Indian Railways plans to rack up debt to help fund an
unprecedented modernization plan. Some Rs 2.5 lakh crore ($37 billion) of debt
is required in the five years through 2020, according to Railway Minister
Suresh Prabhu. That's more than triple the Rs 692 billion of outstanding Indian
Railway Finance Corp. bonds. The network is also exploring non-fare revenue
streams from advertising and land holdings, Prabhu said. "Very
KATHMANDU: CPN (Maoist Centre) Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal
aka 'Prachanda' was on Sunday all set to make a comeback as Prime Minister of
Nepal, a week after the Nepali Congress and Madhes-based parties pledged to
throw their weight behind him. The resignation of Prime Minister K.P. Sharma
Oli earlier in the day paved the way for Prachanda to become the 39th Prime
Minister of the Himalayan nation. He got
NEW DELHI: Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan on Monday formed
a nine member panel to probe Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Bhagwant Mann's breach of
security posting a video of Parliament's interiors. "A nine member
committee to probe and submit its report to the house over AAP MP Bhagwant
Mann's video," Sumitra Mahajan informed the house. The speaker also
advised Mann not to attend the House for
MUMBAI: India's middle class has seen new entrants. Pani puri
vendors, dosa sellers, carpenters, welders, launderers, drivers and cable TV
technicians have all pulled themselves out of the clutches of poverty and leapt
into a section of the middle class - the bedrock of the economy. A paper titled
'The Rise of the New Middle Class and the Role of Offshoring of Services',
co-authored by the head of Mumbai University's
China has completed production of the world’s largest
amphibious aircraft, state media has said, the latest effort in the country’s
program to wean itself off dependence on foreign aviation firms. The
state-owned Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) unveiled the first of
the new planes, dubbed the AG600, Saturday in the southern port city of Zhuhai,
the official Xinhua news agency reported. The aircraft, which
India, one of the largest troop-contributing countries in UN
peacekeeping operations, has contributed USD 100,000 to a trust fund set up for
victims of sexual exploitation and abuse by peacekeepers, becoming the first
country to make a contribution to the fund. The United Nations Department of
Field Support (DFS) announced that India provided USD 100,000 for the Trust
Fund in Support of Victims of Sexual
Mapusa: Mumbai 5's found an unlikely hero in goalkeeper Luis
Amado as they got the better of Kochi 5's 4-3 via sudden death tiebreaker to emerge
champions in the inaugural edition of Premier Futsal at the Peddem sports
complex in Mapusa on Sunday. Kochi seemed on course for another hard-fought
victory that would have given them the trophy, thanks to an early goal from
Deives Moraes. But Mumbai pressed hard for the
Chris Froome became Britain's first three-time winner of the
Tour de France when he crossed the finish line of the 21-stage race in Paris on
Sunday. The Team Sky rider, who won the 2013 and 2015 races, is the first man
to defend his title in more than 20 years. He finished arm-in-arm with his
team-mates behind the peloton after Andre Greipel won the final sprint finish.
"It's like the first time, it's amazing. Every time it's special,"
said
Nepal's Prime Minister, Khadga Prasad Oli, has resigned from
his post just minutes before facing a no confidence vote he was expected to
lose. Oli, 64, was forced to quit on Sunday after allies of his multi-party
coalition deserted the government, accusing him of not honouring power sharing
deals that helped install him as prime minister nine months ago. "I have
already submitted my resignation to the President when I met her
BJP Lok Sabha member Ganesh Singh has been appointed the new
chairperson of the Joint Committee of Parliament examining the contentious land
bill. Singh, who was already member of the panel, replaces S S Ahluwalia who
became Minister of the State for Parliamentary Affairs in the July 5 reshuffle
of the council of ministers. The first task at hand for Singh on Friday was to
move a resolution in the Lok Sabha seeking the
Search operation for the missing AN-32 aircraft of IAF
continues uninterrupted for the third consecutive day. A total of 12 IN
ships and 04 ICG ships along with 17 aircraft from Indian Air Force, Indian
Navy and Indian Coast Guard have been mobilized towards this operation. The
weather improved marginally today thereby aiding deployment of additional
assets and thereby aiding intensification of the search in a larger area
The Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities
(Divyangjan), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India
and some of the leading Motor-Bike Groups of the National Capital decided today
to came together to spread awareness about ‘Universal Accessibility’ through
‘Ride for Accessibility’ for the Accessible India Campaign. A festival of
‘Roaring Wheels’ rolled out at the India Gate
Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) is hereby alerting
its consumers of fraudulent websites selling 9W LED bulbs under the name of
Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) programme. These websites are
not associated with the UJALA programme of EESL which is a public energy
services company, under the administration of Ministry of Power. Two
websites – www.philips-led-at-10rs.in and
Ministry of Tourism has sanctioned 25 projects under the
Swadesh Darshan scheme worth Rs. 2048 Crore so far to 21 States and Union
Territories since its launch of in January 2015. These States and UTs include
Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Puducherry,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chattisgarh, Bihar, West Bengal,
Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram,
New York, July 19 (IBNS) 2016 started on a strong note for
international tourism. International tourist arrivals grew by 5% between
January and April 2016 according to the latest UNWTO World Tourism Barometer.
