World’s first thermal battery plant inaugurated in Andhra Pradesh

  • The world’s first thermal battery plant has been unveiled in Andhra Pradesh by the state’s Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu.
  • The batteries will be manufactured by the Bharat Energy Storage Technology Private Limited (BEST).
  • The aim is to boost renewable sources of energy production and reduce the dependence on non-renewable fossil fuel-based energy generation.
  • The new type of battery will be used to store energy for telecommunications, commercial establishments, electric vehicles and highway charging stations.

Govt launches Bidder Information Management System and Bhoomi Rashi-PFMS linkage portals

  • Nitin Gadkari launched Bidder Information Management System (BIMS) and Bhoomi Rashi and PFMS linkage portals.
  • The BIMS and Bhoomi Rashi and PFMS linkage portals aim at making the pre-construction processes relating to bidding and land acquisition easier.
  • Bhoomi Rashi is a portal developed by MoRTH and NIC. It comprises of the entire revenue data of the country, including 6.4 lakh villages.
  • BIMS is aimed at making the pre-qualification of bidders more transparent.

Govt sets up Group of Ministers to decide on RCEP talks

  • The Union Government has created a four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) panel.
  • The panel will be headed by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu.
  • The GoM will advise PM Narendra Modi on whether to continue with or withdraw from the 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations.
  • The GoM also includes Finance and Power Minister Piyush Goyal, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and Housing and Urban Affairs Minister Hardeep Puri.

Indra Nooyi to step down after 12 years as PepsiCo CEO

  • Indra Nooyi will step down as chief executive officer (CEO) of food and beverage giant PepsiCo in October.
  • She will remain chairman until early 2019.
  • Nooyi is the first foreign-born CEO of Pepsi and the first woman to lead the company.
  • Ramon Laguarta, who is currently president of the company, will take over as PepsiCo CEO, becoming just the sixth CEO in the 53-year history of the company.

China successfully tests first hypersonic aircraft, “waverider” Xingkong-2

  • China successfully tested its first hypersonic “waverider” aircraft, the Xingkong-2, which translates as Starry Sky 2.
  • The aircraft uses the shockwaves generated by its own hypersonic flight to glide at high speed.
  • The Xingkong-2 reached an altitude of 30km and speeds of around Mach 5.5 during the test flight.
  • It is believed that due to its high speed, the aircraft can break through anti-missile defence systems that are currently in use around the world.

Japan overtakes China to become world’s 2nd largest stock market

  • Japan has pipped China to the world’s number two stock market, a Bloomberg report says.
  • The Chinese market was worth $6.09 trillion, while Japan’s was valued at $6.17 trillion.
  • At number one spot is the US market, which is the world’s largest at just over $31 trillion.
  • Chinese stocks and currency fell this year amid a trade disagreement with the US.

Saudi Arabia freezes trade ties with Canada

  • Saudi Arabia has announced that it is freezing all new trade and investment with Canada over its interference in its internal affairs.
  • The Saudi foreign ministry expelled the Canadian ambassador and recalled its own envoy in Canada.

Italian bike-maker Benelli signs MoU for plant in Telangana

  • Italian motorcycle-maker Benelli has signed an MoU with the Telangana Government to set up an assembly facility in the state.
  • Benelli will initially start assembling CKD (completely knocked down) kits.
  • The plant will have a capacity of assembling 10,000 bikes at first.

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