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1 Prajnesh makes it to Miami Masters main draw

In Tennis, India's number one singles player, Prajnesh Gunneswaran, has made it to the main draw of the Miami Open, his second straight Masters appearance. 

Prajnesh defeated Briton beat Jay Clarke, 6-4, 6-4 in the second qualifying round of the ATP-1000 tournament in Miami to progress to the main draw. The Indian will meet Jaume Munar of Spain in the first round tomorrow.

This is Prajnesh's second straight Masters main draw appearance. He had reached the third round at Indian Wells last week.

Prajnesh reached a career-high rank of 84 earlier this week.

27-Mar-2019 News in Details
2 Navy's nuclear, biological, chemical training facility launched

Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba inaugurated the Indian Navy's Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Training Facility (NBCTF) at INS Shivaji in Lonavala on Monday. 

The NBCTF, christened "Abhedya",  impenetrable in Sanskrit, will help train personnel of naval ships fitted with nuclear, biological and chemical detection and protection systems. 

In a statement, the Navy said the facility will provide realistic training to naval personnel in detection, protection against and decontamination of nuclear, biological and chemical agents.

Admiral Lanba launched the INS Shivaji's website on the Indian Navy portal. He also released the platinum jubilee logo, with the theme "Propelling the Indian Navy since 1945", for the premier technical training establishment. 

INS Shivaji is celebrating its platinum jubilee year in 2019-20.

26-Mar-2019 News in Details
3 Trump sign proclamation recognising Israel's sovereignty over Golan Heights

US President Donald Trump has signed a proclamation recognising Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights and told the visiting Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, that Israel has an absolute right to self-defence. 

Speaking at a White House signing ceremony in Washington, Mr Trump said, the United States recognizes Israel's absolute right to defend itself. He said, the despicable rocket attack yesterday demonstrates significant security challenges that Israel faces every single day. He was referring to the rocket attack by Hamas, the Islamist movement that runs the Gaza Strip, on Tel Aviv in which seven Israelis, including two children, were injured. 

Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 war but its sovereignty over the territory is not recognized by the international community. Mr Trump's move reversed more than a half-century of the US policy over the issue. 

He said, aggressive action by Iran, and terrorist groups in southern Syria, including Hezbollah, continued to make the Golan Heights a potential launching ground for attacks against Israel. Mr Netanyahu called the recognition historic and said the Golan Heights would remain permanently under Israeli control.

26-Mar-2019 News in Details
4 RBI appoints five-member committee to deepen digital payments

Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Shaktikanta Das has said that the central bank of the country has appointed 5-member committee under the chairmanship of Nandan Nilekani to further deepen digital payments and enhance financial inclusion through Fintech. He said, the RBI has requested the committee to give recommendations in 3 months in this regard. Mr. Das was speaking today at the inaugural event of Financial Technology (Fintech) Conclave being organized by NITI Aayog in New Delhi. 

Mr. Das said, the objective of the conclave is to shape India’s continued ascendancy in FinTech, build the narrative for future strategy and policy efforts, and to deliberate steps for comprehensive financial inclusion. The RBI Governor said as a nation India must move for universal financial inclusion and total retail payment has grown nine folds in last five years. He said a consultation process with payment banks including seven purely digital loan companies will happen soon.

NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said India's ambition is to emerge as a 10 trillion dollar economy and this is not possible without a revolution in the Fintech sector.

26-Mar-2019 News in Details
5 ADNOC awards onshore block to Indian consortium

A consortium of two Indian oil companies, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited and Indian Oil Corporation Limited have been awarded the exploration rights for Abu Dhabi Onshore Block 1. 

The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC, Monday signed agreements awarding the exploration rights.

The award has been endorsed by Abu Dhabi’s Supreme Petroleum Council. In an exclusive interaction with AIR Ambassador  Navdeep Suri said that the bilateral partnership between India and UAE is growing in many dimensions.

26-Mar-2019 News in Details
6 Kenyan science teacher Peter Tabichi wins global prize

A science teacher from rural Kenya, who gives away most of his salary to support poorer pupils, has won a $1m prize (£760,000) for the world's best teacher.

