Endeavor Careers Choicest Blogs: Weekly Current Affairs: September 2022, Week 01

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

The US approves $1.1bn Taiwan arms sale, angering China

The US has agreed to sell $1.1bn (£955m) in weaponry to Taiwan, provoking anger from China. The proposed deal includes a radar system to track incoming strikes and anti-ship and anti-air missiles. It comes after US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi last month became the most senior US official in 25 years to visit Taipei. The Chinese embassy in Washington called on the US to revoke the deal or face “counter-measures”. Spokesman Liu Pengyu said the deal “severely jeopardizes” relations between Washington and Beijing. “China will resolutely take legitimate and necessary counter-measures in light of the development of the situation,” he added. Beijing sees the self-ruled island as a part of its territory and insists it should be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. It launched large-scale military drills around Taiwan last month, following the American delegation’s visit.

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Ukraine war: G7 agrees to impose a price cap on Russian oil

Members of the G7 have agreed to impose a price cap on Russian oil in a bid to hit Moscow’s ability to finance the war in Ukraine. Finance ministers said the cap on crude oil and petroleum products would also help reduce global energy prices. The cap will be set at a level based on a range of technical inputs. Russia said it would stop selling oil to countries that imposed price caps. At their virtual meeting, the finance ministers said the oil price cap plan was “specifically designed” to reduce Russian revenues and its ability to “fund its war of aggression”. They also said they wanted to minimize the damaging economic fallout of the conflict, “especially on low and middle-income countries”. The introduction of a price cap on Russian oil means countries that sign up for the policy will only be permitted to purchase Russian oil and petroleum products transported via sea, that are sold at or below the price cap.

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G7 agrees on a price cap for Russian oil

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India joins Russia’s Vostok 2022 along with China, US concerned over the drill

Russia said that the Vostok 2022 military exercises will be held from September 1 to 7 in different locations in the Far East and the Sea of Japan and involve more than 50,000 troops from China, India, and several other countries. “The Vostok 2022 strategic command and staff exercise envisage various scenarios of operations by combined arms and coalition forces (troops) to ensure military security of the Russian Federation and its allies within the area of responsibility of the Eastern Military District,” the Russian Defence Ministry was quoted as saying by the state-owned TASS news agency in a statement. There were no immediate comments from the Indian Army or the Ministry of Defence in New Delhi on the participation of Indian soldiers at the Vostok-2022 military exercises in Russia.

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India joins Russia’s Vostok ‘war games’; the US concerned over military drills amid Ukraine war

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Artemis-1 launch aborted again after liquid hydrogen leak

Space agency NASA had to abort its Artemis-1 mission for the second time in a week, after the recurrence of a liquid hydrogen leak in one of the engines of the rocket. A similar problem had aborted the scheduled launch of the mission last Sunday (August 29) as well, apart from the fact that one of the engines had not cooled down to desired levels. Over the week, NASA engineers had worked on the problems and thought they had fixed them. But the leakage recurred multiple times ahead of Saturday night’s launch, with engineers continuously engaged in firefighting. Artemis-1 is supposed to be the start of a new generation of interplanetary space missions whose specific purpose is to get humans back on the moon, and then much deeper into space, hopefully on other planets as well. Artemis-1 is not carrying any astronauts though. It is an exploratory mission, meant to set up the foundation for more ambitious missions in the future that aspire to set up permanent base stations on the moon.

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Disease warning as Pakistan flood death toll rises

Aid workers warn a lack of clean drinking is causing an increase in diseases in Pakistan, as the death toll from devastating floods passes 1,200. Access to clean water was the biggest problem for those trying to find food and shelter, said medical charity, Medecins Sans Frontieres. The government met on Saturday to assess the scale of the floods which have submerged a third of the country. At least one in three of the victims of the flooding are said to be children. Government minister Ahsan Iqbal said that the country did not have the resources to deal with the unprecedented crisis. The flooding was the worst climate-induced disaster in recent world history, he said. Some 1.4 million homes had been destroyed in record monsoon rains which have affected more than 33 million people. The country’s top disaster management official said that 2022 had brought some harsh realities of climate change for Pakistan.

