INDIA
Burning Topics
India, Germany Hold Wide-
*~TalksToBoostTiesln
Clean Energy, Trade And New
Technology
tSecond Batch Of 12 Cheetahs
Arrive In Kuno National Park
tIOialistan Tiger Force, J&K
Gbaznavi Force Declared As
Terrorist Organisations
tAICTE, BPR&D Jointly
Launch KAVACH-2023 To
Tackle Cyber Threats
tin A First, Supreme Court
Begins Live Transcription Of
Its Hearing Using AI
tHCL Unveils Next Gen
Supersonic Trainer HLFT-42
At Aero India 2023
*Kerala Becomes First State To
Use Robotic Scavengers
*PM Opens Asia's Largest
Copter Factory In Karnataka's
Tumakuru
*In World's Biggest Ever
Aviation Deal, Air India Orders
470 Airbus & Boeing Planes
*India Introduces "MIIRA'' To
Popularise Millets On World
Stage
*Indian Army Gets First Set Of
Offensive Swarm Drone
System
*First 246-Km Section Of
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
Inaugurated
*SSLV-D2Joins I SRO's Fleet Of
* 'I'hree Rockets
bdia Finds Huge Reserves Of
1hium InJ&K
10N SUCCESS REVIEW. APRIL 2023
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and visiting German Chancellor
Mr. Olaf Scholz held wide-ranging talks in New Delhi to boost
bilateral ties on February 25, 2023.
India, Germany Hold Wide-ranging
Talks To Boost Ties In Clean Energy,
Trade And New Technology
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
and German Chancellor Mr. Olaf Scholz
held wide-ranging talks with a focus on
boosting the bilateral ties in the areas
of clean energy, trade and new
technologies. The talks took place hours
after Mr. Scholz arrived in Delhi on
February 25, 2023 on a two-day visit to
India, his first to the country after he
became the German Chancellor in
December 2021. The one-year-long
Russia-Ukraine conflict and its
consequences including on food and
energy security also figured in the Modi-
Scholz dialogue besides ways to ramp
up overall bilateral eng_a&ement.
In his statement at a JOtnt press event
with Mr. Modi, the German Chancellor
described the Russian "aggression"
against Ukraine as a "major catastrophe"
that has negatively impacted the globe
and said it is important to state "very
clearly where we stand_on the .subject"
including at the UN as 1nternat10nal law
governs international relations. "Since
the beginning of 0e. developments_ tn
Ukraine, India has 1ns1sted_ on resolvtng
this dispute th~ough dialogue. and
diplomacy. India 1s ready to contnbute
to any peace process," Mr. Modi said in
his media statement.
German Chancellor underlined the
importance of the proposed Free Trade
Agreement (FfA) between India and the
European Union for boosting two-way
trade and said that he would personally
get involved to see its early fruition.
Mr. Scholz said that the finalisation of
the FTA and the investment protection
pacts will contribute significantly to
expand India-Germany trade as well.
"We want to further deepen trade
relations between the European Union
and India and this is why we speak
strongly for the free trade agreement. It
is an important topic and I will get
personally involved to ensure that this
does not drag on;' he said.
Mr. Scholz said that over 1,800
German companies are operating in
India and have provided thousands of
jobs. "India has so much talent to offer
and we want to benefit from that
cooperation," Mr. Scholz said. In his
media statement, PM Mr. Modi said that
Ge~many is also an important source
?f 1nvestrnent in India, along with being
us largest trading partner in Europe.
"Today, due to 'Make in India' and
'Aatrnanir?~ar Bharat' campaign, new
opportun1ues are opening up in all
sectors in India. The interest shown by
19
 Ge["many in these opportunities is ,-e.ry
~ncourn~ng for us," the P t\l sa id.
' fr. :\foci, and Mr. Scholz interacted
;ep~.ratcly ,,;th top executfres fro m
nd •an and German compa n ies to
discuss ,vars to deepen econo mic ties.
. The two countries also unveiled a
,,S1on
_ docum_cnt to en h ance cooperatio
;" a~cas o f innovation and techno logy
t said that !ndia and Germany recognis~
the close tics that have been nurtured
:;rough th e decades, reaffi rmed in 2022
y the I ndia-Ge rm a n Gree n and
Susr.am able D e,·elopm em P artnershi
(GJDP), ar:id acknowledged the positiv~
. pr<?act1ve roles of the governments
inst1ruoon s acad emia and . d
both sides.' in ustry o nhas a total 20 cheetahs, all in Kuno, for
Second Bakh Of 12
Cheetahs Arrive In Kuno MoU signed by the Governments of
National Park
b After
h 8 N arm"b Ian
• cheetahs, a seco nd
arc of 1 cheetahs, this time from
So u t h A_fnca , ar ri ved in India and
released into Ku.n o Natio nal p k
Sh di - ar at
eop ur s tnct o f Madhya Pradesh b y
A s "!a'!Y as 12 cheetahs _from South Africa arrived in opportunities to locals
India and were released into f<llno National Park in
M adl:J:ya Pradesh on Febmary 18, 2023.
Union En v iro nment Minister
Mr. Bhupendra Yadav and MP Chief
Minister Mr. Shiv raj Singh Chauhan on
February 18, 2023 . The Indian A ir
Force's C-17 Globemaster plane, which
took off from OR Tambo International
Airpo rt, Gauteng, South A frica carrying
these cheetahs, reached Maharajpur air
base from w here the special four-legg ed
guests were taken to Kuno in three
Mi-17 helicopters along with African
cheetah experts, to release into their
guarantine bomas.
The 12 South African Cheetahs are
comprised of 7 males and 5 females. In
South Africa, of the 12, three cheetahs
were quarantined in Phinda, KwaZulu-
Natal while nine were in Rooiberg,
Limpopo. All of them were drafted and
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ __:_ _ _ _ _ _--:-:-::-:::-:;-;;:;~U(W.AffdL202
20
lo aded into relocation crates. Their
D NA samples were taken for the South
African N ational Biodiversity Instirute.
The cheetahs were hydrated with drips
and fitted with collars on February 17,
2023 before being flown to India. In
India the cheetahs were first released
. nin q~arantine bomas according to ~e
Convention o n International Trade 10
E ndangered Species of Wild Fauna and
Flo ra protocol and will stay there for a
month as experts closely monitor their
prog ress. Additional bomas have been
made in Kuno to accommodate all
12 cheetahs in their individual quarters.
, With the new additions, India now
the first time after they were declared
extinct in India in 1952. The arrival of
new batch of cheetahs is part of an
India and South Africa in January 2023
on cooperation on the reintroduction of
cheetahs in India. The goal of the
cheetah introduction project in India is
to establish a viable cheetah
metapopulation in the country that
allows the cheetah to perform its
functional role as a top predator and
provide space for its
expansion within its historic
~ange, thereby contributing to
its global conservation
efforts.
Major objectives of the
big-cat intercontinental
transl<:>cation include: (i) to
establish breeding cheetah
populations in its historic
ranges in the country; (ii) to
use 1;he cheetah as a flagship
species to garner resources
for restoring open forest
an d ~-rass 1and ecosystems;
and (lll) to provide livelihood
through ecb -development
and eco-tourism. Around
_ 10-12 cheetahs will be
imported annually from African
coun°:ies for the next 5 to 10 years to
establish a healthy population with
genetic diversity in India, according to
the Action Plan for Cheetah
Intro duction in India.
Khalistan Tiger Force,
J&K Gh • cybercrime.
aznav1 Force
I
Dec ared As Terrorist
Organisations
The Union Government has declared
Khalis~n Tiger Fo_rce and Jammu &
K as h mir Gh aznavi F orce as terrorist
o rganisations under the Unlawful
Activities (Prevention) Act, UAPA , 2019.
COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIE '
Kh~star.i Tiger Force is a _
which aims at revivi ll)jJj~ \
Punjab, the Union H,n~ terr 0 1014,\'
Affairs sai·d 10- "Un.tstl"l, tis
a staternent -, for ~111
2023. The organisatio on Fe~ll,.
· n IS --~
var10us acts of terr - Pro I•
. . Otisr:n . %· '
targete d killi ngs 10 Pun -ab _, incl
As fo_r Jammu and K~sh~t_adde:Qi'
Force, It has been fo 'd"'ut . Gh ·
. fi1
10 tratlon
. b"ids, narco,-;un "'"olv
In <Q,.
·,,.1
ucs Ond eq
smugg ng as well as - ~• "'ea
li
terror attacks in Jarnm In carrying ¾
It draws its cadres frornu a?d -'<ash~
. . VatJo
or~arusatlons, such as Lashkus terr0 .
""'I!(
Ja1sh-e -Mohammed T er-e-'J'ai~
Mujahideen and H;rk ehreet"~,
I s1am1.- Th e Ministry at-uJ -Jehad.u·
1
Harwi_nder Singh Sandh~@o .declare~
terronst. He has been
.
Rinda ,.
assocj "" a
th e terronst organisatio B b ated Wi~
International and is p r;se:tl bar l<halsa
Lahore, Pakistan. He 11 by based
. 1ve d"In various t,·rr - as . eenrrol!od
10vo
particularly in Punjab:- onst acti,,jties,
_ The governmen~ ar:-:-:nded the
10 August 2019 to me , . 'e th UAP,\
'-' e pr · ·
o f designating
. an ,1 d - .d
- 1v1 ua] 00ovis1
terronst. The goven : . ent h d as a
designated 53 indivi, -·-Is a so far
· ·· as terr ·
and 44 organisati c , 5 as t ons~
.organisations. errons1
AICTE, BPR&-) Jointly
L h
aunc KAV> ~H-2023
To Tackle Cyb,,r Threats
._
Advancmg· India's C) ·,- ,:r-prepareclness,
KAVACH-2023, a .ational level
hackathon, was launch,: . on February 16,
2023 .th th
. Wl e aim to i,', ntify innovative
ideas and technologir :I solutions for
addressing the cyb c r security and
cybercrime challenges of the 21st century
faced by the country's !aw enforcement
agencies and common citizens. Launched
by the Union Ministry of Education's
Innovation Cell, All India Council for
Technical Education (AICTE), Bureau
of Police Research and Development
(BPR&D, MHA) and Indian Cyber
Crime Coordination Centre (I4C, MHA),
KAVACH-2023 seeks to encourage
innovation and creativity in addressin~
the complex issues of cyber security an
. iwn
,
KAVACH-2023 is conducted throe !Obi J1l
phases. In the first phase, . e Pb0 kets
statements, grouped into_vano:ia tark
such as Fake News/S 0 ?3!
MDet~criofl,
Web, Women Safety, Phishing Qbsceoe
Video Anal ytics/CCTV, Al rt a0d
Content Detection, Sparnf nesics are
. /D" · al ore
Malware Analysis_ i~t _ articipa0 1s
111
posed to the public. Willing P dig1
are expected to develop 3
 . I\IDV"" . Ar "fi . -- u oui.g robust
9.'.'.hnologies like . tt c1al Intelligence/
""-hioe Learrung, Deep Lear .
~(aC ented Reality /Virtual Rea!it)~ing,
~rubinit their concepts on the p' et~
j)l ~VACH-2023. Ott
of'fhe grand finale of KAVACH_
.~ hours long mega event, .. ~112023 '
JU-
•,,ticipants to come together to
W1J.1 see
~cainstorm and develop technological
s0u I 0005 thatf canb address . the current
aJleoges. cy er_ security in India
fhe paruc1pants 1nclu~e students:
eacchers and professionals fr
,,s
\IIOous fie Ids o f. tee hn. o1ogy, including ° 111
Co(l)Puter Science, . Information
fcchnology, and Eng1_neering. 'fhe
oal of the ~ackathon 1s to create a
~o(llprehens1ve system that can
effectively combat cybercrime and
safeguard the co~~trfs critical
in&astrU~e and s_ens1ttve information.
The paroc1pants will work on solutions
diat can help _law enforce1:1ent agencies
in investtgattng cybercnme, prevent
cybcrattacks, and protect critical
infrastructure from cyber ~eats. They
will also focus o~ developing solutions
that can provide a safer online
environment for individuals and
businesses. Total . prize money worth
Rs. 20. lakh will be awarded to the
winning teams.
In AFirst, Supreme Court
Begins Live Transcription
Of Its Hearing Using Al
For the first time in its history, the
Supreme Court started a system for
testing live transcription of oral
arguments using Artificial Intelligence
(AI) tools and Natural Language
Processing (NLP) technology. While
heading a Constitution Bench on
February 21, 2023, Chief Justice of
India (CJI) Mr. D.Y. Chandrachud
pointed to a screen place before lawyers
in his courtroom, and said, ''You can
see a screen here. We are just trying to
explore the possibility of live
ttanscription of arguments in court. w_e
had to do it in a live environment, so Jt
is an experiment."
Elaborating on the initiative, CJI said,
'.'We will just see how it works, at least
II! the Constitution Bench matters. Then
Ille will have a permanent record of
~ents, which will of course not only
cJp the judges and lawyers, but also
0
Ur law colleges. They can analyse ho~
~tters are argued ... huge resource.
he C]I said that there may be a
Problem when two or more lawyers
argue at the same time but sought to
lssu ill
re the Bar that even that issue w
PF:fmoN SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023
be sorted. "'fhe o . .
there
· are two or nly thing
• ts that if
111
IJtne, that causes ~re vo!ces at the same
But they obvi a little btt of a problem.
Who will I ously have personnel
c ean up th
evening. 'fh e errors by the
the course o?thuggested that duri~g
get a link s th e day, the counsel will
By evenin °th e counsel can look at it.
the transt ey Would have cleaned up
said. npt and gtven it to us," he
S
HCL Unveils Next Gen
Upersonic Trainer HLFT-42
At Aero lnd,'a 2023
'fh Hin st
(HAL d_u an Aeronautics Limited stole the thunder with two versions of
Htn. d)ustan
unveiled
Le the
d · scale
F" hmodel of. the its newest 5th-Generation Superso_nic
(HLFT 42 a -In 1g ter Tratner Multirole F-35A aircraft making a
I di 10 .- ), at the 14th edition of Aero historic debut at Aero India 2023. The
1 n_a_ _a_u_gu_r_at_e_db_y_P_r_im_e_Mi
__ ·s_te_r_.:_tw_o__:j.:_et..:_s-_::F__.:.;-35A Lightning II and F-35A
·ru_
t Joint Strike Fighter-
1-::::---=-:--:::-------;__________-lthe two F-35s, an F-16
The~ on Febmary 14, 2023 unveiled Next Gen supersonic fighting Falcon duo
framer HLFT42 at Aero India 2023 in Bengaluru.
..__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _:__ _J daily aerial demon-
Mr. Narendra Modi in Bengaluru on
February 13, 2023 and concluded on
February 17, 2023. Aero India show is
held at every 2 years and the focus of
Aero India 2023 this time was on putting
on display indigenous technologies and
forging partnerships with foreign
companies, in line with 'Make in India,
Make for the World' vision. India's
futuristic indigenous aircraft, including
5th Generation Advanced Medium
Combat Aircraft (AMCA), LCA
Mark-2, Naval Twin-Engine Deck-Based
Fighter jet, etc., which are at different
stages of development, were showcased
at Aero India 2023. Around 810 defence
companies and del_egates fro~. 98
countries took part m the exhib1t1on..
Over 200 agreements worth around
Rs. 80,000 crore were signed during the
five-day event.
With the tagline "the storm is
oming" HLFT-42 is the 'Next Gen
~upersocic Trainer' that will play a
critical role in modern combat aircr~ft
training with state-of-the-art aviorucs like
Active Electronicallf Scanned Array,
Electronic Warfare Swte, Inf~ed Search
and Track with Fly-by-Wm control
system, the HAL said. The aircraft has
a unique tail art of the Hindu God
Maruti, symbolising strength, speed and
agility. HLFT-42 will be similar to the
recently-approved projects like the LCA
MK II and eventually the Advanced
Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA). Its
simulators and simulations would also
be of that capability. The trainer, which
is aimed at preparing fighter pilots
comprehensively for the fifth-generation
aircraft, incorporates an ultra-modern
training suite, enabling hyper-real
combat situations to train pilots in a
perfectly safe, standardised and efficient
flying environment.
The US Air Force (USAF), however,
represent the leading-
edge of US fighter jet
technology. The F-35's
engine produces 43,000
pounds of thrust and
consists of a three-
stage fan, a six-stage
compressor, an annular
combustor, a single stage
high-pressure turbine and
a two-stage low-pressure
turbine. In addition to
from the USAF conducted
strations at Aero India 2023 to showcase
the capability of one of the force's
leading fighter jets. The F/A-18E and
F/A-18F Super Hornet, the US Navy's
most advanced frontline carrier-based
multirole strike fighter aircraft, were also
part of the exhibits from the US.
Statement about ownership and other particulars about
Competition Success Review
FORM IV
1. Place of Publication : New Delhi
2. Pmoditity of its Publication : Monthly
3. Printer's Na111, : Surenclra Kumar Sachdeva
Nationality : Indian
Addms : 48/ 4, East Patel Nagar, New Delhi-8
4. Publisher's Na111, : Surendra Kumar Sachdeva
Nationality : Indian
Addms : 48/4, East Patel Nagar New Delhi-8
5. Editor's Nam, : Surendra Ku~ar Sachdeva
Nalionality : Indian
Addms : 48/ 4, East Patel Nagar, New Delhi-8
6, Nam, and addrw of individuals who own th,
newspaper and partners or shareholdm holding more
than on, per cent of th, Iota/ ,apita/ : 1. Surendra
Kumar Sachdcva, 48/ 4, East Patel Nagar, New Delhi.
2. Vijay Lakshmi Sachdeva, 48/ 4, East Patel Nagar,
New Delhi-110008. 3. Vandana, 48/4, East Patel
Nagar, New Delhi I 10008.
I, Surenclra Kumar Sachdeva, hereby declare that
particulars given above are true to the best of my
knowledge and belief.
SURENDRA KUMAR SACHDEVA
Publisher
21
 kerala Becomes First Aeronautics Limited (HAL) in
Karnatakn·s Tumakuru on February 6,
State To Use Robotic 2023. The factor y is Asia 's largest In World's Biggest
Scavengers helicopter manufacturing facility and
Aviation Deal, Air tv~~
al so a new green field helicopter factory.
!he K erala governme nt launched
rouotic scaveng er B _,,
The Prime l'vlinister also unveiled the Orders 470 Airb l'ld1Q 1

