Current Affairs 10th & 11th January 2021| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DAYS

World Hindi Day Observed on 10 January 

• World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on January 10.
• Vishwa Hindi Divas commemorates the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur on January 10, 1975. 
• The conference was inaugurated by the then prime minister Indira Gandhi in Nagpur.
• World Hindi Day was first celebrated in 2006 by former Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh.
• The aim of the conference was to promote Hindi language worldwide.
• National Hindi Divas which is celebrated annually on September 14.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

PM Modi to head panel to commemorate 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

• On Jan 09, 2021, A high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was  formed to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
• The members include 10 Union ministers and seven chief ministers who will decide on the activities to be undertaken for the year-long commemoration planned by the government.
• The committee will decide on the activities for a year-long commemoration, beginning on January 23, 2021.
• The committee will lend guidance to the commemoration activities in Delhi, Kolkata and other places associated with Netaji and the Azad Hind Fauj, both in India as well as overseas.
• The members of the committee include distinguished citizens, historians, authors, experts, family members of Subhas Chandra Bose, as well as eminent persons associated with the Azad Hind Fauj (INA).

Centre provide guidelines – Migrant Children

• The Education Ministry has issued guidelines for identification, admission and continued education of migrant children.
• The guidelines highlight for continuation of non-residential training for identified out of school children through volunteers, local teachers and community participation.
• States and UTs to carry out proper identification of OoSC for 6 to 18 years age group through a comprehensive door to door survey and prepare action plan for their enrolment.
• It also stressed to undertake awareness generation among parents and community for enrolling and attendance of children.
• The main features of the guidelines are identifying out of school children, continued education for out of school children (OoSC) and children with special needs and enrolment drives and awareness generation.
• Union education minister: Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’

Javadekar says nearly Rs1,200 cr to be spent for safe movement of wildlife on National Highway

• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that over 1,200 crore will be spent by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry to create infrastructure for safe movement of wildlife on the National Highway.
• This includes construction of underpasses on the Nagpur-Jabalpur National Highway which passes through the Pench National Park and also at highways including Gadchiroli-Chandrapur and Chimur-Vadodara.

National Youth Parliament Festival 2021 

• National Youth Parliament Festival, 2021 will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Valedictory Function of second National Youth Parliament Festival, 2021 through video conferencing.
• The first three winners will get an opportunity to speak before the Prime Minister.
• The Prime Minister will also interact with the youth on the occasion.
• 84 winners from States and Union Territories will get an opportunity to be present in the Central Hall of Parliament before the Lok Sabha Speaker, Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha along with Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and other dignitaries.
• 29 National winners will get an opportunity to speak before the National Jury comprising of Rajya Sabha MP Roopa Ganguly, Lok Sabha MP Parvesh Sahib Singh and eminent journalist Prafulla Ketkar.

Govt issues guidelines for renewal of International Driving License while travelling abroad

• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification to facilitate the issuance of International Driving Permit (IDP) for Indian citizens whose IDP has expired while they are abroad.
• There was no mechanism for its renewal while citizens were abroad and their IDP expired.
• After this amendment, Indian citizens can apply for renewal through Indian Embassies and Missions abroad, from where these applications will move to the VAHAN portal in India, to be considered by the concerned Road Transport Officers (RTOs).
• The International Driving Permit will be couriered to the citizen at his or her address abroad by the respective RTOs.
• The Ministry said that the notification also removes the conditions of a Medical Certificate and a valid visa at the time of making the request for the IDP in India.
• The idea is that a citizen who has a valid driving license should not have a requirement for another medical certificate.
• Further, there are countries where the Visa is issued on arrival or Visa is issued at the last moment and in such cases, VISA is not available when applying for the IDP in India before travel.
• Therefore, IDP applications can now be made without VISA.

