Let’s make ₹ a global currency: PM to RBI

• In order to address the credit demands of every sector of the nation and to establish the Indian rupee as a globally “accessible and acceptable” currency, Prime Minister Modi instructed the RBI to create a 10-year plan.

What are the main obstacles standing in India’s way of making the Rupeea a world currency?

• Economic Stability: To encourage confidence among foreign investors and currency users, the Indian economy would need to show steady growth and stability.
• Development of Financial Market Liquidity: To handle significant amounts of cross-border transactions denominated in Indian rupees, these markets must be deep and liquid.
• Capital Controls: At the moment, India imposes limitations on the inflow and outflow of capital. To encourage international trade and investment denominated in Indian rupees, these would need to be loosened.
• Legal and Regulatory Framework: To control the usage of the INR in cross-border transactions, strong legal and regulatory frameworks would need to be in place. These frameworks should include dispute resolution procedures and clearing and settlement systems.
• Acceptance by Investors and the World: Together with steps to support its use in worldwide trade and finance, concerted diplomatic efforts would be needed to persuade other nations, companies, and individuals to accept the INR as a global currency.
• Currency Convertibility: In order for the INR to become a universal currency, it must be fully convertible.

Indian Intends to Establish the Rupee as a World Currency:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has released a study that outlines a roadmap for the internationalization of the Rupee. Actions include adding the Rupee to the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket, encouraging its use in trade invoicing and settlement, easing its usage in offshore markets, and creating financial instruments with Rupee values are just a few of the things this roadmap suggests doing.
• In order to encourage the use of local currencies, such as the rupee, for cross-border transactions, India has been entering into agreements with nations such as the United Arab Emirates.

Way Forward:

• Rupee Transactions Are Necessary for the Indian Rupee to Be Accepted Internationally: The Indian Rupee must be freely utilized as a reserve currency for international trade as well as for transactions by both residents and non-residents.
• Exports must rise, and Indian trade must be encouraged outside of Asia. An invoice for each export and import transaction must be issued in Indian rupees.
• Reducing the Constraints: Without jeopardizing security issues, legal and regulatory frameworks must be released in order to draw investors for their company profits.

UNEP Food Waste Index Report, 2024

• The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UK-based non-profit Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) have produced the Food Waste Index Report, 2024.

Food Waste Index Report:

• It monitors food waste at the retail, consumer (home and food service) and national levels, as well as the production of edible and inedible parts.
• 2011 saw its initial release.
• It was intended to serve as a tool for tracking advancement toward global goals, like SDG 12.7, which asks for a 2030 reduction in food waste.

Key Findings of the 2024 Report

• Global Production of Food Waste in 2022: 1.05 billion tonnes of food waste were produced worldwide in 2022.

Food Waste Distribution by Sector:

• Of all food waste, 60% came from households.
• Of the overall food waste, 28% was attributed to food services.
• Twelve percent of food waste came from retail.

Food Waste Per Capita:

• In 2022, there were 132 kg of food waste per person on average.

Food Waste’s Economic Cost:

• One trillion dollars is thought to be the economic cost of food loss and waste.
• Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from food loss and waste are a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, making up 8-10% of world emissions on an annual basis.
• Regional Trends: There is little difference in food waste amounts between socioeconomic levels.
• Due to restrictions in infrastructure and patterns of consumption, hotter regions typically produce higher levels of household food waste.
• When compared to metropolitan regions, food waste is typically lower in rural locations.
• Policy Integration: Food loss and waste reduction have only been incorporated in 21 nations’ Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) or climate plans, including Australia, Japan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

UNCTAD Report Highlights Shifts in India’s Trade Relations

• The Global trading Report of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) showed that India’s trading environment was changing, with a greater reliance on China and the European Union (EU).

Key Highlights of the Report:

Important Results Regarding India

• Trade Trends: India’s reliance on Saudi Arabia decreased by 0.6%, but its reliance on China and the EU increased by 1.2%.
• Factors: The pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict disrupted supply chains at the time of this change, driving up the cost of food and fuel to all-time highs.
• Policy Measures: India’s trade links with China grew stronger despite attempts to lessen reliance on China through programs like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme and Quality Control Orders (QCOs).

