Amazon plans to open first physical food-only outlets in India to sell local products on offline & online platforms:
US-based e-commerce Company (Amazon) has sought the Government of India’s approval to open food-only outlets along with an online platform to sell the locally produced items. The company’s grocery store subsidiary is looking to invest Rs 3,500 crore over the next five years into the country and sell third-party or its own private labels of locally produced and packaged food products. It will open its first grocery store to the public in Seattle in the United States (US) in 2017.
Kolkata emission levels to increase three times:
Vehicle registration shoots up in 5 yrs. Kolkata registers the least amount of carbon footprint due to vehicles among metro cities, emission levels are likely to increase three times by 2030 as the number of vehicular registration has skyrocketed in the past five years. According to a report published by the Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), Kolkata, is likely to witness high levels of air pollution due to transport-related emissions. The report titled ‘Kolkata: A smoggy future beckons?’.
Science Express to spread Climate Change awareness among Indians across 68 stations:
India’s Science, Environment and Railway ministers on Friday flagged off, the world’s largest “science exhibition on wheels“, the Science Express train to create an awareness on climate change in the country. The 16-coach AC Science Express Climate Action Special train, custom and built by the Indian Railways, will embark on a 205-day journey of over 19,000 km to cover 68 locations across the country till September 8, 2017.The train is expected to attract 30 lakh visitors this year.
Service of delivering Milk for babies in trains launched by RailYatri:
Train travel marketplace RailYatri has launched a service to deliver warm milk in specially designed spill-proof thermos-like packaging for babies travelling in trains. The milk can be ordered through the RailYatri application at designated railway stations. It will be delivered to the berth so that passengers do not have to get off the train to collect it.
Raytheon, TASL to make Stinger parts Tata Advanced Systems may expand the relationship to include other missiles:
Massachusetts-ba
sed $24 billion defence technology and research firm Raytheon Company signed a memorandum of understanding with Tata Sons wholly owned subsidiary, Tata Advanced Systems Limited (TASL), to co-produce Stinger air defence missile components.
Stinger has both surface-to-air and air-to-air applications against a variety of airborne targets. India will equip its AH-64 Apache helicopters with the missiles. Duane Gooden, vice president of Raytheon Land Warfare Systems.
India, Nepal to Build New Cross Border Power Lines:
India and Nepal have agreed to build new cross-border power transmission lines. The new Butwal(Nepal)-Gorakhpur (India) and Lumki (Nepal) –Bareilly ( India) transmission lines and new 400 kV sub-stations at Dhalkebar, Butwal and Hetauda, all in Nepal, were discussed during the fourth meeting of the Indo-Nepal joint working group and joint steering committee (JSC) on power cooperation.
Anil Bhardwaj appointed new director of Physical Research Laboratory:
Dr Anil Bhardwaj, who previously headed the Space Physics Laboratory (SPL) of the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) in Thiruvananthapuram, has now been appointed as the new Physical Research Laboratory (PRL) director. He officially took charge from in-charge director of Space Applications Centre (SAC) Tapan Misra.
He was the principal investigator of the Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser (MENCA) payload which is aboard on the India’s Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM). He now leads experiments on Chandrayaan-2, especially the Orbiter and Lander missions.
Resetting ties: Pakistan may appoint new India envoy:
India and Pakistan are likely to press the reset button in bilateral relations with Islamabad looking to appoint a new high commissioner to India, Pakistan’s high commissioner to India Abdul Basit will complete three years here next month and he has been recalled in yet another sign that Pakistan PM Nawaz Sharif is in complete control of foreign policy.
Ranganathan, Mehta appointed Non-Official Director in IOB, PNB:
T C A Ranganathan and Sunil Mehta were appointed as Non-Official Directors in Indian Overseas Bank and Punjab National Bank respectively.
The Appointments Committee of Cabinet has cleared their appointment as Non-Official Director/Non-Executive Chairman in the respective banks for a period of three years, Mehta’s appointment is subject to a condition that he needs to resign from the board of State Bank of India before joining the new post.
Banks Board Bureau Appoints Eight Executive Directors in Various Banks:
Banks Board Bureau Appoints Eight Executive Directors (EDs) in Various Banks. They have been appointed in various public sector banks on the recommendations of Banks Board Bureau on February 17, 2017. Initially, they have been appointments for a three-year period.
