Rajasthan launches Amma canteen-type meal scheme
- Rajasthan government has launched a subsidised meal scheme ‘Annapurna Rasoi'. As per the scheme, the poor and the needy will get breakfast for Rs 5 and lunch or dinner for Rs 8.
- The scheme will be in 12 cities initially and introduced across the state later. Initially, the scheme has been launched in Jaipur, Jodhpur, Kota, Ajmer, Bikaner, Udaipur, Bharatpur, Baran, Banswara, Dungarpur, Pratapgarh and Jhalawar.
PIFF to be held from Jan 12
- The 15th Pune International Film Festival will be held from January 12 to 19. Around 250 films in different categories will be screened at the festival, which is a collaboration between Maharashtra government and Pune Film Foundation.
- The festival director Jabbar Patel said the theme for this year's festival is Environment.
City corporation to receive Digital India Silver Award
- The Coimbatore City Municipal Corporation in Tamil Nadu has been selected for Digital India Award instituted by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
- The corporation will receive the Digital India Silver Award in the category of "Most Innovative Citizen Engagement" and also installing and implementing free WiFi Scheme in its various offices.
Nalco, NTPC ink MoU to set up power plant in Odisha
The National Aluminium Company Limited (NALCO) and NTPC Limited have signed a MoU to set up a 2400 MW power plant at Gajmara in Dhenkanal district of Odisha and supply captive power for expansion plans of Nalco at Angul and also Greenfield project at Kamakhyanagar in Dhenkanal district.
India's foreign exchange reserves down by USD 887.2 mn to USD 362.987 bn
- India's foreign exchange reserves declined by 887.2 million dollars to 362.987 billion dollars in the week ended 9th December.
- A RBI press release has informed that foreign currency assets, a major part of the overall reserves fell by 873 million dollars to 339.258 billion dollars.
Award for regional rural bank
- The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank has bagged two awards for inclusive insurance from Skoch Group for 2016.
- The bank bagged the awards in life insurance and micro insurance sectors under the order of merit category.
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill passed in Lok Sabha
- The Lok Sabha has passed the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Bill 2016 in Lok Sabha on 16 December 2016, which replaces the Persons with Disabilities (Equal Opportunities, Protection of Rights and Full Participation) Act 1995.
- The number of categories of differently-abled has been increased from seven to twenty-one so that the Divyangs could get the benefits of various schemes at the Centre and State level.
BHEL bags Rs 200-cr railway order for traction converters
- The state-owned BHEL has bagged a major order from Indian Railways for the supply of IGBT-based traction converters.
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) has bagged a major order for supply of 118 sets of IGBT-based traction converters for 3 Phase 6,000 HP electric locomotives.
- Valued at Rs 200 crore, the order has been placed on BHEL by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW).
BEML conferred CEPM Fellowship Award
- BEML Ltd, a defence public sector undertaking, has been conferred with CEPM Fellowship Award-2016.
- The company bagged the award for its recognition and commitment in transforming and driving organisational capabilities through human-centric approach.
- The award was given at the 24th global symposium organised by the Centre for Excellence in Project Management. Deepak Kumar Hota, Chairman and Managing Director, BEML received the award at the function held at New Delhi from Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog.