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

Welcome to the Endeavor Editors’ Weekly Current Affairs Choicest Blog series. Get a weekly roundup – on 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

Biden, Kishida agree to ‘push back’ China

US President Joe Biden and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida have agreed to “push back” against China’s attempts to change the status quo in the East China Sea and the South China Sea, and highlighted the importance of the Quad grouping as a critical forum for promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region.The Japanese government said in a statement that “the two leaders shared the intention to coordinate closely under the strong Japan-US alliance and to deepen cooperation with like-minded countries such as Australia, India, ASEAN, and Europe, toward realising a ‘Free and Open Indo-Pacific’”. Biden and Kishida said they remain committed to working closely with allies and partners in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. The two leaders highlighted the importance of the Quad – Australia, Japan, India, and the United States – as a critical forum for promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region, according to the White House readout. They also decided to ensure that the Quad delivers practical results in areas such as Covid-19 response, climate and clean energy, and infrastructure.

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US Warship sails through Paracel Islands in South China Sea, Beijing slams “Navigational Hegemony”

The US sent a warship into the South China Sea’s disputed waters triggering fresh tensions with Beijing. USS Benfold, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, sailed through the Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea. China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) said that its air and naval forces had warned off the destroyer. However, the US Navy denied that it had been warned and added it had “continued on” its operations.

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Russia rejects UK claim of trying to replace Ukraine leader

Russia’s Foreign Ministry has rejected a British claim that Russia was seeking to replace Ukraine’s government with a pro-Moscow administration, and that former Ukrainian lawmaker YevheniyMurayev was being considered as a potential candidate.Britain’s Foreign Office on Saturday also named several other Ukrainian politicians it said had links with Russian intelligence services, along with Murayev who is the leader of a small pro-Russia party that has no seats in the parliament.The UK government made the claim based on an intelligence assessment, without providing evidence to back it up. It comes amid high tensions between Moscow and the West over Russia’s designs on Ukraine.

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Russia-Ukraine crisis: UK sending weapons to defend Ukraine – BBC Newsnight

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Sri Lanka inflation hits record 14 per cent as food crisis worsens

Sri Lanka consumer prices shot up a record 14 percent in December, surpassing a previous high of 11.1 from a month earlier, official figures showed on Saturday as food and fuel shortages worsen.Senior ministers warned parliament earlier in the week of a growing food crisis with rice harvests due in March expected to be drastically lower after an agrochemical import ban last year saw farmers abandoning more than 30 percent of agricultural land.It said food inflation also hit a record 21.5 percent, up from 16.9 percent in November and 7.5 percent a year ago.The use of substandard organic fertiliser and pesticides has sharply reduced vegetable and fruit crop yields.After intense farmer protests, the government lifted its agrochemical import ban in October, but banks are still short of dollars to finance imports.

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High inflation, low foreign reserves, rising debt — Why is Sri Lanka on the verge of bankruptcy?

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Omicron ‘sub-variant’ throws up new virus questions

The initial Omicron variant has become the dominant virus strain in recent months but British health authorities have notably identified hundreds of cases of the latest version, dubbed BA.2, while international data suggest it could spread relatively quickly.The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) identified more than 400 cases in Britain in the first ten days of this month and has indicated the latest variant has been detected in some 40 other countries, accounting for a majority of most recent cases in some nations including India, Denmark and Sweden.”What surprised us is the rapidity with which this sub-variant, which has been circulating to a great extent in Asia, has taken hold in Denmark,” French epidemiologist Antoine Flahault told AFP.BA.2 has yet to be designated a variant of concern — but Flahault says countries have to be alert to the latest development as scientists ramp up surveillance.

