The First Forum is an initiative that focuses on covering the latest happenings in a brief format. This is in lieu of the importance of knowledge about current happenings in this fast-changing world.
In the Sixty Seventh – Edition of The First Forum we would be covering the following topics:
1. Politics
2. Science and Technology
3. Business
4. Economics
5. Finance
(By Gunika Vij, Ashika Deb and Shitij Goyal)
Politics
Japan’s anti-submarine exercise in South China Sea raises concerns for China
Japan’s Maritime Self-defense Force conducted anti-submarine drills in the South China Sea on October 9th deploying 3 vessels the purpose of which was “to boost their tactical capability. Nearly all of the energy-rich waters of the South China Sea are claimed by China, which has established military outposts on artificial islands in the area and parts of the sea are claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. It is common knowledge that the United States has accused China of militarising the South China Sea and trying to intimidate Asian neighbours who might want to exploit the area’s extensive oil and gas reserves. Read More
Delay of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana subsidy is the cause of suffering for thousands of beneficiaries
Of the 2.19 lakh homes sanctioned in Maharashtra under Beneficiary Led Construction (BLC) component of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s flagship housing scheme, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, only 22,000 have been completed. Most beneficiaries await the release of Rs 1.5 lakh central subsidy. The high demand for BLC, which has emerged as one the most popular programmes under the scheme, is because of the comparative flexibility it offers to beneficiaries to construct stand-alone houses on their own plot. Read More
India-UK defence logistics pact reflects policy shift in London
India and the UK are in the final stages of agreeing on a key defence logistics pact, reflecting a policy shift in London. Experts say the MoU is part of a new approach to India and Asia as the UK prepares for a future outside the European Union from January 1. The review, intended to take into account the current and projected domestic and global context in 2030, was commissioned by Boris Johnson. It is seen as London beginning to move beyond attempts to ‘balance’ relationships. It’s significant for multiple reasons – not only is its military strategic value high, especially in the Indian Ocean Rim but it also signals a foreign policy shift on London’s part on the China and Pakistan questions. Read More
MHA’s advisory to states on dealing with crimes against women
Following the Hathras gang rape case, the Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the states to take strict action in cases of crimes against women and adhere strictly to guidelines for dealing with such cases, including mandatory registration of FIRs and completing probes in two months in cases of sexual assault. In its advisory, the MHA said that “any failure of police to adhere to these mandatory requirements may not augur well for the delivery of criminal justice in the country.” The MHA has asked states for “mandatory registration of FIRs, action against officers who refuse to register FIRs in cases of rape and certain other crimes against women, to treat the dying declaration of a victim as a matter of fact, collection of evidence for forensic examination and use of sexual assault evidence collection kit, completion of investigation in sexual assault cases in two months, use of the National Database on Sexual Offenders for identifying and tracking repeat sexual offenders”. Read More
Andhra CM’s letter to the CJI
In a letter to the Chief Justice of India S.A Bobde, the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh has alleged Justice N.V. Ramana of impropriety. Justice N.V. Ramana is next in line to become the chief justice of India and is a sitting judge of the Supreme Court. The Chief Minister claims that Justice Ramana has been influencing the sittings of the Andhra Pradesh High Court including the roster of a few judges of the court. Read More
Science and Technology
Large-scale climate changes may originate in the Pacific
In a new study, researchers find that the pulses of rapid ice loss from what’s known as the western Cordilleran ice sheet contributed to, and perhaps triggered, the massive calving of the Laurentide ice sheet into the North Atlantic Ocean thousands of years ago and its collapse ultimately led to major disturbances in the global climate. So far the assumption was that hemispheric-scale changes in Earth’s climate originated in the North Atlantic but the new findings raise questions about that suggesting that the melting of Alaska’s remaining glaciers into the North Pacific could have far-ranging effects on global ocean circulation and the climate in coming centuries. In 2013, scientists pulled sediment cores from the seafloor of the Gulf of Alaska in the hope of figuring out how the Cordilleran ice sheet had changed prior to the end of the last ice age. Read More
Elon Musk’s SpaceX wins Pentagon award for missile tracking satellites
Elon Musk’s SpaceX won a $149 million contract to build missile-tracking satellites for the Pentagon, the U.S. Space Development Agency (SDA) said on Monday, in the company’s first government contract to build satellites. SpaceX, known for its reusable rockets and astronaut capsules, is ramping up satellite production for Starlink, a growing constellation of hundreds of internet-beaming satellites that chief executive Elon Musk hopes will generate enough revenue to help fund SpaceX’s interplanetary goals. Under the SDA contract, SpaceX will use its Starlink assembly plant in Redmond, Washington, to build four satellites fitted with a wide-angle infrared missile-tracking sensor supplied by a subcontractor, an SDA official said. Technology company L3 Harris Technologies Inc., formerly Harris Corporation, received $193 million to build another four satellites. Read More
