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A2Z Current Affairs PDF for SBI PO 2019 and other exams
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Contents
Topic Page Number MOU/Agreement Countries 3-4 MOU Industry/States/Others 4-6 Appointments and Resignations 6-13 Awards and Recognitions 13-19 Conference and Summits 20-22 International News 22-27 National News 27-35 State News 35-42 Finance and Banking News 42-48 Business News 48-53 Economy News 53-57 Science & Technology 57-58 Defence News 58-60 Sports News 60-68 Committee 68-69 Rankings of Countries 69-70 Rankings (Persons and Organisations) 70-73 Loans from Banks 73-74 Deadlines 74 Books and Authors 75-76 Obituaries 76-80 Nobel Prize Winners 2018 80-81 Important Days 81-86
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MOU/Agreement Countries
Indian Railway Station Development Corporation (IRSDC) entered into a tripartite agreement with French National Railways (SNCF) and French Development Agency (AFD), under which a grant of up to 7 lakh euros will be provided to boost capacity building for railway station development program in India. India has partnered with Portugal to set up a national maritime heritage museum at Lothal in Gujarat. Japan has decided to invest about Rs 13,000 crore in several ongoing as well as new projects in different states of the north-eastern region. India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Japan’s largest egg producer, ISE Foods, in a bid to improve the quality of eggs, waste management and disease diagnosis in poultry farms across the country. The ISE’s egg production process, almost fully automated, is considered most hygienic in the world. India has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Consultancy Service (NABCONS) for setting up the India-Africa Institute of Agriculture and Rural Development (IAIARD) in Malawi, a landlocked country in southeastern Africa. India and Sri Lanka have agreed to increase cooperation in security and defence spheres in several areas, including regional security, curbing drug smuggling and human trafficking. The issues came up for discussion when Defence Secretary Sanjay Mitra called on Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirsena in Colombo during his official visit. India and Sweden launched a joint programme that will work towards addressing a range of challenges around smart cities and clean technologies among others. The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, was apprised about an MoU signed in February, 2019 between India and Republic of Korea. Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications, Government of India and The Ministry of Science and ICT (Korea Post), Government of the Republic of Korea have mutually agreed to jointly issue Postage Stamps on the theme “Queen Hur Hwang-ok of Korea”. India joined hands with Japan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to implement 2 projects in Africa as it seeks to extend its footprint on the continent where strategic rival China has made deep inroads. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its ex-post facto approval to the Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) between India and Bolivia on cooperation in the field of geology and mineral resources and traditional systems of medicine and homeopathy. The MoUs were signed in Bolivia in March 2019. India will collaborate with Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia to increase the population of three species of Asian rhinos, including the Greater one-horned rhinoceros found in the Indian sub-continent. The five rhino range nations signed a declaration ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’ for the conservation and protection of the species at the recently held Second Asian Rhino Range Countries meeting in New Delhi. The Indian Council of Medical Research and the African Union (AU) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which formalised the India-Africa Health Sciences Collaborative Platform (IAHSP) by establishing a framework. French Space Agency CNES signed an agreement with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up a maritime surveillance centre in the country. India signed a $3.3 billion deal with Russia for leasing the third nuclear-powered Akula class attack submarine. An Inter Governmental Agreement (IGA) was signed between the two countries in New Delhi. The submarine, to be called Chakra -3, will be delivered in 2025 for a 10-year period. National space agency ISRO and its French counterpart The National Centre for Space Studies (CNES) sealed an agreement to set up a joint maritime surveillance system in the country in May. The two nations will explore putting up a constellation of low-Earth orbiting satellites that will identify and track movement of ships globally and in particular those moving in the Indian Ocean region where France has its Reunion Islands.
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Experts from the University of Birmingham and policy makers and researchers from India announced a collaboration to jointly develop strategies to resolve health, social and economic issues linked to air pollution in Delhi. Maldives finance ministry has signed an agreement with India’s Export-Import bank (EXIM) for line of credit (LOC) of 800 million US dollars to finance the new government’s infrastructure projects. The agreement with EXIM Bank was signed in presence of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj two-day visit to Male. The concessional loans will be used to provide water and sewerage services on several islands. The Union Cabinet gave ex-post facto approval for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and Maldives for the establishment of passenger and cargo services by sea.
MOU Industry/States/Others
Bharat Heavy Electricals and Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), an autonomous body affiliated to the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises have signed an MoU for cooperation on various projects related to e-mobility. IT services firm Tech Mahindra and French digital content publishing firm Rakuten Aquafadas signed an MoU to collaborate on building enhanced customer experience offerings. On the occasion of World Telecom Day on 17 May, state-run telecom major BSNL has partnered with Google to increase access to its WiFi footprint in the country. With the launch of this service, people across the country will be able to enjoy BSNL’s free WiFi services. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Guwahati has signed an MoU with The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up an IITG-ISRO Space Technology Cell (STC) at the institute where Assam Governor Jagdish Mukhi inaugurated a new academic complex and research and development building. Hinduja Group flagship firm Ashok Leyland has partnered with Suryoday Small Finance Bank for vehicle loans. Under the pact, the bank will provide end-to-end financial solutions to Ashok Leyland’s customers for auto loans across India. A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) was signed between the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) and the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for data exchange between the two regulatory organisations. ECL Finance, the flagship non-banking financial company of Edelweiss Group, and Bank of Baroda, India’s second largest public sector bank, signed an agreement to form a strategic partnership to explore co-lending opportunities. The Railway Ministry release said that the Indian Railways signed the MoU with RailTel Enterprises Ltd (REL), a wholly-owned subsidiary company of RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, for modernization of signalling system on four sections, which includes Automatic Train Protection System with Long Term Evolution (LTE) based Mobile Train Radio Communication System (MTRC), together with provision of Electronic Interlocking (indoor) wherever required. IT firm Tech Mahindra has signed a multi-year contract with Airbus for cabin and cargo design engineering with an aim to capitalise on the specialised skills and competencies in the growing cabin engineering business over the next few years. Indian Army signed an MoU with National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) to construct tunnels on borders with China and Pakistan for storage of ammunition and other war-related equipment. BSE and India International Exchange (India INX) have signed a memorandum of understanding with Moscow Exchange (MOEX) to connect investor community and companies in both countries besides allowing a capital formation platform.
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Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi to collaborate in the field of standardisation and conformity assessment. This partnership is aimed at making the process of standardization more effective. The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras (IIT-M) announced its collaboration with American conglomerate General Electric (GE) to set up a lab that will develop advanced services technology for aircraft engine components. The ‘Cold Spray’ SMART (Surface Modification and Additive Research Technologies) Laboratory is the first-of-its- kind being installed in any academic institute in India. BSE (formerly Bombay Stock Exchange) announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HDFC Bank to spread awareness about the benefits of listing on BSE Startups platform. The country’s largest power producer NTPC has signed a term loan agreement for Rs 2,000 crore with Canara Bank. The loan facility is extended at an interest rate linked to three months MCLR of the Bank. This loan has a door to door tenure of 15 years and will be utilised to part finance the capital expenditure of the NTPC. Karnataka Bank has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company to distribute the latter’s life insurance products. The bank will be able to provide a wide choice of life insurance products to its customers across 836 branches, supported by the products of Bharti AXA Life Insurance Company. Tata Consultancy Services has partnered with Google Cloud to build industry-specific cloud solutions. TCS’ solutions on Google Cloud Platform (GCP) will help enterprises build secure, cloud-native analytics platforms that enable high levels of personalization, and are cost effective, easy to maintain, and future ready. Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) and Syndicate Bank, one of the oldest and leading public sector bank, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for financing Earth Moving & Construction Equipment manufactured by BEML. Wirecard, the global innovation leader in digital financial technology, announced an expanded partnership with RBL Bank to promote financial inclusion in India. Niti Aayogs Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and Unicef India signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to provide an open platform to promote participation, skilling and empowerment among young children across different communities. The plan will be implemented through Atal Tinkering Lab initiative to orient the burgeoning innovation ecosystem towards achieving Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on child rights. Government think tank NITI Aayog partnered with software major Adobe to develop creative skills and spread digital literacy among school children in India. The Statement of Intent (SOI) signed by NITI Aayog and Adobe as part of the Atal Innovation Mission will open Digital Disha Programme across 100 schools under the Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL). The National Health Authority (NHA), the apex body implementing the Ayushman Bharat – Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) has inked an MoU with Uber. Maharatna public sector units GAIL India Ltd and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation in the development of solar power projects. HP Inc India has signed a pact with with Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) and Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) to build a Center of Excellence (CoE) that would 3D printing technology work. Indian IT apex body Nasscom said it has entered into a partnership with Xuzhou city in Jiangsu province to develop an IT corridor in eastern China. The new corridor will facilitate partnerships between Indian and Chinese firms as part of Nasscom’s efforts to evangelise IT development in newer geographies.
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Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) and National Health Agency (NHA) will set up a joint working group for better implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY). The working group will do a comparative study of packages and define standards for quality healthcare. The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for effective implementation of the new bankruptcy law. ICICI Lombard and Mobikwik announced a strategic partnership to provide cyber-insurance cover. The relationship aims to provide protection against unauthorised and fraudulent transactions online, across bank accounts, debit & credit cards and mobile wallets. In a bid to curb fake news during the general elections, WhatsApp and NASSCOM Foundation came together to impart digital literacy training. As part of the partnership, WhatsApp and NASSCOM Foundation will train nearly 1,00,000 Indians to spot false information and provide tips and tricks to stay safe on WhatsApp. Infosys would open a digital innovation centre at Bucharest in Romania to develop software for clients based on cloud, big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The $11-billion outsourcing firm also tied up with the University of Bucharest and the University Politehnica Bucharest for innovation and Romanian workforce development, including joint training courses, scholarships and research. Ola, one of the world’s largest ride-hailing platforms, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Telangana, to support their efforts towards strengthening the traffic infrastructure in Hyderabad city. The Ministry of Human Resource Development signed a memorandum of understanding with the Ministry of Higher Education, Afghanistan to work on Digital Education Initiatives that will include many programs developed by Indian Institutes of Technology. IIT Madras will also be a part of the collaborations. The IIT Kharagpur has signed an MoU with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) to set up a Petaflop high performance computing facility and data center funded under the National Supercomputing Mission. Jio and Facebook have joined hands to announce ‘Digital Udaan’ – a digital literacy program in India which is aimed at first-time internet users. The State Bank of India has signed a memorandum of understanding with National Investment and Infrastructure (NIIF) Fund to boost availability of capital for infrastructure projects. ICICI Bank has tied up with NBFC IndoStar Capital for vehicle financing for small and medium fleet owners to buy new as well as old commercial vehicles. The Centre has inked pact with IBM India for undertaking a pilot study to utilise Artificial Intelligence (AI) and weather technology solutions in agriculture in one district each in three states. Appointments and Resignations
Name Post Other Info The Centre has extended the tenure of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan by one year. Nagaland Governor Padmanabha Balkrishna Acharya has been given additional charge of Manipur in absence of Najma Heptulla. Former IFS officer S. Jaishankar created history as he became the first former Foreign Secretary to become External Affairs Minister. Niti Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant will head the National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage, which is being set up to promote clean and sustainable mobility initiatives in the country.
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Narendra Modi 15th Prime Minister of India Jagan Mohan Reddy Andhra Pradesh CM Naveen Patnaik Odisha CM for the fifth consecutive term Prem Singh Tamang, Sikkim Chief Minister popularly known as PS Golay K. Natarajan Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) M Nageswar Rao Additional Director of CBI as the Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guard Birender Singh Dhanoa Chairman, Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) Succeeds Sunil Lanba Karambir Singh Navy Chief Atul Kumar Jain Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief (FOC-in-C), Succeeds Karambir Singh Eastern Naval Command (ENC) Maj Gen A K Dhingra First Special Operations Division Commander Dr. Krishnamurthy Member of Advisory Council of 15th Finance He is the Chief Economic Subramanian Commission Advisor to Central government Anton Aditya Subowo (from President of Badminton Asia Indonesia) A.K. Sikri Chairperson of the News Broadcasting Standards Authority (NBSA) Rama Subramaniam Gandhi Additional director on the board of Yes Bank He is former deputy governor Nitin Chugh MD and CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank Dinesh Pangtey CEO of LIC Mutual Fund Bimal Dayal Chief Executive Officer after merger of Indus Hemant Ruia will be the Towers and Bharti Infratel Chief Financial Officer Sanjiv Puri Chairman of ITC Ltd. Sandeep Patil Managing Director of Truecaller India former Flipkart executive Ajoy Mehta Chief Secretary of Maharashtra Parveen Pardeshi Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation Chief Jayshree Vya Director of BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange) BSE’s first independent woman director Virat Kohli and Anushka 1st Brand Ambassadors of Flipkart-owned fashion Sharma e-commerce platform Myntra Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant Brand Ambassadors of Himalaya MEN Salman Khan Brand Ambassador of BharatPe Rakesh Sharma Vice-President of International Motorcycle HQ - Geneva Manufacturers Association (IMMA) Himanta Biswa Sarma Vice President of the Badminton Asia Council (BAC) Gauri Sawant India’s 1st Transgender Election Ambassador from Maharashtra Madhusudan Mistry Election observer for Maharashtra
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Vivek Dube Central Police Observer for West Bengal and Jharkhand K.K. Sharma Central Police Observer for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana M K Das Central Police Observer for Tripura and Mizoram Gopal Mukherjee Special Expenditure Observers for Andhra Pradesh and Telangana D.D. Goel Special Expenditure Observers for Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland Madhu Mahajan Special Expenditure Observers for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu Shailendra Handa Special Expenditure Observers for Maharashtra and Gujarat Girish N. Gowda (paralympic Election Ambassador for Karnataka high jumper) Subhash Chandra Garg Finance Secretary Hasmukh Adhia Chancellor of Gujarat Central University Former Finance Secretary Vice Admiral Karambir Singh Chief of Naval Staff After Sunil Lanba retires in May 2019 Pramod Sawant 11th Chief Minister of Goa Vijai Sardesai and Manohar Deputy CMs of Goa Ajgaonkar Vipul Agarwal Interim Chief Operating Officer of investment information and rating agency ICRA P.K. Purwar Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) Justice D.K.Jain Ethics Officer of the Indian cricket board on an ad- He is BCCI Ombudsman hoc basis P Venkata Ramesh Babu Director General of the National Archives of India MA Hampiholi Director General Naval Operations (DGNO) Nagendra Nath Sinha NHAI Chief NHAI - National Highways Authority of India Sanjeev Ranjan Road Transport Secretary Former Supreme Court judge Pinaki Chandra Ghose India’s 1st Lokpal Ajit Singh 1st Lokayukta of Odisha C Lalsawta 1st Lokayukta of Mizoram Bhagwan Lal Sahni Chairman of the National Commission for Backward Classes Ajay Narayan Jha 15th Finance Commission Member Replaces Shaktikanta Das P K Bezbaruah Chairman of Tea Board Hasmukh Adhia Non-Executive Chairman of Bank of Baroda. He is former Finance Secretary Ravneet Gill Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer Takes over from Rana (CEO) of Yes Bank Kapoor
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Rakesh Makhija Non-executive, part-time, chairman of Axis Bank Ashu Khullar Citibank India CEO MR Kumar Chairman of Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) Vipin Anand and TC Suseel Managing Directors of Life Insurance Corporation Kumar (LIC) Ajit Kumar Mohanty Director of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre Virender Sehwag Brand Ambassador of PolicyX.com Aamir Khan PhonePe’s Brand Ambassador Aditya Kumar Misra Chairman of the Agricultural Scientific Recruitment Board (ASRB S S Mundra Non-Executive Chairman, Acuite Ratings and Former deputy RBI Research governor Ritu Beri Cultural and Tourism Ambassador of Uzbekistan in Indian fashion designer India K.M. Mammen Chairman Of Automotive Tyre Manufacturers’ Association (ATMA) K. Govindaraj President of the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) Anil Kumble Chairman of the ICC Cricket Committee Randhir Singh Chairman of the Coordination Committee of the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games Soumya Swaminathan Chief Scientist of the WHO (World Health Organisation) Sheikh Ahmad Al-Fahad Al- President of Olympic Council of Asia Sabah Veselin Matic (from Serbia) Head coach of the Indian men’s basketball team Padma Lakshmi Goodwill Ambassador of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Gargi Kaul Defence Finance Secretary, India David Malpass 13th president of the World Bank Group LV Subrahmanyam Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh Vikram Nath First Chief Justice of the newly-constituted Andhra Pradesh High Court Chandra Shekhar Rajan Managing Director of IL&FS Keshav Murugesh Chairman of Nasscom Sana Dua Brand Ambassador of Jammu and Kashmir election She is Femina Miss India department for general polls 2017 runner up Rajendra Kumar Nayak 52nd Controller General of Defence Accounts (CGDA) Graham Reid Chief Coach of the Indian men’s hockey team Former Australian field hockey player Praful Patel First Indian to be elected as a member of FIFA Executive Council Vikramjit Singh Sahney President of International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) – India Shiv Das Meena Chairman cum Managing Director (CMD) of
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National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) Padmaja Alaganandan Chief People Officer of PwC Sanjay Manohar Managing Director of McAfee India Manish Maheshwari Managing Director of Twitter India Mayoori Kango Google India industry head Manu Sawhney International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Romanian Doru Isac Technical Director of All India Football Federation (AIFF) Rajesh Kumar Yaduvanshi Punjab National Bank Executive Director Karnam Sekar MD and CEO of Indian Overseas Bank From July 1 Vipin Anand Managing Director of LIC of India Vijay Chandhok MD and CEO of ICICI Securities Kaushik Shaparia CEO of Deutsche Bank India Gursimran Singh Vice President of the Delhi Hockey Association (DHA) Rajan Anandan Managing Director of Sequoia Capital India He was former Google’s Vice President for South East Asia and India Jitendra Chaddah Chairman of India Electronics and Semiconductor Association M.S. Dhoni Ambassador of redBus Najma Akhta First woman vice-chancellor of Jamia Millia Islamia University (JMI) Gagandeep Kang First Indian woman to be elected to the Fellow of the Royal Society (FRS) Mukesh Kumar Judo Union of Asia general secretary Bibhu Kalyan Nayak Chair of International Hockey Federation (FIH) First Indian to be Health and Safety Committee appointed to this position Rima Das Ambassador of Toronto International Film Festival’s She is Assamese ‘Share Her Journey’ Filmmaker Former Cricketer Ravi Corporate Ambassador to the Indian Business Shastri Community of Dubai based Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) Vikas Khanna (Chef) Brand Ambassador of Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) Gen.(Retd.) Dalbir Singh India High Commissioner To Seychelles He is former Army Chief Suhag Anita Bhatia UN Deputy Executive Director Appointed by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres Sanjay Mitra Defence Secretary He is a 1982-batch IAS officer of the West Bengal cadre. Admiral Karambir Singh 24th Chief of the Naval Staff Ajit Doval National Security Advisor
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Om Birla 17th Lok Sabha Speaker Sonia Gandhi Leader of the Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Smriti Irani Minister of Women and Child Development Constituency- Amethi, Uttar Pradesh Thawarchand Gehlot Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment Constituency- Shajapur, Madhya Pradesh Rajiv Mehrishi External auditor of the World Health Organization He is the Comptroller and (WHO) Auditor General of India Rakesh Makhija Chairman of Axis Bank Sachin Bansal Director of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank He is the Founder of Flipkart. Nayib Bukele President of El Salvador Mrutyunjay Mohapatra Chief of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) Rajiv Kumar Vice Chairman of the National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog Azim Premji will retire as Executive Chairman of Wipro Tijjani Muhammad-Bande President of the General Assembly Gianni Infantino President of football’s international governing body FIFA Sarada Kumar Hota Managing Director of National Housing Bank (NHB) Sharad Kumar Saraf President of Exporters body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) N Gopalaswami BCCI’s electoral officer He is a former Chief Election Commissioner of India Shefali Juneja India’s representative in the council of International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) Samant Kumar Goel Head of foreign intelligence agency, Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), Arvind Kumar Director of Intelligence Bureau Krishnaswamy Natarajan Director general of Indian Coast Guard Sharad Kumar Acting Central Vigilance Commissioner Virendra Kumar Protem Speaker of the 17th Lok Sabha U Venkateswarlu Chief Secretary of Tripura Thawar Chand Gehlot Leader of the House in the Rajya Sabha Nripendra Mishra Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi Rajnath Singh Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha I V Subba Rao Secretary to Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu Laxman Narasimhan Chief Executive Officer of British consumer goods giant Reckitt Benckiser Kassym-Jomart Tokayev President of Kazakhstan Tiger Shroff Brand ambassador for G-Shock Watches David Lipton (US economist) Interim leader of the International Monetary Fund
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Mueenul Haq High Commissioner to India Pakistan has appointed Jeffrey Rosen US’ Deputy Attorney General Scott Morrison Prime Minister of Australia PM Boubou Cisse Prime Minister of Mali James Marape Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea Laurentino Cortizo President of the Republic of Panama Stevo Pendarovski President of North Macedonia Cyril Ramaphosa South African President Joko Widodo President of Indonesia 2nd Term Volodymyr Zelenskiy President of Ukraine Peter Mutharika President of Malawi Muhammadu Buhari President of Nigeria Zuzana Caputova Slovakia’s first female President Prayuth Chan-ocha Thailand’s New Prime Minister Mohamed Ould Ghazouani President of Mauritania Benjamin Netanyahu Prime Minister of Israel for 5th term Jean Michel Lapin Prime Minister of Haiti Mohammed Ishtaye Prime Minister of Palestinian Abdelkader Bensalah Interim President of Algeria Volodymyr Zelenskiy President of Ukraine Mohammad Shtayyeh Prime Minister of Palestine Kaja Kallas Prime Minister of Estonia First female PM of Estonia Macky Sall President of Senegal Azali Assoumani President of Comoros Zuzana Caputova President of Slovakia India has been re-elected as an observer to intergovernmental forum Arctic Council (HQ - Tromsø, Norway). RESIGNATIONS: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Viral Acharya told that he has quit his role, six months before the end of his tenure. The Principal Advisor to Lucknow Metro Rail Corporation (LMRC) Padma Vibhushan E. Sreedharan has submitted his resignation citing health issues. Kazakhstan President Nursultan Nazarbayev resigned from his position after nearly 30 years in power. Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal stepped down from his position. Kummanam Rajasekharan resigned as Mizoram Governor, Jagdish Mukhi given additional charge. Leading industrialist Rahul Bajaj will step down as the Chairman and Non-Executive Director of Bajaj Finserv. Japan’s new emperor, Naruhito, has formally ascended to the Chrysanthemum Throne, replacing his father, Akihito, who had abdicated recently. Bhushan Patil, president at Paytm, quit the company. Debt-laden and grounded Jet Airways’ Chief Financial Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer Amit Agarwal resigned. Jet Airways CEO Vinay Dube resigned. British Prime Minister Theresa May announced resignation from her post. Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika stepped down from his post Kirstjen Nielsen, the US secretary of homeland security, stepped down from his post.