India: Second largest manufacturer of PPE kits and suits 

• Union Minister for textile and women and child development Smriti Irani has said that India has become the second largest manufacturer of PPE kits and suits in the world in record three months’ time during the corona virus induced lockdown in March 2020.
• She was speaking after inaugurating – Surat International Textile Expo -SITEX at Surat, the Gujarat’s first physical exhibition after Covid19.
• Speaking on this occasion, the Union Minister of state for women and child welfare Debasree Chaudhuri has said that industrial revolution can be brought in West Bengal, if it follows the Gujarat model.

Indian Railways attains a train speed of 130 kmph on Golden Quadrilateral – Golden Diagonal route

• Indian Railways has started the New Year by achieving a landmark to enhance the maximum speed to 130 kmph for 1,280 km length out of 1,612 Km in Golden Quadrilateral – Golden Diagonal route.
• This covers the entire GQ-GD route over South Central Railway, except Vijayawada – Duvvada section, where signaling up gradation work is in progress.
• This included heavier rails, laying of 260 meters long welded rail panels, improvement of curves and gradients among others.
• Piyush Goyal is the Union minister for Railways and Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce & Industry in the Government of India.

Health Minister dedicates coastal research vessel to Nation 

• Union Health Minister Dr.Harsh Vardhan dedicates coastal research vessel to Nation at Chennai Port Trust and said that the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been creating milestones in every field.
• Speaking at the Sagar Anveshika dedication function at the Chennai Port Trust he said that Prime Minister’s Atma Nirbhar schemes have helped Indian scientists to formulate research activity in deep ocean research.
• SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a very complex platform which will enable scientists to conduct various oceanographic research missions aboard, will house state of the art laboratories equipped with modern scientific instruments.
• Indian scientists were the first in the world to isolate the Corona virus and begin genome sequencing of the virus braving the fight against Covid in an intelligent manner.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

PM 16^th inaugurates Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention 

• Addressing the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention through virtual mode, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the youth to use technology to take forward India’s pride and culture across the globe.
• He said the internet has connected people from various corners of the world but our hearts are connected with our mutual love for the country.
• He said, in the past years, Non-Resident Indians have strengthened their identity by showing their commitment for the betterment of the society.
• Mr Modi said, he feels proud to hear heartwarming stories of NRIs coming forward and helping those in need.
• The Chief Guest of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention, President of Suriname Chandrika Persad Santokhi said, Suriname shares deep bonds with India and both the countries have managed to maintain their heritage, culture and customs.
• He said, the two countries should increase their business to strengthen the bond.
• The President said, India and Suriname are bonded on many levels historically, religiously and culturally.

About Suriname:

• President: Chandrika Persad Santokhi
• Capital: Paramaribo
• Currency: Suriname Dollar

Indonesian plane crashed

• A passenger plane of Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air carrying more than 50 people on board crashed into waters off Jakarta.
• A passenger plane of Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air carrying more than 50 people on board crashed into waters off Jakarta.
• A statement released by the Sriwijaya Air, said the Boeing 737-500 was on an estimated 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Pontianak, capital of West Kalimantan province on Indonesia’s Borneo Island.
• Indonesian authorities located the black boxes of the Sriwijaya Air jet that crashed into the sea soon after taking off from the capital Jakarta on Saturday.

About Indonesia:

• Capital:Jakarta
• Currency: Indonesian rupiah
• President:Joko Widodo

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

World’s largest Floating Solar Plant at Omkareshwar Dam, Madhya Pradesh

• The World’s largest Floating solar energy project is to be constructed at Omkareshwar dam on Narmada river and will be operational by 2023 and an estimated cost of INR30 billion ($409.8m).

About the Solar Plant :

• It would be a 600 MW plant based on utilising solar energy
• The plant would be located on Omkareshwar dam in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh
• The project is likely to begin generation of power by 2022-23
• That electricity will be produced by installing solar panels in a 2,000 hectares area of water.
• The International Finance Corporation, World Bank and Power Grid have agreed in principle to support the project development.
• The Madhya Pradesh power management company has signed an agreement to buy 400MW power from the project.

