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T+0, instant settlement cycle

GS Paper 3: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.


Context:
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has proposed the introduction of a facility for clearing and settlement of funds and securities on T+0 (same day) and instant settlement cycle on an optional basis.


SEBI's Proposals:
SEBI proposed introducing a shorter settlement cycle for the equity cash segment, suggesting two phases:

    • Phase 1 - T+0 Settlement: This phase allows an optional T+0 settlement cycle till 1:30 PM, completing funds and securities settlement by 4:30 PM on the same day.
    • Phase 2 - Instant Settlement: This optional immediate trade-by-trade settlement would operate till 3:30 PM.
Initially, SEBI plans to implement T+0 settlement for the top 500 listed equity shares in three tranches based on market capitalization.
Surveillance measures applicable in T+1 settlement will extend to T+0 securities, while trade-for-trade settlement securities won't be eligible for T+0.
Additionally, exchanges will coordinate to publish a common migration list and calendar for T+0 settlement.


Its Significance:
    • SEBI highlighted the significant growth in Indian securities markets, including increased volumes, value, and participant numbers, especially among new retail investors.
    • This surge in participation emphasizes the regulator's responsibility to enhance market efficiency and safety, particularly for retail players.
    • The consultation paper underscores the potential to leverage advanced payment systems and robust technologies of Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs) to advance clearing and settlement timelines optionally.
    • With the widespread adoption of UPI and instant payment platforms by the average Indian, there's an opportunity to extend this flexibility to equity dealings.
    • Emphasizing the appeal of reliability, low costs, and swift transactions in attracting investors to various asset classes.
    • The paper suggests that reducing settlement time can significantly enhance operational efficiency in dealing with Indian securities, further enticing and retaining investors in this domain.


Features:
    • The consultation paper noted that nearly 94% of delivery-based trades worth up to Rs 1 lakh per transaction in June 2023 involved investors depositing funds and securities upfront.
    • Introducing an instant settlement mechanism would ensure immediate receipt of funds and securities, eliminating settlement shortages by mandating their availability before order placement.
    • This mechanism enhances investor protection by granting investors direct control over their securities and funds, particularly beneficial for UPI Clients using blocked amounts for trading.
    • Offering instant settlement as an option aims to position Indian equities as an asset class with superior features such as resilience, low costs, and swift transactions, outshining potential alternative asset classes.


Benefits of the new mechanism:
The introduction of this option is anticipated to offer clients flexibility by enabling a quicker payout of funds for sellers against securities and a faster payout of securities for buyers against funds.
This mechanism is expected to provide the securities market ecosystem with enhanced flexibility in facilitating faster payouts for both funds against securities and securities against funds.


About T+1 settlement cycle:
  • Settlement involves the transfer of funds and securities on the settlement date, completing the trade transaction.
  • In a trade settlement, the seller receives the money while the buyer obtains the purchased securities from a listed company.
  • The current trade settlement cycle in the Indian stock market is T+1.
  • SEBI initially reduced the settlement cycle to T+3 from T+5 in 2002, further shortening it to T+2 in 2003, and eventually transitioning to T+1 in January 2023.
  • India, after China, became the second country globally to adopt the T+1 settlement cycle for top-listed securities.
  • Under the T+1 settlement cycle, trade-related settlements must be completed within 24 hours of the transaction's conclusion.
  • For instance, if shares are bought on Wednesday, they are credited to the customer's demat account by Thursday.


Related Search:
SEBI

Prelims Specific:
About T+1 settlement cycle
SEBI's Proposals
Its Significance/ Features
Phases of Settlement
Benefits of the new mechanism

Sanitation Systems

GS Paper 2,3: Health & Pollution

Context:
Used water that goes into the ground, open spaces, into open drains or canals should be channelized into proper Sanitation Systems for public health and environmental preservation.

About Sanitation systems:
Sanitation systems are designed to contain, convey, treat, and either dispose of or reuse the used water (given its value as a resource, the term ‘used water’ is preferred over ‘wastewater’).
It is ensuring good public health and reducing environmental pollution.
While rudimentary sanitation was introduced by ancient civilisations around 4000 BC, the modern sanitation system was built in London around the 1800s.

