1. Cabinet approved a bill to fine people with Rs 10,000 for blocking ambulances
Anyone blocking an ambulance with their car will now have to think twice before doing it. Because under the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill that has been approved by the government, there will be a Rs 10,000 fine for not giving way to emergency vehicles, according to News 18 Tech and Auto. The Motor Vehicle Act comes with many changes, including a higher fine for drunk driving, but one of the most notable changes to the act has been increasing the penalty for not giving way to an ambulance on the road to Rs 10,000. The decision is undoubtedly good. Because many times patients in critical condition have to wait for the path of an ambulance to clear on the road, thereby losing valuable time.
2. Government forms an 18-member working group headed by Ramesh Chand, NITI Aayog member, to revise current series of WPI
The government on Thursday set up an 18-member working group for the revision of the current series of Wholesale Price Index. The revision of the base year would help in presenting a more realistic picture of the price situation and its impact on people. The Commerce and Industry Ministry in a statement said the current series of Wholesale Price Index (WPI) with 2011-12 as the base year was introduced in May 2017. “Since 2011-12, significant structural changes have taken place in the economy. Therefore, it has become necessary to examine the coverage of commodities, weighting diagram and related issues pertaining to the existing series of index numbers of WPI,” it said.
3. MoA signed between Ministry of Shipping and IIT Kharagpur to set up CICMT
To mark India's position in the league of nations that possess advanced maritime technology, the government has decided to set up a state of the art center for shipping research at IIT Kharagpur, Union Minister Mansukh Lal Mandaviya said Wednesday. Other countries like Germany, Belgium, and Russia already possess advanced maritime technology. The Centre is one of the crucial projects under the ministry's flagship Sagarmala program. To mark India's position in the league of nations that possess advanced maritime technology, the government has decided to set up a state of the art center for shipping research at IIT Kharagpur, Union Minister Mansukh Lal Mandaviya said Wednesday.
4. Go Tribal campaign by Tribes India launched in New Delhi
The Minister of State for Tribal Affairs, Smt. Renuka Singh launched the “Go Tribal Campaign” of Tribes India at a glittering event in New Delhi last night. The campaign has been launched to widely promote the use of tribal products. The Minister also launched ‘Tribes India’ globally through Amazon Global Selling at today’s event. Chairman TRIFED, Shri R.C. Meena; Secretary, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Shri Deepak Khandekar and MD TRIFED, Shri Pravir Krishna were also present at the function.
5. The 32nd edition of ISTA Congress takes place in Hyderabad
The International Seed Testing Association (ISTA) is to hold its 32nd Congress in Hyderabad beginning June 26. Scientists, policymakers and industry representatives from the UK, South Africa, Argentina, New Zealand, Canada, and Austria are expected to take part in the conference. The Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and the Telangana government are jointly hosting the eight-day conference, which will be attended by stakeholders from across the globe. The Congress will have a symposium on seed technology and quality in a changing world. "It would discuss recent developments in seed research and in technology related to seeds," a state government official has said.
6. India and World Bank sign USD 400M loan agreement to eliminate TB
India has signed a loan agreement worth 400 million dollars with the World Bank to help treat and eliminate Tuberculosis from the country. In India, around five lakh people died every year due to Tuberculosis. Finance Ministry said the World Bank supported program will cover nine States and it will support the government's National Strategic Plan to end TB in India by 2025. The Program will provide financial incentives to private sector care providers for reporting cases of TB and ensuring that their patients complete the treatment regimen.
7. RBI sets an average base rate of 9.18% for NBFC-MFI borrowers for July quarter
The central bank in a circular in 2014 had communicated to NBFCs and MFIs regarding the pricing of credit on the last working day of every quarter. The Reserve Bank Friday set an average base rate of 9.18 percent for non-banking financial companies and micro financeNSE 2.22 % institutions to be charged from their customers for the quarter beginning July 1. "The applicable average base rate to be charged by non-banking financial companies and microfinance institutions (NBFC-MFIs) to their borrowers for the quarter beginning July 1, 2019, will be 9.18 percent," RBI said in a release.
8. Cryptocurrency exchange Koinex shuts down in India
Koinex has been facing denials in payment services from payment gateways and bank account closures. The crypto exchange said it has witnessed a sharp decline in its trading volumes. Facing regulatory troubles, one of India's largest cryptocurrency exchange, Koinex, shut down today. "After months of uncertainty and disruption, we have regretfully decided to shut down all digital assets exchange services and operations today," Koinex co-founder Rahul Raj said in a blog post.
9. India the Lowest Cost Producer of Solar Power; beats China, UK, US among others
Beating countries like China, which usually is the cheapest manufacturer of everything, India has also left behind the US, UK, Canada, and France among others. India is now the forerunner in producing solar power at the lowest cost globally and is far ahead of other nations in low average production costs, a report said. Beating countries like China, which usually is the cheapest manufacturer of everything, India has also left behind the US, UK, Canada, and France among others. While the global average of installing utility-scale solar PV projects was $1210 for a kilowatt, the same was found to be as low as $793/kW in India in 2018, the report by the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) said. India’s neighbor China also saw very competitive installation costs of $879/kW compared to the highest rate of $2,427 per kW in Canada. Among European countries, Italy saw very competitive installation costs for 2018 at $870/kW.
10. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union finance & Corporate Affairs minister, among ‘100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations: Celebrating Women’ list
Penny Mordaunt, Britain's Secretary of State for Defence, is the other senior politician in the list who is credited as the first woman to be assigned the role in the UK Cabinet. inance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is among the 100 most influential women driving the UK-India relationship forward alongside one of Britain's senior-most Cabinet ministers Penny Mordaunt. The '100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations: Celebrating Women' list was launched by UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid to mark India Day in the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday.
