NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. 5G Launch: PM Modi says rollout of 5G a gift to
130 billion Indians: The nation’s 5G services were officially
inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 1st, 2022, ushering in a
period of ultra-high-speed mobile internet, according to a statement from the
Prime Minister’s Office. The sixth iteration of the India Mobile Congress was
also launched by PM Modi. Key Points:
a) Speaking to the crowd, PM Modi stated that the government and the
country’s telecom industry are giving 130 crore Indians a fantastic present in
the shape of 5G.
b) A new era in the nation is ringing in with the arrival of 5G. A
limitless sky of options will open up with 5G.
c) The PM continued by saying that the New India will actively participate
in the creation and use of technology rather than simply becoming a consumer of
it.
d) Future wireless technology design and related production will be heavily
influenced by India.
e) The prime minister explained that India concentrated on 4 Pillars, in
four directions at once, emphasising the necessity for a comprehensive approach
to Digital India: (1) The cost of the gadget/Device (2) Digital connectivity
(3) Cost of data and (4) The notion of “digital first”
2. Cabinet approves 4% increase in DA for Central
Government employees: Cabinet approves 4% increase
in DA: The Union Cabinet increased the dearness allowance (DA) and dearness
relief (DR) by 4% beginning July 1, 2022, benefiting 6.97 million pensioners
and 4.18 million central government employees. This was done ahead of the
Diwali festival. Key Points:
a) The DA and dearness relief (DR) payment is a 4% increase above the
current rate of 34% of basic pay/pension.
b) The impact of both dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR)
would be combined and amount to Rs 12,852.5 crore per year on the exchequer.
c) Central government employees and pensioners will each be entitled to a
higher sum of dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR), with effect
from July 1, 2022,
d) The dearness allowance (DA) and dearness relief (DR) have been raised,
based on the percentage rise in the 12-month average of the All India Consumer
Price Index for the period ending in June 2022.
e) Increased dearness allowance for employees is expected to cost the
exchequer Rs 6,591.36 billion annually and Rs 4,394.24 billion in 2022–2023 (8
months from July, 2022 to February, 2023).
f)
With dearness relief, the impact would be Rs
4,174.12 crore in the current fiscal year and Rs 6,261.20 crore annually.
Note: Finance
Minister of India: Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman
3. World’s largest safari park to be developed in
Gurugram: World’s largest jungle safari park to be
developed in Haryana. The World’s largest jungle safari park is spread across
an area of 10000 acres in the Aravalli Mountain Range of Gurugram and Nuh
District. This project will be the largest such project in the world. Key
Points:
a) The proposed area to build the World’s largest jungle safari park is
Aravalli hills.
b) The park will also include a large herbarium, an aviary, four zones for
big cars, a large area for herbivores, an area for exotic animal/birds, an
underwater world, natural trails, visitors, tourism zones, botanical garden,
biomes, equatorial, tropical, coastal, desert, etc.
c) For the making of the World’s largest jungle safari park an Aravalli
Foundation will be set up which will manage the project.
d) The design and operation will be managed by an international EOI, and
two more companies with international experience.
e) The Sharjah Jungle Safari is the largest curated safari park outside
Africa. The World’s largest jungle safari park in Harayana aims to boost
tourism and employment opportunities for the local people.
4. N S Rajan named as the new chairman of ASCI: The election of N S Rajan, Director of August One Partners LLP, as
Chairman of the Board of Governors of the Advertising Standards Council of
India (ASCI) was done. Of the board meeting that followed the 36th Annual
General Meeting (AGM) of ASCI, Saugata Gupta, Managing Director & CEO,
Marico Limited, was elected Vice-Chairman, and Shashidhar Sinha, Chief
Executive Officer at IPG Mediabrands India, was named Honorary Treasurer. Arun
Srinivas, Director of GMS India (Meta), and Virat Tandon, Group CEO of Lintas
India, were both appointed to the board at the meeting. Subhash Kamath, the
outgoing chairman, will be a member of the board’s Consultative Committee,
which among other things fosters the organization’s new projects.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Eurozone Inflation Hits At 10%, A new High: Inflation in the 19-member eurozone reached 10% in September, the
highest it has ever been in the history of the common European currency,
according to the latest flash estimate from Eurostat, the EU statistics agency.
This is up from the 9.1% seen in August. Just one year ago, inflation was 3.2%.
