The 2nd phase of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), which has an outlay of Rs 1,40,881 Cr, was launched by Union Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat. SBM (G) Phase-II will focus on sustaining the gains made in the 1st phase of the programme.
The mission was launched on October 2, 2014.
Cabinet nod the MoU between India, Cote d'lvoire in field of health. MoU was signed between the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of India & the Ministry of Health & Public Hygiene of Cote d'Ivoire. The MoU will regulate drugs & pharmaceutical products.
The Ivory Coast is formally known as Cote d'Ivoire.
Luxembourg abolished fares for trains, trams & buses in what the government said was a bid to tackle road congestion & pollution, as well as supporting low earners. All standard-class journeys on public transport in the country are now free of charge.
Luxembourg Capital- Luxembourg City, Currency- Euro.
The trade impact of the coronavirus epidemic for India is estimated to be about $348 million and the country figures among the top 15 economies most affected as slowdown of manufacturing in China disrupts world trade, according to a United Nations report.
UN Conference on Trade & Development published the estimates.
Sri Lanka will lead the science, technology and innovation sector in the BIMSTEC and a facility for technology transfer is also planned to be open in the future. This was agreed during the 20th Session of the senior officials’ meeting held in Colombo.
Sri Lanka assumed Chair of BIMSTEC in 2019.
Microsoft & Accenture said that they were teaming up to help deepen the reach of entrepreneurs and start-ups that are focused on social impact and sustainability. The joint initiative will provide hands-on support and technologies to social enterprises.
JV will help to build scalable solutions and business models.
The Cabinet approved FDI policy on civil aviation. FDI policy was amended to permit foreign investment in Air India. Non-Resident Indians can acquire up to 100% equity in Air India under automatic route. Earlier only 49% were available for sale to NRIs.
Civil Aviation Minister- Hardeep Singh Puri.
Agricultural and Processed Food Export Development Authority signed MoUs with various organisations for implementation of Agri Export Policy. Indian Institute of Technology Delhi (IITD), Quality Council of India (QCI) and Pearl Academy are among this.
APEDA signed MoU also with Indian Chamber of Food & Agriculture.
Cabinet approved the Companies Second Amendment Bill, 2019 to amend the Companies Act, 2013. This will enable the listing of Indian companies on stock exchanges in foreign jurisdictions. It is expected to increase the competitiveness of Indian companies.
Re-categorisation of 23 offences have been done in the new Bill.
NEDFI through its Microfinance Scheme has facilitated generation of indirect employment to about 7.97 lakh women. Number of women beneficiaries in livelihood project of North Eastern Region Community Resources Management Project (NERCORMP) is 3,45,489.
NEDFI- North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd.
The country's total sugar production is estimated to decline by 18% to 27.3 million tonnes in the ongoing 2019-20 season on fall in sugarcane output in key growing states. Mills have produced 19.48 mt of sugar till February of the marketing year 2019-20.
33.13 mt was achieved in last sugar season 2018-19.
IRDAI has asked insurers to expeditiously settle hospitalisation claims related to novel coronavirus disease under health policies. All the claims reported under COVID-19 will be thoroughly reviewed by review committee before repudiating the claims.
IRDAI Chairman- Subhash Chandra Khuntia.
The Jammu and Kashmir administration has lifted the ban on social media sites that was in place for over seven months since the abrogation of Article 370 on August 5 last year. People would now be allowed the internet access with 2G mobile data services.
Jammu and Kashmir Governor- G C Murmu.
In Ladakh, a young woman Thinlas Chorol has setup the 1st women's travel company fully operated by women. Every trekking season from April to September, she trains 20-30 rural women to work as trekking guides. It became a source in empowering rural women.
Chorol had awarded with Nari Shakti Puraskar.
Sports Exchange is a good opportunity at fostering camaraderie, friendship & the diplomatic relationship between the 2 countries. Bilateral Sports Exchange between Indian Air Force Cricket team & UK Armed Forces Cricket Association was held at New Delhi.
IAF won the match and scored 126 for 3 wickets in 19.1 overs.
Former India spinner Sunil Joshi was named Chairman of the national selection panel by the BCCI's CAC. Harvinder Singh was chosen from the ral zone and replaces Gagan Khoda in the 5-member panel. CAC will review the panel's performance after one year.
CAC- Cricket Advisory Committee.
Next month's Badminton Asia Championships have been moved out of novel coronavirus outbreak epicentre, Wuhan, to the Philippines capital Manila. The Asia Championships will be staged in Manila from 21st of April. The virus emerged in China on December.
Tokyo Olympics will be held from 2020 24 July -9 August.
Shafali Verma, the teenage Indian batting sensation, has gained the top spot in the ICC women's T20 International rankings, riding on her stellar run at the ongoing World Cup. She has become only the 2nd Indian batter after Mithali Raj to top the rankings.
Shafali replaced New Zealand's Suzie Bates.
Former UN chief Javier Perez de Cuellar, who led the world body during the Iran-Iraq war and the civil war in El Salvador, died in his native Peru. The Peruvian diplomat served as UN Secretary-General from 1981 to 1991. He also served as prime minister.
Javier Perez de Cuellar died at the age of 100.
Janaushadhi week is being celebrated across the country from 1 March through more than 6200 Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras. Jan Aushadhi Kendra owners are organising different types of activities for making awareness about health & hygiene.
Event with theme ‘Suvidha Se Sammaan’ was held as part of it.
India Pharma 2020 and India Medical Device 2020 Conference and Exhibition has been scheduled to be held at Gandhi Nagar, Gujarat from 5-7 of March 2020. The conference will be inaugurated by the Chemicals & Fertilizers Minister Shri Sadananda Gowda.
The fifth edition is organized for the first time in Gujarat.
SBI Life Insurance has re-appointed Sanjeev Nautiyal as managing director and chief executive officer of the company. The Board of Directors at their meeting held approved the the re-appointment.
He holds the grade of Deputy Managing Director at SBI.
Salaried employees will get 0.15% lower returns on their PF deposits this year with the EPFO announcing a 15-basis point reduction in the interest rate on PF deposits in 2019-20 compared to 8.65% in 2018-19 on the back of lower yields on its investments.
The decision was made at the Central Board of Trustees (CBT).
RBI Deputy Governor N S Vishwanathan has decided to step down by March 31 due to ill health, 3 months before the end of his extended 1-year tenure. While the RBI has accepted his request to be relieved by March 31.His 1-year extension was to end on July 3.
He has been in-charge of key supervisory & regulatory functions.
After successful Global Summits in Dubai and the US, the WION Global Summit is back with a third edition. Summit was held on March 5. WION is India's 1st international news channel dedicated to putting forth India's perspective on impactful global issues.
Indian Ambassador to the UAE - Pavan Kapoor.