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Mali’s Prime Minister Abdoulaye Idrissa Maiga and his cabinet resigned Assocham Secretary General U K Varma resigned Uber Asia Pacific Head Amit Jain has resigned from the company after a four-year stint at the US-based ride- hailing company. Shaji Farooq, president of Wipro’s banking financial services and insurance (BFSI) business unit, has stepped down Japan’s emperor Akihito abdicated
Awards and Recognitions
Award Name Person/Institution Extra Knowledge Zayed medal Narendra Modi Got award by President of the UAE Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan ‘Order of St Andrew the Apostle’ Narendra Modi Awarded by Russia Croatia’s highest civilian order, the President Ram Nath Kovind Grand Order of the King of Tomislav “Orden Mexicana del Aguila Ex-President Pratibha Patil This is the highest civilian award Azteca” (Order of the Aztec Eagle) of Mexico given to foreigners. World Health Organisation (WHO) Rajasthan health department for contribution in the field of award tobacco control. J.C. Daniel Award Veteran actress Sheela This award is the Kerala government’s top film award for a film veteran President’s award for utilisation of National Aluminium Company Corporate Social Responsibility fund in Limited (NALCO) social development Global Leadership Awards 2019 Google’s India-born CEO Sundar Pichai and Nasdaq president Adena Friedman Women’s prize for fiction American novelist Tayari Jones For her novel “An American Marriage”. Nishan Izzuddeen, the Maldives’ Prime Minister Narendra Modi highest honour Gold Award for Automobiles in South Automobile major Mahindra Africa Tony Award Ali Stroker Prestigious Prix Liberté Award Greta Thunberg This award is designed to honor a young person ‘engaged in a fight for peace and freedom’ Distinguished Alumni Award Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar 54th Jnanpith award Amitav Ghosh Danny Kaye Humanitarian Award by Priyanka Chopra
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UNICEF Femina Miss India World 2019 Suman Rao from Rajasthan BBC World Service Global Champion Akshaya Patra, a non-profit Award organisation Save Water Hero Award Makarand Tilloo Received award for his efforts to raise awareness about water conservation in Pune 2019 Commonwealth Secretary Nitesh Kumar Jangir General’s Innovation for Sustainable Development Award in the “People” category in London. ‘Innovative Research Excellence Dr Gaurav Nigam Award 2019’ at Asian Leadership Summit, Bhutan Miss Universe Australia title for 2019 India born Priya Serrao Japan’s ‘Order of the Rising Sun’ Former foreign secretary Shyam award Saran FICCI Claims Excellence Award Bharti AXA Life Insurance UNSDG 10 Most Influential People in Patanjali Group of Institutions Healthcare Award 27th P.C. Chandra Puraskaar Dr Devi Prasad Shetty 2019 V K Krishna Menon award G D ‘Robert’ Govender Joan Miro Prize for 2019 Indian contemporary artist Malani, who is the winner of the Nalini Malani seventh edition of the prize, was awarded for her impressive body of work that gave a voice to “the silenced and the dispossessed all over the world, most particularly women”. Sasakawa Award 2019 for Disaster Dr. Pramod Kumar Mishra By United Nations Office for Risk Reduction Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) ‘Order of St. George’ award by Kerala Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Award Desert Storm 2019 TVS Racing Held in Jaisalmer, Rajasthan Booker International Prize Jokha Alharthi Author from Oman for “Celestial Bodies”. She is the first Arabic-language writer to take the prize. Swansea University International Guy Gunaratne (British-Sri For ‘In Our Mad and Furious City’ Dylan Thomas prize Lankan writer) Honorary Doctorate in Philanthropy Shah Rukh Khan by The University of Law, London Asian Tour For Contribution To Golf In Dr Pawan Munjal He is Chairman of Hero MotoCorp Asia ‘D. Litt in Astrology’ by National Dr Sohini Sastri He is Indian Astrologer American University, USA
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Saraswati Samman 2018 Telugu Poet K Siva Reddy for his collection of poetry titled Pakkaki Ottigilite Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant Award Sunil Kumar Gautam for his book titled ‘Samvidhan Kavya‘ World Summit on the Information “Utkarsh Bangla” and “Sabooj These are two schemes of the Society (WSIS) awards of the United Sathi” West Bengal government Nations Freedom of the City of London Alice G Vaidyan She is Chairman and Managing Director of the General Insurance Corporation (GIC) of India Celent Model Bank 2019 Award Fincare Small Finance Bank (SFB) Gold Award for ‘Digital Marketing Bajaj Finance Ltd. Awarded for its Fixed Deposit Excellence in Financial Service’ digital campaign at DIGIXX 2019 Awards by Adgully ‘The Economic Times Best Brands Max Bupa 2019’ award AIMA Managing India Award 2019 for Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) outstanding PSU of the year. ‘Global Slag Company of the Year’ Tata Steel award Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nobel Award Sudhanshu Kumar (Digital (Best Digital Agency of the Year 2019) Sukoon founder) “Public Water Agency of the Year” by National Mission for Clean Global Water Intelligence at the Ganga (NMCG) Global Water Summit in London Next Billion Edtech Prize 2019 India’s education technology startup, Dost Education 2019 Citi Journalistic Excellence Teena Thacker Award Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize Rana Dasgupta For his 2010 novel “Solo” which is a 2019 tale of estrangement and the ultimate failure of material existence. National Intellectual Property Award Benny Antony Category - Top Individual for for 2019 Patents and Commercialization John Dirks Canada Gairdner Global Vikram Patel Health Award 71st World Press Freedom Hero Cyril Almeida He is an assistant editor and award columnist at Pakistani daily ‘Dawn’ BusinessLine Changemaker Of The Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Over successful implementation of Year award the Goods and Services Tax (GST) 1st AB Vajpayee Life Time Thanga Darlong He is from Tripura. He is thelast Achievement Award tribal musician to play Rosem a bamboo made a flute-like musical instrument Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award Dr. Rajendra Kumar Joshi Theme of 2019 Pravasi Bharatiya
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Divas convention was ‘Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India.’ First prize of DD Mahila Kisan Award Swati Shingade for 2018-19 Nari Shakti Puraskar’ award Kathak dancer Seema Mehta For her contribution towards women empowerment over the last 15 years. Yashwantrao Chavan National Award Raghuram Rajan Ex-RBI Governor 2018 Chameli Devi Jain Award for an Priyanka Dubey (BBC journalist) Outstanding Woman Journalist for the year 2018 Golden Peacock Innovative Product ACKO General Insurance Award – 2019 ‘Non-Life Insurer of The Year Award Bharti AXA General Insurance 2019 by the Assocham Sulabh Sculpture Award Phani Bhushan Biswas “Kusumagraj” national award for Film director and novelist Ved literature Rahi Param Vishisht Seva Medal Chief of Army Staff Bipin Rawat Commonwealth Youth Award for the Padmanaban Gopalan Founder of No Food Waste. Asian region Awarded for his work towards achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of Zero Hunger with his innovative system of recovering excess food to distribute to those in need. Gollapudi Srinivas Award C Prem Kumar with Vijay For his Tamil Film ‘96’ Sethupathi and Trisha Vyas Samman 2018 Noted Hindi writer Leeladhar For his collection of poems ‘Jitne Jagudi Log Utne Prem.’ Windham-Campbell Prize Journalist and writer Raghu For his debut book, The Farthest Karnad Field: An Indian Story Of The Second World War Oxford University’s Bodley Medal Amartya Sen Martha Farrell award 2019 Manu Gulati (Delhi govt. school Awarded for promoting gender teacher) quality and women’s empowerment 2019 National STEM (Science, Kavya Kopparapu Indian-American teenager Technology, Engineering and Math) Education Award Hans Kilian Award 2019 Ashis Nandy He is Indian political psychologist 2019 Abel Prize U.S mathematician Karen Keskulla Uhlenbeck 2018 Turing Award, known as the Yoshua Bengio, Geoffrey Hinton, Awarded for their work developing
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“Nobel Prize of computing” and Yann LeCun the AI subfield of deep learning ‘Blue Plaque’ Honour Noor Inayat Khan Britain’s World War II spy. First Indian-origin woman to be honoured Pritzker Prize Japanese architect Arata Isozaki 2019 Global Teacher Prize Kenyan science teacher Peter Tabichi 2019 Templeton Prize Marcelo Gleiser He is Brazilian physicist and astronomer 2019 Peabody Career Achievement Rita Moreno honour Aparna Kumar becomes first IPS officer to complete Seven Summit challenge by scaling Mt Denali. Mt Denali is the tallest mountain in North America. A 22-year-old youth from Imphal East, Manipur, Zonel Sougaijam was recognized by the social media giant — Facebook for discovering and reporting a WhatsApp bug. Rachna Khaira of The Tribune has bagged the prestigious RedInk Award for ‘Journalist of the Year’ for her expose during 2018 on the functioning of the UIDAI and its Aadhaar data cache. Nia Tony, an 8-year old Indian girl honoured in UAE’s waste recycling campaign. Veyil Marangal, directed by Dr Biju, has received the Outstanding Artistic Achievement Award at the Shanghai International Film Festival, one of the largest fests in East Asia. Iconic Pakistani playback and Qawwali singer Rahat Fateh Ali Khan has been awarded with an honourary degree at the prestigious Oxford University. The Pakistani singer was presented with the degree of Doctor of Music at a ceremony. Spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has been conferred with an honorary doctorate degree by Russia-based Ural Federal University for his contribution to the development of inter-cultural friendship between India and Russian Federation. IIT Kanpur honours India’s chief national badminton coach Pullela Gopichand with honorary doctorate on the occasion of their 52nd convocation. Comedian-actor Kapil Sharma has been acknowledged as the most viewed stand-up comedian in India and abroad by the World book of Records London. 6 grassroots environmental activists received the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize. Known as the Green Nobel Prize, the Goldman Prize honors environmental activists from each of the 6 continental regions: Europe, Asia, North America, Central America and South America, Africa and islands and island nations. The winners of the award are Alfred Brownell, Bayarjargal Agvaantseren, Ana Colovic Lesoska, Jacqueline Evans, Alberto Curamil, Linda Garcia. Rapper Drake set a record with the most wins ever, taking home 12 honours at the Billboard Music Awards. The ceremony took place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with singer Kelly Clarkson as the host. Actresses Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Deepika Padukone and Sara Ali Khan have won Instagrammers of the Year 2019, which acknowledges Instagram’s most engaging community members across the country. Bollywood diva, Priyanka emerged as the ‘Most Followed Account’ this year. Star cricketer Virat Kohli has emerged as the most ‘Engaged Account of the Year’. Former ISRO chairman A S Kiran Kumar was conferred with France’s highest civilian award Chevalier de l’Ordre national de la Lgion d’Honneur for his contribution to India-France space cooperation. The article titled ‘Coalgate 2.0’ authored by Nileena M S and published in The Caravan magazine in March last year has won the ACJ Award for Investigative Journalism, 2018. American golfer Tiger Woods was bestowed with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, US’ highest civilian
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honour, by President Donald Trump The Kings, a hip-hop dance crew from Mumbai, has found international glory with their victory on American reality television show “World of Dance”, taking home a cash prize of $1 million. IPS officer Chhaya Sharma, who led the investigation team of the infamous Nirbhaya gang-rape and murder case, has been awarded the 2019 McCain Institute Award for Courage and Leadership. A team from Georgia Institute of Technology, including an Indian-American student, has won “Hearthstone Collegiate Championship”, part of the first-ever ESPN Collegiate Esports Championship. Shiv Chopra along with two Georgia Tech teammates swept off Minnesota team 3-0 in the finals in Houston. Indian YouTuber Ajey Nagar has been named by Time magazine among its ‘Next Generation Leaders 2019’, a list of only 10 young people from around the world who are forging new paths in politics, music and other spheres. South African mountaineer Saray Khumalo became the first black woman from the continent to reach Mount Everests summit. Sunny Pawar has bagged the Best Child Actor award for ‘Chippa’ at the 19th New York Indian Film Festival. Antano and Harini – Legacy Accelerators received the ‘Award of Honour’ from the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India for the unprecedented work they have been doing to help people change the trajectory of their lives and help people create a personal legacy in compressed time. Actor Anil Kapoor felicitated by the Council of European Chambers of Commerce (CEUCC) in India. Aarohi Pandit, 23, made history when she landed in to become the world’s first woman pilot to cross the Atlantic Ocean in a light sport aircraft (LSA). The Mumbai girl landed at Iqaluit Airport. The 49-year-old Sherpa climber Kami Rita scaled Mount Everest for the 23rd time, breaking his own record of the most successful ascents of the world’s highest peak. Breaking his own record of 22 successful ascents of Everest, Kami Rita now became the only man on the planet to climb Everest for 23 times. Just a week after breaking his own record for the most number of summits on Mt Everest, Kami Rita Sherpa yet again climbed the world’s highest mountain. By achieving this feat, Sherpa has become the only Mountaineer in the world to hold the record for most Everest summits. Indian filmmaker, Achyutanand Dwivedi’s film, “Seed Mother”, won the third prize in the international section of Nespresso Talents 2019 in Cannes. In an international competition ‘Elsevier Foundation-ISC3 Green and Sustainable Chemistry Challenge’, a project idea by Ankur Patwardhan from Pune has bagged the second prize of €25,000. His project named ‘Butterfly attractant for pollination and ecosystem health’ is about the relation between chemistry and ecosystem. Bengaluru-based medical doctor Hema Divakar was honoured with the ‘Global Asian of the Year 2018-19’ award in Dubai recently for her yeomen services and contributions to the women’s healthcare ecosystem, in India. Flight Lieutenant Mohana Singh, one of India’s first female fighter pilots, scripted history as the first ever woman pilot to become operational on Hawk advanced jet aircraft. Indian writer Annie Zaidi was announced as the 2019 winner of the USD 100,000 Nine Dots Prize, a prestigious book prize created to award innovative thinking that addresses contemporary issues around the world. For - ‘Bread, Cement, Cactus’ Chandrani Murmu, a tribal woman, has made history after winning the Lok Sabha seat from Keonjhar in Odisha. She has become the youngest Member of Parliament (MP) at the age of 25 years and 11 months. Priyanka Mohite, the 26-year-old Satara based mountaineer, has become the first Indian woman to successfully scale Mount Makalu — the fifth-highest mountain in the world at 8,481 metres. Flt Lt Bhawana Kanth adds another feather to her cap by completing Day Operational syllabus on MiG-21 Bison aircraft. She is the first women fighter pilot to be qualified to undertake missions by day on a fighter aircraft. The haunting image of a little girl crying helplessly as she and her mother are taken into custody by US border officials won the prestigious World Press Photo Award. Dr A K Singh, director at Life Sciences, DRDO has been honoured with Lifetime Achievement Award 2019 during
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4th APJ Abdul Kalam Innovation Conclave at Chandigarh University, Mohali. Jailed Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo won a Pulitzer Prize for international reporting for uncovering Rohingya killings in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal were awarded Pulitzer Prizes for their separate investigations of President Donald Trump and his family. The Times won the prestigious journalism award for explanatory reporting for its probe of the Trump family’s finances that “debunked his claims of self-made wealth and revealed a business empire riddled with tax dodges. A total of 150 Indian peacekeepers serving with the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) have received medals of honour for their dedicated service and sacrifice. The medals were given to the 150 Indian peacekeepers serving in United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS) in Malakal during a ceremony filled with parades and performances by a piped band. Malayalam film Bhayanakam (Fear) directed by Jayaraj won the best cinematography award at the Beijing International Film Festival. The cinematography was done by Nikihil S Praveen. Prominent scientist and businessman Yusuf Hamied is among a host of Indian-origin experts honoured in the 2019 list of new fellows of the UK’s Royal Society. All India Radio, Publication Division and Children’s Film Society of India were given Swacchta Pakhwada Awards- 2019 With an aim to honour renowned India-born economist Amartya Sen, the London School of Economics and Political Science, has announced a Chair in Inequality Studies in his name. National Award-winning filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar, popular scriptwriter Salim Khan and yesteryears dancing diva Helen were honoured with the prestigious Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award at a ceremony in Mumbai. Master Deenanath Mangeshkar Award for music and art has been given to classical dancer Sucheta Bhide- Chapekar
Derek C Lalchhanhima, Mizoram Boy Who Tried To Save A Chicken Receives PETA India’s ‘Compassionate Kid’ Award 2019 The Ministry of Tourism has won the First Prize in the category of TV Cinema Spot at the prestigious international Golden City Gate Tourism Awards 2019. Indore in Madhya Pradesh bagged the title of India’s cleanest city in the central government’s cleanliness survey for the third consecutive year. New Delhi Municipal Council area got the cleanest small city award while Uttarakhand’s Gauchar was adjudged Best Ganga Town in the survey. Former England skipper Alastair Cook officially received the knighthood for his services to cricket at an investiture ceremony in Buckingham Palace. Public sector Indian Bank has bagged the Best Bank Award from the Tamil Nadu government for meeting the needs of women’s self-help groups (SHGs). TVS Motor Company recently bagged the ‘Green Era Award for Sustainability’ at Lisbon in Portugal. Union Ministers Piyush Goyal and Dr Harsh Vardhan are among the 7 Indians who have been named in the ‘World’s 100 Most Influential People in Climate Policy for 2019’ for taking steps in order to combat climate change. Piyush Goyal has led the fast track electrification of nearly 18,000 unelectrified villages while Harsh Vardhan launched the anti-plastic bag campaign in Delhi and the “Green Shopper Campaign”, which promotes business partnerships with manufacturing of environment-friendly products. Vice President Venkaiah Naidu was conferred with an Honorary Doctorate by the University for Peace founded by the United Nations Organisations (UNO) for his contribution “to the Rule of Law, democracy and sustainable development in India”. Gymnast Dipa Karmakar was honoured by ‘Barbie’ in celebration of their 60th anniversary and was presented a
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doll modelled after her. She was part of the ‘Shero’ program launched in 2015 by the company.
Conference and Summits
Summit Place . Extra Knowledge World Food India New Delhi To be held from November 1-4 WTO Ministerial Meeting of Developing Countries New Delhi . 5th Smart Cities India 2019 Expo New Delhi Army Commanders’ Conference New Delhi 4th Resilient Cities Asia-Pacific Congress 2019 New Delhi . Naval Commanders’ Conference of 2019 New Delhi Construction Technology India-2019 Expo-cum- New Delhi . Conference NITI Aayog’s FinTech Conclave New Delhi 34th edition of AAHAR – International Food and New Delhi . Hospitality fair 3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk New Delhi Reduction India International Cooperatives Trade Fair (IICTF) New Delhi . in October 2019 2-day national convention of War Decorated India Manekshaw Auditorium in Chandimandir, the headquarters of the Western Command in Chandigarh 8th edition of Home Expo India 2019 Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh National Cardiology Conference 2019 Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh Intersessional meeting of Kimberley Process (KP) Mumbai, Maharashtra . SWIFT India and South Asia Conference Mumbai International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) Hyderabad, Telangana congress Meeting of Regional Heads of Customs Kochi, Kerala Administration of Asia Pacific Region of WCO (World Customs Organization) India, Brazil and South Africa (IBSA) Sherpas Cochin, Kerala meeting 10th National Science Film Festival Agartala, Tripura To be held in 2020 Festival of Innovation and Entrepreneurship Gandhinagar, Gujarat 4th Internet of Things India Congress Bengaluru To be held in August 2019 1st BRICS Sherpa meeting Curitiba, Brazil 4th session of the UN Environment Assembly Nairobi, Kenya (UNEA-4) Shanghai Cooperation Organisation’s (SCO) RATS Tashkent, Uzbekistan Council Meeting
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Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting Abu Dhabi, UAE India attended the OIC meet for the first time that too as guest of honor. Theme: 50 years of Islamic cooperation: the roadmap for prosperity and development OIC Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Cambodia (RCEP) inter-sessional ministerial meeting Annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank Colombo, Sri Lanka (ADB) in 20121 Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Foreign Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic Minister’s meet Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) Turkmenistan meeeeting 5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Kathmandu, Nepal Theme - “Media Solutions Summit on Climate Action and Disaster for Sustainable Future: Preparedness Saving Lives, Building Resilient Communities”. 2020 UN Ocean Conference Lisbon, Portugal Theme – “scaling up ocean action based on science and innovation for the implementation of Goal 14: stocktaking, partnerships and solutions” G20 summit Osaka, Japan Indo-French cyber dialogue 2019 Paris, France 5th Conference on Interaction and Confidence Dushanbe, Tajikistan Building Measures in Asia (CICA) Summit 2019 14th summit of the Organisation of Islamic Mecca, Saudi Arabia . The summit was hosted by Cooperation (OIC) Saudi King Salman bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud. . . OIC Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) Bangkok, Thailand . G20 Finance Ministers’ Meeting Japan 2nd Global Disability Summit Buenos Aires, Argentina . 16th Asia Media Summit Siem Reap Province, Cambodia 17th International Association of Athletics Monaco . Federations(IAAF) Council Meeting Artificial Intelligence Summit Dubai, UAE Theme - Media Solutions for Sustainable Future:
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Saving Lives, Building Resilient Communities 5th Asia Pacific Broadcasting Union (ABU) Media Kathmandu, Nepal Summit on Climate Action and Disaster Preparedness Nepal-India Franchise Investment Summit Kathmandu, Nepal To be held in May 2019 World Economic Forum (WEF) on the Middle East Jordan and North Africa (MENA) 2019 2020 G20 summit Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
International News
India has pledged to contribute USD 5 Million in 2019 to the UN Palestine refugee agency. The Indian Government is assisting 150 Palestinian professionals every year under the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation programme. In a bid to promote tourism, Nepal Tourism Board is organising a program “Visit Nepal 2020” here in India to highlight the country’s many tourist destinations. The Mahatma Gandhi IT and Biotechnology Park in Cote d’Ivoire, a dedicated free trade zone built with India’s assistance to build development capacities, has been inaugurated. The MGIT-BP is being built with India’s assistance through EXIM Bank Lines of Credit of USD 20 million. The UAE debuted the world’s largest single solar plant, Noor Abu Dhabi, boasting a production capacity of nearly 1,177 MW. Noor Abu Dhabi is comprised of over 3.2 million solar panels, capable of providing enough capacity to 900,000 people. The UK has unveiled a green finance strategy, setting out plans to increase investment in sustainable projects and infrastructure. China lowered its economic growth target for this year to between 6 per cent and 6.5 per cent. Taking the Yoga Day initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to the next level, the Overseas President of BJP for Hong Kong & China, Sohan Goenka conducted a Japan Auction House Guinness World Record in Yoga. American Kylie Jenner was named the youngest self-made billionaire of all time by Forbes magazine. In a bid to reduce energy demand and provide emergency backup power to trains in Japan, Tesla has claimed to develop its largest power storage system in Asia. Norway’s capital Oslo will become the first city in the world to install wireless charging systems for electric taxis, hoping to make recharging quick and efficient enough to speed the takeup of non-polluting cabs. Indian Navy‘s frontline anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette INS Kadmatt reached at Langkawi in Malaysia, on a seven-day official visit, to participate in Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace (LIMA) Exhibition. The world’s largest e-waste recycling facility has opened in Dubai. Bangladesh celebrated the 49th Independence Day on 27th March. Italy joined China’s signature foreign policy Belt and Road initiative (BRI), making it the first G7 country to officially do so. The campus building for India-funded Siddheshwar Education Public Campus in Bamti Bhandar of Ramechhap district, Nepal inaugurated.
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The Indian word for underpants – chuddies – has become the latest entry to the Oxford English Dictionary. Identifying it is an Indian English word in origin, the entry for chuddies in the Oxford English Dictionary provides its meaning: “Short trousers, shorts. Now usually: underwear; underpants.” Kazakhstan’s parliament voted to rename the country’s capital Astana as Nursultan in honour of longtime ruler Nursultan Nazarbayev, a day after he resigned as president. Astana is now officially renamed Nursultan. Kazakhstan’s new interim president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev proposed renaming the capital. Malaysia has become a member of the International Criminal Court. Becomes 124th member. Pakistan has been elected deputy chairman of the PUIC’s general body on the first day of its four-day conference being held in Rabat, Morocco. Kane Tanaka, a 116-year-old Japanese woman has been honoured as the world’s oldest living person by Guinness World Records. India has extended a grant assistance of up to USD 250 million to Nepal for the reconstruction of infrastructures in the areas of housing, education, health and cultural heritage that was destroyed during the devastating April 2015 earthquake which saw the death of over 9,000 people. Google has unveiled its Cloud gaming service called Stadia at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. Highlighting the close maritime proximity between India and Indonesia, Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Vijit’ became the first-ever Coast Guard ship to visit Sabang, Indonesia. The Embassy of India in Kathmandu awarded 200 Golden Jubilee Scholarships to meritorious Nepali students for continuing their studies in various undergraduate courses at different universities and colleges across Nepal for the academic year 2018-19. The UK’s Royal Mint unveiled a new commemorative 50 pence coin inspired by the late legendary British physicist Stephen Hawking’s seminal work on black holes. The African Development Bank (AfDB) would provide 2.5 trillion shillings ($25 billion) over the next 5 years to help in the global fight against climate change. The bank currently provides 34 per cent of its overall lending portfolio to projects aiming to boost the fight against climate change. Headquarters: Tunis, Tunisia Cyclone Idai, which carried heavy rains and winds of up to 177 km/h (106 mph), made landfall at the port city of Beira. The UK parliament became the first national legislative body in the world to declare a climate change “emergency”. The historic move closely follows Extinction Rebellion protests that blocked traffic in key parts of central London. US President Donald Trump has said he will withdraw his country from the International Arms Trade Treaty. The agreement, signed by Barack Obama in 2013, aims to regulate the sale of weapons between countries. A Japanese aerospace startup funded by a former internet maverick has successfully launched a small rocket into space. Interstellar Technology Inc. says the unmanned MOMO-3 rocket has exceeded 100 kilometers (60 miles) in altitude before falling into the Pacific Ocean. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) launched the Action Plan for Healthy Oceans and Sustainable Blue Economies for the Asia and Pacific region at the 52nd Annual Meeting of ADB’s Board of Governors in Fiji. A Nepali teenager danced continuously for 126 hours to set a Guinness World Records on “Longest Dancing Marathon by an Individual”, a feat previously hold by an Indian. Senegalese lawmakers approved a constitutional reform to scrap the post of prime minister, the first initiative of President Macky Sall‘s second term in office. The government approved the measure last month before sending it to the parliament where the presidential party enjoys a majority. Singapore’s parliament passed the Protection from Online Falsehood and Manipulation Act (POFMA), a move to tackle the spread of online fake news. The bill was passed after two days of debate in the parliament.
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Qantas flight F739 from Sydney to Adelaide was the first commercial flight to produce no landfill waste. About 1000 single-use plastics were replaced with alternative solutions or removed altogether from the flight, including Qantas staples like individually-packaged servings of milk and Vegemite. WHO (World Health organization) collaborated with the International Food and Beverage Alliance (IFBA) to eliminate industrially produced trans fat (iTFA) from food supply worldwide by 2023. Trans fat-intake leads to coronary heart disease, due to which globally 5,00,000 deaths occur every year. In a bid to help countries ensure secure and verifiable voting, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has announced “ElectionGuard” a free open-source software development kit (SDK). It will enable end-to-end verification of elections, open results to third-party organisations for secure validation, and allow individual voters to confirm their votes were correctly counted Ireland has become the second country in the world to declare a climate and biodiversity emergency. Ireland followed in the footsteps of the United Kingdom. India and China top a list of countries where illegal sand mining has become a major environmental problem, according to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). While we cannot do without sand, responsible mining should be incentivised, said the report, ‘Sand and Sustainability: finding new solutions for environmental governance of global sand resources’. The Saudi government has approved for the first time a scheme that gives permanent residency to certain expatriates, allowing them to own real estate in the kingdom and reside with their families without a Saudi sponsor. Taiwan became the first Asian-nation to legalise same-sex marriage. Joining the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the European Union (EU), Italy’s antitrust authority has become the latest international regulatory body to launch an anti-competition investigation against Google. The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) and Commonwealth Bank (CBA) have enabled secondary market trading recorded on blockchain for bond-i (blockchain operated new debt instrument), making this the first bond whose issuance and trading are recorded using distributed ledger technologies. Russia launched the world’s largest nuclear-powered icebreaker, which would open up commercial opportunities for the country in the northern sea route. With the ceremonial launch of ‘Ural’, Russia’s Rosatom Atomic Energy Corporation, which is the main equipment supplier for India’s Kudankulam nuclear power plant, has completed another step towards ensuring all-year round navigability of the Northern sea route. The World Health Organization has certified Algeria and Argentina as malaria-free, following three consecutive years where no new cases of the deadly disease have been reported. A-56 year-old Gopal Shrestha from Pokhara in Nepal became first HIV infected climber to ascend world’s highest peak, the Mount Everest. Puerto Williams, a growing hamlet draped in snow-covered peaks on the remote southern tip of the South American continent, has been upgraded to the category of “city” by Chilean authorities, making it the world’s southernmost city. The UN Security Council has extended an arms embargo and sanctions on South Sudan for a year, despite resistance from African countries, Russia and China. In an effort to defuse rising trade tensions between the United States and Mexico, Mexican Economy Minister Graciela Marquez met with US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in Washington. American Jay-Z has been named the world’s first billionaire rapper in a new Forbes cover story. The first US lunar lander in the 21st century will be designed in India, the result of NASA’s new willingness to outsource production of its space vehicles.
