13/02/2022
*News Updates-News4Use*
*Sunday, 13th February, 2022*
*1. Piyush Goyal holds talks with his Australian counterpart to boost bilateral trade ties*
The talks with the Australian Minister comes at a time when Australia is set to host the Quad Foreign Ministers' Ministerial Dialogue on Friday in Canberra which will see the participation of the Foreign Ministers of the US, India, Australia and Japan.
*2. The EU and IFC Establish a New Partnership to Accelerate Climate-Smart, Inclusive Infrastructure Investments in South Asia*
Six South Asian nations, including India, are set to benefit from a new USD$ 21.5 million (EUR 18 million) funding from the European Union (EU), which will help to accelerate climate-smart, inclusive infrastructure investments in their regions. IFC, the largest global development institution, focused on the private sector in emerging markets, will implement the project under the program, Accelerating Climate-Smart and Inclusive Infrastructure in South Asia (ACSIIS)., investment, climate smart, south asia
*3. India-Israel-US-UAE 'West Asian Quad' crucial to address complex global threats, says UAE envoy*
Ahmed Albanna, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to India, Thursday referred to the newly formed India-Israel-US-UAE grouping as the 'West Asian Quad', which is crucial for addressing global threats. The India-Israel-US-UAE grouping , that met for the first time under a new framework in October 2021, was created to mainly deal with issues concerning maritime security, infrastructure, digital infrastructure, and transport.
*4. Centre's GDP deflator forecast for FY23 is 3-3.5%: FM Nirmala Sitharaman*
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday that the Centre's gross domestic product (GDP) deflator projection for 2022-23 is 3 to 3.5 per cent. This means that the government's own real GDP growth projection for the coming fiscal year is in the range of 7.6-8.1 per cent, given that the Union Budget assumes a nominal GDP growth rate of 11.1 per cent for FY23.
*5. Monetary policy: RBI surprises with dovish note as growth concerns weigh*
The six-member Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday took a dovish stance that was contrary to expectations of a formal step of policy normalisation by hiking the reverse repo rate. All the six members voted to keep the repo rate unchanged for the 10th consecutive policy meeting, and one dissented on maintaining the "accommodative" stance.
*6. Liquidity window for emergency health services extended till June 30*
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on Thursday also sounded caution over the impact of the pandemic on banking and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) "when the effects of regulatory reliefs and resolutions fully work their way through".
*7. Cryptos don't have any underlying value, not even a tulip: RBI Governor*
Cryptos don't have any underlying value, not even a tulip: RBI Governor on Business Standard. At the post policy meeting with media persons, Governor Das said, the investors who invest in crypto currencies should keep in mind that they are doing so at their own risk
*8. Banks in India can offer foreign currency-settled rupee derivatives*
The Reserve Bank of India has allowed banks in India to offer the offshore Foreign Currency Settled Overnight Indexed Swap (FCS-OIS), helping to improve price discovery and deepen the interest rate derivatives market. This move is also expected to remove the segmentation between onshore and offshore markets.
*9. In-Depth: What is govt's Rs 6,000-cr plan with its RAMP programme for MSMEs*
Credit and Finance for MSMEs: The programme was launched on the basis of the recommendations from the UK Sinha Committee report in June 2019. The report had suggested multiple regulatory, financial, and implementation reforms for targeted interventions among MSMEs to solve their recognized challenges.
*10. Show-cause notice issued to private varsities for offering degree courses with edtech companies*
The action by the technical education regulator comes after it and the University Grants Commission (UGC) warned universities and colleges against offering courses in distance learning and online mode in association with Ed-Tech companies, saying no "franchise" agreement is permissible as per norms.
*11. Cleartrip to raise employee headcount by 40 pc in coming quarter; 700 strength by Dec*
Commenting on the plans, Cleartrip CEO Ayyappan Rajagopal said, "Cleartrip has been witnessing steady recovery as customer confidence, slowly but surely, returns to pre-COVID-19 levels. At this juncture, it is the opportune time to scale up our business, which is understandably recovering slower than other sectors."
*12. Alstom to expand its talent pool in India by 15% in 2022*
With a strong order backlog of close to four billion euros from its operations and the optimism for the Indian market, Alstom is looking to add 15 per cent or 1,200-1,500 additional workforce to its talent pool by the end of 2022, the company said in a statement.
*13. No more 7-day home quarantine for foreign travellers as govt eases rules*
International travellers would not have to mandatorily home quarantine for seven days or get an RT-PCR test done on the eight day, as per the revised guidelines for international travel introduced by the health ministry. The government has also removed the demarcation of countries 'at-risk' and other countries.
*14. India's first homegrown mRNA COVID-19 vaccine currently under final clinical trial stages: Govt*
India's first homegrown mRNA COVID-19 vaccine is currently under final clinical trial stages, the government said on Thursday. Responding to a question at the weekly press conference, NITI Aayog Member (Health) Dr V K Paul said a candidate vaccine by Pune-based Gennova Biopharmaceuticals, which is entirely an Indian development, is in final clinical trial stages.
*15. Coronavirus Omicron Feb 11 Live Updates: India records 58,077 new Covid-19 infections, 657 deaths in last 24 hours; Active case count declines to 6.9 lakh*
Coronavirus Live Tracker: China guarantees support for Hong Kong amid COVID surge China will fully support Six South Asian nations, including India, are set to benefit from a new USD$ 21.5 million (EUR 18 million) funding from the European Union (EU), which will help to accelerate climate-smart, inclusive infrastructure investments in their regions. IFC, the largest global development institution, focused on the private sector in emerging markets, will implement the project under the program, Accelerating Climate-Smart and Inclusive Infrastructure in South Asia (ACSIIS). Kong with its "dynamic zero" coronavirus strategy as the territory battles an escalating outbreak, its office overseeing matters in the city said.
I sincerely trust the above updates shall assist you in your professional and other endeavours.
Always with you, all the times, all the way.
Regards,
Yours truly,
*CMA Ravi Kr. Sahni*
FCMA
*Ravi Sahni & Co.*
Cost Accountants
*New Delhi*Ghaziabad*Vadodara*Pune*
