India, Bangladesh to jointly inaugurate Petrapole checkpost
· India and Bangladesh will open the newly constructed modern integrated check-post at Petrapole-Benapole point of the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal.
· Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister NarendraModi are scheduled to inaugurate it this evening through video conference which will also be linked to West Bengal Chief Minister MamataBannerjee.
· The multipurpose checkpost is aimed at further facilitating increased India-Bangladesh trade.
· Currently the Petrapole-Benapole lands customs station is one of the busiest handling over 60% of the India-Bangladesh bilateral trade of around US$ 6 billion.
Cabinet okays Benami transaction bill amendments
· The Cabinet gave its approval for introducing amendments to the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2015.
· The amendments will allow the Government to confiscate benami properties by following due procedures.
· Benami transactions refer to deals where the owner of a property denies knowledge of ownership, or the person paying for the property is fictitious or untraceable.
CCEA approves Ghatampur Thermal Power Project in Uttar Pradesh
· The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave its approval for installation of Ghatampur Thermal Power Project (GTPS) of 1980 MW capacity through a Joint Venture Company.· The Joint Venture Company is named as Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL).
· The company is formed jointly by Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited (NLC) and Uttar Pradesh RajyaVidyutUtpadan Nigam Limited (UPRVUNL).
CCEA approves construction of new dry dock within Cochin Shipyard Limited
Key Facts
- This big sized dry dock at CSL seeks to tap the market potential of building specialized and technologically advanced large vessels.
- It is also considered as a critical requirement for promotion of ship building in the country and is a step in the direction of Make in India initiative.
- The project proposal would generate employment within the country as the ship building and ship repair industry is a labour intensive industry.
- It will have a multiplier effect on employment generation and help in the process of nation-building in terms of socio-economic development and growth of manufacturing sector.
NITI Aayog, Intel India ink SoI to set up Atal Tinkering Lab Initiative for young innovators
The NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog has signed Statement of Intent (SoI) with tech giant Intel India to set up Atal Tinkering laboratories (ATL) under the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM). The aim of Atal Tinkering laboratories is to cultivate adaptive learning and innovation skills among young minds in the country.
Key Facts
- Initially 10 laboratories will be established as part of total 500 laboratories. Intel India, subsidiary of US technology company Intel will invest $15 million for building and managing these 500 ATLs.
- These labs will foster young minds in adaptive learning, physical computing and developing a design mindset among students.
- They will also build relevant sets of skills among young minds and provide them access to technology that will enable solutions.
- These labs intend to impart innovation skills and skills for the future to the 2.50 lakh youths across 500 communities and schools.
Union Cabinet approves Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016
The Union Cabinet has approved The Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 to protect transgenders from discrimination. Through this Bill the Union Government has evolved a holistic mechanism for the social, economic and educational empowerment of marginalized transgenders community.
Key Facts
- The Bill will benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against them and also bring them into the mainstream of society.
- It will lead to greater inclusiveness and will make the transgender persons productive members of the society.
- The Bill will make all the stakeholders responsive and accountable for upholding the principles underlying the Bill.
- It will bring greater accountability on the part of the Union Government and Slate Governments/UT administrations for issues concerning Transgender persons.
Union Cabinet approves establishment of new AIIMS at Gorakhpur
The Union Cabinet has given its approval for establishment of new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. It will be established under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) which aims at correcting imbalances in the availability of affordable healthcare facilities in different parts of country and also augmenting facilities for quality medical education in under-served states.
Key Facts
- The AIIMS, Gorakhpur will have a hospital with capacity of 750 beds which will include Emergency/Trauma Beds, AYUSH Beds,
- Super Speciality beds and Private Beds and ICU Speciality. In addition, it will have an Administration Block, Auditorium, AYUSH Block, Night Shelter, residential facilities and Hostels.
- The cost of project for establishment of the AIIMS Gorakhpur will be 1011 crore rupees. It does not include recurring costs (wages, salaries and operation & maintenance expenses). AIIMS will meet its recurring expenditure from their annual budgets through Grant-in-Aid provided from Plan Budget Head of PMSSY of Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- The establishment of AIIMS, Gorakhpur will serve the dual purpose of providing super specialty health care to the population while creating a large pool of doctors and other health workers in this region.
Coca-Cola appoints SarvitaSethi as VP (Finance) for India and
South West Asia
· Beverages company Coca-Cola appointed SarvitaSethi as the new Vice-President (Finance) for India and South West Asia.
· Sethi took the charge from Sanjeev Kumar, who is moving to Lagos as Director-Finance for Coca-Cola West Africa. He will also be heading company’s finance operations for 31 countries.
· Sethi will be reporting to Coca-Cola India and South West Asia President VenkateshKini.
· The India and South West Asia Business Units of The Coca-Cola Company includes India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Maldives.
· Before being appointed as the VP (Finance), Sethi served as the Commercial Finance -Director for the Coca-Cola Central and Southern Europe business.
