Crack Grade B 1

CURRENT AFFAIRS- 21ST FEBRUARY

ESI & FINANCE NEWS

OUTWARD REMITTANCES SURGE 28% IN DECEMBER

• Outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India's (RBI) Liberalised
Remittance Scheme (LRS) registered a month-on- month growth of 28 per cent
to S2.4 billion in December, mainly on higher spending by Indians during
overseas travel.
• In the first nine months of financial year 2023-24(FY24), the total outward
remittance was around $25 billion.
• On a year-on-year basis, outward remittances rose 16 per cent in December
2023.
• The data showed that travel constituted around 64 per cent of the total outward
remittances allowed under LRS for resident individuals in the month.

13TH WORLD TRADE ORGANISATION (WTO) MINISTERIAL

CONFERENCE 2024:
• The WTO's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) will take place from 26 to 29
February 2024.
• Location: Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
• Ministers from across the world will attend to review the functioning of the
multilateral trading system and to take action on the future work of the WTO.
• India is opposed to the China-led group of 130 countries pushing for a global
agreement on Investment facilitation as it is outside the ambit of WTO and
dilutes the multilateral nature of the organisation.
• Department of Economic Affairs and Department Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade have raised concerns at the Investment Facilitation for
Development. (IFD)
• National Fishworkers Forum (NFFs) has written to the commerce and industry
ministry asking it to protect the interest of small fisherman by pushing WTO to
keep small scale fishing out of fisheries subsidies negotiations.
o As 70 % of Fisherman in India lives below the poverty line of India
and livelihood is the bigger issue of the fisherman.
• According to a study by the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) based on 2017 data, loss through the moratorium
amounts to $10 billion annually, primarily to developing countries as they are
the largest consumers. Losses to India estimated by UNCTAD for 2017 stood at
$0.5 billion.
• Since then, digitisation has grown manifold and losses would be much higher
in 2024

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EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) TURNOVER TOPS 1 TRILLION FOR
SECOND YEAR ON THE TROT
• (ETFs) changing hands on the National Stock Exchange
(NSE) surpassed 1 trillion in the first nine months of
financial year 2023- 24 (FY24).
• The traded value has touched 119 trillion so far in FY24,
which is already twice the pre-pandemic Volumes.
• ETFs typically consist of securities which typically move in
line with the movement of a chosen " index.
o They allow for investors to take exposure to a
given basket of underlying assets through units
bought and sold on the stock exchange.
• The number of ETFs has also doubled from 87 in FY20
to 190 in FY24 (till December).
• Meanwhile, total assets under management of ETFs have
touched 26.5 trillion so far.
• Over 90 per cent, came Assets under management
from corporates, 6 per cent from (trillion) high net-worth
individuals, and 2 per cent from retail.
• Retail investors however accounted for 98 per cent of
the total ETF folios. A folio is an investment account.

UNION BANK TO RAISE 3,000 CR VIA QUALIFIED INSTITUTIONS

PLACEMENT (QIP)
• State-owned Union Bank of India approved a 3,000 crore share sale proposal
to fund its business growth.
• The Committee of Directors for Raising Capital Funds, in its meeting held,
cleared the proposal for raising of funds for an amount not exceeding ₹3,000
crore through the issue of equity shares via Qualified Institutions Placement
(QIP), the bank said in a regulatory filing.

OUTLOOK FOR INDIAN ECONOMY APPEARS BRIGHT, 7 % GDP

GROWTH LIKELY IN FY25: FINANCE MINISTER.
• During the current financial year, the Indian economy is estimated to grow at 7.3
per cent- Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman.
• This would be the third year in the row when the GDP would grow in excess of 7
per cent.
• The Reserve Bank of India has forecast India's GDP growth for FY25 to be 7
per cent.
• Interim Union Budget FY25 are expected to play a pivotal role in supporting
India's growth journey ahead.

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• Global slowdown, especially in India's major trading partners, has led to a
slowdown in demand for India's merchandise exports.

