Insights IAS Prelims Boosters – 2018 (Hangul and IMF)
These are precise facts that will add value to your preparation. These boosters will help you remember important facts. These fact sheets are based on important topics that were in news. These are prepared keeping in mind only Prelims requirement. We will post daily TWO such boosters. These will be listed under Prelims Revision Plan – 2018 Page.
Kashmir stag (hangul) – Critically endangered – state animal of Jammu & Kashmir
- subspecies of elk native to India (endemic to Jammu and Kashmir)
- Habitat — dense riverine forests in the high valleys and mountains of the Kashmir Valley and northern Chamba district in Himachal Pradesh.
- Protected in Dachigam National Park(stands for ‘ten villages’)
- Zabarwan Range of the Western Himalayas
- Most of this coniferous forestconsists of broad leaf species. Interspersed between these are alpine pastures, meadows, waterfalls and scrub vegetation with deep gullies, locally known as Nars
- River — Dagwan river known for trout fish
- National Park occupies almost half of the catchment zone of the famous Dal Lake and still plays a crucial role is supplying clean drinking water to the inhabitants of Srinagar
- Wildlife — Leopard, Common Palm Civet, Jackal, Red Fox, Yellow-throated Marten and Himalayan Weasel.
- Threats Faced:
- habitat destruction
- over-grazing by domestic livestock
- Poaching
- Turmoil in Kashmir
- Conservation efforts
- Included in Schedule- I (provides absolute protection – offences under these are prescribed the highest penalties) of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and Jammu & Kashmir Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1978
- listed among the top fifteen species of high conservation priority by the Government of India
- Project Hangul
The International Monetary Fund (IMF)
1) Background
- At 1945 — UN conference in Bretton Woods, 1944
- Headquarters — Washington
- Member — 189 countries
2) Responsibility — ensure the stability of the international monetary system. It does so in three ways:
- keeping track of the global economy and the economies of member countries
- lending to countries with balance of payments difficulties
- giving practical help to members
3) Board of Governors — highest decision-making body of the IMF and is vested with all powers of IMF
- one governor & one alternate governor for each member country
- governor is appointed by the member country and is usually the minister of finance or the governor of the central bank
4) Resources for IMF loans — provided by member countries, primarily through their payment of quotas.
5) Voting share – Based on the quota of country
6) Quota — based broadly on its relative position in the world economy. Quota and voting shares will change as members pay their quota increases
- The current quota formulais a weighted average of
- GDP — 50% weight ( at market exchange rates (60%) and PPP exchange rates (40%))
- Openness — 30%
- economic variability — 15%
- international reserves — 5%
- Who conducts the review?
- Board of Governors at regular intervals (usually every five years).
- Any changes in quotas must be approved by an 85% majority of the total voting power
- member’s quota cannot be changed without its consent
- Review is based on the size of an overall increase in economy and the distribution of the increase among the members.
- largest member — United States (quota – SDR82.99 billion)
- smallest member – Tuvalu( quota – SDR2.5 million)
5. India — quota – 2.76% (8th position) & Voting share – 2.64%
7) Special Drawing Rights (SDR) — international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves
1. value is based on a basket of five major currencies—the US dollar, the euro, the Chinese renminbi (RMB), the Japanese yen, and the British pound sterling
2. The SDR is neither a currency, nor a claim on the IMF. Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members.
3. Holders of SDRs can obtain these currencies in exchange for their SDRs in two ways
a) through the arrangement of voluntary exchanges between members
b) by the IMF designating members with strong external positions to purchase SDRs from members with weak external positions.
4. Review of the Method
a) conducted every five years by the IMF’s Executive Board, or earlier if warranted by developments.
b) Why the review? — to ensure that the SDR basket reflects the relative importance of major currencies in the world’s trading and financial systems, with a view to enhancing the SDR’s attractiveness as an international reserve asset
8) Publications
- World economic outlook
- Global financial stability report
- Fiscal monitor
- Regional economic prospects
- Finance and Development