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Razorpay, India’s first converged payments solution company, announced that it now supports 100 currencies for international digital payments – including all popular currencies such as U.S. Dollar (USD), European Dollar (EUR), British Pound (GBP), Arab Emirates Dirham (AED) and Singapore Dollar (SGD). In Russia, the first tourist train traveling through Russia’s Arctic region and on to Norway set off from St. Petersburg station with 91 passengers aboard for the inaugural trial journey. The Indian Embassy in Saudi Arabia organised a “Gandhi cycle rally for peace” in Riyadh on 7th June to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. Vietnam has been elected unopposed to the Security Council on behalf of the Asian countries in an election that could reshuffle the dynamics of the UN’s highest body that is already paralyzed on many important issues like Syria, Yemen and Venezuela. Hong Kong held the annual dragon boat festival with teams competing to race the traditional craft. Sri Lankan Airlines, the flag carrier of the island nation, has been named the ‘World’s Most Punctual Airline’ for the second consecutive time with over 90 per cent of its flights in May being “on time”. Singer Rihanna has been named as the “World’s Richest Female Musician” by the Forbes magazine with an estimated fortune of $600 million with the bulk of that coming from her Fenty beauty range. India handed over NPR 1.6 billion as reimbursement of part payment of the first and second tranches of housing reconstruction in Nuwakot and Gorkha, among the areas affected in the devastating 2015 earthquake. In an effort to curb pollution of oceans, the Canadian government announced that it will ban single-use plastics as early as 2021. Facebook, the social networking giant on Tuesday announced a digital wallet subsidiary called ‘Calibra’ that would launch Blockchain-powered cryptocurrency ‘Libra’ next year to help nearly one billion people globally who don’t have a bank account but do have a mobile phone. Composer, Bhushan Kumar has been felicitated with an official certificate from Guinness World Records as T-Series became the first YouTube channel to reach 100 million subscribers. Social networking giant Facebook announced its first interactive game show, titled “Confetti”in India. The National Geographic Society has announced the successful installation of the world’s highest operating weather stations on Mount Everest to provide researchers, climbers, and the public with near real-time information about mountain conditions. Ali Stroker made history by becoming the first actor in a wheelchair to win a Tony Award. The 31-year-old won best- featured actress in a musical award for her outstanding role as Ado Annie in Rogers and Hammerstein’s ‘Oklahoma!’ WHO offers a new tool “AWaRe” to contain rising antimicrobial resistance and make antibiotic use safer and more effective. AWaRe classifies antibiotics into three groups: “Access” specifies which antibiotics to use for the most common and serious infections. “Watch” specifies which ones should be available at all times in the healthcare system. “Reserve” are those that must be used sparingly or preserved and used only as a last resort. Bangladesh has emerged as the fastest growing economy among the 45 countries of the Asia-Pacific region according to Asian Development Bank (ADB). According to a report released by BloombergNEF, nearly half the world’s electricity will come from renewable energy by 2050 as costs of wind, solar and battery storage continue to plummet. India has extended USD 15 million assistance to Niger for organising the African Union (AU) summit scheduled to be held in Niamey early next month.
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Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Ravana-1’, designed and developed by two local engineers, was successfully launched into orbit this week from the International Space Station (ISS) along with two other BIRDS 3 satellites from Japan and Nepal. The US overtook China to once again become India’s top goods trading partner in 2018-19, official data shows. Also, India’s trade surplus with the US declined to $16.8 billion from $21.2 billion a year ago. Saudi Arabia became the first Arab country to get full membership of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). With this, the number of permanent members in the group accounted to 39. The UAE has become the first country in the Gulf to launch ‘goAML’, a new anti money laundering reporting platform developed by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime to curb organised crimes. The bronze statue of Maharaja Ranjit Singh was unveiled at Lahore fort near Maharani Jinda haveli at Lahore on 180th death anniversary of Ranjit Singh. China sent a new data relay satellite into orbit from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre in Sichuan Province. The Tianlian II-01 satellite was launched by a Long March-3B carrier rocket. Japan has unveiled the name of the new imperial era that will begin when Prince Naruhito becomes head of the world’s oldest hereditary monarchy next month. Reiwa, comprising of two Chinese characters that can be read “order” and “peace”, replaces Heisei (“achieving peace”), the title of the current era under Naruhito’s father, Emperor Akihito. Chicago has created history by electing an African-American woman as its mayor for the first time. Lori Lightfoot, a 56-year-old former federal prosecutor and practicing lawyer who has never before held elected office, won the city’s mayoral race by a huge margin. She will also be Chicago’s first openly gay mayor. South Korea launched the world’s first fully-fledged 5G mobile networks. London became the first city in the world to implement a special Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) that would charge an entry fee for older vehicles if they do not meet the emission standards. In an attempt to reduce air pollution and protect public health, the ULEZ will be operational for 24 hours and seven days a week. China has successfully tested the world’s first armed amphibious drone boat which the Chinese military analysts claimed could be used in land assault operations and is capable of forming a combat triad with aerial drones and other drone ships. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank have together launched a private blockchain with a pseudo-token. The new token, called “Learning Coin” and only accessible within the IMF and World Bank, has a purpose to teach relevant individuals within the organizations about blockchain. Global IT spending is projected to total $3.79 trillion in 2019, an increase of 1.1 per cent from 2018, the latest forecast by Gartner Inc. said recently. NepaliSat-1, Nepal’s first satellite has been launched into space, which will soon start rotating around the Earths orbit to collect information about the country’s topography and Earths magnetic field. Sri Lanka’s first satellite ‘Raavana-1’ was launched into space today from NASA’s Flight Facility on Virginia’s east shore. ‘Raavana 1’ weights around 1.05 kg and the lifespan of the satellite is around one and a half years. NASA astronaut Christina Koch is set to spend the longest duration in space by a woman, surpassing the previous record of 288 days in spaceflight by astronaut Peggy Whitson. Asian Tea Alliance (ATA), a union of five tea-growing and consuming countries was launched in Guizhou, China. The world’s first malaria vaccine has been launched in Malawi after concerted efforts of over 30 years to protect children from the deadly disease that claims over 435,000 lives globally every year.
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Israel said it would name a new community on the Golan Heights after U.S. President Donald Trump as an expression of gratitude for his recognition of its claim of sovereignty over the strategic plateau. Iran and Pakistan have agreed to set up a joint border “reaction force” following a number of deadly attacks by militant groups on their frontier, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani announced after talks with visiting Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan. The UAE’s flag carrier Etihad Airways has become the first airline in the Gulf region to operate a flight without any single-use plastics on board, in a bid to raise awareness about pollution on Earth Day. According to the Abu Dhabi- based national airline of the UAE, the flight EY484 landed in Brisbane on April 22, Earth Day. Russia has successfully tested the world’s first floating nuclear power plant (NPP), Akademik Lomonosov, a subsidiary of Rosatom nuclear corporation stated. Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena used his emergency powers to issue an order to ban burqa, veil or covering of face in public places in any manner which prevents anyone from being identified. Despite strong economic growth in 2018, undernourishment rose for the third year in a row, with 821 million people in the world now facing chronic food deprivation, says 2019 Global Food Policy Report prepared by US-based International Food Policy Research Institute. India’s decision to skip the Belt and Road Forum (BRF) may have led to the exclusion of the Bangladesh- China- India- Myanmar (BCIM) Economic corridor from the list of projects covered by the China-led Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) umbrella. If no action is taken, drug-resistant diseases could cause 10 million deaths each year by 2050 and damage to the economy as catastrophic as the 2008-2009 global financial crisis, a new report by United Nations (UN) has warned. National News
The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Yury Trutnev addressed a gathering of businesspersons and industrialist in Mumbai and invited Indian Investments in the Russian Far East. Prime Minister of Republic of Guinea Ibrahima Kassory Fofana arrived on a ten-day visit to attend the 14th edition of CII-EXIM Bank conclave on ‘India-Africa Project Partnership.’ India has achieved an 84 per cent reduction in tuberculosis deaths among people living with HIV by 2017. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on the UNAIDS, it is the highest recorded decline among over 20 nations and it is also three years ahead of the 2020 deadline. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the “One Nation, One Card” programme to ensure seamless travel across the country. The card can be used for payments across different segments, including Metro, bus, suburban railways, toll, parking and retail purchases. ‘One Nation One Ration Card’ scheme will be available across the country from July 1, 2020. The scheme will allow portability of food security benefits according to which the poor migrant workers will be able to buy subsidised rice and wheat from any ration shop in the country as long as their ration cards are linked to Aadhaar. Health Minister Dr Harsh Vardhan said that the government has set a target to raise health services expenditure to 2.5 per cent of the country’s GDP by 2025. The South Central Railway (SCR) has added yet another feather in its cap by commissioning the longest electrified tunnel of 6.6 km built at a total cost of ₹460 crore between Cherlopalli and Rapuru stations. The tunnel is part of the recently completed Obulavaripalli-Venkatachalam new railway line.
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India’s first Design Development Center ‘Fashionova’ was launched in the Textile city Surat recently to promote the city in the field of the fashion design sector. The Prayagraj Kumbh Mela 2019 has secured place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest crowd management, largest sanitation drive and largest painting exercise of public sites. RailTel Corporation of India Ltd, a Mini Ratna CPSU under the Ministry of Railways, has successfully completed work of turning 1000 railway stations across the country into Free Wi-Fi zone. RailTel started the project in January 2016 from Mumbai Central station in Maharashtra. It was the first station to have the fast and free RailWire Wi-Fi and in a span of two years and three months. The Reay Road station of the suburban line of Central Railways in Mumbai is the 1000th station to go live with Wi-Fi. Union Minister Harsh Vardhan launched an anthem as a part of a campaign to make India plastic-free by 2022, and stressed on strengthening plastic waste management and recycling ecosystem in the country. The ”Plastic Waste- Free India” has been anthem, prepared and produced by Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Smriti Manch (PDUSM), a non-profit organisation which claims to be working on various social and environmental issues. The anthem has been launched in 7 languages- Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati, Tamil, Telegu, Malyalam and Kannada. Shri Jual Oram, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs launched the ambitious scheme of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Van Dhan, the scheme for Minimum Support Price (MSP) for Minor Forest Produce Scheme (MFP) and Development of Value Chain of MFPs at a National Workshop organized by Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) under Ministry of Tribal Affairs. The Union Cabinet approved promulgation of an ordinance for establishing the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (NDIAC) to create an independent and autonomous regime for institutionalised arbitration. The Union Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister, Prakash Javadekar launched STARS – Scheme for Translational and Advanced Research in Science to fund science projects. The ministry has approved funds worth Rs 250 crore for the scheme. The Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN (Jaiv Indhan- Vatavaran Anukool fasal awashesh Nivaran) Yojana was approved by the Union Cabinet for providing financial support to Integrated Bioethanol Projects using lignocellulosic biomass and other renewable feedstock. The JI-VAN Yojana will be supported with total financial outlay of Rs 1969.50 crore for the period from 2018-19 to 2023-24. The Union Cabinet approved the proposal for setting up of a Centre for Disability Sports at Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. The Union Cabinet approved an expenditure of Rs 1,450 crore for purchase of the Reserve Bank of India-held shares in the National Housing Bank (NHB). The RBI currently holds 100 per cent stake in the NHB. The Centre has given approval to the establishment of new All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Manethi in Haryana’s Rewari district at a cost of Rs. 1299 crore. It was announced in the Union Budget 2019-20. A National Conference on “Deendayal Disabled Rehabilitation Scheme (DDRS)” was inaugurated by the Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment Thaawarchand Gehlot. The “7th Guinness Book of World Record” has been created by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD), at Bharuch, Gujarat. India’s food processing ministry is working on a new scheme Gram Samridhi Yojana to bolster the unorganised food processing sector concentrated in rural areas. Gram Samridhi Yojana also aims to provide common facility centres and business incubators in rural areas. The Rs 3,000 crore scheme funded by the World Bank and the Centre will help cottage industry, farmer producers’ organisation and individual food processors to increase capacity.
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Bengaluru-based fabless semiconductor company, Signalchip, unveiled India’s first semiconductor chips for 4G/LTE and 5G NR modems, which would enable high-speed wireless communication. These chips put India into an elite group of countries that own this widely used fundamental technology. The alumnus and researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Delhi have created a laptop for visually- impaired. In what they claim to be a first in the country, the laptop has an interface in form of dots or Braile instead of a visual one. The researchers have named it ‘DotBook’. State-run Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced the launch of its Young Scientist programme to train class 9 students in space technology and its applications. ISRO has launched the special programme for school children ‘Yuva Vigyani Karyakram’ (Young Scientist programme) to impart basic knowledge on space technology, space science and applications to the young ones to arouse their interest in space activities. The Geological Survey of India (GSI) launched 22 permanent global positioning system (GPS) stations across India to identify seismically hazardous zones and encourage mapping activities. The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) created the Guinness World Record for ‘longest single line bicycle parade (moving)’ at the Yamuna Expressway, Noida. Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a defence public sector undertaking, presented SWAGAT – the Automatic Fare Collection Gating System. Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the system as part of the inaugural of Phase I of the Ahmedabad Metro. India has been designated as the guest of honour at the Paris Book Fair in 2020, while France will be the guest country at the New Delhi World Book Fair (NDWBF) in 2022. Tucked away deep in trans-Himalayas, Tashigang, a small Himachal Pradesh village at an altitude of 15,256 feet, is now the highest polling station in the world. A yarn bank has been set up at the Mysore Powerloom Silk Manufacturers Cooperative Society on Avenue Road to benefit the state’s weavers. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba commissioned a state-of-the-art “Nuclear, Biological, Chemical Training Facility – ABHEDYA”, at INS Shivaji in Lonavla. Vijayawada railway station, one of the busiest railway junctions in the country, has received Gold Rating by the Indian Green Building Council. Social-networking site Facebook launched 2 new India-specific tools “Candidate Connect” and “Share You Voted” to boost civic engagement on its platform during the general elections that commence in April. For the first time in the world, researchers at the GRAPES-3 muon telescope facility in Ooty have measured the electrical potential, size and height of a thundercloud that passed overhead on December 1, 2014. At 1.3 gigavolts (GV), this cloud had 10 times higher potential than the previous record in a cloud. The Indian Railways said that 100 summer special trains would be run to handle extra rush of passengers during this season. These special trains will be run from March 28. A superfast weekly special train between Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus and Gorakhpur will make a total of 26 round trips between the two stations every Friday from April 12 to July 5. The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) launched a new podcast app ‘Shiksha Vani’. This app will disseminate crucial information to students and parents in a timely manner. The National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey, NARSS 2018-19 has found that 96.5 per cent of the households in rural India have access to a toilet. The survey was conducted by an Independent Verification Agency under the World Bank support project to the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).
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Google launched a free app called “Bolo” that parents can download to help primary grade children improve their Hindi and English reading skills. Launched in India first, the app is designed to work offline and comes with a built-in reading buddy, “Diya“, who encourages, aids, explains, and corrects the child, as they read aloud. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri launched e-Dharti app where all the three modules- Conversion, Substitution and Mutation related to properties have been made online. The country’s 500th Passport Kendra has been made operational at Pratapgarh in Rajasthan. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has given its approval for extension of time and scope for revival and development of unserved and underserved air strips of state governments, Airports Authority of India (AAI), civil enclaves, central public sector undertakings (CPSUs), helipads and water aerodromes at the total cost of Rs 4,500 crore with the budgetary support of government of India. LPG connections distributed under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana touched the 7 crore mark with Geeta Devi becoming the seventh crore beneficiary of the scheme. Launched in 2016, the flagship scheme has achieved this “milestone” in just 34 months. The Sundarban Reserve Forest (SRF) in India, located within the largest mangrove forest in the world, the Sundarbans, is now a Wetland of International Importance, making it the largest protected wetland in the country. A mobile application to cope with exam related stress and anxiety for students and their parents has been developed by Indian Institute of Public Health Gandhinagar, Gujarat, (IIPHG) in collaboration with National Mental Health Program, Department of Health and Family Welfare, Government of Gujarat. The mobile application is called ‘Conquer Exam, Be a Warrior.’ Defence Ministry cleared a major project for the Indian Army for the acquisition of 10 lakh ‘Made in India’ multi- mode hand grenades. The Indian Department of Post released a ‘special stamp cover on Ice Stupa’. Ice Stupa site at Gangles Village in Leh. The Supreme Court appointed senior advocate P.S. Narasimha, who is assisting the apex court as an amicus curiae in the BCCI matter, as mediator for resolving various disputes related to cricket administration in the country. The government has constituted an inter-ministerial panel for monitoring, sanctioning and implementation of projects under the Rs 10,000-crore FAME-II programme, aimed at incentivising clean mobility. The Rs 10,000-crore programme under the second phase of the FAME India scheme will be implemented over a period of three years with effect from April 1, 2019. Geographical Indication (GI) tags have been granted to Coorg Arabica Coffee, Wayanad Robusta Coffee, Chikmagalur Arabica Coffee, Araku Valley Arabica Coffee and Bababudangiris Arabica Coffee, by the Geographical Indications Registry. The Election Commission launched mobile application “Observer App” that will help poll observers to submit reports timely. Over 1800 IAS, IPS and IRS officials, officials of Central services will be deployed as observers in the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2019 and State Assembly elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved changes to the Prime Minister’s Scholarship Scheme for wards of deceased defense personnel under the National Defence Fund. The quota of new scholarships for children of state police officials will be 500 in a year. The rates of scholarship have also been increased from Rs. 2000 per month to Rs. 2500 per month for boys and from Rs. 2250 per month to Rs. 3000 per month for girls. Assam government has waived admission fees for students taking admission up to Post Graduate level whose parental income is less than 2 lakh rupees per year. Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has organized two-day workshop for Population Research Centres (PRCs) in New Delhi to highlight various features off its fagship schemes for concurrent management.
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A Two-day Yoga Mahotsava, a Curtain Raiser for International Day of Yoga (IDY) 2019 was inaugurated by the Vice-Chairman, NITI AAYOG Rajeev Kumar at New Delhi. On this occasion Secretary, Ministry of AYUSH Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha announced two Applications ‘Yoga Locator’ and ‘Bhuvan App’ related to International Day of Yoga 2019. ‘Yoga for Heart’ was the themevfor IDY 2019. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Siachen Glacier and reviewed the security situation along the borders with Pakistan. The Defence Minister was accompanied by Army Chief General Bipin Rawat. Government has responded to the decision by the United States of America to withdraw India’s GSP benefits with effect from 5th June 2019. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that all animals are legal persons entitled to legal rights like human beings. Ahead of the International Yoga Day on June 21, the AYUSH ministry has launched a mobile application ‘Yoga Locator’to enable people locate yoga events and centres providing training. Delhi Metro has become the first ever project in the country to receive power generated from a waste-to-energy plant. Bancha in Betul district, Madhya Pradesh is the first village in India to have zero wooden stoves and almost no use for LPG cylinders with all its 75 houses relying on solar-powered stoves to meet their cooking needs. Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar launched a people’s campaign #SelfiewithSaplingurging all to join and plant a sapling and post the selfie with the sapling on social media. Woman in Delhi can soon travel free on public transport, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced. L&T Financial Services’ (LTFS) ‘Digital Sakhi’, an educational programme aimed at digital financial inclusion of rural women, was launched in 20 villages of Villupuram district in Tamil Nadu. In a bid to spur investment and create new employment opportunities, Prime Minister Narendra Modi set up two Cabinet committees to deal with the two crucial issues. Both the panels, respectively on Investment and Growth and on Employment and Skill Development, will be headed by the prime minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi surprised markets by naming Nirmala Sitharaman, formerly the country’s defence minister, as the next finance minister at a time when Asia’s third-largest economy is stuttering. Indian construction market is expected to grow on an average by 7.1% each year and it would become the third largest by 2025. For the first time in India, National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRDPR), has launched an initiative to improve the adaptive capacity of the rural poor engaged in farm-based livelihoods to cope with climate change. Chaukhandi Stupa, an ancient Buddhist site located in Sarnath, Uttar Pradesh, has been declared as a Monument and protected area of national importance by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Bill which will be introduced during the upcoming session of parliament. According to the annual report on internet trends by venture capitalist Mary Meeker, India accounts for 12% world’s internet users. The U.S. Embassy organised its fifth annual ‘Student Visa Day’ and launched ‘EducationUSA India’. It is a mobile application to provide Indian students with “current, comprehensive and accurate information about studying in the U.S.” HCL Technologies is all set to roll out “Tech Bee” programme, a company initiative under which it trains and hires students who have completed XII th standard, across several states. Software giant Microsoft launched Artificial Intelligence (AI)-enabled digital labs in collaboration with 10 higher educational institutions in India. Celebrated mango grower, Haji Kalimullah, popularly known as ‘Mango Man’, has named a new variety of mango after Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to attend the G-7 Summit this year as a Special Invitee by French President Emmanuel Macron, confirmed the Ministry of External Affairs.
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Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a 200 million dollar line of credit to Kyrgyzstan after wide-ranging talks with Kyrgyzstan President Sooronbay Jeenbekov in Bishkek. Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) of Culture & Tourism, Government of India inaugurated the exhibition titled “Astitva: The Essence of Prabhakar Barwe”, at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. India has been designated as the Guest of Honour at the 33rd Feria Internacional del Libro de Guadalajara (Guadalajara International Book Fair), in Mexico, the National Book Trust announced. Indian Navy’s first Naval Air Squadron 550 celebrated its Diamond Jubilee at naval base Kochi after Completing 60 glorious years of yeoman service to the nation. The recent report of NITI Ayog on groundwater level says 21 Indian cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Chennai and Hyderabad – will run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting around 100 million people. According to the President of India, construction or upgradation of about 35,000 kilometres of national highways are to be undertaken by 2022 under the ‘Bharatmala Project’. Minister of State (I/c) for Civil Aviation inaugurated the Air Traffic Flow Management Central Command Centre in New Delhi. Department of School Education and Literacy, Ministry of Human Resource Development has launched Integrated Scheme for School Education i.e. Samagra Shiksha effective from 2018-19. Self Defence training for girls is an activity under Samagra Shiksha. Keeping in view, the rising number of crimes against girls and women in the country and to ensure safety and security of girls, Self Defence training is imparted to girls of class VI to XII belonging to Government Schools. Kerala took the top spot among larger states for overall performance on health indicators in a NITI Aayog report, followed by Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, while Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Odisha languish at the bottom. The Centre has approved Rs 13,343 crore for the National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis for the next five years. The amount of Rs 2683 crore is proposed for the Financial Year 2019-20. Power distribution company BSES Yamuna Power Limited (BYPL) has tied up with several private organisations to launch a slew of initiatives including a ‘behavioural energy saving app’ to reduce electricity consumption. The app — Susthome — developed by BYPL and TERI to bring about a behavioural change in how consumers use electricity, will track energy consumption patterns. The Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu released a postage stamp to commemorate the 750th birth anniversary of Sri Vedanta Desikan in New Delhi. Indian government had earlier proposed a special green-coloured number plate for all electric vehicles in the country. Putting the year old plan in action, the Central government has now asked the state transport departments to make it mandatory for all EVs to use the green number plates, irrespective of the year in which they were bought. Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) recently launched the Malaria Elimination Research Alliance (MERA)- India and organised the Stakeholders’ Meeting at ICMR headquarters, New Delhi to have vibrant discussions on the roadmap of the Alliance. The government has hiked the customs duty on wheat to 40 per cent from 30 per cent to curb imports and protect the domestic industry. The Indian Institute of Technology Delhi has announced that they will be introducing a new Centre of Excellence for Waste to Wealth Technologies. This step has been taken as a way to celebrate Mahatma Gandhi’s 150th Birthday. The initiative is a joint effort of IIT-D and Government of India’s Principle Scientific Advisor (PSA).
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The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) held a brainstorming session for all stakeholders in the renewable energy industry. This ‘chintan baithak’ was the first of its kind organised by MNRE. The Indian Army is commemorating this year as the ‘Year of Next of Kin’ and plans to reach out to the next of kin of battle casualties, ex-servicemen and serving soldiers to inform them of entitled financial benefits, welfare schemes and help resolve pension related problems. The Indian Navy’s first full-fledged Services Selection Board (SSB) was inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba at Diamond Harbour near Kolkata. The SSB (Kolkata) is located at a place that was previously occupied by a Naval Coastal Battery. The website of the Lokpal www.lokpal.gov.in has been launched. It was inaugurated by Chairperson Justice Pinaki Chandra Ghose in presence of all the Members of Lokpal in New Delhi. The Lokpal is the first institution of its kind in independent India, established under the Lokpal and Lokayuktas Act, 2013 to inquire and investigate into allegations of the corruption against public functionaries who fall within the scope and ambit of the above Act At 47.8 deaths per 1,000 live births, India in 2015 had more deaths among children under five than any other country, new research has found. The highest mortality rate, in Assam, a state in northeastern India, was more than seven times that in the western state of Goa. India signed the ‘Christchurch Call to Action’ in Paris. The agreement came in the backdrop of the attacks on mosques in March and is aimed at stopping the abuse of the Internet by extremists. India has been unanimously chosen as co-chair of the Consultative Group (CG) of Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) for the fiscal year 2020. India delivered the first pair of replacement Mi-24 attack helicopters to Afghanistan. India had first delivered the Mi-24 Helicopters to Afghanistan in December 2015. With 400 young Indian men participating across the country to learn laundry lessons to share the responsibility of cleaning clothes along with the female members of their homes, India achieved the Guinness World Records certificate for the largest laundry lesson recently. The NITI Aayog has drawn up a plan for creating an institutional framework for artificial intelligence (AI) in the country. It has circulated a cabinet note to provide Rs 7,500 crore in funding for creation of cloud computing platform called AIRAWAT and research institutes. UN Environment India and Wildlife Crime Control Bureau of India launched an awareness campaign ‘Not all animals migrate by choice’ to be displayed at major airports across the country ahead of the International Day of Biological Diversity celebrated on 22 May. A 41-year-old orangutan at Odisha’s Nandankanan Zoological Park died following a prolonged illness. ”Binny”, the country’s lone orangutan passed away due to old-age related ailments followed by respiratory tract infection. In its first meeting, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi decided to give monthly pension of Rs 3,000 to all small and marginal farmers across the country, small traders, businessmen, and shopkeepers after they attain the age of 60 years. All small shopkeepers and self-employed persons as well as the retail traders with Goods and Services Tax (GST) turnover below Rs 1.5 crore and aged between 18 and 40 years can enroll themselves for the scheme. As the World Environment Day is approaching, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change launched a theme song ‘Hawa Aane De’ on air pollution. The song was launched in the national capital. The aim is to spread awareness regarding protecting the environment. Secretary of Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change
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launched the song in the presence of actor Shekhar Suman and singer Shaan. World Environment Day is celebrated on June 05. The Trump administration removed India from its currency monitoring list of major trading partners, citing certain developments and steps being taken by New Delhi addressing some of its major concerns. Switzerland is the other nation that has been removed from the list. However, the list includes China, Japan, South Korea, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Singapore, Malaysia, and Vietnam among others. India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly, announced by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. India has been elected to the Executive Board of the first UN-Habitat Assembly at the Plenary Session of the Assembly being held in Nairobi. ISRO Chairman K Sivan flagged off the shipment of India’s largest liquid hydrogen storage tank at the VRV Asia Pacific’s manufacturing plant at Sri City in Chittoor district of Andhra Pradesh. WhatsApp launched an India-focused fact-checking feature to combat fake news and rumours starting with the run-up to the Lok Sabha elections. The messaging platform said that its Indian users, numbering more than 200 million, can now report uncertain information or rumours they have received to a WhatsApp number (+91-9643- 000-888) and check its authenticity. The response will indicate if information is classified as ‘true’, ‘false’, ‘misleading’, ‘disputed’ or ‘out of scope’, and include any other related information. WhatsApp will review pictures, video links or texts in Hindi, Telugu, Bengali, Malayalam and English. This tip line feature has been developed by WhatsApp in collaboration with India-based media skilling startup PROTO. A small village, Phayeng, in the North Eastern state of Manipur, has been tagged as India’s first carbon-positive settlement. It is a first of its kind project in the South Asian country. UAE announced that India will be the Guest of Honour country at the Abu Dhabi International Book Fair, ADIBF 2019, held from 24th to 30th of April. The Union Cabinet approved the ongoing GSLV continuation programme phase 4 consisting of five GSLV flights during 2021-24. This will enable the launch of 2-tonne class of satellites for geo-imaging, navigation, data relay communication and space sciences. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, has approved a proposal to extend the duration of New Urea Policy- 2015, from April 1 till further orders. India was a net importer of steel during the 2018-19 fiscal year, the first time in three years, as the country lost market share among its traditional steel buyers and imports jumped on demand for higher-quality steel domestically. The Election Commission (EC) launched a new mobile application for near-realtime availability of voter turnout during elections across the country. The beta version of the “Voter Turnout” app, available on Android Playstore, currently shows the state-wise and constituency-wise voter turnout in the ongoing Lok Sabha elections. The 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy which killed thousands of people is among the world’s “major industrial accidents” of the 20th century, a UN report has said, warning that 2.78 million workers die from occupational accidents and work-related diseases each year. From 2020, the CBSE students with visual impairment will be allowed to use magnifying glasses and portable video magnifiers during the Class X final examination.
