1) Application Supported by Blocked Amount system (ASBA): SEBI approves ASBA-like facility for trading in secondary market
- This process is developed by SEBI to apply for IPOs, Rights and Debts Issues, FPS and more.
- It entails that the amount to be paid for subscribing to the shares does not get debited from the investor’s account until the shares have been allotted by the company.
- Investors can apply for ASBA and have the bank block out the application money until the shares get allotted to the investor.
- This system will provide the authorization of the investor to subscribe only when the application is selected for the issue. This blocking is carried out by Self-Certified Syndicate Banks (SCSB). Upon the approval of the issue to the investor, the funds are paid accordingly.
2) Re-wilding: As per the Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines laid down by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, there are three ways to deal with orphaned or abandoned tiger cubs.
- The first is to make an effort to reunite the abandoned cubs with their mother.
- Second, if a reunion of the cub with its mother is not possible, then shift the cub to a suitable zoo.
- Third, reintroduction of the cub into the wild after a certain time when it appears that the cub is capable of surviving in the wild independently. This is what is known as ‘re-wilding.
- NTCA stresses that the tiger cub should be reared in an in situ enclosure for a minimum of two years, and during this time, each cub should have a successful record of at least 50 ‘kills’.
3) PIEZOELECTRIC EFFECT: For the first time, scientists have reported evidence of the piezoelectric effect in liquids. The effect has been known for 143 years and has been observed only in solids.
- Piezoelectric Effect is the ability of certain materials to generate an electric charge in response to applied mechanical stress. In this, a body develops an electric current when it is squeezed.
- Quartz is the most famous piezoelectric crystal: it is used in this capacity in analog wristwatches and clocks.
- One of the unique characteristics of the piezoelectric effect is that it is reversible, meaning that materials exhibiting the direct piezoelectric effect (the generation of electricity when stress is applied) also exhibit the converse piezoelectric effect (the generation of stress when an electric field is applied).
4) Cultured Meat: It is actual meat that is produced from animal cells. It is also known as cultivated meat, cell-based meat or Lab-grown meat. Without the need to raise and kill animals, this meat can be produced. Instead of using meat from dead animals, cultured meat is created by growing animal cells in a lab.
- It tastes, smells, looks, and feels the same as traditional animal flesh and is nutritionally similar.
- The plant-based meat is created using plant sources like soy or pea protein, whereas cultured meat is created by growing cells in a lab.
- For the first time, lab-grown meat has received safety clearance from the US. Singapore was the only nation up until this point to permit the sale of items made from domesticated meat.
5) Product-wise insurance commission cap removed by IRDAI: Life and non-life players will have more freedom in offering commissions – the compensation paid to and received by an insurance agent from an insurer for soliciting and procuring an insurance policy.
- However, the commission will have to be within their overall Expenses of Management (EOM) and insurers can have board-approved limits for paying commissions to their agents.
- Expenses of Management (EOM) include all expenses in the nature of operating expenses of general or health Insurance business and commission to the insurance agents or insurance intermediaries. It also includes commission and expenses on reinsurance inward, which are charged to the revenue account.
