Current Affairs 13th April

National Affairs

1. First technical regulation from India for Technical Textiles industry launched

 

The Ministry of Textiles issued two Quality Control Orders (QCOs) for 31 items on April 11, 2023. This was India’s first technical regulation for the Technical Textiles industry.

 

In Phase I these QCOs include 19 Geo Textiles and 12 Protective Textiles. These two Geo Textiles and Protective Textiles QCOs will go into effect 180 days after the orders are published in the gazette. 

 

This applies to both domestic and foreign manufacturers who intend to export their goods to India.

2. NCRTC names India’s first semi high-speed Regional Rail Services as ‘RAPIDX’

India’s first semi-high-speed Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) has been given the name RAPIDX by the National Capital Region Transport Corporation (NCRTC), which is easy to read and pronounce in a variety of languages.

 

The “X” also stands for speed and advancement, and it represents the most recent mobility solution and technology.

 

RAPIDX will connect Delhi to the National Capital Region (NCR), which includes Meerut, Alwar, and Panipat. It has a design speed of 182 kmph.

 

Logo Release:

 

The NCRTC also made RAPIDX’s logo, which features a green leaf, which emphasizes the brand’s commitment to decarbonization by using green energy and decongesting the NCR by reducing the number of vehicles on the road.

 

NCRTC is introducing sunlight based chargers on stations and terminals by involving mixed power in foothold.

 

Key Points:

 

RAPIDX trains will operate on RRTS corridors to connect important urban nodes throughout the NCR.

 

NCRTC is focusing to commission a 17km need segment among Sahibabad and

Duhai of the 84km Delhi-Ghaziabad-Meerut hallway, in 2023, preceding the planned

time, and the whole first RAPIDX hallway by 2025.

 

The Union government, the states of Delhi, Haryana, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh (UP), and the NCRTC are all members of a joint venture (JV).

3. President Droupadi Murmu Gives Assent to Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023 

The Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to amend the Competition Act, 2002, which regulates competition in the Indian market and prohibits anti-competitive practices such as cartels, mergers, and acquisitions that may have a negative impact on competition, has received President Droupadi Murmu’s assent.

 

The date that the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) “appoints” for the amended law to take effect will be the effective date of this Act, which may be referred to as the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2023.

 

It is important to note that the law allows for different dates to be chosen for certain Act provisions.

 

The Demonstration will be executed and implemented by the Opposition Commission of

India (CCI).

 

The Competition Amendment Bill 2023 proposes a number of changes to the Competition Act of 2002, such as shortening the window for evaluating combinations, expanding the scope of anti-competitive agreements, and altering the penalties.

4. Madhya Pradesh’s products including Gond Painting, Sharbati Wheat gets GI Tag 

The Ministry of Commerce and Industry (MoC&I) has granted the Geographical Indication (GI) Tag to a number of Madhya Pradesh (MP) products, including five handicrafts, one agricultural product, one food item, and one textile product.

 

Gond Painting of Madhya Pradesh, Gwalior Handmade Carpet, Bhedaghat stone craft (Jabalpur), wrought iron crafts (Dindori), and Waraseoni handloom sarees (Balaghat) are the five products of handicraft.

 

Wheat, also known as Sharbati Gehu or “The Golden Grain,” is an agricultural product that has been registered with the GI Registry.

 

The sweet Morena Gajak has been given the GI label as a food ingredient. In the category of textiles, the Ujjain Batik print has been given the GI label.

 

Additional details:

 

Sharbati wheat is a provincial assortment of wheat filled in Sehore and Vidisha locale,

the grains have a brilliant sheen. India’s Sehore district produces the most Sharbati wheat. 

 

The Gond tribe is responsible for the traditional Madhya Pradesh art of gond painting.

Gond paintings are well-known in the Dindori district’s Patangarh village.

5. Andaman & Nicobar Command conducted a Joint Military Exercise “Ex KAVACH” 

From February 23rd to April 7th, 2023, Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), the first and only Tri-Service theatre command in India, staged a massive Joint Military Exercise dubbed “Exercise KAVACH” (Ex KAVACH) involving the assets of the Indian Armed Forces, including the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Indian Coast Guard (ICG).

