01. Mirza, Bopanna and Paes win at French Open
i. The Indian contingent got off to a winning start at the French Open.
ii. Sania Mirza and Martina Hingis defeated the Russian pair of Daria Kasatkina and Alexandra Panova, 7-6(4), 6-2.
iii. Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea defeated Frenchmen Stephane Robert and Alexandre Sidorenko, 6-2, 6-2. Leander Paes and Marcin Matkowski overcame Aliaksandr Bury and Denis Istomin, 7-6(3), 7-6(6).
02. Gujarat CM launches Ujala scheme from Vadodara
i. Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel has launched Ujala scheme in Vadodara to distribute LED bulbs to the people .
ii. Under this central scheme, the state government will distribute more than one crore LED bulbs at subsidized rates of Rs 80 to 85 per piece. The bulb will have 3-year replacement warranty. It will be of 7 to 8 watts capacity with luminosity of 900 lumens.
iii. Each household will get maximum ten bulbs in the first phase. The amount will be charged through electricity bill in ten equal installments. Bulbs will be available at the offices of power distribution companies, bill cash counters and Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) kiosks. The state government will purchase the bulbs from EESL for distribution among the public.
03. ISRO to test Air-breathing Propulsion System
i. The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) has decided to test an Air-breathing Propulsion System after successful test of Reusable launch Vehicle- Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD).
ii. The testing of air-breathing propulsion system aims to capitalize on the oxygen in the atmosphere instead of liquefied oxygen while in flight.
iii. ISRO is evolving and testing various technologies to bring down the cost of launch vehicles and the air-breathing propulsion system is part of its new space endeavor.
04. Cabinet clears Railway projects worth Rs 11,000 crore
i. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, CCEA has given its approval for Railway projects worth Rs 11,000 crore.
ii. These include Bina-Katni 3rd line project at an estimated cost of nearly 2,500 crore in Madhya Pradesh.
iii. The 279 km long railway line is expected to be completed in five years. Another project is Vizianagaram and Titlagarh 3rd line project, costing nearly 2,335 crore. The length will be 265 kilometre and will be completed in 5 years. It also included doubling of Surendranagar-Rajkot project, Pune-Miraj-Londa railway line and Roza -Sitapur Cantt.- Burhwal Broad Gauge single line.
05. Dial 139 for wait-listed ticket cancellation
i. Railway passengers can now cancel their wait-listed and RAC (reservation against cancellation) train tickets by just dialing 139.
ii. The service was launched by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in New Delhi. Earlier only confirmed ticket holders could cancel their tickets through 139 service and IRCTC website.
iii. Online cancellation through 139 will be permitted only 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train in case of confirmed tickets and upto half an hour before the scheduled departure of the train in case of RAC and wait-listed tickets. Besides, the option of cancellation of tickets at the counter is also available for passengers.
06. Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to the MOU between India and Maldives
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has granted ex-post facto approval to the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India and the Ministry of Tourism, Government of Maldives for strengthening cooperation in the field of tourism.
ii. The Memorandum of Understanding with Maldives will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this important source market. In recent years, Maldives has emerged as an important tourism generating market for India.
iii. The main objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding, are -
To expand bilateral cooperation in the tourism sector, To exchange information and data related to tourism, To encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders, including hotels and tour operators, To establish exchange programme for cooperation in Human Resources Development, To invest in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors, To exchange visits of Tour Operators/Media/Opinion Makers for promotion of two-way tourism, To exchange experiences in the areas of promotion, marketing, destination development and management, To participate in travel fairs/exhibitions in each other’s country and to promote safe honorable and sustainable tourism.
07. Cabinet gives ex-post facto approval to the MOU between India and Japan
i. The Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi has given ex-post facto approval to the MoU between Indian and Japan for promoting sustainable, stable and low-carbon thermal power development in India.
ii. The MoU will help India to address issues and barriers in promoting sustainable stable and low-carbon thermal power development.
iii. The agreement will also support Clean Coal Technology (CCT) for thermal power plants such as Ultra Super Critical (USC) and other environmental technologies. It will also explore possibilities for acquisition of carbon credits with bilateral or multilateral offset schemes that are anticipated to be materialized in the future as a result of low-carbon power development.
08. Govt waives over Rs 9,000-cr loans of HFCL
i. The Union Cabinet has waived off loans worth more than Rs 9,079 crore owed by Hindustan Fertilizer Corporation Ltd (HFCL) as part of a financial restructuring package for the PSU.
ii. Earlier in 2015, the Cabinet approved waiver of government of Rs 1,916.14 crore and the outstanding interest amount of Rs 7,163.35 crore have remained.
iii. So now with the waiving off that outstanding amount, HFCL will facilitate de-registration from Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) by making its net worth positive. It will clear the way for faster revival of Barauni unit of HFCL. This unit will create 400 direct and 1,200 indirect employment opportunities.The Cabinet has also approved the transfer of 56 acres of ash dyke land of Barauni unit to Bihar State Power Generation Company Ltd (BSPGCL) to settle dues of HFCL for faster revival of the unit.
