NORTH-EASTERN STATES
- New moth species discovered in Arunachal Pradesh
- Researchers have discovered a new species of moth from the Talle Wildlife Sanctuary in Arunachal Pradesh.
- The new species, scientifically named Elcysma Ziroensis, be commonly called Apatani Glory, named after a local tribe called Apatani.
- This species has only been seen during autumn, notably in the month of September, indicating that it is a univoltine species, meaning it has one brood of young in a year.
INTERNATIONAL
- Romania to have first female prime minister, Viorica Dancila
- Viorica Dancila has been named as Romania’s first female PM following the sudden resignation of Mihai Tudose.
- Ms Dancila, a member of the European Parliament, is regarded as an ally of the governing Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Liviu Dragnea.
- Ms Dancila, 54, is Romania’s third prime minister in seven months.
· Google awarded 72 lakh for finding bugs in Pixel phone
- Google awarded nearly 72 lakh to researcher Guang Gong for finding bugs in its Pixel devices.
- The exploit chain consisted of two bugs which together could inject arbitrary code into system server by accessing a malicious URL in Chrome.
- Around 67 lakh of the reward was given from Google’s Android Security Rewards program, the highest in the program’s history.
NATIONAL
· India Ratings Projects Economic Growth at 7.1 Next Fiscal
- India Ratings and Research have projected the country’s economic growth to improve to 1 percentin 2018-19 from 6.5 percent in 2017-18, buoyed by robust consumer demand and low commodity prices.
- In its outlook for 2018-19, according to the agency, there will be a gradual pickup in growth momentum owing to structural reforms like GST and Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code in place.
- The projection is a tad lower than 7.4 percent growth estimated by Asian Development Bank and International Monetary Fund for next fiscal.
- Government to set up $350 million fund to finance solar projects
- Government will set up a $350 million fund to finance solar projects, as the country steps up efforts to achieve its ambitious target of adding 175 gigawatts (GW) in renewable energy by 2022.
- India will need at least $125 billion to fund a plan to increase the share of renewable power supply in the country’s grid by 2022.
- The country, which receives twice as much sunshine as European nations, wants to make solar central to its renewable expansion.
- Installed renewable power capacity is currently about 60 GW
· HDFC Bank Becomes 1st Indian Bank to Cross Rs5 trillion Market Capitalisation
- India’s most-valued lender HDFC Bank Limitedcrossed Rs5 trillion capitalization action for the first time, making it only the third Indian company to achieve this milestone.
- In intraday trade, the stock touched a fresh record high of Rs1,53.75 on the BSE, up 3.31% from its previous close.
- Tata Consultancy Services Ltd (TCS) and Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) are the other two companies which crossed market capitalisation of Rs5 trillion.
· NPPA fixes retail price of 30 drug formulations
- Drug price regulator National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA)fixed retail price for 30 drug formulations, including those used for the treatment of Diabetics, bacterial infections, and high blood pressure.
- NPPA is an independent body under Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers. It was set up in 1997.
- Its mandate is to fix/review.
- Essential medicines are those that satisfy the priority health care needs of the country’s population.
· Maharashtra becomes first state to unveil Public Cloud Policy
- Maharashtra became the first state in the country to unveil Public Cloud Policy that virtually mandates state government departments to shift their data storage.
- The State Government had formed a four-member committee to draft policy framework on cloud usage.
- The policy will result in additional private sector investments worth the US $2 billion for cloud industry as the government is one of biggest creators.
· Virat Kohli named as Captain of ICCs Test and ODI Teams of the Year
- Virat Kohli was named the captain of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test and One-Day International (ODI) teams of the year that included four other Indians as well.
- Kohli scored 2,023 runs at 77.80, including eight centuries and three half-centuries in 18 matches during the qualification period.
- He surprisingly pipped Australian skipper Steve Smith for the ICC’s Test team captaincy.
- The Test team also comprises Cheteshwar Pujara and Ravichandran Ashwin.