Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, has included 16 additional commodities under Price Monitoring from 1st August 2024, said Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy, Shri Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, while launching the Version 4.0 Price Monitoring System (PMS) Mobile App.
Already 22 commodities were being covered under monitoring of daily prices. Now, the price of a total of 38 commodities will be monitored. The Department has been monitoring the daily prices from 550 centres across 34 States/UTs. The price data monitored by the Department provides advance inputs for policy decisions for the Government,
RBI and analysts regarding the CPI inflation.The 38 commodities constitute close to 31% of the total CPI weights as against 26.5% of CPI weights captured by the 22 commodities.The newly added 16 items included are Bajra, Jowar, Ragi, Suji (wheat), Maida (wheat), Besan, Ghee, Butter, Brinjal, Egg,Black Pepper, Coriander, Cummin seed, Red chillies, Turmeric powder and Banana.
Lt Gen Sadhna Saxena Nair, on August 01, 2024, assumed the office of Director General Medical Services (Army), becoming the first woman to be appointed to this prestigious position. Before this, she was the first woman to hold the post of DG Hospital Services (Armed Forces) on promotion to the rank of Air Marshal.
For her meritorious service, she has been awarded the Air Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Western Air Command, and Chief of the Air Staff Commendations as well as Vishisht Seva Medal by the President of India. She is also the first woman Principal Medical Officer of Western Air Command, and Training Command, Indian Air Force (IAF).
Production of key minerals in the country, such as iron ore and limestone, has continued to show robust growth in Q1 of FY 2024-25, after reaching record production levels in FY 2023-24. Iron ore and limestone account for about 80% of the total MCDR mineral production by value. Production of iron ore was 275 million metric tons (MMT) and limestone at 450 MMT in FY 2023-24.
India is the 2nd largest Aluminium producer, 3rd largest lime producer, and 4th largest iron ore producer in the world. Continued growth in the production of iron ore and limestone in the current financial year reflects the robust demand conditions in the user industries viz. steel and cement.
The Ministry has formulated a scheme and initiated implementation on a pilot basis in Chandigarh and Assam to provide cashless treatment to victims of road accidents caused by the use of motor vehicles, on any category of road, in collaboration with the National Health Authority (NHA).
Under this scheme, the eligible victims are administered Health Benefits Packages relating to trauma and polytrauma care at empanelled hospitals under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri-Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY), up to a maximum of Rs. 1.5 lakh for a maximum period of 7 days from the date of accident.
The Ministry has formulated a scheme and initiate implementation on pilot basis in Chandigarh and Assam which is administered under the aegis of the Motor Vehicle Accident Fund, constituted under section 164B of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988. The sources of income and its utilization has been provided under the Central Motor Vehicles (Motor Vehicle Accident Fund) Rule, 2022.
Innovations for Defence Excellence-Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO), the flagship initiative of the Ministry of Defence, has signed an MoU with Armed Forces Medical Services (AFMS) for the launch of Medical Innovations and Research Advancement (MIRA).
The initiative will be propelled by the launch of the Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) edition MIRA, targeting the critical medical challenges faced by the Armed Forces. It will leverage the unique strengths and expertise of both organisations to foster cutting-edge advancements in medical technologies.
The MoU was signed by Additional Secretary (Defence Production) & CEO, DIO Shri Anurag Bajpai, and Director General of Armed Forces Medical Services Lt Gen Daljit Singh.
About iDEX- iDEX, the recipient of the esteemed Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration in the Innovation Category in 2021, has emerged as a game-changer in the defence Ecosystem.
Ride-hailing startup Rapido has raised a funding of $120 million Capital in its latest Series E funding round led by its existing investor WestBridge, thus making it the latest company to join the coveted unicorn club. The investor poured in the fresh capital through three of its related entities – Setu AIF Trust, Konark Trust, and MMPL Trust, as per regulatory filings.
Rapido is the third Indian startup to become a unicorn this year after fintech Perfios and AI upstart Krutrim. the firm’s operating revenue surged 3X to ₹443 crore during FY23. The steep growth in scale also caused a 54 per cent spike in losses which stood at ₹675 crore in FY23.
KIIT Deemed to be University has been granted the distinguished Special Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC), recognizing the University's substantial contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
From a pool of 476 applications around the World, only 19 organizations, including KIIT DU, were selected for this prestigious honour. The status was conferred during the UN ECOSOC management segment meeting held on July 23, 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet Monday approved the appointment of Prabodh Seth, a 1989 batch officer of Indian Revenue Service (IT), and Ramesh Narain Parbat, a 1989 batch IRS officer (IT) as members, of the Central Board of Direct Taxes. Prabodh Seth is currently the principal chief commissioner of Income Tax (international taxation).
