CLAT 2020 UG

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said major global firms are looking at India as a major investment destination, which is reflected by a robust inflow of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) last financial year, and through 'Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan‘ (Self- Reliant India initiative) the country is shifting its focus from 'Make in India‘ to 'Make for world‘. He said Independent India should be "vocal for local" and asked citizens to glorify Indian products to promote 'Atmanirbhar Bharat‘. Unveiling his vision of a Self-Reliant India, the Prime Minister said that the government has unveiled over Rs 110 lakh crore National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) to boost the economy and create jobs. "In order to rapidly modernise India, there is a need to give a new direction to overall infrastructure development," he said, adding that over 7,000 projects under NIP have been already identified. "This will be, in a way, a new revolution in the field of infrastructure. This is the time to end silos in infrastructure. There is a plan to connect the entire country with multi-model connectivity infrastructure," he said. NIP will play a crucial role in overcoming the adverse impact of Covid-19 on the economy and catapult the economy in a higher growth trajectory, he said. The government on December 31 last year unveiled the NIP with an aim to make India a $${$5}$$ trillion economy by 2024-25. The focus of the infrastructure pipeline is to
accelerate growth and create employment in both urban and rural areas.
Source: Excerpt from Hindustan Times, written by Rajeev Jayaswal. (Dated $$15^{th} August, 2020)

The central bank doesn‘t disclose its foreign exchange management strategy, but it was evident in the last few years that the rupee was not allowed to appreciate despite healthy inflows, resulting in a rapid build-up of foreign exchange. From a low of $275 billion in September of 2013, when rupee came under severe pressure due to so-called 'taper tantrums‘ by the US Federal Reserve, India now has record foreign exchange reserves of [1] billion, as on 21 August — a 95 per cent rise over seven years. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, the foreign exchange kitty swelled by $62 billion since March. In this seven-year period, rupee ended the year with an appreciation against the dollar only once — in 2017. This year, the rupee is so far down by 2.04 per cent against the dollar. The latest RBI statement suggested that it is not uncomfortable with the appreciation in rupee, confirming the speculation among currency analysts that a departure was made in the exchange management policy.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said that it will conduct liquidity operations worth Rs 20,000 crore in two tranches through sale and purchase of government securities (G-Secs). The two open market operations (OMOs) of Rs 10,000 crore each will be conducted on September 10 and 17, the central bank said in an official release. This is now the second such announcement in as many weeks. Last week, RBI had announced sale and purchase of G-Secs worth Rs 20,000 crore, in two tranches, slated to be conducted on August 27 and September 3. In another move, RBI announced the infusion of Rs 1 lakh crore in mid-September through long-term repo operations (LTROs) at floating rates, or the prevailing repo rate. Moreover, the central bank also gave an option to lenders who have earlier availed funds through LTROs, to reverse their transactions before maturity.
Source: Excerpt taken from the Print.in, written by Manojit Saha. (Dated $$2^{nd}$$ September, 2020.)