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Talentsprint2015
1stJanuary 2016
India, Pakistan exchange lists of nuclear facilities
India and Pakistan have exchanged the list of
their nuclear installations and facilities under
the Agreement on the Prohibition of Attack
against Nuclear installations. This exchange is
done on 1st of January every year between the
two neighbouring countries that bars them
from attacking each others atomic facilities.
This is the 25th consecutive exchange of such list between the two countries, the
first one having taken place on 1 January 1992.
Union inks Financing Agreement with World Bank to fund education of
minorities
The Union Government has signed a Financing
Agreement of 50 million dollars with the World Bank
for Nai Manzil Scheme- Education and Skills Training
for Minorities. Under this agreement, the credit will
be facilitated by the International Development
Association (IDA), World Banks concessionary
lending arm. This credit will be in the form of loan
which carries a maturity of 25 years, including a 5-
year grace period. The loan funds will be used for interventions under this scheme
improve the employability and performance of minority youth in the labour market.
The total project size is 100 million dollars, out of which 50 million dollars will be
available as IDA credit and the remaining balance funding from the Union Budget.
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DAVA project bags 2015 eASIA award for trade facilitation
The Drug Authentication and Verification Application
(DAVA) project of The Department of Commerce has
won the 2015 eASIA Award under Trade Facilitationcategory. The award was announced by Asia Pacific
Council for Trade Facilitation (APCTF) and Tehran based
(Iran) Electronic Business. The eASIA award is
administered by AFACT which aims to development and
promotion of trade facilitation, electronic business policies and activities in the Asia
Pacific region.
Indias Petronet LNG ink revised contract with RasGas of Qatar
Indias biggest state owned gas importer Petronet
LNG has signed a revised contract with RasGas of
Qatar to import gas at a significantly lower price
than earlier. Under the new contract, Rasgas will
supply Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) to Petronet at
6-7 dollar per million British thermal units (mmBtu)from January 1, 2016. It would supply to 7.5
million tonnes of LNG India until the long-term contract ending in April 2028 The
new rate is sharply lower than 12-13 dollar per mmbtu agreed earlier and has been
revised after falling global prices of oil and gas, saving consumers around Rs.4,000
crore.
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Indian-origin cancer expert Harpal Singh Kumar knighted
An Indian-origin cancer research expert Harpal Singh
Kumar was honoured with a Knighthood from Queen
Elizabeth II for his influential work on prevention andtreatment of cancer. Mr. Singhs name has appeared in the
2015 New Years Honours list that includes several other
Indian-origin individuals. Harpal Singh Kumar was born in
India in 1965. He had founded Nexan Group, a venture
capital-backed medical devices company in 1997. Later he had joined Cancer
Research Technology Limited (CRTL) as chief executive in 2002 and was promoted
as COO of Cancer Research UK in 2004. He is the chairman of the Board at the
National Cancer Research Institute (NCRI) and also chairman of the Cancer
Outcomes Strategy Advisory Group (COSAG) in England. He has won the Mobil
Prize, Metal Box Prize, and Hughes Prize.
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2ndJanuary 2016
Government forms panel to study wage structure of gramin dak sevaks
The Union Government has constituted a committee to
examine the wage structure, service conditions of the
Gramin Dak Sevaks (GDS) in the Department of Posts
(DoP). It is one member committee comprising of
Kamlesh Chandra, Retired Member of Postal Services
Board. The Committee will be assisted by Senior
Administrative Grade Officer T.Q. Mohammad who will act as Secretary to the GDS
Committee.
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Censor Board chief Nihalani on revamp committee
The Union Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
has constituted a committee headed by noted film-
maker Shyam Benegal to look into revamp the filmcertification nuances by Central Board of Film
Censors (CBFC). The committee is tasked to
suggest recommendations provide a holistic
framework and interpretation of provisions of
Cinematograph Act, 1952 and Cinematograph
(Certification) Rules, 1983.
Vocalist Sanjay Subrahmanyam conferred with 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi
award
Veteran South Indian classical vocalists Sanjay
Subrahmanyam was on 1 January 2016
conferred with the 2015 Sangita Kalanidhi
award. The prestigious award was conferred
upon him by mathematician Manjul Bhargava at89th annual conference of the Madras Music
Academy in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. With this,
Subrahmanyam became seventh artist to be conferred with this award before
completing 50 years of age including Ariyakudi Iyengar, Musiri Subramania Iyer,
Maharajapuram Viswanatha Iyer, Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer, GN
Balasubramaniam, ML Vasanthakumari and M Balamuralikrishna.
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Veteran CPI leader AB Bardhan passes away
Veteran leader of the Communist Party of India
(CPI), Ardhendu Bhushan Bardhan, passed away in
New Delhi. He was 91. A widely respectedpolitician, his influence extended beyond electoral
strength and geographical spread of the CPI, which
he steered through highs and lows during the
challenging era of coalition politics in the last two
decades. He was CPIs general secretary for 16 years from 1996. Born on
September 25, 1925, in Sylhet, now in Bangladesh, he embraced Communism at
the age of 15 after he moved to Nagpur. He joined All India Students Federation
(AISF) at Nagpur University in 1940.
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3rdJanuary 2016
China creates 3 new army units to modernize military
China has created three new military bodies as
part of reforms to modernize its military the
world's largest standing force and improve its
fighting capacity. State television showed
President Xi Jinping giving military flags to the
leaders of the three new units a general
command for the People's Liberation Army, a
missile force and a strategic support force. At the ceremony, which took place
Thursday, Xi and PLA officers and soldiers sang the national anthem. He has
promulgated the idea of a "Chinese dream" involving "the great renewal of the
Chinese nation" and sees a strong military as key to this.
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PMs inaugural address at 103rd session of Indian Science Congress
Prime Minister Mr.Narendra Modi set the tone for the
103rd Indian Science Congress which commenced in
Mysuru. India had made giant strides in science andsaid that Indias success spans from the core of the
tiny atom to the vast frontier of space and the country
was once again turning towards scientists and
innovators to realize the goals of economic welfare
and development of 1.2 billion people and address
problems plaguing India. India was witness to another revolution in the present
times, one of empowerment and opportunities in India.
Jayalalithaa launches Amma seeds scheme for farmers
Implementing an announcement made in the
Tamil Nadu Assembly in 2014 for farmers
welfare, Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa has
launched the scheme Amma Seeds which is
aimed at providing quality seeds. She had
proposed the scheme in 2014, saying quality,
certified Amma Seeds would be available
through Amma Service Centres across the state. Jayalalithaa, fondly addressed as
Amma by her supporters, had earlier launched Amma Canteens providing
subsidised food and Amma mineral water, among others.
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President Mukerjee clears five legislation, gives more teeth to SC/ST Act
A law enabling setting up of commercial
benches in select high courts and another on
arbitration for speedy settlement of high valuebusiness disputes are among five legislations
which have got nod from President Pranab
Mukherjee. Besides, a law for stringent action
against those involved in crimes against persons
belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes has also got the assent from
Mukherjee. Mukherjee gave nod to the Arbitration and Conciliation (Amendment)
Act; the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities)
Amendment Act; the Commercial Courts, Commercial Division and Commercial
Appellate Division of High Courts Act; The Atomic Energy (Amendment) Act; and
the Payment of Bonus (Amendment) Act, 2015.
Corp Bank gets NPCI awards
Corporation Bank has bagged three awards at
the National Payments Excellence Awards 2015event recently. The function was organised by
National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).
The bank release that these awards were
instituted for recognition of exceptional
performance of member banks. Corporation Bank
received the winner award jointly with Indian
Bank for Cheque Truncation System under the mid-sized category. The bank also
received two runner-up awards for National Financial Switch for its performance in
acquirer transactions and Immediate Payment Service (IMPS).
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NABARD, NRSC sign MoU for web-based monitoring of watershed projects.
National Bank for Agriculture and Rural
Development (Nabard) signed a Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with National RemoteSensing Center (NRSC) for web-based
monitoring of watershed projects. The web-
based monitoring of Indo-German Watershed
Development (IGWDP) projects will happen in three states, Gujarat, Rajasthan and
Telangana. Under the MoU, Hyderabad-based NRSC, will create a separate page for
Nabard on Bhuvan web-portal, develop customised software tool and mobile
application for real time monitoring, online comparison and visualisation with
respect to activities implemented in the projects sanctioned by Nabard.