PAYTM USERS MAY TAKE UP TO 6 MONTHS TO SHIFT TO OTHER

PAYMENT SERVICES PROVIDERS.
• It could take three to six months to
migrate all existing Paytm customers to
another payments service provider.
• The digital payments major, on the other
hand, it has been learnt, is looking to
apply for a third-party application
provider (TPAP) licence from the
National Payments Corporation of India
(NPCI).
• TPAP licence will ensure that Paytm users
can continue to make digital payments via the Unified Payments Interface
(UPI).
• As recently, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may revoke its payments banking
licence, with Paytm Payments Bank being barred from accepting deposits and
credit transactions from March 15.

PAYTM DOUBLES DOWN ON BANKTIEUPS

• One97 Communications, which operates Paytm, is doubling down its focus on

partnerships with banks to transfer its Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS)
from Paytm Payments Bank, and focus on acquiring new merchants through
these partnerships.
• BBPS is an integrated bill payment system that offers interoperable bill payment
services to customers through a network of agents, enabling multiple payment
modes, according to the RBI.
• The company received final approval from the banking regulator to operate
as the Bharat Bill Payment Operating Unit (BBPOU) last year.

PAYPAL REGISTERS WITH FINANCIAL INTELLIGENCE UNIT (FIU)

UNDER ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING LAW
• PayPal has registered its operations with the Financial Intelligence Unit of
India (FIU), about six years after a protracted legal battle ensued between the two
entities.
• Company has completed the formal procedure of being designated as a reporting
entity under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act recently and has
submitted the requisite documents to the FIU.
• FIU is a national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analysing and
disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions in Indian
Economic channels to various enforcement agencies and foreign FIU’s.

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MSCI EMERGING MARKETS SMALL CAP INDEX:
• Small-cap stocks has boosted the MSCI Emerging Markets
Small Cap index.
• Over the past year it has gained 16.5%, beating the large-
cap index's return of around 9%.
• The MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap index includes small
cap companies from 24 emerging markets.
• Indian companies have a weight of 27.82% in the index,
followed by Taiwanese companies with 22.24% and South
Korean firms with 12.4%
• IT company Coforge Ltd, commercial realty firm Embassy
Office Park REIT, and private sector lender Federal Bank Ltd
are the Indian stocks among the index's top 10 constituents.
• The optimism around artificial intelligence and electric vehicles could be
boosting investor sentiment in the tech-focused markets of Taiwan and South
Korea.
• Over the past year, the Nifty Small Cap1 100 index has rise has risen nearly
73% and Nifty 50 has increased by a relatively modest 24%.
• The one-year forward price- to-earnings multiple of the Nifty Small Cap 100 index
is 18.37 times, almost in-line with the Nifty's 18.18 times, Bloomberg shows.

PRIVATE FIRMS MUST GET THEIR ACT TOGETHER ON CAPEX: RBI

PAPER
• Corporate Sector must “get its act together" and relieve the government of
capex heavy lifting- RBI.
• 'State of the Economy, must leverage the government's recent decision to lower
the market borrowing target in the coming fiscal to their advantage.
• The easing of borrowing costs has already begun in response to the Interim
Budget for 2024-25, driven as it is by capex and consolidation.
• The advantage refers to the increased space for companies to borrow from
the market owing to lower availability of sovereign debt papers.

RBI PAPER REJECTS IMF VIEW ON PUBLIC DEBT REACHING 100%

• Amid the International Monetary Fund's warning
that India's general government debt could
exceed 100% of Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
in the medium term, a Reserve Bank of India
paper said the ratio could fall to 73.4% by 2030-
31.
• Recently, the IMF forecast that India's general
government debt could overshoot 100% of the
GDP under a worst-case scenario by FY28.
• India's general government debt, which comprises the debts of the Centre and
states, had seared to 88% in FY21, the highest in at least four decades, as

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government expenditure rose during the Covid 19 pandemic, amid a revenue
slump.
• It has moderated since to around 81% in FY23 with the Centre and states
resorting to fiscal consolidation with a thrust on capex expenditure, the general
government debt GDP ratio is projected to decline to 73.4% by 2030-31.
• The interim Budget for 2024- 25 has placed the revised estimate of the gross
fiscal deficit (GFD) for 2023-24 at 5.8% of GDP, lower than the Budget
estimate (BE) of 5.9%.

