Daily Prelims Notes 6 February 2024

Daily Prelims Notes

6 February 2024

Table Of Contents

1. Myanmar’s civil war and India’s interests
2. The unusual cabbage mutation that could boost crop yield
3. RBI Monetary Policy Preview: Key Points
4. Key Points: Import Duty Hike on Gold Findings
5. About Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC)
6. BLACK NECKED CRANE
7. Schemes for Restoration of Mangrove Forests
8. 5 takeaways from higher education survey 21-22
9. Air quality grant to million plus cities

1. Myanmar’s civil war and India’s interests

Subject: IR

Sec: Places in news

About News:

• A few weeks ago, the Arakan Army captured Paletwa in the Chin State which lies on Myanmar’s western borders with Bangladesh and India.
• The developments in Paletwa will impact the Indian government’s Kaladan Multimodal Transit Transport Project (KMTTP) in Myanmar, which has already faced significant delays.
• The Arakan Army, along with the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, is part of the Three Brotherhood alliance, which some claim has China’s support.
• Unlike India, China is a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council,  which prompts many state and non­state actors in need of international support to  be relatively more accommodating of China’s concerns.

2. The unusual cabbage mutation that could boost crop yield

Subject: Science and tech

Section: Biotech

Context:

• The males of plants as diverse as cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, tomato,  and rice can be made sterile by deleting a very small part of their genome’s DNA. 
• This deletion holds the promise of significantly boosting crop yields through a phenomenon known as heterosis.

Understanding Genetics

• The cabbage plant (Brassica oleracea) genome contains approximately 1.06 billion base pairs distributed across 18 chromosomes.Each chromosome pair, derived from pollen and egg, shares a mostly identical sequence.

Role of Genes:

• Genes are well-defined DNA sequences, typically spanning a few thousand base pairs.When expressed, a gene’s segment is transcribed into RNA, which serves as the blueprint for protein synthesis.
• Protein Production: RNA is processed by cellular machinery called ribosomes, directing the assembly of amino acids into proteins.

Role of Sterility in Hybrid Vigor

• Finding of Ms-cd1: Around 44 years ago, a cabbage plant with a natural mutation known as Ms-cd1 was identified.This mutation rendered the plant male-sterile, with a crucial twist: the eggs of the mutant plant could still be fertilized by pollen from normal plants, yielding normal seeds.
• Hybrid Seeds: All seeds from mutant plants resulted from out-crossing, where eggs were fertilized by pollen from different strains.Such hybrid seeds, also called out-cross seeds, give rise to more robust plants with enhanced vigor, known as heterosis.
• Dominant Mutation: The Ms-cd1 mutation was found to be dominant, meaning its presence in just one chromosome of the pair caused male sterility, regardless of the other chromosome’s status.
• Recessive Mutations: The researchers demonstrated that mutations in both copies of the Ms-cd1 gene were necessary for male fertility.In such cases, the mutations became recessive.

Crucial Missing Base-Pair

• Genetic Mapping: Through genetic mapping, researchers identified a crucial distinction between the mutated and non-mutated Ms-cd1 genes. The mutated gene lacked a single DNA base pair in its promoter region.
• Promoter’s Role: The promoter sequence binds to regulatory proteins that control when and in which cells a gene is transcribed into RNA.
• ERF Binding: In the mutated gene, this missing base-pair disrupted its binding to the regulatory protein ERF, allowing the Ms-cd1 gene to remain expressed, leading to male sterility.
• Fine-Tuning of Protein Levels: Proper pollen development depends on a precise balance of Ms-cd1 protein levels, with ERF binding regulating its expression at different stages of development.

