current affairs 29 january 2022

Tata Group Officially takes over Air India Operations.

• The Government of India officially handed over India's flag carrier, Air India, to Tales Pvt Ltd, a subsidiary of the Tata Group, on January 27, 2022, nearly 69 years after the group was acquired.
• The total value of the deal is Rs 18,000 crore (US$2.4 billion).
• Air India's strategic disinvestment transaction involves the transfer of 100 per cent Government of India stake in Air India to Tata Sons along with management control.
• The transaction involves three entities namely Air India, Air India Express and Air India SATS (AI SATS).
• Under the deal, the Tata group will also be given 50 per cent stake in Air India Express and ground handling arm AI SATS.

MoS Culture Meenakashi Lekhi launches the illustrated comic book "India's Women Unsung Heroes".

• Minister of State for Culture Meenakshi Lekhi released the illustrated comic book "India's Women Unsung Heroes" in New Delhi.
• The book has been produced by the Ministry of Culture in partnership with Amar Chitra Katha.
• This book portrays the heroic stories and tales of queens who fought imperialism and dedicated their lives for Maa Bharati (Mother Earth).

Govt notifies Certification Scheme for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Drones)- to boost indigenous manufacturing.

• The Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) has notified a drone certification scheme to ensure minimum safety and quality requirements to promote indigenous manufacturing.
• The Drone Certification Scheme was notified on January 26, 2022, under Rule 7 of the Liberalized Drone Rules, 2021 to help in simple, fast and transparent type-certification of drones.
• Government of India has created Digital Sky platform for registration and operation of drones with all digital process.
• These initiatives like Certification Scheme, PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) Scheme, Liberalized Drone Rules, Airspace Map and DigitalSky Platform will help the drone manufacturing industries in India.
• The Ministry of Civil Aviation had approved the PLI scheme for drones and drone components in September 2021 with an allocation of Rs 120 crore spread over three financial years.

TerraPay partners with NPCI International to boost cashless transactions for Indian customers.

• TerraPay (a leading global payments infrastructure company) has signed a MoU with NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL).
• It will allow Indian customers with an active UPI ID to receive real-time, international payments into their bank accounts via TerraPay’s secure payments technology.
• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) is the International arm of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• TerraPay is Headquartered in The Netherlands.
• Mr. Ritesh Shukla is the CEO of NIPL. While Ambar Sur is the Founder and CEO of TerraPay.

City Union Bank launches Fitness Watch Debit Card in tie-up with GOQii.

• City Union Bank, in association with smart-tech-enabled preventive healthcare platform GOQii and powered by National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
• It has launched a wearable payment solution called CUB Fitness Watch Debit Card.
• Customers need to hold this wristwatch in front of the POS device while making payments like tapping a card at POS.
• For payments above Rs 5,000, customers need to tap and enter their PIN.
• The starting price of a smartwatch debit card is Rs 3,499, while the actual price is Rs 6,499.
• Customers can set their payment limit using Net/Mobile Banking.
• The bank said in a statement that the payments made using this debit card in Fitness Watch are safe and secure.
• For every transaction done using the watch, SMS will be sent to the registered mobile number.
• Customer can request for Fitness Watch Debit Card through Net Banking/ Mobile Banking.
• The usage of the wristwatch can be managed by the customer himself through the CUB All in One mobile app.