Union Minister for Housing & Urban Affairs and Power, Shri Manohar Lal addressed the valedictory session of the three days 17th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference & Exhibition 2024 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Shri Tokhan Sahu, MoS, Housing and Urban Affairs applauded the Urban Mobility India (UMI) yearly conference initiative since 2008,
in addressing the issues of Urban Mobility in India. He also delighted to share surpassing more than 1 crore daily ridership of Metro trains in the country.
The UMI has different categories of award in field of Transport Sector especially in the Urban Transport. The awards are given to the state/city authorities for “Excellence/ best practice projects in Urban Transport".
On this occasion, Shri Manohar Lal, Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, Power, Government of India also announced Gurugram, Haryana as the venue of 18th Urban Mobility India (UMI) Conference & Exhibition 2025.
17th UMI Conference & Exhibition 2024 has been organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs through the Institute of Urban Transport (India) and,
with the support of Government of Gujarat and Gujarat Metro Rail Corporation Ltd.The exhibition comprising display of best practices in urban transport in India and aboard, latest urban transport technologies, attracted more than 2200 delegates including more than 50 participants from abroad. The exhibition is an important part of the UMI Conference organized every year.
This year, the Conference was focussed on the theme “Standardisation and Optimisation of Urban Transport Solutions”.
The companies based in Germany, France, Spain, etc. have also participated in this exhibition. As many as 67 Indian exhibitors and 17 foreign exhibitors have participated in the event.
Solex Energy said it has partnered with State Bank of India (SBI) to offer solar financing options for commercial, industrial, and institutional customers.
As part of the partnership, SBI will offer solar financing through loans up to Rs 10 crore for solar projects under its Surya Shakti Solar Finance Scheme across India, Solex Energy said in a statement.
While Solex Energy will offer end-to-end support to customers -- from site evaluation and design to obtaining regulatory approvals -- SBI will provide a digital platform that ensures a hassle-free loan application process for financing solar projects.
Based in Surat, Solex Energy is in the process of expanding its solar module manufacturing capacity to 1.5 gigawatts (GW) from 700 megawatts (MW), at present, in Tadkeshwar, Gujarat.
Solex Energy Chairman & Managing Director (CMD)- Chetan Shah.
State Bank of India (SBI) was recognised as the Best Bank in India for 2024 by Global Finance Magazine of the US at its 31st Annual Best Bank Awards event held during the sidelines of Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Washington.
SBI Chairman CS Setty received the award in recognition of the bank's unwavering commitment to providing exceptional services and promoting financial inclusion nationwide by winning the trust of its customers, the bank said in a statement.
For decades, Global Finance's Best Bank Awards have set the trusted standard for evaluating the world's financial institutions, making them invaluable to corporate decision-makers, especially as the global economy faces significant challenges.
A passionate conservation scientist of global repute from Assam Bibhab Kumar Talukdar has been conferred 'The Harry Messel Award' for Conservation Leadership by the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The award was presented to him at the 5th IUCN SSC Leaders' Meeting that is underway in Abu Dhabi. About 300 conservation experts have come together in the IUCN SSC meeting to tackle the intertwined crises of biodiversity and climate change.
The award has been presented for Talukdar's contribution to species Conservation on the ground and through leadership, as part of the work of the Species Survival Commission.
He has been associated with IUCN SSC since 1991 and became the Chair of the Asian Rhino Specialist Group in 2008.
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Deepak Agarwal, a 2000-batch IAS officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, as the new Managing Director (MD) of the National Agriculture Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd (NAFED) for a five-year term.
This appointment, announcement, follows recent interim arrangements involving officials from the Ministry of Cooperation and Agriculture.
Previously, the ACC assigned Pankaj Kumar Bansal, an Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Cooperation, as the MD for a temporary period until a permanent appointment was made.
The United States, Japan and South Korea on announced the launch of a new framework that furthers their collaboration with Indian private sector to support digital infrastructure in India. An announcement in this regard was made by the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation,the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), and the Export-Import Bank of Korea.