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Indonesia released a special commemorative stamp on the theme of Ramayana to mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic ties with India. The stamp, designed by renowned Indonesian sculptor Padmashri Bapak Nyoman Nuart, features a scene from Hindu epic Ramayana in which Jatayu valiantly fought to save Sita. BuyUcoin, which is the second oldest Cryptocurrency Exchange in India, announces the launch of a new and unique platform for wholesale cryptocurrency trading which allows its users to trade on a large scale with low price fluctuations. Taking a cue from European languages, several of which have the same (Roman letter–based) script, Srinivasa Chakravathy’s team at IIT Madras has, over the last decade, developed a unified script for 9 Indian languages, named the Bharati script. The team has now gone a step further since developing the script: it has developed a method for reading documents in Bharati script using a multi-lingual optical character recognition (OCR) scheme. Indian Army claimed that one of its teams spotted mysterious footprints of mythical creature “Yeti” close to Nepal’s Makalu Base Camp. During an expedition, the Mountaineering Expedition team came across mysterious marks measuring 32X15 inches, which the Army believed are of the mythical beast Yeti. Cyclone ‘Fani’ intensified into a ‘severe cyclonic storm’ and headed towards the Odisha coast.
State News
Andhra Pradesh In a first, The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) opened a visitors’ gallery with 5,000 capacity at Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota island. The gallery has a clear line of sight to two launch pads and large screens to explain launcher and satellite features. The National Green Tribunal has slapped an interim penalty of Rs 100 crore on the Andhra Pradesh government for inaction to prevent illegal sand mining in the state. A bench, headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, directed the chief secretary of Andhra Pradesh to forthwith prohibit all unregulated sand mining. HP Inc India has signed a pact with with Andhra Pradesh Innovation Society (APIS) and Andhra Pradesh Economic Development Board (APEDB) to build a Center of Excellence (CoE) that would 3D printing technology work.
Arunachal Pradesh The Geological Survey of India (GSI) in its report said that about 35% of India’s total Graphite reserves are found in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the highest found in the country.
Assam Assam government has waived admission fees for students taking admission up to Post Graduate level whose parental income is less than 2 lakh rupees per year. Assam government will set up a Skill University at the cost of 850 crore rupees at Darrang district. This will be perhaps the first skill university of the country with a capacity of 10 thousand seats. Centre has approved setting up of e-Foreigner Tribunal (e-FT) in Assam. Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Ambubachi Mela in Guwahati. A district in western Assam is going the digital way to attract the first-time voters towards the election process and ensure their participation. The district administration of Bongaigaon has developed a ‘Sankalp’ mobile phone application to especially reach out to the first-time voters. The Guwahati Railway Station has become the first ever railway station in the Indian Railways to get an ISO certification from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) for “providing passenger amenities in a clean and green environment.”
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Assam’s most awaited festival the Rongali Bihu, also known as ‘Bohaag Bihu’ which marks the beginning of the new Assamese calendar year was celebrated. ‘Rice Knowledge Bank – Assam’, an agriculture web portal dedicated to enhancing knowledge on rice production techniques and technologies, best production practices and state agriculture facts, was launched as part of the World Bank funded project- Assam Agri-business and Rural Transformation (APART). Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) under Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System (CIBMS) on Indo-Bangladesh border in Dhubri district of Assam. Assam Chief Electoral Officer Mukesh Sahu launched the Enajori initiative in Guwahati. It is a special initiative for persons with disabilities with an aim that ‘No Voter to be Left behind’. It is a joint initiative of CEO Assam and Social Welfare Department with an objective to make Lok Sabha Elections accessible to Persons with Disability, PwD voters. Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated the project BOLD-QIT (Border Electronically Dominated QRT Interception Technique) on India-Bangladesh border in Dhubri District of Assam. The Assam government in collaboration with the Singapore-based ITE Education Services (ITEES) set up the North East Skill Centre (NESC) in Guwahati.
Bihar Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar launched the Mukhyamantri Vriddha Pension Yojna for poor people above 60 years of age in the state. The Government of Bihar recently banned felling of trees, citing increasing pollution as well as a fatal heatwave. Trees on private land, however, can be felled in the absence of a tree-protection Act in Bihar.
Chandigarh A new centre to repair Russian helicopters of Mi-17V-5 type will be operational in Chandigarh by the end of 2019, according to Russian Helicopters Deputy Director General Igor Chechikov.
Chhattisgarh A museum exhibiting Sikh culture and tradition has opened in the heart of state’s capital city Raipur. The Chhattisgarh government has set up a hi-tech ‘integrated command and control centre’ in Raipur for better traffic management and surveillance in the city. Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel inaugurated ‘Jan Choupal’ programme in Raipur. Under this programme, public meetings will be held once every week to discuss the issues of the people.
Delhi Woman in Delhi can soon travel free on public transport, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced. The Aam Aadmi Party government’s flagship CCTV project, which is started from 8th June in the national capital, has the deadline of April next year, while the city government has set September 2020 to be the deadline for providing free WiFi facility to Delhiites, according to the Outcome Budget. Delhi Metro has become the first ever project in the country to receive power generated from a waste-to-energy plant. Shri Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (I/C) of Culture & Tourism, Government of India inaugurated the exhibition titled “Astitva: The Essence of Prabhakar Barwe”, at National Gallery of Modern Art, New Delhi. Union Minister of Social Justice & Empowerment flagged off “17th Run Against Drug Abuse” on the occasion of “International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking” in New Delhi.
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In a bid to become world’s first 100 per cent green energy metro rail network, the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) started its operations through the support of solar energy on Violet line in between the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium metro station to Central Secretariat station. The ‘Azaadi ke Diwane’ museum dedicated to the unsung heroes of the country’s freedom struggle was inaugurated at the Red Fort premises. Textiles Minister Smriti Irani inaugurated the refurbished Handloom Haat at Janpath in New Delhi. Delhi government launched a common mobility app ‘One Delhi’ to allow users plan more efficiently their journey with Delhi Metro and all city buses. Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep S. Puri, in New Delhi, inaugurated state-of-the-art India Urban Observatory, which would plug into the myriad sources of data from cities, both real-time and archived.
Gujarat Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani on the World Environment Day launched the country’s first emissions trading scheme (ETS) to encourage and incentivize the industrial units to cut air pollution. India’s first Dinosaur Museum cum Park was inaugurated in Gujarat’s Mahisagar district and is set to give visitors the true Jurassic Park feel.
Haryana The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that all animals are legal persons entitled to legal rights like human beings. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has approved the construction of six nursing colleges at a cost Rs 194.30 crore in the state so as to overcome the shortage of trained and qualified nursing personnel. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced an annual financial assistance of Rs 5 lakh to “loktantra senanis” or their spouse. India’s first-of-its-kind ‘Voter Park’ was inaugurated in Gurugram, aimed at increasing voter awareness and educating people about the electoral process. Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar announced the “Mukhyamantri Parivar Samman Nidhi” scheme for farmers of the state cultivating up to 5 acres of land and families having income less than Rs. 15,000 per month. Under the scheme, each beneficiary family would be eligible for a financial assistance of Rs. 6,000 every year and each family will have to nominate a member to avail this benefit.
Himachal Pradesh The Himachal Pradesh government makes mandatory for trekkers to carry a GPS device so that they can be provided all possible help in case of any emergency. Kullu and Dalhousie have been identified for installation of early warning system. Himachal Pradesh will develop 100 trout farms for production of carp fish this year.
Jammu & Kashmir The annual ‘Mela Kheer Bhawani’, the most important festival of Kashmiri pandits, associated with Hindu Goddess Ragnya Devi was Monday celebrated with religious fervor and gaiety at Tulmulla area of central Kashmir’s Ganderbal district and Kupwara with thousands of Pandith devotees participated in the function. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has formally approved 120 crore rupee Cancer Institute at Government Medical College, Jammu for strengthening the tertiary level cancer services in the State.
Karnataka Namma Kolhapuri chappal has earned Geographical indication tag from Intellectual Property India. The approval for GI tag was jointly received by Karnataka and Maharashtra.
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Mangaluru City Police has launched an all-women police patrol unit in the city. Flagging off the ‘Rani Abbakka Force’ in Mangaluru, Sandeep Patil, Commissioner of Police, said the Karnataka police is giving utmost importance to the protection of women and children. Defence Space agency to come up at Bengaluru. ‘Jalamrutha’, an ambitious water conservation scheme was launched by Karnataka chief minister, H D Kumaraswamy at a programme organized by rural development and panchayat raj department at Dr B R Ambedkar Bhavan in Bengaluru. On the occasion the CM also announced the year 2019 as ‘Jalavarsha (year of water)’. Arecanut (also known as supari or betel nut) is the latest entrant in the list of agricultural produce with a GI (geographical indication) tag. The Registrar of Geographical Indications, Government of India, accorded a GI tag, ‘Sirsi Supari’, to arecanut grown in Sirsi, Siddpaur and Yellapur taluks of Uttara Kannada district in Karnataka.
Kerala Kerala became the first state to tap into masala bond market by listing the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB)’s masala bond worth of USD 312 million (Rs 2,150 crore) in London Stock Exchange (LSE)’s International Securities Market (ISM). India’s future forward real estate company, Talenmark announced that their ambitious and iconic structure deemed to be “The Biggest Cultural Center of India” is under construction in Calicut, Kerala. The Marayoor Jaggery, the traditional and handmade product from Idukki district of Kerala received the Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Central Government. IT major Wipro Ltd opened its centre of excellence for Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) in Kochi in Kerala.
Madhya Pradesh The government in Madhya Pradesh is coming up with 300 “smart gaushalas” in the state and has signed a contract with a foreign company for the construction and development of these cow shelters. Madhya Pradesh government will run “Save Water” campaign with the suggestions and involvement of common people. A state level “Water Cell” has also been constituted for the purpose. The Centre has approved a proposal to change the name of a village in Madhya Pradesh from ‘Durjanpur’ to ‘Shivdham’. Indore’s Devi Ahilya Bai Holkar airport has been declared as an international airport. ‘National Institute of Mental Health Rehabilitation’ to be set up at Sherpur Village in District Sehore, Madhya Pradesh. Ancient tribal language Gondi to be taught in tribal districts of MP The Congress government in Madhya Pradesh has appointed self-styled godman Namdev Tyagi, also known as Computer Baba, as chairman of a river trust in the State.
Maharashtra Namma Kolhapuri chappal has earned Geographical indication tag from Intellectual Property India. The approval for GI tag was jointly received by Karnataka and Maharashtra. A pilot project aimed at providing smoke-free environment in the kitchen for women will be launched by the Maharashtra government. The project, named “Chullah (wood-fired stove)-free and smoke-free Maharashtra”, will target the women who have not benefited under the Ujjwala or any other LPG distribution scheme. The Rahimatpur police station in Satara district in Maharashtra has emerged as the State topper in a survey based on the ‘SMART’ policing concept.
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India’s first foreign interactive and exotic world park was inaugurated by EsselWorld in Mumbai. Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu announced that an aircraft components manufacturing hub would be set up in Maharashtra’s coastal Konkan region and would boost employment opportunities for the local youth. An ultra-modern and high-tech gems and jewellery park will be developed at a cost of Rs 14,467 crore on a 21-acre complex in Navi Mumbai. It is likely to be ready by 2022. The Mumbai-based company Linkus Infratech has launched a hyper-local connectivity app called “Bhonga” to connect users to people in their neighbourhood in the city even without an Internet connection. “Bhonga” is a word in Marathi language that translates to meaning megaphone or loudspeaker. The Maharashtra government launched a special scheme for construction workers in the state. The scheme, “Atal Aahar Yojna,” will provide good quality and hygienic food to construction workers at a highly subsidised rate. In Maharashtra, Election Commission has come up with a mobile application called ‘PWD’ for making voting easier and implement the poll body’s slogan of Accessible Elections for over two lakhs Divyang voters across the state
Manipur Japan gifts Manipur a “Peace Museum” which is built on the memories of one of the fiercest battles of the Second World War.
Mizoram The Tripura and Mizoram governments have undertaken an ambitious plan for afforestation in the two Northeastern states.
Meghalaya In a major move towards enhancing the growth of eco-tourism, the Institute of Bio-Resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) opened the first ever state-of-the-art orchidarium in Upper Shillong.
Nagaland In an attempt to set a new Guinness World Records in the category of ‘largest traditional Konyak dance display,’ around 5,000 Konyak community women, all decked up in colourful traditional attire, danced to the tune of a ceremonial song at Nagaland, coinciding with the Aoleang festival. The theme of this year’s Aoleang, also called Mini Hornbill festival, was ‘Empowering women for cultural heritage.’ The Centre has given its consent for changing the name of a village in Nagaland, taking to nearly two dozens the number of name-change proposals, including those of towns and railway stations, to be cleared in the past one year. The ODL Mangkhi village in Tuensang district of the northeastern state will be known as Mungankhun village.
Odisha ‘Kandhamal Haldi’, a variety of turmeric indigenous to southern Odisha, has earned the Geographical indication (GI) tag from Intellectual Property India, an organisation functioning under the auspices of the Union ministry of commerce & industry. Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik launched the ‘Mukhya Mantri Karigar Sahayata’ scheme in Bhubaneswar. The state government will provide Rs 800 monthly allowance to craftsmen with over 10 years of experience and annual income below Rs 1 lakh under the ‘Mukhya Mantri Karigar Sahayata’ scheme. The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), one of country’s leading think-tanks, will set up an industrial incubation facility of TERI-Deakin Nanobiotechnology Research Centre, in Odisha.
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Odisha’s gross state domestic product (GSDP) grew by 8.4 per cent during 2018-19 compared to 7.4 per cent in previous financial year, highlighting that it has grown at a faster rate than states like Haryana, Punjab, Kerala, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand.
Punjab Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh announced to make the state the country’s basketball hub. The Punjab and Haryana High Court has ruled that all animals are legal persons entitled to legal rights like human beings.
Rajasthan Male applicants will get Rs 3,000/month, while the women and differently-abled will get Rs 3,500/month under Chief Minister Yuva Sambal Yojana from February this year. Hero Future Energies Global (HFE), the clean energy arm of Hero Group, will invest around $200 million in a solar project in Rajasthan. The project will be supported by International Finance Corporation (IFC), which will invest around $43.3 million (Rs 300 crore). Home Minister Rajnath Singh inaugurated a training centre of the Central Reserve Police Force at Paladi Khinchiyan village in Jodhpur.
Sikkim The 14th edition of the annual Sino-Indian border trade opened at Nathu La in Sikkim.
Tamil Nadu A unique ‘Tree Ambulance’ service – an initiative to provide care to trees besides spread green cover, was launched by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu in Chennai. The service launched for the first time in the state, aims at providing first aid treatment to trees, uprooted tree planting, seed bank, seed ball distribution, plant distribution, aiding tree plantation, shifting trees, survey of trees and removal of dead trees. The ambulance can be availed through the helpline number – 9941006786. People can register themselves as volunteers in their website- www.treeambulance.org. The Tamil Nadu government has renamed the iconic Chennai Central Railway Station as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr MGR Central Railway Station. The station was renamed after the receipt of ‘no objection’ from the Union Home Ministry. Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the Chennai Central Railway Station will be renamed after former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MG Ramachandran, popularly known as MGR. After an eight-year-long process, Erode turmeric (of Tamil Nadu) finally got a Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indication Registry. Tamil yeoman (Cirrochroa thais) butterfly has been declared the state butterfly of Tamil Nadu. These butterflies are also known as Tamil Maravan, which means warrior, are found mainly in the hilly areas.
Telangana The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has entered into an agreement with the Government of Telangana to offer MeeSeva portal users the option to pay using UPI Collect Request, RuPay Debit and Credit Cards for the services on the portal. Along with the Kaleswaram Lift Irrigation project, Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao also inaugurated the world’s biggest pumphouse at the Medigadda.
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Telangana’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) has grown 15 per cent in the financial year ended March 31, 2019 at ₹8,66,875 crore as against ₹7,53,804 crore in the previous year. This is the highest ever growth of GSDP after the formation of Telangana State. For the second successive year, Telangana has been ranked first in e-learning training programme of Department of Personal and Training (DoPT) of the Government India. During the financial year 2018-19, Dr MCR HRD Institute enrolled over 20,000 field staff in different districts of the State to impart training on 12 soft skill modules and three domain-specific modules on RTI, office procedures, finance and accounts, apart from sustainable development goals. The Telangana Governmet launched a MSME networking portal, Telangana State Global Linker in Hyderabad to digitise over 2.3 million MSMEs of the state. The portal is, ts-msme.globallinker.com.
Tripura The Tripura and Mizoram governments have undertaken an ambitious plan for afforestation in the two Northeastern states. After Guwahati and Imphal, the Agartala airport is set to become the third international airport in the northeastern region by the end of this year or by early 2020. Garia Festival celebrated in Tripura Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan said that Tripura is country’s number one gas producing point and every poor household in the state will have LPG connection in 2019. In a bid to improve the educational status of Tripura, the state government announced ‘Notun Disha’ (New Direction), an initiative aimed at assessing the academic level of students between class III-VIII.
Uttarakhand The Uttarakhand government has decided to set up a centre of excellence for Himalayan fibre in Almora district of Kumaon. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat launched the Mukhyamantri Anchal Amrit Yojana in Dehradun, under which 2.5 lakh children at 20,000 Anganwadi kendras in the state will be given 100 ml milk twice a week for free. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in Uttarakhand said it tied up with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to set up a Space Technology Cell at its campus. The Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat inaugurated an Indian Coast Guard recruitment centre in Kuanvala.
Uttar Pradesh India has opened its first specialised hydrotherapy treatment for elephants suffering from arthritis, joint pain and foot ailments in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. The Yogi Adityanath government approved a loan of Rs 2,000 crore to expedite the construction of the Purvanchal expressway. AYUSH Minister Shripad Yesso Naik laid the foundation stone for National Institute of Unani Medicine at Ghaziabad in Uttar Pradesh. Indo-Russia Rifles Ltd. plant at Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) Korwa in Amethi was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has approved the investment approval for a 1320 megawatt Khurja Super Thermal Power Plant (STPP) in Bulandshahar of Uttar Pradesh.
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Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath launched a 24×7 toll-free helpline to allow people from across the state to register their grievance via a phone call on number 1076 instead of travelling all the way to Lucknow.
West Bengal West Bengal government has announced a crop insurance scheme in collaboration with the Agriculture Insurance Company of India (AIC), for the 2019 kharif season. The scheme called Bangla Shashya Bima (BSB) is applicable for farmers in 15 districts. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee announced a grant of 1 lakh to graduates of the state’s 214 polytechnics and Industrial Training Institutes (ITI), to set up small businesses. The CM introduced the scheme, Yuvashree Arpan, in Howrah district. The Japanese government announced a donation of some Rs 22 lakh ($31,800) to the Rabindra Bharati Museum in Kolkata in a bid to strengthen historical and cultural ties with India.
Finance and Banking News
The Reserve Bank of India will shortly issue Rs. 20 denomination banknotes in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series, bearing the signature of Shri Shaktikanta Das, Governor, Reserve Bank of India. The new denomination has the motif of Ellora Caves on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage. The base colour of the note is Greenish Yellow. The dimension of the banknote will be 63 mm x 129 mm. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) cut repo rate for the third consecutive time this year to 5.75 per cent from the current 6 per cent amid falling economic growth and uncertain global scenario. Repo Rate: 5.75% Reverse Repo Rate: 5.50% SLR (Statutory Liquidity Ratio): 19.00% CRR (Cash Reserve Ratio): 4.00% MSF(Marginal Standing Facility) Rate: 6.00% Inflation: 2.86%
In an effort to boost digital payments, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) scrapped charges levied on Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) transactions. Fincare Small Finance Bank and Kookmin Bank have been included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, according to RBI notifications. Paytm Payments Bank has received a target of 501.16 crore digital transactions for the financial year 2019-20 from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), higher than the targets set for major banks including HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank and Punjab National Bank. The share of e-Money in India’s payment systems grew to 21.5 per cent in 2017 from 0.8 per cent in 2012, according to a new report from the Reserve Bank of India. In February 2018, the RBI had issued a framework on the resolution of stressed assets under which banks were asked to initiate resolution or restructuring of loans worth Rs 2,000 crore or more even if there was a single day of default. The RBI has now revised the circular and said that a lender should initiate a resolution plan before the loan default. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) directed banks to withdraw the charges levied on the National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) and Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions with effect from July 1. IDBI Bank Ltd. and Max Bupa, a standalone health insurer (SAHI), signed a Bancassurance corporate agency agreement on June 1, 2019. It is the first time that IDBI Bank has been on-boarded as a corporate agent for a SAHI partner under open architecture.
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Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das launched “Complaint Management System (CMS)”, a software application to facilitate RBI’s grievance redressal processes. With an aim to ease high-value fund transfers, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced an extension of timings for customer transactions through Real Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) by one and half hours. Customers can now transfer money through RTGS mode till 6 pm instead of the existing 4:30 pm. The change will come into effect starting June 1. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed banks to enhance the housing loan limits for eligibility under priority sector lending (PSL) to Rs 35 lakh in metropolitan centres (with population of ten lakh and above) and Rs 25 lakh in other centres. In order to bring the RRBs and SFBs at a level playing field with other Scheduled Commercial Banks, it has now been decided to enhance the housing loan limits for eligibility under PSL. Reserve Bank of India has released a vision document‘Payment and Settlement Systems in India: Vision 2019 – 2021’, with its core theme of ‘Empowering Exceptional E-payment Experience’ for ensuring a safe, secure, convenient, quick and affordable e-payment system. India’s largest bank State Bank of India has moved to a new interest rate regime on large savings account deposits as well as short-term loans. In March, SBI had announced that it will link its interest rate on savings account with balance above Rs. 1 lakh and short-term loans like overdraft and cash credit facility to Reserve Bank of India’s repo rate, effective 1 May 2019. The State Bank of India (SBI) has announced a strategic partnership with the FMCG arm of The Art of Living — Sri Sri Tattva. Under this partnership, YONO users can avail a discount of 15 per cent on the entire range of products offered by Sri Sri Tattva such as food, personal care, healthcare, homecare, BYOGI apparels and Shankara skincare products. Canara Bank and its life insurance partner Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce Life Insurance launched ’Webassurance’ to enable its customers to purchase life insurance in a convenient and hassle-free way. National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) approved the merger of private sector lender IndusInd Bank with Bharat Financial Inclusion (BFIL), a microfinance company. Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based HR solutions provider Talocity would provide Yes Bank its AI-supported “touchless” technology for the bank’s hiring process and human resource (HR) operations. India Ratings has downgraded Yes Bank‘s long-term issuer rating from ‘IND AA plus’ to ‘IND AA minus’ with a negative outlook. To give a fillip to digital lending, Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)has put together a pilot scheme to extend financial assistance of up to Rs10 crore to new-age fintech non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) engaged in financing small businesses and other income-generating activities. A Reserve Bank of India-appointed committee headed by Aadhaar architect Nandan Nilekani has submitted its suggestions on promoting digital payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das. In January, the RBI had set up the five-member panel on deepening digital payments with a view to encouraging digitisation of payments and enhance financial inclusion through digitisation. HDFC Capital Advisors, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HDFC Ltd, launched a new initiative called ‘HDFC Affordable Real Estate and Technology Program (HeART). It aims to mentor, partner and invest in real estate technology companies that drive innovation and efficiencies within the affordable housing ecosystem. Private sector lender Karnataka Bank launched a new savings bank product called “KBL SB Salary” for salaried class with three variants of Executive, Prime and Classic.
