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Current Affairs for IAS Exams - 23 December 2021

::NATIONAL::

Government has launched the Open Acreage Licensing Programme (OALP) Bid Round-7 for International Competitive Bidding. The bids can be submitted through a dedicated online e-bidding portal till 15th February next year.

About:

The award of these blocks is likely be completed by the end of March 2022.
Successful award of Round-7 Blocks will add further 15 thousand 766 square kilometre of exploration acreage and cumulative acreage under OALP will be increased to over two lakh square kilometre.
HELP was launched in March 2016 that replaced the New Exploration Licensing Policy (NELP).

Significance of HELP in comparison to NELP

Transition to Revenue Sharing Model from profit sharing in NELP.
Single License for all Hydrocarbons instead of separate licenses in NELP.
Lower Royalty Rates withno royalty for the first 7 years incase of deep-sea drilling. Also, there are concession in Royalty Rates for Early Production.
Simplified Dispute Resolution Mechanism.
Pricing & Marketing Freedom.

The National Stock Exchange (NSE) has launched a new corporate governance initiative – ‘NSE Prime’.

About NSE Prime:

Will raise the bar for corporate governance standards in India,
Enable investors to identify companies that have voluntarily signed up for higher standardsof corporate governance, Broaden the quality of investors in listed companies etc.

Benefits:

It is a framework that prescribes higher standards of corporate governance for listed companies than those required by regulations.
All the NSE-listed companies can adopt NSE Prime voluntarily.

Adding 33 ‘unicorns’ in a single year has helped India displace the United Kingdom to be third in the list of countries that are home to such enterprises valued at over $1 billion each.

Key highlights:

India was placed fourth when it comes to the number of unicorns last year. However, the US and northern neighbour China, who occupy the first two ranks, are way ahead, according to the data compiled by Hurun Research Institute.
The US added 254 unicorns and now totals 487 companies in the coveted list, while China added 74 to take its tally to 301 start-ups having a valuation of over $1 billion.The top-two occupants are home to 74% of the unicornuniverse, it said, adding that the overall list saw 673 ‘new faces’ and 201 drop-offs.
Of the drop-offs, 28% or 162 companies were ‘promoted’ out of the unicorn list, after going public or being acquired, while seven% or 39 companies were ‘demoted’, after their valuations dropped below $1 billion.
The institute took into account companies incorporated in this century to determine a unicorn and the list is updated till November 2021.

The US Treasury Department, announced it was issuing special licenses to ensure that some international aid could flow to Afghanistan, where the economy collapsed following the Taliban takeover in August.

About:

The licenses will enable the U.S. government, international organisations such as the United Nations and non-governmental organisations to operate in the country and offer humanitarian assistance despite sanctions. They will also allow Afghans living abroad to send money to their families in Afghanistan through remittances.
The U.S. government has labeled Afghanistan’s Taliban and the related Haqqani network as terrorists, severely restricting their access to global institutions and the outside money that supported the country’s economy before the withdrawal of U.S. forces this year and the swift demise of its previous government.
As much as 80% of Afghanistan’s budget comes from the international community. Without greater access to foreign money, the Afghan economy is likely to contract by about 30% this year — furthering the humanitarian crisis.

Russia’s state-run atomic energy corporation, Rosatom, began construction of unit 6 of Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KNPP).

About:

KNPP is India’s first nuclear plant to use imported PWR (pressurised water reactor) technology.
It is being developed by the Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL).
The power plant will have a combined capacity of 6000MW upon commissioning of its six units.
Russia is building the KKNPP under an Inter-Governmental Agreement of 1988 and follow-on agreements in 1998 and 2008.
The existing nuclear power plants in India use pressurised heavy water reactor or boiling water reactor technology.

The first set of indigenously developed next-generation Armoured Engineer Reconnaissance Vehicle (AERV) was inducted into the Indian Army.

About:

AERV is designed to meet the tactical and combat requirements of Military Engineers for carryingout terrestrial and under-water surveys in hostile terrains.
The system has been designed by Defence Research and Development Organisation’s (DRDO) twofacilities — Vehicles Research Development Establishment (VRDE), Ahmednagar, and Researchand Development Establishment, Pune.
It provides Combat Engineering Support for offensive & defensive operations in plains, desert andriverine terrains.
AERV is being manufactured by the Ordnance Factory, Medak.