3. RBI Monetary Policy Preview: Key Points

Subject: Economy

Section: Monetary Policy

1. Repo Rate Expectations:
   • Likely to Remain Unchanged: RBI’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) expected to maintain the repo rate at 6.5% for the sixth consecutive time.
   • Steady Repo Rate: If maintained, it would mark a year of the repo rate remaining steady.
2. Monetary Policy Stance:
   • Expected as ‘Withdrawal of Accommodation’: The monetary policy stance likely to remain as a ‘withdrawal of accommodation.’
   • Consistent with Inflation Targets: Focus on maintaining CPI inflation at the 4% target.
3. Inflation Scenario:
   • December CPI Inflation: Increased to 5.69%, a four-month high, driven by higher food prices.
   • Government’s Band: Inflation within the 2-6% band but above the 4% target.
   • RBI’s Projection for FY24: CPI inflation at 5.4%, with Q3 at 5.6% and Q4 at 5.2%.
4. GDP Growth Forecast:
   • RBI’s FY24 Forecast: Real GDP growth at 7%.
   • Optimistic on Growth: RBI likely to sound optimistic on growth, recognizing fiscal consolidation.
5. Liquidity Measures:
   • Expectations: Some economists expect RBI to announce liquidity measures to address tight liquidity conditions.
   • Liquidity Gap: Gap between incremental credit and deposit in FYTD 2024 is Rs 3.6 lakh crore.
6. External Benchmark Lending Rates (EBLR):
   • Linked to Repo Rate: If repo rate remains unchanged, EBLRs linked to it will not rise.
   • Relief to Borrowers: Borrowers’ EMIs will not increase for loans linked to EBLRs.
7. MCLR-Linked Loans:
   • Possible Rate Hike: Lenders may raise interest rates on loans linked to MCLR.
   • Incomplete Transmission: Full transmission of the previous repo rate hikes not observed in MCLR-linked loans.
8. Future Rate Expectations:
   • Nomura’s View: Expects 100 bps of rate cuts, starting from August, with risks of earlier cuts.
   • Goldman Sachs’ View: Expects RBI to keep the policy repo rate unchanged until Q3 of CY24.
9. Monetary Policy Stance in April:
   • Expected Timing: A formal change to the monetary policy stance may be considered in April.
   • Current Liquidity Management: RBI likely to actively manage liquidity with the existing stance.
10. Overall Impact on Borrowers:
    • EBLR-Linked Loans: No immediate increase in EMIs.
    • MCLR-Linked Loans: Potential for interest rate hikes, impacting EMIs for these loans.

About Internal Benchmark Lending Rate (IBLR):

• Lenders establish an internal benchmark rate for determining interest rates on loans.
• Several benchmark rates were introduced over the years, including BPLR, Base Rate, and MCLR.
• These rates aimed to ensure transparent and efficient pricing in the lending market.

Issues with IBLR Regime:

• Banks often did not pass on the full benefits of RBI’s repo rate cuts to borrowers.
• Complex internal variables within the IBLR-linked loans hindered the seamless transmission of policy changes.

BPLR (Benchmark Prime Lending Rate):

• Used as a benchmark rate by banks for lending until June 2010.
• Loans were priced based on the actual cost of funds.
• The rate varied across banks and depended on the cost of funds, among other factors.

Base Rate:

1. Replaced BPLR and was used for loans taken between June 2010 and April 2016.
2. Considered the minimum interest rate at which commercial banks could lend to customers.
3. Calculated based on the cost of funds, unallocated cost of resources, and return on net worth.

MCLR (Marginal Cost of Funds based Lending Rate):

• Introduced in April 2016 as a benchmark lending rate for floating-rate loans.
• Considers the marginal cost of funds, negative carry on account of the cash reserve ratio, operating costs, and tenor premium.
• Linked to actual deposit rates, ensuring that when deposit rates rise, MCLR increases and lending rates go up accordingly.

External Benchmark Lending Rate (EBLR):

• RBI mandated the adoption of a uniform external benchmark by banks from October 1, 2019, it was intended to plug the deficiencies in MCLR.
• Four external benchmarking mechanisms were introduced, RBI repo rate, 91-day T-bill yield, 182-day T-bill yield, any other benchmark market interest rate as developed by the Financial Benchmarks India Pvt. Ltd.
• Banks have the flexibility to set the spread over the external benchmark, with interest rate resets required at least once every three months.

