The Uttarakhand Government’s Department of Health and Family Welfare has launched a portal called eSwasthya Dham. eSwasthya Dham portal helps in monitoring the Char Dham Yatra pilgrim’s health parameters. It ensures the smooth journey of pilgrims visiting Yamunotri, Gangotri, Kedarnath, and Badrinath together called as the Char Dham Yatra.
Union Health Ministry said in a release that the eSwasthya Dham portal provides a range of benefits to the pilgrims and one of them is the generation of ABHA. Pilgrims can easily create their ABHA 14-digit number at the eSwasthya Dham portal in a couple of minutes.
Till date, over 65 crore ABHA have already been created. ABHA comes with several benefits for citizens including storing and managing their health records safely. It also allows them to share their health records securely with a doctor anytime and anywhere with their consent.
Through ABHA citizens can avail several digital health benefits from avoiding the long queues at healthcare facilities for registration to facilitating doctor appointments.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent landed at the Royal Australian Air Force RAAF) base Darwin, Australia for participating in Exercise Pitch Black 2024. The exercise is scheduled to be conducted from July 12 to August 2, 2024, and is a biennial, multi-national exercise hosted by the RAAF.
The name 'Pitch Black' was derived from the emphasis on night time flying over large un-populated areas. This edition is slated to be the largest in the 43 year long history of Ex Pitch Black, which includes participation by 20 countries, with over 140 aircraft and 4,400 military personnel of various air forces.
The exercise will be focusing on Large Force Employment warfare aimed at strengthening international cooperation and shall facilitate experience with the IAF Su-30 MKI operating alongside the F-35, F-22, F-18, F-15, Gripen, and Typhoon fighter aircraft. The IAF has previously participated in the 2018 and 2022 editions of this exercise.
The government has appointed Robert Jerard Ravi as the new BSNL chairman and managing director (CMD) for a period of six months. Ravi is currently appointed as deputy director general, standards, research, and innovation at the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). He will hold additional charges as CMD BSNL, CMD MTNL, and CMD BBNL effective July 15, according to DOT.
Ravi will replace PK Purwar, whose tenure is expiring on July 14. Purwar assumed charge as BSNL CMD in July 2019. During the period of holding additional charge, Ravi will not be entitled to any additional remuneration.
India has joined the rest of the nations to observe World Youth Skills Day 2024 – A United Nations initiative launched in 2014 that celebrates the strategic importance of equipping young people with skills for employment, decent work, and entrepreneurship.
The theme of World Youth Skills Day 2024 is ‘Youth Skills for Peace and Development’.
The final ‘Report of India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure’ by ‘India’s G20 Task Force on Digital Public Infrastructure for Economic Transformation, Financial Inclusion and Development’ was released in New Delhi. The Task Force was led by the Co-Chairs, Shri Amitabh Kant, G20 Sherpa of India, and Shri Nandan Nilekani, Co-founder and Chairman of Infosys.
The work of this Task Force had led to the acceptance of the definition and framework of the Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) during India’s G20 Presidency and will be taken forward for implementation during the Brazilian and South African Presidencies.
After a very successful G20 Presidency and upon the culmination of its tenure, the Report of the Task Force is aimed at strengthening the foundations of DPI worldwide. The Report encompasses three essential parts that collectively unravel the approach for global DPI advancement and adoption.
In Part 1, the DPI Approach emerges as a transformative paradigm that effectively addresses global challenges through innovative technological solutions. Part 2 of the Report delves into how India has steered its DPI agenda, especially during its G20 Presidency in 2023 under its various working groups,
including the Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion (GPFI) of Finance Track and Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) of Sherpa Track. In Part 3 of the Report, a forward-looking perspective is presented, outlining a strategic blueprint for elevating DPI across various sectors, as well as on a global scale through a range of its policy recommendations.
The task force was established in January 2023 to oversee and facilitate achieving India's G20 Presidency agenda and priorities on Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and Financial Inclusion. The Task Force looked at ways G20 member countries can boost productivity by adopting digital technology and DPI across sectors as well as help the government's digital economy policy.