About International Finance Corporation :

• Headquarters : Washington DC, US
• Founded : 20 july, 1956
• CEO : Philippe Le Houerou

About MP :

• Capital : Bhopal
• Chief Minister : Shivraj Singh Chouhan

Delhi – Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor begins from Greater Noida

• The aerial ground survey for Delhi – Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor began from Greater Noida.
• Railway Ministry said, a helicopter fitted with state of art Aerial LiDAR and imagery sensors took the first flight and captured the data related to ground survey.
• The Ministry said LiDAR technology provides all the ground details and data in 3 to 4 months wherein this process normally takes 10 to 12 months.
• This technique uses a combination of Laser data, GPS data, flight parameters and actual photographs to give accurate survey data.

Maharashtra: “Period Room” set up at a public toilet 

• In a bid to help the women, residing in congested slums, during their menstruation days, a ‘period room’ has been set up for women at a public toilet in Maharashtra’s Thane city.
• The civic body had been aided by NGO Muse Foundation in this initiative, and now, the NGO would be taking up the task of informing the women of the slum about the existence of such a room when they hold one of their regular sessions on menstrual hygiene.
• Equipped with several basic facilities, the period room aims to facilitate menstrual hygiene among women dwelling in slums.
• The much-needed facility has been set up by the Thane Municipal Corporation in collaboration with an NGO, at a slum in Shanti Nagar locality of Wagle Estate area in Thane.

About Maharashtra:

• Governor:Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Capital: Mumbai
• Chief minister:Uddhav Thackeray

Govt reduces age limit of J&K Administrative Services Exam aspirants

• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the government has reduced the age limit of the aspirants of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services Exam from 37 years to 32 years. 
• J&K Public Service Commission (J&KPSC) has announced that the vacancies will be filled up in accordance with the provisions contained in J&K Combined Competitive Exam Rules 2018 (SRO-103).
• J&K PSC, the recruiting agency, earlier notified that the combined competitive preliminary exam KAS-2021 will be held for 257 posts referred by the government.
• SRO 103 reduces the age of open merit aspirants from 37 to 32 years.

About J& K:

• Capital: Jammu (Winter), Srinagar(Summer)
• Lieutenant Governor: Manoj Sinha

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING & FINANCE

CBoI ties up with NABFOUNDATION to Provide loans to Self – help groups

• Central Bank of India (CBoI) and NABFOUNDATION,entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), whereby working capital will be provided by the bank to all self-help groups (SHGs) which have an account with it and undertake the Nabard-sponsored ‘My Pad My Right’ project.
• NABFOUNDATION, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard).
• This cheap, collateral-free credit support is just what the rural women will need as they take up manufacturing on a regular basis.
• The project would see Nabard providing a total support of nearly ₹50 crore over the next three years.

About Central Bank of India :

• Headquarters : Mumbai
• CEO : Pallav Mohapatra
• Founded : 21 December 1911

About NABARD :

• Founded : 12 July, 1982
• Headquarters : Mumbai
• Chairperson : Harsh Kumar Bhanwala

SBI, Indian Oil launch contactless RuPay debit card

• State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) launched a co-branded contactless RuPay debit card.
• This Debit Card was launched by Mr. Dinesh Kumar Khara, Chairman, SBI and Mr. Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman, IndianOil, in a virtual ceremony .

The features of the card are:

• 6X Reward Points for every 200/- spent at IndianOil fuel stations
• Fuel benefits – Cardholder earns loyalty points worth 75% against purchase of fuel at IndianOil fuel stations
• Pay with a tap (contactless card) for a single transaction of upto Rs. 5000/-
• Earn Reward Points on spends on dining, movies, grocery and utility bills
• Redeem Reward Points for dining, movies, grocery and paying utility bills
• No monthly limit for purchasing fuel
• SBI-IndianOil Co-branded RuPay Debit Card can be issued anywhere in India
• Apply for a card by visiting SBI’s home branch.

