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

Welcome to the Endeavor Editors’ Weekly Current Affairs Choicest Blog series. Get a weekly roundup – of news from business, economy, markets, policy, and more. A quick capsule format news summary and update to keep you abreast with all the latest current affairs.

1) International News and Global Economy

India extends an additional $500 million credit line to Sri Lanka for purchasing fuel

India has agreed to extend an additional $500 million credit line to help Sri Lanka import fuel, Finance Minister Ali Sabry said, amid delays in chalking out a bailout package with the IMF to mitigate the dire financial crisis facing the island nation. Sri Lanka has been struggling to pay for imports after its foreign exchange reserves plummeted sharply in recent times, causing a devaluation of its currency and spiraling inflation. “India has agreed to provide an additional $500 million for our fuel imports,” Sabry said while adding that he was hopeful that New Delhi would consider handing out another $1 billion dollars as a credit line. India has already agreed to defer $1.5 billion in import payments that Sri Lanka needs to make to the Asian Clearing Union.

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Explained: What is Russia’s new nuclear missile Sarmat, capable of striking ‘anywhere in the world’?

The RS-28 Sarmat (NATO name Satan-II) is reported to be able to carry ten or more warheads and decoys and has the capability of firing over either of the earth’s poles with a range of 11,000 to 18,000 km. It is expected to pose a significant challenge to the ground-and-satellite-based radar tracking systems of the western powers, particularly the USA. The ten warheads are Multiple Independently-Targetable Re-entry Vehicles and each has a blast yield of .75 MT. The Sarmat will also be the first Russian missile that can carry smaller hypersonic boost-glide vehicles. These are maneuverable and hard to intercept. The upgraded electronic countermeasures, guidance systems, and alternative warhead carrying capacity make the RS-28 Sarmat ICBM more lethal than the R-36M Voyevoda ICBMs (NATO name Satan) currently in service in Russia. Some reports say that while the height and weight of Sarmat ICBM are the same as in the older one, it has more speed and high throw weight. However, the Sarmat is a liquid-fuelled missile as compared to US ICBMs which have moved on to solid fuel systems. Regardless of the different propulsion systems, the Sarmat is supposed to pose a significant threat to the US Missile Defence Systems.

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‘Think Twice,’ Putin warns West as Russia tests Sarmat Missile| EU vows to ensure Ukraine Victory

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Will end special operation in Ukraine when Nato threat is removed, says Russia

Russia will end its ‘special military operation’ in Ukraine when its tasks are fulfilled, said Alexey Polishchuk, the director of the Second Department for the Commonwealth of Independent States under Russia’s foreign ministry. In an interview with Russian news agency TASS, he said that these tasks include protection of the people of Donbas, denazification of Ukraine, and elimination of threats to Russia from Nato countries. The diplomat said, “The special military operation will end when its tasks are fulfilled. Among them is the protection of the peaceful population of Donbas, demilitarization, and denazification of Ukraine, as well as the elimination of threats to Russia coming from the Ukrainian territory due to its capturing by Nato countries.”

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“Iskander 60 Km from Ukraine” | Zelensky seeks more arms against Putin as US Officials head to Kyiv

Kyiv has claimed that Russia has deployed Iskander-M mobile launchers within 60 km of the Ukrainian border. The Iskander-M is a mobile ballistic missile system codenamed SS-26 Stone by NATO. This comes as Top US officials were set to make their first wartime visit to Kyiv since Russia invaded Ukraine in late February. Its two guided missiles have a range of up to 500 km (300 miles) and can carry conventional or nuclear warheads.

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33 killed as blast rips through Afghanistan mosque during Friday prayers

A bomb blast ripped through a mosque during Friday prayers in northern Afghanistan, killing 33 people including children, just a day after the ISIS group claimed two separate deadly attacks. Since Taliban fighters seized control of Afghanistan last year after ousting the US-backed government, the number of bombings has fallen but the jihadist and Sunni IS have continued with attacks against targets they see as heretical. A string of bombings rocked the country this week, with deadly attacks targeting a school and a mosque in Shiite neighborhoods.

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WHO chief scientist warns of Omicron BA.2, new variants

Hinting that the pandemic is not over, World Health Organisation’s (WHO) chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan noted that currently Omicron BA.2 is dominant worldwide including in India. And several other variants like the XE, BA.4, and BA.5 have also been detected. Under such circumstances, it is extremely essential to maintain all COVID rules to curb the spread of the virus. The WHO expert also indicated that there is no need for another lockdown-like measure in the future, but ‘all people must wear masks’ as a precautionary measure.

