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CURRENT AFFAIRS BOOSTER : 29th MARCH 2023
Current Affairs
29th March 2023
NATIONAL AFFAIRS
1) DoCA constituted Committee to Monitor Stock Disclosure of Tur; Chaired by Nidhi Khare
The Department of Consumer Affairs
(DoCA), Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public
Distribution(MoCAF&PD) has constituted a committee to monitor the stock of
Tur (Arhar) held by importers, millers, traders, and other such entities. It
will be chaired by Nidhi Khare, Additional Secretary, DoCA.
·
This monitoring will be
carried out in collaboration with state governments.
Why is this committee formed?
This decision has been made in response to reports indicating that market
players have been holding onto stocks despite consistent arrivals of imports in
substantial quantities. This led to a spike in the prices of Tur.
·
As on March 27, 2023, the
all-India daily average retail price of Tur was recorded at Rs 114.44 per kg,
which was 11.47% higher than in March 2022.
·
The all-India daily average
wholesale price of Tur was recorded at Rs 10,462.03 per quintal, which was
12.48% higher than March 2022.
Key Points:
i.This committee highlights the government’s efforts to tackle hoarding
and unscrupulous speculation in the market, and to maintain control over the
prices of Tur in the coming months.
ii.It should be noted that the government had issued an advisory to
the States/Union Territories (UTs) on August 12, 2022, to enforce stock
disclosure in respect of Tur under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.
· Also, to facilitate smooth and seamless import, the government has removed 10% duty applicable for Tur imports from non-LDC (Least Developed Countries) countries as the duty creates procedural hurdles even for zero-duty imports from the LDCs.
2) MeitY Forms 9 Member Task Force to Make India a ‘Product Developer And Manufacturing Nation’
In March 2023, the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has constituted a
9-member task force chaired by Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary (MeitY), to
make India a ‘product developer and manufacturing nation’.
About the Task force:
i.The task force explores ways to deepen the domestic value addition in
electronics manufacturing and charting the local production story beyond the
ambitious Production-Linked Incentive(PLI) scheme.
ii.The task force will submit their recommendations in 2 months.
Members of the task force:
Chairperson: Bhuvnesh Kumar, Additional Secretary (MeitY)
Member convenor: Amitesh Kumar Sinha, joint Secretary (Electronics)
Members:
·
Ajai Chowdhry, Founder, HCL
Infosystems;
·
Sunil Vachani, Chairman, Dixon
Technologies (India) Limited
·
Hari Om Rai, Chairman And
Managing Director(CMD), Lava International Limited;
·
Vivek Bansal, President
Engineering, VVDN Technologies;
·
Aman Gupta, co-founder, boAt
Lifestyle
·
Sanjay Nayak, managing
director, Tejas Networks; and
·
Vivek Tyagi, Chairperson, IESA
(India Electronics and Semiconductor Association).
PLI Scheme:
i.The government of India launched the Rs 36000 crore PLI scheme for
smartphone manufacturing in 2020.
ii.The scheme has attracted global smartphone manufacturers such as
Foxconn( Apple contact manufacturer), Wistron and Pegatron, and Samsung
and Indian companies like Dixon Technologies, Lava International and others.
iii.In 2021, the Union Cabinet of India has also approved the PLI scheme
for White Goods (Air Conditioners and LED lights), to be implemented from FY
2021-22 to FY 2028-2029 with an outlay of Rs 6238 crore.
iv.The PLI scheme for White Goods is designed to make the AC and LED
Lights industry in India and make India an integral part of the global supply
chain.
· The scheme offers an incentive of 6% to 4% on a reducing basis of incremental sales for a period of 5 years subsequent to the base year and 1 year of gestation period.
3) Gujarat AAR: 28% GST & 71% compensation cess for Tobacco sold in gunny bags
Gujarat Authority for Advance
Rulings (AAR) ruled that Tobacco coated with natural edible gum and sold in
personalised gunny bags would attract 28% Goods and Services Tax (GST) and 71%
compensation cess.
·
The ruling was given in an
application by JCP Agro Process (Private) Ltd which supplies un-manufactured
tobacco procured from farmers.
Details:
AAR stated that no new product emerges from the post-coating process.
·
These products will be
classified as un-manufactured raw tobacco leaves which draw 28% GST.
