Saudi Arabia Starts Issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners
As Saudi Arabia officially started the issuance of Permanent Premium Residency Permit to Foreigners, Indian investor Yosuffali M A, Chairman of the Lulu group became one of the first to be given the permanent residency permit by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
The Premium Residency, informally known as Saudi Green Card, is a residence permit in Saudi Arabia that grants expatriates the right to live, work and own business and property in the Kingdom without need for a sponsor.
The introduction of the Premium Residency comes as a part of Saudi Arabia's Vision 2030 reform plan, which was announced by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to boost the Saudi economy.
Iraq's PM-Designate Withdraws From Post, Prolonging Deadlock
Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Allawi withdrew his candidacy for the post, accusing political parties of obstructing him, deepening a domestic crisis and threatening an unprecedented power vacuum.
His move came hours after parliament failed for the second time in a week to approve his cabinet amid political infighting in the oil producer, where mass protests and deadlock between lawmakers are delaying Iraq's recovery from years of war.
Allawi's appointment was meant to ease a crisis as the Shi'ite-led country faces a mass protest movement that broke out in October and brought down Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi.
Iraq could end up without a Prime Minister in the meantime if Abdul Mahdi, who stayed on in a caretaker capacity, also quits.
Salih appointed Allawi after squabbling lawmakers from rival parties failed for two months to decide on a successor to Abdul Mahdi, who resigned in November during mass unrest. Allawi had one month to form a government that was meant to organise early elections.
Britain, EU Begin Post-Brexit Trade Talks
British trade negotiators begin a marathon of talks in Brussels aimed at forging a new post-Brexit relationship with the EU. The EU's chief negotiator Michel Barnier and his UK counterpart David Frost will lead the talks, which would be held over several weekly rounds in Brussels and London. The negotiations start just over a month since UK left the EU, and are meant to wrap up by the end of this year - an exceedingly tight time frame that few see as feasible for anything but a barebones accord.
According to a government decision, the cheapest form of new power in the UK - onshore wind - is set to make a comeback.
Ministers previously blocked projects after complaints from local campaigners that they were a blot on the landscape.
The government responded by denying onshore wind the chance to bid for a price guarantee for the electricity they produce.
They also gave local protestors a definitive say in the planning process.
This meant it was virtually impossible for wind farms to gain permission.
Environmentalists said the decision was irrational, and today the government has opened the way for onshore wind farm developers to bid for price support.
But the government still wants local people to have a strong say in the decision where they are built. That means relatively few are expected in congested England.
BEE Launches Star Rating Programme for Deep Freezer and Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC)
To commemorate its 19th foundation day, Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), Ministry of Power, Government of India organized a Stakeholder Consultation to develop a vision towards building an energy efficient India. Launching the programme, Shri Sanjeev Nandan Sahai, Secretary (Power) appreciated the hard work of BEE for contributing towards an energy efficient economy. Such interaction would pave a way forward for initiatives to be taken by BEE in the sphere of energy efficiency. Deep freezer and LCAC are major energy guzzlers in commercial space, therefore, it is imperative that these two appliances shall be included in the program to save energy and reduce CO2 emission. With these two products only, a total savings of around 9 Billion units of electricity is expected to be saved for the country by FY 2030.
The Star Labeling Programme has been formulated by Bureau of Energy Efficiency, as part of its mandate, under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001. Under this Programme, BEE has covered 24 appliances till date wherein 10 appliances are under mandatory regime. On the occasion of 19th foundation day, BEE has expanded the coverage by including Energy Efficient "Deep Freezers" and "Light Commercial Air Conditioners (LCAC)". Through launch of these two new appliances under voluntary regime, 26 appliances would now be covered under this programme. During the event, Urja Dakshata Information Tool (UDIT) (www.udit.beeindia.gov.in), a first ever initiative taken by BEE with World Resources Institute (WRI), to facilitate a database on energy e-fficiency was launched. UDIT is a user-friendly platform that explains the energy efficiency landscape of India across industry, appliances, building, transport, municipal and agriculture sectors. UDIT will also showcase the capacity building and new initiatives taken up by the Government across the sectors in the increase energy efficiency domain.
