Current Affairs Jan 15

Pan India Rollout of COVID-19 Vaccination

Why in News?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the pan-India rollout of COVID-19 vaccination drive on January 16.
• This will be the world’s largest vaccination program covering the entire length and breadth of the country.

Co-WIN

• The vaccination programme will use Co-WIN, an online digital platform developed by Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• This will facilitate real time information of vaccine stocks, storage temperature and individualized tracking of beneficiaries for COVID-19 vaccine.
• This digital platform will assist programme managers across all levels while conducting vaccination sessions.
• A dedicated 24×7 call centre – 1075 – has also been established for addressing the queries related to COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine rollout and the Co-WIN software.

Vaccines

• Adequate doses of both COVISHIELD and COVAXIN have already been delivered across the country to all States/UTs with the active support of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

PIB

‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’

Why in News?

• Prime Minister will interact with startups and address ‘Prarambh: Startup India International Summit’ on 16th January 2021.
• The Summit is being organized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, on 15-16 January, 2021.

About Summit

• The two-day Summit is being organised as a follow up of the announcement made by the Prime Minister at the fourth BIMSTEC Summit held in Kathmandu in August 2018 wherein India committed to host the BIMSTEC Startup Conclave.
• The Summit marks the fifth anniversary of the Startup India initiative, launched by the Prime Minister on 16 January, 2016.

PM Calls

• Prime Minister has called upon youngsters to attend ‘Prarambh’, the Startup India international summit on January 15 and 16, saying it seeks to bring together top minds from industry, academia, investment, banking and finance besides young start up leaders.

PIB

Scheme to Enhance Ethanol Distillation Capacity

Why in News?

• To achieve 20% blending by 2025 as well as to meet out the requirement of ethanol production capacity in the country.
• The Department of Food & Public Distribution has modified earlier scheme & notified the modified scheme
  • • For extending financial assistance to project proponents for enhancement of their ethanol distillation capacity or to set up distilleries for producing 1st Generation (1G) ethanol
    • From feed stocks such as cereals (rice, wheat, barley, corn & sorghum), sugarcane, sugar beet etc. or converting molasses based distilleries to dual feedstock vide notification dated 14th January, 2021.

About Scheme

• Under the scheme , Government would bear interest subvention for five years including one year moratorium against the loan availed by project proponents from banks @ 6% per annum or 50% of the rate of interest charged by banks whichever is lower for setting up of new distilleries or expansion of existing distilleries or converting molasses based distilleries to dual feedstock.
• This will bring an investment of about Rs. 40,000 crore.
• For production of ethanol, there is sufficient availability of feed stocks; & Government has also fixed remunerative prices of ethanol derived from various feed stocks.
• Moreover, OMCs being the assured buyer for ethanol has given comfort for purchase of ethanol from distilleries for next 10 years.

Benefits

• This scheme would not only facilitate diversion of excess sugar to ethanol but would also encourage farmers to diversify their crops to cultivate particularly maize/corn which needs lesser water compared to sugarcane and rice.
• It would enhance production of ethanol from various feed stocks thereby, facilitate in achieving blending targets of ethanol with petrol and would reduce import dependency on crude oil.
• It will also enhance income of farmers as setting up of new distilleries would not only increase demand of their crops but would assure farmers of getting better price for their crops.
• Sugarcane and ethanol is produced mainly in three states viz Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Karnataka.
• Transporting ethanol to far flung States from these three states involves huge transportation cost.
• By bringing new grain based distilleries in the entire country would result in distributed production of ethanol and would save a lot of transportation cost and thus prevent delays in meeting the blending target & would benefit the farmers across the country.

Earlier

• With the vision to boost agricultural economy, to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuel, to save foreign exchange on account of crude oil import bill & to reduce the air pollution, the Government has fixed target of 10% blending of fuel grade ethanol with petrol by 2022 & 20% blending by 2030.

PIB

9mm Machine Pistol, Asmi

Why in News?

• India’s first indigenous 9mm Machine Pistol has been jointly developed by DRDO and Indian Army.
• Infantry School, Mhow and DRDO’s Armament Research & Development Establishment (ARDE), Pune have designed and developed this weapon using their respective expertise in the complementary areas.
• The weapon has been developed in a record time of four months.

