Current Affairs

Foreign Contribution Regulation Act About: 

• The FCRA was enacted in 1976 during the Emergency period due to concerns about foreign interference in India's affairs through financial support to independent organizations. 

• FCRA was designed to regulate foreign donations to individuals and associations, ensuring that they operate in a manner consistent with the values of a sovereign democratic republic. 

Amendments to FCRA: 

2010 Amendment: 

• Enacted to consolidate the law to regulate the acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution by certain individuals or associations and to prohibit acceptance and utilization of foreign contribution for any activities detrimental to the national interest. 

2020 Amendment: 

• Prohibiting the transfer of foreign contribution to any other person or organization. 

• Reducing the limit of usage of foreign contribution for administrative expenses from 50% to 20%. 

FCRA Registration: 

• Registration under the FCRA is essential for receiving foreign donations in India. 

• It's granted to individuals or associations engaged in various areas of work, including cultural, economic, educational, religious, or social programs, among others. 

• The FCRA regulates foreign contributions in these defined areas to ensure transparency and compliance with the law. Entities can register under multiple categories based on their programs, allowing for diverse activities. 

• Applicants need to open a bank account for the receipt of the foreign funds at a specified branch of State Bank of India in New Delhi. 

Prohibitions of Activities Under FCRA Registration: 

• The applicant should not have been involved in religious conversion activities, either directly or indirectly. 

• The applicant should not have a history of prosecutions related to communal tension or disharmony. 

• The applicant must not be engaged in activities related to sedition. 

• The FCRA prohibits candidates, journalists, media companies, judges, government servants, politicians, and political organizations from receiving foreign funds. 

Validity and Renewal: 

• FCRA registration is valid for five years, and NGOs are required to apply for renewal within six months of the registration's expiry. 

• The government has the authority to cancel an NGO's FCRA registration for various reasons, including violations of the Act or a lack of reasonable activity in their chosen field for two consecutive years. 

• Once canceled, an NGO is ineligible for re-registration for three years. 

• Concerns of NGOs Regarding the FCRA Strict Compliance: 

• The FCRA registration process demands extensive documentation and involves strict compliance, which can pose challenges for NGOs. 

• The FCRA's interpretive ambiguity can be exploited by authorities to target and restrict NGOs.

Administrative Delays: 

• Lengthy administrative procedures for FCRA registration and renewal delay NGOs' operations and funding access. 

Lack of Transparency: 

• Some NGOs have been criticized for lacking transparency in their utilization of foreign funds received under the FCRA. Concerns often arise when the specific purposes and beneficiaries of these funds are not clearly disclosed. 

Uneven Access to Funding: 

• The complex FCRA registration process poses challenges for organizations, with high denial rates affecting their ability to receive foreign contributions. 

Potential for Political Influence: 

• Some have raised concerns about political influence in the FCRA registration and regulation process, which may impact the approval or denial of FCRA registrations.

 

Tea About

• Tea is a beverage made from the Camellia sinensis plant. It is the world’s most consumed drink, after water. 

Origin: 

• It is believed that tea originated in northeast India, north Myanmar and southwest China, but the exact place where the plant first grew is not known. There is evidence that tea was consumed in China 5,000 years ago. 

• Conditions of Growth: 

• Climate: Tea is a tropical and sub-tropical plant and grows well in hot and humid climates. 

• Temperature: The ideal temperature for its growth is 20°-30°C and temperatures above 35°C and below 10°C are harmful for the bush. 

• Rainfall: It requires 150-300 cm annual rainfall which should be well distributed throughout the year.

Soil: 

• The most suitable soil for tea cultivation is slightly acidic soil (without calcium) with porous sub-soil which permits a free percolation of water. 

• India and Tea Production 

• The largest consumer of tea in the world. 

• The second largest producer of tea in the world. 

• China is the largest producer. 

• The fourth largest exporter of tea in the world. 

• International Tea Day: 

• It is observed on 21st May every year after it was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in December 2019. 

Tea Board 

• It is a statutory body under the Ministry of Commerce. 

• The Board is constituted of 31 members (including Chairman) drawn from Members of Parliament, tea producers, tea traders, tea brokers, consumers, and representatives of Governments from the principal tea producing states, and trade unions. 

• The Board is reconstituted every three years. 

• Function: Rendering financial and technical assistance for cultivation, manufacture and marketing of tea. 

• Export promotion: Research and Development activities 

• Extend financial assistance in a limited way to the plantation workers and their wards through labour welfare schemes. Collection and maintenance of Statistical data and publication. 

Tea Board offices 

• Head Office located in Kolkata, West Bengal it has twenty-three offices which include Zonal, Regional and Sub-Regional Offices 

• Currently Tea Board has two overseas offices located at Dubai, and Moscow.

 

High Crude oil prices Impact on India: 

Current Account Deficit: 

• The increase in oil prices will increase the country’s import bill, and further disturb its current account deficit (excess of imports of goods and services over exports). 

Inflation: 

• The increase in crude prices could also further increase inflationary pressures that have been building up over the past few months. 

Fiscal Health: 

• If oil prices continue to increase, the government shall be forced to cut taxes on petroleum and diesel which may cause loss of revenue and deteriorate its fiscal balance. 

• The revenue lost will erode the government’s ability to spend or meet its fiscal commitments in the form of budgetary transfers to states, payment of dues and compensation for revenue shortfalls to state governments under the Goods and Services Tax (GST)framework. 

Economic Recovery: 

• Although the rising prices have impacted the world, India is particularly at a disadvantage as any increase in global prices can affect its import bill, stoke inflation and increase its trade deficit, which in turn will slow its economic recovery. 

• India and other oil importing nations have called on OPEC+ to boost oil supply faster, arguing that elevated crude oil prices could undermine the recovery of the global economy. 

Difference between Brent and WTI 

Origin: 

• Brent crude oil originates from oil fields in the North Sea between the Shetland Islands and Norway. 

• West Texas Intermediate (WTI) is sourced from US oil fields, primarily in Texas, Louisiana, and North Dakota. 

Light and Sweet: 

• Both oils are relatively light, but Brent has a slightly higher API gravity, making WTI the lighter of the two. 

• American Petroleum Institute (API) gravity is an indicator of the density of crude oil or refined products 

• WTI with a lower Sulphur content (0.24%) than Brent (0.37%), is considered "sweeter". 

Benchmark Prices: 

• Brent crude price is the international benchmark price used by OPEC while WTI crude price is a benchmark for US oil prices. 

• Since India imports primarily from OPEC countries, Brent is the benchmark for oil prices in India. 

Cost of Shipping: 

• Cost of shipping for Brent crude is typically lower, since it is produced near the sea and it can be put on ships immediately. 

• Shipping of WTI is priced higher since it is produced in landlocked areas like Cushing, Oklahoma where the storage facilities are limited.