Shri Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare and Shri Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying will inaugurate the 95th Foundation and Technology Day on 16th July.
Union Ministers of State for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Kailash Choudhary and Sushree Shobha Karandlaje. To encourage innovations in agriculture, forty selected technologies will also be released and the developers will also get recognition. The event will be organised from 16 – 18 July 2023 at Dr. C. Subramaniam Auditorium, NASC Complex.
ICAR celebrates its Foundation Day on 16thJuly, every year. From this year it has been decided to observe it as the ‘Foundation and Technology Day’. During the exhibition, various kinds of technologies/products developed by ICAR Institutes with potential for commercialization will be displayed.
In this event, more than 100 Industry Partners are expected to participate to get exposure to different types of technologies/ products developed by ICAR Institutes vis-a-vis prospects for the PPP Model of interactions between ICAR and Industries. more than 500 farmers as well as 1000 students from the neighbouring states will also participate in the ICAR Foundation Day.
ICAR, an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India is engaged in coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries, and animal sciences. 113 ICAR institutes and 74 agricultural universities spread across the country are engaged in doing cutting edge research.
Subhash Dandekar the founder of stationery brand Camlin, died. Dandekar was aged 86.
After selling the popular artwork brand to Japan's Kokuyo, Dandekar was serving as the chairman emeritus of Kokuyo Camlin. Dandekar was well-known for his contributions to social awareness art and entrepreneurship. He received several awards, including Game Changers of Maharashtra award.
He gets lifetime achievement award from The Colours Society.
Veteran diplomat Vikram Misri, India’s former envoy to Beijing and an expert on China, took over as the foreign secretary after Vinay Kwatra completed his tenure. Misri, an officer of the 1989 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) who has the rare distinction of serving as private secretary to three prime ministers, last held the post of deputy national security adviser
India’s Wholesale Price Index (WPI)-based inflation rose for the fourth consecutive month in June to a 16-month high of 3.36 percent from 2.61 percent in May, primarily on the back of an adverse base effect and a sharp spike in food prices. Inflation in food prices stood at 10.87 percent during the month, according to data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
In June 2023, wholesale inflation had stood at -4.18 percent. Within food articles, pressure on the factory gate prices majorly built up on account of acceleration in the prices of onion (93.35 percent), potato (66.37 percent), vegetables (38.76 percent), cereals (9.27 percent), fruits (10.14 percent) and wheat (6.25 percent).
Meanwhile, even as the prices of pulses (21.64 percent) decelerated during the month, they remained quite elevated. On the other hand, prices of protein-rich items like eggs & meat (-3.06 percent) and milk (3.37 percent) provided some relief during the month.
FMCG giant Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) is selling its water purification business -- Pureit in India to AO Smith, a leading global water technology company, for Rs 601 crore ($72 million). There will be no change in the shareholding pattern of HUL following the proposed slump sale.
According to a regulatory filing, the completion of the transaction is expected to be completed within three months, subject to any extension as per the terms of the transaction documents. For HUL, the FY24 turnover of the water purification business was recorded at Rs 293 crore, which is less than 1% of its turnover.
Pureit was first launched in Chennai in 2004 with the introduction of Pureit Classic. It entered the electric water purification segment in 2011. HUL had reported a 6% drop in its standalone net profit at Rs 2,406 crore in the preceding quarter (Q4FY24). Revenue from operations in Q4 was marginally up at Rs 14,693 crore.
Coca-Cola India, in collaboration with agri solutions provider Gram Unnati, has announced the launch of “Project Mango Unnati.” The initiative aims to revolutionise sustainable mango cultivation in Karnataka, focusing on the Alphonso and Totapuri varieties.
Project Unnati will collaborate closely with state horticulture agencies such as Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK), the Mango Board, the Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), and various horticulture departments across different districts, the company said in a statement.
With Project Mango Unnati,we aim to elevate the livelihoods of farmers with adv. horticulture solutions, empowering them to significantly increase their incomes. This aligns with the Government of India’s vision for Atma Nirbhar Bharat, making the agrarian economy self-reliant,said, Rajesh Ayapilla, Senior Director- CSR Sustainability for Coca-Cola India and Southwest Asia.
Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMB) has unveiled a new distribution structure, integrating the physical branch network, digital branch channel (encompassing mobile banking and net banking platforms), and voice channel. As part of the new distribution structure, the private sector lender appointed Pranav Mishra as the Head of Distribution.
Mishra has joined KMB from ICICI Bank, where he most recently served as Head of Liabilities, Deposit, Customer 360, Branch Banking, Marketing & Alliances, ATM, and Micro Market Strategy, per the KMB statement. Before ICICI Bank, he headed distribution for ICICI Prudential Life Insurance.
Leading marketing data and analytics business, Kantar launches the Brand Inclusion Index (BII), a global study that reveals that 75% of consumers say that a brand’s diversity and inclusion reputation influences their purchase decisions.
A staggering 68% of Indians claim to have been discriminated against in the majority of cases in commercial places and brand touchpoints, which is substantially higher than the global figure which stands at 46%. The study also showcases that DEI is important for an overwhelming majority of Indians, both in life and while making brand choices, with 86% of respondents.
Kantar’s Brand Inclusion Index 2024 is a survey of more than 23,000 people in 18 countries, the India leg comprises 1000 plus respondents with an inclusive demographic which is gender expansive, disability, socio-economic class, religion etc.
Industrial activity in the current fiscal year is poised to gain support from domestic consumption, with an anticipated improvement in private consumption, which had weakened to 4% last fiscal, according to a CRISIL report. The Index of Industrial Production increased by 5.9% year-on-year in May, up from 5.0% in April, reflecting a healthy surge in industrial activity.
The normalization of the monsoon in July and the increase in kharif sowing are expected to boost agricultural output, which in turn, should ease food inflation and enhance discretionary spending. This growth was primarily driven by higher outputs in manufacturing and electricity, while mining output growth slowed slightly.
The fiscal year is expected to see a continued boost in industrial activity from improving domestic consumption. An above-normal monsoon is anticipated to enhance agricultural incomes and help control food inflation.However, the urban economy might face challenges due to tighter credit conditions.
The Reserve Bank of India's consumer confidence index indicates softening prospects for urban consumption. GDP growth is expected to slow down to 6.8 percent this fiscal, compared to 8.2 percent last year.
The IIP grew by 5.9 percent year-on-year in May, up from 5.0 percent in April. Sequentially, the index rose by 1.4 percent month-on-month after seasonal adjustments.
Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh inaugurated Asia’s first health research-related "Pre-clinical Network Facility" under the Coalition of Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) at the Regional Centre of Biotechnology under the aegis of the "Translational Health Science & Technology Institute" (THSTI), Faridabad.
The Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) has selected BRIC-THSTI as a pre-clinical network laboratory based on its capability to handle BSL3 pathogens. It will be the 9th such network laboratory across the globe and the first such laboratory in the whole of Asia. The other labs are located in the USA, Europe, and Australia.
The experimental Animal Facility is one of the largest small animal facilities in the country with a housing capacity of about 75,000 mice, including immune-compromised mice and other species such as rats, rabbits, hamsters, guinea pigs, etc.
Department of Space and MoS Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Dr. Jitendra Singh also inaugurated the "Genetically Defined Human Associated Microbial Culture Collection (Ge-HuMic) Facility" to act as a "repository" for providing microbial cultures to research institutes, universities, and industries for research and development.
he facility will serve as a Nodal Resource Center that will foster national and international collaborations between academic institutions, hospitals and industry. It will also serve as a repository of genetically characterized specific pathogen-free animals (including cryopreserved embryos and sperm) for the use of researchers within the country.
The Translational Health Science and Technology Institute(THSTI) is an institute of the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC), Department of Biotechnology under Ministry of Science and Technology which facilitated the signing of more than a dozen agreements and MoUs signed with Private sector for Vaccine development and research in Nipah Virus, Influenza etc.
It will also facilitate innovative and cutting-edge fundamental research in the country, support translational research to test drug and vaccine candidates, identify biomarkers of disease progression/resolution, and foster research collaborations across disciplines and professions with connectivity to industry and academia.
