SAIL was awarded the Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for 2020 in the Steel Sector by Institute of Directors. SAIL, as its Corporate Responsibility for Environment Protection continuously focuses on adopting various environmental measures.
SAIL won this last year as well.
SBI report upgraded India's GDP forecast from -10.9% to -7.4% for FY21 and said it would take 7 quarters from the 4th quarter of FY21 for GDP to reach the pre-pandemic level in nominal terms. It forecast FY22 GDP growth to be at 11 percent.
Estimates based on SBI ''Nowcasting Model'' with 41 indicators.
Mumbai dropped 34 places and was placed 94th most expensive city for expatriates. New Delhi - 144, Bengaluru -174,Hyderabad -177 & Kolkata-179. Globally, Hong Kong is at No.1, Tokyo - 2nd, New York- 3 & Geneva at 4th place.
Luanda in Angola plunged 104 places from 37 to 141.
RBI announced opening of 'Cross Border Payments' cohort & reduced net-worth requirement for entities interested in participating from Rs.25 lakh to Rs.10 lakh. India is the largest recipient of inbound remittances, accounting for 15% of global share.
'MSME Lending' is the theme for the third cohort.
SEBI approved new shareholding norms for CIRP companies & decided to give relaxation in minimum promoter contribution in follow-on public offer. Firms should have at least 5% public shareholding during admission to dealing on the stock exchange.
CIRP is a recovery mechanism in Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
SEBI said that sponsors not meeting profitability criteria can apply for MF licenses. Earlier regulations required both profitability track-record of sponsor and minimum net-worth of Rs 50 crore.Relaxation will help fintechs to get into MF business.
Some active Fintechs - PayTM, Zerodha, Groww and Kuvera.
Shashi Vempati was elected as VP of ABU, one of the largest broadcasting associations in the world, for a 3 year term. ABU formed in 1964 is a professional association of broadcasting organisations with over 286 members in 57 countries and regions.
Prasar Bharati:
Founded - Nov 1997;
HQ - New Delhi.
$400 million project to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households severely impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic was signed between GoI and WB. $750 million was approved in May 2020 under the programme.
WB:
President - David Malpass;
Country Dr,India - Junaid Ahmad.
The loan of $1,000 million from NDB will support the Government of India’s efforts in mitigating the economic impact of the COVID-19 & enable economic recovery in the rural areas through NRM works & employment generation under MGNREGS.
NDB:
President - Marcos Prado Troyjo;
HQ - Shanghai, China
India & Bangladesh will reopen the Chilahati-Haldibari rail link after nearly 55 years with an aim to enhance transport & connectivity between the two. It was cut off during the 1965 India-Pakistan war. There are 6 pre-1965 rail links between the two.
4 of 6 rail links are operational already.
NPCI has enabled an offline payments feature on RuPay Contactless cards, which provides reloadable wallets within the Card.The RuPay NCMC (National Common Mobility Card) offline wallet can be used to make ticket payments in transit like in metros,cabs etc.
Head of RuPay & NFS, NPCI - Nalin Bansal
BSE Ebix, a joint venture of BSE & Ebix Fincorp, beta launched term Insurance for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance on its hi-tech platform. With this, BSE Ebix now has the ability to handle insurance sales across both Term & Endowment lines.
CEO:
BSE - Ashishkumar Chauhan;
Ebix Group - Robin Raina
SBI General Insurance partnered with IntrCity RailYatri, to provide travel insurance of ₹5 lakh on tickets for bus commuters opting to travel through IntrCity RailYatri. Coverage include accidental death, permanent total disability, and medical evacuation.
CEO:
SBI General - PC Kandpal;
IntrCity RailYatri - Manish Rathi
India's HDI value for 2019 is 0.645 and was ranked 131 out of 189 countries. India's gross GNI per capita on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) fell from $6,829 in 2018 to $6,681 in 2019. Norway topped the index, followed by Ireland & Switzerland.
Medium human development - ranks from 120 to 156.
Nehru Zoological Park has become the first zoo in India to acquire ISO 9001:2015 QMS Certification. It was assessed on the basis of sanitisation, food processing, animal breeding, medicare, animal care, hygiene maintenance and establishment.
ASCB, United Kingdom gave the certification.
A Chinese lunar capsule has returned to Earth with the first fresh samples of rock and debris since the former Soviet Union’s Luna 24 robot probe in 1976. The samples come from a part of the moon known as the Oceanus Procellarum, or Ocean of Storms.
In July 2020, China launched the Tianwen 1 probe to explore Mars
The hoeting of 2030 Asian Games were awarded to Qatar & 2034 to Saudi Arabia. The Qatari capital of Doha beat Saudi Arabian counterpart Riyadh for the 2030 Asian Games in the vote at the Olympic Council of Asia's general assembly.
Qatar is also the host of the 2022 World Cup.
Since 2009, National Centre for the Performing Arts with Citi has been offering scholarships to young promising students who seek advanced training in Hindustani music (vocal & instrumental). This year it is for khayal/dhrupad & tabla/pakhawaj.
NCPA was founded in 1969 by JRD Tata and Dr. Jamshed Bhabha.
Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) has banned Mauritian badminton player Kate Jessica Foo Kune for 2 years for an anti-doping violation.She tested positive for a banned steroid during 2019 African Badminton World Championships in Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
CAS:
President - John Coates;
HQ - Lausanne (Switzerland).
Energy giant BP announced it has acquired a majority stake in Finite Carbon, the largest developer of forest carbon offsets in the US. Finite Carbon develops projects that allow landowners to generate revenue sustainable management of forests.
The investment will deliver $1 billion to landowners by 2030.
CCEA approved Rs 6700 crore scheme for power system improvement in North East Region. Economic development through strengthening of intra - state transmission and distribution systems is aimed.Funded by World Bank and Ministry of Power on 50:50 basis.
It is to be commissioned by December 2021.
WHO & IFRC signed a MoU(Red Channel Agreement) to cooperate on implementing the Emergency Medical Team (EMT) initiative. It will bring synergies to health emergency response between them, particularly in technical standards, accountability & coordination.
WHO DG - Tedros Adhanom;
IFRC President - Francesco Rocca.
IWEI, 1st comprehensive benchmarking tool to measure LGBT+ inclusion at the workplace was launched. From the 65 firms competing,21 won gold,18 silver & 13 bronze. Launched by Keshav Suri Foundation with Pride Circle, Stonewall UK & FICCI.
Godrej Group & Hindustan Unilever won in gold.
BSE launched BEAM an electronic spot platform for agricultural commodities, through its subsidiary BSE Investments Limited. BSE witnessed a trading of 2 tons of imported almonds worth more than ₹ 6 lakh on the launch day.
BSE,MD and CEO - Ashish Kumar Chauhan.
Kotak Life launched a 5-city outdoor campaign to increase awareness about its recently Kotak Health Shield product.It offers a comprehensive insurance plan covering early or major stage illnesses.5 cities are Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata, Ahmedabad & Pune.
Kotak Life Insurance:
MD: G. Murlidhar;
HQ -Mumbai.
Mega leather park to come up in Ramaipur village of Kanpur with an investment of Rs 5,850 crores. The park, part of the mega leather cluster project will create 50,000 direct jobs & indirect employment for 1.5 lakh people.
UP will be 1st state in India to establish a leather park.
