Endeavor Careers Choicest Blogs: Weekly Current Affairs: August 2022, Week 04

Welcome to the Endeavor Editors’ Weekly Current Affairs Choicest Blog series. Get a weekly roundup – of news from business, economy, markets, policy, and more. A quick capsule format news summary and update to keep you abreast with all the latest current affairs.

1) International News and Global Economy

Powell warns of ‘some pain’ ahead as the Fed fights to bring down inflation

Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered a stern commitment Friday to halting inflation, warning that he expects the central bank to continue raising interest rates in a way that will cause “some pain” to the U.S. economy. In his much-anticipated annual policy speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell affirmed that the Fed will “use our tools forcefully” to attack inflation that is still running near its highest level in more than 40 years. Even with a series of four consecutive interest rate increases totaling 2.25 percentage points, Powell said this is “no place to stop or pause” even though benchmark rates are probably around an area considered neither stimulative nor restrictive to growth. Stocks fell after the Powell speech, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off more than 500 points. Treasury yields were off their highs of the session. The remarks come amid signs that inflation may have peaked but is not showing any marked signs of decline.

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Fed’s Powell warns of ‘some pain’ ahead as central bank fights inflation

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US and China reach landmark audit inspection deal

Washington and Beijing have reached a landmark agreement that would allow US regulators access to audits of Chinese companies that are listed on American exchanges, in a deal that would halt the threatened delisting of about 200 stocks that trade on Wall Street. The announcement by US and Chinese regulators is a breakthrough in a longstanding impasse. Beijing has not allowed foreign regulators to inspect Chinese company audits, citing a desire to protect state secrets. The US has said it will force Chinese companies to leave New York stock exchanges if they do not comply with US audit rules. Under the deal signed by the PCAOB, the China Securities Regulatory Commission, and China’s finance ministry, PCAOB inspectors could be on the ground in Hong Kong by mid-September to begin inspections, the agency said. Despite the agreement, US regulators were cautious about the success of the deal.

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US-China: Audit agreement ‘a major catalyst’ for U.S.-listed Chinese companies

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Biden administration responds to Iran’s offer on nuke deal

The Biden administration on Wednesday responded to Iran’s latest offer to resume its compliance with the State Department spokesman Ned Price confirming that the administration completed its review of Iran’s comments on a European proposal. Price did not detail the administration’s response. There is now expected to be another exchange of technical details followed by a meeting of the joint commission that oversees the deal. The new developments, including stepped-up public messaging campaigns by both Tehran and Washington, suggest that an agreement could be near. Despite the forward movement, numerous hurdles remain. And key sticking points could still unravel efforts to bring back the 2015 deal under which Iran received billions of dollars in sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on its nuclear program intended to prevent it from developing an atomic weapon.

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Pakistan floods: 33 million affected, nearly 1,000 dead; here’s top developments

With floods affecting over 33 million people in Pakistan – almost 15 percent of the country’s population, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on 25 August officially declared a ‘national emergency’ in light of the rain-induced floods. As per the latest reports, nearly 1,000 people, including 300 children, have lost their lives and more than 400,000 homes have been destroyed since the summer season began with multiple monsoon cycles lashing over the South Asian nation. The UN’s disaster relief agency Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Thursday that at least 1,84,000 people have been displaced to relief camps.

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Japan is pivoting back to nuclear after the Fukushima disaster — and the IEA says it’ll help cool gas markets

Japanese plans to pivot back to using more nuclear power have been welcomed by the International Energy Agency, with one of the organization’s directors telling CNBC it represented “very good and encouraging news.” On Wednesday, the prime minister of Japan said his country would restart more idled nuclear power plants and look into the feasibility of developing next-gen reactors. Fumio Kishida’s comments, which were reported by Reuters, build upon remarks he made back in May. They come at a time when Japan — a big importer of energy — is looking to bolster its options amid ongoing uncertainty in global energy markets and the war between Russia and Ukraine.

