Important Bullet Points for TISSNET 2020

· India captain ViratKohli was, on November 20,2019 named People for the Ethical Treatment of
Animals (PETA) India's 'Person of the Year for 2019' for his animal advocacy efforts.

· Lewis Hamilton has clinched a sixth Formula 1 world championship title at the US Grand Prix.
The British racing driver is now just one behind all-time record holder Michael Schumacher. He
finished second behind Mercedes team mate ValtteriBottas to secure his sixth Formula 1 world
championship.

· The World Conference on Access to Medical Products Achieving the SDGs 2030 for the year
2019 was held in New Delhi, India.

· India has become the first country in the world to issue Biometric Seafarer Identity Document
(BSID), which captures the facial biometric data of seafarers.

· India will conduct its first ever military exercise with Uzbekistan in a 10-day session on counter
terrorism tactics. The exercise will be held at Chirchiq Training Area, Uzbekistan between
November 4 and November 13, 2019.

· Pakistan has successfully test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi

from Sonmiani test range near Karachi located in Balochistan. The missile was built with a
capability to deliver different types of warheads including nuclear and conventional up to a
range of 290 km. It will be placed under the medium-range ballistic missiles. During the test,
Ghaznavi was tracked by the National Development Complex (NDC) ground control station.

· A book on Barack Obama, former United States (US) President, titled "Obama: The Call of
History" has been written by Peter Baker, the Chief White House Correspondent for The New
York Times. It gives an in-depth account of Obama's years in office.

· 'Ek Bharat, Shreshtha Bharat' is an initiative to pay tribute to Sardar Patel, who played a key
role in integrating the nation, for his great contributions to the nation. The initiative seeks to
build bonds between people of different states of India. The programme is giving boost to
existing cultural connect between different parts of e country and enhancing interaction
between people living in different states.

· National Film Awards 2019

Best Feature Film: Hellaro (Gujarati Film)

Best Director: AdhityaDhar for Uri: The Surgical Strike
Best Actor: AyushmannKhuranna for Andhadhun and Vicky Kaushal for Uri: The Surgical Strike
Best Actress: Keerthy Suresh for Mahanati
Best Popular Film: BadhaaiHo
Best film on Social Issues: Padman

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 · Global GDP Rankings by World Bank
According to World Bank, India has been pushed to the 7th place in Global GDP Rankings in 2018
from the 6th place in 2017.
Top 3 nations are:
1. USA
2. China
3. Japan

· Café Coffee Day has appointed SV Ranganath as its interim Chairman

Café Coffee Day has appointed SV Ranganath as its interim Chairman after the death of founder-
chairman VG Siddhartha.
VG Siddhartha Hegde was an Indian billionaire and businessman from Karnataka. He was the
founder of the cafe chain Café Coffee Day and served as its chairman and managing director.

· SBI Shanghai Branch linked up with National Advance Payment System of China

State Bank of India’s Shanghai branch has become first Indian bank to link up with National
Advance Payment System of China.
National Advance Payment System was launched in 2008 by People’s Bank of China provides
real-time settlement services for all payments.

· RBI has decided to allow fund transfers throughNEFT on a 24×7 basis

RBI has decided to allow fund transfers through NEFT on a 24×7 basis from December.
RBI had last month removed charges it levied on NEFT and RTGS transactions. National
Electronic Funds Transfer is an electronic funds transfer system maintained by the Reserve Bank
of India.

· Top-paid Bank CEO in India for FY19

1. AdityaPuri (HDFC Bank): - Rs 89 lakh per month

2. Amitabh Chaudhry (Axis Bank): - Rs 30 lakh per month
3. UdayKotak (Kotak Mahindra Bank): - Rs 27 lakh per month

· India’s Forex Reserves has spotted the highest ever valuation of $430.57 bn

India’s forex reserves have spotted the highest ever valuation of $430.57 bn due to rise in
foreign currency assets.
Foreign Currency Assets (FCA) is the largest component of the forex reserve.
Foreign exchange reserves is money or other assets held by a central bank or other monetary
authority so that it can pay its liabilities, if needed, such as the currency issued by the central
bank, as well as the various bank reserves deposited with the central bank by the government
and other financial institutions.

