18-19-06-23 Daily-Haryana-HPSC Current Affairs

Nearly 8% of the Aravali hills have disappeared between 1975 and 2019, says a study of the ranges across four states. Researchers from the Central University ofRajasthan(CURaj) studied satellite images and land-use maps between 1975 and 2019 to come up with estimates. Their paper titled Assessment of Land-Use Dynamics of the Aravalli Range was published in the journal Science Earth Informatics this January.

Data analysed by researchers showed that 5772.7 sqkm (7.6%) of the Aravali ranges was flattened in the 44-year period they studied. Of this, nearly 5% (3,676 sqkm) of the hills was converted into barren land and another 776.8 sqkm (around 1%) into settlements. The projected loss by 2059 of total Aravali area is 16,360 sqkm, according to the report.
In this time period, the average deforestation rate was 0.57% annually, the studys lead researcher Laxmi Kant Sharma told TOI. If this continues, the landscape in swathes of north India will become arid and desertification will set in, according to the study.

change from 1975 to 2019, which shows that the Aravali range is passing through significant deterioration, where biodiversity loss is prominent These deteriorated hill gaps have opened a gateway for desertification in the northeast part of Rajasthan to Delhi, the study says.

The CURaj study says 1,852 sqkm of the Aravalis is currently being mined in nine areas Gurgaon, Faridabad, Rewari, Jaipur, Alwar and Ajmer. There are 4,150 mining leases, of which just 288 have environmental clearance, the study notes, citing data released by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) in a report in 2017.

Twelve Indian states, includingBiharand Uttar Pradesh, have formed the Transgender Welfare Board but the capital still lacks one. In June, designated the ‘Pride Month’ across the world to celebrate sexual minorities, many members of the transgender community are expressing disappointment at the lack of attention given to the trans community in Delhi.

The state welfare boards are meant to provide income assistance, housing, education, employment and healthcare to transgender people. In response to a notice issued by the National Human Rights Commission, the Delhi social welfare department had once claimed to have accorded approval to the constitution of the transgender welfare board in the city and it was being processed for notification. The expectation that the board would be setupsoon hasn’t materialised.

In 2021, the Union social justice ministry initiated 13 shelters for transgenders known as “Garima Greh”. The homes were set up under the SMILE (Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise) scheme in accordance with The Transgender Rights Act. As per the guidelines, each Garima Greh is to be granted Rs 36.5 lakh each year.

Indias internet economy is expected to grow sixfold to $1 trillion by 2030 from $175 billion in 2022, a report fromGoogle, Temasek and Bain & Company showed.

The report said confluence of three crucial forces — digital-seeking behaviours among internet users in tier-2 locations; the digitization of large, traditional businesses along with a growing startup ecosystem; and the success of Indias homegrown digital public goods or the India Stack — has positioned the internet economy for acceleration.

The contribution of the internet economy to Indias technology sector is set to expand, from the present 48% to 62% in 2030, while its share in Indias GDP will increase from 4-5% to nearly 12-13%.

With Indias 700 million internet users transacting more via real-time digital payments and spending more time on online video-streaming services and social media than global averages, the internet economy is set to expand beyond its current base.

This growth will be founded on consumers seeing their household incomes double by 2030 from approximately $2,500 to $5,500 by 2030. Tier-2 consumers indicated a greater openness to experimentation with new brands and products, and to directing their increased spending towards personalization and premiumization, especially for healthtech and edtech, the report said.

Digital technology will be a major contributor to the countrys GDP growth this decade, saidVAnantha Nageswaran, chief economic adviser, Government of India. He was speaking at the industry interaction organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) in the city.

He said that capital investment and digital technology will help achieve positive growth as online usage in India is well ahead of the largest digital economy with respect to digital payment. My expectation is that capital investments by businesses, which was absent last decade, will add about 0.3% to 0.5% to growth of GDP and digital economy another 0.3% to 0.5%, he said.

Indias real GDP growth for the year ending March 2023 was 7.2%, surpassing expectations. The final number will be higher than 7.2% as the underlying momentum in the economy is quite strong, he added.

According to the data, India recorded a staggering 89.5 million digital transactions during the review period. This accounted for a remarkable 46 percent share of the worlds real-time payments in 2022, surpassing the combined digital payments of the next four top countries.

The growth of digital payments in India has witnessed significant milestones in terms of both value and volume. Experts from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) highlighted the countrys strong payment ecosystem and the acceptance of digital modes by Indian citizens as key factors contributing to Indias digital payments success.

Brazil secured the second position in digital payments with 29.2 million transactions, followed by China at third place with 17.6 million transactions. Thailand and South Korea secured the fourth and fifth spots, respectively, with 16.5 million and 8 million transactions.