s ew . • , anuicoot, to clean Llght Utility Helicopter (LUH) at the B . Us~

ages in the temple town of
Gunn-ayur, beco ming the fi s·
the · - - rst tate in
c ou ntry_ to u se robotic technology
to dean all_its c o mmissioned manh o les.
.
new facility as well as laid foundation oe1ng Planes
stone of Tumakuru Industrial Township.
In the world's largest ever .
Mr. Modi expressed delight that
hundreds of arms and defence
Tata Group-owned Air t' 1atio d

1:!1e B a nd1coot w as launched by the
~~ ater Resource M ini s ter o f th e State,
2' 1r. Ros h1 Augus tin e, o n February 24,
~~-\u
1
n <!_er the K e ra la \X7ater Authority's
CK _ ) Gu_ru':'ayur Sewerage Pro ject in
Thn 5t
th ss ur . di nct. " \Vith the launch of
c pr'? Jec_t in Guruvayur, manual
sca:e nging in KeraJa ha s ended. It is a
m a1o r s tep towa rds u se of technology-
dnven soluaons for manhole cleaning
ac ross th e S~te," the M.inis ter declared.
Th e ro b o ac Tron Unit, which is the
mai or c o mponent of Bandicoot, enters
t he m _anhole an~ removes sewage using
ro b o ac hands, s1m1lar to a man's limbs.
The machine has waterproof, HD vision
cameras and sensors that can detect
harmful gases inside the manholes.
Bandicoot, developed b y Kerala-based
Genrobotics, a Techpark-base company,
had recently bagged 'Kerala Pride' award
at the Huddle Global 2022 conclave
organised by Kerala Start-up M.ission
(KSUM). Genrobotics has developed
"the world's first robotic scavenger"
Bandicoot in an effort to eliminate
manual scavenging providing respite for
workers engaged in manhole cleaning.
PM Opens Asia's Largest
Copter Factory In
Karnataka's Tumakuru
Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
inaugurated the helicopter manu-
facturing factory of Hindustan
;i~;i~:;.;;:~;;;::::i--------------7N~E~W~~n;
equipment are being manufactured in
India, which ate being used by the
armed forces today. "From advanced
assault rifles to tanks, aircraft carriers,
helicopters, fighter jets and transport
aircraft, India is manufacturing it all,"
he remarked. He pointed out that the
investment made in this sector in the
last 8-9 years is five times than tl,e
investment made before 2014. He
emphasised that hundreds of helicopters
are going to be manufactured in this
facility itself in the near future which
will give rise to businesses worth Rs. 4
lakh crore.
The greenfield helicopter factory,
spread across .615 acres of land, has
been plarined with a vision of becoming
a one-stop solution for all helicopter
requirements of the country. Initially, it
will produce LUHs, indigenously-
designed and developed 3-ton class,
single-engine multipurpose util_ity
helicopter wit!, unique features of high
manoeuvrability. In the beginning, the
factory will produce around 30
helicopters per year and ilien onwards,
its capacity will be enhanced to produce
60 and then 90 helicopters per year in
a phased manner. Over tl,e time, the
factory will be augmented to produce
oilier helicopters such as ~ght Combat
Helicopters (LCHs) and Indian Multuole
Helicopters (IMRHs). It will also be used
for maintenance, repair and overhaul of
LUH, LCH, Advanced Light Helicopter
(ALH) and IMRH in the future.
470
0
orders to buy a total of d1a J:>la~·
~d narrow-body aircraft fro 11/ide-~d
Airbus and America's B . Ill Pran Y
these, 250 would be frorn tg, Ou/'\ Xf
from Boeing, in a transacti r lls and ~f
be ~ortI, more tl,an $80 billttPected 1
option to buy 70 more B .0 n, \J,,jth to
The move is set to sion;ficoeJng_aircraafn
I di ' e•u antJy ,_ t
n as sta_ture on tl,e global ~''Pro~,
an emerging leader in th Platforlll
• tt' on sector. "Th e orde conilllerciai as
avta
40 Air~us A350s, 20 Boe: cornPtise
10 Boetng 777-9s wide-bod g 78 7s and1
well as 210 Airbus A320;3{ Ncraf~ as
1
190 Boeing 737 MAX single-aisl eos :tnd
The A350 aircraft will be eaircraft
Rolls-Royce engines, and th!Bf?ed hv
by engines from GE Aeros 71781;
airline said in a state!ace," the
February 14, 2023. enr on
At a virtual event coni rnemo ·
m<:'ga de~, US_ \residn n Mr. 1'!°a1the
hailed Air India s dee •ion to p hden
220 aircraft from Bot . ,g and ca]Jurcd _ase
«L: · b e It a
~u~tonc agreeffi:en~, •een Tata-awned
rurlines and BoeJ.ng_ .. - rus purchase will
support over 1 milli,- "' American jobs
across 44 states, and rr-, ·y will not require
a four-year college . o-ree. This also
reflects tl,e strengtl ,f the US-India
eco°:omic partnershir -,e added. French
President Mr. Emn, .,el Macron s~d
that the agreement ' . :,rks a new stage
in India and f ·. ce's strategic
partnership" whi l. , hanking Prime
Minister Mr. Modi '• rnur confidence
in France and our int .,.•r•:." British Prime
Minister Mr. Rishi :d~ hailed a rnulti-
billion-pound deal l \irbus and Rolls-
Royce to supply ne,- · ,craft to Air lndi;
as a landmark mome for the countrys
aerospace sector. f
The historic Air ,1dia purchas_e 0
470 jets has caused · ,e world to su;~
0

and take notice beca•cse of Its scale th

the ramifications it h 0 , for Air 10 es: f•
r aviation industry and ,,Gme of che iggbulk
global econom1es.
d c ·
· th_e biggest
. T hi "_is
ft \ mencan
or er 1or rurcra -:-• ft in Z011 is now
purchase of 4?0 aircraThe deal marks
the second-highest.
Airlines'

. aire!'ft·
India's debut as one of th e mda)~~ would
. These or e . to
buying countnes.. ' fleet and help It
modernise Air India s .t network, at a
"dramatically exp~d \~s to becom~
time when the earner_p " said Mr.
world-c1ass proposioon Chairman , of ra1a
Chandrasekaran, 1 ~s
I-'-'----·- ---- -. if HAL 1vas inaugurated bry Group. . w hi ch was
Air India, retired mostaof
has acqUlre · dbY
Asia's largest helicopter "!anufactunng J~ctftm~akum on February 6, 2023. over a year ago, pRfL zo2J
l--~P~'M~~M~r.~.~N~a:re~n~d~r.~-a~M;o~d~z~a~t=Ka~~r~na~t.~-a~k~a=s================
COMPETITION SUCCESS
REVIEW, A

22

aiferaft and launched a 5-year
r. older odernise its ageing fleet The
1
jiJ1 (() rn Jane will go into service at the
nt'zb23. Currently, the airline has
i11d O erating 218 all'Craft, flying to
i,ee? opstic and 38 overseas destinations.
,zd0:s deal, Air India's fleet size will
fith than double, and it will surpass
111o'c,o•s fleet of 300 air_craft to become
Jodi est airline operating on domestic
i)lCJarg well, The kind of aircraft that
5
io~t~~1a has ordered indi~ates that it
,W co significantly expand its footpnnt
~JllS ernacional routes as well as fly to
o0111 ~ajor and minor locations within
i,otlid rnestic market.
(he o "-=.---------
India Introduces "MIIRA"
To Popularise Millets
On World Stage
With food se~urity and n~triti?n a top
• city in agnculture dunng Its G2O
~:idency, India has introduced a global
. ·oacive to encourage the consumption
: d production_ ?f. millets. The Millet
rernacional Irut1atrVe for Research and
1
:wareness (MIIRA) was introduced at
the first Agriculture Deputies Meeting
(ADMl of the Agriculture Working
Group under India's G2O Presidency, held
at Indore, Madhya Pradesh, from
February 13 to 15, 2023. The G2O
Agriculture Deputies deliberated on four
themes: "food security and nutrition",
"sustainable agriculture with climate-
smart approach", "inclusive agricultural
value chains and food systems", and
"digitalisation for . agricultural
transformation".
The "MIIRA'' is aimed at connecting
: ~:1~:~~~~/:;;i::gn:e:~::~
on millet crops. Besides setting up a web
platform to connect researchers and
holding international research
conferences, the plan is also to promote
millet consumption by raising awareness.
It 1s in line with the UN declaring 2023
as the International Year of Millets and
the_Union Government's plan to make
India a global hub for millets. The
programme will be launched keeping in
mmd the nutritional value and the
climate-resilient nature of millets. For
~ill~ to take off, India will contribute
e seed money" while each G2O
member will later have to contribute to
;~ budget in the form of a membership
e. The MURA secretariat will be in
0pe!1, as, with India being . a major
nto ucer of millets this will ensure a
of investment,from the country's
Ustry and resear ch bodi es.
Mill
ass ets are small-grained cereals such
fax:ghum Gowar),,earl millet (bajra),
tnillet (kangni Italian millet), little
CoMp ~-:;;;;;;;;:-;~;;,:;;;.;;;-;~;;-;~-----------------..:__ _ _
cTIT!ON SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023
mill~t (kutkt'), kodo millet, finger millet
(ragi/ mandua), proso millet (cheena/
commo~ millet), barn)'ard millet (sawa/
sanwa/ 1hangora) and brown top millet
(koral_e). These crops require Jess water
than ~ce and wheat, and are main!)' grown
ltl ramfed areas. Now grown in more
than 130 countries millets are the
traditional food for 'more than half a
~illion people in Asia and Africa. Globally,
Jowar !s the most widel)' grown millet
cro_p; its major producers are the US,
China, Australia, India, Argentina, Nigeria
and S~dan ..Bajra, another major millet
crop, 1s mainl)' grown in some African
countries and India where millets are
mainly a kharif crop. During 2018-19,
the Agriculture Ministry data show, bajra
(3.67%), jowar (2.13%) and ragi (0.48%)
accounted for about 7% of the gross
cropped area in the countr)'.
Indian Army Gets First
Set Of Offensive Swarm
Drone System
In a boost to its offensive capability,
the Indian Army has started receiving its
first heterogeneous swarm Unmanned
Aerial Vehicle (UAV) system for use on
the battlefield, according to a report
published on February 13, 2023. The
delivery may possibly be the world's first
operational high density swarming
Unmanned Aerial System (UAS)
induction for military applications,
especially given that most swarm drone
.•· ,. .. , . ·X.·. >,;,.\.
• . ''
..All
~- • . -~ ~ -~-~
·X ·· •'.:"!
· ·
- · )I(' ~ . ,i.
-· · ' i" • :, rti
Indian Army has started receiving its
first heterogeneous swarm UAV system
from Bengaluru-based New Space
Research & Technologies.
research is yet to be operationalised
across the world. Supplied by an Indian
start-up, Bengaluru-based New Space
Research & Technologies, the swarm of
100 drones is capable of hitting targets
at least 50 kms away into enemy territory.
Ordered under the emergency
procurement, the swarming systems
show that India has taken a global lead
with induction of a cutting edge 'Made
in India' technology which is at par, if
not ahead, of its peers across the world.
A drone swarming system consists of
a group of UAVs which cooperate with
each other using advanced autonomy,
. munication and AI
compuung, com te various mission
pr~toc?ls to e~ecu minimal human
ob1ect1v~s Wl th UAVs exhibit self-
intervenuon. T~e ollision avoidance
organisingbehav1our, c and obstacle
between t~e u Ays a true swarm,
avoidance with terralll- In II wer with
there is no tru~ leader and f~a0n 'their
all members In a swarm g ·
' . d' to undertake collec~1ve
own rntn . d ·ve formauon
decision-making, _a ap_~ the swarm,
flying and self-healing Wl h · the
according to Mr. Sameer Jbos 1fi f
founder of New Space. The ene t o
such a swarm is that if one drone drops
out or a few crash due to enemy counter
measures the group can rearrange . or
self-heal itself to continue ~ndertaking
the mission till the last UAV 1!l air.
Countries such as United _States,
United Kingdom, Turkiye, R~ssia, Israel
and China are actively pursumg swarm
drones programmes. While new
technologies-AI and edge compunng
in particular-will drive drone swarms,
the key element is said to be the swar~g
software. It is this facet of swarmIDg
that makes the development of swarms
difficult and few nations have been able
to demonstrate missions exhibiting de-
centralised swarming algorit_hms, In~,a
being one of them. The ge1_1es1s ?f India,s
swarm drones is in the Indian Air Force s
Mehar Baba swarm drone competition
of 2018. The idea then was to encourage
start-ups to work on sw~r:°1 UAVs, ~oth
for humanitarian and military rruss1ons.
New Space Research & Technologies had
won the award for best 'swarming
architecture'.
First 246-Km Section
·• Of Delhi-Mumbai
. Expressway Inaugurated
t;t '' Prime Minister Mr. Narendra Modi
maugurated a 246-km section of the
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway in Rajasthan's
Dausa on February 12, 2023. Expressing
pride.in dedic~ting the first phase of the
Delhi-M1:1111ba1 Expressway to nation,
Mr. Modi underlined that this is one of
the most. advanced expressways in the
world w~ch pre~ents a grand picture of
developmg India. The Delhi-Dausa-
Lalsot section of the Expressway has
been developed at a cost of more than
Rs. 1~,150 crore. The operationalisation
of this section will reduce the travel time
from Delhi to Jaipur from 5 hours to
around 3.5 hours -and provide a major
boost ~o the economic development of
the entire region.
The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway, also
known. as th e w"."estern
, Dedicated Freight
Corndor, will be India's longest
express'_Vay with a length of' 1,386 km
with
-==:.=:::_::
connecting India's national capital
23

