Daily Current Affairs March 29 2024 | Latest News | Download PDF

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

Reserve Bank of India Unveils Monetary Policy Committee Schedule for Fiscal Year 2025; Inaugural Meeting Set for April 3-5

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its monetary policy committee (MPC) schedule for the upcoming financial year 2024-25 (FY25)- starting from April 1, 2024.
• The RBI in its schedule highlighted that the first policy meeting for FY25 will be conducted from April 3-5, 2024.

Meeting Dates: The MPC meetings for FY25 are scheduled as follows:

• April 3-5, 2024
• June 5-7, 2024
• August 6-8, 2024
• October 7-9, 2024
• December 4-6, 2024
• February 5-7, 2025

Key Highlights :

• Repo Rate Maintained: In its meeting held from 6-8 February 2024, the RBI decided to maintain the repo rate at 6.5%.
• This decision marked the sixth consecutive meeting where the repo rate remained
• Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) Voting: 5 members including Dr. Michael Debabrata, Shashanka Bhide, Ashima Goyal, and Rajiv Ranjan voted for status quo on the policy rate for the sixth consecutive time, while Jayanth R Varma voted to reduce the policy repo rate by 25 basis points.
• Inflation Projections: The RBI projected retail inflation at 5.4% for the fiscal year 2023-24, with a projection of 5.0% for Q4 of the same fiscal year.
• For the fiscal year 2024-25, assuming a normal monsoon, CPI inflation is projected at 4.5%, with different quarterly projections: Q1 at 5.0%, Q2 at 4.0%, Q3 at 4.6%, and Q4 at 4.7%.
• Interest Rates: Alongside maintaining the repo rate, the RBI also kept other key interest rates unchanged.
• The Fixed Reverse Repo Rate remained at 3.75%, the bank rate stood at 6.75%, the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate was maintained at 6.25%, and the standing deposit facility rate remained at 6.25%.

About RBI :

• Established : 1 April 1935
• Headquarters : Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Governor : Shaktikanta Das

Decrease in Short-Term Rates Amid High Demand for Variable Rate Repo Auctions                        

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received bids worth Rs 1.52 trillion against a notified amount of Rs 1 trillion at the overnight variable rate repo (VRR) auction.
• The RBI allotted Rs 1 trillion at a weighted average rate of 6.73 per cent.
• The liquidity deficit in the banking system widened to Rs 1.22 trillion.
• There has been significant demand at the VRR auctions conducted by the RBI, particularly amid liquidity fluctuations in the banking system.
• Weighted average money market rates fell to 6.66 per cent, indicating a decrease from the previous rate of 6.77 per cent.
• The central bank had conducted 3 VRR auctions to ease liquidity tightness in the banking system.
• Given the liquidity tightness, weighted average money market rates had risen above the marginal standing facility (MSF) rate.
• Market participants speculate that liquidity conditions may remain in deficit mode in the near term, particularly with government borrowings for the financial year 2024-2025 starting in April.
• The RBI may continue conducting VRR auctions to manage overnight money market rates near the repo rate, which currently stands at 6.5 per cent.

Housing Finance Companies Anticipate 12-14% Growth in Assets Under Management for FY24 and FY25  

• According to CareEdge Ratings, Housing finance companies’ Assets under management (AUM) is seen growing 12-14% in FY24 and FY25 led by continued growth momentum in housing loans coupled with an expected revival in developer loans.
• Although the share of wholesale financing in HFCs’ portfolios is expected to increase in the medium term, it is likely to remain cautious, hovering within the range of 10-12%.

