NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Mission Indradhanush: Odisha topped in full immunization with 90.5% coverage: According to the
National Family Health Survey (NFHS)-5, Odisha became the top state in the list
of full immunizations in India with 90.5% coverage under Mission Indradhanush.
Intensified Mission Indradhanush 4.0 (IMI) was rolled out on 7 March 2022, in Odisha
to provide preventive health care for mothers and children and for boosting
full immunization coverage.
20 districts of Odisha were found above 90%
in full immunization and the remaining 10 districts were less than 90%.
Districts such as Ganjam, Cuttack, Kendrapara, Jharsuguda, Koraput, Keonjhar,
Malkangiri, Khurda, Sambalpur, Mayurbhanj, and Sundargarh districts were
selected for inclusion under IMI.
Note: Odisha Capital: Bhubaneswar; Odisha
Governor: Ganeshi Lal; Odisha Chief Minister: Naveen Patnaik.
2.
Tamilnadu Petroproducts became world’s first LAB manufacturing company to get
BIS certification:
TPL (Tamilnadu Petroproducts Ltd.) is the world’s first linear alkylbenzene
(LAB) manufacturing company to be certified by the Bureau of Indian Standards
(BIS). TPL’s ‘Superlab’ brand is one of the most well-known laboratory brands
in the country. TPL’s position as the market leader and the only authorised
seller of the chemical in India will be bolstered by the certification. LAB can
be used to make biodegradable detergent, making it a more sustainable option
than conventional detergent formulations.
Key Points:
a)
In
a notable step, Chennai-based petrochemicals manufacturer Tamilnadu
Petroproducts Ltd (TPL) has been awarded IS12795:2020 certification by the Department
of Chemicals & Petrochemicals, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilisers,
Government of India for its product linear alkylbenzene (LAB).
b)
TPL
is part of AM International’s petrochemicals sector, a diversified,
international conglomerate with a federated operating architecture based in
Singapore.
c)
The
company is India’s leading LAB manufacturer and the only one in the state of
Tamil Nadu. LAB is a key component in the production of synthetic detergents
and industrial cleansers. TPL‘s products account for over 40% of all fabric
detergents used in Indian homes. Its ‘Superlab‘ brand is one of the most
well-known laboratory brands in the country.
d)
TPL
is the only authorised seller of LAB in the Indian market, thanks to the
respected Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification. The certificate
complies with the Linear Alkyl Benzene (Quality Control) Order 2021’s
standards.
e)
Only
LAB manufacturers who have received IS 12795 certification are allowed to offer
their products in Indian markets, according to the terms of this decree. TPL is
now the chosen partner for industries with LAB applications as a result of this
progress.
3.
India’s 1st ever GI-tagged Kashmir carpets flagged off to Germany: The Government of
Jammu and Kashmir has launched quick response (QR) code for its GI-tagged
Kashmiri carpet, to preserve the authenticity and genuineness of the
hand-knotted carpets. The main objective of this QR Code attached to the GI tag
is to help in reviving the sheen and glory of the Kashmiri carpet industry.
Key points:
a)
The
QR code will contain relevant information of the artisans, manufacturer,
weaver, district, raw material used etc.
b)
Since
the QR code label cannot be copied or misused, it will discourage the
counterfeit production of carpets.
c)
Meanwhile,
the first-ever consignment of GI-tagged hand-knotted carpets were exported to
Germany from New Delhi on March 11, 2022.
d)
It
must be noted that the Kashmiri carpets were granted GI-tag in June 2016 by the
Geographical Indication Registry of the Department of Industry Promotion and
Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, but the registered carpets
were certified from 2022.
Note: J&K Lieutenant Governor: Manoj
Sinha; J&K Formation (Union territory): 31 October 2019.
4.
First Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal of Indian Railways commissioned: The Asansol
Division of Indian Railways has successfully commissioned private siding of
Maithan Power Limited at Thaparnagar, Jharkhand, in accordance with the Prime
Minister’s vision Gati Shakti and the Ministry of Railways’ policy regarding
the Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal or also known as GCT, informed the
Ministry of Railways.