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 · Part of India’s foreign exchange reserves
1. Foreign currency assets
2. Gold
3. Special Drawing Rights
4. Reserve tranche position in the International Monetary Fund

· Canara Bank introduced OTP facility for ATM withdrawal

Public sector Bank, Canara Bank has launched India’s first OTP facility for ATM withdrawals. This
additional factor of authentication protects from unauthorized ATM cash withdrawals for
cardholders.
Now Canara Bank ATMs get safer and more secured with OTP facility on cash withdrawals
above ₹10,000 in a day.

· Forbes’ Highest-Paid Female Athletes List

1. USA Tennis Player Serena Williams with estimated total earnings of $29.2 million
2. Japan Tennis Player Naomi Osaka with estimated total earnings of $24.3 million.

· Forbes’ Highest-Paid Male Athletes list

1. Footballer Lionel Messi with $127 million

2. Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo with $109 million
Cricket ViratKohli is at 100th Position with $25 million.

· Rajiv Gandhi KhelRatna Award 2019

1. Wrestler BajrangPunia.
2. Para Athlete Deepa Malik
The Rajiv Gandhi KhelRatna, officially known as Rajiv Gandhi KhelRatna Award in Sports and
Games, is the highest sporting honour of the Republic of India. The award is named after Rajiv
Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India who served the office from 1984 to 1989.

· Virgil van Dijk, Lucy Bronze win UEFA Award

Liverpool Football player Virgil van Dijk has won UEFA's Player of the Year award. He was
beating Barcelona captain Lionel Messi and Juventus superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, while England
footballer Lucy Bronze taking the Women's Player of the Year award.
UEFA also handed out positional awards for male players, with Van Dijk for Champions League
Defender of the Season.

· FAME scheme

Department of Heavy Industry has sanctioned 5595 electric buses under second phase of ‘Faster
Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles’ (FAME) scheme.

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 The FAME India (Faster Adoption and Manufacture of (Hybrid and) Electric Vehicles) Scheme is
an incentive scheme for the promotion of electric and hybrid vehicles in the country.

Ultimate objective of the scheme is to promote electric mobility and the scheme gives financial
incentives for enhancing electric vehicle production and creation of electric transportation
infrastructure.

Phase I: started in 2015 and was completed on March 31st, 2019.

Phase II: started from April 1st, 2019, will be completed by March 31st, 2022.

· India’s first underwater train will be launched in Kolkata

India’s first underwater train will be launched in Kolkata under the Hooghly river in Kolkata
Metro project.
PiyushGoyal is an Indian politician and the current minister of Ministry of Railways |Railways
and Commerce in the Government of India.

· India is the top emitter of sulphur dioxide

According to NGO Greenpeace, India, India is the world’s top emitter of anthropogenic sulphur
dioxide with more than 15% of all SO2 hotspots.
It is tracked by NASA’s Ozone Monitoring Instrument satellite.
Norilsk smelter complex in Russia is the largest SO2 emission hotspot in the world

· Six-time world champion Mary Kom has been announced to be included in the Ambassador
Group at the Olympics 2020. Mary Kom will represent the Asian bloc in the group.

· Bharatcraft Portal for MSMEs

Bharatcraft Portal will provide a platform for MSMEs to markets and sell their products.
Government has set a target to increase the contribution of MSMEs in the manufacturing sector
to 50% in the next five years

· The 1st phase of excavation by a team of Archaeological Survey of India's Excavation Branch - VI,
Bangalore at Gottiprolu near Naidupeta in Nellore district, Andhra Pradesh has discovered the
remains of a huge settlement surrounded by a massive brick.

· Ocean energy gets renewable energy status

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has declared Ocean Energy as renewable energy
status. It has clarified to all stakeholders that energy produced using various forms of ocean
energy such as tidal, wave and ocean thermal energy conversion and shall be eligible for
meeting the non-solar Renewable Purchase Obligations (RPO).

· R-27 Air-to-Air Missile

India has signed a deal to acquire R-27 Air-to-Air Missiles from Russia to be equipped on Su-
30MKI combat aircraft.

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 · Spain has offered to host COP-25 UN Climate Change Summit as it was called off by Chile due to
heaving anti-government protests. Spain is all set to hold general elections on November 10 and
schedule dates of COP25 are December 2-13.

· QS Best Student Cities Ranking 2019

QS Best Student Cities Ranking is compiled by Global Education Consultancy ‘QS Quacquarelli
Symonds’.
Top cities for students are: -
1. London, 2. Tokyo, 3. Melbourne

· World’s first negative interest home loan rate

Jyske Bank of Denmark has launched the world’s first negative interest home loan rate where
the interest charge is minus 0.5% a year.
Negative interest rates effectively mean that a bank pays a borrower to take money off their
hands, so they pay back less than they have been loaned.

