World Bank to provide $ 400 mn to enhance support for rejuvenating the Ganga. The Second National Ganga River Basin Project will help stem pollution in the river & strengthen the management of the river basin which is home to more than 500 million people.
World Bank Headquarters: Washington, US.
President: David Malpas
National Medicinal Plants Board and ICAR-National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources have entered into an MoU to conserve the Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Genetic Resources (MAPGRs) and acquire hands-on training on plant germplasm conservation techniques.
National Medicinal Plants works under Ministry of AYUSH.
The 15th Finance Commission held a meeting with representatives of World Bank, NITI Aayog & member of its High-level Group to discuss the health sector. World Bank recently successfully concluded a 20-year long partnership with Government of India in HIV.
The meeting was chaired by NK Singh.
Deutsche Bank agreed a strategic, multi-year partnership with Google to give it access to cloud services and drive innovation in tech-based financial products for clients. It focuses on redefining how the bank develops and offers its financial services.
Google CEO: Sundar Pichai.
HQ: California, USA.
With rising unemployment and layoffs as the state continues to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched Maha Jobs Portal, run by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) to generate employment.
Maharashtra Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurated the newly constructed guest house of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) in Jharkhand, named it after Late Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee on his birth anniversary.
He said that govt is committed to double farmers’ income by ’22.
Haryana Cabinet cleared a proposal to draft an ordinance, ‘The Haryana State Employment of Local Candidates Ordinance, 2020’, for reserving 75% private-sector jobs for its residents. Reservation to be given for jobs having a salary less than ₹50,000/month.
Haryana Chief Minister: Manohar Lal Khattar.
Assam government decided to upgrade the Dehing Patkai wildlife sanctuary into a national park amid an ongoing row over allowing coal mining within its jurisdiction. Assam has five national parks and Dehing Patkai, if upgraded, will increase the tally to 6.
It is said to be largest lowland tropical rainforest in India.
Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), an autonomous institute under the Department of Science & Technology (DST), joined hands with the Government of Uttar Pradesh to combat COVID-19 in the state. Director of BSIP - Dr Vandana Prasad.
BSIP - one of 5 Central Government Research Institutes, Lucknow.
The government extended the term of office of Justice Bansi Lal Bhat who is officiating as the chairperson of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal. He was first appointed as a judicial member of the NCLAT in Oct 2017 replacing Justice SJ Mukhopadhaya.
NCLAT Headquarters: New Delhi.
The founding CEO of Start-up Village & founder of Re-think Foundation, Sijo Kuruvilla George is selected as member of Central Government’s Expert Committee on Science and Technology Policy. He is the lone person from Kerala to be the part of 8-member panel
He is in expert committee to formulate1st stage of policymaking.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath inaugurated ‘Mission Vriksharopan-2020’ in Kukarel forest in Lucknow. Under this programme, more than 25 crore saplings will be planted across the state. Geo-tagging of all plantation sites is also to be done.
Uttar Pradesh Governor: Anadiben Patel.
According to the Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, the state has become the first state in the country where 100 per cent of households have LPG connections. Schemes like Himachal Grihini Suvidha Yojana and the PM Ujjwala Yojana helped achieve this feat.
Around 2,76,243 families were provided free gas connections.
Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee launched an app called Self Scan. This new application has been developed by the state's information technology department & as the name suggests, it is built to scan documents. The app is free without any ads
Currently, the app is available in English.
Fino Payments Bank Limited announced the launch of a savings account scheme for minors aged between 10-18 years. 'Bhavishya', a subscription-based savings account, can be opened by paying a nominal amount. It is initially introduced in UP, Bihar & MP.
Fino Payments Bank HQ: Mumbai.
CEO: Rishi Gupta.
Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) has entered into an arrangement with Star Health Insurance Co to offer a wide range of health insurance options to its customers. The tie-up will help the bank provide cost-effective insurance products and quick settlement of claims.
It is to be made available in all 780 branches of the bank.
The progress in the country’s REIT framework, enhanced market data and sustainability initiatives pushed India’s ranking to 34th position in JLL and LaSalle’s biennial Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI). UK was ranked first among 99 countries.
Currently, India is placed in the semi-transparent zone.
According to the Indian embassy, a new four-storey school building of Shri Saptmai Gurukul Sanskrit Vidyalaya built with Indian assistance of Rs 1.94 crore for students pursuing both Vedic and modern education was inaugurated in Nepal’s Ilam district.
It was built at a cost of Nepali Rupees 31.13 Mn (INR 1.94 cr.).
Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR), in collaboration with Laxai Life Sciences Pvt. Ltd. Hyderabad has sought regulatory approval to undertake a four-arm randomized controlled phase III clinical trial. The clinical trial to be named MUCOVIN.
Medanta Medicity is also a partner in this collaboration.
Ennio Morricone, the Italian composer whose credits include the "spaghetti" Westerns that made Clint Eastwood a star, has died in Rome aged 91. He also wrote music for Once Upon a Time in America, The Untouchables and Cinema Paradiso.
He was known as ‘Maestro’ and won Oscars in 2007 & 2016.
World-renowned clinical scientist & vaccine researcher Dr Gagandeep Kang resigned as executive director of Translational Health Sciences and Technology Institute in Faridabad. She led the health research institute under the Department of Biotechnology.
She has worked on diarrhoea diseases and public health in India.
A Himalayan butterfly named Golden Birdwing is India’s largest, a record an unknown specimen had held for 88 years, with a wingspan of 194 mm. It has dethroned an unknown specimen a British Army officer had recorded in 1932.
The smallest is the Quaker, with a wingspan of 18 mm.
Reliance Industries Limited’s market valuation crossed Rs 11.5 lakh crore mark, the first by any domestic company. Last month, it crossed the 11 Lakh crore mark, the first company to do so in India. The stock has gained over 22 per cent this year so far.
Reliance Industries Headquarters: Mumbai.
Nick Cordero, a Broadway actor who had admirers across the world rallying for his recovery, has died after a battle with Covid-19. He was 41. His role in "Bullets Over Broadway," earned him a Theatre World Award and Outer Critics Circle Award.
He was nominated for a Tony Award & a Drama Desk Award in 2014.