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Hard to detect omicron offshoot BA.2 spreads rapidly in Europe | DW News

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Traders on ‘high alert’ for supply glitches after oil hits seven-year peak

Oil has rallied strongly in early 2022, surpassing a seven-year high this week as traders rushed to lock in supply on expectations of resurgent demand, patchy production and an unstable geopolitical landscape. Some analysts are predicting that oil could surpass the $100 mark this year. Such a scenario would add fresh fuel to already rapid global inflation.Oil’s price surge has been underpinned by a view among some industry analysts that supply will tighten as the worldwide economy continues to rebound, leaving limited spare capacity to meet any future shortfall.With global demand expected to return to pre-pandemic levels of approximately 100m b/d in 2022, there are questions about the availability of spare capacity to cover any operational or geopolitical disruption to current supply levels.

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Benchmark oil prices hit 7 year high as attacks in Middle East cause further disruption

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Explained: Houthis and the war in Yemen, in which Indian lives have now been lost

Two Indians and a Pakistani were killed and six other people including two Indians were injured in an attack by suspected drones on three petroleum tankers at an oil facility in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday.The attack was claimed by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen. Indians were not the target of the attack. Brig Gen Yahya Sare’e, the Houthi military spokesman, tweeted that the “UAE is an unsafe state as long as its aggressive escalation against Yemen continues”. Yemen has been wracked by civil war for more than seven years now, and the Houthis control the western part of the country, including the capital Sana’a.The war involves several nations directly or indirectly, and the attack in Abu Dhabi spotlights the multiple conflicts that are playing out in Yemen and the wider region as a whole.

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Yemen civil war & UAE drone strikes, why are the Houthis fighting & Saudi-UAE, Iran locking horns

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2) India

Covid update

‘Isolation’ not mandatory for foreign arrivals testing COVID positive: Authorities

Travellers arriving in India from any country who will test positive for COVID-19 shall be treated/isolated as per the laid down standard protocol and will not mandatorily be managed at an isolation facility, authorities have said.According to the revised ‘Guidelines for International Arrivals’ released on Thursday, the new norm will apply from January 22 till further order.The rest of the provisions have remained the same in the revised guidelines.Foreign arrivals who test positive will still have to undergo home quarantine for seven days even after they test negative and undertake RT-PCR test on the 8th day of arrival in India.

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India Inc spent over Rs 1,600 crore on mitigating second COVID-19 wave: study

India Inc. has spent over Rs 1,600 crore combating the second wave of COVID-19 in the financial year 2020-21, a study said on Monday.The study, comprising over 350 public listed companies conducted by CSR knowledge and impact intelligence platform, CSRBOX, stated that Indian companies launched over 750 corporate social responsibility initiatives in response to the second wave.Around 57 percent of the CSR initiatives to combat the second wave of COVID-19 were targeted at direct beneficiaries – Covid-infected people, according to the report titled ”CSR Response to COVID 2.0”. More than 400 of the corporate CSR initiatives to combat the second wave of infections were aimed at procuring medical supplies, ventilators and safety gear like PPE kits.

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Other updates

TRIPS waiver, developing nations’ policy space key, India tells WTO

India insisted on the inclusion of waiver of certain provisions of the global intellectual property rights agreement for Covid-19 medicines and products in the World Trade Organization’s pandemic response package, and cautioned against attempts at using the pandemic as a veil for securing market access concessions from developing countries.At the virtual informal World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting organized by Switzerland, New Delhi said that the topmost priority should be to address the supply-side constraints, including IP barriers to augment the manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics, essential for treatment, prevention and control of the ongoing pandemic.India and South Africa, supported by 100 other developing countries, want the waiver. The European Union has been opposing the proposal.

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67% population under 18 years in India consider climate change global emergency: Report

In India, about 67 per cent of the population under the age of 18 years consider climate change a global emergency, compared to about 58 per cent of adults, according to a new UNDP report.According to the global report, youth across the world are more aware of the severity of climate change and are seeking urgent policy-action on the climate front more strongly.”Strong advocates for green development, the youth are ‘walking the talk’ by making climate conscious choices in their lifestyles such as buying sustainably sourced products and opting for eco-friendly transportation as well devoting their skills to harness innovative ideas to aid action towards the climate crisis,” the report said.

