1. Govt extends Rs 820 crore financial support to India Post Payments Bank
Tags: Latest National News
In the meeting of the Union Cabinet, approval has been given to provide financial support of Rs.820 crore to India Post Payment Bank.
The project outlay for setting up of India Post Payments Bank (IPPB) has been increased from Rs 1,435 crore to Rs 2,255 crore by the Union Cabinet.
The Cabinet has also given in-principle approval for a provident fund of Rs 500 crore to meet regulatory requirements and technological up-gradation.
This additional financial support will help India Post Payments Bank meet its objective of advancing financial inclusion across India by leveraging the entire network of the Department of Posts.
About India Post Payment Bank
It is set up under the Department of Posts, Ministry of Communications with 100% equity owned by the Government of India.
Founded- 1 September 2018.
Headquarters- New Delhi
Secretary- Vineet Pandey
MD & CEO- J. Venkataramu.
In January 2022, IPPB had crossed 5 crore customers
2. Agra becomes first city in the country to have vacuum based sewer system
Tags: National News
Agra in Uttar Pradesh has become the first city in the country to have a vacuum based sewer system.
The Agra Smart City Company has connected 240 homes with vacuum sewers in Tajganj, near the Taj Mahal, where conventional sewer systems could not be used.
The Smart City Company has prepared the vacuum sewer line and network from the Netherlands company Quavek and has also entrusted the maintenance work for 5 years.
Sensors have been installed in the sewer chambers that will issue sensor alerts if the vacuum sewer network is choked or other problems..
Vacuum sewer network of 240 houses has been built for Rs 5 crore.
After Agra, Kochi Municipal Corporation is also planning to install a vacuum based sewer system.
3. LG Baggavalli Somashekar Raju to take over as Vice Chief of Army Staff
Tags: Popular Defence Person in news National News
Lieutenant General Baggavalli Somashekar Raju will take over as the Vice Chief of the Army Staff on 1 may.
An alumnus of Sainik School Bijapur and National Defence Academy, Raju was commissioned into the Jat Regiment on 15 December 1984.
He commanded his battalion during OP Parakram in the Western Theatre and in Jammu and Kashmir.
Raju also has the distinction of commanding the Uri Brigade on the Line of Control, a counter insurgency force and the Chinar Corps in the Kashmir Valley.
Raju has also served as the Commandant of the Indian Military Training Team in Bhutan.
During his illustrious career spanning 38 years, BS Raju has been involved in several important regimental, staff and instructional appointments at Army Headquarters.
Before taking over as the co-chief of the Army, Lt Gen Raju was the Director General Military Operations during the standoff with China on the LAC.
He is also a qualified helicopter pilot. He has flown in the UNOSOM-2 operation in Somalia.
4. Union Minister Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Cochin Shipyard Ltd
Tags: National News
Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways Sarbananda Sonowal inaugurated the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of the Cochin Shipyard Ltd on 30th April.
He also unveiled a Golden Jubilee statue and launched the Startup Engagement Framework of Cochin Shipyard on the occasion.
He also initiated work for development of the Ro-Ro (roll-on, roll-off) jetty near Mattancherry Wharf of Cochin Port and unveiled the new logo of Cochin Port Authority.
He also inaugurated a workshop on "Green Shipping in India --Keeping Pace with the Global Maritime Green Transitions" in Kochi.
The event has been organised by the Union Ministry of Shipping, Ports and Waterways in association with Cochin Shipyard and Institute of Energy and Resources.
About Cochin Shipyard Ltd
Cochin Shipyard was incorporated in the year 1972 as a wholly owned Government of India company.
Over the past three decades the company has emerged as a forerunner in the Indian shipbuilding and ship repair industry.
This yard can build and repair the largest ships in India.
It can build ships up to 1,10,000 DWT and repair ships up to 1,25,000 DWT.
Shipyard commenced ship repair operations in 1982.
5. Star9 Mobility Private Limited to buy 51 percent of govt share in Pawan Hans Limited
Tags: Popular Economics/Business National News
The Government has approved the highest bid of Star9 Mobility Pvt Ltd for sale of Government's entire 51 per cent stake in Pawan Hans Limited (PHL) and transfer of management control.
PHL is a 51:49 joint venture between the government and ONGC that provides helicopter and aero mobility services.
ONGC earlier decided to offer its entire shareholding to the successful bidder identified in the GoI strategic disinvestment transaction, on the same price and terms as the government.
The reserve price for the sale of 51% stake of PHL was fixed at Rs 199.92 crore based on the valuation done by the transaction advisor and asset valuer.
