Union Government announces package for promotion of digital & cashless economy
- Govt introduces a package of incentives for promotion of digital and cashless economy
- 0.75% discount on purchase of petrol/diesel through digital means
- Deployment of 2 POS devices each in 1 Lakh villages with population of less than 10,000
- Discount upto 0.5% for monthly or seasonal tickets from January 1, 2017, if payment is made digitally
- All railway passengers buying online ticket shall be given free accidental insurance cover of upto Rs. 10 lakh
Uttarakhand HC orders liquor ban in three districts
- Uttarakhand High Court on Thursday banned liquor in Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, and Chamoli districts of the state.
- The court also announced a ban on liquor and tobacco products within a radius of 5 kilometers from prominent Sikh shrines – Reetha Sahib and Hemkunt Sahib.
World Bank cancels Rs.674 crore loan to Pakistan
- The World Bank has cancelled a $100 million (around Rs.674 crore) loan promised to Pakistan for a natural gas efficiency project, citing a lack of interest by the Pakistani gas distribution company. The project was aimed at reducing losses of gas in the pipeline system. Rating the project "unsatisfactory",
Trump appoints former WWE CEO as Small Business Admin head
- US President-elect Donald Trump has picked ex-CEO of WWE Linda McMahon to head the government's Small Business Administration.
Paris made public transport free to tackle air pollution
- French capital Paris has implemented an odd-even scheme starting Tuesday, and allowed commuters to use public transport for free.
Bluetooth 5 with double speed, 4 times longer range launched
- Bluetooth Special Interest Group, the not-for-profit corporation that oversees the development of Bluetooth standards, has officially adopted 'Bluetooth 5' after its introduction in June.
- The latest version claims four times the range, twice the speed and eight times the amount of data in broadcast messages.
FSSAI bans use of newspapers for packing food
- The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) on Wednesday issued an advisory stating it has decided to ban the use of newspapers for wrapping and packing of food items.
- Newspaper ink can contaminate food items.
India removes import duty on wheat
India has scrapped its 10% import duty on wheat after droughts in the past two years depleted stocks,