President launches Solar Charkha Mission

  • President Ram Nath Kovind launched the Solar Charkha Mission, under which the Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) will cover 50 clusters, with each cluster employing 400 to 2,000 artisans.
  • Under the scheme, the government will give a subsidy of Rs.550 crore to thousands of rural artisans, generating employment in rural India.
  • The scheme is expected to contribute to the green economy.

SBI MD Sriram resigns amid IDBI stake sale talk

  • SBI managing director (MD) B Sriram has resigned from the bank.
  • He was recently appointed MD and CEO (chief executive officer) of IDBI Bank for a temporary period of three months.
  • Sriram was appointed by the government to the IDBI position after M K Jain left to take over as Deputy Governor of the RBI.
  • LIC is looking to enter the banking space by acquiring a majority stake in IDBI Bank.
  • Sriram is the longest-serving public sector bank MD.      

NITI Aayog’s WEP signs SoI with Financial Institutions and Social Organisations to support women entrepreneurs

  • The Women Entrepreneurs Platform of NITI Aayog signed five separate Statements of Intent (SoIs) with Financial Institutions & Social Organisations.
  • This move is aimed at substantially increasing the number of women entrepreneurs.
  • The goal is to bring the partner organisations’ existing and new women-specific initiatives on to a single platform.
  • The WEP aims to create opportunities and support women, to help them realise their entrepreneurial aspirations, scale up innovative initiatives, and chalk out sustainable and long-term strategies for their businesses.

Dutee Chand sets new national record in women’s 100m

  • Indian sprinter Dutee Chand set a new national record in the women’s 100m event.
  • Chand achieved a 100m time of 10.29 seconds, beating her own record of 10.30 seconds.
  • She achieved this at the 58th National Inter State Senior Athletics Championships at the Sarusajai Stadium in Guwahati.
  • Dutee qualified for the Asian Games in 100m and 200m by breaching the qualifying timings at the Inter State Championships.

India’s raking on Global Real Estate Transparency Index increases marginally to 35

  • India’s rank on the Global Real Estate Transparency Index (GRETI) has increased by one spot.India now sits at 35th on the index of 100 countries.
  • In 2014, India was ranked 40th, while in 2016 India stood at 36th, in the index that is released once every two years.
  • The country’s real estate market is currently placed in the ‘semi-transparent’ zone.
  • According to the data, the UK is the best in the world in real estate transparency. The nation is followed by Australia and the US.
  • France, Canada, Netherlands, New Zealand, Germany, Ireland and Sweden round up the top 10.
  • Among south Asian countries, Sri Lanka is 66th while Pakistan is 75th.
  • Venezuela has the least transparent market, ranking 100th.

Financial Action Task Force puts Pakistan on Grey List for failing to curb terror financing

  • The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed Pakistan on its ‘Grey List’ for failing to curb terror financing.
  • The decision was taken at the FATF’s planery session in Paris.
  • Being put on the Grey List means that Pakistan’s economy could be affected.

Cabinet approves capital infusion in Export Credit Guarantee Corporation

  • The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved a Rs.2000 crore capital infusion to strengthen the Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (ECGC).
  • The ECGC will get the amount over the next 3 financial years - Rs.50 crore in 2017-18, Rs.1,450 crore in 2018-19 and Rs.500 crore in 2019-20.
  • The aim is to strengthen insurance coverage to MSME exports, to strengthen India’s exports to emerging and challenging markets.
  • The move is expected to help ECGC support Indian exporters.

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