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Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose’s grand statue to beinstalled at India Gate

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will unveil the hologram statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose on Sunday evening at India Gate, Delhi to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of the iconic freedom fighter. On Friday, PM Modi announced that a grand statue of Netaji willbe installed at India Gate as a symbol of India’s indebtedness to him.Hailing the Centre’s decision, Subhas Chandra Bose’s family in Kolkata said, “We appreciate Centre’s initiative to place Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose`s statue at India Gate. But if you really want to honour him, implement his inclusive ideology of uniting all communities; real homage to liberated India remains incomplete.”

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India Gate to get grand Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose statue; PM Modi to unveil hologram on Jan 23

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3) Economy

India FY23 GDP growth seen 7.6%: India Ratings

India Ratings and Research said it expects India’s gross domestic product (GDP)to grow 7.6% on-year in FY23.“After a gap of two years, the Indian economy will show a meaningful expansion, as the real GDP in FY23 will be 9.1% higher than the FY20 (pre-Covid level) GDP level,” said Sunil Kumar Sinha, Principal Economist, India Ratings and Research.However, the size of the Indian economy in FY23 will be 10.2% lower than the FY23 GDP trend value, according to the ratings agency. A continued weakness in private consumption and investment demand is estimated to contribute 43.4% and 21.0%, respectively, to this shortfall.In its Economic Outlook for FY23, India Ratings said that consumption demand is still weak and not broad based and the slowdown in private final consumption expenditure had begun even before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the Indian economy.It expects a moderation in the retail and wholesale inflation to 4.8% and 5.7%, respectively in the next fiscal.

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Omicron poses limited downside to Indian economy, say economists

There is scant downside risk to the Indian economy in the last months of this financial year from the Omicron coronavirus variant, according to economists polled by Reuters who said New Delhi should focus on fiscal prudence in its February budget.Asia’s third-largest economy is in the midst of a resurgence in coronavirus cases driven by the new variant that has forced most states to impose localised restrictions.The Jan. 11-18 poll of over 45 economists forecast 5.0% economic growth this quarter, a sharp downgrade from the 6.0% given in December, finishing the year at 9.2% compared with 9.5% in the previous month’s poll.

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Explained: India’s buoyant export performance and why is the trade balance still unfavourable?

India’s exports have risen nearly 50 per cent year on year in the first nine months of this fiscal, putting the country on track to hit a target of $400 billion in merchandise exports. India’s imports have also risen sharply during the same period leading to a sharp uptick in India’s fiscal deficit. India is pursuing a number of new Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to expand opportunities for Indian exporters.India’s merchandise imports have grown even faster than exports — at 68.9 per cent year-on-year in the first nine months of the current fiscal to $ 443.8 billion, up from $262.8 billion in the previous fiscal. Key imports for India during this fiscal so far include petroleum and petroleum products, gold and electronic goods.Higher imports of machinery, electronic goods, vegetable oil, coal, and chemicals were key contributors to the sharp uptick in imports in the first three quarters of the fiscal.The rise in imports has led to an increase in the trade deficit to $142.4 billion in the April-December period, up from $61.4 billion in the year-ago period, and $125.9 billion in the corresponding period in FY20.

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FDI flows to India slip 26% in 2021: UN report

Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows to India in 2021 were 26 per cent lower, mainly because large M&A deals recorded in 2020 were not repeated, the UN trade body has said. The UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Investment Trends Monitor published on Wednesday said global foreign direct investment flows showed a strong rebound in 2021, growing 77 per cent to an estimated USD 1.65 trillion, from USD 929 billion in 2020, surpassing their pre-COVID-19 level.Flows to India were 26 per cent lower, mainly because large M&A deals recorded in 2020 were not repeated, it said. China saw a record USD 179 billion of inflows – a 20 per cent increase – driven by strong services FDI.

