14.03.2025 UPSC Daily Current Affairs Analysis

• NEWS:Tamil Nadu’s first Economic Survey indicates State likely to maintain 8%+ growth rate
• GS-3 ECONOMY
• NOTEABLES
• Tamil Nadu’s per capita income growth has consistently outpaced the national average over the years. 
•  In 2022-23, it was ₹2.78 lakh — 1.64 times the national average of ₹1.69 lakh
•  making Tamil Nadu the fourth-largest State in per capita income
• Top three Telangana(3.12 lakh),Karnataka(3.04lakh)
•  Haryana(2.96lakh)
•  economic survey is prepared by the State Planning Commission with the Finance Department and several other departments
•  State achieved successive years of high economic growth, overcoming the onslaught of the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 and the natural disasters of cyclone and flooding in the three years thereafter.
• “The Union government has not been cooperative in sharing financial resources that Tamil Nadu deserves, and limiting its growth through policy compulsions like NEET, NEP 2020, and fiscal caps on borrowings to name a few
• With just 4% of India’s land area and 6% of the country’s population, Tamil Nadu contributed 9.21% to the national GDP in 2023-24.
• Its Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) at current prices reached ₹27.22 lakh crore in 2023-24, posting a nominal growth rate of 13.71% and a real growth rate of 8.33%.
• Tamil Nadu’s economic development is more evenly distributed across multiple urban centers.
• As of 2023-24, the State’s GSDP stood at ₹27.22 lakh crore, registering a real economic growth rate of 8.23%. 
• To achieve the USD 1 trillion milestone, Tamil Nadu will need to sustain an annual growth rate of over 12%, driven by industrial expansion, infrastructure development, and digital transformation, the economic survey mentioned.
• NEWS:T.N. opts for Tamil letter ‘RU’ instead of ‘₹’ symbol in State Budget logo

GS-2 GOVERNANCE(government policies and intervention and issues arising out of their design and implementation)

• Stepping up the campaign to promote Tamil, Chief Minister   released a promotional logo for the Tamil Nadu Budget for 2025-26.
• replacing the Indian currency symbol, ₹, used in the previous financial year’s Budget with the Tamil letter ‘Roo’ (‘’ ) to denote ‘Roobai’ (the Tamil word for the currency)
• The logo, shared on the official X page of the Chief Minister, carried the slogan Ellarkum Ellam (everything for everyone) conveying the idea of inclusiveness.
• The promotional video produced by the Information and Public Relations Department has included the Sangam period Purananooru verse in praise of the Chera King Cheraman Palai Paadiiya Perumkadungo.
• “The Chief Minister has used Tamil, one of the 15 languages in the Indian currency. It is not against the Constitution,”

NEWS:ISRO undocks SpaDex satellites in first attempt

GS-3 SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

• ISRO successfully executed satellites’ docking, making India the fourth country to achieve the feat
• after the U.S., Russia and China to achieve this historic feat
• After undocking Satellites are orbiting independently and their health is normal
• The demonstration of this technology is essential for futuristic missions such as sending an Indian astronaut to the moon, returning samples from the moon, and building and operation of an Indian Space Station.

SpaDeX 

• SpaDeX (Space Docking Experiment) is a technology demonstrator mission developed by the ISRO to showcase in-space docking technology.
  • This mission aims to demonstrate the ability to rendezvous, dock, and undock two small spacecraft, marking a significant advancement in India’s space capabilities. 
  • The primary goal of SpaDeX is to develop docking technologies for two small spacecraft, SDX01 (Chaser) and SDX02 (Target), in low Earth orbit.  They will dock autonomously using advanced sensors and propulsion systems.  
• Secondary objectives include testing electric power transfer and demonstrating spacecraft control
• Mission Duration: Two years 
• Mission Design:  SpaDeX will deploy two satellites, SDX01 and SDX02, into a 470 km orbit using the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) rocket, where they drift apart and gradually approach each other, eventually docking at distances from 20 km to 3 meters. 
• The two satellites are equipped with the Bharatiya Docking System (BDS).
  • . 
• BDS features identical, low-impact (approach velocity is in the order of 10 mm/s), androgynous (docking systems are identical for both spacecraft, Chaser & Target) docking mechanisms, enhancing mission flexibility and precision for future operations like satellite servicing, crew transfers, and India’s space station development
• SpaDeX will use PSLV’s fourth stage, POEM (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module)-4, to carry 24 payloads from academic institutions and startups. These experiments will leverage the microgravity environment in orbit. 
• Docking Challenge: The two satellites (Chaser and Target) will orbit at speeds of 28,800 km/h. They will need to carefully reduce their relative velocity to just 0.036 km/h before docking. 
• NEWS:Over 3,200 PMJAY hospitals must be penalised for fraud, regulation is required: NHA

GS-3 GOVERNANCE

ISSUE:

• penalties totalling ₹122 crore should be levied against 1,504 errant hospitals
• according to recommendations made by the National Health Authority’s antifraud unit.
•  report on the misuse of funds under the Ayushman BharatPradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY),
• the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health and Family Welfare expressed concern about the way some hospitals were carrying out such fraudulent activities as part of their business model.

Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY

• PM-JAY is the world’s largest health insurance scheme fully financed by the government.
  • Launched in 2018, it offers a sum insured of Rs.5 lakh per family for secondary care and tertiary care.
    • Health Benefit Packages covers surgery, medical and day care treatments, cost of medicines and diagnostics.

Beneficiaries:It is an entitlement-based scheme that targets the beneficiaries as identified by latest Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) data.

The National Health Authority (NHA) has provided flexibility to States/UTs to use non- Socio-Economic Caste Census (SECC) beneficiary family databases with similar socio-economic profiles for tagging against the leftover (unauthenticated) SECC families

• Funding:
  • The funding for the scheme is shared – 60:40 for all states and UTs with their own legislature, 90:10 in Northeast states and Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and Uttarakhand and 100% Central funding for UTs without legislature.
• Nodal Agency:
  • The National Health Authority (NHA) has been constituted as an autonomous entity under the Society Registration Act, 1860 for effective implementation of PM-JAY in alliance with state governments.
  • The State Health Agency (SHA) is the apex body of the State Government responsible for the implementation of AB PM-JAY in the State.

MAINS QUESTION

Explain the necessacity of socio economic caste census for india. suggest cutting edge technology deployment in it