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Corporation Bank has launched ‘Corp SME Suvidha’, a product for GST-registered MSMEs. The product has been designed as part of the bank’s efforts to provide the best products to the MSME sector. Bank credit to infrastructure sector grew by 18.5 per cent to Rs 10.55 lakh crore as of 2018-19, the highest since 2012-13 fiscal, RBI data showed. As per data from the Reserve Bank of India, debit card swipes on Point of Sales (PoS) terminals jumped more than 27% in March 2019 compared to corresponding period last year. In contrast, ATM withdrawals grew at a slower pace of 15%. Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) has announced that it has launched ‘Bank on Wheels’ facility in 14 of its lead districts in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, besides Vijayawada. The mobile van facility will enable the public, especially senior citizens, conveniently get door-step banking facility available at identified locations of the lead districts. RBI stated that all non-deposit-taking non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) with an asset size of Rs 5,000 crore and above, and all deposit-taking NBFCs irrespective of their asset size, have to maintain a liquidity buffer in terms of a Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR). The Reserve Bank of India is the first central bank in the Asia-Pacific region to begin an explicit interest rate easing cycle buoyed by benign food inflation and easier global financial condition. Bank of Baroda will acquire Vijaya and Dena Bank to create India’s second largest public sector bank behind State Bank of India (SBI) effective from April 1. This is the first threeway merger of banks in India. The combined bank will have a geographical reach of more than 9,500 branches, more than 13,400 ATMs with 85,000 employees serving 120 million customers. The government in September last year announced the first-ever three-way consolidation of banks in India, with a combined business of Rs 14.82 lakh crore, making it the third-largest bank after State Bank of India (SBI) and HDFC Bank. The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which runs the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network, has slashed usage fees for small transactions to expand the system’s adoption among banks and payment service providers (PSPs). For UPI transactions up to Rs. 1,000, the charge has been cut to 10 paise from 25 paise. The charge for transactions above Rs. 1,000 has been retained at 50 paise. Private sector Kotak Mahindra Bank recently became the first lender to inform its customers that UPI transactions of more than 30 in a month will incur charges. For transactions up to Rs. 1,000, the cost will be Rs. 2.5 per transaction and Rs. 5 for those above Rs. 1,000. SBI General Insurance has launched a product to protect businesses from financial and reputational losses due to cyber attacks. In the initial phase, the focus will be on SMEs and mid-market businesses, but later the product can cater to larger business conglomerates as well. Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) announced the launch of an industry-first debit card-based authentication solution on NPCI’s e-Mandate API platform. Kotak has become the first Destination Bank to go live with both Net Banking and Debit Card-based e-mandate authentication. Bank of Maharashtra got Rs 205 crore capital from govt The Bimal Jalan panel examining the RBI’s policy of distributing its reserves may suggest a guiding principle for surplus transfers as well as a specific timeframe for its application while keeping in mind the public policy mandate of the RBI. These surplus reserves account for about 28 per cent of the central bank’s total assets. HDFC Bank ranked No. 1 in India by Forbes RBL Bank has partnered with credit profiler CreditVidya to improve the lender’s customer experience. Through this partnership, the private sector lender will be able to gain significant insights into its customer base.
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PAISALO Digital Limited signed the first co-origination loan agreement with State Bank of India, the first agreement of its kind in the country that State Bank of India has signed. Introducing a platform for the last mile customer, the loan ticket is designed at Rs 10,000 to 2 lakh. The Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of Reserve Bank of India, has launched a 5G Use Cases Lab for banking and financial sector. The 5G technology, along with blockchain, will be progressively adopted by banks. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Rs 50 denomination banknotes bearing the signature of Governor Shaktikanta Das. The design of these notes is similar in all respects to Rs 50 banknotes in Mahatma Gandhi (new) series. ACI Worldwide, a global provider of realtime electronic payment and banking solutions, announced that Canara Bank has successfully rolled out major new functionality to support EMV card acquiring across its ATM network and Aadhaar Authentication, leveraging ACI’s UP Retail Payments solution to achieve market firsts. Bank of Maharashtra (BoM) has partnered with M1Xchange Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform for MSME bill discounting. India’s largest app for financial services, ETMONEY announced that it has integrated unified payment interface (UPI) as a payment method on its platform as it looks to double its monthly user base by the end of the year. Srei Equipment Finance Ltd (SEFL) and India’s third-largest lender Bank of Baroda have inked a co-lending arrangement for infrastructure equipment. State-owned Allahabad Bank said the government has increased its authorised capital by Rs 5,000 crore to Rs 8,000 crore. The total deposits in bank accounts opened under the Jan Dhan scheme, which was launched about five years ago by the Modi-government, are set to cross Rs 1 lakh crore soon. The total balance in the Jan Dhan accounts, which has been steadily rising, was at Rs 97,665.66 crore as on April 3, as per the latest government data. The total number of Jan Dhan accounts have crossed 35.39 crore. Money Loji, a modern money lending platform, has launched its App, which offers quickest and the most secure loans to salaried professionals for an immediate requirement with flexible repayment options starting from 7 days to a maximum of 90 days. State Bank of India announced the country’s first ‘Green Car Loan’ (Electric Vehicle) to encourage customers to buy electric vehicles. The new scheme will offer loan at 20 basis points lesser than the interest rate on the existing car loan schemes. The banking ombudsman received 24.9% more customer complaints in FY18 over the previous year, said the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is said to have recommended stringent norms on opening and running of current accounts of corporate borrowers in an attempt to check fund diversion. Current accounts can “only be opened” with the main bank in a lending consortium while other lenders having collection accounts will have to transfer funds at the end of the day to the current account with the consortium lead. With investigations into Nirav Modi scam in full swing, Punjab National Bank (PNB) has unearthed yet another default from its London branch. The bank has moved the Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT) against Tarapur Textiles Park for defaulting an amount worth $13 million. Fraud-hit Punjab National Bank has been ranked first among public sector banks in the implementation of ‘reforms agenda’, followed by Bank of Baroda and State Bank of India. The BCG-IBA report – EASE Reforms for Public Sector Banks measures performance of each PSB.
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The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) offered a $5-billion swap facility to banks to aid liquidity before the end of the financial year. The auction will happen on March 26 and the buy/sell swap will run up to March 28, 2022, or for a three-year duration. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) named State Bank of India (SBI), ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank as Domestic Systemically Important Banks (D-SIBs), which in other words mean banks that are too big to fail. The net direct tax collection figure has crossed the Rs 10 lakh crore mark helped by the fourth and final installment of tax payment. The net direct tax collection during April-January of this fiscal stood at Rs 7.89 lakh crore as against Rs 12 lakh crore targeted for the entire fiscal of 2018-19. Bank of Baroda has become one of the first public sector banks to launch a creche/child daycare facility for children of its employees. SBI has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bank of China, third-largest bank in the world by capital size and one of the major players in the Chinese banking sector, to enhance business synergies between both the banks. This MoU will facilitate the clients of both the banks to access banking products and services of each other, which will lead to a mutually beneficial relationship. State Bank of India (SBI) has launched doorstep banking service for senior citizens over 70 years of age and differently-abled customers. Eligible customers can avail this service at a nominal fee of Rs. 100 per transaction for financial transactions and Rs. 60 for non-financial transactions. In a first-of-its kind move that will ensure faster monetary transmission, the nation’s largest lender State Bank of India announced linking of its savings deposits rates and short-term loans to the RBI’s repo rate. The new rates linked the external benchmark rate of the repo rate, will be effective May 1. State Bank of India launched ‘YONO Cash’ for cardless withdrawal of cash at over 16,500 SBI ATMs across the country. With this facility, customers can initiate the cash withdrawal process on the YONO app and set a six-digit YONO Cash pin for the transaction. This feature on YONO is designed to help its users withdraw cash without a physical debit card. Business organisations using Aadhaar services will now have to pay Rs. 20 for each customer verification and 50 paise for authentication of each transaction carried out by the entities, the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) said. IDBI Bank has been categorised as a private sector lender following acquisition of majority stake by Life Insurance Corporation. In January, LIC completed the process of picking up a controlling 51 per cent stake in the nearly crippled IDBI Bank. IDBI Bank and Life Insurance Corporation of India have signed a bancassurance agreement under which the lender will offer LIC’s insurance products at its branches. United Bank of India has signed a bancassurance deal with private life insurer HDFC Life Insurance Company. IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company announced the launch of Bank Locker Protector Policy, which is the first policy in the industry to protect the contents of a bank locker such as jewellery and other valuables. Singaporean lender DBS is set to convert its India operations into a wholly-owned subsidiary, and the transition will have no impact on the services and benefits extended to existing customers. The Asian bank, which presently operates 12 branches in the country as a franchise, incorporated locally as DBS Bank India Ltd on March 1. DCB Bank announced the launch of its Open Banking Platform, a significant step towards creating a collaborative ecosystem with enterprises, fintechs and app developers, and enhancing customer-service delivery. LIC Housing Finance (LICHFL) partnered with India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to offer home buyers enhanced loan eligibility and easy loans.
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The Reserve Bank has imposed a monetary penalty of 2 crore on Dena Bank and 1 crore on IDBI Bank for non- compliance with various directions. Dena Bank said the Reserve Bank has imposed a penalty of Rs 20 million on it for non-compliance with the directions. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has levied a penalty of Rs 4 crore on Karnataka Bank for delayed implementation of four “Swift” related operational controls. The RBI has slapped a penalty of Rs 2 crore on Punjab National Bank (PNB) for non-compliance of regulatory directions with regard to SWIFT operations. SWIFT is a global messaging software used for transactions by financial entities. Ahead of its merged entity operation, Bank of Baroda will receive Rs 5,042 crore fund infusion from the government. The merged entity also involving Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will start operation from April 1. Public sector lender Bank of Baroda said it will develop an agri-digital platform called ‘Baroda Kisan’ in order to provide solutions for all major agricultural requirements. ICICI Prudential announced launched the ICICI Prudential Bharat Consumption Scheme. The Scheme aims to benefit from the Indian consumption story, considered as one of the fastest growing consumption markets globally. Xiaomi launched Mi Pay, its very own Unified Payments Interface (UPI) based payments service in India. The app is already available in China and was first introduced in India last December in beta mode. AU Small Finance Bank Ltd. , a Fortune India 500 company and one of India’s fastest growing banks, announced its partnership with a new age insurtech company, Acko General Insurance Limited. Partnering with Acko, India’s first digital insurer, AU bank is now set to provide customized insurance products to its customers. The labour ministry said that the income tax exemption limit on gratuity has been doubled to Rs 20 lakh from the existing Rs 10 lakh, a move that will benefit employees who are not covered by the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972. In a first, the government has announced new Rs 20 coin which will be shaped like a 12-edged polygon (dodecagon). The outside diameter of new Rs 20 coin will be 27mm (millimeters) and it will weigh 8.54 grams. Prime Minister Narendra Modi released the new series of “visually impaired friendly circulation” coins (Re 1, Rs 2, Rs 5, Rs 10 and Rs 20). Except for the Rs 20 coin, the rest of the denominations will be round in shape. The face of the coin will bear the Lion Capitol of Ashoka Pillar with the legend “Satyamev Jayate” inscribed below, flanked on the left periphery with the word “Bharat” in Hindi and on the right periphery with the word “INDIA” in English. Aviva Life Insurance has announced the launch of ‘Wings’, a specially designed mentorship program to empower the female workforce. The program is an initiative of the SHE division of the company, for mentoring all the women employees. Karnataka Bank Ltd has launched the web tool – ‘Vasool So-Ft’ (Vasool So-Fast) – for digitalising the NPA (non- performing asset) recovery process of the bank.
The Reserve Bank of India has advised all Scheduled Commercial Banks to adopt Education Loan Scheme, formulated by Indian Banks Association. Salient features of the Scheme includes:
Loan upto Rs 10 lakh for study in India and upto Rs 20 lakh for studyabroad. Collateral free loans upto Rs 7.5 Lakh under the Credit Guarantee Fund Scheme for Education Loans (CGFSEL). No Margin for loan up to Rs 7.50 Lakh. Repayment period of 15 years One Year Moratorium for repayment after completion of studies in allcases.
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Moratorium taking into account spells of unemployment/under-employment, say two or three times during the life cycle of theloan Moratorium for the incubation period if the student wants to take up a start-up venture after graduation.
Business News
ONGC, India’s top oil and gas producer, has toppled Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to regain crown of being the country’s most profitable public sector company. Air India Express, India’s first international budget airline created a unique record which is a dream for any airline in the world. The airline recorded a perfect 100% load factor on its international flights into Indian destinations as all seats on all of its flights into India were sold and not even a single seat was vacant. India’s leading fashion company, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited began a new chapter in its growth story with 100 per cent acquisition of ‘Jaypore’; an Indian online and offline retailer, that offers curated collections of handmade, handwoven and handcrafted apparel, jewellery, home textiles and accents, based on craft forms, from all over India. According to global market research agency Kantar in its 2019’s ‘100 Top BrandZ Report’, US retail giant Amazon has moved past hi-tech titans Apple and Google to become the world’s most valuable brand. Indian IT major Infosys has been selected by Finnish postal service Posti as a strategic partner for the digital transformation of its business and IT services. According to a report released by brand analytics firm TRA Research, “Dell” has emerged as the most trusted brand in India in 2019. Blackstone (Asset management company) announced that private equity funds managed by it have acquired a 97.7 per cent stake in Aadhar Housing Finance Limited (Aadhar), including the entire stake held by the existing controlling shareholders, Wadhawan Global Capital Limited (WGC) and Dewan Housing Finance Limited. To review codes, Microsoft-owned GitHub has acquired a US-based start-up called Pull Panda that makes collaboration tools for software teams at an undisclosed amount. Online mutual fund investment platform FundzBazar announced the release of its new feature called ‘Selfiewala KYC’ for first-time mutual fund investors. IDBI Bank has entered a bancassurance corporate agency agreement with Tata AIG. This is to provide the general insurer’s products to the bank’s two crore customers through its 1,850-plus branches. Private sector lender IndusInd Bank and Bharat Financial Inclusion Ltd (BFIL) said their merger will be effective from July 4. Indiabulls Housing Finance said that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved its proposed merger with Lakshmi Vilas Bank. Based on the feedback that the existing margin requirements in the derivatives segment is pushing up cost of trading while not managing risk in the most efficient manner, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has decided to review the current framework of margins in the futures and options segment. The capital markets regulator has set up a working group, headed by NSE Clearing Ltd., to look into the issue and submit its recommendations to the Secondary Market Advisory Committee. Maruti Suzuki India said it has joined hands with Bank of Baroda to support dealer inventory financing and customer auto loans. The company has signed a memorandum of understanding with Bank of Baroda, under which the bank will become a preferred financier. Health insurance provider Max Bupa partners with fintech platform MobiKwik to promote bite sized group health insurance products for MobiKwik’s 107 million customers across the country.
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Bharti AXA General Insurance said it will sell policies through social media messaging platform WhatsApp and has tied up with web aggregator Wishfin Insurance for speedy delivery of two-wheeler cover. Iraq has become India’s top crude oil supplier for the second consecutive year, meeting more than one-fifth of the country’s oil needs in the 2018-19 fiscal year. Wipro Consumer Care and Lighting (WCCL), the consumer care business of software provider Wipro Ltd, has acquired the Philippines-based personal care maker Splash Corporation for an undisclosed amount to enter the country which has a consumer base of around 100 million. PayPal India has launched its One Touch instant payments feature for Android devices in the country. LIC Housing Finance (LIC HFL) has launched ‘Udyam’, a skilling centre in Bengaluru. It was launched in association with Lok Bharti Education Society, the implementing partner. State-owned telecom firm BSNL has become the first operator to start optical fibre-based high-speed broadband service in Pulwama with the launch of ‘Bharat Fibre’. This is the first such FTTH (fibre-to-the-home) service deployment in the (Kashmir) Valley under this unique revenue share model. The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) directed the National Stock Exchange (NSE) to disgorge Rs 625 crore, along with interest at 12 per cent per annum since 2014, for lapses at its co-location (colo) facility, which allowed unfair access to certain brokers. The regulator also barred the exchange for a period of six months from accessing the securities market. Bilateral trade between India and the United States in goods and services grew 12.6 per cent from USD 126 billion in 2017 to USD 142 billion in 2018. Max Life Insurance Co Ltd, one of industry’s foremost life insurance companies, announced that it will dedicate 6th day of every calendar month as ‘Protection Day’ towards driving awareness around the concept of financial protection. As a part of the initiative the Company will also drive a “Super Customer Week”, where customers across the board will be educated about various aspects of financial protection. Bharti Airtel and Hughes Communications India announced an agreement to combine their VSAT operations in India and leverage the demand for secure connectivity in a rapidly growing digital economy. BharatPe – India’s first Fintech start-up enabling payments for merchants through interoperable UPI QR codes, has announced its foray into merchant services with a new app. The app allows merchants to record their cash/credit (Udhar) sales customer wise, request accounts receivable from customers via SMS payment links, and keep track of accounts payable to suppliers, among other services. Samsung Electronics Co introduced the world’s highest-resolution image sensor, with 64 megapixels for smartphones, to meet the growing demand for mobile devices with better image quality. In a bid to become a dominant player in the global toy retail industry, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) announced it has acquired iconic British toy retailer Hamleys from Chinese fashion wear firm C Banner International for an undisclosed sum. Facebook has chosen London as the centre for the global roll-out of WhatsApp pay, before the social media giant launches its digital payments service on the mobile messaging platform in India. HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, India’s third-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, announced the launch of ‘Mosquito Disease Protection Policy’. IBM India has tied-up with HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company, India’s third-largest non-life insurance provider in the private sector, to co-create new Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based solutions.
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Bharti Airtel and HDFC Life Insurance have tied up to offer life cover for customers who get a prepaid recharge done. Airtel’s new Rs. 249-prepaid bundle which will include 2 GB data, unlimited calls across networks, and 100 SMSes per day will also offer a cover worth Rs. 4 lakh from HDFC Life. Paytm has introduced a new credit, called Paytm First Card, in partnership with Citibank. The company is touting that the new card will offer customers 1 percent of universal cashback along with zero restrictions on earning categories. This will be auto-credited to the card every month. Housing finance major HDFC Limited has partnered with the India Mortgage Guarantee Corporation (IMGC) to offer a mortgage-guaranteed home loan product. The partnership aims to make it possible for HDFC to further penetrate the home loan market and access an enlarged customer base, helping them to own a home of their choice. Doordarshan has launched an online souvenir store for its viewers on Amazon India so that one can easily access it. A. Surya Prakash Chairman, Prasar Bharati launched DD souvenir store on Amazon India. ICICI Bank announced the launch of a co-branded multi-currency card with online travel booking portal Goibibo. Anyone travelling abroad, whether they hold an ICICI Bank savings account or not, can apply for the Goibibo ICICI Bank Travel Card on the Goibibo website and mobile app. In a move to enrich the customer experience of millions of the homegrown ride hailing platform’s users, Ola has partnered the state-run SBI cards to launch Ola Money SBI Credit Card for the country’s first such co-branding initiative in the segment. Reliance Infrastructure promoted Mumbai Metro One announced a tie-up with payment gateway ‘Instamojo’ to enable card payments aimed at boosting cashless travel. Bajaj Finserv said it has launched a specialised insurance cover for passengers travelling in local trains in country’s financial capital Mumbai. The travellers will get an insurance cover of Rs 1 lakh against a payment of Rs 399 per annum. Leading stock exchange BSE said it has launched ‘BSE StAR MF’ app to enable more participation and help mutual fund distributors process transactions faster. “BSE StAR MF mobile app supports real-time client registration and paperless transactions, creates and uploads mandate for SIPs, generates the basket of multiple orders, tracks and allows the distributor to analyse his business at his fingertips. Vodafone Idea Business Services (VIBS), the enterprise arm of telecom major Vodafone Idea, announced a strategic partnership with datacentre service provider CtrlS for information and communications technology (ICT) solutions, including cloud computing. Global software major Infosys has completed the acquisition of majority (75 per cent) equity stake in the Stater N.V. subsidiary of the Netherlands-based ABN AMRO Bank. The HDFC group has overtaken the 151-year-old Tata group to emerge as India’s most valuable by way of market capitalization (m-cap). The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) have announced initiatives to encourage tech startups, especially fintech, by making data and systems available to them through the regulatory sandbox (RS). SEBI has proposed an ‘Innovation Sandbox’ which would be a testing environment where fintech firms and entities not regulated by SEBI. Rating agency ICRA downgraded the long-term rating of private lender IDFC First Bank on the back of weak earnings profile and increase in provisions due to unanticipated fresh stressed exposures identified by the bank. The ratings was bought down a notch from to AA from AA+ with stable outlook.
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Reliance Nippon Life Asset Management (RNAM) joined hands with Google to enable the customers of Reliance Mutual Fund to carry out voice-based financial transactions. RNAM becomes the first company in India, to provide a conversational interface that would help customers regarding funds transactions. IT major HCL Technologies said that its acquisition of US-based Strong-Bridge Envision has been completed. The Competition Commission of India (CCI) said that it has approved the acquisition of up to 66.15 per cent of the total equity shareholding of Mindtree by Larsen and Toubro Limited (L&T). The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has given approval to Paytm Money the investment and wealth management platform of the mobile payments company to start offering broking services. It had applied for the licence in October last year. Google parent Alphabet has beat Amazon to launch one of the first commercial drone delivery businesses. Alphabet made its first delivery in Canberra after getting approval from the country’s civil aviation authority. Google has introduced a new open platform called “Anthos” to run and manage apps from anywhere. Based on the Cloud Services Platform that Google announced in 2018, “Anthos” lets users run applications on existing on- premise hardware investments or in the Public Cloud. Amazon India has joined hands with Mumbai-based crowdfunding company Ketto to help its sellers raise funding for business expansion, product development and even for medical assistance. Under this initiative, Amazon will solicit interest from sellers to apply to Ketto for participation in the program. As a part of the programme named “Amazon Wings” to empower the sellers in India, the company will allow its sellers to use Ketto’s platform and raise small ticket funds beginning from INR 50K at a subsidized fee for initiating fundraisers. Global ride-sharing major Uber launched “Uber Vouchers” for businesses globally including in India. Developed on the “Uber for Business (U4B)” platform, the “Vouchers” are now being made available in most countries where Uber operates. Bharti Airtel has confirmed that it has received in-principal approval from the telecom department on the merger of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) with Airtel. Aiming to make Google Pay more useful for Indian users, Google announced its partnership with MMTC-PAMP India for buying and selling gold through the application. MMTC-PAMP India is an internationally recognised metal and mining service provider. PayU, an online payment service provider and Naspers’ fintech arm, announced the acquisition of Wibmo, a Silicon Valley startup that works on digital payment security and payment enablement on smartphones. The deal was valued at around $70 million. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has given 12 years to Life Insurance Corp to reduce its stake in IDBI Bank. Bharti Airtel in collaboration with FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) launched a mobile app, My Circle, to help women in case they face any problem or a panic situation. Bajaj Finserv through its lending arm Bajaj Finance Ltd. has launched a unique proposition through its campaign #BijliOnEMI wherein customers buying air-conditioners on EMI can avail an Insta Credit loan in their Bajaj Finserv Wallet which they can use to pay their electricity bills on EMI. Google and Apple have blocked the download of TikTok from Play Store and App Store respectively in India, following a request from the government to ban access to the Chinese short video-sharing app that has been downloaded over 230 million times in the country. Kolkata-based Bandhan Bank said it has received approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for the proposed acquisition of Gruh Finance.
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Cholamandalam MS General Insurance Company Limited has been certified with ISO 31000. ISO 31000:2018 is an international risk management standard. The standard provides guidelines, principles, framework, and a process for managing risk. Indiabulls Life Insurance Company, a subsidiary of Indiabulls Integrated Services, received preliminary approval from insurance regulator IRDAI to foray into the life insurance business. Airtel Payments Bank announced a two-wheeler insurance policy in partnership with Bharti Axa General Insurance. Customers can also avail towing services at no extra cost on claim intimation in the event the insured vehicle breaks down. Tata Technologies has inked a pact with China’s FutureMove Automotive to develop connected mobility solutions for automotive manufacturers in China and other markets. India Post has partnered with IT services firm Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) to become a multi-service digital hub, modernize the delivery of mail and packages, enhance customer experience and launch innovative services. Reliance retail has become the first Indian retail company to clock more than Rs 1 lakh crore in annual revenues. In a bid to enable financial inclusion and ease of buying for the Indian masses, Aegon Life Insurance, pioneer of digital insurance in India and MobiKwik, India’s leading FinTech Company; have joined hands to launch an Rs 20 smart digital insurance product. Max Bupa, one of India’s leading standalone health insurance players, and HDFC Bank, one of India’s leading private sector banks, announced the launch of ‘digital first’ propositions for the bank’s 40+ million customers, spread across its 5,000+ branches. ICICI Bank said it has acquired 9.9 per cent stake in non-banking finance company Kisan Finance for cash consideration of Rs 17.82 crore. The IDBI Bank has received government nod to handle import and export transactions with Iran, a move which would help in promoting two-way trade amid US sanctions on the Persian Gulf nation. State Bank of India (SBI) and Hitachi Payment Services Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hitachi Ltd, launched their merchant-acquiring joint venture, SBI Payment Services Pvt Ltd (SBIPSPL), in Mumbai, for establishing a digital payments platform for India and other countries in the region. Reliance Jio is reportedly acquiring Mumbai-based Haptik one of the world’s largest conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI) platforms for over Rs 200 crore. Global software major Infosys said its consulting arm would buy 75 per cent equity stake in Starter N.V., a subsidiary of the Dutch-based ABN AMRO Bank for Rs 999 crore ($144 million) in cash for strategic partnership in The Netherlands. Uber has confirmed that it is acquiring its Middle East rival Careem in a deal worth USD 3.1 billion. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone (APSEZ) said that it has recorded cargo movement of more than 200 million metric tonnes (MMT) at nine ports along the east and west coasts, becoming the first Indian port operator to achieve the milestone. Bandhan Bank said it has received no objection from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the proposed acquisition of Gruh Finance. Apple Inc. announced a new credit card in partnership with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Mastercard Inc. Cardholders receive a titanium card that has no card number, security code, or expiration date printed on the physical card. After acquiring a majority stake in REC Ltd (formerly Rural Electrification Corporation Limited), center backed Power Finance Corporation (PFC) become India’s second largest Govt-owned Financial Firm after State Bank of India (SBI), based on market capitalization.
