The Jharkhand government has launched a website to publicly display the names of polluting industrial units in the state. The move is meant to hold the industries accountable for the amount of particulate matter they release into the atmosphere.

In a release, the Jharkhand State Pollution Control Board (JSPCB) said, "This data disclosure and transparency platform is part of the pioneering Jharkhand Star Rating programme that categorises industries from one star to five stars based on their PM emissions. Industries that are most polluting get one star, and five stars are awarded to those who are least polluting as per the regulators' pollution standards. "

 

The website for the Star Rating Program, www.jspcb.info, was unveiled in Ranchi on Thursday(20th Oct 2022). It has a tab that helps users "find out which industries are polluting in your state".

 

JSPCB explained on the website, "The Star Rating Program is a transparency initiative that aims to disclose information on industrial Particulate Matter (PM) in an understandable manner. The initiative aims to hold industries accountable for their PM emissions, thereby incentivizing them to introduce technologies that reduce pollution."..

Source : NDTV

India observes National Solidarity Day on 20th October every year. This day is observed to honour the Armed Forces.

In the wake of the mortifying military thrashing because of China, India had started observing National Solidarity Day on October 20—the date on which China began the assaults in 1962.

 

The purpose of the day is to celebrate the memory of the solidarity, unity, and integrity of our people during the war in order to protect the nation. Therefore, the recognition of National Solidarity Day is a yearly token of central solidarity and greeting of love, gratitude, and respect for our Armed Forces. Also, the entire country recalls those soldiers who sacrificed their lives for the nation.

 

National Solidarity Day History : In 1966, India was ruled by Indira Gandhi as its prime minister and at that time a committee was set up. In order to honour the soldiers who fought in the war and the families of those soldiers who gave their lives in the line of duty, the 20th of October was designated as “National Solidarity Day” by this committee, which also consisted of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

Lieutenant governor "Vinai Kumar Saxena" has approved the setting up in Delhi of four Zila Sainik Boards (ZSBs), which are responsible for policy formulation and implementation of resettlement and welfare schemes for ex-servicemen (ESMs) and their widows and dependents.

 

The four ZSBs are to cater to South-West, East and Shahdara, North-West, and Central and New Delhi districts are will comprise 10 officials each, an official said. The move is likely to help 77,000 ex-servicemen, their widows and their families in Delhi.

 

The decision to set up the ZSBs emanates from the 2018 report of a high-level committee established by the central government on the problems of ex-servicemen, which recommended the setting up of ZSBs by state governments if the population of ESMs and their families is more than 7,500. Accordingly, it was decided to establish four ZSBs in Delhi at a cost of ₹16.69 crore, 60% of which will be borne by the central government.

 

While the in-principal approval was given in 2019, the Arvind Kejriwal-led state government took a decision on the same only in May this year, before sending it to the LG for final approval on September 27, officials said..

Source : Hindustan Times

Chief Minister of Tripura Dr. Manik Saha along with Education Minister Ratan Lal Nath on Tuesday(18th Oct 2022) inaugurated the first English medium general degree college of the state in the city having 100 intake capacity.

The first five basic subjects of the arts stream include compulsory Bengali and English. Tripura government has built the general degree college at a budget of Rs 1 crore by renovating an old Teaching College.

 

* The state government aims to make the state an education hub with the inauguration of its first English medium government college.

* A large number of schools at each of the revenue blocks have been converted into an English medium government institution with all modern educational tools.

* The exact syllabus of CBSE has been introduced in the schools which are followed by recruiting a large number of trained teachers and training up to over 40,000 existing teachers.

* The government has also introduced several programs to plug the dropout rates of Tripura with the help of new initiatives.

Source : Tripura India

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said 5G technology will usher in a transformation across the country and it will particularly revolutionize the education sector. He was addressing a huge gathering after launching the "Mission School of Excellence" at Adalaj in Gandhinagar, Gujarat (19th Oct 2022).

 

 He said these schools of excellence will help to take education in the remotest parts of the state and fulfill each and every need of the students.  

