The protocol for the establishment of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) between India and the Dominican Republic was signed. The protocol envisages strengthening and developing cooperation on trade, services, industrial technologies, and various other sectors by means of technical assistance, training programmes, and capacity building.
It will be pivotal in mitigating challenges faced by the trade and industry and provide a platform for sharing of knowledge and best practices between the two countries. India primarily imports gold from the Dominican Republic and exports pharmaceuticals, marine products, motor vehicles, two and three-wheelers, etc. to them.
India’s Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL) opened its liaison office in Dhaka. This is the first overseas office of NRL. The India–Bangladesh Friendship Pipeline Project, which was jointly inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Bangladesh Premier Sheikh Hasina virtually on March 18, 2023, is the first cross-border pipeline for the supply of petroleum products
Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), a subsidiary of M/s Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited, is a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) in Oil and Gas Sector. The refinery owes its existence to the commitment made by Government of India in the historic "Assam Accord", signed on 15 August 1985 and was conceived as a vehicle for speedy economic development of the region.
Nayab Singh Saini took oath as the new Chief Minister of Haryana. Governor Bandaru Dattatreya administered the oath of office and secrecy to the Haryana BJP President at the Raj Bhavan in Chandigarh. Besides Mr Saini, five MLAs also took oath as the Cabinet Ministers.
The swearing-in ceremony came hours after Chief Minister Manohar Lal and his cabinet ministers submitted their resignations to the Governor amid speculation of a split in the ruling BJP and Jannayak Janta Party alliance over seat-sharing agreements for the upcoming Lok Sabha election.
Universal Service Obligation Fund, Dept of Telecommunications, signed a tripartite MoU with Prasar Bharati (under Ministry of Information & Broadcasting) & Open Network for Digital Commerce (a Digital Public Infrastructure initiative of Dept for Promotion of Industry & Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce & Industry) to proliferate affordable and accessible digital service.
The objective of the MoU is to bundle broadband services with OTT and e-commerce platform for the rural India riding on BharatNet infrastructure under the USOF. The USOF has been instrumental in enabling highspeed broadband and mobile connections across Gram Panchayats (GPs) and villages in the country.
India’s industrial production grew 3.8 per cent in January 2024, according to official data released. Factory output measured in terms of the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) witnessed a growth of 5.8 per cent in January 2023. The IIP grew 5.9 per cent during April 2023 to January 2024 compared to a 5.5 per cent expansion in the year-ago period.
In January 2024, mining production rose 5.9 per cent, and power output increased to 5.6%. The Quick Estimates of Index of Industrial Production are released on 12th of every month (or previous working day if 12th is a holiday) with a six weeks lag and compiled with data received from source agencies, which in turn receive the data from producing factories/ establishments.
The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved the merger of a financial technology company, Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited with the North East Small Finance Bank. GIPL operates under the brand name "slice" and focuses on facilitating payments and credit products through digital means in India.
The proposed transaction comprises the merger of a financial technology company, Garagepreneurs Internet Private Limited (GIPL) (including Quadrillion Finance Private Limited (QFPL) (an NBFC-SI-ICC) and Intergalactory Foundry Private Limited (IFPL) with North-East Small Finance Bank Limited (NESFB) (including RGVN (North-East) Microfinance Limited (RGVN)).
NESFB is a private sector small finance bank. It is headquartered in Guwahati, Assam.
ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund has decided to suspend one-time investments in its smallcap and midcap funds, citing expensive valuations. The fund house — which manages over Rs 7,000 crore in its smallcap fund and nearly Rs 5,500 crore in its midcap fund — is the first to place curbs on a midcap fund.
The move comes after the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) raised concerns about the build-up of froth in the midcap and smallcap space. The regulator had suggested mutual funds take measures like putting restrictions on investments to safeguard investors.
A mid-cap fund is a pooled investment, such as a mutual fund, that focuses on companies with a market capitalization in the middle range of listed stocks. Mid-cap stocks tend to offer investors greater growth potential than large cap stocks, but with less volatility and risk than small cap stocks.
L&T Finance Holdings Ltd has signed a financing pact with Japan International Cooperation Agency for $125 million to support financing in rural & peri-urban areas in India, particularly women borrowers. Last November, LTFH had sourced $125-million loan from Asian Development Bank, & as part of the co-financing agreement, additional $125-million loan is now raised from JICA
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, launched India's fastest and indigenously developed IP/MPLS (Multiprotocol Label Switching) router in Bengaluru. The router has a capacity of 2.4 tdps. The router was developed by the collaboration of the government's Department of Telecom, CDOT and Nivetti.
2.4 tdps is equivalent to 1,000 gigabytes, or one lakh crore bytes per second. MPLS is a routing technique which is used in telecommunications networks that directs data from one node to the next. The data transfer is held based on labels rather than network addresses. The multiprotocol label switching (MPLS) technique was first developed in the 1990s.
Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport has occupied the prestigious title of the ‘Best Airport’ in the Asia-Pacific region for the sixth consecutive year for its excellence. The Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Best Airport award for 2023 in the category of over 40 Million Passengers Per Annum (MPPA) was conferred by the Airports Council International (ACI).
India batter Yashasvi Jaiswal has been named the ICC Men’s Player of the Month for February 2024 while Australia all-rounder Annabel Sutherland won the corresponding ICC Women’s Player of the Month award. Jaiswal reached the milestone of 1,000 Test runs during the India vs England test, becoming the second-quickest Indian to the landmark.
India's Vadodara Municipal Corporation has raised 1 billion rupees ($12.07 million) by issuing Asia's first certified green municipal bond, the civic body said in a press release.
The civic body from the western Indian state of Gujarat has set a semi-annual coupon of 7.90% on the issue, for which it invited bids from investors.
SBI Capital Markets and Tipsons Consultancy Services are the arrangers for the bond issue. The bonds are rated AA+ by India Ratings and have received a green security certificate from the Climate Bond Initiative.
The Railway Protection Force (RPF), a prime security and law enforcement agency in the field of Railway Security in India currently boasts the largest share of women personnel (9%) among Central Paramilitary Forces in India. Established in 1957 for better protection and security of Railway property, RPF has evolved to include roles in passenger security and facilitation.
Central Armed Police Forces:
Assam Rifles (AR)
Border Security Force (BSF)
Central Industrial Security Force (CISF)
Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)
National Security Guard (NSG)
Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB)