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Russia blocks nuclear treaty agreement over Ukraine reference

Russia has blocked the adoption of a joint declaration by a United Nations conference on nuclear disarmament. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is reviewed by its 191 signatories every five years, aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. Russia objected to a draft text citing “grave concern” over military activities around Ukraine’s nuclear plants, in particular Zaporizhzhia. Participants in the last review in 2015 also failed to reach an agreement. The 2022 meeting, which had been due in 2020, was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The failure to agree on a joint declaration followed a four-week conference in New York. Russia was opposed to a section of the text expressing “grave concern” over military activities around Ukrainian power plants – including the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which Russia seized early on in the war in Ukraine. The draft section also remarked on “the loss of control by the competent Ukrainian authorities over such locations as a result of those military activities, and their profound negative impact on safety”.

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Ukraine says Russia is blocking UN access to nuclear plant

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2) India

Pegasus: Centre did not cooperate with the probe, says SC panel

The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the committee it had appointed to probe allegations of unauthorized surveillance of citizens through the Pegasus spyware has said the “government has not cooperated fully” with the investigation. The panel’s report also said that five of the 29 devices submitted for examination had revealed the presence of “malware” but any link to the Israeli spyware could not be established, Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana added, reading out brief extracts in a packed courtroom. The apex court had appointed the committee after the Centre refused to admit or deny the allegations of illegal snooping via Pegasus, citing national interest. The committee was formed on October 27 last year after an international media consortium reported that over 300 verified Indian mobile phone numbers were on the list of potential targets of snooping via Pegasus, sold only to government agencies.

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INS Vikrant, India’s first aircraft carrier to be commissioned on September 3

The commissioning of the indigenously-built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant will contribute to ensuring peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade said on Thursday. INS Vikrant will be commissioned into the Navy at an event in Kochi in September which will be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he said. With the construction of ‘Vikrant’, India has joined a select group of nations having the niche capability to indigenously design and build an aircraft carrier. The ship has over 2,300 compartments, designed for a crew of around 1700 people, including specialized cabins to accommodate women officers. Vikrant has a top speed of around 28 knots and a cruising speed of 18 knots with an endurance of about 7,500 nautical miles.

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Karnataka’s new Aviation Policy fast-tracks flight of India’s drone industry

The Karnataka Cabinet recently cleared the way for its Aerospace and Defence Policy 2022-2027. The government hopes to attract over Rs 45,000 crore in investments and put itself on the global aerospace and defense map. A slew of policies and developments have transformed Karnataka into a preferred location for aviation. If the new policy indicates what the state government envisions, the dreams are indeed significant and global. Already, 25 percent of the aircraft and spacecraft industry in the country is in Karnataka, along with two-thirds of all defense aircraft and helicopter manufacturing. The state contributes about 65 percent to the Indian aerospace and defense sector exports. The state seeks to develop multiple centers for this plan; hence, micro-enterprises outside Bengaluru enjoy up to 35 percent subsidies.

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UPI Payment Charges: Free UPI transactions to stay, Modi Govt not considering any charges

The Government is not considering any charges on UPI services, the Ministry of Finance has clarified. The Ministry said that the concerns of the UPI service providers for cost recovery would have to be met through other means. It also noted that UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public and productivity gains for the economy. The clarification from the Ministry of Finance has come days after the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) sought public feedback on UPI payments and charges. Experts say that there should be some mechanism to ensure earnings for banks and service providers engaged in providing UPI-related payment services.

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Justice Lalit was sworn in as 49th CJI: High profile cases, verdicts, and career highlights

Justice Uday Umesh Lalit on Saturday was sworn in as 49th Chief Justice of India by taking an oath in front of President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Lalit will have a brief tenure of 74 days as the head of India’s judiciary and would demit office on 8 November. Uday Umesh Lalit will be the second CJI who was directly elevated to the Supreme Court bench from the Bar. Earlier, Justice SM Sikri, the 13th CJI, was the first lawyer to be elevated directly to the top court bench in March 1964. Justice Lalit shifted his practice to Delhi in January 1986, and in April 2004, he was designated as a senior advocate by the apex court. He was appointed a special public prosecutor for the CBI to conduct a trial in the 2G spectrum allocation case. He was appointed a special public prosecutor for the CBI to conduct a trial in the 2G spectrum allocation case. On 13 August 2014, he was appointed a judge of the Supreme Court.

