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By admin: Jan. 3, 2023

ONGC top profit making public sector enterprises in 2021-22

Tags: Economy/Finance

According to the government of India’s Public Enterprise survey 2021-22, ONGC was the top profit making central public sector enterprises (CPSE) in 2021-22. After ONGC the other most profit making CPSE were Indian Oil Corporation, Power Grid, NTPC and SAIL.

 Highlights of the Public Enterprises Survey 2021-22 

• The net profit of operating public sector enterprises jumped 50.87 per cent to Rs 2.49 lakh crore during 2021-22. It was Rs 1.65 lakh crore in 2020-21.
• The net loss of loss-making CPSEs reduced to Rs 0.15 lakh crore in 2021-22 from Rs 0.23 lakh crore in 2020-21, showing a decrease of 37.82 per cent.
• Major loss-making CPSEs were Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Mahanagar Telecom Nigam Ltd (MTNL), Air India Assets Holding Ltd, and Eastern Coalfields Ltd.
• Total gross revenue from the operations of operating CPSEs during 2021-22 was Rs 31.95 lakh crore as against Rs 24.08 lakh crore in 2020-21, showing an increase of 32.65 per cent.
• Dividend declared by operating CPSEs in 2021-22 stood at Rs 1.15 lakh crore, as against Rs 0.73 lakh crore in 2020-21, an increase of 57.58 per cent.
• The survey attributed the revenue rise in 2021-22 to better performance by the petroleum (refinery and marketing), crude oil and transport, and logistics segments.
• Petroleum (refinery and marketing), trading and marketing, and power generation, together contributed 69.08 per cent to the gross revenues in 2021-22.
• The contribution of all CPSEs to the central exchequer by way of excise duty, custom duty, GST, corporate tax, interest on central government loans, dividend, and other duties and taxes stood at Rs 5.07 lakh crore in 2021-22, as against Rs 4.97 lakh crore in 2020-21, showing an increase of 2.14 per cent.
• The top five CPSEs contributing to the central exchequer were Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Bharat Oman Refineries Ltd and Chennai Petroleum Corporation Ltd.
• Besides, the corporate social responsibility (CSR) expenditure of all CSR eligible CPSEs (160) stood at Rs 4,600 crore in 2021-22 compared to Rs 4,483 crore in 2020-21, an increase of 2.61 per cent.
• The top five CPSEs contributing the highest under CSR were ONGC, NTPC, Indian Oil Corporation, NMDC and Power Grid.

ADB to provide $1.2 billion loan for infrastructure projects

Tags: Economy/Finance

The Manila based Asian Development Bank (ADB) has agreed to provide a $1.22 billion loan to the government of India for Infrastructure development in various states. 

An agreement to this effect was signed between the Indian Government and ADB in New Delhi on 3 January 2023.India is the largest borrower of ADB. 

The agreements would cover projects for improving the power sector and highways in the Northeastern states of Tripura and Assam, metro rail connectivity in the southern city of Chennai, and improvement of key economic areas in the western state of Maharashtra.

The Asian Development Bank was established in 1966. Its Headquarter is at Mandaluyong City, Manila, Philippines.

President of ADB: Masatsugu Asakawa 

Koustav Chatterjee is India’s 78rd Chess grandmaster

Tags: Sports Person in news

19 year old Koustav Chatterjee of West Bengal became India’s 78th chess Grandmaster, securing the third and final GM norm at the MPL 59th National Senior Chess Championship 2022 being held in New Delhi. He is the 10th Grandmaster from West Bengal.

• This was the third GM norm for Koustav Chatterjee and he also crossed 2500 Elo rating points.  To become a GM a player has to secure three GM norms and 2500 live Elo rating points. 
• Viswanathan Anand was the first Indian to become the Chess Grandmaster in 1988.

 Chess rating System 

•  Chess rating system is used in chess to estimate the strength and skill of a player.
• In chess, the Elo rating system is used to grade the players by International chess governing body FIDE.
• The highest rating for a chess player is Grand Master or GM followed by International Masters or IM and then Masters etc.
• Players are invited to various chess tournaments in the world depending upon their grading.

FIDE 

The International Chess Federation or French acronym FIDE Fédération Internationale des Échecs) is an international organization that was set up on 20 July 1924 in Paris, France.

It is the international body which governs world chess championships. 

President of FIDE:  Arkady Dvorkovich, 

Headquarters of FIDE: Lausanne, Switzerland 

Govt exempts public sector companies from minimum public float rules

Tags: National Economy/Finance

The government of India has exempted public sector entities from the Minimum Public Shareholding (MPS) norm which mandates at least 25 per cent public float for all listed companies.

