Moldova's President Appoints Dorin Recean as New Prime Minister
Moldova's President Maia Sandu nominated her security advisor and secretary of the national Security Council, Dorin Recean, to head the government as the new Prime Minister.
Sandu made the appointment after Natalia Gavrilita announced her resignation after one and a half years in office. The change of Prime Minister came shortly after Ukrainian officials warned of a plot to destabilise Moldova. The replacement also addresses public disappointment about the slow progress of reforms in key areas such as justice and the deterioration in the standard of living amid high inflation.
Gavrilita announced her resignation following a meeting held by Sandu with members of the ruling Party of Action and Solidarity (PAS), which holds a robust majority in parliament. The transition to the new government will most likely be smooth. Foreign Minister Nicu Popescu said that most of the ministers will keep their seats.
South Indian Bank Ties up with Maruti for Car Financing
South Indian Bank announced the signing of a MoU with Maruti Suzuki to provide dealer finance options and customised auto retail financing solutions for customers.
With this tie-up, South Indian Bank aims to help dealer partners streamline vehicle inventory funding and offer comprehensive retail financing solutions to the customers of Maruti Suzuki.
The MoU was signed in the presence of Shashank Srivastava, Senior Executive Officer, Marketing & Sales, MSIL, Bhuvan Dheer, Executive Vice President, Sales, MSIL, Vikas Kohli, Vice President, MSIL, Murali Ramakrishnan, MD & CEO, South Indian Bank, and other senior officials from both organisations.
Indian Overseas Bank Launches Electronic Bank Guarantee Scheme
Public sector Indian Overseas Bank launched the facility of issuance of e-BG (Electronic Bank Guarantee) scheme in association with the National e-Governance Services Ltd.
The e-BG is an instrument issued by the city-headquartered bank in which the bank undertakes to guarantee a specific amount against the non-fulfilment of some action/performance of the applicant.
The main features of the e-BG are completely paperless mode with digital stamping and digital signature. Real time issuance of e-BG would make it available for the beneficiary instantly leading to time saving which in turn would fast track all the business purpose for which it is issued.
CAMSPay Receives RBI Nod to Operate as Payment Aggregator
Registrar and transfer agent of mutual funds Computer Age Management Services Ltd (CAMS) said that its payment platform CAMSPay, received in-principal authorisation from the Reserve Bank of India to operate as a payment aggregator.
CAMSPAy, a payment platform specialising in solving banking and finance services sector's payment challenges has been supporting mutual fund investors, insurance policy holders and loan borrowers for over a decade in enabling them to move from paper-based mandate process to offering digital payment solutions.
Katya Coelho Becomes First Indian Female iQFoiler to Qualify for 2023 Asian Games
Katya Coelho became the first female IQFoiler to qualify for the Asian Games after winning gold at the third trial in the IQFoil event, a windsurfing class in sailing sport, organised by the Army Yachting node of India.
Katya won gold in the IQ Foil Women's Class at YAI Senior Nationals in the 2nd round of Asian Games Selections Trials for the IQFoil category held at INWTC, Mumbai. She also won gold at Senior Nationals and 1st round of Asian Games Selection Trials for the IQ Foil Category.
The 23-year-old international windsurfer has won 2 medals at the Asian Open Championship in 2015 and over 10 national gold medals and also has a silver in the Asian championships 2022 — the first international medal in IQFoil by any Indian.
Manju Rani Walks Away with Gold
Ram Baboo and Manju Rani rewrote the men's and women's 35km race walk national records en route winning gold medals on the concluding day of the National Race Walking Championships in Ranchi, Jharkhand.
Rani, representing Punjab, became the first Indian woman to clock a sub-three-hour in the event, winning in 2 hours, 57 minutes and 54 seconds to better the record of 3:00.04 set last year (2022) by Ramandeep Kaur.
Uttar Pradesh's Baboo, on the other hand, improved his own national mark of 2:36.34 by nearly five minutes to 2:32.36.
However, they failed to match the World Athletics Championships qualifying standards of 2:29.40 (men) and 2:51.30 (women).
Union Cabinet Approves 'Vibrant Villages Programme' in Areas Bordering China
The Union Cabinet approved a centrally-sponsored scheme called "Vibrant Villages Programme" for financial years 2022-23 to 2025-26 with an outlay of Rs. 4,800 crore.
The decision in this regard was taken at a meeting of the Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the scheme is aimed at developing infrastructure and livelihood opportunity in four states and one Union Territory along the northern borders, including Himachal Pradesh, Uttrakhand, Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh and Ladakh.
The programme will help encourage people to stay in their native locations in border areas and reverse the out-migration from these villages, thus adding to improved security of the border.
Under the scheme efforts will be made to identify and develop economic drivers based on local, natural, human and other resources of the villages on the northern border and development of growth centres on "Hub and Spoke Model" through promotion of social entrepreneurship, empowerment of youth and women through skill development and entrepreneurship.
Cabinet Approves MoU for Cooperation in Disability Sector
The Union Cabinet approved signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and South Africa for cooperation in the Disability Sector. The decision was taken in the Cabinet meeting headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The bilateral Memorandum of Understanding will encourage cooperation between the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities of India and Government of South Africa through joint initiatives in the disability sector. Specific proposals for cooperation between the two countries, as mutually agreed upon, will be taken up for implementation during the period of validity of the Memorandum of Understanding. As per the statement, the Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and ageing population in both countries who especially require modern, cost-effective aids and assistive devices will be benefited from this MoU.