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Bilkis Bano: Protests in India over the release of gang rapists

Protests have been held across India against the government’s decision to free 11 men who were jailed for life for the gang rape of a Muslim woman, Bilkis Bano. Fourteen members of her family were also killed during the religious riots in Gujarat state in 2002. The men were released after serving 15 years in prison. Men and women shouted slogans urging the government to reverse the decision to release the rapists. Separately, more than 100 retired civil servants wrote to the chief justice of India to say the rapists’ release would have a chilling impact on the safety of all women. The decision to free the convicts on 15 August was announced by the Gujarat government as India celebrated its 75th anniversary of independence.

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Tirupati labor conclave death knell of a tripartite system, say trade unions

The central trade unions, including the RSS-supported Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), criticized the Union government for holding a National Labour Conference in Tirupati earlier this week without inviting the trade unions or the employers’ associations. “The Centre should not keep the trade unions out of the consultations on implementing the four Labour Codes,” they said. A resolution adopted at the 151st Central Executive Committee meeting of the BMS held in Bhubaneswar on August 27 demanded that the Centre immediately call the Indian Labour Conference (ILC) and uphold the tripartite tradition of India. They said the ILC should discuss the burning issues related to labor and find amicable solutions in the interest of the worker in particular and the nation in general. “Tripartism is the lifeline of labor relations in India. Successive governments have followed the tradition of tripartism in letter and spirit, maybe with a few exemptions,” the resolution said highlighting the importance of the ILC, which was initiated by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar.

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‘Violated basic etiquette’: India tears into China over its ambassador’s remark on spy ship issue

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3) Economy

India GDP Q1FY23: Economy to recover from Covid-19, RBI to hike repo rate by 50 bp over Sep-Dec, says Barclays

India is all set to report Q1FY23 GDP figures on 31 August, and analysts at ICRA expect the economy to grow in double digits at 13%, owing to a low base and robust recovery in the contact-intensive sectors following the widening vaccination coverage. Meanwhile, Barclays estimates India’s economic growth to have accelerated to 16% on year in the Apr-Jun quarter. The firm expects India’s economy to show a full recovery from COVID in the quarter under review, with the services sector fully open, trade activity at a peak, and domestic demand holding strong.

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Indian economy likely to grow at 16% in the first quarter of FY 22-23: Report

Indian economy is most likely to grow at 16 percent in the first quarter of FY 2022-23 (YoY) from 4.1 percent in the previous quarter, expects DBS Group Research, as the official GDP figures are expected to be issued on 31 August. Apart from this, the research agency also predicts India’s Gross Value Added (GVA) at 14.5 percent. The research agency maintains an overall FY23 growth forecast of 7 percent, making India emerge as the fastest-growing economy in Asia this year. However, the report said that with the strong prospects for the economy, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) with more room for further interest rate hikes. “The stance of (RBI’s) ‘withdrawal of accommodation’ suggests that benchmark rates are not yet at neutral levels, presumably one-two hikes away,” it said.

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4) Markets, Banking, and Finance

Sebi tightens disclosure rules for rating agencies

The Securities and Exchange Board of India has enhanced the rules on disclosures by credit rating agencies and put in place a framework for rating withdrawals of perpetual debt securities. In a circular issued on Friday, Sebi said in order to facilitate withdrawal of perpetual debt security ratings, that are listed or are to be listed on the bourses, a credit rating agency may withdraw a rating in case it rated these securities continuously for at least five years, or received an undertaking from either the issuer or other agencies that a rating is available for such bonds. Perpetual (perp) bonds have no maturity date and are treated as equity. Issuers pay coupons on these bonds ‘perpetually’, and do not have to redeem the principal bond cash flows. According to current regulations for rating withdrawals, ratings of securities, like AT-I bonds, cannot be withdrawn unless the asset is redeemed. This often results in the bond issuer not cooperating with a rating agency.