The Securities Contracts (Regulation) Amendment Rules, 2022 was notified by the government on 2 January 2023. 

According to the notification “any listed entity in which the Central Government or State Government or public sector company, either individually or in any combination with others, holds directly or indirectly, majority of the shares or voting rights or control of such listed entity, are exempted from any or all of the provisions of this rule”. 

Rule 19 A of the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules prescribes that a listed entity must have at least 25 percent of public shareholding. Public shareholding means an investor who is not the promoter of the company. The investor could be either an individual or an institution.

Listed Company means that the capital instrument of the company (shares, debenture or bonds etc) is listed on any stock exchange and it can be bought and sold in the market.

UIDAI allows change in address online with the consent of head of family

Tags: National

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) in a notification issued on 3 January 2023 has allowed residents to update addresses in Aadhaar online with the consent of their head of family.

The new process can be initiated after submitting proof of relationship documents like a ration card, mark sheet, marriage certificate, passport etc, mentioning the name of both the applicant and head of family (HOF) and the relationship between them. The process requires OTP-based authentication by the HOF.

According to the UIDAI any resident above the age of 18 can be a HOF for this purpose and can share his or her address with his or her relatives through this process.

Residents have to pay a fee of Rs 50 for the service. 

Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI)

The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) is a statutory authority established under the provisions of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016. 

It was set up on 12 July 2016 by the Government of India, under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).

UIDAI was created to issue Unique Identification numbers (UID), Aadhaar, to all residents of India.  It issues a 12 digit biometric Aadhaar number to the residents of India after satisfying the verification process laid down by the Authority.

Chief Executive officer (CEO): Dr Saurabh Garg

Hydrogen blended PNG project starts operation at NTPC Kawas ,Gujarat

Tags: place in news National Science and Technology State News

India’s largest power company NTPC Ltd has commissioned India’s first green hydrogen blending project at Kawas, Gujarat. The piped natural gas (PNG) blended  with green hydrogen gas  is being supplied through the Gujarat Gas limited  piped natural gas (PNG) network in the NTPC Kawas township, Surat. 

In April 2022 the NTPC signed an agreement with Gujarat Gas for blending of green hydrogen in the piped natural gas (PNG) to be supplied to the NTPC Kawas Township.

Green Hydrogen refers to the breaking down of the water molecule into hydrogen and oxygen using renewable sources of energy.

The Central government owned NTPC provides the green hydrogen produced at its 1 megawatt (MW) floating solar project of NTPC Kawas in the Surat district of Gujarat for blending purposes.

Initially, the percentage of hydrogen blending in the PNG shall be around 5% and after successful completion, it will be increased. The Hydrogen blended PNG will be used for cooking purposes. 

This is the first project of its kind in the country .This is seen as a first step toward the decarbonization of the cooking sector and self-sufficiency for the energy requirements of the nation.

Gujarat Gas Limited (GGL) is India's largest City Gas Distribution (CGD) Company in terms of sales volume, with operation across 43 districts in 6 states and 1 Union territory in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Haryana, Punjab and Madhya Pradesh and Union Territory of Dadra & Nagar Haveli.

It is owned by Gujarat government owned Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation.

Headquarters: Ahmedabad, Gujarat.

Dr. Vinay Prakash Singh takes over as the Secretary General of the Asian Pacific Postal Union

Tags: Person in news International News

Dr Vinay Prakash Singh assumed the charge as the Secretary General of the Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) on 1 January 2023. .  This is the first time that an Indian is leading an international organization in the postal sector. Dr Singh will remain in office for 4 years.

Former Member (Personnel), Postal Services Board, Department of Post  Dr Vinay Prakash Singh was elected as the Secretary General during the 13th APPU Congress held in Bangkok during August- September 2022.

Asian Pacific Postal Union (APPU) is an intergovernmental organization of 32-member countries of the Asian-Pacific region. APPU is the only Union of the Universal Postal Union (UPU) in the region, which is a specialized agency of the United Nations. 

The headquarters of the Asian Pacific Postal Union is in Bangkok, Thailand. 

The Secretary General leads the activities of the Union and is also the Director of the Asian Pacific Postal College (APPC) which is the largest intergovernmental postal training institute in the region.

The Asia Pacific region generates around half of the global mail volume and has around one-third of the global postal human resource.

President Murmu inaugurates Samvidhan Udyan in Jaipur

Tags: State News

The President of India, Droupadi Murmu inaugurated Samvidhan Udyan, Mayur Stambh, National Flag Post, statues of Mahatma Gandhi and Maharana Pratap at Raj Bhavan, Jaipur on January 3, 2023.

Important facts

• On the occasion, she virtually inaugurated the Transmission System for Solar Power Sectors in Rajasthan and laid the foundation stone of the 1000 MW Bikaner Solar Power Project of SJVN Limited.

• The President said that women are continuously moving forward from Panchayat to Parliament House on their own.

• He said that it is a record to have more than 100 women in the Parliament of the country for the first time.

• The President said that the framers of our Constitution crafted a comprehensive Constitution with sensitivity to each and every section of the society and awareness of each level of democracy and each aspect of governance.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurates Siyom bridge in Arunachal Pradesh

Tags: State News

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the Siom bridge along with 27 other infrastructure projects completed by the Border Roads Organization in Arunachal Pradesh on 3 January.

Important facts

• Built at a cost of Rs 724 crore, these projects will vastly enhance India's border infrastructure, mostly along the Chinese border, from Ladakh to Arunachal.

• The Siom bridge onAlong-Yinkiong road will facilitate rapid induction of troops, heavy equipment like howitzers and mechanised vehicles in forward areas of Upper Siang district, Tuting and Yinkiong areas along the Line of Actual Control (LAC).

About Arunachal Pradesh

• It is the easternmost region of India. It is also called ‘Land of the Dawn-lit-Mountains’ or land of rising sun.

• It shares its International border with China, Bhutan and Myanmar.

• Arunachal Pradesh finds its mention in the literature of Kalika Purana and the great Hindu Epic Mahabharata. It is believed to be the Prabhu Mountains of the Puranas.

• It was earlier called as North East Frontier Agency (NEFA) and it was renamed as Arunachal Pradesh in 1972. It was a Union Territory.

• It became a state on 20 February 1987.

• Governor of the State:  (Retd), Brigadier BD Mishra 

• Chief Minister: Pema Khandu

• Capital:Itanagar

Captain Shiva Chauhan becomes the first women officer to be operationally deployed in Siachen

Tags: National Defence Person in news

Fire and Fury Corps officer Captain Shiva Chauhan became the first woman officer to be operationally deployed at the highest battleground in Kumar Post on the Siachen glacier.

This information was tweeted by the official account of the Fire and Fury Corps of the Indian Army.

Ms Shiva had to undergo arduous training before her posting in Kumar Post.

Siachen Glacier 

The Siachen glacier lies in the Karakoram Range .It is 75 km (47 miles) long, which makes it the second longest nonpolar glacier in the world, after Fedchenko Glacier in Tajikistan.

Strategic Significance of Siachen Glacier 

The Siachen Glacier is the highest battleground on earth, where India and Pakistan have fought intermittently since 1984. The Glacier is of strategic significance for India namely;

• The Glacier guards the routes which lead to Leh, the capital of Ladakh.
• Secondly the Saltoro Ridge overlooks the area of Gilgit–Baltistan of Pakistan Occupied Kashmir. 
•  Thirdly, it overlooks and dominates the Shaksgam Valley, which was illegally ceded to China by Pakistan.
• Fourthly, it is close to the Karakoram Pass through which the Karakoram Highway passes connecting Gilgit-Baltistan to Xinjiang Province of China.

Due to its strategic significance both countries maintain a permanent military presence in the region at a height of over 6,000 metres (20,000 feet).

 More than 2,000 soldiers have died in this inhospitable terrain, mostly due to weather extremes and the natural hazards of mountain warfare.

Operation Meghdoot 

Operation Meghdoot was launched by the Indian Armed Forces to take control of Siachen Glacier on the morning of April 13, 1984 before the Pakistani army did so.

At that time Siachen Glacier was in the State of Jammu and Kashmir but presently it is in the Union Territory of Ladakh.

MOIL registers record production in December

Tags: Economy/Finance National News

MOIL has registered its best December production of 1,41,321 tonnes of manganese ore in December, 2022. 

Important facts

• MOIL has registered an increase of 18 percent in production as compared to November 2022.

• Along with this, sales of 1,64,235 tonnes have also been done for the month of December with an increase of about 91 percent as compared to November 2022.

• Besides this, the company has increased prices in an effective range of 2.7-15%.

About MOIL

• It is a Schedule-A, Miniratna category-1 Company under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India.

