SC accepts Centre’s proposal to use coloured stickers to indicate nature of fuel

  • The Supreme Court accepted the Centre’s proposal that vehicles in Delhi and NCR should display hologram-based coloured stickers to indicate the nature of fuel used.
  • Those vehicles running on diesel will have to display an orange sticker, while those running on petrol and CNG will have a light blue sticker.
  • The proposal is to be implemented by September 30th.
  • The bench also suggested that green number plates be used for electric and hybrid vehicles.

N Raghuram becomes first India to be elected Chair of International Nitrogen Initiative

  • Indian scientist N Raghuram has become the first Indian and the first Asian to be elected Chair of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI).
  • Raghuram specialises in the biological determinants of the efficiency of the use of nitrogen in crops.
  • He will formally take up the role on January 1st, 2019.
  • David Kanter of the New York University, an expert in the role of nitrous oxide and nitrogen policy evaluation, has been elected as Vice-Chair.

Agriculture Min proposes to UNFAO to declare 2019 the International Year Of Millets

  • Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare, Radha Mohan Singh, has asked the UNFAO to declare the upcoming year (2019) the ‘International Year of Millets’.
  • There is a need to draw wider global attention to promote cultivation of millets, Singh said.
  • If the proposal is adopted by the UNFAO, it will be moved to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

NPCI launches upgraded UPI with overdraft facility

  • The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched an upgraded unified payments interface (UPI).
  • The new UPI comes with better security and overdraft facility.
  • The upgraded UPI, which is referred to as UPI 2.0, was launched by the RBI governor Urjit Patel.
  • Through the new UPI, customers can create a mandate, providing commitment to pay money, but paying later.
  • Customers will also be able to check the invoice before making a payment.

PhonePe to facilitate payments on IRCTC app

  • PhonePe has entered into a partnership with the IRCTC for convenient, fast and secure payments.
  • Payments will be made possible through PhonePe on the IRCTC Rail connect Android app.
  • Through the partnership, PhonePe users will be able to pay directly from their bank accounts using UPI, credit and debit cards, as well as their PhonePe wallets.
  • IRCTC stands for Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation.

K S Srinivas appointed chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority

  • IAS officer K S Srinivas has taken over as Chairman of Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
  • Prior to his appointment, he served as Joint Secretary in Department of Agriculture Cooperation and Farmers’ Welfare in Ministry of Agriculture.

Smitha V. Crishna tops list of India’s wealthiest women

  • Third-generation heir of the Godrej family Smitha V. Crishna has topped the Kotak Wealth Hurun-Leading Wealthy Women 2018 list.
  • Crishna’s wealth is estimated at Rs.37,570 crore (Rs.375.7 billion).
  • She owns one-fifth of the Godrej Group.
  • Roshni Nadar, CEO and executive director at HCL, ranks second on the list, with an estimated wealth of Rs.30,200 crore (Rs.302 billion).
  • Third on the list is chairperson of the Times Group, Indu Jain, with Rs.26,240 crore (Rs.262.4 billion).

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