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4) Markets, Banking and Finance

ICRA revises AUM growth outlook for retail NBFCs to 5-7% from 8-10% in FY22

Domestic rating agency Icra Ratings on Thursday revised the asset under management (AUM) growth outlook of retail non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) to 5-7 per cent for the fiscal 2022 from an earlier expectation of 8-10 per cent. In the first half of FY2022, retail NBFCs grew by less than one per cent.”Apart from the various regulatory changes over the last 3-4 months (such as scale-based regulations, prompt corrective action framework etc) and a muted H1 FY2022, we note that some of the key segments of retail-NBFCs, especially vehicle finance, are faced with supply-side constraints, which could pull-down growth vis a vis our expectation, even if the demand remains less impacted by the new wave of infections,” the agency’s Vice President (financial sector ratings) A M Karthik said.

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5) Business

B2B spending in India expected to grow 10.3% in 2022: Report

The total business-to-business spending in India is expected to rise by 10.3 per cent in 2022 with the spend of the country’s businesses growing three times faster than the expectations from its comparable peers in other countries in the third quarter of last year, according to a study. The total business-to-business (B2B) spend for India rose 9.4 per cent in Q3 2021 on a year-on-year basis, as per the India Business Spend Indicator (IBSI) report by American Express, India and Invest India in partnership with the Centre for Business and Economic Research (CEBR).Stating that the India spending is on the rise across nine key B2B categories, the report said, “it is expected to rise by 10.3 per cent in 2022.”

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Jio completes 5G coverage plans for top 1,000 cities in country

Jio has completed 5G network coverage planning for top 1,000 cities in the country and is augmenting its fibre capacity as well as running pilot across sites, a senior company official said during a presentation.The company is running a 5G pilot in multiple cities and network planning for the roll out of 5G using 3D maps and ray tracing technology is going on.”We are using the most modern approaches towards network planning, especially 3D maps and ray tracing technology because 5G is pretty unique technology, which requires very advanced network planning techniques, and we are undertaking that for all of India, so that as and when the approvals are received for us to roll out this network, we will be well geared-up to prioritise our rollout, where we can make the maximum contribution,” Jio Infocomm President Kiran Thomas said.

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Decoding the MSME lending in the 21st Century

The MSME sector is poised to be the key to unlocking India’s economic development and rightfully so. The Ministry of MSME’s annual report 2020-21 uncovered that India has approximately 6.33 Cr MSMEs that contribute significantly to the country’s productivity and employment. Despite its significance and reach, the struggle to acquire credit has hampered the sector’s growth and establishment.A report by the IFC stated that 85% of MSMEs remain underserved in terms of credit, and only one-fifth of these financing gaps were fulfilled by formal credit. The contributing factors to this issue are access, cost, and underwriting. Traditional lenders require MSME borrowers to provide credit history, formal records, business vintage, etc, which may exclude many small businesses from the formal lending ecosystem. Moreover, they are dispersed, which brings up a problem of reach and penetration for larger lending institutions. As a consequence, the MSME lending sector in India faced a credit deficit of INR 16 Lakh Cr. (as of Q1 2020).

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India Inc staring at ‘integrity crisis’, top management ought to act: Survey

India Inc is staring at an “integrity crisis” in the second year of the pandemic, a survey done by a consultancy firm has revealed.The global survey conducted by the consultancy firm EY, which saw executives from 100 companies, including CEO, board members and also mid-management personnel participate, has found concerning details like 59% of the respondents feeling there are executives who would not mind compromising on integrity for short-term gains.Over half of the Indian participants in the survey also said that they did not report a misconduct, which is much higher than the 30% average globally, the survey said. In what can impact the ability to curtail further frauds, more than a third (39%) of the respondents expressed apprehension about the whistle-blowing channels, saying the concerns raised may not be acted upon.”It is very important for organisations to guard against risks and the tone has to be set from the top,” Arpinder Singh, the India leader for the firm’s forensic and integrity services vertical, told PTI.

