Oct 11 To Oct 20 Flashcards
NCRB Report on crimes against SCs and STs
Context:
The National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) has released the annual Crime in India 2019 report.
Key findings:
Increase in crimes against members of the Scheduled Castes (SCs) and the Scheduled Tribes (STs): There is an increase of over 7% and 26% in 2019 compared with the 2018 figures.
Increase of 1.6% in the registration of cases over 2018.
Uttar Pradesh recorded the highest number of crimes against the SCs in 2019, followed by Rajasthan and Bihar.
Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases against STs, followed by Rajasthan, and Odisha.
In the number of cases of rape of women belonging to the SCs, Rajasthan topped the list followed by Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of cases against the STs, followed by Rajasthan and Odisha.
The highest number of incidents of rape of tribal women was registered in Madhya Pradesh.
Overall crimes against women
NCRB Report on crimes against SCs and STs
A total of 4,05,861 cases of crime against women were registered in 2019 compared to 3,78,236 cases in 2018, showing an increase of 7.3%.
Cybercrimes
NCRB Report on crimes against SCs and STs
Increased by 63.5% in 2019. Out of this, 60.4% of cybercrime cases registered were for the motive of fraud, followed by sexual exploitation, with 5.1%.
Drawbacks of the survey
NCRB Report on crimes against SCs and STs
Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI), a police reforms advocacy group, said few cases were being registered for specific discriminatory action against SCs and STs.
The low percentage of cases registered indicates that very few cases alleging specific discriminatory actions on the basis of caste and tribal identity that are defined as atrocities under Section 3 of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act), 1989 are being registered on their own.
Such actions are registered mainly when accompanied by any of the IPC offences.
Also, there is no data on total complaints received on crimes against the Scheduled Castes.
Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM) launched
Launched by?
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
Launched under?
Venture Capital Fund for SCs.
Objectives
Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM) launched
To promote entrepreneurship among the SC Youth with special preference to Divyangs;
To support (1,000) innovative ideas till 2024 through a synergetic work with the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) set up by Department of Science and Technology;
To support, promote, hand-hold the start-up ideas till they reach commercial stage by providing liberal equity support; and
To incentivise students with innovative mind-set to take to entrepreneurship with confidence.
Benefits
Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM) launched
1,000 SC youth would be identified in the next 4 years with start-up ideas through the Technology Business Incubators (TBIs) in various higher educational institutions.
They will be funded @ Rs. 30 lakhs in 3 years as equity funding so that they can translate their start-up ideas into commercial ventures.
Successful ventures would further qualify for venture funding of up to Rs. 5 Crore from the Venture Capital Fund for SCs.
Who is eligible for support under ASIIM?
Youth who have been identified by the TBIs being promoted by Department of Science & Technology.
Youth who are identified for incubation by reputed private TBIs.
Students who have been awarded under the Smart India Hackathon or Smart India Hardware Hackathon being conducted by Ministry of Education.
Innovative ideas focusing on the socio-economic development of the society identified in the TBIs.
Start-ups nominated and supported by corporates through CSR funds.
What is Venture Capital Fund for SCs (VCF-SC)?
Ambedkar Social Innovation & Incubation Mission (ASIIM) launched
Launched by the Ministry of Social Justice in 2014-15 with a view of developing entrepreneurship amongst the SC/Divyang youth and to enable them to become ‘job-givers’.
The Objective of this fund is to provide concessional finance to the entities of the SC entrepreneurs.
What is government borrowing?
Why in News?
The Finance Ministry has said that the government will borrow Rs 4.34 lakh crore in the second half of the current fiscal to meet its expenditure requirement amid COVID-19 crisis afflicting the country”s economy.
With this, the government will stick to the revised borrowing target for the current fiscal.
What was the target?
The Centre had revised the borrowing target to Rs 12 lakh crore in May against Rs 7.8 lakh crore approved in the Budget 2020-21.
What is the fiscal deficit target?
The Budget has pegged fiscal deficit at 3.5 per cent for the current fiscal, down from 3.8 per cent of the GDP in the last financial year.
Last fiscal, the government had to resort to the “escape clause” in the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act for deviating from fiscal deficit target to 3.8 per cent from the Budget estimate of 3.3 per cent for 2019-20.
What is an escape clause?
The “escape clause” allows the government to breach its fiscal deficit target by 0.5 percentage points at times of severe stress in the economy, including periods of structural change and those when growth falls sharply.
What is government borrowing?
Borrowing is a loan taken by the government and falls under capital receipts in the Budget document.
Usually, Government borrows through issue of government securities called G-secs and Treasury Bills.
How does increased government borrowing affect govt finances?
What is government borrowing?
Bulk of government’s fiscal deficit comes from its interest obligation on past debt.
If the government resorts to larger borrowings, more than what it has projected, then its interest costs also go up risking higher fiscal deficit.
That hurts government’s finances.
Larger borrowing programme means that the public debt will go up and especially at a time when the GDP growth is subdues, it will lead to a higher debt-to-GDP ratio.
