Domestic powerhouse Mumbai ended their eight-year title drought by lifting the coveted Ranji Trophy for a record-extending 42nd time. The iconic Wankhede Stadium witnessed Mumbai's triumph as they defeated a resilient Vidarbha by 169 runs on the fifth and final day of a gripping summit clash. Tanush Kotian – who got the Player of the Series award.
The Mumbai side was captained by Ajinkya Rahane and the Vidharba side was captained by Akshay Wadkar. Musheer Khan won the Man of the Match award in Ranji Trophy final. Musheer became the youngest Mumbai batsman to register a century in a Ranji Trophy final breaking the record of legendary Sachin Tendulkar.
The newly-appointed Election Commissioners Gyanesh Kumar and Sukhbir Singh Sandhu took charge of the office. They were appointed election commissioners by the selection panel chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The two vacancies were created in the Election Commission after the retirement of Anup Chandra Pandey in February and the resignation of Arun Goel recently.
The Constitution of India has vested in the Election Commission of India the superintendence, direction and control of the entire process for conduct of elections to Parliament and Legislature of every State and to the offices of President and Vice-President of India. Election Commission of India is a permanent Constitutional Body.
ECI is an autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering Union and State election processes in India. The body administers elections to the Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State Legislative Assemblies in India, and the offices of the President and Vice President in the country. Originally the commission had only a Chief Election Commissioner.
It currently consists of Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners. The President appoints Chief Election Commissioner and Election Commissioners. They have tenure of six years, or up to the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier. Rajiv Kumar, took charge as the 25th Chief Election Commissioner on 15th May 2022. The
Average life expectancy in India was 67.7 years in 2022 - up from 62.7 a year earlier - and gross national income (GNI, per capita) has increased to $6951, a jump of 6.3 per cent in 12 months, the United Nation's Human Development Index, or HDI, report has said. The HDI report also indicated increases in expected years of schooling (to 12.6 per individual).
Overall, the country has a HDI score of 0.644 in 2022, which ranks it 134 of 193 in the UN's report for 2023/24 - 'Breaking the Gridlock: Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarised World'. This places it in the 'medium human development' category.
Significantly, India's HDI score for 2022 saw an increase after a drop the year before and a flat trend in the years prior. India's 1990 HDI was 0.434, making the 2022 score a positive change of 48.4 per cent. 'Remarkable...': UN Hails India Life Expectancy, Per Capita Income Rise
Gender Inequality Index also said India had demonstrated "progress in reducing gender inequality", flagging a Gender Inequality Index, or GII, of 0.437, which is better than the global average.
In the GII list, which ranks countries on three key dimensions - reproductive health, empowerment, and labour market participation - India places 108 of 166 nations.
India, Bhutan and Bangladesh are all in the Medium Human Development category. Switzerland has been ranked number one. Nepal (146) and Pakistan (164) have been ranked lower than India.
The Central Government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have signed a 23 million dollar loan agreement at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City. The project will establish an International Fintech Institute (IFI) to strengthen fintech education, boost start-up success rates, and drive fintech research and innovation.
The project’s focus on market-driven fintech skills programs, creating an enabling environment for private sector investment and enhancing collaboration between industry, skills development institutes, and development partners will promote holistic growth of the fintech ecosystem in India.
International Day To Combat Islamophobia is an international observance designated by United Nations in 2022, taking place on 15 March every year in 140 countries worldwide. The UN stresses that terrorism and violent extremism cannot and should not be associated with any religion, nationality, civilization, or ethnic group.
Every year, World Consumer Rights Day is observed on March 15. On March 15, 1962, President John F. Kennedy spoke before the US Congress and addressed consumer rights. This incident marked the first time that a world leader spoke of consumer rights. In 1983, the first World Consumer Rights Day was observed. Since then, the United Nations has recognised the special day.
2024 Theme: 'Fair and Responsible AI for Consumers,'
Eris Lifesciences, a chronic therapy-focused drug firm, has acquired the India-branded formulation business of Biocon Biologics, a subsidiary of Biocon, for Rs 1,242 crore. This includes portfolios in insulin, oncology, and critical care. The deal would enable Eris to enter the Rs 30,000 crore injectable market, positioning it as a major player in the insulin segment.
The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) allowed One97 Communications (OCL), which operates brand Paytm, to function as a third party application provider (TPAP) on Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
Four banks — State Bank of India (SBI), Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, and YES Bank — will act as payment service providers (PSPs) to Paytm.
Paytm will operate as a TPAP under a multi-bank model. The NPCI said YES Bank would operate as a merchant acquiring bank for existing and new UPI merchants for OCL. Currently, @paytm is a virtual payment address (VPA) for the company’s users. It is a unique identifier that customers use to send and receive money on UPI.
A PSP bank, either through its own application or a TPAP, onboards and registers customers on UPI, linking customers’ bank accounts to their respective UPI identifications.
A TPAP is a service provider that participates in UPI through a PSP bank, according to the NPCI, which runs the UPI
The headline wholesale price index (WPI)-based inflation eased to 0.2% in February from 0.27 per cent in the preceding month, remaining in positive territory for the fourth consecutive month.
The data showed that lower WPI inflation in February was driven by a deceleration in price rises for fuel and manufactured products, even though food inflation accelerated to 6.9%
The prices of manufactured products, which have a weighting of 64.2 per cent in the index, remained in deflation (minus 1.27 per cent) for the twelfth consecutive month in February. The contraction in fuel prices (minus 1.59 per cent) continued for the tenth consecutive month, led by the contraction in prices of high-speed diesel and Petrol.
Global rating agency Fitch Ratings raised India’s growth forecast for the next financial year (FY25) to 7% from 6.5% estimated earlier, citing robust domestic demand and sustained growth in business and consumer confidence.
It also expects the growth in the current financial year to clock 7.8 per cent, slightly higher than the government's own forecast of 7.6 per cent.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has signed its first-ever Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) agreement with the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to collaborate on applied research. The cooperation includes collaborative projects, training, and research consultancy. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) is a global leader in defence and commercial aerospace.
