Current Affairs 29 March 2023

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

DoCA constituted Committee to Monitor Stock Disclosure of Tur; Chaired by Nidhi KhareThe 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.

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.

Gujarat AAR: 28% GST & 71% compensation cess for Tobacco sold in gunny bagsGujarat 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

Faster Reforms Can Give a Boost to India Growth: World BankThe 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.

G20 Expert Group on Strengthening Multilateral Development BanksOn 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.

GTI 2023 by IEP: Afghanistan Most Impacted by Terrorism for Fourth Straight Year, India Ranks 13thAccording 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
>> Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

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

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. Click here for the official circular.
About Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI):
Chairperson– Madhabi Puri Buch
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Establishment– 1992

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

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.

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

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      

Maha Metro Nagpur receives prestigious ‘Asia Book of Record’ Citation for 3 Different CategoriesMaharashtra 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.

MoPR’s AuditOnline won WSIS Prizes 2023 under ‘C7-AL ICT Applications: e-Government’ Category for Online audit of Indian PRIs

‘AuditOnline: Facilitating Audit in Government’, developed by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) along with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the technology partner of the Indian Government, won the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Prizes 2023(12th edition) under ‘Category 7 — Action Line (AL) C7 — Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Applications: e-Government’, for conducting an online audit of all Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs).

• Sunil Jain, Deputy Director General(DDG) (Panchayat Informatics Division), received the award at the ceremony during the WSIS Forum 2023 held in International Conference Centre Geneva, Switzerland from 13th-17th March 2023.

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.MoPR launched the AuditOnline application on 15th April 2020 to monitor the utilization of the grants by the Central Government to the PRIs including Traditional Local Bodies (TLBs).

• The 15th Central Finance Commission emphasized the need for the availability of audited accounts of the Panchayats online.
• 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.

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 United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(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)’.
Click here to know about other Champion projects of WSIS Prizes 2023.

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-Old 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     

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 – 176 (as of 3 January 2023)     

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS      

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 which holds 18.23% and Banyantree Growth Capital II, LLC which 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)
>> Read Full News  

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

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.

• Over 550 hours of 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

Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio Presents Tax Free, Deficit Budget of Rs. 1374.17 cr for FY24On 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
>> Read Full News

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 signed a Letter of Intent to promote cross-border opportunities for startups in both India 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

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List of Current Governors in India – February 2023

List of Current Chief Ministers in India – February 2023

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