its financial capi tal. It will reduce the
tra vel di stance between Delhi a.nd
Mumbai b y 12% from 1,424 km to
~.2'!_2 km and travd time will be reduced
Y 50% fro m 24 hrs to 12 hn. It will
basj thro ugh one liT and 6n: States-
p e hi , H a r yana, Ra jas than Madhya
radcsh, Gu jarat and Maharashtra--and
c~ nnect ma jor cities like Kota, Indore;
Jaipur, Bho pal, Vadodara and Surat.
The Co rrido r is bc_ing developed with
an 8-lane co nfiguraaon with provision
to expand to 12-lane in the future with a
d esi_~ speed o f 120 km per h~ur. In
add1a o n, the corridor will be completely
access-controlled with closed tolling.
Perpetual pavement design has been
ado pted for Delhi-Vadodara section of
the_Corrid<?r, ~~ch passes through arid
regions while ngid pavement design has
bcei:i adopted for Vadodara-Mumbai
se~aon of the Corridor! passing through
r3J.11- ~ed areas, to provide supenor ade
quality, u se r comfort and longer
pavement life at a lower total cost of
operation over the lifecycle of the project.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a
greenfield project and the National
Highways Authority of India (NHAI)
p~s to plant 20 lakh saplings along its
enare length. Three-feet high boundary
walJs and sound barricades are being put
up for protection of animals. It will also
serve 93 PM Gati Shakti Economic
Nod~s, 13 ports, 8 major airports and 8
Mul_a-Modal Logistics Parks (MMLPs)
besides boosting new upcoming
greenfidd airports such as Jewar Airport
and Navi Mumbai Airport. It will have a
catalytic impact in the developmental
trajectory of all adjoining regions, thus
contributing in a major way to the
economic transformation of the country.
SSLV-D2 Joins ISRO's
Fleet Of Three Rockets
India got one more rocket to launch
satellites. After the second development
flight of Small Satellite Launch Vehicle
(SSL V-D2) successfully placed three
satellites in a 450 km circular orbit around
the Earth the new rocket joined the
Indian Sp~ce Research Organisation or
ISRO's fleet of three rockets. On its
second developmental flight launched on
February 10, 2023 from the first launch
pad at the ~ountry's only spaceport
Sriharikota m Andhra J.:>radesh, the
SSLV-D2 put into_ orb1t an Earth
Observation Satelhte-07 (EOS-07)
weighing about 156.3 kg an? two
others-10.2 kg Janus-1 belongmg t~
ANTARIS of the US and 8. 7 _kg Az~di
Sat-2 belonging to Spa~e Kidz I?dia,
Ch enna. 1. "The satellites . precisely
h have flexibility in accommodating
intended orbits meant t at
reaching the . ·d d mu 1up
cost-effective gw ance an demand feasibility, minima] launch
t h e new, d . th 1 h . frastructure reqwrements
nav1ga . ti" o n system use rn e aunc m an d o th ers.
24
the electronics had
,-chide as well .~:aid I\Ir. s. Somanath,
performed well, kin after the
Chairman, !SRO, spea g
su~~=s~r;:·d its maiden t:light,
SSLV DI 111
-
. _ August 7 2022. But 1t had
'nu·ss
' ·
because of shortfall In
a narrow -
.
,,eJoat:y. n-
w1
th cail
7" thin six mon hs, a i: ure
analysis was conducted and c anges w~e
made to the e<Juipment bay, t e
separaaon . mecharusm and the on-board
system ,.ror recogru·sing faulty sensors.
Five new pieces of hardware were teste
before the second flight ~f the new
launch vehicle to ensure its success.
"Despite a setback in August 2022, the
team worked hard to make th ~ changes
suggested by the review comnuttees and
came up with five ne'Y hardware an~
new separation system ill five months,
Mission Director of the SSLV, Mr. S.
V mod, said. It all started in 2018 and the
rocket has reached the intended
destination today, he added.
The SSIY-D2, in its second
developmental flight launched on
February 10, 2023, placed three
satellelites in orbit.
India's newest rocket, SSLV-D2,
weighing 120 tonne, is 34 metre tall. The
rocket's total carrying capacity is 500 kg
to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), though in its
maiden successful flight it had a total
payload of 175.2 kg. The three-staged
SSLV-D2 is primarily powered by solid
fuel (total 99.2 tonne) and also has a
Velocity Trimming Module (VTM)
powered by 0.05 tonne of liquid fuel for
precise.. .
illject10n o f satellites. With the
new rocket in its portfolio, ISRO now
has three rockets-(i) Polar Satellite
Launch Vehicle (PSLV) and its variants,
(ii) Geosynchronous Satellite Launch
uve hi cIe (GSLV-Mkll and LVM3) and
(iii) SSLV. The SSLVis a ready-to-transfer
rocket with modular and unified systems
with standard interfaces for production
by the industry. The SSLV design drivers
are Iow cost, h ave 1ow turnaroun d time, · currently price
. Ie sate 11 Hes,
· 33 ' 1' the 1"0...t1
h ave Iaunc h -on-
.
The commercial
India Ltd. plan arn-i of IS)l
technology for s to tran 0,/-i
sector. !SRO is troductio~fer tliti,\
port in Tamil N so, blJiJdi liJ t1i e lij
c . adu s.,,. llga t,__.
ror sending up th ''-ula8 L
e sn-iau e"-lr, ,, .
India Finds rock~Jl.~~
Reserves Of ~IJ~
d
____In J&I( thi11111
India announced .
discovery of reserv Its 6r .
I
81
alkali . metal cruciale~ of lilJti~1&ili6~
electnc vehicle. The or manu(' a..,
of India (GSI) foun~eo(o&ica/~,
1
59·lakh tonnes of Ii hi 5.9 ll!"lJi
Sala! -H aunana
· I u~-~
areat ofUIJl reserve on. o·,
Jammu and Kashmi th Reasj di sr_n~1
f Min . r, eij , Strjct"
o es said on Fehr llJonAu . ro
is 7th largest lithium r uary 9, 2023CU:,11)
and according to the eserves in the. ' fl!J
it is worth Rs 3 384 bcilliurren1 llJarket%d1
I n 202 1, much · ' onap . Po,.
sm?Jlerde _ProX!JJJ.,.;'
were found in tLe P0 s1tsoflit1t
K arnata k a. India imp. ,, souther S
n lati ,
d f lithi Orts 80o;,
nee s o um .,nain] fr O of ;Or1
and Argentina. T he dev~Jo om Ausna1i
at a time when 1,,dia has _prn~nt col!ti
two lithium miw:s in Ar)US! identifi~
possible acquisiti" 'l or a I gentrna for 1
. h.
L It . ong-terrnJ
1um 1s a key co ea.~
b attenes· and oth. c electromponeo1 · .L 0f
. . Oles 1J1atatt
b econung illcrea, .1gly common atouod
the world, parn darly in the
re ch argea bl e lith. -,m-ion batteriescaseuJ<dof
in electric-vehicL ·nanufacturing, as,-e!
as larger-scale ba-- ·ry storage. Witli these
manufacturing ,·ends expected !O
accelerate over· t - corning years as me
energy transitio , ·ncreases, interest io
this silvery-whit,· , rretal will continue ro
grow, and analyst ~xpectglobaldeml
will more than d, .. ble by 2024. Experts
say that the disc _ ,ery could aid Indil's
push to increase -'"< e number of pm1te
electric cars by ::. '% by 2030.
As per US Geo:ogical ?urvey dau,;;
21 million tonne:, Bolivia 1s home
world's largest identified lithiumresen·)
followed by Arger:rtina (2?milli~:;fo;
United States ot Amenca (I ..r:,
tonne) Chile (11 1nillion to • rnilli 0
(1.9 ~on tonne), ~hina ( -~e) 6 ;d
tonne), India (5.9 million t)In faC\
Germany (3.2 million t~M: ·in sou~
Bolivia Argenana and - h triallgle
America ' form a Jithlum-nc . " Now, ~e '
called the "li~urn _trl:J:s
1
clJecou!l;
new discovery ill India es of uthl .
home to 7th largest rese:\r lithi\)Jll~
in the world. One conn 36 laid\,ut11
· d at Rs.kh57co()Jles
· uu•Jii<h
value of India's 59 la 84 31,02~ !)li
reserves will be Rs. billion- n . e ll"
crore or Rs. 3,384 . all the oJll
market, its . pric . e varies t,PRil )01
1
REVIEW.
COMPETITION succESS
 The World
Burning Topics

*Nikos Christodoulides
Becomes New President
11

J· Of Cyprus
* French President Pledges
~; A'New Era' In Africa
;, .
*UK And EU Strike A
f. Northern Ireland Trade
,l :Deal
*·~ USSeattle Becomes First
City To Ban Caste Mr. Nikos Christodo11/ides on March 1, 2023 became the youngest
i Discrimination President of Cypms at 49.
'*:FATF Suspends Russia's
~- Membership Over Ukraine Nikos Christodoulides Becomes
' .
c:·War New President Of Cyprus
*~.START
f
Russia Suspends New
With United States
-
Cyprus's former Foreign Minister
Mr. Nikos Christodoulides took over as
in Political Science from the University
of Athens. He launched his diplomatic
the country's new President, becoming career in 1999, climbing up the ranks
{ 1Mohammad Shahabuddin its youngest leader at 49, on March 1, until he became Foreign Minister for
t chuppu Elected 22nd 2023. He was elected as the President the right-wing President Mr. Nicos
f President Of Bangladesh of the country, winning 51.9% of the
votes in the run-off that took place
Anastasiades in 2018. He quit that
position in June 2022 to join the
fl .
t '.World's First Super Magnets on February 12, 2023, edging out presidential race. As the Foreign
the fellow diplomat and communist- Minister, he failed to take a clear stance
·:For Nuclear Fusion Plants backed candidate, Mr. Andreas on Russian sanctions due to the invasion
~Developed Mavroyiannias, who received 48.8% of Ukraine, which led to many criticising
t~~w 7.8 Magnitude votes.
Mr. Christodoulides ran as an
his "pro-Moscow" stance.
Since the 1974 Turkish invasion,
;; Earthquake Hits Tiirkiye, independent candidate and had .the Cyprus has been split by ethnicity, with
~yria backing of centnsts and c~ntre-rtght Greek and Turkish Cypriots living on
parties that usually had har~ne stances either side of a United Nations-patrolled
*]~dia, UAE, France on solving decades-old div1S1ons 10 the ceasefire border. Mr. Christodoulides has
Establish Trilateral Mediterranean island country. This 1s the previously considered that the main
-~. .
first time ever that a candidate has won problems facing Cypriots were "the cost
Cooperation Initiative the presidency without having. the of living and housing, immigration and
* Eqtatodal Guinea backing of two of the most prom1nent the Cyprus problem", referring to those
political groups, the conservative DISY divisions in the country.
Appoints.Manuela As First and the communist AKEL. The last round of peace talks
Woman PM In his winning speech, had collapsed in mid-2017,
*us 'r- 0£fers Critical Mr. Christodoulides said, "I l?ok you
the eyes and give you a promise-I will
Mr. Christodoulides campaigned as a
urufy10g force for ethnically divided
Technologies To India do everything to be worthy of_ your
. ~,
UnderiCET
Australia Decides To
trust." He has frequently been tn the
ublic eye for his persona of a young,
Pnergetic politician offering new ideas
Cy~rns, esc~ewing ideological and party
divtstons. Hts message resonated with a
wtde swath of voters. He says he wants
to resume talks but that a UN
l\eniovo 'British Monarchy fn the past decade. He studied in Malta framework governing discussions should
and New York before gettmg a doctorate be renegotiated.
Prom;fts Bjltlk Notes . . . ·:.,
t'oifp
F:rmoN SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023 25

