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National
Odia becomes the Official Language of the Odisha Government
- Odia will be used as the official languagein all transactions of the Odisha government from August 16, 2016.
- According to the amendment of the Orissa Official Language Act 1954, all government letters, files will be carried in Odia language.
- A Committee with the Chief Secretary as its chairperson has been formed to oversee implementation of the use of Odia in all official business of the state government.
- The committee will every six months take stock of the situation. A special division under the General Administration department will oversee implementation of the use of Odia language in official transactions of the state government.
- Linguists have expressed doubts over the implementation of Odia as the state’s official language. They have alleged that it was being implemented in haste.
- Orissa Official Language Act, 1954 is the Orissa Act 14 of 1954 which received the assent of Governor on 1 October 1954 and was published in the Orissa Gazette on 15 October 1954
Maharashtra renovated and re launched girl child development scheme as Majhi Kanya Bhagyashri
- “Majhi Kanya Bhagyashri” scheme in order to achieve its objective of improving the skewed girl child ratio in the state.
- scheme is broadly divided into two parts:
- The couple has gone for family planning operationafter the birth of the first girl child
- couples have opted for the family planning operation after the birth of the second girl child.
- However, the scheme shall not apply for couples having one boy and one girl.
- re launched move is an amalgamation of “Sukanya” scheme and the Centre’s “Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao” scheme introduced last year.
- State government has focused its attention on the scheme and plans to implement it on a mission mode across the state, for which it has enlisted support of her cabinet colleagues and guardian ministers.
- the government intends to take the scheme to the village level through massive public awareness program.
Bihar Government ratifies GST bill following Assam
- Bihar assembly ratified the Constitution amendment bill needed to roll out the proposed goods and services tax (GST).
- GST Bill, seen as single biggest tax reform after Independence, needs to be ratified by at least 15 state legislatures out of a total of 29 before the President notify GST Council which will decide new tax rate and other issues.
- Bihar ratified a constitutional amendment Bill to introduce the Goods and Services tax in a special session of the state Assembly,making it the second state — the first non-NDA state – After Assam.
- The Bihar Chief Minister was against capping on the rate of GST, it should be the concern of both the Centre and the states to keep the tax rate at a reasonable level to prevent it from having an inflationary effect.
International
India sparks in the GII ranking among the Central and South Asian Nations
- According to the rankings released by Cornell University, INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO), India climbed 15 spots, from 81 last year, to 66 in the Global Innovation Index (GII) and maintained the top spot in the Central and South Asia regions
- India was at ranked on33 positions from 72 positions, which was tapped by domestic market scale – a new addition to the section
- the domestic market scale ranked 3rd on the poll.
- the ease of protecting minority interest wasat 8th position from the 7th position of the previous year’s data.
- Among the GII 2016 leaders, four economies — Japan, the U.S., the UK, and Germany— stand out in “innovation quality,”a top-level indicator that looks at the caliber of universities, number of scientific publications and international patent filings.
- China moves to 17thplace in innovation quality, making it the leader among middle-income economies for this indicator.
Business and Economy
Asia Index launches index to track performance of CBLO rate
- joint-venture between S&P Dow Jones Indices and BSE, Asia Indexlaunched a new index to measure the performance of Collateralized Borrowing and Lending Obligation (CBLO) rate – one of most liquid rates in India.
- new index would be calculated using the CBLO rate for transactions maturing on the following business day and with settlement T+0.
- launch of S&P BSE Liquid Rate Index, It helps in expanding fixed income indices offering in the most actively traded instrument in the money market. The CBLO rate is considered one of most liquid rates in India, in the overnight segment.
- index is designed to measure the returns from a daily rolling depositat the CBLO rate.
- As the Indian fixed income market is maturing, investors are seeking a tool to measure the performance of CBLO rates over a period of time.
RBI imposes penalty on four cooperative banks
- Reserve Bank of India(RBI) has imposed penalties on four cooperative banks for violation of various norms.
- Cooperative City Bank,Guwahati – Rs 5 lakh
2.Indapur Urban Cooperative Bank, Indapur – Rs 2 lakh
3.Shri Dadasaheb Gajmal Cooperative Bank, Pachora – Rs 1 lakh
4.Model Cooperative Urban Bank, Hyderabad – Rs 1 lakh - RBI also modified its directions regarding Mumbai based S. Co-op. Bankand relaxed payment terms for deposits.
- A sum not exceeding Rs 10,000in every savings bank or current account or term deposit account or any other deposit account may be allowed to be withdrawn by depositor
Tata Power Solar Commissions 100 Mw Project In Andhra
- 100 MWproject was commissioned using domestically manufactured cells and modules, thus fitting in with the government’s ‘Make in India’ mission
- this is the biggest solar project commissioned using domestically manufactured solar cells and modules. The plant is expected to generate nearly 160 million units of energy per year and help offset approximately110,000 tons of CO2 in the first year.
- This 100 MW plant is the largest to date and was completed well ahead of schedule, making it a stand out project in India.
