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RBI will shortly issue new banknotes of Rs 50 denomination in the Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series. A RBI press release has informed that the base colour of the new notes will be fluorescent blue and its dimension will be 66 mm x 135 mm. It will have a motif of Hampi with Chariot on the reverse, depicting the country’s cultural heritage along with the Swachh Bharat logo , year of printing, numeral 50 in devnagiri and the language panel. The banknote will bear the signature of RBI Governor Dr. Urjit R. Patel on the front side along with the guarantee and promise clause and the RBI emblem. It will have Mahatma Gandhi’s portrait at the Centre and a see through register with enominational numeral 50. Micro letters ‘RBI’, ‘भारत’, ‘INDIA’ and ‘50’ and Ashoka Pillar emblem on the right will also feature on the front side. The security thread will have inscriptions ‘भारत’ and RBI. The number panel will have numerals growing from small to big on the top left side and bottom right side. RBI has clar...

Japan, India reaffirm commitment to open, free, secure, stable, peaceful and accessible cyberspace. Japan and India have reaffirmed their commitment to an open, free, secure, stable, peaceful and accessible cyberspace, enabling economic growth and innovation. In the Second Japan-India Cyber Dialogue held in New Delhi yesterday, the two sides, reaffirmed in particular that existing international law is generally applicable in cyberspace and no country should conduct or support ICT-enabled theft of intellectual property, including trade secrets with the intent of providing competitive advantages to its companies or commercial sectors. The Indian delegation also made a presentation on the 5th Global Conference on Cyber Space to be held in New Delhi from 23rd to 24th of November this year. Both sides agreed to deepen the dialogues at various levels including through the Japan-India Cyber Dialogue. Japanese delegation was led by Ambassador Masato Otaka, Ambassador in charge of Cyber Policy ...

Scientists develops artificial womb to save premature babies. Scientists have developed an artificial womb that has been successfully used to incubate healthy baby lambs for a week, an advance that may one day be able to save the lives of extremely premature human babies. The research, published in The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, showed that preterm lambs were successfully maintained in a healthy, infection-free condition with significant growth, for a period of one week using ex- vivo uterine environment (EVE) therapy. The research was carried out by the Researchers from the University of Western Australia and Tohoku University Hospital in Japan. Associate professor at the University of Western Australia, Matt Kemp, said with further development, EVE therapy could prevent the severe morbidity suffered by extremely premature infants by potentially offering a medical technology that does not currently exist. He said the equipment is a high-tech amniotic fluid bath com...

China today launched its first cyber court specialising in handling internet-related cases in the e-commerce hub of Hangzhou amid a spike in the number of online disputes. The Hangzhou Internet Court in Hangzhou, capital of east China's Zhejiang Province will handle cases such as online trade disputes and copyright lawsuits. State-run Xinhua news agency reported that the cases handled by the court will be tried online. Hangzhou is home to many Internet companies, including e-commerce giant Alibaba. The latest report from the China Internet Network Information Center showed that China had about 751 million netizens and 724 million mobile Internet users as of the end of June.

CEO and managing director of India’s second largest software export firm Infosys, Vishal Sikka, has resigned. UB Pravin Rao, chief operating officer of the company, will step in as interim CEO and managing director. Sikka has been retained as the executive vice-chairman. In his resignation letter, Sikka is reported saying that distractions have undermined his good work. This took the excitement and passion out of his amazing journey, Sikka wrote. In the past, Sikka has been criticised for issues ranging from his salary to decision on acquisitions made.

Veteran photographer S Paul died in New Delhi on Wednesday night at the age of 88. He died at a private hospital after undergoing a surgery a few days ago. Paul was a self-taught photographer who discovered his passion for the art as a teenager. He joined The Indian Express in the 1960s and retired from the newspaper in 1989. Paul received recognition and fame as a professional photographer when his pictures were selected for publication in three renowned British publications -- Amateur Photographer, Miniature Camera and Miniature Camera World. B&W Magazine of US had described him as 'The Henry Cartier-Bresson of India'. Apart from other recognitions, Paul was the first Indian to be profiled by The British Journal of Photography in 1967. He was the first Indian to win the Nikon International Photo Contest in 1971. Paul was born on 19 August, 1929 in Jhang, Pakistan. He moved to India after Partition and his family shifted to Shimla. His younger brother, Raghu Rai, is also a...

