1. Indian-Origin Harbhajan Kaur Dheer became first Asian woman elected as Mayor in UK
Indian-Origin Harbhajan Kaur Dheer became the first Asian woman to be elected as mayor in the United Kingdom (UK).
The 62-year-old councilor of the Labour Party assumed the charge as the Mayor of Ealing Council in London in which she was the Deputy Mayor before assuming the present position.
She was a mental health professional and is a rights activist advocating for rights of children and elderly.
She is a Punjabi by origin and migrated to Britain in 1975 for pursuing higher education. Incidentally, her husband Ranjit Dheer is a former mayor of Ealing Council.
Ealing Council serves the residents and businesses of London's third largest borough, which is located in the heart of west London.
2. SBI launches contactless card payment tech
State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank, has introduced contactless card payments technology that allows payments by waving or tapping of the cards near the machines.
“The bank, and its credit card subsidiary – SBI Card – have launched the sbiINTOUCH Contactless Debit Card and SBI Signature Contactless Credit Card for quick, secure and hassle-free payments at merchant outlets. Contactless cards use the near-field communication (NFC) technology, enabling users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader instead of swiping or dipping it,” SBI said in a statement.
At present, customers can make payments up to Rs. 2,000 per tap and pay transactions at select point-of-sale (POS) machines. Reducing the risk of card loss and fraud, the customers can tap or wave the card at the POS machine, enter the pin, and complete the payment transaction at busy locations, the bank said.
3. Syndicate Bank enrols 17.5 lakh accountholders under PM's social security schemes
yndicate Bank has enrolled 17.5 lakh accountholders under the social security schemes launched by the Prime Minister recently, according to KT Rai, Field General Manager of the bank for Manipal region.
Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Thursday, Rai said that the Prime Minister had launched three social security schemes -- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima Yojana, and Atal Pension Bima Yojana – on Saturday.
While launching the schemes, the Prime Minister had stated that around five crore accountholders of various banks in the country had enrolled for these till May 9.
In Karnataka, Syndicate Bank has enrolled around 4 lakh accountholders. Rai, who heads the Field General Manager’s office at Manipal, said around 2.37 lakh accountholders have opted for these schemes in his jurisdiction.
4. Canara Banks signs MoU with Volvo-Eicher for vocational education loans
Canara Bank, a public sector bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) for financing vocational education loans.
The MoU was signed by S Ramesh, General Manager, Canara Bank, on behalf of PC&FI Wing and Shyam Maller, Senior Vice-President, Sales, Marketing and After Market, on behalf of Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd.
“The bank, and its credit card subsidiary – SBI Card – have launched the sbiINTOUCH Contactless Debit Card and SBI Signature Contactless Credit Card for quick, secure and hassle-free payments at merchant outlets. Contactless cards use the near-field communication (NFC) technology, enabling users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader instead of swiping or dipping it,” SBI said in a statement.
At present, customers can make payments up to Rs. 2,000 per tap and pay transactions at select point-of-sale (POS) machines. Reducing the risk of card loss and fraud, the customers can tap or wave the card at the POS machine, enter the pin, and complete the payment transaction at busy locations, the bank said.
3. Syndicate Bank enrols 17.5 lakh accountholders under PM's social security schemes
yndicate Bank has enrolled 17.5 lakh accountholders under the social security schemes launched by the Prime Minister recently, according to KT Rai, Field General Manager of the bank for Manipal region.
Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Thursday, Rai said that the Prime Minister had launched three social security schemes -- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima Yojana, and Atal Pension Bima Yojana – on Saturday.
While launching the schemes, the Prime Minister had stated that around five crore accountholders of various banks in the country had enrolled for these till May 9.
In Karnataka, Syndicate Bank has enrolled around 4 lakh accountholders. Rai, who heads the Field General Manager’s office at Manipal, said around 2.37 lakh accountholders have opted for these schemes in his jurisdiction.
