Current Affairs 20 October 2022

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

CCEA approves increase in MSP for 6 Rabi Crops for Marketing Season 2023-24i.On October 18, 2022, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by the Prime Minister (PM) of India Narendra Modi, has approved the increase in the Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for all mandated (6) Rabi for the 2022-23 crop year (July-June) and the 2023-24 marketing season.
ii.This decision has been taken to ensure remunerative prices to the growers for their produce.
iii.The absolute highest increase in MSP for lentil (Masur) is at Rs 500/- per quintal followed by rapeseed and mustard at Rs 400/-  per quintal.
iv.This increase is on the lines of FY19 Union Budget announcement of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times of the All-India weighted average Cost of Production.
Static Information:
i.Minimum Support Prices (MSP) is the rate at which the government buys grain from farmers.
ii.Currently, the government fixes MSPs for 23 crops grown in both Kharif and rabi seasons.
iii.Sowing of rabi (winter) crops begins in October, immediately after the harvest of kharif (summer) crops.
iv.Wheat and mustard are major rabi crops.
>> Read Full News

Union Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister inaugurated Asia’s largest Compressed Biogas Plant CBG in PunjabOn October 18, 2022, the Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas inaugurated Asia’s largest Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) plant in Sangrur, Punjab.

• It has been commissioned with an FDI (Foreign Direct Investment) of Rs 220 crores (approx.) by Verbio AG, one of Germany’s leading Bio-energy companies.
• This plant has been set up under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative.

About CBG plant Sangrur:
i.Spread across an area of 20 acres (approx.), its present production is about 6 TPD (Tonnes per Day) CBG. Soon, it will process 300 TPD of paddy straw at maximum capacity to produce 33 TPD of CBG using 8 digesters of 10,000 cubic meters.
ii.This plant will consume 100,000 tons of paddy straw, which will be procured from 6-8 satellite locations within a 10 km radius of the plant.
iii.There will be daily production of about 600-650 Tons of FOM (Fermented Organic Manure), which can be used for organic farming.
iv.It will also provide direct employment to 390 and indirect employment to 585 people.
v.It will also provide alternative to stubble burning by reducing stubble burning of 40,000 – 45,000 acres of fields, which means an annual reduction of 150,000 tons of CO2 emissions.
About SATAT initiative:
It was launched by Government of India in October 2018 for production of CBG from various waste/ biomass sources in India. It aims to empower the rural economy by supporting farmers, increase India’s domestic energy production and self-sufficiency and also reduce the air pollution.

• Apart from the above plant, 38 CBG / Biogas Plants have been commissioned under the SATAT initiative.

Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launches Single Integrated Pensioners’ Portal On 18th October 2022, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Minister of State(MoS) for Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions launched the single integrated pensioners’ portal aimed at “Ease of Living” for the Central Government Pensioners.

• The portal was developed in collaboration with State Bank of India(SBI).State Bank of India will become the first pension disbursing bank which has integrated its portal with the portal of Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare (DoPPW).
• The remaining 16 pension disbursing banks will also begin their integration with BHAVISHYA, Pension Sanction and Payment tracking system.
• Bhavishya 9.0 version was also released on 18th October 2022 with its integration with the Pension Disbursing Banks.
• Jitendra Singh also inaugurated the Pre-Retirement Counselling for about 900 officials, who are  about to retire in the next 1 year.
• He also conferred the Anubhav Awards for 2019-20, 20-21 & 21-22.
• Dr Jitendra Singh also inaugurated a Pension Disbursing Bank Exhibition which featured the digital initiatives and products for retiring government officials of all the 17 Pension Disbursing Banks.

About Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions:
Union Minister– Narendra Modi(Constituency- Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State– Dr. Jitendra Singh(Constituency- Udhampur, Jammu and Kashmir)
>> Read Full News

BEL to Manufacture Hydrogen Fuel Cells with Technology from US-Based TEVBharat Electronics Ltd (BEL), a Navratna Defence Public Sector Undertaking (DPSU), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to manufacture hydrogen fuel cells with United States (US) Triton Electric Vehicle (TEV).

• In accordance with the MoU, BEL will manufacture hydrogen fuel cells using technology transferred from TEV to meet the demands of the Indian market and mutually agreed export markets.

Key Points:
i.The MoU utilizes the Indian government’s drive for the adoption of clean energy fuels for consumption in transport and energy storage.