 

Aim:

 

The exercise aimed to improve the forces’ interoperability and operational synergy as well as their joint warfare capabilities and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

Ex: KAVACH

 

“Exercise KAVACH” demonstrated the Armed Forces’ readiness and capabilities to safeguard India’s maritime interests and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands’ safety.

 

While carrying out successful joint operations in an environment that was both complex and dynamic, this exercise demonstrated the professionalism and synergy of the various ANC components.

 

Key Points:

 

Participants from the Armed Forces Special Operations Division (AFSOD), Special Forces of the Navy, Amphibious troops of the ANC, and the “Shatrujeet Brigade” of the Army participated in the multi-domain exercise.

 

The exercise includes amphibious landings, air landings, heli landings, and the rapid insertion of Special Forces from the mainland onto a remote island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

 

The exercise’s rapid response demonstrations were observed by ANC Commander-in-Chief Lieutenant General Ajai Singh.

International Affairs

1. India – Ranked 77 in World’s ‘most criminal countries’ List, Ranked 71 at Crime Rate by Country 2023

Venezuela came in first place on the World of Statistics’ list of the “most criminal countries” in the world, followed by Papua New Guinea and Afghanistan. India ranked 77th on the list of countries that commit crimes.

 

The United States (USA) and the United Kingdom (UK) are ranked 55th and 65th, respectively, ahead of India in the list of countries with the highest criminal record.

 

Turkey, Germany, and Japan ranked 92nd, 100th, and 135th, respectively, among the nations with the lowest levels of criminal activity.

 

Venezuela is the first country on the list, followed by Papua New Guinea, Afghanistan, South Africa, Honduras, Trinidad, Guyana, Syria, Somalia, and Jamaica, which are also in the top 10.

 

Nations with the Most elevated Crime Percentages:

 

With a crime index of 83.76, Venezuela ranked as the nation with the highest crime rates worldwide in the World Population Review’s (WPR) “Crime Rate by Country 2023.”

India was positioned 71 with a wrongdoing record of 44.43.

 

Key Points:

 

Venezuela (83.76), Papua New Guinea (80.79), South Africa (76.86), Afghanistan (76.31), Honduras (74.54), Trinidad and Tobago (71.63), Guyana (68.74), El Salvador (67.79), Brazil (67.49), and Jamaica (67.42) are the top 10 countries with the highest crime rates expressed per 100,000 people.

 

Since the crime rate is typically reported as X number of crimes per 100,000 people, the overall crime rate is calculated by dividing the total number of crimes reported by the population and then multiplying the result by 100,000.

Banking and Finance

1. RBI Released Framework for Acceptance of Green Deposits for REs

On April 11, 2023, the Hold Bank of India (RBI) informed an encased Structure

for acknowledgment of Green Stores for the Directed Elements (REs) to advance and

foster a green money biological system in India.

 

On June 1, 2023, the framework will go into effect.

 

Purpose: The system was set up with the goal to urge REs to offer green

stores to clients, safeguard interests of the investors, support clients to

accomplish their supportability plan, address greenwashing concerns and help

expand the progression of credit to green exercises/projects.

 

Applicability: The following entities, collectively referred to as REs, would be subject to the framework’s provisions.

 

Scheduled Commercial Banks, which include Small Finance Banks (with the exception of Regional Rural Banks, Local Area Banks, and Payments Banks) and all Deposit-Taking Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), including Housing Finance Companies (HFCs), that are registered with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

Key Points:

 

A comprehensive green deposit policy that had been approved by the RBI was given to the REs.

 

REs were coordinated to guarantee that the assets raised through green stores are

allotted to qualified green exercises/projects.

 

An annual independent Third-Party Verification/Assurance is required before REs can allocate funds raised through green deposits during a given fiscal year.

 

Use of the funds: According to RBI, the official Indian green taxonomy should be used to allocate funds from green deposits.

 

Renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, climate change adaptation, sustainable water and waste management, and green buildings are among the green activities and projects mentioned by the RBI in the event that the taxonomy is not yet finalized. As an interim measure, REs are required to allocate the funds raised through green deposits to these initiatives.

 

The projects must improve and value natural ecosystems and biodiversity, reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases, promote climate resilience and/or adaptation, and encourage energy efficiency in resource utilization.

 

Projects involving new or existing extraction, production, and distribution of fossil fuels, nuclear power generation, and direct waste incineration are included on the RBI’s list of “exclusions” for REs.

