Your SandeshBox for the week

India

• Bharat Ratnas galore!

  The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the Republic of India. The award is conferred in recognition of exceptional service to the nation. This year's 5 recipients surpass the 4 awarded in 1999, marking the highest number of Bharat Ratnas awarded in a single year. The recipients are as follows:

  1. Karpoori Thakur (Posthumous): Bihar's former chief minister and a well-known socialist leader. He was popularly known as referred to as 'Jan Nayak'.

  2. LK Advani: BJP stalwart and former deputy PM, has been associated with the party since its establishment in 1980. Apart from this Advani served as both the home minister and deputy PM under Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004.

  3. PV Narasimha Rao (Posthumous): Ex-PM, who passed away in 2004, served a full five-year term as prime minister from 1991 to 1996 and is widely lauded for his pivotal role in introducing economic liberalization reforms.

  4. Chaudhary Charan Singh (Posthumous): Former PM and prominent Jat leader, known for playing a pivotal role in spearheading anti-Congress politics during an era when the party held dominant influence.

  5. MS Swaminathan (Posthumous): Eminent agronomist is known as the father of the Green revolution is credited for revolutionizing Indian agriculture, ensuring both food security and prosperity for the nation.

• India to withdraw troops from Maldives

  1. Context: New Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu ran on an anti-India campaign and is seen as being closer to China promising to remove Indian troops stationed in Maldives.

  2. India will withdraw all its troops from the Maldives by May as part of an agreement reached between the two countries. The withdrawal will happen in two batches, with the first set of troops leaving the island nation by March 10, and the rest by May 10.

• Southern states protest new tax revenue distirbution

  1. Context: The 15th Finance Commission introduced a fresh criterion for distributing tax revenues among states, marking a significant shift. The government now considers the 2011 census, favoring states with higher populations which are majorly in the North. This stands in contrast to states in the South, which have implemented successful population control policies. Adding to the grievances, South Indian states reportedly earn more in tax revenue per capita. This economic factor contributes to the sense of neglect felt by the southern states.

  2. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan and colleagues staged a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, expressing discontent over the perceived financial injustice. Chief Ministers Arvind Kejriwal (Delhi) and Bhagwant Mann (Punjab) joined the protest, following Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah's demonstration the day before. MPs from Tamil Nadu also participated, collectively alleging deliberate fund reduction by the central government to southern states.

  3. The Centre has now appointed economist Arvind Panagariya as the chairman of the 16th Financial Commission, responsible for formulating a formula to distribute the country's tax revenues between states and the Centre.

• Uttarakhand passes UCC!

  1. On Wednesday, Uttarakhand became the first state to pass a legislation that seeks unifying personal laws across religions that will govern issues on marriage, divorce, inheritance and even cohabitation between unmarried partners. 

  2. The code mandates a minimum marriageable age for women and men (18 and 21 years, respectively), guarantees both genders equal rights on matters on divorce, share in property and allows adopted children and those born through surrogacy or other forms of assisted reproduction equal rights to inheritance. Polygamy and child marriage are also banned.

  3. Notably, it makes it compulsory for heterosexual couples to register their live-in relationships with the state government. Terminations of these should also be reported to the police. 

  4. Uttarakhand’s UCC bill marks the first step in the final prong of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s three ideological commitments. With the abrogation of Article 370 and the construction of a grand Ram temple in Ayodhya complete, the party is now looking to enact the UCC in Assam, Gujarat, and other states it governs.
     

Business

• Hyundai India plans to IPO

  1. The Indian arm of the South Korean car company is planning to list itself on the Indian stock market. Slated around Diwali in November, Hyundai aims to raise at least $3 billion. This would be India’s biggest IPO ever.

  2. Hyundai is the second largest automaker in India with a 15% market share. The IPO will set the value of its Indian operation at around $30 billion. However, nothing has been officially announced.

• Ola could get into the mining business

  1. Bhavish Aggarwal's Ola Electric is considering participating in the bidding for mining rights of lithium blocks that the government plans to auction. Lithium is a crucial mineral used in the production of rechargeable batteries, essential for various electronic devices such as mobile phones, laptops, digital cameras, and notably, electric vehicles (EVs).

  2. This potential bid aligns with Ola Electric's strategic vision for electric mobility. Securing mining rights for lithium would significantly enhance the company's ability to manufacture electric vehicle batteries in-house.

Sports, Culture & Everything else

• The Grammy’s are in

  The 66th Annual Grammy Awards honored the best recordings, compositions, and artists from October 1, 2022, to September 15, 2023, as chosen by the members of the recording academy.

  1. Record of the year - “Flowers” by Miley Cyrus

  2. Album of the year - “Midnight” by Taylor swift

  3. Song of the year - “What was I made for” by Billie Eilish

  FYI - Song of the Year is for the writing of a single track. Record of the Year is for the performance and production of a single track. Album of the Year is for a full album.

• Interesting tidbits

  1. India today’s poll predicts a strong win for the BJP is 2024 with close to 350 seats for the NDA.

  2. Disney has said that it will invest $1.5 billion to acquire equity stake in the 'Fortnite' maker Epic Games and work with the game developer to create a "games and entertainment universe".

  3. London has been declared as the most congested city in the world with Bangalore and Pune coming at No. 6 & 7 respectively.

  4. Joe Rogan will renew his multiyear podcasting deal with Spotify, now reportedly worth $250 million. It will also not be exclusive to Spotify, i.e. Rogan can distribute his show on other platforms.

  5. Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles was recently diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer—and will be undergoing treatment

  6. Miracle Weight loss drug Wegovy registered $1 Billion sales in 2023 in just Europe and west asia.

  7. A wildly popular Kannada flick playing on Amazon Prime has an amazing details. The pivotal scene of this tragic love story features the sound of the last member of the “Kauaʻi ʻōʻō“ bird species hopelessly calling out for a mate. Watch here.  

Global

• Israel rejects Hamas ceasefire offer

  1. Hamas had proposed a 135-day ceasefire plan for Gaza, featuring three 45-day phases. The proposal includes exchanging Israeli hostages for Palestinian prisoners, initiating Gaza's reconstruction, complete Israeli forces withdrawal, and exchanging bodies and remains.

  2. Israeli PM Netanyahu rejects it, insisting on "total victory" as the sole solution, claiming it's achievable.

• US retaliates against Iran

  1. Context: On 28 Jan, Iran-backed militants launched a drone attack in Jordan that killed three American soldiers.

  2. President Biden fulfilled his promise to retaliate with US strikes hitting 85 targets in 7 locations in Iraq and Syria linked to Iranian-backed militias, causing at least 40 deaths.

  3. Additionally, the US and UK targeted 36 Houthi sites in Yemen, raising concerns about the potential escalation of the conflict.