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PM Modi to launch India’s first International Bullion Exchange today; All you need to know

India’s first international bullion exchange will be inaugurated on Friday, by prime minister Narendra Modi, in his home state of Gujarat. Called the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), the exchange will be based at the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFTEC), a planned business district in the western state located between its capital, Gandhinagar, and Ahmedabad, its largest city. PM Modi will also unveil the NSE IFSC-SGX Connect today. Additionally, he will also lay the foundation stone of the unified regulator International Financial Services Centres Authority’s headquarters building. IIBX is India’s first International Bullion Exchange set up at the GIFT City, Gandhinagar. It offers a diversified portfolio of products and technology services at a cost that the exchange claims is far more competitive than the Indian exchanges as well as other global exchanges in Hong Kong Singapore, Dubai, London, and New York.

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5) Business

Explainer: The bitter takeover battle between India’s Adani and news network NDTV

When India’s richest man Gautam Adani this week unveiled plans for his firm to control a majority stake in New Delhi Television (NDTV) it was the stealth approach in executing the transaction that drew the most attention in the news industry. Since then, NDTV and Adani have locked horns with each other in public. NDTV says certain regulatory restrictions on its founders prohibit them from transferring shares to Adani, a position the billionaire’s group refuted on Friday. Much of the spotlight on Adani’s two-stage takeover bid is on one, little-known Indian company: Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL), founded in 2008. More than a decade ago, NDTV founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy took 4 billion rupees ($50 million) in loans from VCPL, and in exchange issued warrants that allowed the company to acquire a 29.18% stake in the newsgroup. Those warrants were convertible at any time. Adani Group said on Aug. 23 that it had acquired VCPL and exercised those rights, which should give it the stake in NDTV.

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How Adani is trying to take over NDTV | Let Me Explain

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Gautam Adani’s empire was ‘deeply overleveraged’; aggressive expansion plans may spiral into a debt trap

Indian billionaire Gautam Adani’s ports-to-power conglomerate is “deeply overleveraged,” with the group investing aggressively across existing as well as new businesses, predominantly funded with debt, CreditSights, a Fitch Group unit, said in a report. The aggressive expansion pursued by the Adani Group, led by Asia’s richest person, has put pressure on its credit metrics and cash flow, CreditSights said in the report Tuesday, adding that “in the worst-case scenario” it may spiral into a debt trap and possibly a default. CreditSights’ report comes after a big few years for Adani, who’s been on a rapid diversification spree, expanding an empire centered on ports and coal mining to include airports, data centers, and cement as well as green energy.

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Noida Twin Towers Gone: Rs 900-Cr loss to Supertech; What’s ahead for residents, homebuyers

Even as the much-talked-about Noida Supertech twin towers have been demolished at 2.30 pm on Sunday, the nearby residents are happy as they will now get open space in front of their houses for air and light to come in. The land where the buildings stood will reportedly see a green cover now. Residents have also said it was in the earlier plan. The homebuyers who had booked their flats in the twin towers, namely Apex (32 floors) and Ceyane (29 floors), will also get their full refund with an interest of 12 percent. There were a total of 915 flats in the two buildings. Out of these, about 633 were booked and Supertech had collected nearly Rs 180 crore from homebuyers. Now, the Supreme Court on Friday (August 26) directed the interim resolution professional (IRP) of Supertech, which is facing insolvency proceedings, to deposit Rs 1 crore with the apex court registry by September 30. The court said the homebuyers will get their total refund eventually.

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6) Technology

WhatsApp Privacy Policy places users in a “Take it or leave it” situation: Delhi HC

The Delhi High Court on Thursday said that WhatsApp’s 2021 privacy policy places its users in a “take it or leave it” situation, virtually forcing them into an agreement by providing a mirage of choices and then sharing their data with its parent company Facebook (now Meta). The High Court made the observations while dismissing the plea filed by WhatsApp and Facebook challenging the Competition Commission of India’s (CCI) probe against the messaging app’s updated privacy policy introduced last year. The HC’s division bench comprising Chief Justice Satish Chandra Shama and Justice Subramonium Prasad, which dismissed the plea by saying the appeals were devoid of merit, also noted that WhatsApp occupies a dominant position in the relevant product market. “…that there exists a strong lock-in effect which renders its users incapable of shifting to another platform despite dissatisfaction with the product – as is exemplified by how, despite an increase in the downloads of Telegram and Signal when the 2021 Policy was announced, the number of users of WhatsApp has remained unchanged,” the order said.