Significance of EBLR:

• Aims to facilitate faster and effective transmission of monetary policy changes.
• Enhances transparency in interest rate setting and standardizes the process of fixing interest rates for different loan categories.
• Introduces a more dynamic and responsive lending environment in line with the objectives of the RBI’s monetary policy framework.

4. Key Points: Import Duty Hike on Gold Findings

Subject: Economy

Section: External Sector

Import Duty Hike Background:

• Category Affected: Import duties increased on a specific category of jewelry called “gold findings.”
• Definition: Gold findings include small components like hooks, clasps, clamps, pins, screws used in jewelry.
• Reason for Hike: A surge of over 5,000% in gold findings imports during the current financial year (up to January 6).
• Import Value: Imports rose to Rs 5,212 crore, over 50 times higher than the previous year.

2. Import Duty Changes:
   • Earlier Rates:
     • Gold and silver findings faced an 11% import duty.
     • Gold and silver bars attracted a 15% import duty.
   • New Rates (Effective from January 22, 2024):
     • Gold and silver findings: AIDC of 5%, SWS removed, BCD unchanged at 10% (Total effective duty: 15%).
     • Gold and silver bars: Continue to have a 15% import duty.

3. Reasons for Duty Hike:
   • Misuse of Duty Arbitrage: Importers exploited duty differences between gold and silver bars and findings by importing gold in the form of findings and coins.
   • Concerns about Evasion: The sharp increase in gold findings imports raised concerns about duty evasion.
4. Loophole Closure Attempts:
   • Coins of Precious Metals: Import duty on coins of precious metals increased from 11% to 15% to prevent lower duty for other forms of precious metals.
   • Spent Catalyst and Ash: Import duty hiked to 14.35% (including 10% BCD and 4.35% AIDC) to align with gold and silver ore.
5. Import Duty Rates Equalization:
   • Duty rates on gold and silver findings equalized with gold and silver bars to prevent circumvention from higher duty on bars.
6. Impact on Gold Imports:
   • Recent Trends: Gold imports surged, rising by 95% YoY to $7.23 billion in October, and rose by 23.01% YoY to $29.48 billion during April-October.
   • Government Action: Import duty hike as a measure to manage and control the surge in gold imports.
7. Overall Objective:
   • Addressing Duty Arbitrage: The duty hike aimed at curbing the misuse of duty differences and ensuring uniform duty rates across related gold and silver categories.
8. Smuggling Concerns:
   • Gold Price Impact: Elevated gold prices and high import duty seen as contributing factors to increased smuggling cases.
   • Control Measures: Import duty adjustments as part of efforts to manage smuggling risks.
9. Effective Date:
   • The new duty rates, including the Agricultural Infrastructure Development Cess (AIDC) and the removal of Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS), became effective from January 22, 2024.

Social Welfare Surcharge (SWS)

Introduction:

• Introduced in the Finance Budget of 2018.
• Established under Section 110 of the Finance Act 2018.

Purpose:

• Designed to support the Government’s commitment to education, health, and social security.
• Aims to contribute to social welfare initiatives.

Levy and Calculation:

• Levied at 10% of the aggregate of duties, taxes, and cesses.
• Adds an extra layer of cost to customs duties on imported items.
• Plays a crucial role in determining the total amount payable by importers.

In summary, the Social Welfare Surcharge is a special levy imposed on imports aimed at supporting social welfare initiatives such as education, health, and social security. It is calculated as 10% of the aggregate of duties, taxes, and cesses, adding an additional cost to imported goods.

5. About Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess (AIDC)

Subject: Economy

Section: Fiscal policy

Introduction and Nature:

• Introduced in the Union Budget 2021-22.
• A tax imposed by the government on the commercial production of agricultural produce.
• Levied at a specific rate on the value of these goods.

