PM Modi dedicates new Section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor to nation & flags off World’s first Double Stack Long Haul Container Train

1. PM Modi dedicates new Section of Western Dedicated Freight Corridor to nation & flags off World’s first Double Stack Long Haul Container Train

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi dedicated to the nation the 306 km long New Rewari – New Madar Section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC), through video conference on January 07, 2021.
• The New Rewari-New Madar section of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor is situated in Haryana and Rajasthan.
• He also flagged off the Double Stack Long Haul Container Train on the same route.
• This 1.5 km long train is the first double stacked container freight train. It will run from New Ateli in Haryana to New Kishanganj in Rajasthan,
• The freight trains will rum at the maximum speed of 100 km per hour as against the current maximum speed of 75 kmph on Indian Railway tracks.

2. Karnataka Government launches Krishi Sanjeevani Vans to test soil, water & suggest remedies for pest control

• The Chief Minister of Karnataka , Shri B.S. Yediyurappa flagged off 40 Krishi Sanjeevani vans in Bengaluru on January 07, 2021.
• These vans have been launched by state Agriculture Department with Central assistance under National Krishi Vikas Yojana to take up this novel programme.
• Objective: to take labs to the agriculture fields, study the conditions and address the needs of the farmers about pest control, fertility of the soil, weeds and suitable crops in the existing conditions, so that farmers get support for their farming techniques.
• Depending on the soil, water and pests inflicting the crops, the Agriculture Department personnel can suggest remedies.

3.Centre plans to form committee, headed by MoS for Home G Kishan Reddy, to protect language, culture & land of Ladakh

• The Central Government has decided to form a committee to protect the unique language, cultural identity and land of Ladakh.
• The Committee will be headed by the Minister of State for Home G Kishan Reddy.
• This committee will also ensure citizen’s participation in the development of the Union Territory.
• The other members of the committee will include elected representatives from Ladakh, Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, central government, and the Ladakh administration.

4. RBI sets up College of Supervisors (Cos) chaired by former deputy governor N S Viswanathan to strengthen supervision

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an academic advisory council called ‘College of Supervisors (CoS)’ to further strengthen supervision over regulated entities.
• The Cos will be headed by former deputy governor N S Viswanathan and will have five other members.
• Key objective of the council will be to identify areas where skill building/up-skilling are requir­ed, plan and develop curricula of all programmes, benchmark the programmes with international standards/­best practices, and develop appropriate teaching methods, etc.

Other members include:

1. Arijit Basu, State Bank of India Managing Director
2. Paresh Sukhankar, former HDFC Bank Deputy Managing Director
3. S Raghunath of Banglore IIM
4. Tadhagatha Bandyophyay of Ahemadabad IIM and
5. Subrata Sarkar of IGIDR, Mumbai

5. National Statistical Office (NSO) Projects India’s GDP to contract 7.7% in FY21

• The GDP of India is expected to contract by 7.7 percent in the current fiscal year 2020-21, as per the first advanced estimates released by the National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) on January 07, 2021.
• The first advance estimates of GDP of a financial year are released before the Union Budget. This data helps in the budget-making process.

6. PNB Collaborates with IIT Kanpur to set up Fintech Innovation Centre

• Punjab National Bank has partnered with IIT Kanpur and the Foundation for Innovation & Research in Science & Technology (FIRST) to set up a ‘Fintech Innovation Centre (FIC)’ at the institute’s campus.
• PNB and IIT Kanpur will jointly work to set up this innovation centre as a vehicle for research and development of  technological solutions, with the help of FIRST, to address challenges and explore opportunities in the BFSI space.

7. IDFC Mutual Fund unveils new investor awareness campaign #PaisonKoRokoMat

• IDFC Mutual Funds has launched its latest pan-India investor awareness campaign titled #PaisonKoRokoMat.
• This new campaign of IDFC Mutual Fund urges savers to become investors and explore the smart and modern mutual fund vehicle for their investments.
• The 360-degree campaign focuses on looking beyond the traditional ways of growing your money and using your goals to allocate your money across asset classes and investment solutions.
• The campaign has been conceptualised and created by TBWAIndia.

8. Google Could India Chief Karan Bajwa elevated to lead Asia Pacific division

• Karan Bajwa, the incumbent head of Google Cloud in India has been elevated as the Chief of Google Cloud Asia Pacific division.
• Bajwa will succeed Rick Harshman, who is leaving the company to pursue other opportunities.
• Bajwa is currently based in Gurgaon, India. He will relocate to Singapore later in 2021 and will continue as the interim leader for Google Cloud in India until a new senior leader for the business is appointed.
• He was appointed as Google Cloud India head in March 2020.