Daily Current Affairs April 28 2023

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

NPCI Bharat BillPay introduces the NOCS platform to process ONDC transactions   

• NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) has launched the NOCS platform to provide reconciliation and settlement services for transactions undertaken on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) network.
• The services, provided under the guidance of RBI, will serve as the foundation for the ONDC network and enable smooth, secure and timely transfer of funds to network participants.
• The NOCS platform is integrated with banks, fintechs and e-commerce players, and will soon go live with the first set of 5 banks on ONDC-AU Small Finance Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, IDFC First Bank, and YES Bank.
• NBBL is also working closely with ONDC to bring other innovations to the ecosystem and launch more value-added solutions for the customers, sellers and network participants in the foreseeable future.

What is ONDC Platform?

• The ONDC platform was set up to facilitate the rapid adoption of e-commerce, and boost and strengthen the growth of startups in India by facilitating scalable and cost-effective e-commerce through the open protocol.

About NBBL :

• NBBL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) which came into effect in April 2021.
• It operates the Bharat BillPay platform which processes millions of transactions per month and has over 20,000 billers.
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra
• CEO : Ms. Noopur Chaturvedi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

NHAI to develop 10,000 km of ‘Digital Highways’ in India by 2025

• Around 10,000 kilometres of Optic Fibre Cables (OFC) infrastructure across India will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) by the fiscal year 2025.
• The project of implementing the network of “digital highways ” will be handled by State-owned NHAI’s special purpose vehicle National Highway Logistics Management Limited (NHLML).
• It will develop integrated utility corridors along national highways to develop optic fiber cable infrastructure.
• The authority has identified around 512 km on the Hyderabad-Bangalore corridor and 1,367 kms on the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway to carry out the pilot tracks for the development of digital highways.
• The OFC network will facilitate internet connectivity in remote areas across India and help accelerate the country’s shift to modern-age telecom technologies such as 5G and 6G.
• Recently, the 246-km Delhi-Dausa-Lalsot section of the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway was inaugurated.
• The track has a 3-metre dedicated utility corridor which will be used for the purpose of laying optical fiber cables.
• The OFC network will allow a direct plug-and-play or ‘fibre-on-demand’ model for telecom/internet services.

PM Modi inaugurates and lays the foundation of development projects worth Rs 4,800 crore at Silvassa

• PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of different projects in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.
• He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for various projects worth 4 thousand 800 crore rupees at Silvassa.
• He dedicated to the nation NAMO Medical Education and Research Institute in Silvassa.
• He addressed a gathering at Sayli village near Silvassa.
• He launched multiple developmental works.
• He also held a 16-kilometer-long roadshow in Daman town of the UT.
• He also inaugurated the Devka Seafront at Daman.

Shri Bhupender Yadav launches new features in eShram Portal to enhance the utility of the portal

• The new features in e-Shram Portal have been launched by Union Minister for Labour, Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupendra Yadav.
• The e-Shram Portal has been updated with new features that will enhance the utility of the portal and ease the registration of unorganized workers.
• Through this e-Shram portal, e-Shram registered workers can now connect with employment opportunities, skilling, apprenticeship, pension schemes, digital skills (skilling) and schemes of states.
• The facility to enter the details of the family of the migrant workers has also been added in this e-Shram portal.
• This facility will help in providing child education and women-centric schemes for migrant workers who have migrated with their families.
• In addition, a new feature has been added on sharing the data of construction workers registered on e-Shram with the concerned Building and Other Construction Workers (BOCW) Welfare Board.
• It will ensure the registration of e-shram construction workers with the concerned BOCW board and ensure access to schemes for them.
• The Data Sharing Portal (DSP) has also been formally launched for the sharing of e-Shram data with the state and UT governments.
• This portal will allow sharing of e-Shram beneficiaries’ data with the respective States and UT in a secure manner for targeted implementation of social security/welfare schemes for the unorganised workers registered on e-Shram.
• On 26 August 2021, the e-Shram portal was launched to create a comprehensive National Database of Unorganised Workers which is seeded with Aadhaar.
• As on 21 April 2023, more than 28.87 crore unorganized workers have registered on the e-Shram Portal.