About SBI :

• Chairperson : Dinesh Kumar Khara
• Headquarters : Mumbai
• Founded : 1 July, 1955

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

NALCO to invest around Rs 30,000 cr for development: Pralhad Joshi

• Union Minister for Coal & Mines Pralhad Joshi said, National Aluminium Company Limited, NALCO, will invest around 30,000 crore by financial year 2027-28 on the company’s expansion and diversification plans.
• He was addressing the 41st Foundation Day of NALCO in capital Bhubaneswar in Odisha. 
• The Minister said, the ambitious growth plans of NALCO will have a multiplier effect in the production and consumption of aluminium thereby achieving Atmanirbhar Bharat vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• The company that is currently operational in the tribal dominated district of Koraput and Angul in Odisha, contributes 32 per cent Bauxite, 33 percent Aluminia and 12 percent Aluminium production in the country.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS 

Modi India Calling-2021: New book chronicling PM’s foreign tours, released

• A coffee table book filled with over hundreds of photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his “107 overseas and bilateral visits” was released here on the eve of the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
• The book, titled “Modi India Calling – 2021“, is the brainchild of senior BJP leader Vijay Jolly.
• It was released by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta at the Press Club of India.
• The 450-page book has been published by Maneesh Media.
• Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which aims at strengthening the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the government of India, was first held in 2003 under the leadership of the then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPOINTMENTS

Central African Republic President Touadera re-elected

• Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera has won a second term in office, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission.
• Touadera was re-elected in the first round of the December 27 presidential vote with 9 percent of the votes, the National Election Authority.
• The 63-year-old president has been in power since 2016.
• And then He has also served as the Prime Minister of the country from January 2008 to January 2013.
• The Central African Republic, a producer of gold and diamonds, has a population of 4.7 million.

About Central African Republic :

• Capital : Bangui
• Currency : Central African CFA Franc
• President : Faustin-Archange Touadéra

Airtel appoints Pradipt Kapoor as CIO

• Bharti Airtel announced the appointment of Pradipt Kapoor as its Chief Information Officer (CIO). 
• Kapoor takes over from Harmeen Mehta, the company said in a statement.
• “In his new role, Pradipt will drive Airtel’s overall engineering strategy and be a key player in helping realise the company’s digital vision.
• He will be a member of the Airtel Management Board and report to Gopal Vittal, MD and CEO, Bharti Airtel,” the statement added.

Germany passes a bill – large companies to appoint women in executive boards is mandatory

• German-listed companies must include women on their executive boards as part of a landmark bill agreed by the country’s coalition government on Wednesday after voluntary efforts failed to close a gender gap.
• The law sends “a very strong signal”, Justice Minister Christine Lambrecht said, urging corporations to “take advantage of the opportunity presented by highly qualified women”.

About Germany:

• Capital: Berlin
• Currency: Euro
• President: Frank-Walter Steinmeier
• Chancellor: Angela Markel

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Veteran Congress leader and former Gujarat Chief Minister Madhavsinh Solanki passes away

• Veteran Congress leader and former Gujarat Chief Minister Madahvsinh Solanki passed away. He was 93.
• A veteran Congress leader and the former External Affairs Minister Mr. Solanki  had served four terms as Chief Minister of Gujarat.
• He is the father of Gujarat Congress leader and former Union Minister Bharatsinh Solanki.
• Madhavsinh Solanki served four times as Gujarat Chief Minister.
• He was elected to Rajya Sabha twice and served as External Affairs Minister.
• Solanki had served as External Affairs Minister of India from June 1991 to March 1992.
• He had been the Chief Minister of Gujarat for three times between 1976 to 1990.
• He was the longest serving chief minister of the state before Narendra Modi became CM.