Key Highlights :

• Residential Sales Impact: Strong residential sales have contributed to the growth momentum in HFCs’ AUM.
• FY23 Performance: In FY23, HFCs witnessed a 9% growth in AUM, with housing loans growing by 13%, while the non-housing portfolio, including developer finance, experienced a marginal contraction.
• Outstanding Portfolio: As of March 2023 (excluding HDFC), the outstanding portfolio of HFCs stood at ₹7.4 lakh crore, with housing loans comprising ₹5.5 lakh crore, showcasing the significant role of HFCs in the housing finance sector.
• Comparison with Banks: Housing loans provided by banks stood at ₹19.4 lakh crore, highlighting the substantial presence of both HFCs and banks in the housing loan market.
• Improvement in Net NPA: The Net NPA to net worth ratio for HFCs improved from 16.6% to 11.7%, indicating enhanced asset quality and financial stability.
• Provision Cover Ratio: The Stage 3 provision cover ratio, estimated at 42% as of March 2023, is projected to remain healthy, ranging between 44-46% in the near to medium term, suggesting adequate provisioning against potential loan defaults.

What is an Assets under management (AUM)?

• Assets under management (AUM) represent the collective market worth of investments held or overseen by a financial entity, including banks, mutual funds, and hedge funds, for its clientele.
• AUM calculation methods vary, typically considering the total capital under the firm’s management or assessing the funds belonging to individual clients.
• This figure is subject to daily fluctuations, mirroring the dynamic returns derived from stocks, mutual funds, and alterations in the prices of fixed investments.

Securities and Exchange Board of India Queries Mutual Funds on Potential Mis-selling of Funds

• India’s capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has further tightened scrutiny on mutual funds by asking whether they mis-sold certain fund categories to investors.
• The categories under the lens include small-cap funds, retirement funds, credit risk funds and lock-in funds.
• The latest action by SEBI aims to proactively address any potential issues and maintain oversight in the mutual fund industry.

Key Highlights :

• SEBI has been clearly uneasy in recent times about huge retail investments in small- and mid-cap funds.
• SEBI Chairperson Madhabi Puri Buch has issued warnings regarding froth in small- and mid-cap funds, prompting the regulator to conduct stress tests on mutual funds’ small- and mid-cap portfolios during market stress.
• Retirement Fund Lock-in Period:A retirement fund typically has a lock-in period of 5 years or until retirement, whichever comes earlier.
• Types of Lock-in Funds:Lock-in funds include fixed maturity plans, target maturity plans, and ELSS (equity-linked savings scheme), where investors are bound for the duration of the scheme.
• Credit Risk Fund:Credit risk funds primarily invest 65% of their portfolio in risky company bonds to potentially achieve higher returns.
• Release of Stress Test Results:Mutual funds disclosed stress test results on 15 March, revealing the timeframe required to liquidate portions of small- and mid-cap fund portfolios during market downturns.
• Liquidation Periods:Top small-cap funds would take 6-30 days to liquidate 25% of their portfolio and 12-60 days to liquidate 50% under stress conditions.
• Similarly, big mid-cap funds would require 4-34 days to sell 50% of their portfolio and 2-17 days to liquidate 25%.
• Investor Flows:Small-cap funds attracted net investor flows of ₹34,103.29 crore, while mid-cap funds received ₹17,339.38 crore in the current fiscal year through February.
• In contrast, large-cap funds witnessed outflows of ₹4,949.27 crore.
• Market Performance:Investors in small caps experienced an 8.5% pullback in the Nifty Small Cap 250 index from its record high on 7 February to 26 March.
• The Nifty Midcap 150 also declined by 3.7% from its record high on 8 February, despite the broader Nifty index falling by just 2.3% from its record high on 11 March.

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited to Provide Dollar-Denominated Insurance for NRIs from GIFT City, Gujarat                             

• Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited will offer dollar-denominated insurance from Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
• Star Health became the first health insurance company to receive registration to establish an International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) international office in GIFT City.
• It plans to commence operations with a branch by the end of this month, facilitating access to health insurance solutions in US dollars for the global Indian community.

About Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited :

• Founded : 2006
• Headquarters : Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
• MD & CEO : Anand Roy

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Centre to borrow ₹7.5 trillion in April-September FY25

• The Centre will borrow ₹7.5 trillion in the first half of the upcoming financial year.
• The borrowing for FY25 would be done by issuing dated government securities along with ₹12,000 crore of sovereign green bonds.
• In the interim budget for FY25, the government pegged its borrowing from the market at ₹14.13 trillion.
• A finance ministry statement on Wednesday said the government has finalized its borrowing programme for the first half of FY25 in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India.

