RBI GRADEB PREPARATION 2023

 A bird's eye view of the Russian oil imports. Recently, India's covert oil imports from Russia at a lower price seem to end. This is due to the increased regulations from the G7 countries. The impact of the $60 barrel price cap breach witll affect India at the micro and macro levels. The United States Office for Fixed Assets Control has reported a price breach. It has warned transporters to retain records and attestation of invoices to avoid penalties. The banks are now concerned about the certification of invoices due to stringent actions from the West powers. In addition, the West has cautioned monitoring Ural grades which are used for oil delivery. Though China and India enjoyed the spillover effect, China is lesser dependent on Russia for oil. Also, China trades in yuan for payment for Russian oil because of its high exports. On the other hand, India has lesser exports and has to pay in dollars or dirhams instead of rupees. Hence, we have to redefine our strategies to impo...

 Sustainable finance holds the key to a better future Ram is a real-estate developer. He approaches a bank for funding a green housing project wherein they build 50 green and eco-friendly homes, saves electricity and water costs as well as cause less damage to the environment. The bank grants him a loan under sustainable finance. The houses are sold quickly. The owners of houses are happy because electricity and water costs are reduced, the real-estate developer is happy about the high demand and profit on houses and the bank is happy as the borrower's project is eco-friendly and prompt repayments are coming in. This is an example of sustainable finance. Sustainable finance is defined as investment decisions that fund environmental, social, governance, or economic-related projects. Sustainable finance includes funding projects related to renewable energy, green cars, green home loans, and green bonds to name a few. This is called providing green credit. Recently, the demand and pro...

 Home in the Extraterrestrial world. Our recent space explorations had mixed experiences. While Jupiter's Icy Moons Explorer was  successful, the Starship Super Heavy rocket for Mars exploration failed to make it into Earth orbit. Both these projects aim to explore extraterrestrial life. Though, Mars has always been the first choice after Earth, it is associated with many challenges. The astronauts are vulnerable to diseases and cosmic radiation. In addition, the weather is cold and dry and the water is salty and unfit for habitation. Though Elon Musk has come up with the idea of terraforming for the artificial heating of Mars, it has to be implemented yet. At this point, exploring other options, like Jupiter's moons, is a good move. Ganymede is the largest moon in the solar system. It is the only moon with a magnetic field and might have water. Other moons of Jupiter like Europa and Callisto may also have water and might support life. Hence, changing our moves and exploring o...

According to the United Nations Population Fund, Demographic Dividend is a condition wherein the economic potential of a country is enhanced due to the working-age population (15-64 years) being greater than the non-working age group (0-14 years and 65+ years). Recently, the UNFPA declared India to be the most populous country, surpassing China. More than two-thirds of its population is in the working group, harnessing India's opportunity to rise as an economic superpower. The demographic dividend is an asset for economic fortunes as more people means more working hands. But though the population size matters, what matters more is talent resources. The low-skilled population might turn the demographic dividend into a disaster. Let us understand the major economic fallouts in the Indian demography. The Economic Fallouts 1. LOW-SKILLED LABOUR:  India is an agrarian economy. According to World Bank data, 45% of the population is working in low-skilled agriculture and allied activities...

  Devolution for Development A major leap in transforming India to an advanced economy is to devolve more powers to local governments. The 16 th Finance Commission can play a pivotal role in this regard. The sub-national spending in India has increased from 50% in 2013-14 to 60% after the 15th Finance Commission. This is higher than many of the advanced economies. But the government's attempt to shift resources from the center to state-level did not help the people in the states. Therefore, the government, for its part, has to now shift spending from state-level to local bodies to transform India into an advanced economy by 2047. In addition, the local governments must be allowed to generate their revenue, especially from property taxes. Property taxes are unavoidable, and cost-efficient and it taxes only the rich. Moreover, the elderly owners can be exempted under the Grandfathering clause. Hence, though the devolution cannot be done overnight, the 16th Finance Commission can l...

  Impediments of India’s Demographic Dividend The recent Brookings report focused on the issue of industrial concentration. The other side of the coin has problems like poor child education, a high skill gap amongst youth, and weakened female labor force participation which were ignored. But these issues prevent India from embracing the China-Plus-One strategy. The formal sector has less skilled labor and the upgradation of skills is immensely needed. Moreover, low-skilled labor is retained in the agriculture sector due to poor education. The covid pandemic also harmed female labor participation. One solution is to transform the agriculture sector into high earning sector. This can be done by allowing foreign players and lowering the entry rate of labor. In addition, the education gap which was induced during covid can be tackled by organizing summer boot camps. Thirdly, to ensure the participation and retention of women's workforce, companies can fund NGOs that support girl educat...