• It aims to meet the demand for clean energy solutions for a variety of applications, including e-mobility.

ii.TEV has recently ventured into hydrogen-powered vehicles and begun production of hydrogen-powered two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and buses.
iii.TEV has established a Manufacturing Hub in Bhuj, Gujarat and a Research and Development (R&D) Center in Kheda, Anand District, near Ahmedabad, Gujarat in India.
About Bharat Electronics Ltd (BEL):
Chairman & Managing Director (Additional Charge) – Dinesh Kumar Batra
Founded – 1954
Headquarters – Bengaluru, Karnataka

NTPC & Mitsubishi Signs MoU for Demonstrating Hydrogen Co-firing 

NTPC Limited signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Limited, Japan and its subsidiary Mitsubishi Power India Private Limited to demonstrate the feasibility for Hydrogen co-firing blended with natural gas in MHI 701D gas turbines installed at NTPC Auraiya Gas Power Plant, at Dibiyapur, Uttar Pradesh (UP).

• The MoU was signed in the presence of Ujjwal Kanti Bhattacharya, Director (Projects), NTPC Limited, Mr Tatsuto Nagayasu, Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD), Mitsubishi Power India and Mr Hiroyuki Shinohara, Vice President, Mitsubishi Power India.

Key highlights:
i.Under the MoU, both companies will collaborate to identify key actions for co-firing for various percentages of hydrogen (5 percent, 15 percent, 30 percent, 50 percent,100 percent) at NTPC Auraiya gas-based combined cycle power plant.
ii.The required hydrogen for the project will be provided by NTPC Limited and the hydrogen co-firing in gas turbines will play a major role in reducing Carbon-di-oxide (CO2) emissions.
iii.As a part of this initiative, NTPC will also explore various new hydrogen generation technologies and hydrogen usage for ensuring future readiness, hydrogen capabilities, technical expertise and align with India’s CO2 reduction target (Conference of Parties26 (COP26)).
Note – The Auraiya Gas Power Plant has 4 four gas turbines operating in combined cycle mode with a total installed capacity of 663 MW.
About NTPC Limited:
Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) – Gurdeep Singh
Establishment – 1975
Headquarters – New Delhi, Delhi

 Railways to Shut Down COFMOW w.e.f December 2022

The Ministry of Railways (MoR) will shut down the Central Organisation for Modernisation of Workshops (COFMOW) from 1st December 2022, a year after the government of India (GoI) asked the sector to rationalise and reduce its undertakings.

• This decision is in line with the proposals of the Sanyal Report on the “Rationalization of Government Bodies,” submitted by Sanjeev Sanyal, which suggested various recommendations for restructuring the railways in 2021 in order to make them more efficient and cost-effective.
• Sanjeev Sanyal is a current member of the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) and a former Principal Economic Advisor (PEA) in the Ministry of Finance (MoF).

Key highlights:
i.From 1st December 2022, matters of COFMOW will be handled by the traction and rolling stock division of the railway board.
ii.Officers with COFMOW will be transferred to other divisions and the non-gazetted officers will be redeployed or released on a case-by-case basis.
iii.Background – The COFMOW was established in 1979, a year after the MoR shut down Indian Railways Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) and after shut down, all its active projects will be handed over to zonal railways and other divisions.
Keynote:
i.According to the report, Special Railway Establishment for Strategic and Holistic Advancement (SRESTHA), Lucknow, which takes up long-term railway research projects and the Indian Railways Organisation of Alternative Fuel (IROAF) were also shut down.
ii.Other recommendations – The Sanyal report had also recommended on the merger of RailTel and Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC); closure of the Central Organisation for Railway Electrification and also subsuming Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), data and information backbone of India railways under IRCTC.
About Ministry of Railways (MoR):
Union Minister –  Ashwini Vaishnaw (Rajya Sabha Constituency – Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS) – Raosaheb Patil Danve, Darshana Jardosh

MHA Receives 7th Extension to Frame Rules for Citizenship Amendment ActThe Parliamentary Committees on Subordinate Legislation in the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha have accorded the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) yet another extension to frame the rules for the CAA 2019 or Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019.

• While the Rajya Sabha granted permission until December 31, 2022, the Lok Sabha extended it till January 9, 2023.
• This is the seventh extension granted to MHA to frame the rules under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA).