Scientists discover two dozen planets which are suitable for life than the Earth
If we thought that Earth is just the perfect planet for human beings to thrive, then we might be wrong as scientists have discovered at least 24 planets that are habitable and perhaps support suitable conditions for the thriving of life forms. As per the research conducted by the team led by scientist Dirk Schulze-Makuch of Washington State University and published in the journal Astrobiology — researchers have rummaged for the planets which are older, slightly warmer and wetter than the Earth. Read More
Fundamental constants place a new speed limit on sound
Sound has a speed limit. Under normal circumstances, its waves can travel no faster than about 36 kilometers per second, physicists propose October 9 in Science Advances. Sound zips along at different rates in different materials — moving faster in water than in air for example. But under conditions found naturally on Earth, no material can host sound waves that outpace this ultimate limit, which is about 100 times the typical speed of sound traveling in air. The team’s reasoning rests on well-known equations of physics and mathematical relationships. “Given the simplicity of the argument, it suggests that [the researchers] are putting their finger on something very deep,” says condensed matter physicist Kamran Behnia of École Supérieure de Physique et de Chimie Industrielles in Paris. The equation for the speed limit rests on fundamental constants, special numbers that rule the cosmos. One such number, the speed of light, sets the universe’s ultimate speed limit — nothing can go faster. Read More


Business
US and AstraZeneca strike deal for new monoclonal antibody treatment for Covid-19
The US government has awarded $486 million to AstraZeneca Plc to develop and secure supplies of up to 100,000 doses of Covid-19 antibody treatment. The agreement falls under the Trump administration’s Operation Warp Speed. It’s for developing a monoclonal antibody cocktail, which is an antibody made by cloning a unique white blood cell, to prevent Covid-19, especially in high-risk population like those over 80 years old. Since Trump was treated with a similar class of drug last week, the treatment has come under the spotlight, with Trump himself talking about it on social media. Read More
Rise in Petrol Demand for the first time since February
India’s petrol consumption grew for the first time since February in September, with diesel demand also recovering month on month, according to data released by the government’s Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell. The petrol consumption last month, at 2,450 thousand metric tonnes (TMT), was even higher than for the corresponding period in 2019 (2,372 TMT). However, while diesel consumption rose to 5,489 TMT, as much as 13.2% higher as compared to August, it was still 6% down as compared to September 2019. Read More
Oil Ministry’s Recommendations to PSUs
The Oil Ministry has asked PSUs such as the Indian Oil Corporation to build over 50,000 houses for migrant workers as part of the government’s effort to provide access to affordable housing to the labourers that fled the cities during the lockdown. Read More
Vedanta delisting fails; company to return all the shares tendered
Billionaire Anil Agarwal’s Vedanta Resources said that they have failed to garner the required number of shares to delist Indian subsidiary Vedanta. The total number of shares validly tendered by the public shareholders in the delisting offer is 125.47 crore, which is less than the minimum number of shares required to be accepted by the acquirers in order for the delisting offer to be successful, the company said in an exchange filings. Indian delisting rules require all companies to offer to buy shares from public shareholders at a `discovered’ price through a reverse book building process. Read More
Economics
Owing to the pandemic, 150 million people set to fall into ‘extreme poverty’
The World Bank has warned that 150 million people could fall into “extreme poverty” by the end of 2021 due to the pandemic which brought along with it global recession. The level of global poverty is set to rise for the first time in 20 years. In a new Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report, World Bank has said that between 9.1% and 9.4% would be affected by extreme poverty, which is defined by the group as living on under $1.90 a day. In order to reverse this serious setback, countries will need to prepare for a different economy post-COVID, by allowing capital, labour, skills, and innovation. Read More
Consumer Confidence at an all time low in September
Consumer confidence remained at an all-time low level in September with the general economic situation worsening during the month, according to a survey by the Reserve Bank of India. The survey claims that the situation is set to improve in the next 12 months. The consumer confidence index declined to 49.9 in September, as against 53.8 in July. However, the index has improved from 105.4 to 115.9 on a one-year ahead expectations basis, indicating a recovery in the consumer confidence level over the next 12 months. Read More
GST Council: Borrowing Policy may not be Uniform Across States
