New DGCA appointed

Government cleared the appointment of Arun Mishra as the new Director General of Civil Aviation(DGCA) replacing Mr E. K. Bharat Bhusan after he is removed from the position. Bharat Bhusan is appointed as financial adviser in the steel ministry.

India, Russia pact for two new units in Kudankulam

India and Russia signed a pact for funding two new units at the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Project in Tamil Nadu. Russia will provide an export credit of $3,400 million to Russian organizations to build the units. The total estimated cost of construction of the units 3 and 4 is Rs 32,000 crore. The unit 1 and 2 are expected to be commissioned shortly.

Rajesh Khanna passes away

India’s first superstar Rajesh Khanna died at his residence. Fondly known as Kaka, Khanna had 15 consecutive solo superhits between 1969 and 1972 in his credit.

Government raises food grains output estimate

Government’s latest estimates show, country’s foodgrain output touched an all time high of 257.44 million tones (mt) in 2011-12 season. It is a 5.17 per cent growth higher than the final output of 2.44.78 mt in 2010-11. The earlier projected output for 2011-12 was 252.56 mt.

ADB included Renminbi and the Rupee in its Trade Finance Programme

The Asian Development Bank will provide trade finance support to deals denominated in the Rupee and the Renminbi(China). The bank’s board of directors approved the inclusion of the Rrupee and the Renminbi in its Trade Finance Programme.

The ADB’s Trade Finance Programme fills market gaps for trade finance by providing guarantees and loans to banks to support trade. This programme has been used to cover only transactions denominated in dollar, yen and euro. The programme is active in 16 countries.

Essar Oil to pay Rs 1,000 crore to Gujarat Government

The Supreme Court has ordered Essar Oil to pay Rs 1,000 crore to Gujarat Government by July 30 to avoid the Government’s move to seize the company’s bank accounts. Earlier, the Gujarat Government had decided to seize the company’s bank accounts to recover the sales tax liabilities of around Rs 6,300 crore as well as penalty and interest of Rs 2,000 crore.