Key Points:
a)
Chairman
and CEO of the Railway Board, V K Tripathi, said at the GCT’s commissioning
that the Maithan Power Project was commenced in the year 2009, and power
generation began in the year 2011.
b)
The
coal needed for the power plant was delivered via road, which is estimated to
yield 120 inbound coal rakes every month.
c)
Somewhere
between two to four outward rakes of Fly Ash are expected to be handled from
the siding area.
d)
This
will increase the railways’ monthly earnings by almost Rs. 11 crores.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
SIPRI Report: India emerges as largest importer of arms: The Stockholm
International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) has released its latest report
on Trends in International Arms Transfer, 2021. As per the report, India and
Saudi Arabia emerged as the largest importers of arms between 2017-21. Both two
countries accounted for 11% of all global arms sales. Egypt (5.7%), Australia
(5.4%) and China (4.8%) were the next three largest importers respectively in
the top 5. The report placed India at the top of the list. 85% of India’s
overall imports were from three countries. Russia (46%), France (27%), and the
USA (12%) were the top three largest exporters of arms to India during the
period.
Largest Arms Exporters in 2017-21
a)
USA,
with 39% share, retained its standing as the world’s largest arms exporters
during 2017-21.
b)
Russia
(19%), France (11%), China (4.6%) and Germany (4.5%) were among the top 5
largest exporters respectively.
c)
India
was 23rd largest exporter during 2017-21, with a share of just 0.2% of the
global exports.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
German Open Badminton 2022: Lakshya Sen won Silver Medal: Indian Shuttler
Lakshya Sen has settled for silver after losing to Kunlavut Vitidsarn of
Thailand, 18-21, 15-21, in the men’s singles final at the German Open 2022. The
Thai player dominated from start to end, winning the match and the championship
in just 57 minutes. German Open is an annual badminton tournament classified as
BWF World Tour Super 300 event.
Complete Result of German Open 2022
Men’s singles: Kunlavut Vitidsarn (Thailand) beat Lakshya Sen (India)
Women’s singles: He Bingjiao (China)
beat Chen Yufei (China)
Men’s Double: Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzuddin
(Malaysia)
Women’s Double: Chen Qingchen and Jia Yifan
(China)
Mixed Doubles: Dechapol Puavaranukroh / Sapsiree
Taerattanachai (Thailand)
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
Paytm Payments Bank punished by RBI for data breaching to Chinese firms: The RBI has stopped
Paytm Payments Bank from accepting new customers because it broke the laws by
allowing data to transit to servers in other countries and failing to properly
authenticate its consumers. According to a report, annual inspections by the
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) discovered that the company’s servers were sharing
information with China-based organisations that indirectly held an interest in
Paytm Payments Bank.
KEY POINTS:
a)
SoftBank-backed
Paytm Payments Bank was prevented from adding new customers by the central bank
on Friday, citing “serious supervisory problems found in the bank.”
b)
The
Reserve Bank of India said in a statement that the bank has also been asked to
appoint an audit company to perform a complete assessment of its IT system.
c)
Paytm
Payments Bank, on the other hand, described the allegation as “totally
incorrect, erroneous, and unconfirmed,” noting that it complies entirely with
RBI’s data localisation directives.
d)
“The
Bank’s data is entirely contained within the country.” “We are firm supporters
of the Digital India programme and are dedicated to advancing financial
inclusion in the country,” according to the statement.
e)
The
bank (Paytm Payments) is acting quickly in response to the RBI’s ruling. PPBL
stated that it will continue to cooperate with the regulator to address their
concerns as soon as feasible.
f)
Customers’
services will not be affected, according to the statement.
g)
Existing
PPBL customers will be able to continue to benefit from seamless banking and
digital payments services without interruption, according to the statement.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. LivQuik becomes the first fintech to achieve
RBI’s PPI interoperability guidelines: LivQuik, a prepaid payment instrument (PPI)
issuer, announced that it has achieved full interoperability for its Prepaid
Payment Instruments, as mandated by the Reserve Bank of India. According to the
firm, it is also the first PPI issuer to achieve full interoperability. PPI
issuers must enable full-KYC wallet interoperability by March 31, 2022,
according to RBI rules.
