1) PM Modi inaugurates two national highways, multi-modal terminal in Varanasi
•The total length of the two highways is 34 kilometre and they have been constructed at a cost of over 1,500 crore rupees.
•An official release said, over 16 kilometre Varanasi Ring Road Phase-I has been completed at a cost of over 750 crores, while the 17-kilometre Babatpur-Varanasi road was constructed at a cost of over 800 crore rupees.
2) World’s First AI News Anchor Debuts In China
•Xinhua, China’s state-run press agency, recently unveiled virtual newsreaders that combine the images and voices of human anchors with artificial intelligence (AI)technology.
•Xinhua unveiled two AI newsreaders, one that speaks in English and one in Chinese.Xinhua developed the robot anchor with Chinese search engine Sogou.com.
3) Palau Becomes 1st Country In World To Ban Reef-Killing Sunscreen
•Palau has become the first country to ban reef toxic sunscreen by 2020 in an attempt to protect its coral reefs after the president of the country signed a bill into law.
•Palau defines the banned “reef-toxic” sunscreens as containing any one of 10 chemicals, including oxybenzone and octinoxate, which are found in the vast majority of sunscreens sold in the U.S., according to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association.
4) S. S. Deswal Appointed DG of ITBP
•The ACC has approved the appointment of S. S. Deswal, IPS as Director General, Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP). He took charge from R K Pachnanda, the outgoing DG of ITBP, who superannuated recently. Mr Deswal will hold the additional charge of the post of DG, Sashastra Seema Bal (SSB) till further orders.
5) RBI Cancels Registration of 31 NBFCs
•The RBI canceled the certificate of registrations of as many as 31 NBFCs for unspecified reasons. It also canceled the certificate of registrations of 17 NBFCs following a request by them for the same. The action comes amid difficulties faced by the NBFCs sector. A majority 27 of 31 companies which lost licenses are from Bengal.
6) Tamil Nadu Gets SEBI Approval To Launch State Shelter Fund
•Tamil Nadu has received the nod from the market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) to launch its State Shelter Fund for attracting investments in the affordable housing segment. The Tamil Nadu government established the Tamil Nadu Infrastructure Fund which is the category-I Alternative Investment Fund.
•The announcement was made by the Deputy Chief Minister of the State O Panneerselvam at a conference on ‘Innovative and Alternative Finance for Business and Infrastructure Development in India’ organized by the United Economic Forum (UEF) Chamber of Commerce and World Islamic Economic Forum Foundation (WIEF).
