1. Around 2.22 crore villagers received Digital Education under PMGDISHA
Electronics and Information Technology Minister Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad has said that around 2.22 crore villagers are given Digital Education under Pradhan Mantri Gramin Digital Saksharta Abhiyan (PMGDISHA). Replying to a question in Rajya Sabha, he said that over 2.30 crore beneficiaries have been enrolled under PMGDISHA so far. After the training, 1.34 crore have been duly certified by authorized 3rd party certifying agencies. The Minister also said the Government has taken up several steps for proper implementation of the digital literacy scheme particularly in remote rural areas in the country, to make rural India digitally empowered.
2. Under Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme, 81,03,196 houses were approved
A total of 81 lakh 3 thousand 196 houses have been approved under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana scheme from project proposals received so far from the States and Union Territories. This was informed by Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs, Hardeep Singh Puri in the Lok Sabha today. 47 lakh 57 thousand 987 houses are at various stages of construction and 26 lakh 7 thousand 913 have been completed or occupied. In a written reply, he also informed that Central Assistance under the PMAY(U) is determined on the basis of proposals submitted by the States/UTs as per their housing requirements. It is met through Budgetary Resources as well as Extra Budgetary Resources (EBR). Central Assistance of Rs. 51,113 crores have so far been released under the PMAY(U).
3. Standing Group Of Secretaries Constituted on Resolving E-commerce Issues: Piyush Goyal
A group has been constituted under the secretary of the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade for ensuring inter-ministerial coordination on resolving issues related to e-commerce, Parliament was informed Friday. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said in a written reply to the Rajya Sabha that a draft national e-commerce policy has been drafted and placed in the public domain. This policy addresses broad areas of the e-commerce ecosystem such as infrastructure development, market places, regulatory issues, stimulating domestic digital economy and export promotion through e-commerce, he said.
4. 7th India and Brunei Darussalam Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi
The 7th Foreign Office Consultations between India and Brunei Darussalam was held on 24th June 2019 in New Delhi. The Indian side was led by Smt. Vijay Thakur Singh, Secretary(East) and Brunei side were led by Mrs. Hajah Siti Norishan Haji Abdul Ghafor, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Brunei Government. The consultations provided an opportunity to review the entire gamut of bilateral relations, including political, trade and investment, defense, cultural and people to people contact. The two sides also exchanged views on regional and multilateral issues.
5. 23rd edition of 4-day Sindhu Darshan Festival held at Sindhu Ghat Shey in Leh
The 23rd edition of the Sindhu Darshan Festival kicked off at Sindhu Ghat Shey in Leh on Monday. Skyabje Choskyong Palga Rinpoche inaugurated the 4-day event organised by Sindhu Darshan Yatra Samiti (SDYS) in collaboration with Ladakh Phanday Tsogspa. Indresh Kumar, SDYS patron, was accompanied by Hill Council deputy chairman Gyal P.Wangyal, NDMC Mayor Avtar Singh and Anjuman Moin-Ul-Islam's president Dr Abdul Qayoom. "The festival connects people from different faiths on one common platform to share love, compassion and respect for each other which is the essence of every religion," Choskyong Skyabje Palga Rinpoche said in his speech.
6. Russia extends ban on EU Food Imports till December 31, 2020
According to TASS, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has signed a decree on the extension of the food embargo until December 31, 2020. The food embargo has been in force in Russia since August 7, 2014, regarding products from the US, the EU, Australia, Norway, and Canada, later the list was expanded with other European countries and Ukraine. The document was published on the official website of legal information on Wednesday. "In item 1 the words "until December 31, 2019" should be replaced with the words "until December 31, 2020"," the decree said. On Monday, President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on extension until December 31, 2020, of separate special economic measures against countries that imposed anti-Russia sanctions.
7. RBI issued guidelines for setting up of an FBAs for administering “significant benchmarks”
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday issued guidelines for setting up of financial benchmark administrator (FBA) for administering "significant benchmarks" in the markets for financial instruments. Benchmarks administered outside India do not fall under the scope of the guidelines, the RBI said in a statement. Significant benchmark means any benchmark notified by the Reserve Bank of India, it said adding that the central bank will notify a benchmark as a 'significant be.
8. RBI recommends Commercial Banks to adopt Education Loan Scheme
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has advised all Scheduled Commercial Banks to adopt Education Loan Scheme, formulated by Indian Banks’ Association (IBA), vide Circular RPCD.PLNFS. BC. NO.83/06.12.05/2000-01 dated April 28,2001. Govt informed that IBA has formulated and circulated to all Member Banks including State Bank of India (SBI) a ‘Model Education Loan Scheme’ for providing financial support to meritorious students for pursuing higher education in India and abroad.