Background

• The MHA had previously sought similar extensions from Parliamentary Committees six times, with the first granted in June 2020.
• The MHA announced in January 2020 that the Act will go into effect on January 10, 2020, however it requested parliamentary committees for more time to implement the rules owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA)
i.The CAA aims to provide Indian citizenship to persecuted minorities belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Jain, Buddhist, Parsi and Christian communities from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan who entered India on or before December 31, 2014.

• It was passed by Parliament on December 11, 2019, and obtained Presidential approval the next day, December 12, 2019.

ii.However, the law remains to be implemented for which rules under the CAA have yet to be drafted, implying that rules under a law must be drafted before it can be implemented.
Click here to read the official gazette regarding the CAA, 2019.
Key Points:
i.According to the Manual on Parliamentary Work, the rules for any legislation must be drafted within six months of Presidential assent or seek an extension from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha Committees on Subordinate Legislation.

• The period of time that can be extended cannot exceed three months at a time.

ii.While the rules are being drafted, non-Muslim refugees from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan seeking citizenship under the CAA will be required to submit proof of their religious beliefs.
iii.Applicants of the Hindu, Sikh, Christian, Buddhist, Jain, or Parsi faiths will also be required to provide documentation proving their entry into India on or before December 31, 2014.

NHA & NABH signs MoU to expedite implementation of the ABDM

On 18th October 2022, the National Health Authority (NHA) and the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH), a constituent board of the Quality Council of India (QCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to expedite the implementation of the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM).

• The MoU is signed to collaborate in the areas of capacity building, dissemination of information, promotion of QCI (NABH) accreditation & ABDM standards, technical support, and stakeholder advocacy.
• It also aims to create awareness for different initiatives of NABH and NHA by leveraging the reach and presence of each other.

Key Highlights:
i. NABH will encourage and provide assistance in onboarding their certified facilities on ABDM’s Health Facility Registry (HFR) and onboarding the doctors, nurses etc, working in these facilities on the Healthcare Professionals Registry (HPR).
ii. With the ABDM, NHA has embarked to create a digital platform for bringing all stakeholders of the healthcare ecosystem together.
iii. The collaboration with NHA will help and motivate even small healthcare organizations in tier 2 & tier 3 cities to get the benefit of the ABDM.
iv. Further, NHA and NABH will mutually develop accreditation standards and ratings for healthcare facilities to incorporate ABDM-related standards for encouraging rapid adoption and uptake of digital health information systems.
About the National Health Authority (NHA):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Dr Ram Sewak Sharma
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi
Establishment- 2018
About the National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Healthcare Providers (NABH):
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Dr Atul Mohan Kochhar
Headquarters- New Delhi, Delhi

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

WEF Report: Drones Can Contribute to USD 100-Billion GDP Increase According to a recent report titled “Using Technology to Improve a Billion Livelihoods”, an insight report in the October 2022 edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF), deploying drones at the forefront of a technology-led transformation of Indian agriculture can enhance Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by 1%-1.5% or could enhance the GDP growth with USD 100-Billion.

• This can be accomplished with the aid of developing business models such as digital financing, precision agriculture, and rapid awareness building.
• The report described the possibility of transforming Indian agriculture using drones.

The report was prepared by the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR), India of the WEF in collaboration with the Adani Group and was released in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Key Highlights of the Report:
i.The report highlighted a Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) report to emphasize that digital tech-based agriculture can unleash additional value of USD 65 billion by 2025 and suggested the GDP impact of digital agriculture will be significantly larger.
ii.The report also provides a framework for the creation of scalable pilots that can be implemented by various governments.
iii.These use cases for drones combine military and civilian technologies and are made possible by digital adoption, analytics, digital financing, and a well-coordinated local stakeholder effort.
Significance of Agriculture Sector
i.As of 2019-2020, the agriculture sector employs 45.6% of the labour force and contributes 18.29% of Gross Value Added (GVA) of India.

• Whereas, the industry and services sector, adds a GVA of 80% and employs 54.4% of the workforce.
• Precision agriculture knowledge and advice can lead to a 15% increase in production in India’s USD 600 billion agriculture sector.
• Drones play a vital role in unlocking this value by providing an efficient means to collect data and apply inputs, thereby influencing yields and farmers’ revenue.

ii.A “green microcosm” where an integrated “drone-centric rural hub” is set up and stabilized over crop cycles is needed to support the mainstreaming of drones in the agricultural sector.

• The microcosm would be a controlled environment in which various use cases relevant to agriculture and other rural applications would be tested.