New-age app and green PIN to push PNB's digital drive
State-owned Punjab National Bank (PNB)
has launched host of digital banking
solutions including green PIN and an
enhancement of its mobile app. The bank
launched mobile apps enabling the
customer to locate PNB ATM with PNB
ATM Assist. The Android app facilitates the customer to use GPS and reach the
nearest PNB ATM, it also assists customer to instantly lodge operational issues,
reducing the resolution time considerably.
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4thJanuary 2016
World Braille Day is observed on 4th January
Every year World Braille Day is
being observed across the
world on 4 January to mark the
birth anniversary of Louis
Braille, inventor of Braille script
or Braille code. Observance of the day helps people to spread the importance of
Braille language and also help people to produce works in this language to allow
visually impaired people to read the works. To commemorate this day several NGOs
as well as other organizations come together to raise awareness about the apathytowards blind people and to help them be equal among rest of the people.
Amputee mountaineer Arunima Sinha conquers Mt Aconcagua in Argentina
Indias star amputee mountaineer Arunima
Sinha has successfully scaled Mount Aconcagua
in Argentina as part of her Mission 7 Summits.
It was her 5th successful summit of the Mission
7 Summits that she had climbed on December
25, 2016 after starting on December 12, 2015.
With this, she created World record by becoming First Female amputee to climb 5
Mountains of the World. These are Mt. Everest (Asia), Mt. Kilimanjaro (Africa), Mt.
Elbrus (Europe), Mt.Kosizko (Australia) and Mt. Aconcagua (Argentina), Mt.
Aconcagua (6,960.8 metres) is the highest mountain outside Asia and is also known
as second Everest. By extension it is the highest point in both Western Hemisphereand Southern Hemisphere.
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India beat Afghanistan 2-1 to lift SAFF Cup title for 7th time
Sunil Chetri scored one of the most important
goals of his career when his 101st-minute strike
snatched an unlikely win for India in the final ofthe SAFF Suzuki Cup football tournament
against Afghanistan. The Indian skipper cashed
in on some poor defending by the Afghans to
squeeze the ball into net past goalkeeper Azizi
in the 11th minute of extra-time. The Indians then withstood a barrage of attacks
to lift the trophy for the seventh time, and after a gap of four years.
RK Mathur set to be new Chief Information Commissioner
Former defence secretary Radha Krishna
Mathur has been cleared for the post of Chief
Information Commissioner (CIC). He will be
serving for nearly three years, making him the
second-longest serving CIC. Mathurs selection
as the eighth CIC cleared by the high-levelselection panel headed by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi and approved by President Pranab Mukherjee is a departure from
the convention of appointing the most senior Information Commissioner (IC) as the
CIC.
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Wipro names Abidali Neemuchwala as new CEO
IT major Wipro, Indias third largest IT services
exporter with revenues of $7 billion, elevated chief
executive officer (CEO) T K Kurien as its newexecutive vice-chairman (V-C) while appointing
current chief operating officer (COO) Abidali
Neemuchwala CEO and member of the board. Both
changes will be effective February 1, 2016. Kurien
who took over as the CEO in February, 2011, will now hold the executive vice-
chairman position until March 31, 2017. Neemuchwalas appointment as CEO comes
at a time when Wipro is struggling to hit double digit growth rate and has fallen
behind peers like TCS, Cognizant and Infosys.
E-vahan bima launched in Telangana
E-Vahan Bima scheme, an online vehicle
insurance scheme, has been launched by
Telangana IT & Panchyat Raj Minister K.Rama
Rao. This is the first such initiative anywherein India. After launching the website of E-
Vahan Bhima scheme, IT Minister KTR said
the policy was initiated with the joint
collaboration of Transport, Police and IT Departments under the directions of
Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA). He also stated that the
worlds biggest Global Delivery Centre would be established in Hyderabad city by
Fugistu Company with the partnership of Sify Technologies Ltd. Rs. 135crore would
be spent for this venture and nearly 3,000 jobs would be created by the set up of
Global Delivery Centre.
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5thJanuary 2016
RBI imposes Rs 1 crore fine on State Bank of Travancore
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has imposed a
monetary penalty of one crore rupees on State
Bank of Travancore, an SBI associate bank for
violation of some of its instructions. The
monetary penalty was imposed on State Bank
of Travancore for violation of its instructions
including reporting of data to Central
Repository of Information on Large Credits
(CRILC). Prior to imposing the penalty, RBI had issued a show cause notice to thebank for not having complied with the directions issued by the bank on submission
of accurate data to the CRILC. Finally RBI came to the conclusion that the bank had
violated the instructions or guidelines issued from time to time after considering the
banks reply and information submitted and documents furnished.
Lodha panel submits report on BCCI reforms
Former Chief Justice of India, R.M. Lodha, submitted
his report on the various aspects of reforms in the
BCCI to the Supreme Court. The report culminates
the panels exhaustive investigations into how the
game is run in the country and what could be done
to ensure that transparency and accountability is
the rule and not the exception in the administration
of cricket in India.
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India-Nepal friendship bus service resumes after gap of 27 years
A friendship bus service between India and
Nepal was flagged off via Champawat district in
Uttarakhand after a gap of 27 years. Theresumed bus service has been regularised and
will run between Kanchanpur in Nepal close to
the Banbasa border in Champawat district and
Anand Vihar in New Delhi. People travelling in
these buses do not require any special documents to travel. These buses are air
conditioned and provide free wi-fi connectivity to passengers. The India-Nepal
friendship bus service was suspended 27 years back in the wake of the Indo-Nepal
Trade and Transit Treaty. This bus service is mainly used by the people on both
sides of the border as they have family as well as trade relations with each other.
Jharkhand first state to sign MoU with Centre for power scheme UDAY
Mineral-rich but energy-deficit Jharkhand will
become the first state to sign a memorandum of
understanding (MoU) with the Centre, for theUjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) reforms
for state-owned power distribution companies
(discoms). The MoU is a tripartite agreement is
between the state government, the power
distribution companies and the Union ministry of power. With this, the total number
of states that would be joining UDAY will become 15. The other states that are on
board UDAY are Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Haryana, Chhattisgarh and Madhya
Pradesh.
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Union Government reserves 33% posts of women constables in CAPFs
The Union Government has reserved 33 per cent
posts of Constables for women in Central Armed
Police Forces (CAPFs) to enhance theirrepresentation. The proposal in this regard was
approved by Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh
and shall come into effect with immediate effect.
To begin with, 33 per cent of posts of Constables will be reserved for women in
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
While, 14-15 per cent posts in the Border Security Force (BSF), Sashastra Seema
Bal (SSB) and Indo Tibetan Border Police Force (ITBP) will be reserved for women.
Former CJI SH Kapadia passes away
Former Chief Justice of India (CJI) Sarosh Homi
Kapadia passed away in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
He was He was 68. His funeral was held as per
Parsi tradition at Tower of Silence at Kemps
Corner, South Mumbai. Kapadia was born on 29September 1947. He had graduated from
Government Law College, Mumbai. In 1974, he
was enrolled as an advocate at the Bombay High Court. Later he was elevated to
the Bench as an Additional Judge of the Bombay High Court in 1991 and was
appointed as a Permanent Judge of HC in 1993. He was transferred to the
Uttarakhand High Court in 2003 and for a short stint he had served as Chief Justice.
He was appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court in December 2003. Later he
was appointed as 38th Chief Justice of India (CJI) in May 2010 and retired in
September 2012.
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6thJanuary 2016
Andhra Bank launches IMPS for money transfer
Andhra Bank has launched Immediate Payment
Service (IMPS) at all its branches in association with
the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI). A
multi-channel, multi-dimensional platform, IMPS
makes payments possible within fraction of seconds
with all the standards and integrity maintained for
security. The IMPS has been enabled across all
branches to provide inter-bank electronic fund transfer service capable of
processing person to account remittances. Noting that there is a rising customerneed for instant fund remittances, the bank counted the IMPS launch among
customer-friendly IT initiatives.
Sri Lanka, Pakistan agree to expand FTA
Sri Lanka and Pakistan have agreed to expand
their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) by
inclusion of services and investment.