French President Pledges
A 'New Era' In Africa
French President Mr. Emmanuel
Macron vowed to reduce the number
of Fr_ench troops in Africa under a "new
s~nty partnership" with the concerned
naaons and to roll out more ambitious
economic policies, in a bid to boost
Fran_c e 's waning influence in th e
co ntinent. Mr. Macron called for
opening a " new era" in a speech at the
E lysee , the presidential palace o n
Feb~1:1ary 27 , 2023, ahead of an
ambiao us trip to Gabon Angola the
Repu bl._ic of Congo and' Democratic
R '
epublic of the Congo. He said France
mu st move _away from interfering in
parts _of Afnca that it once ruled as a
~olo11Jal power, adding that the continent
is no longer its " backyard". Addressing
African countries as " partners with
wh?m we share interests and balanced,
reCJprocal, accountable responsibilities",
Mr. Macron said, adding "There is
ano th er path". He further said that
French military bases won't be closed
but will be transformed based on need~
expressed by African partners.
Mr. Macron's speech came at a time
whe_n France's influence on the
~onanent is facing its biggest challenges
In decades. Growing anti-French
senamem has led to street protests in
several West and North African
countries. In addition, the historical
economic ties that France had wi·th the
region are under pressure from the
growm_ · g commercial presence of Russia,
Chrna and Turkiye . Mr. Macron
kn
acf owledged · · that
· , Africa now is a "field
o _compet1t10n , and urged French
business_es to "wake up" and get
mvolved m the fight. Mr. Macron, 45, is
the first French President born after the
end of colonial era. He has previously
sought to extend France's cooperation
with English-speaking countries, such as
Ghana and Kenya, and increase French
investments in Africa's private sector.
In 2022, French troops had to
withdraw from Mali, which turned
instead to private Russian military
contractors of the Wagner group, and
most recently from Burkina Faso, which
also appears to increasingly look towards
Moscow. In 2022, Mr. Macron had
announced the formal end of the so-
ca ll e d B arkh ane Military F orce a f ter
France withdrew its troops from Mali.
French operations to help fight Islamic
extremists in the Sahel region are now
focussing mostly on Niger and Chad,
where the countr}' still has about 3,000
troops. In Burkina Faso, Boubacari
Dicko, the emir, or traditional chief, of
the northern city of Djibo near the
_ _ _ _ _ _.:__ ___:___: _ _ _ _ __:_:_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _:::-::-;::-;;;::;,-;;pRJL2023
26
Malian border, said that a rene~ved
relationship between France and
countries could be based on a wtn-wm
partnership.
UK And EU Strike
A Northern Ireland
Trade Deal
Britain and the European Union (EU)
struck a landmark agreement to end a
festering dispute over post-Brexit trade
rules for Northern Ireland, potentially
resolving one of the most poisonous
legacies of Britain's exit from Europe's
trade bloc in 2020. Br1t1sh Pr1me
Minister Mr. Rishi Sunak and President
of the European Commission
Ms. Ursula von der Leyen announced
the deal, which they called "Windsor
Framework", after hammering out the
fmal terms at a meeting in Windsor,
outside London, on February 27, 2023.
European Commission President
M s. Ursula von der Leyen and UK
Prime Minister Mr. Rishi Sunak on
February 27, 2023 announced a
landmark Northern Ireland trade deal
called 'Windsor Framework'.
"_United Kingdom and the European
U111on may have had differences in the
past but we are allies, trading partners
and friends," Mr. Sunak declared, adding,
"this is new beginning of ·a new chapter
in our relationship." Ms.- Von der Leyen
said that the agreement would allow
them to remove a source of friction and
focus on _greater challenges including
curbmg climate change and defending
Ukraine in its war with Russia. Mr. Sunak
highlighted three features of the deal: a
" green Iane " WI'th littl e b ureaucracy ,or
c a natlonwi
good travelling from Britain to Northern
Ireland; a provision allowing the British
Parliament to set value-added tax and
excise duties for Northern Ireland; and
an "emergency brake" enabling the
elected Assem bly m · BeIfast to prevent
new EU law on goods from being
applied there.
COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW, A
The agreement, concluded
of confidential talks and Ill aftei \\-
starts, could have far-reachinuibpie cl,
and political consequences•g econ: ½
trade war between Britain · av~,
smoothing Britain's relatioand the fl1
. ta! ne1g . hb ours and ns ,,a
contmen ~,thc·'1
door to restoring a ~Pening 1
government in Northern Ire?ctio~
months of paralysis. It and ,f, 1
. . could '<ti
remove a !ingenng Irritant b ,11
and the USA as President A, etwJeen
. "tr. oe B·
ui
had presse d Pnme Minister %: td~
of Britain to negotiate an d. Sun,,
. 'th B en t0 ."{
1rnpasse WJ russels. the
Northern Ireland's trade rul
as the Northern Ireland Proes, knO\i,n
fiendishly complex and have ~ocot, are
totemic issue for Brexit ecorne a
.. b
umomsts ecause of the t . and
U11Jque status: It 1s
. . part of theernto
U _ry 's
Kingdom but shares a land bo d llited
the Republic of Irelan d, a m:rner IVith
EU and its single marker. The rul ber of
. d to avo1.d custo;; s checkeswere
d es1gne
1
land border, whi c·, wout/the
unacceptable for Irelar .· and , be
. N orth em I reland , -articuliorrnanI,
m
nationalists, the large!\' •·atholicarIY the
·
th e pop u]atlon that w~-
•s the tePart. of
to unite with Ireland. rntory
Seattle Becor,es First
US City To B. ;11 Caste
• • • .
D1scr1mm i'1on
S ttl h b
eati e as ecome · e first US ci"'''
to al
1 ou aw caste
il discri,
d : 1ation after j~
boc councI di passe
A a 1 nlution, moved
Y an n an- meric · politician and
economist, to add c· ·re to its non-
discrimination polic: The resolution
moved by Ms. Ks!. ,,a Sawant, an
upper-caste Hindu, w , ,. , is a city council
member, was approve:• " n February 21,
2023 by the Seattle l. • :: Council by si~
to one vote. "It's offic:,l: our movement
has won a historic, firs:-:., -the-nation ban
1
on caste discrimin 1 tio n in Seattle!
Now we need to build a movement to
spread this victory around the countty,"
Ms. Sawant said soon after the resoluuon
was voted. The results of the vote could
have far-reaching implications on the
issue of caste discrimination in the US.
Equality Labs, the brain behind the
anti-caste discrimination resoluuon_ lil
Seattle and which has been spearheading
· ·de campaign· sai·d, "Love has
won over hate as Seattle has become
the first in the nation to ban caS te
discrimination. We have braved r.ipe
threats, death threats, disdfor:;::~
and bigotry." It has create _a c
of some 20 o orgarusaaons
· · m suppor tral 1
10
of its efforts over the issue. Cen than
this coalition is a network of more
 . ste Ambedkarite organisations.
,tJu-dltheJJl are the Ambedkar King
~oh,de, Ambedk~r International
~d1 j\mbedkarite Buddhist
,orer,. 0 of Texas and Boston Stud)'
C .,,atJO di . . .
A¢uv «Caste scnmmatton has no
G fOu~~ society anywhe_re in the world,
t. here in Amenca. That is why
j!Ou~~Ueges and universities have
~edit on campuses, and wo_rke~s are
bl'111. for their nghts ~d ~ei_r dignity
tung jovolvmg caste discnnunation,"
. c,ses 'd
Sawafit Sal . .
its. , Jndian-Amencans fear that
Mao) · bli
-~,jog caste m pu c policy will
cO~ fuel instances of Hinduphobia
i,Jl ;r us. Since 2019, ten Hindu
in t 1~ and five statues, including those
(dll~{ahatma -~andhi and Maratha
of eror Shivap, hav~ been vandalised
cf11P the US _as an mttrruda_tion tactic
55
,cro 51 the Hindu commuruty. Indian
~\icans are the second-largest
~J!le · th e US . According
iJll!Ugrant group 10
data from the 2018 American
~J!lmunity Survey (ACS), which is
to0ducted by ~e. US Census Bureau,
~ere are 4._2 ~on peo_ple of Indian
origin residing 10 the Uruted States.
fATF Suspends Russia's
Membership Over
Ukraine War
Global anti-money laundering
fltchdog, the Financial Action Task
Force (FATF), suspended Russia's
membership for its "illegal, unprovoked
1nd unjustified" ful'l-scale military
mvasion of Ukraine, said an official
ible!Dent issued after the group's five-
ilay plenary concluded in Paris on
February 24, 2023. "Russia's actions
mceptably run counter to the FATF
rote principles aiming to promote
111:Urity, safety and the integrity of the
jMlbal financial system and they also
represent a gross violation of the
commitment to international
cooperation and mutual respect upon
Qich FATF members have agreed to
unplement and support the FATF
standards", the statement said.
lbe FATF sets standards for more
dian 200 countries and jurisdictions and
to help authorities tackle serious
~es, including drug smuggling,
Rus an trafficking and terrorism. The
iJr·stan Federation remains accountable
~dbligation to implement the FATF
toii · s. "The Russian Federation must
h tlnue to meet its financial obligations.
•ne Ru • would share information about Russia's
~t
~e"'b sstan Federation will rema.tn a
er of the Global Network as an
O
. n ;; tnember of the Eurasian Grou_p
1"I0 ney L d d
1~ ri h aun ering (EAG) an retain
an EAG member," it said.
CO/,fp -
tTITJON SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023
The FATF · Ministry said that the country_int,~nd~~o
ju · di . continues to call upon all
ton~ cttoas to remain vigilant of threats
th . e Lntegnty, safety and security of
f e International financial system arising
rom th e Russian Federation's war
against Ukraine.
It is pertine t th ·
been expelledn fto note h at Russrn· has
E · rom t e Council of
Hurope and suspended from the UN
umtn Rights Council, but is still a
mem. er. of many international
~~an_isattons. The FATF also added
tgena. and South Africa to its list of
countnes subject to increased
~orutonng, and removed Cambodia and
orocco from the category.
Russia Suspends New
START With United States
Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin
announ_ced_ that his country was
suspending tts participation in the New
Sttategtc Arms Reduction Treaty (New
START) wtth the United States
imperiling the last remaining pact tha~
regulates the world's two largest nuclear
arsenals. Mr. Putin made the declaration
in his much-delayed annual State of the
Natton Address to Russia's National
Assembly on February 21, 2023.
Simultaneously, in a lengthy statement
pu_blished on us website, Russia's Foreign
M101stry said that the decision to
suspend participation in the Treaty is
"reversible", adding that ''Washington
must show political will, make
conscientious efforts for a general de-
escalation and create conditions for the
resumption of the full functioning of
the Treaty and, accordingly,
comprehensively ensuring its viability."
Russian President Mr. Vladimir Putin on
February 21, 2023 announced suspension
of 'New START' with the US.
While Russia did not withdraw from
the Treaty completely, it appeared to be
formalising its current position. In his
speech, Mr. Putin suggested that the US
nuclear facilities with Ukraine while
calling a full return to the Treaty
"absurd". Despite ending its adherence
h R · F •
to inspections, t e usstan ore1gn
observe and adhere to the limtts wt tn
the life cycle" of the arms control Treaty,
which is set to expire in 2026_. US
Secretary of State Mr. A_n~ony ,~linken
called Mr. Putin's dec1S1on deep! Y
unfortunate and irresponsible." ~e sa1~
that President Mr. Joe Biden s
administration remains ready to talk
about the nuclear arms Treaty "at any
time with Russia, irrespective of anything
else going on in the world." He was
joined by other Western allies, li_ke France
and the United Kingdom, which called
on Mr. Putin to reverse the suspension.
The New START was signed JO
Prague in 201 Oas a co?tinuation of ~e
Strategic Arms Reductlo_n Treaty, which
had expired the previous year and
oversaw a drawdown of nuclear forces
between the two superpowers in_ the
1990s. The new agreement puts lilTiltS
on the number of deployed
intercontinental-range nuclear weapons
that both the US and Russia can have.
The number of deployed warheads-
warheads that are placed on missiles or
in military bases with operational
forces-was capped at 1,550 and there
are additional ceilings on the individual
number of deployed missiles, bombers
and launchers as well. Also, both the
countries are permitted to conduct
inspections of each other's weapons
sites, though inspections had been halted
since 2020 due to the Covid-19
pandemic. The New START was last
extended in early 2021 for five years,
meaning the two sides would soon need
to begin negotiating on another arms
control agreement.
Mohammad Shahabuddin
Chuppu Elected 22nd
President Of Bangladesh
Mr. Mohammad Shahabuddin
Chuppu, a former judge and freedom
fighter, was elected unopposed as
Bangladesh's 22nd President. The
development came after Chief Election
Commissioner Mr. Kazi Habibul Awai
scrutinised nomination papers and
declared Mr. Chuppu, a member of the
Awarni League Advisory Council and
the party's nominee, the President-
elect of Bangladesh. The 74-year-old
Mr. Chuppu will replace incumbent
Mr. Mohammad Abdul Hamid, the
longest-sernng President of Bangladesh
whose tenure~ end on April 23, 2023
and the Constttutton bars him from
?olding a third term. A gazette was
issued on February 13, 2023 on the
appo~ntment of the new Bangladesh
Pres1d_e~t by the Chief Election
Comrruss1oner.
27
 Born in the northwestern Pabna
district, Mr. Chuppu was a leader of
~wami league's student and youth wings
10 the late 1960s and early 1970s. He
also took part in the 1971 Liberation
War and was imprisoned for waging a
prote~t ~fter the August 15 , 197 5
assassmaoon of Bangladesh's founder
~angabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
m a military coup along with most of
his family members. The coup also led
to the toppling of the Awami League
~vernme~t. In 1982, Mr. Chuppu was
1nd~cted into the country's judicial
Se[Vlce. He served as the coordinator
of the Bangabandhu murder trial when
Awami League returned to power in
th~ 1996 general election. After his
~eorement as a district and sessions
Judge, Mr. Chuppu served as one of
the _c ommissioners of the independent
;A~t1-Corruption Commission. He later
Joined politics and became a member
of 0e Awami League Advisory Council,
which comprises senior party leaders and
technocrats. However, Mr. Chuppu will
have to relinquish the party post to
become the titular Head of the State.
World's First Super
Magnets For Nuclear
Fusion Plants Developed
A UK firm announced the world's
first set of "super" magnets that can be
used for testing nuclear fusion power
plants. Tokamak Energy said that the
Demo4 magnet has a magnetic field
strength that is nearly a million times
stronger than the Earth's magnetic field,
making it capable of confining and
controlling the extremely hot plasma
created during the fusion process. "This
is a huge, visible moment that we're
really excited about," said Dr. Rod
Bateman from Tokamak Energy on
February 7, 2023. "Our magnets enable
the construction and operations of
spherical tokamaks, and so are a game
changer for getting clean, limitless fusion
energy on the grid faster," he added.
Tokamak Energy CEO Mr. Chris
Kelsall said that the company's new
magnet tee h no logy wou Id h elP pus h
forward advancements by providing a
key component of the fusion process.
"The learnings from Demo4 will be a
key catalyst for delivering the global
deployment of compact, low-,~ost
spherical tokamak power plants, he
said, adding, "we are proud to be
delivering this world-first, complete
system of HTS magnetic ~oils, which
will now be assembled Into a full
k
to ama k con fi1gura~10n . 10r
r: testing.
. " . t h e L evant. I twas felt as far as Egypt
,..,.,
J.0 k ama k E nergy 1s · a.urung
· · to b e th e I srae,I Pal estme,
first private company to produce
_ _..:__ _ __::_..:__ _::__ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _:__ _....:.__ _::-:'.::-;:'.;-;;:;::;;;;-iR~EVIEW, AP
28
commercial fusion energy, wi th th.e go_al
of demonstrating grid-ready fusmn 10
the early 2030s. . was the result of shaJl tllic se \
Nuclear fusion has been hailed as ~e
"holy grail" of clean energy, with
scientists working on the tec~inology
since tbe 1950s. The process mvolves
mimicking the natural rea~ti_o ns that
occur within the Sun, proV!ding nea~-
limitless energy without r~quiring fossil
fuels and without producmg hazardous
waste. Commercialisation of the power
source still remains a long way off,
though several major breakthrou&hs
recent years have given hope that It will
be attainable within the next decade. In
2022 scientists from the Lawrence
Liver~ore National Laboratory (LLNL)
in California became the first to achieve
a net energy gain using nuclear fusion
power.
Mw 7.8 Magnitude
Earthquake Hits
Turkiye, Syria
A earthquake of Mw 7.8 magnitude
on Richter scale struck southern and
central Tiirkiye and northern and western
Syria on February 6, 2023 at 04:17 TRT
or 01:17 UTC. The epicentre was 32 km
west-northwest of Gaziantep. The
earthquake had a maximum Mercalli
intensity of XI (Extreme). It was
followed by an Mw 7.7 earthquake which
was centred 95 km to the north-northeast
from the first, in Kahramanmara
Province. There was widespread damage
and tens of thousands of fatalities. The
More than 51,000 peop,e1 were killed as
Mw 1.8 magnitude tremor hit Turk!Je
and Syria on Febmary 6, 2023.
Mw 7.8 earthquake was the strongest to
occur in Tiirkiye since the 1939 Erzincan
~a.rthquake of the same magnitude, and
)Oilltly the second-strongest recorded in
the country, after the 1668 North
Anatolia earthquake. It was also one of with the aim of expa nclin~ interest,
the strongest earthquakes ever recorded
ill
· Le b anon, Cyprus an d'
the Black Sea coast of Turkiye. The
COMPETITION SUCCESS
earthquakes were followed b
2,100 aftershocks. The seis Yl!i 01e
faulting. ow Strik\9
There was widespread d t.1~
area of about 3,50,0oo ainage i .
estimated 14 million peo sq.kill.' ~
I
Tiirkiye's population ,~ e, 0 r 160,\
> were ,, .
1
Deve opment experts fro affe, 'i
Nations estimated that ab rn the lJ~it<l.
people were left horn~~t l.5 Ill\~
26 February 2023 ess. 1\ 1
51,100 deaths were C~nfilllore tnl,;
th an 44 ' 300 ill
. T" ki Irnied i1,
ur ye and : illo
6,700 in Syria. It was th ll'iore
earthquake in Tiirkiye e .deadlie·
526 A nuoc . h sin s1
earthquak Ce to
deadliest in Syria since the ~ ;nd tn:
82
earthquake. It was the deadJi l\!epr,o
wide since the 2010 Haiti e~ st ll'otld.
and the fifth-deadliest 0 f rthqua~
·
century. Co 11ect1vely, the earth the 2l11·
~stimated to have caused $S4~akes ate
ill damages, making them th· billion
costliest earthquakes 00 e fourth.
was the deadliest natural dir~cord. It
' mo dern .history.
T ur ki yes D•~ to
roads, winter storrr, - and disruamagej
· •
commurucatlons h:1i--1pered the pnon. 10
di saster agency AF,,., :.J ,s rescue nano!U]
d .
effort, which inclur\:d a 60 OOanO re\ef
. , ·Strong
searc h -an d-rescue c,rce, 5,000 heal
workers and 3! -. 1100 volunt ili
Following Tiirkiye'_s ,.J.11for interna:i~
help, more rl:an L: 1,000 people from
94 countnes JOtne,' he rescue effort
India, Ui:..;\ France
Establish 'rrilateral
Cooperation Initiative
India, France a:::i the United Anh
Emirates (UAE) an,: >Unced the creation
of a formal tril.:t eral cooperation
initiative for project; in solar and nucleir
energy, the fight against climate change
and joint production of m1lttarr
hardware. Union Minister for External
Affairs Mr. S. Jaishankar and hts
counterparts from France and the
Ms. Catherine Colonna and Mr. She
U!
Abdullah bin ,zayed Al Nahyan,
respectively, adopted a road map for
implementing th e 1rut1at1v
· · · · e during'fhea
phone call on February 4, 20 23· and
Foreign Ministers of India, France in
the UAE had met for the firS t o_m eoi
5
a trilateral format on the :f~mbl1
the United Nations Gener 22.11
19 20
in New York on Septe~b~ to'esrablish
was then that they dectde . jniciao1t,
a formal trilateral coope_ratl~~operacio0
in various fields of ~utud by the three
A 1010t
. . sta tement issue ·des agreed t)Jil
3
st'des, ~al'd, "The
. . three
·ative 51will serVe ai
the trilateral Ulltl Ji/L2021
c:d
 forum to promote the d~sign_ and
execution of cooperation pro1ects 1n the
fields of energy, \vith a focus o~ solar
and nuclear energy, as well as 1n the
fight against climate change_and t~e
protection of biodiversity, particularly 1n
the Indian Ocean region". In this
context, the three countries will explore
the possibility of working with the
Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)
to pursue "concrete, actionable projects
on clean energy, the environment, and
biodiversity". While listing defence as
an area of close cooperation, the three
countries said that efforts will be made
to " further promote compatibility, and
joint development and co-production,
whilst seeking out avenues for further
collaboration and training" between the
armed forces.
A range of trilateral events will be
organised within the framework of
India's G20 Presidency and the UAE's
hosting of COP28 in 2023. The three
countries further agreed to expand
cooperation through initiatives such as
the Mangrove Alliance for Climate led
by the UAE and the lndo-Pacific Parks
Partnership led by India and France.
They will also use the trilateral initiative
as a platform to promote cultural
cooperation through joint projects,
including heritage promotion and
protection.
Equatorial Guinea
Appoints Manuela
As First Woman PM
Equatorial Guinea got its first woman
Prime Minister after Ms. Manuela Roka
Botey was appointed to the post by
President Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguema
Ms. Manuela Roka Botry was
on February 1, 2023 appointed as
the fir.rt woman Prime Minister of
Equatorial Guinea.
Mbasogo. Ms. Botey had been the
Minister for National Education,
University Education and Sports since
August 2020. She was also the Vice-
Dean of the Faculty of Letters and
Social Sciences at the National
30
University of Equatoria! Gui~ea.
l\ls. Botey replaces outgoing Prime
1\-Iinister Mr. Francisco Pascual Obama
Asue who held the position for nearl y
eight years. Ms. Botey's new position was
announced by Mr. Obiang on state
television on February 1, 2023.
Equatorial Guinea has been ruled by
Mr. Obiang since 1979 when he
overthrew his uncle, Mr. Franci sco
Macias Nguema, in a coup. The West
African country gained independence
from Spain in 1968 and since then, there
have only been these two Presidents.
Now 80 years old, Mr. Obiang is the
world's longest-serving Head of State,
excluding monarchs. He cemented his
place as the world's longest-standing
ruler back in November 2022 after he
was re-elected for a sixth term in office
with 95% of the votes.
US Offers Critical
Technologies To India
Under iCET
India and the United States of
America joined hands on critical
technologies including Space, Quantum
and Semiconductors. This was the
outcome of the inaugural meeting of
National Security Advisor Mr. Ajit Doval
with his US counterpart Mr. Jake
Sullivan in Washington, D.C. on
January 31, 2023. Both India and the
US have elevated their strategic
partnership with the launch of the
initiative on Critical and Emerging
Technology or iCET. 'We are committed
to fostering an open, ·accessible and
secure technology ecosystem, based on
mutual trust and confidence, that will
reinforce our democratic values and
democratic institution," said a Fact Sheet
issued by White House. India's Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and the US
President Mr. Joe Biden had announced
the decision to elevate and expand the
Strategic Technology P~rtnership as well
as Defence Industrial Cooperation in
May 2022 on the sidelines of the QUAD
Leaders Summit in Tokyo.
The two countries have announced a
new bilateral defence technology road
map. This is expected to speed up
defence technology cooperation in the
areas of joint development and
production, especially rela~ed to jet
engines and other technologies. A ne~
invitation arrangement for a partnership
between the US National Science
Foundation and the Indian science
agencies has also been a_nno_unced to
further expand collaboratJon 1n a range
of areas including Artificial Intelligence
(AI), Quantum Technologi~s and
Advanced Wireless Technologies. For
COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW. APRll
greater coliaboratio
consortium of leading / bt
Quantum m . d ustry playesearehtr1\·~:
countries
. h ave agreers bGth1,.'1
l
establishment of the - e ta 11
Q uantum CoordinatJon . 10 int I ,.
rn h %, 1
The US has Wei ec anistiii_·\ 1
establishment of the ~ ;ed ,
0
conductor Mission. This _n la Sc~:
. .
s h are d lnterest in diversif . en ll
IS Se '•
d .
con uctor supp1y chains gl b Stit,I ~ng
also enhancing the flow ;lly,
O
between India and the u~ .1alc,1
bac_kdrop of the Chips Bill of In tn1
which ts focussed on sern· the l\
. icond
manu f actunng and res Uct0i
development. Also the ..... earch
' ,w-0 cou ·
are set to deepen cooperation • 0tnes
especially on human spacefli space
will include advanced m ining
r
for\
lhis
astronauts at NAS;\ Johnson tlian
~ent~r. The two si<les are lookinPace
1dent1fy opportunH1e.; in comm g_Io
. both cou erci.aJ
space sectors w h en:1n
II b ntnt1
can co a . orate, espt ,:1 ally in NASA's
co1:1merc1al lunar : :\yload services
proiect.
Australia Dtddes To
Remove British Monarchy
From Its Bank Notes
Australia has decide:.:< ro remove the
British monarchy fro; ,-. its bank note,
The nation's centn •! i.l ank said on
February 2, 2023 that 'ts new $5 bill
would feature an ind1~e nous design
rather than an image of King Charles
III. But the King is sriU expected to
appear on coins that cu rrently bear the
image of the late Quee:i Elizabeth II.
The $5 bill was Au m alia's only
remaining bank note to still feature an
image of the monarch. The bank said
that the decision followed consultation
with the centre-left Labor Party
Government, which supported the
change. Opponents say the move_1s
politically motivated . The Bnush
monarch remains Australia's Head of
State, although these days that role is
largely symbolic. Like many o_ther
former British colonies, Australia _15
debating to what extent it should retain
its constitutional ties to Bntam.
One Australian dollar is worth about
71 cents in US currency. British currency
began transitioning to the new mon_ar~
with the release of the 50 pence com
December 2022. It has ~harles on
front of the coin while the b_a
commemorates his mother. Pnme
Minister Mr. Anthony Albanese's centrke-
left Labor Party _is s_ee ki ng tomae
rralian
Australia a republic with. an Aus f the
ci~z_en as Head of State mstead O a;lil
British monarch.
2023
 ndianEcon
mw,;,,.,,,~.mmw
.
. . th . fi t provisio n, esom
s1gruficantly narrower an its irs Add d (G VA) in the
february 2023 GST Collections 7.3% contraction. Th_e Gross . Value ter (Q3) o f 2022-23,
Cross Rs. 1.49 Lakh Crore economy grew 4.6% m the thi rd qu_ar · ued to shrink
slower than 5.5% in Q2. Manufacturing co nan f 1 I%
dia's Goods and Services Tax (GST) r_evenues grew lZ.4% for the second quarter, alb elt . a t .a slower p ace o .
In ary 2023 to Rs. 1,49,577 crore, with tax receipts from compared with Q2's 3.6% contracaon: t r's persistent
febru,imports nsmg
·· . _and d omesac
6°10
1 · transactions along
Economists termed the manufacrurmg se~ levels lower
f,° Mr v
5
vices imports y1ekli_ng 15 1/o more from the figures of slack a negative surprise that brought Q 3 isroA
0
~d .
~chc~e:responding month m 2022. This is the 12th straight . . . Ch. f E conomic v1ser . .
than their pro1ecaons. ie th 4 40;.O GDP
~~nth chat revenues have surpassed Rs. 1.4 lakh crore, though Anantha Nageswaran, however, asserted e ~de to the
growth print is "also because of the revis~?ns m
GST Revenue Collection previous years when the base has gone up ·

