Union Government has launched Jal Shakti Abhiyan to create awareness on the benefits of water conservation and declining sources of water in the country. Launching the initiative in New Delhi this evening, Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said, water conservation is now a national priority and it is time to make water conservation a people's movement. He requested the people to associate themselves with Jal Shakti Abhiyan. 

Mr Shekhawat said, everyone should made efforts to save the country from the threat of water scarcity. The Minister said, per capita water availability has dropped a lot in India and India is also one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change. He said, there is a need to conserve more water as at present only 8 per cent of rainwater is being conserved. 

The Jal Shakti Abhiyan has been launched in two phases. The first phase is 1st July to 15th September and is for all participating States and the second phase will be between 1st October to 30th November for States with retreating monsoon. Under Jal Shakti Abhiyan, focus will be on 256 water stressed districts and 1,592 water stressed blocks. 

Government has constituted a high-powered committee of chief ministers for transformation of agriculture and raising farmers' income. The nine-member committee, chaired by Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, will suggest measures to boost agricultural export, raise growth in food processing, attract investments in modern market infrastructure, value chains and logistics.

Chief ministers of Karnataka, Haryana, Arunachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh will be the members of the panel, according to an official statement. Agriculture rural development and panchyati raj minister Narendra Singh Tomar and NITI Aayog member Ramesh Chand will also be part of the committee.

The committee will suggest modalities for adoption and time bound implementation of agriculture sector reforms and will submit its report within two months of the date of notification.

Second anniversary of implementation of historic tax reform of Goods & Services Tax as 1st July is celebrated as the "GST DAY".

Kicking off celebrations, the finance ministry will on Monday come up with further reforms in the indirect tax system with introduction of new return system, rationalisation of cash ledger system and a single refund-disbursing mechanism, among others.

Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur will preside over the event alongside key secretaries and officials of various departments.

The introduction of GST was a game changer for the Indian economy as it has replaced multi-layered, complex indirect tax structure with a simple, transparent and technology-driven tax regime.

The ministry said it will introduce the new return system on a trial basis from 1 July and on mandatory basis from 1 October. At the event, a book on 'GST for MSME' will also be released.

K. Natarajan took over as the Director-General of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) on Sunday. He is the 23rd chief of India’s coastal security force.

He took over form Rajendra Singh, who was the first Director-General to be appointed from within the force. Prior to taking over as D-G, Mr. Natarajan was the Coast Guard Commander, Western Seaboard.

Commissioned into the ICG in 1984, he has commanded all classes of Indian Coast Guard ships such as advanced offshore patrols, offshore patrols, fast patrol vessel and inshore patrol vessel, the Coast Guard said.

Red Bull’s Max Verstappen won the Austrian Grand Prix for the second year in a row on Sunday, subject to a stewards’ investigation, while champion Mercedes lost for the first time this season.

Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, starting on pole, finished second after defending hard against Verstappen with the two youngsters banging wheels as the Dutchman forced his way past three laps from the end.

Both 21, the pair was the youngest top-two finishers in Formula One history. Verstappen took the chequered flag, but still faces an anxious wait for confirmation.

Valtteri Bottas finished third for Mercedes with championship-leading teammate Lewis Hamilton, winner of the previous four races, fifth and behind Ferrari’s Sebastian Vettel.

Jal Shakti Abhiyan will be launched across the country from today to accelerate water harvesting and conservation measures. 

The scheme is aimed at making water conservation and promotion of irrigation efficiency a mass movement through asset creation and communication campaigns. 

Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat will launch the scheme from New Delhi. 

Over 250 officers, including Additional and Joint Secretaries, have been appointed as in-charge of water-stressed districts in the country to plan ways to conserve the natural resource. 

They have been appointed as Central Prabhari Officers of 255 water-stressed districts for coordinating the Jal Shakti Abhiyan.

Fund transfer through Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) systems is set to become cheaper after the Reserve Bank of India decided it will not impose any charges on such transactions. 

After announcing its decision to waive all charges on fund transfer through RTGS and NEFT systems from today, RBI has also asked banks to pass on the benefits to customers from the same day. 

The transaction cost comprises two components-RBI’s charges plus banks’ services charges based on the infrastructure cost they incur. 

The price of non-subsidised LPG has been reduced by one hundred rupees and 50 paise per cylinder on the back of softening of international market rates. 

Indian Oil Corporation in a release said that the new rate will be effective from today. 

Now the non-subsidised cooking gas in Delhi will be priced at  637 rupees per cylinder. Subsidised cooking gas price will be  494 rupees 35 paise per cylinder.

The Finance Ministry on Friday said that interest rates for small savings schemes will be reduced by 10 basis points for July-September quarter of the ongoing financial year. Schemes that will fetch lower interest are Kisan Vikas Patra (KVP), Public Providend Fund (PPF), among others, barring interest on savings deposits that has been retained at 4%.

“On the basis of the decision of the government, interest rates for small savings schemes are to be notified on a quarterly basis," the Finance Ministry said in a statement.

The government’s decision to reduce interest rates on small savings scheme comes at a when the banking regulator has slashed benchmark rates thrice by cumulative 75 basis points since January.

PPF and National Savings Certificate (NSC) will yield 7.9% annual interest from the earlier 8%. KVP will fetch 7.6% with maturity of 113 months as compared with 7.7% with maturity of 112 months.

India’s acting High Commissioner to Bangladesh Bishwadip Dey today paid his respects to the eminent Gandhian and Padmashree Awardee Jharna Dhara Chowdhury who passed away yesterday in Dhaka at the age of 80. 

He laid a flower wreath and wrote a condolence message for the departed soul. 

Jharna Dhara Chowdhury devoted her whole life to promoting peace, communal harmony and social justice in Bangladesh. 

She was honoured with Padma Shri in 2013. She was awarded Jamnalal Bajaj award in 1998 and other awards like Begum Rokeya Padak, Gandhi Seva Puraskar and Ekushey Padak for her social work.