- World’s first diamond exchange will go live in September
- The world’s first physically settled diamonds trading exchange, which is being set up in Singapore, will go live in September.
- The Singapore Diamond Investment Exchange Pte Ltd (SDiX) is being set up by Alain Vandenborre, an entrepreneur who has a controlling stake in SDiX.
- The exchange will provide investors an opportunity to invest in diamonds with transparent pricing. SDiX will be a first-of-its-kind business-to-consumer (B2C) platform for physically settled diamonds.
- IndusInd Bank acquires RBS’ bullion financing business
- Private sector lender IndusInd Bank has completed the acquisition of the diamond and jewellery financing business and related deposit portfolio of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
- IndusInd Bank has completed the acquisition with the entire business portfolio migrating to the bank. The acquired loan portfolio is approximately Rs 4,100 crore.
- E-Tourist Visa to Chinese Nationals From July 30
- As promised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, e-tourist visa facility will be rolled out to Chinese nationals beginning July 30.
- Along with the citizens of China, the e-tourist visa facility will also be offered to the nationals of Hong Kong and Macao from Thursday.
- Under the e-visa scheme, an applicant receives an email authorising him or her to travel to India after it is approved and he or she can travel with a print-out of this authorisation. On arrival, the visitor has to present the authorisation to the immigration authorities who would then stamp the entry into the country.
- Kazakhstan became 162th member of WTO
- The World Trade Organization on Monday formally accepted Kazakhstan’s bid to join the body, ending nearly two decades of negotiations that the WTO has called among the most challenging in its history.
- Kazakhstan has agreed to lower import tariffs and take further strides to become a more attractive place for foreign investors.
- Once the formal signing and ratification process is complete, Kazakhstan will become the WTO’s 162nd member state.
- South African all rounder Clive Rice passes away
- South Africa’s first captain of the post-isolation era Clive Rice died on Tuesday after battling a brain tumour.
- The all-rounder captained South Africa at the age of 42 on its historic post-isolation limited-over tour of India in 1991, but was then controversially left out of the squad for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand the following year.
- Rice was prolific with both bat and ball and considered one of South Africa’s greatest ever all-rounders.
- Dr. Suniti Solomon, Pioneering Indian HIV/AIDS Researcher, Dies at 76
- India’s foremost HIV/AIDS researcher Dr. Suniti Solomon, who documented the nation’s first HIV case before setting up the first voluntary testing and counseling center for the disease, died Tuesday at her home in the southern city of Chennai.
- In 1986, her discovery of the infection in six blood samples collected from female sex workers in southern India generated headlines internationally.
- Trained in the U.K., the U.S. and Australia, Solomon won a string of awards for her HIV/AIDS work.
- Sanjeev Chaturvedi, Anshu Gupta win Ramon Magsaysay Award
- Whistleblower bureaucrat Sanjeev Chaturvedi and human rights activist Anshu Gupta are among five persons from India, Laos, Myanmar, and the Philippines who will receive Asia’s coveted Ramon Magsaysay Award.
- The 2002-batch Indian Forest Service officer, who is currently embattled in a protracted battle with the Centre over alleged harassment for his tough stance on graft, was the former Chief Vigilance Officer (CVO) at the AIIMS in New Delhi.
- According to the foundation, Mr. Chaturvedi has been awarded for “his exemplary integrity, courage and tenacity in uncompromisingly exposing and painstakingly investigating corruption in public office, and his resolute crafting of program and system improvements to ensure that government honorably serves the people of India.”
- Anshu Gupta, the founder of NGO Goonj, the statement said, is being recognised for “his creative vision in transforming the culture of giving in India, his enterprising leadership in treating cloth as a sustainable development resource for the poor, and in reminding the world that true giving always respects and preserves human dignity.”
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