Workers With Advanced Digital Skills

Contribute Rs. 10.9 Trillion To GDP
Workers in India, who use advanced digital skills, including
Cloud Architecture or Software Development, contribute an
estimated Rs. 10.9 trillion or $507.9 billion to India's annual
Gross Domestic Product (GDP), according to a new research
report by Amazon Web Services (AWS) <?n February 23, 2023.
This is attributed to the 92% higher salaries th~t these workers
earn compared to those with a similar educaaon who do not
Ffb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan Feb use digital skills at work. .
The 'Asia Pacific Digital Skills Study: The Econormc Benefits
2022 2023 of a Tech-Savvy Workforce', commissioned by AWS and
conducted by Gallup, examined how building a technology-
for Feb 2023 t Crore enabled workforce has significant benefits for work~rs,
CGST SGST organisations and the economy. More than 2,000 working
34,915 adults and 769 employers were surveyed in India across a
variety of public and private sector organisations and industries.
The Study found that advanced digital workers in India are
benefitting from more than just a boost in their income. As
many as 91 % of workers who use advanced digital skills
Ce IGST express higher job satisfaction, compared to 74% of workers
11,93 75,069
with intermediate skills and 70% of workers with basic digital
Source: Ministry of Finance KBK lnfographics skills. The Study also found that 21 % of Indian organisations
that run most of their business on the Cloud reported doubling
it was 5.06% lower than January's Rs. 1,57,554 crore. Central of their annual revenues, compared to 9% of those that use the
GST (CGS1) collections stood at Rs. 27,662 crore, while Cloud for some or none of their business. Cloud-based
State GST accounted for Rs. 34,915 crore. Integrated GST organisations are also 15 percentage points more likely to have
QGS1) inflows stood at Rs. 75,069 crore (including R_s. 35,689 introduced a new or improved product within the last two years.
crore on import of goods), while GST Compcnsaaon Cess
collecttons hit a record of Rs. 11,931 crore. NSE Gets Final SEBI Nod To
[:§3 GDP Growth Slows To 4.4% Launch Social Stock Exchange
In a somewhat worrying scenano, · I ndi a's GDP growth Leading bourse National Stock Exchange (NSE) said that it
t :ed to 4.4% in the October-December 2022 quarter, fro_m has received final approval from markets regulator Securities
1
f 0
in the second quarter (Q2) of 2022-23. However, ~hile
scea 51ng the Q3 GDP figures on March 1, 2023, the Naaonal
and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to set up a Social Stock
Exchange (SSE) as a separate segment on its platform. The
1!~ttcal Office (NSO) retained its full-year growth esamate final clearance was received on February 22, 2023, the NSE said
:r e economy at 7%. tn a statement. The Social Stock Exchange segment will provide
~c he NSO also revised the GDP contraction num?ers for new _avenue for_ s_oci_al enterpnses to finance social initiatives
~ ;ov1d-hit year of 2020-21, pegging the overall hit_ to the proVJde them v1S1bi!ity and bring in increased transp ·'
f d bili · .. . . arency m
~ t year at -5.7% as per Second Revised ESt1mates, un mo saaon and utilisaaon by social enterprises.
COl,fp
F:rfTioN SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023 31
 Un~er the rules, any social enterprise, ~on-Profit ECONOMY 1Nn1cA'l'oas
Oi;gamsation (N PO) or For-Profit Social Enterpnse _(FPSE),
that establishes its primacy of social intent can ge t listed _on 11
SSE segi:nent. For eligible N POs, the first step for onboarding : 6.,5.,,,
Starts With the registration on the Social Stock Ex':11ru:ige
segment. Post listing, N POs can initiate the fund mob1lisat1on Reverse Repo Rate : 6.So,
10
process b y issuance o f instruments such as Zero Coupon CasJ;i Reserve Ratio : 3.35%
Zero Principal (ZCZ P) throug h a public issue or private Statutory Liquidity Ratio : 4.s.,,,
placement.
Base Rate : ia.oo'I.
. Currently the regulations have prescribed the minimum issue
: 865-.f
size as Rs. I crore and minimum application size for (As on M.a;h ~ 4
subscription at Rs. 2 lakh for ZCZP issuance. For FPSE, the 2, 2oi~
pro c:ess of issue and listing of securities would be same as $369.25 billion, while imports increased
applicable for issue and listing of securities under the extant
$602.20 billion, the data showed. The merch andi 2 1-89%
pr~cesses of the exchange, based on eligibility criteria for the
for the April-January 2022-23 stood at_about S;;:adede6~'.
m am b_oa.rd, SME Platform or innovators growth platform,
as applicable in addition to the criteria provided to be eligible Export sectors th~t recorded negative growth 5_b11Ji 0n
10 months of April-January 2022-23 inc lude
J
unng th
as Social E nterprises. . an d lino1eum and g"ms enin
.
goods, iron ore, p Iastlc d ,;,•Oeen0e
Engineering exports dipped by 3.37% to $88.2? JeweneJ.
India A 'Bright Spot, To Contribute Af?ril-January 2?22-23. In the same period, gc rns ando_n dunng
15% Of 2023 Global Growth shipments declined_by 0.54% to $31.61 bil ii ,,n. On ~eweuery,
hand, sectors which recorded positive ·.;rowrh _e 0 ther
India continues to remain a relative "bright spot" in the petroleum pro~ucts, electr<;>nic goods, ,: ce, readtnclude
world economy, and will alone contribute 15% of the global g arments of textiles and chenucals. The over 11• exp Y-lllade
growth in 2023, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing and services) growth in the April-January .. ·· 122_ 23
orts. (g00ds
Director Ms. Kristalina Georgieva said in Washington on 17.3?/o. The main. engine behind this exp, , , grow~ abou, ,
February 22, 2023. "India's performance has been quite Services sector, which has been growing at ,, " is toricall ts the
impressive. For this year, we expect India to retain a high growth rate of about 30%. The country's m e; ,;rnndise high
growth rate, 6.8% for the year that ends in March (2023). For recorded a growth during April-January 20~ '.-23 in _Por~
FY 2023-24 (April 2023 to March 2024) we project 6.1 %, a global headwinds, political turmoil and rec "sionar;P~:e of
bit of slowdown like the rest of the world economy, but way amongst the major economies. nds
above the global average. And in that way, India is providing
about 15% of global growth in 2023," said Ms. Georgieva.
That is the fastest growth rate among major economies. While India's ~MerchandiS(;-,,ade -
digitisation pulled out the world's fifth-largest economy from ,,,-~_..::;_ US$ Billion;'!_
pandemic lows, prudent fiscal policy and significant financing
for capital investments provided in the Union Budget p @11 April- 3 April-
2023-24 will help sustain the growth momentum. l$ January January
'1.

~= g . I ,
·~ 2022 2023
Enumerating her reasons for why Indian economy remains
a bright spot in the world, Ms. Georgieva said that, for one, el:l January 2022 <D

the country has done really well to push the digitalisation that
has been already moving quite well as a major driver of
January 2023 ==- ' -
overcoming the impact of the pandemic and creating
opporrunities for growth and jobs. Second, India's fiscal policy

·= .~ ;
has been responsive to economic conditions. Ms. Georgieva
said that she was impressed by two things in the 2023-24
Union Budget presented by the Union Finance Minister
Ms. Nirmala Sithararnan. "The first one is how much care is 8 ~ ..: 8,,~, C
Exports Imports Trade .., Exports Imports Trade
placed on balancing development needs with fiscal
Balance Balance
responsibility in India. So, you have a budget that is realistic
So~ U y of Commerce & Industry .,,.,.__,, - K~K lnfographics'
on the revenue side with a focus on growth-supporting
spending. And secondly, the investment in capital expenditures, Gold imports during April-January 2022-23 contracted by
that is there to provide the Jong-term foundation for growth," 11.26% to $29 billion, as against $40.35 billion 10 the sam;
she said. period of 2021-22. In the 10 months of the current _fisc
2022-23, crude oil imports rose 53.54% to $178.45 b~f;,·
Exports Decline 6.59% In January Similarly, imports of coal, coke and briquettes rose by 18. 0
to $43.17 billion.
2023, Trade Gap Hits 12-Month Low
Contracting for the second month in a row, India's exports WPI Inflation Declines To 24-Month
Fall
dipped by 6.59% to $32.91 billion in January 20?3 due to Low Of 4. 73%; 8th Consecutive
slowdown in global demand, even as the trade deficit touc~ed . h India's
a 12-month low of $17.75 billion during the month, according Declining for the eighth consecutive mont ' d co
to official data released by the Union Ministry of Commerce · fl at10n
Wholesale Price In d ex (WPI) b ase d in · further
. easeo;, in
& Industry on February 15, 2023. Imports in January 2023 a 24-month low of 4. 73% in January 2023, agalll~; 4·95 sed 0 n
too contracted by 3.63%, the second cons~cutive month, to December 2022. The WPI inflation in January 20 ;apower,
$50.66 billion. Cumulatively, however, during April-January account of cheaper manufactured items, fuel an rimarilY
2022-23, the country's merchandise exports rose 8.51 % to . "Decline in the rate of inflation in January 202 3
-.::.=...=::.:.._______'.~________::__________________-;::;;-;:;;;-;;::;:-;:;:;~:-;,-:-;;:.ry:~REVIE;w.'APRIL 2023
-
32 COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW.
 -~-.<11 s & h
,i10•· crude petroleum & natural c Cfl1ica)
·' (tiles, " the Union Commerce & I gas, textiles Products,
:1-.M~' on Februan, 14 2023 ndustrv Mini and '.Ood
lin~age Was first conceived in 2018 when PM Mr. Modi had
,p- 111 ent
1 :!ilre . -,
• , . · strv- said in
1
\·1saed Singapore.
•• 111holesale c Au The UPI-PayNow linkage is a significant milestone in the
" In.dex , , ornrnodities
price Primary
Articles
~evelopment of infrastructure for cross-border payments
!Weight; 100%) et:we~n India and Singapore-which is among the major
(lase:2011-12=100 • @4JJ% coumnes sending remittances to India-and closely aligns

~II ~ii
(Weight:iz.62%)

9 1 With the G20's financial inclusion priorities of driving faster,

cheaper and more transparent cross-border payments. Cross-
border reffilttmces between India and Singapore amount to over
$!
2 billion annually. Of the total inward remittances to India in
( ~ 020-21, the share of Singapore stood at 5.7%, according to
the Reserve Bank of India Remittance Survey, 2021.
Fuel and M To begin with State Bank of India Indian Overseas Bank,
Power anufactured Indian Bank ancl ICICI Bank will fa~ilitate both inward and
!Weight 13., 5%) Products outward remittances while Axis Bank and DBS India will