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2) India

UK PM Two-Day India Visit: Boris Johnson Announces Deals Worth £1 Billion

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to India announced a host of commercial deals worth £1 billion, as he aimed to deepen the strategic trade, defense, and people-to-people ties between the two countries. As many as 1,000 new jobs will be created as part of this deal through a new Switch Mobility electric bus R&D center in the UK and the opening of their Asia Pacific Headquarters in Chennai, Britain said. Investment from leading Indian manufacturer Bharat Forge and electric truck maker Tevva Motors is set to expand to a new site in the south-east and create 500 new jobs, the country added. Around 1,600 jobs will be added as Indian software company Mastek will be investing £79mn over the next three years all over the UK, the statement by the high commission said. With India set to invest USD 300 billion by 2030 to modernize its armed forces, sources said collaboration in the defense sector was one of the key focus areas of the meeting between Adani and Johnson. Discussions revolved around how Adani Group and British companies can collaborate to co-design and develop aerospace and defense technologies as part of the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative, sources told PTI.

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PM: ‘India and Russia have had different relationships and we have to reflect that reality’

Boris Johnson has arrived in India where he’s expected to offer to help cut Indian reliance on Russian oil and defense equipment. The Prime Minister said Russia and India have had a “different relationship” compared to Russia and the UK, and “we have to reflect that reality”.

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EU President Ursula von der Leyen arrives in New Delhi on her first official visit

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India suspends tourist visas for Chinese citizens as payback: Report

India has suspended tourist visas issued to Chinese nationals, global airlines body International Air Transport Association (IATA) has told its member carriers. The move appeared to be a response to Beijing stonewalling India’s appeals about approximately 22,000 Indian students enrolled in Chinese universities who are unable to go back for physical classes. The neighboring country has to date refused to let them enter. These students had to leave their studies in China and come to India when the COVID-19 pandemic began at the beginning of 2020. India has urged Beijing to adopt a “congenial stance” in the matter as the continuation of the strict restrictions is putting the academic careers of thousands of Indian students in jeopardy, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

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Raisina Dialogue will focus on six pillars, including Indo-Pacific and high tech

This year’s Raisina Dialogue, India’s premier multilateral foreign policy and geo-economics conference, will focus on six pillars covering a range of contemporary issues from democracy to technology to global health to the Indo-Pacific region. The seventh edition of the conference, hosted by the external affairs ministry in collaboration with the Observer Research Foundation, will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday. President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will join the inaugural session of the three-day conference as chief guest.

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Explained: What is Raisina dialogue?

Raisina Dialogue was started in the year 2016. It is an annual conference to discuss geopolitical and geo-economic issues jointly organized by the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) and the Ministry of External Affairs of India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the seventh edition of Raisina Dialogue in 2022 on Monday 25 April, announced by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi. The Raisina Dialogue will be held over three days from 25 to 27 April. European Commission President Ursula Von Der Leyen is coming as the chief guest. The concept of Raisina dialogue is inspired by the Shangri-La dialogue. Which is held every year in Singapore. In the Shangri-La dialogue, the focus is mainly to discuss the defense issue. This is also known as Asia’s premier defense summit. Whereas Raisina dialogue is a broad-based term.

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India’s oil import bill doubles to USD 119 bn in FY22

India’s crude oil import bill nearly doubled to USD 119 billion in the fiscal year that ended on March 31, as energy prices soared globally following the return of demand and war in Ukraine. India, the world’s third-biggest oil consuming and importing nation, spent USD 119.2 billion in 2021-22 (April 2021 to March 2022), up from USD 62.2 billion in the previous fiscal year, according to data from the oil ministry’s Petroleum Planning & Analysis Cell (PPAC). India, which is 85.5 percent dependent on imports to meet crude oil needs, has a surplus refining capacity and it exports some petroleum products but is short on the production of cooking gas LPG, which is imported from nations like Saudi Arabia. The country’s import dependence has increased owing to a steady decline in domestic output. The nation produced 32.2 million tonnes of crude oil in 2019-20, which fell to 30.5 million tonnes in the following year and to 29.7 million tonnes in FY22, the PPAC data showed.

