Current affairs 25 September 2023

India Gets Its 54th Tiger Reserve "Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve" In MP.

• The Madhya Pradesh Government has unveiled the Veerangana Durgavati Tiger Reserve, becoming the seventh tiger reserve in the state and the 54th in India.
• It is spread across Sagar, Damoh and Narsinghpur districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• It circumscribes an area of 2,339 square kilometres.
• It will encompass areas within the Nauradehi Wildlife Sanctuary and Durgavati Wildlife Sanctuary.
• A green corridor linking Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR) with Durgavati will be developed for the natural movement of the tiger to the new reserve.

Apple Plans To Boost Production In India Fivefold To $40 Billion Over Next 4-5 Years.

• Apple, the renowned iPhone maker, is gearing up to significantly expand its manufacturing operations in India.
• Government sources report that the company aims to increase its production in the country by over fivefold, reaching approximately $40 billion (about 3.32 lakh crore) within the next 4-5 years.
• This ambitious move follows Apple’s successful crossing of the $7 billion production mark in the previous fiscal year.
• According to market research firm Counterpoint Research, Apple holds a commanding 59 percent market share in the ultra-premium smartphone segment (phones priced above Rs 45,000) during the first quarter of 2023.
• India has emerged as one of the top-five markets for Apple, indicating its growing influence and market presence.

Singapore Overtakes Hong Kong as World’s Freest Economy.

• Singapore has dethroned Hong Kong to become the world’s freest economy in 2023.
• For the first time since the Economic Freedom of the World Index started in 1970, Hong Kong slipped to second place from the number one spot.
• Some of the tenets used to gauge the economic freedom index are measured based on ease of international trade, freedom to enter and compete in markets, as well as business regulations, amongst other yardsticks.

Northeast’s mithun gets "food animal" tag and its meat a leg-up.

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) recognised Mithun, a semi-domesticated bovine animal as a food animal.
• Found in altitudes ranging between 300 to 3,000 meters, mithuns have traditionally been part of the culture of various tribes in Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram.

Meta launches UPI payments for WhatsApp Business messaging in India.

• Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a significant expansion of WhatsApp’s payment feature in India during the Meta Conversations event.
• Users in India will now have the option to make payments to businesses via WhatsApp Business using various payment methods, including UPI, credit/debit cards, net banking, Google Pay, PhonePe, Paytm, and more.
• Initially, Meta partnered with RazorPay and PayU for this payment service.