Statement in this regard was made by Pakistan
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif during his official
visit to Sri Lanka. The expansion of FTA would
help companies of the two nations to form joint
ventures (JV) for exports to other nations. Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharifs
official trip to Sri Lanka comes after eight months of President Sirisenas visit to
Pakistan in April 2015.
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Ganga Gram Yojana launched by Union Government
Union Minister of water resources, River
development and Ganga Rejuvenation Uma
Bharti launched the Ganga Gram Yojana onJanuary 5, 2016. The Ganga Gram Yojana was
launched at Village Puth in Hapur district of
Uttar Pradesh under which 1600 villages
situated along the banks of river Ganga will be developed under this scheme. In the
first phase of the Ganga Gram Yojana 200 villages have been selected. In these
villages open drains falling into river Ganga will be diverted and alternative
arrangements for sewage treatment will be made. The villages will have toilets in
every house hold. It is proposed to incur and expenditure of Rs. One crore on every
village. These villages will be developed under the Sichewal model.
Reliance Capital gets nod to acquire Goldman Sachs Indian fund arm
Reliance Capital Asset Management (RCAM)
has received nod from Competition
Commission of India (CCI) to acquireGoldman Sachss mutual funds and
exchange-traded funds business in India.
This approval comes after the boards of both
the companies had approved the acquisition transaction. Now RCAM needs to get
final nod of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to complete the
takeover. Under the acquisition deal, RCAM will acquire all 12 onshore mutual fund
schemes of Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) India with total asset under
management of 7132 crore rupees. US based Goldman Sachs had entered the
Indian mutual fund industry in 2011 with acquisition of Benchmark Mutual Fund for
120 crore rupees.
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Union Government abolishes export duty on iron ore pellets
The Union Government has abolished export
duty on iron ore pellets in order to make the
commodity more competitive amid weakeningprices due to subdued demand. In this regard
Central Board of Excise and Custom (CBEC)
has issued a notification mentioning that
export duty on iron ore pellets has been reduced to zero from 5 per cent. This
decision will help improve capacity utilisation of pellet plants and give a necessary
boost to the sector. Earlier in 2014, Union Government had levied a 5 per cent
export duty on iron ore pellets. Iron ore pellets are value-added products of leftover
material or low-grade iron ore and are mainly used in steel-making industry.
Mumbais Pranav Dhanawade hits 1,009 runs in 323 balls
Mumbai teenager Pranav Dhanawade scripted
history by becoming the first cricketer ever to
notch up a four-figure score by smashing an
unbeaten knock of 1,009 in an inter-schooltournament. The 15-year-olds knock included
129 fours and 59 sixes during the match at the
Union Cricket Academy ground in Kalyan. The
effort helped his school declare on 1465/3, which is also a record for the highest
ever team score. Dhanawade grabbed attention when he scored 652 runs, breaking
the 117-year-old record for the most runs scored in an innings held by AEJ Collins,
who smashed an unbeaten 628 in a club match in England in 1899.
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Syed Kirmani conferred with 2015 Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement
Award
Former Cricketer Syed Kirmani was honoured with the
Col CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in Mumbai(Maharashtra) for his contribution to Indian cricket. He
was presented with the award by the President of Board
of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) Shashank Manohar
at the BCCIs annual award function held in Mumbai.
Indias Test captain Virat Kohli was awarded with the
Polly Umrigar Trophy for Cricketer of the Year. Mitali Raj
was bestowed with Best Woman Cricketer Award in senior player category for the
season 2014-15.
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7thJanuary 2016
Indian government approves MoU on civil aviation between India and
Singapore
The Union Cabinet has given its ex-post facto
approval for signing a Memorandum of
Understanding (MoU) between India and Singapore
on cooperation in the field of civil aviation. The MoU
was signed in November 2015 between Airports
Authority of India (AAI) on behalf of Union
Government and Singapore Cooperation Enterprise
(SCE) on behalf of Government of Singapore) during Prime Ministers visit to
Singapore.
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Noted Gujarati writer Labshankar Thakar passed away
Noted Gujarati writer and poet Labhshankar
Thakar passed away after prolonged illness in
Ahmedabad. He was 80. He was modernistauthor of Gujarati literature with influence of
existentialism challenging traditional literature
styles. Thakar was born on 14 January 1935 in
Sedla village near Surendranagar in Gujarat. He
was popularly known by his penname Punarvasu and Vaidya Punarvasu. Apart from
being Gujarati poet, playwright and story writer he was also an Ayurvedic
Practitioner. Some of his poems are Vahi Jati Pachhal Ramya Ghosha (1965),
Manasni Vaat (1968), Mara Namne Darwaje (1972), Boom Kagalma Kora (1974),
Pravahan (1986), Kalagranthi (1987).
Union Government decides to directly shift from BS-IV to BS-VI Emission
norms in 2020
Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has
decided to implement the stricter emission normsof Bharat Stage (BS) VI from 1st April 2020 in a
bid to curb vehicular pollution. Government will
directly switch over to BS-VI emission norms
from the present BS-IV emission norms and
completely skip BS-V emission norms altogether. Decision in this regard was taken
at an inter-ministerial meeting chaired by Unon Road Transport and Highways
Minister Nitin Gadkari and was attended by Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan,
Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete and Environment Minister Prakash
Javadekar.
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J&K Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed dead
Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Mufti
Mohammad Sayeed passed away of multiple
organ failure in New Delhi after nearly a week-long hospitalisation. He was 79. He died due to
multi-organ failure at 9:10 this morning despite
our best attempts to resuscitate him. Under
treatment at the hospital since December 24,
Mr. Sayeed, was detected with sepsis, decreased blood counts and pneumonia and
his condition took a turn for the worse. He has been on ventilator support since
early this week. Earlier, doctors had maintained that though he was on essential
medication and supportive therapy the leader was hemodynamically stable but
required respiratory support.
Kate Atkinson wins Costa novel award for a God in Ruins
British writer Kate Atkinson on 4 January 2016
won the novel-of-the-year prize at Britain's Costa
Book Awards 2015 for the second time in threeyears. She fetched the award for A God in Ruins, a
story of war and its aftermath. With this, Atkinson
became the first author to receive the Costa novel
prize three times: for A God in Ruins in 2016, Life
After Life in 2013 and Behind the Scenes at the Museum in 1995.
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Sam Pitroda appointed Technical Advisor to Odisha government
Well-known telecom engineer and inventor Sam
Pitroda has been appointed Technical Advisor to
the Odisha Government. The appointment of Dr.Pitroda for development of IT sector in Odisha
was announced by the State government.
According to a press release issued by Chief
Minister Naveen Patnaiks Office, Dr. Pitroda will
have a key role in Vision 2036 for Odisha. Dr.
Pitroda will help provide the essential technological blueprint to write the IT story of
Odisha.
Apurvi Chandela sets a world record to win gold at Swedish Grand Prix
Indian shooter Apurvi Chandela broke the
world record on way to winning gold in the
women's 10 metre air rifle event at the
Swedish Cup Grand Prix. Chandela shot
211.2 in the event held to surpass the feat of
Chinese Olympic gold medallist Yi Siling, who
held the record with 211.The result marked a
positive start for Chandela, who has already won an Olympic quota place for the Rio
Olympics. The silver and bronze went to Swedish shooters Astrid Steffensen
(207.6) and Stine Nielsen (185.0).
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8thJanuary 2016
Government decides to merge Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with MEA
Nearly 12 years after it was set up to improve
engagement with the Indian diaspora, the
government has decided to merge the Ministry
of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) with the
External Affairs Ministry in sync with its broad
principle of minimum government, maximum
governance. As Minister for External Affairs and
Overseas Indian Affairs, I realised that substantial work of MOIA is done through
our missions abroad. Therefore, I proposed to Prime Minister that MOIA should bemerged with Ministry of External Affairs
India-France military exercise Shakti-2016 begins
India and France have started their eight-day
counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency
bilateral military exercise Shakti-2016 in
Rajasthan. In this bilateral exercise, French
contingent comprising 56 personnel of 35th
Infantry Regiment of 7th Armoured Brigade are
participating. Indian side is being represented by the 2nd Battalion of Garhwal
Rifles which is part of the Sapta Shakti Command.