Types of Sanitation systems:

  • Location-based Solutions:-
    • In rural or spacious urban areas: On-site sanitation systems (OSS) like twin pits or septic tanks are used for waste management below ground.
    • Densely populated urban areas: Utilize an underground network of pipes, known as sewers, to collect and transport waste to treatment facilities.
  • On-site Sanitation Systems (OSS):-
    • Types include twin pits, bio-digester toilets, bio-tanks, and urine diversion dry toilets.
    • These systems collect, store, and passively treat waste, dispersing liquid into the surrounding soil.
    • Faecal sludge or septage, primarily comprising human excreta solids, is managed by these systems.
  • Twin Pits and Septic Tanks:-
    • Twin pits alternate use to allow solids to degrade while liquids soak into the ground. One pit remains unused for two years to ensure safe, pathogen-free contents before reuse.
    • Septic tanks separate solids and scum from clear liquid. Regular waste removal is crucial, facilitated by vacuum-equipped trucks transporting waste to faecal sludge treatment plants (FSTPs).
  • Urban Sewer Systems:-
    • Utilize an underground network of pipes to collect and transport sewage to sewage treatment plants (STPs).
    • These pipes, equipped with maintenance access points, facilitate waste transport using gravity or pumps.


Functions of Treatment Facilities:-
  • Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs):
    • Types: Mechanical (using equipment like screw presses) and gravity-based (employing sand drying beds).
    • Reuse: Treated solids can be composted for agriculture, and treated water reused in FSTP landscaping.
    • Faecal Sludge Management (FSM) is prevalent in small and medium towns or villages, integrating OSS-FSM.
  • Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs):
    • Process: Employ physical, biological, and chemical methods to purify used water.
    • Treatment involves solid-liquid separation, purification via microbial digestion, and disinfection.
    • Advanced systems may include membrane filtration to enable water reuse.
  • Differences Between FSTPs and STPs:
    • Size and Location: FSTPs are smaller, often colocated with waste management sites or decentralized closer to sludge sources. STPs are large, centralized facilities serving entire communities.
    • Infrastructure: STPs require substantial infrastructure and are usually situated near water bodies for treated water discharge.


Need for sanitation systems:
  • Used Water Contamination:-
Accumulates various impurities from natural sources and human activities.
Impurities include organic matter, nutrients, pathogens, heavy metals, solids, and salts.
  • Sanitation Importance:
Essential to contain, remove, and treat used water to prevent pollution and public health risks.
Previously, sanitation focused on odour and aesthetics, but concerns for public and environmental health shifted priorities.


End Note:-
There have been significant improvements in public health since sanitation systems were invented, but universal access to safely managed sanitation services remains a challenge.
Overcoming issues like poorly designed and built systems and unsafe operation and maintenance practices are crucial to effectively managing used water and protecting our increasingly precious water bodies and groundwater aquifers.


Related Search:
Faecal Sludge Treatment Plants (FSTPs)
Solid Waste Management

Prelims Specific:
About Sanitation systems
Types of Sanitation Systems
Functions of Treatment Facilities
Need for sanitation systems

Extension of Mission Karmayogi

GS Paper 2: Role of Civil Services

Context:
On the occasion of Good Governance Day, Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched the Extended Version of Mission Karmayogi.

  • Three new features launched on the iGOT Karmayogi platform are My iGOT, Blended Programs and Curated Programs.



New features launched on Mission Karmayogi platform:-

  • My iGOT:-
      • My iGOT platform offers tailored training courses matching each officer's identified needs from their Ministries/Departments.
      • It ensures a personalized learning experience, aligning individual and organizational learning goals.
      • With over 28 lakh users, the platform hosts 830 high-quality e-learning courses.
  • Blended Programs:-
      • Blended Programs on iGOT-Karmayogi ensure fair access to diverse training methods, catering to evolving official training needs.
      • These programs combine traditional in-person classroom sessions with online learning, offering the flexibility of online courses while preserving the value of face-to-face interactions.
  • Curated Programs:-
      • Curated Programs on iGOT Karmayogi address varied learning needs across Ministries/Departments and Training Institutions.
      • Course Providers can create customized learning paths by curating relevant content, resources, and assessments from iGOT's repository, offering tailored learning experiences.
  • 12 domain specific capacity building e-learning courses:-
      • The Karmayogi Digital Learning Lab (KDLL) of DoPT developed 12 domain-specific e-learning courses within two months as part of the Annual Capacity Building Plan (ACBP).
      • KDLL aims to enhance the capacities of civil servants.
      • The ACBP for DoPT focuses on addressing domain competency needs within DoPT and supporting other government organizations in managing daily functions more effectively.
  • VIKAS (Variable & Immersive Karmayogi Advanced Support):-
      • It is a novel blended learning initiative for mid-level civil servants in the Central Secretariat.
      • It combines 33 hours of online training through iGOT with an additional 30 hours of offline training at ISTM.
      • The program emphasizes the development of functional, behavioral, and technological competencies essential for Central Government roles.


About Mission Karmayogi:
It was launched in 2020 to enhance governance through Civil Service Capacity Building.
It aims to “comprehensive reform of the capacity building apparatus at the individual, institutional and process levels for efficient public service delivery”.
It aims to prepare civil service officers for the future by making them more “creative, constructive, imaginative, innovative, proactive, professional, progressive, energetic, enabling, transparent and technology-enabled.'


