Tuesday, December 31, 2019

AchcheDin: Good News for India - December 2019

·         Government of India has unveiled Rs 102 Lakh Crores of infrastructure projects for next 5 years: TOI

·         Total green cover of India has increased to 8,07,276 sq km which is 24.56% of country's geographical area: TOI

·         In past 2 years, India’s green cover increased by 5,188 sq km (0.6%), an area similar in size of Goa + Delhi combined: TOI

·         India’s defense partnership with USA has seen >$18 Bn in equipment sales and >19 military exercises. Much credit goes to former defense min. Manohar Parrikar and the then US defense secretary Ashton Carter: BL

·         More than 40000 people attended Irish band U2's concert in Mumbai recently. Katy Perry, Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran, Coldplay and Bryan Adams have all performed in India in recent years: BBC

·         India has stepped up work on tunnels near borders. India has issued a global tender for world-class tunnel in Assam; working on 3 tunnels near China border, and plans to build 6 tunnels near Pakistan border: ET

·         India is expected to overtake Germany to become fourth-largest economy in 2026: TOI

·         Indian envoy to Austria, Renu Pall, has been recalled to headquarters on charges of misuse of government money and financial irregularities: IT

·         SBI has reduced its interest rate on loans to existing home loan customers as well as MSME borrowers by 0.25%: TOI 
·         Indian tech startups have raised record $14.5 billion in 2019, beating their previous best of $10.6 billion last year: Research firm Tracxn.

·         Total tree and forest cover in India increased by 5,188 square kilometer in the last 2 years.

·         Chief Minister of Bihar Nitish Kumar has inaugurated the statue of Late Arun Jaitley Ji in Patna. Jaitley family was also present on the occassion: DB 
·         Russian FM to visit India to boost defence, energy ties: MSN 
·         India is all set to cross the 100 GW renewable energy capacity mark in year 2020: ET  
·         The GST reform brought down the number of forms to be filed by businesses to just 12 from 495 earlier: LM  
·         With GST, India replaced 17 central+state taxes with a single tax. Logistics cost, which was earlier 14% of the value of goods sold, came down to 10-12%.  Distance covered in a day improved from about 225km to 300-325km: LM
·         India's "Wearables" market has reached all time high in 2019. Demand for wearable devices in India grew by 30.9% sequentially in Q2 of 2019: IT
·         Sodexo is $ 24.2 Bn French company. India contributes 7-8% in Sodexo's global revenues. The company is currently working on smart-vending i.e. offering fresh food out of vending machines with Big Basket: ET
·         Upcoming medical university in Himachal Pradesh will be named "Atal Medical and Research University", after Late Former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee: TIW 
·         "Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee International Schools" are schools affiliated to the Maharashtra International Edu Board (MIEB), set up by state govt with an aim to achieve higher education standards: MD
·         Bihar CM Nitish Kumar has inaugurated a statue of Shri Atal Behari Vajpayee ji in Patna on Atal ji's birthday 25th of Dec: DB 
·         Current FY has been the 'safest' year in 166 years of Indian Railways history; with least accidents and no deaths. Good job Railways and Minister 
·         JnJ (MNC Pharma Co) has been fined Rs 230 Crores since it did not pass on the GST rate cut benefit to consumers: DB. This is the best consumer-centric and people-focused govt ever! 
·         Haima Motors is planning entry into Indian market. To debut at Auto Expo 2020 - Autocar India 
·         CBI to Probe Yamuna Expressway Scam; Books Ex-CEO, 20 Others for Irregularities Worth Rs 126 Crore. No govt in India has been so anti-corruption like the BJP Govt under NarendraModi 
·         Modi Govt has approved Atal Bhu Jal Yojna for better water management to help farmers. Govt will initially spend Rs 6000 Cr in 7 states - MP, Rajasthan,  Maharashtra, UP, Gujarat, Karnataka and Haryana 
·         Muslims have so many countries to go to, Hindus have only one. Population of Hindus and minorities in Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan has been reducing due to persecution and India must help those refugees. : Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani: IE 
·         BJP led Himachal Pradesh govt has provided LPG connection to all, making the state smoke-free: TS  
·         Vande Bharat Express is set to get major upgrades as govt has placed orders with Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory (ICF) to manufacture 44 best-in-class  Trainsets of 16 coaches each: IC
 
·         CST station in Mumbai is set to get a makeover in station modernisation program. As part of this program, 50 stations will be modernised under PPP mode: IE  
·         PM NarendraModi will inaugurate a bronze statue of late Atal ji on his birthday, Dec25 at Lok Bhawan, Lucknow. Modi ji will also lay the foundation stone of Atal Bihari Medical University in Lko: IE 
·         India's foreign exchange reserves at record high 
·         Trains of Japan and Canada to be decorated with Bihar's iconic Mithila Painting 
·         In last 5 years under ModiSarkar, India has received 50% of total FDI that India received in last 20 years: DB 
·         Food services industry will create 50 lakh new jobs in India in the next 5 years: McDonalds Sr. VP: DB 
·         Gujarat Minister Hands Over Indian Citizenship Certificates to 7 Pakistani Hindu Refugees: IC 
·         Hero Splendor 2020 edition is coming in soon with BS6 engine: MO  
·         NBCC's bid to acquire Jaypee Infratech has been approved by the Committee of Creditors (CoC): MC 
·         Patanjali Ayurved has completed Ruchi Soya Acquisition For ₹4,350 Crores, and hence SBI recovered its ₹883 Cr loan to RuchiSoya 
·         NEFT (National Electronic Funds Transfer) facility is now available 24x7 
·         New trend: Some companies have started paying employees to do charity work: TOI 
·         Govt is placing a bill in parliament to make tougher law for protection and care of old parents. Now, even son-in-law and daughter-in-law can be jailed if they ignore old parents and monthly compensation limit is being raised: DB 
·         Food subsidy in parliament canteen is being removed: IT  
·         RBI is planning to launch a pre-paid card of Rs 10k to promote Digital India: TS  
·         Modi Sarkar has extended Caste Reservations in Loksabha and State Assemblies 
·         Modi Sarkar introduces Citizenship (Amendment) Bill  
·         The IPO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (USFB) has got fully subscribed on Day 1 of the bidding process: ET 
·         UK-based MUBI has entered India in the online streaming market after partnering with PVR: MC

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