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River Information System Launched to Facilitate Safe, Accurate Navigation
Indias first River Information System (RIS) was
launched by Union Government facilitate safe and
accurate inland waterway navigation. It has beenlaunched in phases and the first phase will cover
145-km stretch of National Waterways 1 (Phase
I- Haldia to Farakka) on the Ganges River. Inland
Waterway Authority of India (IWAI), a statutory
body under the aegis of Union Ministry of
Shipping is implementing the RIS in India.
ASW corvette INS Kadmatt to be commissioned at Vizag
'INS Kadmatt', the second indigenous
stealth anti-submarine warfare corvette,
will be commissioned by Chief of the Naval
Staff Admiral R K Dhowan at naval
dockyard. A unique feature of the ship is
the high level of indigenisation incorporatedin the production, accentuating the national objective of 'Make in India'. The ship
has many state-of-the-art equipment which include the rail-less helo traversing
system and foldable hangar door for the integral ASW helicopter which not only
increases the strike capability of the ship
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India to grow at 7.8% in 2016: World Bank
India is projected to grow by a robust 7.8 per
cent this year and 7.9 per cent in the next two
years, the World Bank forecast citing stronginvestor sentiment and the positive effect on
real incomes of the recent fall in oil prices. In
its latest Global Economic Prospect report
which is released every six months - the World
Bank marginally reduced India's growth rate 0.2 per cent in 2015 and 0.1 per cent
in both 2016 and 2017.
Raghuram Rajan Conferred Central Banker of the Year Award
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram
Rajan has been felicitated with the Central
Banker of the Year Award (Global and Asia
Pacific) for 2016 by The Banker, the Financial
Times Group's monthly publication. RBI's focus
on taming inflation - India is set to hit its 6 percent target in 2016 - was key to this
performance and reinforced foreign investors' confidence in India's currency and
rupee-denominated assets.
ICICI Bank partners with FINO PayTech for payments bank space
Indias largest private sector lender ICICI Bank
has partnered with FINO PayTech to foray into
the payments bank space. With this
partnership, ICICI Bank joins some of the
leading lenders of the country that have
partnered with payments banks. For example,
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Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) and State Bank of India (SBI) have picked up stake in
payments banks to be floated by Bharti Group and Reliance Industries respectively.
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9thJanuary 2016
Government reappoints Urjit Patel as Deputy Governor of RBI for a second
term
Urjit Patel, Deputy Governor of Reserve Bank of
India (RBI) in-charge of the monetary policy
department, has been re-appointed for a termof three years. Mr. Patel, 52, who will complete
his three-year term on January 10, could
become the longest serving deputy governor in
recent times if he serves the full three-year
term. Most of recent deputy governors served a
maximum of five years.
24th New Delhi World Book Fair opens
Human Resource Minister Smriti Irani
inaugurated the 24th edition of the New
Delhi World Book Fair which commenced
here with China as the guest of honour
country and a theme presentation of the
cultural heritage of India. The nine-dayfair, touted as the largest in Asia, is hosting
about 30 countries in which a series of programmes including panel discussions,
dramas, classical and folk dances, workshops, discussions, authors' meets,
conferences, seminars and cultural programmes will be held.
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President promulgates Enemy Property (Amendment and Validation)
Ordinance, 2016
President Pranab Mukherjee has promulgated
the Enemy Property (Amendment andValidation) Ordinance, 2016 to make
amendments to the Enemy Property Act, 1968.
The Ordinance was promulgated by President
as per provisions of Article 123 of Constitution
of India that gives him legislative powers in
consultation with Council of Union Ministers. The proposed amendments in the
parent Act seeks to deal with the loopholes in the existing law.
Governors rule imposed in Jammu and Kashmir
Governors rule has been imposed in the state of
Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) for sixth time as the
process of formation new government following
the death of Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad
Sayeed is taking some time. It was imposed afterPresident Pranab Mukherjee accepted the
recommendations forwarded by Union Home
Ministry on the basis of a recommendation from J&K Governor NN Vohra.
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Sania, Martina start off 2016 with Brisbane title
Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis carried the
dominance of 2015 into the new season,
winning their sixth consecutive title by lifting theWTA Brisbane trophy, in Brisbane. The top
seeds quelled the challenge of German wildcards
Angelique Kerber and Andrea Petkovic 7-5, 6-1
in mere 69 minutes. Sania and Martina, the
world number one team, have now stitched a 26-match winning streak together,
which has brought them six titles in a row at the US Open, Guangzhou, Wuhan,
Beijing, WTA Finals and now.
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10thJanuary 2016
PACL boss Nirmal Singh Bhangoo arrested over alleged $6.8 billion
investment scam
The Central Bureau of Investigation arrested the
founder of PACL Ltd over allegations the property
company cheated investors of $6.8 billion, in what
local media is calling the country's biggest
financial scandal. The arrest of Nirmal Singh
Bhangoo comes 17 months after markets
regulator the Securities and Exchange Board of
India (Sebi) ordered PACL to return money to
millions of investors, saying the company was running an illegal investment
scheme. The scheme promised depositors returns on investments in agricultural
land.
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Hindi writer Ravindra Kalia passes away
Noted Hindi writer and journalist Ravindra Kalia
passed away at a private hospital. He was 78. Kalia
had been suffering from liver cirrhosis, according tofamily sources. Known for his works like 'Nau Saal
Chotti Patni' and 'Ghalib Chutti Sharab', the former
Bharatiya Jnanpith director was also the editor of
several literary magazines, including Naya
Gyanodaya.
Stan Wawrinka clinches third consecutive Chennai Open title
Stan Wawrinka dismissed Borna Coric 6-3, 7-5 in an
hour and 26 minutes of clinical tennis. Now, the total
match hours both players have been out on court
here this week makes for an interesting little
anecdote. With his first round bye, the top-seeded
Wawrinka spent just three hours and 16 minutes in
total to earn his final berth. His quickest outinglasted just 53 minutes. Coric, on the other hand,
made it to the final after four matches nine hours and 16 minutes of gruelling
competitive tennis.
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Maria Teresa de Filippis, first female Formula One driver, dies aged 89
Maria Teresa de Filippis, the first woman to compete
in a world championship Formula One grand prix,
has died at the age of 89. The Italian started threegrand prix races in a privately entered Maserati
250F, finishing a best place of 10th at Spa-
Francorchamps in 1958. The Naples-born driver had
earlier tried to qualify for that years Monaco Grand
Prix, failing in her efforts along with another debutant, the future F1 supremo
Bernie Ecclestone. Both were too slow to qualify but there was no cut-off in
Belgium, allowing De Filippis to qualify in last place.
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11thJanuary 2016
NASA mission finds 100 new alien planets
NASAs revamped planet-hunting Kepler
spacecraft has discovered more than 100
confirmed planets orbiting other stars.
Kepler, which recently got crippled by a
mechanical malfunction, discovered the
alien planets during its second-chance K2
mission. The spacecraft finds planets by
the transit method, noting the tiny brightness dips caused when a planet crosses
its host stars face from Keplers perspective. This technique requires extremely
precise pointing, anability Kepler lost in May 2013 when the second of the
observatorys four orientation-maintaining reaction wheels failed. However, the
Kepler team quickly figured out a way to keep the telescope stable, using solar
radiation pressure as a sort of third wheel.
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Author Balkrishna Garg awarded H K Devsare Baalsahitya award
Veteran poet Balkrishna Garg was honoured
with the second Harikrishna Devsare
Baalsahitya Award 2015 for his collection ofpoems for children, titled 'BaalGeet'. Sahitya
Akademi President Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari
and National Book Trust Chairman Baldeo
Bhai Sharma conferred the award comprising
a cash prize of Rs 75,000, a shawl and a citation on Garg at a function here. The
jury, which chose Garg for the award, said his "poems while adopting the modern
poetic forms also retain the simplicity and lucidity of traditional style of poetry
written for children."
Sailesh appointed new Registrar General, Census Commissioner
Senior IAS officer Sailesh was appointed as Registrar
General and Census Commissioner. Sailesh, a 1985 batch
IAS officer of Assam-Meghalaya cadre, is presently
Additional Secretary in Home Ministry. He has beenappointed in place of C Chandramouli, who completed his
tenure. The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has
approved the appointment of Sailesh as Registrar General
and Census Commissioner for a period till July 28, 2017.