• It is the largest producer of manganese ore in the country with about 45% market share, operating eleven mines in the states of Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

• The company aims to almost double its production to 3 million tonnes by 2030.

• It is also looking for business opportunities in the state of Gujarat, Rajasthan and Odisha apart from other regions of the state of Madhya Pradesh.

Uttarakhand Govt abolishes system of revenue police

Tags: State News

The Uttarakhand government has abolished the revenue/Patwari policing system in the state. This was notified by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government on 3 January 2023.   All the revenue villages will now be under the regular policing system.

According to the Chief Minister’s Office the law and order in 1,800 revenue villages of Uttarakhand will now be handled by the state police.

It was introduced by the British in the hilly state 150 years back. Under the system the civil officials/patwari of the Revenue department had the power to investigate and arrest the offenders just like police.

According to the government the revenue police lacked the necessary skill required for criminal investigations hence a need was felt to transfer the areas of revenue police to regular police in a phased manner.

Uttarakhand 

Uttarakhand was formed on 9th November 2000 as the 27th State of India. It was formed by carving out the hilly areas of Uttar Pradesh.

 The state is also famous as God’s Land or Dev Bhoomi.

It has a total of 13 districts.

Governor of Uttarakhand: Lieutenant General Gurmit Singh

Capital:  Dehradun 

PM Modi to launch world’s longest river cruise from Varanasi to Assam on 13 January

Tags: National Economy/Finance

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the world's longest river cruise, which will travel from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh on 13 January 2023. This will be the single largest river journey by a single river ship in the world.

The cruise, which has been named ‘Ganga Vilas cruise will cover 4000 Kilometers along 27 river systems, including  Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly, Brahmaputra, and West Coast Canal in 50 days. 

Route of the river cruise 

The Ganga Vilas cruise will start from Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh to Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh. In Bangladesh it will cover an 1100 Kilometers route before entering India again. 

This will be possible under the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route, which has already opened trade and transit channels connecting the two countries on Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers.

50 significant tourist destinations will be visited throughout the journey, including some historical monuments, the iconic Varanasi Ganga Aarti, and protected areas like Kaziranga National Park, Assam and the Sundarbans Delta in West Bengal during the cruise.

Who will operate the cruise? 

The Varanasi-Dibrugarh cruise is expected to be run on a public-private partnership (PPP) model. The government’s Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) has signed an agreement with Antara Luxury River Cruises and JM Baxi River Cruises for the initiative. The ticket price would be decided by the operators without Centre’s intervention.

Union Minister for Port, Shipping and Waterways: Sarbananda Sonowal

China becomes the first country in Asia and second in the world to launch Hydrogen powered Train

Tags: International News

China became the first country in Asia and second in the world to launch Hydrogen powered urban trains. Germany was the first country to introduce hydrogen powered trains in September 2022.

Chinese company CRRC Corporations ltd  built a train that has a top speed of 160 KM per hour and can run without refuelling for 600 Km . The German Coradia iLint serial train developed by French company Alstom has set a record 1175 Km range without refuelling.

According to the Chinese officials, the operation of the train will reduce CO2 emissions compared to diesel traction by 10 tons per year.

Hydrogen powered Trains 

Hydrogen is considered to be the green fuel of the future. The Hydrogen fuel cell is environment friendly and it does not emit any greenhouse gasses.  The hydrogen fuel cell uses hydrogen and air to generate electricity. The combination of air and hydrogen will produce water as a by-product which will be released by the Train. 

India is committed to achieve zero net carbon emission by 2070.

Hydrogen Train in India 

As per Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, India will most likely get its first-ever indigenous Hydrogen trains by December 2023. As per the minister, like Vande Bharat Express, the Indian Railways is working on the new environment-friendly trains and the engineers are designing it. "The design process is already going on and we should be able to roll out the first hydrogen train in the country by December 2023," he added. 

Croatia adopts Euro currency, also included in Europe's free passport club

Tags: International News

On January 1, 2023, Croatia adopted the euro currency and also joined Europe's free passport club (Schengen area), nearly a decade after joining the European Union.

Important facts

• On January 1, 2023, Croatia with a population of about 4 million said goodbye to its Kuna currency and became the 20th member of the Eurozone.

• It will be the 27th country in the world's largest passport-free Schengen zone, which enables more than 400 million people to move freely within its member states.

• Adoption of the euro will help Croatia's economy at a time when global inflation has been rising since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has pushed up fuel and food prices.

• It will also boost Croatia's major tourism industry, which accounts for 20 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP).