4. Canara Banks signs MoU with Volvo-Eicher for vocational education loans
Canara Bank, a public sector bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) for financing vocational education loans.
The MoU was signed by S Ramesh, General Manager, Canara Bank, on behalf of PC&FI Wing and Shyam Maller, Senior Vice-President, Sales, Marketing and After Market, on behalf of Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd.
5. RBI released the report titled State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2014-15
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the report titled State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2014-15. The theme of this year’s report is Fiscal Consolidation: Assessment and Medium Term Prospects. The report is an annual publication that provides data, analysis and an assessment of the finances of state governments. It provides the snapshot of the changing dynamics of fiscal federalism over the years.
Main highlights of the report
(i). It calls for renewed and sustained efforts by states towards fiscal consolidation in the years following the global financial crisis so as to increase states’ own revenues.
(ii). It calls for freeing up resources for higher capital outlays, improving the quality of fiscal consolidation and setting the consolidated debt-GDP ratio of the states, including off budget liabilities on a declining trajectory.
(iii). The rapidly growing e-commerce could contribute to states’ own revenue efforts, provided there is greater clarity in rules and procedures to enable better compliance.
(iv). Windfall gains accruing over time from auctioning of natural resources need to be channelised effectively for meeting developmental needs of the mineral rich states.
(v). Transition from the present origin-based indirect tax regime to a destination-based tax regime under the Goods and Services Tax from 1 April 2016 is expected to create a buoyant source of revenue for the centre and states in the medium term.
(vi). Improvement in fiscal marksmanship is important for delivering on fiscal consolidation intentions, particularly by minimising the systematic bias towards over-estimation of expenditure relative to receipts.
The report has been prepared in the Fiscal Analysis Division (FAD) of the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
6. Indian-American Sivanadane Mandjiny won UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award
Indian-American professor Sivanadane Mandjiny won University of North Carolina Pembroke’s UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mandjiny is currently serving as a Chemistry Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in US.
Annually, the Board of Governors of the University names one professor at each of the 17 UNC campuses to receive the award. The award consists of the prize money of 12500 US dollars and a commemorative bronze medallion.
7. Tejaswini bags gold in under-15 World School Chess Championship
Talented Indian youngster Tejaswini Sagar won her maiden world title bagging the gold in the under-15 category of World School Chess Championship that concluded here today.
Needing a last round win and one favourable result, the Aurangabad-girl defeated Kavinya Miyuni Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka in the ninth and final round.
Tejaswini was aided by the result on the top board as overnight leader Irina Barbayeva of Russia lost to Alisa Kozybayeva of Kazakhstan in the final clash.
For the record, Tejaswini scored seven points out of a possible nine, winning six, drawing two and losing one game.
8. Punjab government launched pan-state programme to monitor the soil health of every farm
Punjab Agriculture Department launched a pan-state programme to monitor the soil health of every farm in the state by issuing them personalised Soil Health Cards (SHCs). With this, Punjab became the first state in India to issue Soil Health Cards to farmers.
In this regard, every district of state was assigned a mobile soil testing lab. These labs will take soil sample from every farm and will issue digitalised soil health details.
As per Punjab Government, it is mandatory for Soil Testing Labs to check soil health quarterly. Each health card holder will be issued a written advisory on usage of fertilisers and seeds adaptability.
The constant monitoring of health profile of various farms in the state is imperative keeping in view over exploitation of soil after the advent of green revolution in the state. It is necessary to maintain the health structure of soil and educating the farmers to use right quantity of fertilisers to prevent soil becoming arid.
About Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme
• The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2015 nationwide in Suratgarh town of Sriganganagar district, Rajasthan.
• The cards contain all basic information and crop-wise recommendations of nutrients or fertilizers required for farms of different soil types.
• It will carry crop-wise recommendation of fertilizers required for farm lands and other inputs to increase the productivity of individual farmer.