 

Mr. Modi said the government is planning to set up 14 thousand 500 PM-SHRI schools across the country which will be model schools for the implementation of the National Education Policy. Stressing upon the education in the mother tongue, he asserted that language cannot be a hindrance to growth.  

 

The Prime minister also highlighted a series of initiatives undertaken by the Gujarat government in the past 20 years including Shala Praveshotsav, and Gunotsav which resulted in the transformation of the education sector of the state. He said the government stressing upon the quality and outcome of education.

 

Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel said the Mission School of Excellence initiative will prove as a milestone in the growth of the education sector of the state.

 

The Mission with a total outlay of 10,000 Crores will help strengthen education infrastructure in Gujarat through the setting up of new classrooms, smart classrooms, computer labs, and overall upgradation of the infrastructure of schools in the State..

Source : AIR

HDFC Securities opens women-only Digital Centre in Bengaluru : HDFC Securities, a leading stock trading firm, has announced the establishment of India’s first Women-Only Digital Centre (DC). This innovative centre, manned entirely by women, will serve both male and female investors. the youth, while taking charge of their finances, need a better understanding of the investment process to make the most of the financial markets.

 

The establishment of the pan-India Digital Centers is intended to assist clients in obtaining the best outcomes possible from the HSL platforms with the aid of professional relationship managers. Customers won’t need to look for a physical branch because the DCs will allow them to obtain support whenever they need it. The opening of multiple DCs around India will facilitate service access and encourage the usage of digital technology.

 

* The Women-Only DC is an effort to promote diversity within the company and to provide its clients with technology that makes the path to financial independence easier. The company’s emphasis on digital is also influenced by the fact that Gen Z accounts for 27% of India’s young adult population, which is among the largest in the world. For this innovative digital centre, the corporation plans to hire women under the age of 30. For the Bengaluru Women-Only DC, HDFC Securities intends to engage more than 100 relationship managers.

* The Women-Only DC would be located in Bengaluru and serve clients from Telangana, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Andhra Pradesh.

* The Women-Only Digital Centre is the first step in empowering Indian women to be self-sufficient.

* It would make it easier for women investors to utilise these financial services, as only 7% of Indian women invest independently in financial markets, and 33% have no financial investments.

* Hiring women as DC relationship managers will contribute to the efforts to ensure diversity and enable women to handle their finances.

* It will serve both types of investors, male and female; nevertheless, having a women-only team will attract more women to explore investment possibilities and support in making informed investment selections.

* Having women in charge of the centre will empower other women to handle their investment portfolios, make informed decisions, and achieve financial security.

PhonePe on Thurday(20th Oct 2022) announced the launch of its first Green Data Center in India, leveraging technologies and solutions from Dell Technologies and NTT. 

 

The Green Data Center is set to open up new opportunities in data management for PhonePe, with efficient data security, power efficiency, ease of operations and cloud solutions. 

 

The center will also help the company to build sustainable and efficient infrastructure to further seamlessly scale its operations across the country. 

 

Speaking at the launch Burzin Engineer, co-founder and chief reliability officer, PhonePe said, “Today, if there is one thing about PhonePe that echoes with millions of users, it is the reliability and speed of the transaction. It is with this ethos that we are very excited to work with Dell Technologies and NTT to launch our first Green Data Center in India.  This data center will not only help in further seamlessly scaling our business but also help in reducing our carbon footprint.”

 

The 4.8-megawatt facility occupies 13,740 sq.ft at Mahape, Navi Mumbai. It is built and designed with advanced alternative cooling technologies like Direct Contact Liquid Cooling (DCLC) and Liquid Immersion Cooling (LIC). 

 

The data center’s Dell PowerEdge servers will expected to provide exceptional performance, simplified management, and intelligent automation while using less energy.

 

In a statement, Manish Gupta, Vice President and General Manager, Infrastructure Solutions Group, Dell Technologies India said, "The launch of PhonePe’s first Green Data Centre is a significant milestone on its journey to achieving its sustainability goals.

 

 We are delighted to extend our long-standing relationship with PhonePe by supporting them with our industry-leading infrastructure..

