Bharti Infratel, Indus Tower merger deal gets SEBI nod

  • Infratel, the mobile division of Bharti Airtel, announced that it has received clearance from the SEBI for a merger with Indus Towers.
  • Infratel will now approach the National Company Law Tribunal for approval of the merger.
  • The merger will create the largest mobile tower operator in the world outside China.
  • Infratel will have over 163,000 towers across 22 telecom service areas in India. 

Odisha CM launches Green Mahanadi Mission

  • Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has launched the Green Mahanadi Mission, under which 2 crore saplings will be planted on the banks of the Mahanadi, Tel and Ib rivers.
  • The programme was launched by planting saplings at two locations in Subarnapur and Boudh districts.
  • The main objective of the mission is to stop soil erosion on river banks and to help replenish the groundwater reserves in the area.

Invest India, Business France sign Mou to promote investment

  • Invest India and Business France have signed an MoU to help investment and build cooperation between start-ups of India and France.
  • The main goal is to facilitate direct foreign investment.
  • Invest India is the official Investment Promotion and Facilitation Agency of the Government of India.

Parliament passes Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill

  • The Parliament has passed the Fugitive Economic Offenders Bill 2018, by which properties of economic offenders who flee the country can be seized.
  • The bill was approved in the Rajya Sabha after the Lok Sabha had already given its approval.
  • As per the bill, the government can attach properties of fugitives who flee the country after committing tax and loan related offences.
  • The bill helps take action against those who commit offences worth one hundred crore rupees and above.

Govt amends definition of hydrocarbon to include shale

  • The government has amended the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules 1959 to include shale in the definition of petroleum.
  • This change will allow private companies to explore and produce the resource in the blocks in which they currently operate.
  • Up to now, the definition of hydrocarbon has excluded shale, which means that companies could not extract it from fields producing conventional oil and gas or coal-bed methane.

Ramachandra Guha unveils book on Mahatma Gandhi

  • Historian and author Ramachandra Guha has penned a new book titled “Gandhi: The Years That Changed the World, 1914-1948”.
  • The book is being called the most definitive new biography of mahatma Gandhi, the father of the nation.
  • The book will be published by Penguin Random House India and released in September 2018.

Fish losing their sense of smell due to rising levels of carbon dioxide in atmosphere: Study

  • Fish are losing their sense of smell as ocean get increasingly more acidic, a phenomenon caused by rising levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the earth’s atmosphere, according to new research.
  • Ocean fish species could be affected because they use their sense of smell to find food.
  • A fish’s ability to smell can affect functions that are essential for its survival.
  • When carbon dioxide is absorbed by seawater, carbonic acid is formed. This makes the ocean’s water more acidic.

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