And Parbat is the Director General of Income Tax, investigation, Lucknow zone. Agrawal, who is the current chairman of CBDT, and Verma were appointed to the Board in June 2023. A 1988-batch IRS officer, Agrawal took over as the chairman of CBDT in June this year and will remain in the post till June 2025.
The Indian Air Force is set to host its largest international air exercise ever conducted in India, exercise Tarang Shakti, in two phases in August and September at Sulur and Jodhpur, Vice Chief of Air Staff Air Marshal AP Singh said. Phase one of the exercise will be in Sulur from August 6-14 with Germany, France, Spain, and the UK taking part. US, Greece,
And many other countries will start to exercise the second phase in Jodhpur from September 1-14. He said that 51 countries have been invited, out of which 10 have confirmed their participation. Earlier, the Indian Air Force conducted the longest ferry of aircraft to Alaska in the US for Exercise Red Flag.
Now it is conducting the first multinational exercise Tarang Shakti in India to be held at Sulur and Jodhpur. Make-in-India equipment including LCA Tejas, LCH Prachand and other weapon systems would be showcased at the exercise.
Former union health secretary Preeti Sudan has been appointed as the chairperson of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Preeti Sudan, who is a member of the UPSC, will take charge of the position on Thursday, August 1. Preeti Sudan will replace Manoj Soni, who resigned earlier this month due to “personal reasons” ahead of the end of his tenure.
Before this, Sudan was the secretary of department of food and Public distribution. She has also served as women and child development and defence ministry and has handled finance and planning, disaster management, tourism, and agriculture.
Previously, she was a consultant with the World Bank.
Preeti Sudan is an IAS officer from the Andhra Pradesh cadre, 1983 batch. She has nearly 37 years of experience in almost all spheres of government administration.
The National Housing Bank announced that Sanjay Shukla has officially taken on the role of managing director (MD) as of July 30, 2024.
A seasoned chartered accountant with over three decades of experience in housing and retail asset finance, Shukla has a distinguished history of leading and transforming financial institutions.
He began his career in 1991 as an officer at LIC Housing Finance Limited, the National Housing Bank (NHB). Before joining NHB, Shukla was the founding managing director and chief executive officer (CEO) of Centrum Housing Finance Limited (CHFL) from October 2016. Under his leadership, CHFL saw substantial growth and stability.
Before his tenure at CHFL, Shukla was the managing director and CEO of Cent Bank Home Finance Ltd (CBHFL), where he significantly enhanced the company's assets under management and improved asset quality within three years. He played a critical role in launching Tata Capital’s retail housing finance business as its first business head.
In a historic achievement, Swapnil Kusale has become the first Indian shooter to secure a medal in the 50m Rifle 3 Position (3P) event at the Paris Olympics. Swapnil, a Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) athlete, showcased remarkable resilience and precision. He steadily climbed the ranks to finish 3rd with a total score of 451.4 points,
Securing a Bronze medal for the nation. This is India's third medal at the Paris Olympics, with all three coming from shooting events.
In 2015, he won gold in 50m rifle prone 3 in the junior category in 2015 Asian Shooting Championships in Kuwait. He also won the 59th National Shooting Championship held in Tughlakabad ahead of Gagan Narang and Chain Singh in the 50m rifle.
Belgium-headquartered Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunications (SWIFT), the global specialist in financial transactions, is launching an artificial intelligence (AI)--driven pilot in partnership with Axis Bank to help combat payments fraud occurring in cross-border payments.
Along with global banks, including BNY Mellon, Deutsche Bank, DNB, HSBC, Intesa Sanpaolo, and Standard Bank, the duo will test the use of secure data collaboration and federated learning technologies. The pilot is expected to leverage a secure infrastructure that will enable financial institutions to exchange relevant information with strong privacy-preserving controls.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has, by an order dated July 30, 2024 imposed a monetary penalty of ₹5.00 Lakh (Rupees Five Lakh only) on Urban Co-operative Bank Ltd., Mainpuri (the bank) for non-compliance with certain directions issued by RBI on ‘Investments by Primary (Urban) Co-operative Banks’.
This penalty has been imposed in exercise of powers vested in RBI, conferred under the provisions of section 47A(1)(c) read with sections 46(4)(i) and 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