9. CCEA gave its approval for 5% disinvestment in NTPC and 10% in Indian Oil Corporation
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for 5 percent disinvestment in National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and 10 percent disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Disinvestment in these two Maharatna companies will fetch government over 13000 crore rupees at current market price. The proposed share sale of 5 percent in NTPC will fetch Union government 5600 crore rupees while that of 10 percent in IOC will bring in 8100 crore rupees.
Currently, Union Government holds 74.96 percent stake in NTPC and 68.57 percent stake in IOC. After the sale, the Government will be left with a 58.57 percent stake in Indian Oil and 69.96 percent in NTPC.
Disinvestment in both these companies will be executed through the Offer for Sale (OFS) route, through stock exchanges. Retail investors (those bidding for up to 2 lakh) will be required to deposit the full amount at the time of the bid, while high net-worth and institutional investors need not do so.
These approvals are part of Union Government’s budgeted target to raise 41000 crore rupees through disinvestment in CPSUs for the current financial year 2015-16.
10. Telangana Government signed MoU with Google to build a campus in Hyderabad
Telangana Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with tech giant Google Inc to build the biggest campus outside the United States (US) in Hyderabad.The MoU was signed by Jayesh Ranjan, Telangana Secretary of Information Technology (IT) and his counterpart David Redcliffe, Google’s global head of facilities and workplace in Google headquarters at Mountain View in USA.
On completion, Google’s Hyderabad campus will be second-biggest in the world and the first in Asia.
Highlights of the MoU
• It will be set up at the cost of 1000 crore rupees and expected to be ready within four years by 2019.
• It will have two million square feet working space and will employ around 13000 technologists that will be recruited over a period of four years for this project.
• For this campus, Telangana Government will allocate seven acres of land in Gachibowli, a major IT suburb of Hyderabad.
• The work for this campus will formally start in 2016.
Google's StreetView project
Apart from this, Google agreed to pick Hyderabad for its StreetView project after Union Government gave its approval to include Hyderabad in Street View project.
Google’s street View is a tool in Google Map that gives panoramic view of streets, roads and monuments. The firm uses cars, treks and bicycles, fitted with cameras, to capture the images and collate them to give the users a 360 degree views.
11. President Pranab Mukherjee appoints new Governors in six states
President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Governors in six states. Their appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge.
Following are newly appointed Governors
Jharkhand: Former Odisha Minister Droupadi Murmu was appointed as Governor of Jharkhand. She will replace Dr Syed Ahmed.
Manipur: Dr Syed Ahmed has been transfered to Manipur for remaining period of his term.
Arunachal Pradesh: J P Rajkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. He will replace Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.
Mizoram: Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.
Tripura: Tathagata Roy will be the Governor of Tripura.
Meghalaya: V. Shanmuganthan has been appointed as Meghalaya Governor.
12. Vatican recognised Palestine as State in the Holy See-Palestine Joint Statement
Vatican recognised Palestine as a state in the Holy See-Palestine Joint Statement released The Joint Statement titled Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the State of Palestine was released after the Plenary Session held in Vatican on a Comprehensive Agreement following on the Basic Agreement signed on 15 February 2000. The Basic Agreement of 2000 deals with essential aspects of the life and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine.
The Plenary Session was chaired by Mgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, and by Ambassador Rawan Sulaiman, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs of the State of Palestine.
13. Union Cabinet Approved Namami Gange programme under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod for implementation of Namami Gange programme (NGP).
The programme will be operational under the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
Key Features of Namami Gange Programme (NGP)
• It is an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission in the sense that it tries to integrate the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner and will result in socio-economic benefits in terms of job creation, improved livelihoods and health benefits to the vast population that is dependent on the river.
• Its focus is on pollution abatement interventions namely Interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater flowing through the open drains through bio-remediation or appropriate in-situ treatment or use of innovative technologies such as sewage treatment plants (STPs) or effluent treatment plant (ETPs).
