V Ramachandra appointed by RBI as member of Advisory Committee of SIFL, SEFL
V Ramachandra appointed as member of SIFL, SEFL: V Ramachandra was appointed by RBI to the advisory committees of Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL).
V Ramachandra appointed as member of Advisory Committee of SIFL, SEFL
V Ramachandra, a former chief general officer of Canara Bank, was appointed by the Reserve Bank on Tuesday to the advisory committees of Srei Infrastructure Finance Limited (SIFL) and Srei Equipment Finance Limited (SEFL).
V Ramachandra appointed by RBI as member of of SIFL, SEFL: Key Points
The RBI had created a three-member advisory council to support the administrator of the two crisis-ridden enterprises after replacing the boards of SIFL and SEFL in October 2021.
During the corporate insolvency resolution process, the Advisory Committee shall provide advice to the Administrator regarding the management of SIFL and SEFL.
Venkat Nageshwar Chalasani, a former deputy managing director at the State Bank of India, and T. Srinivasaraghavan, a former managing director at Sundaram Finance Limited, make up the other two members of the committee.
The National Company Law Tribunal’s Kolkata Bench received applications from the RBI in October 2021 to begin the corporate insolvency resolution procedure against SIFL and SEFL (NCLT).
RBI’s Digital Payments Index Jumps to 377.46 in Sept from 349.30 in March
About Advisory Committee of SIFL, SEFL
The three-member committee established pursuant to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy (Insolvency and Liquidation Proceedings of Financial Service Providers and Application to Adjudicating Authority) Rules, 2019, “will remain as the advisory body” following the NCLT’s admission of the petitions.
RBI Proposes Stressed Assets Securitisation Framework For Quicker Resolution
About SREI Group
Srei Group, which primarily serves the infrastructure and MSME sectors, owes over Rs 18,000 crore to approximately 15 lenders, including Axis Bank, UCO Bank, and State Bank of India, in addition to nearly Rs 10,000 crore in bonds and borrowings from other countries.
Srei Equipment Finance stated in a regulatory filing earlier this month that its administrator had received a report from the transaction auditor on several fraudulent transactions in 2019–20 and 2020–21, which had a financial impact of more than Rs 3,025 crore on the Srei group.
Babita Phogat joins Oversight Committee panel formed against WFI
Babita Phogat joins Oversight Committee panel: Babita Phogat, a former wrestler, joined oversight committee established to look into the claims made against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI).
Babita Phogat joins Oversight Committee panel
Babita Phogat, a former wrestler, joined the oversight committee established to look into the claims made against the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI). The Oversight Committee is also looking into claims of sexual misbehaviour, harassment, and/or intimidation, as well as financial and organisational irregularities made by well-known athletes.
Babita Phogat joins Oversight Committee panel
The committee was established during the IOA’s emergency Executive Council meeting earlier this month, which was also attended by IOA President PT Usha, joint secretary Kalyan Chaubey, and people like Yogeshwar and Abhinav Bindra.
6,000 Athletes to Participate in 27 sports in Khelo India Youth Games
Who all are the members of the Oversight Committee panel formed against WFI?
Babita Phogat is currently the sixth member of the Oversight Committee, which is led by MC Mary Kom, Chairperson of the Athletes Commission and recipient of the Khel Ratna Award.
Yogeshwar Dutt, a Khel Ratna Awardee, is on the executive council of the IOA.
Trupti Murgunde, a Dhyanchand Awardee, is a member of the Mission Olympic Cell.
Radhica Sreeman is a former executive director of TEAMS at the Sports Authority of India.
Eknath Shinde Declares ‘Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha’ As State Song
The Maharashtra government announced the Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha as the state song.
The Maharashtra government announced the Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha as the state song, which is usually performed at school cultural events on May 1, second only to the national anthem. The song will now be played on official occasions. The national anthem will always take precedence, and the state song will play at all government-organised events, according to rules established by the state cabinet. In addition to the daily prayer and the national anthem, the song Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha will be played in all schools. From the following academic year, state board textbooks will feature the state anthem. The song’s two stanzas have a total duration of 1.41 minutes.
More About This Development:
Soon after Gujarat adopted its own in 2011, Raja Badhe’s cousin Ashok, a retired engineer, originally lobbied for this to be regarded as the state song.
Two other songs competing for this distinction were “Priya amucha ek Maharashtra desh ha,” written by famed Marathi author Shripad Krushna Kolhatkar, and “Mangal desha pavitra desha,” written by Ram Ganesh Gadkari. The song “Jai Jai Maharashtra Majha” honours the state and its spirit of tenacity.
