Air India Chief Lohani rejects rumours of its shutdown
Air India chief Ashwani Lohani has said that rumours of the disinvestment-bound airline’s shutdown are all baseless. He said that Air India will continue to fly and expand. He said, there should be no cause for concern whatsoever to travellers, corporates or agents. He added that Air India, the national carrier, is still the biggest airline in India.
Challakere to be ISRO’s astronaut training hub
India’s world-class facility for training astronauts will be established in the next three years at Challakere, a shrubby, arid oilseeds town on the Bengaluru-Pune NH4 in Chitradurga district of Karnataka.
The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has proposed a Rs. 2,700-crore master plan to create top infrastructure that will house its young Human Space Flight Centre (HSFC).
The first set of four astronaut candidates for the first Gaganyaan mission of 2022 are to train in Russia.
Claims worth Rs 4,800 cr admitted from fixed deposit holders of debt-laden DHFL
The Reserve Bank-appointed administrator of beleaguered Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL) has admitted close to Rs 4,800 crore of claims submitted by fixed deposit holders of the company.
Nearly 55,000 public depositor holders, including retail and UP Power Corporation Employees, have demanded payments aggregating to Rs 5,200 crore from the troubled mortgage players as of December 17.
With this, the total amount of claim received by the company’s administrator, R Subramaniakumar, who is also the resolution professional, from financial creditors, operational creditors, employees, fixed deposit holders, and other creditors has touched approximately Rs 93,105 crore.
Cyrus Mistry backs out of battle for helming Tata Sons
Cyrus Mistry, the ousted chairman of Tata Sons, has stated that he will not pursue the executive chairmanship of the corporate group or directorship of other Tata firms despite the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ruling in his favour.
Dhaka court issues arrest order of former chief justice
A Dhaka court had issued arrest warrants against the former chief justice Surendra Kumar Sinha and 10 others in connection, including some former and current senior bank officials of a local bank, with charges of embezzlement and money laundering.
The incident is the first of its kind of issuing an arrest warrant against a chief justice in Bangladesh.
Govt’s UJALA, SLNP complete five years of illuminating nation
UJALA and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) of the central government have completed five successful years of illuminating the country . Over 36.13 crore LED bulbs have been distributed across the country through the UJALA initiative. This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 46.92 billion kilowatt-hour per year.
Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) project brought the market transformation in the energy efficiency sector. Prices of LED bulbs being distributed under UJALA programme have fallen to one-tenth of their rates, from 310 rupees in 2015 to 38 rupees in 2018.
More than 1.03 crore smart LED streetlights have been installed till date under the Street Lighting National Programme. This has enabled an estimated energy savings of 6.97 billion kilowatt-hour per year.
HRD Ministry takes a leap forward in transforming education sector
Human Resource Development Ministry took a leap forward in transforming the education sector with the motto of Education for All and Quality Education. In the year 2019, Dr K Kasturirangan Committee submitted the Draft National Education Policy to the ministry.
The union Government had initiated the process of formulating a New Education Policy to meet the changing dynamics of the requirements of the population regarding quality education, innovation and research.
The Ministry has launched the Pradhan Mantri Innovative Learning Program (DHRUV) to identify and encourage talented children to enrich their skills and knowledge.
National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement -NISHTHA was launched in August last year. This program is aimed at building the capacities of around 42 lakh teachers and Heads of Schools.
Under Samagra Shiksha, a total of 5930 Kasturba Gandhi Balika Vidyalayas have been sanctioned in the country out of which 4881 such schools are operational.
IOB receives Rs 4,360 crore capital infusion
State-owned Indian Overseas Bank has received government’s capital infusion of Rs 4,360 crore towards contribution in the preferential allotment of equity shares. The bank has reported widening of net loss to Rs 2,253.64 crore for the quarter-ending September 30, 2019.
Indian Overseas Bank is under the Prompt Corrective Action framework of the Reserve Bank of India.
The Prompt Corrective Action framework comes into force when banks breach the three key regulatory points namely capital to risk weighted assets ratio, net non-performing assets and return on assets.
Iran declares it will no longer abide by any of restrictions imposed by 2015 nuclear deal
Iran has declared that it will no longer abide by any of the restrictions imposed by the 2015 nuclear deal. Iran said, it will no longer observe limitations on its capacity for enrichment, the level of enrichment, the stock of enriched material, or research and development.
Tensions have been high over the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani by the US in Baghdad.
Under the 2015 accord, Iran agreed to limit its sensitive nuclear activities and allow in international inspectors in return for the lifting of crippling economic sanctions.
Iraqi Parliament votes to expel U.S. troops
Iraqi MPs have passed a non-binding resolution calling for foreign troops to leave, after the US killed Iranian general Qasem Soleimani in a drone strike at Baghdad airport last week. Some 5,000 US soldiers are in Iraq as part of the international coalition against the Islamic State (IS) group.
US forces were invited to return to Iraq in 2014 to help defeat IS, and the Iraqi government sees the killing of Soleimani as a violation of the terms of the coalition’s presence.
Javadekar to confer first ‘Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman’ to 30 media houses
Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar will confer the first ‘Antarrashtriya Yoga Diwas Media Samman’ to 30 media houses in New Delhi.
Acknowledging the positive role and responsibility of the media in disseminating the outreach of Yoga in India and abroad, the Ministry had instituted this award in June last year to mark the contribution of media in spreading the message of Yoga.
Eleven awards will be conferred under the category of Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Newspapers, Eight under the category “Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Television while 11 awards to be conferred under the category “Best Media Coverage of Yoga in Radio. The award will consist of a special medal, plaque, trophy and a citation.
The International Day of Yoga is being celebrated annually on 21 of June every year, since 2015.
Rain washes out first T20I between India & Sri Lanka in Guwahati
The first T20 International between India and Sri Lanka was called off without a ball being bowled due to wet outfield, caused by a spell of heavy rain in Guwahati last night.
The second match of the three-match series will be played in Indore, while the final game is scheduled to be held in Pune on the 10th of this month.
Squash: Anahat Singh enters final of U-13 British Junior Open tournament
India’s Anahat Singh has entered the final of the U-13 girls’ category at the prestigious British Junior Open squash tournament. She defeated Egyptian Janna Galal 7-11, 11-7, 13-11, 5-11, 17-15 in Birmingham.
Anahat now faces another Egyptian, the top seed Amina Orfi, in the title-round.
One more Indian, Veer Chotrani will be playing in the semifinal of the U-19 boys.
UCO Bank aims to come out of PCA by March: AK Goel
Managing Director and CEO of the UCO Bank A.K.Goel has said that the bank is on track to come out of RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework in the current fiscal. The bank is hopeful of bringing down the net NPA below 6 per cent in 2019-20 from 7.34 per cent as on Sepetmber 2019.
The lender reported an operating profit of Rs 2,760 crore in FY19 as against Rs 1,334 crore in the previous fiscal, reflecting a growth of 106.88 per cent. The net loss in FY19 stood at Rs 4,321 crore as compared to a loss of Rs 4,436 crore in FY18.
Women Science Congress begins in Bengaluru
The Women Science Congress was inaugurated at the ongoing Indian Science Congress in Bengaluru. DRDO Aeronautical Systems Director General Dr.Tessy Thomas who is known as Missile Woman of India graced the occasion as the Chief Guest.
Dr. Thomas said, the strides taken by India in the field of Science and Technology, through Mangalyan, Chandrayaan, anti-satellite mission, tactical and strategic mission in missile system, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle and Light Combat Aircraft, have established it in the elite club of nations.
