The slump in Private Investment, Power of Expunction, Graphene: A Remarkable Allotrope of Carbon

(General Studies II – Governance Section – Statutory, Regulatory and various Quasi-judicial Bodies. Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.)

• The Anusandhan National Research Foundation Act, 2023 is an Act of the Parliament of India.
• It seeks to seed, grow and facilitate research in India, especially in India’s universities and colleges.
• The ANRF would provide a bureaucratic free space for researchers, providing a Funding boost and Academia industry collaborations.

Composition of ANRF –

• Prime Minister of India as a chairperson/ president
• Union Minister of Science and Technology and Union Minister of Education as Vice Presidents
• Secretaries to the Departments of Science and Technology, Biotechnology, and Scientific and Industrial Research.
• Member of the NITI Aayog dealing with science and technology.

Functions of ANRF –

• Democratisation of science funding: NRF will prioritize funding for projects in outlying, rural, and semi-urban areas, which are underserved and rarely receive funding for science projects.
• Widen the area of research: The NRF would support research in areas other than natural sciences and engineering, such as social sciences, arts, and humanities.
• Provides an efficient and integrated management system: For the implementation of missions such as the supercomputer mission or the quantum mission.
• Enhance collaboration: The NRF will establish collaborations between business, academia, government agencies, and research institutions.

Limitations of ANRF –

• In a 15-member Governing Board and 16-member Executive Council, lacks representation from organisations which ANRF envisioned during it’s inception.
• In India 95% students attend State Universities and ANRF do not have a single representative from a central or state Universities.
• The council do not have a single member who understands the bottlenecks and ground realities in the education system. It is heavily consisting of Advisors.
• It lacks industry representation, ironically ANRF plans to raise 70% of its funding from non-government sources.
• R&D under funding India’s Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD) stagnated at about 0.7 percent of GDP, which is less as compared to the 2% of the global benchmark.

Way Forward –

• Boards must Include Educational experts, Indian Entrepreneurs and private researchers, representatives from Indian universities.
• Increasing R&D Budget upto 2% of GDP and gradually to 4% in next 10 years up from current 0.7%.
• Developing a robust grant management system and timely disbursal of Grants.
• Having an internal standard peer review system with an incentive for reviewers.
• Flexibility of spending grant money with less bureaucratic hurdles.

The ANRF should have diverse representation of practical natural and social scientist from university system, Indian Entrepreneurs in it’s committees. The future Chief Executive Officer of ANRF must be someone who have experience in education and industry and well aware of global innovation ecosystem. Under any circumstances it must not become any other government department.

Private Investment as Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF)

• GFCF refers to the growth in the size of fixed capital in an economy. Fixed capital refers to assets like buildings and machinery for which investment is needed.
• Private GFCF serves as a rough indicator of private sector investment. Overall GFCF also includes capital formation as a result of investment by the government.
• Private Gross Fixed Capital Formation (GFCF) as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) is measured at current prices
• Private investment witnessed a steady decline since 2011-12, hit a low of 19.6% of the GDP in 2020-21.

• In an exceptionally slow start to private capital expenditure for this financial year, new investment plans in India plummeted to a 20-year low in April-June 2024, with only ₹44,300 crore in fresh outlays announced by corporates compared to 7.9 Lakh crore in the same quarter last year.
• Last year saw ₹27.1 lakh crore in investment announcements, the second highest in a decade.
• Despite steady economic growth, the sluggish investment plans are attributed to a wait-and-watch approach by industries.
• April-June 2024 was exceptionally low for investment announcements, based on data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE).
• High investment announcements from the past two years are yet to run their course, contributing to the slowdown.
• Corporate bond issuances dropped with most raised by financial services.
• Investments may pick up in the second quarter, influenced by the budget announcement in July, a good monsoon, and steady festival season demand.
• This pattern of slow investment may continue as existing plans are fully executed.

Dig Deeper: Why has private investment fallen?

• India’s bullion market is experiencing major disruption as a few private players now handle almost all silver imports from UAE via the GIFT City exchange. This shift could significantly impact exchequer revenue.
• The Global Trade Research Initiative has called for a probe into potential conflicts of interest among export and import firms, warning that similar trends could affect gold, platinum, and diamond markets.
• In May, 87% of India’s global silver imports came from Dubai at an 8% duty, all cleared through GIFT City, effectively sidelining other ports and countries.

GIFT City and India’s First International Bullion Exchange

• GIFT City, located in Gujarat, is India’s first smart city and International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).
• GIFT City offers integrated commercial, residential, and social amenities, attracting international investors with fiscal incentives and regulatory benefits.
• India’s first international bullion exchange, the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), launched in GIFT City in 2022, enhances transparency in bullion trading.
• Adhering to global standards, IIBX facilitates efficient price discovery and market access, positioning India as a significant global bullion trading hub.

• India levies a 15% import duty on silver and only allows institutions nominated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to import the precious metal.
• However, the GIFT City exchange does not limit imports to RBI/DGFT-nominated agencies, registers private traders, and has found no rules of origin issues as flagged by customs elsewhere.
• Under the CEPA signed in 2022 with UAE, India has agreed to reduce the duty on silver imports to 0% over 10 years, subject to Dubai exporters meeting the rules of origin conditions.
• As the tariff becomes zero over the next eight years, all silver imports will likely come from the UAE, resulting in a revenue loss of ₹6,700 crore.