·
71% compensation cess would be
applicable for the gum coated tobacco leaves supplied to customers in
personalised gunny bags
Key Points:
i.AAR has also stated that 5% GST on the Reverse Charge Mechanism (RCM)
would be applicable on the purchase of tobacco leaves from farmers by
companies.
ii.Usually, the GST is imposed on the sellers of goods but RCM is used
to impose GST on buyers where the sellers are unregistered entries.
iii.The AAR highlighted that ‘job work’ of coating tobacco
leaves would attract 12% GST if it is done by registered entities.
Note:
Tobacco or tobacco leaves in different forms attract different rates of GST.
Compensation cess:
i.Compensation cess is levied over and above the amount of GST charged
in relation to a particular supply. Compensation Cess is introduced to
compensate the State facing loss of revenue on account of the implementation of
GST.
ii.Compensation Cess is levied as per provisions of section 8 of the
Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017.
INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
4) Faster Reforms Can Give a Boost to India Growth: World Bank
The World Bank (WB) in its ‘Falling long-term growth prospects:
Trends, Expectations, and Policies’ report highlighted that
India’s potential economic growth can get a boost if government accelerates
implementation of its ambitious reform agenda. It also made recommendations for
banking and infrastructure sectors.
Key Points:
i.It recommends to implement changes aimed at streamlining the function
of Public Sector Banks (PSBs), promoting fairness within the banking sector,
and fostering the growth of capital markets.
ii.On infrastructure, it suggested implementing reforms proposed by Task
Force on National Infrastructure Pipeline, and improving contract enforcement,
dispute resolution and financing.
iii.Investment growth in India slowed from an annual average of 10.5% in
2000-10 to 5.7% in 2011-21.
·
India’s estimates of potential
growth since 2010 have been 6-8% a year.
iv.The recommendation for the South Asian region is to
boost female labor force participation as it has the potential to raise the
annual GDP growth by 1.2 percentage points from 2022 to 2030.
·
For India, restrictive labour
laws limit employment opportunities for women and discourage the adoption of
new technologies, thereby reducing productivity in manufacturing”.
·
India’s female labour force
participation increased marginally to 32.8% in 2021-22.
v.On the global front, it expects average potential GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth to dip to 2.2% a year between 2022 and 2030, with growth rate in developing countries slowing down to 4% compared to 6% between 2000 and 2010.
5) G20 Expert Group on Strengthening Multilateral Development Banks
On 28th March 2023, a Group of
Twenty (G20) Expert Group on strengthening Multilateral Development Banks
(MDBs) has been constituted, under the auspices of India’s G20 Presidency, to
ensure that the MDBs are equipped to finance a wide range of sustainable
development goals (SDG) as well as transboundary challenges.
·
The expert group will submit
its report to the Indian Presidency of the G20 before 30th June 2023.
Objectives of the Expert
Group:
i. The expert group will prepare a roadmap for an updated MDB ecosystem
for the 21st century. The roadmap will have milestones and timelines, touching
upon the aspects of its evolution including its operational approaches and
financial capacity so that MDBs are better equipped to finance a wide range of
SDG and transboundary challenges.
ii. Expert group will evaluate various estimates regarding the scale of
funding required by and from the MDBs to address the increased financing needs
for SDG and transboundary challenges, taking into account the additional
capacity that can be derived from the Capital Adequacy Frameworks (CAF)
recommendations along with other sources like private sector and public sector
funds.
iii. Mechanisms for coordination among MDBs for them to address and
finance global development and other challenges more effectively.
Expert Group Composition:
Co-convenors:
·
Professor Lawrence Summers,
President Emeritus of Harvard University.
·
NK Singh: President, Institute
of Economic Growth and Former Chairperson, Fifteenth Finance Commission of
India.
Members:
i. Tharman Shanmugarathnam: Senior Minister, Government of Singapore.
ii. Maria Ramos: Chairperson of AngloGold Ashanti and former
Director-General of the National Treasury of South Africa.
iii. Arminio Fraga: Founder, Co-CIO Hedge Funds and Private Equity,
Gávea Investimentos and former Governor, Central Bank of Brazil.
iv. Prof Nicholas Stern: IG Patel Professor of Economics and Government,
London School of Economics.
v. Justin Yifu Lin: Professor and Honorary Dean of the National School
of Development at Peking University and former Senior Vice President &
Chief Economist of the World Bank.
vi. Rachel Kyte: Dean of the Fletcher School of International Affairs at
Tufts University and former Vice-President of the World Bank.
vii. Vera Songwe: Non-resident senior fellow in the Africa Growth
Initiative at the Brookings Institution and former Executive Secretary,
Economic Commission for Africa.
