ASSAM
Ambubachi Mela at Assam’s Kamakhya Temple cancelled
For the first time, the famous Ambubachi Mela which is held at Kamakhya Temple in Guwahati every year is cancelled due to the outbreak of CoronaVirus.
Even though the Government issued notification allowing religious institutions to open for public on certain conditions from 8th June but Kamakhya Devalaya Management Committee decided to keep the temple closed till 30th June considering the prevailing situation.
Lakhs of pilgrims visit the Ma Kamakhya Temple during the Ambubachi Mela but like every year no pilgrims will be entertained in the Devalaya this year.
Only the rituals will be performed in the temple and all the entrances will remain closed.
NORTH-EASTERN STATES
Tripura to start ‘ Play little, Study little’ scheme for school students from June 25
With uncertainty prevailing over reopening of schools due to COVID-19 pandemic, the Tripura government has decided to start a scheme called ‘Ektu Khelo, Ektu Padho’ which means ‘Play little, Study little’, from June 25.
As per the scheme, the students would be getting audio and video contents on learning activities , projects along with fun and gaming activities via SMS or WhatsApp services.
The Education state headquarters would share the learning contents to different district academic coordinators and they would share the same to headmasters of the schools in their concerned areas.
The headmasters would give the responsibility to the teachers to share the contents among the students.
The students would get their daily lessons and activities on their phones every morning and their feedback would be received every afternoon.
INTERNATIONAL
China offers Bangladesh tariff exemption for 97% of exports from Dhaka amid tensions with India
In a bid to woo Bangladesh, China has provided a huge trade boost to the country by announcing tariff exemption for 97 per cent of Bangladeshi products effective from July 1.
The decision has come one month after Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and Chinese President Xi Jinping held a discussion to upgrade their bilateral relations during the COVID-19 pandemic.
With this announcement, a total of 8,256 Bangladeshi products will come under the 97 percent of products that would be exempted from tariff.
Currently, 3095 Bangladeshi products enjoy duty-free access to Chinese market under Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA).
World Bank approves dollar 1.05 billion to Bangladesh for jobs and economic recovery
The World Bank has approved dollar 1.05 billion for three projects in Bangladesh to create quality jobs and accelerate economic recovery in the wake of the Corona pandemic.
These projects will help the economy in bouncing back by creating more and better jobs and promoting direct private investment in specialized economic zones.
The first project worth a dollar 500 million called Private Investment and Digital Entrepreneurship (PRIDE) project will strengthen social and environmental standards in selected economic zones and software technology parks in Bangladesh.
The dollar 295 million Enhancing Digital Government and Economy (EDGE) Project will establish an integrated, cloud-computing digital platform for all government agencies and improve cyber-security.
The dollar 250 million Second Programmatic Jobs Development Policy Credit will create fiscal space to support the government’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.
NATIONAL
Govt Launches Portal ‘SATYABHAMA’ to Promote R&D in Mining, Mineral Sector
The mines ministry announced the launch of a portal “SATYABHAMA” with an aim to promote research and development in the mining and minerals sector.
This portal will allow online submission of project proposals along with monitoring of the same and utilisation of funds.
The portal has been designed, developed and implemented by the National Informatics Centre (NIC), Mines Informatics Division.
The portal will increase efficiency and effectiveness in the implementation of the scheme.
The major institutes where research projects have been funded include Indian Institute of Science, Bengaluru and Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kharagpur.
Housing Ministry, SIDBI sign MoU for special micro-credit facility for street vendors
Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) for PM Street Vendor’s AtmaNirbhar Nidhi (PM SVANidhi).
PM SVANidhi is a Special Micro-Credit Facility for Street Vendors.
According to the MoU, PM SVANidhi Scheme will be implemented by SIDBI under the guidance of MoHUA.
The credit guarantee to the lending institutions would also be managed by the SIDBI through Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE).
Gk bit: PM SVANidhi scheme
The scheme targets to benefit over 50 lakh street vendors, who had been vending on or before 24th March this year, in urban areas. The duration of the scheme is till March 2022. The street vendors belonging to the surrounding peri-urban or rural areas are being included as beneficiaries under the urban livelihoods programme for the first time.
The vendors can avail a working capital loan of upto ten thousand rupees, which is repayable in monthly instalments in the tenure of one year. On timely and early repayment of the loan, an interest subsidy at the rate of seven per cent per annum will be credited to the bank accounts of beneficiaries through Direct Benefit Transfer on six monthly basis.
In order to ensure fast implementation of the scheme with transparency, a digital platform with web portal and mobile app is being developed to administer the scheme with end-to-end solution. The IT platform will also help in integrating the vendors into the formal financial system.
RIL becomes India’s first $150 billion company
The Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has reached a $150-billion mark in terms of market capitalization.
Hence, the Mukesh Ambani-helmed RIL has become India’s first $150-billion company in terms of market capitalisation.
RIL achieved this milestone when its share price had gained 6.23% to close at Rs 1,759, taking its market capitalisation to Rs 11.15 lakh crore i.e. around $150 billion.
Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries (RIL) has entered into the list of world’s top 10 richest, according to the Forbes Real-Time Billionaire list.
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