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Indian renewable energy sector to be highly leveraged owing to growth opportunities: S&P Global

Global credit rating agency S&P Global Ratings said the Indian renewable energy sector will be highly leveraged owing to the growth opportunities. In its new report “India Renewables: Growth Trumps Deleveraging” S&P Global Ratings said the multi-decade growth opportunities for renewable energy in India will result in persistently high leverage across the sector. According to S&P Global Ratings, its report also addresses a number of myths that persist about Indian renewable projects. For example, wind and solar power generation can be unreliable, if weather conditions are not conducive. Assumptions on output can be too optimistic, leading to misses on cash flow. “Even the most conservative generation probabilities were missed more than 40 percent of the time, based on our analysis of operating performance for individual projects of rated companies from 2016 to 2021. As a result, cash flows can be 10 per cent-17 percent lower than management estimates,” the rating agency said. Receivables will remain stretched for the industry. This is because the sector is reliant on state distribution companies, which frequently delay payments due to weak financial health.

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Madhya Pradesh Khargone violence: 64 FIRs, 175 people held so far; curfew relaxed for 9 hours

Police have so far arrested 175 people in connection with the violence in Khargone city of Madhya Pradesh during the Ram Navami celebration earlier this month, an official said on Sunday. Local administration relaxed the curfew in Khargone for nine hours – from 8 am to 5 pm – for the second day in a row on Sunday. Communal clashes had erupted in Khargone city during the Ram Navami celebration on April 10, during which shops and houses were damaged, vehicles torched and stones hurled. Curfew was clamped in the city after the violence. But since April 14, the local administration has been relaxing the curfew for some hours.

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Explained: What are the key proposals in Niti Aayog’s draft battery swapping policy?

Government think-tank Niti Aayog has prepared a draft battery swapping policy, under which it has proposed offering incentives to electric vehicles (EVs) with swappable batteries, subsidies to companies manufacturing swappable batteries, a new battery-as-a-service business model, and standards for interoperable batteries, among other measures. Battery swapping is a mechanism that involves exchanging discharged batteries for charged ones. This provides the flexibility to charge these batteries separately by de-linking charging and battery usage and keeps the vehicle in operational mode with negligible downtime. Battery swapping is generally used for smaller vehicles such as two-wheelers and three-wheelers with smaller batteries that are easier to swap, compared to four-wheelers and e-buses, although solutions are emerging for these larger segments as well. The draft policy has suggested that the GST Council consider reducing the differential across the tax rates on Lithium-ion batteries and electric vehicle supply equipment. Currently, the tax rate on the former is 18 percent, and 5 percent on the latter. The policy also proposes to offer the same incentives available to electric vehicles that come pre-equipped with a fixed battery to electric vehicles with swappable batteries. “The size of the incentive could be determined based on the kWh (kilowatt-hour) rating of the battery and compatible EV,” the draft policy states.

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3) Economy

Indian economy not immune to negative externalities says RBI report

Global geopolitical tensions have impacted India, choking supplies and pushing up commodity prices. The spike in food and energy has stoked inflationary pressures, the monthly State of the Economy of the Reserve Bank of India said on Monday. “The fallout of the (Russia-Ukraine) war and retaliatory sanctions is already evident in inflation prints and balance of payments developments,” the report said on the domestic impact of the Russia-Ukraine war. “The Indian economy is not immune to these negative externalities. The surge in commodity prices is already posing inflation risks, especially through the conduit of surging imports,” it said. The report observed that rapidly widening trade and current account deficits co-existing with portfolio capital outflows weigh on external sustainability; although the strength of underlying fundamentals and the stock of international reserves provide buffers.

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‘India lifting global economy’: Why IMF is praising Modi govt’s economic policies

A high growth rate for India, as projected in the latest World Economic Outlook, is not only healthy for the country but also positive news for the world, Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva said at a news conference on April 21. Observing that India represents about seven percent of the total world economy in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms, IMF’s Mission Chief for India Nada Choueiri that India’s growth is lifting the global economy and is very important for a well-functioning global economy. “The successful macroeconomic management of the Covid-19 pandemic has resulted in a strong recovery of India’s economy because of which the country is in a better position to face the economic fallout of the current Ukrainian crisis,” IMF’s Mission Chief for India Nada Choueiri said.

