Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, has included 16 additional commodities under Price Monitoring from 1st August, 2024, said Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution & New and Renewable Energy, Shri Pralhad Venkatesh Joshi, while launching the Version 4.0 Price Monitoring System (PMS) Mobile App here today. Already 22 commodities were being covered under monitoring of daily prices. Now, price of total 38 commodities will be monitored.

The Department has been monitoring the daily prices from 550 centres across 34 States/UTs. The price data monitored by the Department provides advance inputs for policy decision for the Government, RBI and analysts regarding the CPI inflation. The 38 commodities constitutes close to 31% of the total CPI weights as against 26.5% of CPI weights captured by the 22 commodities. The newly added 16 items included are Bajra, Jowar, Ragi, Suji (wheat), Maida (wheat), Besan, Ghee, Butter, Brinjal, Egg, Black Pepper, Coriander, Cummin seed, Red chillies, Turmeric powder and Banana.

Food aggregator Zomato is launching a new app, District, to expand its services beyond its core food delivery and quick commerce business. The new platform aims to consolidate various ‘going-out’ services such as dining, movies, sports ticketing, live performances, shopping, and staycations, creating a one-stop destination for customers.

In a communication to shareholders following Zomato’s first-quarter results, CEO Deepinder Goyal outlined the potential for significant growth with this new venture. He emphasized that Zomato and Blinkit are currently serving customers’ needs at home, but there is a large opportunity to expand into the going-out market. Goyal highlighted the profitability of Zomato’s dining-out business, which is operating at a run rate of over $500 million in annualised Gross Order Value (GOV).

RBL Bank has announced integration of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and National Common Mobility Card (NCMC) services on RuPay Credit Cards it sells. The offering combines multiple payment capabilities into a single card.

RBL Bank said the new RuPay Credit Cards will allow users to make "seamless and secure" UPI payments, while facilitating hassle-free travel through the NCMC feature. This integration provides customers with flexibility in managing their transactions, whether for daily expenses or during travel.

"This milestone not only revolutionises transaction management but also sets a new benchmark for the digital payments industry. Our customers can now experience the ultimate flexibility and ease of making payments, be it for daily expenses or during travel, all consolidated in one card," said Bikram Yadav, business head – credit cards, at RBL Bank.

The Ministry of Ayush, Government of India and the World Health Organization signed a Donor Agreement during a signing ceremony organized at WHO Headquarters in Geneva on 31st July, 2024. This agreement, which outlines the financial terms for implementing the activities of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat was signed by H.E Mr. Arindam Bagchi, Permanent Representative of India to the UN, Geneva and Dr. Bruce Aylward, Assistant Director-General for Universal Health Coverage and Life Course on behalf of Ministry of Ayush and WHO respectively.

Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary of Ayush, joined the event virtually. The event was moderated by Dr. Shyama Kuruvilla, Director a.i. of WHO GTMC and vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Razia Pendse, Chef de Cabinet, representing the Director-General of WHO.

Through this collaboration, the Government of the Republic of India will donate US$ 85 million over a period of 10 years (2022-2032) to support the operations of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre (GTMC) in Jamnagar, Gujarat, India. The Donor agreement recognizes the establishment of the WHO Global Traditional Medicine Centre as a key knowledge hub for evidence-based Traditional Complementary and Integrative Medicine (TCIM) aiming to advance the health and well-being of people and the planet.

In a pioneering move, Periyar Tiger Reserve (PTR) in Thekkady has installed a wind turbine to generate power for real-time monitoring cameras and Wi-Fi connectivity within its forests.

The PTR East Division comprises 17 forest sections where mobile network connectivity is currently unavailable. Until now, these sections have relied on solar power for wireless communication andforoperations at the forest section offices. However, the foggy climate and heavy rain often impede efficiency of these solar panels.

Elaborating on the project, Siby K.E., Thekkady range officer said, “We have already installed real-time monitoring cameras throughout the forests to track animal movements and transmit data to Thekkady. A 1-kilowatt wind turbine has been installed at Mangaladevi, a location with strong winds. This turbine charges batteries that power the cameras.”

India and 13 other Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) partners have launched three new supply chain bodies under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF) Agreement on Supply Chain Resilience.

The virtual meetings, held on Tuesday, marked the start of the Supply Chain Council (SCC), Crisis Response Network (CRN), and Labor Rights Advisory Board (LRAB), representing a significant step toward strengthening regional supply chains.

These meetings saw the 14 IPEF partners reaffirm their commitment to enhancing the resilience and competitiveness of critical supply chains.

The IPEF Supply Chain Resilience Agreement, signed by Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and other IPEF ministers in November 2023 in Washington, D.C., aims to make supply chains more robust and well-integrated. The Agreement, which came into force in February 2024, is intended to support the economic development of the Indo-Pacific region.

Lung cancer is one of the most common types of cancer that claims more than a million lives every year. The early signs of lung cancer include chest pain, cough accompanied by blood, wheezing, shortness of breath and weight loss. One of the predominant causes of lung cancer is tobacco consumption.

Exposure to pollution comes as a close second. In India, lung cancer is very common due to the harmful lifestyle habits, and exposure to polluted air. Every year, World Lung Cancer Day is observed to raise awareness and explore ways to combat it. As we gear up to observe the important day, here are a few things that we must keep in mind.

Small Industries Development Bank of India (Sidbi) has partnered with C2treds and UGRO Capital to facilitate loans to the MSME sector.

Sidbi has onboarded C2treds, a platform that offers MSMEs liquidity within 24 hours through an online bidding process, C2FO said in a release.

C2FO is an on-demand working capital platform, providing fast, flexible and equitable access to low-cost capital to nearly 2 million businesses worldwide.

"Through this strategic collaboration, C2treds aims to enhance liquidity for MSMEs at competitive interest rates," it said.

C2treds operates under the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) initiative which enables the discounting of invoices and is regulated by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to support the MSME sector in India.

KIIT Deemed to be University (https://kiit.ac.in/) has been granted the distinguished Special Consultative Status by the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN ECOSOC), recognizing the University's substantial contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). From a pool of 476 applications around the World, only 19 organizations, including KIIT DU, were selected for this prestigious honour. The status was conferred during the UN ECOSOC management segment meeting held on July 23, 2024, at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

KIIT Deemed to be University

This recognition underscores KIIT's unwavering commitment to the United Nations' Agenda 2030 and the SDGs. Attaining Special Consultative Status marks a significant milestone, positioning KIIT among a select group of universities globally that have earned this esteemed distinction.

Rapido has become a unicorn as the ride-hailing startup raised around $120 million ( ₹1,000 crore) in its latest Series E funding round led by its existing investor WestBridge Capital. This comes as Rapido may expand its auto and cab offerings in newer cities across India.

A unicorn means a privately owned startup valued at over $1 billion and Rapido which closely competes with players like Ola, Uber and Namma Yatri intends to use the new funding to “develop their tech stack and expand in the newer markets which was previously dominated by Ola and Uber”, Moneycontrol reported citing a venture capital investor in the know.