Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port, Kolkata (SMP Kolkata), in alliance with Pacific International Lines (PIL), a leader in feeder and container services for over three decades, has announced the inauguration of the China Calcutta Service (CCS) at the Kolkata Dock System (KDS) recently.

According to an official statement, this pioneering direct weekly service from China to Kolkata meets the increasing demand for reduced transit times from the Far East Ports to Kolkata, enhancing connectivity and efficiency for our stakeholders.

The CCS will feature three dedicated vessels – Kota Ria, Kota Rukun, and Kota Rakiyat – each with an average parcel load of 622 TEUs, specially tailored to navigate lower draft conditions. This service promises a transit period of just 10 to 12 days, significantly enhancing logistical efficiency and meeting the needs of customers in India and Nepal.

Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) has secured a letter of intent (LOI) from Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) to construct two 800 MW thermal power station in Koderma district, Jharkhand.

The project, valued at over Rs 10,000 crore, involves setting up thermal power units on an engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) basis.

BHEL's scope of work includes supplying equipment such as boilers, turbines, generators, and associated auxiliaries, along with electrical and C&I systems, and balance of plant packages. The company will also handle erection, commissioning, and civil works for the project.

The project has to be completed within a period of 52 months.

Tata Power Solar Systems Ltd (TPSSL) on Friday said it has partnered with Bank of India (BOI) to facilitate easy financing for rooftop solar installations and establishment of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations.

The partnership is a significant milestone with Tata Power Solar becoming the first solar company to collaborate with BOI for both solar and EV Charging Station financing and strengthening its leadership as a green energy solutions provider, a statement said.

Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State (Independent Charge) and Minister of State for Education in the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), Government of India, on July 25 launched the Revised Adarsh Kaushal Loan Scheme, which aims to provide access to skill courses to the youth of the country without any financial barriers. The scheme aims to provide easy access to such advanced level skill courses to the youth. These include high-level courses, which often require high course fees. This initiative will help in making India's youth a future-ready workforce.

During the launch ceremony of the scheme at Kaushal Bhawan in New Delhi on Thursday, Jayant Chaudhary said that the launch of Model Skill Loan Scheme is a major achievement for our Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship. He said that this scheme provides financial assistance to youth for advanced skills through collateral-free loans up to Rs 7.5 lakh. NBFCs, NBFC-MFIs and Small Finance Banks have also been made eligible lenders.

OpenAI has released SearchGPT which is an AI-powered search engine with real-time access to information across the internet- Google's new competition. The Sam Altman-led company said that SearchGPT will be available as a prototype in limited release and OpenAI plans to eventually build it into ChatGPT. OpenAI’s blog post read, “SearchGPT is designed to help users connect with publishers by prominently citing and linking to them in searches. Responses have clear, in-line, named attribution and links so users know where information is coming from and can quickly engage with even more results in a sidebar with source links.”

The launch comes as The Information reported that OpenAI’s AI training and inference costs could reach $7 billion this year as millions of users on the free version of ChatGPT are driving up costs.

Sri Lanka secured their first Women's Asia Cup title win on Sunday, beating India with a clinical run-chase in front of home fans. This was also just the second time in their nine final appearances that India failed to win the Women's Asia Cup.

The previous such instance was in 2018, when Bangladesh beat India by three wickets.

Samarawickrama was the Player of the Match in the Final, while Chamari Athapaththu was the Player of the Tournament for her 304 runs and three wickets in the event.

Manu Bhaker became the first woman shooter from India ever to win an Olympics medal, after claiming a bronze medal in the women’s 10m air pistol event at the Paris Olympics on Sunday. She was just 0.1 behind Kim Yeji when she was eliminated in the final on Sunday. Kim eventually won a silver medal while her Korean compatriot Oh Ye Jin claimed a gold medal.

Three years after her Tokyo Olympics was derailed by a pistol malfunction, the 22-year-old claimed a bronze medal behind two South Korean shooters. The nine-time World Cup medallist is only the fifth Indian to win a medal in shooting.

Earlier, on the first day of the Paris Olympics, Manu Bhaker had finished 3rd in the women’s 10m air pistol event with a score of 580 in the qualification rounds. Manu Bhaker had also shot the highest number of Perfect Scores (27) in the qualification to breeze through to the final.

The Centre has introduced a revised Model Skill Loan Scheme, designed to provide financial support for skill development courses to the nation’s youth. Launched on Thursday by Jayant Chaudhary, Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Education, the scheme aims to remove financial barriers to advanced skill education.

The updated scheme offers collateral-free loans of up to Rs. 7.5 lakh and expands eligibility to include Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs), NBFC-Micro Finance Institutions (NBFC-MFIs), and small finance banks. This initiative is part of a broader effort to develop a future-ready workforce by facilitating access to high-cost, advanced skill courses essential for meeting emerging industrial demands.

During the launch, Jayant Chaudhary emphasized that the scheme empowers youth with financial support for advanced skilling through collateral-free loans. He pointed out that NBFCs, NBFC-MFIs, and small finance banks are now eligible lenders.

Suhel Ajaz Khan, Ambassador of India to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been concurrently accredited as the next Ambassador of India to the Republic of Yemen, with residence in Riyadh, a government press release said.

The press release added that Ajaz Khan, IFS of the 1997 batch, is expected to take up the assignment shortly.

Ajaz Khan expressed gratitude for being given the additional responsibility.

In a post on X, he said, "It is a matter of great honour for me to be given this additional responsibility-concurrent accreditation to Yemen. I look forward to working closely with the Internationally Recognized Government in Yemen to strengthen India-Yemen relations.

On the 55th Foundation Day of REC Limited, Union Minister of Power and Housing & Urban Affairs, Manohar Lal, inaugurated the National Feeder Monitoring System (NFMS) Control Centre at REC Headquarters in Gurugram on Thursday.

The NFMS, an ambitious project by the Ministry of Power, aims to provide real-time data on power supply, outages, and the overall status of approximately 2.5 lakh (250,000) 11 KV feeders across India. This initiative is designed to enhance transparency, efficiency, and accountability in power distribution, ultimately benefiting consumers with improved quality and reliability of electricity supply. The system integrates data from 87 distribution companies (DISCOMs), facilitating informed decision-making for stakeholders.

A dedicated control centre at the REC Corporate Office in Gurugram will monitor and disseminate daily findings to DISCOMs. This ensures the accuracy and efficiency of the NFMS portal data and helps DISCOMs maintain the necessary KPIs set by the Ministry.