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4) Markets, Banking, and Finance

RBI lens on companies like Cashfree, Mobikwik seeking payment aggregator license

Online payment firms including Cashfree and MobiKwik have come under the scanner of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), multiple people aware of the development said. These fintech players face a possible rejection of their payment aggregator license applications, the people told ET. The scrutiny comes in the backdrop of some of these fintech firms having dealings with cryptocurrency exchanges and gaming apps, one person said. Cashfree has faced tough questions regarding merchant partnerships for its payouts business, know-your-customer (KYC) norms, its net-worth criteria, and onboarding betting apps as clients, the people said. “The regulator is clearly not okay with payment aggregators having dealings with cryptocurrency companies, or with gaming apps which have in the past been accused of being a conduit to launder money,” a person directly aware of the development told ET.

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ICICI Bank Q4 PAT surges 59.4% YoY to Rs 7,018.7 crore, beats estimate

Private sector lender ICICI on April 23 reported a 59.4 percent year-on-year jump in net profit to Rs 7,018.7 crore for the quarter ended March, which was above analysts’ estimate of Rs. 6,450 crore. The lender reported a 20.8 percent on-year growth in net interest income to Rs 12,605 crore for the reporting quarter, which was also above analysts’ expectations. The bank’s board has also approved a dividend of Rs 5 per share for the shareholders. That said, the bottom line of the lender was also aided by a sharp decline in provisions. Provision for the reported quarter slumped 63 percent on year to Rs 1,069 crore. Provisions for Q4 included a contingency provision of Rs 1,025 crore made on a prudent basis, ICICI Bank said.

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5) Business

Cannot implement $3.4 bln deal with Future Group, Reliance says

A day after Future Group’s proposed deal to sell its assets to Reliance Retail was rejected by a majority of lenders to flagship Future Retail Ltd (FRL), Reliance Industries in a stock exchange intimation on Saturday has said that as such, the subject scheme of arrangement cannot be implemented. While the scheme received more than the required 75% of votes from its shareholders and unsecured creditors, it did not receive the requisite 75% favorable voting from its secured creditors. As per NCLT rules, a scheme must secure at least 75% votes in favor from each of the three groups of shareholders, secured creditors, and unsecured creditors to move forward.

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RIL-Future Retail: Prominent PSBs vote against the proposed deal

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Yes Bank-DHFL case: Rana Kapoor, Wadhawans laundered money worth Rs 5,050 crore, says ED

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has alleged that Yes Bank co-founder Rana Kapoor and Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) promoters Kapil and Dheeraj Wadhawan siphoned off funds worth Rs 5,050 crore through suspicious transactions. The ED said this in its second supplementary (third overall) charge sheet filed in a special court here recently against Rana Kapoor, his family, Wadhawans, and others in a money laundering case. During the investigation, it came to light that a big part of the proceeds of crime (POC) generated in this case has been siphoned off overseas by Rana Kapoor, and hence they are not available for attachment directly under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), it said. “Rana Kapoor, DHFL promoters Kapil Wadhawan, Dheeraj Wadhawan, and others were involved in criminal conspiracy with each other in illegal diversion and siphoning off of funds through a suspicious transaction of Rs 5,050 crore,” the central probe agency claimed in its fresh prosecution complaint (charge sheet) filed recently.

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Ola Electric recalling 1,441 units of electric two-wheelers

Ola Electric is recalling 1,441 units of its electric two-wheelers in the wake of incidents of vehicles catching fire, according to a company statement. The company said its investigation into the fire incident on March 26, in Pune, is ongoing and a preliminary assessment found that it was an isolated one. However, it said, “As a pre-emptive measure we will be conducting a detailed diagnostic and health check of the scooters in that specific batch and therefore are issuing a voluntary recall of 1,441 vehicles.” Recently, there have been widespread incidents of electric two-wheelers catching fire in various parts of the country forcing manufacturers to recall their vehicles. Okinawa Autotech had recalled over 3,000 units, while PureEV did a similar exercise for around 2,000 units.

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Maruti Suzuki looks to ride SUV wave to drive past 50 pc market share

Maruti Suzuki India (MSI) will keep consolidating its existing product line-up, including hatchbacks, while bolstering presence in the fast growing SUV segment to power its way back to 50 per cent market share in the domestic passenger vehicle market, as per a senior company official. The country’s largest carmaker, which has seen its market share drop to 43.38 per cent in FY22 from 47.7 per cent in FY21, aims to bring in multiple SUV products with focus on new technologies like hybrid powertrains in order to enhance fuel efficiency, making them comparable or better than diesel-powered models that are currently being sold in the market, especially by its Korean rivals. With no intention of making a comeback in the diesel segment, MSI is also focusing on increasing its play in the CNG segment to bring in additional volumes.