The alternative mechanism comprises Nitin Gadkari, Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, Finance Minister and Jyotiraditya Scindia, Civil Aviation Minister.
Pawan Hans Limited has incurred losses in the last three financial years. The company has a fleet of 42 helicopters.
6. Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0 launches National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Garbage Free Cities
Tags: Government Schemes National News
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0, under the aegis of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, has launched the 'National Behaviour Change Communication Framework for Waste Free Cities' to strengthen the ongoing mass movement for 'Garbage Free Cities'.
A social revolution has taken place in the field of cleanliness in urban India, in which one hundred and thirty crore citizens have come together in support of the Prime Minister's call for 'Clean India'.
In the last seven years, this government policy for cleanliness has become the world's largest behaviour change programme.
It works on the principles of sustainable urbanisation, circular economy, Reuse, Reduce, Recycle and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban 2.0
Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the second phase of the 'Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban' on October 2, 2021, on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti.
It has been designed to make all cities garbage free and achieve the goal of water conservation.
In this, a provision has also been made to store and filter waste water by adopting a complete liquid waste management system in cities with a population of less than 1 lakh.
Under this, 3.5 lakh individual, community and public toilets will be constructed for the population going to urban areas for employment in the next 5 years.
Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) was launched on October 2, 2014 with the objective of promoting 'cleanliness and Sanitation' in the society and the country.
7. Govt to launch indigenously developed e-commerce network in 100 Indian cities
Tags: Latest Economics/Business National News
The government is planning to launch an indigenously developed online e-commerce network in 100 Indian cities to provide kirana stores and consumers an alternative to multinational platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart.
Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday announced the trial-launch of the open-source system.
The beta launch will unveil the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) and Registry's IT applications, which were launched in Bengaluru on Friday.
UPI is another game-changing idea to democratise commerce.
The project is being prepared in a big way as it will provide a wider choice to all consumers and retailers and will be formally launched after successful testing of the system.
End-to-end testing is being done to create a playbook with an aim to launch it in 100 cities in six months.
The initial test launch, which began in Bengaluru, will also cover cities such as Coimbatore, Bhopal, Delhi and Shillong.
The system will have multiple options for both retailers and customers in terms of cataloguing, inventory, warehousing, suppliers, logistics and payments.
8. Semicon India Conference-2022
Tags: Latest Summits National News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the Semicon India Conference-2022 today. This three-day event will take place in Bengaluru.
The three-day conference is being organised to take forward the Prime Minister's vision to make India a leader in electronics manufacturing, semiconductor design, manufacturing and innovation.
The conference is being seen as a launch pad to launch the country's ambition of becoming a global semiconductor hub, nurturing the chip design and manufacturing ecosystem.
Industry associations, research organisations and education experts will participate in the conference.
Theme of the conference : Catalysing India’s Semiconductor Ecosystem
Vision : To position India on the Semiconductor map of the world and build a vibrant semiconductor innovation and manufacturing ecosystem.
9. Mandate Document of National Curriculum Framework launched in Bengaluru
Tags: National National News
The Union Minister for Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan today in Bengaluru released a mandate document for the National Curriculum Framework under the National Education Policy.
The Mandate Document is a step between the National Educational Policy and the National Curriculum Framework.
The mandate document is a step forward towards formation of new National syllabus and textbooks.
The syllabus for the first phase of the National Curriculum Framework related to playschools will be ready by the next Saraswati Puja date.
National Education Policy is a password to the future that will change the destiny of this country.
National Education Policy is a unanimous document prepared after wide consultations.
National Education Policy is a scientific document for all developing and third world countries to follow to reap demographic dividend.
10. Central African Republic adopted the cryptocurrency as legal currency
Tags: Popular International News
The Central African Republic has recognized the world's largest and most popular cryptocurrency, bitcoin as its legal currency.
It became the second country in the world and the first country in the continent of Africa to legalise bitcoin.
In 2021, El Salvador became the first country in the world to legalise bitcoin.
Now people there can pay tax in crypto currency through government recognized platforms.
The Central African Republic is one of six countries in Africa that use the Central African CFA franc.
The Central African CFA franc is a regional currency issued by the Bank of Central African States (BEAC).
About Central African Republic -
The Central African Republic is a landlocked country located in Central Africa.
Despite being rich in diamonds, gold, oil, uranium, the Central African Republic is today counted among the poorest countries.
It became independent from France in 1960.
Capital- Bangui
President- François Bozize
Prime Minister- Faustin-Archange Touadera
