SIF 2024 Unveils World's First AI-Powered Trade Licence Service
The Sharjah Investment Forum (SIF) 2024 concluded, marking a significant milestone in the realm of global business and technology. Held at the prestigious Al Jawaher Reception and Convention Centre, this two-day event drew an impressive crowd of over 5,000 attendees, including a diverse array of high-profile officials, entrepreneurs, and industry leaders from around the world.
SIF 2024 established itself as a pivotal platform for knowledge sharing and networking, offering attendees a rich tapestry of experiences.
The highlight of SIF 2024 was undoubtedly the unveiling of the world's first AI-powered trade licence service. This groundbreaking innovation represents a significant leap forward in business facilitation and government services.
India has become the sixth largest market in the MSCI All Country World Investable Market Index (ACWI IMI), surpassing China and narrowly behind France.
For the first time, India is the largest emerging market (EM) in the gauge that tracks the performance of global capital markets.
At the end of August 2024, India's weight in the MSCI ACWI IMI stood at 2.35 per cent, 11 basis points (bps) more than China which is at 2.24 per cent. France has just 3 bps more weight than India.
MSCI ACWI IMI index encompasses stocks in the large- and mid-cap space. It is a spinoff of the more widely followed MSCI ACWI Index, which has only large and mid-cap representation.
ICICI Bank Launches NPS Vatsalya Pension Account for Minors
ICICI Bank announced the launch of NPS Vatsalya, a pension scheme aimed at securing the financial future of children, at its service centre at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) in Mumbai.
The new pension scheme, to be operated under the aegis of the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA), was proposed in the first Budget of the Narendra Modi 3.0 government in July. The NPS Vatsalya scheme allows parents or guardians to build corpuses for their minor children until they attain 18 years of age. Upon attaining adulthood, the subscriber can convert the NPS Vatsalya account into a normal NPS account.
Infosys Collaborates with UK's Metro Bank for Digital Transformation
Indian IT major Infosys entered into a long-term collaboration with British community bank Metro Bank to digitise the bank's operations. The collaboration will utilise Infosys Topaz, the firm's AI-first offerings, to enhance Metro Bank's digital capabilities, improve automation, refine data, and embed further AI capabilities.
Sabita Toppo, D. M. Jayaram Star in Five Star Performance at SAAF Junior Athletics Championships
RF Athletics High Performance Centre's (HPC) athletes sparkled at the SAFF Junior Athletics Championships in Chennai by winning five medals at the competition. D. M. Jayaram starred by winning a brace of medals, a bronze in the men's 100 m event and a silver in the men's 4x100 m relay event, where he was joined by fellow Odisha-RF HPC athlete Mahendra Santa.
Sabita Toppo claimed silver in the women's 100 m hurdles event in an eye-catching display and Laxmipriya Kisan also won silver in the women's 800 m event.
India's Valluri Babu Strikes Gold in Commonwealth Championships
Indian weightlifter Valluri Ajaya Babu produced a record-breaking performance and clinched the gold medal in the men's 81kg junior and senior categories at the Commonwealth Championships.
The 19-year-old heaved a total of 326kg (147kg + 179kg) to finish on top of the podium.
With his performance, Babu set a Commonwealth record in clean and jerk in the 81kg junior category.
He also smashed the junior national marks in snatch, clean and jerk and total weight sections.
Dunith Wellalage and Samarawickrama Named ICC Players of the Month for August 2024
In a remarkable achievement for Sri Lankan cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) announced that Dunith Wellalage and Harshitha Samarawickrama were named the ICC Players of the Month for August 2024. This rare double victory marked a significant milestone for Sri Lanka in international cricket.
This is only the second instance in ICC history where players from the same country have won both the men's and women's awards in the same month. The previous occurrence was in June 2024, when India's Jasprit Bumrah and Smriti Mandhana achieved this feat. Wellalage's victory in the men's category came against stiff competition. He edged out South African spinner Keshav Maharaj and West Indies fast bowler Jayden Seales, who were also shortlisted for the award.
Samarawickrama's stellar performances on the tour of Ireland set her apart from other contenders. She narrowly beat out Irish players Orla Prendergast and Gaby Lewis for the award.
India Joins Exclusive Club of Four G-20 Nations with 'Regular Follow-up' Rating from FATF
India joined an elite group of just four G20 nations, who have received a 'regular follow-up' rating from Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Union finance ministry's additional secretary Vivek Aggarwal said.
Aggarwal further said that the country was given a high rating for an immediate outcome on anti-money laundering and terror financing cases. "Measures taken for financial transparency through JAM trinity (Jan Dhan, Aadhar, and Mobile) was recognised by FATF," he said, adding that India's risk assessment will be done every three years by the global body, with the next one being in 2025.
Aggarwal also pointed out that FATF noted the steps taken against risks from cash-based economy and the deregistration of over 4 lakh shell companies between 2017 and 2021.
India, European Union Agree to Deepen Cooperation in Sustainable Water Management
India and the European Union agreed to enhance cooperation in sustainable water management and both sides committed to advance cooperation in river basin management, fostering innovation and technology transfer while promoting sustainable investments.
The forum explored trilateral collaboration between East Africa, India and the EU, to address challenges in East Africa's water bodies such as Lake Victoria and Lake Tanganyika, leveraging the combined strength of India and the EU.
At the 6th EU-India Water Forum held on the sidelines of the 8th India Water Week in New Delhi, the India-EU Water Partnership (IEWP), established in 2016, aims to enhance technological, scientific, and policy frameworks in water management.