Purpose:

• Aims to provide financial support for the development of agricultural infrastructure in India.
• Funds collected utilized for creating and maintaining agricultural infrastructure like cold storage facilities, warehouses, and market yards.
• Objective is to enhance the efficiency of the agricultural sector and improve farmers’ income.

Collection:

• Government collects AIDC at the point of sale or import of applicable goods.

What is a Cess?

Definition:

• A form of tax charged/levied over and above the base tax liability.
• Imposed when the government seeks to raise funds for specific purposes.

Purpose:

• Typically imposed to generate additional revenue for funding specific projects or sectors.
• Examples include education cess for funding education.

Difference between Tax and Cess:

Tax vs. Cess:

• Cess is imposed additionally to existing taxes.
• Taxes go to the Consolidated Fund of India (CFI), while cess is earmarked for a specific purpose.

Usage of Funds:

• Cess collected must be used only for the intended purpose and cannot be reallocated.
• Unspent funds carried over to the next year for the same cause.

Government Allocation:

• Unlike some taxes, the central government retains the cess and does not need to share it with state governments.

6. BLACK NECKED CRANE

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• The Wildlife Institute of India and the Zoological Survey of India have been carrying out assessments of the black-necked cranes.

More on news:

• As per the survey conducted by Wildlife Institute of India in 2016-2017 in Ladakh region, the population size of black necked cranes was around 66-69 individuals.
• In Arunachal Pradesh, a small population of approximately 11 individuals arrives during winter months.

Conservation status of the species:

• The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) is listed in Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby according them the highest degree of protection.
• The species is also listed in Appendix I of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora and the Convention on conservation of Migratory Species.
• The black-necked crane is evaluated as near threatened on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 

Habitat Areas of Black necked Crane:

• High altitude marshes and lakes of Tibetan Plateau (Tibet, Qinghai, Xinjiang, Gansu), 
• Sichuan (China), and 
• Eastern Ladakh (India) are the known breeding grounds of black-necked cranes.
•  The major wintering flocks are in Tibet, Yunnan and Guizhou (China) and Bhutan (Phobjika and Bomdaling Valleys).

Important steps taken to protect the species:

• The important habitats of Black-necked Crane have been notified as Protected Areas, for example, Changthang Sanctuary, Ladakh.
• The Tso Kar Wetlands Complex, an important foraging and breeding ground for Black-necked Crane, has been designated as a Ramsar Site in December 2020.
• The National Wildlife Action Plan (2017-2031) released by the Ministry in October 2017 provides for specific Chapters and priority actions on various aspects of wildlife conservation like,  conservation of threatened species, mitigating human wildlife conflict, conservation of inland and coastal and marine ecosystems, landscape level conservation, etc.
• The Central Government provides financial assistance to State/Union Territory Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Schemes ‘Development of Wildlife Habitats’ for management of wildlife and its habitat in the country.
• In accordance with provisions contained under Section 33 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, the Ministry has issued guidelines for the process of management planning for Protected Areas.
• The Government of India has initiated Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment) programme, that aims to generate public awareness about the environment, and conservation.
• Important days such as World Wildlife Day,  Wetlands Day, Migratory Bird Day, etc. and  Wildlife Week are celebrated to bring in more awareness on wildlife and biodiversity among the public.

7. Schemes for Restoration of Mangrove Forests

Subject: Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context:

• Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Lok Sabha , told about various schemes for conservation of mangrove forests.