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West mourns Gorbachev the peacemaker, and Russia recalls his failures

Mikhail Gorbachev was mourned in the West on Wednesday as a towering statesman who helped to end the Cold War, but his death received a cool response in Russia, which engaged in a war with Ukraine to regain some of the power it lost when he presided over the Soviet Union’s collapse. Gorbachev, the last Soviet leader, died at the age of 91 in a Moscow hospital on Tuesday after two years of serious illness. In six heady years between 1985 and 1991, he forged arms treaties with the United States, and partnerships with Western powers to remove the Iron Curtain that had divided Europe since World War Two and bring about the reunification of Germany. But his internal reforms, combining economic and political liberalization, helped weaken the Soviet Union (USSR) to the point where it fell apart – a moment that President Vladimir Putin once called the “greatest geopolitical catastrophe” of the 20th century.

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Mikhail Gorbachev – last president of the Soviet Union | DW Documentary

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Ukraine nuclear plant loses power line, Moscow makes Europe sweat over gas

A nuclear power plant on the front line of the Ukraine war again lost external power, U.N. inspectors said, fuelling fears of disaster while Moscow kept its main gas pipeline to Germany shut to hurt the economies of Kyiv’s friends in the West. The Zaporizhzhia plant, Europe’s largest, had its last remaining main external power line cut off, although a reserve line continued supplying electricity to the grid, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said. Only one of the station’s six reactors remained in operation, the agency said in a statement. The plant, seized by Russian troops shortly after their Feb. 24 invasion, has become a focal point of the conflict, with each side blaming the other for nearby shelling.

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Tens of thousands protest in Prague against the Czech government, EU, and NATO

An estimated 70,000 people protested in Prague against the Czech government on Saturday, calling on the ruling coalition to do more to control soaring energy prices and voicing opposition to the European Union and NATO. Organizers of the demonstration from a number of far-right and fringe political groups including the Communist party said the central European nation should be neutral militarily and ensure direct contracts with gas suppliers, including Russia.

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Sri Lanka and IMF reach preliminary deal on $2.9 billion loan

The International Monetary Fund has preliminarily agreed to extend a 48-month $2.9 billion loan to Sri Lanka to help restore economic stability to the crisis-hit South Asian country. The loan will be made under the IMF’s Extended Fund Facility, which helps countries deal with a balance of payments or cash flow problems. It will only be disbursed after satisfactory debt restructuring, including debt relief arrangements have been struck between Sri Lankan authorities and the country’s creditors. Other reforms in the program — the 17th for Sri Lanka — include the reduction of corruption and an increase in financial transparency. “Sri Lanka has been facing an acute crisis. Vulnerabilities have grown owing to inadequate external buffers and an unsustainable public debt dynamic,” the IMF’s Peter Breuer and Masahiro Nozak, who led a mission to Sri Lanka in the past week, said in a press release.

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Iran equips 51 cities with civil defence systems: official

Iran has equipped 51 of its cities and towns with civil defence systems to thwart any possible foreign attack, a senior defence official said on Saturday, amid an escalation of tensions with Israel and the United States. The civil defence equipment enables Iran’s armed forces to “identify and monitor threats by using round-the-clock software according to the type of the threat and risk,” deputy defence minister General Mehdi Farahi was quoted as saying by Iranian media. Iran has accused Israel and the United States of cyber attacks in recent years that have impaired the country’s infrastructure. Iran has also accused Israel, which has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility, of sabotaging its nuclear facilities. US-Iran military tensions have also long dogged the region. In the latest incident, Iran seized US military sail drones in the Red Sea earlier this week – even as both countries pursue nuclear talks.

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Pope dissolves Knights of Malta leadership, issues new constitution

Pope Francis dissolved the leadership of the Knights of Malta, the global Catholic religious order and humanitarian group, and installed a provisional government ahead of the election of a new Grand Master. The change, which the pope issued in a decree, came after five years of often acrimonious debate within the order and between some top members of the old guard and the Vatican over a new constitution that some feared would weaken its sovereignty. Under the previous constitution, the top Knights and the Grand Master were required to have noble lineage, something reformers said excluded nearly everyone except Europeans from serving in top roles. The new constitution eliminates the nobility rule as well as the tradition of Grand Masters being elected for life.

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2) India

Imports of Russian crude fall nearly a quarter in two months

India’s imports of Russian crude oil fell by a quarter in the past two months along with a decline in overall crude imports, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa. India imported 738,024 barrels per day (BPD) of Russian crude oil in August, 18% lower than in July and 24.5% less than in June, according to Vortexa. China’s imports of seaborne crude oil from Russia, however, remained largely stable during this period. India’s overall crude oil imports fell to 4,049,167 BPD in August, 13% lower than in July and 15% lower than in June. In August, Russia slipped one notch to the third spot among the largest crude oil exporters to India, while Saudi Arabia climbed two spots to become the top exporter to India, toppling Iraq for the first time in a year. Saudi Arabia had a 20.8% market share in India in August, followed by Iraq (20.6%) and Russia (18.2%).