Focus:
On promoting ease of living and ease of doing business, by considerably enhancing the citizen-government interface.
This involves the creation of both functional and behavioral competencies among the civil servants.


Coverage:
It will cover all civil servants (including contractual employees) across different ministries, departments, organisations and agencies of the Union Government.
The willing state governments will also be enabled to align their capacity building plans on similar lines.


Purpose of the mission:-
  • Rejuvenate bureaucracy:-

The mission seeks to rejuvenate India's bureaucracy, recognizing its pivotal role in the nation's advancement.

It aims to modernize the outdated recruitment and post-recruitment processes for civil servants, aligning them with the evolving needs and aspirations of citizens.

  • Competency capacity building:-

Emphasizing competency-driven capacity building, the program centers on a homegrown Competency Framework tailored for the Indian Civil Services to empower a more effective government workforce.



Other Important Features:-

  • The mission is a comprehensive overhaul of capacity building across individual, institutional, and process levels to enhance public service efficiency.
  • Notably, over 95,000 railway staff members are being trained for improved service delivery.
  • The Capacity Building Commission will collaborate with the PM Public Human Resources Council to approve Annual Capacity Building Plans.
  • The initiative emphasizes transitioning from rule-based to role-based Human Resource Management, focusing on assigning roles based on officers' competencies.
  • iGOT-Karmayogi, an online platform, offers 'anytime-anywhere-any device' learning for around 20 million users, blending global best practices with Indian ethos.
  • It prioritizes functional and behavioral competencies and evaluates officers' performance through courses offered on the platform.
  • The initiative promotes efficient, effective, and empathetic civil services through shared training resources and a 'Whole Government' approach, encouraging collaboration across departments.

Related Search:-
DIKSHA platform
Lateral induction

Prelims Specific:-
New features in Mission Karmayogi platform
About Mission Karmayogi
Its Coverage & Focus
Purpose of the mission
Other Important Features

China’s 2024 economic policy

Context:
The 2023 Chinese Central Economic Work Conference (CEWC) recently concluded, highlighting a stability-focused pathway for the nation’s 2024 economy.

Major Highlights:
Key directives include shifting from export-led to domestic demand-led growth, enhancing high-quality production, striving for tech self-reliance while cooperating with trade partners, and maintaining financial discipline.
This agenda underscores the necessity for structural reforms, requiring a shift away from established Chinese party-state practices to mould the nation's economic trajectory.

How is China strategically addressing the challenges?

  • Dual Circulation Strategy: China focuses on a dual circulation strategy, prioritizing internal consumption and fostering a complementary relationship with global demand.
  • Global Demand Shift: Decreasing global demand due to protectionist sentiments prompts China to boost domestic consumption.
  • President Xi's Vision: Xi Jinping terms this shift as the "New Pattern of Development," aiming for ambitious structural reforms in a nation renowned as the world's manufacturing hub.

Measures being implemented:
    • High-Quality Economic Growth: China prioritizes high-quality growth, addressing the development gap and meeting people's rising lifestyle demands by focusing on domestic demand, high-tech sectors, and sustainable manufacturing.
    • Agricultural Emphasis: Recognizing agriculture's contribution to GDP and rural revitalization, China establishes agriculture innovation centers to bolster food security and rural goals.
    • Self-Reliance in Core Technologies: Amidst intensified tech-related export controls from the U.S. and allied countries, China pivots towards self-reliance in core technologies, evolving from a stance of "self-improvement" to "strength."
    • Financial Policies: China maintains a prudent monetary policy and a proactive fiscal policy, emphasizing financial stability and supporting small enterprises and local governments through measures like tax rebates and interest rate discounts.
    • Dealing with Debt: Efforts to ease local government debt include special bond issuances for post-disaster recovery, but authorities are cautioned to adopt frugality and stricter financial discipline amid escalating debt burdens.
    • Fiscal Sustainability Focus: Prioritizing fiscal sustainability over bailouts, China aims to manage liquidity levels rather than infuse more funds, considering challenges like currency depreciation and rising unemployment.

Way Forward:
China is striving to rectify economic worries by promoting balanced trade to elevate international demand.
This step signifies a readiness to expand its market to significant trade allies, aiming for equitable trade relations without excessive favoritism towards China.
This strategy aligns with China's "opening-up" agenda, fostering high-quality growth and emphasizing self-reliance, notably in technology and food security, amidst the ongoing U.S.-China geopolitical competition.

Kudankulam nuclear power plant

Context:
India and Russia signed some “very important” agreements related to the construction of the future power-generating units of the Kudankulam nuclear power plant.