The first shipment of American crude oil worth USD 100 million will reach India next month, with US President Donald Trump promising to be a reliable, long-term supplier of energy to India's developmental needs. The shipment of crude oil to India comes nearly two years after the then US president Barack Obama lifted the 40-year- old ban on its export. During their maiden meeting on June 26, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump agreed to deepen the engagement in the energy sector. Soon, Indian companies started purchasing crude from the US. Two Indian oil giants, Indian Oil Corporation and Bharat Petroleum, placed orders for over four million barrels. With this India, the world's third-largest oil importer, joins Asian countries like South Korea, Japan and China to buy American crude after production cuts by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries drove up prices of Middle East heavy-sour crude, or grades with a high sulphur content.

Young Indian shuttler Lakshya Sen today clinched the Bulgaria Open International Series title after notching up a hard-fought win over Croatia's Zvonimir Durkinjak in the men's singles final in Sofia, Bulgaria. The 16-year-old shuttler defeated second seed Zvonimir 18-21 21-12 21-17 in a 57-minute match.

Saudi Arabia and Iraq plan to reopen the Arar border for the first time since 1990 , when it was closed following Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. Iraqi religious pilgrims, had access to the border crossing only once annually during the hajj season for the past 27 years. According to Saudi local media report, the decision was taken after Riyadh’s cabinet decided to establish a joint trade commission with Iraq. “The cabinet has decided to approve the establishment of the Saudi-Iraqi Coordinating Commission and to delegate the Saudi minister of trade and investments to sign on behalf of the kingdom,” read a statement carried by state-run SPA news agency. Earlier in 2015 , Saudi Arabia had reopened its embassy in Baghdad after a break of 25 years. The growing thaw in the relationship between Saudi and Iraq is also suggestive of Riyadh’s intent to contain the influence of its regional rival Iran. Arar is a border crossing between Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

Six women officers of the Indian Navy, who are due to circumnavigate the globe on the sailing vessel, INSV Tarini today called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi today. They will begin their voyage later this month from Goa and expected to return to Goa in March next year, after completing the circumnavigation. The expedition has been titled Navika Sagar Parikrama. The Parikrama will be covered in five legs, with stop-overs at 4 ports- Fremantle (Australia), Lyttleton (New Zealand), Port Stanley (Falklands), and Cape Town (South Africa). Mr Modi wished the women crew well and said he would keep track of their progress around the world. He exhorted them to project India’s capabilities and strengths across the world. Prime Minister also encouraged them to write and share their experiences, after the successful completion of the voyage. INSV Tarini INSV Tarini is a 55-foot sailing vessel, which has been built indigenously and was inducted in the Indian Navy earlier this year. This is t...

Italy will host a summit of Group of Seven Interior Ministers centered on security issues in the fall. Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti said, the meeting is being organised at the request of Italy's G-7 partners- Canada, France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan and the United States.  Italy currently holds the rotating helm of the G-7 industrialised nations. Minniti said at a news conference today that while the terror alert level remains high in Italy, there is no trace of an imminent threat or attack. He said that since the start of 2015, Italy has expelled 199 foreigners suspected of being security threats after showing initial signs of radicalization but not reaching the attack plan stage. Minniti said, the G-7 summit would probably be held in October.

Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) has announced that civil services preliminary examination to select IAS and IPS officers among others has been scheduled to be held on June 3 next year. UPSC said the notification for next year's exam will be issued on February 7. The last date for receipt of applications would be March 6, 2018.As per UPSC records, the preliminary tests for 2016, 2015 and 2014 were held during the month of August,except for this year's test, which was held on June 18. The civil services examination is conducted annually by the UPSC in three stages -- preliminary, main and interview -- to select officers for Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Indian Police Service (IPS), among others. The number of vacancies to be filled on the result of the 2017 civil services examination is expected to be approximately 980 which include 27 vacancies reserved for those in physically handicapped category. The result of civil services preli...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched an online portal dedicated to the gallantry award winners, bestowed since Independence. Announcing launch of the website in a series of tweets, the Prime Minister said, the portal will preserve and tell the stories of bravest men and women, civilians as well as armed forces personnel. The website with domain name gallantryawards.gov.in gives details of the Chakra Series awardees. The Chakra series are Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra, Ashok Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra. The portal also contains information such as name, unit, year, citations and photographs of awardees till date.

On the occasion of 71st Independence Day, 112 Gallantry Awards have been approved by the President for the Armed Forces and Paramilitary Forces. It includes five Kirti Chakras, 17 Shaurya Chakras, 85 Sena Medals (Gallantry), three Nao Sena Medals (Gallantry) and two Vayu Sena Medals (Gallantry). Havaldar Giris Gurung from first Gorkha Rifles who was martyred during a major counter-infiltration operation along the Line of Control in Naugam sector of Kashmir has been awarded Kirti Chakra posthumously. Major David Manlun, who was martyred during an encounter with militants in Mon district of Nagaland, CRPF commandant Pramod Kumar who was martyred in a terror attack in Srinagar's Nowhatta hours before last Independence Day have also been awarded Kirti Chakra Posthumously. CRPF commandant Chetan Kumar Cheetah who miraculously recovered from deep coma after being hit by at least nine bullets during a gun battle with terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir has been awarded Kirti Chakra, the 2nd h...

Home Minister Rajnath Singh has launched the live twitter wall for promoting Bharat Ke Veer portal on the eve of Independence Day. On the occasion, Mr Singh and Ministers of State for Home Affairs Hansraj Gangaram Ahir and Kiren Rijiju contributed their one month salary for Bharat Ke Veer corpus. In a tweet, Mr Singh said, he has handed over a cheque of 1.59 lakh rupees to the Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi in New Delhi. The Home Minister said, the Security Forces have made supreme sacrifice in the line of duty and the people need to stand by their families to support them. According to an official release, this social media awareness campaign will display all tweets with hashtag Bharat Ke Veer at Connaught Place, CGO complex and Khan Market in New Delhi where huge LED display screens have been installed. Bharat Ke Veer portal was launched by Mr Rajnath Singh and actor Akshay Kumar on 9th of April this year. This portal facilitates online donation directly to the families of CAPF ...

The nation celebrates its 71st Independence Day today and the main function was held at the Red Fort in the national capital where Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the National Flag. The unfurling of the tri-colour was synchronized with the 21 Gun Salute fired by the valiant gunners of the elite 2281 Field Regiment (Ceremonial). Addressing the nation from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion, Mr Modi asserted there is no question of being soft on terrorism or terrorists. Mr Modi said, India is fighting the menace of terrorism jointly with the global community. He said, we have to work for the progress of Jammu and Kashmir and the Kashmir issue can not be resolved with bullets but it can only be resolved by taking the Kashmiris on board. The Prime Minister said, the people of India stand shoulder to shoulder with those affected due to natural disasters and the tragedy in Gorakhpur in which several children died at BRD Medical College Hospital. He assured that the government ...

Retail inflation rose to 2.36 per cent in July this year, chiefly driven by hardening prices in sugar and confectionery items, pan, tobacco, and intoxicants. Retail inflation, as measured by the consumer price index, had stood at 1.46 per cent in June. Data released by the Central Statistics Office showed today showed that retail inflation in sugar and confectionery items rose to 8.27 per cent in July, while inflation in pan, tobacco and intoxicants was 6.39 per cent. Wholesale inflation jumps to 1.88% in July Wholesale inflation rose to 1.88 per cent in July this year, year-on-year, as the prices of some commodities increased. Inflation based on the wholesale price index had stood at 0.9 per cent in June this year, and 0.63 per cent in July last year. Government data released today, showed that wholesale inflation in food items rose to 2.15 per cent in July. In June, food prices had contracted 3.47 per cent. Inflation in vegetables climbed to 21.95 per cent in July. Indian export grow...