Chief
Contributors: The high inflation figure comes as the region
experiences soaring electricity and natural gas prices, and also comes amid
forecasts of a looming recession. The
price of energy has risen 40.8% when compared to last year’s prices, while the
cost of food, alcohol and tobacco rose 11.8% in September, up from the 10.6%
recorded in August. The inflation figure in Estonia for September was pegged at
a whopping 24.2%, a little lower than the 25.2% seen in August, but also the
highest in the eurozone.
Most
Affected Countries: Lithuania, Latvia and Netherlands follow closely
with their rates of inflation sitting at 22.5%, 22.4% and 17.1%, respectively. According to Eurostat, German inflation is
sitting at 10.9%.
2. Kazakhstan changes capital’s name from
Nur-Sultan back to Astana: Kazakhstan’s president,
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is to restore the former name of the country’s capital,
Astana, just three years after he renamed it in honour of his predecessor.
Kazakhstan’s president has signed a law limiting presidential terms and
reverting to the old name of the Central Asian country’s capital, in the latest
step of breaking with the legacy of his predecessor. The bill also reinstated
the capital’s name to Astana.
The name was
changed to Nur-Sultan in March 2019, in honour of outgoing president Nursultan
Nazarbayev. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev signed a bill on 24 Sept limiting
presidential mandates to a single seven-year term, a day after parliament
approved the measure.
Note: Kazakhstan
President: Kassym-Jomart Tokayev; Kazakhstan Currency: Kazakhstani tenge.
3. World Space Week: 4th to 10th October: World Space Week (WSW) is observed every year from October 4 to 10, to
celebrate science and technology, and their contribution towards the betterment
of the human condition. World Space Week aims to help people gain a wider
knowledge about space outreach and education. The World Space Week 2022 theme
is “Space and Sustainability” focusing on achieving sustainability in space and
achieving sustainability from space.
History
of World Space Week: In 1999, the United Nations General Assembly
declared October 4-10 to be celebrated as World Space Week. October 4 marks the
launch of the first human-made Earth satellite, Sputnik 1. When Sputnik 1 was
launched into orbit in 1957, it opened the scope for space exploration. A
decade later, on October 10, 1967, the Treaty on Principles Governing the
Activities of States in the Exploration and Use of Outer Space, including the
Moon and Other Celestial Bodies, was signed. The first time this event was
celebrated was in 2000. It focused on the theme – “Launching the Space
Millennium.” In 2021, this event achieved a record scale. The week consisted of
more than 6,418 events in 96 nations.
OTHER UPDATES:
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Bank of Baroda launches ‘Khushiyon ka Tyohaar’: Bank of Baroda (BOB) has announced to launch of ‘Khushiyon Ka Tyohaar’.
The ‘Khushiyon Ka Tyohaar’ includes a series of offers as an annual festival
campaign. The bank will offer to attractive interest rates on a home loans, car
loans, education loans, and many more during the ‘Khushiyon Ka Tyohaar’
campaign.
Key
Points related to the ‘Khushiyon Ka Tyohaar’ campaign:
a) The BOB customers will receive many benefits through the ‘Khushiyon Ka
Tyohaar’ campaign.
b) The offers and benefits include pre-payments, part-payment charges, concessional
processing charges, and longer tenure of seven years.
c) Bank of Baroda (BOB) home loans are available at a competitive interest
rate beginning at 7.95% per annual with no processing charges.
d) The BOB customers will be given a special rate starting from 7.95% per
annum on BOB car loans.
e) The facilities are available through the BOB World mobile app, Net
banking, and the Bank of Baroda website for both existing and new customers.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. RBI projects 7% GDP growth for FY23, Inflation
remain 6.7%: RBI projects 7% GDP growth for FY23: The Reserve
Bank of India (RBI) has projected 7% real GDP growth for the Financial year
2023 (FY23). Inflation in India is predicted to remain 6.7%. As a result, RBI
raised its policy rate by 50 basis points (bps) in response to growing concerns
about increasing inflation, global headwinds, and a drop in the value of the
rupee to historic lows. Key Points:
a) The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) opted to lower its real GDP
prediction for FY23 to 7.0% at its meeting in September; growth is projected
for Q2FY23 to be 6.3%, Q3 to be 4.6%, and Q4 to be 4.6%, with risks largely
balanced. 7.2% growth has been corrected for Q1FY24.
b) The government has given the central bank the responsibility of ensuring
that the consumer price index (CPI) stays at 4% with a margin of 2% on either
side, but since January, retail inflation has stubbornly remained over the
RBI’s comfort level.
c) The Indian rupee is rapidly losing value relative to the US dollar,
which is presently trading at around 82. While inflation is still high.
d) The US Fed recently increased its interest rate three times by 75 basis
points each, hastening the depreciation of the rupee.
e) From a peak of $642 billion a year ago, forex have decreased by by $100
billion, to $545 billion, and are predicted to decline even further.