6) GTI 2023 by IEP: Afghanistan Most Impacted by Terrorism for Fourth Straight Year, India Ranks 13th
According to the Global
Terrorism Index 2023, the 10th edition of the Global Terrorism
Index (GTI) by the Institute for Economics & Peace (IEP), Afghanistan
remained the nation most affected by terrorism for the fourth consecutive year,
despite assaults and fatalities declining by 75% and 58%, respectively.
·
IEP is an independent, non-partisan,
non-profit think tank whose mission is to refocus the world’s attention on
peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and
progress. It is headquartered in Sydney, Australia.
·
India was ranked 13th and was
listed among nations with a “high” impact of terrorism.
Global Terrorism Index (GTI)
2023
i.GTI 2023, the 10th edition of the GTI, provides a comprehensive
summary of the key global trends and patterns in terrorism over the past 10
years.
ii.The GTI score is calculated by weighing incidents, hostage
situations, and terrorist-related deaths during a five-year period.
BANKING & FINANCE
7) IDFC First Bank partners Crunchfish to Demonstrate Offline Retail Payments
On March 27, 2023, IDFC
First Bank partnered with Crunchfish, a Swedish company, to pilot a
project to demonstrate offline retail payments. IDFC First Bank is set to be a
part of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) pilot project to enable offline
payments.
·
This pilot project will
demonstrate offline retail payments based on a Digital Cash platform to
give access to digital payments even when there is no network.
·
This innovation will
accelerate financial inclusion in remote areas by enabling adoption of digital
payments without any network.
Background:
This offline digital payment solution was designed by Crunchfish as ‘Digital
Cash SDK’, for merchants and customers under the RBI’s Regulatory Sandbox
Program. In February 2023, the HDFC Bank became the first bank to execute
‘OfflinePay’, a digital payment solution in a completely offline mode, under
the regulatory facility.
·
Notably, HDFC Bank has begun
the pilot in a partnership with Crunchfish, IDFC Bank and M2P Fintech under the
RBI’s regulatory sandbox programme after getting the nod in September 2022.
Current Scenario:
Now, RBI has approved the application to demonstrate offline payments between
IDFC First Bank and HDFC Bank. Also, a Development and Demonstration
Agreement, a non-commercial agreement, has been signed to give IDFC First
Bank access to the Digital Cash SDK.
·
Commercial terms for
deployment will be regulated in a Software License Agreement.
About Crunchfish:
CEO– Joachim Samuelsson
Headquarters– Malmo, Sweden
8) SEBI Extends Timelines for Submission of ‘Choice of Nomination’ by existing Trading and Demat Accounts Until September 30, 2023
The Securities and Exchange
Board of India (SEBI), capital markets regulator, has extended the
deadline for updating ‘choice of nomination’ by existing investors with
trading and demat accounts to September 30, 2023, from the previous
deadline of March 31, 2023.
·
The choice of nomination
details includes giving of nomination or declaration for opting out of
nomination.
·
After September 30, 2023,
accounts with no update on nomination will be frozen for trade and debits.
The decision has been taken
based on the representations received from the stakeholders and the assessment
of the trading and demat accounts in which nomination has not been updated.
Backdrop
In July 2021, the SEBI instructed that all existing eligible trading and demat
account holders to provide their choice of nomination on or before March 31,
2022, otherwise the accounts will be frozen for debits.
·
This was later extended by one
more year, until March 31, 2023.
Recently, the National
Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL), India’s largest depository, which
manages demat assets worth more than Rs 300 trillion, issued a warning to stock
brokers who opted out of nomination on behalf of their clients without their
consent.