NATIONAL AND STATE

NEW TARIFF NORMS FOR GREEN ENERGY ALLOWS 14% EQUITY
RETURN
• The central electricity regulatory commission (CERC) has issued revised
regulations on tariff determination of renewable energy sources for the period
from April 1, 2024 to March 31,2027.
• For renewable energy pro- jects other than small hydro projects, the return on
equity shall be 14%, whereas it shall be 14.5% for small hydro projects.
• The Commission will determine a 'generic tariff' annually for renewable
energy projects including small hydro, biomass power project, non-fossil fuel-
based co-generation project, bio- mass gasifier-based power project, biogas-
based power project, municipal solid waste-based power projects, and refuse
derived fuel-based power projects.
• The tariffs shall take into account return on equity, interest on loan,
depreciation, interest on working capital, and operation and maintenance
expenses.

IREDA TO SET UP RETAIL SUBSIDIARY

• Indian renewable energy Development Agency (IREDA) will set up a subsidiary
to cater to retail projects including rooftop solar under the recently announced PM
Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana by government.
• "Green Financing: Architecture for Accessible Finance" that IREDA can set up
a wholly owned subsidiary to meet the needs of the retail segments, subject
to the approval of the Government of India.
• Other retail projects will include Electric Vehicles and more Business-to-
Consumer (B2C) segments.
• IREDA: Established in 1987.
o Motto: ENERGY FOR EVER

GREENWASHING: PROOF NEEDED FOR CLAIMS, SAY DRAFT NORMS

• All green claims made by a person or an organization must be supported by
verifiable evidence, according to new draft guide- lines for preventing
greenwashing.
• Additionally, information related to these claims should be made public through
different means of communication-directly, through QR codes or web links.

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• The draft guidelines on the prevention and regulation of greenwashing were by the
Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) for public consultation.
• Stakeholders have been asked to send their comments by 21 March.
• Greenwashing refers to false or misleading claims made by an organization
about the positive impact that a company product or service has on the
environment.
• As per the draft norms, generic terms such as clean’, ‘green', 'eco-friendly', 'eco-
consciousness', 'good for the planet', 'minimal impact', 'cru- elty-free', 'carbon-
neutral' and similar assertions shall not be used without adequate qualifers
and substantiation and adequate disclosure.
• The guidelines also make it mandatory for various organisations to disclose
information about the companies that are making green claims.

PM MODI INAUGRATES CAMPUSES OF 4 INSTITUTIONS IN ANDHRA

PRADESH.
• PM Modi virtually inaugrated 4 permanent campuses:
o Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Tirupati)
o Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER-Tirupati).
o Indian Institute of Information Technology, Design and Manufacturing
(IIITDM Kurnool).
o Indian Institute of Management (IIM- Vishakhapatnam).
• There are a total of 21 IIMs and 23 IITs in the country located in different
cities and states.
• Earlier, recent institutes were: IIT- Goa in 2016 and IIM-Mumbai in 2023.
• Only 3 cities have IITs and IIMs together:
o Jammu.
o Indore.
o Mumbai.

MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY CLEARS 10% MARATHA QUOTA:

• Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde and his Cabinet approved a 10% quota for
Maratha community in education and government jobs.
• Maratha quota will be carved out from the existing reservation for other backward
classes (OBCs).
• Bill was formulated on the basis of Rtd Sunil B Shukre- led Maharashtra State
Backward Class Commission.
• Push total Maratha reservations in Maharashtra to 62% to limit 50%.
• Earlier Maratha government put Kunbhi caste into OBC and issued certificates.

NATIONAL CERVICAL CANCER CONTROL SCHEME (NCCCS):

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitaraman’s announcement during the
presentation of the Interim Budget:

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o Government plans to encourage vaccination against cervical cancer for
girls aged 9 to 14.
o i.e. Serum Institutite of India- Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine
CERAVAC-
• Cancer of cervix: (Literally the neck of the womb) are linked to Human
Papillomavirus (HPV).
• Cervical cancer can be easily diagonosed in public health setting with minimum
tools- Human eye, dilution of white vine vinegar and a dab of Lugol’s iodine-
Known as VIA and VILLI test.
• Cryotherapy is also used to destroy the abnormal growth of cancer.
o Also known as cold therapy, is the local or general use of low
temperatures in medical therapy to treat a variety of tissues lesions.