About

• The Machine Pistol fires the in-service 9mm ammunition and sports an upper receiver made from aircraft grade Aluminium and lower receiver from carbon fibre.
• 3D Printing process has been used in designing and prototyping of various parts including trigger components made by metal 3D printing.
• Machine pistols are primarily self-loading versions of pistols which are either fully automatic or can also fire bursts of bullets.
• The Machine Pistol is likely to have production cost under rupees 50000 each and has potential for exports.
• The weapon is aptly named “Asmi” meaning “Pride”, “Self-Respect” & “Hard Work”.

 Earlier Development

• The announcement of machine pistol development comes nearly a month after a Carbine jointly developed by the ARDE and the Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) completed the final phase of user trials by the Army and was ready ready for induction.
• The Carbine is not just slated to replace the ageing 9 mm carbine currently in use by the armed forces, but also modernise the armoury of the Central Armed Police Forces and state police forces.

PIB

Fifth Veterans Day, 14 Jan 2021

Why in News?

• Fifth Indian Armed Forces Veterans Day was celebrated as a recognition of the services rendered by the first Commander-in-Chief of Indian Armed Forces, Field Marshal KM Cariappa, OBE who retired on 14 Jan 1953.

Polio National Immunisation Day

Why in News?

• The massive countrywide COVID-19 vaccination drive will be rolled out by Hon’ble Prime Minister from 16th January, 2021.
• This would be world’s largest immunisation exercise.
• Therefore, it has been decided by the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW) in consultation with the office of the Hon’ble President of India to reschedule the Polio vaccination day, also known as the National Immunisation Day (NID) or “Polio Ravivar” to 31th January 2021.
• The decision is in keeping with the stated policy of the Health Ministry to ensure that COVID management and vaccination services as well as non-COVID essential health services proceed in tandem without adversely impacting each other.

PIB

CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR)

Why in News?

• Ministry of Science & Technology inaugurated a new institute of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) i.e. CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Policy Research (CSIR-NIScPR).

About

• The new institute has been established consequent to the merger of two prestigious institutes of CSIR namely,
  • • CSIR-National Institute of Science Communication and Information Resources (CSIR-NISCAIR) and
    • CSIR-National Institute of Science, Technology and Development Studies (CSIR-NISTADS) which work at the interface of S&T and Society; and Science Communication and Policy Research.

MISSION

• To promote STI policy studies and science communication among diverse stakeholders and act as a bridge at the interface of science, technology, industry and society which is essential to a robust S&T ecosystem in the country.

PIB

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 3.0)

Why in News?

• The third phase of Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PMKVY 3.0) launched in 600 districts across all states of India.

Focus

• Spearheaded by the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), this phase will focus on new-age and COVID-related skills.
• Skill India Mission PMKVY 3.0 envisages training of eight lakh candidates over a scheme period of 2020-2021 with an outlay of Rs. 948.90 crore.

What’s New

• On the basis of the learning gained from PMKVY 1.0 and PMKVY 2.0, the Ministry has improved the newer version of the scheme to match the current policy doctrine and energize the skilling ecosystem affected due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Skill India Mission

• “Skill India Mission” launched by the Prime Minister on 15th of July 2015 has gained tremendous momentum through launch of its flagship scheme PMKVY to unlock the vision of making India the ‘Skill Capital’ of the world.

Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Vikas Yojana

• It was launched in 2015 to encourage and promote skill development inthe country by providing free short duration skill training and incentivizing this by providing monetary rewards to youth for skill certification.
• The overall idea is to boost both industry and employability of youths.

Objectives of PMKVY 2016-20

• Enable and mobilize a large number of youths to take up industry designed quality skill training, become employable and earn their livelihood.
• Increase productivity of the existing workforce,and align skill training with the actual needs of the country.
• Encourage standardisation of the Certification process and put in place the foundation for creating a registry of skills.
• Benefit 10 million youth over the period of four years (2016- 2020).