• It has a budget outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20. This is a significant four-fold increase over the expenditure in the past 30 years as the Union Government incurred an overall expenditure of approximately 4000 crore rupees on this task since 1985.
• The Union Government will sanction 100 percent funding for various activities or projects under this program and the operation and maintenance of the assets will be for a minimum period of 10 years.
• It would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organizations that is State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
• A three-tier mechanism will be established for project monitoring viz., A high level task force chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary assisted by NMCG at national level, State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary assisted by SPMG at state level and District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate.
• It emphasizes on improved coordination mechanisms between various Ministries or Agencies of the Union and State governments and will involve the States and grassroots level institutions such as Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and people living on the banks of the river in implementation to attain sustainable results.
• It adopts a PPP (Public Private Partnership) or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) approach for pollution hotspots.
• A 4-battalion Ganga Eco-Task Force, a Territorial Army unit, will be set up to bolster enforcement.
14. Bengali Writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passes away
Celebrated Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya died at her south Kolkata residence late on Tuesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest, her family members said. She was 65.
Known for her sensitive portrayal of urban, social and feminist issues through her novels, many of her works have been adapted into films, including Dahan , based on the stigmatisation and helplessness of a rape survivor, made into a National Award winning film by late Rituparno Ghosh.
1. Indian-Origin Harbhajan Kaur Dheer became first Asian woman elected as Mayor in UK
Indian-Origin Harbhajan Kaur Dheer became the first Asian woman to be elected as mayor in the United Kingdom (UK).
The 62-year-old councilor of the Labour Party assumed the charge as the Mayor of Ealing Council in London in which she was the Deputy Mayor before assuming the present position.
She was a mental health professional and is a rights activist advocating for rights of children and elderly.
She is a Punjabi by origin and migrated to Britain in 1975 for pursuing higher education. Incidentally, her husband Ranjit Dheer is a former mayor of Ealing Council.
Ealing Council serves the residents and businesses of London's third largest borough, which is located in the heart of west London.
2. SBI launches contactless card payment tech
State Bank of India (SBI), India’s largest bank, has introduced contactless card payments technology that allows payments by waving or tapping of the cards near the machines.
“The bank, and its credit card subsidiary – SBI Card – have launched the sbiINTOUCH Contactless Debit Card and SBI Signature Contactless Credit Card for quick, secure and hassle-free payments at merchant outlets. Contactless cards use the near-field communication (NFC) technology, enabling users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader instead of swiping or dipping it,” SBI said in a statement.
At present, customers can make payments up to Rs. 2,000 per tap and pay transactions at select point-of-sale (POS) machines. Reducing the risk of card loss and fraud, the customers can tap or wave the card at the POS machine, enter the pin, and complete the payment transaction at busy locations, the bank said.
3. Syndicate Bank enrols 17.5 lakh accountholders under PM's social security schemes
yndicate Bank has enrolled 17.5 lakh accountholders under the social security schemes launched by the Prime Minister recently, according to KT Rai, Field General Manager of the bank for Manipal region.
Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Thursday, Rai said that the Prime Minister had launched three social security schemes -- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima Yojana, and Atal Pension Bima Yojana – on Saturday.
While launching the schemes, the Prime Minister had stated that around five crore accountholders of various banks in the country had enrolled for these till May 9.
In Karnataka, Syndicate Bank has enrolled around 4 lakh accountholders. Rai, who heads the Field General Manager’s office at Manipal, said around 2.37 lakh accountholders have opted for these schemes in his jurisdiction.
4. Canara Banks signs MoU with Volvo-Eicher for vocational education loans
Canara Bank, a public sector bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) for financing vocational education loans.
The MoU was signed by S Ramesh, General Manager, Canara Bank, on behalf of PC&FI Wing and Shyam Maller, Senior Vice-President, Sales, Marketing and After Market, on behalf of Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd.