Key Points:
i.Stock brokers have been instructed to communicate with their clients
via emails and text messages on a fortnightly basis to update the choice of
nomination.
ii.Furthermore, stock exchanges and depositories are required to examine
the efforts made by trading members and depository participants for updates on
“choice of nomination” by their clients and to provide a report to this effect
on a monthly basis within seven days of the end of the month.
iii.The first such report for the month of April 2023 has to be
submitted by May 7, 2023.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Chairperson– Madhabi Puri Buch
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment– 1992
9) South Indian Bank ties up with CBDT for Direct Tax Collections
The South Indian Bank (SIB)
has joined hands with the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) for direct tax
collections from retail and corporate taxpayers.
·
This pact will allow taxpayers
to remit Direct Taxes under ‘Over the Counter Mode’, and allow bank’s
customers to make payments via ‘Over the Counter’ and ‘Internet Banking’
modes.
Key Points:
i.By carrying out Direct Tax collections on behalf of CBDT under the new
Tax Information Network (TIN) 2.0 regime, this facility will serve as a
reliable partner to the Central Government and enhance the bank’s connections
with them.
ii.SIB aims to make Tax payments more convenient for customers by
providing them with alternate options that are seamless and hassle-free.
About South Indian Bank:
Managing Director & CEO– Murali Ramakrishnan
Headquarters– Thrissur, Kerala
10) CRIF Connect Private gets RBI license to Operate as NBFC Account Aggregator
The CRIF Connect Private, a
subsidiary of Bologna(Italy)-based CRIF S.P.A, has received the Reserve Bank of
India’s (RBI) approval to commence operations as an Non-Banking Financial
Company (NBFC) Account Aggregator (AA).
·
CRIF Connect is uniquely
positioned to benefit both consumers and financial institutions with CRIF’s
legacy, knowledge, and experience.
·
According to RBI-approved
guidelines, it is an end-to-end encrypted platform that securely collects and
transfers a consumer’s financial data across financial institutions based on
their explicit consent, making data sharing exceedingly safe.
The CRIF Connect application
will be available on the web and on mobile devices.
·
Through the CRIF Connect App,
users can view all their financial information in one place and to customise
the information they want to share with the financial institution in real time.
· The services are used by more than 82,000 companies and 10 lakh consumers.
11) J&K Bank signs Corporate Agency Agreement With Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K)
Bank has signed a corporate agency agreement with Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance
Company, one of the leading insurance providers in India. The agreement will
allow the bank to sell Bajaj Allianz’s life insurance products starting from
April 1, 2023.
·
The Corporate agency agreement
was signed by Narjay Gupta, General Manager and Vertical Head (Cross
Selling), representing J&K Bank, and Dheeraj Sehgal, Chief
Distribution Officer (Institutional Business), representing Bajaj Allianz Life
Insurance Company in Pune, Maharashtra.
The agreement was signed in the presence of Sudhir Gupta, Executive Director of J&K Bank.
ECONOMY & BUSINESS
12) MoRD signs MoU with 19 Captive Employers under DDU-GKY
On 28th March 2023, the
Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
with 19 captive employers to train and provide jobs for rural youth under the
Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY).
·
The MoU aims to provide
employment to 31,067 rural poor youths for a minimum period of 6 months, with a
minimum salary of Rs 10,000 per month.
The Captive Employment Guidelines were launched under DDUGKY to make sure that the candidates are trained according to industry requirements and employed in a sustainable manner.
AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
13) Maha Metro Nagpur receives prestigious ‘Asia Book of Record’ Citation for 3 Different Categories
Maharashtra Metro Rail
Corporation Limited (Maha-Metro), Nagpur, Maharashtra, which have been awarded Guinness
World Records (2022) and 2 Asian Book of Records(2022), was honoured with the
prestigious “Asia Book of Records” certification under 3 different
categories.
·
Longest Length of Metro Rail
Corridor Construction in the Shortest Time.
·
First Solar photovoltaic (PV)
system in a Metro Rail Project for Integrated Consumption.
·
Heaviest Single Span Double
Decker Steel Bridge Truss over Railway tracks in Urban Area.
The citation and medal were
given to Dr Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director(MD) of Maha Metro, by Devendra
Fadnavis, Deputy Chief Minister (Dy CM) of Maharashtra.
Note:
i. In 2022, Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited set 2 Asia Book
of records:
·
Maximum metro stations
constructed on double-decker viaduct
·
Longest viaduct with highway
flyover and metro rail supported on single column piers.
ii. Asia Book of Records is registered with the
Government of India.
