The State Domestic Product is classified under three broad sectors such as Primary sector, Secondary sector and Tertiary sector and is compiled economic activity wise as per the methodology prescribed by the National Accounts Division, National Statistical Office, Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation, Govt. of India.
  • In 2015, NSO introduced the new series of national accounts statistics with base year 2011-12, replacing the previous series with base year 2004-05.

8,380 birds culled in avian flu-hit areas at Alappuzha

• Rapid Response Teams (RRT) of the Animal Husbandry Department (AHD) on Wednesday culled 8,380 birds at avian flu-hit Purakkad and Karuvatta in Alappuzha.
• Officials of the AHD said the carcasses of culled birds had been burnt as per the standard operating procedure.
• “RRTs have culled 8,329 ducks at Purakkad.
• Fifty-one domesticated poultry within one-km radius of the poultry farm at Karuvatta, where the disease was detected, have been destroyed.
• Combing operations will continue at Karuvatta on Thursday,” said an official.
• The entire bird stock at the farm at Karuvatta had succumbed to the disease before the outbreak was officially confirmed on Tuesday.
• The bird flu outbreak (H5N1) has so far been detected at five places in four local bodies in Alappuzha.
• The disease was first confirmed in ducks at Vazhuthanam in Haripad municipality on October 26.
• Later the outbreak was detected in Cheruthana and Karuvatta grama panchayats on November 4 and 12 respectively.

China’s stockpile of nuclear warheads will increase by 2035

• China will likely have a stockpile of 1,500 nuclear warheads by 2035 if it continues with its current nuclear buildup pace, according to a report released by the Pentagon on Tuesday.
• The figure underscores mounting US concerns about China’s intentions for its expanding nuclear arsenal, even though the projections do not suggest China is accelerating the pace of its already-brisk warhead development.
• “They’ve got a rapid buildup that is kind of too substantial to keep under wraps,” a senior US defense official said during a news briefing on the Pentagon’s annual report on China’s military.
• “It does raise questions about whether they’re kind of shifting away from a strategy that was premised on what they referred to as a lean and effective deterrent.”
• The report, which primarily covers activities in 2021, said China currently has a nuclear stockpile of more than 400 warheads.
• The Pentagon’s projection for China’s nuclear arsenal of 1,000 warheads by 2030 remained unchanged, the official said, adding the projection for 2035 was based on an unchanged pace of expansion.
• China says its arsenal is dwarfed by those of the United States and Russia, and that it is ready for dialogue, but only if Washington reduces its nuclear stockpile to China’s level.
• The United States has a stockpile of about 3,700 nuclear warheads, of which roughly 1,740 were deployed, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) think-tank.

Discom dues to gencos and traders dip in the last six months

• The Ministry of Power on Wednesday said outstanding dues of electricity distribution firms (discoms) towards gencos, transcos and traders had come down by ₹24,680 crore to ₹1,13,269 crore in the last six months.
• “With the implementation of Electricity (LPS and Related Matters) Rules, 2022, remarkable improvement has been seen in recovery of outstanding dues of suppliers including generating companies, transmission companies and traders,” the ministry said in a statement.
• The total outstanding dues of states (discoms), which were at ₹1,37,949 crore as on June 3, 2022, have been reduced by ₹24,680 crore to ₹1,13,269 crore with timely payment of just four EMIs (equated monthly installments), it stated.
• For the payment of EMI of ₹24,680 crore, five states have taken a loan of ₹16,812 crore from PFC (power finance corporation) and REC Ltd., and eight states have opted to make their own arrangement, it said.
• Distribution companies are also paying their current dues in time to avoid regulations under the rule.
• Distribution companies have paid almost ₹1,68,000 crore of current dues in the last five months.
• Presently, only one distribution utility, JBVNL, is under the regulation for non-payment of current dues.
• Outstanding dues of distribution companies on trigger date have been reduced to ₹205 crore from ₹5,085 crore as on August 18, 2022, it said.
• Based on the results achieved so far, it is expected that strict implementation of the Late Payment Surcharge (LPS) Rules will bring back financial viability of the power sector in the country and would attract investment to ensure reliable 24×7 electricity to consumers, it added.
• This rule has not only ensured that the outstanding dues are liquidated, but has also ensured that current dues are paid in time. It may be seen that the Rule has played a vital role in ensuring the financial discipline in Discoms, it said.

16 drones shot down along Pak. border this year: BSF

• The Border Security Force (BSF) has shot down 16 drones in areas along the Pakistan border this year, mostly in Jammu and Kashmir and Punjab, Director General Pankaj Kumar Singh said on Wednesday.
• Drones have emerged as one of the key challenges for the force that guards the border, said Mr. Singh, as it does not yet have a “foolproof anti-drone technology” though some Indian companies are working on solutions.
• “We are providing good incentive to the force to detect and shoot down these drones. They usually enter when it is dark and it is difficult to detect them by keeping an ear to the ground. This year, 16 drones were shot down, while last year only one drone was taken down,” Mr. Singh said at a press conference on the eve of the 58^th Raising Day of the force

100 monuments to be lit up to mark India’s G-20 Presidency

• India will assume the presidency of the G-20 grouping today.
• The Group of 20 (G20) is a premier forum comprising 19 of the world’s largest advanced and developing economies, as well as the European Union, which meets every year to discuss their most pressing global issues.
• On this occasion, 100 monuments including UNESCO world heritage sites bearing the G-20 logo will be illuminated for seven days from December 1 to 7 including Srinagar’s Shankaracharya temple to Delhi’s Red Fort to Thanjavur’s Great living Chola temple.
• Apart from this, Humayun’s Tomb and Purana Quila in Delhi to Modhera Sun Temple in Gujarat, and Konark Sun Temple in Odisha to Sher Shah Suri’s Tomb in Bihar, are in the list of these 100 sites.
• During the course of this year’s presidency, India will host 200 meetings across the nations in over 50 cities and in 32 different sectors.
• For next year’s Summit, India’s objectives include the supply of affordable technology for sustainable environmental development, highlighting the digital transformation of the country.

About G-20 Grouping

• The G20 is an informal group of 19 countries and the European Union, with representatives of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank.
• The G20 membership accounts for
  • two-thirds of the world’s population,
  • 85% of global gross domestic product,
  • 80% of global investment and
  • over 75% of global trade.
• The members of the G20 are
  • USA, Canada, Mexico;
  • Argentina, Brazil;
  • EU, Germany, France, UK, Italy;
  • South Africa, Saudi Arabia and Turkey;
  • India; Indonesia; Australia;
  • Russia, China, South Korea and Japan.
• It does not have any permanent secretariat or headquarters.
• The G20 Summit is formally known as the “Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy”.

Quarantine Certification Services by the Ministry of Fisheries orgnised in  Bengaluru

Dogs and Kites (Cheel) being trained by Indian Army to identify and destroy the drones

 IAS officer Preeti Sudan has been  appointed as a member of UPSC

AMLAN an Anemia Eradication Programme launched by Odisha Government

Lakshmi Singh has been appointed as UP’s first woman Police Commissioner

Spanish  language movie ‘I Have Electric Dreams,’ won the Golden Peacock Award

Source : THE HINDU