~II ~II
@ 15.150l0 !Weight 64 23%) facilitate inward remittances, according to a statement by the
@ 2.99% RBI. For Singapore users, the service will be made available
through DBS-Singapore and Liquid Group, which is a non-
bank financial institution. The RBI said that more banks will
~,% •.n% ':_ be included in the linkage over time. Currently, Indian users
of the participating banks will be able to remit up to
Rs. 60,000 in a day using the mobile apps.
2
(JJan 2022 Ill Dec_20J. •. . . Jan 2023 _ @• Annual Rate of Inflation
., torDec 20,22 ~la~ 2023 are provisional
rcurw ·• · ' ·- - '
KBK I I
n
. ADB Pledges $25 Billion For India's
Inflation in food articles, however rose to 2 3 01, - J Infrastructure, Social, Green Needs
8 oa1nd anuary
,n23 from (-) 1.25% in December' 2022 In fuel
1/J , • 15 1501 d . . n power, The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has committed up to
;be inflaoon was . 10 unng January 2023. Inflation in $25 billion for the next five years to fund India's infrastruccu_re
;n211ufacmred pro~uct~ was 2.99% during the month, according creation under the PM Gati Shakti initiative as well as social
wthe data. ~flanon p~se~ was 2.41 %, while in vegetables development and climate action to help the country meet
.-as H26.481/o. Inflanon ill oil seeds was (-) 4.22% in January its priority development needs. In his meeting with
21123. Fuel and power basket inflation eased to 15.15% from PM Mr. Narendra Modi on February 21, 2023, ADB President
!&09% in December_2022. In Manufactured products, it was Mr. Masatsugu Asakawa conveyed ADB's intention to provide
l99% against 3.37% ill December 2022. $20-25 billion resources over five years to advance the
country's aspirations for fast, inclusive and green growth, ADB
said in a statement.
UPI Goes Global As India, Singapore Mr. Modi and Mr. Asakawa also discussed the ADB's
Launch Instant Fund Transfer Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) for India 2023-2027. ADB
is now finalising the new 5-year CPS following a
To enable faster remittances between India and Singapore, comprehensive stakeholder consultation process. ADB will
India's retail payment system Unified Payment Interface provide multifaceted support for India's key priorities,
(UPI) and its equivalent network in Singapore called including the important infrastructure push under the PM
Gari Shakti (National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity)
PayNow 21,were
February 2023. integrated on =:::::::;::;::;::;::;::;:;;;;;;;;:;;~;:::::===:::::;:==:::::::;;;;;;• • •..;
The linkage will
allow users from both countries
to access faster and more cost-
efficient cross-border remittances.

I
Mr. Shaktikanta Das, Governor
of Reserve Bank of India (RBI)
and Mr. Ravi Mohan, Managing
Director of the Monetary Authority
of Singapore, launched the facility
through token transactions using Institute of Hotel Management-Hyderabad
UPI-PayNow linkage. Prime
Minister Mr. Narendra Modi and
.A (An autonomousbodyunderMinistryofTourism,GOI)
IH IVH
lingapore's Prime Minister Mr. Lee ln•m:u1e al Hai.I Manag•m•nt
f-Row, DD Colony, Vldyanagar, Hyderabad- 500 007 (Telangana)
Ph: 040-27427569, (M) 8374787988
Hsien Loong virtually attended the Hv••·••·• E-mail:ihmhyd.principal@gmail.comWebsite:www.ihmhyd.org 11m1 -
bunch event.
Stating that the linkage is a "new lHM-Hyderabad,a premier Institute of India, offers the following
tra in cross-border fintech Hospitality Management Education Programmes:
~llnectivity'', Mr. Modi said that it llty & Hotel Administration (Ellglblllty: Class XII pass In any stream/appearing current
llill Provide a low-cost secure and > B.SC. students
In Hospltaare eIIg1"bl e) admitted through All India JEE 2023 conducted. by. NCHMCT, Noida
rtaJ_tirne option for c~oss border
t 111 ·
.1 tttances between India an
year
i
. r & Hotel Administration (Entry level Graduates In Hospitality
d > M.SC. in Hosprta 1'tt d through All India JEE conducted by NCHMCT, Noida
Craft courses .ina d1~ffer trades (Entry level Class X pass) admitted through merit basis.
Hillgapore. Singapore PM Mr. Lee >Management)
Sien Loong said the idea of the
eo::--."'Pf:rfT!ON SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 202
3
33
 initiative, building future cities mobilising domeS ti c ~so~es
and so,cngthcmng
. . . sernces
basic .' . di sa d ,-an-.,-
m MOf'd distncts. e
The green growdi agenda will drive ADB's India p r o ~
to help the countn· fulfil its global climate action comnuonents.
A.OB \\-ill focus o~ support-ino the decarbonisation of transport
and th e c Ican energy transition,
--~ . .
mclu ding ca~bon market
development and circular economy transition. Climate chan~
adaptation actions are planned through projects on floo
manag ement, coas tal protection, water use efficiency
improvement and agriculture value chain development.
ADB Started operations in India in 1986._ '.'s 0
December 31 , 2022 it had committed S52.28 bi~on m
soverei~ lending in ' the country and S6.75 billion tn noi:i-
sovereign lending and investment. ADB's current l nd ta
portfolio comprises 64 project5 worth about $16 billion across
th
e transpon, urban energy human development, agriculture
and natural resourc;s and finance sectors. Mr. Asakawa also
visited the ADB-fund~d Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapi? TranSlt
System Investment Project. Established in 1966, ADB 1s owned
Given the fact that vegetable prices a
seasonal volatility, the latest food infla~e the trio.
rather than season al pnce· pressures. WJ.u"On lJ.nc1eru ·"l'¼ •
•t 1,,,,
prices has added to the inflation Ptoble! a sha 0es s ~\
shows that non-food non-fuel prices , core 'Ji ~s1\;,
1 ·' I
at a higher than accepta bl e Ievels in thecontin lJ.e to inn'''IiiIQ 1,,
remained unchanged at 6.2% in Janu econo~. t1¾\
sixth consecutive month when it has b::~ ;023, ill0 1'tiQN
f bovethaltj~ \
GST Council Reaches C e 6\~,
To Create Trihuna1, Cu~~efls118 '
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) C ates
meeting on_ February 18, ?023, approvec1 ~~OciJ, in i
national tribunal mechamsm with stat be creati 4¾
redressal of disputes, cleared pending co~e enches ~nor.
announced new taxation · rates for ite~"'Pensabond,.· •or ,~ ,L'
sharpeners an d ra b (li qw·d Jaggery),
· ... s' .su ch as esal\l
along 0

b y 68 members--49 from the region.
Retail Inflation Shoots Up To 3-Month
High Of 6.52% As Food Prices Bite
Retail inflation, measured by Consumer Price Index (CPI),
accderated to a 3-month high in January 2023 on the back of
rising prices of cereals, eggs, meat, fish and milk, and reversed
the easing trend to pose a fresh challenge for policymakers.
Data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on
February 13, 2023 showed retail inflation rose an annual 6.52%
in January 2023, higher than 5.72% in December 2022 and
above the 6 % recorded in January 2021. Rural mflat1on
outpaced urban inflation, rising 6.9%. Urban _infl~tion wa~ at
6 % . The rise marks an end to the moderation m mflat1on
numbers in the months of November and December in 2022.
Retail Inflation
Based on Consumer Price Index
C> ,._
0:,
0:,
,.r;
Plug evasion in tobacco products. The Cou wiilth illeast0tJJ
propos_al· from th e mtru_stena
. . . 1 state panel nc thals res,.•
tightenmg norms for evasion-prone cornrnodi . at e
masala and gut)rn. To curb tax evasion by guite~ sue
specific levy will be worked out soon. 0 tnpallies,
"The Group of Ministers (GoM) repon on th '
of the GST Appellate Tribunal has been accepet;~tablis~
modifications tn the language that will be shared :th
s¼\i
following which a fmal_ draft _of the T nb uQaJ's settin S~lt\ th
be worked o_ut," {!mon Finance l\i inister l\fs. tupllj]
Sithararnan said while bnefing the m ed ia after th tni~,
meeting. The final draft of the frarnewo: k is likely t eb 0Un~
of the Finance Bill 2023. The governmen t expects th~A ea?art
Tribunal to be operational by the end o > .2023. Pi>dbtt
While address½1,g the policy matters, th-, Council also decicloi
to clear the entire d~es of GST com_: ,-:nsation pending ro
States. The ~entre will release Rs. 33,:y •,J crore to State,~
way of pending GST c~mpensa_tlon. T ;.; , includes Rs. 16,98)
e crore for June 2022 (entire pending pro·,. 1ona] compensatioo)
·along with ,fmal compensation of Rs. \ 6,52_4 crore to sii
States which have given calculat10 , certified by their
Accountant Generals.
Further, the Council also slashed the GST rate on pencil
sharpener from current 18% to 12%. J, also lowered the tn
rate on liquid form of jaggery or 'rab ' Cro m 18% to 5%,if

r ~ packaged and labelled and to zero if sold loose. Howeve~ th,

proposal of reducing GST on millet- b~:.ed health produm
has been deferred as the federal body die. not reach consensus
~ \
on the percentage of millet to be the p,, ,·r of health product
~- :\
'i. India's Fuel Demand Sees Sharpest
Rebound In February 2023
Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Jan*
.
India's fuel <;leman·d witnessed th e sh arpe st rebound
bydoubkin
2022 *Provisional February 2023 as petrol and diesel consumpoon r~se f January
ar;
2023
Sourc~: Ministry of Sratistics & Programme lmplemenralion KBK lnfographics digits after a winter lull in the prevtous mrt !6, 202).
2023, preliminary industry data s~owed 00/~on connes Ill
al · etail inflation trajectory is mainly a result of Petrol sales jumped almost 181/o to 1.2 04 million
The re~er~ 10 00 r rices with food inflation jumping from 1
the first half of February 2023, as compfare/ J~br~ary 2022[
increa~e
2o/c0 10 Decem b er P Z0.22 to 6% in January 2023. While a tonnes of consumption in the first h_al O d first half 0f
4. .c d mflatton · · If, w h at makes th e
. .
is n ot unprecedented m 1tse
·-
. . th f: th . Sales were 18.3% hi·gh er th an tn
· Covtd. - marre
the same pen·o<J.o
6% ,oo . . umber more concerrung 1s e act at It
i:: d mflatton ° · · bl · th February 2021 and 15.7% more than mu _6%,revers:
13 S.1°/om0 \ ,
latest ,oo . an l 1.?% contraction m vegeta _ e pnces- ey 2020. Month-on-month, the demand wasd fanen
is high despite 0, • the food basket of CPI-mJanuary 2023. the dip in the January 2023 when sales. ha hi ular moveme~,
h O
have as are .f15,om in• cereal inflation-at
• 1610, · 1s
. ,o, it · .
on-month because cold con di tlons cut ve tryc poste drniJlion
a ow
A continwng sur~-time high values seen in the first half Diesel, the most-used fuel in the c~u~ j to 3.33
dangerously dose_to in prices of milk and milk products
f 2 013. A sharp mchreased meat (6.3%) is the main reason
25% rise in sales during February 1 to
20
J.'
0222 Consumd000
tonnes, as compared to the same perir° F~~ruary. 202 1d~o.J"/0
7°/o
o d e~g, fis . an •_11,_ bl ·
( 8 • 8% \ an . food 10 flation despite fawJig vegeta e pnces. was up 16. 7% over the first half O cli sales surge
hi h th
behind a nse 10 g er an 2020. Mon th -on-mon th • ese I APRIL io?J•
COMPETITION succES
s REVIEW,
34
r 1
(llillion tonnes in the first half f
. . " hides again saw highest
~ 1 J:O z023, dies~I c~nsumption fell 8.Go~ i~nuary 2023. In Mr. Ra1csh Menon said: Passenger ve( ) and for the first
2O23
jll~ifl snowfall 10 hi&her reaches' halted tr nth-on-month e_vcr s_ales in the month_ ~f January kin jO months, from
~sis as ting the trend, 1et fuel (ATF) dem tk movement. time, 1t has crossed 3 million sales mar \ -1January
R,nee()()0 tonnes during the first half a1 tmped 43.7% th
April (2022) to January (2023) period." In ~ '1f~i ;~atches
ll z.94, mpared to the same period of 2~ ~bruary 2023 period of FY 2022-23 the total passenger ve . 10
- ·the
22 stood at 31 ,69,788 uni;s, up 32% from 24,03,12 uruts
+-llcJI cohan February 2021 but 12.8% lo •tht was 35.6%
::.her t
~:; Month-on-moo n
th ''TF al wer an Feb
s es were up 4 2201, . ~uary same period of FY 2021 -22.
~-- gas LPG sales were up 4. lo;,0 · 0· Stmilar!y,
ia0\;lon tonnes in Fe~ruary 1-15, 20 23. LJ~r-on-yea r_at Government Cuts Windfall Tax On
1J9 _7% higher than 10 February 2021 and ~~n~~pt1on Crude Oil, Aviation Fuel, Diesel
14
,1s . February 2020. Month-on-month th d ·. 1/o more
ibJ'1 iJl t2"/o when compared to 1 24 millio e ema nd was up The Union Government cut the wm ,w ax
· d'·" t on domestically
O5O er
~ ~prion during January 1-15, 2023, t;e t~~~e:h~~;JG produced crude oil to Rs. 4 350 per tonne from Rs. 5, P
tonne the .M.irustry
. - ' nott·fied m
of Fmance · an official order th
on
assenger Vehicle Sales Rise 17.23% In Febru~ry 16 2023. The government also slashed tax on
export of di~sel to Rs. 2.50 per litre from Rs. 7.50 per_litre, an
1
Jan• 2023 To Over 2.98 Lakh Units excise duty on aviation fuel (ATF) to Rs. 1.50 per li_tthre from
. wmdfall
- · Ii ne wt nsmg
Rs. 6 per litre. The cut m tax came m
,,dia's
JJ'
passenger vehicle
• d wholesales
. rose 17 •2301/,o m
- January international oil prices. The new rates come _into e_ffect from
~23 to 2,98,093 . uruts, nven by robust offtake of utility February 16, 2023. Petrol continues to have zero wtndfall tax.
,;c1es including the fast-growmg sports utili·ty hi 1 Windfall tax is levied by the Union Government on profits
,.e,• ' S · f 1 di ve c es made by crude oil producers on any price they ~et above a
. dustrY body oaety o n an Automobile Manufacturer;
;]AM)
t>:
said on February 13_, 2023. The overall passenger threshold of $75 per barrel. The Centre first levied windfall
(Chicle dispat~~ comhtf es to dealers was 2,54,287 units tax on oil companies on July 1, 2022. The government had
. Janua!Y 20 . ty ve c e sales rose to 1 49 328 units in levied a tax of Rs. 6 per litre each on petr?l and ATF, while on
january 2023 fro~ 1,16,962 units in January '2022. Similarly, diesel, it was Rs. 13 per litre. The tax is revtew~d ev~ry for~ght
assenger c_ar dispatches grew to 1,36,931 units from by the government and is changed on the ?as1s of mternatto_nal
\,Z6,693 units. Wholesales_ o~ vans also increased to oil prices. The Union Budget 2023-24 estunated the collection
li,834 untts from 10,632 uruts m the year-ago period. The from windfall tax at Rs. 25,000 crore in FY 2022-23.
pissenger _ca~ner segment witnessed the biggest growth at
J1 061 untts m January 2023 from 16,592 units in the year- India's Imports From Russia Rise
period.
.
,-... , "". . .• - - '' ..~~-~~;:f.~.. :~
Five Times In April-Jan. 2022-23
India's imports from Russia jumped about five times to
. tehicle Sale-$ in lndia~~,':~l~: ,; "$37.31 billion during April-January 2022-23 ,.on account of
Totalnum~er of uni.ts s'o_ld ,;i[j_J . .. . ..,~ increasing inbound shipments of crude oil from that country,
II ian 20_22: 14,19,35;4 1!1111 )an 20~: 15~.447 :.: •I' ' showed the data released by the Union Commerce & Industry
•3.81%
.\ • 102.26%
Ministry on February 15, 2023. In 2021-22, Russia was India's
A 8.08% 18th largest import partner, accounting for $9.86 billion of