· Order of Zayed to PM Modi

United Arab Emirates will honour Prime Minister Modi with the ‘Order of Zayed’.
The Order of Zayed is the United Arab Emirates’ highest civil decoration.

· Indonesia’s New Capital

Indonesian President JokoWidodo has formally proposed to parliament a plan to move the
country’s capital from Jakarta to Borneo.

· RuPay in Bhutan

Prime Minister Modi has launched RuPay Card in Bhutan by making a purchase at
SimtokhaDzong.

Reserve Bank of India and Royal Monetary Authority of Bhutan would integrate the financial
switches of the two countries in order to simplify cross border transactions.
RuPay card scheme was conceived and launched by National Payments Corporation of India on
26 March 2012.

It was created to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to have a domestic, open and
multilateral system of payments. RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and
financial institutions.

· Amazon’s Largest-ever Campus

Amazon has opened its largest-ever campus in Hyderabad which can accommodate 15000
employees.
Amazon is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington that

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 focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, digital streaming, and artificial intelligence. It is
considered one of the Big Four technology companies along with Google, Apple, and Facebook.

· Time’s list of world’s Greatest Places 2019

The Statue of Unity in Gujarat and Soho House in Mumbai were featured in Time’s list of world’s
Greatest Places 2019.
Soho House is an 11-storey building that comprises a library, a movie theatre with 34 seats and
a rooftop bar and swimming pool, overlooking the Arabian Sea.

· World’s first Floating Nuclear Reactor

AkademikLomonosov is the world’s first floating nuclear power plant is currently being built at
the BaltiyskyZavod shipyard in Saint Petersburg, Russia.
Floating nuclear power stations are vessels designed by Rosatom.

They are self-contained, low-capacity, floating nuclear power plants. The stations are to be
mass-produced at shipbuilding facilities and then towed to the destination ports of the cities
and towns experiencing deficit of power due to industrialization.

· The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance

PM Modi was conferred ‘The King Hamad Order of the Renaissance’ by the King of Bahrain.

· NarendraModi launches RuPay card in UAE

Prime Minister of India NarendraModi has launched the RuPay card, making the UAE the first
country in the Middle East to initiate the Indian indigenous system of electronic payment. RuPay
card scheme was launched in 2012 to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic,
open and multilateral system of payments.
RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions. India has
already launched the RuPay card in Singapore and Bhutan.

· 45th G7 Summit begins in Biarritz, France

The Group of 7 or G7 Summit has begun in Biarritz, France. It is an informal meeting

between France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada as
well as the European Union. These world powers, which represent 50% of the global economy,
also share the values of freedom and democracy, as well as a collective ambition to deal with
the world’s major issues.

India has been invited as a special guest in the summit. PM NarendraModi will address sessions
on the environment, climate, oceans and digital transformation at the G7 Summit.

· State-run oil refiner Indian Oil Corporation Ltd will set up a 1 Giga Watt (GW) plant to make
batteries used for running electric vehicles (EVs) in partnership with an overseas start-up using a
non-lithium ion raw material. The move fits well with the government's strategy to facilitate the

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 adoption of EVs in the country's energy basket, and cut the fuel import bill. It also supports a key
element of the EVs industry batteries and their recharge.

· Anshula Kant of India has been appointed as MD and CFO of World Bank.

The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides interest-free loans and
grants to the governments of poorer countries for the purpose of pursuing capital projects.
Headquarters: Washington DC.

· Boris Johnson appointed as Britain’s next prime minister

Boris Johnson replaced Theresa May as Britain’s next Prime Minister.

Boris Johnson, who was the face of the 2016 Brexit referendum, won the votes of
92,153members of the Conservative party. Queen Elizabeth will formally appoint Johnson
before he will enter Downing Street.

· Economic Survey of India 2019

Chief Economic Adviser Krishnamurthy Subramanian presented Economic Survey 2018-19 was
guided by ‘Blue Sky Thinking’, thus the sky blue over on it.
India’s GDP to grow at 7.0% in 2019-20.
Fiscal Deficit: - 3.40%
Theme: ‘To enable Shifting Gears to accelerate and sustain a real GDP growth rate of 8% and
thereby achieve the vision of $5 trillion economy’.
Blue-sky thinking (uncountable) (idiomatic) Thinking that is not grounded or in touch with the
realities of the present. Open-minded thinking.

