Goaltide Daily Current Affairs 2023

Jan 17, 2023

Current Affair 1:
Consultation paper on ‘Blocking of Funds for Trading in Secondary Market’

 

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) releases consultation paper proposing to introduce a blocking of funds facility for trading in secondary markets.

Background:

In the last couple of years, Indian securities market has seen tremendous growth, both in terms of volumes as well as in terms of number of participants. This increasing participation with increase of new investors in securities market also puts greater onus on SEBI to make markets safer for its participants, with a special focus on retail participants.

Don’t go into much detail.

 

Current Affair 2:
INS Vagir commissioned into Indian Navy

 

INS Vagir, the fifth submarine of the of Project 75 Kalvari Class submarines, was commissioned into the Indian Navy, giving a boost to the force’s prowess.

INS Vagir has been built by Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited here with technology transfer from France.

Vagir’ will boost the Indian Navy’s capability to further India’s maritime interests and is capable of undertaking diverse missions including anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, intelligence gathering, mine laying and surveillance missions.

Vagir is the third submarine inducted into the Navy in a span of 24 months.

Four of the Kalvari class of submarines have already been commissioned into the Indian Navy.

The erstwhile ‘Vagir’ was commissioned on November 1, 1973, and undertook numerous operational missions including deterrent patrols.

Current Affair 3:
What is BharOS software and how different is it from Google’s Android OS?

 

News:

While Android and iOS are two of the most well-known mobile operating systems, a new Indian contender in the sector is BharOS. It is developed by the IIT Madras-incubated company JandK Operations Private Limited. Funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DST), the indigenous mobile operating system wants to cater to the approximately 100 crore mobile phone users in India, according to an IIT Madras press release on January 19.

What is BharOS?

It is an indigenous, or homegrown, mobile operating system (OS), like Android or iOS. These systems help smartphone users interact with their device and access its features, while ensuring safety. BharOS, in particular, is meant to be a contribution towards the idea of a self-reliant India or ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ by creating a secure OS environment for India-based users.

The OS can be installed on commercial off-the-shelf handsets, stated the IIT Madras press release.

How is it different from Google’s OS?

BharOS is being viewed as an Android rival with greater focus on app customisation. While Android and iOS serve more commercial and consumer-oriented use cases, BharOS appears to be more specialised and is still in limited use at the moment.

BharOS would offer Native Over The Air (NOTA) updates, meaning that security updates and bug fixes will be automatically installed rather than users having to check for updates and implementing them on their own, confirmed Karthik Ayyar, Director, JandK Operations Pvt Ltd.

Are Google’s apps included?

BharOS comes with the No Default Apps (NDA) setting, meaning that users do not have to keep or use pre-installed apps in this mobile operating system, according to IIT Madras.

NDA is key as many pre-installed apps that currently ship with other smartphones can slow down the device or take a toll on battery life by acting as bloatware.

Going with an NDA design for BharOS was intentional as it will let users have more control over the apps on their mobile phones based on the user’s trust in the app and the kind of data they store on their phone, IIT Madras explained.

Furthermore, BharOS will use a system known as Private App Store Services (PASS), which will examine and curate the apps that are safe for the users. This means that users should be able to use other apps, as long as they meet BharOS’ PASS standards.

 

Current Affair 4:
ASCI updates Ads Disclaimers Guidelines to help consumers

 

News:

The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) updated its Guidelines for Disclaimers made in supporting, limiting or explaining claims made in advertisements.

In the past three years, ASCI has processed over 800 advertisements which were found to be in violation of the disclaimer guidelines.

In a recent survey carried out by ASCI with 130 consumers, it was observed that 80% of respondents did not notice the disclaimer, 33% could not understand the disclaimers clearly even after adequate exposure time had been provided, and 62% of respondents felt that the disclaimer was excessively long.

The Consumer Complaints Council (CCC), have also observed that sometimes, the frame of the advertisement that contains the disclaimer was very crowded, and distracted the viewer’s focus.

To address these issues, the Guidelines for Disclaimers made in supporting, limiting or explaining claims made in advertisements have been amended by ASCI after consultation with stakeholders.

As per new guidelines, the use of disclaimer should be kept to a minimum. Long or otherwise complex disclaimers with large blocks of text and difficult words are a deterrent to viewers attempting to read the contents of the disclaimer. In such cases advertisers should modify the headline claim to reduce the need for further qualification through disclaimers.

While ASCI has had disclaimer guidelines since 2016, it was observed that over-use of disclaimers made it difficult for consumers to understand all the information presented in the ad. This is evident from our survey where 80% of consumers did not even notice the disclaimers. Hence, it is important that claims are crafted in a way that minimizes the need for qualificatory disclaimers. Where disclaimers are needed, they should be presented in a manner that someone who is interested in reading them has the opportunity to do so.

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