Mercer CFS Global Pension Index 2022: India ranks 41^st, Iceland Topsi.According to the 2022 Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index (MCGPI), India ranks 41^st out of the 44 countries, as compared to 40^th position out of 43 countries in 2021.
ii.India had an overall indicator value of 44.4, up from 43.3 in 2021. However, it is below that in 2020 when India ranked 34^th out of 39 countries with a value of 45.7.
iii.The index is prepared in collaboration with United States (US)-based CFA Institute, an international association of investment professionals; the Monash Centre for Financial Studies (MCFS); and Mercer, US-based global asset management firm.
About Mercer:
President and Chief Executive Officer– Martine Ferland
Headquarters– New York, United States
>> Read Full News

Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index: India Falls a Rank in Mobile & Fixed Broadband SpeedsAccording to Ookla’s Speedtest Global Index (September 2022 edition), India dropped a rank in both ‘median mobile network speeds’ and ‘fixed broadband speeds’, despite marginally higher download speeds in September 2022 compared to August 2022.

• India’s rank in global median mobile download speeds fell from 117 to 118, despite an increase in speed from 13.52 Mbps in August 2022 to 13.87 Mbps in September 2022.
• India’s rank in global median fixed broadband speeds fell from 78 to 79, despite an increase in broadband speeds from 48.29 Mbps in August 2022 to 48.59 Mbps in September 2022.

The Speedtest Global Index ranks both the mobile and fixed broadband speeds data from around the world on a monthly basis.
i.China dominates the Speedtest Global Index, with Shanghai being the fastest city with a median download speed of 158.63 Mbps for mobile networks and Beijing leading with 238.86 Mbps for fixed broadband.
About Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd (Reliance Jio):
Chairman – Akash Ambani
Establishment – 2007
>> Read Full News

FAO, UNEP, WHO & WOAH jointly Launched One Health Joint Plan of Action On 17th October 2022, the new One health joint plan of action (‎2022‒2026)‎: working together for the health of humans, animals, plants and the environment, was jointly launched by the Quadripartite comprising Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Health Organization (WHO), and the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH).
The new plan of action was launched to address the health threats to humans, animals, plants and environment.
Gist of the One health joint plan of action:
i.The One health joint plan of action (‎2022‒2026) provides set of activies which aims to strengthen collaboration, communication, capacity building and coordination. This is applicable acorss all sectors that are responsible for addressing health concerns.
ii.The new plan focus on supporting and expanding the capacity in 6 areas:

• One Health capacity for health systems
• Emerging and re-emerging zoonotic epidemics
• Endemic zoonotic
• Neglected tropical and vector-borne diseases
• Antimicrobial resistance and the environment
• Food safety risks

iii.The plan outlines the actions to preserve antimicrobial efficacy.
iv.It also focuses on ensuring sustainable and equitable access to antimicrobials for responsible and prudent use in human, animal and plant health has been outlined for it.
One health:
i.The concept of one health summarises the idea that human health and animal health are interdependent and bound to the health of the ecosystems in which they exist
ii.It also highlights that the efforts of just one sector cannot prevent or eliminate infectious diseases and other complex threats to one health.
About World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH):
WOAH, formerly the Office International des Epizootie(OIE), is an intergovernmental organization coordinating, supporting and promoting animal disease control.
Director General– Dr Monique Eloit
Established in 1924 as OIE.
Headquarters– Paris, France

BANKING & FINANCE

CASHe & IRCTC Launches TNPL Facility on Rail Connect; Cashfree Payments Launches ‘Issuance’ SolutionCASHe, an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-driven financial wellness platform has partnered with Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to provide a ‘Travel Now Pay Later’ (TNPL) facility on IRCTC’s Rail Connect mobile application.
Key points:
i.The TNPL facility will allow users to book their rail tickets through app instantly and pay for it later in Equated Monthly Income (EMI), ranging from 3 to 6 months.
ii.The EMI payment option will be available on the IRCTC travel app’s checkout page for passengers booking both reserved and tatkal tickets.

• The IRCTC travel app has over 90 million downloads and powers over 1.5 million railway ticket bookings per day.