• The Eurozone consists of 19 members of the European Union (EU), which uses the Euro as their official currency.

What is the Schengen Zone?

• The border-free Schengen Area guarantees visa-free movement for over 400 million EU citizens, as well as tourists, students living in the EU and visiting the EU.

• Free movement of persons enables every EU citizen to travel, work and live in an EU country without special formalities. 

• The Schengen provision eliminates checking at the EU's internal borders, while providing a set of rules for controls at external borders.

About Croatia 

• Croatia is a country located in the northwestern part of the Balkan Peninsula.

• Prime Minister: Andrej Plenković

• President: Zoran Milanović

• Capital: Zagreb

• Currency :euro 

Global Family Day

Tags: Important Days

Global Family Day is celebrated every year on January 1 to start the year positively and to promote peace, love and unity among people.

Important facts

• The Aim of the day is to strengthen familial ties. 

• The day creates a sense of unity and brotherhood among nations and cultures through families.

• To maintain peace in the world, it is necessary to build a family, so that along with establishing peace in the world, violence can also be reduced.

Background of the day

• The Global Day of Families had its origins in two books. The first was 'One Day in Peace, January 1, 2000', written for children in 1996 by American authors Steve Diamond and Robert Alan Silverstein.

• Whereas, the other book was the 1998 utopian novel 'Tree Island: A Novel for the New Millennium' by American peace activist and author Linda Grover.

• Based on the ideas of these books, in 1997, the United Nations General Assembly declared January 1 to be a day of peace.

• In 1999, the United Nations and its member states celebrated the Global Day of Families for the first time.

• Seeing the success of this day, in the year 2001, the United Nations General Assembly established this day as an annual event. Since then, every year January 1 has been celebrated as Global Family Day.

India's manufacturing output reaches 13-month high in December

Tags: Economy/Finance National News

India's manufacturing sector activity rose to a 13-month high in December, supported by healthy inflows of new business and strong demand conditions, according to a monthly survey.

Important facts

• The seasonally adjusted S&P Global India Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to 57.8 in December from 55.7 in November.

• The reason for this is that the fastest improvement is now being seen in business activities in the last 2 years.

• The December data showed that overall operating conditions improved for the 18th consecutive month.

Meaning of PMI Index

• In the language of Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a score above 50 means expansion, while a figure below 50 indicates contraction.

• The beginning of 2022 was very good, since then the performance of the manufacturing sector has remained consistently good.

• The S&P Global India Manufacturing PMI is prepared by S&P Global on the basis of responses received from purchasing managers of 400 manufacturers.

50 Electric Buses launched in Delhi with support under FAME India Phase II scheme

Tags: Government Schemes National News

On 3 January 2022, 50 electric buses were launched in Delhi with support from the government under the FAME India Phase II scheme of the Ministry of Heavy Industry.

Important facts

• In 2019, the government approved Rs 10,000 crore for a period of three years.

• Out of the total budgetary support, about 86 per cent of the funds have been allocated for incentives to generate demand for electric vehicles.

• Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey said that the government has placed an order for 3,538 electric buses. Of these, a total of 1,716 buses have been deployed so far.

• The Union Territory of Delhi had sanctioned 400 electric buses – 300 to the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) for intra-city operations and 100 to the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) for last-mile connectivity – in August 2019.

• A total of 250 buses have already been deployed by DTC and now the remaining 50 buses have been launched fulfilling MHI's commitment of providing 300 electric buses to DTC.

FAME India Scheme

• To improve the infrastructure required for the large-scale use of electric vehicles, the Government formulated a Scheme namely FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and Electric Vehicles) in 2015.

• Under this scheme, by the year 2022, 60-70 lakh hybrid and electric vehicles are targeted to be put on the roads across the country.

• This will reduce the consumption of about 950 crore litres of petrol and diesel, which will also save Rs 62 thousand crores spent on this.

• The main objective of this scheme is to reduce pollution and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

• Phase-II of FAME India Scheme is being implemented for a period of 3 years from April 1, 2019.

• The Phase-I of this Scheme was launched for a period of 2 years from 1st April 2015, which was extended from time to time and the last extension was allowed up to 31st March 2019. 

What are Electric Vehicles?

• Electric Vehicles are vehicles that are partially or fully powered on electric power.

• They have low running costs and are also very environmentally friendly as they use little or no fossil fuels (petrol or diesel).

• These vehicles can solve the problems of increasing pollution, global warming, depleting natural resources etc.