INDIA TO DISPLAY RELICS OF LORD BUDDHA IN THAILAND:

• India will hold an exposition of 4 relics of Lord Buddha, which are in its
possession, in Thailand.
• From February 22 to March 18.
• Relics of 20 bone fragraments have been preserved at the National Museum
in New Delhi.
• Relics of Buddha and his disciples Arahata Sariputra and Arhata
Maudgalayana.
• Relics were excavated from Piprahawa in Siddharthanagar UP and excavated by
William Claxton Peppe.
• Thailand Capital: Bangkok.
• Thailand Currency: Baht.

FIRST TIME, INDIA IS SEEKING $ 26 BN PRIVATE INVESTMENT IN

NUCLEAR POWER SECTOR:
• India will invite private companies to invest about $26 billion in its nuclear
energy sector to:
o Increase the amount of electricity from sources that do not produce carbon
dioxide emissions.
• First time- Non-carbon-emitting
energy source that contributes less
than 2% of India's total electricity
generation.
o Help India achieve its
target of having 50% of its
installed electric
generation capacity use
non-fossil fuels by 2030,
up from 42% now.

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• Government is in talks with at least five firms, including Department of Atomic
Energy (DAE), Reliance Industries, Tata Power, Adani Power, and Vedanta
Ltd., to invest around ₹440 billion ($5.3 billion) each.
• With the investment, the government hopes to build 11,000 megawatts (MW) of
new nuclear power generation capacity by 2040.
• The state-run Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd. (NPCIL) owns and
operates the country's fleet of nuclear power plants.
• HQ- Mumbai, Maharashtra.
• There are 22 Nuclear reactors across 8 Nuclear power plants – 7,380
megawatts.
• Eight Nuclear power plants in India:
o Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant, Tamil Nadu.
o Tarapur Nuclear Reactor, Maharashtra.
o Kalapakkam Nuclear Power Plant, Tamil Nadu
o Narora Nuclear Reactor, Uttar Pradesh
o Kakrapar Atomic Power Station, Gujarat
o Kaiga Generating Station, Karnataka
o Madras Atomic Power Station, Tamil Nadu
o Rajasthan Atomic Power Station (RAPS), Rajasthan.

FIRST ELECTRIC TRAIN IN JAMMU & KASHMIR.

• The Prime Minister inaugrated the new rail line between Banihal-Khari-Sumber-
Sangaldan (48 Km).
• India’s longest transportation tunnel T-50 (12.77 Km) lies in this portion
between Khari-Sumber.
• World’s highest railway arc bridge over the Chenab River at a height of 359 m
(1,178 ft) also comes under the crucial link from the Katra to the Banihal
section of USBRL.
• Sanctioned in 1994-95, the Udhampur-Srinagar-Baramulla Rail link (USBRL)
project (272 km) has a Rs 37,012 crore budget, against which, expenditure of
Rs 26,786 crore has been incurred up to March 2022.

PM LAUNCHES AIIMS- JAMMU AND OTHER PROJECTS WORTH 32,000

CRORES

• Established in Vijaypur (Samba), Jammu.

• Foundation stone was laid in 2019.
• Established under the Central Sector Scheme PM-Swasthya Suraksha Yojana.
• Other projects including for education, railway, aviation and road sectors
worth ₹32k crores.

GLOBAL INITIATIVE ON DIGITAL HEALTH (GIDH)

• Launched by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Government of
India.
• anaged by WHO.
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• Launched in 2023 during India’s G20 presidency at G20 Health Ministerial
Meeting in Gandhinagar.
• It will serve as vehicle for implementation of Global Strategy on Digital Health
2020-25.
• Platform will help in democratising digital health technologies, especially for
countries of the Global South.
• Initiative will be network of Networks with four main components:
❖ Country needs Tracker.
❖ Country resource portal.
❖ Transformation toolbox that will share quality-assured digital tools.
❖ Knowledge exchange.
• WHO estd in 1948, specialised agency of United Nations.
• Members: 194.
• HQ- Geneva, Switzerland.
• Head- Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

GOVT: ONION EXPORTS BAN TO CONTINUE TILL MARCH 31

• Ban on onion export will continue till 31ST

March 24. However, the Government allows
shipment of food items, including onion to
countries for which requests come through
diplomatic channels.
• In India, onion is produced in three seasons:
Rabi, Kharif and later Kharif.