Union Health Ministry to hold Asia-Pacific leaders’ conclave on malaria elimination in New Delhi

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as the precursor of World Malaria Day, has organized Asia Pacific Leaders’ Conference for Malaria Elimination in partnership with the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance (APLMA) in New Delhi.
• The conference was presided over by Dr. VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog.
• The purpose of the conference is to reaffirm political commitment to encourage action to eliminate malaria by 2030.
• The conference provided a forum for leaders from the Asia Pacific region to discuss ongoing efforts towards malaria elimination and to reinvigorate national and regional progress towards the goal of a malaria-free Asia Pacific region by 2030.
• The conference included tracking regional and national progress, leveraging research, innovation and new technologies to accelerate progress in reaching at-risk populations, and adopting the government’s holistic approach to ending the disease.
• Of the 11 countries that are part of the World Health Organisation’s ‘High Burden to High Impact’ initiative, only India has reported a decline in malaria cases during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• From 2015 to 2022, malaria cases have declined by 85.1 percent and deaths by 83.6 percent.

Ministry of Railways will start Puri-Gangasagar Divya Ka shi Yatra from Pune

• Ministry of Railways will start Puri-Gangasagar Divya Ka shi Yatra from Pune under “Dekho Apna Desh” and “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” Scheme.
• The ten-day tour will cover important religious places like Puri, Kolkata, Gaya, Varanasi and Prayagraj.
• Passengers will get an opportunity to visit Lord Jagannath Temple, Konark Sun Temple, Lingaraj Temple, Kalibari, Vishnupad Temple and Kashi Vishwanath Temple during this period.
• Ministry of Railways is running Bharat Gaurav tourism trains from different parts of the country to show important places to domestic and foreign tourists.
• Consisting of 7 Sleeper Class Coaches, 3 AC-3 Tier and 1st AC- 2 Tier Coaches, Indian Railways is offering 3 classes of Economy, Comfort and Deluxe tour packages and mainly booked for 750 passengers in economy segment class is offering.
• IRCTC is offering this all-inclusive journey which includes comfortable rail travel in special LHB rake of Bharat Gaurav train, on-board and off-board meals, road transport, sightseeing and accommodation, etc.

28 States/UTs adopted National Generic Document Registration System for Land Records

• The Rural Development Ministry recently said that ULPIN has been adopted by 26 states and union territories so far.
• The ministry said that till now, 28 states and union territories have adopted the National Generic Document Registration System for land records.
• It is part of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
• Some states are also using ULPIN in SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages Abadi and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) portal, according to the latest data provided by the Land Resources Division of the Department of Land Resources (DoLR).
• ULPIN or Bhu-Aadhar is a 14-digit identification number accorded to a land parcel.
• It would uniquely identify every surveyed parcel of land and prevent land fraud, especially in rural India, where land records are outdated and disputed.
• The identification is based on the longitude and latitude coordinates of the land parcel and depends on detailed surveys and geo-referenced cadastral maps.
• ULPIN is a Single, Authoritative Source of Truth for information on any parcel of land or property to provide Integrated Land Services to the citizens as well as all stakeholders.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : INTERNATIONAL NEWS

European Union Parliament Approves MiCA for Crypto Regulation 

• The European Parliament has approved the world’s first set of comprehensive rules to bring largely unregulated cryptocurrency markets under the ambit of regulation by government authorities.
• The regulation, called the Markets in Crypto Assets (MiCA), will come into force after formal approval by member states.

Key Highlights : 

• Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies without volatility.
• Unlike cryptocurrencies, these coins are generally pegged to a government currency.
• The MiCA legislation will apply to ‘crypto assets’, which have broadly been defined in the text.
• As per this text, the regulation will apply not only to traditional cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and Ethereum but also to newer ones like stablecoins.
• However, it will, not regulate digital assets that would qualify as transferable securities and function like shares or their equivalent and other crypto-assets that already qualify as financial instruments under existing regulation.
• MiCA will also not regulate central bank digital currencies issued by the European Central Bank and digital assets issued by national central banks of EU member countries.
• India is yet to have a comprehensive regulatory framework for crypto assets.
• A draft legislation on the same is reportedly in the works.
• In the Union Budget for 2022, the Finance Ministry imposed a 30% tax on income from the “transfer of any virtual digital asset.
• In March 2023, the government placed all transactions involving virtual digital assets under the purview of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launches ‘Mehangai Rahat Camp’ in Jaipur  