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Bangladesh PM Sheikh Hasina’s four-day visit to India to boost bilateral ties

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is all set to begin her four-day visit to India on Monday. Her latest visit will reportedly focus on connectivity, energy, and food security as well as trade and investment opportunities between the two countries, news agency ANI report said. While Bangladesh and India share similarities in terms of culture, economics, language, political history, and religion, and despite the fact that India was instrumental in Bangladesh’s independence, the relationship between New Delhi and Dhaka has never been especially warm or free of squabbles, the report said.

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Historic day for India: PM Modi on INS Vikrant commissioning

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday said the commissioning of the indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant was a historic day for the country and words will not be able to describe the feeling of pride when he was on board the vessel. India launched its maiden indigenously designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on Friday, with Prime Minister Modi commissioning the warship that put India into a select league of countries with the domestic capability to develop such large vessels.

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INS Vikrant: All you need to know about India’s first indigenously built Aircraft Carrier

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Former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry dies in road accident

Former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry died in a road accident on September 4. The accident occurred at Charoti in Palghar when his Mercedes was returning from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Mistry was the chairman of Tata Group from 2012 to 2016. He had taken over as chairman in December post-Ratan Tata’s retirement. In October 2016, Cyrus Mistry was ousted as chairman of Tata Sons, the group’s holding company. He then accused the airline of financial wrongdoing and corporate governance violations, including at AirAsia India, a Tata-owned airline that was founded in partnership with Malaysia’s AirAsia Bhd. Mistry highlighted “fraudulent transactions and ethical concerns” at AirAsia India revealed by a forensic investigation, in a letter he wrote to the directors of Tata Sons.

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3) Economy

India surpasses the UK to become the world’s fifth biggest economy

Britain has dropped behind India to become the world’s sixth largest economy, delivering a further blow to the government in London as it grapples with a brutal cost-of-living shock. The former British colony leaped past the UK in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy. The calculation is based on US dollars, and India extended its lead in the first quarter, according to GDP figures from the International Monetary Fund. The UK’s decline down the international rankings is an unwelcome backdrop for the new prime minister. Conservative Party members choose Boris Johnson’s successor on Monday, with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss expected to beat former Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak in the run-off.

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India pips the UK to become the world’s 5th largest economy- All you need to know

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SBI slashes India’s FY23 growth forecast to 6.8% on way-below Q1 numbers

Chief economist at State Bank of India has revised downward India’s full-year growth forecast to 6.8 percent from 7.5 percent earlier for FY2023, citing “the way below GDP numbers for the first quarter”. The National Statistical Office on Wednesday released the Q1 growth numbers which showed a consensus growth of 13.5 percent, pulled down by the poor show of the manufacturing sector, which reported a paltry 4.8 percent expansion in the first three months of FY23, negating the robust show by the services sector.

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India’s GDP to slow from 8.3% in 2021 to 7.7% in 2022: Moody’s

India’s real GDP growth will slow from 8.3% in 2021 to 7.7% in 2022 and will decelerate further to 5.2% in 2023, Moody’s Investor Service said in a report on Thursday. Rising interest rates, uneven distribution of monsoons, and slowing global growth will dampen economic momentum on a sequential basis, it said. However, Moody’s has argued that India’s economic growth would be stronger than its projections in 2023 if the private-sector capex cycle were to gain steam. “India’s economic growth before the COVID-19 shock had materially slowed because of the impact of corporate-sector deleveraging on business investment. With the deleveraging complete, corporate-sector investment is showing early signs of a pickup, which could provide support to a continued business cycle expansion through several quarters, supported by investment-friendly government policies and the rapid digitization of the economy,” it said in a report.

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RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das expects inflation to ease to 5% by April-June next year

India’s inflation has peaked and is expected to moderate to around 5% by the April-June quarter of next year, Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das said in an interview with television channel Zee Business on Friday. Inflation has remained above RBI’s 2% to 6% tolerance band for several months, with consumer inflation at 6.71% in July. The governor also said that the policy aim is to control inflation while minimizing any impact on economic growth. The RBI’s monetary policy committee raised the bank’s key lending rate by 50 basis points last month, its third increase in four months to curb rising prices, and economists polled by Reuters expect further tightening into early 2023. The next monetary policy meeting is on Sept. 30.