JAPAN TO INVEST 12,800 CRORES IN NINE PROJECTS.

• The Finance Ministry said that the Japanese government has committed a
loan of 232.209 billion yen (about ₹12,800 crore)- Official Development
Assistance (ODA) for nine projects related to various sectors in India.
• Projects:
o Promoting Start-up and Innovation in Telangana.
o Project for the Construction of Chennai Peripheral Ring Road.
o Sustainable horticulture in Haryana.
o Climate change response and ecosystem services enhancement in
Rajasthan
o North-east including the Dhubri-Phulbari bridge.
o Phulbari-Goeragre section of national highway.
o Dedicated freight corridor project.
o Some of it will be used to establish a teaching hospital at the Nagaland
Institute of Medical Sciences and Research in Kohima.
o Improve urban water supplies in Uttarakhand.

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INDIA'S GAMERS PLAY TO WIN WITH HOMEGROWN AAA TITLES

• Even as the Indian real-money gaming

(RMG) sector is feeling the strain of the
newly imposed goods and services
tax (GST) a blanket 28% on online
gaming earlier 18% GST was there.
• Mayhem Studios, a Mobile Premier
League-backed game developer,
announced the closed beta launch of its battle royale game, Underworld Gang
Wars (UGW).
o Game, which has been in the works for the past 18 months and has
already amassed 7 million pre-registrations.
o India's first-ever AAA game a classification that signifies high-budget,
high-profile games s typically distributed and produced by large
publishers.
• Popular AAA games include titles like Minecraft, Grand Theft Auto V, Call of
Duty, and Fortnite, among others.

10 STATES, 2 UTS RAISE 28K CRAT BOND AUCTION

• Ten states governments and two Union Territories on Tuesday collectively
raised 28,200 crores through state government securities, falling
approximately 20 per cent short of the indicated ₹30,200 crore.
• The Gujarat government did not accept any amount for 8- and 10-year paper in
the bond auction.
• The weighted average cut-off of the state securities was unchanged at 7.46 per
cent from last week, despite mild decline in the weighted average tenor to 13 years
from 14 years during the same period.
• The spread between the cut-off yield on the 10-year state government
securities and the 10- year central government security stood at 41 basis
points

INDIA'S LNG TERMINAL PLANS IN IRAQ FACE VISA, SECURITY

HURDLES

• Plan to set up a Liquified natural gas terminal in Iraq are yet to take off, as
Iraq is yet to issue visas to officials from Indian oil and gas and EPC (engineering,
procurement and construction) companies amid persistent security concerns in
the country.
• State- run companies, including Indian Oil Corp (IOCL) and Engineers India Ltd
(EIL), were to visit Iraq and weigh the prospects of an LNG terminal which
would also operate as a gas liquefaction plant.

• Iraq would be able to optimally utilize the gas it generally flares up and earn
revenue and India is looking at diversifying its LNG import sources to curb market
volatility.

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GOVT MULLS SETTING UP MARITIME DEVELOPMENT FUND (MDF):
OFFICIAL

• Government is considering setting up a maritime development fund (MDF)

with a view to providing low cost, long-term financial support to the shipping
sector.
• Government is working to set up Maritime Development Fund (MDF) for low-
cost, long-term financing support.
• Two options for setting up MDF are-setting up dedicated maritime vertical
under the newly proposed development finance institution, or constituting
standalone MDF as a company with majority ownership by multilateral/bilateral
agency.
• Government is also considering notifying guidelines for setting up NBFCs at
International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to undertake vessel financing/
leasing from IFSC.

