The G20 is made up of 19 countries and the European Union.
G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was recently held at Salta, Argentina.
This event took place as part of G20 Leaders’ summit, which is going to be held at the end of 2018.
It is going to be hosted by Argentina under the theme “Building consensus for fair and sustainable development”.
Under the Turkish presidency in 2015, G20 leaders recognized the modern period as a critical era of digital transformation.
The Digital Economy Task Force (DETF) was established under the 2017 German presidency, based on the decision adopted in Hangzhou in 2016 under the Chinese Presidency.
DETF will meet twice in a year to provide recommendations for inclusive development in the era of digital transformation.
Wolbachia
Wolbachia is a tiny bacterium that is present in 60% of all species of insects, including several mosquito species.
But the bacterium is not usually in the Aedes aegypti mosquito, which is primarily responsible for transmitting dengue, chikungunya and Zika.
It is one of the world’s most common parasitic microbes and the most common reproductive parasite in the biosphere.
If this bacterium is introduced in mosquitoes, it could stop disease-spreading viruses from replicating, growing and spreading the diseases.
India and several countries are carrying out experiments to look in to the possibility of breeding Wolbachia in Aedes aegypti.
The experiment has proved remarkably effective in a small town in Australia, preventing fresh outbreaks of dengue.
At present, large-scale trials are under way in Brazil, Colombia and Indonesia.
Galileo
Galileo is a navigation satellite program being developed by the European Union as a rival to the U.S. Global Positioning System.
It was commissioned in 2003 and is due for completion by 2020.
It is a project of the European Commission and European space agency.
It consists of 24 satellites in which 22 are currently in orbit and it is likely to reach 30 in 2021.
It promises eventual real-time positioning to accuracy of one metre or less.
The project has recently emerged as a flashpoint between Britain and the EU in the Brexit process.
It is because of UK’s access to sensitive security information could be restricted after Brexit.
Share Buyback
A buyback is a mechanism through which a listed company buys back shares from the market.
It can be done either through open market purchases or through the tender offer route.
Under the open market mechanism, the company buys back the shares from the secondary market while under tender offer, shareholders can tender their shares during the buyback offer.
A company prefers buyback usually when it has a significant cash reserve and feels that the shares are not fairly valued at the current market price.
The brought back shares will have increased Earnings per share (EPS) by default.
It is because a buyback is usually done at a price higher than the then prevailing market price, shareholders get an attractive exit option, especially when the shares are thinly traded.
A company can use a maximum of 25% of the aggregate of its free reserves and paid-up capital for a buyback.
Both Institutional investors and retail shareholders take part in a buy back offer.
SEBI has recently revised the buy back regulations that stipulate 15% reservation for retail shareholders in a buy back offer.
It gives retail investors a fair share in the offer, which otherwise could see large institutional investors tendering their shares leaving little or no room for small investors.
Bureau of Indian Standards
Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the National Standard body of India which sets the quality regulations for various product.
BIS is set to formulate new standards to measure quality of services offered to consumers across different sectors.
The initial focus will be the 12 champion services sectors identified by the government.
These include IT, tourism and hospitality, transport and logistics, accounting and finance services, legal services, communication services and construction.
A framework for quality services will be provided to consumers and a benchmark to deal with consumer complaints will be set by BIS.