• Rajasthan Chief Minister (CM) Shri Ashok Gehlot inaugurated ‘Mehangai Rahat Camp’ at the Mahapura village of Sanganer in Jaipur district, Rajasthan.
• This initiative has been taken with the aim to provide the people of the State relief from inflation. 
• The State government aims to connect common people in the State with information on public welfare schemes of the state government.
• These camps will be organised in the state from April 24 to June 30, 2023.
• These camps are being organised at the gram panchayat and ward levels.

Key Highlights : 

• Two-day Mehngai Rahat camp will be organised along with ‘Prashashan Gaon ke Sang’ in each gram panchayat and along with ‘Prashashan Shaheron ke Sang’ in each city ward.
• In this way, the camps will be organised in 11,283-gram panchayats and 7,500 wards.
• Registration has been made mandatory to join all the public welfare schemes.
• For this, 2700 Mehngai Rahat camps will be organised daily.
• After free registration, the Chief Minister’s Guarantee Card will be made available to the eligible beneficiaries on the spot.
• 2,000 permanent relief camps will be organised by the district administration at government offices and public places.

About Rajasthan : 

• Governor : Kalraj Mishra
• Chief Minister : Ashok Gehlot
• Capital : Jaipur
• National Park : Keoladeo National Park, Ranthambore National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuary : Bassi Wildlife Sanctuary, Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary

INOX Air Products Commissions 21.3 MWp Solar Power Plant in Uttar Pradesh for green oxygen supply

• INOX Air Products (INOXAP), India’s largest manufacturer of industrial and medical gases, has commissioned a 21.3 MWp Open Access Captive Solar Power Plant at Bangarmau in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• INOXAP’s first dedicated Solar Power Plant is also the largest investment made by the Company in renewable energy.
• The plant has been commissioned by one of India’s leading solar energy power developers, Sunsure Energy.
• It is built with an investment of ₹100 crore, the solar power plant will supply over 3.1 crore units of green power to INOXAP’s units in Uttar Pradesh, enabling an offset of 28,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, for the next 25 years.

About INOX Air Products : 

• Founded : 1963
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Managing Director : Siddharth Jain
• INOX Air Products, also known as INOX AP, is an India-based industrial gas company. 
• It is a joint venture between Inox Leasing and Finance Limited and Air Products & Chemicals.

About UP : 

• Governor : Anandiben Patel
• Chief Minister : Yogi Adityanath
• Capital : Lucknow
• National Park : Dudhwa National Park, Rajaji National Park
• Wildlife Sanctuary : Chandra Prabha Wildlife Sanctuary, Hastinapur Wildlife Sanctuary,Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Airtel partners with Secure Meters to deploy NB-IoT in Bihar

• Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has partnered with Secure Meters for deploying narrow band (NB-IoT) services that will power 1.3 million homes in Bihar through a smart meter solution.
• This deployment will be India’s first NB-IoT solution on a narrow band with a fall-back option that will work on 2G and 4G and ensure real-time connectivity and uninterrupted transfer of critical data.
• NB-IoT is a low-power, wide area, radio network technology developed by 3GPP which enables a wide variety of IoT devices and services including smart meters.
• Airtel’s NB-IoT platform is future-ready and is scalable to 5G, the company said adding that the NB-IoT proposition also includes its advanced IoT platform ‘The Airtel IoT Hub’ which has been customised to suit the needs of advance metering infrastructure service providers (AMISPs).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