About Mangroves:

• Mangroves are the plant communities occurring in inter-tidal zones along the coasts of tropical and subtropical countries.
• Mangrove forests perform multiple ecological functions such as production of woody trees; provision of habitat, food, and spawning grounds for fin-fish and shellfish; provision of habitat for birds and other valuable fauna; protection of coastlines and accretion of sediment to form new land.
• Mangrove plants have several unique adaptations that allow them to survive in harsh environments. Mangroves are extremely important to the coastal ecosystems they inhabit.
• Mangrove Forests trees project different types of roots:
  • Prop – They are down into the water
  • Air – They are vertically configured up from the mud
  • Stilt – These roots emerge from the main trunk of the tree; also called adventitious roots.
• There are three important types of mangroves:
  • Red mangroves: They grow along coastlines and are the hardiest of the three major mangrove plant types.
  • Black mangroves: They are named so because of their dark bark. They usually grow at slightly higher elevations than red mangroves. They have access to more oxygen because the roots are more exposed.
  • White mangroves: They grow at higher elevations than red and black mangroves. Generally they do not have aerial roots. But sometimes there is unique growth of peg roots when oxygen is depleted due to flooding.
• The promotional measures are being implemented through a Central Sector Scheme namely ‘Conservation and Management of Mangroves and Coral Reefs’ under National Coastal Mission Programme of the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change.

Presence of Mangroves:

• About 40% of the world’s mangrove cover is found in South East Asia and South Asia.
• India has about 3% of the total Mangrove cover in South Asia.
• Mangrove cover in the country has increased by 54 sq km (1.10%) as compared to the previous assessment.
• The current assessment shows that mangrove cover in the country is 4,975 sq km [(1.2 million acres)], which is 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area.
• West Bengal has 42.45% of India’s mangrove cover, followed by Gujarat 23.66% and A&N Islands 12.39%. 
• Gujarat shows a maximum increase of 37 sq km in mangrove cover [(over 9,000 acres).
• South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal alone accounts for 41.85% mangrove cover of the country.
• South 24 Parganas holds the Sunderban National Park, home to one of the largest mangrove forests in the world.

Schemes for conservation of Mangroves:

Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI)

• Union Budget 2023-24 announced ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes (MISHTI)’ to promote and conserve mangroves as a unique, natural ecosystem having very high biological productivity and carbon sequestration potential, besides working as a bio shield.
• MISHTI was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change on the occasion of World Environment Day i.e., 5th June 2023. 
• MISHTI envisages restoration/reforestation of Mangroves covering approximately 540 km2, spreading across 9 States and 3 Union Territories for a period of five years commencing 2023-24 onwards.
• The States have also been encouraged to take activities under MISHTI through convergence with the existing schemes/programs. 
• Overall, the mangrove cover of the country witnessed an increase of 252 km2 between 2015 to 2021.

Mangrove Alliance for Climate (MAC):

• The UAE and Indonesia launched the “Mangrove Alliance for Climate” on the sidelines of the UN climate summit COP27, being held in Sharm El Sheikh in Egypt.
• As part of this alliance, an international mangrove research center will be established in Indonesia which will conduct studies on mangrove ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration and ecotourism.
• Partners:
  • Spearheaded by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in partnership with Indonesia, India, Australia, Japan, Spain and Sri Lanka have joined it as partners.

8. 5 takeaways from higher education survey 21-22

Subject: Schemes

Section: Education

Context:

• The Ministry of Education, Government of India releases All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2021-2022 in January 2024.

More on news:

• The Ministry has been conducting AISHE since 2011 which  covers all Higher Educational Institutions (HEIs) in the country registered with AISHE.
• The report of the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) 2021–22 was made public on January 25 and found that 4.33 crore students are currently enrolled in higher educational institutes up from 4.14 crore in 2020-21, and 3.42 crore in 2014-15.
• The survey captures total student enrolment in eight different levels: undergraduate, postgraduate, PhD, MPhil, diploma, PG diploma, certificate, and integrated programmes. In all, 10,576 standalone institutions, 42,825 colleges, and 1,162 universities/university level institutions responded to the survey.