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4) Markets, Banking, and Finance

RBI to auction state government stocks worth Rs 5,900 crore on September 6

Six states, including Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Goa, Punjab, and Telangana, have offered to sell stock by way of auction, for an aggregate amount of Rs 5,900 crore, the RBI said in a release on Friday. The auction will be conducted on the RBI Core Banking Solution (E-Kuber) system on September 6. In the press release, RBI said that the investment in State Government Stocks will be reckoned as an eligible investment in Government Securities by banks for the purpose of Statutory Liquidity Ratio (SLR) under Section 24 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.

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RBI takes up THE project to digitize farm loan delivery under the KCC scheme

The Reserve Bank of India has embarked on a project to digitize farm loan delivery under Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme to make it time and cost-effective for borrowers. The central bank will run a pilot project for end-to-end digitalization of KCC lending from September in select districts of Madhya Pradesh and Tamil Nadu with Union Bank of India and Federal Bank, respectively. At present, the process for getting such finance requires customers to visit a bank branch along with proof of land ownership and other documents. Sometimes, the customer may be required to visit the bank branch multiple times. Rural credit is closely related to inclusive economic growth, as it caters to the requirements of agriculture and allied activities, ancillary industries, and small businesses.

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RBI moves to rein in digital lenders

In a bid to protect consumers from breach of data privacy, unfair business conduct, charging of exorbitant interest rates and unethical recovery practices by fintech players, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday tightened norms for digital lending. The central bank directed banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to ensure that digital lending apps (DLAs) don’t access borrowers’ mobile phone resources and don’t automatically increase the credit limit. The central bank directed banks and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) to ensure that digital lending apps (DLAs) don’t access borrowers’ mobile phone resources and don’t automatically increase the credit limit. In its “Guidelines on Digital Lending” for regulated entities/REs (banks and NBFCs), the RBI said borrowers have to be given a cooling off/ look-up period to exit a digital loan by paying the principal and the proportionate annual percentage rate (APR) without any penalty during this period.

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5) Business

Vodafone Idea prepays ?2,700 crore loan to SBI

Loss-making Vodafone Idea has prepaid a short-term loan of about ?2,700 crores to SBI in a bid to shore up lenders’ confidence as it urgently seeks fresh bank funds to tie up equipment supply deals for 5G networks and also clear some of its near ?15,000-crore trade payables, comprising dues to tower companies, network gear vendors and other suppliers. With the government showing no signs of urgency in converting Vi’s accrued interest on deferred AGR-related dues into equity, external equity funding appears to be further delayed. This leaves the telco with no option but to arrange more debt to firm up its 5G plans. The telco’s newly named chief executive officer Akshaya Moondra recently told shareholders that the company is in talks with various banks for funding arrangements. He said Vi’s 5G launch timeline could be set only after these funds are arranged and gear procurements firmed up. He did not give any update on the company’s equity fundraising plans. The telco has for long been trying to raise Rs 20,000 crore, split between debt and equity.

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6) Technology

UPI transactions hit a record 657 crores in August

Mass retail payments platform Unified Payments Interface, popularly known as UPI, posted yet another life high in August. The platform processed 6.57 billion (657 crores) transactions, totaling ?10.73 trillion, data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) showed. UPI transactions by volume rose 85% on the year, while it was up nearly 68% by value as compared to last year. “With NPCI planning to take UPI to overseas markets, this number is only expected to grow exponentially, as UPI will then become a home-grown alternative to SWIFT,” said Jasmin B Gupta, CEO, LXME – India’s first neobank for women. “Also with credit cards on UPI going live within the next few months, the convenience and scope of digital payments will increase manifold. The linking of credit cards with UPI will enable consumers to make small ticket-sized payments on credit which will fuel further economic growth”

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ED raids Razorpay, Paytm, and Cashfree in Chinese loan apps case

The Enforcement Directorate carried out search operations at the Bengaluru premises of online payment gateways like Razorpay, Paytm, and Cashfree as part of an ongoing probe against “illegal” instant smartphone-based loans “controlled” by Chinese persons, it said in a statement on Saturday. The searches were launched Friday at six premises in Karnataka’s capital city. The search operation is in progress, the Enforcement Directorate said. It seized Rs 17 crore worth of funds kept in ‘merchant IDs and bank accounts of these Chinese persons-controlled entities’, during the raids. The ED has alleged that the modus operandi of these entities is that they use forged documents of Indians and make them dummy directors leading to the generation of ‘proceeds of crime’ and that the said entities are controlled/operated by Chinese persons.