As the Centre and the states look to resolve the deadlock over the compensation shortfall issue under the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the upcoming meeting of GST Council on Monday is likely to see a range of factors influencing a final decision on the contentious issue of resorting to borrowings to tide over the shortfall. While there’s a divided house over putting the issue to vote, with non-BJP-ruled states likely to push for it even as the Centre is expected to oppose any move towards going for a vote, underscoring that the issue of borrowings are outside the jurisdiction of Council. Read More
With Key Rates Unchanged, GDP to Contract 9.5% this Fiscal
The RBI kept it’s key rates unchanged on Friday and signalled that inflation is likely to ease closer to the target of 4 per cent by the fourth quarter of 2020-21. Governor Shaktikanta Das, after a meeting of RBI’s monetary policy committee (MPC), said there were some encouraging signs of a business turnaround, and that economic activity could return to growth in the January-March quarter — even as real GDP is projected to contract by 9.5 per cent for the full fiscal year. The economy is likely to witness a three-speed recovery, and the MPC has decided to address the more urgent need to revive growth, Das said while unveiling the bi-monthly monetary policy. Read More
Finance
RBI opposes loan moratorium extension
RBI has told the Supreme Court that continuation of the loan moratorium period beyond the six months may affect overall credit discipline, urging to lift its interim order staying declaration of accounts as non-performing assets (NPAs), saying this will have “huge implications for the banking system.” Expanding the moratorium beyond the original six months can also impact credit behaviour of borrowers and increase the risks of delinquencies post resumption of scheduled payments, which may result in spoiling the overall credit discipline adversely impacting the process of credit creation in the economy. The small borrowers may end up bearing the brunt of the impact. RBI said that a solution is provided by the Resolution Framework for Covid-19 related Stress, announced by it on August 6, which “enables the lenders to implement a resolution plan in respect of personal loans as well as other exposures affected due to Covid-19, subject to the prescribed conditions, without asset classification downgrade.” Read More
Commercial mining:Coal blocks’ auction may generate Rs 20,000 crore revenue per year
Total revenue generation of around Rs 20,000 crore per year can be done by the auction of coal blocks for commercial mining , a coal ministry official said. The procedure for auction of 38 coal blocks for commercial mining is underway. “The total revenue for one year is expected to be around Rs 20,000 crore and capital investment is around Rs 33,000 crore,” the official said. “One year revenue (for 41 coal mines with 225.53 peak rated capacity) is approximated and comprises revenue share at four per cent i.e the floor price, royalty, NMET, DMF etc. calculated at peak rated capacity (PRC) considering representative price of average grade of the coal mine,” he said. Capital investment is calculated at Rs 150 crore per million tonnes per annum (MTPA) for PRC, including evacuation. Read More
DGGI busts exporter companies for availing fraudulent ITC of Rs 61 crore
The intelligence arm of GST, DGGI has busted fraudulent availment of Input tax credit (ITC) and cash refund of about Rs 61 crore by certain exporter companies, an official statement said on Friday. The Directorate General of GST Intelligence (DGGI) had inputs that few exporter companies are engaged in the fraudulent availment of Input Tax Credit (ITC) on the invoices of non-existing and fictitious firms or such firms, which apparently do not have any purchases themselves. Read More
India becomes the leader in real-time transactions with 41 million payments per day: Report
India has become the global leader in real-time financial transactions with 41 million transactions per day, thanks to the pandemic, which is more than double that of the last year, says an international report. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen India doubling its every day real-time transactions at 41 million, says the latest report from FIS, which is a leading provider of technology solutions for merchants, banks and capital markets firms globally. According to the report released, six other countries also saw more than doubling of their real-time payment transactions year-over-year, while four saw at least a twofold increase in transaction value. But in terms of the growth rate, the list is topped by Bahrain with 657 per cent growth, followed by Ghana clipping at 488 per cent, the Philippines growing at 309 per cent, Australia at 214 per cent, and Poland at 208 per cent. India’s growth was 213 per cent, handling 41 million transactions a day. “Read More
Banks, NBFCs to witness increased polarisation,’ says HDFC Securities.
Despite an uptrend in real economic activity and fresh disbursals, there has been a slower year-on-year credit growth. “Disclosures by select lenders and trends in non-food credit growth suggest the same. We expect banks/NBFCs with our coverage to report credit growth of 7.3/5.8% YoY vs. 8.2/7.1% in Q1-FY21,” says a report by HDFC Securities. The broker’s report on banks and NBFCs state that the deposit growth is likely to have exceeded credit growth for their coverage banks, and they expect large private banks to have fared particularly well on this front. HDFC Securities expect the space to witness increased polarisation in the space. Read More
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