Power Ministry Flags Concerns over Divesting Govt. Stake Below 51% in NTPC, PowerGrid
The Power Ministry raised concerns over the proposed strategic divestment of government equity in NTPC, PFC and PowerGrid, which may bring down its stake to below 51 per cent.
However, a final call on the proposed government stake sale is yet to be taken as the ministry conveyed its reservations to the Finance Ministry.
As per Power Secretary S. N. Sahai, there are issues. There will be some advantages and there will be some disadvantages.
Sahsi said that there is nothing like rejection. Each proposal has two sides, the advantages and disadvantages, we have conveyed both of them to the Finance Ministry. We have told them about the disadvantages, and we are cognizant of the advantages.
He further said that the ministry has highlighted both aspects of the issue and no stand has been taken yet, and these are part of deliberations on the proposal.
Earlier, under disinvestment plan, it was proposed to divest government equity below 51 per cent of its stake in certain public sector undertakings, including NTPC, PowerGrid and Power Finance Corporation (PFC).
Thereafter certain foreign bond holder in these PSU had raised concerns about that. The power entities are supposed to compensate bondholders after reduction of the government stake to below 51 per cent.
Government Launches 'Humsafar' Mobile App for Doorstep Diesel Delivery
Housing societies, hotels, and hospitals in the national capital region will soon be able to get diesel delivered at their doorsteps, with the launch of mobile application 'Humsafar' by Labour Minister Santosh Gangwar.
The app will be used for the fuel delivery services to housing societies, hotels, hospitals, malls, construction sites, industries, banquets and other bulk buyers of diesel in various national capital region cities, including Gurugram, Ghaziabad, Noida, Faridabad, Hapur, Kundli, Manesar, and Bahadurgarh.
Sanya Goel, director and founder of Humsafar, said that the main idea of introducing this service is to help entities such as housing societies, industries and malls avoid the hassle of transporting large amounts of fuel from the fuel station to the desired destination. "This would also cut down the unsafe practices of transporting the fuel and ensure a highly secured mode of transport by Humsafar delivery dispensers.
Researchers have discovered a huge snowman-shaped star with an atmospheric composition never seen before.
It is more massive than our Sun but only two-thirds the Earth's diameter.
The object is thought to have resulted from the merger of two so-called white dwarf stars that often explode as powerful supernovas.
As per Dr. Mark Hollands, of Warwick University, the team's discovery could help scientists better understand how this process occurs.
The most exciting aspect of this star is that it must have just about failed to explode as a supernova. There aren't that many white dwarfs this massive.
"There remains much uncertainty about what kind of stellar systems make it to the supernova stage.
The 29th edition of the Sultan Azlan Shah Cup was postponed due to the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The tournament was scheduled to be held between April 11 to 18 in Malaysia.
"The health and well-being of the teams, especially Australia, Canada, and Japan, should be taken into consideration as not to jeopardise their preparation for Tokyo Olympics 2020.
The committee has proposed the tournament to be rescheduled from September 24 to October 3.
The decision has been conveyed to FIH, AHF, MHC and the participating teams.
Sultan Azlan Shah Cup is an annual invitational international men's field hockey tournament held in Malaysia.
Centre Declares National Chambal Sanctuary in MP as Eco-sensitive Zone
The Centre declared the National Chambal Sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh, home to gangetic dolphins and 75 per cent population of critically endangered species gharial, as eco-sensitive zone (ESZ).
The ministry also directed the Madhya Pradesh government to prepare a Zonal Master Plan, which shall provide for restoration of denuded areas, conservation of existing water bodies, management of catchment areas, watershed management, groundwater management, soil and moisture conservation, needs of local community and such other aspects of the ecology and environment that need attention.
Spread over 435 square kilometres, the National Chambal Sanctuary lies across Sheopur, Morena and Bhind districts of Madhya Pradesh with a length of more than 400 kilometers.
