Russia says it has successfully tested a new Sarmat intercontinental missile that can evade defenses.

• The missile was fired from the Plesetsk state test cosmodrome in northwest Russia''s Arkhangelsk region.
• After the test, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the new missile complex has the highest tactical and technical characteristics and is able to overcome all modern means of anti-missile defense.
• An intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) is a missile with a minimum range of 5,500 kilometres primarily designed for nuclear weapons delivery (delivering one or more thermonuclear warheads).

Digital Banking units to come up in 75 districts

• Earlier this month, the Reserve Bank of India announced the guidelines for DBUs, following the report of a working group of the Indian Banks Association.
• A digital banking unit is a specialised fixed point business unit or hub housing certain minimum digital infrastructure for delivering digital banking products and services as well as servicing existing financial products and services digitally in self-service mode at any time.
• Commercial banks (other than regional rural banks, payment banks and local area banks) with past digital banking experience are permitted to open DBUs in tier 1 to tier 6 centres, unless otherwise specifically restricted, without having the need to take permission from the RBI in each case.
• As per the RBI, each DBU must offer certain minimum digital banking products and services.
• Such products should be on both liabilities and assets side of the balance sheet of the digital banking segment. Digitally value-added services to conventional products would also qualify as such.

Police to formulate guidelines on loudspeaker use

• The Maharashtra government is relying on provisions of The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 to negotiate the controversy over the use of loudspeakers by mosques.
• As per the Central Pollution Control Board’s mandate for noise pollution, ‘noise’ is defined as unwanted sound. Sound, which pleases the listener, is music and that which causes pain and annoyance is noise.
• Section 2 (a) of the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 includes noise in the definition of ‘air pollutant’.
• Noise pollution and its sources are regulated under The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000 under The Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

What is the threshold for acceptable level of noise?

• Noise pollution Rules have defined the acceptable level of noise in different zones for both daytime and nighttime. In industrial areas, the permissible limit is 75 decibels (unit of sound; tenth of a ‘bell’, symbol dB) for daytime, and 70 dB for night.
• Daytime is defined as the period from 6 am to 10 pm, and night is 10 pm to 6 am of the following day.

Global Ayush Investment and Innovation Summit-2022

• The three day Ayush global summit will witness a dialogue with entrepreneurs, industry, startups and other stakeholders to encourage them to increase investment for innovation in Ayush as the sector continues to showcase colossal room for growth.
• The Global Ayush Investment & Innovation Summit will be in progress till April 22, 2022 in Gandhinagar, Gujarat and commenced a day after the Prime Minister inaugurated the WHO-Global Centre for Traditional Medicine in Jamnagar.
• In 2014, where the Ayush sector was less than $3 billion, today it has increased to more than $18 billion.
• Many new initiatives in Ayush sector were announced by the Prime Minister, first being a special Ayush mark for Ayush products. This will give people all over the world the confidence of quality Ayush products.
• Government will develop a network of Ayush parks to encourage the promotion, research and manufacturing of Ayush products across the country.
• A new category named ''Ayush Aahar'' was announced which will greatly facilitate the producers of herbal nutritional supplements.
• India will soon introduce a special Ayush visa category for foreign nationals who want to come to India to take advantage of Ayush therapy was announced.
• PM Modi announced launch of Ayush Export Promotion Council and four Ayush ICT initiatives which includes Ayush Information Hub, AyuSoft, Ayush Next and Ayush GIS.
• Prime Minister also released a comic book named ‘Professor Ayushman’, which describes how Ayush systems and products helped in fighting not only COVID-19 but other diseases also.
• On this occasion, the Prime Minister distributed awards to the winners of ''Ayush Start-up Challenge’ organised by All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) in association with Start-up India.

Government Approves PLI Scheme for Drones and drone components.

• The ministry invited applications from eligible manufacturers on 10th March 2022 and the last date for submission was 31st March 2022.
• The eligibility criteria for the PLI scheme for drones and drone components includes an annual sales turnover of INR 2 crore for drone companies and INR 50 lacs for drone components manufacturers; and value addition of over 40% of sales turnover.
• The PLI scheme for drones and drone components was notified on 30th September 2021.
• Under the scheme, a total incentive of INR 120 crore is spread over three financial year which is nearly double the combined turnover of all domestic drone manufacturers in FY 2020-21.
• The PLI rate is 20% of the value addition which is one of the highest among other PLI scheme.
• A unique feature of drone PLI scheme is that the manufacturers who fail to meet the value addition threshold in 2021-22 will be allowed to claim the lost incentive in the subsequent year if they make up the shortfall in 2022-23.

Govt amends rules governing Nidhi companies

• Now, public companies desiring to function as Nidhis must obtain prior declaration from the central government before accepting deposits, the Ministry said.
• A Nidhi company, especially popular in southern states like Tamil Nadu, is a non-banking financial company. The core business of Nidhi companies is borrowing and lending money between their members.
• For timely disposal, it has also been provided in amended rules that in case no decision is conveyed by the central government within 45 days of the receipt of applications by companies in NDH-4 form, approval will be deemed as granted. This will apply for such companies which shall be incorporated after Nidhi (Amendment) Rules, 2022.

Project 75 India

• Dr Ajay Kumar, Defence Secretary was the Chief Guest at the ceremony and the submarine has been named ‘Vagsheer’. The Kalvari class is a class of diesel-electric attack submarines based on the Scorpène-class submarine being built for the Indian Navy.
• The submarines are designed by French naval defence and energy company DCNS and are being manufactured by Mazagon Dock Limited in Mumbai.
• The first of the Project - 75 submarines was commissioned into the Navy in December 2017 and presently four submarines of this Project are in commission in the Indian Navy.
• The fifth submarine is progressing with the Sea Trials and is likely to be delivered this year.
• The sixth submarine will now commence setting to work of various equipment and their harbour trials. The crew will thereafter sail the submarine for the rigorous Sea Acceptance Trials after which the submarine would be delivered to the Indian Navy by late next year.

India’s first pure green hydrogen plant commissioned in Jorhat.

• Oil India Limited (OIL) has taken the first significant step towards Green Hydrogen Economy in India with the commissioning of India’s First 99.999% pure Green Hydrogen pilot plant, with an installed capacity of 10 kg per day at its Jorhat Pump Station in Assam today.
• The plant produces Green Hydrogen from the electricity generated by the existing 500kW Solar plant using a 100 kW Anion Exchange Membrane (AEM) Electrolyser array.
• The use of AEM technology is being used for the first time in India.
• This plant is expected to increase its production of green hydrogen from 10 kg per day to 30 kg per day in future.
• The company has initiated a detailed study in collaboration with IIT Guwahati on blending of Green Hydrogen with Natural Gas and its effect on the existing infrastructure of OIL.