2. Global Innovation Index 2022: India climbs to
40th rank: India has climbed to the 40th rank in the Global
Innovation Index of the World Intellectual Property Organization. This is a
huge leap of 41 places in 7 years. India has leapfrogged to 40th position on
the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 from the 81st spot in 2015. India’s
innovation performance is above average for the upper-middle-income group in
almost every innovation pillar, with the exception of infrastructure, where it
scores below average. Within Central and Southern Asia, India continues to lead
in the 40th position, moving further up the rankings, from its 46th position in
2021.
The World
Intellectual Property Organization released the Global Innovation Index 2022 in
which Switzerland has emerged as the world’s most innovative economy for the
12th consecutive year. It leads globally in innovation outputs, and
specifically in patents by origin, software spending, high-tech manufacturing,
production, and export complexity. The second position was secured by the US
followed by Sweden, the UK, and the Netherlands.
List of
the top 10 most innovative economies for this year
|
Ranking |
Country |
|
1 |
Switzerland |
|
2 |
United States |
|
3 |
Sweden |
|
4 |
United Kingdom |
|
5 |
Netherlands |
|
6 |
Republic of Korea |
|
7 |
Singapore |
|
8 |
Germany |
|
9 |
Finland |
|
10 |
Denmark |
Note: WIPO
Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland; WIPO Founded: 14 July 1967; WIPO Membership:
193 member states; WIPO Director General: Daren Tang.
3. Joseph Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, added to
the Tesla board: Tesla Inc. said that Airbnb co-founder Joseph
Gebbia has joined the board of directors, reversing a decision to reduce the
number of directors at the most valuable automaker in the world. Following the
departure of Oracle Inc. co-founder Larry Ellison in August, Tesla announced in
June that it will have just seven board seats, drawing criticism from a
shareholder organisation for the absence of independent board members. Key
Points:
a) The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) received a complaint
from SOC Investment Group in July alleging that Tesla’s proposal did not follow
a 2018 “consent decree” with the SEC, which required having two independent
board seats.
b) That arrangement was the result of Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk’s tweet about
going private.
c) Tesla recruited Ellison, a man who calls Musk a close friend, in
December 2018 to follow the contract.
d) Tesla stated in a regulatory filing that Gebbia, 41, has forfeited all
rights to cash remuneration and has agreed to forgo taking any stock-based
incentives until July 2023.
Note: Tesla CEO:
Elon Reeve Musk; Tesla Headquarters: Austin, Texas, United States
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. Indian Women’s rights activist Srishti Bakshi
wins ‘Changemaker’ award: A women’s rights activist
from India, Srishti Bakshi has won the ‘Changemaker‘ award at the UN SDG
(United Nations Sustainable Development Goals) Action Awards held at a ceremony
in Bonn, Germany. The award is given to recognise the efforts of Srishti Bakshi
to raise awareness of gender-based violence and inequality.
Srishti Bakshi She
conducted over 100 workshops focused on women’s safety to put a spotlight on
the causes of violence against women and also empower women and reveal stories
of resilience, along with digital and financial literacy. WOMB: Women Of My
Billion, a documentary that captured her journey exposes the raw emotions and
realities of women in India.
About UN
SDG Action Awards Ceremony: The UN SDG Action Awards
Ceremony celebrates people and initiatives that mobilize, inspire, and connect
people every day, proving that each one of us has the power to drive
transformative action. The finalists for the UN SDG Action Awards were selected
from over 3,000 applications from 150 countries.
DEFENCE
1. DRDO successful tests of Very Short Range Air
Defence System Missiles: The Defence Research and
Development Organization (DRDO) has successfully tested the two flights of Very
Short Range Air Defence System (VSHORADS), from a ground-based portable
launcher from Integrated Test Range, Chandipur, off the coast of Chandipur,
Odisha. Key Points:
a) SHORADS is an indigenously designed and developed Man Portable Air
Defence System (MANPAD) by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, in
collaboration with other DRDO laboratories and Indian Industry Partners.
b) It is a Man Portable Air Defence System that is designed and developed
by DRDO’s Research Centre Imarat, Hyderabad in collaboration with other DRDO
facilities
c) Use – To neutralize low-altitude aerial threats at short ranges
d) The design of the missile including the launcher has been highly
optimized to ensure easy portability.
Note: Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) Founded: 1 January 1958; Headquarters: New Delhi; Chairman: Samir V Kamat
