The Indian Historical Records Commission (IHRC), an apex advisory body on archival matters, acts as an all-India forum of creators, custodians and users of records to advise the Government of India on the management of records and their use for historical research. Established in 1919, the IHRC is headed by the Union Minister of Culture.
The logo signifies the theme and uniqueness of IHRC entirely. The pages in the shape of lotus petals represent IHRC as the resilient nodal institution for maintaining historical records. The Sarnath pillar in the middle represents India's glorious past. Brown as the colour theme reinforces the organization's mission of preserving, studying and honouring India's history.
The motto translates as "Where history is preserved for the future."
In a significant step towards sustainable development in India, REC Limited, a Maharatna Central Public Sector Enterprise and leading NBFC under the Ministry of Power, has successfully availed a Green Loan of Japanese Yen (JPY) 60.536 billion to finance eligible green projects in India.
The green loan facility benefits from an 80% guarantee by Italian Export Credit Agency, SACE (Italy) under their innovative Push Strategy programme. The arrangement between SACE and REC is a breakthrough and a first-of-its-kind collaboration between an Indian government entity and SACE.
The green loan facility sets a benchmark in the Indian public sector landscape, for similar green financing transactions, highlighting a growing commitment to sustainable financing. The facility also marks SACE’s first JPY-denominated loan transaction and first green loan transaction in India.
Loan has loan participation from banks across Asia, USA and Europe, namely Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, Bank of America, Citibank, KfW IPEX-Bank & Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation as Mandated Lead Arrangers. Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank would be acting as the Export Credit Agency Coordinator, Green Loan Coordinator & Documentation bank.
SJVN Limited has achieved a significant milestone with the inauguration of India's first Multi-purpose Green Hydrogen Pilot Project at SJVN’s 1,500 MW Nathpa Jhakri Hydro Power Station in Jhakri, Himachal Pradesh. The green hydrogen produced from the project will be utilized for High Velocity Oxygen Fuel Coating Facility of NJHPS for meeting its combustion fuel requirements
The first Multi-purpose (Combined Heat & Power) Green Hydrogen Generation Plant of the nation has been inaugurated by Chairperson and Managing Director, Smt. Geeta Kapur on April 24, 2024. The state-of-the-art Green Hydrogen Pilot Project is set to produce 14 kilograms of Green Hydrogen daily during 8 hours of operation.
Agricultural solutions major Coromandel International, a part of Chennai-based Murugappa Group, has appointed Arun Alagappan as executive chairman of the company. Alagappan has been the executive vice chairman of the company since February 2021. His appointment comes as A. Vellayan retires from the position of chairman and non-executive director.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has directed fintech firm Talkcharge Technologies to stop the issuance and operation of its Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs) or wallets, and refund the balances held in them to customers by May 17 this year. This has come after the central bank observed that the firm is issuing wallets without its permission.
The RBI had directed the Gurugram-based firm to refund the prepaid amount lying in the wallets to the customers in an order dated April 2, 2024.
The regulator also pointed out that the company had issued a legal notice to its customers demanding the return of cashback while threatening them that failure to do so would result in the matter being reported to the RBI.
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has approved Crisil ESG Ratings & Analytics as a Category 1 provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings. Crisil ESG Ratings, a unit of Crisil, was incorporated after Sebi amended the SEBI (Credit Rating Agencies) Regulations, 1999, to include provisions on ESG Rating Providers (ERPs) last year.
The rating provider launched its ESG scoring business in 2021 and now tracks over 1,000 companies across 65 sectors. The company said this business will now be transferred to the subsidiary Crisil ESG Ratings. ESG scores indicate a company's sustainability and ethical practices, guiding asset managers and investors in selecting companies that meet their ESG criteria.
Sebi has established two rating entity categories based on their financial status and roles. The goal was to guarantee transparent, practical, accurate methodologies aligned with the Indian environment. As per Sebi, the accredited rating agency is required to publish its evaluation methodology for all ESG ratings on its official website.
Besides, the principal shareholder of an ESG rating agency is mandated to retain a minimum ownership interest of 26% in said agency for at least five years subsequent to receiving regulatory approval.
Reliance Jio has become the world's largest mobile operator in data traffic consumption, surpassing China Mobile. According to global analytics firm Tefficient, the Indian telecom operator's total traffic reached 40.9 exabytes in the January-March quarter, compared to China Mobile's 38. Jio also has the second-largest 5G subscriber base globally, with 108 million users.
The 2024 Indian States’ Electricity Transition (SET), a joint report by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) and Ember, reveals that both the states (Karnataka and Gujarat) are making big strides in decarbonisation and are adequately prepared to accelerate the transition with robust market enablers facilitating future growth.
States such as Kerala, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh and Maharashtra showed strong progress in one or more of the three dimensions — Decarbonisation, Readiness and Performance of the Power Ecosystem and Market Enablers. Odisha exhibits preparedness to embrace electricity transition through the readiness of its market enablers.
Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh moved slower than others again in SET 2024, despite the changes to our assessment parameters. The first edition of the SET report in 2023 analysed 16 states to help identify areas that require action and attention at the state level. This year’s report builds on that work by expanding the scope to 21 states.
FSIB, the headhunter for directors of state-owned banks and financial institutions, recommended Rana Ashutosh Kumar Singh for the post of Managing Director of State Bank of India. Singh is currently serving as deputy managing director at SBI. The final decision on the FSIB recommendation would be taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet headed by Prime Minister.
FSIB also recommended Asheesh Pandey for the post of Managing Director of Chennai-based Indian Bank. Pandey, who is currently serving as executive director of Bank of Maharashtra, will replace S L Jain on his superannuation. FSIB is headed by former Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) Secretary Bhanu Pratap Sharma.
Indian squash player Saurav Ghosal announced his retirement from professional squash on Monday. During his career, Ghosal won 12 Professional Squash Association (PSA) titles and multiple medals at the Commonwealth Games (CWG) and Asian Games.
The 37-year-old was also a former top 10 athlete in world squash rankings, reaching the level in April 2019 and staying there for six months. He is also the only Indian man to enter the top 10 in the World rankings. The nine-time Asian Games medallist played a significant role in leading India to gold medals in the teams event at 2014 and 2022 editions of the Asian Games.
Ghosal has to his name 13 national titles, and three CWG medals. He also became the first Indian male player to secure a CWG squash medal in a singles competition at the same event.
He has also won the World Doubles Championships gold medal after partnering compatriot Dipika Pallikal Karthik in the mixed event at the 2022 Glasgow competition.
International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day is observed every year on 26 April. The day is dedicated to remember the victims of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. It creates awareness about the catastrophic accident, in which approximately 8.4 million people were exposed to the harmful nuclear radiations.
The Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on 26 April 1986, spreading a radioactive cloud over the Soviet territory now comprising Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia. The United Nations established the International Chernobyl Disaster Remembrance Day in 2016.
he World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) will be celebrated on 26 April 2024. The day is dedicated to promoting the role of intellectual property (IP) in stimulating innovation and creativity. The theme for 2024 is 'IP and the SDGs: Building Our Common Future with Innovation and Creativity'.
The origins of WIPO can be traced back to 1883 when the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property was signed. In 1970, the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization entered into force, formally creating WIPO. WIPO became a specialized agency of the UN in 1974.
Tata Power Solar Systems, announced its strategic partnership with Indian Bank to bolster the adoption of solar rooftop among residential consumers. The collaboration aims to facilitate financing solutions under the popular PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana scheme for installations up to 3 KW, as well as extend support for installations ranging from 3 to 10 KW under scheme.
Under the framework of the PMSGMY initiative, residential consumers can avail loans up to Rs 2 lakh at an annual interest rate of 7%, in compliance with government regulations. With a nominal margin money requirement of 10% and collateral-free financing, homeowners can embark on their solar journey with ease. Furthermore, the tenure for repayment exends up to 10 years.
For installations exceeding 3 KW up to 10 KW, TPSSL and Indian Bank present a tailored financing solution that accommodates the diverse needs of homeowners. Eligible applicants can access loans up to Rs 6 Lakh, with a margin money requirement of 20%. Interest rates ranging from 8.4% to 10.8% per annum ensure competitive financing options.
NABARD unveiled its Climate Strategy 2030 document on the occasion of Earth Day. The comprehensive strategy aims to address India’s escalating need for green financing. Despite the pressing demand, where India requires approximately $170 billion annually to reach a cumulative total of over $2.5 trillion by 2030, current green finance inflows are critically insufficient.
NABARD’s Climate Strategy 2030 is structured around four key pillars to address this demand: (i) Accelerating Green Lending across sectors, (ii) Playing a broader Market-Making Role (iii) Internal Green Transformation of NABARD, and (iv) Strategic Resource Mobilization.
In a bid to increase fee income, AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) launched an array of products including Rupay credit card and ATM insurance.
Among the latest offerings are two innovative credit cards: the AU SPONT Rupay Credit Card and Secured Credit Card - NOMO (No Missing Out), developed in collaboration with NPCI and VISA, respectively.
First time in Indian banking industry, AU SFB has launched ATM Insurance, for the convenience of customers to buy insurance through AU SFB's ATMs with their debit card. AU SFB have also launched WhatsApp Insurance where customer will get policy instantly using WhatsApp platform.
IndusInd Bank announced the successful execution of the Reserve Bank of India’s programmable Central Bank Digital Currency pilot, marking the first such instance by any bank. It is done in collaboration with Circularity Innovation Hub India Private Limited, involved an alternate form of CBDC wherein the bank can program the end use of funds, specifically targeting farmers.
As a part of this pilot, IndusInd Bank initiated the programmable CBDC disbursement to 50 farmers in Ratnagiri district of Maharashtra and will cover around 1,000 farmers going ahead, marking a milestone in the adoption of innovative financial solutions for the agriculture sector.
