NEW DELHI: Union Minister Piyush Goyal will receive the prestigious Carnot Prize from the Ivy League University of Pennsylvania in recognition of his work for rural electrification while he held the power and renewable energy portfolios.

The Carnot Prize is given "for distinguished contributions to energy policy", the Philadelphia-based university said.

"During his tenure (as Power Minister), Goyal directed a fast-track effort to electrify 18,000 villages in remote parts of India, helping bridge the country's vast energy divide," it said.

Mr Goyal, who is now the Minister for Railways and Coal, headed the Power and Renewable Energy Ministries from 2014 to 2017 and oversaw the the big push for rural electrification.

The university cited an International Energy Agency (IEA) report that said that if the pace of electrification continued, India will achieve "one of the largest successes in the history of electrification" by having electricity for all by 2020.

The ambitious electrification goal is driven by the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015.

The award is to be presented in Philadelphia by William W. Burke-White, the university's professor of law.

World Wrestling Championships begin in Budapest, Hungary today. Asian Games gold medalist Bajrang Punia will be India's best bet for a medal as a 30-member team seeks a strong performance at the event. Bajrang had won a bronze at the Championships in 2013.

The 24-year old Haryana grappler, who is the only seeded Indian in the tournament, will compete tomorrow.
Another Asian Games gold medalist Vinesh Phogat is not taking part due to an elbow injury. Her cousin Ritu Phogat will, however, be in action, along with Olympic bronze medalist Sakshi Malik, Sandeep Tomar and Mousam Khatri among others.

Olympian Sushil Kumar had pulled out of the tournament.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday announced more measures to increase liquidity flows to the non-banking financial companies.

The RBI permitted banks to use government securities equal to their incremental outstanding credit to NBFCs, over and above their outstanding credit to them as on October 19, to be used to meet liquidity coverage ratio requirements.

The move will help provide liquidity to housing finance companies (HFCs) and non-banking finance companies (NBFCs) which have come under pressure following series of default by IL&FS group companies.

“... banks will be permitted to also reckon Government securities held by them up to an amount equal to their incremental outstanding credit to NBFCs and HFCs, over and above the amount of credit to NBFCs and HFCs outstanding on their books as on October 19, 2018, as Level 1 HQLA under FALLCR within the mandatory SLR requirement,” RBI said in a notification.

Stephen Hawking’s final work, which tackles issues from the existence of God to the potential for time travel, was launched on Monday by his children, who helped complete the book after the British astrophysics giant’s death. Hawking was forever being asked the same things and started work on "Brief Answers to the Big Questions" last year -- but did not finish it before he died in March, aged 76. It has been completed by the theoretical physicist’s family and academic colleagues, with material drawn from his vast personal archive.

"He was regularly asked a set of questions," his daughter Lucy Hawking said at the Science Museum in London. The book was an attempt to "bring together the most definitive, clearest, most authentic answers that he gave. "We all just

The Druk Nyamrup Tshogpa (DNT) will form new government in Bhutan. The party has won 30 seats in 47 member National Assembly, the lower house of the parliament.

The Druk Phuensum Tshogpa (DPT) has got remaining 17 seats. The Election Commission of Bhutan has formally announced the results of parliamentary election held yesterday.

According to the commission 71.46 percent polling was recorded in the third general election. DNT President Dr Lotay Tshering won from South Thimphu constituency with a huge margin and he is set to form the new government.

This is the first time in Bhutan’s decade old parliamentary democracy that a new party has been chosen to form the government.

In last two elections the Bhutanese electorates had stuck with the two old parties DPT and People's Democratic Party (PDP).

A total 94 candidates, 47 each from DNT and DPT tried their luck in the final round of general elections. According to the constitution of Bhutan only two parties, which get highest votes in primary round, can participate in the final round.

DNT and DPT had got maximum votes in the primary round election held last month, while ruling PDP came third and failed to qualify for the last round.

Bihar’s Shahi litchi has received the geographical indication tag, the director of the National Research Centre on Litchi confirmed to IANS on Thursday. The fruit is mostly grown in Muzaffarpur and its neighbouring districts of East Champaran, Vaishali, Samastipur and Begusarai.

“It [Shahi litchi] has officially become an exclusive brand with the GI tag,” said Vishal Nath. “We were informed about this positive development on Tuesday.”

Social Entrepreneur Suheil F. Tandon has won the International Olympic Committee's Sport and Active Society Commission's Grant Award for his contribution to sports for development. Suheil is the Founder of Pro Sport Development (PSD) and Executive Director of Martha Farrell Foundation.

The International Olympic Committee, which is committed to building a better world through sport, redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting movement, to help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world. Worth USD 25,000 each, these grants are awarded to grassroots organisations running effective sport for all programmes in different regions across the world.

The award ceremony was held during the Olympism in Action forum at Buenos Aires.

"I am honoured and humbled to receive this recognition. Playing sports is an excellent way to teach the values of sport. Participants learn about fairplay, about respecting others and develop a sense of responsibility and discipline. Adolescent boys and girls who are exposed to active sports turn out to be better citizens and our endeavour is just that," said Suheil from Buenos Aires after receiving the award.

India has been ranked as the 58th most competitive economy on the World Economic Forum's global competitiveness index for 2018, which was topped by the US.

India's rank rose by five places from 2017, the largest gain among G20 economies, the WEF said.

Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has announced its strategic investment in and partnership with Den Networks Limited and Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited.

In a statement published by the company on Wednesday, the RIL announced a primary investment of Rs. 2,045 crore through a preferential issue under Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) regulations and secondary purchase of Rs. 245 crore from the existing promoters for a 66% stake in Den Networks Limited ("DEN"), and Primary investment of Rs. 2,940 crore through a preferential issue under SEBI regulations for a 51.3% stake in Hathway Cable and Datacom Limited ("Hathway").

Apart from DEN and Hathway, RIL would make open offers for GTPL Hathway Limited, a company jointly controlled by Hathway with 37.3% stake, and Hathway Bhawani Cabletel and Datacomm Limited, a subsidiary of Hathway.

"Reliance is privileged to partner with the Rajan Raheja Group, one of the most respected business houses in India, and Sameer Manchanda, a first generation entrepreneur, who have created strong businesses through their business acumen and

New Delhi: Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) Ltd’s quarterly earnings from the financial sector have edged past that of Accenture Plc, which is nearly double its size, making the Mumbai-based company the world’s largest pure-play information technology (IT) and consulting firm servicing mega banks and insurers.

Financial services sector is the largest buyer of services and solutions from IT and consulting firms, and in the last decade, Accenture has managed to retain its sectoral dominance.

During the July-September period, TCS got $2.07 billion in business from banking, financial services and insurance, or the BFSI sector. This included $1.63 billion from work across application development and maintenance, and other traditional solution offerings, besides $445.9 million from its proprietary platforms such as TCS iON.

Accenture, which follows a September-August financial year, got $2.01 billion in business from banking and insurance customers in the June-August period.

Put another way, TCS’s BFSI vertical, if carved out as an independent unit, will be larger than India’s third largest IT services firm, HCL Technologies Ltd, which ended with $2.05 billion in revenue in the April-June quarter.

“In the last quarter, we became the number one pure-play IT services firm servicing the banking and financial services sector across the world,” TCS’s chief operating officer, N. Ganapathy Subramaniam, said in an interview last week. “This is very heartening to see we are doing well, and the way we are shaping the industry.”