Author: channeladmin

Indore has become the first ‘water plus’ city in India in the Swachh Survekshan 2021 survey The title is given to cities that skillfully manage the polluted water The survey emphasises how cities conserve rivers and other freshwater bodies In Indore, over 7000 greywater vents that used to drain water into rivers were identified and closed The administration constructed seven sewerage water treatment plants The city reuses about 110 million litres of the treated water every day Indore was also selected as the ‘cleanest city’ in India

Apple is expected to launch its India store on 2022 Independence Day Reports say the office will be in Mumbai In 2019, Apple had leased 20,000-25,000 sqft in Mumbai’s Maker Maxity Mall, co-owned by Reliance Industries The pandemic delayed the store launch The Mumbai launch will be followed by a store in New Delhi Apple is yet to confirm the same

For the first time since May, Bitcoin’s price rose above $50,000 The world’s largest cryptocurrency surged to $50,341 The hike is 81% since hitting a yearly low of $27,700 in January Investors believe bitcoin would attract other gains in the future Meanwhile, the price of Ether rose 2.8% to $3,337 The recovery stems from more established financial services firms accepting the virtual currency One such instance is PayPal It would allow customers in the UK to buy, sell and hold cryptocurrencies from this week onwards

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launches fund for small, mid-cap industries The fund titled ‘Ubharte Sitaare’ was launched in Lucknow One of the promises made by the government in the 2020 Union Budget The fund is anchored by India Exim Bank and SIDBI The corpus of the fund is Rs 250 crore. The fund will recognise potential Indian companies and assist them in their growth It will provide financial and logistical support to small enterprises for their export ambitions

Will cryptocurrency become legal in India? Do the Reserve Bank introduce its new digital currency? In March, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that the crypto would not be completely banned. As of now, cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, are not banned in India. But, discussions are on about their legal validity. In other words, there is a lack of clarity regarding the concept. Currently, Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill is under the consideration of the cabinet. It will be introduced in the parliament after receiving the cabinet’s approval. The decision is delayed because at the policy level, there…

A month ago, Ola Electric Mobility had raised $100 mn in debt from Bank of Baroda (BoB) The regulatory filings show that the amount has gone to Ola Electric Technologies Ola Electric Technologies is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ola Electric Mobility It was set up in January to specially manufacture two, three and four-wheeler EVs It has been used to receive the debt from BoB

The union government will set up e-commerce platforms for self-help groups (SHGs) It was announced by PM Modi in his Independence Day speech The goal is to provide a market for products made by SHGs India has more than 8 cr rural women working in SHGs The e-commerce platform will provide a bigger market for them The project is in tune with the ‘vocal for local’ campaign

Google has selected 16 Indian startups for Class V of the Google for Startups Accelerator programme Some are EkinCare, AgNext, OkCredit, Bolo Live, Yoda, MedCords and Walrus They have been shortlisted out of 700 applicants They will get a three-month mentorship and support from the network of Google and Industry mentors Support includes access to Google teams, leadership workshops, networking opportunities etc. The accelerator programme was started in India in 2016 It has so far helped 80 startups, raising over $1.9 bn in funding

“Companies wishing to import vehicles to India should invest in India” Said Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal at the pre-launch of the Ola Electric scooters He was talking in response to Musk’s demand to reduce customs duty on imported cars Now, India imposes a 100% import duty on fully imported cars Musk had said, “it’s the highest in the world by far of any large country!” Bhavish said the industry should create a sustainability revolution in India It should also grow Indian technology and manufacturing ecosystems

PM Modi announced a Rs 100 lakh cr Gati Shakthi plan on Sunday The announcement was made as part of the 75th Independence Day celebrations The plan will be launched in the coming days The plan is said to lay the foundation for holistic infrastructure It will give an integrated pathway to our economy, said PM Gati Shakthi will turn local manufacturers globally competitive It will generate possibilities of new future economic zones Modi added that the initiative will also bring employment opportunities