Key Findings of the Report:

• Female enrolment in Higher Education increases to 2.07 crore in 2021-22 from 1.57 crore in 2014-15(an increase of 50 lakh students, 32% increase).
• GER increases to 28.4 in 2021-22 from 23.7 in 2014-15.
• Female GER increases to 28.5 in 2021-22 from 22.9 in 2014-15
• Female GER continues to be more than male GER for fifth consecutive year since 2017-18
• Significant 44% increase in enrolment of SC students since 2014-15 (66.23 lakh in 2021-22 from 46.07 lakh in 2014-15)
• Notable increase of 51% in enrolment of Female SC Students in 2021-22 (31.71 lakh), compared to 2014-15(21.02 lakh)
• Substantial increase of 65.2% in enrolment of ST students in 2021-22(27.1 lakh), compared to 2014-15(16.41 lakh)
• Remarkable 80% increase in the enrolment of Female ST Students in 2021-22 (13.46 lakh), since 2014-15 (7.47 lakh)
• Increase of 45% in OBC Student enrolment in 2021-22 (1.63 crore) from 2014-15 (1.13 crore)
• Significant 49.3% increase in Female OBC Students in 2021-22 (78.19 lakh) since 2014-15 (52.36 lakh).
• Total Ph.D. enrolment has increased 81.2% in 2021-22 (2.13 lakh) from 2014-15 (1.17 lakh).
• Female Ph.D. enrolment has doubled in 2021-22(0.99lakh) from 2014-15(0.48 lakh).
• 42.3 % increase in Female Minority Student enrolment since 2014-15 (15.2 lakh in 2021-22 from 10.7 lakh in 2014-15).
• 341 Universities/University level institutions have been established since 2014-15.
• Female faculty/teachers have increased to 6.94 lakh in 2021-22 from 5.69 lakh in 2014-15 (an increase of 1.25 lakh, i.e., 22% since 2014-15).

Five important key takeaways.

Female enrolment greater than male

• The number of women enrolled in higher educational institutes has steadily increased, the AISHE report showed.
• From 1.5 crore women enrolled in 2014-15, there has been a jump of 32% to 2.07 crores enrolled in 2021-22.
• In 2021-22, the total PhD enrolment in the country is 2.12 lakh of which 98,636 are women.
• Eight years ago, only 47,717 women were enrolled in PhD programmes.
• The proportion of women enrolled in higher education, compared to men, has also gone up. Of the 91 lakh more students to have joined higher educational institutes in 2021-22 (when compared to 2014-15), 55% were women.
• The proportion of women is highest at the postgraduate level, where 55.4% students are female.

GER and Gender Parity

• Gross Enrollment Ratio indicates how many students are part of the higher education system in a given population.
• The estimated GER for the age group 18-23 years in India is 28.4, the AISHE 2021-22 report said (based on population data from the 2011 census).
• In terms of state-wise data, Chandigarh, at 64.8%, boasts of the highest GER, followed by Puducherry at 61.5%, Delhi at 49%, and Tamil Nadu at 47%.
• Another indicator called the Gender Parity Index (GPI) shows the ratio of the female GER to male GER.
•  A GPI of 1 indicates parity between the two genders where any number between 0 and 1 shows a disparity in favor of males, whereas a GPI greater than 1 indicates a disparity in favor of females.
• The survey observed that in 26 states and Union Territories, the GER is in favor of women. 
• At the all-India level GPI is 1.01, and for SC and ST categories the GPI is 1.01 and 0.98 respectively.

Arts over the sciences in graduation, PG

• The survey showed that the Bachelor of Arts (BA) programme has the highest enrolment, with 1.13 crore students 34.2% of total undergraduate enrolment across India.
• In all, 3.41 crore students are enrolled in UG programmes.
• Among disciplines at undergraduate level, in 2021-22, the enrollment is highest in Arts (34.2%), followed by science (14.8%), commerce (13.3%) and engineering and technology (11.8%). BA(Hons) accounts for 20.4 lakh (6.2%), the survey shows.
• The social science stream has also the highest number of postgraduate students enrolled at 10.8 lakh. 
• The latest survey shows that the Master of Arts (MA) programme has the highest enrolment, with 20.9 lakh students, which is 40.7% of total postgraduate enrolment.
• At PhD level, however, social sciences stood at third spot after engineering and science. 
• While 52,748 are pursuing a PhD in engineering, and 45, 324 in science, 26,057 students are pursuing PhD in the social sciences.