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Milos Raonic wins 2016 WTA Brisbane International Tennis trophy
World No. 14 Milos Raonic from Canada has won
the 2016 WTA Brisbane International Tennis
trophy in the mens single category. In the finalmatch played at Brisbane (Australia), he
defeated Roger Federer (world No. 3) from
Switzerland by 64, 64 score. It is Milos Raonic
overall 8th career title and 1st of the 2016
season. Henri Kontinen (Finland) and John Peers (Australia) have won the 2016
WTA Brisbane International Tennis trophy in the mens double category. In the final
match, they defeated Australian team of James Duckworth and Chris Guccione by
76, 74, 61 score.
Telangana becomes first State to make gender education compulsory at
graduate level
Telangana has become the first State in the country to
introduce compulsory gender education at the graduate
level. In this regard, state government has introduced
bilingual textbook titled Towards a World of Equals on a
pilot basis in engineering colleges. These engineering
colleges are affiliated to the Jawaharlal Nehru
Technological University (JNTU-Hyderabad). Discusses
gender in its composite form without limiting itself to
crime against women without repeating gender stereotypes. Touches upon complex
subjects like male-female relationships and female-centric history. It has been
structured into simple language to suit under-graduates.
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12thJanuary 2016
India-Australia Social Security Agreement Comes Into Operation
A new social security agreement signed between
India and Australia has come into operation
enabling people of both nations to avail retirement
benefits in each other's country, a pact likely to
boost bilateral business linkages. Commonwealth
government wanted to make sure people who live
and work in more than one country are not
disadvantaged. The Agreement signed in November 2014 came into operation on
January 1, 2016. This agreement will give people more freedom to move betweenAustralia and India, knowing their pension rights will be recognized and protected.
National Youth Day is observed on January 12
In India, January 12 is being observed as
National Youth Day. This day marks birth
anniversary of social reformer, philosopher
and thinker Swami Vivekananda. On this
day, numbers of functions are being
organized nationwide to celebrate the birth
anniversary of Swami Vivekananda. This
year it is the 153rd birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda.
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Government constitutes Arvind Panagariya committee to fast-track bullet
train project
Union Government has constituted a committee to
fast track the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed RailCorridor, meant for connecting two cities with
bullet trains. The committee is tasked to interact
with the Japanese counterpart for taking further
steps in implementation of Mumbai-Ahmedabad
High-Speed Rail Corridor. The committee will be
headed by Arvind Panagariya, vice-chairman of the NITI Aayog. It will also include
Railway Board chairman, foreign secretary and secretary (industrial policy) and
secretary in the department of expenditure as its members.
Lionel Messi wins Ballon d'Or over Cristiano Ronaldo & Neymar
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi has won the Ballon d'Or
award for the world's best player for the fifth time. The
28-year-old Argentine had 41.33% of the vote, with
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo (27.76%)second and Barca's Neymar (7.86%) third. Either Messi
or Ronaldo, who became a three-time winner last year,
have won the past eight awards. United States
midfielder Carli Lloyd, who scored a hat-trick in the World Cup final, won the
women's award. England coach Mark Sampson was beaten to the women's football
coach of the year award by USA boss Jill Ellis, who was born in Portsmouth.
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David Bowie dies of cancer aged 69
Music Legend David Bowie passed away on 10
January 2016 in New York, United States following a
battle with liver cancer. He was 69. He was one ofthe most influential musicians of 1970s and was
famously known for his creative musicianship to
break pop and rock boundaries. David Bowie was
born as David Robert Jones on 8 January 1947 in London, England. His career
spanned around 51 years and since his first album release in 1967, around 140
million albums were sold. He became international fame in 1972 after the release of
The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars. He has 111 singles
and 51 music videos to this credit in his 5 decades career.
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13thJanuary 2016
President gives assent to The Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015
President Pranab Mukherjee has given assent
to the Sugar Cess (Amendment) Bill, 2015 to
raise the ceiling of a cess as an excise duty on
the production of sugar. The bill was first
passed by Lok Sabha after it was declared a
money bill. President gave his assent as per
provisions of Article 111 of Constitution after
the bill was not returned by the Rajya Sabha to the Lok Sabha within 14 days of its
consideration as per constitutional provisions.
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EPFO bags National Award on e-Governance
The Employees Provident Fund Organisation
has won the National Award on e-Governance
2015-16 for launching the Universal AccountNumber (UAN). The UAN facility enables
workers to transfer their provident fund deposits
while switching jobs anywhere in India easily.
The EPFO won the gold award in the innovative
use of technology in e-governance category and the retirement body will get a cash
prize of Rs 2 lakh. It is heartening to know that the e-initiatives of EPFO are getting
recognised by the Union government as well. Our ultimate goal is to deliver services
as smooth as an e-bank.
SC stays Centres notification lifting ban on Jallikattu
The Supreme Court has stayed the Union
Governments notification lifting ban on traditional
bull taming sport Jallikattu during the festival of
Pongal in Tamil Nadu. In this regard the apex
court rejected the plea of Union Ministry of
Environment and Forests (MoEF) and Tamil Nadu
Government. This decision was taken by a SC
bench comprising justices Dipak Misra and N V Ramana on petitions filed by various
bodies including Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) seeking striking down of the
MoEFs notification.
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IMD changes language in weather forecasting
The India Meteorological Department (IMD)
has changed the languages and also re-
defined terms that are not scientifically precisein weather forecasting. In this regard, IMD has
issued official notification to do away with
outdated language to avoid communication
gap with the civil administration so they can be more realistic in case of upcoming
weather events. IMD has reviewed the terminology and factors determining each of
these terms based on supporting observational data.
RDL inks MoU with AP Government to set up naval facility at
Visakhapatnam
Reliance Defence Ltd (RDL) has inked Memorandum
of Understanding (MoU) with Andhra Pradesh
Government to set up a world class naval facility in
the state. It was announced by Andhra Pradesh
Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu during the CIIPartnership Summit titled Sunrise Andhra Pradesh
Investment Meet in Visakhapatnam. The proposed
naval facility will be established at Rambilli, 70
kilometers south of Visakhapatnam on the East Coast of India with an initial
investment of 5000 crore rupees. It should be noted that RDL is subsidiary of Anil
Ambani led Reliance Infrastructure Ltd. It had acquired the Pipavav shipyard on
West Coast in Gujarat earlier in March 2015.
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14thJanuary 2016
Union Cabinet approves Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana
The Union Cabinet has approved Pradhan
Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, a new crop
insurance scheme to boost farming sector
in the country. It is farmers welfare
scheme that aims to reduce the premium
burden on farmers and ensure early
settlement of crop assurance claim for the full insured sum. Farmers will pay
uniform premium of 2 per cent for all Kharif crops and 1.5 percent for all Rabi
crops. In case of annual horticultural and commercial crops, farmers will pay 5 percent premium. These premium rates are very low.
India to join the International Energy Agency Ocean Energy Systems
India has decided to become member
country of the International Energy
Agency Ocean Energy Systems
(IEA-OES) to boost for countrys
quest for tapping ocean energy
sources. Proposal for signing the
Implementing Agreement (IA) in this regard was approved by Union Cabinet
meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. By becoming a
member India will have access to advanced Research & Development (R&D) teams
and technologies across the world. India will also become partner in developing test
protocols along with other countries which will in turn help in testing Indianprototypes as per international requirements and norms.
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Union Cabinet approves MoU between India and Maldives for Health
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between
India and Maldives on cooperation in the field ofHealth. The MoU was signed in January, 2014 for
facilitating greater cooperation between both the
nations and to develop human resources in
healthcare. Enhanced cooperation in the field of
health will also foster great friendship and relations between the two South Asian
countries.
Union Government inaugurates Second Liquid Chemical Berth of Mumbai
Port Trust
Union Government has inaugurated Second Liquid
Chemical Berth of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) at Pir
Pau, Mumbai. The facility was inaugurated by Union
Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari. The berth is a
modern state- of -art facility built at an expense of127 crore rupees. It is equipped with Quick Release
Mooring Hooks ( QRMHs) and also with 4 mooring
dolphin. It is designed to handle 55000 DWT
(deadweight tonnes) vessels carrying liquid bulk chemicals and POL (Petroleum, Oil,
& Lubricants) products. It has been designed keep in view the safety standards
conforming to the Oil Industry Safety Directorate (OISD) norms.