States Who have Adopted Their Own State Song:
On February 19, the anniversary of the birth of Maratha monarch Chhatrapati Shivaji, the song will assume its official role. At the moment, 12 other states—Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Manipur, Odisha, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu, and Uttarakhand—have an official state song.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed 31st Foundation Day of NCW
The President of India Droupadi Murmu addressed the 31st Foundation Day of the National Commission for Women in Delhi on January 31st, 2023.
The President of India Droupadi Murmu addressed the 31st Foundation Day of the National Commission for Women in Delhi on January 31st, 2023. The theme of the program was ‘Sashakt Nari Sashakt Bharat’ which aimed at acknowledging and celebrating the stories of women who have excelled and paved their journey to leave a mark.
Union Minister for Women and Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani and MoS, WCD, Dr. Munjpara Mahendrabhai also graced the occasion.
President Droupadi Murmu addressed the 31st Foundation Day of NCW- Key Points
The Commission is organized a two-day event to celebrate its 31st Foundation Day from 31st January 2023 to 1st February 2023.
On the second day, a panel discussion was held with extraordinary women who have led the path of inspiration and empowerment for several others.
The Commission aims to provide a platform with a diverse and varied exchange of dialogue focusing on gender equality in the decision-making and leadership roles of women belonging to different socio-economic backgrounds.
NCW was founded in January 1992 as a statutory body under the National Commission for Women Act, of 1990.
It was established to review the constitutional and legal safeguards for women, recommend remedial legislative measures, facilitate the redressal of grievances, and advise the government on policy matters affecting women.
About National Commission for Women
The National Commission for Women was formed to establish an equal and just livelihood for women by making legal and constitutional amendments for women in India. Violence against Women is a fundamental violation of human rights, across nations, societies, cultures, and classes and this commission was formed to stop this violation of this fundamental right.
UNESCO listed Ukraine’s Odesa a World Heritage Site in Danger
UNESCO lists Odesa World Heritage site in Danger: United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, designated the historic center of Odesa as a World Heritage Site in danger.
UNESCO lists Odesa World Heritage site in Danger
The United Nations cultural organization, UNESCO, designated the historic center of Odesa as a World Heritage Site and categorized it as being “in danger” during a committee meeting in Paris. It is in recognition of the historical significance of a Black Sea port that Russia has pounded with missiles as it seeks to retake Ukraine.
Odesa: UNESCO World Heritage Site in Danger
Catherine Colonna, France’s foreign minister, intended to visit the city to demonstrate her solidarity, but the possibility of a Russian missile strike derailed her plans.
In October, President Volodymyr Zelensky requested that the United Nations declare Odesa to be an endangered World Heritage Site.
The U.N. agency expedited the process out of concern for the harm being done to the city’s numerous cultural sites.
Pakistan’s Inflation Rises To 48 Year High as IMF Officials Visit For Talk
What will be the advantage to Odesa being listed in the UNESCO world heritage in danger site?
By placing the city on the UNESCO list, Russia will be under more pressure to stop from invading Odesa, and the city will have better access to funding and technical support.
Odesa has been dubbed “the intercultural capital of Ukraine” by the city’s mayor, Gennadiy Trukhanov, making it a representation of Ukrainian identity.
Since the start of the Russian invasion, at least 236 cultural sites in Ukraine, including temples, museums, monuments, and libraries, have suffered damage, according to the agency.
The Black Sea-accessible port city in the south has traditionally served as a meeting point for various civilizations.
US Offers Critical Technologies to India under iCET, elevates strategic partnership
History of the place:
Empress Catherine the Great of Russia founded it in the late 18th century, and today it is home to hundreds of structures that are significant to both Russians and Ukrainians in terms of architecture and culture.
Despite frequent Russian aircraft attacks, Russian troops were unable to take Odesa last year; instead, their onslaught was stopped at the city of Mykolaiv, which is located about 80 miles to the east.
Volunteers and Ukrainian soldiers have worked to reinforce certain structures, cover monuments with sandbags, and establish barriers as the attacks on Odesa have intensified.
UNESCO committed to repair the damage caused by shelling to the Odesa Museum of Fine Arts and the Odesa Museum of Modern Art.
The director general of the organisation, Audrey Azoulay, stated in a statement that the city had “made its mark on literature, film, and the arts.” This inscription “embodies our common will to prevent further devastation of this city, which has always survived global upheavals.”