“The bank, and its credit card subsidiary – SBI Card – have launched the sbiINTOUCH Contactless Debit Card and SBI Signature Contactless Credit Card for quick, secure and hassle-free payments at merchant outlets. Contactless cards use the near-field communication (NFC) technology, enabling users to make payments by waving or tapping the card near the contactless reader instead of swiping or dipping it,” SBI said in a statement.
At present, customers can make payments up to Rs. 2,000 per tap and pay transactions at select point-of-sale (POS) machines. Reducing the risk of card loss and fraud, the customers can tap or wave the card at the POS machine, enter the pin, and complete the payment transaction at busy locations, the bank said.
3. Syndicate Bank enrols 17.5 lakh accountholders under PM's social security schemes
yndicate Bank has enrolled 17.5 lakh accountholders under the social security schemes launched by the Prime Minister recently, according to KT Rai, Field General Manager of the bank for Manipal region.
Addressing presspersons in Mangaluru on Thursday, Rai said that the Prime Minister had launched three social security schemes -- Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyothi Bima Yojana, and Atal Pension Bima Yojana – on Saturday.
While launching the schemes, the Prime Minister had stated that around five crore accountholders of various banks in the country had enrolled for these till May 9.
In Karnataka, Syndicate Bank has enrolled around 4 lakh accountholders. Rai, who heads the Field General Manager’s office at Manipal, said around 2.37 lakh accountholders have opted for these schemes in his jurisdiction.
4. Canara Banks signs MoU with Volvo-Eicher for vocational education loans
Canara Bank, a public sector bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd (VECV) for financing vocational education loans.
The MoU was signed by S Ramesh, General Manager, Canara Bank, on behalf of PC&FI Wing and Shyam Maller, Senior Vice-President, Sales, Marketing and After Market, on behalf of Volvo-Eicher Commercial Vehicles Ltd.
5. RBI released the report titled State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2014-15
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the report titled State Finances: A Study of Budgets of 2014-15. The theme of this year’s report is Fiscal Consolidation: Assessment and Medium Term Prospects. The report is an annual publication that provides data, analysis and an assessment of the finances of state governments. It provides the snapshot of the changing dynamics of fiscal federalism over the years.
Main highlights of the report
(i). It calls for renewed and sustained efforts by states towards fiscal consolidation in the years following the global financial crisis so as to increase states’ own revenues.
(ii). It calls for freeing up resources for higher capital outlays, improving the quality of fiscal consolidation and setting the consolidated debt-GDP ratio of the states, including off budget liabilities on a declining trajectory.
(iii). The rapidly growing e-commerce could contribute to states’ own revenue efforts, provided there is greater clarity in rules and procedures to enable better compliance.
(iv). Windfall gains accruing over time from auctioning of natural resources need to be channelised effectively for meeting developmental needs of the mineral rich states.
(v). Transition from the present origin-based indirect tax regime to a destination-based tax regime under the Goods and Services Tax from 1 April 2016 is expected to create a buoyant source of revenue for the centre and states in the medium term.
(vi). Improvement in fiscal marksmanship is important for delivering on fiscal consolidation intentions, particularly by minimising the systematic bias towards over-estimation of expenditure relative to receipts.
The report has been prepared in the Fiscal Analysis Division (FAD) of the Department of Economic and Policy Research.
6. Indian-American Sivanadane Mandjiny won UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award
Indian-American professor Sivanadane Mandjiny won University of North Carolina Pembroke’s UNC Board of Governors 2015 Award for Excellence in Teaching. Mandjiny is currently serving as a Chemistry Professor at the University of North Carolina (UNC) in US.
Annually, the Board of Governors of the University names one professor at each of the 17 UNC campuses to receive the award. The award consists of the prize money of 12500 US dollars and a commemorative bronze medallion.
7. Tejaswini bags gold in under-15 World School Chess Championship
Talented Indian youngster Tejaswini Sagar won her maiden world title bagging the gold in the under-15 category of World School Chess Championship that concluded here today.