ROAD MINISTRY SCHEME TO END CONTRACTUAL DISPUTES

• The Ministry of road transport and highways (MORTH) has launched a one-
time settlement scheme to end a backlog of contractual disputes blocking
much-needed capital for the roads sector.
• It is modelled on marquee Vivad Se Vishwas scheme that aims to settle
contractual disputes involving the government and its undertakings.
• The ministry has fixed two cut-of dates to be eligible for settlement: Arbitration
awards up to 30 September, 2023 and court awards upto 31 December, 2023.
• Claims under the scheme can be submitted up to 31 March, 2024 through the
government e-market place (GeM), for which the portal will provide a dedicated
link.
• Scheme will be applicable for settlement of disputes involving only the National
Highways Authority of India (NHAD) and National Highways and
Infrastructure Development Corporation Limitation (NHIDCLA).
• For cases involving Court awards, the settlement amount offered to the
contractor will be up to 85% of the net amount awarded or upheld by the
court, while the same threshold will be “up to” 65% of the net amount in case
of arbitral awards.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

INTERNATIONAL DEBUT FOR CHINA'S FIRST HOMEGROWN AIRCRAFT

• Narrow-body C919 manufactured by the Commercial Aircraft Corporation of
China (COMAC)- First trip outside Chinese territory, staging a fly-by at the
Singapore.
• China has invested heavily in its attempt to break the hold of the two dominant
Western Plane makers on the global passenger market.

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INDIA HOSTS 3RD EDITION OF GLOBAL INTELLIGENCE CHIEFS' MEET
• Location: Delhi.
• Discuss contemporary security challenges which have global ramifications
also Provides an opportunity to intelligence chiefs to share insights and strategies
and establish cooperation to fight transnational crimes, including cyber
threats, cross border terrorism and terrorism financing.
• Gathering has been organised since 2022.

INDIA SEMICONDUCTOR MISSION (ISM)- CHIP FABRICATION PLANT IN

INDIA
• Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrashekar recently
confirmed that the Tata Group and Israeli chip company Tower Semiconductor
have applied to set up boundaries in the country.
• Tata group is understood to be partnering with Taiwan-based United
Microelectronics Corporation (UMC) or the Powerchip Semiconductor
Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC).
• India's chip incentive scheme broadly covers three aspects of the ecosystem
-full-blown foundries that can manufacture chips; packaging plants called ATMP
facilities; and assembly and testing projects called OSAT plants.
• So far, US-based Micron Technology has clearance for its proposal to set up a
$2.75-billion ATMP plant in Gujarat.

MEMORUNDAM OF UNDERSTANDING (MOU),

AGREEMENT, AND CONFERENCES.

SUN TO BUY 16.33% IN U.S.’s SURGIMATIX FOR $3.05 MN.

• Sun Pharmaceutical Industries has decided to acquire 16.33% stake for about
$3.05 mn in Surgimatix Inc U.S firm.

TECHM ACQUIRES PHILIPPINES BPO FIRM FOR AUSTRALIAN $5 MN.

• Tech Mahindra has acquired orchid Cybertech Services Inc. (OCSI0, a BPO
firm in Philippines that is a service provider to Australian’s TPG Telecom.
• Capital of Philippines: Manila.
• Currency of Philippines: Peso.
• Capital of Australia: Canberra.
• Currency of Australia: Australian Dollar.

CCI ALLOWS MINDA CORP TO ACQUIRE UP TO 8.79% IN PRICOL.

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• Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved acquisition of upto about
8.79% of equity shares of Pricol by Minda Corporations.
• Competition Commission of India (CCI): Statutory body established under the
provisions of the Competititon Act, 2002.
• Established: 2003.
• HQ: New Delhi.
• Mandate:
o To prohibits anti-competitive agreements and abuse of dominant
position by enterprises.
o Regulates mergers and acquisition (M&A) which can have an adverse
effect on competition within India.

INDIA- UNITED KINGDOM FULL FLEDGED FREE TRADE AGREEMENT:

• The India-UK FTA will held be the first
full-fledged FTA with a developed
country which could accrue significant
benefits in the service sector and several
labor-intensive sectors such as textile and
leather industry.
• Crucial for New Delhi to sign the free
trade agreement.
• As it has passed on regional trade
agreements such as the China Led-
Regional Comprehensive Economic
Partnership (RCEP) and has also not
decided to join the US led-Indo-Pacific
Economic Framework for Prosperity
(IPEF's) trade pillar.