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Centre’s Digi Yatra project raises privacy concerns in absence of the Data Bill

The Centre’s Digi Yatra project, which is biometric-based digital processing of flyers, is facing criticism from activists who believe that the project would breach user privacy in the absence of a centralized data protection policy. Launched by the Ministry of Civil Aviation, the Digi Yatra project essentially aims to reduce wait time for passengers at airports. It will automatically scan passengers via its facial recognition system at checkpoints. Recently, the Centre has rolled out the beta version of Digi Yatra, which is being executed at Delhi and Bengaluru airports. However, privacy experts and activists denounce the project by saying that it may lead to misuse of air passengers’ data and unauthorized surveillance, according to Economic Times.

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Twitter to Parliamentary Panel: Following Strict Data Protection Standards

Following the whistleblower claims of Peiter Zatko, Twitter said it is following strict data safety standards, and most of its employees can’t access user data. Further, Twitter denied any data leak taking place in the country. Officials from the social media giant were subjected to a hearing by the Parliament Standing Committee on Communications and Information on Friday after allegations emerged that the Indian government had forced Twitter to hire a government ‘agent’ with ‘unsupervised access to the company’s systems and user data’. Reportedly, Twitter executives denied the allegations and refused that any data security breach took place in India. An IANS report citing sources said officials from the microblogging site clarified that the Indian government did not force them to recruit any of their recommendations to the company. However, media reports suggest that Twitter executives did not give proper replies to questions about data safety and user privacy.

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7) Politics

Ghulam Nabi Azad quits Congress, slams ‘coterie’ for party’s slide

Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad on Friday resigned from all positions including primary membership of the Party. The resignation comes a few days after the leader resigned from the position of chairman of the campaign committee and from the political affairs committee of the Jammu and Kashmir Congress hours after his appointment citing health reasons. “The Indian National Congress has lost both the will and the ability under the tutelage of the coterie that runs the AICC to fight for what is right for India,” wrote Azad in his resignation letter to Sonia Gandhi. This latest high-profile exit from the Congress party comes after the polls for the Congress President were deferred. Azad’s resignation follows a series of exits of senior leaders from the party, including Jyotiraditya Scindia, Jaiveer Shergil, and Jitin Prasada, amongst others.

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After 21 yrs, the date set: ‘Anybody can contest’ for the Cong chief post

The Congress Working Committee (CWC) Sunday decided to hold an election for the post of party president on October 17. The meeting coming in the wake of Ghulam Nabi Azad’s exit from the party while leveling damaging charges against Rahul Gandhi saw some uncomfortable moments, with G-23 leader Anand Sharma raising questions over the electoral rolls. He said there was no clarity regarding the PCC delegates or the 9,000-odd members of the electoral college, thus pointing fingers at the sanctity of the process itself. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is learned to have agreed with him on the need for more clarity. The CWC meeting held virtually and presided over by party president Sonia, who along with her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra is abroad for a medical checkup, unanimously accepted the schedule placed before it by Madhusudan Mistry, the head of the Congress Election Authority.