Key highlights

• Out of gross market borrowing of ₹14.13 lakh crore (trillion) projected for FY 2024-25 in the union budget, ₹7.50 lakh crore (53.08%) is planned to be borrowed in the first half through dated securities, including ₹12,000 crore through issuance of sovereign green bonds
• Based on market feedback and in line with global market practices, the government has introduced a new dated security with a 15-year tenor.
• Through the 15-year security, the Centre will borrow ₹1.04 trillion in the first half of the next financial year.
• The market borrowing would be completed through 26 weekly auctions.
• During H1FY25, the size of the weekly government bond auctions will range from ₹22,000 crore to ₹38,000 crore.
• The government will continue to carry out switching of securities to smoothen the redemption profile and will have the right to exercise the greenshoe option to retain an additional subscription of up to ₹2,000 crore against each of the securities indicated in the auction notifications.
• The weekly borrowing through issuance of treasury bills in the first quarter of FY25 is expected to be ₹27,000 crore for the first seven auctions and ₹22,000 crore for the subsequent six.
• The Centre will issue 91-day treasury bills worth ₹1.44 trillion, 182-day T-bills worth ₹79,000 crore, and 364-day T-bills worth ₹98,000 crore.

No tweaks to new online gaming taxation regime till SC decision

• The federal indirect tax body is unlikely to make any changes to the 28% goods and services tax (GST) regime on online money gaming until the Supreme Court gives its final order on a bunch of tax disputes for the period before its introduction last October.
• As per the decisions of the 51st GST Council meeting last August, ministers were to review the implementation of the tax regime for the online gaming industry after six months of its implementation.
• This period ends in March but, given that a model code of conduct is now in place because of the Lok Sabha elections, this review can only happen after the polls.
• However, a review does not necessarily mean tweaks to the tax regime.
• No further change can be made to the tax regime for online money gaming as the matter is sub-judice. One has to wait for the Supreme Court’s views on the matter.

Government relaxes export norms for dual-use telecom equipment, information security software

• The government notified a policy for general authorisation for the export of certain telecom and information security-related items under a policy for dual-use products.
• In a notification, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) announced to grant one-time bulk licences for these items under the Special chemicals, organisms, materials, equipment and technologies (SCOMET) category.
• Last year, the SCOMET policy of drones for civilian use was simplified and liberalised for exports.
• The policy for general authorisation for the export of telecommunication-related items under the SCOMET category and the export of information security items under the SCOMET category to grant one-time bulk licences for these items has been notified.
• The applicant exporter will have to submit an application for getting a one-time license through the online SCOMET portal and attach the information in the prescribed format.
• The DGFT also notified a detailed procedure for this authorisation as per which export of indigenous/imported SCOMET items will be allowed based on a one-time General Authorization (GAET).
• SCOMET authorization will not be required, for the export and/or re-export of Telecommunication items (excluding technology and software) under the SCOMET Category
• GAET issued for export or re-export of SCOMET items will be valid for three years.

The government plans to borrow Rs 7.5 lakh cr from the market in H1FY25 including Rs 12,000 crore via Sovereign Green Bonds

• The Finance Ministry plans to borrow Rs 7.50 lakh crore, 53 per cent of its overall FY25 target, in the first half.
• The gross market borrowing of Rs 7.50 lakh crore shall be completed through 26 weekly auctions.
• In the ongoing financial year, the government plans to borrow a total of Rs 14.13 lakh crore.
• Further, the Centre has also introduced a new dated security of 15-year tenor.
• Of the total amount, Sovereign Green Bonds account for Rs 12,000 crore, which will be issued in two tranches of Rs 6,000 crore each for a period of 10 years.
• In order to enable institutional and retail investors to plan their investments efficiently and provide transparency and stability to the Government Securities market, Government of India, in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India, hereby notifies the indicative calendar for issuance of Government dated securities including Sovereign Green Bonds (SGrB) for the first half of the fiscal year 2024-25 (April 01, 2024 to September 30, 2024)
• The Ministry has also notified that in relation to each of the securities listed in the auction notifications, it will maintain its right to exercise the greenshoe option and retain an additional subscription of up to Rs 2,000 crore.

