Current Affairs for BANK, IBPS Exams - 08 January 2022

::National::

Transfer of land owned by Dalit to trust in 1996 illegal, says Ayodhya court

• A local court in Ayodhya has deemed illegal the transfer of 13 acre of land owned by Dalit to the Maharishi RamayanVidyapeeth Trust in 1996 and ordered the same be transferred back to the state government, people familiar with the development.
• A court of assistant record officer, Bhan Singh, last week passed the order while hearing a case challenging the transfer of land in ManjhaBarhata village in Ayodhya district to the Maharishi RamayanVidyapeeth Trust.
• The case was registered on the orders of the then Ayodhya district magistrate, AnujJha, after conducting a probe on the complaint by one Mahadev, a native of BanwariPurva of Ayodhya, against transfer of land to the Trust. The probe found the complaint genuine, people cited above said on condition of anonymity.
• The Trust got the land transferred in its name through one of its workers Ronghai, a Dalit, on October 22, 1996. The transfer was carried out without seeking approval of the district magistrate, the people said.
• “The Maharishi RamayanVidyapeeth Trust, state government officials and their relatives who had bought land in ManjhaBarhata and Shahnawazpur villages are under the scanner of the team probing the Ayodhya land purchase deals, involving senior officials and politicians of the state,” one of the people said.
• On December 22 last year, chief minister Yogi Adityanath had ordered a probe into all such land purchase in Ayodhya involving officials of the state government, their relatives and politicians.

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::International::

Russia can still choose 'diplomatic solution' on Ukraine, says Blinken

• US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Friday that Russia could choose a diplomatic solution on Ukraine in talks next week but warned the United States would not be "distracted" by Moscow's demands.
• "We're prepared to respond forcefully to further Russian aggression. But a diplomatic solution is still possible and preferable if Russia chooses it," Blinken told reporters ahead of talks Monday in Geneva.
• Blinken said that Russia, which has amassed tens of thousands of troops along the border with Ukraine, was "gaslighting" the world by making demands.
• "No one should be surprised if Russia instigates a provocation or incident then tries to use it to justify military intervention, hoping that by the time the world realizes the ruse it'll be too late," Blinken said.
• Russia asked for the talks after putting forward proposals that include guarantees that NATO will not expand to Ukraine or further parts of the former Soviet Union.
• "I think that's certainly part of the playbook -- to put out a list of absolutely non-starter demands and then to claim that the other side is not engaging and then to use that is somehow justification for aggressive action," Blinken said.

::Economy::

Govt may rein in fiscal deficit at 6.8% of GDP: First advance estimates

• Even if the government spends Rs 71,000 crore more than the Budget Estimates (BE) and all revenues remain constant at the BE level, the Centre would be able to rein in its fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP).
• The lever to the government was given by the first Advance Estimates, which pegged GDP at current prices at Rs 232.15 trillion for 2021-22 as against Rs 222.87 trillion assumed by the Budget. The new GDP number would be used to change various figures in the Revised Estimates compared to the BE for FY22 in the forthcoming Budget.
• The Budget had assumed the growth rate of 14.4 per cent over Rs 194.82 trillion of nominal GDP projected by the first Advance Estimates for 2020-21 then. Meanwhile, GDP at current prices came at 197.46 trillion for 2020-21, Rs 2.64 trillion higher than projected by the first Advance Estimates that time.
• The first Advance Estimates have now pegged the GDP growth rate at 17.6 per cent at current prices for 2021-22, broken down into expansion of GDP at constant prices at 9.2 per cent and the inflation rate of 8.4 per cent.
• The fiscal deficit could now be widened to Rs 15.78 trillion from the projected Rs 15.07 trillion, and even then the BE target of reining it in at 6.8 per cent would be met.
• That way, the government was in a comfortable position to rein in its fiscal deficit at 6.8 per cent of GDP. However, disinvestment receipts of the government have not progressed in line with the projections given in the Budget. The Budget had pegged Rs 1.75 trillion to come from this head, but only Rs 9,330 crore has been realised till date.
• The government eyes Rs 1.45 trillion from LIC’s IPO and BPCL privatisation. Of these two big-ticket disinvestments, BPCL’s disinvestment is all set to be deferred while LIC’s IPO may come up by March that will fetch the government Rs 1 trillion.

Farm sector set to grow at 3.9% in FY22: First advance estimates

• Agriculture and allied activities are estimated to grow at 3.9 per cent in FY22, up from 3.6 per cent in the last fiscal, according to the first advance estimates of national income released.
• In current prices, growth is estimated to be 9.1 per cent in FY22, up from 6.6 per cent during the same period last year. This translates into an inflation impact of around 9.1 per cent. The impact, which is sometimes referred to by some economists as a proxy of farmers’ income in the absence of real-time data, was 6.6 per cent in FY21.
• The gross value added (GVA) in agriculture and allied activities in FY22 is slightly higher than the long-term average for the sector which is 3-4 per cent. It is also greater than most economists’ expectations.
• Considering that the farm sector registered a strong growth of 3.6 per cent in the pandemic-hit FY21, an expected growth of 3.9 per cent on top of that also shows the resilience of the sector.
• The first advance estimate of national income is based on the first advance estimate of crop production, which primarily comprises the kharif harvest. This is an indicator of higher growth in the full year and could also mean that the government expects the coming rabi harvest to be good.
• Oilseeds production was estimated to be 23.39 million tonnes, 2.66 per cent less than last year, but pulses situation was relatively better as production of kharif pulses was expected to be at 9.45 million tonnes. This was 8.74 per cent more than last year.
• However, experts said that much should not be read into the initial production estimates of pulses and oilseeds as the final harvest may go down in subsequent estimates when the crop starts hitting the market in full steam.

::Science and tech::

Crypto Wire introduces India’s first global index of cryptocurrencies IC15

::Sport::

Son Heung-min ruled out for two weeks with injury, says Spurs boss Conte

• Tottenham Hotspur forward Son Heung-min will be out of action for up to two weeks after picking up a muscle injury in Wednesday's semi-final League Cup defeat at Chelsea, manager Antonio Conte told reporters.
• The injury to the 29-year-old South Korea international is a blow for the London side, who welcome third-tier Morecambe in the FA Cup third round on Sunday before games against Chelsea, Arsenal and Leicester City over the next fortnight.
• "It was a strange situation against Chelsea. I made two substitutions together, Lucas Moura and Son. Not for injury, but to try to give them 15 minutes of rest," said Conte.

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