current affairs economics

• Union Budget 2015 Highlights
  Presenting the national budget for the next fiscal, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "I am presenting the union budget in an economic environment which is far more positive than in the recent past. While major economies of the world face difficulties, India is poised for higher growth trajectory," Jaitley said as he started his budget speech in the Lok Sabha.


• Highlights of the Economic Survey for 2014-15
  Highlights of the Economic Survey for 2014-15 tabled in parliament by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Feb 27, 2015:
  Growth rate of over eight percent expected in 2015-16
  Double-digit economic growth trajectory now a possibility


• Railway Budget Highlights 2015The following are the highlights of the Railway Budget for 2015-16 presented by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in the Lok Sabha on Feb 26, 2015:
  No hike in passenger fares
  Speed of trains running at 110-130 kmph to be increased to 160-200 kmph
  Over 17,00 toilets on trains already replaced, another 17,000 to be replaced
  Toilets at stations need improvement; 650 additional toilets to be created in addition to 120 last year
  New department to keep stations clean
  Railways to Work on 'Swachh Rail – Swachh Bharat'
  Defence travel system developed to eliminate system warrants


• 182- the dedicated toll free number for receiving security related complaints was announced in the Railway Budget 2015 by Minister of Railways, Suresh Prabhu.
• 123.1 million- the number of bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan Yojana as of January 28,2015 with a deposit mobilization of Rs.9188 crore as per Economic Survey 2014-15.
• 8.1-8.5%- India's projected GDP growth during 2015-16, an increase of 0.7 to 1.1 percentage points over the 7.4 % GDP growth rate estimated for 2014-15 as per Economic Survey 2014-15.
• 2%- the percentage of India's workforce that is formally skilled, compared to 96% and 80% in South Korea and Japan respectively as per Economic Survey 2014-15.
• 4 D model- stands for deregulation, differentiation, diversification and disinterring which has been suggested for PSU banks in the Economic Survey 2014-15.
• Corporate Tax- this will be reduced from 30% to 25% over the next 4 years as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• GAAR- stands for General Anti Avoidance Act whose applicability was deferred to two years to investments made on or after 1st April 2017 as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• Post Bank of India- the new bank which will be set up with vast postal netwok with nearly 1,54,000 points of presence spread across the villages of the country as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• RK Shanmukham Chetty- the first Finance Minister to present a Budget in Independent India when he presented the Union Budget on November 26,1947.
• FMC- stands for Forward Market's Commission- India's commodity market regulator set up in 1953 which has now been merged with the Securities Exchange Board of India(SEBI) as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. 2%-the percentage of surcharge imposed on service tax to fund the flagship Swachh Bharat Mission as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• MUDRA- stands for Micro Units Development Refinance Bank set up with a corpus of Rs.2000 crore that will give priority to lending to enterprises set up by people belonging to Scheduled castes and Scheduled Tribes as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.
• Rs.14,200cr- the amount allotted to housing for all by 2012 as announced the Union Budget 2015 by Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

economics

Importance of Macro Economy on Our Daily Lives

When making decisions we don’t tend to first look at leading economic indicators. But, perceptions about the economic outlook can influence certain decisions. For example, those aware of the current economic situation may be aware the depth of the recession which makes a period of low interest rates more likely. This suggests that if you could get a mortgage, mortgage payments would be cheaper, but, saving would give a poor return.

However, the bad state of the economy and high unemployment rate is a factor that may encourage students to stay on and study. Since youth unemployment is currently very high, it makes more sense to spend three years getting a degree rather than going straight on to the job market.

The only problem is that many other students are thinking the same. Hence the competition for university places is becoming much stronger. Another motivation to spend more time studying and less time working at Little Chef….

wheat production in INDIA

Wheat Cultivation in India: Conditions, and Distribution

Wheat Cultivation in India: Conditions, and Distribution!

Next to rice, wheat is the most important food-grain of India and is the staple food of millions of Indians, particularly in the northern and north-western parts of the country.

It is rich in proteins, vitamins and carbohydrates and provides balanced food. India is the fourth largest producer of wheat in the world after Russia, the USA and China and accounts for 8.7 per cent of the world’s total production of wheat.

Conditions of Growth:

Conditions of growth for wheat are more flexible than those of rice. In contrast to rice, wheat is a rabi crop which is sown in the beginning of winter and is harvested in the beginning of summer. The time of sowing and harvesting differs in different regions due to climatic variations.

The sowing of wheat crop normally begins in the September-October in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal; October-November in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan and Nov.-Dee. In Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir.

The harvesting is done in Jan.- Feb. in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, M.P., and in West Bengal; March-April in Punjab, Haryana, U.P. and Rajasthan and in April-May in Himachal Pradesh and J&K. The growing period is variable from one agro climatic zone to other that effects the vegetative and reproductive period leading to differences in potential yield. The important factors affecting the productivity are seeding time and methodology, crop establishment and climatic conditions during the growing season. Wheat is primarily a crop of mid-latitude grasslands and requires a cool climate with moderate rainfall. The ideal wheat climate has winter temperature 10° to 15°C and summer temperature varying from 21°C to 26°C. The temperature should be low at the time of sowing but as the harvesting time approaches higher temperatures are required for proper ripening of the crop. But sudden rise in temperature at the time of maturity is harmful.

Wheat thrives well in areas receiving an annual rainfall of about 75 cm. Annual rainfall of 100 cm is the highest limit of wheat cultivation. The isohyet of 100 cm marks the boundary between wheat growing areas on one hand and rice growing areas on the other.

In areas of less than 50 cm annual rainfall, irrigation is necessary for its successful growth. In fact, wheat can be grown in areas with as little as 20-25 cm annual rainfall provided proper irrigation faculties are available.

About 5 to 7 watering are required in irrigated areas depending upon the amount of rainfall. While prolonged drought, especially in rainfed areas, at the time of maturity is harmful, light drizzles and cloudiness at the time of ripening help in increasing the yield. Frost at flowering time and hail storm at the time of ripening can cause heavy damage to the wheat crop.

Although wheat can be grown in a variety of soils, well drained fertile, friable loams and clay loams are the best suited soils for wheat cultivation. It also grows well in the black soil of the Deccan plateau.

Wheat cultivation is an extensive type of farming which is highly mechanized and requires comparatively less labour. It is mainly grown in the flat alluvial plains of north India.

To sum up wheat requires a combination of factors including cool climate with moderate rainfall, flat and well drained plain areas, fertile friable loam and heavy inputs in the form of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilizers and mechanization.

Production:

Wheat is grown on 13 per cent of the cropped area of India. Table 24.5 shows the production trends of wheat in India.

It is clear from the table that all the three aspects of the crop i.e. production, area and yield have recorded rapid growth particularly after the introduction of the Green Revolution strategy in 1967. The production had more than doubled from 109.97 lakh tonnes in 1960-61 to 238.3