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6) Technology

Facebook owner Meta dives into NFT digital collectibles craze

Meta is working on plans to allow users to create and sell non-fungible tokens as Facebook’s parent company seeks to join the rush of companies trying to capitalise on the digital collectible craze. Teams at Facebook and Instagram are readying a feature that will allow users to display their NFTs on their social media profiles, as well as working on a prototype to help users create — or mint — the collectible tokens, according to several people familiar with the matter.Dominant NFT marketplace OpenSea, which takes a 2.5 per cent cut of any sale, this month raised $300m at a $13bn valuation — just six months after raising $100m at a $1.5bn valuation. Major US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase is launching its own marketplace. Meta rival Twitter is testing NFT showcasing capabilities, while Reddit has launched its own collection of NFT avatars.

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Crypto crash erases more than $1 trillion in market value

With the Federal Reserve intending to withdraw stimulus from the market, riskier assets the world over have suffered. Bitcoin, the largest digital asset, lost more than 12% Friday and dropped below $36,000 to its lowest level since July. Since its peak in November, it has lost over 45% of its value. Other digital currencies have suffered just as much, if not more, with Ether and meme coins mired in similar drawdowns.Bitcoin’s decline since that November high has wiped out more than $600 billion in market value, and over $1 trillion has been lost from the aggregate crypto market.“Crypto is reacting to the same kind of dynamics that are weighing on risk-assets globally,” said Stephane Ouellette, chief executive and co-founder of institutional crypto-platform FRNT Financial. “Unfortunately for some of the mature projects like BTC, there is so much cross-correlation within the crypto asset class it’s almost a certainty that it falls, at least temporarily in a broader alt-coin valuation contraction.”

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New-Age Indian Tech Companies take abeating in the Stock Market amid Global decline

A sharp drop in the technology-focused Nasdaq index has resulted in panic among technology investors around the world. The decline in the US has had a ripple effect across the globe.Tech stocks across sectors saw a dip in the past week in India too. Policybazaar, Zomato, Paytm, Nykaa, RateGain, MapmyIndia have all seen drops over the last five trading sessions.Zomato and Paytm in particular have been on a downward spiral. The food delivery giant, went below its listing price of INR 115 and its market cap slipped below INR 1 Lakh Cr to under INR 90,000 Cr.SoftBank and Sequoia India, two of the biggest startup investors in India, both expect a drop in private valuations amid a major correction in the US public markets.While SoftBank Vision Fund CEO Rajeev Misra said there will be a correction in the high valuations in private markets vs the public markets, where there is a big sell-off. “If the public markets stay where they are, then the private markets, which are overvalued, have to rebalance. And we’re seeing that already,” he was quoted as saying.

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Indian Govt cracks the whip on misinformation, blocks 35 Pak-based Youtubechannels

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) has ordered the blocking of 35 Pakistan-based YouTube channels for “spreading anti-India fake news.”In addition to this, the government also issued orders to block two websites, two Twitter handles, two Instagram accounts and one Facebook account.This order was issued under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The directions were issued by MIB Secretary, who can order an immediate takedown of content under the new guidelines. The interim order will now be placed before the inter-departmental committee for review.The Union Government said that the new order was necessitated after intelligence agencies flagged these social media handles for “immediate action”. The ministry issued the order immediately after it received the intelligence inputs on Thursday.

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Modi govt hardens stand on Pakistan-run anti-India handles; Minister says crackdown to continue

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7) Politics

Bhim Army chief announces alliance of 35 smaller parties for UP elections

Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad on January 23 announced an alliance of 35 smaller political parties ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections. The new alliance will be called Samajik Parivartan Morcha.Azad said that the alliance will field candidates on all the 403 assembly seats in Uttar Pradesh. However, the Azad Samaj Party (Kanshi Ram) chief said that the alliance will not field any candidate against Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav who will contest from Karhal in Mainpuri district.The new political development came a day after the All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi announced the launch of Bhagidari Parivartan Morcha of five political parties.