Key Components of the Scheme

1. Short Term Training (STT) – The Short-Term Training imparted at PMKVY Training Centres (TCs) is aimed towards the candidates who are either school/college dropouts or unemployed. Duration of the training varies according tothe job role, however, majority of courses range between 200-600 hrs (2 – 6 months).
2. Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) – Individuals with prior learning experience or skills are assessed and certified under the Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) component of the Scheme. RPL aims to align the competencies of the unregulated workforce of the country to the NSQF. The duration of the training/orientation ranges between 12-80 hrs.
3. Special Projects – Special Projects component of PMKVY envisages to encourage trainings in special areas and premises of Government bodies, corporates / industry bodies and trainings in special job roles not defined under the available Qualification Packs (QPs)/National Occupational Standards (NOSs).These are the projects which may require some deviation from the terms and conditions of Short-Term Training under PMKVY.

PIB

Chief Guest on Republic Day

Why in News?

• India will not invite any foreign dignitary to be the Chief Guest at the upcoming Republic Day celebrations.
• The decision was prompted by the global pandemic which has intensified in several countries.
• The announcement comes after British Prime Minister Boris Johnson cancelled his visit to India to attend the Republic Day parade as the Chief Guest.

History

• This will be the first time in decades that India will not host a Head of Government or Head of State during the Republic Day parade in Delhi.
• The last time such a situation arose was in 1966 when no Chief Guest was present at the event which was held days after the demise of Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri in Tashkent and the death of nuclear scientist Homi Bhabha in an air crash.
• Foreign leaders have graced the Republic Day parades every year barring 1952, 1953 and 1966. The then Indonesian President Sukarno was the first chief guest to grace Republic Day in 1950.
• In 2020, Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro was the chief guest.
• In 2018, the entire Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) leadership comprising 10 heads of states were present at the Republic Day parade.

THE HINDU

Fitch on Indian Economy

Why in News?

• The Indian economy will suffer lasting damage from the coronavirus crisis and after an initial strong rebound in FY22 (fiscal year ending March 2022) growth will slow to around 6.5% a year over FY23-FY26, Fitch Ratings said.

Fitch Said

• A combination of supply-side scarring and demand-side constraints — such as the weak state of the financial sector — will keep the level of GDP well below its pre-pandemic path.
• India’s coronavirus-induced recession has been among the most severe in the world, amid a stringent lockdown and limited direct fiscal support.
• Expected gross domestic product (GDP) to expand by 11% in FY22 (April 2021 to March 2022) after falling by 9.4% in FY21 (April 2020 to March 2021).
• The rate of GDP growth sank to a more than ten-year low of 4.2% in 2019, down from 6.1% the previous year.
• GDP in April-June was 23.9% below its 2019 level, indicating that nearly a quarter of the country’s economic activity was wiped out by the drying up of global demand and the collapse of domestic demand that accompanied the series of strict national lockdowns.
• A 7.5% decline in GDP in the following quarter pushed Asia’s third-largest economy into an unprecedented recession.
• Historical analysis of India’s growth performance highlights the key role played by a high investment rate in driving growth in labour productivity and GDP per capita over the last 15 years.

THE HINDU

Sabroom

Why in News?

• Tripura has received ₹90.56 crore from the Centre for acquisition of land for the State’s second Integrated Check Post.
• The fund has been made available from the ₹365 crore the central government sanctioned for the ICP at Sabroom, about 73 km south of Agartala.
• The Ministry of Home Affairs approved the project in 2018.
• The first ICP was set up at Agartala in 2013.

Sabroom

• Sabroom is about 70 km from Bangladesh’s Chittagong port and the proposed ICP will deal with consignments to and from the port.
• Road connectivity with the port will be established after inauguration of the ‘Friendship Bridge’ over the River Feni at Sabroom–Ramgarh (Bangladesh) border.
• Prime Ministers of India and Bangladesh are expected to virtually inaugurate the bridge soon.
• The incumbent BJP-IPFT coalition government in the State has also selected Sabroom to establish the State’s first Special Economic Zone (SEZ) with ₹1,500 core in central assistance.

THE HINDU

Nepal Foreign Minister visit to India

Why in News?

