Centre has amended the Flag Code of India to allow the tricolour to be displayed in the open and on individual houses/buildings through “day and night”. The provision earlier allowed the flag, when displayed in the open, to be flown from sunrise to sunset “as far as possible”.

The Flag Code of India, 2002, was amended earlier this week and its Clause (xii) of Para 2.2 of Part II has been revised as follows: “Where the flag is displayed in open or displayed on the house of a member of the public, it may be flown day and night”.

 

The earlier provision stated: “Where the flag is displayed in open, it should, as far as possible, be flown from sunrise to sunset, irrespective of weather conditions”..

Source : Times of India

Renowned Marathi writer Anant Yashwant Khare, better known as Nanda Khare, passed away in Pune 22 July 2022 due to prolonged illness. He was 76. Besides biographies, Mr Khare wrote 19 books on various topics like science, sociology, and geography with some of his most noted works being ‘Antajichi Bakhar’,  ‘Bakhar Antakalachi’ and ‘Udya’.

 

He received numerous awards from foundations like Granthali, Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh, Lokmangal and Shabd: The Book Gallery.  In 2010, he received the state government’s Bhai Madhavrao Bagal Award for his book ‘Kahani Manav Pranyachi’. Mr. Khare was offered the Sahitya Akademi award for his novel 'Udya' in 2020  but he politely refused as by then he had decided not to accept any awards.

 

Mr.Khare had also worked on the editorial board of ‘Aajcha Sudharak’ newspaper for close to eleven years and was a member of the Marathi Science Council. 

Born : 2 October 1946, Nagpur

Newly-elected President of the Republic of Albania, Bajram Begaj, took oath here on Sunday(24th July 2022) at a swearing-in ceremony in the parliament.

 

* In his first address in front of the lawmakers as the president, Begaj, 55, declared that he will support and respect both the government and opposition’s work, calling for cooperation between political parties instead of conflict.

 

* On June 4, 2022, Begaj won the presidential election. Begaj garnered 78 votes in favour, four politicians opposed, and one legislator abstained in the plenary session of Parliament, which was attended by a total of 83 MPs.

 

* He served as the head of general staff of the Albanian Armed Forces and was a major general.

 

* Begaj was joined by his wife Armanda and his two sons at his swearing-in ceremony.

 

* Ilir Meta, a former president who served from July 2017 for five years, posted his final statement to the public on social media..

Source : The Print

Defence Minister "Rajnath Singh" on Sunday(24th July 2022) announced the setting up of joint theatre commands of the tri-services to enhance coordination among the armed forces.

 

* The defence minister also said India is moving quickly from being the world's largest importer of defence equipment to an exporter.

 

* He was speaking during a programme organised by the Jammu Kashmir People's Forum here to pay tributes to the martyrs of the Indian Armed Forces.

 

* "Keeping in view (joint operations as seen in Operation Vijay in Kargil), we have decided to set up joint theatre commands (in the country)," Singh said.

Publicly-listed One97 Communications, the parent entity of Paytm, has hired Standard Chartered Bank executive Nakul Jain as CEO of Paytm Payments Services Ltd (PPSL). Jain earlier served as managing director of private banking, priority banking, deposits and branch banking at Standard Chartered Bank.

 

Alongside, Praveen Sharma, the CEO of Paytm Payments Services, has been moved to lead the company’s commerce vertical. Sharma was made MD and CEO of PPSL in September 2021.

 

Paytm Payments is a unit through which Paytm operates its payment gateway and payment aggregator businesses. Paytm uses this gateway to process transactions on debit cards, credit cards, wallets and net banking. At its third quarter earnings call, Paytm CFO Madhur Deora had described it as one of the largest payment gateways in India..

Source : MInt

India contributed USD 2.5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

 

Director of the West Asia and North Africa Division of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, Sunil Kumar presented the cheque of USD 2.5 million to the UNRWA Director of Partnerships of the Department of External Relations, Karim Amer in a signing ceremony at UNRWA headquarters in East Jerusalem on 22 July 2022, an official statement from the UNRWA said.

