Daily Prelims Booster 1st February 2023

1) MISHTI Scheme: Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes scheme

• Launched in 2023, the main aim of the scheme is to take up mangrove plantations along the coastline. It is to be implemented by converging CAMPA Fund, MGNREGS, and other sources.
• The Mangroves cover 0.15% of the total Indian Geographical area. The state of West Bengal alone has 42.45% of India’s mangroves.

2) World Economic Outlook: It is a survey by the IMF that is usually published twice a year in the months of April and October.

• It analyzes and predicts global economic developments during the near and medium term.
• Key takeaways of WEO update: Global Growth will Bottom Out: The global growth, which was estimated at 3.4% in 2022, is now projected to fall to 2.9% in 2023 before rising to 3.1% in 2024. The IMF effectively rules out a global recession.

3) iCET: Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies:  The iCET initiative was launched by India and the US in May 2022, and is being run by the National Security Councils of both countries.

• Under iCET, the both countries have identified six areas of cooperation which would include co-development and co-production, that would gradually be expanded to QUAD, then to NATO, followed by Europe and the rest of the world.
• The six areas for cooperation are scientific research and development; quantum and artificial intelligence, defense innovation, space, advanced telecom which would include things like 6G and semiconductors.

4) ANDHRA PRADESH NEW CAPITAL: Visakhapatnam (also known as Vizag) will be the new capital of the State. The state needs a new capital since Hyderabad, the capital of undivided Andhra Pradesh is now part of Telangana, and at present, the two states are sharing the capital temporarily.

• Andhra envisages development of 3 capitals for the state;
• Amaravati as the state legislative capital, Visakhapatnam as the state executive capital and Kurnool as the state judicial capital.
• Visakhapatnam is the largest and most populous city in Andhra Pradesh.
• The city serves as the headquarters for the Indian Navy’s Eastern Naval Command.
• It is also known as the “City of Destiny” and the “Jewel of the East Coast”.
• Visakhapatnam Port is deepest port of India

5) Municipal Bonds: Municipal Bonds or muni bond is a debt instrument issued by municipal corporations or associated bodies in India to finance socio-economic development projects.

• It was first issued in the 1997 by Bangalore local body for infrastructure development
• Municipal bonds are exempted from tax provided the buyer adheres to the rules laid by the municipal corporations. The interest is also exempted from taxes.
• SEBI Guidelines: The municipal body should not have a history of defaulting at repayments of loans or debt instruments acquired from financial institutions in the past year.
• It should possess a positive net worth in all the three years preceding the issuance of municipal bonds.
• Such municipal entity, its Group Company or directors, and promoters shall not be mentioned in the wilful defaulters’ list published by the Reserve Bank of India.