Daily News

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Tumakuru University Prof SC Sharma to be NAAC director

Former vice-chancellor of Tumkur University Prof SC Sharma has taken the charge as director of the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) for a term of five years.

He replaces Latha Pillai, Advisor NAAC, and director (Acting).

The former director Prof DP Singh was ended on December 2017.

Did you Know

NAAC is an autonomous body established by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India to assess and accredit institutions of higher education in the country.

NAAC was established in 1994 with its headquarters at Bangalore.

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Bengal’s Chau mask acquires GI fame

The Chau mask of Purulia, the wooden mask of Kushmandi, the Patachitra, the Dokras of Bengal, and Madhurkathi (a kind of mat) have been presented with the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by the Geographical Indication Registry and Intellectual Property India.

Did you Know

A GI tag connects the quality and authenticity of a given product to a particular geographical origin and ensures that no one other than the authorised user can use the popular product’s name.

GI tags are given on the basis of the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999.

The first product to be included in the list was Darjeeling Tea.

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5/20 norm was replaced with 0/20

5/20 norm was brought in 2004 to allow Indian private carriers to fly overseas.

To qualify to fly overseas an airline based in India will need to have at least five years of experience of flying within the country and 20 aircraft on its fleet.

Cabinet in 2016 approved the National Civil Aviation Policy to replace 5/20 norm with 0/20.

This allows airlines to launch international operations with no domestic experience but at least 20 aircraft (or 20% of its entire fleet size whichever is higher) for domestic operations.

This will benefit both AirAsia India and Vistara.

Did you Know

AirAsia India and Vistara is a joint venture between Tata and Singapore Airlines.

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Pankaj Saran Appointed Deputy NSA

Senior diplomat Pankaj Saran has been appointed as Deputy National Security Advisor for a period of two years.

He is currently India's Ambassador to Russia.

Former chief of the Intelligence Bureau, Ajit Doval is the National Security Adviser.

Did you Know

Mr. Saran is 1982 batch officer of Indian Foreign Service (IFS).

He had held positions in India and abroad including the country's High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

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Soon, a robot to assist air passengers

Vistara announced that it had created a robot called RADA, using Artificial Intelligence technology, that will be placed at its signature lounge at Delhi’s Indira Gandhi International Airport from July 5.

It will help you with your flight status, guide you to the designated boarding gate and offer details about weather conditions and your favorite movies.

Did you Know

RADA has a chassis consisting of wheels which can rotate 360 degrees, enabling it to run, walk and turn.

RADA is derived from ‘Radha,’ the name of the daughter of a Principal Architect in Vistara’s IT team.

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HDFC Bank’s Aditya Puri in Barron's list of top 30 global CEOs

Aditya Puri MD of HDFC Bank has made it to Barron’s list of Top 30 Global CEOs for the fourth straight year.

He is the only Indian CEO to feature in the list.

14th edition of the magazine includes the world's top CEOs such Bezos of Amazon, Buffett of Berkshire Hathaway, Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase, Larry Page of Alphabet, Reed Hastings of Netflix, Satya Nadella of Microsoft and Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

Did you Know

HDFC Bank Limited is an Indian banking and financial services company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

It was incorporated in August 1994.

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Ola unveils Street Safe programme

Ola unveiled ‘Street Safe’, a nationwide programme to strengthen road and ride safety.

Initiative integrates Ola’s safety efforts, including the recently instituted Safety Council and other safety programmes, under one umbrella.

Did you Know

Ola Cabs was founded on 3 December 2010 by Bhavish Aggarwal, currently CEO, and Ankit Bhati.

Headquarters: Bangalore.

Area served: India, Australia

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Sports scribe Sathish Paul no more

Senior sports journalist Sathish Paul passed away at 52.

Paul had worked with a number of publications, including The Indian Express, The Times of India and Bangalore Mirror.

Did you Know

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Gaj Yatra Lunched in Garo Hills of Meghalaya

Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) and the Wildlife Trust of India (WTI) rolled out the ‘Gaj Yatra’ from Tura, the town of Garo Hills.

The four-day Gaj Yatra will move the elephant mascot to Williamnagar via Siju and Rongara and will culminate at Baghmara in South Garo Hills district.

An elephant mascot will be there in this campaign.

Did you Know

Gaj Yatra is 18 month long national campaign aimed to protect elephants, India’s national heritage animal in 12 elephant range states.

It was launched in August 2017 by Environment and Forest Minister Harsh Vardhan on the occasion of World Elephant Day 2017 (observed on August 12).

Bollywood actress Dia Mirza is the brand ambassador of Wildlife Trust of India.

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R.K. Agrawal Appointed as NCDRC President

Justice R.K. Agrawal has been appointed as the President of the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission [NCDRC].

He will take over from Justice D.K. Jain.

Did you Know

NCDRC is a quasi-judicial commission in India which was set up in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act of 1986.

Its head office is in New Delhi.

The commission is headed by a sitting or retired judge of the Supreme Court of India.

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IGNOU to launch courses for police

The police training college has joined hands with Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU) to launch diploma courses for police officials as well as public in subjects like anti-human trafficking, criminal justice, cyber law and human rights.

Did you Know

IGNOU is a distance learning national university located in New Delhi, India.

Named after former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi, the university was established in 1985 with a budget of ₹20 million, after the Parliament of India passed the Indira Gandhi National Open University Act, 1985 (IGNOU Act 1985).