NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Power Minister RK Singh inaugurates India’s first Virtual Smart Grid Knowledge
Centre in Manesar: The
Union Minister for Power, Shri Raj Kumar Singh virtually launched the first of
its kind Virtual Smart Grid Knowledge Center (Virtual SGKC) and Innovation
Park, as part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav Programme. The Virtual SGKC will give
a digital footprint of the physical setup of SGKC, established by POWERGRID in
2018 at its centre in Manesar, Haryana. Virtual SGKC is housed within the
POWERGRID centre in Manesar and the solutions which are physically present at
SGKC premises will also be hosted on this platform. The Virtual SGKC is
conceptualized and developed by POWERGRID with support from Ministry of Power
and technical supoort from USAID. The new initiative will prove to be one of
the leading Centers of Excellence globally to foster innovation, entrepreneurship
and research in smart grid technologies.
2.
Madras’ IIT and RBI Innovation Hub make ties with Boost fintech startups: IIT Madras
Incubation Cell (IITMIC) and RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of the Reserve Bank of India, inked a Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) to collaborate in establishing the ecosystem needed to support and expand
fintech businesses in India. The two organisations will collaborate to give
early-stage entrepreneurs with unique and disruptive ideas with incubation
support and speed their scale-up journey. RBIH will consider select startups
incubated at IITM Incubation Cell for co-incubation from time to time, and they
will receive strategic and operational guidance, as well as training and
mentoring sessions from RBIH leadership and domain experts, market access, and
connections to a larger ecosystem of startups, vendors, investors, and other
resources.
3.
For drone-based mineral exploration NMDC Sign MoU with IIT Kharagpur: The country’s
largest iron ore producer, NMDC Ltd, has signed a memorandum of understanding
(MoU) for drone-based mineral research with IIT Kharagpur. The National Mining
and Development Corporation (NMDC)is increasingly dependent on technical
innovation and the digitisation of its exploration and mining database. The
government has taken the first step in regulating and monitoring drone usage
and operations in India, which are now employed in agriculture, urban planning,
forestry, mining, disaster management, surveillance, and transportation, among
other industries. Key Points:
a)
NMDC
and IIT Kharagpur will collaborate to create spectrum products, methodologies,
and algorithms for drone (UAV) mining exploration.
b)
The
collaboration will also lead to the development of software spectral tools for
mineral excavation and mining technology capacity-building programmes.
c)
Drone-based
Geophysical Surveys and Hyperspectral Studies for Mineral Exploration would be
conducted by NMDC for the first time in India.
d)
NMDC
is exploring for various minerals in Madhya Pradesh as well as diamonds in the
Beloda-Belmundi block in Chhattisgarh. It is also the first CPSE in the central
Indian diamond province to use space geophysics, as well as the first to use
online monitoring of data exploration on the BHUVAN platform.
4.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates FCS Integration complex in
Bengaluru, constructed by DRDO using in-house hybrid technology, in record 45
days: Raksha
Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh inaugurated a seven-storeyed Flight Control System
(FCS) Integration facility in Bengaluru, Karnataka. The facility is housed at
Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE), a laboratory of Defence Research
and Development Organisation (DRDO). FCS facility is a state-of-the-art complex
constructed by DRDO in record 45 days, using in-house hybrid technology. This
hybrid technology has been developed by DRDO with support of Larsen &
Toubro (L&T). The FCS facility will
support Research & Development (R&D) activities for developing Avionics
for Fighter Aircraft and FCS for Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.
5.
DCI and Cochin Shipyard joins hand to build country’s first indigenous dredger:
The
Dredging Corporation of India (DCI) and Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) have
inked an agreement to build the first indigenous dredger of the country. The
project is estimated to be completed within 34 months, at a cost of around Rs
920 crore. The technical know-how, basic designs, dredging system components of
the Project shall be provided by Holland-based Royal IHC, the market leader for
designing, building and servicing high added-value dredging vessels and
dredging equipment.
6. A
book titled “More than Just Surgery: Life Lessons Beyond the OT” by Dr Tehemton
Erach Udwadia:
Padma Awardee Dr Tehemton Erach Udwadia has authored a new book titled “More
than Just Surgery: Life Lessons Beyond the OT”, a personal account of people,
incidents, mentors, failures, and absurdities against the backdrop of surgery.
