Delhi signs ‘Friendship and Cooperation Agreement’ with Seoul to share expertise

  • The Delhi government and the Seoul Metropolitan Government have signed a MoU to share expertise on a number of fields in public development.
  • The two will work closely in the fields of environment, tourism, waste water and solid waste management, infrastructure and public health, among others.

Piyush Goyal inaugurates first ever India Tourism Mart 2018

  • Union Minister for Railways and Coal Piyush Goyal inaugurated the ‘first ever’ India Tourism Mart (ITM 2018).
  • The objective of the event is to create an annual Global Tourism Mart for India in line with major international travel marts.

Interest on masala bonds to be tax-exempt

  • The government announced a tax exemption on interest by Indian companies to non-residents on “masala bonds” issued till March 31, 2019.
  • Up to now, the interest payable on these bonds issued before July 1, 2020 was liable for concessional rate of tax of 5%.
  • Off-shore rupee denominated bonds are commonly called masala bonds.
  • The move is aimed at stemming the Current Account Deficit (CAD) and increasing foreign exchange inflow.

India’s 1st ‘Smart Fence’ pilot project inaugurated along Indo-Pak border

  • Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh has inaugurated India’s first ‘smart fence’ pilot project.
  • The pilot project is being conducted on two five-kilometre stretches along the India-Pakistan International Border.
  • The project involves deploying laser-activated fences and technology-enabled barriers to close the vulnerable gaps along India’s borders.
  • The initiative is part of comprehensive integrated border management system (CIBMS).
  • Smart fencing uses a number of devices for surveillance, communication and data storage.

PayU India gets RBI approval to operate as NBFC

  • Online payment service provider PayU has received RBI approval to operate as a non-Banking financial institution (NBFC).
  • The approval is subject to certain pending RBI compliance.
  • PayU is a fintech company owned by the Naspers Group, which is headquartered in South Africa.

SBI appoints Prashant Kumar as CFO

  • State Bank of India (SBI) has appointed Prashant Kumar as its Chief Financial Officer (CFO).
  • Kumar takes over from Anshula Kant, who has moved to a Managing Director position at the bank.
  • Prior to this, Kumar was Deputy Managing Director (HR) and Corporate Development Officer at SBI.

Centre proposes Bank Of Baroda, Vijaya Bank, Dena Bank merger

  • The government has proposed the amalgamation of state-owned Bank of Baroda, Vijaya Bank, and Dena Bank.
  • This will create India’s third largest globally competitive bank.
  • The merger is expected to take four to six months.

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