1. Seven Indian firms in Fortune 500 list
i. Seven Indian companies have made it to the latest Fortune 500 list of the world’s biggest corporations in terms of revenue.
ii. The list is topped by the retail giant Walmart with revenue of $482,130 million, followed by State Grid (revenue of $329,601 million) and China
National Petroleum ($299,271 million) at the second and third place respectively.
iii. While among Indian firms, Indian Oil Corporation ranked highest at 161st place with revenue of $54.7 billion. However, another state-run firm ONGC has moved out of the rankings for 2016 and private gems and jewelry major Rajesh Exports has made its debut at the 423rd position.
iv. Among the seven Indian companies, four are from the public sector while Reliance Industries (215th) is the top-ranked among private sector firms, followed by Tata Motors (226) and Rajesh Exports. Among state-run majors, Indian Oil is followed by banking behemoth SBI (232), Bharat Petroleum (358) and Hindustan Petroleum (367).
2. India, Bangladesh has inaugurated Petrapole checkpost
i. India and Bangladesh has opened the newly constructed modern integrated check-post at Petrapole-Benapole point of the India-Bangladesh border in West Bengal. The cost of the project is 200 crore.
ii. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have inaugurated it through video conference which have also been linked to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Bannerjee.
iii. The multipurpose checkpost is aimed at further facilitating increased India-Bangladesh trade. Currently the Petrapole-Benapole lands customs station is one of the busiest handling over 60% of the India-Bangladesh bilateral trade of around US$ 6 billion.
3. Cabinet approvals
i. Establishment of a new All India Institutes of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh under Pradhan Mantri Swasthya Suraksha Yojana (PMSSY) has been approved by the Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. The cost of the project for the establishment of the new AIIMS in Gorakhpur shall be Rs. 1011 crore which does not include recurring costs (wages & salaries and operation & maintenance expenses).
ii. Another approval by the Union Cabinet is for the incorporation of Sagarmala Development Company (SDC) under the Companies Act, 2013 with an initial authorized share capital of 1 thousand crore rupees and a subscribed share capital of Rs. 90 Crore. SDC will be under the administrative control of the Ministry of Shipping. It will provide equity support to the project Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) and funding support to the residual projects under the Sagarmala Programme.
iii. The 3rd approval for the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill 2016 which has been approved by the Union Cabinet under the Chairmanship of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. This Bill will help the Government to evolve a mechanism for their social, economic and educational empowerment and will also benefit a large number of transgender persons, mitigate the stigma, discrimination and abuse against this marginalized section and bring them into the mainstream of society. It will lead to greater inclusiveness and will make the transgender person’s productive members of the society.
iv. The 4th approval by the Union Cabinet is for introducing amendments to the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) (Amendment) Bill, 2015 in Parliament. The amendments aim to strengthen the Bill in terms of the legal and administrative procedure so as to overcome the practical difficulties which may arise in the implementation of the provisions of the Bill when it becomes an Act.
v. The 5th approval is for the signing of the Air Services Agreement between India and Mozambique as at present there is no Air Services Agreement between India and Mozambique and to promote the air connectivity between the two countries, the two sides also initiated the process of consultation in 2011 to finalize the text of Air Services Agreement.
vi. Sixth approval is for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which has been signed between India and Tunisia for strengthening bilateral cooperation in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and Digital Economy.
vii. Seventh approval by the Union Cabinet chaired is about a ex-post-facto approval for a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between India and the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation of the Swiss Confederation for cooperation in skill development.
viii. The 8th approval by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) is for the installation of Ghatampur Thermal Power Project of 1980 Mega Watt capacity. This project will be installed by a joint venture of Neyveli Lignite Corporation Limited and Uttar Pradesh Rajya Vidyut Utpadan Nigam Limited with an estimated cost of Rs 17,237.8 crore, including interest during construction component of Rs 3,202.42 crore.
ix. The 9th approval by the CCEA is for a construction of a new dry dock within Cochin Shipyard Limited at a cost of 1 thousand 7 hundred 99 crore rupees. The objective is to augment the shipbuilding and repair capacity of the country.
4. India and Japan has signed a Social Security Agreement
i. India and Japan have signed a Social Security Agreement (SSA) that will come into force on 1st October 2016.
ii. The SSA will benefit Indian and Japanese professionals and skilled workers working in each other’s country and will also boost bilateral business linkages.
iii. The SSA will help avoid double social security contributions but an exemption will be provided to Indian worker, only if he is covered under the social security system of India and continues to pay his contribution during period of overseas contract.
5. Turkey declares 3-month state of emergency
i. Turkey’s president has declared a three-month state of emergency following a failed coup.
ii. The decision was made following a meeting with cabinet ministers and top security advisers in Ankara.
iii. While declaring the imposition of the emergency Erdogan said that the measure was being taken to counter threats to Turkish democracy.
6. ECI launched National Electoral Roll Purification 2016
i. The Election Commission of India (ECI) has announced the launch of National Electoral Roll Purification (NERP) 2016 programme across the country.
ii. The programme was launched to improve health of Electoral Rolls (ERs) and to optimize the Polling Station (PS) location and area across the country.
iii. The motto of ECI for the year 2016 is No voter to be left behind.
7. Federal Bank ties up with Reliance Jio Money
i. Federal Bank has signed an agreement with Reliance Jio Money for one-click payment service.
ii. Reliance Jio Money is a wallet application that will be launched soon for mobile devices where Federal Bank will enable a direct payment option for its customers.
iii. Through this service, the leading private sector bank’s customers can complete a transaction without funding the wallet. The bank’s customers will get a facility to directly pay from their account for the services offered through the wallet (without pre-loading their wallet).
8. IRCTC joins hands with SBI to promote rail ticketing
i. Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has joined hands with the State Bank of India to chalk out a detailed plan for promotion of rail ticketing activities, including internet ticketing and unreserved ticketing system.
ii. The MoU was signed by IRCTC CMD A K Manocha and Arundhati Bhattacharya, CMD, SBI.
iii. The MoU also envisages for undertaking activities which can provide value to customers and bring about synergy in working of both the organisations.
9. BHEL commissions 40 mw hydropower units in West Bengal
i. Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has commissioned the third unit of the 4×40 MW Teesta Low Dam Hydro Electric Project (HEP) Stage-IV in West Bengal.
ii. A run-of-the-river greenfield project located in Darjeeling district of West Bengal(WB), Teesta HEP is being set up by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC), on the River Teesta. The fourth and final unit of the project is also in advanced stages of execution.
iii. The Power generation from the Teesta project will result in reduction of green-house gas emissions and will help in achieving a low carbon development path for the state as well as the nation. The order for Electrical & Mechanical (E&M) works for four units of 40 MW each was placed on BHEL by NHPC.
10. BCCI conducts ‘English language and communication skills’
i. The Board of Control for Cricket in India has organised a course for umpires on English language and communication skills.
ii. For this the first batch took place from July 12 to 16 and the second is scheduled from July 19 to 23 in Mumbai.
ii. The course has been designed by the British Council along with the International Cricket Council and is aimed at equipping the match officials with
requisite communication skills.
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