The first ship of the two Multi Purpose Vessel project, being built by L&T, Shipyard for the Indian Navy, was launched on 14 Oct 24 at L&T, Kattupalli. In keeping with the maritime traditions, the ship was launched by Mrs Shashi Tripathi President NWWA.
The contract for building two Multi Purpose Vessel was signed between the Ministry of Defence and L&T Shipyard on 25 Mar 22. The Multi Purpose Vessels can achieve a maximum speed of 15 knots and are 106 m long and 16.8 wide.
NASA has launched the Europa Clipper, the largest spacecraft it has ever built for a planetary mission. The aim of this spacecraft is to examine whether Jupiter’s moon Europa has conditions suitable to support life, with a focus on the large subsurface ocean believed to be lurking beneath its thick outer shell of ice.
The robotic solar-powered probe is due to enter orbit around Jupiter in 2030 after journeying about 2.9 billion km in 5 years and 6 months. The Europa Clipper is named after its destination, Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter. Europa Clipper will be operating in an intense radiation environment around Jupiter, the solar system’s biggest planet.
The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion kilometers) on a trajectory that will leverage the power of gravity assists, first to Mars in four months and then back to Earth for another gravity assist flyby in 2026. After it begins orbiting Jupiter in April 2030, the spacecraft will fly past Europa 49 times.
In the US, Elon Musk’s SpaceX company achieved a significant milestone by catching the massive booster stage from its Starship rocket in a pair of robotic arms as it fell back to the company’s launchpad in southern Texas. The 71-metre Starship Rocket is the largest and most powerful spacecraft ever built. The rocket is also designed to be fully and rapidly reusable.
SpaceX Company, which is behind the creation, is hoping to develop a spaceship that can be used more like a plane than a traditional rocket system, being able to land, refuel and take off again a few hours after landing.
PhonePe has introduced a new insurance plan offering protection against firecracker-related accidents during the Diwali season. Priced at Rs 9, the plan provides coverage of up to Rs25,000 for a 10-day period, safeguarding users from expenses related to hospitalisation and accidental death due to firecracker accidents.
This short-term insurance covers the policyholder and up to four family members, including their spouse and two children. The plan is available for purchase through the PhonePe app and offers immediate coverage starting October 25, 2024. If purchased after this date, the policy will begin from the purchase date.
Vishal Gupta, CEO of PhonePe Insurance Broking Services
Bank of Baroda (BoB) has introduced a 400-day ‘Utsav Deposit Scheme’ for the festive season, offering 7.30 per cent interest to general citizens, even as it has increased interest rates on term deposits (TDs) in the above 3 years to 5 years bucket from 6.50 per cent to 6.80 per cent.
The Utsav Deposit Scheme, which opened on 14th October 2024 and is applicable on fixed deposits below ₹3 crore, offers senior citizens 7.80 per cent interest, super senior citizens (aged 80 years & above) 7.90 per cent, and up to 7.95 per cent on Non-Callable Deposits. The scheme is a limited period offer.
The 30 basis points (bps) increase in interest rates on TDs in the above 3 years to 5 years bucket will also benefit the bank’s SDP (Systematic Deposit Plan) customers, who can lock-in higher interest rates on each monthly contribution made for a three- to five-year period, according to the public sector bank’s statement.
DG Paramesh Sivamani took over as the 26th Director General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG). The Flag Officer, during his illustrious career spanning over three and a half decades, has served in various capacities in ashore and afloat appointments. DG Paramesh Sivamani was elevated to the rank of Additional Director General in September 2022.
The Flag Officer was conferred with the Tatrakshak Medal in 2014 and the President Tatrakshak Medal in 2019 for his illustrious service. He was also awarded the DG Coast Guard Commendation in 2012 and Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (East) Commendation in 2009.
In exercise of the mandate to regulate matters relating to misleading advertisements which is prejudicial to the interest of public and consumers, Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has issued guidelines for Prevention and Regulation of Greenwashing and Misleading Environmental Claims to address the issue of greenwashing and misleading environmental claims.
