17 June 2016

Karnataka, Goa sign pact to join Uday scheme: Piyush Goyal

•  Karnataka and Goa have signed an agreement to join the UDAY scheme for the revival of discoms. Both States may be benefited about four thousand five hundred seventy cror rupees from this scheme over next 3 years.

•  The Power Ministry would soon approach the Cabinet to seek approval for enabling private sector electricity distribution companies (discoms) to get operational benefits of the Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojana (UDAY).

•  Under this scheme for reviving financially stressed electricity distribution utilities, state governments takeover 75 per cent of the debt with the electricity distribution utilities

Union Cabinet approves MoU between ISRO and Canadian Space Agency

·  The Union Cabinet has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) and Canadian Space Agency (CSA) on cooperation in the field of outer space.


· The MoU was signed between two parties in Ottawa, Canada in April 2015.


· It will lead to establishment of joint team, drawing members from CSA and ISRO.

SBI launches Rs.200 Crore fund for fintech startups

·        The State Bank of India launched a 200-crore 'IT Innovation Start-up Fund’ to invest in startups operating in the financial technology space.

·        “This fund shall consider assistance of up to ₹3 crore to an Indian registered company for promoting their business innovations using IT in India for banking and related technology,” said SBI Chairman Arundhati Bhattacharya

Obama nominates Indian-origin as ambassador to Malaysia

·        Kamala Shirin Lakhdhir would replace Joseph Y Yun as the next US ambassador to Malaysia.


·        Lakhdhir served as the US Consul General in Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom from 2009 to 2011.


·        She received a BA from Harvard College and an MS from the National War College. Her father Noor Lakhdhir was born in Mumbai in mid 1920s

Senior IAS officer Supriya Sahu appointed as Director General of Doordarshan

·        Senior IAS officer Supriya Sahu was appointed as Director General of Doordarshan .

·        She will be the full-time director general of the state-run broadcaster after two year as the post was lying vacant since July 2014.

·        She would replace Aparna Vaish who was acting head of Doordharsan.

·        She was appointed after the board decided to appoint the senior-most additional director general (ADG) at Doordarshan
.
·        Tripurari Sharan was the last full-time director general at Doordarshan who stepped down in July 2014.

Hot beverages can cause esophageal cancer: WHO

Recently released report of World Health Organization (WHO) has revealed that hot drinks (beverages) consumed at temperatures above 65 Celsius can cause esophageal cancer. The report was based on the study conducted by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), part of the WHO. 

Key facts 

The conclusion comes after researchers discovered that the drinks are not carcinogenic, but actually the high temperatures at which they served causes cancer. 

• For this study purpose IARC had analysed studies from Iran, China and South America where tea and coffee are often served at 70 Celsius or above.
•  It was found that in developed countries, causes of esophageal cancer include smoking and alcohol, but it is more common in parts of the world where drinks are often consumed at very high temperatures.

Sunil Mittal elected as Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce

The chief executive of Bharti Group, Sunil Bharti Mittal has been elected chairman of the International Chambers of Commerce (ICC). He succeeds Terry McGraw, Chairman Emeritus of S&P Global, who became ICC’s Honorary Chairman. Sunil Mittal is the third Indian business leader to hold this position in ICC’s near 100 years history.
 About Sunil Bharti Mittal

•  Sunil Mittal is Indian telecom tycoon, entrepreneur and philanthropist.
•  He is the founder, chairman and Group CEO of Bharti Enterprises, which has interests in telecom, financial services, retail and agri business. 
• The Group’s flagship company Bharti Airtel is India’s largest telecom company and world’s third largest mobile operator. It has its presence in 20 countries across Asia and Africa and has customer base of over 275 million.
•  Presently, he serves on many international bodies and think-tanks and currently is the Chair of the World Economic Forums (WEF) Telecommunications Steering Committee. He is also a member of the India-UK, India-US and India-Japan CEO Forums.
•  He is listed as the eight richest person in India by Forbes with a Net worth of 7 billion dollars. In 2007, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian honour. 

• About International Chambers of Commerce (ICC)

ICC is the world’s largest business organisation that was founded in 1919. 
Headquarters: Paris, France. 
Motto: The World Business Organization.
 It represents the private-sector’s views to national governments and intergovernmental bodies around the world. ICC has three main activities: rule setting, policy advocacy and dispute resolution. It was the first international organization to be granted general consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council.