· Apple’s New Acquisition

Apple Inc. has acquired Intel’s Smartphone Modem Business for $1 billion.
Intel Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company
headquartered in Santa Clara, California, in the Silicon Valley.

· Fortune Global 500 list

1. Walmart: USA Retail Giant

2. Sinopec Group: Chinese state-owned Oil and Gas Company
3. Royal Dutch Shell: Dutch Company

Reliance Industries Ltd has become highest-ranked Indian company on Fortune Global 500 list
at 106th position.
The Fortune Global 500, also known as Global 500, is an annual ranking of the top 500
corporations worldwide as measured by revenue and the list is compiled and published annually
by Fortune magazine.

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 · Henley Passport Index 2019

Indian Passport was ranked 86th position with a mobility score of 58.
1. Japan and Singapore
2. South Korea, Germany and Finland
3. Denmark, Italy and Luxembourg

· First Indian firm to be granted USA patent

Quick Heal Technologies has become First Indian firm to be granted USA patent for an anti-
ransomware technology.
Quick Heal Technologies Ltd is an IT security solutions provider headquartered in Pune, India.
The company was formerly known as CAT Computer Services Ltd and was started as a computer
service center in 1995. The company was renamed as Quick Heal Technologies Pvt. Ltd. in 2007.

· India’s 100 Most Valuable Brand 2019 List

Brand Finance has released India’s 100 Most Valuable Brand 2019 List.
1. Tata, 2. LIC, 3.Infosys, 4.SBI, 5. Mahindra Group, 6. HDFC

· Asian Development Bank’s GDP Prediction for India

ADB has cut India’s GDP Growth Rate from 7.2% to 7.0% for FY20.
The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966,
which is headquartered in the OrtigasCenter located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila,
Philippines.

· Internet Saathi’ Programme

‘Internet Saathi’ is an initiative of Google India and Tata Trusts which is aimed at facilitating
digital literacy among women in rural India.
It will be expanded to villages in Punjab and Odisha.
Chief of ‘Internet Saathi’ Google India: NehaBarjatya.

· Aditya Birla Payments Bank

Aditya Birla Payments Bank has announced the shutting down of its operation. Aditya Birla
Payments Bank is a joint venture between Grasim and Vodafone Idea.

· GST rate on electric vehicles

GST Council has decided to reduce GST rate on Electric Vehicles to 5% from August 1.
This follows government announcing ₹1.5-lakh income tax deduction on loan interest for
purchasing Electric Vehicles.

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 · Deposits in Jan DhanYojana accounts crosses Rs 1 lakh crore

Deposits in bank accounts opened under Jan Dhan scheme have crossed the Rs 1 lakh
croremark.
As per the latest finance ministry data, the total balance in over 36.06 crorePradhanMantri Jan
DhanYojana accounts was at Rs 1,00,495.94crore as on July 3.
The PMJDY was launched on August 28, 2014, with an aim to provide universal access to
banking facilities to the people in the country.

· UJALA scheme

Over 35 crore LED bulbs will be distributed under UJALA scheme.

UJALA: - UnnatJeevan by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All.
RK Singh has been appointed as Minister of Power in Prime Minister NarendraModi’s cabinet.
UnnatJyoti by Affordable LEDs and Appliances for All, also known as UnnatJyoti by Affordable
LEDs for All, was launched by Prime Minister of India NarendraModi on 1 May 2015, replacing
the “Bachat Lamp Yojana”. The project is spearheaded by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited.

· Tiger Census 2018

Total number of tigers in India: 2967

Top 3 states: Madhya Pradesh (526), Karnataka (524) and Uttarakhand (442)
States covered: 20
Tiger reserves where no tigers were sighted: Buxa, Palamu and Dampa

· RTI Amendment Bill 2019

Important amendments to Right to Information Act, 2005

Term of the Information Commissioners: The term of the Chief Information Commissioner and
Information Commissioners at the Central and State level was 5 years as per the act. After the
amendment, the Central Govt will notify the term of the office for CIC and IC.

Salary: The salary of the Chief Information Commissioner and Information Commissioners at the
Central and State level was equivalent to the Chief Election Commissioner and Election
Commissioners. After the amendment, the Central Govt will determine the salaries, allowances
and other terms and conditions of service of CIC and IC.