Source : Business World

As compared to 40th out of 43 countries in 2021, India ranked 41 out of 44 countries in the Mercer CFS Global Pension Index. The MCGPI is a comprehensive study of 44 global pension systems, accounting for 65 percent of the world’s population.

The survey pointed out that the country needs to strengthen its regulatory framework and boost the coverage under private pension arrangements.

 

What The Report Said : “In the absence of social security coverage in the country, the adequacy and sustainability sub-indices can be improved significantly by boosting coverage under private pension arrangements,” the report based on the survey said.

 

About The Report : Mercer CFS Global Pension Index studies 44 countries that account for 65 per cent of the world’s population. The index value was up from 2021 but below that in 2020. In 2020, India ranked 34 out of 39 countries with a value of 45.7. In 2022, the index value was 44.4.

 

The index measures the pension system in the country under three sub-heads, adequacy, sustainability and integrity. India’s score in these three measurements was 33.5, 41.8 and 61 respectively.

 

Overall Ranking : Globally, Iceland had the highest overall index value (84.7), closely followed by the Netherlands (84.6) and Denmark (82.0). Thailand had the lowest index value (41.7).

 

About India : The survey also highlighted that the penetration of private investment in India is low. With 95 per cent of the total workforce being in the unorganised sector, there needs to be an improvement in pension arrangements. “There is hope that new labour codes, when implemented, would give access to such coverage and drive the necessary improvement in the adequacy and sustainability sub-indices,” it added..

Source : Business Standard

India ranks "third" in the world's first-ever global study on the rise of centi-millionaires -- individuals with assets of more than Rs 830 crore ($100 million), a new report has revealed.

Out of the world's 25,490 centi-millionaires, India has 1,132, beating countries like the UK, Russia and Switzerland, in a swift growing and powerful class of super-rich tech titans, financiers, multinational CEOs, and heirs.

By 2032, India will overtake China (number 2) as the fastest growing market for centi-millionaires, with an anticipated 80 per cent growth rate in individuals worth over $100 million, the report released by international investment migration advisory firm Henley & Partners stated.

"At around 57 per cent, the growth of centi-millionaires in Asia will be twice that of Europe and the US over the next decade. Concentrated primarily in China and India, the centi-millionaires in these countries are set to eclipse their European and American peers," said Misha Glenny, a financial journalist and author.

Of the world's 25,490 centi-millionaires, the US, which ranks at number 1, is home to 38 per cent (9,730) of global centi-millionaires, despite constituting only 4 per cent of the world's total population.

It is closely followed by big emerging markets of China and India in second and third place, with 2,021 and 1,132 centi-millionaires, respectively.

The UK is in fourth place (with 968 centi-millionaires) followed closely by Germany in fifth place (with 966), Switzerland (808), Japan (765), Canada (541), Australia (463), and finally Russia (435) make up the rest of the top 10 countries for centi-millionaires..

Source : Business Insider

Global Dignity Day is observed every year on the 3rd Wednesday of October. This year(2022) Global Dignity Day is observed on the 19th of October.

* The day is an initiative to educate and inspire young people and help them to understand their self-worth and goals.

* It was established in 2008 and continues to grow in popularity. Dignity is an inherent part of the human condition.

* It is an initiative celebration day that educates and inspires young people. Global Dignity Day is celebrated to make everyone living in this world realize that they have rights and deserve respect in every aspect.

 

Global Dignity Day History : The first Global Dignity Day was observed on October 20, 2008. The third Wednesday of every October marks this celebration Day.

* Professor Pekka Himanen, John Hope Bryant, and HRH Crown Prince Haakon are the ones who established this Day. Global Dignity is an autonomous, non-political, non-profit, non-criticism organization working towards dignity for all people.

* They create a global conversation about dignity and support dignity-based leadership to discuss the issue of dignity with the group of young people.

* On this Day, voluntary facilitators conduct events by visiting schools and tell students about their lives and experiences with dignity.

* The voluntary facilitators can be of any nationality and any profession..