Wholesale Price-based Inflation (WPI) for December 2022 eased to 22-month low of 4.95 per cent. According to the Commerce and Industry Ministry data released, WPI inflation eased mainly due to fall in prices of food articles, especially vegetables, and oilseeds. WPI inflation was 5.85 per cent in November 2022 and 14.27 per cent in December 2021.
The 21st Edition of the Bilateral Naval Exercise between India and France- Exercise VARUNA commenced on the Western Seaboard. The exercise will witness advanced air defence exercises, tactical manoeuvres, surface firings, underway replenishment and other maritime operations.
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) ship ‘Kamla Devi’, the Fast Patrol Vessel (FPV) designed, built and delivered by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) Ltd to the Indian Coast Guard was commissioned. ICGS Kamla Devi is officially the fifth and last vessel of the series of FPVs designed and built by GRSE as per the specifications of the Indian Coast Guard.
NTPC Renewable Energy Ltd signed a MoU with Government of Tripura in New Delhi for Development of Floating and Ground Mounted based Renewable Energy Projects in the State of Tripura. This MoU embarks upon the journey towards development of large sized Renewable Energy Projects in the State of Tripura and shall help Govt of Tripura in meeting its Clean Energy Commitments.
The Navi Mumbai-based Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), has identified and reported the solitary waves in the Martian magnetosphere with the help of high-resolution electric field data recorded by a Nasa spacecraft.
Capital goods major Siemens said it had signed a Rs 26,000-crore contract to manufacture 1,200 electric freight locomotives for the Indian Railways, the biggest deal in history. Deliveries are planned over a 11-year period and the contract includes 35 years of full-service maintenance. The locomotives will be assembled in the Indian Railways factory in Dahod, Gujarat.
The National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) has issued a draft format of the Annual Transparency Report (ATR) to be submitted by auditors and audit firms every financial year. The gradual implementation of this filing will start with the statutory auditors of the top 1,000 listed companies by market capitalisation on March 31.
Paytm Payments Bank on Monday said it has received final approval from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit. Under Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), a BBPOU is allowed to facilitate bill payment services of electricity, phone, DTH, water, gas insurance, loan repayments, FASTag recharge, education fees, credit card bill and taxes.
BBPS is owned by the National Payments Corporation of India.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Monday said any person looking to acquire more than 5 per cent stake in a bank will need prior approval from the regulator. The RBI has defined “major shareholding” as “aggregate holding” of 5 per cent or more of the paid-up share capital or voting rights in a banking company by a person.
The ILO’s World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2023 report, projects the global employment growth tobe only 1% in 2023, less than half the level in 2022. This would lead to an addition of around 3 million jobs to 208 million. ILO's latest job forecast is lower than its previous estimate of 1.5% growth for 2023.
ILO director-general - Gilbert Houngbo
A new study by Oxfam showed that the richest 1% in India now own more than 40% of the country's total wealth, while the bottle half of the population together share just 3% of wealth. The rights group Oxfam International has released the India supplement of its annual inequality report on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting.
The Ministry of Minority Affairs (MoMA) has discontinued the scheme of interest subsidy on education loans for overseas studies for students belonging to minority communities (Padho Pardesh). All banks were notified by the Indian Banks’ Association last month about the discontinuation of the Padho Pardesh Interest Subsidy Scheme from 2022-23.
The scheme so far was being implemented through Canara Bank, the designated nodal bank.
Startup firm IG Drones, which was born out of the Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology campus in Odisha's Sambalpur has developed a 5G-enabled drone that is capable of vertical take-off and landing. The drone named Skyhawk can be used in defence and medical applications, among other sectors. The drone can carry a 10 kg payload and has an endurance of five hours.
India set a world record by defeating Sri Lanka by a mammoth 317 runs in the third and final ODI of the series in Thiruvananthapuram. After posting 390/5 in 50 overs at the Greenfield International Stadium, India bowled out the opposition for a paltry 73 in 22 overs to seal the three-match series 3-0. Mohammed Siraj was the pick of the bowlers with four wickets.
India’s victory margin of 317 runs is the largest in ODI history in terms of runs.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved setting up and promoting a National Level multistate cooperative export society under the Multi State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 with support from relevant Ministries especially Ministry of External Affairs and Department of Commerce, Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
India and the United States have established a new working group to build sustainable supply chains and boost bilateral trade, the governments. The working group will initially focus on trade facilitation, digitization of customs procedures, issues related to mobilization of sustainable finance and scaling up of innovative clean technologies.
Drone startup Garuda Aerospace has announced its partnership with the Union Bank of India. Under this partnership, 150 Garuda Kisan Drones have received sanction for drone loans under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF). The drone loans will help farmers to digitise land record operations for crop production, and spraying of fertilisers, chemicals.