Insights from the Report

• Stable Proximity: There haven’t been many tendencies toward near- or far-shoring as the geographic proximity of international trade has stayed mostly stable.
• Political Proximity: Nonetheless, trade has become more politically close to nations that have similar geopolitical positions.
• Trade Concentration: Although this trend slowed until the end of 2023, large trade partnerships were increasingly favored by global trade.
• Sectoral Trends: With the exception of pharmaceuticals, transportation equipment, and electric vehicles, the majority of sectors saw a decrease in trade value.
• Global Forecast: In 2023, it is anticipated that the global merchandise trade would shrink by 5% while the global services trade will increase by 8%.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict’s Effects

• Trade Shifts: As a result of the prolonged dispute, Russia’s reliance on China increased by 7.1% while its reliance on the EU decreased by 5.3%.
• Oil Trade: China became a major trading partner for Russia, and Russian oil moved from the EU to China and India.
• US Trade Dynamics: In 2023, the US was able to decrease its dependency on China by 1.2%, but it increased its reliance on the EU and Mexico.

90 years of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• Recently, the RBI celebrated its 90th year in Mumbai, marking a significant milestone.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI)

• The RBI is India’s monetary authority and central bank.
• In accordance with the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, it was founded on April 1, 1935.
• The Hilton Young Commission’s suggestions served as the inspiration for the original concept.
• The first Governor was an Australian named Sir Osborne Arkell Smith.
• Sir C D Deshmukh, the first Indian to occupy the role, replaced him.
• India uses this centralized organization to efficiently control its credit and monetary policies.
• In 1937, RBI relocated its permanent headquarters from Kolkata to Mumbai.
• The RBI was first run as a privately held company until it was fully nationalized in 1949.

Functions and Initiatives:

• Monetary Authority: In order to preserve a sound balance of payments, manage inflation, and stabilize exchange rates, the RBI regulates the amount of money in the economy.
• Issuer of Currency: Exclusive power to print money and stop the spread of fake bills.
• Banker to the Government: Provides short-term loan and financial consulting services in the capacity of a banker to the federal and state governments.
• Lender of Last Resort: Offers banks emergency financial support in times of need.
• Custodian of Foreign Exchange Reserves: Oversees the Foreign Exchange Management Act of 1999 (FEMA) and maintains foreign exchange reserves.
• Regulator and Supervisor of Payment and Settlement Systems: Ensures the effectiveness and security of the nation’s payment and settlement systems by supervising them.
• Credit Control and Developmental Role: Encourages the growth of the financial infrastructure and makes credit available to industries that are productive.

What is Zero FIR?

• For allegedly making disparaging words about the Telangana chief minister, the Hyderabad Police have opened a zero FIR case against the former minister.

First Information Report (FIR)

• The written report that the police create after learning of a crime that is punishable by law is known as a formal complaint (FIR).
• It’s the situation in which an officer has “reason to believe” that a suspect committed the crime and that an arrest is required based on specific criteria, all without a court’s warrant.
• It acts as a springboard for the start of the inquiry and any further police action.
• A police officer may file a formal complaint (FIR) for a crime that is punishable under Section 154(1) of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC).
• Public employees who fail to record information connected to a cognizable offence may face up to two years in prison and a fine under Section 166A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

Zero FIR: What Is It?

• Provision and Goal: Zero FIR permits any police station to file a report for a crime that is punishable by law without first requiring the assignment of a standard FIR number.
• Absent diary: While FIRs are assigned serial numbers, zero FIRs are given the number ‘0’. Thus, the moniker.

Features of a Zero FIR:

• Quick Action: The relevant police station then files a new First Information Report and opens an investigation.
• Focus on Victims: It is intended to accelerate the filing of complaints without requiring several visits to police stations, especially for major crimes affecting women and children.
• Evidence Preservation: Prompt registration aids in avoiding the misplacement or manipulation of important witnesses and evidence.
• Transferred Jurisdiction: After the crime is committed or the investigation is best carried out, the Zero FIR is subsequently forwarded to the appropriate police station.

How does it work?

• A police station is required to forward a complaint to another police station with the authority to look into the alleged offense once it files a zero FIR.
• The police station with the proper jurisdiction adds a serial number to a zero FIR upon transfer, turning it into a normal FIR.

Legal Provisions for Zero FIR

• In the 1999 case of Satvinder Kaur v. State, the Delhi High Court ruled that a woman might file a complaint from any location other than the scene of the assault.
• Justice Verma Committee (2012): The Justice Verma Committee, which was established in reaction to the 2012 Nirbhaya gangrape case, recommended the establishment of Zero FIR.
• In the 2014 case of Lalita Kumari v. Govt. of UP, the Supreme Court held that filing a formal complaint is required if information is discovered that a cognizable offense was committed.