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Mining on the shifty sands of Goan politics

Goa has banked on its natural and logistical advantages to build an iron ore industry that was its economy’s mainstay until it discovered tourism, and more recently casinos and real estate. The mining lobby has played a significant role in deciding the political fate of Goa, from before its liberation from Portuguese rule and since – in the choice of its first chief minister, its veto to a merger with Maharashtra, in the making and breaking of coalition governments.However after a decade of uncertainty, mining features less prominently in the electoral rhetoric of Goa’s politicians, reflecting perhaps the waning influence of the sector.

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Manohar Parrikar’s son quits BJP, to contest from Panaji as independent candidate

Utpal Parrikar, the son of late former Defence Minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Manohar Parrikar, announced his exit from the saffron party on January 21.Utpal Parrikar, who had marked his dissidence over not being issued the BJP poll ticket from Panaji, will contest from the constituency as an independent candidate in the February 14 elections.After Parrikar’s demise in March 2019, BJP leader Atanasio Monserrate was elected as the MLA from the constituency in the by-elections. The party has retained him as the candidate for the polls to be held next month.

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With 71% rating, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tops list of most popular world leaders once again

Prime Minister Narendra Modi has once again topped the global rating survey released by Morning Consult Political Intelligence as the most popular world leader, with an approval rating of 71 percent.Boris Johnson, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, ranked lowest on the list with an approval rating of 26 percent.On the list that ranks 13 most popular world leaders, United States President Joe Biden ranked number six with a 43 percent approval rating with his Canadian counterpart Justin Trudeau. They were followed by Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with a rating of 41 percent.Notably, in November 2021 too, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had topped the list of most popular world leaders. In May 2020, PM Modi had topped the list with the highest approval rating of 84 percent, which had dipped to 63 percent in May 2021.

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Politics & ideology of Modi Govt move on Amar Jawan Jyoti. And the SC order on reservations & merit

As the Amar Jawan Jyoti is merged with the National War Memorial flame, Shekhar Gupta explains how the BJP government is making an ideological point. The video looks at how the Indian armed forces see their regimental history as a ‘continuum’ and not embarrassed by colonial past, cited as reason for such a move. And understanding ‘merit’ as described in SC judgement upholding validity of OBC quota in NEET.

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Yadav dynasty breached as Mulayam’s D-I-L Aparna defects,India’s 20 political dynasties & infighting

As Mulayam Singh Yadav’s daughter-in-law Aparna Yadav joins BJP stirring tension among Samajwadi Party leaders, Shekhar Gupta traces the Yadav family dynasty, and further looks at India’s 20 political families. From Gandhis to Badals, Gupta tells you how sibling rivalries, parental favouritism among other factors lead to party infighting.

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8) Sports

Hardik Pandya, KL Rahul to lead new IPL teams Ahmedabad, Lucknow

All-rounder Hardik Pandya will lead Ahmedabad and batsman KL Rahul will captain Lucknow when the franchises make their debuts in the Indian Premier League this year.The 15th edition of the world’s richest Twenty20 league will be a 10-team affair with the inclusion of the two new franchises, who paid a combined $1.71 billion to be part of the competition.Top-order batsman Rahul, currently captaining India in the one-day leg of their South Africa tour in the absence of Rohit Sharma, will be in charge of Lucknow in their inaugural season.

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India go down by seven wickets in second ODI, lose series

South Africa beat India by seven wickets in the second ODI to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. India made 287 for six after opting to bat. Rishabh Pant top scored for India with 85 off 71 balls while skipper K L Rahul made 55 off 79 balls.For the second game in a row, the Indian bowling lacked teeth to trouble the opposition batters.

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Sindhu wins Syed Modi International badminton title

Two-time Olympic medallist PV Sindhu eased past young compatriot MalvikaBansod in straight games to win her second women’s singles title at the Syed Modi International badminton tournament here on Sunday.It was former world champion Sindhu’s second Syed Modi title after having annexed the BWF World Tour Super 300 event in 2017.Sindhu used her vast experience and skills to great effect as Bansod found it extremely difficult to adjust to her opponent’s game from the onset.The Tokyo Olympics silver medallist took off from the word go and raced to a 7-0 lead in no time.