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Explained | Why is Adani buying a 100% stake in Ocean Sparkle

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) on April 22 announced its subsidiary Adani Harbour Services has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire leading marine services provider Ocean Sparkle. Adani Group will pay Rs 1,135.30 crore for the direct acquisition of a 75.69 percent stake in OSL, along with Rs 394.87 crore for the indirect acquisition of a 24.31 percent stake. “This acquisition not only provides a significant share of India’s marine services market but also a platform for building a presence in other countries,” said APSEZ.

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Adani Ports acquires Ocean Sparkle: What are the factors strengthening the deal?

6) Technology

Amazon, Google, Meta Among Targets of EU Law on Disinformation, Harmful Content

Lawmakers in the European Union reached an agreement on Saturday on the basic points of major legislation designed to curb negative impacts from social media sites and other digital platforms. The Digital Services Act would, among other things, compel services including Facebook, Google, Twitter, and others to crack down on the spread of disinformation on their platforms and to reveal how their algorithms recommend content to users. The DSA would also prohibit certain kinds of ads on the platforms, such as targeted ads aimed at children or tailored to people’s ethnicity or sexual orientation. The DSA is one of two pillars of a major tech-regulation overhaul first unveiled in draft form by the EU in December 2020. The other pillar, the Digital Markets Act, received preliminary approval last month and is designed to address issues such as anti-competitive behavior. Both acts still await a final vote, but major changes aren’t expected. The EU has also passed the General Data Protection Regulation, or GDPR, which is designed to give people more control over the collection and sharing of their personal information.

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Swiggy, Zomato back restaurant management startup UrbanPiper in a $24 million funding round

The restaurant management platform, UrbanPiper, announced that it has raised $24 million in a new funding round led by existing investors Sequoia Capital India and Tiger Global, and food aggregator majors, Swiggy and Zomato. This is the first time both these food-delivery majors have invested together in a startup. Previously, Zomato and Swiggy have held investment talks with multiple startups including mobility venture Rapido but never ended up backing a company together. Swiggy recently led a $180 million round in Rapido, which had also held talks with Zomato. Founded in 2015 by Saurabh Gupta, Anirban Majumdar, and Manav Gupta, UrbanPiper provides business-to-business (B2B) software to help restaurants run their entire operations and bring a suite of digital offerings to manage the commerce workflows.

For details visit here.

7) Politics

Explained: How the new AAP government plans to clear Punjab’s mounting debt

Funds crunched Punjab has a burgeoning debt that is set to cross Rs 3 lakh crore this fiscal. The government spends huge amounts from the budget on debt servicing every year. Twenty percent of the annual budget is being spent on repaying the loans. For servicing the debt, the government has to borrow money every year. This puts pressure on the already fund-crunched state. The debt is estimated to cross the Rs 4 lakh crore mark in three years. Records show that an amount of Rs 5,800 crore was given to the state between 1984 and 1994 for combating insurgency and militancy in the state. The SAD-BJP government in the state has blamed the Centre for the debt. They have been saying that it is a legacy of trouble-torn days of terrorism when the Centre had sent security agencies to the state and charged the state for that. However, the Centre had waived the debt twice after the state had said militancy was a national problem.

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BJP sweeps Guwahati municipal polls; AAP opens an account; No seat for Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its ally Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) on Sunday swept elections to the Guwahati municipal corporation by winning 58 of the total 60 wards. While the BJP bagged 52 seats, the AGP won 6 seats in Guwahati, the biggest city in Assam, and the rest of the northeast. The party, which is in power in the state, had earlier won municipal board elections held last month. The opposition Congress, the second biggest party in the state assembly after the BJP, failed to win even a single seat while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) made its debut in Guwahati by winning one seat. Assam Jatiya Party (AJP) also won one seat. In the municipal corporation polls held after a gap of nine years, the BJP had fielded 53 candidates while the AGP contested 7 seats. The Congress contested in 55 seats and the AAP in 39 wards.

