1) World’s largest floating solar power plant going to be built in Khandwa, MP
•The world’s largest floating solar power plant is going to be built at Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh. With an aim to increase the power generation capacity of the central state of Madhya Pradesh and address the electricity problems in the region. A floating solar power plant is going to be built in Khandwa which will generate 600 Megawatt power by 2022-23.
•The project which is said to world’s largest floating solar plant will be constructed at an estimated cost of over Rs 3,000 crore over the Omkareshwar Dam and it will help generate. Khandwa will become the only district in the state to have all three things including solar, hydel and thermal with over 4,000MW power to be produced from a single district.
2) Bihar’s Langat Singh College astronomy lab included in the Unesco heritage list
•The astronomical observatory at the Langat Singh College, commonly known as L. S. College, Muzaffarpur, Bihar is now included in the UNESCO list of Important Endangered Heritage observatories of the world. The college authorities have requested the state government to conserve the old Astro lab as a specimen of the glorious past of the state and also to preserve and promote it as a heritage structure. The UNESCO team member informed him that the astronomical observatory at Muzaffarpur is now on the UNESCO list and it has been uploaded on the UNESCO site.
3) Agreement Between NPCI and IIT Kanpur for Research Collaboration
•A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, paves the way for the exchange of creative ideas and collaboration on the creation of homegrown digital payment solutions. The collaboration will also aid in strengthening cybersecurity safeguards for the goods and services provided by NPCI and its affiliates. The MoU will spur NPCI and IIT Kanpur to work together on a variety of projects.
4) India’s Trade Deficit At Record High: 31 billion Dollar
•India’s trade deficit widened to a record $31.02 billion in July, as imports of goods surged despite curbs and merchandise exports contracted for the first time in 20 months.
•July merchandise exports declined by 0.76% from a year ago to $37.24 billion, while imports grew 44% to $66.26 billion during the month because of high commodity prices and a weak rupee, data released by the ministry of commerce and industry showed on Tuesday.
5) India-US Armies to hold mega military exercise “Yudh Abhyas” in Uttarakhand’s Auli
•The Indian Army and the US Army will conduct the 18th edition of the fortnight-long mega military exercise “Yudh Abhyas” from October 14 to 31, 2022, at Auli in Uttarakhand. The exercise is aimed at enhancing understanding, cooperation and interoperability between the two armies. The previous edition of the exercise took place in Alaska, the US, in October 2021.
6) India to host special meeting of UN SC Counterterrorism Committee
•In October, India will host diplomats from the UN Security Council‘s 15 member countries for a special counterterrorism meeting. India’s two-year term as an elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council is halfway over. In December of this year, India’s term on the Council will come to a close, and for that month, it will also serve as President of the influential UN body.
7) IOCL and Bangladesh ink MoU to supply emergency petroleum products
•A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the emergency delivery of petroleum products via Bangladeshi territory to India was signed by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the Bangladesh Roads and Highways department in Dhaka. The Indian High Commission stated in a tweet that this is an interim setup to help with the urgent supply of petroleum products due to damage caused by the flood in Assam this year.
•Oil tankers will enter from Meghalaya and travel into Bangladeshi territory on their way to Tripura. For use of Bangladeshi land, the IOCL shall be responsible for paying all administrative costs, fees, and local taxes, including the road usage fee. The MoU was signed to permit Indian cars to transfer petroleum from Assam to Tripura by road, which has been badly affected as a result of the recent floods in Assam and Tripura, according to a statement from Bangladesh’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
8) Quality Council collaborates with National Health Authority
•In order to accredit and rate HMIS (Health Management Information System) and LMIS (Laboratory Information Management System) solutions that have been integrated with the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission, the National Health Authority (NHA) has onboarded the Quality Council of India (QCI) for six months. The National Accreditation Board for Hospitals and Healthcare Providers (NABH), a constituent board of QCI, is in charge of national accreditation in the medical field, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
9) IDF World Dairy Summit 2022 to be held in New Delhi
•International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS 2022), is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from September 12. India will look to improve its per animal milk productivity by drawing lessons from advanced nations. Currently, the world’s largest milk producer with about 210 million tonnes of production per year, India lags behind many advanced countries in dairy productivity.
•This, according to dairy sector leaders, will be a key takeaway for the country from the Summit that has a theme of “livelihood and nutrition”. Before this, India hosted the International Dairy Congress in 1974. It must be noted that India is the largest milk producing country in the world.
10) Fintech platform BharatPe named Nalin Negi as new CFO
•Nalin Negi has been appointed as the new chief financial officer (CFO) of Fintech startup BharatPe. Earlier he was the CFO of credit card issuer SBI Card. In his new role, Negi will be working towards making the company’s EBITDA positive by March 2023 and leading the financial readiness for the company, which is getting ready for an initial public offering (IPO). Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. He will report to Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe and work closely with the Board of BharatPe.
•In April, the company announced the appointment of Smriti Handa as the Chief Human Resources Officer. The new appointment comes after BharatPe Co-founder Bhavik Koladiya moved on from the company to pursue other assignments. The company has seen several high-profile exits in recent months, including Ashneer Grover (who triggered a major controversy at the platform); Chief Revenue Officer Nishit Sharma; and Head of Institutional Debt Partnerships, Chandrima Dhar.
11) Amazon India signed an agreement with Indian Railways to boost delivery
•Amazon India has engaged with the Railway of India to boost its delivery services in the country. Through this partnership, Amazon India will be able to transport packages on more than 110 inter-city routes, ensuring one to two-day delivery for its customer. Amazon began working with the Indian Railways in 2019. The company has increased its transportation lanes five-fold, it said.
12) 4th RBI Monetary Policy review: Repo rate raised by 50 bps
•The Reserve Bank of India has retained its retail inflation forecast for the current fiscal year at 6.7 per cent. It has increased the policy repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) by 50 basis points to 5.40 per cent with immediate effect. RBI hiked the policy repo rate for the third time in a row. The Reserve Bank of India’s Monetary Policy Committee is headed by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das. The next meeting of the rate-setting panel is scheduled for September 28-30, 2022.