Key Points:
a)
Customers
of LivQuik will be able to optimise their payments and spending across wallets
by attaching a card on the Visa and RuPay networks, as well as enabling UPI,
thanks to interoperability, according to the business.
b)
Karan
Talwar, LivQuik’s Chief Operating Officer, spoke at the event and said, “At
LivQuik, we take pride in offering customers the most comprehensive platform
for leveraging our PPI capabilities and achieving their goals. We’re thrilled
to be the first PPI to achieve full interoperability, and we’re excited to
provide our services to a wide range of clients. We’ve teamed with M2P Fintech
to deliver UPI on PPI with our existing capabilities in cards, wallets, gift
certificates, and other products.”
c)
M2P
Fintech’s Chief Business Officer, Rajesh Wadhwa, stated, “Our Card + Wallet +
UPI stack, along with regulatory capabilities, is the most comprehensive
solution for Prepaid Payment Instrument providers, and we’re proud to have
helped LivQuik become the country’s first fully interoperable PPI. We believe
LivQuik can provide its customers with a number of cutting-edge solutions built
on top of the M2P fintech stack.”
d)
LivQuik
is an RBI-authorized Prepaid Payment Instrument Issuer and Full-Fledged Money
Changer that was founded in 2012. (FFMC). Enterprise, Issuance, and Acquiring
are LivQuik’s three primary business verticals at the junction of Financial
Services and Retail.
About LivQuik: LivQuik is a
Mumbai-based Fintech startup that was recently onboarded to global payment
network VISA‘s Fintech Fastrack Program as a Prepaid Payment Issuer and Full
Fledged Money Changer (FFMC) by the Reserve Bank of India. With its
enterprise-grade wallet platform and SAAS based Gifting platform, LivQuik
provides the Fintech infrastructure to enable Prepaid Payments and manages
highly scalable technology across the payments value chain for the Retail
industry.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
75th BAFTA Award 2022 announced: The 75th edition of the British Academy
Film Awards, also known as the BAFTA Award, was held at the Royal Albert Hall
in London. The awards, presented by the British Academy of Film and Television
Arts (BAFTA), honours the best national and foreign films of 2021. The ceremony
was hosted by actress and comedian Rebel Wilson. The film that received maximum
nominations was Dune, with 11 nominations. The film that received the maximum
number of awards was Dune as well with 5 awards.
Here is the list of winners at the
2022 BAFTA awards:
|
Category |
Winners |
|
Best Film |
The Power of the Dog |
|
Best Director |
Jane Campion, The
Power of the Dog |
|
Best Actress in
Leading Role |
Joanna Scanlan, After
Love |
|
Best Actor in Leading
Role |
Will Smith, King
Richard |
|
Best Supporting
Actress |
Ariana DeBose, West
Side Story |
|
Best Supporting Actor |
Troy Kotsur, CODA |
|
EE Rising Star Award |
Lashana Lynch |
|
Outstanding British
Film |
Belfast |
|
Outstanding Debut By A
British Writer, Director, Or Producer |
The Harder They Fall |
|
Best Film Not In The
English Language |
Drive My Car |
|
Best Documentary |
Summer of Soul (Or,
When The Revolution Could Not Be Televised) |
|
Best Animated Film |
Encanto |
|
Best Short Animation |
Do Not Feed the
Pigeons, Vladimir Krasilnikov, Jordi Morera and Antonin Niclass |
|
Best Short Film |
The Black Cop, Cherish
Oleka |
|
Original Screenplay |
Licorice Pizza, Paul Thomas
Anderson |
|
Adapted Screenplay |
CODA, Sian Heder |
|
Original Score |
Dune, Hans Zimmer |
|
Casting |
West Side Story, Cindy
Tolan |