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JMM, Congress, RJD in a huddle as Governor’s call on CM Hemant Soren awaited

The ruling UPA in Jharkhand has asked all their MLAs to be in Ranchi, as the coalition waited for the governor’s decision on chief minister Hemant Soren. The Election Commission on Thursday recommended disqualification of Soren as an MLA over the office of profit issue. The UPA allies – Soren’s JMM as well as Congress and RJD – which called a meeting of MLAs in the morning on Friday, also invited them to the CM’s residence for a dinner where their signatures were taken, said UPA sources. Forty-five of UPA’s 50 MLAs attended the meeting, sources said. Three Congress MLAs are in jail in Kolkata after West Bengal Police allegedly seized cash from them. Of the 30 JMM MLAs, 29 attended the meeting as one member, Basant Soren, was in Delhi. Fifteen of Congress’s 18 MLAs and the sole RJD member were also present. An independent MLA who supports the government couldn’t be part of the meeting due to health issues, sources said. All the MLAs expressed their confidence in the leadership of Soren and said they are ready for any decision made over leadership if a situation arises, they said.

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Delhi Lt General VK Saxena seeks report on inaction over 2020 CVC report from AAP govt

Days after initiating an inquiry into the AAP-led government’s new excise policy, Delhi’s Lt General VK Saxena has turned the scanner on the education sector in which AAP takes special pride. This department also rests with Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia who is already in the eye of the storm over the new excise policy. The LG on Friday sought an explanation from the Delhi government on the delay in acting against a February 2020 Central Vigilance Commission report on alleged procedural lapses, violation of tender clauses, and general financial rules in the construction of additional classrooms in Delhi. The CVC report came following a June 2019 complaint from BJP’s Vijendra Gupta, leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Legislative Assembly.

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Meghalaya polls: NPP will not form an alliance with any party, says CM Conrad Sangma

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Saturday said the NPP will not forge an alliance with any party, including the BJP, for the upcoming assembly elections in the state. However, the National People’s Party (NPP) will continue to remain in the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) at the Centre, Sangma said, adding that the two parties are ideologically not on the same page on various issues. Elections in Meghalaya are likely to be held early next year. Sangma said the NPP has never had any pre-poll alliance with any party in any state and underlined that the party would also contest the upcoming assembly polls in Odisha and Chhattisgarh on its own.

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8) Sports

India vs Pakistan Highlights: All-Round Hardik Pandya Helps India Beat Pakistan In Asia Cup Nail-Biter

Hardik Pandya showed nerves of steel to steer India to a thrilling five-wicket win over Pakistan in an Asia Cup Group A match at the Dubai International Stadium. Chasing a target of 148, Hardik hit three boundaries and a six in the last two overs to take India home with two balls to spare. Pandya remained unbeaten on 33, while both Virat Kohli and Ravindra Jadeja played knocks of 35 each to give India a decent platform.

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After winning IPL TV rights, Disney Star wins ICC media rights for the Indian market

Disney Star has won the rights to broadcast all ICC events for the Indian market from 2024 to 2027, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced on Saturday. Disney Star will be the home of all ICC cricket in India for the next four years having won the TV and digital rights of both men’s and women’s global events till the end of 2027, the ICC said in a statement. “As per information, Disney Star is paying around USD 3 billion for the rights,” a senior ICC Board member told PTI. Earlier, in June, Disney Star had retained the IPL TV rights for INR 23,575 crore (which comes to INR 57.5 crore per match). Disney Star won following a single-round sealed bid process which has yielded a significant uplift to the rights fee from the previous cycle, continuing the impressive growth and reach of cricket, the apex body said.

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Neeraj Chopra scripts history, again, wins the Lausanne Diamond League title

Olympic champion javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra on Friday scripted history as he became the first Indian to clinch a Diamond League Meeting title by winning the Lausanne’s leg. 24-year-old Chopra, who had pulled out of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games due to a “minor” groin injury he had suffered while winning silver during the World Championships last month, hurled the spear to 89.08m in his first attempt to seal the win in style. The 89.08m throw was his third career-best effort. His second throw measured 85.18m before passing on his third attempt.

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Satwik-Chirag sign off with a maiden bronze medal at World Championships

Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty capped off a memorable campaign with a historic bronze medal in the men’s doubles competition of the World Championships after going down narrowly to Malaysia’s Aaron Chia and Soh Wooi Yik in the semifinals here on Saturday. The world number 7 Indian pair, which had claimed the Commonwealth Games men’s doubles gold early this month, flattered to deceive as it squandered an opening game advantage to go down 22-20 18-21 16-21 to the Olympic bronze medallists in a pulsating 77-minute clash, bringing an end to the Indian challenge at the prestigious tournament. It was the sixth successive defeat against the world number 6 pair for Satwik and Chirag, who had lost to the same combination at the CWG mixed team final early this month.