Cabinet Approves MoU between India, Chile in Agricultural Sector
The Union Cabinet approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and Chile for cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors.
Under the MoU, a Chile-India Agricultural Working Group will be constituted which will be responsible for the supervision, review and assessment of the implementation of the MoU as well as for establishing frequent communication and coordination.
The meetings of the Agricultural Working Group will be held once a year alternatively in Chile and India.
The main areas of cooperation envisaged are agricultural policies for the development of modern agriculture, organic agriculture to facilitate the bilateral trade of organic products, promoting exchange of policies aimed to develop organic production in both countries, science and innovation to explore partnerships to promote innovation in the agricultural sector among Indian Institutes and Chilean institutes as well as collaborate to confront common challenges.
The MoU shall enter into force upon its signature and shall remain in force for a period of five years from the date of execution after which it shall be automatically renewed for a further period of five years.
A joint counter-terrorism exercise 'Tarkash' between National Security Guard (NSG) and US Special Operations Forces (SOF) culminated in Chennai, after four weeks of intense training and joint anti-terror exercises. The main highlight of the exercise was mock drills for the CBRN (Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear) counter terror response by special forces of both countries. The training regimen of the exercise included the conduct of urban counter-terrorism drills, combat shooting and practice of long-range marksmanship, to enhance mutual warfare capabilities.
The main aim of this exercise was to train commandos of both the special forces units for the implementation of rapid neutralisation of enemies, the rescuing of hostages and neutralise the threat of chemical weapons. Notably, this was the first instance in the exercise's history where Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Terror response (CBRN) drills were conducted. CBRN weapons are classified as weapons of mass destruction and have been used by states and terror elements in the past.
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution from Jamaica to declare the first-ever Global Tourism Resilience Day on February 17 2023, in an effort to future-proof the sustainability of tourism. The move to mark the day annually was supported by more than 90 countries. The UNGA invites everyone to observe February 17 as a day to raise awareness of the importance of sustainable tourism, in accordance with local, regional and national priorities and through education, activities and events. The first Global Tourism Resilience Conference was held in Jamaica on February 15, culminating on Global Tourism Resilience Day.
Resilience in tourism is a way to improve sustainability after an ecological or environmental disaster and offers an alternative to sustainable development, as a possible recovery from tourism induced stress.
Kantara's Rishab Shetty Wins 'Most Promising Actor Award' at DPIFF 2023
Rishab Shetty rose to fame after the massive success of Kantara. The film went on to gross over Rs. 400 crore worldwide and won critical acclaim. The writer, director and actor of Kantara, Rishab Shetty, was honoured with Most Promising Actor at the Dadasaheb Phalke International Film Festival (DPIFF). Kantara is one of the successful films of 2022.
Himachal Pradesh Cabinet Approves Scheme for Orphans, Destitute Women
The Himachal Pradesh Cabinet approved guidelines for the Rs. 101 crore Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Ashray Yojana.
Orphans and those staying with their relatives, especially disabled children, destitute women and senior citizens were brought under the ambit of the scheme.
The orphan children, referred to as 'Children of the State', will be adopted by the government.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who chaired the meeting, decided to refurbish the existing shelter homes, orphanages, old-age homes, etc., under the Mukhya Mantri Sukh-Ashray Yojana to provide better facilities to the inmates.
SI-Ireland India held a two-day university fair for Indian students in Pune and New Delhi.
Ireland's top universities showcased study opportunities for Indian students during this event.
The institutions which participated in this fair included Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, University of Galway, TUS: Midlands Midwest, Dublin Business School, Dublin City University, University of Limerick, Maynooth University, and ATU- Atlantic Technological University.
The SI-Ireland Education Fair provided prospective students and their families detailed information and guidance on the application process, scholarships, and student visas, as well as insights from academic staff and alumni.
Ministry of Tourism Selected Four Pilgrim Centres under PRASHAD Scheme
The Ministry of Tourism under its schemes of 'Swadesh Darshan' and 'National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)' identified four pilgrim centres for development. They provide financial assistance to State Governments/UT Administrations etc. for the development of tourism infrastructure in the country.
The Ministry of Tourism revamped its Swadesh Darshan scheme as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations. Under SD2.0, the Ministry identified 'Hampi' and 'Mysuru' as destinations for development.
Pilgrim centres identified by Ministry of Tourism in Karnataka were (i) Development of Maa Chamundeshwari Devi Temple, Mysuru, Karnataka, (ii) Sri Madhwa Vana, Kunjarugiri, Udupi District, (iii) Papnash Temple, Bidar District and (iv) Sri Renuka Yallamma Temple, Saudatti, Belagavi District.
The Government of India launched the PRASAD scheme in the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism. The full form of the PRASAD scheme is the 'Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive'.
Justice Sonia Gokani Sworn in as Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court
Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat formally administered oath to Gujarat High Court Chief Justice (designate) Sonia Gokani at Raj Bhavan, Gandhinagar, making her officially the first woman to head the High Court.
The ceremony was kicked off with the President of India through its representative reading out 'the warrant of appointment'.
Chief Justice Gokani's appointment was approved by the central government.
Justice Gokani, who joined as the 28th Chief Justice of Gujarat High Court, will retire on February 25, making her tenure the shortest.
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