Padma Awardee Turlapati Kutumba Rao passes away

• Veteran journalist, writer and Padma Shri awardee Turlapati Kutumba Rao passed away. He was 89-years old.
• Rao had the distinction of being a personal secretary to Tanguturi Prakasam, the first Chief Minister of Andhra State.
• He was named for his service to journalism in the Telugu language.
• Rao had worked as editor and editorial writer of Telugu newspaper Andhra Jyothi for close to three-and-a-half decades.
• Along with it, Turlapati Kutumba penned more than 4000 biographies and also gave 16000 public speeches by Telugu Book of Records as a world record.
• He won laurels for translating into Telugu the speeches of many national leaders and stalwarts.
• The Government of India had honoured him with Padma Shri in 2002 for his valuable contribution to journalism, literature and arts.

Neil Sheehan, an American Journalist Passed away

• Neil Sheehan, a tireless chronicler of the Vietnam War who obtained the Pentagon Papers for the New York Times and later received the Pulitzer Prize for his book “A Bright Shining Lie,” a meticulously researched indictment of America’s role in that conflict, died. He was 84.

Achievements:

• Sheehan, who covered the war from 1962 to 1966 for United Press International and The Times, was also the author of “A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam,” which won a National Book Award and a Pulitzer in 1989.
• Reviewing it in the Times, Ronald Steel wrote, “If there is one book that captures the Vietnam War in the sheer Homeric scale of its passion and folly.
• He wrote in The New York Times Magazine in 1966.
• By 1966, he wrote, the moral superiority that the United States had possessed after World War II had “given way to the amorality of great power politics.

Daily CA on Jan 09^th    

• Every year, January 9 is celebrated as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of the nation.
• Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar launched the Government’s Digital Calendar and Diary App in New Delhi.
• The World’s largest repatriation exercise Vande Bharat Mission has brought back more than 7 lakh people since May 2020.
• The National Internet Exchange of India, NIXI has announced that it will offer a free Internationalized Domain Name, IDN in any of the preferred 22 official Indian language along with every IN domain booked by the registrant.
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the Central govt. has merged J&K cadre for all India Services – IAS, IPS and IFS officers with that of Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territory (AGMUT), also called the Union Territory cadre, through an ordinance.
• On Jan 08, 2021, The Pakistan Army successfully conducted the test flight of an indigenously developed Guided Multi Launch Rocket System, Fatah-1.
• Emmanuel Bonne, the Diplomatic Advisor to the French President, called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed wide-ranging bilateral as well as global issues.
• Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has decided to create a new Bagasara Prant in Amreli district.
• Indian economy to rebound with an9 percent growth in the fiscal year beginning April 2021 after economic activity showed significant improvement in the last quarter, IHS Markit.
• As India prepares for the crucial Union Budget, which would set course for economic pick-up after the Covid carnage, economists have asked the government to be generous with the fiscal measures and have warned of weakness in the financial sector which could be a problem spot in the upcoming financial year.
• Formation of Kerala Bank as a major event in the cooperative sector. “The emergence of a cooperative scheduled bank, currently the second largest in the state, is of immense importance to the development of the state.
• Union Education Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated the two-day Virtual International Akhand Conference ‘EDUCON 2020’ through video conferencing.
• Indian-American Dr Raj Iyer has taken over as the first Chief Information Officer of the US Army, after the Pentagon created the position in July 2020.
• Justice Jitendra Kumar Maheshwari was sworn in as the new Chief Justice of Sikkim High Court.
• The Central government has cleared the appointment of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia as the next Chief Justice of the Gauhati High Court.
• Former DGP of Maharashtra Subodh Kumar Jaiswal has taken over the charge as the new Director General (DG) of the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).
• A general manager at RBI, R Giridharan has authored his debut book ”Right Under our Nose.
• In a historic development, an MoU was signed between the LAHDC Kargil and the Army to evacuate the Kargil Lower Plateau.
• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited, IREDA under administrative control of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with NHPC Limited, the PSU under the Ministry of Power for providing its technical expertise in developing renewable energy projects.
• Senior Congress leader and former state minister KK Ramachandran passed away. He was 84.
• Popular fashion designer Satya Paul passed away. He was 79 years old.
• Tamil writer A. Madhavan, who won the Sahitya Akademi award in 2015, died . He was 87.
• Chitra Ghosh, the youngest daughter of Sarat Chandra Bose and niece of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and eminent academician, passed away on January 7, 2021.

