Today in History (July 4th, 1776)
The Second Continental Congress adopted the Declaration of Independence in 1776, which called for the secession of the American colonies from the Great Britain. It is now celebrated as the Independence Day in the United States of America.
Summary of Today’s News
Greedflation
Greedflation refers to price inflation caused by corporate greed for high profits. It is being argued that corporate profit margins have risen significantly since the pandemic even though the economy is struggling to recover which has contributed to high inflation. The companies in the United States increased the prices of their goods, which was more than necessary, to compensate for higher input costs due to supply-chain bottlenecks.
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)
Sri Narendra Modi, the Prime Minister of India, will virtually host the Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and the Central Asian countries Presidents as India chairs the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s Council of Heads of State (SCO-CHS) for the first time. An agreement on an economic cooperation initiative is being negotiated, but it is unclear whether all countries, especially India, will sign it, given past differences with China over the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The summit will also adopt the “New Delhi Declaration”, and two joint statements on countering radicalism and on digital transformation.
Indian refiners to start paying in Yuan for buying Russian oil.
The U.S. dollar has long been the main global oil currency, including for purchases by India, but now the Chinese Yuan is playing an increasingly important role in Russia’s financial system because it has been frozen out of the dollar and euro financial networks by international sanctions. Hence, Indian refiners have begun paying for some oil imports from Russia in Chinese Yuan, as India has emerged as the largest buyer of the Russian sea-borne crude oil in past few months.
New scheme to support minor rape victims.
The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has announced a special scheme for providing medical, financial and infrastructure support to victims in cases which results in pregnancies. The scheme will operate under the aegis of Nirbhaya Fund and an amount of Rs. 74.1 crore has been allocated for the scheme.
