Describing the micro, small and medium enterprises as the backbone of the country's economy, President Ram Nath Kovind on Friday said these enterprises are "engines of inclusive development".

The President was speaking after inaugurating 'One District One Product' Summit organised by the Uttar Pradesh government to promote traditional industries in every district of the state. "Micro, small and medium enterprises are called the backbone of our economy. These enterprises are engines of inclusive development. After the agricultural sector, most people find employment in this sector.

"This sector generates more employment opportunities at a lower cost of capital. And the most important thing about this sector is that it creates jobs in rural and backward areas," he said. The President noted that Uttar Pradesh accounted for 44 per cent of the total handicraft exports of the country.

Industries such as handicrafts, food processing, engineering goods, carpets, readymade clothes and leather goods earn foreign exchange as well as provide employment, he said. "Therefore, this sector will play an important role in the development of Uttar Pradesh," Kovind said. He expressed confidence that the One District One Product scheme will enhance skills of local people as well as increase the reach of products. Besides, it will result in economic progress of artisans of Uttar Pradesh.

The leader of the United Nations said on Wednesday that he had picked Michelle Bachelet, a prominent women’s rights advocate and the first woman to serve as Chile’s president, to be the organization’s next top human rights official.

The announcement by Secretary General António Guterres ended the uncertainty over who would replace Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein, a Jordanian prince and longtime diplomat who became one of the most forthright critics of abuses by governments in many countries, including the United States, during his four years as the high commissioner for human rights.

Mr. al-Hussein said in December that he would not be seeking an extension of his term, which expires next month. He told colleagues that “to do so, in the current geopolitical context, might involve bending a knee in supplication.”

Ms. Bachelet, 66, who was imprisoned and tortured during Chile’s right-wing dictatorship and years later became a pediatrician and politician, will be stepping into a particularly difficult and contentious role at the 193-member organization.

The Ministry of HRD has embarked on a major and new initiative Project called 'Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds' (SWAYAM), which will provide one integrated platform and portal for online courses. This covers all higher education subjects and skill sector courses. The objective is to ensure that the every student in our country has access to the best quality higher education at the affordable cost. Academicians from hundreds of institutions throughout the country are involved in developing & delivering MOOCs through SWAYAM in almost all disciplines from senior schooling to Post Graduation wherein it is intended to develop world class content. The Hon`ble President of India on 9^thJuly, 2017 launched the SWAYAM platform, which can be reached at “htttp://swayam.gov.in”.  At present about 1550+ MOOCs courses are listed on SWAYAM of which 800+ courses are already delivered. About 34 Lakhs students have enrolled in these courses.

It is intended to host about 2000 courses and 80000 hours of learning material, within two years: covering school, under-graduate, post-graduate, engineering, law and other professional courses. It is expected to support 3 Crores users in the next few years.

This information was given by the Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh today in a written reply to a Rajya Sabha question.

The RBI today decided to pay Rs 50,000 crore as dividend to government in line with the Union Budget provisions, helping the Centre stick to its fiscal roadmap.

The Reserve Bank, which follows July-June financial year, has paid about 63 per cent higher dividend than previous year (2016-17). The RBI made a dividend payout of Rs 30,659 crore for the fiscal ended June 2017.

"The Central Board of Directors of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), at its meeting held on August 8, 2018, approved the transfer of surplus amounting to Rs 500 billion (Rs 50,000 crore) for the year ended June 30, 2018 to the Government of India," the central bank said in an official statement. 

New Delhi: PayU India on Wednesday announced entering into a strategic partnership with Reliance Money, leading NBFC brands in India, to offer instant app based personal loans, via LazyPay.

In an attempt to reach out to the underserved consumers in India, both PayU India and Reliance Money will make sure that the entire process is completely digital, saving customers the hassle and the delays usually associated with a loan approval process. The loan amount will start from as low as Rs 100 and will extend up to Rs 1,00,000 with a duration varying from 15 days to 24 months.

Reliance Money would carry out its one-step due diligence of checking the creditworthiness of the customers, which will substantially bring down the 'time to check' and improve the turnaround time of the credit flow to the KYC-enabled customer. As a measure to keep delinquencies under check, the company is seeking direct debit facility on the customer's account for loan repayment.