Daily CA on Jan 10^th and 11^th    

• World Hindi Day is celebrated every year on January 10. Vishwa Hindi Divas commemorates the anniversary of the first World Hindi Conference held in Nagpur on January 10, 1975. 
• On Jan 09, 2021, A high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was  formed to commemorate the 125th birth anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
• The Education Ministry has issued guidelines for identification, admission and continued education of migrant children.
• Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar has said that over 1,200 crore will be spent by the Road Transport and Highways Ministry to create infrastructure for safe movement of wildlife on the National Highway.
• National Youth Parliament Festival, 2021 will be held in the Central Hall of Parliament.
• The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification to facilitate the issuance of International Driving Permit (IDP) for Indian citizens whose IDP has expired while they are abroad.
• Union Minister for textile and women and child development Smriti Irani has said that India has become the second largest manufacturer of PPE kits and suits in the world in record three months’ time during the corona virus induced lockdown in March 2020.
• Indian Railways has started the New Year by achieving a landmark to enhance the maximum speed to 130 kmph for 1,280 km length out of 1,612 Km in Golden Quadrilateral – Golden Diagonal route.
• Union Health Minister Dr.Harsh Vardhan dedicates coastal research vessels to the Nation at Chennai Port Trust and said that the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been creating milestones in every field.
• Addressing the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention through virtual mode, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged the youth to use technology to take forward India’s pride and culture across the globe.
• A passenger plane of Indonesia’s Sriwijaya Air carrying more than 50 people on board crashed into waters off Jakarta.
• The World’s largest Floating solar energy project is to be constructed at Omkareshwar dam on Narmada river and will be operational by 2023 and an estimated cost of INR30 billion ($409.8m).
• The aerial ground survey for Delhi – Varanasi High Speed Rail Corridor began from Greater Noida.
• In a bid to help the women, residing in congested slums, during their menstruation days, a ‘period room’ has been set up for women at a public toilet in Maharashtra’s Thane city.
• In the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, the government has reduced the age limit of the aspirants of Jammu and Kashmir Administrative Services Exam from 37 years to 32 years. 
• Central Bank of India (CBoI) and NABFOUNDATION,entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), whereby working capital will be provided by the bank to all self-help groups (SHGs) which have an account with it and undertake the Nabard-sponsored ‘My Pad My Right’ project.
• State Bank of India (SBI) and Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) launched a co-branded contactless RuPay debit card.
• Union Minister for Coal & Mines Pralhad Joshi said, National Aluminium Company Limited, NALCO, will invest around 30,000 crore by financial year 2027-28 on the company’s expansion and diversification plans.
• A coffee table book filled with over hundreds of photographs of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from his “107 overseas and bilateral visits” was released here on the eve of the 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.
• Central African Republic President Faustin-Archange Touadera has won a second term in office, according to provisional results announced by the electoral commission.
• Bharti Airtel announced the appointment of Pradipt Kapoor as its Chief Information Officer (CIO). 
• German-listed companies must include women on their executive boards as part of a landmark bill agreed by the country’s coalition government on Wednesday after voluntary efforts failed to close a gender gap.
• Veteran Congress leader and former Gujarat Chief Minister Madahvsinh Solanki passed away. He was 93.
• Veteran journalist, writer and Padma Shri awardee Turlapati Kutumba Rao passed away. He was 89-years old.
• Neil Sheehan, a tireless chronicler of the Vietnam War who obtained the Pentagon Papers for the New York Times and later received the Pulitzer Prize for his book “A Bright Shining Lie,” a meticulously researched indictment of America’s role in that conflict, died. He was 84.