About Kudankulam nuclear power plant-:

    • The Kudankulam nuclear power plant (KKNPP) is located in Tirunelveli, Tamil Nadu.
    • It is India’s biggest nuclear power station, with a current installed capacity of 2GW.
    • Owned and operated by the state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).
    • The construction began in March 2002.
    • Since February 2016, the first power unit of the Kudankulam NPP has been steadily operating at its design capacity of 1,000 MW.
    • The plant is expected to start operating at full capacity in 2027
    • The Kudankulam NPP will comprise six VVER-1000 pressurised water reactor (PWR) units of Russian design for a combined capacity of 6GW.

Background-:
  • The Kudankulam nuclear power project was originally proposed to be developed with two reactor units as part of an Indo-Russian agreement signed in 1988.
  • The project development, however, couldn’t take off due to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and subsequent leadership changes in both countries.
  • The project was revived under a new inter-governmental agreement between India and Russia in March 1997.
  • Preparatory works were started in 2000, while the main construction works for the first two reactor units were started in March and July 2002, respectively.
  • Although both the units were originally scheduled for commissioning by 2009, the project suffered delays due to protests by local inhabitants and activist groups over safety concerns.
  • The 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster in Japan further intensified opposition to the project resulting in the suspension of construction works for several months during 2011 and 2012.
  • The construction was resumed after the Supreme Court of India rejected petitions to block the project and permitted the commissioning of both units in May 2013.

Gaucher disease

Context:
Children suffering from lysosomal storage disorders like Gaucher disease are facing a bleak future as their treatment has been stopped due to the exhaustion of one-time support from the Union Health Ministry.

About the Gaucher disease:
Gaucher disease is an inherited lysosomal storage disorder (LSD) characterized by the accumulation of fatty substances (sphingolipids) in the bone marrow, liver, and spleen.
This buildup weakens bones and enlarges organs, leading to symptoms such as enlarged spleen and liver, eye movement disorders, and yellow spots in the eyes.

There are three types of Gaucher disease:

    • Type 1 affects the spleen, liver, blood, and bones but doesn't impact the brain or spinal cord. It's treatable but not curable.
    • Type 2, a rare form, presents in babies under six months, causing severe brain damage alongside enlarged spleen and movement problems. There's no treatment for this type.
    • Type 3, the most common form, manifests before age 10, leading to bone and organ abnormalities, along with neurological issues. Treatment can extend life into the 20s or 30s for many affected individuals.

Treatment:
While there's no cure for Gaucher disease, treatments aim to alleviate symptoms and significantly enhance quality of life.

Ionosphere

Context:
A team of scientists from the Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG) have examined the long-term seasonal ionospheric observations at Indian Antarctica station Bharati between 2010 and 2022 and also with solar activity following the Sun’s 11-year cycle.

Major Highlights:-

  • It was observed that there was no sunlight incidence throughout the day in winter months (polar nights) at Bharati station.
  • A diurnal pattern was observed with peak ionospheric density near local noon.
  • The day-night ionospheric density variations were observed regardless of 24 hours of sunlight in summer and complete darkness in winter.
  • The scientists attributed the peak ionization to particle precipitation and transportation of convectional plasma from high latitudes.
  • Also, the maximum ionospheric density in the summer months where 24 hours of sunlight is present (polar days), was about twice more than that of polar nights at the Bharati region.

About Ionosphere:
The ionosphere is a part of Earth’s upper atmosphere, which is partially ionized extending from 100-1000km.
The ionosphere in polar regions is highly dynamic and acts as a major energy sink for space weather events, and related processes in magnetosphere-ionosphere systems as the magnetic field lines are vertical in this region.
The ionospheric observations in Antarctica are few compared to the Arctic region due to geographic limitations and a limited number of stations.

Zombie deer disease

Context:
In a concerning development, scientists are sounding the alarm about the potential spread of a condition known as chronic wasting disease (CWD).

    • It is often referred to as “zombie deer disease,” from animals to humans.

What is zombie deer disease?​
    • Zombie deer disease or chronic wasting disease as the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) calls it, is a prion disease that affects deer, elk, reindeer, sika deer, and moose.
    • It has been found in some areas of North America, including Canada and the United States, Norway, and South Korea.
    • The disease has been found in 800 samples of deer, elk, and moose.
    • However, experts are worried that this is a slow-moving disaster and is likely to spread to human beings as well. It is fatal, with no known treatments or vaccines.

Transmission:-
Transmission of Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) occurs through direct animal-to-animal contact and indirectly through exposure to contaminated environments or objects, such as saliva, urine, feces, or carcasses of infected animals.
Symptoms may take more than a year to manifest and can include significant weight loss, stumbling, listlessness, and various neurological signs.
Of particular concern is CWD's potential to affect both animals and humans, possibly transmitted through consuming infected meat.
This disease can impact animals of all ages, and some infected animals may perish without exhibiting symptoms.
CWD is fatal to animals, and currently, there are no treatments or vaccines available for it.