I
imports. Russia has become India's fourth largest import source
i
s ,' during the 1O-month period of April-January 2022-23.
India's appetite for Russian crude oil in January 2023 rose to
~!3
-
1
. • . .1 ........ .I ,C:';!; _
= i
P,

;:.
Passenger · ,f Two j· Three ,,
' ca_rs· ·• . ~'{"[Wheeler.s ---~ h~e!~~ ''.<I
:\ _
~~ ce: SJAM
•sMW, J,ftrcedes. Toto MotOrs & Volvo Auto
•' data not avoifoble ,,
Total two-wheeler wholesales in January 2023 rose 4% to
11,84,379 units from 11,40,888 units in the January 2022.
Scooter dispatches grew to 3,76,035 units in January 2023 from
3M,299 units in January 2022. Motorcycle wholesales were
hlgher at 7, 71,621 units in January 2023 as compared to 7, 43,804
IIJUts in January 2022. Moped sales rose to 36,723 uI_1.1tS from
35,785 units in the year-ago period. Three-wheeler di~patches
In January 2023 surged over two-(old to 48,903 uruts from
24,178 units in January 2022. Total wholesales across passenger
~ehicles, two-wheelers and three-wheelers rose to 15,31,447 units
In January 2023 from 14,19,354 units in January 2O 22·
cSIAM President Mr. Vinod Aggarwal noted that better
v~~surner sentiment is driving the demand_ for passenger
des. Elaborating further on sales, SIAM Director General
Co1,tp;;ET::::=n=-o-N_S_UC_C..::E:...SS_RE_V_JE_W_,_ AP_R_IL_2_02".".3~--------------------------35
1
,ti
_
·
1 1
·- unseen levels, continuing to remain above traditional middle
eastern suppliers for the fourth month in a row, as refiners rushed
to snap up plentiful cargoes available at a discount. From a
market share of less than 1% in India's import basket before the
start of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Russia's share of India's
imports rose to 1.27 million barrels per day in January 2023
•
,
taking a 28% share, according to energy cargo tracker Vortexa'.
India, the world's third-largest crude importer after China and
the_ Uruted States, has been snapping Russian oil that was
available at a discount after some countries in the West shunned
it as a means of punishing Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine.
The 1Jinistry data sho_w~d that imports from China rose by
a?out 91/o to _$83.76 billion dunng April-January 2022-23.
S1milarly, the imports from UAE increased by 23.53% to
$4!-3 billion. India'.s _imports. from the US grew by about
251/o to $42.~ btlhon during April-January 2022-23 .
Exp_orts to China, however, _dipped to $12.2 billion during
April-January 2022-23 as agamst $18.4 billion during April-
January 2021-22.
O_n the export front, the US has emerged as the to
desttnatl_on for Indian exporters during the 10-month peri 0 d.
ac~ountt.ng fo~ 17.71 °/? of the country's total outbou nd
sh1~ments dunng Apr~-January 2022-23. Exports to the
US 1;11creased to $65.4 billion as against $62.27 billion durin
Apnl-Janua~y_ 2021-~2. Exports to the UAE increase~
to $25.71 b1lhon during April-January 2022-23 as ·
$22.35 billion in the year ago period. ' agamst
 2.6%. As per_ use-based classificatio
·
Gross Direct Tax Collecuon Grows "144.8 for pnmary goods, 100 fio n, the .
intermediate . goo d s and 166 .Gr cap· f lta] <>lt)..i,
"-1te I
24% To Rs. 15.67 Lakh Crore construction goo s urmg ecernb or tnft
· d "d · D · <>0 oq s 1 1,."¾I
.
Gross Dtrect .
ns grew 24o1/o to Rs · 15.67 lakh Further, the indices for consumer eJ 2022, 8tt~t151.J \ · th
Ta." collectio Union
:~r/;,
Finance Mirustry said o n February_ 11 , 2023. Afte
23
~ o re as o f _~bruary 10, 2023 for the FY 2022- •rU:«;rusting
lakh Js
non-durables st~d a_t 109. 7 and
month under re~ew, tt add_ed. For A
173
UtabJe 8 e cl.a.~
respe~Q c
0
J
country's industrial output is up 5.4o/cp ·Dece.,..f:i\.beiy ,11~, ·
~r,.~
fo r refunds., the net direct ta.'I. co llect10n stood a_t Rs. 12· about th fi o on a ·•• e
crore, a growth o f 18.40% . The net collections are_ fi down from 15 •3 01/0 •
10 e rst eight rn Year. t 2o'Or ¾
7 . . . - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - o n t h s of 0 n.Y 2
ea/•¾
9% o f Revised Estimates (RE) of direct taX c~c~3I2-~l
fi scal 2022-23. The revised estimates for the . th RBI Raises Repo Rate l3 t'Y201~\
~ ed direct ta.'I. revenues at Rs. 16.50 lakh crore, high~r .
the Budget Estimates of Rs. 14.20 lakh crore. "The provts~~; Points To 6.5% Frolll Y 25 llas-
figures of direct tax collections up to 10th Febr~ary, 3 6-250;, Is
continue to register steady gro wth. Direct tax collections up to Monetary Policy Committee CMPC) led b 0
1 of India raised the country's policy rate b Ythe Iles
0 th February, 2023 show that gross collections are at
Rs. 15.67 lakh crore which is 24.09% higher than the gross its last policy re~iew of the fiscal year Y25 basiservi ¾I
collections for the corresponding period of last year," the moderating ~flatlon. The panel increased%;' 2022S~1ti~~
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBD1) said in a statement._ key rate at which the RBI lends short-terrn fun repo tat ) ¾iii
In the FY 2022-23 the revenues from direct tax (which banks, to 6.5%_fro~ 6.2~%. With this, the r ds toc0 ~ 0r~e
include income and cdrporate taxes) are projected to grow_by hiked for the sixth time 10 a row. The rep epo tate h Crciaj
over 17% compared to 2021-22 fiscal when the collection was taken by a majority of four out of the 0 . rate hike das bte,
was Rs. 14.08 lakh crore. Between April 1, 2022 to February 10,
2023, the growth rate for g ross Corporate Income Tax (CI1)
5
MPC in its meetin~ h~ld f~om February t:elllbers:~510n f
Committee ~so ,mamtamed Its P?licy ,tance at, 8: 2023. ~ e
and g ross Personal Income Tax (P11) collections was 19.33% accommodation to ensure that tnflar;,m r _Wtthdra,'a] e
and 29.63%, respectively. After adjustment of refun?s, the target going forward while supporting :~row~ains \1/ithin ~:
net growth in CIT collections is 15.84% and that m ~IT
collections is 21.23% (PIT including ST1). Refunds ~ounnng
to Rs. 2.69 lakh crore have been issued during April 1, 2022
and February 10, 2023, which are 61.58% higher than refunds
issued during the same period in 2021-22.

IIP Growth Slows Down To 4.3%

ln Decen:iber 2022
India's iqdustrial growth, as per the Index of Industrial
Production (IIP), declined to 4.3% in December 2022,
according to the data released by the National Statistical Office
of the Union Ministry of Statistics and Programme
Implementation on February 10, 2023. Industrial growth in
December 2021 was 1 %. At 4.3%, the latest UP growth figure
- ---3.35
'a
Per cent change in.[ndex .o f_Industrial ProdugiQ} \
over co~responding. mooch: of the prev(ous S(~_a·I){~
) : A::
A.IJg. D~<:. ,, · .
lJun" Sep Feb
1· ' ; '1 3~I ;
_ · 4 -~'s:~::;~10 4 ., •.s 7
·WQ ; o~~':::
1

-~ -: , _H·N@OM_mfflMffiiMiirM , r O
Mat . "Q ct Feb ' 1ay•,'A~g Dec

t~ i:: Weight: 100 Weight 77 .633

;,"tf~J%9 2,b "' '
•RBI
2 021 ,'U,.•>
· ~'.'1,li<.' ,
20i22 2023
:-<KBK lnlographics

::..:, , ,, ., : 1:i , :i I :' Explaining the MPC's rationale fo r :he decisions o.n th~

: • : 12.6 ·.;;,II -Ii

Dec Apr-Dec • Dec
Ii:
Apr-Dec ,
Policy rate and the stance RBI Governor Dr. Shaktikan
Das said "Unprecedented events
,
' of the last three years have
put to test monetary policy across the world. Emergmg .
. mar t
ke

economies are facing sharp tradeoffs betwee? suppo:~

Weight: ,14.373 Weight: 7.994 economic activity and controlling inflation while pres;s the

~i'.~, I ai I.•:::i ii
policy credibility." ' 'Amidst volatile global ~evelopmden ;bile
I n di an economy remains . res ili.ent. L 0 oking ahea , to
. . likely
inflation is expected to moderate in 2023- 24 •~onrinuing d
,/ ,.!;, :/ M',, / ./.,/ ,t, /sl, rule above the 4% target. The outlook is cloude Ycial rnarket
Dec Feb . Agr . • Jun Aug Oct Dec Dec Apr-Dec Dec Apr-Dec uncertainties from geopolitical tensions,_global t~atile crude
2022 volatility, rising non-oil commodity pn~es .;0 in 1ndia 15
2021.,. , . . .. . ·.. - 2~Z,1-22 . .2022:23 -~. oil prices. At the same time, econonuc acttVI wth
KBK lntogra ti,cs · · .....
expected to holq up well", he added._ d a GDP ~o it
. l 7 3%, the revised number for_ November 2022.
well be ow · howed that the manufacturmg sector's output For the FY 2023-24, the RBI ~roJecte retail infla 000 .
1s
The data fur:~r
6 0 1 sDecember 2022. Electricity sector recorded
rate of 6.4%. The RBI also proiected he pY 20 2 24 !¢h
grew by 2. ~ . in December 2022, with a growth of 6.5% for FY 2022-23 and 5.3% f:e~ted GDP gr~
the highest pro dcio:uning at 9.8% and manufacturing at Also for FY 2022-23 the RBI has pr J .
10.4% , followe Y ' ' 023
at 7%. .,,.JJ ,4]'//lL 2

. ESS REVlr, "'

COMPETITION SUCC
36

d
 •Who? What? When?
:where? Why? How?
Who is Mr. Ajay Banga, nominated b
the US to lead the World Bank? Y satellites. Surveillance balloons
Mr. Ajay B~ga is an Indian-American business leader who
has beendnorrunMratJed bB~dthe US to lead the World Bank. The
US Prest ent . oe 1 en on February 23 2023 a
th , nnounce
at Mr. Banga is uniquely equipped
to le_ad the global institution as its
President at this critical moment.
Once confirmed by the World Bank
Board of Directors,_ Mr. Banga would
b~ the first-ever Indian-American and
Sikh-American to head either of the
tw~ top international financial
IIlSt:J.tut:J.ons-International Monetary
Fund and the World Bank.
~r. Bang~, 63, is currently serving
as V1_ce-Chau:man at General Atlantic.
a Ban a Previously, he was President and CEO
L - - - - - - - - ' . o~ Mastercard. He has spent more
than thr7e decades buil~g and managing successful global
comparues that create Jobs and bring investment to the
de~eloping economies, and guiding organisations through
penods of fundamenral change. Over the course of his career,
Mr. Banga ha~ become_ a glob~ leader in technology, data,
financial services and mnovat:J.ng for inclusion. He is the
Honorary Chairman of the International Chamber of
Commerce.
Mr. Banga is also a member of the Trilateral Commission,
a founding trustee of the US-India Strategic Partnership
Forum, a former member of the National Committee on
United States-China Relations, and Chairman Emeritus of
the American India Foundation. He was conferred the Padma
Shri in 2016. He was also awarded the Foreign Policy
Association Medal in 2012, the Ellis Island Medal of Honour
and the Business Council for International Understanding's
Global Leadership Award in 2019, and the Distinguished
Friends of Singapore Public Service Star in 2021.
What are spy balloons and why are they
used?
A United States fighter jet shot down a suspected Chinese
surveillance balloon on February 4, 2023 that had been
drifting across American airspace for days. Subsequently, three
other such takedowns by the US military came in North
American airspace--on February 10, 2023 on sea ice near
Deadhorse, Alaska; on February 11, 2023 in the Canadian
Yukon; and on February 12, 2023 off the shore in Lake
Huron. Spy or surveillance balloons are typically advanced
balloons equipped with high-tech, downward-pointing
imaging gear. In the satellite age, spy balloons offer close-
range monitoring. The balloons are sometime~ release_d in
sky subject to weather patterns but can be eqwpped wtth a
"guiding apparatus" to control their path. While satellites
remain the preferred method of spying from overhead,_the
lower-flying balloons, which hover at about the same_he1ght
as commercial airlines fly, can typically take clearer tmages
COMPET/TfON SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023
than the lowest orbiting
can also be capable of
gathering electronic signals and
intercepting communications.
d
Balloons have a fairly long
history of being used for the
purpose of spying, especially
during the wars. Primitive
forms of surveillance balloons
came into use in the 1800s.
France used crewed balloons for surveillance in the Franco-
Austrian war in 1859. Crewed and tethered balloons were
again used during the US Civil War, which stretched from
1861 to 1865. Surveillance balloons became more common
in World War I and II. During the latter war, the Japanese
military used balloons to loft incendiary bombs into the US
territory. No military targets were damaged, but several
civilians were killed when one of the balloons crashed in an
Oregon forest. Just after World War II, the US military
started exploring the use of high-altitude spy balloons, which
led to a large-scale series of missions called Project Genetrix.
Under the programme, photographic balloons were flown
over Soviet bloc territory in the 1950s.
How did a small town of Erzin survive
the deadly earthquake in Tiirkiye?
When a 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated southern
and central Tiirkiye as well as northern and western Syria
on February 6, 2023, a small town in Tiirkiye, called Erzin,
survived the earthquake like an oasis of stability near the
Mediterranean .
While the earth
was shattered and
buildings were
· razed, and the
towns and cities
turned into tombs
of concrete all
around, Erzin was
spared casualties and suffered only minor damage. In Erzin,
wtth a population of 41,677 people, no one died and not a
single building fell. Erzin lies less than SO miles from the
earthquake's epicentre, closer than cities to the south like
Iskenderun, much of which was reduced to a rubble' and
Antakya, which was badly hit, with a major fire at the 'port
seawater flooding the streets, and apartments and shop;
destroyed.
Engineers and scientists attribute Erzin's survival to a
variety of factors, including better construction that adhered
to the )atest seismic codes and its advantageous location.
According to the geomorphologists, soil condition was the
main rea~on why E_rzin did not suffer heavy damage. Many
of the cities and_ villages tn the region were built atop the
layers of sand, silt and clay of an ancient riverbed. Those
soft, water-laden sediments made the cities and towns
uniquely vulnerable to earthquakes. In contrast, Erzin stands
higher above sea level and is built on hard ground comprising
207
 bedrock and coarser grains than sand. The hard soil acted
as a shock absorber between structures and quake's waves.
Secondly, the authorities in Erzin strictly enforced Tiirkiye's
long-existing seismic codes for builders and did not allow ·•-lot•r4 ::" •·'--...
illegal construction at any cost, which was not the case m
other Turkish towns and cities where lax law enforcement ! t.OOM ·• ~00~- !...o_ ~-- - - ,,;1{:i~
~ "'W-'...,_,, , . ., .... .
has_played a key role in the devastation. Many of the local ,-.'!_ E,r,p-. ~t.•tt,....&.,jld1~~. ~;,:;=.,!
-:_...~ ;_i~-LANDMAR~
residents spoke about how this earthquake was a testament ~ MERSIVEWORL~J:~ -~ - • • ~=---··. : . .- , ( ~5~
. 'f~tht ~ riu,.,
·~- -s::-; ol ~•dh
to the good work done by the town's engineers.
::}~]/~ ,, -~~:,:_~=;~ :;,~· · ..
Where is a cube-shaped supercity ~""~--~
Mukaab being built? !(-l,.. ''·. ., - (" n'ewrnur,1bba .corn
\~, ~-:.. a
Saudi Arabia, on February 16, 2023, unveiled its grand plan of entertainment and culture venue~. There will also be
to build "world's first immersive, experiential" cit):, called 1.8 million sq. metres of space dedicated to community
Mukaah-"cube" in Arabic-in central Riyadh. It will stand facilities. The cubic shape of th~ Mukaab _has_ been highlighted
400 metres high, wide and long, big enough to hold 20 Emp1'.e as a measure to ensure the ultJ.mate utilisatJ.on of space. An
State Buildings, according to the Saudi kingdom's Public immersive experience will be created 1ns1de the cube using
Investment Fund (PIF). The Mukaab, set to be completed latest digital technology and hologr~phy. ~t the centre wi]J
by 2030, will be at the heart of the New Murabba Pro1ect, be a tower atop a sp~al bas~ which will J:>e a premium
a plan to create "the world's largest and modern downtown"
hospitality destinatio_n with ret~, cultural, tourist, commercial
in the capital Riyadh. This is the latest among a string of
and luxury residentJ.al attractions.
ambi_tious architectural projects planned and undertake? _by
The Mukaab will be built using the 11_l<?dern Najdi
Saudi Arabia as a pan of its Vision 2030, aimed at revolutJ.orusmg
the country's economy and lifestyle. architectural style-a twist_ on ~he. trad1t1onal N ajdi
Spread over 19 sq. km, the new Murabba project will be architectural style from the Na1d region 1n the centre <) f the
built around the concept of sustainability and will add S~ Arabian peninsula. This architectural style was perfected over
180 billion (roughly $47 billion) to Saudi Arabia's non-oil generations to be best suited for the region's desert climate-
GDP. As a highlight of this project, the Mukaab will its design focusses on naturally controlling the climate inside
house over 1,00,000 residential units, 9,000 hotel rooms and the s~ucture. Hence, the cube shape is not just yet a, other
1.4 million square metres of office space as well as dozens futuristic concept for a city as it will also serve a fun • , ional
purpose by limiting energy requirements inside it.