India is the 4th biggest military spender in the world: SIPRI

• India, which has sharpened its focus on building its defence capabilities and strengthening military infrastructure along the China border, was the fourth biggest military spender in the world in 2022 after the United States, China and Russia.
• Saudi Arabia was in fifth place.
• The five countries accounted for 63% of the world’s military spending.
• The top three spenders in 2022 were the United States, China and Russia, who accounted for 56 percent of the world’s total share of military expenditure, as per the Swedish think tank’s data.
• India’s military spending of $81.4 billion was the fourth highest in the world.
• It was 6% more than in 2021 and up by 47% from 2013.
• The report comes at a time when India and China have been locked in a standoff along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in eastern Ladakh since May 2020, and negotiations are on to ease border tensions.
• Total global military expenditure increased by 3.7% in 2022, hitting a new high of $2,240 billion, Sipri said while highlighting that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine was a major driver of the growth in spending last year.
• China continues to spend more on defence than India.
• In 2022, China’s military spending reached $292 billion.
• In February, India set aside Rs. 5.93 lakh crore for defence spending in this year’s budget, including a capital outlay of Rs.1.62 lakh crore for the military’s modernisation, with the allocation almost 12% higher than t hat in last year’s budget estimates, and about 2% more compared to that in the revised estimates for 2022-23.
• In another report published in March 2023, Sipri said India’s arms imports fell 11% between 2013-17 and 2018-22 but the country is still the world’s top importer of military hardware.
• That report came at a time when India sharpened its focus on achieving self-reliance in the defence manufacturing sector.
• Also, India’s share of the global arms imports was the highest during the last five years at 11%, followed by Saudi Arabia (9.6%), Qatar (6.4%), Australia (4.7%) and China (4.7%), according to data published by Sipri that measures weapons imports over five-year periods.

About SIRPI

• The SIPRI is an independent international institute dedicated to research into conflict, armaments, arms control and disarmament.
• Established in 1966 at Stockholm, SIPRI provides data, analysis and recommendations, based on open sources, to policymakers, researchers, media and the interested public.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

NASSCOM Appoints Microsoft India’s Anant Maheshwari As new Chairperson For 2023-24  

• Information technology (IT) industry body the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has appointed President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft India Anant Maheshwari as its chairperson for 2023-24.
• He takes on the new role from his previous role as Vice Chairperson succeeding Krishnan Ramanujam, President, Business and Technology Services, Tata Consultancy Services, who served as Chairperson for 2022-23.

• NASSCOM also announced the appointment of Rajesh Nambiar, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Cognizant India, as its Vice Chairperson for 2023-24.
• In addition, NASSCOM also announced its Executive Council for 2023-2025.
• The new Executive Council will play a strategic role in enabling India’s tech sector to lead on the global stage through focused initiatives and programmes.
• The newly appointed leadership along with President Debjani Ghosh will spearhead the industry to carry out its wide array of objectives to achieve the tech industry’s vision of $500 billion by 2030.

About NASSCOM : 

• Established : 1 March 1988
• The NASSCOM is an Indian non-governmental trade association and advocacy group, focused mainly on the technology industry of India.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Monetary Authority Of Singapore Clears Merger Of HDFC Investments With HDFC Bank  

• HDFC Bank stated that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has given approval for the merger of HDFC Investments Limited and HDFC Holdings Limited with parent HDFC Ltd.
• As part of a composite scheme of amalgamation, Griha Pte, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Investments and a foreign step-down subsidiary of HDFC Ltd., received approval for the merger with HDFC Bank.

Key Highlights : 

• The acquisition would result in the bank acquiring 20% or more of the issued share capital of Griha Pte.
• The proposed amalgamation is subject to receipt of final approvals from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) in respect of change in control of certain subsidiaries of HDFC Ltd
• This approval will help pave the way for the merger of HDFC and HDFC Bank, expected to be finalised by the third quarter of this financial year.
• The proposed entity will have a combined asset base of around Rs 18 lakh crore.
• Once the deal is effective, HDFC Bank will be 100 per cent owned by public shareholders, and existing shareholders of HDFC will own 41% of the bank
• Earlier HDFC bank has received permission from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase stake in HDFC Life and HDFC ERGO to more than 50%.

Hindujas Get In-Principal Approval To Raise Stake In IndusInd Bank  

• Hinduja Group, Promoters of India’s IndusInd Bank have received in-principal approval from the country’s central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase their stake in IndusInd Bank.
• The promoters have filled out a form to increase the stake and the due diligence process takes about 90-180 days as per the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) norms.
• IndusInd’s promoters currently hold a stake of about 16.5% in the bank. In 2021, the RBI raised the cap on the stake promoters can hold in a bank to 26% from 15%.
• IndusInd International Holdings Ltd, an entity belonging to promoters Hinduja Group, have a 12.57% stake in the lender, while IndusInd Ltd has a 3.93% stake as per the company’s latest shareholding pattern available with the Indian stock exchange BSE.

