IIT Bombay stands among top 22 % in 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings

Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay stands among top 22 per cent in the 2022 QS Graduate Employability Rankings. As per the release, in last one year, IIT Bombay has moved up in the range from 111-120 to 101-110 rankings in QS Graduate Employability Rankings 2022. On employer reputation indicator, with a score of 73.9, IIT, Bombay ranked at 70th place globally.
IITB’s Director Prof. Subhasis Chaudhuri said, training at IITB emphasizes learning outcomes on developing skills for analytical problem solving, capability to address unseen problems and an appreciation for the constraints that beset a specific problem.

India signs contract with Airbus Defence & Space company of Spain for acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft

India signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space Company of Spain for acquisition of 56 C-295MW transport aircraft for the Indian Air Force.
Defence Ministry signed the contract with Airbus Defence and Space. It also signed an Offset Contract with Airbus Defence and Space. These contracts were signed following the approval accorded by the Cabinet Committee on Security earlier this month.
The induction of C-295MW will be a significant step towards modernization of the transport fleet of the Indian Air Force. 56 C-295MW transport aircraft is supported by latest technology which will replace the ageing Avro transport aircraft of IAF. The aircraft will give a major boost to tactical airlift capability of IAF, especially in the Northern and North-Eastern sector and Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
The project will provide a major boost to the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan of the Centre that offers a unique opportunity for the Indian private sector to enter into technology intensive and highly competitive aviation industry.
Out of 56, forty aircraft will be manufactured in India by TATA Consortium. All the deliveries will be completed within ten years of signing of the contract.
All 56 aircraft will be installed with indigenous Electronic Warfare Suite. The project will give a boost to the aerospace ecosystem in India wherein several MSMEs of the country will be involved in manufacturing parts of the aircraft. The programme will also involve development of specialized infrastructure in the form of hangars, buildings, aprons and taxiways.

Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021- Highlights

The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2021 came into effect on September 21, 2021 by amending the Patents Rules 2003.
By amending the rules, Union Government has reduced the patent filing and processing fees that are charged on educational institutions by 80%.
This reduction in fees is at par with similar concession available to start-ups under the Start-up India.
While applying for patents, innovators have to apply these patents in the name of institutions which have to pay very high fees for large applicants and thus work as a disincentive.
Thus, to encourage greater participation of the educational institutions, playing a significant role in India’s innovation, official fees have been reduced.
According to DPIIT, educational institutions engage in various research activities, where professors or teachers as well as students generate several new technologies that are required to be patented in order to facilitate commercialization of the same.
But high patenting fees restricts these technologies to get patented and thus work as a disincentive for development of new technologies.
To do away this problem, Patents rules have been amended several times in order to achieve the objective of removing procedural inconsistencies and unnecessary steps to process the applications.

INTERNATIONAL

India, Japan reaffirm commitment towards free, open & inclusive Indo-Pacific region

India and Japan have reaffirmed their commitment to advance efforts to facilitate the smooth and timely implementation of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) project.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed MAHSAR with his Japanese counterpart Suga Yoshihide, on the sidelines of the Quad Leaders’ Summit. The two Prime Ministers expressed happiness at their first in-person meeting.
Mr. Modi congratulated Prime Minister Suga for successfully hosting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympic Games in the midst of a global pandemic. The two Prime Ministers reviewed the multi-faceted relationship between the two countries and exchanged views on recent global and regional developments, including in Afghanistan. They reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region. They agreed to enhance bilateral security and defence cooperation, including in the area of defence equipment and technologies.

CAF World Giving Index 2021- Highlights

Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) World Giving Index 2021 was published recently, in which India found the place among top-20 generous countries.
India has been ranked at the 14th spot. Its rank has improved up from the 10-year global rank of 82.
CAF report notes that, India is one of the fastest climbers on the Index.
According to the report, 61% Indians have helped a stranger during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.
36% of Indians donated money.
34% Indians volunteered for social causes in India.
The most generous country across the world is Indonesia. Indonesia has been ranked at first position in the CAF Index this year. Indonesia is followed by Kenya, Nigeria, Myanmar, Australia, Ghana, New Zealand, Uganda, Kosovo and Thailand in that order. In the year 2019, US was ranked at top position.

India-Australia first JWG meeting on Coal and Mines

India and Australia held their first Joint Working Group (JWG) meeting on Coal and Mines on September 23, 2021 through Video conferencing.
JWG meeting is a precursor to the upcoming India-Australia Energy Dialogue which is scheduled to be held in October 2021.
Meeting was co-chaired by Additional Secretary in Ministry of Coal Vinod Kumar Tiwari from India and Head of Resources Division Paul Trotman from Australia.
During the meeting, Indian side overviewed the coal sector in India and presented emerging scenario for future. He also noted the priority areas that are required to be included for possible collaborations in coal and mining sectors in India as well as Australia.
It focused on Indian coal resources in the present & future scenario, as well as minerals demand & supply scenario.
They also discussed the collaboration on Clean Coal Technology, Coal Bed Methane, Surface Coal Gasification, sharing of Technology Coal Based Hydrogen & Carbon Capture Utilization between both the countries.

ECONOMY

RBI Data on Bank deposits in FY21

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its “Deposits with Scheduled Commercial Banks – March 2021 data” on September 23, 2021.
As per RBI data, Bank deposits have increased by 11.9 per cent year-on-year during 2020-21 as compared to 8.8 per cent in 2019-20.
Deposits increased in light of high growth in Current Account and Savings Account (CASA) Deposits.
Share of CASA deposits climbed up to 43.7 per cent in March 2021 against 41.7 per cent in 2020.

ENVIRONMENT

WMO Report: Climate Indicators and Sustainable Development

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has published a new report titled “Climate Indicators and Sustainable Development: Demonstrating the Interconnections” on September 22, 2021.
Release of the WMO report coincides with the annual session of United Nations General Assembly and the opening of the SDG Action Zone, dedicated to accelerating action on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The report also examines the implications of latest data & scientific research on the state of global climate for sustainable development in order to highlight how climate is changing and how these changes will help in achieving the SDGs.

Climate Indicators

The report highlights seven climate indicators, impacting the SDGs:

Carbon dioxide concentration
Temperature
Ocean acidification
Ocean heat content
Sea-ice extent
Glacier mass balance and
Sea-level rise.

Increasing temperatures will led to the global and regional changes as well as shifts in rainfall patterns & agricultural seasons.
CO2 concentration drives the global climate change and is indirectly responsible for risks related to several climate indicators. Thus reducing carbon emissions is the most effective and necessary climate-related actions to achieve SDGs.

WFP-ICRISAT sign agreement on Food Security

United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) have signed an agreement on Food security on September 23, 2021.
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed on programmes and research in order to improve food, nutrition security and livelihoods across India.
It was signed between WFP India Representative, Bishow Parajuli and Director General of ICRISAT, Dr Jacqueline Hughes.
Both WFP and ICRISAT will work in collaboration to promote research, advocacy and raise awareness regarding the traditional nutritious crops, undertaking food & nutritional security analysis.