Needing a last round win and one favourable result, the Aurangabad-girl defeated Kavinya Miyuni Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka in the ninth and final round.
Tejaswini was aided by the result on the top board as overnight leader Irina Barbayeva of Russia lost to Alisa Kozybayeva of Kazakhstan in the final clash.
For the record, Tejaswini scored seven points out of a possible nine, winning six, drawing two and losing one game.
8. Punjab government launched pan-state programme to monitor the soil health of every farm
Punjab Agriculture Department launched a pan-state programme to monitor the soil health of every farm in the state by issuing them personalised Soil Health Cards (SHCs). With this, Punjab became the first state in India to issue Soil Health Cards to farmers.
In this regard, every district of state was assigned a mobile soil testing lab. These labs will take soil sample from every farm and will issue digitalised soil health details.
As per Punjab Government, it is mandatory for Soil Testing Labs to check soil health quarterly. Each health card holder will be issued a written advisory on usage of fertilisers and seeds adaptability.
The constant monitoring of health profile of various farms in the state is imperative keeping in view over exploitation of soil after the advent of green revolution in the state. It is necessary to maintain the health structure of soil and educating the farmers to use right quantity of fertilisers to prevent soil becoming arid.
About Soil Health Card (SHC) Scheme
• The Soil Health Card Scheme was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 19 February 2015 nationwide in Suratgarh town of Sriganganagar district, Rajasthan.
• The cards contain all basic information and crop-wise recommendations of nutrients or fertilizers required for farms of different soil types.
• It will carry crop-wise recommendation of fertilizers required for farm lands and other inputs to increase the productivity of individual farmer.
9. CCEA gave its approval for 5% disinvestment in NTPC and 10% in Indian Oil Corporation
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for 5 percent disinvestment in National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) and 10 percent disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation (IOC).
Disinvestment in these two Maharatna companies will fetch government over 13000 crore rupees at current market price. The proposed share sale of 5 percent in NTPC will fetch Union government 5600 crore rupees while that of 10 percent in IOC will bring in 8100 crore rupees.
Currently, Union Government holds 74.96 percent stake in NTPC and 68.57 percent stake in IOC. After the sale, the Government will be left with a 58.57 percent stake in Indian Oil and 69.96 percent in NTPC.
Disinvestment in both these companies will be executed through the Offer for Sale (OFS) route, through stock exchanges. Retail investors (those bidding for up to 2 lakh) will be required to deposit the full amount at the time of the bid, while high net-worth and institutional investors need not do so.
These approvals are part of Union Government’s budgeted target to raise 41000 crore rupees through disinvestment in CPSUs for the current financial year 2015-16.
10. Telangana Government signed MoU with Google to build a campus in Hyderabad
Telangana Government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with tech giant Google Inc to build the biggest campus outside the United States (US) in Hyderabad.The MoU was signed by Jayesh Ranjan, Telangana Secretary of Information Technology (IT) and his counterpart David Redcliffe, Google’s global head of facilities and workplace in Google headquarters at Mountain View in USA.
On completion, Google’s Hyderabad campus will be second-biggest in the world and the first in Asia.
Highlights of the MoU
• It will be set up at the cost of 1000 crore rupees and expected to be ready within four years by 2019.
• It will have two million square feet working space and will employ around 13000 technologists that will be recruited over a period of four years for this project.
• For this campus, Telangana Government will allocate seven acres of land in Gachibowli, a major IT suburb of Hyderabad.
• The work for this campus will formally start in 2016.
Google's StreetView project
Apart from this, Google agreed to pick Hyderabad for its StreetView project after Union Government gave its approval to include Hyderabad in Street View project.
Google’s street View is a tool in Google Map that gives panoramic view of streets, roads and monuments. The firm uses cars, treks and bicycles, fitted with cameras, to capture the images and collate them to give the users a 360 degree views.
