NATIONAL:
1. The longest non-stop distance between two railway stations in India spans 528 kilometres, between Vadodara and Kota.
The Trivandrum-Nizamuddin Rajdhani Express undertakes the journey in six to seven hours, without any stops. Notably, India's longest train journey covers a distance of over 4,200 kilometres from Dibrugarh in Assam to Kanyakumari in Tamil Nadu, in 85 hours.
2. Bihar liquor ban: Officials Can't Drink Anywhere In The World
Officials of Bihar, which went dry 10 months ago, cannot drink outside the state or even abroad, in Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's new rule.
The Bihar cabinet cleared an amendment in the state prohibition law, after which bureaucrats, judges or magistrates caught drinking anywhere in the world will be punished.
INTERNATIONAL:
3. India has sanctioned a soft loan of 340 million US dollar to Nepal for various infrastructure development programmes.
Indian Ambassador to Nepal Ranjit Rae handed over the approval papers to Physical Infrastructure and Transport Minister of Nepal Shri Ramesh Lekhak in the presence of Railway Minister Shri Suresh Prabhu. Under this programme Mahalaki bridge and 15 roads will be constructed in various parts of Nepal.
Country: Nepal
Capital: Kathmandu
Prime Minister: Pushpa Kamal Dahal
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
President: Bidhya Devi Bhandari
4. MoU between India and the United Arab Emirates on the Mutual Recognition of Certificates of Competency
- The proposed MoU will pave way for recognition of maritime education and training, certificates of competency, endorsements, training documentary evidence and medical fitness certificates for seafarers issued by the Government of the other country in accordance with the provisions of Regulation 1/10 of the Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping (STCW) Convention, and cooperation between the two countries in training and management of seafarers.
- The MoU will ensure that the education, training and assessment of seafarers, as required by the STCW Convention, are administered and monitored in accordance with of the STCW Code for each type and level of training assessment involved.
BUSSINESS:
5. RBI allows multilateral FIs to invest in masala bonds
- Reserve Bank permitted multilateral financial institutions to invest in rupee denominated bonds popularly known as ‘masala bonds’ issued by Indian entities.
- In order to provide more choices of investors to Indian entities issuing rupee denominated bonds abroad, it has been decided to also permit multilateral and regional financial institutions where India is a member country, to invest in these rupee denominated bonds
- Meanwhile, the RBI has withdrawn the instruction regarding submission a fortnightly return on Forward Rate Agreement (FRA) and Interest Rate Swap (IRS) to Monetary Policy Department with a copy to various departments of the central bank.
- In a further step towards rationalization of returns it has been decided to withdraw the said return with immediate effect. The banks are hereby advised to stop sending the hard copy of the said return to RBI
SPORTS:
6. India bag silver medal at women’s Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy
- India won the silver medal at the women’s Asian Rugby Sevens Trophy having won five matches and lost one
- In the seven-nation round-robin competition, India defeated Laos 22-7, Philippines 12-5, Nepal 43-0 and Malaysia by 26-12. On the second day, India defeated Pakistan by 5-0 and in the last match were beaten by South Korea by 0-29.
- As per Asia Rugby’s tournament statistics, Indian Hupi Majhi was one amongst the top three Try Scorers of the tournament and Meerarani Hembram was the third highest in the conversions.
- The sterling performance that this power-packed team of women has showcased at an international level has made India proud. Tremendous potential for women’s rugby to grow heaps and bounds in our country and make our mark globally.