India achieves 16% decline in new TB cases, 18% reduction in mortality since 2015

• India’s efforts to ensure early tuberculosis detection and treatment initiation, along with a host of community engagement efforts has resulted in a decline of 16% in TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) and a 18% reduction in mortality due to TB, since 2015.
• The incidence rate in India had fallen from 237 per lakh population in 2015 to 199 per lakh population in 2022, while the mortality rate had declined from 28 per lakh population in 2015 to 23 per lakh population in 2022, according to the India TB report 2024 released by the Union Health Ministry on March 27, stating that the country has set 2025 as the target for eliminating the disease.
• Additionally, of all the TB cases notified in 2023, nearly 32% of notifications came from the private healthcare sector which is an increase of 17% from the previous year.
• According to the data released in the report, while the overall notification of TB cases has improved by over 50% in the last nine years on an annual basis, Uttar Pradesh saw the highest jump in notifications (by 21% compared to the previous year) followed by Bihar (15%).
• The Centre added that after the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme (NTEP) embarked on a journey towards accelerating TB elimination, guided by the National Strategic Plan (NSP) 2017–25.

India releases second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan

• India has released the second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan for the development of infrastructure related to the GyalSung Project.
• This comes less than a week after Prime Minister Narendra Modi concluded a fruitful two-day state visit to Bhutan during which he assured Thimphu of New Delhi’s firm support in its quest for development and agreed to provide ₹10,000 crore to the Himalayan nation over the next five years.
• The second tranche was handed over by India’s Ambassador to Bhutan Sudhakar Dalela to Bhutan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and External Trade, Lyonpo D N Dhungyel.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

CMD/RailTel Conferred with CMD Leadership Award at Governance Now PSU Conference & Awards 2024

• Sanjai Kumar, CMD/RailTel, has been conferred with CMD Leadership Award in the 10th Edition of Governance Now PSU Conference and Awards.
• This is a prestigious award conferred by Governance Now, a publication of the SAB (Sri Adhikari Brothers) Group, recognizing outstanding achievements of PSUs and its leaders across a large spectrum.
• Kumar was conferred with the CMD Leadership Award for his outstanding leadership in leadingRailTel team towards exceptional performance during the past year.
• Under his adept guidance, the company has charted an upward growth trajectory, achieving notable milestones like recording the highest ever total income of Rs. 2002 cr in FY 23, successfully delivering mammoth project like providing Integrated telecom solution and cyber security for the G20 Summit at New Delhi, forging robust partnerships and many more.

NLC India Ltd bags GEEF Global Environment Award 2024

• NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) has bagged the GEEF Global Environment Award 2024 in the mining category during the Global Clean Energy Summit – 2024 held in New Delhi recently.
• According to an NLCIL press note, the summit centred around discussions on facilitating India’s transition to clean energy, emphasising affordability, sustainability, and energy Independence.
• NLCIL won the award for its efforts in sustainable development initiatives such as the concurrent mine reclamation, extensive greenbelt development, implementation of air pollution control measures to maintain ambient air quality in and around Neyveli, better water quality management system, and also for its social welfare measures like providing clean water for domestic and irrigation purposes etc.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Senior IPS Officer Sadanand Vasant Date Appointed As Director General Of National Investigation Agency       

• 1990-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sadanand Vasant Date has been appointed as the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• He is currently serving as Chief of Maharashtra Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS).
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Date as the Director General (DG) of the NIA for a tenure up to his superannuation on December 31, 2026.
• He will succeed Dinkar Gupta, who is due to superannuate on March 31, 2024.

