National
China’s high-speed train maker launches operations in India:
i. The state-run China Railway Rolling Stock Corporation (CRRC) is the first foreign company to set up assembly line of rail transportation equipment in India after Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled his ambitious ‘Make in India’ campaign in 2014.
ii. China’s largest high speed train maker has announced that its first USD 63.4 million joint venture plant in India to repair and manufacture railway locomotive engines has started operations.
iv. The joint venture named CRRC Pioneer (India) Electric Co. Ltd. is housed in Haryana.
v. It will also provide technology support to India’s rail system and supply electric transmission systems to oil drilling, wind power generation and mining equipment making in India
Note:
a) Japan has bagged the first bullet train project to build a high speed rail line between Ahmedabad and Mumbai.
b) India has one of the world’s largest railway network spanning about 64,000 kilometres.
Light Combat Aircraft manufacturing facility to come up in AP:
i. A weapons integration facility to manufacture Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), said to be the first-of-its-kind in the country in the private sector, will be set up in West Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh at a total cost of Rs 2,135 crore.
ii. Wem Technologies Private Limited is partnering with Lockheed Martin, the largest defence equipment manufacturer in the US, to set up this facility, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said.
Uttarakhand gets first animal birth control centre:
i. Union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi inaugurated the state’s first animal birth control centre (ABC) at Kedarpuram today.
ii. The centre will take up birth control measures with stray dogs the population of which has been rising in the city and the state.
iii. After Dehradun, the centres will be set up in Nainital and Mussoorie and other five municipal corporations in Haridwar, Haldwani, Kashipur, Haldwani and Roorkee.
BRICS women Parliamentarian’s forum kicks off in Jaipur:
i. The meeting of BRICS women parliamentarian’s forum has begun in Jaipur, Rajasthan. BRICS is the grouping of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.
ii. The two day meeting was inaugurated by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan. A total of 43 delegates from member countries are participating in the meeting.
iii. There will be plenary session on the theme of ‘Perspectives on implementation of SDGs’ at the Rajasthan Vidhan sabha.
iv. First session of the meeting will be on the theme of ‘Achieving SDGs- Role of Women Parliamentarians in involving Citizens’.
v. Besides, second session of will be based on theme “Containing Climate Change – Imperatives of Global Cooperation’.
BSNL, Microsoft sign MoU to offer IT solutions:
i. BSNL and Microsoft India have announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to offer telecom and IT solutions for big businesses to meet the demand for IT and cloud services.
ii. This will help audio and video needs of BSNL’s enterprise customers, including government organisations.
iii. Notably, BSNL has large shares in landline network, including leased line connectivity to various enterprises.
Railways to partner with Google for showcasing its heritage:
i. Google has agreed to partner with Railways to digitise its heritage assets and help create a digital repository for universal online access free of cost, said a senior Railway Ministry official.
ii. Indian Railway has a huge list of heritage assets including bridges, steam locos, buildings, artifacts and museums which can be showcased for global audience.
iii. GCI generally works with government organisations and not for profit groups to provide digital collection management systems and storeytelling tools free of cost.
iv. Currently Google is working with the railways in providing free Wi-Fi service at 100 stations.
India ranks 39th in Asia Pacific on fixed broadband: UNESCAP Report:
i. India ranks a low 39th in terms of fixed broadband adoption in the list of 53 Asia Pacific countries.
ii. It was revealed by the recently released report ‘State of ICT in Asia and the Pacific 2016: Uncovering the Widening Broadband Divide’.
iii. It was published by United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
iv. Hong Kong, New Zealand, Japan, Macao, Australia and Singapore topped the list. In India, just 1.35 of its citizens have subscribed to fixed broadband service in 2015.
India third biggest tech startup hub: Study
i. According to an Assocham study, India is home to the world’s third largest number of technology driven startups.
ii. The United States holds the top position, followed by the United Kingdom.
iii. The study added that India is among the five largest hosts in the world for both technology and non-technology startups.
Odisha to launch awareness drive to improve sex ratio:
i. Odisha government will launch an awareness drive next month in three districts where the child sex ratio is at an ‘alarmingly’ low level.
ii. The programme, named Biju Kanya Ratna scheme with the tagline “Our girls, our strength”, would be piloted by the state women and child development department. The three-year project would cost the state ₹3.5 crore.
Appointments & Resignations
RS Sodhi appointed on board of India Post Payment Banks:
i. Amul Managing Director RS Sodhi has been appointed as independent director on the board of India Post Payment Banks (IPPB) – the payments bank arm of postal department.
ii. GCMMF Managing Director RS Sodhi has been appointed independent director on the board of IPPB.
iii. Sodhi is one of the five independent members to be appointed on the board IPPB, which is set to be operational in March 2017.
iv. IPPB came into existence after it received certificate of incorporation from the Registrar of Companies on August 17.
India Post Payment Banks (IPPB): The India Post Payments Bank aims to become the most accessible bank in the world, riding on advanced banking and payments technology. Coupled with physical presence across 1.55 lakh post offices and the reach of the postman, the India Post Payments Bank plans to become a powerful and effective vehicle of real financial inclusion in the country.
Payments bank allows mobile firms, supermarket chains, and others to cater to banking requirements of individuals and small businesses. It will be set up as a differentiated bank and will confine its activities to acceptance of demand deposits, remittance services, Internet banking and other specified services.
Short News
I. Scientists have discovered Gymnothorax indicus (proposed name Indian unpatterened moray), a new species of eel (a snake-like fish) in the northern Bay of Bengal region along the West Bengal coast.
II. Brazil won its first ever Olympic gold in football after defeating Germany on penalties in the final on Sunday.
III. World’s longest and highest glass-bottomed bridge, a 430-metre-long and 300-metre-high skywalk opened in China. The skywalk, connecting two mountain cliffs, is located in Zhangjiajie Park. The mountain cliffs in the area are said to have inspired the ‘floating peaks’ in the movie ‘Avatar’.
IV. British long-distance runner Mohammed Farah won the men’s 5,000 metres race on Sunday to secure his second gold in Rio, after having won the 10,000 metres event last week.
V. Australian pacer Mitchell Starc became the fastest bowler to take 100 ODI wickets, while playing against Sri Lanka in his 52nd ODI on Sunday.
VI. Indian-origin MP Bardish Chagger became Canada’s first female Leader of the Government in the House of Commons. The 39-year-old MP from Waterloo is also among the youngest to hold the post and will retain her previous role as Minister for Small Business and Tourism.
VI. Subrata Banerjee, the former international umpire, died at the age of 71 in Kolkata.
VII. Sunil Bharti Mittal has been re-appointed as the Chairman of telecom giant Bharti Airtel for another 5 years, with effect from October 1, 2016.