Results were robust across almost all subregions and many destinations reported
double-digit growth. Prospects for May-August remain positive, with around 500
million tourists expected to travel
Jaipur, July 25 (IBNS) Bollywood actor Salman Khan, one of
the prime accused in the infamous black buck killing case, has been acquitted
in the hunting of the endangered species case by the Rajasthan High Court in
Jodhpur, reports said on Monday. The superstar, who had to go to jail too in
these cases, was accused of hunting a black buck in Rajasthan while he
and other actors were shooting for the film "Hum Saath Saath
Vienna/New Delhi, Jul 23 (IBNS): At the 38th meeting of the
Open Ended Working Group of Parties to the Montreal Protocol, which is underway
in Vienna, members from the developing and developed world have reiterated
their commitment to moving away from high Global Warming Potential (GWP) HFCs
for limiting increase in global warming. Participants highlighted that absence
of verifiable historical data is a challenge in
The Union Ministry of Science and Technology has launched
‘Solar Power Tree’, an innovative way to generate electricity by harnessing
maximum solar energy in a limited space. It was launched by Union Minister for
Science & Technology and Earth Sciences Dr. Harsh Vardhan in New Delhi. Key
Features of Solar Power Tree The Solar Power Tree has been developed by the
CSIR-Central Mechanical Engineering
Renowned Music Director and singer Bapi Lahiri was honoured
with Mahanayak award by the West Bengal Government. Chief Minister Mamata
Banerjee conferred the Mahanayak Samman upon Bapi Lahiri on the occasion of
36th death anniversary of Uttam Kumar. In addition, Bengali films “Bela sheshe”
and “Shankhachil” were jointly awarded as the best Bengali films of the year.
Besides, critically-acclaimed
Kerala Government has launched Kochi Water Metro project, the
first ever Water Metro project in the country. It was launched by Kerala Chief
Minister Pinarayi Vijayan at Kochi. The project aims to provide water
connectivity to people living between islands in the Kochi agglomeration area
and the city. Key Facts Kochi Water Metro project is an integrated water
transport project developed as feeder service to the
Scientists have planned to undertake field trials of three
new strains of oil-degrading bacteria in Kochi, Kerala. Earlier, laboratory
tests of these new strains conducted were successful. The field trials will be
conducted by the Malabar Botanical Garden and Institute of Plant Sciences
(MBGIPS), Kozhikode and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL). The study
will pave the way for the development of
China has completed the production of the world’s largest
amphibious aircraft dubbed as the AG600. It was unveiled by the state-owned
Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC) in the southern port city of
Zhuhai. Key Features of AG600 AG600, the massive seaplane is far larger than
any other plane built for marine take-off and landing. The aircraft has a
maximum take-off weight of 53.5 tonnes and is around the
Renowned violinist Avasarala Kanyakumari from south India was
selected for the prestigious 2016 Sangita Kalanidhi Award. With this, she
becomes first female violinist chosen in the history of this prestigious award.