Other Appointments :

• Rajeev Kumar Sharma, a 1990-batch IPS officer of the Rajasthan cadre, has been named DG of BPR&D, serving until his superannuation on June 30, 2026, or until further orders.
• Sharma will succeed Balaji Srivastava, who completes his tenure at March end.
• Piyush Anand, a 1991-batch IPS officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre and currently serving as Special DG in the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF), has been appointed Director General of the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) for a period of 2 years.
• The ACC also appointed S Suresh, a 1995-batch IPS officer of Kerala cadre, as the Additional Director General of the Special Protection Group (SPG).

About Sadanand Vasant Date :

• He has also served as a DIG in the CBI and IG (ops) in the Central Reserve Police Force.
• He was awarded President’s medal for Gallantry for saving lives and countering terrorists during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks

About NIA :

• The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is a specialised counter-terrorism law enforcement agency in India.
• The agency is empowered to deal with the investigation of terror related crimes across states without special permission from the states under written proclamation from the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• The agency came into existence with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by the Parliament of India on 31 December 2008, which was passed after the deadly 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai.

Centre for Policy Research Chief Yamini Aiyar Resigns Amid Foreign Contribution Regulation Act Investigation  

• Two months after the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) received a final order cancelling its licence under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the chief executive of the think-tank, Yamini Aiyar, will step down from her current role “to devote more time to her research interests”.
• The board also announced the appointment of Srinivas Chokkakula, CPR senior fellow and Ministry of Jal Shakti Research Chair, as the president and Chief Executive.
• He will step into the role effective April 1, 2024.

About CPR :

• Established : 1973
• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
• The CPR is one of the country’s premier public policy think-tanks, and has seen its fortunes reversed since September 2022 when it was subjected to a survey by the Income Tax Department.
• It is one of the national social science research institutes recognized by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR).

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Navy Conducts Ongoing Maritime Security Operations (Operation Sankalp) from 14th December 2023 to 23rd March 2024      

• Indian Navy has responded to the manifestation of Israel – Hamas conflict in the maritime domain by re-orienting and significantly enhancing the scope of its ongoing maritime security operations since mid-Dec 23.
• The navy undertook proactive actions during the hijacking of Malta Flagged Bulk Carrier MV Ruen on 14 Dec 23.
• 23 Mar 2024, marks the completion of 100 days of the ongoing maritime security operations under the aegis of ‘Op Sankalp’.
• During this time, the Indian Navy has responded to 18 incidents and has played a pivotal role as the ‘First Responder’ and ‘Preferred Security Partner’ in the Indian Ocean Region.
• The significance of IN’s contributions has been further underscored with the culmination of actions against the hijacking of MV Ruen.
• It also involve 40 hour of operation by destroyer INS Kolkata to secure Vessel Ruen and forced surrender of 35 pirates and freed 17 crews
• This operation was carried out at a distance of 2600 km away from the Indian coast by IAF C-17 aircraft dropped by a Marine commando and combat boat.
• In the ongoing endeavour since Dec 2023, Information Fusion Centre – Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) of the Indian Navy at Gurugram, has played a transformative role as a principal hub for enabling information exchange in IOR.

About Indian Navy :

• Headquarters : New Delhi, Delhi
• Chief of Defence Staff : General Anil Chauhan
• Chief of the Naval Staff : Admiral R. Hari Kumar

About Ministry of Defence :

• Defence Minister : Rajnath Singh
• Minister of State : Ajay Bhatt
• Defence Secretary : Giridhar Aramane

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

MoU signed between Indian Council of Agricultural Research and Dhanuka Agritech Limited

