An RBI panel has suggested expediting creation of an umbrella organisation to enable small urban cooperative banks (UCBs) to acquire scale by becoming part of a network. The panel has also said that the RBI should use the route of mandatory mergers to resolve problematic cooperatives and be neutral to voluntary mergers.

The panel has also called for changes in the Banking Regulation Act empowering the RBI to declare securities issued by UCBs as covered under the Securities Contract Regulation Act to facilitate their listing on stock exchanges.

These recommendations were made by the expert committee on primary (urban) cooperative banks under the chairmanship of former RBI deputy governor N S Vishwanathan. The RBI had constituted the panel in February to address the issues on regulation of cooperatives.

The National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd has commissioned the largest floating solar PV project of 25MW on the reservoir of its Simhadri Thermal Station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This is also the first solar project to be set up under the Flexibilisation Scheme, notified by the Government of India in 2018.

The floating solar installation which has a unique anchoring design is spread over 75 acres in an RW reservoir. This floating solar project has the potential to generate electricity from more than 1 lakh solar PV modules. This would not only help to light around 7,000 households but also ensure at least 46,000 tons of CO2e are kept at arm’s length every year during the lifespan of this project. The project is also expected to save 1,364 million litres of water per annum. This would be adequate to meet the yearly water requirements of 6,700 households.

Dry fruit prices have gone up since the Taliban took over Afghanistan. Over 85 percent of the entire supply of dry fruit in India comes from Afghanistan.

The Taliban has sealed Afghanistan's borders, especially the ones leading to neighbouring Pakistan, as it consolidated its control over the country.

The Taliban has halted imports and exports with India, said Dr Ajay Sahai, Director General (DG) of Federation of Indian Export Organisation (FIEO).

Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday said the disinvestment process of national carrier Air India was on the "right track".

"The disinvestment process of Air India is on the right track. For this, the financial bids should come in by September 15 and after that, the next move would be initiated," he told reporters here.

Scindia, who was recently inducted in the Union cabinet, also said a "blueprint" of rules for operating drones had been prepared after discussions with the Defence and Home Ministries.

The Union Cabinet has approved the ratification of Kigali Amendment to the Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer, the ministry of environment said in a press statement on Wednesday.

The Kigali Amendment aims to phase-down hydrofluorocarbons(HFCs) by curbing both their production and consumption. Though HFCs don’t impact the ozone layer, they are powerful greenhouse gases. HFCs are used as replacements for hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), which are ozone-depleting gases.

“With the Kigali Amendment, the Montreal Protocol will be an even more powerful instrument against global warming,” says the United Nations Industrial Development Organization. The amendment aims to achieve over 80% reduction in HFC consumption by 2047, which will curb a global increase of temperature by up to 0.5 degrees Celsius by the end of the century.