She will be bestowed with the award on January 1, 2017. She will also preside
over the 90th annual conference of the Music Academy scheduled from December
15, 2016 to January 1, 2017. So far eight
The India’s first Green Rail Corridor was inaugurated on the
114-km long Rameswaram-Manamadurai stretch in Tamil Nadu. It was inaugurated by
Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu through video-conferencing from Chennai,
Tamil Nadu. Key Facts The Green Rail Corridor ensures zero toilet discharge on
rail tracks as part of its commitment to clean environment under the ‘Swachh
Rail-Swachh Bharat’
Indian shooter Manavaditya Rathore has won the trap bronze
medal in the Champion of Champions match at the Junior World Cup in Porpetto,
Italy. Manavaditya won the bronze medal in trap event. He son of Athens
Olympics silver medallist and Minister of State (MoS) of Information and
Broadcasting Col Rajyavardhan Rathore/ Besides, Anant Naruka won a bronze medal
in the Champion of Champions in skeet
Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton from Great Britain has won the
2016 Hungarian Grand Prix title of Formula One. It his overall fourth Hungarian
Grand Prix title after winning it in 2007, 2009, 2012 and 2013. Thus he holds
record of most wins (drivers) with 5 wins. Besides it was his
fifth title of the 2016 season after Monaco Grand Prix (May 2016), Canadian
Grand Prix (June 2016), Austrian Grand Prix (July 2016) and
The Cabinet approved the incorporation of Sagarmala
Development Company (SDC) under the companies Act 2013, with an initial
authorized share capital of 1 thousand crore rupees and a subscribed share
capital of Rs. 90 Crore. and that it will be under the administrative
control of the Shipping ministry. The cabinet said that the implementation of
the identified projects will be taken up by the relevant ports, State
Governments,
The Cricket Board (BCCI)has commenced a course for umpires on
English language and communication skills as part of its educational and
development programme for the match officials. The first batch underwent
training from July 12 to 16 and the second commenced in Mumbai and would
continue till July 23, the BCCI has announced on its website. As mentioned by
BCCI, the course will cover various aspects like ‘language
A conference titled ‘Made in Afghanistan’ was recently held
in Delhi to promote Afghan products and boost trade relations between both
nations. Made in Afghanistan: Harnessing the Economic Potential‘ was the theme
of two-day long event held to strengthen India-Afghan relations in terms of
trade, commerce and investment opportunities. An MoU was also signed between
FICCI-FLO and Afghanistan women business
India and Japan signed a social security agreement expected
to come into force on 1 October ,2016 and benefit thousands of Indian and
Japanese professionals and skilled workers working in the two countries. The
pact will help avoid double social security contributions, the statement said.
In other words, an Indian worker on a short-term contract in Japan will be
exempt from making a social security contribution there.The
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) granted its
approval to set up a 1,980 MW thermal power project at Ghatampur in Uttar
Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs 17,237.80 crore including interest
during construction component of Rs 3,202.42 crore. The Cabinet Committee on
Economic Affairs has given its approval for installation of Ghatampur Thermal
Power Project (GTPS) of 1,980 MW (3 X 660
Karnataka Bank Ltd has initiated a programme to provide solar
lights in the non-electrified houses of students in rural areas. MS
Mahabaleshwara, Chief General Manager of the bank, told Business Line that the
bank, in association with the Manipal-based non-governmental organisation
Bharatiya Vikas Trust (BVT), has taken up this initiative under its corporate
social responsibility (CSR) programme.
Mydala.com, India’s leading local services marketing
platform, has joined forces with Viacom 18 as the media partner for ‘Star Trek
Beyond’, the third installment of the iconic Star Trek Reboot Series, that
released in India. Mydala is giving its users a sci-fi thrill with a
StarTrekBeyond contest where its 400 million consumers across 209 cities in
India can win movie tickets as well as official merchandise. mydala is also the
HDFC ERGO General Insurance Company and Shamrao Vithal
Co-operative (SVC) Bank today announced their bancassurance agency partnership
to provide range of non-life insurance offerings to the customers of the bank.
