Alibaba exits India’s Paytm, selling shares for $167 million
China's Alibaba Group has sold its remaining stake in Indian digital payments firm Paytm for about $167.14 million through a block deal.
China’s Alibaba Group has sold its remaining stake in Indian digital payments firm Paytm for about 13.78 billion rupees ($167.14 million) through a block deal, stock exchange data showed.
More About The Alibaba Exit:
The exit comes days after Paytm posted its first-ever quarterly operating profit as a listed firm, nine months ahead of its own target. Alibaba.com Singapore E-Commerce Pvt Ltd sold 21.4 million shares of Paytm on Friday at 642.74 rupees apiece, a 9% discount to Thursday’s close, NSE stock exchange data showed.
Paytm’s stock tumbled nearly 8% to close at 650.55 rupees, but it is still up nearly 23% so far this year. It was not immediately clear why Alibaba sold the stake.
In January, Alibaba sold a 3.1% stake in the company through a block deal worth $125 million. Before that, the Chinese firm had a 6.26% stake in Paytm.
Morgan Stanley’s Fresh Investment in Paytm:
Morgan Stanley Asia (Singapore) Pte bought 5.42 million shares of Paytm at 640 rupees on Friday, the data showed.
Paytm, which is also backed by China’s Ant Group and Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp 9984.T, has been under pressure to turn profitable ever since its dismal listing in November 2021.
The stock has declined around 70% since listing, and tumbled 60% in 2022. Macquarie Research double-upgraded the stock to “outperform” from “underperform”, and bumped up the price target by around 80% to 800 rupees.
Himachal Pradesh CM laid the Foundation of ‘Himachal Niketan’ in Delhi
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu laid the foundation stone of 'Himachal Niketan' which will provide accommodation facilities to the students.
Himachal Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu laid the foundation stone of ‘Himachal Niketan‘ which will provide accommodation facilities to the students and residents of Himachal Pradesh visiting New Delhi. ‘Himachal Niketan’, a five-story building will be constructed in Dwarka, Delhi for Rs 57.72 crore. There are two VIP rooms and 36 general rooms exclusively for the students with all facilities besides 40 other general suites.
Himachal Pradesh CM laid the Foundation of ‘Himachal Niketan’ in Delhi- Key Points
In Himachal Niketan, there will be three dormitories for the staff. It will also have a facility to park around 53 vehicles and 87 two-wheelers in the basement.
The Himachal Niketan will consist of 81 rooms in total.
The Chief Minister informed that there would be an additional facility apart from the existing Himachal Bhawan and Himachal Sadan, offering accommodation facilities to the Himachalis, especially students coming for various competitive examinations held in New Delhi.
Himachal Niketan would exclusively offer a comfortable stay to students and a favorable atmosphere for studies.
The Himachal CM also informed that this would enable Himachal Niketan will be the third alternative to stay in the national capital.
Every year, several people from Himachal visit other states of the country to spend their winter vacations. Himachal Niketan would be an additional option for their halt in New Delhi.
The PWD has been directed to ensure quality construction and that the building would be completed by 2025, and the PWD Minister would also review the progress of construction at regular intervals so that timely construction could also be ensured.
Supreme Court back to full strength with two more High Court Justices
India's Supreme Court is now back to its full strength of 34, with the elevation of two High Court Chief Justices to the apex court.
India’s Supreme Court is now back to its full strength of 34, with the elevation of two High Court Chief Justices to the apex court. The last time the apex court was at its full strength was in September-November 2019. The Chief Justices of the Allahabad High Court and the Gujarat High Court are the latest additions to the 34-judge collegium.
Chief Justice Rajesh Bindal and Chief Justice Aravind Kumar were recommended to the Supreme Court Collegium last month.
The appointments of Justices Bindal and Kumar follow closely on the heels of the February 4 appointments of five judges to the apex court, based on recommendations made in December 2022.
Justices Pankaj Mithal, Sanjay Karol, PV Sanjay Kumar, Ahsanuddin Amanullah and Manoj Misra took oath on February 6, following the announcement from the Centre.
International Day of Women and Girls in Science 2023 observed on 11 February
The United Nations General Assembly has designated February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science.
International Day Of Women And Girls In Science 2023
The United Nations General Assembly has designated February 11 as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science to recognise the significant contribution that women make to the fields of science and technology. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030 also lays out gender equality in science as an essential component of the agenda.
International Day Of Women And Girls In Science 2023: Theme
The theme for the 8th International Day of Women and Girls in Science is “Innovate. Demonstrate. Elevate. Advance (IDEA): Bringing communities Forward for sustainable and equitable development.” The focus of this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science will be on how the Sustainable Development Goals connect to the role of women and girls in science.
International Day Of Women And Girls In Science 2023: Significance
This day offers us the chance to recognise the impact that women and girls already make on science and to inspire young women to choose STEM career paths. It also extends support to women and girls who are interested in technical and scientific subjects in their academic and professional endeavours.
International Day Of Women And Girls In Science: History
In a bid to accomplish the objective of gender equality and provide access for girls and women to engage in scientific, technical, and mathematical studies, the United Nations declared February 11 to be marked as the International Day of Women and Girls in Science in 2015. Women are still underrepresented in these sectors despite having made great strides in raising their participation in higher education.
India’s forex reserves drop by $1.5 billion to $575.3 billion as on February 3
India’s foreign exchange reserves saw a drop after nearly three weeks, falling $1.5 billion to $575.27 billion in the week ended February 3.
India’s foreign exchange reserves saw a drop after nearly three weeks, falling $1.5 billion to $575.27 billion in the week ended February 3. The fall was the result of the decline in the Foreign Currency Assets (FCA), a major component of the overall reserves, the Reserve Bank of India’s weekly statistical supplement said on February 10.