Citations:
i. Longest Length of Metro Rail Corridor Construction in the Shortest Time
Maha Metro set the record for the longest length of metro rail corridor
construction in the shortest time at the Nagpur metro rail project,
Maharashtra.
·
The North-South East-West
length of the Metro Rail Corridor aggregated to a length of 24.088 kms with
total of 8 stations and interchange stations with platforms for North-South and
East-West corridors.
ii. First Solar PV system in a
Metro Rail Project for Integrated Consumption
Maha Metro set the record for 1st Solar photovoltaic (PV) System in A Metro
Rail Project for Integrated Consumption at the Nagpur Metro Rail Project,
Maharashtra, India.
·
The Solar PV system installed
at the metro stations has generated more than 38 Lakh units of Renewable Energy
(RE).
·
It has also achieved carbon
offset equivalent to offset achieved by 2.36 Lakh matured trees till March 31,
2022.
iii. Heaviest Single Span Double
Decker Steel Bridge Truss over Railway tracks in Urban Area
Maha Metro set the record for the heaviest single span double-decker steel
bridge truss over railway tracks in an urban area at the Nagpur Metro Rail
Project, Maharashtra, India.
· The Double Decker Steel Bridge Truss is of 80 m span and 18.9 m width and weighed 1670 mt.
14) MoPR’s AuditOnline won WSIS Prizes 2023 under ‘C7-AL ICT Applications: e-Government’ Category for Online audit of Indian PRIs
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj
(MoPR) along with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the technology partner
of the Indian Government, has been conferred with the World Summit on the Information
Society (WSIS) Prizes 2023 (12th edition) at the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), Geneva, Switzerland for its ‘AuditOnline:
Facilitating Audit in Government’ under ‘Category 7 — Action
Line (AL) C7 — Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Applications:
e-Government’.
About AuditOnline:
i.It is one of the generic and open-source
applications developed as a part of the Panchayat Enterprise Suite (PES) under
the e-panchayat Mission Mode Project (MMP) initiated by the MoPR.
ii.It facilitates the financial audit of accounts at
all three levels of Panchayats viz District, Block and Village Panchayats,
Urban Local Bodies (ULB) and Line department by Auditors.
iii.AuditOnline facilitates recording details for both
Internal and External audits as per the defined process.
iv.The software also serves the purpose of maintaining
the past audit records of the auditee with an associated list of the auditors
and audit team.
Background:
i.Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) are the system
of local self-governance in India aimed at providing government services at the
village level.
ii.In order to deliver various services rendered by
PRIs, grants are continuously granted by the Central Government to the PRIs
including Traditional Local Bodies (TLBs).
iii.Thus in order to monitor the utilization of the
grants for developmental activities in rural areas and to ensure accountability
in their overall functioning, the 15th Central Finance Commission emphasized
the need for the availability of audited accounts of the Panchayats
online.
iv.To address this reform, MoPR launched the
AuditOnline application on 15th April 2020. One of the unique aspects of the
application is that it is configurable as per every States’ Audit Act / Rules.
Note – The 3 stages or levels of the
Panchayati Raj system in India are -Village Panchayat, Block Panchayat and
District Panchayat.
Winner of WSIS Prizes 2023:
Under WSIS Prizes 2023, the
champion projects are selected based on 11 categories Whereas India’s
AuditOnline project was selected under ‘C7 — AL -ICT Applications:
e-Government’ Click here to know about other
Champion projects.
About WSIS Prizes 2023:
i.It is an annual award event coordinated by the International
Telecommunication Union (ITU), affiliated with the United Nations (UN), in
collaboration with UNESCO, UNDP and UNCTAD to promote ICTs for achieving UN
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
ii.The WSIS Prizes 2023 is an exceptional international recognition of
WSIS Stakeholders as Winners and Champions for their excellence in supporting
the implementation of WSIS outcomes, WSIS Action Lines and the achievement of
SDGs.
iii.The WSIS Forum 2023 is being organized on the theme, ‘WSIS Action
Lines for Building Back Better and Accelerating the Achievement of the
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)’.