- Tata Power Solar delivered the project in record 80% of stipulated timelines, and nearly 3 months ahead of schedule.
- Key highlights of the project were the innovative design of Balance-of-System (BoS) and cabling, along with optimized selection of evacuation systems.
L&T gets Maharashtra gov contract to convert Nagpur into smart city
- It is the country’s first large-scale integrated smart city.
- L&T’s business unit ‘Smart World and Communication‘ will execute the project that entails laying of 1200 km of optical fiber network.
- The Company will set up 136 wifi hotspotsacross the city and will establish 100 digital interactive kiosks and developing city surveillance systems.
- city has identified a strip of approximately 6 kilo meters which will be created as ‘Smart Strip’ with state-of-art systems powered by smart ICT interventions like smart transport, solid waste management.
Tata AutoComp to acquire TitanX
- Pune-based Tata AutoComp Systems, the Tata group-promoted auto component firm, is set to acquire TitanX,a global engine-cooling solutions firm that caters to commercial vehicle manufacturers.
- TitanX is a leading engine and powertrain cooling solutions supplier to the commercial vehicle industry having plants across North America, South America, Europe and China with sales of approximately USD 200 million.
- TitanX is currently owned by EQT Opportunity and Fourier transform
- TitanX has the latest technology inengine cooling solutions for commercial vehicles, which will help enhance offering to customers in commercial vehicle segment outside India.
Science and Technology
First Ever Quantum Satellite launched by china to establish “HACK PROOF” Communications
- Chinalaunched the world’s first quantum satellite, which will help it establish “hack-proof” communications between space and the ground,
- Quantum Experiments at Space Scale, or QUESS, satellite was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the remote northwestern province of Gansu.
- In its two-year mission, QUESS is designed to establish ‘hack-proof’ quantum communications by transmitting untraceable keys from space to the ground.
- Quantum communication boasts ultra-high security as a quantum photon can neither be separated nor duplicated and It is hence impossible to wiretap, intercept or crack the information transmitted through it.
- The satellite will enable secure communications between Beijing and Urumqi and the newly-launched satellite
Google Unveils its Video Chatting App – Dubbed Duo for Android and iOS users
- Google’s video chatting app– dubbed Duo, represents Google’s response to other popular video calling options, including Apple’s FaceTime, Microsoft’s Skype and Facebook’s Messenger app.
- Duo was announced at Google I/O in May and rolled out globally on Android and iOS 9 in 78 languages.
- It will be a hard sell considering how late to market Duo is compared to strong, sensibly intertwined products likeFacebook Messenger and Apple’s iMessage/FaceTime.
- It is a one-to-one video chat app and Google’s direct rival to Apple’s FaceTime (which is built into all iPhones, iPads and Macs), rather than a more comprehensive video conferencing solution such asMicrosoft’s Skype or Google’s Hangouts.
- provides the so-called Knock Knock live feed of the caller before the recipient picks up as the phone rings and has a one-tap call button to jump straight into a video call.
- Duo is the latest in a long line of Google services capable of conducting video calling, but is this time designed to simplify the process.
US researchers found a Mechanism to recycle CO2 in to reusable Fuel
- US researchers used a metal compound called tungsten diselenide,which was fashioned into nanosized flakes to maximize
- mechanism was developed by US Department of Energy’s Argonne National Laboratory and University of Illinois at Chicago
- To make carbon dioxide into something that could be usable fuel, the team from University of Illinois at Chicagoneeded to find a catalyst – a particular compound that could make carbon dioxide react more readily.
- The researchers used a metal compound called tungsten diselenide, which they fashionedinto nano-sized flakes to maximize the surface area and to expose its reactive edges and ultimately create carbon monoxide.
People in News
Noted Educationalist B P Kesri Passed away
- Renowned educationist Prof B P Kesri of Jharkhand state has passed away in Ranchi district
- Besides being an educationist, Hw was considered as the plight of Jharkhand.
- The state also mourned the martyrdom of Commandant Prabhat Kumar,who hailed from Jharkhands Jamtara, in Jammu and Kashmir.
Renowned Malayalam Scriptwriter T A Razzaq Passed Away
- Malayalam scriptwriter T A Razzaq, 58 passed away at Kochi while undergoing treatment for liver ailment
- Razzaq’s film career began in the late 1980s, when he started work as an assistant director on the film
- As a scriptwriter his notable films include Kanakinavu, Ghazal, Perumazhakalam, Aayirathil Oruvan and Thalolam. Kanakinavu went on to win a National Award.
- Razzaq made his mark while contributing to areas including script, story, and dialogue for nearly 30 Malayalam movies.
- He is a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for best story thrice -Kanakkinavu (1996), Aayirathil Oruvan (2002) and Perumazhakalam (2004) – and best screenplay for Kanakkinavu.
First Speaker of Delhi Assembly Charti Lal Goel passes away
- Former speaker of the Delhi Assembly Charti Lal Goelpassed away. He was 89.
- He was the first speakerof Delhi assembly. He was a founder member of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh in 1951