Few key Highlights of the guidelines:
Definition of Environmental claims [section 2(e)]
Definition of greenwashing [section 2(f)]
Application of the guidelines [section 3]
Clear guidelines on Prohibition against engaging in greenwashing or misleading environmental [section 4]
Substantiation and adequate disclosure clauses [Section 5]
Biz2X, a digital lending SaaS platform and subsidiary of Biz2Credit, said it has surpassed Rs 9,000 crore mark in loan disbursements. One of the company's key growth drivers is its AI-integrated digital lending platform, DigiKred, which plays a pivotal role in optimizing lending functions for Indian lenders.
The platform is expected to facilitate an additional Rs 5,000 crore in loan disbursements by the end of FY2025, further scaling the platform's reach and impact across the financial ecosystem, the company said in a release.
Rohit Arora, Co-founder and CEO of Biz2Credit and Biz2X.
Swedish telecom gear maker Ericsson has received a new multi-billion dollar contract for selling 5G equipment from India's Bharti Airtel, two sources familiar with the matter said. This comes after Ericsson got part of a $3.6 billion contract last month for selling 5G equipment to India's Vodafone Idea. It shared the contract with Nokia and Samsung.
Demand from the Indian 5G market started to skyrocket in 2023, when sales from the region grew as much as five times, as Airtel and Jio, the telecoms unit of Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries, started to scale up 5G services.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved the merger of Tata Capital, an unlisted entity, with Tata Motors Finance (TMFL), paving the way for the formation of India’s 12th largest non-banking finance company. The RBI sent its “no-objection” to both companies earlier this month, according to the companies’ regulatory filings.
As consideration for the merger, Tata Capital will issue equity shares to the shareholders of TMFL,resulting in Tata Motors holding a 4.7 % stake in the merged entity. As of March 31, 2024, Tata Sons, the holding company of Tata Group, directly owns 92.83 % of Tata Capital’s equity shares, with the majority of the remaining stake held by other Tata Group companies and trust
Cashfree Payments, India’s largest payment and API banking firm, has launched the UPI (Acquiring) Switch which has been certified by the NPCI and is now processing transactions. The UPI Switch is software that allows core banking systems to communicate with NPCI’s UPI systems in order to process UPI transactions, and it is critical to achieving high success rates and depend
The UPI Switch from Cashfree Payments is an important milestone because it allows businesses to accept UPI payments at a high rate of 12000 transactions per second without encountering payment failures or customer concerns, especially on days of heavy traffic for events such as Big Billion Days and IPL. UPI Switch is developed in collaboration with NSDL, the sponsor bank.
Akash Sinha, CEO & Co-founder, Cashfree Payments
In a significant boost to the country’s defense capabilities, India and the US have signed the contract for the procurement of 31 MQ-9B Predator drones. This deal, aimed at enhancing the country’s operational readiness and military strength, includes tri-service procurement of the MQ-9B Sky Guardian and Sea Guardian drones.
The Ministry also inked a separate contract with General Atomics Global India Private Limited for performance-based logistics, ensuring depot-level maintenance, repair, and overhaul of the drones within the country. The MQ-9B Predator is a next-generation remotely piloted aircraft capable of conducting a range of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions.
The 75th International Astronautical Congress (IAC) opened at the MiCo Convention Center in Milan, Italy. The event has drawn more than 10,000 space experts, scholars, entrepreneurs, and professionals from around the world. Italian President Sergio Mattarella attended the opening ceremony.
This year’s congress, themed “Responsible Space for Sustainability,” focuses on promoting the sustainable development of space technologies globally, ensuring that future space exploration and utilization strike a balance between scientific advancement and environmental protection.
Indian shooter Sonam Uttam Maskar won the silver medal in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event at the ISSF World Cup 2024 final in Delhi. The 22-year-old Maskar excelled with a score of 252.9 to secure a podium finish. China’s Yuting Huang won the gold medal in this event, while French shooter Oceanne Muller took home the bronze.
The Indian squad features nine athletes from the 2024 Paris Olympics, including Arjun Babuta (men’s 10m air rifle), Anish Bhanwala (men’s 25m rapid fire pistol. Olympic champion Huang Yuting of China won the gold while Oceanne Muller of France took bronze.