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D

Rs. 300
208
COMPET~Ess REVIEW, APRIL 20
23

ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2023
Australia Wins Unmatched 6th Title
Australia won the Women's T20 World Cup for the 6th
time when they beat hosts South Africa by 19 runs in the
final at Newlands Cricket Ground, Cape Town, on
February 26, 2023. Australia won the toss and decided to
bat first, after which a blistering half-century by opener Beth
Mooney led to the Australian team putting a total of
156 runs on the scoreboard in 20 overs. Mooney played
an innings of 74 runs off 5_3 balls with the help of 9 fours
and 1 six. Apart from Mooney, Ash Gardner scored 29 runs
off 21 balls, including 2 fours and 2 sixes. For South Africa,
Marijne Kapp took 2 wickets for 35 runs while Shabnim
Ismail also took 2 wickets for 26 runs.
Chasing a decent total of 156, star South African batter
Laura Wolvaardt smacked 61 runs off 48 deliveries studded
with 5 fours and 3 sixes. But soon after she departed off
Megan Schutt, the hosts were restricted to 137 for 6 in 20
overs. Eventually, Schutt (1 /23), Darcie Brown (1 /25),Jess
Jonassen (1/21 in 3 overs) and Ashleigh Gardner (1/13)
shattered South Africa's hopes to win their maiden World
.. Cup title. Mooney won the Player of the Match award while
Gardner's outstanding performance with her 10 wickets and
110 runs playing a huge part in Australia's triumphant
campaign, won her the Player of the Tournament award.
ATHLETICS
Maharashtra Tops The Medals Tally At
5th Khelo India Youth Games
Maharashtra emerged the overall champion at the fifth
edition of the Khelo India Youth Games, hosted by Madhya
Pradesh in eight cities namely Bhopal, Indore, Jabalpur,
Gwalior, Ujjain, Maheshwar, Mandla and Balaghat from
January 31 to February 11, 2023, by securing a total of 161
medals comprising 56 gold, 55 silver and 50 bronze medals.
Haryana came at the second position by getting a total of
128 medals comprising 41 gold, 32 silver and 55 bronze.
Host Madhya Pradesh finished third with 96 medals
comprising 39 gold, 30 silver and 27 bronze medals.
CRICKET
Ben Stokes Shines With Most Sixes
In Test Cricket
England captain Ben Stokes etched his name in history
books, displacing former New Zealand cricketer Brendon
McCullum as the batter with most sixes, when he smashed
two sixes in the first Test of two-match England vs New
Zealand series on February 18, 2023. Stokes now has 109
stxes against his name in 90 Tests while McCullum has 107
sixes in 101 Test matches. With 100 sixes, former Australian
wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist is the only other player in
Test cricket to have maximums in three figures. He was
also the first player in history to reach 100 Test sixes. Chris
Gayle of West Indies is 4th with 98 sixes, followed by
South African Jacques Kallis with 97 sixes.
¼: 811' COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023
iP
.
a
i& " .•
Australian team refoices grand victory in
ICC Women} T20 World Cup 2023.
Earlier, Australia had won the ICC Women's T20 World
Cup in 2010, 2012, 2014, 2018 and 2020. In between, the
West Indies had stopped the Australian juggernaut, becoming
the 2016 champions in India. With the 6th title triumph,
Australia completes a hat-trick of tournament wins under
captain Meg Lanning after their victory in 2018, 2020 and
2023.
New Zealand Pulls Off 1 Run Sensational
Victory To Level Series 1-1 Against England
The elusive drama of the Test cricket was at its very best
when New Zealand edged past England by a mere 1 run
in what turned out to be a sensational victory in second and
last Test of the series at Wellington, New Zealand, on
February 28, 2023. The win ranks as the second-closest
victory in the history of Test cricket. The New Zealand team
also became only the fourth team in Test cricket after England
(in 1894 and 1981) and India (in 2001) to win a Test after
being forced to follow-on. New Zealand was made to follow
on in this Test match after they could score just 209 in
response to England's massive first innings total of 435/8.
On the final day full of twist and turns, England looked all
set to win, needing only 258 runs. But it was bowled out
for 256, with Neil Wagner doing the bulk of damage with
3 wickets and Matt Henry had two in his name as well. The
thrilling win helped New Zealand to level the series 1-1. Kane
Williamson with his 133 runs in both the innings won Man
of the Match award. New Zealand had lost the series-opening
match by 267 runs. With 329 runs and 1 wicket, England's
Harry Brown was adjudged the Man of the Series.
Saurashtra Beats West Bengal To Bag Second
Ranji Trophy Title
Saurashtra thrashed West Bengal by 9 wickets in the summit
clash to clinch Ranji Trophy 2022-23 title, their second, at
the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 19, 2023. Having
given away a big first innings lead of 230 runs, Bengal, who
were overnight 169 / 4 in their second innings, folded for
241, handing the visitors a mere 12 runs target to win the
209
 M:essi, Putellas Win FIFA's
1Sl'OIITSRU$. ' Best Player Of 'fhe Year 2022
.. . ....7
final. Saurashtra eventually went past the target, reaching
14 for 1 in 2.4 overs, to wrap up the match wi~ one day ,.
and two full sessions to spare. Saurashtra captain Jaydev
Unadkat won the Man of the Match award for his match ; ®l . ~•I\
figures of 9 wickets for 129. His teammate Arpit Vasava~a ;;:,; ,n: wljf i·,:1..-• •·
·._ '1 --- ·· ,·
won the Man of the Series for his 907 runs. Saurashtra s
·-
earlier triumph was in 2019-20 season. I
GOLF
··'}1
•,\ ~ India's Aditi Ashok Wins Kenya -
Ladies Open
Indian golfer Adi ti Ashok turned in one
of the most dominating performances on jc~
the Ladies European Tour with a nine-shot . '\ ,
I /4..
win at the Magical Kenya Ladies Open on -I.Jone/ Messi and Alexia Putel/as
February 5, 2023. She won with a final
rol!Ild score of 74. It was a fourth win on
the Ladies European Tour (LET) for the Argentina's World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi
Indian, who now plays mostly on the Ladies won FIFA's Men's Player of the Year ?022 a_t the
aattz A rnnjO
1 - - ----··.:..-·.:..·__J PGA in the United States. Best FIFA Football Awards 2022 held ID Pans on
February 27, 2023. The 35-year-old beat Fre~ch forwards
HOCKEY Kylian Mbappe and Karim Benzema to wm ~e pr•ze.
Messi captained Argentina to World Cup glory ID Qa Jr,
Hockey Madhya Pradesh Wins Senior National and scored 27 goals in 49 games for club and cour. ry
Women's Hockey Championship in 2021-22. This is the second time Messi has won 1e
Hockey Madhya Pradesh defeated Hockey Maharashtra award, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo and Ro b . rt
5-1 to win the 13th Hockey India Senior Women National Lewandowski's massive feat at the FIFA awards. Spa 's
Championship at Kakinada, Andhra Pradesh, on Alexia Putellas, who won the Ballon q'Or in 2022, 1 1s
February 27, 2023. Hockey Madhya Pradesh lived up to their named FIFA's Women's Player of the Year 2022 for ,e
top billing, conceding only 3 goals in the tournament. Hockey
second time in a row.
Jharkhand finished 3rd after they defeated Hockey Haryana
2-1 in the third-place game. Among individual award winners Argentina's head coach Llonel Scaloni won the B ;t
of the tournament, Saroj Minj (Captain, Hockey Jharkhand) Men's Coach Award, Emiliano Martinez won the B :r
won the Best Goalkeeper, Pratibha Arya (Hockey Madhya Men's Goalkeeper Award and the Argentine fans ,,. -~
Pradesh) the Best Defender, Manashri Narendra Shedage the Best Fan Award for the first time. The Best Womt
(Hockey Maharashtra) the Best Midfielder and Albela Rani Goalke~per was Mary Earps of England and the B t
Toppo (Hockey Jharkhand) the Best Forward awards. Womens
E 1 d' Coach Award, . went to San·na w·1egman f-
ng an s womens national team The B W .
Goalkeeper was Mar E O
f . est ome.
SHOOTING Women's C h A y arps England and the B ,
oac ward went t s · •
With 4 Gold, India Tops Medals Tally E~gland's women's national tea:: Tanna _Wiegman f
At ISSF World Cup 2023 Winner was Luka Lochoshvili 0 f.Ghe ~rur Play Aw,
eorgia.
Team India concluded a successful outing at the ISSF
World Cup 2023 in Cairo, Egypt, which concluded on 2023. The day was a historic one for India as the ~Ol .ry
February 23, 2023. They topped the medal standings with hosted its maiden ABB FIA Formula E World Champ1orc ·;1p
7 medals, comprising 4 gold and 3 bronze. Hungary emerged race in the beautiful city of Hyderabad near Hussain S 1c;ar
as the second best with 3 medals (2 gold and Lake. It was a hard-fought victory for Vergne, who man:, ed
1 silver) while Italy and Switzerland were tied for the third to fend off a stiff challenge from Envision Racing dw, of
spot. For India, Rudrankksh Balasaheb Patil (Men's 10m air Nick Cassidy and Sebastien Buemi, the Season 2 champ:,1n.
rifle) and Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar (Men's 50m rifle However, Buemi was penalised after the race and TAG
three position) won 'individual gold, while two other gold Heuer Porsche Formula E Team's Antonio Felix da Costa
medals came in 10m air rifle and 10m air pistol mixed ~ook the third positi?n behind the second-placed Cassidy.
events. Varun Tomar (Men's 10m air pistol), Tilottama Sen The W111 was Vergne s 11th in Formula E race.
(Women's 10m air rifle) and Anish Bhanwala (Men's 25m
rapid fire pistol) won bronze medals for the country. TENNIS
MOTOR RACING Daniil Medvedev Wins Qatar Open Title
World No. 8 Russia's Daniil M:edvedev defeated former
Jean-Eric Vergne Wins 2023 Greenko World No.I Andy Murray of England in straight sets 6-4,
Hyderabad E-Prix 6-4 in the Qatar Open final at the Centre Court in Doha
DS Penske's Jean-Eric Vergne Von won the 2023 Greenko on February 25, 2023 to win his second ATP title in a
Hyderabad E-Prix (kv ·nd 4 of Season 9) on February 11, week. With his 17th career title, the 27-year-old moved up
one place to 7th in the new World rankings. [!IiliJ

210
COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 20lJ
 . Giorgia Melani
ersons In News
Italy's newly-elected Prime Minister r, novelist and
Ms. G iorgia Melani, was a surprising , a Hungaria
DO" oa ar Shukla joined
e, stirred up
Chief Guest h e small list
or nets' ne
' -~ at the Raisina f globally-cele-
ith his highl
i ' Dialogue, India's rated Hindi
, ;r ..._
~- -' aded commen
premier geopolitics - I ·tterateurs when
bout India at th
and geo-economics e recei ved the
unich Securi
conference, held 023 P EN /
onference o
in New D elhi on abokov Award
ebruary 1
March 2, 2023.
She also held talks
·ft·.
4 1' 023. Whi
said th "' - " ) j lO r Achievement
Internati onal
on bilateral and . ' ~ -.J iterature on
. "Mr. Modi's oa Ntma
Giorgia MelomJ gl_o b al . iss~es stro ngh o ld on .. , "-"la
ebruary 28, 2023.
with her Indian [ George Soros I The 87-year-old is
counterpart Mr. Narendra Modi and I ndia's federal
government" will weaken and "open known for his novels like Naukar J(j
the two countries decided to elevate Kameez and poetry collections like Sab
their relationship to the level of the door to push for much needed
institutional reforms", he was dismissed Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega. Mc S_hukla's
strategic partnership and also signed
as an "old, rich, opinionated and work is lauded for Its d1 sttnc t1 ve
an MoU on defence cooperation.
dangerous" person by none other than linguistic texture and emotional depth.
S. Abdul Nazeer India's External Affairs Minister Mr. S.
J a.ishankar. Salman Rushdie
Former judge of the Supreme Court,
Indian-orig.in writer Mr. Sal man
Mr. Justice S. Abdul Nazee r was P.T. Usha
appointed as the Rushdie has come up with his first bouk
Governor of After being nominated as a member months after being
Andhra Pradesh of the Upper House, India's for mer grievously injured
on February 12, f :.."~ 1: much-celebrated by a yo ung
2023. He hogged international athlete religious fanatic in
the limelight "-it and coach New York . His
,:, . \
"· ,.. ., Ms. P.T. Usha new novel 'Victor
for being appoin-
chaired th e City' is a fiction-
ted to the ;, -,~ t,
gubernatorial post
meeting of the .•: ali sed telling of
---•• ---
Rajya Sabha briefly the story of Vija-
just after a month
on Fe bruary 8, f,
of his retirement ~j:\.,. yanagara Kingdom, Sa/man Rushdie
2023 as she has ' -
from the apex
•.
t:JtJaut 1\J a<>'l)I)
been selected for
' \ . "':.-·-.
' :_i n arrated by a ~-
I-----:--=---
sorcere ss and poet named Pa m;•
court, though he was the 4th retired the panel of Vice- Kampana, who over more than t\1
judge of the Supreme Court to be
made Governor in the history of
,.,~.s
Chairpersons of .___ _ _ _ ___,
the Hou se. Initially a bit nervous,
centuries witnessed Vijayanagara's mai
independent India. victories and defeats. He again creat,
Ms. Usha was greeted by the members magical characters, situations and nar
by thumping of the desks when she tives to bring to life an ancient Emp1••-
Gautam Adani sat on the Chair to manage the that lasted more than three centurie,
India's most-celebrated billionaire proceedings.
industrialist Mr. Gautam Adani slipped Prabhat Koli
to the 30th spot, Virat Kohli At the young age of 23, India11
from 2nd just a India's ace cricketer Mr. Virat Kohli swimmer Prabhat Kali achieved the ran
:..-..
,~.,., month ago, in the became the fastest batter to complete feat of completin,1;
global rich li st 25,000 international
-~J_,,...J the highly testing
' ,.,lilr w with his net worth run s in Test Ocean Seve n,
dropping below cri.cket during the an inten sely-
$40 billion on match against contested open-
~ \
February 2 7, -~\;11 Australia in water swimming
2023. The acute New D elhi o n challenge, on
damage to th e February 19, March 5, 2023,
. share prices of
llJ
Gautam Adam Ih is Group
2023. He reached
the land mark in
thus becoming
the youngest person
companies was caused by a US-based .\~ 549 international ~ abhat Kofi i ever to do so. The
sh ort-seller firm Hindenburg matches , going . long distance
Research's report that accu~ed the
!:J
Viral Kohli
past Mr. Sachin swimmer _completed the challenge
conglomerate of indulging . in Tendulkar who achieved the feat in by sw1mrrung a distance of 28 km in
stock manipulation and acco un ting 577 Tests. He is only the 6th batsman to 8:41 hours across the Cook Strait in
fraud. reach 25,000-run mark in Test cricket. New Zealand in challenging weather
conditions. g
218
COMPETITION SUCCESS REVIEW, APRIL 2023