DFC CEO Scott Nathan, JBIC Governor Nobumitsu Hayashi, and Korea Eximbank Chairman and CEO Hee-sung Yoon signed the Digital Infrastructure Growth Initiative for India Framework (DiGi Framework) to support projects in the information and communications technology sector such as 5G, Open RAN, submarine cables, optical fiber networks, telecom towers, data centres, smart city.
The DiGi Framework creates a streamlined process where DFC, JBIC, and Korea Eximbank, in partnership with the Indian private sector, can provide support to meet the needs of strategic digital infrastructure deals in India, the press statement said.
DFC, JBIC, and Korea Eximbank are committed to working in partnership with India to harness private sector resources that promote high-quality investments in digital infrastructure in India.
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das received an A+ grade in the Central Bank Report Cards 2024 for the second consecutive year.
The award was presented by Global Finance in Washington, D.C. Grades were assigned on an “A+” to “F” scale, evaluating success in key areas like inflation control, economic growth targets, currency stability, and IR management.
An “A” reflects outstanding performance, while an “F” indicates a clear failure.
Since 1994, Global Finance has published the Central Bank Report Cards annually, grading central bank governors from nearly 100 key countries, territories, and regions, including the European Union and various central banks in the Caribbean and Africa.
India's forex reserves dropped by USD 2.163 billion to USD 688.267 billion for the week ended October 18, the Reserve Bank said.
In the previous reporting week, the overall kitty had dropped by USD 10.746 billion to USD 690.43 billion in one of the largest declines in the reserves in recent times, the RBI said.
In the preceding week, the reserves had dropped by USD 3.709 billion to USD 701.176 billion. At the end of September, the reserves had hit an all-time high of USD 704.885 billion.
For the week ended October 18, foreign currency assets, a major component of the reserves, decreased by USD 3.865 billion to USD 598.236 billion, the data released showed.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) were down by USD 68 million to USD 18.271 billion, the apex bank said.
India's reserve position with the IMF was down by USD 16 million to USD 4.316 billion in the reporting week, the apex bank data showed.
The Central Pollution Control Board released a list of pollution levels in 241 Indian cities. The data shows the Air Quality Index (AQI) on October 24, 2024, at 4 pm, and is based on an average of the past 24 hours. Tamil Nadu's Palkalaiperur has the cleanest air with a 'Good' air quality index of 20.
Top 10 Indian Cities With The Cleanest Air:
Palkalaiperur (20)
Balasore (23)
Aizawl (25)
Ramanathapuram (25)
Chikkaballapur (28)
Madikeri (29)
Madurai (29)
Chikkamagaluru (30)
Gangtok (30)
Nagaon (30)
Top 10 Indian Cities With The Worst Air Quality:
Delhi (306)
Meerut (293)
Ghaziabad (272)
Bhiwani (266)
Hapur (261)
Jind (261)
Charkhi Dadri (260)
Jhunjhunu (260)
Baghpat (257)
Hanumangarh (255)
Here is a breakdown of various categories of Air Quality Index (AQI), along with possible health impacts:
0-50: Good - Minimal Impact
51-100: Satisfactory - Minor breathing discomfort to sensitive people
101-200: Moderate - Breathing discomfort to people with lung, asthma and heart diseases
201-300: Poor - Breathing discomfort to most people on prolonged exposure
301-400: Very Poor - Respiratory illness on prolonged exposure
401-500: Severe - Affects healthy people and seriously impacts existing diseases.
India’s consumer payments and lending giant, Slice, has finalized its merger with North East Small Finance Bank (NESFB), effective October 27, 2024. This integration follows the receipt of all necessary shareholder and regulatory approvals, uniting both entities’ operations, assets, and brand identities into a single, robust banking institution.
The merger signifies a pivotal shift in the Indian financial landscape, bringing together Slice’s fintech innovation and NESFB’s solid traditional banking foundation. This strategic alliance lays the groundwork for a tech-driven banking model focused on stability, enhanced risk management, and a strong governance framework.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi and his Spanish counterpart Mr Pedro Sanchez jointly inaugurated the TATA Aircraft Complex for manufacturing of C-295 aircraft at TATA advanced systems limited (TASL) Campus in Vadodara, Gujarat on October 28, 2024.
