1) Environment Minister Launches “Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali” Campaign
•Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched the “Harit Diwali, Swasth Diwali” campaign.
•Addressing a gathering of about 800 children from schools of Delhi and NCR, the Minister impressed upon the children the importance of their contribution towards reducing pollution by not bursting harmful fire crackers during Diwali.
2) Cabinet Approved raising of over Rs 9000 cr through NABARD for Completing Irrigation Projects
•The Union Cabinet has approved raising extra budgetary resources up to 9,020 crore rupees for Long Term Irrigation Fund in 2017-18 under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY). According to Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, the amount will be raised by NABARD through Bonds.
•The Fund seeks to make loans from NABARD attractive for states by ensuring lending rate of 6 per cent per annum. The loans are for implementation of Accelerated Irrigation Benefits Programme works of 99 ongoing prioritised irrigation projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana.
3) Tata Power, First Power Utility to Use QR Code
•Tata Power has become the first power utility to introduce a QR code based bill payments system in India. The QR code linked to Unified Payments Interface (UPI) will be printed on the electricity bills.
•The customers can scan the QR code with BHIM app or any other UPI linked bank app and pay their bills without any hassle.
4) BSNL Launches Digital Wallet Powered by MobiKwik
•Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL) went digital by launching a bespoke mobile wallet (mobile payment App) that would enable its existing 100 million customers to make Bill payments. This digital wallet was launched at an event by Manoj Sinha, Minister for Telecommunications in the capital.
•The wallet has been developed and issued by MobiKwik on behalf of BSNL.
5) World Bank Pledges $24 Million to Enhance India's Forest Ecosystem Services
•The Finance Ministry and the World Bank signed a grant agreement of $24.64 million from the Global Environment Facility (GEF) of the World Bank for ecosystem service improvement project.
•The project would be financed entirely by the World Bank out of its GEF Trust Fund. The project's duration is five years. The objective of the Project is to strengthen the institutional capacity of the departments of forestry and community organizations to enhance forest ecosystem services and improve the livelihoods of forest dependent communities in central Indian highlands.
6) Emma Stone Named as 2017’s Highest-Paid Female Actor
•Emma Stone has been named Hollywood’s best-paid female actor in Forbes annual list of top earners.
•The 28-year-old made $26m in the last 12 months, the majority of which was earned from her Oscar-winning performance in the musical romance La La Land. The film made over $445m worldwide.
