By: D.K Choudhary
Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan Three Day Visit to India
i. The Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan was on a three day visit to India from January 25-27, 2017 to be the Chief Guest at the 68th Republic Day Celebration on January 26, 2017 in New Delhi.
ii. India and UAE Signs 14 Agreements to Strengthen Bilateral Cooperation on elevating bilateral ties to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership
iii. India and the UAE committed to further boost wide-range of bilateral engagements in strategic areas of security, defence, energy
iv. A Central Power Sector PSU & Central Transmission Utility, Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL), signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Abu Dhabi Water & Electricity Authority (ADWEA) & its group of companies on January 25, 2017 in Gurgaon, for cooperation in power sector.
v. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the visiting Crown Prince issued a joint statement on January 26, 2017 to oppose terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, wherever committed and by whomever, and declared that there could be no justification for terrorism anywhere.
Telangana Ranks Second in Walnut’s Cashless Score Card
i. Telangana has been ranked at second spot in the `Cashless India Scorecard’ released on January 26, 2017 and prepared by Walnut app to measure the growth level in digital payments in the country post demonetization.
ii. The top three states in the scorecard were Gujarat, Telangana and Haryana respectively with the highest growth in going cashless.
iii. The scorecard aims to compare the level of difference among each state in adopting the digital payment system and how each state is moving towards a cashless economy.
iv. The result is based on an aggregate analysis of Walnut’s over five million user data.
v. The States were ranked based on percentage increase in overall cashless transactions, growth in first time user of debit or credit card for shopping and growth in merchants accepting digital payments.
Indian Navy’s Theatre Level Exercise, TROPEX 17 Begins
i. The Theatre Readiness Operational Exercise (TROPEX), an annual Indian Navy exercise kicked started on January 24, 2017 off the Western Seaboard. The last edition of the exercise was conducted in January 2015.
ii. The exercise will be conducted in phased manner both in harbour and at sea to undertake tasks of war-fighting and combat operations. The exercise will strengthen the inter-operability and joint operations of the Indian Navy in a complex environment.
iii. The month long exercise will see the participation of ships and aircraft of both the Western and Eastern Naval Commands and assets from the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Coast Guard exercising together.
iv. The air assets of the Indian Navy would include the aircraft carrier Vikramaditya, nuclear submarine Chakra, Landing Platform Dock (LPD) Jalashwa, the P-8I long range maritime reconnaissance and anti-submarine warfare aircraft operating alongside SU-30 MKI, Jaguars, AWACS, IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft of the Indian Air Force and Infantry units of the Indian Army.
v. TROPEX 17 exercise is aimed at testing combat readiness of the combined fleets of the Indian Navy, and the assets of the Indian Air Force, Indian Army and the Indian Coast Guard.
Andhra Pradesh Launches Rs 100 cr fund of funds for Fintech Startups
i. The Andhra Pradesh under Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has announced Rs 100-crore fund of funds on January 25, 2017 to invest in Fintech startups.
ii. Fintech is being seen as a promising space to generate job, thus the state has initiated an industry-academia-government partnership to tap and refine skilled talent available at cheaper costs to develop Visakhapatnam into a global fintech hub.
iii. The state has also appealed the Centre to partner by contributing money for the fund. The states fund is being launched as part of the government’s aim to boost fintech activities in the Vizag Fintech Valley, in Vishakapatnam, and the detail of this fund will be announced within two weeks.
iv. Apart from the fund of funds, the state has also created a fintech tower. Besides, a global fintech competition with a high prize-money will be organised in October 2017, while there will be monthly meet-ups where promising companies will be given grants of up to Rs 5 lakh.
v. The stat is making an effort to develop the entire ecosystem needed for development of the fintech sector.