The IEWP, currently in Phase III, focuses on creating impactful and sustainable solutions in key areas such as river basin management, climate resilience, urban flooding, and water governance.
Under the IEWP, the EU and India are collaborating on river management in the Tapi and Ramganga River Basins. Under Phase III, the partnership will extend its efforts to other key basins like the Brahmaputra.
The Union Cabinet approved a package that will provide up to Rs. 5 lakh each to tribal households and villages across the country, to turn their homes into tourist homestays or to build new ones under the Tourism Ministry's Swadesh Darshan scheme. This is meant to tap the tourist potential of tribal areas and to provide alternate livelihood.
The PMJUGA package is aimed at ensuring the saturation of basic schemes in tribal villages, with interventions to be implemented by 17 Ministries, and funding coming from each Ministry's allocated share in the Development Action Plan for Scheduled Tribes. Together, this will involve an outlay of Rs. 79,156 crore, to be spent over five years, with a Central share of Rs. 56,333 crore, and a States' share of Rs. 22,823 crore.
National Symposium 'Exercise AIKYA' on Disaster Management
The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), in collaboration with the Southern Command of the Indian Army, organised a two-day national symposium, 'Exercise AIKYA', on disaster management in Chennai.
The primary aim of the exercise was to enhance disaster preparedness and foster robust collaboration among key stakeholders. The exercise will feature simulations, technology discussions and expert insights into various roles of disaster management.
Representatives from Railways, transport, civil aviation, health, environment and climate change departments State and National disaster management authorities and the Indian army were present.
The inaugural event of the World cleanup Day celebrated was on the 20th of September.
On December 8, 2023, the United Nations General Assembly, in its seventy-eighth session, unanimously adopted resolution 78/122 "World Cleanup Day", which proclaims September 20 as World Cleanup Day.
The resolution invites all Member States, organisations of the United Nations system, other international and regional organisations, and other relevant stakeholders – including civil society, the private sector and academia.
The United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) facilitates the observance of the Day.
The host for World Cleanup Day 2024 was Norway.
The theme for World Cleanup Day 2024 is 'Arctic Cities and Marine Litter'.
Cabinet Approves PM-AASHA Scheme Extension with Rs. 35,000 crore Outlay
The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, approved the continuation of the Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) to ensure fair prices for farmers and to regulate price fluctuations in essential commodities for consumers. This extension will incur a financial outlay of Rs. 35,000 crore during the 15th Finance Commission cycle, up to 2025-26.
The government has converged the Price Support Scheme (PSS) and Price Stabilisation Fund (PSF) schemes under PM-AASHA to serve farmers and consumers more effectively. This integration aims to provide farmers with remunerative prices for their crops, while stabilising the market prices of essential commodities, thus making them affordable for consumers.
Assam's 3rd Poverty Alleviation Scheme Launched for 372K Beneficiaries
The Assam government rolled out the third edition of its flagship poverty alleviation scheme 'Orunodoi', covering 37.2 lakh beneficiaries for direct cash transfer.
The 'Orunodoi 3.0' has upped the number of beneficiaries by over 12.5 lakh people across the state from 24.6 lakh recipients of the second edition of this scheme, and thus became the largest state-run DBT initiative in Assam ever.
The scheme, which is designed to empower women members of poor families, will deposit Rs. 1,250 per month directly to their bank accounts on the 10th day of every month.
The 'Orunodoi' scheme was first launched on December 1, 2020, and the second edition of it was announced on December 14, 2022, for adding more beneficiaries to the list.
IIM Bangalore Introduces BBA in Digital Business, Entrepreneurship
In a landmark event marking its foray into undergraduate education, IIM Bangalore inaugurated the BBA in Digital Business and Entrepreneurship (BBA DBE) programme, in a virtual session.
The curriculum includes 30 percent on emerging digital business technologies, 30% on core business topics like finance, operations & marketing, and emphasises an entrepreneurial mindset. The programme combines prerecorded course content with live sessions and offline exams. It features community-building through internships and projects with NSRCEL, one of India's leading business incubators, offering flexible exit options and highly engaging content-all while complying with UGC and other national guidelines.
The 19th Divya Kala Mela Unveiled in Visakhapatnam
The 19th edition of the Divya Kala Mela was inaugurated in Visakhapatnam by the Governor of Andhra Pradesh, S. Abdul Nazeer, alongside dignitaries like Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, and other MPs. The event provided concessional loans of Rs. 40 lakh to 10 Divyang beneficiaries under NDFDC schemes and distributed assistive devices with the support of CSR partners such as HPCL, GAIL India, and IOCL.
The Mela runs from September 19 to 29, from 11:00 AM to 9:00 PM, at Marine Ground, Andhra University.
Sujan Jawai the Only Indian Stay That Made It to "World's Best 50 Hotels"
Rajasthan's Sujan Jawai was named among the world's best fifty hotels. Located in Rajasthan's Pali, an area popular for its leopard sightings, it is the only Indian hotel that made it to the prestigious list and stands at 43rd rank. The hotel received a prize from 'The World's 50 Best Hotels' in Guildhall, London.
The "World's 50 Best Hotels" are chosen based on feedback from anonymous voters across the world. The voters include travel journalists, hoteliers and seasoned travel specialists. A total of 600 voters curated the "World's 50 Best Hotels" list.
The other hotels featured in the list include Capella Bangkok, which ranked first, Paris' Cheval Blanc, Raffles Singapore, Aman Tokyo, Dubai's The Lana, and Paris' le Bristol among others.
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