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India signs Rs 200 crore anti-tank missile deal with Russia. HCL Technologies has completed the planned acquisition of select IBM products for security, marketing, commerce and digital solutions. Airtel Payments Bank has partnered with Bharti AXA Life Insurance to offer the Bharti AXA Life POS Saral Jeevan Bima Yojana through banking points across India. Bharti Airtel and Bharti Hexacom announced the merger of the consumer mobile businesses (CMB) of Tata Teleservices (TTSL) and Tata Teleservices (Maharashtra) (TTML) with the two Bharti Group companies. Economy News Developing economies across Asia are among the most vulnerable to natural disasters and have suffered damages estimated at 644 billion dollars since 2000, according to Asian Development Bank (ADB). Of these, weather-related hazards caused the greatest share at 507 billion dollars (or 79 per cent) while geophysical hazards accounted for the remaining 137 billion dollars (or 21 per cent), as per a recent ADB report titled ‘Asian Development Outlook 2019: Strengthening Disaster Resilience.’ India’s current account deficit (CAD) totalled 4.6 billion dollars or 0.7 per cent of the GDP in the fourth quarter (January to March) of 2018-19, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) said. The Reserve Bank of India injected a total liquidity of Rs 2.98 lakh crore in the market in 2018-19. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) lowered its global growth forecast for 2019 to 3.3 per cent from the previous level of 3.5 per cent in its latest World Economic Outlook (WEO). The RBI lowered the GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7.2 per cent from the earlier estimate of 7.4 per cent amid probability of El Nino effects on monsoon rains and uncertain global economic outlook. Indian economy to grow at 7.2 pc in FY 19 due to rising consumption: ADB. Growth is expected to inch up further to 7.3 per cent in FY 2020 India’s GDP expected to accelerate moderately to 7.5% in 2019-20: World Bank. The real GDP growth is estimated at 7.2 per cent in FY18/19 Fitch Ratings kept India’s sovereign rating unchanged at the lowest investment grade of BBB– with a stable outlook. Fitch expects growth of 6.8 per cent in the fiscal year ending March 2020 (FY 20) and 7.1 per cent in FY 21 India Ratings and Research marginally lowered country’s GDP growth projection for 2019-20 fiscal to 7.3 per cent mainly due to below normal monsoon prediction and loss of momentum in industrial output. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to power ahead growing at 5.7% this year: Asian Development Bank Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) said in its Economic Outlook: India’s economic growth will regain strength and approach 7.5% by 2020 Gross domestic product (GDP) growth in India is projected to strengthen to close to 7.25% in FY19 and close to 7.5% in FY20. UN’s World Economic Situation and Prospects report: India’s growth rate for the current fiscal year to be 7%. And 7.1% in the fiscal year 2020. World growth of 2.7% this year and 2.9% in 2020. The country’s economic growth in the fourth quarter ended March 2019 is expected to moderate to 6.1-5.9 per cent, which could pull down growth rate for the entire fiscal 2018-19 to below 7 per cent, according to a report by SBI. India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) said that it expects India’s GDP growth rate during 2018-19 to be 6.9 per cent as against the advance estimate of 7 per cent.
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The country’s median GDP is forecast at 7.1 per cent for FY20 and 7.2 per cent for FY 21. The industry body FICCI’s economic outlook survey said that the minimum and maximum growth estimate stood at 6.8 per cent and 7.3 per cent, for 2019-20. Fitch Ratings saw India’s growth for FY 2019-20 at 6.6 per cent and 7.1 per cent in 2021-22. India is projected to overtake China as the world’s most populous country around 2027, according to a UN report, ‘The World Population Prospects 2019: Highlights’. India lost its spot as the fastest growing major economy to China in the January-March quarter for the first time in one-and-a-half years, government data showed. India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate slowed to 5.8% in the quarter, compared to China’s 6.4% Growth rates in low-income countries are expected to rise to 6 per cent in 2020 from 5.4 per cent this year, but that is still not enough to substantially reduce poverty, according to the World Bank (WB).. World Bank slashed its global growth forecast for 2019 to 2.6 per cent as opposed to 2.9 per cent announced in January this year. The World Bank retained its forecast of India’s growth rate at 7.5 per cent for the current financial year. The Government of India said joblessness in the country was 6.1 per cent of total labour force during 2017-18, the highest in 45 years. DBS Bank has revised India’s GDP growth for fiscal year 2020 downwards to 6.8 per cent year-on-year (YoY) from 7 per cent projected earlier, citing headwinds for exports amidst challenging trade outlook. L&T Finance, a subsidiary of L&T Finance Holdings, launched ‘Sabse Khaas Loan’ for two-wheeler customers. Tata Mutual Fund has announced plans to introduce segregated portfolios (side pockets) in three schemes hit by the DHFL debt crisis – Tata Corporate Bond Fund, Tata Medium Term Fund and Tata Treasury Advantage Fund. The Reserve Bank of India lowered the economic growth forecast for the current fiscal to 7 per cent due to slowdown in domestic activities and escalation in global trade war. The Reserve Bank raised the retail inflation forecast marginally to 3-3.1 per cent for the first half of the current fiscal, tracking uptick in food prices – mainly vegetables, albeit expectations of a normal monsoon this year. Foreign direct investment (FDI) in services sector grew 36.5 per cent to $9.15 billion in 2018-19, according to the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT). American brokerage Goldman Sachs pegged the Indian GDP growth to accelerate to 7.2 per cent in 2019-20 on lower oil prices, political stability and removal of infrastructure bottlenecks. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised economic growth forecasts for the US to 2.6 per cent this year and 2 per cent in 2020. Global Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) flows declined by 13 per cent in 2018 to $1.3 trillion from $1.5 trillion in 2017, the UNCTAD’s World Investment Report 2019 said. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India grew by 6 per cent to $42 billion last year, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). India’s largest and fastest growing consumer lending technology company, ZestMoney, announced a partnership with Digit Insurance to offer EMI insurance to the company’s five million customers. The Government of India has taken a historic decision to reduce the rate of contribution under the ESI Act from 6.5% to 4%. Over 6,800 cases of bank fraud involving an unprecedented Rs 71,500 crore have been reported in 2018-19, the Reserve Bank of India has said. The Reserve Bank of India it will infuse Rs 15,000 crore into the financial system through bond purchases. It further said there is an overall aggregate ceiling of Rs 15,000 crore for all the securities in the basket put together and there is no security-wise notified amount. The Reserve Bank relaxed the leverage ratio (LR) to 4% for Domestic Systemically Important Banks (DSIBs) and 3.5% for other banks. This has been done to help them boost their lending activities.
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The Reserve Bank of India has allowed Asset Reconstruction Companies (ARCs) to buy financial assets from other ARCs. The transactions must be settled in cash between the 2 enitities. In 2018, MICE tourism in India was pegged at Rs 25,000 crore with 8 per cent growth year-on-year, said the report titled ‘India Inbound Tourism: Unlocking the Opportunity’: FICCI-Yes Bank report Food inflation in the country is likely to go up to 2 per cent in the financial year 2019-20 from the 0.7 per cent estimated for FY19. The low food prices have been one of the prime factors which has aided the RBI to be more accommodatory in its rate setting recently. Bank credit grew by 13.2% in financial year 2018-19 as compared to 10.3% in the previous financial year, mainly aided by loans to services and retail sector. Deposit growth also gained momentum, growing by 10% as compared to 6.7% a year ago. India’s exports in April 2019 grew 1.34 per cent to 44.06 billion US dollars while imports jumped 4.53 per cent to 52.83 billion US dollars in the year-on period. Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation for April 2019 eased to 3.07%, from 3.62% in April 2018. The Indian economy will grow at 7 per cent range in the current fiscal powered by the effects of the strong structural reforms such as bankruptcy laws, Goods and Services Tax (GST), crackdown on shell companies and the fiscal prudence undertaken in the last five years, Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy V. Subramanian said recently. Bad loan recoveries in the last fiscal effected through the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) route was at Rs 70,000 crore, posting a recovery rate of 43 per cent, and was twice the Rs 35,500 crore recovered through previous resolution mechanisms like the Debt Recovery Tribunal and Lok Adalat, as per a report by ratings firm Crisil. Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection scales record high of Rs 1.13 lakh crore in April, highest ever collection since GST implementation. In a first in recent history of tax filings, income tax e-filings in FY 2019 have dropped by more than 6.6 lakh, a trend that analysts said was surprising as tax base was expected to increase post demonetisation. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) announced a Rs 700-crore venture capital fund for equity investments in agriculture and rural-focused startups. NABARD has been contributing to other funds till now and this is the first time that the rural development bank has launched a fund of its own. Total sanctions under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) loan scheme for micro industries are likely to cross Rs 3 lakh crore in the current fiscal. Government data for the scheme for the last fiscal, till March 22, 2019, put the figure of Mudra sanctions at Rs 2.82 lakh crore to 541.27 lakh borrowers. As per the data released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO), the economic growth rate for the financial year 2018-19 stood at a five-year low of 6.8 per cent. As per the data released by Controller General of Accounts (CGA), India met its fiscal deficit target for 2018-19, which came in at 3.39 per cent of GDP, slightly lower than 3.4 per cent estimated in the revised estimates of the Budget, on the back of an increase in non-tax revenue and lower expenditure. The country’s median GDP is forecast at 7.10 percent for Financial Year 2020 and 7.20 percent for Financial Year 2021. The industry body FICCI’s economic outlook survey stated that the minimum and maximum growth estimate stood at 6.80 percent and 7.3 percent for 2019-20. India has retained its spot as the world’s top remittance recipient with its diaspora sending $79 billion back home in 2018, the World Bank has said in its report, World Bank’s Migration and Development Brief. Banks close FY19 with 13.24% credit growth, deposits up 10.03%
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Gross revenue on account of Goods and Services Tax (GST) in March totalled Rs 106,577 crore, marking 15.6 per cent growth over the revenue in same month of previous year. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in consultation with the government of India has set the limits for Ways and Means Advances (WMA) for the first half of the financial year 2019-20 (April 2019 to September 2019) at Rs.75000 crore. The Reserve Bank of India came out with guidelines for banks to set up new currency chests, which include minimum area of 1,500 square feet for strong room. For those situated in hilly/ inaccessible places, the strong room/ vault area of at least 600 sq ft. In a bid to further improve the cash position of banks, the RBI provided additional 2 per cent liquidity window to the lenders by tweaking liquidity coverage ratio (LCR) norms. The LCR indicates the proportion of highly liquid assets held by banks to ensure their ability to meet short-term obligations. The government has retained the interest rate for General Provident Fund (GPF) and other related schemes at 8 per cent for the April-June quarter. The rate is in line with that of Public Provident Fund. The interest rate on GPF was at 8 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2018-19. The Finance Ministry is believed to have met the revised fiscal deficit target of 3.4 per cent in the last fiscal 2018-19 largely by cutting expenditure, withdrawals from small savings accounts to meet the food subsidy and higher GST collections. The automobile industry produced a total 3.09 crore vehicles during April to March 2019 as against 2.9 crore in the corresponding period of previous year, marking a growth of 6.26 per cent, the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) said. The travel spend in India is expected to grow at 13 per cent to a total of $136 billion by 2021, said a new report by Bain & Company and Google India. According to the “How Does India Travel” report, the Indian traveller spent around $94 billion in 2018 on around 2 billion domestic and international trips, thus, helping India’s travel and tourism industry achieve unprecedented scale. India’s population grew at an average annual rate of 1.2 per cent between 2010 and 2019 to 1.36 billion, more than double the annual growth rate of China, according to a report by the United Nations Population Fund. India’s population in 2019 stood at 1.36 billion, growing from 942.2 million in 1994 and 541.5 million in 1969. The Reserve Bank of India, which added 6.5 tonnes of gold to its reserves in January, taking its total holding forming part of its foreign exchange reserves to 607 tonnes, is set to become the tenth largest holder of the metal worldwide, displacing the Nerherlands. India’s data consumption is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 72.6 per cent to 10,96,58,793 million MB by 2022, according to the Assocham-PwC study. India has been one of the fastest growing large economies in the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said. India has of course been one of the world’s fastest growing large economies of late, with growth averaging about 7 per cent over the past five years. Central Statistics Office (CSO) which operates under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation: The economic growth of India slowed to a low of 6.6 per cent in October to December period of current fiscal year 2018-19. Moody’s in its Global Macro Outlook for 2019 and 2020: India to grow at 7.3% for next 2 years. Global rating agency Fitch has cut its India’s economic growth forecast to 6.8 per cent for 2019-20 from the earlier estimate of 7 per cent due to weak momentum in manufacturing and agriculture. However, it said India economic growth forecast is expected to be 7.1 per cent in 2020-21. The OECD cut forecasts again for the global economy in 2019 and 2020: The Organisation for Economic Co- Operation & Development forecast in its interim outlook report that the world economy would grow 3.3 percent in 2019 and 3.4 percent in 2020.
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Ratings Agency Icra: Housing Finance Companies (HFCs) are expected to report a 13-15% credit growth in FY19, which will inch up to 14-16% in next fiscal year. India’s February jobless rate climbed to 7.2%: Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) Indian Incense Industry witnesses 8-10 percent growth in FY 2018-19. SpiceJet has joined global airlines’ grouping IATA as a member, becoming the first Indian low-cost carrier to get the membership. 5 varieties of Indian coffee have been awarded Geographical Indication (GI), a move that will enhance their visibility globally and allow growers to get the right value. While Coorg Arabica coffee is grown specifically in Kodagu district of Karnataka, Wayanaad Robusta coffee is from Wayanad district in east Kerala, Chikmagalur Arabica coffee from Chikmagalur district in Deccan plateau of Karnataka, Araku Valley Arabica coffee from hilly tracks of Visakhapatnam district in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha region, and Bababudangiris Arabica coffee from central portion of Chikmagalur district. Monsooned Malabar Robusta Coffee was also given GI certification. The GoI has reduced interest rates for small savings schemes by 10 basis points for the July-September quarter of the 2019-20 financial year. Current Rates are Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP) – 7.6% and mature in 113 months National Savings Certificate (NSC) – 7.9% Public Provident Fund (PPF) – 7.9% Sukanya Samriddhi Account – 8.4% Senior Citizens Savings Scheme – 8.6% Science & Technology In one of the most ambitious projects ever undertaken by India, the country is planning to launch its own space station, Indian space agency ISRO chief K Sivan said. India is targeting 2030 as the date to launch a 20 tonne space station, which will most likely be used to conduct microgravity experiments. India is to launch Aditya-L1, its first mission to study the sun, in 2020, Indian Space Research Organisation Chairman K. Sivan informed. National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s robot named Bumble became the first Astrobee robot to fly under its own power in space. Astrobee is a free-flying robot system that will help researchers test new technologies in zero gravity and perform routine work alongside astronauts aboard the International Space Station. NASA spacecraft to hit an asteroid in 2022. Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) Director K Sivan inaugurated the Young Scientist Programme (YUVIKA). The programme is aimed at imparting basic knowledge of science and space technology to school-going students from different states and Union Territories (UT) of the country in order to arouse their interest in space related activities. The participants will be attending a residential training programme at 4 ISRO centres – Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thiruvananthapuram; U R Rao Satellite Centre (URSC), Bengaluru; Space Applications Centre (SAC), Ahmedabad, and North Eastern Space Applications Centre (NESAC), Shillong. India successfully placed into orbit a radar imaging earth observation satellite RISAT-2B in a text book style. PSLV- C46 has successfully injected RISAT-2B in precise orbit. According to Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), India’s new earth observation satellite up in the sky will send good clarity images which will be used for agriculture, forestry and disaster management support. This was the 72nd launch vehicle mission from the Sriharikota Range.
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NASA unveiled the calendar for the “Artemis” programme that will return astronauts to the Moon for the first time in half a century, including eight scheduled launches and a mini-station in lunar orbit by 2024. Artemis : The original lunar missions were named for Apollo – Artemis was his twin sister in Greek mythology, and the goddess of hunting, wilderness, and the Moon. The Indian Space Research Organisation placed Defence Research Development Organisation-developed electronic intelligence satellite Emisat and 28 foreign satellites in orbits. Emisat, weighing 436kg, is meant for helping the military locate hostile radars. This comes days after India test-fired an anti-satellite (ASAT) missile in the Mission Shakti operation. PSLV-C45 carrying Emisat, 28 foreign satellites and three scientific instruments lifted off from the second launch pad at Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. This will be the 71st launch vehicle mission for Sriharikota. The satellite that weighs 436 kg will monitor and provide locations for enemy radar sites deep in their territory. After plans to land American astronauts on the Moon by 2024, four years ahead of its previous schedule, NASA now proposes to put humans on Mars by 2033. At a congressional hearing on NASA’s budget in fiscal year 2020, NASA administrator Jim Bridenstine cited the goal of putting astronauts on Mars by 2033. Scientists have detected the most ancient type of molecule in our universe in space for the first time ever. Helium hydride ion (HeH+) was the first molecule that formed when, almost 14 billion years ago, falling temperatures in the young universe allowed recombination of the light elements produced in the Big Bang. A site containing the 220-million-year-old fossilised remains of nearly a dozen dinosaurs has been discovered in western Argentina. According to Martinez, of the University of San Juan, the fossils are approximately 220 million years old, belonging to “an era of which we know little”. India successfully conducted an anti-satellite (A-SAT) missile test, becoming the fourth country to do so by successfully destroying a low earth orbit satellite in space by using a missile which covered a distance of 300 km to engage the target. The US, Russia and China are the only other country to have tested an A-SAT weapon previously. Mission Shakti operation was a difficult target to achieve and was completed successfully within 3 minutes of launch. Defence News India successfully test-fired Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) off Odisha coast. It was test- fired from launch pad number-4 of Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Abdul Kalam Island in Balasore district at 11.22 a.m. The armies of India and Myanmar carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas named ‘Operation Sunrise 2’. Indian Navy launched Operation Sankalp in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to reassure Indian flagged vessels safe transit through the area. INS Chennai and INS Sunayna have been deployed in the region to undertake maritime security operations. Indo-French joint naval exercise, Varuna 19 was conducted in two phases. 1st phase ‘ Varuna 19.1’ - Goa coast from 1 to 10 May 2019. 2nd phase ‘ Varuna 19.2’ - May end in Djibouti. 8th Indo-Myanmar Coordinated Patrol (IMCOR) held in Port Blair. Completing its journey of 36 years, INS Ranjit, a Rajput class destroyer was decommissioned at Naval Dockyard, Visakhapatnam recently. Commissioned on 15 September 1983 by Captain Vishnu Bhagwat in erstwhile Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), the ship was used for yeoman service. Scorpene class submarine Vela, equipped with modern machinery and technology to guard the seas, was launched in Mumbai.
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INS Vela was first commissioned on August 31, 1973 in the Indian Naval service and continued to serve for 37 years. It was the oldest submarine of the country when it was decommissioned. Defence ministry has approved the procurement of 10 Kamov Ka-31 Airborne Early Warning and Control helicopters for the Indian Navy. The cost of the deal would be around Rs 3,600 crore and the 10 helicopters would be deployed on the aircraft carriers and warships of the Navy including the INS Vikrant and Grigorovich-class frigates. Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) conducted a successful flight test of ABHYAS high-speed expendable aerial target (HEAT) from Interim Test Range, Chandipur in Odisha. INS Kolkata and INS Shakti of the Indian Navy participated in a 3-day Asia Pacific naval and maritime event titled the International Maritime Defence Exhibition Asia (IMDEX Asia-2019) held in Changi Exhibition Centre, Singapore. Indian Coast Guard Ship Vigraha Decommissioned. After 29 glorious years of service from 1990 to 2019, the ship was decommissioned at the coast guard jetty in Visakhapatnam. Australia concluded a seven-nation Indian Ocean military exercise in Sri Lanka where China has invested in strategic ports and loaned huge amounts to build other infrastructure. Some 1,000 Australian security personnel in four naval ships and a military aircraft participated in the biggest joint exercise yet with their Sri Lankan counterparts, Canberra’s top envoy in Colombo. India and the US have set up the first ever secure communication link between the naval headquarters in New Delhi and the US Central as well as Pacific Naval Commands under the landmark Indo-US COMCASA pact reached last year. The US has also activated the Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module GPS system in some of C-130 and C-17 transport aircraft as a result of the implementation of the COMCASA (Communications, Compatibility & Security Agreement). Military forces of India and Singapore got together to participate in a joint exercise in Babina Cantonment in Jhansi. The three-day exercise, ‘Bold Kurukshetra–2019’, is being conducted to develop military technology, boost maritime security and bolster the nations’ fight against terrorism. In a major boost to India’s firepower, country’s first indigenously designed and developed Dhanush artillery gun was inducted in the Indian Army. The Dhanush gun system is based on the designs of the Bofors howitzer which was inducted in the Army in the 1980s and would be the third type of artillery gun to be inducted into the force after the K-9 Vajra and the M-777 ultra-light howitzers. The 16th edition of the joint military exercise between Morocco and the United States named “African Lion 2019” was held from March 16 to April 7, 2019 in southern Morocco in the cities of Agadir, Tifnit, Tan-Tan, Tata, and Ben Guerir near Marrakech. NIRBHAY, the long-range, sub-sonic, cruise missile was successfully tested with a sharper ‘terrain hugging capability’. The indigenously developed missile was test-fired from the ITR, Chandipur, off the Odisha coast. Chief of Army Staff General Bipin Rawat commissioned the Indian Coast Guard Ship Veera at a ceremony held at Naval Jetty at the dockyard in the city. Veera, third in the series of offshore patrol vessels of the Coast Guard, was built by L&T at its shipbuilding facility at Kattupalli in Chennai. The Indian Navy undertook the second edition of the bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and Vietnam Peoples’ Navy, (IN – VPN BILAT EX) at/ off Cam Ranh Bay, Vietnam. Conduct of the bilateral exercise on an annual basis would give a further fillip to the existing strong bilateral relation between the two countries. Navy chief Admiral Sunil Lanba launched the third ship of Project 15B, a guided missile destroyer Imphal, at Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai.
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The Indian Navy ships Kolkata and Shakti arrived at Qingdao in China to participate in the International Fleet Review (IFR) as a part of the 70th anniversary celebrations of People Liberation’s Army (PLA-Navy). India has rebuilt Chhyoiphel Kundeling Monastery in Nepal. Shyalpa Tenzin Rinpoche inaugurated newly reconstructed Monastery at Lisankhu village in Sindhupalchok district Border Security Force (BSF) and Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB) concluded a three-day ‘Mainamati Maitree Exercise 2019’ as a part of ‘Confidence Building Measures’ between the two border guards in Agartala, Tripura. As part of the ongoing India Bangladesh defence cooperation, a joint military exercise Sampriti-2019 was conducted at Tangail, Bangladesh from 2nd March to 15 March. 6th edition of joint military exercise “Mitra Shakti” between India and Sri Lanka held in Diyatalawa, Badulla District, Sri Lanka. 33rd edition of India, Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (Ind-Indo Corpat) commenced at Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Exercise Al Nagah III, third in the series of bilateral joint exercise between India and Oman began at Jabel Al Akhdar Mountains in Oman. The first ever High-Level Dialogue on Indo-Pacific Cooperation (HLD-IPC) was held in Jakarta, capital of Indonesia. The indigenously developed Pinaka guided rocket system was successfully test fired at Pokhran desert in Rajasthan, in a boost to artillery capability of the Army. The weapon system is equipped with state-of-the-art guidance kit comprising of an advanced navigation and control system. Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba will preside over the debrief of the recently-commenced annual Theatre Level Readiness and Operational Exercise (TROPEX 19) at Kochi, besides holding deliberations on the road map for future operations. A man-portable anti-tank guided missile (MPATGM) was successfully test-fired in Rajasthan desert. The missile has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO). The indigenously developed, low-weight missile operates on a “fire and forget” principle, which means it does not require guidance after the launch. The inaugural Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 for India and African nations called AFINDEX-19 started with a grand opening ceremony at Aundh Military Station, Pune. Abu Dhabi to host first ISA’s (International Security Alliance) joint security exercise ISALEX19. The Indian and French Air Force has started Garuda VI exercise at Mont de Marsan in France. The exercise is scheduled to take place from 1 July to July 12, 2019, in France. Sports News
Tournament Winner Runner Up UEFA Champions League Title Liverpool Tottenham Cantor Fitzgerald U21 International 4-Nations India Ireland title(Women) SAFF Women’s Championship 2019 India Beat Nepal 2019 Sultan Azlan Shah Cup South Korea Beat India Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy Karnataka Defeated Maharashtra Held at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore Bombay Gold Cup Hockey crown Indian Oil Defeated Punjab and Sind
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Bank (PSB) I-League championship 2019 Chennai City FC Indian Super League Bengaluru FC With this win, Bengaluru FC have become the first team to win both the I-League and the ISL titles. 2019 Super Cup title FC Goa Beat Chennaiyin FC Santosh Trophy 2019 Services Beat Punjab Women’s French Open title 2019 Ashleigh Barty Marketa Vondrousova U-19 title at the Asian Junior Squash Veer Chotrani (India) Championship WBC Asia Silver Welterweight Champion Vaibhav Yadav (India) Poznan Athletics Grand Prix Hima Das Men’s French Open title 2019 Rafael Nadal Dominic Thiem 2019 Pacific International Snooker Sourav Kothari Championship 2019 Pacific International Billiards Championship Peter Gilchrist (New Zealand) 17th National Squash Title Joshna Chinappa 2019 Asian Continental Chess Championship Nihal Sarin Sub-Junior Girls’ National Football Championship Jharkhand Best Arunachal Pradesh Asian Snooker Championship Pankaj Advani Asian Wrestling Championships with a gold in Bajrang Punia the 65kg freestyle category Asian Boxing Championships (81-kg weight Pooja Rani Held in Bangkok, Thailand category) Asian Boxing Championships (52-kg weight Amit Panghal category) Asian Snooker Tour title Pankaj Advani 20th Victor Dutch Badminton International title Mumbai shuttler Harsheel Dani 2019 Gold in 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team event at the Manu Bhaker and Saurabh ISSF World Cup in Beijing Chaudhary 2019 Masters title Tiger Woods FIH (International Hockey Federation) Women’s India Beat Japan Series Finals Hiroshima 2019 Indian Women’s League trophy Sethu FC Manipur Police 4th IPL title Mumbai Indians Defeat Chennai Super Kings India Open International Boxing Tournament Mary Kom (51 kg) India Open International Boxing Tournament Amit Panghal (52 kg) India Open International Boxing Tournament Shiva Thapa (60 kg) Indian Grand Prix series 2019 Dutee Chand Won gold medal in 200m women’s race Indian Wells Masters Canadian Bianca Andreescu India Open 2019 Viktor Axelsen (Denmark) Beat Kidambi Srikanth Gold in Women’s discus throw event in Kamalpreet Kaur
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Federation Cup in Patiala Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament Bajrang Punia (gold medal in 65 Held in Ruse, Bulgaria (Wrestling) kilogram freestyle) Dan Kolov-Nikola Petrov Tournament Pooja Dhanda (gold in the 59kg Held in Ruse, Bulgaria (Wrestling) category) Sir Richard Hadlee Medal for Men’s Player of the Kiwi captain Kane Williamson Year at the New Zealand Cricket (NZC) awards Dubai Tennis Championship Roger Federer With this, he won his 100th tour-level title Acapulco International in Mexico Australian Nick Kyrgios Sekisui Open title Mahesh Mangaonkar 2019 Sudirman Cup China Beat Japan Asia-Pacific Diamond Cup Japan’s Yosuke Asaji Premier League title 2019 Manchester City Halle Open title Roger Federer Italian Open 2019 men’s title Karolina Pliskova (Czech) Johanna Konta Italian Open 2019 women’s title Rafael Nadal (Spain) Novak Djokovic Madrid Open 2019 Novak Djokovic Barcelona Open 2019 Dominic Thiem Malaysia Open (men’s singles title) Lin Dan ATP Miami Open title 2019 Roger Federer He is from Switzerland Monterrey Open title Spain’s Garbine Muguruza Geneva Open Germany’s Alexander Zverev French Grand Prix 2019 Lewis Hamilton Monaco Grand Prix 2019 Lewis Hamilton Bahrain Grand Prix 2019 Lewis Hamilton Chinese Grand Prix 2019 Lewis Hamilton 2019 Canadian Grand Prix Lewis Hamilton Australian Grand Prix 2019 Valtteri Bottas Mercedes team Formula One (F1) driver Azerbaijan Grand Prix 2019 Valtteri Bottas Austrian Grand Prix 2019 Max Verstappen Stuttgart’s Porsche Grand Prix 2019 Petra Kvitova
Sports
International Cricket Council (ICC) has joined hands with Interpol to fight corruption in sport International Cricket Council (ICC) Cricket for Good in partnership with UNICEF announced #OneDay4Children, a tournament-wide campaign focussed on bringing the world of cricket together as one team to help build a better world for every child, at the World Cup. Chandigarh hosted the 18th Asian Billiards, the 20th Under-21 Asian Snooker Championship and the 3rd Ladies Asian Snooker Championship from April 27 to May 3. India’s Bajrang Punia has regained the world number one spot in the men’s 65-kilogram freestyle category rankings. The rankings were released by United World Wrestling.