2. GIC Data: India’s Non-Life Insurers Report Double-Digit Growth in FY23

India’s non-life insurers saw growth in fiscal year 2023 (FY23) thanks to strong sector performance, according to preliminary statistics released by the General Insurance Council (GIC).

 

Non-life insurers have covered Rs 2.6 crore in gross premiums in FY23, an increase of 16.4% from FY22.

 

A process known as underwriting involves an individual or organization taking on financial risk in exchange for a fee. The level of risk associated with insurers’ business operations is evaluated by underwriters.

 

The four public sector general insurance companies—New India Assurance Co. Ltd., United India Insurance Company Ltd., Oriental Insurance Company Ltd., and National Insurance Company Limited—have lost 803 basis points (bps) in market share to their private counterparts over the past five years, according to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI).

Economy and Business

1. IMF WEO 2023 cuts India’s growth forecast for FY24 to 5.9% and for FY25 to 6.3%

 

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) downgraded India’s GDP forecast for the financial year 2023-24 in its biannual World Economic Outlook (WEO) 2023 report, titled “A Rocky Recovery,” on April 11, 2023, from 6.1% in January 2023 WEO Update to 5.9%.

 

In the January 2023 WEO Update, India’s growth projections for FY25 have been reduced by 50 basis points (-0.5%) to 6.3% from 6.8%.

 

The worldwide economy will develop by 2.8% in 2023 and 3% in 2024, down 10 premise

focuses each from its January WEO 2023 figures.

2. BHEL-led consortium bags Rs 9,600 crore order to Supply 80 Sleeper Class Vande Bharat Trains

Over the course of six years, Indian Railways will receive 80 sleeper-class Vande Bharat trains from a group led by the state-owned Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL).

Technology Partner is the name of the group that includes BHEL and Titagarh Wagons Ltd.

 

In the super delicate of the Indian Railroads, the BHEL-drove consortium got an

request for 80 Vande Bharat trains.

 

Sleeper class Vande Bharat or Train18 trainsets are sought after since they can

go on lengthy courses like Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah.

 

Including taxes and duties, the order calls for the supply of 80 trains at a cost of Rs 120 crore each.

 

Additionally, a 35-year order for an Annual Maintenance Contract (AMC) has been placed.

Science and Technology

1. RRI & Indian Navy partners to develop secure maritime communications using Quantum Technology

The Indian Navy and the Bengaluru-based Raman Research Institute (RRI) are working together to develop quantum-based secure maritime communications.

 

In this regard, RRI entered into a five-year Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Weapons and Electronics Systems Engineering Establishment (WESEE), the Indian Navy’s Research and Development (R&D) wing.

 

Signatories:

 

The Memorandum of Understanding was signed by Vice Admiral Sandeep Naithani, Chief of Materiel, Indian Navy, and Professor Tarun Souradeep, Director, RRI, at the Sena Bhawan in New Delhi, Delhi.

 

Note: The Department of Science and Technology (DST) provides funding to the aided autonomous research institute (RRI), which conducts basic science research.

 

Key Points:

 

After RRI announced a groundbreaking demonstration of using quantum key distribution to establish secure communication between a stationary source and a moving receiver, the partnership between RRI and the Indian Navy was formalized.

 

This partnership is in line with India’s efforts to become self-sufficient and aims to advance research into quantum technologies for maritime applications.

 

Regarding the MoU:

 

The RRI-WESEE Memorandum of Understanding covers a wide range of potential research areas.

 

The Quantum Information and Computing (QuIC) laboratory at RRI and WESEE will collaborate to develop solutions for ship-to-shore communication under this memorandum of understanding.

 

As of late, the QuIC Lab has accomplished the capacities to track down applications in secure interchanges with moving seaward vessels.

 

Meaning of QuIC Lab:

 

QuIC is the first laboratory in India to propose and put into action a wide range of applications for single and entangled photons, particularly for establishing secure communications in strategic fields like banking, defense, and cyber security. India’s research into secure quantum communication has been led by QuIC.

 

QuIC Lab’s major achievements include:

 

The creation of a complete simulation toolkit known as “qkdSim.” ensuring that communication platforms are safe. communicating securely between two buildings and between a stationary source and a mobile receiver.