Note – IRCTC is a subsidiary of the Indian Railways that handles catering, tourism, and online ticketing operations.
Cashfree Payments Launches ‘Issuance’ Solution for Fintech Firms
Cashfree Payments India Private Limited, an Application Programming Interface (API) banking solutions company has launched ‘Issuance’, a card issuance stack solution to enable fintech platforms to launch customized prepaid cards and wallets for their customers, employees and partners.
About Issuance:
i.‘Issuance’ is a prepaid card and wallet issuance API stack that allows businesses to launch both physical and virtual prepaid cards.
ii.It can also be used for customer’s payroll & incentive disbursals, loyalty programs, expense management and such others.
Features:
i.Issuance solution enables fintech platforms to design and customize their own prepaid card features offering low-code and no-code flows.

• The features of the card includes assigning of spend limits, creating closed loop, open loop or hybrid payment options, facilitating minimum and full KYC prepaid cards.

ii.It also allows businesses to launch both mono-branded and co-branded prepaid cards.

RBI Provides In-principle Approval to Cygnet to Operate as NBFC Account Aggregator

On 18th October 2022 Reserve Bank of India (RBI) provided in-principle approval to Cygnet Infotech Private Limited, a fintech firm to operate as a non-banking financial company (NBFC) account aggregator.
About NBFC Account aggregator:
i.NBFC Account Aggregator is one of the largest open financing data-sharing protocols regulated by the RBI, which allows users to instantly share their financial data with various financial institutions, digitally and securely.

• It also facilitates the financial institutions to easily access consumers’ consent-based financial data.

ii.Facilities – The small and medium businesses will be offered with better credit facilities while banks and other financial institutions will be given the opportunity to widen their lending portfolio.
Note – RBI, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and Pension Fund Regulatory & Development Authority (PFRDA) are already in various stages of integration with the account aggregator ecosystem as Financial Information Providers (FIP).
About Cygnet Infotech Private Limited:
Founder & Managing Director (MD) – Niraj Hutheesing
Establishment – 2000

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

Nokia & Ericsson Signed Multi-year Contracts with Reliance Jio to build 5G networks in IndiaEuropean Telecom gear makers Nokia(Finland) and Ericsson(Sweden) have signed multi year contract with Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio), Indian communications service provider (CSP),  to build one of the largest 5G networks in the world and to build India’s first 5G Standalone network to achieve India’s digital leadership.
*5G is the 5th generation technology standard for broadband cellular networks.
Jio’s Partnership with Nokia:
Jio has selected Nokia as the major supplier for the 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) equipment from its comprehensive AirScale portfolio including base stations, high-capacity 5G Massive MIMO antennas, and Remote Radio Heads (RRH) to support different spectrum bands, and self-organizing network software

• Under the partnership with Nokia, Jio plans to deploy a 5G standalone network which will interwork with its 4G network.
• This will enable jio to deliver advanced 5G services like machine-to-machine communications, network slicing, and ultra-low-latency.

Jio’s Partnership with Ericsson:
Ericsson has signed a long-term strategic 5G contract with Jio to  roll out 5G Standalone (SA) in India. This announcement follows the successfully concluded 5G spectrum auction in India.
This is the first partnership between Jio and Ericsson for radio access network deployment in India.

• Under this partnership, Ericsson’s energy-efficient 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) products and solutions from the Ericsson Radio System portfolio and E-band microwave mobile transport solutions will be deployed in the 5G network for Jio.
• The new 5G SA Network is designed to maximize the benefits of 5G to CSPs and their customers(individual subscribers or enterprise and industry customers)

Key Points:
i.Jio is set to invest about Rs 2 trillion to develop its 5G network. The company plans to expand countrywide coverage by December 2023.
ii.The commercial 5G services in India began on 1st October 2022.
iii.At present, Airtel offers 5G service in 8 cities and jio is doing a beta trial in Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and Varanasi until significant completion of the network coverage in those cities.
iv.Many subscribers are yet to get access to the 5G services since the 5G enabled devices are yet to receive a software update.
About Nokia Corporation:
President & Chief Executive Officer(CEO)– Pekka Lundmark
Headquarters– Espoo, Finland
About Ericsson(Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson): 
President & CEO– Börje Ekholm
Headquarters– Stockholm, Sweden
About Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited (Jio):
Chairman– Akash Ambani
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra        

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS      

Mallikarjun Kharge wins Congress Presidential elections: 1st Non-Gandhi president of the Party in 24 yearsOn 19th October 2022, Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge (80 years old) won the Congress Presidential Election with 7,897 votes of a total of 9,385 votes against Shashi Tharoor with 1,072 votes and become the 1st non-Gandhi President of the Indian National Congress(INC) in 24 years.