Peter Tabichi, a member of the Franciscan religious order, won the 2019 Global Teacher Prize.

Brother Peter has been praised for his achievements in a deprived school with crowded classes and few text books.

He wants pupils to see "science is the way to go" for their futures.

The award, announced in a ceremony in Dubai, recognises the "exceptional" teacher's commitment to pupils in a remote part of Kenya's Rift Valley.

He gives away 80% of his pay to support pupils, at the Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Pwani Village, Nakuru, who otherwise could not afford uniforms or books.

26-Mar-2019 News in Details
7 Government notifies Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules 2019

Health and Family Welfare Ministry have notified the Drugs and Clinical Trials Rules, 2019 with an aim to promote clinical research in the country. The new rules will change the regulatory landscape for the approval of new drugs and conduct of clinical trials in the country.

These rules will apply to all new drugs, investigational new drugs for human use, clinical trial, bioequivalence study and Ethics Committee. It has reduced the time for approving applications to 30 days for drugs manufactured in India and 90 days for those developed outside the country. 

The rules stated that in case of no communication from Drugs Controller General of India, the application will be deemed to have been approved. It said the requirement of a local clinical trial may be waived for approval of a new drug if it is approved and marketed in any of the countries to be specified by the Drugs Controller General with the approval of the government.

The new rules will ensure patient safety, as they would be enlisted for trials with informed consent. The ethics committee will monitor the trials and decide on the amount of compensation in cases of adverse events. 

26-Mar-2019 News in Details
8 Jet Airways To Get Rs 1,500 Crore Funding As Founder Naresh Goyal Steps Down From Board

Jet Airways Founder and Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal will step down from the board of the ailing airline, which will also receive an immediate funding of Rs 1,500 crore under a resolution plan piloted by its lenders.

Goyal would also cease to be the Chairman of the full-service carrier, which has been flying for more than 25 years, according to a regulatory filing.

After weeks of speculations and uncertainties over the future course of Jet Airways, which has grounded over 80 planes due to financial woes, the airline's board Monday approved a resolution plan formulated by SBI-led domestic lenders.

Naresh Goyal, his wife Anita Goyal and Etihad Airways PJSC's nominee director Kevin Knight would step down from the board.

Gulf carrier Etihad holds 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways. According to the filing, two nominee directors of the lenders would be inducted.

Further, an immediate funding of up to Rs 1,500 crore would be provided to the cash-strapped airline by "way of issue of appropriate debt instrument", the filing said.

25-Mar-2019 News in Details
9 Jet Airways founder Naresh Goyal to quit as Chairman today

Jet Airways Chairman Naresh Goyal and his wife Anita Goyal are expected to step down from the board of the cash-strapped airline on Monday, March 25, sources told Moneycontrol. Chief Executive Vinay Dube is expected to stay on board the 25-year-old airline Goyal set up with his wife in 1993.

On March 20, Moneycontrol reported that Jet Airways' lenders had worked out an alternate rescue plan for the debt-ridden airline, which involves taking majority control and reconstituting the entire board of the country’s second largest carrier.

With just 11 days left to the end of this financial year, lenders are in a rush to seal a resolution plan. They have asked Goyal to step down immediately and make way for a new management. As per the plan, Goyal's stake will likely be capped at 10 percent by diluting the rest at a nominal value.

There are also talks of new investors including Tata Sons being approached, but a source told Moneycontrol it will take at least a couple of months to bring them in, as regulatory norms require due diligence on the part of the lenders too.

25-Mar-2019 News in Details
10 Oman signs agreement allowing United States military to use its ports

Oman has signed an agreement with the United States that allow American ships and warplanes to take advantage of his ports and airports. The state-run Oman News Agency said the framework agreement is aimed at bolstering Omani-American military relations.

The agreement will allow the US forces to take advantage from the facilities offered at some of the Sultanate's ports and airports during visits of the US military vessels and aircraft, particularly in the port of Duqm, it said.

Duqm port is located in southern Oman on the Arabian Sea and around 500 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz. At the mouth of the Gulf, the strait is crucial to global energy supplies.

The US-Omani deal was signed by the defence ministries of both countries.

25-Mar-2019 News in Details