List of Appointed Executive Directors:
i. Neelam Damodharan and Atanu Kumar Das have been appointed as EDs in Bank of India. Presently, Damodharan serves as the General Manager in Bank of Baroda and Das is General Manager in Vijaya Bank.
ii. K Swaminathan, the General Manager in Indian Overseas Bank, has been appointed as ED in Indian Overseas Bank.
iii. Ashok Kumar Pradhan has been appointed as the ED in United Bank of India. Presently he serves as the Chief General Manager with State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur.
iv .P Ramana Murthy will be Executive Director of Central Bank of India. He is GM of Allahabad Bank.
v. Fareed Ahmed Khan, General Manager of Corporation Bank, has been appointed as the ED in Punjab and Sind Bank.
vi. M K Bhattacharya, Chief General Managers of State Bank of Mysore has been appointed as the EDs of Indian Bank
vii. S Harishankar who serves as Chief General Managers of State Bank of Travancore has been appointed EDs of Allahabad Bank.
Centre limits tenure of Sebi’s chairman-designate Ajay Tyagi to three years:
The government curtailed tenure of Ajay Tyagi as next chief of capital market regulator Sebi by two years, barely a week after his name was cleared to succeed incumbent U K Sinha with a five-year term.
Tyagi will now join as the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Chairman for an initial period of three years, official sources said today, without citing reasons behind the curtailment of his term. He will take over as Sebi chief after the extended tenure of Sinha ends on March 1.
Apple tops Fortune’s most admired companies list:
Tech giant Apple has been named the most admired company in the world, followed by Amazon and Starbucks in a list compiled by Fortune magazine, but no Indian firm could make the cut. Others in the top ten include Berkshire Hathaway, Disney, Alphabet, General Electric, Southwest Airlines, Facebook and Microsoft.
Government Increases the Cash Credit Limit for MSMEs To 30%:
The Union government has increased the Cash Credit (CC) limit for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) to 30 percent of turnover from the existing 20 percent to encourage them to conduct businesses digitally. Through digital means of conducting the business, the balance sheet of companies would be clean and this would help MSMEs to get loans from banks and promote Ease of Doing Business. Presently the taxes for MSME are calculated at 8 percent for revenue of up to Rs 2 crore. With digital transaction, tax liability will be reduced from 8 percent to 6 percent.
Canara Bank Inks MoU with HRD Ministry to Start Higher Education Financing Agency:
Bangalore based Public sector Canara Bank has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Human Resource Development (HRD) Ministry on February 17, 2017 to operationalize the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA). The establishment of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) was approved by the Union Cabinet in September 2016.Through this MoU, HRD Ministry and Canara Bank will jointly promote the HEFA with an authorised capital of Rs. 2,000 crore.
Canara Bank
♦ Headquarters : Bangalore, Karnataka
♦ MD & CEO : Shri Rakesh Sharma
Mastercard to Provide Payments Processing Solution for Airtel Payment Bank:
Leading global payments and technology firm, Mastercard is set to provide payments processing solution to Airtel Payments Bank. The payment processing platform will enable the Airtel Payment Bank in providing various payment services like switching, card management along with support for reconciliation and dispute management processes.
Mastercard and Airtel Payments bank have also launched India’s first online debit card along with a prepaid card, both of which is accessible through the Myairtel App.
Mastercard
♦ CEO : Ajaypal Singh Banga
♦ Headquarters : New York, United States
Karnataka Bank Launches National Pension System in Mangaluru:
Mangaluru based private sector lender Karnataka Bank Ltd launched National Pension System (NPS) at its corporate office in Mangaluru on February 16, 2017. Under the scheme, one can contribute to NPS while earning and eventually start receiving pension on his/her attaining the age of 60 years to meet their financial needs. To avail the benefit, any individual between the ages 18-60 years can register their name with the bank branch to contribute and to get pension benefit.
