Walmart tops Fortune 500 list, IOL highest ranked Indian firm

  • US retail giant Walmart topped the latest Fortune 500 list, grabbing the top spot for the 14th time and the sixth year in a row.
  • Seven Indian companies made it to the latest Fortune 500 list in terms of revenue.
  • Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) continues to be the highest ranked Indian firm (137th), with a revenue of $65.9 billion – 23% up from last year.
  • Reliance Industries (RIL) has jumped 53 places on the Fortune 500 list, and is the highest ranked private sector company from India (148th), with a revenue of $62.3 billion in 2017-18.

Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana achieves 5 crore mark

  • The number of LPG connections given out under the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) has reached the 5 crore mark.
  • The 5 crore milestone has been achieved in a little over 2 years (a total of 28 months); the scheme was launched on May 1st, 2016.
  • The scheme is implemented by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas through its oil marketing companies, i.e., IOC, BPCL and HPCL, through their network of distributors across the country.
  • The project’s target has been revised to 8 crores, with a budgetary allocation of Rs.12,800 crore.

Himachal Pradesh launches ‘Shaur nahin’ mobile app in Shimla, Manali

  • Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur has launched the ‘Shaur nahin’ (no noise) mobile application, in connection with the ‘horn not ok’ awareness campaign, which was also launched.
  • The first phase of the campaign was launched initially for Shimla and Manali.
  • The ‘Shaur nahin’ mobile app can be used by the general public to report cases of noise pollution.

Telangana inks MoU with Tech Mahindra for India’s first Blockchain District

  • The government of Telangana has signed MoUs with Tech Mahindra, Nucleus Vision and Eleven01 Foundation to launch India’s first Blockchain District, which will serve as a global talent hub.
  • The district is expected to provide a complete ecosystem for the growth of blockchain technology.
  • A more detailed business plan is expected to be announced in three months.

India Elected President of Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development

  • AIBD India has been elected as the President of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) for two years.
  • India beat Iran when voting was held at the 44th annual gathering of AIBD in Colombo, Sri Lanka.
  • Director General of All India Radio F. Sheheryar was re-elected as chair of the executive board while Sri Lanka was elected as vice-chair.
  • Broadcasters from 26 countries in the region are full members of the organisation.

World’s first Hindi-speaking robot ‘Rashmi’ developed

  • Ranchi-based software developer Ranjit Srivastava is developing the world’s first Hindi-speaking humanoid robot. He has named the robot Rashmi.
  • The robot can reportedly also speak Marathi and Bhojpuri, in addition to being able to speak in English and Hindi.
  • Rashmi is equipped with facial expressions and systems by which it can recognize and respond to spoken commands.
  • Srivastava was inspired to create Rashmi after seeing Hong Kong-made humanoid ‘Sophia’ in 2016.

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