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Dhanuka Agritech Limited.
• U.S. Gautam, Deputy Director General (Agricultural Extension), ICAR and Dr. R.G. Aggarwal, Chairman, Dhanuka Agritech Limited signed this MoU for respective organizations.
• The objective of this agreement is to utilize the efficiency of both the institutions to deliver new technology to the farmers.
• There are more than 14.5 crore farmers across the country, out of which most of the farmers are having small land holdings.
• Dhanuka Agritech will provide training related to agricultural production to these small farmers by associating with the central institutes, ATARIs and KVKs.
• The Deputy Director General said that today the whole world is facing the challenges of climate change and India is no stranger to it, in such a time there is a need for both institutions to work together on a new method of agricultural production that is climate-friendly.
• This MoU aims to promote natural farming in the changing environment.
• Aggarwal said Dhanuka Agritech will provide advisory service and train farmers in collaboration with ICAR-ATARI and KVKs.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Nobel Prize-Winning Behavioral Economist Daniel Kahneman, Pioneer in His Field Passed away   

• Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli-American psychologist who broke ground in the field of behavioural economics and upended the common assumption in economics that human beings are rational decision-makers, died at the age of 90.

About Daniel Kahneman :

• Daniel Kahneman was born in Tel Aviv, Mandatory Palestine (now Israel), on March 5, 1934.
• He was an Israeli-American author, psychologist and economist notable for his work on hedonic psychology, psychology of judgement and decision-making.
• He was a founding partner of TGG Group, a business and philanthropy consulting company.
• He is also known for his work in behavioural economics, for which he was awarded the 2002 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences (shared with Vernon L. Smith)
• In 2013, former US president Barack Obama awarded Kahneman with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honour.

Daily CA One-Liner: March 29

• The Centre will borrow ₹7.5 trillion in the first half of the upcoming financial year.
• The federal indirect tax body is unlikely to make any changes to the 28% goods and services tax (GST) regime on online money gaming until the Supreme Court gives its final order on a bunch of tax disputes for the period before its introduction last October
• The government notified a policy for general authorisation for the export of certain telecom and information security-related items under a policy for dual-use products.
• The Finance Ministry plans to borrow Rs 7.50 lakh crore, 53 per cent of its overall FY25 target, in the first half.
• India’s efforts to ensure early tuberculosis detection and treatment initiation, along with a host of community engagement efforts has resulted in a decline of 16% in TB incidence (new cases emerging each year) and a 18% reduction in mortality due to TB, since 2015.
• India has released the second tranche of ₹500 crore to Bhutan for the development of infrastructure related to the GyalSung Project.
• Sanjai Kumar, CMD/RailTel, has been conferred with CMD Leadership Award in the 10th Edition of Governance Now PSU Conference and Awards
• NLC India Ltd (NLCIL) has bagged the GEEF Global Environment Award 2024 in the mining category during the Global Clean Energy Summit – 2024 held in New Delhi recently
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its monetary policy committee (MPC) schedule for the upcoming financial year 2024-25 (FY25)- starting from April 1, 2024.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received bids worth Rs 1.52 trillion against a notified amount of Rs 1 trillion at the overnight variable rate repo (VRR) auction.
• According to CareEdge Ratings, Housing finance companies’ Assets under management (AUM) is seen growing 12-14% in FY24 and FY25 led by continued growth momentum in housing loans coupled with an expected revival in developer loans.
• India’s capital markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), has further tightened scrutiny on mutual funds by asking whether they mis-sold certain fund categories to investors.
• Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited will offer dollar-denominated insurance from Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) for Non-Resident Indians (NRIs).
• 1990-batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sadanand Vasant Date has been appointed as the Director General of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
• Two months after the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) received a final order cancelling its licence under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), the chief executive of the think-tank, Yamini Aiyar, will step down from her current role “to devote more time to her research interests”.
• Indian Navy has responded to the manifestation of Israel – Hamas conflict in the maritime domain by re-orienting and significantly enhancing the scope of its ongoing maritime security operations since mid-Dec 23.
• Daniel Kahneman, an Israeli-American psychologist who broke ground in the field of behavioural economics and upended the common assumption in economics that human beings are rational decision-makers, died at the age of 90.
• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and Dhanuka Agritech Limited