15) Dalai Lama names US-born Mongolian Boy as 3rd highest spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism
In March 2023, Tibetan
spiritual leader the 14th Dalai Lama recognised a 8 year United States-born
Mongolian boy as the 10th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche, the 3rd most highest
leader in Tibetan Buddhism in a ceremony held at Dharmasala, Himachal Pradesh.
The boy was recognised as the reincarnation of Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa Rinpoche,
a spiritual leader.
·
The 9th Khalkha Jetsun Dhampa
Rinpoche was a Tibetan and he died in Mongolia in 2012. He was the spiritual
head of Janang tradition of Tibetan Buddhism and the spiritual Buddhist head of
Mongolia.
Note: Khalkha (the largest district of Mongolia) Jetsun
Dhampa (Lord of Refuge).
The First Jetsun Dhampa, Tenpei Gyaltsen, Rangjung Yeshe Dorje, was born the
son of a king in Mongolia.
APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
16) IAEA Board Re-appointment Rafael Mariano Grossi as Director General for 4 years
In March 2023, the Board of
Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reappointed Rafael
Mariano Grossi as Director General(DG) of IAEA for a second
four-year term. His second term starts on 3 December 2023 and runs until
2 December 2027.
·
Rafael Mariano Grossi who is
an Argentine diplomat started his first term of office on 3rd December 2019,
following the General Conference’s approval of his appointment by the
Board.
·
He is the sixth Director
General since the IAEA was established in 1957.
Note: Yukiya Amano of Japan was the 5th DG of IAEA (2009
to 2019).
About Rafael Mariano Grossi:
i.Rafael Mariano Grossi joined
the Argentinian Foreign Ministry in 1985 and served as the Head of the Embassy
in Belgium and Luxemburg from 1998 to 2002.
ii.He also served as the Chief of Cabinet at the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague(Netherlands) from 2002 to
2007.
iii.He has served as the president-designate of the 2020 Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) and president of the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) (2014-2016).
·
He was the NSG’s first
president to serve two successive terms.
iv.He has also served as the Assistant Director
General for Policy and Chief of Cabinet at the IAEA from 2010 to 2013.
About International Atomic
Energy Agency (IAEA)
Director General – Rafael Mariano Grossi
Headquarters – Vienna, Austria
Establishment – 1957
Members – 175 (as of 2 March 2022)
ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
17) CCI approves acquisition of share capital of NSPIRA Management Services Pvt Ltd by Puneet Kothapa, Ponguru Sindhura & Ponguru Sharani
The Competition Commission of
India (CCI) approved the acquisition of share capital of NSPIRA Management
Services Private Limited from NHPEA Minerva Holding BV holds 18.23% Banyantree
Growth Capital II, LLC holds 2.24% by Puneet Kothapa, Ponguru Sindhura and
Ponguru Sharani.
·
Puneet Kothapa is the Managing
Director(MD), and Ms P. Sindhura is the Director of the NSPIRA Management
Services Pvt. Ltd. They are also the Promoters of the company.
·
Ms P. Sharani holds 25.83% of
the shareholding (on a fully diluted basis) in NSPIRA Management Services Pvt.
Ltd.
Acquirers: Puneet Kothapa, Ponguru
Sindhura & Ponguru Sharani
Target: NSPIRA Management Services Pvt. Ltd
Sellers: NHPEA Minerva Holding BV (Seller 1) and Banyantree
Growth Capital II, LLC (Seller 2).
Currently, the Acquirers collectively hold 79.48% of the shareholding in
NSPIRA Management Services Pvt. Ltd.
CCI approves Acquisition of Shareholding of JM Baxi Ports & Logistics
Limited by HL Terminal Holding B.V.
CCI approves the acquisition of certain shareholding of JM Baxi Ports and
Logistics Limited by HL Terminal Holding B.V., a wholly owned subsidiary of
Hapag Lloyd Aktiengesellschaft.
Acquiring Entity: HL Terminal Holding B.V.
Target: JM Baxi Ports and Logistics Private Limited
The proposed transaction is covered under Section 5(a) of the Competition Act,
2002.
About the Competition Commission of India (CCI):
Acting Chairperson- Sangeeta Verma
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Establishment- 14th October 2003 (Operational from 2009)
SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
18) IGNCA launches Vedic Heritage Portal with 550 hours of Audio-Visual Content
Amit Shah, Union Minister of
Home Affairs, and G Kishan Reddy, Union Minister of Tourism launched the Vedic Heritage
Portal of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
The portal created over a span of 7 years at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore is
a repository of vedic knowledge and tradition from across India.
