ECONOMY
RBI extends deadline to exchange pre-2005 notes to June 30, 2016
Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations by another six months to June 30, 2016. From January 1, 2016 such facility for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes will only be available at identified bank branches and Issue Offices of the RBI. Earlier in June 2015, RBI had set the last date for public to exchange pre-2005 banknotes notes as December 31, 2015. It is fourth time RBI has extended the deadline for exchanging pre-2005 currency notes since March 2014. Till date RBI has shredded over 164 crore pre-2005 currency notes of various denominations, including of Rs 1,000 with the face value of around Rs 21,750 crore in its regional offices.
United Nations ushers in ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals
UN on 1 January 2015 ushered in the ambitious 2030 Sustainable Development Goals that aim to end poverty, hunger and assure gender equally while building a life of dignity for all over the next 15 years. The 15-year cycle of the anti-poverty Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) came to an end with 2015 paving the way for the SDGs, an even more ambitious set of goals to banish a host of social ills by 2030. These goals were adopted unanimously by 193 Heads of State and other top leaders at a summit in September 2015.
Reliance to set up Rs. 5,000-crore naval shipbuilding unit near Vizag
Reliance Group, led by billionaire Anil Ambani, will set up a naval ship-building facility near Visakhapatnam at a cost of Rs. 5,000 crore. It is the single biggest investment in Andhra Pradesh after its bifurcation.A memorandum of understanding to build the facility was signed between Reliance ADA Group Chairman, Anil Ambani and AP Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, at the CII Partnership Summit and Sunrise AP Investment Meet on 10 January 2016.Reliance will establish the facility at Rambilli, about 70 km from Vizag.
Walmart to close 269 stores, lay off 16,000 employees
Retail giant Walmart Stores, Inc. on 15 January 2016 announced to close 269 stores and lay off 16,000 employees, including 6,000 of them outside the U.S. It would close its 154 stores in the U.S. and 115 others abroad. The company is shutting down 60 stores in Brazil, a market in which the world’s largest retailer has made a big push in recent years.The company said it had already been able to “relocate” most of the employees affected by the store closings to other points of sale. The other 55 stores to be closed outside the United States are mostly “small, loss-making stores in other Latin American markets,”.
World Bank to fund 20 million US dollar for reconstructing Indira Gandhi Zoological Park
The World Bank decided to give an assistance of 20 million US dollar to reconstruct the Indira Gandhi Zoological Park . The park was devastated during cyclone Hudhud in October 2014 in Visakhapatnam. It is for the first time that World Bank is directly involved in a zoo.