Karnataka Bank Limited
♦ Headquarters : Mangalore
♦ CEO : Polali Jayarama Bhat
♦ Motto : Your family bank. Across India
NALCO signs MoU with TERI for sustainable rehabilitation:
Odisha based National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) in New Delhi. To enhance its sustainable rehabilitation facility.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Union Power and Coal Minister Piyush Goyal, Union Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar, Nalco CMD Tapan Kumar Chand and other senior officials of Ministry of Mines and TERI, according to a Nalco release.
Air Asia signs MoU with Odisha Government for two-ways Direct Flights:
Malaysia-based low-cost airline AirAsia has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Odisha government on February 17, 2017 to start two-way direct international flights from Bhubaneswar to Kuala Lumpur. The agreement was signed between Nitin Bhanudas Jawale, Director of Tourism, Department in Odisha and AirAsia Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Aireen Omar. The airline will begin its flight service from the Biju Patnaik International Airport by end of March 2017.
Veteran Hindi Scholar and Novelist Surendra Verma Selected for 2016 Vyas Samman:
Renowned Hindi litterateur and playwright Surendra Verma has been selected for 2016 Vyas Samman for his novel Kaatna Shami Ka Vriksha Padma Pankhuri Ki Dhar Se. This novel was published in the year 2010. Mr Verma would be presented a cash prize of Rs. 3.50 lakh a citation and a logo for the prestigious award instituted by K Birla Foundation. Surendra Verma will be the 26th recipient of the honour.
South Indian Bank bags award for tech security practices:
Thrissur based South Indian Bank(SIB)’s MD and CEO of the bank, V.G. Mathew has received the ISO 27001: 2013 certification from Venkataram Arabolu, Managing Director, BSI Group India for Information Security Management System (ISMS) of SIB on February 16, 2017.
SIB had already received ISO 9001 Quality Management certification for its Credit Department, Personnel Department and Data Centre. The bank received this certification for security best practices with international standards.
Corporation Bank Bags 2017 National MSME Excellence Award:
Mangalore based public sector lender Corporation Bank was awarded the 2017 National MSME Excellence Award on February 10, 2017 at a function in New Delhi. D V Subramanya Varma, General Manager of Corporation Bank received the award from Union Minister of State for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises, Haribhai P Choudhary. The award is instituted by the Federation of Industry, Trade and Services (FITS).
Mohammad Kaif appointed assistant coach of Gujarat Lions for IPL 201:
Former Indian middle-order batsman Mohammad Kaif has been appointed as the assistant coach of the Gujarat Lions for the 2017 season while Mithun Manhas has joined Kings XI Punjab in the same position.
Mithun Manhas named Kings XI Punjab’s assistant coach:
Mithun Manhas and J Arun Kumar has been roped in as assistant coach and batting coach by Kings XI Punjab respectively for the upcoming season of the Indian Premier League (IPL).The new support staff team of Kings XI for season 10 will also include Amit Tyagi as the new Physiotherapist and Manoj Kumar as the team’s Yoga Instructor.
India qualifies for Women’s WC 2017 by beating Bangladesh:
Opener Mona Meshram and skipper Mithali Raj struck half-centuries as India booked their place in the upcoming ICC Women’s World Cup 2017 after thrashing Bangladesh by nine wickets in their qualifying clash at Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo. Skipper Mithali to help India come out victorious with 99 balls to spare.
Sindhu emulates Saina, enters top-5:
P.V. Sindhu has become the second Indian woman, after Saina Nehwal, to break into the top 5 after the latest BWF world rankings. Sindhu, with a career-best ranking of World No. 5, is currently the best-placed Indian in the chart. Saina is currently placed ninth. In men’s singles, Ajay Jayaram is the highest- ranked Indian at No. 18.
Dick Bruna, creator of children’s favourite Miffy, dies:
The Dutch artist and children’s author Dick Bruna, whose much-loved cartoon rabbit Miffy has sold more than 80 million books since its creation in 1955, has died aged 89. Born in 1929 into a family of publishers, Bruna began his career as an illustrator of covers for books including Ian Fleming’s James Bond series and the Inspector Maigret thrillers of Georges Simenon.
Peter Skellern, pianist and singer-songwriter:
Peter Skellern, who has died aged 69, was a pianist and singer-songwriter who rose to fame in 1972 with the gently romantic You’re A Lady, which reached No 3 in the British charts, and went on to have a busy career as a performer and tunesmith.
