- Tulsi Gabbard named chairperson of World Hindu Congress 2018
Tulsi Gabbard, the first Hindu lawmaker in the US Congress, has been named as the chairperson of the World Hindu Congress to be held in Chicago next year, organisers of the mega event announced
Held once every four years, World Hindu Congress (WHC) is a global platform for Hindus to connect, share ideas, inspire one another and impact the common good.
Organised by the World Hindu Foundation, the first Congress was held in New Delhi in 2014. The second WHC will take place in Illinois in Chicago from September 7 to 9 next year.
- Kiren Rijiju inaugurates the ‘India Disaster Response Summit’
The Union Minister of State for Home Affairs, Kiren Rijiju has said that India need to prepare itself for moving towards Disaster Risk Management (DRM) and Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) from an approach of traditional Disaster Management.
Rijiju was inaugurating the ‘India Disaster Response Summit’, organised jointly by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) and Facebook, on how best to leverage social media platforms to ‘prepare, respond and recover’ for, during and after a disaster.
- Kerala launches Ayurveda tourism programme
A new tourism product ‘AyurBodha’, which blends tourism and learning about ayurveda for those visiting Kerala, was launched at the World Travel Mart (WTM) in London.
The programme was launched by state Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran, said a release issued by Kerala Tourism.
The 15-day AyurBodha package has been priced at $100 a day per person, and it includes accommodation and complimentary breakfast. The location can be chosen according to one’s preference.
- Government Launch Various Projects to improve India-Bangladesh Connectivity
India and Bangladesh have jointly launched bilateral connectivity projects for the mutual benefit of both countries.
The joint connectivity projects were launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee via video conference.
The ‘Moitree Express’ which runs between Dhaka and Kolkata will be the other train to be flagged off.
- Bengaluru ranked 1st in Confidence of Business in Digital Transformation
India’s Silicon Valley -Bengaluru -has been ranked first, ahead of San Francisco, for the confidence of businesses in their ability to do digital transformations based on the skills and infrastructure available in their immediate environment.
According to a study by The Economist Intelligence Unit, three Indian cities bagged top 4 ranks. San Francisco is ranked at No. 2, followed by Mumbai and New Delhi.
Business leaders in Bengaluru expressed the highest confidence in their digital environment based on innovation and entrepreneurship, people and skills, development of new technologies, financial environment, and ICT infrastructure. In each of these categories, the city ranked No. 1.
- K’taka CM inaugurates 3rd govt maternity hospital in B’luru
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has inaugurated Hajee Sir Ismail Sait Gosha Women and Children Hospital in Shivajinagar.
The 120-bed hospital has cutting-edge ultrasound scanning equipment, foetal monitoring systems and vacuum suction for delivery.
This is the third government hospital dedicated to mothers and children after Vani Vilas Hospital and Indira Gandhi Institute of Child Health.
- Federal Bank gets RBI nod to open offices in Kuwait, Singapore
Federal Bank has obtained RBI approval to open representative offices at Kuwait and Singapore. The bank has been the preferred banker for NRIs and the NRI friendly measures have resulted in increasing inflow of foreign remittances.
The bank already has its representative offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai and it has tied up with 110+ overseas banks/remittance partners.
- Largest Dubai lender Emirates NBD enters India
Emirates NBD the biggest lender from Dubai has entered the country with its first branch in the megapolis and will cater to corporates, institutional clients and NRIs.
The Mumbai branch, located in the plush BKC CBD, is the fifth international branch outside of its UAE network. The group will invest USD 100 million capital towards Indian operations. Emirates NBD India is headed by Sharad Agarwal as CEO.
- PayPal Launches Domestic Payments in India
American digital payments company PayPal launched domestic operations in India. At launch, Indian consumers will be able to make transactions at select online merchants.
Merchants offering PayPal will be able to process both local and global payments through the platform, getting access to PayPal’s more than 200 million customers around the world and in India through a single integration.
- IDFC Bank partners MobiKwik for virtual in-app prepaid cards
IDFC Bank, MobiKwik and Net1 have come together to launch a co-branded virtual prepaid card on Visa platform.
Around 65 million users of MobiKwik will gain access to an IDFC Bank virtual card embedded within the app, making digital purchases at all e-commerce merchants easier and faster.
Customers of MobiKwik can generate a 16-digit Visa virtual card through the app and use it for e-commerce and online transactions.
- India to host service for WW martyrs in Netherlands
India will hold a Remembrance Day service in the Netherlands to honour the sacrifices made by the commonwealth forces during the first and second world wars. The ceremony will be held at the Westduin cemetery in The Hague.
India’s ambassador to the Netherlands Venu Rajamony along with the ambassadors of other commonwealth countries would lay wreaths on the graves of the soldiers.
The ambassador will read the poem ‘The Gift of India’ by Indian poet Sarojini Naidu which speaks about the contribution of Indian soldiers in World War I, according to a statement by the Indian Embassy.
- Govt Notifies Tax Avoidance Protocol Between India and New Zealand
The government has notified the third protocol between India and New Zealand for avoidance of double taxation and prevention of fiscal evasion with respect to taxes on income.
The protocol updates the existing framework of exchange of tax-related information to latest international standard which will help curb tax evasion and tax avoidance between the two countries and will also enable mutual assistance in collection of taxes.
- NASA contracts Uber to build flying taxi air control software
Uber has struck a deal with NASA to develop software for managing “flying taxi” routes in the air along the lines of ride-hailing services it has pioneered on the ground.
It was the first formal services contract by the US National Aeronautical and Space Administration (NASA) covering low-altitude airspace rather than outer space.
- Pope Francis bans sale of cigarettes in Vatican
Pope Francis has ordered the Vatican to stop selling cigarettes, believing the Church should not be complicit in something that damages people’s health.
The move means employees of the Vatican will no longer be able to enjoy not having to pay taxes for tobacco at the city-state shop.
- Bank of China Begins Operations in Pakistan
Bank of China has formally launched its operations in Pakistan, with its first branch inaugurated in Karachi.
State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Tariq Bajwa welcomed the bank to Pakistan, saying that the increased diversity of foreign banks would increase the country’s economic resilience.
- Padma Shri awardee author Manu Sharma passes away
Noted author and Padma Shri awardee Manu Sharma died. He was 89. He was nominated as one of the ‘navratna’ of the Swachha Bharat Abhiyan by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Varanasi, his Lok Sabha constituency in 2014.
Sharma had donated his lifetime savings of Rs 20 lakh for the renovation of a ‘ghat’ in Varanasi to carry out a cleanliness campaign.
He was also the recipient of the prestigious Yash Bharti Award of the Uttar Pradesh government. Sharma has authored several hindi books including ‘Krishna Ki Atmakatha’.
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