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What is the Chinese loan app probe? Know why Paytm and Razorpay are under ED scanner

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SEBI releases guidelines for stock brokers providing algorithmic trading services

Capital markets regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) on Friday came out with guidelines for stock brokers, who provide services relating to algorithmic trading to investors, to prevent instances of mis-selling. The guidelines came after the SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India) observed that certain stock brokers provide algorithmic trading facilities to investors through unregulated platforms. These unregulated platforms were offering algorithmic trading services or strategies to investors for automated execution of trades. Such services and strategies are being marketed with “claims” of high returns on investment, SEBI said in a circular. SEBI has given certain responsibilities to stock brokers that provide algorithmic trading facilities to investors through such platforms. Such stock brokers have been restricted from making any reference to the past or expected future return of the algorithm, as well as associating with any platform that provides any reference to the past or expected future return of the algorithm, SEBI said.

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7) Politics

Explained | Hemant Soren and the Jharkhand political crisis

Uncertainty looms large in the State as Jharkhand Mukti Morcha head and Chief Minister Hemant Soren faces the possibility of disqualification as an MLA for alleged violation of electoral laws, which could decide the fate of his ruling government. The Governor of the State is yet to reveal his decision on the disqualification. In February this year, BJP leader and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Raghubar Das alleged that Mr. Soren misused his office by allocating a stone quarrying lease on government land to himself while he was the Minister-in-charge of mines in 2021. If the Governor does disqualify Mr. Soren, he could remain as the Chief Minister of the State for up to six months without being an MLA. He could also get elected in the meantime.

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Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde urges governor to reject Uddhav’s list for MLC seats

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde has written to Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari requesting him to cancel the 12 names former chief minister Uddhav Thackeray had proposed for vacant Members of Legislative Council seats, a source said Saturday. According to sources, the governor is likely to accept Shinde’s request, dealing a major blow to Thackeray and the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA). The Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government will submit a list of 12 people to be appointed by the governor as MLCs. The move came two months after Shinde and 39 Shiv Sena MLAs rebelled and toppled the Thackeray-led MVA government by joining hands with the BJP.

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Madrassa demolition in Assam illegal: Opposition by Trideep Lahkar

The Assam government’s ongoing drive to demolish madrassas for their connection to alleged “‘jihadi activities” has drawn sharp criticism from the Opposition, which has termed the exercise as “totally illegal” and targeted at “one particular community”. Three madrassas have been demolished by the BJP government within the last month in different parts of the state after arresting their teachers, who were found to be allegedly involved in “jihadi” activities. However, on each occasion, the official reason for bringing down the structures are related to faulty construction or violation of land norms instead of any link with jihadi activities. It is only the political leaders from the ruling dispensation who usually give statements in the media that the madrassas have been demolished for allegedly carrying out jihadi activities from their premises.

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8) Sports

Serena Williams retires after losing to Aijla Tomljanovic in her career’s last match in US Open 2022, fans react

Tennis legend Serena Williams bowed out of US Open 2022 in what could be her last match on a court. She lost 7-5, 6-7, 6-1 to Ajla Tomljanovic in Round 3 of Women’s singles on Friday. The tennis star had announced that this will be her last singles outing in the US Open and that she is retiring from the sport. She broke into tears as she waved to the home crowd after her loss in what was her swansong match. Serena retires after having won 92 matches in the Australian Open, 69 in French Open, 98 at the prestigious Wimbledon, and 108 wins at her home Grand Slam US Open. She has won a record total of 23 Grand Slam titles.

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In tears, Serena Williams looks back at her professional career

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Zimbabwe wins 3rd one-day international against Australia

Leg-spinner Ryan Burl took a career-best five wickets for 10 runs to help Zimbabwe beat Australia by three wickets on Saturday and a consolation win in the third one-day cricket international. Australia won the first two matches by five and eight wickets, respectively, after winning the toss and sending Zimbabwe in to bat. Leg-spinner Ryan Burl took a career-best five wickets for 10 runs to help Zimbabwe beat Australia by three wickets on Saturday and a consolation win in the third one-day cricket international. Australia won the first two matches by five and eight wickets, respectively, after winning the toss and sending Zimbabwe in to bat.