US Offers Critical Technologies to India under iCET, elevates strategic partnership
NSA Ajit Doval and his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan attended meeting in Washington for the inaugural dialogue of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).
India and the United States launched a programme to enhance their strategic partnership with delegations led by the National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval and his American counterpart, Jake Sullivan at their meeting in Washington for the inaugural dialogue of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies (iCET).
A Timeline of this Development:
The initiative is a particularly significant milestone in the bilateral relationship, having been announced at the highest level — by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Joe Biden at the Quad summit in Tokyo in May, 2022.
Aim of The iCET Dialogue:
The two sides announced a set of programmes whose aim is to increase the depth and scope of bilateral cooperation in cutting edge technology, including in the defence sector. The iCET seeks to build supply chains which increase co-production and co-development between the countries and increase linkages between the countries’ start-up ecosystems, both governments said in their statements describing the dialogue.
iCET: Areas of Co-operation:
A White House ‘fact sheet’ released after the meeting highlighted six areas of planned cooperation:-
1.Strengthening innovation ecosystems
2. Defence innovation and technology cooperation
3.Resilient semiconductor supply chains
4. Space
5. STEM talent and
6. Next generation telecommunications.
A Comprehensive Research Partnership Under iCET:
The programmes include a Research Agency Partnership between the U.S. National Science Foundation and Indian science agencies; a mechanism to cooperate on quantum computing that will also involve academia and industry; developing a new defence industrial cooperation roadmap; supporting the development of semiconductors in India, including by setting up a taskforce to identify opportunities; and increasing space cooperation including human spaceflight.
5G/6G cooperation Under iCET:
Also announced was a private-public dialogue to further 5G/6G cooperation and the adoption of Open RAN (technology to connect phones to each other and to the internet) in India.
A Critical Jet Engines Manufacturing Under iCET:
The US also committed to ensure a speedy review of the application of the General Electric to produce in India jet engines for India-manufactured Light Combat Aircrafts.
Pakistan’s Inflation Rises To 48 Year High as IMF Officials Visit For Talk
Inflation has risen to a 48-year high in crisis-hit Pakistan, where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is visiting for urgent talks.
Inflation has risen to a 48-year high in crisis-hit Pakistan, where the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is visiting for urgent talks, according to data released on February 1 by the country’s statistics bureau. Year-on-year inflation in January 2023 was recorded at 27.55 percent, the highest since May 1975, with thousands of containers of imports held up at Karachi port. Pakistan’s economy is in dire straits, stricken by a balance-of-payments crisis while it attempts to service high amounts of external debt.
A Brief Timeline of Inflation Rate In Pakistan:
Food prices rose by a staggering 43 percent in January year-on-year. The inflation rate in Pakistan averaged 8.05 per cent from 1957 until 2023, reaching an all-time high of 37.8 per cent in December 1973 and a record low of minus 10.32 per cent in February 1959.
Pakistan’s finance ministry said in its monthly outlook released that inflation for January was forecast in the range of 24%-28%, citing supply-side factors and economic and political uncertainty.
About Pak-IMF Talks:
An IMF delegation arrived in Islamabad to revive negotiations over a stalled bailout package with the government, which has so far held out from meeting the global lender’s tough conditions. But in recent days, with the prospect of national bankruptcy looming and no friendly countries willing to offer less painful bailouts, Islamabad has started to bow to pressure.
Former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who was ousted last year in a no-confidence motion, negotiated a multi-billion-dollar loan package from the IMF in 2019. But he reneged on promises to cut subsidies and market interventions that had cushioned the cost-of-living crisis, causing the programme to stall. It is a common pattern in Pakistan, where most people live in rural poverty, with more than two dozen IMF deals brokered and then broken over the decades.
Freefall of The Pak Rupee:
The government loosened controls on the rupee to rein in a rampant black market in US dollars, a step that caused the currency to plunge to a record low. Artificially cheap petrol prices have also been hiked. The state bank is no longer issuing letters of credit, except for essential food and medicines, causing a backlog of thousands of shipping containers at Karachi port stuffed with stock the country can no longer afford. The world’s fifth most populous country has less than $3.7 billion in its central bank – enough to cover just three weeks of imports.
Political Implications of The Inflation in Pakistan:
On January 23, the central bank raised the policy rate by 100 basis points to 17 per cent — the highest since 1998 — to help stabilise the economy. High inflation has become a nightmare amid the financial crunch and insufficient supplies. It is eroding the political capital of the 13-party coalition government led by the PML-N. It is not only affecting ordinary people but also industries and businesses due to costly bank financing.