The partnership combines HDFC ERGO’s experience in introducing innovative
non-life insurance products with SVC Bank’s customer base across various
states. “The alliance is an important
Mumbai-headquartered, Axis Bank has stated that the Reserve
Bank of India has granted approval for appointment of Dr.Sanjiv Misra as
Additional Director and the Non-Executive (Part-Time) Chairman of the bank for
a period of three years with effect from July 18, 2016, up to July 17, 2019 .
Dr. Sanjiv Mishra was earlier the SUUTI ( special under stading of UTI) nominee
on board as Non-Executive Chairmen till May
American Keni Harrison broke a 28-year-old world record in
the 100m hurdles, clocking 12.20 seconds at the London Anniversary Games.
Harrison, was already the fastest woman in the world this year, but will not be
at next month’s Olympics after finishing only sixth in the US trials. The
previous world record of 12.21 had stood since 1988 and was held by Yordanka
Donkova of Bulgaria.
To attract foreign investment in the state, West Bengal Chief
Minister Mamata Banerjee will go on a four-day visit to Italy and Germany in
September. Two apex chambers of commerce and industry from Germany have invited
Banerjee to go with a business delegation, while the Mayor of Rome Virginia
Raggi has invited her for a special reception, state finance minister Amit
Mitra said. The Chief Minister is already scheduled to
WITH recurrence of unruly affairs at Sri Jagannath Temple
in Puri creating serious public outrage, the Odisha Government on
Thursday constituted a one-man judicial commission to suggest reforms in its
management. The commission will be headed by retired judge of Orissa High
Court Justice Bimal Prasad Das. He would be assisted by former
temple administrator Mahimohan Tripathy. “The commission will give
The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) is
organizing a day-long conference on Startup India in New Delhi today with an
aim To improve ease of doing business, Commerce and Industry Minister Nirmala
Sitharaman said a start-up would now need only a certificate of recognition
from the government to avail IPR-related benefits. Earlier ,a budding
entrepreneur had to go through an elaborate process of
Top-seeded Feliciano Lopez of Spain on 24 July 2016 defeated
Robin Haase of the Netherlands 6-4, 7-5 to win the 2016 Swiss Open Gstaad. It
is Lopez’s first title on clay and his fifth overall. Feliciano Lopez is a
professional tennis player on the ATP Tour. He achieved his career-high
singles ranking of world no. 12 in March 2015. He has appeared in more
consecutive majors than anyone, dating back to the 2002 French
Neeraj Chopra, the javelin thrower from India, on 23 July
2016 won gold in the IAAF World Under-20 Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
With this, Neeraj, 18, managed to set a new world record (U-20) of 86.48m. His
86.48m effort also helped India in bringing its first world record as well as
the country’s first-ever gold in any World athletics championships. South
African Johan Grobler with 80.59m took the silver
Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and
Ganga Rejuvenation on 22 July 2016 constituted a committee to prepare
guidelines for desiltation of river Ganga. Madhav Chitale, an Expert Member of
National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA) has been appointed as Chairman of
the committee. The tenure of the committee would be for a period of three
months. Terms of Reference (ToR)
Renowned Indian artist Syed Haider Raza passed away on 23
July 2016 in New Delhi. He was 94. Raza was world famous for his abstract
paintings. His works had very rich use of colour, stocked with icons from
Indian cosmology as well as its philosophy. Raza is considered as one of
Indian modern art's greatest painters. His works are mainly abstracts in oil or
acrylic. He mostly lived and worked in France from 1950,
The fourth edition of the Brahmaputra Valley Film Festival
commenced on 22 July 2016 in Guwahati, Assam. The festival pays homage to the
rich culture of northeast India and is dedicated to the film fraternity of the
region. Six short films and six full-length films from northeast states like
Manipur, Assam, Mizoram and Arunachal Pradesh will be presented at the
three-day fest. The festival is organised by Tattva Creations.
One of the biggest electronic music festivals Tomorrowland
began on 22 July 2016 in Boom, Belgium. The year 2016 also marks Tomorrowland
10th edition. More than 350000 tickets for the festival were sold out in an
hour of their opening in February 2016. Tomorrowland is one of the
biggest electronic music festivals held in the world. The first edition
of the festival took place on 14 August 2005, which was organised by
No comments:
Post a Comment