"The tie-up helps Reliance Money to move ahead in its financial inclusion effort of "go-retail" by reaching out to underserved customers with innovative financial solutions," said executive director and CEO of Reliance Money, Devang Mody.

Adding to this he said that customers will gain by getting instant credit through a paperless process as an added facility with the benefit of flexible tenure ranging from 15 days to 24 months to ensure they don't miss an opportunity - be it a great shopping deal or a business opportunity.

New Delhi, Aug 8 The Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve, one of the highest ecosystems in the world, has been added to UNESCO's list of World Network of Biosphere Reserve (WNBR).

The Khangchendzonga reserve will be India's 11th internationally designated WNBR.

The reserve includes a range of ecoclines varying from subtropical to arctic, as well as vast natural forests in different biomes that support an immensely rich diversity of forest types and habitats resulting in high species diversity and endemism.

"International coordinating Council (ICC) of Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme, UNESCO, in its 30th session (23-27 July, 2018) at Palembang, Indonesia, designated Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve for inclusion in the World Network of Biosphere Reserve," a document uploaded on the Environment Ministry's website said.

Khangchendzonga joins the list of other biospheres such as Nandadevi, Simlipal, Sunderbans, and Nilgiri.

Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan tweeted, "Gratified to note, UNESCO has included #Khangchendzonga #NationalPark in Sikkim in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves, WNBR. With it the no. of internationally designated WNBR has become 11. Khangchendzonga is one of the highest ecosystems in the world. @moefcc."

Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Aviation Suresh Prabhu launched Niryat Mitra – mobile App in New Delhi on Wednesday. The app developed by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) is available both on Android and on IOS platforms.

It provides wide range of information required to undertake international trade right from the policy provisions for export and import, applicable GST rate, available export incentives, tariff, preferential tariff, market access requirements – SPS and TBT measures.

The most interesting part is that all the information is available at tariff line. The app works internally to map the ITC HS code of other countries with that of India and provides all the required data without the users bothering about the HS code of any country. Presently the app comes with the data of 87 countries.

China's exports surged more than expected in July despite U.S. duties and its closely watched surplus with the United States remained near record highs, as the world's two major economic powers ramped up a bitter dispute that some fear could derail global growth.

In the latest move by President Donald Trump to put pressure on Beijing to negotiate trade concessions, Washington is set to begin collecting 25% tariffs on another $16 billion in Chinese goods on Aug. 23.Wednesday's Chinese data provide the first readings of the overall trade picture for the world's second-largest economy since U.S duties on $34 billion of Chinese imports came into effect on July 6. All the same, China's exports for July rose a bigger than expected 12.2% year-on-year, showing little tariff impact for now and beating June's 11.2% rise and analysts expectations in a Reuters poll for 10% growth.

Of more direct consequence in the Sino-U.S. trade war, China's surplus with the United States shrank only marginally to $28.09 billion last month from a record $28.97 billion in June. Washington has long criticised China's trade surplus with the United States and has demanded Beijing cut it. Those demands could get even more strident if the yuan's sharp drop in recent months raises the ire of the United States, which has in the past repeatedly criticised Beijing for manipulating its currency to gain an unfair trade advantage.

KOLKATA: The telecom regulator on Tuesday announced the integration of its mobile apps --- DND 2.0 and MyCall – with e-governance platform, UMANG to help consumers access multiple government services easily.

UMANG or 'unified mobile application for new-age governance’ has been developed by National e-Governance division of the ministry of electronics & IT (MeitY).

“UMANG provides a single Android platform to all Indian citizens to access pan-India e-governance services, ranging from central to local bodies and other citizen-centric services,” Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (Trai) said Tuesday in a media statement. 

Public sector non-life insurance firm United India Insurance Company today announced the appointment of S Gopakumar as its Director and General Manager with immediate effect.

Prior to taking up the new role, Gopakumar was serving GIC Housing Finance Ltd as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, a company statement said. Gopakumar began his career with public sector National Insurance Company and has held various responsibilities in his more than three decade experience.