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Adani, GMR acquire franchises in Legends League Cricket

The Adani Group and the GMR Group have picked up franchises in the Raman Raheja-promoted Legends League Cricket (LLC), ahead of the second season. While in its inaugural edition LLC was a three-team league and it did not sell any franchise, the upcoming edition will have a four-team franchise model. Dedicated to the 75th year celebration of Indian Independence, the second season will be held in India from September 16.  With this investment, GMR Group has made its third investment in franchise cricket and Adani group has made its second investment. Both Adani and GMR Sports groups recently acquired teams in the UAE T20 league, while GMR is the co-owner of the Delhi Capitals team in the IPL.

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9) Opinion

India has joined the global chip race. Question is, should it fly solo?

India’s bid to join the global chip-manufacturing rush is likely to be its biggest “industrial policy” gambit in a long time. Such government-directed policy intervention went out of fashion decades ago as the free trade mantra caught on. It has now made a comeback as the supply disruption of Covid-Ukraine has made every major economy conscious of strategic vulnerabilities. The nightmare scenario would be if Taiwan, which accounts for more than half the global chip supply, is attacked by China, which accounts for half the global demand. Government after the government is throwing billions of dollars at chip manufacturers, hoping to improve market share. Can India, headed to become the third-largest economy in a decade and one of the world’s largest markets for a range of chip-based products, be left sitting on its hands? It has already offered an unprecedented USD 10 billion as capital subsidy. Is that enough? And is self-reliance the right approach in a mega-buck game, or better to be part of a network?

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OTT about to dethrone multiplexes as India’s go-to entertainment option

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Huge Market, but a lot of hurdles: How can Indian Super Apps succeed?

The consumer internet ecosystem is at the center of the Indian startup ecosystem. With an ever-increasing internet user base, more and more Indians are becoming dependent on smartphones for everyday tasks. This has led to the birth of ‘super apps’ in India which allow consumers to do everything from ordering groceries to paying bills online to booking flight tickets, all through a single app. With the entry of conglomerates like Reliance (through Jio) and Tata Group in the sector, which already had the presence of startups such as Paytm and Amazon, the super app space has become even more competitive in the country. “The super app market in the country is growing exponentially. Notably, India is a price-sensitive market and not brand-sensitive. So, to be sold, any new service needs to be hypercompetitive. This means that a startup needs to hyper-optimize its prices to sell multiple products under its roof,” banking super app Mewt’s cofounder Rishabh Jain said.

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10) Weekly special

C-Suite | Sulajja Firodia Motwani, CEO – Kinetic Green

In this episode of C-Suite, Sulajja Firodia Motwani, Vice Chair and CEO of Kinetic Green Energy and Power Solutions, talks about how technology, frugal engineering, and a proactive policy framework are crucial for India’s electric vehicle industry.

Watch video here.

11) Did you know?

How the Chief Justice of India is appointed?

Apart from being an Indian citizen, the person must (a) have been for at least five years a Judge of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession or (b) have been for at least ten years an advocate of a High Court or of two or more such Courts in succession, or (c) be, in the opinion of the President, a distinguished jurist. The Chief Justice of India and the other judges of the Supreme Court are appointed by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Indian Constitution. It is mentioned in Article 124 that appointment by the President is to be done “after consultation” with judges of the Supreme Court, as the President may “deem necessary”. Article 217, which deals with the appointment of High Court judges, says the President should consult the CJI, Governor, and Chief Justice of the High Court concerned. Further, the tenure of a CJI is until they attain the age of 65 years, while High Court judges retire at 62 years.

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With that, we come to the end of our Weekly Current Affairs August 2022 -Week 4. We hope you have liked it. Write your feedback in the comments below and let us know if there is anything else you would like us to cover.

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