·
Audiovisual recording of
around 18000 mantras from the 4 Vedas are posted online at the Vedic Heritage
portal.
·
Objective: To secure knowledge from ancient scriptures and
manuscripts for future generations through technology.
IGNCA was established in 1987
as an autonomous institution under the Ministry of Culture, as a centre for
research, academic pursuit, and dissemination in the field of the arts.
The IGNCA is also planning to create a museum dedicated to the Vedic
implements, or vessels used in yajna.
STATE NEWS
19) Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio Presents Tax Free, Deficit Budget of Rs. 1374.17 cr for FY24
On March 27, 2023, the Nagaland
Chief Minister (CM) Neiphiu Rio who also holds the finance portfolio of
Nagaland, presented tax free deficit budget of Rs 1,374.17 crore for the
financial year 2023-2024 (FY24) at the ongoing first session of the 14th
Nagaland Legislative Assembly with more emphasis on agriculture and allied
sectors.
Key Points:
·
Based on the budget proposals
of FY24, the Gross revenue receipts was expected at Rs 23,145.66 crore
·
Gross expenditure was about Rs
23,085.66 crore with a positive balance of 60 crore rupees.
·
FY23 transactions are
estimated to result in a negative balance of Rs 40 crore.
·
An allocation of Rs 82,000
lakh was made for the annual development outlay, which is an increase of Rs
4,500 lakh or 5.49% over FY23.
·
Out of the above-mentioned Rs
82,000 lakh core allocation, Rs 25, 000 lakh crore was earmarked for the state
matching share for Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS) programmes to ensure the
release of funds by the Union government.
About Nagaland:
Governor – La Ganesan
Wildlife Sanctuary – Rangapahar Wildlife Sanctuary
Bird Sanctuary – Ghosu Bird Sanctuary
20) Telangana signs 3 MoUs with Western Australia Government
On 26th March 2023, the
Governments of Telangana signed 3 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs)
with Western Australia, Australia, during the visit of the delegations led by
Stephen Dawson, Western Australia’s Minister for Emergency Services,
Innovation, and Digital Economy, to state-run startup incubators
T-Hub(Technology Hub) and WE-Hub, Incubator for Woman Entrepreneurs.
The 3 MoUs were,
·
MoU between Hyderabad’s CCoE
DSCI and Western Australia’s CyberWest
·
MoU between Cyber Security
Centre of Excellence DSCI and Edith Cowan University
·
Letter of Intent(LoI) between
WE-Hub and CyberWest
MoU’s Signed:
i. MoU signed between Hyderabad’s CCoE DSCI and Western Australia’s
CyberWest
Hyderabad(Telangana)-based Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence(CCoE )-Data
Security Council of India (DSCI), a National Association of Software and
Service Companies (NASSCOM) Initiative, and Western Australia’s CyberWest, a
government-funded innovation hub, signed an MoU to expertise both organisations
using innovation, design, workshops, and industry engagement.
ii. MoU signed between CCoE DSCI and Edith Cowan University
CCoE DSCI and Edith Cowan University signed an MoU to collaborate for mutual
benefit including research, education, innovation, incubation, marketing,
hackathons, corporate innovation and training programs.
iii. A Letter of Intent between WE-Hub and CyberWest
Hyderabad(Telangana)-based WE-Hub, a state-led incubator for women
entrepreneurs, and CyberWest singed a Letter of Intent to promote cross-border
opportunities for startups in both Indian and Australia.
·
The collaboration aims to help
Australian startups break into the rapidly expanding Indian market and vice
versa, by utilising the expertise of WE Hub and Cyber West Sign in their
respective markets.
WE Hub and Cyber West Sign
will provide startups with access to market insights, industry networks, and
resources to help them navigate the challenges of expanding into new
territories through this collaboration.
About the Cybersecurity Centre of Excellence (CCoE):
Chairman & Co-Founder- Rajendra Pawar
Headquarters- Hyderabad, Telangana
About Australia:
Prime Minister- Anthony Albanese
Capital- Canberra
Currency- Australian Dollar
TO
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2023 : CLICKHERE | TO
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2023 : CLICKHERE |