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Arjuna awardee and star Indian golfer Gaganjeet Bhullar won the outstanding achievement as a player award at the fourth edition of the annual India Golf Industry Association (GIA) awards India have retained the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test Championship Mace as they secured the number one spot on the ICC Test Team Rankings while New Zealand have ensured second place. The Indian football team moved up 2 places to 101 in the latest FIFA rankings released recently. Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) skipper Virat Kohli became only the second Indian player after Suresh Raina to score 8,000 runs in T20 cricket during the Indian Premier League match against Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. Indian skipper Virat Kohli has been named as the ‘leading cricketer of the year’ for the third year in a row by the Wisden Cricketers’ Almanack for his performance in the 2018 English summer. Indian Women team batter Smriti Mandhana was named as the ‘leading women cricketer in the world’. Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan was named as the ‘leading T20 cricketer of the year’ for the second consecutive year. Rio Paralympics silver medallist Deepa Malik has been named as the recipient of the New Zealand Prime Minister’s Sir Edmund Hillary Fellowship for 2019. Saurav Ghosal became the first Indian male squash player to enter the top 10 in the latest PSA world rankings. Indian women squash players Joshna Chinappa and Dipika Pallikal had earlier reached top-10 in the world rankings. Roland-Garros, BNP Paribas and BIGBEN announced Rohit Thakur as the winner of second edition of India leg of the Roland-Garros eSeries, an e-sport competition played on the Tennis World Tour video game. Meena Kumari Maisnam continued her fine run to win gold medal in the 54 kg at the Boxing World Cup in Cologne. Indian women’s cricket team captain Mithali Raj has been named the goodwill ambassador of Team India at the Street Child Cricket World Cup (SCCWC). Bajrang Punia became the first wrestler from India to fight at the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York. Indonesian Eni Nuraeni was named by Asian Athletic Association (AAA) as the best athletic coach in Asia for short- haul run category this year. Australia’s Claire Polosak became the first woman to officiate in a men’s one-day international in the World Cricket League Division 2 final match between Namibia and Oman in Windhoek. France’s Stephanie Frappart became the first woman to referee a French Ligue 1 match. Isaak Hayik of Or Yehuda, Israel, has set a new world record as the oldest active player in a professional soccer match after tending the goal for Ironi Or Yehuda in game against Maccabi Ramat Gan. Asian champion shot putter Manpreet Kaur has been banned for four years by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA) for flunking four dope tests in 2017. Papua New Guinea (PNG) gained their ODI status and a place in the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2 after a comprehensive victory against the already-qualified Oman. The United States of America sealed One-Day International status for the very first time with a third straight victory at the World Cricket League Division Two event in Namibia. India dropped 3 places to be the fifth-ranked team in T20Is. The inaugural issue of world’s first exclusive women’s cricket magazine ‘Criczone‘ was released in Jaipur with Indian team vice-captain Smriti Mandhana featuring as the cover story. The International Cricket Council (ICC) released its official song ‘Stand By’ for the forthcoming Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019, that begins on May 30 in England and Wales.
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The world body governing Badminton, BFA, has launched two new formats of the game —AirBadminton and Triples with new dimensions of the court and an innovative shuttlecock called Airshuttle. Traditional competitive badminton has been an indoor game. Top seeds Anirudh Chandrasekar and Niki Poonacha won the 2019 International Tennis Federation (ITF) men’s Futures tennis tournament title in Kampala, Uganda. Archery Association of India named its senior vice president Sunil Sharma as its acting president to start the ball rolling for its polls after the Supreme Court’s order to set aside the national body’s election last year and subsequent resignation of its president. The Volleyball Federation of India appointed Serbian Dragan Mihailovic as head coach of the men’s national team in a move linked to the long term goal of Olympic Games qualification. The technical committee of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) picked up Igor Stimac as India’s new national team manager. Croatian World Cupper Igor Stimac was appointed head coach of the Indian football team for a two-year term. India skipper Virat Kohli has bagged the International Cricketer of the year award while Smriti Mandhana was honoured with the International women cricketer of the year award during the CEAT International Cricket Awards 2019. Former India women cricketer GS Lakshmi became the first female to be appointed to the ICC International Panel of Match Referees. World number one Bajrang Punia has become the first Indian to win gold at the Ali Aliev wrestling tournament after defeating Viktor Rassadin of Russia in the 65 kg freestyle in Kapiisk, Russia. Shooter Apurvi Chandela became the world number one in women’s 10m Air Rifle category with 1,926 rankings points, according to the latest rankings released by International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) recently. Apurvi Chandela won the gold in women’s 10m air rifle at the ISSF World Cup Rahi Sarnobat clinched gold in the women’s 25m pistol at the season’s third International Shooting Sport Federation World Cup in Munich, Germany. India’s 17-year-old shooter Saurabh Chaudhary broke his own junior and senior world record to win his second gold medal in 10m Air Pistol event in ISSF Gold Cup 2019. Gaurav Solanki and Manish Kaushik won a gold medal each in the XXXVI Feliks Stamm International Boxing Tournament in Warsaw, Poland Ace Indian squash players Saurav Ghoshal and Joshna Chinappa won their respective Asian Individual Squash Championship titles in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) off-spinner Harbhajan Singh became the third Indian to claim 150 wickets in the Indian Premier League (IPL).’ Delhi’s Amit Mishra and Kolkata Knight Riders’ Piyush Chawla are the other two Indians who have taken 150 wickets in the IPL. India’s racing sensation Jehan Daruvala created history during the Spanish F1 Grand Prix, scoring a dramatic victory in the inaugural round of the all-new FIA Formula 3 Championship in Barcelona. Juventus star striker Cristiano Ronaldo was awarded the ‘Serie A Player of the Year’ award. This is a remarkable feat for the Portuguese international as he has won the award in his very first season in Italy. Former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis has been honoured with the Order of Ikhamanga in the Silver Division. The national honour is bestowed by the President of South Africa on citizens who have made significant
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Former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara has been appointed as the first non-British president of the Marylebone Cricket Club. Sangakkara will be the first overseas MCC president in the organization’s 233-year history. Pakistan off-spinner Sana Mir has become the most successful women’s ODI spinner in history after she took her 147th wicket, highest ever by any spinner in One-day International (ODI) cricket. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk has been named Premier League Player of the Season. By doing so, he became the first defender to win the Player of the Season award in seven seasons, after Manchester City’s Vincent Kompany in 2011-12. The Asian Cricket Council (ACC) in its meeting in Singapore reasserted its decision to host the 2020 Asia Cup to Pakistan, casting serious doubts on the participation of defending champions India. Third seed Sidharth Rawat outplayed Rio Noguchi of Japan 7-5, 6-0 to clinch his maiden title in the $25,000 ITF men’s Futures tennis tournament. China was confirmed as the host of the AFC Asian Cup 2023 at the AFC Extraordinary Congress in Paris. FIFA has appointed Qatar as the host of the FIFA Club World Cup in 2019 and 2020 to function as test events for the next FIFA World Cup in 2022. Sunil Chhetri became the most capped India player by surpassing Bhaichung Bhutia’s 107 international matches. Rohit Sharma has become the fastest Indian to go past 2000-run mark against Australia in ODIs after he knocked 57 in the ongoing ICC Men’s World Cup match between the two sides at the Oval. India’s hero during the 2011 World Cup, Yuvraj Singh, announced retirement from all forms of cricket after spending 25 years in and around the 22 yards and almost 17 years of international experience. Cancer-hit Malaysian badminton star Lee Chong Wei announced his retirement. Virat Kohli, ranked 100th, remains the sole Indian in the Forbes list of world’s highest-paid athletes with estimated annual earnings of $25 million. India skipper Virat Kohli rose to the challenge against Pakistan and added another feather to his cap by becoming the fastest player in the history of the game to cross the 11,000-run mark in ODIs. Virat Kohli has become the fastest cricketer to score 20,000 international runs. The India captain reached the milestone when he reached the score of 37 against West Indies at Old Trafford. Afghanistan leg spinner Rashid Khan recorded the worst bowling figures in a ICC World Cup Match after conceding 110 runs in 9 overs against England. The IAAF (International Association of Athletics Federations) Council approved the global governing body’s new name ‘World Athletics’ and logo at the 217th IAAF Council Meeting in Monaco. World Archery appointed Abhinav Bindra as an independent person to sort out the ongoing mess in the Archery Association of India (AAI). Ashleigh Barty becomes world No.1 women tennis player after winning the Birmingham Classic by defeating Julia Goerges by 6-3, 7-5. The spanish footballer Fernando Torres who was a part of 2010 World Cup Winning Team of Spain has announced his retirement from football. Former England star Marcus Trescothick announced he would retire at the end of the season, bringing down the curtain on a 27-season career with county side Somerset. Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has announced that the 2018/19 season will be his final one as a professional footballer. Former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has announced his retirement from football. Germany‘s double Olympic biathlon champion Laura Dahlmeier announced her retirement at the age of just 25 after struggling with health issues.
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American Dave Bautista retires from wrestling Former Australian player Shane Watson has announced his retirement from the Big Bash League (BBL) as he wants to spend more time with his family. Odisha Government is set to host the 21st Commonwealth Table Tennis Championship at the Jawaharlal Indoor Stadium in Cuttack, scheduled for July 17 to 22. Jaipur will host the 8th Asian Youth Women Handball Championship. China has become the sole contender to host Asian Cup Football tournament in 2023 after South Korea has announced to withdraw its bid to host the game. Italian cities Milan and Cortina will host the Olympic Winter Games 2026. In Boxing, India’s junior women pugilists clinched seven medals, including five gold, while the team was adjudged the best of the tournament in the Black Forest Cup in Villingen, Schwenningen, Germany. Amul has been announced as the principal sponsor of the Afghanistan cricket team for the upcoming World Cup, slated to be held in England and Wales from May 30. India got their 61st Grandmaster when 16-year-old P. Iniyan, hailing from Erode, won at the Noisiel Open in France. Saina Nehwal named as Telangana Sports Journalists Association (TSJA) sports person of the year. PV Sindhu was named the Outstanding Performer of the Year (female), Pullela Gopichand was awarded the Coach of the Year The Indian badminton team was named the Team of the Year The Badminton Association of Telangana was awarded the Association of the Year. Indian captain Virat Kohli and fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah have retained their respective number one positions in the ICC ODI player rankings. World Fame 100: Virat Kohli only Indian in top 10 (begged 7th position), MS Dhoni in 13th spot K L Rahul was the lone Indian to feature in the top 10 batting list in the latest ICC T20 International Players Rankings released recently. Suresh Raina added another feather to his illustrious cap in Chennai as the Chennai Super Kings’ (CSK) batsman became the first in the Indian Premier League (IPL) history to amass 5,000 runs. West Indies’ 39-year-old opener Chris Gayle has become the first ever batsman to smash 500 sixes in international cricket and the second batsman to slam 300 ODI sixes. India’s Shashank Shekhar won the 10 kilometre race of Nepal’s Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Open Marathon and Run for Fun held in Kathmandu. China won the 2019 badminton Asia mixed team championships by defeating Japan 3-2 in the final in Hong Kong. Former India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni has become only the fourth Indian batsman to complete 13,000 runs in List A cricket. India’s Kidambi Srikanth has been placed at the eighth spot in the men’s singles list in the latest BWF world rankings release recently. Kento Momota of Japan is at the top spot. Diksha Dagar becomes youngest Indian woman to win on Ladies European Tour (LET) in Cape Town, South Africa. National record holder K.T. Irfan became the first Indian from athletics to qualify for the next year’s Olympics while finishing fourth in the 20 km event of the Asian Race Walking Championships in Nomi, Japan. Denmark’s Joachim Persson (badminton player) has been banned for 18 months for offences linked to betting and match-fixing. Malaysia’s Tan Kim Her has stepped down from his post as India’s doubles badminton coach. VRV Singh, the Indian pacer has announced his retirement. Two-time world boxing champion James DeGale(British) announced his retirement 10 years after his professional debut. Veteran leg-spinner Imran Tahir would retire from one-day international cricket after the World Cup in England and Wales, which ends on July 14.
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Australian football legend Tim Cahill officially announced retirement. Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain has announced his retirement from international football. Actress-wrestler Nikki Bella has announced her retirement from the WWE. Conor Mcgregor, the Irish UFC star, announced his retirement from Mixed Martial Arts (MMA). WWE legend Kurt Angle has announced he will retire at WrestleMania 35 in April 2019. Ambati Rayudu, the Indian middle-order batsman announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Arjen Robben, the former Bayern Munich and Netherland forward, announced his retirement from football. India returned with 368 medals, including 85 gold, at the Special Olympics World Summer Games which was held at Abu Dhabi, UAE from March 14 to 21. The Indian team of 284 athletes also clinched 154 silver and 129 bronze medals in its highly successful campaign at the prestigious event. Indian youth team finish second in the overall medals tally with a total of 26 medals including eight gold, nine silver and nine bronze medals. China topped the overall medals tally with 31 medals that included 12 gold, 11 silver and eight bronze medals. 31-year-old Hopman Cup replaced by new ATP ((Association of Tennis Professionals)) Cup 2019 Asean School Games to be held in July in Indonesia’s Semarang city. The United World Wrestling (UWW) has taken away the hosting rights from India for the junior Asian Championship, to be held in Thailand now. India lose Jr. Davis and Fed Cup hosting rights, to be held in Bangkok now. The Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi will be the new home of T10 cricket for the next five years, starting with the 2019 season. India will host the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in 2020 Argentina and Colombia have been selected as the host nations for the upcoming edition of Copa America football tournament, to be held in 2020. Special Olympics World Games 2019 held at Abu Dhabi in UAE. The Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Rajasthan Royals launched its first cricket academy in the UK. The Star Cricket Academy based at Reed’s School in Surrey joined hands with Rajasthan Royals to relaunch the facility as the ‘Rajasthan Royals Academy’. The torch design for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games was unveiled exactly a year before the flame is due to arrive in Japan from Greece. The theme of the pink gold torch centres on ‘sakura’ or cherry blossom in Japan, which arrives every spring to much fanfare, and it was designed with input from children from the areas most severely damaged by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. In an effort to develop coaches from the grassroot level and enable them to meet the requirements and the ever- growing demands of international hockey, the sport’s governing body in India launched the Hockey India Coaching Education Pathway. Rajasthan Royals signed BookMyShow as exclusive ticketing partner. GoDaddy partnered with ICC as official sponsor for Cricket World Cup 2019 Kavinder Singh Bisht wins gold at the 38th GeeBee Boxing Tournament in Helsinki, Finland The 23rd edition of the Asian Athletics Championship concluded in Doha, Qatar. Tejinder Pal Singh Toor won Gold in Men’s shot put event, Gomathi Marimuthu won Gold in Women’s 800m event and PU Chitra won Gold in Women’s 1500m race event. ISSF World Cup held in Beijing, China For India, while Anjum Moudgil and young Divyansh Singh Panwar started the medal hunt with a gold in the 10m
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Air Rifle Mixed Team competition, the teenaged pair of Manu Bhaker and Saurabh Chaudhary backed them up with another yellow metal in the 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Pistol event. Helo, India’s social media platform, has announced its partnership with the Indian Wheelchair Cricket Association as the team sponsor for Team India during the Asia Cup 2019, which is scheduled from May 15 in Nepal.
12th Asian Airgun Championships 2019 in Taiyuan, Taipei
Gold Medal
10m Air Rifle Men Individual: Divyansh Singh Panwar 10m Air Rifle Men Team: Divyansh Singh Panwar,Ravi Kumar,Deepak Kumar 10m Air Pistol Men Team: Saurabh Chaudhary, Ravinder Singh & Abhishek Verma 10m Air Rifle Women Individual: Elavenil Valarivan 10m Air Rifle Women Team: Elavenil Valarivan, Apurvi Chandela, Meghana Sajjanar 10m Air Pistol Women Individual: Manu Bhaker 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team: Manu Bhaker & Saurabh Chaudhary 10m Air Rifle Men Junior Team: Yash Vardhan, Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar,Keval Jashvantbhai Prajapati 10m Air Rifle Men Junior Individual: Yash Vardhan 10m Air Pistol Men Junior Individual: Sarabjot Singh 10m Air Pistol Men Junior Team: Sarabjot Singh, Arjun Singh Cheema,Vijayveer Sidhu 10m Air Rifle Women Junior Individual: Shreya Agrawal 10m Air Rifle Women Junior Team: C Kavi Rakshna, Shreya Agrawal, Mehuli Ghosh 10m Air Pistol Women Junior Individual: Esha Singh 10m Air Pistol Mixed Team Junior: Esha Singh, Vijayveer Sidhu 10m Air Rifle Mixed Team Junior: Shreya Agrawal, Yash Vardhan
Sports Journalists Federation of India 2019 Awards
SJFI Medal (Highest Honour): Prakash Padukone (Badminton). Sportsperson of the Year Award: Pankaj Advani (Billiards and Snooker) and Bajrang Punia (Wrestling). Emerging Talent of the Year Award: Saurabh Choudhary (Shooting). Team of the Year Award: Vidarbha Cricket Team.
Committee
Head of Committee Purpose V. G. Kannan Review the ATM interchange fee structure M K Sharma The Central Public Works Department (CPWD) has constituted a seven-member core group to prepare a roadmap for implementation of a five-year “vision document” as directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Bibek Debroy The Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister set up a Beekeeping Development Committee under the Chairmanship of Bibek Debroy to identify ways of advancing beekeeping in India. Ramesh Chand A working group has been constituted for the revision of current series of Wholesale
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Price Index (base 2011-12) under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand. M K Sharma The Central Works Public Department (CPWD) has constituted an expert committee to formulate a design policy for building construction and infrastructure development. T. N. Manoharan, Chairman The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) constituted a task force on development of secondary of Canara Bank market for corporate loans.
Harsh Vardhan RBI announced the setting-up of a committee to work for the development of housing finance securitisation market in the country Chander Shekhar The Government of India (GoI) has set up a tribunal, headed by Justice Chander Shekhar of the Delhi High Court, to adjudicate if there exists sufficient cause to ban the Jama’at- e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir (JeI) and the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front – Yasin Malik (JKLF-Y) faction.
Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel The National Green Tribunal formed a committee to look into the alleged erosion of Yamuna floodplain due to movement of heavy vehicles in Haryana’s Sonipat district. Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel The NGT has formed a Central Monitoring Committee to prepare and enforce a national plan to make over 350 river stretches across the country pollution free as it has caused serious threat to safety of water and environment. The NGT directed the Central Monitoring Committee to give its report by July 31. Suresh Mathur The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and to recommend measures to increase demand for such products. Usha Thorat The RBI announced a task force headed by its former deputy governor Usha Thorat to examine issues related to offshore rupee markets and recommend policy measures to ensure stability of the external value of the domestic currency. Nandan Nilekani To further deepen digital payments and enhance financial inclusion through Fintech. Alok Srivastava (Legal To examine issues related to framing of a structured scheme for providing insurance Affairs Secretary) cover to advocates. Jasmine Shah The Delhi government’s Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), a think-tank that advises the government on key issues, has set up a 17-member high-level committee to “reform higher education” in the capital. Aruna Sundararajan Union Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad constituted a committee chaired by Telecom Secretary Aruna Sundararajan to spell out revival plans for Telecom sector. Devendra Fadnavis Prime Minister Narendra Modi constituted a high-powered committee of chief ministers for the transformation of agriculture and raising farmers’ income. Tapan Ray The Reserve Bank of India has set up a working group to review the regulatory and supervisory framework for core investment companies (CIC).
Rankings
Index India’s Rank Other Information Global Consumer Confidence 1st Survey Global Energy Transition Index 76 1st – Sweden.
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Index compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF). UN World Happiness Report- 140 1st – Finland. 2019 IMD World Competitiveness 43 1st - Singapore Rankings Kids Right Index 117 1st - Iceland Global Gender Equality Index 95 Top- Denmark 2019 Bottom- Chad Global Peace Index 2019 141 Top- Iceland Bottom- Afghanistan FIFA Rankings 101 Top- Belgium 2019 Index of Cancer 19 1st – Australia. Preparedness (ICP) Prepared by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) World Press Freedom Index 2019 140 1st – Norway. Henley Passport Index 2019 86 Top – Japan and Singapore. (Most Powerful Passport index 2019) India ranked 20th among the top capital importing countries: Knight Frank. Top – UK India is now the forerunner in producing solar power at lowest cost globally and is far ahead of other nations in low average production costs, a report by International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said. Beating countries like China, which usually is the cheapest manufacturer of everything, India has also left behind the US, UK, Canada and France among others. India 4th Biggest Military Spender in 2018: SIPRI (Stockholm International Peace Research Institute) Report. India’s military spending went up by 3.1 per cent to $66.5 billion. 1st – USA. India rose to 17th position in global startup ecosystem in 2019, up from the 37th spot in 2017, as per StartupBlink. The country list was topped by the US, followed by the UK and Canada. Saudi Arabia has now become the largest importer of arms in the world, having pushed India to the second spot, according to the premier Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). In its report on ‘Trends in International Arms Transfers 2018’ released recently, the institute identified Saudi Arabia, India, Egypt, Australia and Algeria as the 5 top arms importing countries and the United States, Russia, France, Germany and China as the 5 top arms exporting nations. India was ranked 16th in the world in terms of highest number of impacted species in biodiversity-rich zones (also known as hotspots) due to human actions. In India, 35 species affected on an average in biodiversity-rich zones. Malaysia ranks first among countries with highest number of impacted species (on an average 125 species). Money parked in Swiss banks: India slips one place to 74th, UK remains on top Rankings (Persons,Cities,Organisations and Others)
Mumbai had the worst traffic congestion in 2018, an analysis of 403 cities across 56 countries on six continents in ‘Traffic Index-2018’, compiled by location technology specialist TomTom, has found. Mumbai was followed by Colombia’s Bogota, Peru’s Lima and Delhi in traffic congestion.
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Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT), Bombay, IIT Delhi and Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore have found a place among the top 200 in the prestigious Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings released recently. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of USA has been ranked first in the list. Mumbai is India’s most expensive city and among the top 20 costliest cities surveyed in Asia for expatriates, with residential housing prices among the highest in the world, according to a survey by global consulting leader Mercer. NSSO Survey - Nagaland has the highest unemployment rate among the states with the percentage of 21.4%. It is followed by Goa (1 3.9%) and Manipur(1 1.6%) Meghalaya has the lowest rate at 1.5%. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has become the second most-followed politician in the world with a social media audience of 110,912,648 million on platforms including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, a study by online visibility management and content marketing SaaS platform SEMrush said recently. The most-followed politician globally was former US President Barack Obama, who has 182,710,777 followers on his Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has been declared as the eighth best airport in the world. In the 2019 annual rating report by AirHelp, an organization that specializes in air traveller rights, Doha’s Hamad International Airport, Tokyo Haneda International Airport, and Athens International Airport have retained their top three positions in the list. Reliance Industries has toppled state-owned Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to become the country’s biggest company by revenue. The Mukesh Ambani-led conglomerate, in the 2018-19 fiscal year that ended March 31, reported a turnover of Rs 6.23 lakh crore. Huawei Technologies Co. overtook Apple Inc. to claim the No. 2 spot in smartphones in the first quarter, moving a step closer to its avowed ambition of displacing Samsung at the top of the market. The Netherlands has emerged as the 3rd largest Foreign Direct investor in India for the years 2017-2018 with investments valued at US$ 2.67 billion across variety of sectors such as services, trading, automobile industry, fermentation industries, chemicals and water management. Mumbai topped the 15-city list of the most vulnerable cities to cyberattacks in 2019, followed by Delhi, Bengaluru and Kolkata, Quick Heal Security Labs revealed. The ‘Annual Threat Report 2019’ put Maharashtra, Delhi and West Bengal as the top three states at most risk. Arunachalam Muruganantham, known as the maker of low-cost sanitary napkins in India with his invention of cellulose-based pads, has made it to Fortune magazine’s 2019 list of the world’s greatest leaders. Muruganantham ranks 45th in the list released by the American publication. Shanghai claimed that it has become the world’s first district using both 5G coverage and broadband gigabit network as China seeks to establish lead over the US and other countries in the race to develop next generation cellular mobile communications. The Indian Institute of Technology(IIT), Madras, topped the national ranking of higher institutes released by the ministry of Human Resources Development (HRD). The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bangalore, and IIT-Delhi were ranked second and third in the list respectively. Of the top 10 institutes, seven are IITs. India’s asset management companies (AMCs) own assets under management (AUM) worth Rs24.46 trillion according to data released by the Association of Mutual Funds in India (AMFI). The quality of air in Varanasi, is positioned 3rd on the WHO’s (World Health Organisation) list of 15 most polluted cities in the world, by the ‘Political Leaders Position and Action on Air Quality in India 2014-2019’ report, released by Climate Trends. Kanpur (in Uttar Pradesh) is the most polluted city in the world and is positioned 1 on the list.