9. MobiKwik partnered with Max Bupa to launch ‘shampoo-sachet’ health plan
Payments service provider MobiKwik wants to bring a “shampoo-sachet” concept to the insurance sector. The company has partnered standalone health insurer Max Bupa to offer a slew of bite-size insurance products in the medical insurance segment. Upasana Taku, co-founder – MobiKwik, has told Moneycontrol that, while there are multiple insurance products in the country to choose from, a majority of Indians cannot afford to buy them.
10. Oracle launches Crime Mitigation solution for smaller banks
Oracle is broadening the availability of its Oracle Financial Services Anti-Money Laundering solution for smaller banks, the company said Tuesday (June 25). Oracle Financial Solutions announced the launch of its AML Express Edition for small and medium-sized financial institutions, connecting these banks with a streamlined platform for money laundering and terrorist funding detection, investigation and reporting solutions. As Oracle noted in its announcement, smaller banks must adhere to the same AML and other regulatory compliance requirements as large banks, yet with fewer resources to meet those requirements. The firm’s AML Express solution supports affordable and straightforward compliance solutions to these smaller FIs.
11. Improvement in logistics, infrastructure will boost exports to $1 trillion in next 3 years
The government's focus to improve logistics, ease of doing business and modern trade infrastructure will help exports to touch $1 trillion in the next three years, exporters body FIEO said Tuesday. Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) President Ganesh Kumar Gupta said India has huge potential to boost it's exports of goods and services from the current $535 billion. "With steps like special focus on cutting logistics cost and time, further improvement in ease of doing business, proper implementation of government policies for exporters and timely refund of taxes will help us touch $one trillion exports in the next three years," Gupta said. He said the logistics time, cost and inadequate trade-related infrastructure are impacting the exports. Reduction of logistics cost by 10 percent will help boost the country's exports by about 5-8 percent, Gupta added.
12. Sameer Gulati bags Rs. 3 lakhs for ‘world’s best coder’ at TechGig Code Gladiators 2019
At the annual coding battle, TechGig Code Gladiators 2019, ex-winner Sameer Gulati won the title of the 'world's best coder', and took home prize money of Rs 3,00,000. The event featured 10 hackathon theme rounds on technologies including Chatbots, Robotic Process Automation, Fintech, Software Testing, and New Commerce, the official release noted. Over 2.6 lakh coders fought for 87 days to claim the title this year. Of this, 21 percent (55,633 out of 2,62,906) were female coders. The best female coder title went to Vaishnavi.
13. Samant Kumar Goel got appointed as RAW chief
Kumar will take the reins of the internal intelligence agency from Rajiv Jain, while Goel will succeed Anil K Dhasmana. The government on Wednesday named new chiefs for the country’s premier spy agencies, Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Research & Analysis Wing (RAW). IB will be headed by Arvind Kumar, a 1984 batch IPS officer from Assam- Meghalaya cadre. Kumar is considered an expert on Kashmir, with specialization in counter-terrorism and is said to have been closely involved in tackling Left-wing extremism at the IB. He also holds a charge as the special director of Kashmir in the intelligence agency. Kumar will replace Rajiv Jain as IB chief, who completed his tenure of two and a half years. Head of all police organizations, an IB director enjoys a fixed tenure of two years.
14. Arvind Kumar becomes new IB head
The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved their appointments for a fixed two-year tenure, an order issued by the Personnel Ministry said. Senior IPS officers Arvind Kumar and Samant Kumar Goel were Wednesday appointed chiefs of Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Research and Analysis Wing (RAW), respectively. Kumar will take the reins of the internal intelligence agency from Rajiv Jain on completion of his tenure on June 30. Goel will take charge from Anil K Dhasmana on completion of his tenure Saturday.
15. Author Amish Tripathi appointed as the Director of Nehru Centre in London
Tripathi, who is the author of best-selling books like the Secret of the Nagas and Sita - Warrior of Mithila, would take over from diplomat Srinivas Gotru. Gotra's four-year tenure ended early this year. Author Amish Tripathi has been named as the director of London’s Nehru Centre, Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) president Vinay Sahasrabudhe announced on Thursday. The cultural center works under the ICCR’s aegis. Sahasrabudhe said that Tripathi will bring more visibility to the ICCR’s flagship cultural center. “We want every center under the ICCR to be more vibrant and proactive to generate a proper understanding of the Indian culture abroad,” he said.
