Headlines at a Glance – 15th February 2022
Inflation over comfort range of 6%; no need for alarm: RBI
Retail inflation rose to a seven-month high of 6.01 per cent in January, breaching the upper tolerance level of the medium-term inflation target of 4+/-2 per cent set by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), data released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Monday showed. The rise was mainly on account of high food inflation, which jumped to a 14-month high of 5.43 per cent, along with an unfavorable base. Inflation at the wholesale level in January softened to 12.96 per cent from 13.56 per cent a month ago but marked the tenth consecutive month of being in double digits, another set of data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on Monday showed. Wholesale food inflation was, however, at a 24-month high of 9.6 per cent. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rate is reflective of the price pressures on the inputs side and of manufacturers passing on the higher input costs to their output prices.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
ISRO places three satellites in orbit in first launch of 2022
In the first successful launch in about a year, the Indian Space Research Organization sent EOS-04, an all-weather earth observation satellite, and two other satellites into space on a PSLV rocket on Monday morning. The launch starts a busy calendar for the Indian space agency, which has lined up as many as 19 launches this year, after two years of lull caused by the Covid19 pandemic. Monday’s launch was the first successful one after the flight of PSLV-C51 on February 28 last year that had carried a Brazilian satellite, Amazonia-1, and 18 other smaller payloads to space. An attempt to launch EOS-03, another earth observation satellite in August last year, on a GSLV rocket had ended in a failure.
SOURCE: The Indian Express
US announces a 6-point action plan for WHO Vaccine Target
Acknowledging that the world is “well below” the World Health Organization (WHO)’s target of vaccinating 70% of people in every country by September 2022, the United States (US) has unveiled a new six-point global action plan to tackle the “biggest barriers left” in the battle against the pandemic. The plan, announced by US secretary of state Antony J Blinken, involves six lines of effort. This includes first, increasing access to vaccines and addressing last mile delivery issues; two, strengthening the supply chain for vaccines and other critical supplies such as syringes, test kits and treatments; three, addressing information gaps that lead to low confidence in vaccines by tailoring messages for local audiences and pushing back against disinformation; four, providing more support to health care workers; five, making it easier to access treatments and therapeutics; and six, strengthening global health security for the next emergency by ensuring sustainable financing for pandemic preparedness and response.
SOURCE: Hindustan Times
Govt bans 54 Chinese apps for security concern about data: Report
India has banned 54 Chinese apps in a new order citing security concerns, in the latest instance of tensions between the two neighbours locked in a protracted border dispute hurting business dealings. The ministry of electronics and IT banned the apps for allegedly transferring data of Indians to servers in China and other foreign countries. The apps belong to large China tech firms such as Tencent, Alibaba and NetEase, that are re-branded versions of apps already banned by India in 2020. The ministry has asked Google Playstore and other electronic stores to take off these apps. India has since June 2020 banned some 224 Chinese bans for national security reasons, pulling down popular services like TikTok, WeChat and UC News.
SOURCE: Business Standard
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