9TH JULY
Contents
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE IMPLEMENTED SPARSH SYSTEM
GOVT. BRINGS ‘DPE’ UNDER FINANCE MINISTRY
AMAZON LAUNCHED ITS FIRST DIGITAL KENDRA
WORLD’S TALLEST SANDCASTLE IN DENMARK
INDIA’S FIRST MARITIME ARBITRATION CENTRE
KAUSHIK BASU AWARDED WITH HUMBOLDT RESEARCH AWARD
MUMBAI, PUNE TO HOST 2022 WOMEN’S ASIAN CUP
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE IMPLEMENTED SPARSH SYSTEM
- Ministry of Defence has implemented SPARSH (System for Pension Administration Raksha), an integrated system for automation of sanction and disbursement of defence pension.
- This web-based system processes pension claims and credits pension directly into the bank accounts of defence pensioners without relying on any external intermediary.
- A Pensioner Portal is available for pensioners to view their pension-related information, access services and register complaints for redressal of grievances, if any, relating to their pension matters.
- About the SPARSH: SPARSH envisages the establishment of Service Centres to provide last-mile connectivity to pensioners who may be unable to directly access the SPARSH portal for any reason.
- In addition to several offices of the Defence Accounts Department, which are already functioning as Service Centres for pensioners, the two largest banks dealing with defence pensioners – State Bank of India (SBI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB) – have been co-opted as Service Centres.
(SOURCE: NEWS INDIAN EXPRESS)
GOVT. BRINGS ‘DPE’ UNDER FINANCE MINISTRY
- The Government of India has decided to bring Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under the finance ministry.
- DPE was earlier under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. It has been brought under the finance minister in a bid to ease coordination regarding future disinvestment plans.
- The Finance ministry now comprises six departments, after the inclusion of DPE.
Other five departments are:
- Department of Economic Affairs,
- Department of Expenditure,
- Department of Revenue,
- Department of Investment & Public Asset Management and
- Department of Financial Services.
- Minister of Finance; and Minister of Corporate Affairs: Nirmala Sitharaman
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
AMAZON LAUNCHED ITS FIRST DIGITAL KENDRA
- Amazon has launched its first Digital Kendra in India in Surat, Gujarat. Amazon Digital Kendra was inaugurated by Vijay Rupani, Chief Minister of Gujarat.
- Digital Kendras of Amazon are centres that will provide micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) the opportunity to learn about the benefits of e-commerce.
- MSMEs can visit the Amazon Digital Kendra and avail of third party services including training on the benefits of eCommerce, GST and taxation support, shipping and logistics support, cataloguing assistance and digital marketing services.
- The company has focused on enabling sellers to reach customers across India and globally, and has made significant investments in technology, logistics, delivery infrastructure and digitising payments that collectively helped more customers and businesses to come online.
Amazon CEO: Andrew R. Jassy
Amazon Founded: 5 July 1994.
(SOURCE: LIVE MINT)
WORLD’S TALLEST SANDCASTLE IN DENMARK
- A sandcastle in Denmark has entered into new Guinness World Record for being the tallest sandcastle in the world.
- The triangular-shaped sandcastle has been built in the town of Blokhus in Denmark. It stands at a height of 21.16 metres (69.4 feet).
- This new structure is 3.5m taller than the previous record held by sandcastle measuring 17.66 m in Germany in 2019. Dutch creator, Wilfred Stijger, was assisted by 30 of the world’s best sand sculptors.
- The structure is built in the shape of a triangle to avoid collapsing like many others have. A wooden structure was built around it to allow the artist to carve the incredible figures in the sand.
- This highly decorated monument in the small seaside village of Blokhus, which is reminiscent of a pyramid, is made up of 4,860 tonnes of sand. To ensure the sand sticks on, it was mixed with around 10% clay.
(SOURCE: THE HINDU)
INDIA’S FIRST MARITIME ARBITRATION CENTRE
- The Gujarat Maritime University has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) in GIFT City to set up the Gujarat International Maritime Arbitration Centre (GIMAC).
- GIMAC will be the first of its kind centre in India to manage arbitration and mediation proceedings for disputes related to the maritime and shipping sector. It will be part of a maritime cluster that is being set up by the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) at GIFT City in Gandhinagar.
- There are over 35 arbitration centres in India. However, none of them exclusively deals with the maritime sector.
- The arbitration involving Indian players is now heard at the Singapore Arbitration Centre.
- The idea is to create a world-class arbitration centre focused on maritime and shipping disputes that can help resolve commercial and financial conflicts between entities having operations in India.
(SOURCE: FINANCIAL EXPRESS)
KAUSHIK BASU AWARDED WITH HUMBOLDT RESEARCH AWARD
- Indian economist Kaushik Basu has been awarded the Humboldt Research Award for Economics. The award was conferred on him by Professor Dr Hans-Bernd Schäfer of Bucerius Law School in Hamburg, Germany.
- A former chief economist of the World Bank, Basu is currently a professor of Economics at Cornell University.
- He also served as the Government of India’s chief economic advisor from 2009 to 2012. Basu is also a recipient of the Padma Bhushan, the third-highest civilian award in India.
- Humboldt Research Award: The prestigious award is sponsored by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and awarded to as many as 100 recipients each year.
- The Humboldt Research Award honours scientists and economists from across the world for their work. The award entails prize money of 60,000 euros and an offer to carry out research projects at a scientific institution in Germany for up to 12 months.
(SOURCE: JAGRAN JOSH)
MUMBAI, PUNE TO HOST 2022 WOMEN’S ASIAN CUP
- Women’s Asian Cup in India will be held in Mumbai and Pune after the Asian Football Confederation dropped Bhubaneswar and Ahemdabad as venues to minimise the travelling time for participants and ensure an “optimum environment” for a bio-secure bubble.
- The Mumbai Football Arena at the Andheri Sports Complex and the Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex in Balewadi, Pune have been chosen as the new venues.
- The decision was taken after considering the existing challenges caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and as part of efforts to minimise the travelling time for teams and officials between the venues, whilst ensuring the optimum environment to implement the biomedical bubble for the benefit of all stakeholders.
(SOURCE: TIMES OF INDIA)