Highlighting the need to check prices, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das said on Jan 6 that taming inflation is the top priority for South Asian countries as high prices pose risk to growth and investment outlook.

Delivering keynote speech at an event organised by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), he said multiple external shocks in the form of COVID-related global supply chain disruptions, food and energy crisis following the war in Ukraine and financial market volatility due to aggressive monetary policy tightening have exerted sustained price pressures in South Asian economies, as in other parts of the world.

During the first three quarters of 2022, food price inflation in South Asia averaged more than 20%. Rising levels of debt, alongside sustained price pressures, pose risks to the region’s economic growth and both must be contained, Das said. The RBI has raised interest rates by cumulative 225 basis points since the start of the tightening cycle in April 2022 in its effort to tame inflation that remained above the tolerance zone for 10 straight months.

The Broadcast Infrastructure Network Development (BIND) Scheme approved by the union cabinet earlier this week with an outlay of Rs 2539.61 crore for modernization and expansion of All India Radio and Doordarshan entails free distribution of over 8 lakh DD DTH Receiver sets in remote, tribal, LWE and border areas.

The outlay has been approved for a five-year period ending 2025-26 and the scheme aims to increase FM coverage to over 80 per cent by population in the country.

A release from Information and Broadcasting Ministry said the plan includes priority projects of AIR and Doordarshan with a focus on expansion and strengthening of the FM radio network and mobile TV production facilities amounting to Rs 950 crore which are to be completed on fast-track mode.

The government will enhance its focus on providing micro-credit facilities in the range of Rs 3,000-5,000 to street vendors in 2023, with the help of digital technologies, Union IT and Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Jan 7.

While speaking at Digital India Awards, Vaishnaw said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has allocated around Rs 52,000 crore for taking 4G and 5G services across all nooks and corners of the country for digitally connecting every citizen.

The minister said that the country will see the rollout of indigenously developed 4G and 5G technologies this year.

He said that very soon the country will witness the setting up of an electronic chip manufacturing plant in the country in line with PM Modi's vision to make India self-reliant in the field of technology.

The PM Street Vendor's Atma Nirbhar Nidhi (SVANidhi) Scheme was launched in June 2020 as a Micro-Credit facility which aims to empower street vendors to recover losses incurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Through PM SVANidhi, affordable collateral-free loans are given to street vendors.

Country’s largest luxury car maker Mercedes-Benz touched a new peak in calendar year 2022 as the German marquee brand delivered 15, 822 new cars to customers in January-December 2022 period, registering a strong 41% YoY sales growth.

With this, Mercedes retained its leadership position in the country’s luxury car segment, for the eighth consecutive year. Mercedes is followed by another German brand - BMW - which in 2021 also posted its highest-ever annual customer deliveries in its history. BMW sold 11,981 cars and 7,282 motorcycles in CY2022.To maintain lead, Merc will launch 10 cars in 2023 and a majority of them would be in the top-end category (priced more than Rs 1 crore).

The pilot of a trainer aircraft was killed after it crashed in Madhya Pradesh's Rewa district, 400 km from state capital Bhopal, police said on Jan 6.

The aircraft crashed three km away from Chorhatta airstrip after hitting the dome of a temple and a tree while on a training sortie.

Captain Vishal Yadav (30) was killed in the crash while trainee pilot Anshul Yadav suffered injuries and admitted to the government-run Sanjay Gandhi Medical College Hospital

Following intense protests by the Jain community, the Centre on  Jan 5 stayed all tourism activity at the Parasnath Hill in Jharkhand, where their religious site, Sammed Shikharji, is located.

The ministry of environment issued an office memorandum directing the state government to strictly enforce a ban on the sale and consumption of liquor and non-vegetarian food at the hill. Sammed Shikharji in Giridih district is one of the holiest sites for Jains. 

Tracking health emergencies, preparedness and response, strengthening cooperation in the pharmaceutical sector and digital health innovation and solutions are the three priorities under health for India in the year-long G20 presidency, Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said on Jan 5 .

India’s successful management of the Covid-19 pandemic and the lessons learnt will also be a part of its presentations to the G20 health-working groups (HWGs). India will also showcase a slew of its successful health programmes and initiatives, including Ayushman Bharat and Jan Ausadhi, a programme to make generic drugs more accessible and digital health innovations, during the presidency.

Four meetings of the HWGs are slated over the next few months. The first meeting is in Thiruvananthapuram, which will take place between Jan 18-20, with a side event on medical value travel. The second meeting is in Goa, where the focus will be on digital health. This is scheduled for April 17 to 19. The third meeting is slated in Hyderabad between June 4-6.

It will also have a workshop on research to expand access to drugs, diagnostics and vaccines. The fourth meeting, which will be the meeting of G20 health ministers, will take place in Gandhinagar in Gujarat. This event will also have side events on the Global Centre for Traditional Medicine and Medical Value Travel.

Jan Ausadhi scheme

Jan Ausadhi, renamed the Pradhan Mantri Bharatiya Jan Ausadhi Pariyojana, has the goal of making quality generic medicines available to all. There were 8,819 functional “jan ausadhi” stores selling 1,759 drugs and 280 surgical items till October 2022

The Varanasi Cantt railway station has become one of the ‘Eat Right’ stations after being awarded a five-star ‘Eat Right Station’ certification for providing high-quality, nutritious food to passengers, the Railways said in a statement on Jan 5

The “Eat Right Station” certification is awarded by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) to the railway stations that set benchmarks (as per the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006) in providing safe and wholesome food to passengers.

FSSAI is an autonomous statutory body established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006.

The other railway stations with Star certification include Anand Vihar Terminal Railway Station (Delhi); Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (Mumbai); Mumbai Central Railway Station; Vadodara Railway Station, Chandigarh Railway Station and Bhopal Railway Station. Other prominent Eat Right stations are Igatpuri station in Maharashtra, Mysore city station in Mysore, Jaipur railway station, Gwalior station, Durgapur station, Kolkata railway station and Bhubaneswar station.

Madhya Pradesh to enforce NSA against sellers of 'banned' Chinese manjha

A day after a minor girl was injured after ‘Chinese manjha’ partially slashed her throat, the Shivraj Singh Chouhan government in Madhya Pradesh said it was contemplating invoking the National Security Act (NSA) against those caught selling the banned and highly dangerous Chinese Manjha.