· PM NarendraModi with ‘Man vs Wild’

PM Modi will feature in an episode of ‘Man vs Wild’ along with show’s host Bear Grylls.
Michael Grylls OBE, better known as Bear Grylls, is a British former SAS serviceman, survival
instructor, and honorary lieutenant-colonel, and, outside his military career, an adventurer,
writer, television presenter and businessman.
Host Bear Grylls tackles extreme challenges and navigates through remote locations around the
world, sharing invaluable survival strategies along the way.

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 · Launch of Chandrayaan-2

Launch date and time: 22 July 2019 1443 hours

Launched from: SatishDhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota
Launch vehicle: GSLV MkIII-M1

Points to remember:
Chandrayaan-2 injected into space after 16 minutes 14 seconds after lift-off Weight of Chandrayaan-
2 is 3840 kg.

The spacecraft has an elliptical orbit with a perigee (nearest point to Earth) of 169.7 km and an
apogee (farthest point to Earth) of 45,475 km.

Chandrayaan-2 is India's second mission to the moon. The first was launched in 2008.

Chandrayaan-2 comprises a fully indigenous Orbiter, Lander (Vikram) and Rover (Pragyan). The
Rover Pragyan is housed inside Vikram lander.

It is expected to soft land in the South polar region of the Moon on September 7, 2019.

The life of Orbiter is one year, while the Rover will carry out experiments for 1 lunar day (14 earth
days).

India will become the 4th country to make a soft landing on the moon.
· STRIDE Scheme

University Grants Commission has approved a ‘Scheme for Trans-disciplinary Research for India’s
Developing Economy’ to boost research culture.
Chairman of Advisory Committee: - BhushanPatwardhan.
Aim: - Identification of young talent, strengthen research culture, build capacity, promote
innovation and support trans disciplinary research.

· Jaipur City as UNESCO World Heritage Site

Jaipur City has been designated as UNESCO World Heritage Site.
With this, India now has 38 World Heritage Sites that include 30 Cultural Sites, 7 Natural and 1
mixed site.
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area which is selected by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as having cultural, historical, scientific or other form
of significance, and is legally protected by international treaties.

· PradhanMantriLaghuVyapariMaan-DhanYojana
PradhanMantriLaghuVyapariMaan-DhanYojana was launched by the Union labour and Employment
ministry for retailers and small traders.
A minimum monthly pension of Rs 3000/month to small shopkeepers, retail traders, and the self-
employed people aged between 18-40 years after they attain 60 years of age.
It is an extension of PradhanMantriShram Yogi Maan-dhan.

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· Kaiga Atomic Energy station
Kaiga Atomic Energy station, Karnataka set a World Record in continuous operation of 962 days by
Unit-1 of Kaiga Generating Station.
Kaiga Generating Station is a nuclear power generating station situated at Kaiga, near the river Kali,
in Uttar Kannada district of Karnataka, India.
The plant has been in operation since March 2000 and is operated by the Nuclear Power
Corporation of India. It has four units.

· Rooftop Solar Installation

Gujarat ranked on top in installation of rooftop solar projects with an installed capacity of 261.97
megawatts.
2. Maharashtra, 3. Tamil Nadu

· Longest electrified railway tunnel in India

South Central Railway has commissioned the longest electrified tunnel in India.
It is between Cherlopalli (Andhra Pradesh) and Rapuru (Andhra Pradesh) stations is 6.6 km long

· COP-14 of United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

India will be hosting 14th session of Conference of Parties of United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification for the first time.
The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious
Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa (UNCCD) is a Convention to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of
drought through national action programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by
international cooperation and partnership arrangements.
COP 14: New Delhi (India), 2 to 13 September 2019.

· Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting

The Non-Aligned Movement Ministerial Meeting was held in Caracas, Venezuela.

India’s Permanent Representative to UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin represented India in the
meeting.
The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) is an international organization (group of countries) who do not
want to be officially aligned (friends) with or against any major power bloc (group of countries).
In 2018, the movement had 125 members and 25 observer countries. The group was started in
Belgrade in 1961.

· Sri Lanka eliminates measles

Sri Lanka has become fifth country in the World Health Organisation (WHO) Southeast Asia region to
eliminate measles.
The other countries in the region which have achieved this feat are Bhutan, Maldives, DPR Korea
and Timor-Leste.

· Military Government Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha Elected Thailand's PM

Thailand's new parliament has elected military government chief Prayuth Chan-ocha as the

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 country's prime minister. He received 500 votes to 244 for ThanathornJuangroongruangkit of the
Future Forward Party.