11. President Pranab Mukherjee appoints new Governors in six states
President Pranab Mukherjee appointed Governors in six states. Their appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge.
Following are newly appointed Governors
Jharkhand: Former Odisha Minister Droupadi Murmu was appointed as Governor of Jharkhand. She will replace Dr Syed Ahmed.
Manipur: Dr Syed Ahmed has been transfered to Manipur for remaining period of his term.
Arunachal Pradesh: J P Rajkhowa was appointed as Governor of Arunachal Pradesh. He will replace Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma.
Mizoram: Lt. General (Retd.) Nirbhay Sharma has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Mizoram for the remainder of his term.
Tripura: Tathagata Roy will be the Governor of Tripura.
Meghalaya: V. Shanmuganthan has been appointed as Meghalaya Governor.
12. Vatican recognised Palestine as State in the Holy See-Palestine Joint Statement
Vatican recognised Palestine as a state in the Holy See-Palestine Joint Statement released The Joint Statement titled Bilateral Commission of the Holy See and the State of Palestine was released after the Plenary Session held in Vatican on a Comprehensive Agreement following on the Basic Agreement signed on 15 February 2000. The Basic Agreement of 2000 deals with essential aspects of the life and activity of the Catholic Church in Palestine.
The Plenary Session was chaired by Mgr Antoine Camilleri, Under-Secretary for the Holy See’s Relations with States, and by Ambassador Rawan Sulaiman, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Multilateral Affairs of the State of Palestine.
13. Union Cabinet Approved Namami Gange programme under National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA)
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave its nod for implementation of Namami Gange programme (NGP).
The programme will be operational under the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NGRBA).
Key Features of Namami Gange Programme (NGP)
• It is an Integrated Ganga Conservation Mission in the sense that it tries to integrate the efforts to clean and protect the Ganga river in a comprehensive manner and will result in socio-economic benefits in terms of job creation, improved livelihoods and health benefits to the vast population that is dependent on the river.
• Its focus is on pollution abatement interventions namely Interception, diversion and treatment of wastewater flowing through the open drains through bio-remediation or appropriate in-situ treatment or use of innovative technologies such as sewage treatment plants (STPs) or effluent treatment plant (ETPs).
• It has a budget outlay of 20000 crore rupees for 2015-20. This is a significant four-fold increase over the expenditure in the past 30 years as the Union Government incurred an overall expenditure of approximately 4000 crore rupees on this task since 1985.
• The Union Government will sanction 100 percent funding for various activities or projects under this program and the operation and maintenance of the assets will be for a minimum period of 10 years.
• It would be implemented by the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG), and its state counterpart organizations that is State Program Management Groups (SPMGs).
• A three-tier mechanism will be established for project monitoring viz., A high level task force chaired by the Union Cabinet Secretary assisted by NMCG at national level, State level committee chaired by Chief Secretary assisted by SPMG at state level and District level committee chaired by the District Magistrate.
• It emphasizes on improved coordination mechanisms between various Ministries or Agencies of the Union and State governments and will involve the States and grassroots level institutions such as Urban Local Bodies and Panchayati Raj Institutions (PRIs) and people living on the banks of the river in implementation to attain sustainable results.
• It adopts a PPP (Public Private Partnership) or Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) approach for pollution hotspots.
• A 4-battalion Ganga Eco-Task Force, a Territorial Army unit, will be set up to bolster enforcement.
14. Bengali Writer Suchitra Bhattacharya passes away
Celebrated Bengali writer Suchitra Bhattacharya died at her south Kolkata residence late on Tuesday night after suffering a cardiac arrest, her family members said. She was 65.
Known for her sensitive portrayal of urban, social and feminist issues through her novels, many of her works have been adapted into films, including Dahan , based on the stigmatisation and helplessness of a rape survivor, made into a National Award winning film by late Rituparno Ghosh.
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