44th Khajuraho Dance Festival held in Madhya Pradesh
The 44th edition of Khajuraho Dance Festival 2018 was held at Khajuraho temple, Madhya Pradesh.
The festival was inaugurated by Madhya Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel.
Khajuraho temple is a UNESCO world heritage site in Chhatarpur district, Madhya Pradesh.
Khajuraho temple is a group of Hindu and Jain Temples in Madhya Pradesh build by Chandela Dynasty between 950 and 1050 AD.
Banking & Finance
Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs launched by RBI
The Reserve Bank of India has launched the 'Ombudsman Scheme' for non-banking financial companies (NBFC) for redressal of complaints against them.
The scheme will provide a speedy complaint redressal mechanism relating to deficiency in the services by NBFCs which will be of free of cost.
The offices of the NBFC ombudsmen will be located in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and New Delhi.
From the beginning, the Scheme will cover all deposit-taking NBFCs.
Further, the RBI would extend the scheme to cover NBFCs having an asset size of Rs 100 crore and above with customer interface.
Obituaries
Neelabh Mishra; National Herald editor-in-chief passed away
The Editor-in-Chief of the National Herald newspaper Neelabh Mishra passed away at a Chennai Hospital.
He was critically ill and with complications resulting from non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis.
National Affairs
Airtel, Huawei conduct India’s first 5G network trial in Gurugram
Airtel and Huawei have successfully conducted India’s first 5G (fifth generation) network trial in Manesar, Gurugram, Haryana.
It would be able to achieve over 3 gigabits per second (Gbps) data speed.
Airtel is an Indian telecom giant and Huawei is a Chinese telecom equipment maker.
The 5G services will be rolled out for consumers by 2020.
5G is wireless communication technology based on third-generation partnership project (3GPP).
It is next generation mobile networks technology after 4G LTE networks.
It is expected to offer enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) through R15 repeaters that can cater to coverage requirements.
Virat Kohli continues to be PNB brand ambassador
Punjab National Bank clarified through a public notice that Virat Kohli continues to be its brand ambassador.
Recently, PNB was hit by a $1.8 billion scam and there are reports in the media that Virat Kohli, Bank's brand ambassador is going to discontinue his endorsement with Punjab National Bank.
Now, the bank has issued a notice and confirm that this is totally false news, Virat Kohli will continue as the brand ambassador of the Bank.
Agreement & Deals
India & Germany signed agreement for Sustainable Urban Development programme & Smart Cities
India & Germany signed an agreement for Sustainable Urban Development programme & Smart Cities in India.
The main objective of this agreement is to develop and apply concepts for sustainable urban development about a provision of urban basic services and housing in selected cities and Smart Cities in India.
India & ADB signed a loan agreement for Water Supply in Bihar
Indian government and Asian Development Bank has signed an $84 million loan agreement for Improvement and Expansion of Water Supply in in Bihar.
The program aims to provide sustainable urban infrastructure and services in four towns in Bihar –Gaya, Bhagalpur, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur.
Sports
Nadezhda Sergeyeva kicked out of Winter Olympics for doping
According to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Nadezhda Sergeyeva of Russia has been banned from the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics after failing a doping test.
The court said that she tested positive for the heart medication trimetazidine and admitted the offence, the fourth doping case to hit the Pyeongchang Olympics and second from Russia.
Sergeyeva, who finished 12th in the two-woman bobsleigh, "is excluded from the Olympic Winter Games Pyeongchang 2018".
Bobsleigh or bobsled is a winter sport in which teams of two or four teammates make timed runs down narrow, twisting, banked, iced tracks in a gravity-powered sleigh.