Reason of The Forex Fall:
According to analysts, the fall in reserves last week was likely owing to dollar sales by the RBI as it stemmed volatility in the rupee following the Adani crisis. Shares of the Adani group plunged following allegations of malpractice by US-based research firm Hindenburg.
With the stock slide culminating in the Adani group calling off its follow-on public offer, foreign portfolio investors were said to have sold Indian equities.
The Rise and Fall of Forex Reserves:
The FCA fell $1.32 billion to $507.69 billion for the week ending February 3. Gold reserves were down $246 million to $43.78 billion. In the previous three-week reporting period, the reserves had risen over $15 billion and touched a six-month high of $576.76 billion during the week ended January 27. On February 10, the rupee ended at 82.50 against the US dollar.
The Volatility of The Indian Rupee:
The rupee has remained one of the least volatile currencies among its Asian peers in the calendar year 2022 and continued to be so in the new year as well, RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said on February 8. The depreciation and the volatility in the rupee during the current phase of multiple shocks was far lower than it was during the global financial crisis and the taper tantrum. “In a fundamental sense, the movements of the rupee reflect the resilience of the Indian economy,” Das added.
India Jumps to 55th place in ICAO’s Aviation Safety Oversight Ranking: DGCA
India Jumps to 55th place in ICAO's Aviation Safety Oversight Ranking from earlier 112, according to regulator DGCA.
India’s aviation safety oversight ranking has jumped to the 55th position from 112th place earlier, with a significant improvement in the country’s score under the ICAO’s coordinated validation mission, according to regulator DGCA.
The 8 critical areas of the audit by USOAP:
The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) is based on eight critical elements (CE) of a safety oversight system, which are measured by a set of protocol questions (PQs).
The eight audit areas of a Member State’s aviation system that the programme monitors are:
Primary Aviation Legislation and Civil Aviation Regulations (LEG)
Civil Aviation Organization (ORG)
Personnel Licensing and Training (PEL)
Aircraft Operations (OPS)
Airworthiness of Aircraft (AIR)
Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (AIG)
Air Navigation Services (ANS)
Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA)
More About The ICAO’s Aviation Safety Oversight Ranking:
Under its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) Continuous Monitoring Approach, an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) was undertaken in India from November 9 to 16, 2022. “After the final report India’s safety oversight capability ranking has climbed from 112 to 55.
It may be noted that this ranking is dynamic and is contingent upon the outcomes of various Audits undertaken by ICAO,” the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said in a statement.
Areas of Audit by ICAO:
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) undertakes audit of all the contracting states under this programme. Last year’s mission to India covered the areas of LEG, ORG, PEL, OPS and AGA on-site while the area of AIR was validated virtually during the same period. The Effective Implementation (EI) of six areas were assessed.
LEG is Primary Aviation Legislation and Specific Operating Regulations; ORG is Civil Aviation Organisation; PEL is Personnel Licensing and Training; OPS is Aircraft Operations;
AGA is Aerodrome and Ground Aid and AIR is Airworthiness of Aircraft. The ICAO team reviewed the progress in addressing 137 Protocol Questions (PQs) and subsequently, “the status of 101 PQs was changed to satisfactory and that of 1 PQ to not applicable.
The status of 35 PQs remained not satisfactory, resulting in an updated overall EI of 85.65 per cent,” the statement said.
The USOAP audit of the civil aviation system of India conducted in 2017 generated an overall EI of 55.15 per cent for the eight critical elements of the country’s safety oversight system.
During the ICVM conducted in India in 2018, the ICAO team reviewed the progress made in the areas of LEG, ORG, AIG, ANS, and AGA. Then, the score improved to 69.95 per cent, the statement said.
Why is the audit conducted:
The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme allows the ICAO to continuously monitor the safety obligations of its 187 member states. As the international civil aviation watchdog, the ICAO ensures that member states fulfil their obligation to improve the safety of civil aviation within their own jurisdictions.
Bajaj Finance Launched Insurance Mall for Easy-Buy Experience
Bajaj Finance launches Insurance Mall for its customers to ensure an Easy-buy experience. The new portal offers a plethora of policies and plans in the core insurance segment.
Bajaj Finance launches Insurance Mall for its customers to ensure an Easy-buy experience. The new portal offers a plethora of policies and plans in the core insurance segment and also the company’s one-of-its-kind category of Pocket Insurance and Subscription.
Bajaj Finance Launched Insurance Mall for Easy-Buy Experience- Key Points
Insurance Mall launched by Bajaj Finance has over 250 policies and plans designed to meet the needs of every customer, and these products are constantly updated to guarantee to remain relevant.
The policies offered in the single platform for all policies include Health insurance, two-wheeler, and four-wheeler insurance, application extended warranties, pocket insurance, and subscriptions.
The benefits obtained by customers while purchasing insurance plans from the Bajaj Finance Insurance Mall include a 100 percent digital process, an extensive product list, budget-friendly premiums, and exclusively designed plans.
Bajaj Finance has also partnered with some of India’s leading insurers to provide products that are best suited to the shifting demands of the industry.
About Bajaj Finance
Bajaj Finance Limited is a subsidiary of Bajaj Finserve, an Indian non-banking financial company headquartered in Pune. Originally incorporated as Bajaj Auto Finance Limited on March 25, 1987, as a non-banking financial company, primarily focused on providing two and three-wheeler finance.
After 11 years in the auto finance market, Bajaj Auto Finance Ltd launched its initial public issue of equity shares and was listed on the Bombay Stock Exchange and the National Stock Exchange of India.
Comments