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8) Sports

“Incredible” Carlos Alcaraz reaches Barcelona Open Semis, World Top 10

Carlos Alcaraz defeated top seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in a three-set rollercoaster to reach the Barcelona semi-finals on Friday and become the youngest player since Rafael Nadal in 2005 to make the world top 10. The 18-year-old Spaniard saw off world number five Tsitsipas, who had successfully defended his Monte Carlo Masters title last weekend, 6-4, 5-7, 6-2. On Monday, Alcaraz will become the first teenager to make the top 10 since Andy Murray in 2007 and the youngest since compatriot and 21-time major winner Nadal 17 years ago. “Probably my biggest win on clay court. It was unbelievable,” said Alcaraz on the court.

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Wimbledon bans Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 Tournament

Wimbledon has banned Russian and Belarusian players from the 2022 tournament in response to the invasion of Ukraine. The All England Lawn Tennis Club, which runs Wimbledon, said they were acting to “limit Russia’s global influence through the strongest means possible”. Russian men’s world number two Daniil Medvedev and Belarusian female world number four Aryna Sabalenka are the leading players affected by the ban.

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9) Opinion

Raghuram Rajan on why a China model of manufacturing doesn’t work for us

Raghuram Rajan, who has repeatedly emphasized that India should focus on services instead of blindly following the China model of manufacturing-led growth, says goods manufactured in India can face a backlash in the West just as Chinese goods have. It is, therefore, unwise for India to use all resources for a manufacturing-led growth instead of building strength in services where it has an advantage. The former RBI governor has expressed unhappiness with India not being able to educate its students who go abroad in droves, as was evident to the world in the Russia-Ukraine war which saw hundreds of stranded Indian students sending SOS to the Modi Government. Rajan, who currently teaches at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, feels that if India is able to build a pipeline of doctors it can sell medical services abroad. It can, for instance, negotiate with UK’s overburdened NHS to sell telemedicine.

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RIL-FRL deal canceled: Key implications and what’s next for the Future group

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S Jaishankar l How India’s Diplomat turned Foreign Minister has taken the world by storm

Amid the mounting West Bloc’s pressure on India to be on their side to back sanctions against Russia for its military operations in Ukraine, External Affairs Minister (EAM) S. Jaishankar is being hailed for coming out bold and slamming the West’s hypocrisy over Russian oil purchases.  Known for his acumen, sharpness, and extraordinary efficiency, the 67-year-old former diplomat has emerged as the face of India’s foreign policy. Jaishankar has played a crucial role in drafting India’s diplomatic path since the beginning of the turmoil in Ukraine. India’s diplomatic heft yielded results as well, with clear signs of the West coming under pressure.

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10) Weekly special

Financial Services have ample revenue streams, but trust remains a problem: INDMoney’s Ashish Kashyap

At a time when India’s fintech industry is witnessing disruptions due to newer business models, such as peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, buy now pay later (BNPL), digital wallets, and digital asset management, the industry players believe they need to focus on building customer trust, protecting their data and building customer-centric products. In fact, with the fintech industry maturing, the current focus of a large number of entrepreneurs is on ensuring customer data protection. Talking on similar lines, Priya Sharma, co-founder, CFO, and COO at ZestMoney, said that entrepreneurs in the fintech industry particularly need to proactively act to protect customers’ data rather than reacting to it when regulators say. Making consumer protection and consumer trust the core philosophy will ensure that a fintech business is aligned with regulations, and financial businesses can’t exist without regulations, she said. The major reason why trust in financial business is still an issue is perhaps that business models are not aligned well with customer outcomes or, to simplify, they don’t meet the expectations of customers, Sharma added.

For details visit here.

10) Did you know?

What are SPACs for which a regulatory framework may be in the works?

A SPAC, or a blank-cheque company, is an entity specifically set up with the objective of acquiring a firm in a particular sector. A SPAC aims to raise money in an initial public offering (IPO) without any operations or revenues. The money that is raised from the public is kept in an escrow account, which can be accessed while making the acquisition. If the acquisition is not made within two years of the IPO, the SPAC is delisted and the money is returned to the investors. The concept of SPAC has existed for nearly a decade now, and several investors and company promoters have used this route to take their investments public. The vehicle gained momentum in 2020, which was a record year for SPAC deals; this record was broken in 2021.

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With that, we come to an end of our Weekly Current Affairs April 2022 -Week 4. Hope you have liked it. Write your feedback in the comments below and let us know if there is anything else you would like us to cover.

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