• Nepal’s Foreign Minister Pradeep Kumar Gyawali embarked on a three-day visit to India during which he will attend the 6th meeting of Nepal-India Joint Commission and discuss the entire gamut of relations, including COVID-19 cooperation and border disputes, with his Indian counterpart.
• He is the senior-most political leader from Nepal to visit India after Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli triggered a border row last year by publishing a new political map that showed the three Indian territories – Limpiyadhura, Kalapani and Lipulekh – as part of Nepal.

Joint Commission

• The Joint Commission is the highest mechanism between the two countries to discuss the entire gamut of bilateral relations.
• During the meeting, the two countries are scheduled to hold discussions on various issues including bilateral trade, energy, border disputes and COVID-19 assistance.
• The bilateral exchanges that had stalled due to the bitter boundary dispute were reset in the later part of 2020 with a series of high-level visits.

THE HINDU

‘MICE’ Tourism Policy

Why in News?

• Gujarat Chief Minister has announced the tourism policy for 2021-25, seeking to position the state as the country’s foremost tourist destination, with a focus on investment and livelihood opportunities.
• The policy seeks to make Gujarat a hub of “MICE” tourism.

What is MICE tourism?

• The acronym “MICE” stands for “Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions”, and is essentially a version of business tourism that draws domestic and international tourists to a destination.
• The policy aims to make Gujarat one of the top five MICE tourism destinations in the country.

How does the policy propose to attract MICE tourism?

• To incentivise international events, the government has announced an assistance of Rs 5,000 to the event organiser per foreign participant staying overnight, subject to an upper limit of Rs 5 lakh.
• For domestic events, the policy promises financial assistance of Rs 2 lakh per event, capped at three events per organiser per year.
• The policy promises special incentives for building big convention centres, including 15% capital subsidy on the eligible capital investment.
• The government has also Promised Land on lease, if required. A precondition to avail the incentive is that the convention centre should have at least one hall that can seat a minimum of 2,500 persons.

Which tourist attractions is the policy promoting?

• Some of the attractions are Statue of Unity, the world’s tallest statue;
  • Gir, the only home of the Asiatic lion;
  • The Girnar ropeway, Asia’s longest;
  • Ahmedabad, the first UNESCO World Heritage City in India;
  • Lothal, the earliest known dock in the world, and India’s first port city;
  • Dholavira, a showcase of the urban civilisation of the Indus Valley;
  • Shivrajpur, one of India’s ‘Blue Flag’ beaches; and India’s first seaplane service from the Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad to the Statue of Unity in Kevadia.

IE

Effective ‘Nanobodies’ To Fight Novel Coronavirus

Why in News?

• An international research team has identified and further developed novel antibody fragments against SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.
• These “nanobodies” are much smaller than classic antibodies and they, therefore, penetrate the tissue better and can be produced more easily in larger quantities.
• The researchers have also combined the nanobodies into potentially particularly effective molecules, which attack different parts of the virus simultaneously.
• The new approach could prevent the pathogen from evading the active agent through mutations.

Antibodies

• Antibodies are an important weapon in the immune system’s defense against infections.
• They bind to the surface structures of bacteria or viruses and prevent their replication.
• One strategy in the fight against disease is therefore to produce effective antibodies in large quantities and inject them into patients.
• However, producing antibodies is difficult and time-consuming; they are, therefore, probably not suitable for widespread use.

Nanobodies

• The researchers instead focussed on another group of molecules, the nanobodies. “Nanobodies are antibody fragments that are so simple that they can be produced by bacteria or yeast, which is less expensive”.

IE

Why forest fires are common in Himachal Pradesh

Why in News?

• Himachal Pradesh frequently witnesses forest fires during dry weather conditions.
• Recently, a forest fire which started near Kullu raged for several days before being brought under control.
• Forest fires were also reported in Shimla and other parts of the state.

What is the forest cover of Himachal Pradesh?

• Although two-thirds of the total geographical area of Himachal Pradesh is legally classified as forest area, much of this area is permanently under snow, glaciers, cold desert or alpine meadows and is above the tree line.
• This leaves an effective forest cover of around 28 percent of the total area, as per the Forest Survey of India.
• Chir Pine, Deodar, Oak, Kail, Fir and Spruce are some of the common trees found here.