• Mallikarjun Kharge is elected as the 98th President of the Indian National Congress (INC).
• Mallikarjun Kharge will replace the current Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who has been occupying the post ever since Rahul Gandhi stepped down after the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.

Note: Out of a total of 9,915 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) delegates that formed the electoral college to pick the Head of the Party in a secret ballot, over 9,500 cast their ballot at PCC offices and the All India Congress Committee (AICC) headquarters.
About Mapanna Mallikarjun Kharge:
i. Mallikarjun Kharge joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1969.
ii. In 1972, he won the Karnataka State Assembly Election for a Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) from the Gurmitkal Constituency.
iii. From 2014 to 2019, he served as the Leader of INC in the Lok Sabha.
iv. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP), Rajya Sabha from Karnataka since 2021. From February 2021 to October 2022, he also was the Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament.
v. Mallikarjun Kharge has won elections for a record 10 consecutive times having won the Assembly elections for an unprecedented 9 consecutive times.

Indus Waters Treaty: World Bank appoints Neutral Expert & Chairman of CoA for 2 hydroelectric projectsThe World Bank (WB) has appointed a chairman of the Court of Arbitration (CoA) and a neutral expert as mandated in 2 separate processes requested by India and Pakistan in relation to the Kishenganga and Ratle hydroelectric power plants.

• Sean Murphy has been appointed as Chairman of the CoA and Michel Lino as the Neutral Expert.
• These appointments are in line with the World Bank’s responsibilities under the Indus Waters Treaty.
• Both the Chairman of CoA and Neutral Expert will carry out their duties in their individual capacity as subject matter experts (SMEs) and independently of any other appointments.

About World Bank (WB):
President – David Robert Malpass
Headquarters – Washington D.C, United States (US)
>> Read Full News     

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

ADSTL to acquire MRO operator Air Works for Rs 400 croreOn 18th October 2022, Adani Defence Systems & Technologies Limited (ADSTL), the defence manufacturing arm of Adani Group, signed a definitive agreement to acquire Air Works Group, India’s 2nd oldest Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) Unit for an enterprise valuation of Rs 400 crore.
Key Points:
i. With this acquisition, Adani Group will get maintenance capabilities in all 3 aircraft maintenance verticals of the airline, business jets, and defence.
ii. This will strengthen the civil aviation portfolio of Adani Group, which controls 7 airports (Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Guwahati, and Mangaluru).
iii. According to the annual report (2021-2022) of the Adani Group, the MRO sector has a crucial role in both the defence and civilian aerospace industry and is expected to grow 3 times from USD 1.7 billion to USD 5 billion by 2030.
About Air Works Group:
i. Air Works Group is India’s largest independent MRO with the largest pan-India network presence across 27 cities, which was established in1951 by two friends P S Menon and B G Menon.
ii. It provides aviation services to most domestic airlines (IndiGo, GoAir, SpiceJet, and Vistara) from business executive jets to airlines and defence platforms. It also provides services to international aviation companies (Qatar, Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines, FlyDubai, Etihad, and Virgin Atlantic).
Note:
Global Technology Investments (GTI) Capital Group, an India-focused investment company holds nearly 26%, while Punj Lloyd Aviation owns about 24% and the Menon family owns 15% of Air Works Group.

Invesco sells 5.51% stake in Zee for Rs 1396 crore On 18th October 2022, Invesco Developing Markets Fund, United States (US) based investment firm, offloaded a 5.51% stake in Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited (ZEE) in a block trade which will fetch as much as USD 169.5 million.

• Some of the buyers of the stake were Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Inc, Bank of America, Abvendus (financial services firm), and ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund (MF).
• Prior to the stake sale, Invesco held a 10.14% stake in Zee entertainment through OFI Global China Fund LLC.

Key Highlights:
i. The block trade involves the sale of 52.93 million which represents a 5.51% stake in ZEE, worth Rs 1,396 crore, shares at a price range of Rs 250 to Rs 263.7 per equity share, a discount of 0.0% to 5.2% to a closing price of Rs 263.7 a share.
ii. At the lower end of the price range, the stake sale will get Invesco USD Rs 1,323.4 crore (160.7 million), while at the upper-end Invesco will get USD Rs 1,395.9 crore (169.5 million).
iii. Shares of ZEE settled at Rs 265.4 on the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The shares of Zee rose 2.79% to end at Rs 270.65 on the BSE.
iv. In April 2022, Invesco sold a 7.7% stake in ZEE for Rs 2,092 crore by means of block deals.

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