It is home to naturally living population of 75 per cent of gharial. The sanctuary also harbours national aquatic animal – the fresh water gangetic dolphins, nine species of fresh water turtles and more the 180 species of migratory birds.
In its notification, the government prohibited any new construction of hotels and resorts within one kilometre from the boundary of the wildlife sanctuary or up to the extent of the ESZ, whichever is nearer.
Punjab Prohibits Online Supply of Food from FBOs Not Possessing Hygiene Rating
Punjab government's Food and Drug Administration has prohibited Online Food Supply Aggregators (OFSAs) related to those Food Business Operators (FBOs) who are not possessing hygiene rating, by invoking provisions under Section 18(1)(a) of food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 to ensure safe food to public.
It also prohibits OFSAs from sourcing the food from FBOs where rating is less than three out of five.
The prohibition orders would be effective for one year beginning April 30, 2020.
J&K Renames Historic City Chowk as 'Bharat Mata Chowk'
The historic City Chowk, which was a commercial center in Old Jammu, was renamed as 'Bharat Mata Chowk'. A resolution in this regard was passed by the General house of the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party)-led Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC), after which it was done.
Along with this, the starting point of the circular road near Panjtirthi in the city has also been changed to 'Atal Ji Chowk' in the memory of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
This is the first major change in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) after becoming a union territory (UT).
The tricolor is hoisted at City Chowk in Jammu on the occasion of Republic Day and Independence Day every year. BJP leaders have been demanding to change the name of this square to Bharat Mata Chowk for many years.
Nagpur Based Company Develops Next-Gen Electronic Grenade for Army
Economic Explosives Limited (EEL), a company under city's Solar Group, a major producer of commercial and defence explosives, expects to put up its latest electronic multimodal hand grenade for trials soon. This is one step ahead of the latest grenade being acquired by the Army.
The technology for making the grenade has been shared with the company by Chandigarh-based Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), a unit under DRDO.
Based on it, EEL has come up with initial units of the grenade, that were also put up on display at Axis-2020 exhibition under way at VNIT.
TBRL has also shared the technology of the non-electronic multimodal grenades with EEL, making it the sole private player to take part in the process for supplying the weapon to the army.
EEL has already taken part in a request for proposal (RFP) by the Army to make multimodal grenades without using the electronic mechanism. The weapon will also be made by the Ordnance Factory, Khamaria in Madhya Pradesh. Both the entities await the bulk production order from the Army.
Jack Welch, a railroad conductor's son who became Chairman and CEO of General Electric and led it for two decades, growing its market value from $12 billion to $410 billion, died. He was 84.
With a determination to win by busting up bureaucratic complacency, Welch earned two titles "manager of the century," and "Neutron Jack," the latter for slashing tens of thousands of jobs. Under his leadership, GE became the world's most valuable company, after Microsoft. Its fortunes later turned south.
While at the helm, Welch bought and sold scores of businesses, expanding the industrial giant into financial services and consulting. GE Capital Bank was founded seven years into his tenure. His acquisitions included RCA — then-owner of NBC — and Kidder Peabody, the brokerage that became entangled in an insider trading scandal.
Ramniklal Solanki Giant of Gujarati Journalism Passes Away
Ramniklal Solanki, a giant of Gujarati journalism and the pioneer of the British Asian media, passed away in Ahmedabad, India aged 88.
Solanki was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of UK-based 'Garavi Gujarat' newsweekly and the Asian Media Group (AMG), which is Britain's biggest and one of the most successful Asian media businesses.
Solanki's contribution was recognised by Queen Elizabeth II, who honoured him with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1997 a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 2007.
OBE is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service.
CBE is the highest ranking Order of the British Empire award.
World Wildlife Day is celebrated on March 3 every year to raise awareness of endangered animals and plants, and ways to fight against wildlife crime.
On 20th December 2013, at its 68th session, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), in its resolution UN 68/205, decided to proclaim 3rd March, the day of the adoption of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) in 1973, as World Wildlife Day, which was proposed by Thailand, to celebrate and raise awareness of the world's wild fauna and flora.