How fire prone are these forests?

• Except for periods of precipitation in monsoon and winter, the forests remain vulnerable to wildfires. Forest fires are a recurrent annual phenomenon in the state, and most commonly occur in Chir Pine forests.
• In the summer season, forest fires occur frequently in the low and middle hills of the state, where forests of Chir Pine are common.
• The dry summer season from March to June coincides with the shedding of highly-combustible needles by Chir Pine trees.
• Once the fallen dry needles catch fire, it can spread quickly over the entire forest due to the action of the wind.
• However, due to their thick bark, the Chir Pine trees are themselves relatively unharmed by these fires, and can spring back to life during the monsoon season.
• During the post-monsoon season and in winters, forest fires are also reported in higher areas, including parts of Shimla, Kullu, Chamba, Kangra and Mandi districts, where they usually occur in grasslands.

What causes the fire?

• Natural causes such as lightning or rubbing of dry bamboos with each other can sometimes result in fires, but forest officials maintain that almost all forest fires can be attributed to human factors.
• When the grass is dry, even a small spark, such as someone dropping a burning matchstick, torchwood or a bidi/cigarette, can cause a massive fire. A spark can also be produced when dry pine needles or leaves fall on an electric pole.

How much damage do the forest fires cause?

• Forest fires can cause a lot of damage to the regeneration in the forests and their productivity.
• Moisture-loving trees such as Oaks and Deodars may give way to other species and exotic weeds. Forests help maintain aquifers and continuous flow of streams and springs, and provide firewood, fodder and non-timber produce to the local communities – all these capacities may get adversely affected in case of a fire.
• Forest fires may destroy organic matter in the soil and expose the top layer to erosion.
• They may also impact the wildlife by burning eggs, killing young animals and driving the adult animals away from their safe haven.
• Sometimes, a forest fire may get out of control and extend to human settlements, thus posing danger to human life and property.

 What is done to prevent and control forest fires?

• Forecasting fire-prone days using meteorological data, clearing camping sites of dried biomass, early burning of dry litter on the forest floor, growing strips of fire-hardy plant species within the forest, and creating fire lines in the forests are some of the methods to prevent fires.

IE

U.S. President to be Impeached Twice

Why in News?

• President Donald Trump was impeached by the U.S. House for a historic second time on January 13, charged with “incitement of insurrection” over the deadly mob siege of the Capitol in a swift and stunning collapse of his final days in office.
• Trump is the only U.S. President to be twice impeached.
• Trump was first impeached by the House in 2019 over his dealings with Ukraine, but the Senate voted in 2020 to acquit him.
• The House had first tried to persuade Vice-President Mike Pence and the Cabinet to invoke their authority under the 25th Amendment to remove Mr. Trump from office. Pence declined to do so, but the House passed the resolution anyway.

History

• While some have questioned impeaching the President so close to the end of his term, there is precedent. In 1876, during the Ulysses Grant administration, War Secretary William Belknap was impeached by the House the day he resigned, and the Senate convened a trial months later. He was acquitted.

Is the impeachment proceeding over?

• Impeachment refers only to the House, the lower chamber of Congress, bringing charges, or Articles of Impeachment.
• The next major step is for the Senate, the upper chamber, to have a trial to determine Trump’s guilt.
• A two-thirds majority is needed to convict Trump.
• If all 100 senators are present for the vote, at least 17 Republicans need to join the Democrats to convict Trump.

So a former president can be impeached?

• The consensus among scholars is that a “late impeachment” is constitutional.
• These scholars note that impeachment is used not just to remove officials from office, but also disqualify them from future office. That means there is still a reason to try Trump after he leaves the White House.
• The Constitution states that one punishment for conviction is “disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust or profit under the United States.”
• Under Senate precedent, only a simple majority of Senate is needed for disqualification.
• Historically, that vote only happens after a conviction. It’s not clear if someone must be convicted to be disqualified.

IE

Cave Painting discovered in Indonesia

Why in News?