Dig Deeper: List the top five import and export items of India with reference to value.

Goldene

• It is a groundbreaking two-dimensional material comprising a single layer of gold atoms arranged in a hexagonal lattice, similar to graphene.
• It exhibits excellent electrical conductivity, enhanced chemical reactivity, high flexibility, and unique plasmonic properties.

• Allotropes are different forms of the same element. Graphene, along with diamond and graphite, is an allotrope of carbon.
• Graphene consists of a single layer of carbon atoms arranged in a honeycomb pattern.
• Properties of Graphene:
• Strength: Stronger than a diamond.
• Conductivity: More conductive than silver.
• Elasticity: More elastic than rubber.
• Lightweight: Lighter than aluminium.
• Production:
• Peel graphite using scotch tape to obtain graphene residue.
• Labs use chemical vapour deposition for applications like stronger tyres and silicon replacement in smartphones.
• Mixing graphene with concrete increases strength by 25% and reduces carbon impact.
• Twisted Bilayer Form: Physicists discovered that rotating one sheet of graphene by 1.1 degrees relative to another creates a superconducting stack at low temperatures.

Dig Deeper: Read about advancements in Nanomaterials.

Recommended dietary Allowance

• The recommended dietary allowance (RDA) is the total amount, an individual should get from foods and any supplements taken daily.
• A balanced diet is often the ideal approach to meet RDA.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has approved a proposal to display nutritional information about total sugar, salt and saturated fat in “bold letters” and “relatively increased font size” on labels of packaged food items.
• FSSAI will bring in an amendment in the labelling norms in this regard to enable consumers to make informed and healthier choices.
• The information regarding per-serve percentage contribution to Recommended Dietary Allowances (RDAs) would be given in “bold letters for total sugar, total saturated fat and sodium content.
• The amendment aims to empower consumers to better understand the nutritional value of the product and make healthier decisions.
• The draft would now be put in the public domain for inviting suggestions and objections.
• ICMR has recommended intake of added salt to a maximum of 5g per day.

Dig Deeper: Read about recent FSSAI regulations related to the advertisements.

Article 105: Powers, privileges, etc., of the Houses of Parliament and of the members and committees there of –

1. Subject to the Constitution and parliamentary rules, members have freedom of speech in Parliament.
2. MPs are not liable in court for anything said or voted on in Parliament or its committees, nor for any publication by Parliament.
3. The powers, privileges, and immunities of Parliament and its members will be defined by law and, until then, are those in effect before the Constitution (Forty-fourth Amendment) Act 1978.
4. These provisions apply equally to those with the right to speak or participate in Parliament as they do to MPs.

• The first special session of the 18th Lok Sabha saw heated discussions, with the Opposition clashing with the government over various issues. The session concluded with a dispute over the expunction of remarks by Opposition leaders in both Houses.
• Expunction of Remarks in Parliament
• Parliament maintains a verbatim record of proceedings, with MPs enjoying certain privileges under Article 105 of the Constitution.
• However, words deemed “defamatory, indecent, unparliamentary, or undignified” can be expunged by the presiding officer—Chairman in the Upper House and Speaker in the Lower House.
• Chairman and Speaker can expunge remarks under Rule 261 (Rajya Sabha) and Rules 380 and 381 (Lok Sabha).
• Expunged portions are marked by asterisks with footnotes, and a comprehensive list is circulated to media outlets.
• The Lok Sabha Secretariat keeps a comprehensive list of ‘unparliamentary’ words and expressions.
• Rules ensure discipline, and when the Chair deems a word unparliamentary, it must be withdrawn immediately without debate.
• Speakers can order the expunction of words prejudicial to national interest, detrimental to foreign relations, derogatory to dignitaries, offensive to national sentiments, or likely to bring the House into ridicule.
• Members must withdraw objectionable remarks irrelevant to the debate upon the Chair’s request, or face expunction.
• Quoting unreferenced documents or speaking after being asked to desist can also lead to expunction.
• Remarks Against MPs
• Rule 353 of the Lok Sabha outlines the procedure for allegations against colleagues or outsiders, requiring advance notice for inquiry.
• The rule does not apply to allegations against government ministers, as Parliament holds them accountable.

Dig Deeper: Read about the Loksabha Secretariat, its role and responsibilities.

• The Supreme Court has ruled that bail cannot be withheld as a punishment, regardless of the crime’s nature, emphasizing that refusal leads to the unjust “prisonisation” of an accused who is presumed innocent until proven guilty.
• The court stated that if the state or prosecuting agency cannot ensure a speedy trial under Article 21 of the Constitution, they should not oppose bail on the grounds of the crime’s seriousness.
• In the case of Javed Gulam Nabi Shaikh, who was denied bail by the Bombay High Court under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA). The trial has 80 witnesses yet to be examined and no chargesheet filed.
• The court underscored that trial and High Courts have forgotten the well-settled principle that bail is not a punishment.

Dig Deeper: Read important provisions of UAPA, 1967.