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HRD Ministry inaugurates permanent campus of IISER in
Thiruvananthapuram
Union Government has inaugurated the first phase
of permanent campus of the Indian Institute ofScience Education & Research (IISER) at Vithura in
Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. It was inaugurated by
Union Human Resources Development (HRD)
Minister Smriti Irani in presence of Kerala Chief
Minister Oommen Chandy. The IISER Thiruvananthapuram is dedicated to scientific
research and science education of international standards. It had started
functioning in the state in August 2008 with a transit campus at the College of
Engineering Thiruvananthapuram (CET).
WHO declares end of Ebola outbreak in West Africa
The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared
the end of Ebola virus outbreak in West Africa after
all known chains of transmission have been
stopped. WHOs announcement came withdeclaration of end disease in Liberia after no
positive case was reported in last 42 days (two 21-
day incubation cycles of the virus). Liberia was
worst hit in Western Africa by this deadly outbreak
which has killed around 4809 people. It also had
completely shattered its economy, health and education sectors.
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15thJanuary 2016
Indian Army Day is observed on 15th January
Indian Army Day is being observed every
year on 15 January in India. This year it
will be the 68th Indian Army Day. On this
day in 1949, Lt. General (later Field
Marshal) Kodandera Madappa Cariappa
became the first Indian Commander-in-
Chief of the Indian Army (of the
independent India) by succeeding British Army General Roy Butcher (last British
Commander-in-Chief of India.). This day inspires the troops to continue to enrichthe glorious traditions of the Indian Army with their dedication and sacrifice.
DRDO successfully test-fired anti-tank missile Nag in Rajasthan
The Defence Research and Development
Organisation (DRDO) in the second week of
January 2016 successfully test-fired Nag anti-
tank missile at the Mahajan Field Firing Range
in Rajasthan. The test was conducted during a
night trial to validate the enhanced 4-km
range capability of Imaging-Infrared seeker,
which guides the missile to the target after its
launch. During the test, the Thermal Target System (TTS) was used as target for
the missile. The TTS simulated a target similar to an operational tank as thermal
mapping from tank to TTS was carried out for generating thermal signature.
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Grid-linked solar generation capacity crosses 5,000 MW mark
Indias grid-connected solar power generation
capacity has crossed the 5,000 MW mark, with
Rajasthan on top with 1,264.35 MW capacityfollowed by Gujarat. The total grid-connected
solar power generation capacity in the country is
5,129.81 MW. According to the statement,
Rajasthan has the maximum grid-connected
capacity, followed by Gujarat (1,024.15 MW) and Madhya Pradesh (678.58 MW).
The other leading states are Tamil Nadu (418.94 MW), Maharashtra (378.7 MW),
Andhra Pradesh (357.34 MW), Telangana (342.39 MW), Punjab (200.32 MW) and
Uttar Pradesh (140 MW). The major states which are lagging behind are West
Bengal (7.21 MW), Uttarakhand (5 MW) and Haryana (12.8 MW).
SBI opens first dedicated banking branch for startups
Indias largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI)
has launched dedicated specialized branch for
start-ups called SBI InCube in Bengaluru,Karnataka. It was announced by BI Chairman
Arundhati Bhattacharya in Bengaluru, Karnataka.
The SBI InCube branch will cater to the specific
financial needs by providing advisory services to
the budding entrepreneurs under one roof It will assist start-ups in cash
management, regulations, taxation, mentoring, foreign exchange and remittances
and other financial services. InCube in its current form will not fund start-ups i.e. it
will not provide loans.
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India, Japan conduct joint exercise Sahyog-Kaijin off Chennai coast
Ships and aircraft of the Indian Coast Guard and
the Japan Coast Guard came together to train
for the 15th edition of Sahyog-Kaijin jointexercise in the Bay of Bengal off the Chennai
coast. This is the second time in three months a
ship from the Japanese military forces is
participating in a military exercise along with India. In October last year, Japan
Maritime Self-Defence Forces ship FS Fuyuzuk participated in exercise Malabar
with ships and aircraft of the Indian and the United States navies.
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16thJanuary 2016
Union Government inks loan agreement with World Bank for Neeranchal
National Watershed Project
Union Government has signed a loan agreement
with World Bank for the Neeranchal National
Watershed Project to improve watershed
management in rural rain fed areas. The loan
credit will support the watershed activities of the
Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY)
in selected sites in 9 states. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh,
Telangana, Jharkhand, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and
Rajasthan.
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Amended Juvenile Justice Act comes into force
The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of
Children) Act 2015, which provides for
strengthening of provisions for both children inneed of care and protection and children in
conflict with law, came into force on Friday,
replacing the Juvenile Justice Act 2000. The
Rajya Sabha had on December 22 cleared, the
Bill, which was already passed by the Lok Sabha on May 7. One key provision in the
Act is change in nomenclature from 'juvenile' to 'child' or 'child in conflict with law'
to remove the negative connotation associated with the word 'juvenile'.
Tsai Ing-wen elected Taiwan's first female president
Tsai Ing-wen has been elected Taiwan's first
female president. Ms Tsai, 59, leads the
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) that wants
independence from China. In her victory speech,
she vowed to preserve the status quo in relationswith China, adding Beijing must respect Taiwan's
democracy and both sides must ensure there are
no provocations. China sees the island as a breakaway province - which it has
threatened to take back by force if necessary.
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PM Narendra Modi launches Start-up India, Stand-up India action plan
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has
unveiled the Start-up India, Stand-up
India action plan in New Delhi to booststartup ventures in the country. The
main aim of action plan is to give
impetus to innovation and encourage
the talent among young people and
remove onerous government regulations and red tape. Start-up profits to be tax-
free for 3 years and also no labour inspections for 3 years of launch of the venture.
Compliance regime based on self-certification for labour and environmental laws.
Easy exit policy for start-ups with 90 days. Tax exemption to be provided on capital
gains if money is invested in another start up. Government to create Rs. 10,000
crore corpus fund for development and growth of innovation driven enterprises. It
will be Rs. 2500 crore a year for four years.
Sania Mirza, Martina Hingis win 2016 WTA Apia International title of
Tennis
Ace Indian tennis player Sania Mirza and her
Swiss partner Martina Hingis have won the 2016
WTA Apia International title in the womens
doubles category. In the final match played at
Sydney (Australia), the top seeded duo defeated
French pair Caroline Garcia and Kristina
Mladenovic by 16, 75, [105] score. It was
their overall 11th title together from 2015 when they had won 9 titles and second
title of season 2016. It was also their 30th match win together in a row.
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Marat Safin to become 1st Russian in International Tennis Hall of Fame
Retired star Marat Safin will become the first
Russian to be inducted into the International
Tennis Hall of Fame. The 35-year-old is a formerworld number one and claimed 15 ATP mens
singles titles and two Grand Slams over the
course of a glittering career. Safin was
nominated as a possible Hall of Fame inductee
alongside Belgiums Justine Henin and the Czech Republics Helena Sukova last
October, with the Russians inclusion now confirmed. Becoming a member of the
International Tennis Hall of Fame is deemed the highest honor in the sport, and
Safin is set to take his place alongside some of the games greats.
Anuradha Roy wins DSC Prize for South Asian Literature
Indias Anuradha Roy has won the DSC Prize for
South Asian Literature 2016 for her novel, Sleeping
on Jupiter, which deals with the subject of violence
against women. At the Fairway Galle LiteraryFestival in Galle, about 130 km south of Colombo,
Sri Lanka Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe
presented her the prize, which carried a cash
award of $50,000 and a trophy. Other authors and
novels in contention for this years prize were: Akhil Sharma (Family Life); K.R.
Meera (Hangwoman) [translated by J. Devika]; Mirza Waheed (The Book of Gold
Leaves), Neel Mukherjee (The Lives of Others) and Raj Kamal Jha (She Will Build
Him A City). Now in its sixth edition, the DSC Prize received 74 entries this time
with participation from publishers from the South Asian region as well as from
countries such as the U.K., U.S., Canada, Australia and South Africa.