Primacy of government institutions

• 73.7% of all students attend government universities, which make up only 58.6% of all universities.
• In the government sector, state public universities have the largest share of enrolment, accounting for around 31% of the total enrolment for universities.
• Government-owned universities have an enrolment of 71.06 lakh, whereas enrolment in privately managed universities is 25.32 lakh.
• Even though there are more private universities, students prefer government educational institutions.

Demographics of students graduating

• During the 2021–22 academic year, 1.07 crore students were estimated to have graduated from undergraduate, graduate, doctorate, master’s, and other diploma/certificate programmes. 
• Among these 1.07 crore students, 54.6 lakh or roughly 50.8% are women.
• In 2021-22 around 35% of the students belong to Other Backward Classes (OBC), 13% are from Scheduled Caste (SC) community and 5.7% of the graduates are from Scheduled Tribe (ST) community.
• The graduation rate in arts and social sciences streams is higher than others.
• At the UG level, BA degree has been awarded to 24.16 lakh — the highest among all programmes. 
• Even at PG level, the number of MA graduates are maximum with 7.02 lakh degrees awarded in 2021-22.
• At PhD level, the highest graduates are in the science stream with 7,408 followed by engineering and technology at 6,270 graduating students.

About AISHE:

• AISHE was established by the Ministry of HRD for conducting an annual web-based survey, thereby portraying the status of higher education in the country.
• The survey is conducted for all educational institutions in India on many categories like teachers, student enrolment, programs, examination results, education finance, and infrastructure.
• This survey is used to make informed policy decisions and research for the development of the education sector.
• This Report provides key performance indicators on the current status of Higher education in the country.

9. Air quality grant to million plus cities

Subject: Environment

Section: Pollution

Context:

• Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Ashwini Kumar Choubey in a written reply in the Lok Sabha gave the  details of funds utilized under the Air Quality Grant sanctioned by 15th Finance Commission.

More on news:

• Under the 15th Finance Commission air quality performance grant, an amount of Rs. 16539 crores has been allocated to 42 Million Plus Cities (MPCs) (including 7 Urban Agglomerations (UAs)) during FY 2020-21 to FY 2025-26 to implement city action plans to take measures to improve air quality.

About funds:

• The details of funds utilized under the Air Quality Grant sanctioned by 15th Finance Commission to Million Plus Cities/ Urban Agglomeration as aimed by the National Clean Air Program (NCAP) for performance-based grants for improvement in air quality for the period 2020-21 to 2025-26, city-wise.
• The details of funds utilized under the 15th Finance Commission to support the implementation of City Specific Action Plans (CAPs) for improvement of Air Quality under the National Clean Air Programme along with the details for non-utilization of funds by non-attainment cities.
• The details of mobilization of City Specific Action Plans through the convergence of resources for
  • Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), 
  • Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), 
  • Smart City Mission, 
  • Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT), 
  • Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicle – II (FAME), and other schemes.
• 131 cities under NCAP have been requested to mobilize resources through convergence of various schemes for the implementation of city action plans.
• Action plans of all targeted cities under NCAP were approved under Swachh Bharat Mission 2.0 (Urban) for processing of solid waste, construction and demolition waste, remediation of legacy waste and procurement of mechanical sweepers.
• 107 cities have availed resources from the AMRUT 2.0 for developing green spaces, parks and non-motorised urban transport.
• 13,11,681 number of electric vehicles have claimed the benefit under FAME II in 20 States/UTs.