NATIONAL NEWS

India - UN Regular Budget

• India has paid USD 29.9 million in UN regular budget assessments for the year 2022.

• As of January 21, 2022, 24 Member States have paid their regular budget assessments in full.

• India is currently a non-permanent member of the 15-nation Security Council and its two-year term will end on December 31, 2022.

India to Export BrahMos to Philippines

• Philippines has signed a deal to buy three batteries of the BrahMos missile, which is developed jointly by India's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Russia's NPO Mashinostroyeniya.

• The deal is worth nearly US$375 million and is India's first significant defence export.

• The missiles are manufactured by BrahMos Aerospace in India.

• The BrahMos is a medium-range ramjet supersonic cruise missile that can be launched from both surface and air.

• BrahMos is one of the fastest supersonic cruise missiles in the world.

ALH MK III Aircraft Inducted at INS Utkrosh

• In a boost to maritime security, the indigenous Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) MK III aircraft was formally inducted at INS Utkrosh.

• The ALH MK III aircraft is manufactured by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited(HAL) in order to boost the security of Andaman & Nicobar.

• INS Utkrosh is an Indian naval air station under the joint-services Andaman and Nicobar Command of the Indian Armed Forces.

• It is located near naval base INS Jarawa, on Port Blair in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

Gurgaon Gets India’s Largest EV Charging Station

• India’s largest EV charging station has been inaugurated in Delhi – Jaipur National Highway, in Gurgaon, Haryana.

• The station has 100 charging points, including 72 AC chargers & 24 DC fast chargers, and is situated in Sector 52 of Gurgaon.

• The station has been installed and operated by Alektrify Private Limited.

• The station was developed under the National Highway for Electric Vehicle (NHEV) by 2020 Programme and Ease of Doing Business in India.

About NHEV by 2020 Program:

• National Highway for Electric Vehicle by 2020 is 1st intercity e-mobility prototypical program to facilitate EODB (Ease of Doing Business) through SWC (Single Window Clearance) for the setup of Charging Stations on National Highways.

• This programme is to provide a platform to stakeholders from all categories to exhibit different practices & technologies for developing Electric Vehicle Ecosystem on National Highway / Expressway in India.

BUSINESS NEWS

Pencilton Launches Debit Card with NCMC

• Pencilton, a teen-focused fintech company, has launched PencilCard, a debit card with NCMC for teens.

• PencilCard is a National Common Mobility Card (NCMC)-compliant RuPay debit card specially designed for the teenager segment.

• It has been launched in partnership with Transcorp International Ltd.

• This contactless prepaid debit cards can be used for payments across various channels, including retail shopping offline, online shopping, travel and in the future - tolls and parking, among others.

Air India Handed Over to Tata Group

• The government officially handed over Air India to the Tata group.

• The total value of the deal is Rs 18,000 crore (US$2.4 billion).

• The strategic disinvestment transaction of Air India successfully concluded with the transfer of 100 per cent shares of Air India to Talace Pvt Ltd., along with management control.

ABOUT TATA GROUP:

• Tata Group Founder: Jamshedji Tata

• Tata Group HQ: Mumbai

Airtel - Google Partnership

• Google to invest up to $1 billion in a partnership with Airtel as part of its Google for India Digitization Fund.

• Deal includes investment of $700M to acquire 1.28% ownership in Airtel at a price per share of Rs. 734.

BANKING NEWS

TerraPay, NIPL Partnership for International Payments

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), had signed a memorandum of understanding with TerraPay, a Netherlands-based global payments infrastructure company

• The MoU will allow Indians with an active UPI ID to receive real-time, international payments into their bank accounts using TerraPay's secure payments technology.

• NIPL is the international payments arm of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Chairman of IIFL Finance

• IIFL Finance appointed former State Bank of India head Arun Kumar Purwar as Chairman of its board effective from April 1.

• Currently he is working for Tadas Wind Energy Pvt and Eroute Technologies.

AWARDS

Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve Bags TX2 Award

• Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve (STR) in Erode district has been given the prestigious TX2 award after its tiger numbers doubled to 80 since 2010.

• Apart from the STR, the Bardia National Park in Nepal has won this year’s TX2 award for doubling the population of wild tigers.

• The awards are presented by the Global Conservation Assured Tiger Standards (CA|TS), Fauna and Flora International (FFI), Global Tiger Forum (GTF), IUCN’s Integrated Tiger Habitat Conservation Programme (ITHCP), Panthera, UNDP, The Lion’s Share, Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and WWF.

• They celebrate the 10thanniversary of all 13 tiger range countries committed to doubling the global population of wild tigers by 2022.

BOOKS AND AUTHORS

India’s Women Unsung Heroes

• Meenakshi Lekhi, Union Minister for Culture launched a new comic book titled “India’s Women Unsung Heroes” an honour to all the lesser-known Indian women who fought for India’s independence and contributed to India’s freedom struggle.

• The book was released at Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts At New Delhi on.

• The book was prepared by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of India in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha.

OBITUARY NEWS

Marathi Author, Activist Anil Awachat

• Marathi author and social activist Anil Awachat, better known as Baba, died. He was 78.

• Awachat was the founder-director of the Muktangan Rehabilitation Centre in Pune and associated with several social causes.