Govt approves Rs. 450 cr Swadesh Darshan projects
i. The government has approved projects worth over Rs. 450 crore under ‘Swadesh Darshan’ scheme for five states.
ii. The scheme was launched with an objective to develop 13 theme-based tourist circuits in the country and the approval for five was given in a meeting of the central sanctioning and monitoring committee.
UN Charter translated into Sanskrit
i. The UN Charter, the seminal treaty of the United Nations, has now been translated into Sanskrit.
ii. The Charter is available in all six official languages of the UN.
Dharmendra Pradhan launches ‘Gas4India’ campaign to boost natural gas use
i. The Union Minister of State for Petroleum and Natural Gas Dharmendra Pradhan has launched Gas4India campaign for the aimed at promoting the use of gas in the country.
ii. Dharmendra Pradhan also launched the website, Twitter handle, facebook page and Theme song of the campaign.
Helpline no. 14401 for info on power cuts launched
i. The Department of Telecom (DoT) has created ‘Urja Mitra Helpline’ through which customers can get information on power outages from distribution companies by dialling 14401.
India’s light utility helicopter maiden flight successful
i. Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has successfully completed test flight of indigenous Light Utility Helicopter (LUH) Bengaluru.
ii. The LUH will replace the military’s obsolescent fleet of Chetak and Cheetah helicopters that have flown for over three decades.
Filmmaker K G George to be Honoured With J C Daniel Award
i. National award winner and veteran director K G George has been selected for the JC Daniel award 2015.
ii. Kerala Government’s highest honor for outstanding contribution to Malayalam cinema.
1st phase of ESIC’s pilot project of telemedicine services inaugurated
i. Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Bandaru Dattatreya inaugurated the first phase of telemedicine services of Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) for providing specialist medical services at a distance to insured workers.
ii. With this facility, ESIC Model Hospital at Basaidarapur has been connected with three ESIS dispensaries at Katihar (Bihar), Unnao (UP) and Rudarpur (Uttrachal).
Govt approves 6 start-up centres
i. The Central government has approved six proposals to set up centres of excellence to promote and fund start-ups under the National Initiative for Development and Harnessing Innovation (NIDHI), a programme steered by the Department of Science and Technology.
ii. The proposals for six centres of excellence that were approved by the National Expert Advisory Committee include SINE-IIT Bombay, Venture Center-NCL Pune, CIIE-IIM Ahmedabad and a research park at IIT-Gandhinagar.
Religare Enterprises appoints Sunil Godhwani as CEO
i. Religare Enterprises Ltd. has appointed Sunil Godhwani chief executive for the remaining period of his tenure.
ii. The decision was taken at the company’s annual general meeting (AGM), which was presided over by Malvinder Mohan Singh, non-executive chairman, Religare Enterprises.
Thithi wins Best Film honour at 1st BRICS Film Festival
i. Raam Reddy’s Kannada film Thithi was conferred the Best Film award by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu at the closing ceremony of the 1st BRICS Film Festival.
ii. Thithi, which earlier won various honours at 68th Locarno International Film Festival, Marrakech International Film Festival, 19th Shanghai International Film Festival and 63rd National Film Awards.
India and Chile expand preferential trading pact to boost economic ties
i. India and Chile have expanded their Preferential Trade Agreement with both offering to lower or eliminate tariffs on a number of items traded with each other.
ii. Chile has offered concessions to India on 1798 tariff lines with margin of preference (extent to which duties are lower than those offered to other countries) ranging from 30% to 100%.