Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation Minister Nitin Gadkari said, around five thousand crore rupees have been spent in the last four years under it. 

Mr Gadkari was speaking after inaugurating India Water Impact Summit 2018 in New Delhi today. He said the government has decided to spend another three thousand crore rupees next year under the programme. 

He also said the government has earmarked 20 thousand crores for five years towards the clean Ganga programme.  

Mr Gadkari informed that his Ministry has taken up construction of 197 ghats in five states, including Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The Minister said the priority is to check pollution of the Ganga, adding that there will be no compromise on it.

Leading Investment Bank Axis Capital on Tuesday said its MD & CEO Dharmesh Mehta has stepped down. The bank also said it has elevated Salil Pitale and Chirag Negandhi as Joint Managing Directors and Co-Chief Executive Officer.

Pitale and Negandhi’s appointment will be with immediate effect, the company said in a statement.

“Dharmesh Mehta, MD & CEO of Axis Capital today submitted his resignation, having decided to pursue other interests,” the company said.

The Board of Axis Capital in a meeting held today accepted Mehta’s resignation.

It further said: “The Board has decided to elevate Salil Pitale and Chirag Negandhi as Joint Managing Directors & Co-Chief Executive Officer”.

However, their elevation will be subject to requisite regulatory approvals, it added.

Both are currently Co-Head of Investment Banking at Axis Capital since 2016.

Pitale has been with Axis Capital and Axis Bank since 1999, and has led several sector practices for the investment bank.

US’s private equity and distressed assets investor Lone Star Funds, which manages more than $45 billion in assets, has appointed Ambrish Singh, former Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BofAML) executive, as the head of its India operations, said two people directly aware of the development, requesting anonymity.

According to the people, Singh will come on board as managing director and will be responsible for Lone Star’s investments across asset classes, including private equity, distressed debt and structured credit.

In his previous stint, Singh was the director of global credit and special situations group for India, South-East Asia and Australia at BofAML. He also held senior roles in Credit Suisse, Daiwa Securities Group Inc., ICICI Securities Ltd and Enam Holdings Pvt. Ltd.

Singh’s appointment comes at a time when Lone Star is planning to commit at least $1 billion in India across various strategies, said one of the people cited above. In April, Lone Star and RattanIndia Group had planned to invest ₹2,600 crore to set up a non-banking financial company, RattanIndia Finance, in an equal joint venture. RattanIndia Group chairman, Rajiv Rattan, is the chairman and chief executive of the NBFC.

Josef Martinez choked up a bit when he saw his grandparents in the front row. On most days, he’s not susceptible to tears. This time, he couldn’t help himself. A teary eyed Martinez claimed the MVP award from Major League Soccer on Wednesday after shattering the record for goals in a season and leading Atlanta United to the championship game.

“This is a special day for me, for my family, for my teammates, for the city,” Martinez said, without the benefit of notes. “I want to say thank you to the fans for the amazing support this year.”

In just two years, Atlanta United has established itself as a flagship franchise in MLS, setting numerous attendance records and achieving immediate success on the field with a high-scoring, attacking style spearheaded by its 25-year-old Venezuelan striker.

he Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Wednesday (December 5) kept key lending rate unchanged at 6.5 per cent after the conclusion of its fifth bi-monthly policy review.

Not only did the 6-member committee decide to keep the repo rate (the rate at which RBI lends money to banks) unchanged, but also kept its 'calibrated tightening' stance in tact.

It has come to light that only one out of the six members voted in favour of easing the stance. Economists suggested that the RBI kept its stance unchanged as it may be too early to alter its stance.

Gautam Gambhir has announced his retirement all forms of cricket. Gambhir, who played a key role in helping India win the World T20 in 2007 and the 2011 World Cup, made the announcement on Twitter.

"The most difficult decisions are often taken with the heaviest of hearts. And with one heavy heart, I've decided to make an announcement that I've dreaded all my life," Gambhir tweeted.

Gambhir played 58 Tests, 147 ODIs and 37 T20Is for India since making his international debut in 2003 in Dhaka. The left-handed bat scored 10,324 runs in international cricket.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate India's longest railroad bridge on December 25.

The ceremony to mark the opening of the bridge coincides with the 94th birth anniversary of the former prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who passed away in August. It was Vajpayee who laid the foundation stone of this bridge in 2002.

The overpass, called Bogibeel Bridge, is in Assam and is a combined road and rail bridge over the River Brahmaputra - precisely between the districts of Dhemaji and Dibrugarh.

It is believed that this route will help the people of Arunachal Pradesh by saving their time on commuting to southern Assam.

As of now, a train journey from Arunachal Pradesh to Assam's Dibrugarh requires a 500 km detour via Guwahati. After the bridge becomes functional, the distance will be reduced by 100 km.

India’s heaviest satellite GSAT-11, that would boost broadband services in the country, was successfully launched by an Arianespace rocket from the French Guiana in the early hours of Wednesday, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said.

The Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD) will formulate guidelines for children's hostels, elaborately underlining the minimum standards of care that should be provided to them.

This decision was taken in the wake of the requests made by the parents who are unable to take care of their children and their education or due to other circumstances which force them to keep their child at children's homes, which is not registering under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.