Oxfam report
Why in news?
- A report published on Monday by Oxfam, the international nonprofit focussed on the alleviation of global poverty, underlined what has been said repeatedly by governments, research organisations and a range of multilateral bodies over the past decade or more — that economic inequality,
- As the report said, “is out of control”, with extremes of wealth existing alongside great poverty.
Key facts from the report:
How wide is the gap between the richest and the rest?
- 2,153 individuals, the number of billionnaires in the world in 2019, have more wealth among them than 4.6 billion people.
- 22 of the world’s richest men have a combined wealth that is more than the wealth of all the women of Africa.
- The world’s richest 1% have more than twice as much wealth as 6.9 billion people.
- If everyone sat on their wealth piled up in $ 100 notes, most people would be sitting on the floor; a middle-class person in a rich country would be at the height of a chair; and the world’s two richest men would be sitting in outer space.
- If you saved $ 10,000 (about Rs 7.1 lakh) every day since the building of the pyramids in Egypt (about 4,500 years ago) you would have one-fifth the average fortune of the 5 richest billionaires.
- An additional 0.5% tax on the wealth of the richest 1% over the next 10 years can create 117 million jobs in education, health and elderly care, etc.
- From 2011 to 2017, average wages in G7 countries grew 3%, while dividends to wealthy shareholders increased by 31%.
How badly off are girls and women as compared to men?
- Globally, extreme poverty rates are 4% higher for women than men; this gap rises to 22% during women’s peak productive and reproductive ages; that is, 122 women aged 25-34 for every 100 men of the same age group live in extremely poor households, largely due to childcare responsibilities.
- $10.8 trillion is the estimated minimum annual monetary value of the unpaid care work by women aged 15 and above globally — this is three times the size of the world’s tech industry.
- Women do 12.5 billion hours of unpaid care work every day, equivalent to 1.5 billion people working 8 hours a day with no remuneration.
- Globally, 42% of working age women are outside the paid labour force, compared with 6% of men, due to unpaid care responsibilities.
- 80% of the estimated 67 million domestic workers worldwide are women. An estimated 90% of domestic workers have no access to social security such as maternity protection and benefits.
- Worldwide, girls aged 5-9 and 10-14 spend on average 30% and 50% more of their time respectively on unpaid care work than boys of similar ages.
Guidelines for listed REIT, InvIT on rights issue
Why in news?
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) announced guidelines pertaining to rights issue of units by listed real estate investment trusts (REITs) and infrastructure investment trusts (InvITs).
Key facts of guidelines:
- The issuer will have to disclose objects of the issue, related-party transactions, valuation, financial details, review of credit rating and the grievance redressal mechanism in the placement document.
- The investment manager on behalf of the REIT and InvIT, in consultation with lead merchant banker(s), will decide the issue price before determining the record date.
- The minimum subscription to be received in the rights issue should be 90% of the issue size through the letter of offer.
Important terms:
- Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): They are like mutual funds in the stock market in the field of real estate sector. REITS sells units to investors. This money is invested in real estate projects to earn rental income. This income is then distributed to unit holders and the units are listed and traded on stock markets like any other equity share.
- Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs): It is a modified REITS type structure for infrastructure projects. It will attract long term finance from foreign and domestic sources including the NRIs. An InvIT would be a trust with parties such as sponsor, investment manager, trustee and project manager.
- The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had first notified REITs and InvIT Regulations in 2014. Since then, the market witnessed listing of two public and three InvITs. On the other hand, Embassy Office Parks REIT is the only listed real estate investment trust.
Wollemi pines
Why in news?
- The prehistoric Wollemi Pine grove, which exists in the Wollemi National Park northwest of Sydney, has been saved from bushfires in Australia.
Key facts
- Wollemi Pines are thought to have existed even during the Jurassic period. The oldest fossil of the rare pine species dates back 90 million years.
- Wollemi National Park is the only place in the world where these trees are found in the wild. Approximately, less than 200 trees are left.
- The pines, which prior to 1994 were thought to be extinct. Their location was kept secret to prevent contamination. They have benefited from an unprecedented environmental protection mission.
- Wollemi Pine (Wollemia Nobilis) is listed as critically endangered in the IUCN Red List.
- Wollemi National Park is a part of the Greater Blue Mountains Area which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.