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Brian Lara replaces Tom Moody as Sunrisers Hyderabad head coach for upcoming IPL seasons

Former West Indian cricketer Brian Lara has replaced former Australian cricketer Tom Moody as Sunrisers Hyderabad’s head coach for the upcoming IPL seasons, the franchise said on Twitter Lara had in the last season served as the team’s strategic advisor and batting coach. The Sunrisers had a successful run between 2013 and 2019 under Moody when it reached the playoffs five times and won the trophy in 2016. While Trevor Bayliss replaced Moody in 2020, Moody returned as director of cricket last year and was then elevated to the coach’s role. However, the team finished eighth in the 10-team tournament the last season with eight defeats and six wins. Moody will join Desert Vipers, a franchise in the six-member International League T20, as its director of cricket.

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Kalyan Chaubey beats Bhaichung Bhutia, AIFF gets first player president

The All India Football Federation (AIFF) on Friday got a former player as its first president in its 85-year history with Kalyan Chaubey beating the legendary Bhaichung Bhutia in the election for the top post here. The 45-year-old Chaubey, a former goalkeeper with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal, won 33-1, a result that was expected as former captain Bhutia did not have many supporters in the 34-member voters’ list made up of state association representatives. The ‘Sikkimese Sniper’, also 45, could not even get his state association representative as proposer or seconder for filing his nomination papers. Chaubey, a BJP politician who lost the last parliamentary election for the Krishnanagar seat in West Bengal, never played for the India senior team though he was in the squad on a few occasions.

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9) Opinion

EVs to hit top gear in FY23, sales set to cross million mark

The current fiscal year is set to be a watershed for India’s electric vehicle industry. If the past five months are an indicator, EV sales will cross a million units in FY23, up 84% over last year. Leading the race are electric two-wheelers, poised to rise 117% to 750,000 units, followed by three-wheelers at 12% to 200,000 units. Electric passenger vehicles, a segment with a small base but two major players in Tata Motors NSE -1.10 % and MG Motors, are set to surge 138% to 45,000 units. The e-buses category, which is seeing sales traction from state transport corporations, is expected to reach 5,000 units in FY23. All segments, in the first five months of the current fiscal, have almost equaled FY22’s total sales, according to the Society of Electric Vehicle Manufacturers (SMEV). Experts see India taking to electric vehicles in a big way. At a recent event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that it was likely that the EV sector would fast track growth of the entire auto ecosystem.

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What does India’s high retail inflation mean for consumers and corporate India?

The pain of high retail inflation in India may not ease anytime soon. A percentage point drop from its peak in April and the grievous price rise in advanced economies are no consolation for India. Inflation in India —with the consumer price index at 6.7% in July 2022 — is well above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s)upper tolerance level of 6%. KV Subramanian, former chief economic adviser to GoI and executive director-designate at the International Monetary Fund(IMF), tells ET that elevated inflation will have more impact on investments than on consumption, arguing that Indians don’t often borrow for food or holidaying. As far as investments are concerned, debt is invariably a larger component, he says, a reason why fallout will be palpable as borrowing will turn costlier after the RBI’s multiple rate hikes recently.

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NCRB suicide data brings lessons on India’s society, economy, labor, business & most crucial, farmers

National Crime Records Bureau’s data from the Accidental Deaths & Suicides section of its 2021 report says over 1.64 suicides were reported in India in 2021. In this episode, ThePrint Editor-in-Chief Shekhar Gupta analyses the data in the 2021 report, the past data & how the number of farmer suicides has plateaued post-2015. He also explains why data should be taken into consideration before politicizing death by suicide.

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10) Weekly special

5 deals in 300 days: Why M2P Fintech went on a startup shopping spree

Chennai-based API infrastructure provider M2P Fintech acquired 5 startups for two reasons—to build a larger plug-and-play SaaS product for traditional banks to go digital, and diversify revenue stream with new areas. All part of its plan to build a hegemony in the embedded finance space?

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11) Did you know?

What is the Sovereign Military Order of Malta?

The Sovereign Order of Malta is a sovereign subject of international law. The Order is based in Rome, via Condotti. It has its own Government, an independent magistracy, bilateral diplomatic relations with over 100 countries, and is granted the status of Permanent Observer in many international organizations, such as the United Nations. Its operational activities are managed by its 11 Priories and 48 National Associations of Knights in the five continents. The Order issues its own passports and stamps and creates public institutions, endowed with independent juridical personalities. The Order’s life is governed by its Constitutional Charter and the Code, reformed in 1997. A new Constitutional Charter and Code came into effect on 3 September 2022.

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With that, we come to the end of our Weekly Current Affairs September 2022 -Week 1. 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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