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Winners of 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards
The grand Annual 61st Britannia Filmfare Awards
event was organized in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
Bajirao Mastani with 8 awards was the film
wining highest number of awards.
RD Burman Award:Armaan Mallik
Best Actor:Ranveer Singh for 'Bajirao Mastani'
Best Actress:Deepika Padukone for 'Piku'
Best Film:'Bajirao Mastani'
Best Director:Sanjay Leela Bhansali for 'Bajirao Mastani'
Lifetime Achievement:Moushumi Chatterjee
Best Debut Director:Neeraj Ghaywan for 'Massan'
Best Debutant (Male):Sooraj Pancholi for 'Hero'
Best Debutant (Female):Bhumi Pednekar for 'Dum Laga Ke Haisha'
Critics Award for Best Film:Piku
Critics Award for Best Actor (Male):Amitabh Bachchan for 'Piku'
Best Actor Female Critics Choice (Female):Kangana Ranaut for 'Tanu Weds
Manu Returns'
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Male):Anil Kapoor for 'Dil Dhadakne Do'
Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Female):Priyanka Chopra for 'Bajirao Mastani'
Best Story:V Vijayendra Prasad for 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'
Best Music:Ankit Tiwari, Meet Bros. Anjjan and Amaal Mallik for 'Roy'
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Best Lyrics:Irshad Kamil - 'Agar tum saath ho' (Tamasha)
Best Playback Singer (Male)- Arijit Singh for 'Sooraj dooba' (Roy)
Best Playback Singer (Female)- Shreya Ghoshal for 'Deewani mastani' (Bajirao
Mastani)
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17thJanuary 2016
China launches new AIIB development bank as power balance shifts
Chinese President Xi Jinping launched a new
international development bank seen as a rival to
the U.S.-led World Bank at a lavish ceremony, as
Beijing seeks to change the unwritten rules of
global development finance. Despite opposition
from Washington, U.S. allies including Australia,
Britain, German, Italy, the Philippines and South
Korea have agreed to join the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in
recognition of China's growing economic clout.
Irani releases literary calender of NCPUL
Union Minister Smriti Irani released the literary
calendar of National Council for Promotion of
Urdu Language (NCPUL) depicting famous Urdu
poets and writers. 'The Literary Calendar 2016' is
adorned with the photographs of the legendary
Urdu poets and writers of the last two hundred
years along with the depiction of their dates of
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birth and demise. This really is a magnum opus of the Council. Such a startling
calendar of the legendary poets and writers of Urdu language should be preserved
by the Urdu departments of all the universities
Jitendra Singh inaugurates Hall of Nuclear Power in New Delhi.
The Union Minister of State (Independent
Charge) Development of North Eastern Region
(DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public
Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and
Space, Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Hall
of Nuclear Power. This is Northern Indias first
permanent exhibition on nuclear power, built in
the national capital which is going to be opened to the public at National Science
Centre (NSC). While inaugurating the Hall, Dr Jitendra Singh said that is a historic
day not only for the Department of Atomic Energy, but for the whole India, since
the DAE is one of the few departments whose Head quarters are not placed in
national capital.
Andhra Bank to launch gold bond scheme
Andhra Bank has announced the launch of the
Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme Tranche-II,
sponsored by the Centre, for public subscription
for five days from January 18 to 22 at all its
2,755 branches. Under the Gold Bond Scheme,
eligible persons (individuals, joint persons,
associations and trusts) can apply for gold bonds
(minimum 2 gm and maximum of 500 gm). The tenor of the bonds is eight years
with provision for premature cancellation after five years. RBI had notified a rate of
interest of 2.75 per cent per annum and a rate of Rs. 2,600 per gm for
subscriptions under SGB Tranche-II. The Gold Bond Scheme enables people to
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invest in gold without physically buying the gold and receive money equivalent to
the market value of gold as determined by the RBI at the time of redemption and
the interest on the invested amount would be paid semi-annually.
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18thJanuary 2016
Iran Complies With Nuclear Deal; Sanctions Are Lifted
The United States and European nations lifted oil
and financial sanctions on Iran released roughly
$100 billion of its assets after internationalinspectors concluded that the country had
followed through on promises to dismantle large
sections of its nuclear program. The moves came
at the end of a day of high drama that played out
in a diplomatic dance across Europe and the Middle East, just hours after Tehran
and Washington swapped long-held prisoners.
SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket successfully launches Jason-3 Ocean-monitoring
satellite
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has successfully launched
the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Jason-3
Ocean-monitoring satellite. It was launched from
Californias Vandenberg Air Force Base and the
satellite has been successfully inserted it in thedesired orbit. Jason-3 is the 4th mission in the joint
US-European series of satellite missions that
measure the height of the ocean surface.
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Indias Dinesh Sharma elected to board of directors of AIIB
Indias Dinesh Sharma has been elected to the
board of directors of the China-sponsored Asian
Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). He hasbeen elected to the 12-member board through a
secret ballot. This is the first board of directors of
AIIB in which 57 nations are founding members
including India. The inaugural meeting of the
board of the governors of the AIIB also held in Beijing after its formal launch. The
meeting approved by-laws, rules and codes of conduct for the bank. It should be
noted that Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley is the designated governor of the
AIIB from India. However he was represented by Mr. Sharma at the meeting.
Presently, Dinesh Sharma is serving as Additional Secretary of Union Ministry of
Finance.
Chinese scientists develop new bio-artificial liver
Chinese scientists have developed a new bio-artificial
liver that can help patients to survive from liver failurelong enough for an organ transplant. It has been
developed by team of researchers from the Shanghai
Institute for Biological Sciences and doctors from Nanjing
Drum Tower Hospital. The bio-artificial liver is based on
human liver cells and has been designed to be attached
outside a patients body. This liver device is based on
cells taken from human fat, skin or other tissues and is
reprogrammed into liver cells. It can help to prolong lives of patients with liver
failure by recovering patients liver functions till suitable donor livers for a
transplant is found.
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Madhya Pradesh selected for Krishi Karman Award for year 2014-15
Madhya Pradesh has been conferred the Union
Governmentsprestigious Krishi Karman Award
in maximum food grains production categoryfor year 2014-15 for the 4th consecutive year.
MP has been shortlisted for the award in the
Integrated Agri Production category for the
year 2014-15. It has produced record 328 lakh
tonnes in the mentioned period compared to 280 lakh tonnes 2013-14 periods.
Earlier the state had won this award in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. The state will
get an amount of five crore rupees along with Krishi Karman award.
Renowned Kannada filmmaker and lyricist Geethapriya passes away
Well-known filmmaker and lyricist Geethapriya,
84, died in Bengaluru after a battle with throat
cancer. Geethapriya was born Lakshman Rao
Mohite on June 15, 1932, and Marathi was his
mother tongue. He started to work in theKannada film industry in the mid-1960 and
pretty soon took to direction. He has directed
over 40 films and written about 250 songs. He
was christened 'Geethapriya' meaning 'lover of songs' as a result of his work as a
song-writer. Geethapriya directed many top stars in the Kannada film industry like
Rajkumar and worked in the film industry for over five decades. Some of his best
works include Yaava Janmada Maithri (1972), Beluvalada Madilalli (1975), Besuge
(1976), Hombisilu (1978), Putani Agent 123 (1979), Preethisi Nodu (1981) and
Mouna Geethe (1985). He directed his last film Shravana Sambhrama in 2003.
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19thJanuary 2016
Sikkim becomes Indias first fully organic state
Sikkim has formally become Indias first fully
organic state after it successfully
implemented organic farming practices on
around 75,000 hectares of agricultural land.
Formal declaration in this regard was made
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after
inaugurating the Sikkim Organic Festival
2016 in Gangtok, Sikkim. PM also handed the Organic Certificate to Sikkim Chief
Minister Pawan Chamling. The Sikkim Organic Festival 2016 has been organised onthe sidelines of the National Conference on Sustainable Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare. On this occasion, PM also launched three new orchid species developed in
Sikkim which is also known as the Land of Flowers viz. Cymbidium Sardar (named
after Sardar Patel), Cymbidium Deen Dayal (named after Deen Dayal Upaddhyay)
and Cymbidium Namo (named after Narendra Modi).