In September 2021, Ministry of Defence had signed a Rs 21,935-crore contract with Airbus Defence and Space SA, Spain for supply of 56 aircraft - 16 to be brought in fly away condition from Spain and 40 to be built in India by TASL.
Of the 16 aircraft, six have already been inducted into IAF at 11 Sqn based at Vadodara. The last would be delivered by August 2025.
The first Made-in-India C-295 is expected to be rolled out of the Final Assembly Line facility at Vadodara by September 2026 and the remaining by August 2031. Along with the aircraft, a Full Mission Simulator has also been installed at IAF's Agra station.
TASL is responsible for making 40 aircraft in India.
This facility becomes the first private sector Final Assembly Line (FAL) for military aircraft in the country. This facility has been built in less than two years. The PM laid the foundation stone of C-295 aircraft manufacturing facility in Vadodara in October 2022. The pre-FAL production will start in December 2024 and the FAL assembly will start from Oct 2025.
Infantry Day is being observed across the country on 27 October to acknowledge the contributions of Infantry, the largest fighting arm of the Indian Army. This day has a unique significance, as on this day in 1947, Infantry-men from the Indian Army became the first troops to land at Srinagar airport, forcing the invaders backed by Pakistan to withdraw.
The World Day for Audiovisual Heritage (WDAH) is a commemorate on 27 October of the adoption, in 1980 by the 21st General Conference, of the Recommendation for the Safeguarding and Preservation of Moving Images. The World Day provides an occasion to raise general awareness of the need to take urgent measures and to acknowledge the importance of audiovisual documents.
Conserving this heritage and ensuring it remains accessible to the public and future generations is a vital goal for all memory institutions as well as the public at large. The UNESCO Archives has launched the project "Digitizing our shared UNESCO history" with this very goal in mind.
Greenhouse gas levels surged to a new record in 2023, rising by more than 10 percent in just two decades, according to a new report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
The globally averaged surface concentration of carbon dioxide reached 420 parts per million (ppm), methane 1934 parts per billion and nitrous oxide 336.9 parts per billion (ppb) in 2023.
In the course of 2023, large vegetation fire CO2 emissions and a possible reduction in carbon absorption by forests combined with stubbornly high fossil fuel CO2 emissions from human and industrial activities to drive the increase, according to the WMO's annual Greenhouse Gas Bulletin.
These values are 151 per cent, 265 per cent and 125 per cent of pre-industrial (before 1750) levels, it said. These are calculated on the basis of the long-term observations within the Global Atmosphere Watch network of monitoring stations.
Another year. Another record.
This should set alarm bells ringing among decision makers. We are clearly off track to meet the Paris Agreement goal of limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees Celsius and aiming for 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. These are more than just statistics.
The 2023 increase of CO2 in the atmosphere was higher than that of 2022, although lower than that of the three years before that. The annual increase of 2.3 ppm marked the 12th consecutive year with an increase greater than 2 ppm.
In the last 20 years, the CO2 level has increased by 11.4 per cent (42.9 ppm) above the level of 377.1 ppm recorded in 2004 by WMO's Global Atmosphere Watch network of monitoring stations.
Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh said that the country will have its own Space Station ‘Bharatiya Antriksh Station’ by 2035.
He made the announcement after the signing a MoU between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) on October 26.
The MoU marks a unique collaboration aimed to integrate biotechnology with space technology, heralding a new era of scientific innovation in India.
The MoU outlines several key initiatives, including the establishment of a Bharatiya Antariksh Station and the unveiling of the BioE3 (Biotechnology for Economy, Environment, and Employment) Policy.
This policy aims to foster high-performance biomanufacturing in the country, with a goal of reaching a $300 billion bioeconomy by 2030. The collaboration will focus on areas such as microgravity research, space biotechnology, space biomanufacturing, bioastronautics, and space biology.