· AnupamKher pens his autobiography: "Lessons Life Taught Me Unknowingly"

Bollywood actor AnupamKher is coming out with his autobiography, "Lessons Life Taught Me
Unknowingly".
AnupamKher is one of the most prolific actors in the Indian film industry who has acted in over 530
films in several languages, both in India and the West.

· Om Birla Elected As 17th LokSabha Speaker

Om Birla, a two-time BharatiyaJanata Party (BJP) member of Parliament (MP) from Rajasthan, is set
to be unanimously elected as the 17th LokSabha Speaker. Om Birla was elected to the 17th
LokSabha from the Kota-Bundi constituency.

· QuDongyu becomes first chinese to head FAO

QuDongyu becomes the first Chinese national to head the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization.
QuDongyu will replace Brazil's Jose Graziano da Silva. He is a biologist by training and has 30 years of
experience in developing digital technologies in agriculture and introducing micro credit in rural
areas.

· Amitabh Kant gets two-year extension as NITI Aayog CEO

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension of Amitabh Kant’s tenure
as the CEO of NITI Aayog beyond June 30, 2019 to June 30, 2021.
NITI Aayog: National Institution for Transforming India.
NITI Aayog CEO: Amitabh Kant, Vice Chairman: Rajiv Kumar.

· ONGC topples IOC to regain most profitable public sector company

ONGC, India’s top oil and gas producer, has toppled Indian Oil Corp (IOC) to regain the crown of
being the country’s most profitable public sector company. According to earnings statements of the
listed companies, Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) reported a 34 percent jump it’s in 2018-19 fiscal
net profit to Rs 26,716 crore.

In comparison, IOC registered a net profit of Rs 17.274 crore for the fiscal year ended March 31,
2019. ONGC, in the previous two financial years, had lost the most profitable PSU tag to IOC.

· Nilekani panel suggests 24x7 RTGS, NEFT, elimination of all charges

To encourage digital payments, the NandanNilekani committee has suggested a host of measures,
including elimination of charges, round-the-clock RTGS and NEFT facility, and duty-free import of
point-of-sales machines.

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 The committee, which was appointed by the RBI, had submitted its suggestions on promoting digital
payments to Governor Shaktikanta Das last month.

· Indian Oil, BPCL And HPCL Ink JV For Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG Pipeline Project

Indian Oil, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd (HPCL) had
signed a joint venture in New Delhi for Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG Pipeline Project. They will be laying
the world’s longest LPG pipeline from Kandla (Gujarat) to Gorakhpur (UP).
The Kandla-Gorakhpur LPG Pipeline is estimated to cost about Rs10, 000 crore. It would be
implemented by a Joint Venture Company of Indian Oil with 50% shareholding. BPCL and HPCL will
have 25% share each.

· Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) acquires Jaypore

Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL), which retails brands such as Louis Philippe, Peter
England and Van Heusen, has acquired ethnic apparel and lifestyle retailer ‘Jaypore E-Commerce
Pvt. Ltd’ which sells ethnic fashion merchandise under its own brand ‘Jaypore’ for Rs 110 crore.

· RBI constitutes six-member panel to review ATM interchange fee structure

The Reserve Bank of India constituted a six-member committee to review the ATM interchange fee
structure with a "view to increase the ATM deployment in the unbanked areas".
The committee will be led by V G Kannan, Chief Executive, Indian Banks Association.

· Dell has emerged as the most trusted brand in India in 2019: TRA

According to a report released by brand analytics firm TRA Research, “Dell” has emerged as the
most trusted brand in India in 2019. With 31% Brand Trust Index (BTI) difference from Dell, auto
brand Jeep makes a dramatic entry in the second spot. LIC and Amazon are ranked on the third and
fourth spots and Apple iPhone emerged as India’s fifth most trusted brand.

· Facebook backs Meesho in first startup investment in India

Social networking giant Facebook has picked up a minority stake in social-commerce

company Meesho in its first startup investment in the country.
Bengaluru-based startup connects re-sellers to manufacturers to sell goods via social media
platforms.

· Facebook launches cryptocurrency "Libra"

Facebook has announced a digital currency called Libra that will allow its billions of users to make
financial transactions across the globe.
Libra is being touted as a means to connect people who do not have access to traditional banking
platforms. Technology to make transactions with Libra will be available as a standalone app as well
as on WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger platforms as early as 2020.

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