India bagged two gold in the 6th Golden Glove Women's Boxing Tournament at Vojvodina, Serbia. While Jyoti won Gold in 51 kg category, and Vanlalharitpuii bagged it 60 kg category. In all, India won two gold, four silver and four bronze medals in the tournament. The silver medals were clinched by Anjali in 48kg, Sakshi in 54kg, Ashtha in 69kg and Anupama in 81kg categories. Mandeep in 57kg, Nisha in 64kg, Shruti in 75kg and Neha in 81+kg category settled for bronze medals.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis today launched Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra an initiative providing job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai. There are various schemes like farmers weekly market, farmers mobile market and mother’s tiffin, under this Yuva Rojgar Kendra and Mumbaikars can get fresh and healthy food as well as farm produce procured directly from farmers. These products will be made available with the help of mobile vans all over Mumbai and the information about the location of the vans is made available through an app. This app was also launched by the Chief Minister. BJP’s state president Raosaheb Danve, Mumbai president Ashish Shelar, Agriculture minister for state Sadabhau Khot were present on the occasion.

The India-ASEAN Youth Summit begins in Bhopal this evening. The event is being organised by Foreign Ministry, Madhya Pradesh government and India Foundation. Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan will inaugurate the five day Summit. The exercise will mark the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership in the ongoing year and also the commemorative year’s theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny”. Madhya Pradesh has been chosen for this event as the Sanchi stupa here strengthens the state’s cultural affiliation with the ASEAN countries. Taking into account the “Act East Policy” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the event becomes even more significant. Over 175 delegations of youths from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and India will attend the Summit.

3 judge Constitution Bench of SC to look into validity of Article 35A relating to special rights & privileges for permanent residents of J&K. The Supreme Court today indicated that a five-judge constitution bench may look into the various aspects of the Article 35A, related to special rights and privileges of the citizens of Jammu and Kashmir. A bench of Justices Dipak Misra and A M Khanwilkar tagged the issue along with a similar pending matter for hearing by a three-judge bench later this month. The apex court was hearing a plea challenging Article 35A of the Constitution and Section 6 of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution which deal with the permanent residents of the state. The plea has challenged certain provisions of the Article which deny property right to a woman who marries a person from outside the state.

Turkmenistan's Deputy Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Rashid O Meredov will arrive in New Delhi tonight on a three-day visit to India. During his stay in the national capital, Mr Meredov will hold meeting with External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj tomorrow. This will be followed by delegation level talks. The entire gamut of bilateral relations will be reviewed during the talks. There will also be signing of the Protocol for the 6th Session of Inter Governmental Commission. Later in the evening, the visiting dignitary will also hold a meeting with Road Transport and Highways Minister, Nitin Gadkari. India enjoys close relations with Turkmenistan and Turkman Gate built in Delhi in 1650s bears testimony to this friendship. Indian films, TV serials and music are popular with Turkmen people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Turkmenistan in July 2015 as part of his Central Asia tour. It was a historic visit given that an Indian Prime Minister ...

On the concluding day of the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun in Astana today, India bagged a gold medal in the skeet mixed team event . The Indian duo of Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Rashmmi Rathore eked out a narrow 28-27 win over the Chinese pair of Liu Jiangchi and Gao Jianmei. The host combination of Vladislav Mukhamediyev and Olga Panarina settled for the bronze. India finished the championship with a total of eight medals. Ankur Mittal had earlier won a gold in the men's double trap and had also helped India bag the team gold in the event. Kynan Chenai won a bronze in the men's trap and also partnered Shreyasi Singh to claim the trap mixed team bronze. 