About IndusInd Bank :

• Founded : April 1994
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Sumant Kathpalia.
• Tagline : We Make You Feel Richer

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS

Alcaraz beats Tsitsipas, wins second straight Barcelona Open title

• Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and won the Barcelona Open
• Alcaraz won his third ATP Tour title of the year and the ninth overall.
• Alcaraz won in Barcelona Open for the second consecutive year.
• It was Tsitsipas’s fourth consecutive loss to Alcaraz.
• Alcaraz was defeated by Jannik Sinner in the semi-finals of the Miami Open.
• In December, Alcaraz became the youngest year-end world number 1 since the ATP rankings began.
• 2023 Barcelona Open was a men’s tennis tournament played in Barcelona, Spain, from 17 to 23 April 2023.
• It was the 70th edition of the Barcelona Open.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

Bureaucrat Ashish Kundra’s new book ‘A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change’ launched in New Delhi

• A new book ‘A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change’ launched.
• This book is written by Ashish Kundra, who is an IAS officer and senior bureaucrat.
• This book is on the history of Northeast India and its people.
• The book was launched in the presence of Kiren Rijiju, Hardeep Singh Puri, Pema Khandu, Amitabh Kant and others.
• The book was launched at an event in New Delhi.
• The event began with a performance by the famous vocal quartet of Tetseo sisters.
• In this book, senior bureaucrat-author Ashish Kundra has written about the transformational changes that are happening in the remotest parts of the Northeast.

Daily CA One-Liner: April 28

• NPCI Bharat BillPay Ltd (NBBL) has launched the NOCS platform to provide reconciliation and settlement services for transactions undertaken on the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) network.
• Around 10,000 kilometres of Optic Fibre Cables (OFC) infrastructure across India will be developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) by the fiscal year 2025
• PM Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of different projects in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
• The new features in e-Shram Portal have been launched by Union Minister for Labour, Employment, Environment, Forest and Climate Change Shri Bhupendra Yadav.
• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, as the precursor of World Malaria Day, has organized Asia Pacific Leaders’ Conference for Malaria Elimination in partnership with the Asia Pacific Leaders’ Malaria Alliance (APLMA) in New Delhi
• Ministry of Railways will start Puri-Gangasagar Divya Ka shi Yatra from Pune under “Dekho Apna Desh” and “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” Scheme
• The Rural Development Ministry recently said that ULPIN has been adopted by 26 states and union territories so far
• Bharti Airtel (Airtel) has partnered with Secure Meters for deploying narrow band (NB-IoT) services that will power 1.3 million homes in Bihar through a smart meter solution
• India, which has sharpened its focus on building its defence capabilities and strengthening military infrastructure along the China border, was the fourth biggest military spender in the world in 2022 after the United States, China and Russia
• Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz defeated Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas and won the Barcelona Open
• A new book ‘A Resurgent Northeast: Narratives of Change’
• The European Parliament has approved the world’s first set of comprehensive rules to bring largely unregulated cryptocurrency markets under the ambit of regulation by government authorities.
• Rajasthan Chief Minister (CM) Shri Ashok Gehlot inaugurated ‘Mehangai Rahat Camp’ at the Mahapura village of Sanganer in Jaipur district, Rajasthan.
• INOX Air Products (INOXAP), India’s largest manufacturer of industrial and medical gases, has commissioned a 3 MWp Open Access captive Solar Power Plant at Bangarmau in Unnao, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
• Information technology (IT) industry body the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has appointed President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Microsoft India Anant Maheshwari as its chairperson for 2023-24.
• HDFC Bank stated that the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) has given approval for merger of HDFC Investments Limited and HDFC Holdings Limited with parent HDFC Ltd.
• Hinduja Group, Promoters of India’s IndusInd Bank have received in-principal approval from the country’s central bank Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase their stake in IndusInd Bank.