National
‘Maharatna’ status to the state-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd
⇒ The Government of India accorded ‘Maharatna’ status to the state-owned Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), thus giving PFC greater operational and financial autonomy.
An order to this effect was issued by the Department of Public Enterprises, under the Ministry of Finance on 12 October 2021.
Incorporated in 1986, PFC is the largest Infrastructure Finance Company, exclusively dedicated to Power Sector under the administrative control of the Ministry of Power.
Automated Fuelling Technology “UFill” for customers
⇒ Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) – a PSU under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has announced the launch of “UFill” – a digital customer experience. The technology provides the customer with control of fuelling as well as touch less pre-payment solution.
With UFill, the invitation to customers is to “Fast forward your fill”, leveraging the latest in digital technology which obviates the need for looking at zero or final reading and such offline manual interventions.
The UFill proposition has been launched in 65 cities across India and will soon be launched across the country.
First ‘One Health’ Project of DBT
⇒ Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Ministry of Science and Technology, GoI supported a mega consortium on ‘One Health’. Dr. Renu Swarup, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Govt of launched the First ‘One Health’ project of DBT through video conferencing.
This programme envisages carrying out surveillance of important bacterial, viral and parasitic infections of zoonotic as well as transboundary pathogens in India, including the North-eastern part of the country.
About Consortium:
This Consortium, consisting of 27 organisations led by DBT-National Institute of Animal Biotechnology, Hyderabad, is one of the biggest one health programs launched by Govt of India in post-COVID times.
The One health consortium consists of AIIMS, Delhi, AIIMS Jodhpur, IVRI, Bareily, GADVASU, Ludhiana, TANUVAS, Chennai, MAFSU, Nagpur, Assam agricultural and veterinary university and many more ICAR, ICMR centres and wild life agencies.
International
Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund
⇒ Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman attended the Plenary Meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the Board of Governors of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) at the Annual Meetings 2021 held in Washington DC on 14th October 2021.
- The meeting was attended by Governors/Alternate Governors representing 190-member countries of the IMF.
Discussion:
The discussions at the meeting centered on “vaccinate, calibrate and accelerate” which is the theme of the Managing Director’s Global Policy Agenda.
About IMFC meeting:
The IMFC meets twice a year, once during the Fund-Bank Spring Meetings in April, and again during the Annual Meetings in October.
The Committee discusses matters of common concern affecting the global economy and advises the IMF on the direction of its work.
8th ministerial meeting of the India-USA Economic and Financial Partnership Dialogue
⇒ The eighth ministerial meeting of the India-USA Economic and Financial Partnership Dialogue was held at Washington DC on 15 October 2021.
Chaired by:
The meeting was chaired by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt Nirmala Sitharaman and the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States Dr Janet Yellen.
During the ministerial meeting of the India-USA Economic & Financial Partnership:
Discussions were held on a range of subjects, including the macroeconomic outlook and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, financial regulatory and technical collaboration, multilateral engagement, climate finance and anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT).
Both sides affirmed their commitments to continue collaboration both at bilateral and multilateral fora to address mutual and global economic issues and strive towards amicable strategies and solutions.