 

Karim Amer expressed gratitude and appreciated India for its continuous efforts toward the Palestinian refugees.

 

"This timely contribution is a strong demonstration of India's unwavering support to the work of UNRWA and commitment to the wellbeing of Palestine refugees. On behalf of UNRWA, I would like to express our deep appreciation for the Government of India for its continued funding to the Agency and its backing of Palestine refugees across the Middle East," he said..

Source : Business Standard

Mayor Sanyukta Bhatia on Sunday(24th July 2022) laid the foundation of a 151-feet statue of freedom fighter Chandrashekhar Azad on the occasion of his 116th birth anniversary at Hind Nagar colony on Kanpur Road in Lucknow.

 

The statue will be equal in height to the proposed 151-feet high statue of Lord Lakshman at the Jhulelal Park and among tallest in the city.

The statue will be made by an NGO through crowdfunding.

 

It is a tribute to the supreme sacrifice made by my uncle. This statue will symbolise there is nothing which has more value than freedom," said the nephew of Shaheed Chandrashekhar Azad, Sujit Azad Tiwari..

Source : Times of India

Startup Incubation and Innovation Centre (SIIC), the technology business incubator at IIT Kanpur, is launching NIRMAN Accelerator Programme, supported by the department of science and technology, government of India, the institute said..

 

The programme will focus on the manufacturing startups engaged in healthcare and agriculture domains to help them overcome the challenges from their prototype-to-market journey.

 

A total of 15 startups will be selected under the programme. They will be given the opportunity to accelerate their product’s journey from lab to market. The best performing startups among the cohort of 15 startups will receive a cash award of up to ₹10 Lakh.

 

Commenting on the launch of the programme, Prof Amitabha Bandyopadhyay, professor-in-charge, Innovation and Incubation, IIT Kanpur, said, “Our country has been facing tremendous challenges in the domain of manufacturing. We are in urgent need of innovators and startups working in healthcare and agriculture domain to cater to some of the pertinent developmental challenges to uplift the status of manufacturing in India. I believe the NIRMAN Accelerator Programme comes with massive potential to harness and capitalise on startups working in the field. We welcome innovators and startups to apply.”.

Source : Hindustan Times

Union Minister Home Minister "Amit Shah" will launch the e-FIR system in Gandhinagar(Gujarat) on Saturday(23rd July 2022) which will enable the citizens to file an FIR online, without visiting the police stations.

 

Under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, important services of Gujarat Police will be made available online.

 

Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghvi on Friday(22nd July 2022) said, “It is totally unacceptable in this age of technology that a simple mobile phone gets stolen and a person has to leave work and rush to the police station for the whole day. Then, to remove such difficulties faced by the people in normal cases, under the guidance of Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel, an initiative has been taken to make all the important services of Gujarat Police online.”

 

Now citizens of the state need not go to the police station to register a complaint of vehicle theft or mobile phone theft. Through this online service, the citizens of the state will be able to file complaints online at home.

 

Sanghavi giving details of the e-FIR said that within 48 hours of registering the FIR, the police will contact the complainant directly and visit the scene of vehicle theft/mobile phone theft and complete the investigation within 21 days and send a report to the court..

Source : Theprint

The International Association of Ports and Harbors (IAPH), a global ports forum for international collaboration, has named Ennarasu Karunesan as its representative to develop its network in India.

 

Mr. Ennarasu is a mechanical engineer with more than 33 years of leadership in the maritime and ports sector. He currently serves as an advisor to Indian ports. During 2015-19, he was the joint president and CEO of Adani Ports & Special Economic Zone (APSEZ), Gujarat.

 

Mr. Ennarasu’s main task is to recruit ports and organisations in the Indian port community as IAPH regular and associate members, IAPH said in a statement.

 

The appointment coincides with the associate membership of India's first high tech company Kale Info Solutions, which joined IAPH at its 2022 World Port Conference in Vancouver in May..

Source : The Hindu