Kerala strays from solid waste; Indian EV makers to soon follow BIS standards for batteries

National

Dry forecast ahead for J&K

Jammu and Kashmir witnessed partly cloudy sky during the last 24 hours as the MeT department forecast mainly dry weather on Thursday. According to sources, the weather is likely to remain dry in J&K during the next 24 hours.

Srinagar recorded 11.6 degrees Celsius, Pahalgam 6.3 and Gulmarg 3 degrees as the minimum temperature.

Both Kargil and Leh in Ladakh region clocked 9.4 degrees as the minimum temperature, while Jammu registered 27.7 degrees, Katra 25.2, Batote 15.1 and stood at Banihal 15.4.

Kerala strays from solid waste

Ridding cities in Kerala of solid waste, the Kerala Solid Waste Management Project will be carried out in 93 urban local areas of the state, in the coming four months.

Urban Waste Management Practices: A basic grant will be given to strengthen and enhance the existing waste management systems. Urban local bodies have been instructed to introduce better waste management systems.

The plan is to create scientific waste treatment units. These will be created according to the quantity and nature of the waste generated while considering the available space in each municipality.

Reclaiming Land: Incidentally, 34 legacy waste disposal sites have been identified in different districts. Here, the initial steps of land reclamation have also begun. More will be identified and reclaimed in each municipality.

The land will be treated and waste disposal will carry out without any environmental, health or social problems.

Finance

India's real GDP growth for FY23 could stand at 7.5%

India's real gross domestic product (GDP) in FY23 is expected to be at 7.5 per cent, said SBI Research in a report.

Given the high inflation and the subsequent upcoming rate hikes, the real GDP could incrementally increase by Rs 11.1 lakh crore in FY23, an SBI report said.

In FY22, around 2000 Corporates in listed space reported 29 per cent growth in top line and 52 per cent growth in profit after tax. Besides, sector-wise data for April Indicated that credit off-take occurred in almost all sectors.

RBI is likely to raise the repo rate cumulatively by 125-150 basis points over the pandemic level of 4 per cent. RBI might also increase the cash reserve ratio rate cumulatively by another 50 basis points, after raising it by 50 basis points in the last monetary policy meet.

Business

Maruti Suzuki posts highest-ever monthly exports in May

Maruti Suzuki announced that it exports more than doubled, touching a record high of 27,191 units in May 2022.

Maruti Suzuki Makes History: Total vehicle sales of Maruti Suzuki stood at 161,413 units in May 2022. The company's total sales in the month included domestic sales of 128,000 units and sales to other original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of 6,222 units and its highest ever monthly exports of 27,191 units.

The shortage of electronic components had a minor impact on the production of vehicles, mainly on domestic models.

The sales figures of May 2022 are not comparable with that of May 2021 as the company was significantly affected due to COVID-19.

Trial By Fire: Indian EV makers to soon follow BIS standards for batteries

The government is all set to introduce EV battery standards (BIS standards) for EV two-wheelers. BIS standards for EV batteries will look into "size, connectors, specification and minimum quality of cells, the battery's capacity".

An EV Revolution is coming: Preliminary findings from the government-constituted probe committee on EV fires have already identified issues with battery cells or design. Experts found defects in battery cells as well as battery design in nearly all EV fires.

Fixing what's broke: The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) that was tasked with investigating EV fire incidents by the Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry, found serious defects in the batteries.

These defects occurred because the electric two-wheeler manufacturers like Okinawa Autotech, Pure EV, Jitendra Electric Vehicles, Ola Electric and Boom Motors may have used "lower-grade materials to cut costs".

International

Sri Lanka calls on farmers to grow more rice as food situation worsens

Sri Lanka is calling on farmers to grow more rice as it faces its worst economic crisis in more than 70 years. The country's Agriculture Minister Mahinda Amaraweera made the appeal as he said the country's "food situation is becoming worse".

Crashing Highs: It comes as severe shortages of essentials, including food, helped to push inflation, the rate at which prices rise, to a new record high. The government raised taxes to help pay for critical purchases, including fuel and food.

Sri Lankan officials have been looking for ways to boost food production, as Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has warned of severe food shortages by August.

The country is applying for assistance from a South Asian food bank, which has supplied rice and other goods to countries in need.

UN warns of potential global food crisis due to Russia-Ukraine war

The Russia-Ukraine war could lead to a global food crisis that will hit developing countries the hardest, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned in Stockholm.

Russia on Ice: The food crisis cannot be resolved unless Russia's manure and food production, and Ukraine's food production can reach world markets again.

Russia and Ukraine are the world's largest and fifth-largest wheat exporters, respectively. They provide 19 per cent of the world's barley supply, 14 per cent of wheat and four per cent of maize.

Broken Breadbasket: Ukraine is known as the breadbasket of Europe, and the conflict has left unharvested wheat unattended, while maize and sunflowers sown when the conflict broke out were left unfertilised.

Farmers in Brazil, the US and other major agricultural countries have had to reduce their use of fertilisers, which could affect future harvests.

Technology

Google to merge Duo, Meet into single platform

Tech giant Google has confirmed that it is planning to merge its two disparate video calling apps, Duo and Meet, into a single platform.

Meet, Duo duo: Google has made deep investments in both Google Duo and Google Meet to support users who rely on our technology for video calls and meetings.

The plan is to rename the Duo app to Google Meet, a single video communications service across Google that is available to everyone at no-cost. This integrated experience will provide users with a single solution service for both video calling and meetings with people.

There are also quality and reliability improvements as well as new moderation controls to keep meetings safe and productive.

Sports

South African T20I team arrives in New Delhi ahead of series against India

The South Africa T20I side, led by Temba Bavuma, arrived in New Delhi on Thursday ahead of five-match series against India to be played from June 9 to 19. The series serves as the resumption of both teams' preparations for the Mens T20 World Cup in Australia.

The first match of the series, will be played at Arun Jaitley Stadium. The Indian team will chase a 13-match winning streak in T20Is. India are level with Afghanistan and Romania for most consecutive wins in T20Is at 12.

This will be the third time South Africa will play a bilateral T20I series in India.

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (C), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Rassie van der Dussen and Marco Jansen.