Jharkhand Assembly has passed Religious Freedom Bill 2017. It aims to stop the forced conversions in the state. The bill will now be sent to the governor, following whose approval it would go to the President for assent. The Bill has provision for imprisonment of three years and fine of 50,000 rupees or both, and four year imprisonment and 1 lakh rupee fine, or both, if the person converted is a minor, woman or a member of Scheduled Caste or Scheduled Tribe. It also says, that a person converting willingly will have to inform the Deputy Commissioner about details such as time, place and the person who administers the conversion proceedings.

Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, launched ‘Gaj Yatra’ here today, a nationwide campaign to protect elephants on the occasion of World Elephant Day. The campaign is planned to cover 12 elephant range states. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, Dr. Vardhan urged the people to prepare a strategy for a more even distribution of the elephant population in all the states of the country. The Minister emphasised that an attempt must be made to bring to an end the chapter of man-animal conflict. He added that a war must be waged against poachers and hunters who harm elephants and other wildlife. Calling for proactive, innovative and out-of-the-box ideas, Dr. Vardhan said that efforts for elephant conservation must bring about a qualitative improvement by the next World Elephant Day. WORLD ELEPHANT DAY: BRIEF BACKGROUND World Elephant Day is an annual global event celebrated across the world on August 12, dedicated to the preservation and protection...

Los Angeles city council rubber-stamped the host city contract today, paving the way for bringing the 2028 Summer Olympics to southern California and ceding the 2024 Games to Paris. The members voted 12-0 in favour of signing off on the memorandum of understanding and host city contract documents which would see the city host the Summer Games for the third time in history. Los Angeles started off competing with other cities around the world for the 2024 Games, but eventually all bidders except for Los Angeles and Paris dropped out. Last month the International Olympic Committee had approved the idea of awarding both the 2024 and 2028 Games simultaneously.

Shooter Maheshwari Chauhan bagged a bronze medal at the Asian Shotgun Championship to earn India's first women's skeet individual medal at a top international competition in Astana.  Yesterday, Maheshwari also led India to the team silver alongside compatriots Rashmmi Rathore and Saniya Sheikh. The trio shot a total of 190, finishing behind Goldmedalists China, who shot 195. Hosts Kazakhstan won the bronze shooting 185. India's tally now stands at two gold, a silver and three bronze medals.

In Arunachal Pradesh, Chief Minister Pema Khandu today inaugurated the state's first Inter State Bus Terminous, ISBT, at Lekhi village in Naharlagun. Mr Khnadu on the occasion said that the ISBT will largely benefit the people by reducing vehicular traffic pressure in the twin city of Itanagar and Naharlagun. He informed that government has asked the Union Railway Ministry to increase the service of the intercity Shatabdi express from Guwahati to Naharlagun to 5 days in a week from the present 3 days. The Chief Minister also said that UDAAN - regional flight connectivity services will soon be started in the state.

Indian-origin researchers in the US have developed a mechanism to differentiate genuine and fake products. The mechanism uses algorithms and a smartphone to detect counterfeit products. Researchers of New York University in the US said, sale of counterfeit products is an estimated seven percent of the world trade. The new mechanism provides a non-intrusive solution to easily distinguish authentic versions of a product and fake versions. It's accuracy is more than 98 per cent, said Professor L. Subramanian of the New York University.

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping today reiterated their mutual commitment to denuclearise the Korean Peninsula and agreed that North Korea must stop its provocative and escalatory behaviour. The White House said two leaders spoke over phone to discuss the escalating tension after North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un threatened the US this week to fire missiles at Guam, a US island territory, after the US sponsored a resolution imposing new economic sanctions on Pyongyang over its missile and nuclear weapons programmes. The two leaders affirmed that the recent adoption of a new UN Security Council resolution regarding North Korea was an important and necessary step towards achieving peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula. The White House said, adding that Trump looks forward to seeing President Xi in China later this year, a meeting that will be a very historic event. It said the relationship between the two Presidents is an extremely close one, and will hope...