POWER FINANCE CORPORATIONS SIGNS MOU WITH GOA GOVT FOR

BLENDED CLIMATE FINANCE
• Power Finance Corporation (PFC) has signed a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the government of Goa to fund the state's climate
ambitions through a blended finance facility.
• The blended finance facility is being set up by the government of Goa in
partnership with World Bank.
• Under the MoU, PFC will fund key climate projects, EVs, etc.
• Power Finance Corporation Ltd. (PFC): Established in 1986.
o HQ- New Delhi.
o Established in 1986 and is the financial backbone of Indian Power sector.
o Under the ownership of the Ministry of Power, Government of India.
o Leading NBFC and the largest Renewable energy financer in India.
o Government has raised status of PFC from ' Navratna' to 'Maharatna' PSU
on 12 October 2021.

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AWARDS, RANKINGS & APPOINTMENT:

SHASHI THAROOR GETS HIGHEST CIVILIAN AWARD OF FRANCE.

• Shashi Tharoor conferred the ‘Chevalier de La Legion d’ Honneur’- Highest
civilian honour in France at an inmate ceremony at the French embassy.

NOKIA APPOINTS TARUN CHHABRA AS INDIAN HEAD.

• Country manager of India will assume the new responsibility from April 1,
2024.

DEFENCE & SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

12th MILAN EXERCISE- 2024

• Indian Navy host multilateral naval exercise.
• Held at: Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• Held under the aegis of Eastern Naval Command.
• This edition is the largest and more complex
• Indian Navy showcased its Deep Submergence Rescue Vehicle (DSRV) to the
delegates of 50 Countries at mega naval exercise.
• Indian Navy DSRV system can locate a submarine upto 1,000-m depth utilizing
its state-of-the-art Side Scan Sonar (SSS) and Remotely Operated Vehicle
(ROV).
• Indian Navy had acquired two advanced DSRVs- One each for India’s west and
east coast in Mumbai and Vishakhapatnam.

2ND EDITION OF THE INDIA-US DEFENCE ACCELERATOR

ECOSYSTEM (INDUS-X)

• First edition was Launched: June 2023 in U.S.A.

• Second edition, a two-day visit was held in: New Delhi.
• Jointly organised by Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), Ministry of
Defence, India and US Department of Defense (DoD).
• This event was jointly coordinated by US-India Business Council
(USIBC) and Society of India Defense Manufacturers (SIDM).
• US- India Defence technology intitative could prove crucial for developing ways
of deterring China.

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 Crack Grade B 15
NEURALINK'S FIRST HUMAN PATIENT CAN CONTROL MOUSE
THROUGH THINKING: MUSK
• First human patient implanted with a brain-chip from Neuralink appears to
have fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse their thoughts.
• Full recovery, with no ill and side-effects.
• Neuralink has said that the initial goal is to enable people to control a
computer cursor using their thoughts.

SPORTS NEWS

WORLD TEAM TABLE TENNIS CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Held: Busan, South Korea.
• It’s the first time that India will qualify for the team event of an Olympics
since the event was included at the Beijing 2008 Games.
• India’s men’s and women’s table tennis teams achieved victories against New
Zealand and Spain, respectively, in their final group stage matches at the World
Table Tennis Team Championships.
• Led by Manika Batra, Sreeja Akula, and Ayhika Mukherjee, the women’s team
showed resilience to orchestrate a remarkable comeback, securing a 3-2 victory
and progressing to the knockout stage.

8 YR OLD BOY OF INDIAN ORIGIN BEATS POLISH GRANDMASTER:

• Ashwath Kaushik (aged 8 yrs) of hailing from Singapore Stunned Polish chess
grandmaster (aged 37 yrs) Jacek Stopa at the 22nd Burgdorfer Stadthaus-Open.
• Location: Near the capital city of Bern, open in Switzerland.

OBITUARIES:

ANDREAS BREHME: WORLD CUP WINNING GOAL SCORER PASSED

AWAY:
• Andreas Brehme who scored from the penalty spot to seal victory for West
Germany against Argentina in 1990 World Cup Final died over night.

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