RBI to set up expert panel to look into issues on capital surplus

  • The RBI will set up a high-powered committee to examine issues related to the surplus capital of Rs 9.69 lakh crore with the central bank.
  • The committee is considering a scheme for restructuring stressed assets in the MSME sector.
  • The Board for Financial Supervision (BFS) of the RBI will also examine the issues concerning the banks health under Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework and the Economic Capital Framework (ECF) of the RBI.

Prime Minister launches Ease of Doing Business Grand Challenge

  • Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a Grand Challenge on resolving seven identified Ease of Doing Business problems with the use of cutting edge technologies.
  • The objective of this Challenge is to tap the potential of young Indians, startups and other private enterprises to provide solutions to complex problems using current technology.

West Bengal Assembly passes Bill to give land rights to enclave dwellers in north Bengal

  • The West Bengal Assembly unanimously passed a Bill to give land rights to enclave dwellers in north Bengal.
  • Bangladesh and India had exchanged a total of 162 enclaves on Aug 1, 2015, ending one of the world’s most-complex border disputes.
  • The Bill is expected to help enclave dwellers get full-fledged status as citizens of India, along with all civic amenities and citizenship rights.

India’s first sewer cleaning machine introduced to end unsafe manual scavenging

  • Sulabh International has introduced India’s first sewer cleaning machine.
  • The goal is to reduce sewer deaths and put an end to the unsafe practice of manual scavenging.
  • The machine is expected to do away with 99 per cent of manual scavenging.
  • In India, at least one worker has died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks every five days since the beginning of 2017.

SBICAP Ventures launches SME, affordable housing funds

  • SBICAP Ventures (SVL) has launched two funds for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and affordable housing sectors.
  • SVL is an alternative asset manager and a wholly owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets.
  • The SME fund is expecting to raise a corpus of Rs 400 crore, while the affordable housing fund would look at raising Rs 350 crore.

Jalaj Srivastava appointed Chairman of Inland Waterways Authority of India

  • Jalaj Srivastava has been appointed the chairman of the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI).
  • The IWAI comes under the Union Ministry of Shipping, Road Transport and Highways, currently headed by Nitin Gadkari.
  • Srivastava is presently working as Additional Secretary, Ministry of Agriculture.

Maldives cabinet approves move to rejoin Commonwealth

  • The Maldives cabinet has approved to rejoin the Commonwealth.
  • This move comes two years after withdrawing from the 53-nation grouping.
  • The announcement was made by New President of Maldives Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

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