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9) Opinion

India’s lessons from Chinese demography

China is within sight of a milestone that caps decades of statutory family planning: the number of deaths last year almost caught up with the number of births. Although official statisticians maintain the point at which China’s population will start to decline is some way off, an ageing workforce could find it hard to sustain the pace of economic growth the country has become accustomed to.India, too, has reached a milestone in that its population is growing at a rate at which it will not replenish itself. But it has a much younger workforce whose participation in the labour market is far lower than the level in China. India’s efforts to collect its demographic dividend will play out as China reconfigures its engagement with the world. A great leap awaits India’s investment in its human capital for it to rely on services-led growth in a neighbourhood that is plugging itself into Chinese manufacturing value chains. The lesson to be drawn from across the wall would be whether population social engineering was too much, or too little.

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Which way 5G wind blows; significant shift in how telco operators engage with customers

Telco operators typically seek to pack their networks with as many customers as possible, while other sectors, such as airlines and hotels, occasionally leave space open. These empty seats and rooms may present as lost opportunities, but, in fact, they are inevitable by-products of yield management: an approach to price optimisation that telcos have been unable to pursue during the 3G and 4G eras.The rise of 5G, however, has the potential to change that – paving the way for a significant shift in how telcos engage with customers. As the industry confronts a surge in network traffic volume, a massive proliferation of connected devices, and a future built around widespread automation and augmented reality, carriers are facing a new opportunity to charge customers.Operators have already identified the enormous value that 5G core can bring in the B2B arena, and on this basis, the 5G revolution is already under way. In the B2C market, however, the value proposition of 5G remains murky.

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Govt should not rush to bring down fiscal deficit, put more money in hands of consumers: HUL CMD

The government should not be in a rush to bring down the fiscal deficit and must continue with measures to put more money in the hands of consumers, especially in rural areas where FMCG volume growth has turned negative, HUL Chairman and Managing Director Sanjiv Mehta said. “The government should not be in a rush to bring down the fiscal deficit because during the period that the private consumption is low and the capital investment is yet to pick up, government investments have got a very big role,”With “unprecedented” inflation of commodity prices impacting rural consumption, he said all the relief provided by the government in the last few years for the rural consumers through schemes like MGNREGA and free food supply “ought to be extended in the next fiscal because the economy is still in the process of recovery”.

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Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzoor Zepto — Who led the Indian Hyperlocal delivery War in 2021

Zomato led the hyperlocal delivery download race with 28.5 Mn downloads in 2021. Zepto emerged as the dark horse of the hyperlocal delivery space, raising $160 Mn within five months of its launch. The race for delivery speed, a shift towards dark stores and intense competition will rule the hyperlocal delivery space in 2022. Restaurant aggregator and food delivery company Zomato outshone its closest rival Swiggy in 2021, topping the list of ‘most downloads’ with 28.5 Mn. Swiggy emerged a distant second with 18.7 Mn downloads. Online grocer BigBasket beat Blinkit (previously Grofers) to the third spot with 6.1 Mn downloads, while the latter saw 3 Mn downloads.Zepto, the new kid on the hyperlocal block with substantial funding in its kitty, was started in April last year and saw around 0.3 Mn downloads.

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10) Weekly special

Highway to Growth: The emerging used cars market

There has been an emergence of the used cars space in India. To discuss this phenomenon, droom, CarzSo and Deloitte India come together for an insightful panel discussion.

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11) Did you know?

Indonesia is moving its capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara

Indonesia plans to shift its capital city from Jakarta to a province called East Kalimantan (around 2000km from northeast of Jakarta), and name its new capital Nusantara, which means “archipelago.”Delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic, the move could take place in 2024.The shift in the capital is being made due to the massive environmental challenges facing Jakarta, a city that suffers from frequent flooding and is one of the fastest sinking cities of the world.

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With that, we come to an end for our Weekly Current Affairs January 2022 -Week4. 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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