BSE launches algo trading test facility
Leading stock exchange BSE today launched
an algorithm trading test facility for investors
on its equity and derivatives platform. The
new service is free of cost for market
participants. Algorithmic trading or algo
trading refers to orders on bourses that are
generated using high-frequency, automated execution logic. The new service foralgorithm trading test environment has been launched in partnership with
Symphony BSE -0.70 % Fintech Solutions Pvt Ltd. This service will enable all
market participants to test their trading algorithms in equity, equity derivative and
currency derivative segments free of cost
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Easwar panel on Income tax for raising threshold for TDS deduction
A high level panel on simplification of income
tax laws recommended raising the threshold
limits for deduction of tax at source (TDS) asalso slashing the rate of withholding tax. The
Justice (rtd) R V Easwar Committee in a 78-
page draft, nearly 65 per cent of the personal
income-tax collection in India was through tax
deducted at source (TDS) and TDS provisions need to be made more tax friendly
and not as 'tedious' as they have remained over the years.
Journalist Aroon Tikekar passes away
Senior journalist and scholar Aroon Tikekar, who
authored over 20 books, passed away due to breathing-
related complications. He was 72. Tikekar, who worked
as a college teacher for some years, had also been a
Language and Literature Expert and Acquisitions
Specialist at the US Library of Congress Office, NewDelhi. He was the reference chief of the Times of India
and a senior assistant editor for Maharashtra Times. He
was the Editor of Loksatta, Marathi newspaper of the Indian Express Group
Newspaper, for over a decade (1992-2002). Tikekar was also a former Group Editor
of Lokmat and Editor Director of Sakal group of newspapers.
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Gunter Butschek is Tata Motors chief
Gunter Butschek has been appointed Chief
Executive Officer & Managing Director of Tata
Motors, ending a long search for a suitablecandidate for the post. The countrys largest auto
maker across segments has been leaderless
since the death of its former chief Karl Slym in
Bangkok in January 2014.Butschek, who is
expected to join the company by February 15,
joins Tata Motors after his last assignment at Airbus Group where he served as CEO
and Member of the Group Executive Committee. He will lead all operations of Tata
Motors in India and in international markets, including South Korea, Thailand,
Indonesia and South Africa.
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20thJanuary 2016
ISRO successfully launches IRNSS-1E satellite
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has
successfully launched Indias fifth navigation
Indian Regional Navigational Satellite System
(IRNSS) 1E satellite. It was launched on board of
PSLV-C31 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space
Centre (SHAR), Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh.
The IRNSS-1E weighs 1425 kilogram and has the
mission life of 12 years. It equipped with two types of payloads viz. navigation
payload and ranging devices. The navigation payload will be operating in L5-band
and S-band along with and highly accurate Rubidium atomic clock. It will be mainly
used to transmit navigation service signals to the users.
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India ranks 89th in Global Talent Competitiveness Index 2015-16
India has ranked 89th globally in Global Talent
Competitiveness Index (GTCI) 2015-16 list of
106 assessed countries in terms of talentcompetitiveness of its human capital. This GTCI
list was compiled by INSEAD business school in
partnership with Adecco and Human Capital
Leadership Institute of Singapore (HCLI). This index measures a nations
competitiveness based on the quality of talent it can produce, attract and retain.
Bihar Government approves 35 per cent job reservation for women
Bihar Government has formally approved 35
per cent reservation for women in government
jobs in the state. Decision in this regard was
taken by state cabinet meeting chaired by
Chief Minister Nitish Kumar in Patna. This 35
per cent reservation for women will be
applicable to in all government jobs including
reserved and unreserved category. Presently state is already providing 35 percent
reservation for women in recruitment as police constables and sub-inspectors.
There is also 50 percent reservation for women as primary school teachers and in
the Panchayati Raj system.
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World Economic Forum meeting starts in Davos, Switzerland
The World Economic Forum is about to start,
with politicians and business leaders descending
on the resort of Davos in the Swiss Alps. Themeeting looks set to be exceptionally busy, as
fears of the return of a global recession abound
after the worst start to a new year ever for
many stock markets around the world. Besides
the market turmoil, those present will probably discuss big themes such as how to
tackle unemployment, the rise of geopolitical tensions, the challenges that
increased automation and artificial intelligence pose to the workforce, the
commodities price crash and climate change.
CCEA approves six-laning of NH-2 in Bihar and Jharkhand
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
(CCEA) has approved development of the six
laning of National Highway-2 from Aurangabad-
BarwaAdda section in Bihar and Jharkhand.
Decision in this regard was taken in the CCEA
meeting chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra
Modi in New Delhi. The six laning work
approximately length of 222 kms will be under the National Highways Development
Project (NHDP) Phase-V. It will be undertaken on Design, Build, Finance, Operate
and Transfer (BOT/DBFOT) basis with an estimated cost of Rs.4918.48 crore.
Projects main object is to expedite the improvement of infrastructure in Jharkhand
and Bihar and also in reduce the time and cost of travel for traffic.
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21stJanuary 2016
Union Cabinet approves amendments of Power Tariff Policy to promote
clean energy
The Centre unveiled a new power tariff policy
which allows 100 percent expansion by
existing power plants, passing on levies to
consumers and purchase of 100 percent
electricity produced from waste. The Union
cabinet has approved the proposal of the
Ministry of Power for amendments in the tariff
policy. A holistic view of the power sector hasbeen taken and comprehensive amendments have been made in the Tariff policy
2006. Our aim is to achieve the objectives of Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana
(UDAY) with the focus on 4 Es: Electricity for all, Efficiency to ensure affordable
tariffs, Environment for a sustainable future, Ease of doing business to attract
investments and ensure financial viability.
Cabinet approves MoU between ISRO and Kuwaits ISR for outer spacecooperation
The Union Cabinet has apprised of the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
between Indian Space Research Organization
(ISRO) and Kuwait Institute of Scientific
Research (KISR) on cooperation in the
exploration of outer space and use of outerspace technology for peaceful purposes. This
MoU will enable cooperation between both countries for pursuing potential interest
in both cooperative and commercial areas. It will include KISR to use data from
Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellites for initiating a few research and application
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projects. Building and launching of remote sensing and communication satellites of
Kuwait on commercial terms and Training purpose.
CCEA approves 5000 MW of Grid-connected Solar PV Power Projects
Cabinet committee on economic affairs
(CCEA) has approved setting up over 5,000
Mega Watt of Grid-Connected Solar Photo
Voltaic Power Projects on build, own and
operate (BOOT) basis. Decision in this regard
was taken by Union Cabinet meeting chaired
by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi. These projects will be Set up in four
trenches of each 1,250 MW capacity during four succeeding financial years from
2015-16 to 2018-19. Implemented by Solar Power Developers with Viability Gap
Funding under Jawahar Lal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM). Cost is five
thousand fifty crore rupees over five years and the total investments expected
under the JNNSM scheme is about 30,000 crore rupees.
Cabinet approves MoU between India and UK in the field of Public
Administration and Governance Reforms
The Union Cabinet has approved
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
between India and United Kingdom for
Cooperation in the field Public
Administration and Governance Reforms.
This MoU was signed between both
countries in November, 2015 during Prime
Minister Narendras official visit to UK. Under this MoU the co-operation will be in
areas like sharing good governance practices in public administration, reducing
bureaucracy in service delivery and user led service design. It will also be in areas
like Government Process Re-engineering, Public Grievance Redress Mechanism,
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Building and developing staff capability, Local Government Reforms. Cooperation in
Reforms towards strengthening of social security, Collaboration in strategies for
promotion of ethics in Government will be also part of it.
Union Government, World Bank signed Financing Agreement for Bihar Kosi
Basin Development Project
The Union Government and World Bank on 20
January 2016 signed the Financing Agreement
for World Bank (IDA) assistance of 250 million
US dollars for Bihar Kosi Basin Development
Project. The Financing Agreement was signed by
Raj Kumar, Joint Secretary, Department of
Economic Affairs, Union Government and Onno Ruhl, Country Director in India,
World Bank. It is a loan for an implementation period of 5 years. Bihar Government
will be the implementing agency.
Union Cabinet approves Policy on Promotion of City Compost
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister
Narendra Modi has given its approval to Policy on
Promotion of City Compost. This policy will help in
circulating compost produced from city waste for
the purpose of far