• A team of archaeologists has discovered what may be the world’s oldest known cave painting dating back to more than 45,000 years.
• The cave painting depicts a wild boar endemic to the Sulawesi island of Indonesia, where the painting was found.
• The central Indonesian island, is situated between Asia and Australia and has a long history of human occupation.

So what is the significance of the cave painting?

• The archaeologist’s note that the dated painting of the Sulawesi warty pig seems to be the world’s oldest surviving representational image of an animal.
• The team came across this painting in the limestone cave of Leang Tedongnge while conducting field research.
• The painting was made using red ochre pigment and depicts a pig with a short crest of upright hairs and a pair of horn-like facial warts in front of the eyes, who is likely observing a social interaction or fight between two other warty pigs.
• These pigs have been hunted by humans for tens of thousands of years and are the most commonly depicted animal in the ice age rock art of the island, which suggests that they have long been used as food and form a “focus of creative thinking and artistic expression” for people of that time.

 Hominins

• Hominins include modern humans, extinct human species and our immediate ancestors.
• Homo sapiens are the first modern humans who evolved from their hominid predecessors between 200,000-300,000 years ago.
• It is estimated that these modern humans started migrating outside of Africa some 70,000-100,000 years ago.

How did the archaeologists date it?

• While dating rock art can be challenging, for this painting archaeologists used a method called U-series isotope analysis, which uses calcium carbonate deposits that form naturally on the cave wall surface to determine its age.

IE

Adultery

Why in News?

• The Supreme Court admitted a petition filed by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) seeking to exempt armed forces personnel from the ambit of a Constitution Bench judgment of 2018 that decriminalised adultery.
• One of the chief reasons given by the government for seeking exemption is, incidentally, that “there will always be a concern in the minds of the Army personnel who are operating far away from their families under challenging conditions about the family indulging in untoward activity.”
• A three-judge Bench said the plea had to be considered by a Constitution Bench because the original verdict, striking down Section 497 (adultery) of the Indian Penal Code, was pronounced by a five-judge Bench in September 2018.
• The government said in the petition that personnel of the Army, Navy and the Air Force were a “distinct class”. They were governed by special legislations, the Army Act, the Navy Act and the Air Force Act.

Adultery

• Adultery amounted to an unbecoming conduct and a violation of discipline under these three Acts.
• These special laws imposed restrictions on the fundamental rights of the personnel, who function in peculiar situation requiring utmost discipline.
• The three laws were protected by Article 33 of the Constitution, which allowed the government to modify the fundamental rights of the armed forces personnel.
• The judgment of 2018 created “instability”. It allowed a personnel charged with carrying on an adulterous or illicit relationship to take cover under the judgment.

THE HINDU

Yellow Grub

Why in News?

• Mealworms may soon find their way into Europe’s pasta bowls and dinner dishes, after becoming the first insect approved in the region as a human food.
• Recent decision by the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) paves the way for the yellow grubs to be used whole and dried in curries and other recipes and as a flour to make biscuits, pasta and bread.
• Despite their name, mealworms are beetle larvae rather than worms and are already used in Europe as a pet food ingredient.
• Rich in protein, fat and fibre.
• Once the European Commission ratifies ESFA’s endorsement, Europe will join them.

IE

Working Group on Digital Lending

Why in News?

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted a working group on digital lending — including online platforms and mobile apps — to study all aspects of digital lending activities in the regulated financial sector as well as by unregulated players.
• This is to ensure that an appropriate regulatory approach is put in place.
• Digital lending has the potential to make access to financial products and services more fair, efficient and inclusive.
• A balanced approach needs to be followed so that the regulatory framework supports innovation while ensuring data security, privacy, confidentiality and consumer protection.
• The working group consists of both internal and external members.

Evaluation

• The working group will evaluate digital lending activities and assess the penetration and standards of outsourced digital lending activities in RBI regulated entities;
  • • Identify the risks posed by unregulated digital lending to financial stability, regulated entities and consumers; and
    • Suggest regulatory changes to promote orderly growth of digital lending.
• It will also recommend measures for expansion of specific regulatory or statutory perimeter and suggest the role of various regulatory and government agencies. It will also recommend a robust fair practices code for digital lending players.
• The group will submit its report within three months.

THE HINDU