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Hong Kong’s equity market has overtaken Japan to be the world’s third largest in value, behind only the U.S. and mainland China. Reliance Industries (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani has featured in the TIME magazine’s list of 100 most influential people. Arundhati Katju and Menaka Guruswamy, who led the legal battle for LGBTQ rights in India, also featured in the list. The “Time 100 Most Influential People 2019” named the world’s most influential pioneers, leaders, titans, artists and icons of the year. Watches and jewellery maker Titan Company is the fourth fastest growing luxury company in the world with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 19.7 per cent during the financial years 2015-2017, a Deloitte report said recently. Titan is a joint venture between the Tata Group and state-run Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation (TIDCO). UK Based Skytrax World Airport Awards: Singapore’s Changi Airport has been crowned the world’s best aviation hub for the seventh time in a row, while New Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International (IGI) Airport featured at number 59 World airport traffic rankings for 2018 released by the Airports Council International (ACI): Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) has now become the world’s 12th busiest airport. Dubai International world’s busiest named. Airports Council International (ACI) in the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Programme for 2018: Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport in New Delhi has been adjudged as the best airport in the category of over 40 million passengers per annum (MPPA) in Asia Pacific. 2018 Airport Service Quality (ASQ) award: The Biju Patnaik International Airport (BPIA) in Bhubaneswar has won the award as the leading airport in size and region. Manipal Academy of Higher Education achieved another milestone, as it became the only private University in India to be featured in the QS World rankings in the areas of Medicine and Pharmacy. This is the third consecutive year that MAHE is the highest ranked private University in the country. Delhi has topped the list of the most polluted cities in the world in a recent study conducted by environment NGO Greenpeace India. New Delhi was ranked first among 62 polluted cities in the report, Global Air Pollution 2018. Assam’s Hailakandi district has shot up to number one from the 52nd position, among the aspirational districts of the country, a new report released by the Niti Aayog said. Mumbai, the financial capital of the country, is the 16th most expensive prime residential market in the world, a Knight Frank report said. The Maharashtra capital is the only Indian city to feature in the global top 20 list of expensive prime residential markets recorded in The Wealth Report 2019. Philippines’ capital Manila topped the global list The phenomenal growth of Reliance Jio, backed by its ultra-cheap data plans that has transformed the telecom scenario in India, has helped Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani move six places up to rank 13th in US magazine Forbes’ “World’s Billionaire list 2019”. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos continued to remain the world’s richest man. In terms of 4G availability, Dhanbad in Jharkhand has topped the list of 50 cities in India, London-based wireless coverage mapping company OpenSignal’s “India Mobile Network Experience” report said. Integral Coach Factory (ICF), the rail coach manufacturing factory at Chennai, which became famous for manufacturing Train 18, has become the single largest rail coach manufacturer in the world surpassing top Chinese manufacturers.
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Reliance Industries chairman and Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani recently topped Forbes’ The World’s Richest Sports Team Owners 2019 list. With a total net worth of about $50 billion, Ambani topped the list. Mercer’s 2019 Quality of Living Ranking: The Austrian capital Vienna has topped Mercer’s index of most liveable cities for the 10th year in a row. Baghdad ranked last. Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu is ranked at 105 and is the number one city from India. Paris, Singapore and Hong Kong are most expensive cities in the world while Delhi, Chennai and Bengaluru are among the cheapest places to live, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2019 Worldwide Cost of Living Survey. Tata, Reliance and Airtel emerged as the top three Indian brands of 2019, according a report published by Interbrand, part of the Omnicom Media Group, an advertising and public relations conglomerate. Tata continued to hold the top position in the best Indian Brands ranking as its brand value grew by 6%, mainly due to Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). Maharashtra achieves first rank in NITI Aayog launched “Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index (AMFFRI)”. Loans from Banks
From To Amount Purpose Asian Chhattisgarh USD 350 Road project Development million Bank (ADB) Asian India $26 million Loan as additional financing for improving drainage Development infrastructure in Dibrugarh town of Assam under the ongoing Bank (ADB) Assam Urban Infrastructure Investment Program. ADB India $926 To operationalise two lines for the Mumbai metro rail system. million Asian India $455 To finance the Andhra Pradesh Rural Roads Project, which will Infrastructure million connect about 3,300 habitations with a population of more than Investment Bank 250, and benefit around two million people. (AIIB) World Bank Tamil Nadu $287 Health System Reform Programme million World Bank Jharkhand $147 To provide basic urban services to the people of Jharkhand and Million help improve the management capacity of the urban local bodies (ULBs) in the State. World Bank India $400 To help treat and eliminate Tuberculosis from the country. Million World Bank India $25.2 Loan Agreement to support Chhattisgarh Public Financial Million Management and Accountability Program. World Bank India $96 Million Agreement for additional financing of Uttarakhand Disaster Recovery Project. The World Bank has been supporting the State Government since 2014 to restore housing and rural connectivity and to build the resilience of communities.
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World Bank India $137 Representatives of 5 States (Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Million Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttarakhand) of Government of India and Implementing Agencies signed in New Delhi the Loan Agreement for Additional Financing for the Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP). World Bank India $250- Agreement for the National Rural Economic Transformation million Project (NRETP) focused on promoting “women-owned and women-led” farm and non-farm enterprises. World Bank Andhra Rs 2,200- Project aimed at strengthening the state’s overall healthcare Pradesh crore systems. ($328- million) Korea Exim Bank India Rs 4,100 Loan for Visakhapatnam Metro Rail project. crore Exim Bank supported line of credit of USD 150 million to Ghana and USD 95 million to Mozambique for agricultural and railway projects. Exim Bank has provided soft loans of USD 266.60 million to Rawanda for various projects. The Government of India, Government of Kerala and World Bank signed a loan agreement of $250 million (Rs 1,725 crore) for the First Resilient Kerala Programme to enhance the state’s resilience against the impact of natural disasters and climate change. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed an agreement to provide long-term financing of $750 million equivalent in Indian rupees — the largest single non-sovereign loan ever committed by ADB — to the Indian Railway Finance Corporation (IRFC), to fund the Railways track electrification project. Asian Development Bank (ADB) has given in-principle nod for financing 4 metro rail projects and a Rs 30,000 crore rapid rail corridor between Delhi and Meerut as part of its effort to improve urban transport system in India. Deadlines/ Important Dates
The government has developed a National Strategic Plan with the goal of ending Tuberculosis (TB) by 2025. India accounts for 27.4 lakh estimated new TB cases annually, which is the highest in terms of absolute numbers. Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, announced that the flow of raw sewage into the Ganga river will be fully halted by 2022. All trains coming to Delhi to be on electric traction from December 2019 The government extended the deadline for linking PAN with biometric ID Aadhaar by 6 months till September 30. This is the sixth time the government has extended the deadline for individuals to link their Permanent Account Number (PAN) to Aadhaar. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that that Railways will install Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras in over 7,020 coaches of mainline passenger trains during Phase-I which is targeted to complete by March 2021. They are already installed in 1,300 coaches of mainline passenger trains.
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Books
Book Author Other Info Cricket World Cup: The Indian Ashis Ray Challenge Lessons Life Taught Me, Unknowingly Auto-Biography of Anupam Kher My Life, My Mission Auto-Biography of Baba Ramdev Co-authored by senior journalist Uday Mahurkar Data Sovereignty: The Pursuit of Vinit Goenka Supremacy The New Delhi Conspiracy (Novel) Meenakshi Lekhi A Prime Minister to Remember Sushil Kumar Game Changer Former Pakistan skipper Shahid In it, he has lashed out explosively Afridi’s autobiography at India’s former southpaw and winner of two World titles Gautam Gambhir, taking their decade-old on-and-off-field spat to another level. Darkness to light Former American basketball player, Lamar Odom Coming Round the Mountain Ruskin Bond Kundan: Saigal’s Life & Music Sharad Dutt Biography of K L Saigal Ashakiranam Autobiography of noted social worker Penned by Dr. Chandrasekhar in Sankurathri Chandrasekhar English with title ‘A Ray of Hope’ the autobiography was translated into Telugu by Godavarthi Satyamurthy. Politics of Jugaad: The Coalition Saba Naqvi Handbook Designing Destiny: The Heartfulness Kamlesh Patel, popularly known as Way Daaji Indian Fiscal Federalism N.K. Singh (He is Chairman of 15th Finance Commission of India) Every Vote Counts Navin Chawla Former Chief Election Commissioner of India The Great Disappointment: How Salman Anees Soz Narendra Modi Squandered a Unique Opportunity to Transform the Indian Economy Designing Destiny: The Heartfulness Kamlesh Patel, popularly known as Way Daaji
One of India’s homegrown startup publishing houses Garuda Prakashan is all set to launch its next 2 books ‘#Modi Again’ and ‘Saffron Swords – Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders’ after the success of its recently launched
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books – ‘Urban Naxals’ by Vivek Agnihotri and ‘Thank you India’ by Maria Writh. Aabhas’ “#Modi Again: Why Modi is right for India, An Ex-Communist’s Manifesto” is the story of someone who was raised on communist ideology but grew to question the dogmas he was taught in the education system. Manoshi’s “Saffron Swords: Centuries of Indic Resistance to Invaders” is another book of timeless tales. It fills in the gap in the current education system which treats invasions of India as one long saga of defeat for Indian people. Saffron Swords’ is a book on 52 unsung warriors of India from the last 1300 years. It celebrates the glory of our ancestors who offered stiff resistance, won battles and fought till their last breath against Islamic invaders and British.
Obituaries
Name Profession Other Info Grumpy Cat, the Internet’s most popular cat and one of its first viral memes, has passed away at age seven. Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tardar Sauce, had feline dwarfism. Basant Kumar Birla Businessman Chairman of the B K Birla Group of companies Santosh Rana Politician One of the foremost leaders of the Communist Party of India (Marxist-Leninist) Barun Haldar Newsreader Veteran Newsreader of All India Radio Satya Brata Singh Former Supreme Court judge Darryl D’Monte Senior journalist and environmental activist Prafulla Rajguru Journalist Vinod Kashyap Veteran Hindi Newsreader Haku Shah Indian artist Vinjamuri Anasuyadevi Noted folk artist, music director and writer Manohar Gopalakrishna Prabhu Politician Goa Chief Minister Parrikar Venur Dhananjay Kumar Politician C.S. Shivalli Politician From Karnataka Balwant Singh Politician From Punjab Virendra Kataria Politician Former Puducherry Lieutenant Governor Binapani Devi Matua community matriarch Popularly known as ‘Boro Ma’ (elder mother) HS D’Lima Civic activist from Andheri Gaothan, Mumbai Ghulam Nabi Rathe Social Activist Muni Hitruchivijayji One of the last disciples of Acharya Ramchandrasurishwarji
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Ashita Malayalam writer and poet L.V. Sharada Kannada Actor Chinmoy Roy Bengali Actor M.N. Samant 1971 India-Pakistan war hero Rama Sengupta Paul Mountaineer She led the first successful all- women expedition to Kedarnath Dome in Garhwal Himalaya Dr SK Shivakumar Scientist Renowned space scientist and former Indian Space Research Organisation Satellite Center (ISAC) director Viharidas Gopaldas Patel Economist and ‘Father of Entrepreneurship Movement’ Pradeep Choubey Hindi Poet Pungam Kannan Former Indian Footballer D Babu Paul Eminent scholar, writer and former additional chief secretary B. A. Sanadi Kannada writer Silamboli Su Chellappan Tamil scholar and orator Dilip Sarkar Politician K M Mani Politician From Kerala Drupad Borgohain Politician From Assam Chaudhary Vidyasagar Politician From Himachal Pradesh HK Khan Former Chief Secretary of Gujarat Paripooranand Painuli Politician and freedom fighter JK Ritheesh Actor and former politician Navtej Hundal Actor Anandavally Malayalam film actress and dubbing artist J. Mahendran Tamil Director Kartik Rath Dramatist Eminent theatre organiser and playwright Colonel Raj Kapoor Director The director who introduced Shah Rukh Khan with the television show Fauji Amar Paul Bengali folk singer
S. Muthiah Historian, Writer Chronicler of Chennai history, cartographer and journalist N.R. Madhava Menon Father of ‘legal education’ Baidyanath Mishra Economist Kirpal Singh Sikh historian Vijaya Mulay Filmmaker Kadavoor Sivadasan Politics
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V. Vishwanatha Menon Politics Former CPI-M Kerala Finance Minister Rajendra Tiwari Madhya Pradesh Advocate General and Senior Advocate MB Balakrishnan Swimmer Ace Tamil Nadu swimmer and South Asian Games gold- medalist Derek Sippy Former billiards player, coach and administrator Thoppil Mohamed Meeran Author (Tamil) Maramraju Satyanarayana Rao Writer and academician Surya Prakash Painter Roshan Taneja Acting Guru Founder and former head of the acting department at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune. Known to many as the ‘pioneer of method acting’ in India Veeru Devgan Action and Stunts directors Benu Mishra Assam’s noted artist and former senior art adviser Rallapalli Venkata Narasimha Rao Actor (Telugu) Master Hirannaiah Actor (Kannada) Kannada theatre and film personality Mrinal Mukherjee Actor (Bengali) Eranholi Moosa Mappilapaattu singer Nebburu Narayana Hegde Yakshagana ‘bhagawatha’ (singer) Hiralal Yadav Bhojpuri Singer Adiraja Sultana Fathima Muthu Beevi Head of erstwhile Arakkal royal family Yogi Deveshwar Businessman ITC group Chairman Murray Gell-Mann American physicist Negasso Gidada Former Ethiopian President Bob Hawke Former Australian Prime Minister Prem Tinsulanonda Thailand’s former Prime Minister John Singleton American film director Academy Award-nominated filmmaker best known for directing “Boyz N the Hood” and “Poetic Justice” Peter Mayhew English-American Actor Clement Von Franckenstein British-American Actor Peggy Lipton American Actress Doris Day American actress-singer Tim Conway American comedian
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Sammy Shore American actor, stand-up comedian Terry Rawlings British film and sound editor Seymour Nurse West Indies batsman I.M. Pei Chinese-American architect He designed the glass and metal pyramid at the Louvre Museum in Paris Niki Lauda Austrian Formula One driver Sultan Ahmad Shah Malaysia’s seventh King and football veteran Carmine Caridi Actor He is best known for portraying Carmine Rosato in The Godfather: Part II Movie. Ruma Guha Thakurta Actor-singer Brij Mohan Khaitan Veteran industrialist and Williamson Magor Group (WMG) patriarch Dinyar Contractor Veteran model, comedian, theatre and film actor Prakash Pant Finance Minister of Uttarakhand Lennart Johansson Champions League football Architect Jiggs Kalra Celebrated chef and culinary revivalist Laldingliana Sailo Former Doordarshan and All India Radio News Editor Malcolm John Rebennack Jr/ Dr John Grammy award winning singer and songwriter E Gopinath Veteran journalist and Tamil Nadu Chief of news agency ANI Girish Karnad Veteran actor, playwright and director Crazy Mohan Renowned Tamil writer, actor and comedy giant R V Janakiraman Former Puducherry Chief Minister Sheetal Jain Megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s longtime secretary and film producer Pazhavila Ramesan Poet and lyricist Rajnath Singh ‘Surya’ Former BJP Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Ahmed Essop Renowned author and educationist Madan Lal Saini Politician Mohan Ranade Freedom fighter from Goa Vijaya Nirmala Tollywood actress and director Shyam Sundar Mitra Former Bengal captain Jharna Dhara Chowdhur Eminent Social Activist and Gandhian Abburi Chaya Devi Telugu story writer Babu Narayanan Malayalam director
Jerrie Cobb NASA’s 1st female astronaut candidate
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Ian Cognito (Paul Barbieri) British comedian Lorraine Warren American paranormal investigator and author Nadja Regin Serbia-born actress Worked in James Bond films Bibi Andersson Swedish actress Sydney Brenner Pioneer of molecular biology Elriesa Theunissen-Fourie Former South Africa Women all-rounder Con de Lange Cricketer Represented Scotland Arie Irawan Malaysian professional golfer Alan B. Krueger US Economist Jerry Merryman Electrical Engineer (Co-Inventor of the From USA Pocket Calculator) Ranking Roger British musician (Beat singer) Shahnaz Rahmatullah Bangladeshi Singer Dick Dale American guitarist Bharat Mohan Adhikari Former Deputy Prime Minister of Nepal Andre Previn American-German pianist. Oscar-winning music composer Zhores Ivanovich Alferov Russian physicist. Nobel Prize in physics Valery Bykovsky Russian space pioneer Bill Playle Former New Zealand Cricketer Luke Perry American Actor Scott Walker American-British singer-songwriter Rafi Eitan Israeli Spy He led the operation to capture the architect of the Holocaust, Adolf Eichmann, has passed away aged 92. Bruce Yardley Former Australian spin bowler, coach and, commentator King Kong Bundy American professional wrestler Lee Iacocca Businessman US auto industry legend Carlin Dunne Professional motorcycle racer From USA
Nobel Prize Winners 2018
CHEMISTRY:
One half awarded to Frances H. Arnold (USA) "for the directed evolution of enzymes", the other half jointly to George P. Smith (USA) and Sir Gregory P. Winter (UK) "for the phage display of peptides and antibodies."
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PHYSICS:
Awarded "for groundbreaking inventions in the field of laser physics" with one half to Arthur Ashkin (USA) "for the optical tweezers and their application to biological systems", the other half jointly to Gérard Mourou (France) and Donna Strickland (Canada) "for their method of generating high-intensity, ultra-short optical pulses."
PHYSIOLOGY or MEDICINE:
James P. Allison of the US and Tasuku Honjo of Japan "for their discovery of cancer therapy by inhibition of negative immune regulation."
LITERATURE:
No one was awarded Nobel Prize in Literature. The Swedish Academy has said it will postpone this year's Nobel Prize in Literature but plans to award it next year.
PEACE PRIZE:
Denis Mukwege (Congo) and Nadia Murad (Iraq) "for their efforts to end the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war and armed conflict."
The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel:
William D. Nordhaus (USA) “for integrating climate change into long-run macroeconomic analysis” and Paul M. Romer (USA) “for integrating technological innovations into long-run macroeconomic analysis”
Important Days
March 2019
Date Day Extra Info 1 March World Civil Defence Day Theme 2019: “Children’s safety, our responsibility” 1 March Zero Discrimination Day Theme 2019: “Act to change laws that Discriminate” 3 March National Defence Day 3 March World Wildlife Day Theme 2019: “Life below water: for people and planet” 3 March World Hearing Day Theme 2019: “Check your hearing”” 4 March National Security Day 4 March National Safety Day 4 March World Day of Fight Against Sexual Exploitation March 4-10, 2019 National Safety Week Theme 2019: “Cultivate and Sustain a Safety Culture for Building Nation” 7 March Janaushadhi Diwas
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8 March International Women’s Day Theme 2019: “Think Equal, Build Smart, Innovate for change: BalanceForBetter” 10 March CISF Raising Day 14 March 2019 World Kidney Day Theme 2019: “Kidney health for everyone, everywhere” 15 March 2019 World Sleep Day Theme 2019: “Healthy Sleep, Healthy Aging” 15 March World Consumer Rights Day Theme 2019: “Trusted Smart Products” 16 March National Vaccination Day 18 March Ordnance Factories Day 18 March Global Recycling Day Theme 2019: “Recycling into the Future” 20 March International Day of Happiness Theme 2019: “Share Happiness and be Part of Something Amazing” 20 March World Sparrow day Theme 2019: “I Love Sparrows” 21 March International Day for the Theme 2019: “Mitigating and countering rising Elimination of Racial nationalist populism and extreme supremacist Discrimination ideologies” 21 March International Day of Forests Theme 2019: “Forests and Education – Learn to Love Forests” 21 March World Poetry day 21 March World Down Syndrome Day 22 March World Water day Theme 2019: “Leaving no one behind” 23 March World Meteorological Day Theme 2019: “The Sun, the Earth and the Weather” 23 March Martyr’s Day 24 March World Tuberculosis Day Theme 2019: “It’s TIME” 25 March International Day of Solidarity with Detained and Missing Staff Members 25 March International Day of Theme 2019: “Remember Slavery: The Power Remembrance of the Victims of of the Arts for Justice” Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade 27 March World Theatre Day 30 March, 2019 2018 Earth Hour 1th edition [8:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m] It is a global initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature India or WWF-India. 30 March World Piano Day
April 2019
Date Day Extra Info 1 – 7 April Prevention of Blindness Week 2 April World Autism Awareness Day Theme 2019: “Assistive Technologies, Active Participation”
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4 April International Day for Mine Awareness Theme 2019: “United Nations Promotes SDGs and Assistance in Mine Action – Safe Ground – Safe Home” 5 April National Maritime Day Theme 2019: “Indian Ocean-An Ocean of opportunity” 6 April International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 7 April World Health Day Theme 2019: “Universal Coverage: Everyone, Everywhere” 7 – 13 April World Allergy Week 2019 10 April World Homoeopathy Day 11 April National Safe Motherhood Day Theme 2019: “Midwives for Mothers” 12 April International Day of Human Space Flight
14 April Ambedkar Jayanti or Bhim Jayanti 17 April World Hemophilia Day Theme 2019: “Reaching out – connect to your community” 18 April World Heritage Day (International Day Theme 2019: “Rural Landscapes” For Monuments and Sites) 18 April World Liver Day 21 April World Creativity and Innovation Day 21 April National Civil Services Day 22 April International Mother Earth Day Theme 2019: “Protect Our Species” 23 April World Book and Copyright Day Theme 2019: “Share a story” 24 April National Panchayati Raj (PR) Diwas 25 April World Malaria Day Theme 2019: “End Malaria for Good” 26 April World Intellectual Property Day (WIP) Theme 2019: “Reach for Gold: IP and Sports” 26 April International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day 28 April World Day for Safety and Health at Work Theme 2019: “Safety and Health and the Future of Work” 29 April International Dance Day Theme 2019: “Dance and Spirituality” 29 April Day of Remembrance for all Victims of Chemical Warfare 30 April International Jazz Day 24 – 30 April World Immunization Week Theme 2019: “Protected Together: Vaccines Work!”
May 2019
Date Day Other Info Theme 2019: "Sustainable Pension for all: The 1 May International Labour Day Role of Social Partners"
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2 May World Tuna Day 2 May 2019 (1st World Password Day Thursday of May) Theme 2019: "Media for Democracy: 3 May World Press Freedom Day Journalism and Elections in Times of Disinformation" Theme 2019: "Midwives: Defenders of 5 May International Midwives’ Day Women’s Rights"
United Nations Global Road Safety 6 May - 12 May Theme 2019: "Leadership for road safety" Week 7 May 2019 World Asthma Day Theme 2019: "STOP for Asthma" (1st Tuesday of May) 7 May World Athletics Day 8 May World Red Cross Day Theme 2019: "#Love"
Theme 2019: "Universal access to quality 8 May International Thalassaemia Day thalassaemia healthcare services: Building bridges with and for patients."
11 May National Technology Day
11 May 2019 (2nd Theme 2019: "Protect Birds: Be the Solution to Saturday of May and World Migratory Bird Day Plastic Pollution!" October) 11 May 2019 (2nd Saturday of World Fair Trade Day Live Fair, One Product at a Time May) Theme 2019: "Nurses A Voice to Lead 12 May International Nurses Day – – Health for All" 12 May 2019 International Mothers Day (2nd Sunday of May) ’ Theme 2019: "Families and Climate Action: 15 May International Day of Families Focus on SDG13" 16 May National Dengue Day 16 May International Light Day 17 May World Hypertension Day Theme 2019: "Know Your Numbers" World Telecommunication and Theme 2019: "Bridging the standardization 17 May Information Society Day gap"
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International Day Against 17 May Homophobia, Transphobia and Theme 2019: "Justice and Protection for All" Biphobia Theme 2019: "Museums as Cultural Hubs: The 18 May International Museum Day Future of Tradition" 18 May World AIDS Vaccine Day Theme 2019: "The International System of 20 May World Metrology Day Units – Fundamentally better" 20 May World Bee Day 21 May Anti-Terrorism Day World Day for Cultural Diversity for 21 May Dialogue and Development
International Day for Biological Theme 2019: "Our Biodiversity, Our Food, Our 22 May diversity Health" 23 May World Turtle Day 25 May International Missing Children's Day 25 May World Thyroid Day International Day of Action for 28 May Women’s Health International Day of United Nations Theme 2019: "Protecting Civilians, Protecting 29 May Peacekeepers Peace" Theme 2019: "Early Diagnosis and Treatment 29 May World Digestive Health Day of GI Cancer" 31 May World No-Tobacco Day Theme 2019: "Tobacco and Lung Health"
June 2019
Day Date Theme Global Day of Parents June 1 Honor Your Parents! Financial Literacy Week June 3-7 Farmers World Milk Day June 1 World Bicycle Day June 3 World Environment Day June 5 “Air pollution” International Day for the Fight June 5
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against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing World Food Safety Day June 7 “Food Safety, everyone’s business” World Oceans Day June 8 “Gender and Oceans” World Day Against Child Labour June 12 ‘Children shouldn’t work in fields, but on dreams!’ International Albinism June 13 “Still Standing Strong” Awareness Day World Blood Donor Day June 14 ‘Safe Blood For All’ World Elder Abuse Awareness June 15 “Lifting Up Voices” Day International Day of Family June 16 Remittances (IDFR) World Day to Combat June 17 Desertification and Drought World Refugee Day June 20 “Step With Refugees — Take A Step on World Refugee Day.” International Day of Yoga June 21 “Yoga for Heart” World Music Day June 21 International Olympic Day June 23 United Nations Public Service June 23 Day Day of the Seafarer June25 International Day against Drug June 26 Abuse and Illicit Trafficking Micro, Small and Medium sized June 27 Enterprises Day Statistics Day June 29 “Sustainable Development Goals” International Day of the Tropics June 29
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VISIT www.aspirantszone.com for New Pattern Questions in each section.
QUIZ ZONE:
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