Each year World Wildlife Day has a theme. The theme for 2020 is "Sustaining all life on earth".
World Hearing Day
World Hearing Day is held on 3rd March each year to raise awareness of how to prevent deafness and hearing loss and to promote ear and hearing care across the world.
World Hearing Day is a campaign held each year by Office of Prevention of Blindness and Deafness of the World Health Organization (WHO). Activities take place across the globe and an event is hosted at the World Health Organization on March 3rd. The campaign's objectives are to share information and promote actions towards the prevention of hearing loss and improved hearing care. The first event was held in 2007. Before 2016 it was known as International Ear Care Day. Each year, the WHO selects a theme, develops educational materials, and makes these freely available in several languages. It also coordinates and reports on events around the globe.
Each year, the World Health Organization decides the theme. The theme for World Hearing Day in 2020 is "Hearing for Life: Don't let hearing loss limit you".
The International Communication Project (ICP) proudly supports and promotes World Hearing Day and its theme.
Assam's Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal was honoured with Swarajya Awards 2020 under the category, Dr. Syama Prasad Mukherjee Award for Politics at the 6th India Ideas Conclave at Tent City Narmada in Gujarat. The award is instituted by India Foundation & Indic Academy, and presented by External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Speaker of People's Majlis of Maldives Mohamed Nasheed.
He received the award for his work in integrating the nation, and to take Mukherjee's vision and philosophy forward.
He dedicated the award to the people of Assam, who have been the source of inspiration and guidance during his public life.
The award aims to honour the stellar work by individuals in the field of culture, social work, politics and economics. Each award carries a citation, a specially designed trophy and a cheque worth Rs. 1 lakh.
The Punjab cabinet approved the Punjab Lokayukta Bill, 2020, for passage in the ongoing session of the legislative assembly in its bid to improve governance and curb corruption.
The bill seeks to replace the existing Punjab Lokpal Act, 1996, and, once passed, will cover all public functionaries, including the Chief Minister. However, the prosecution of a sitting Chief Minister, ministers and members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) would require the approval of two-third members of the House.
Lokayuktas in some states, such as Karnataka, Uttarakhand and Maharashtra, have the powers to prosecute sitting chief ministers, but under certain conditions. A Lokayuta has seldom recommended action against a sitting chief minister. As per the new law, the Lokayukta will enjoy all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.
The bill is an extension of a central act passed by the Modi government in its first term, which mandated the states to bring a legislation on similar lines, giving more power to the Lokayukta. The official said that the bill bars a parallel probe into a complaint against any officer or public functionary, if an inquiry is being conducted into the matter by the Lokayukta.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the novel coronavirus appears to severely affect people over the age of 60, who account for 81% of all infection-related deaths.
The first large analysis of more than 44,000 cases from China found the death rate was 10 times higher in very old people compared to young people, unlike H1N1, which hit young adults the hardest in the outbreak years of 2009-10.
The data from China showed that only a handful of the children and teenagers (0-19 years) affected were hospitalised with fever, cough or other mild respiratory symptoms. They account for 0.1% of the total Covid-19-related deaths. Young adults (20-39 years) account for 2.5% of the total deaths.
Arunachal Govt. to Close Down Zero Enrolment Schools
According to state Education Minister Taba Tedir, the Arunachal Pradesh government approved closing down of zero enrolment schools and a notification with guidelines has been issued in this regard.
Responding to a question by BJP MLA Nyato Rigia during the Question Hour in the Assembly, Tedir informed the House that the decision was taken after the education department conducted a survey of the schools that are non-functional due to no enrolment of students.
A total of 311 schools in the state are defunct due to zero enrolment, as per 2018-19 data of the Unified District Information on School Education Plus (UDISE+).
The teachers of the zero enrolment schools will be posted in other educational institutions where there is a shortage of educators.
The infrastructure of the closed down schools will be handed over to the deputy commissioners who will decide how to utilise them.
As per reports, Arunachal Pradesh has 1,300 primary, 300 middle and 103 high schools that are functional.
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