The book maps the journey of Dr Tehemton Erach Udwadia from his student years
through residency, research, surgical practice and surgical teaching as a means
of sharing the lessons he learned.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Hurun Global Rich List 2022: Elon Musk Tops: paceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk
has bagged the top position on the 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List, with a
total net worth of $205 billion. The 2022 M3M Hurun Global Rich List is
published by research and luxury publishing group Hurun India in association with
realty firm M3M.
Other persons in the list:
a)
Amazon.com
Inc executive chairman Jeff Bezos ranked second with $188 billion in net worth.
b)
With
a net worth of $153 billion, Bernard Arnault, the chief executive of LVMH Moët
Hennessy – Louis Vuitton SE, the world’s largest luxury-goods company, ranked
third.
c)
From
India, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani was the only Indian
to feature in the top 10 list of 2022
Hurun Global Rich List’ to emerge as India’s as well as Asia’s richest man.
Ambani occupied the ninth rank globally with a net worth of $103 billion.
A key finding of 2022 M3M Hurun
Global Rich List
a)
Overall
3,381 billionaires from 2,557 companies and 69 countries were ranked in 2022
M3M Hurun Global Rich List.
b)
215
billionaires were from India, which included 58 new additions.
c)
India
emerged as the third-largest billionaire producing nation in the world.
Top 10 Billionaires:
|
Rank |
Name |
Company |
Wealth Value |
|
1 |
Elon Musk |
Tesla |
USD 205 bn |
|
2 |
Jeff Bezos |
Amazon |
USD 188 bn |
|
3 |
Bernard Arnault |
LVMH Moët Hennessy
Louis Vuitton |
USD 153 bn |
|
4 |
Bill Gates |
Microsoft |
USD 124 bn |
|
5 |
Warren Buffett |
Berkshire Hathaway |
USD 119 bn |
|
6 |
Sergey Brin |
Alphabet |
USD 116 bn |
|
6 |
Larry Page |
Alphabet |
USD 116 bn |
|
8 |
Steve Ballmer |
Microsoft |
USD 107 bn |
|
9 |
Mukesh Ambani |
Reliance Industries
Limited |
USD 103 bn |
|
10 |
Bertrand Puech &
Family |
Hermes |
USD 102 bn |
2.
International Day of Forests: 21st March: The International Day of Forests (also
known as World Forestry Day) is celebrated every year on March 21. The theme
for International Day of Forests 2022 is “Forests and sustainable production
and consumption”. The day aims to celebrate and raise awareness of the
importance of all types of forests, and trees outside forests, for the benefit
of current and future generations as well as to increase the public awareness
among communities about the values, significance and contributions of the
forests to balance the life cycle on the earth.
3.
World Puppetry Day: 21st March: The World Puppetry Day is observed every
year on March 21, to promote the puppet arts. The first celebration was held in
2003. The idea of World Puppetry Day was proposed the Iranian puppet theater
artist Javad Zolfaghari in 2000 at the XVIII Congress of the Union
Internationale de la Marionnette, (UNIMA) in Magdeburg. Two years later in June
2002, the date of the celebration was identified by UNIMA.
4.
World Water Day: 22nd March: World Water Day is celebrated globally on
22nd March every year. The day aims to highlight the importance of freshwater.
It is used to advocate for the sustainable management of freshwater resources.
This 2022, the focus is groundwater, an invisible resource with an impact
visible everywhere. The World Water Day theme 2022 is “Groundwater, Making the
Invisible Visible”. Groundwater is a crucial resource that provides almost half
of all drinkable water across the world.
World Water Day History: The idea for this
international day goes back to 1992, the year in which the United Nations
Conference on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro took place. That
same year, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution by which 22
March of each year was declared World Day for Water, to be observed starting in
1993.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. F1
Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 won by Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc: Charles Leclerc
(Ferrari- Monaco) has won the Formula One Bahrain Grand Prix 2022 at the
Bahrain International Circuit, a motor racing circuit in the west of Bahrain.
Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari – Spain) came second while Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great
Britain) came third. This was the first Formula One race of 2022.
2.
Pankaj Advani Won Asian Billiards title for 8th time: Indian cueist
Pankaj Advani has defeated Dhruv Sitwala to win his eighth title at the 19th
Asian 100 UP Billiards Championship 2022. It was held in Doha, Qatar. Overall
this is Advani’s 24th international title and 8th Asian crown. Earlier, Advani
had held off the stiff challenge of Pauk Sa of Myanmar to secure a spot in the
final. He managed a 5-4 win after his opponent fought back strongly to level
the match at four frames each.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
RBI issues Regulatory Framework for Microfinance Loans: The Reserve Bank of
India has released the framework for Microfinance Loans. A microfinance loan is
defined as a collateral-free loan given to a household having an annual
household income up to Rs. 3,00,000. RBI has removed the cap on the number of
NBFC-MFIs who can provide loans to microfinance borrowers. Instead, it has
focused on borrowers’ repayment capacity and accordingly capped the fixed
obligation to income ratio (FOIR) at 50 per cent. The minimum requirement of
microfinance loans for NBFC-MFIs has been revised to 75 per cent of the total
assets. The maximum limit on microfinance loans for NBFCs other than NBFC-MFIs
has been revised to 25 per cent of the total assets.
2.
RBI Innovation Hub partners with IIT Madras to boost fintech startups: RBI Innovation Hub
(RBIH) and IIT Madras Incubation Cell (IITMIC) have signed an MoU to work
together in developing the ecosystem necessary to support and scale fintech
startups in India. RBIH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reserve Bank of India.
Rajesh Bansal is the CEO of RBI Innovation Hub (RBIH). Select startups
incubated at IITM Incubation Cell will be considered from time to time by RBIH
for co-incubation and thereby receive strategic and operational guidance,
training and mentoring sessions by RBIH leadership.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
Deloitte’s Global Powers of Retailing 2022: Reliance Retail ranked 56th: According to the
global consulting firm Deloitte’s report titled “Global Powers of Retailing
2022: Resilience Despite Challenges”, The Indian brand, Reliance Retail, ranked
56th on the Top 250 list based on the retail revenue growth for FY2020. Walmart
Inc., an American multinational retail corporation, tops the list, followed by
Amazon, Inc., Costco Wholesale Corporation, Schwarz Group, and The Home Depot,
Inc.
Asia Pacific: China’s JD.com,
Inc tops the list of companies from APAC, ranking 9th amongst the list with total
revenue of around USD 94.4 billion. Japan leads the APAC region with 29
companies on the list followed by China/Hong Kong SAR (14), South Korea (5) and
Australia (4).
Fastest 50 retailers (FY2015-2020): The top 5
fastest-growing retailers in FY2019 were Coupang of South Kore a(1st), Reliance
Retail Limited of India (2nd), Wayfair Inc of United States (3rd), Mobile World
Investment Corporation of Vietnam (4th) and A101 Yeni Mağazacılık A.S from
Turkey (5th).
2.
BPCL becomes the first to offer digital payment to non-internet users: Bharat Petroleum
Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and Fortune Global 500 company, has
teamed up with UltraCash Technologies Pvt. Ltd. to provide BharatGas customers
with a voice-based digital payment option for booking LPG cylinders. Customers
who do not have access to a smartphone or the internet can use this feature to
book cylinders and pay via the ‘UPI 123PAY’ system. Customers can call the
common number 080 4516 3554 from a non-internet phone to reserve a BharatGas
cylinder for themselves or for friends in simple steps and in a secure manner
thanks to the collaboration with Ultra Cash.
Key Points:
a)
Around
4 crore BharatGas customers in rural India will benefit from the implementation
of this option.
b)
After
the RBI Governor announced the launch of UPI 123PAY last week, BPCL is the
first company in India to offer their service to consumers. UltraCash is a
mobile payment app created by UltraCash Technologies Pvt Ltd and approved by
India’s National Payment Corporation (NPCI).
c) More than 13,000 BharatGas customers transacted for more than Rs. One Crore in the month leading up to the launch, implying that Rs. 100 Crore in transactions could be expected in the next twelve months.
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