on 27-Sep-2020 (Sun)

Humans lived in America 30,000 years ago, far earlier than thought: study

Stone tools unearthed in a cave in central Mexico and other evidence from 42 far-flung archeological sites indicate people arrived in North America earlier than previously known, upwards of 30,000 years ago.

The Chinese Mars probe named Tianwen 1 or Quest for Heavenly Truth 1, will fulfil three scientific objectives: orbiting the red planet for comprehensive observation, landing on Martian soil and sending a rover to roam the landing site.

Importers will have to do their due diligence from Monday to ensure that imported goods meet the prescribed ‘rules of origin’ provisions for availing concessional rate of customs duty under free trade agreements (FTAs), the Finance Ministry said.

Ministry sources said the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) FTA allows imports of most items at nil or concessional basic customs duty from the 10-nation bloc. Major imports to India come from five ASEAN countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam.

The benefit of concessional customs duty rate applies only if an ASEAN member country is the country of origin of goods.

This means that goods originating from China and routed through these countries will not be eligible for customs duty concessions under the ASEAN FTA.

CAROTAR 2020 supplements the existing operational certification procedures prescribed under different trade agreements.

The entry of private service providers brought with it the inevitable need for independent regulation. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) was, thus, established with effect from 20th February 1997 by an Act of Parliament, called the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act, 1997, to regulate telecom services, including fixation/revision of tariffs for telecom services which were earlier vested in the Central Government.

The TRAI Act was amended by an ordinance, effective from 24 January 2000, establishing a Telecommunications Dispute Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) to take over the adjudicatory and disputes functions from TRAI. TDSAT was set up to adjudicate any dispute between a licensor and a licensee, between two or more service providers, between a service provider and a group of consumers, and to hear and dispose of appeals against any direction, decision or order of TRAI.

Telecom regulator TRAI on Friday issued a fresh set of rules for publication and advertisement of tariff plans by telcos, in a bid to boost transparency in mobile offers and to help subscribers make informed decisions.

The consumer-oriented move assumes significance as telecom subscribers often grapple with issues such as lack of information, unclear or hard to find plan details — a situation that affects subscribers’ ability to make proper choices.

Tightening the rules for telcos, Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) on Friday issued directions on tariff publication and tariff advertisements

State-owned Airports Authority of India (AAI), which runs more than 100 airports and has been a cash-rich entity that pays a dividend to the government, will likely be in the red at the end of the current fiscal, the government told Parliament.

The government had ordered AAI to pay its entire profit after tax (PAT) as dividend to it from FY18, raising it from 30% of PAT it used to pay earlier. This was despite AAI’s own financial requirement for maintenance and expansion of airports. According to its last annual report, it paid ₹1,780 crore to the government in FY18.

UAE has announced the operations of Barakah nuclear power plant. It is the UAE’s first nuclear reactor that has achieved criticality. The plant is located in the Al Dhafra region of Abu Dhabi. It was built by a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation.

Favipiravir is the only oral anti-viral treatment approved in India for the potential treatment of patients with mild to moderate Covid-19 disease.

Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd has announced the introduction of FluGuard (Favipiravir 200 mg) at a price of ₹35 per tablet, for the treatment of mild to moderate cases of Covid-19 in India.

There’s a widespread impression that the new Consumer Protection Act will only regulate the operations of the legacy e-commerce players Amazon and Flipkart. However, that’s a misconception as the new law brings the entire B2C online sector strictly within its ambit, said a top official at the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

“The Consumer Protection Act has already kicked in, but many online service providers still want to believe they are outside its scope,” said the official on condition of anonymity. “All kinds of B2C online services, irrespective of their size and reach, all mobile app-based services and all businesses running on social media platforms, will come within the bill’s purview.

Simply put, e-pharmacies, e-tutoring, e-groceries, e-taxis, e-bikes, e-food chains, online air, rail, bus ticketing services, online hotel or tour booking platforms, e-payment services, e-deliveries, e-buying and selling platforms, OTT services, app stores, websites of FMCG companies and also ventures that run on Facebook, WhatApp, Twitter, LinkedIn etc. will come within the ambit of the new legislation. rule.

As per RBI’s extant Basel III guidelines, if a bank holds a debt instrument directly, it would have to allocate lower capital as compared to holding the same debt instrument through a mutual fund (MF)/exchange traded fund (ETF).

State-owned Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) on Friday said it has slashed its base rate by 0.10% to 9.35%.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday set up an expert committee under veteran banker K.V. Kamath to suggest financial parameters for resolution of coronavirus-related stressed assets.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Friday constituted the proposed expert committee under the chairmanship of veteran banker K.V. Kamath to make recommendations on norms for the resolution of COVID-19 related stressed loans.

The other members of the committee include Diwakar Gupta (effective September 1, 2020, after completion of his term as vice-president, ADB), T.N. Manoharan (effective August 14, 2020, after the completion of his term as chairman, Canara Bank), Ashvin Parekh, strategy advisor, and Sunil Mehta, CEO of Indian Banks’ Association, as the member-secretary. The committee will submit its recommendations on the financial parameters to the RBI, which in turn, will notify the same along with modifications, if any, in 30 days.

The Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) will function as the secretariat to the committee and the committee will be fully empowered to consult or invite any person it deems fit.