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- State-owned gas utility GAIL India Ltd said it has signed an agreement with Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) for cooperation in the development of solar power projects.
- "GAIL shall be the project developer and BHEL shall act as an engineering, procurement, construction and project management contractor," the company said in a statement.
- BHEL shall also provide operation and maintenance services during the initial period upon becoming successful bidder. "This development will help both the companies to leverage their competitive strengths to build a substantial portfolio in solar power projects.
- "The memorandum of understanding (signed on 29/03/2019) aims at building a closer strategic partnership between the two Maharatna PSUs for jointly pursuing commercial solar power projects through participation in tariff / Viability Gap Funding (VGF) based competitive bidding process," it said.
- GAIL is India's biggest natural gas company with diversified interests across the value chain of trading, transmission, LPG production and transmission, LNG re-gasification, petrochemicals and city gas.
- It owns and operates a network of around 11,400 kms of high-pressure trunk pipelines. It is working concurrently on multiple pipeline projects, aggregating over 5400 kms at an investment of about Rs 24,000 crore, to operate over 16,000 kms by 2021.
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- Foundation stone for a new 5000 metric ton Temperature Controlled Cold Storage facility to be constructed with Indian grant, was laid in Dambulla, Srilanka on 30th march.
- Harsha de Silva, Minister of Economic Reform and Public Distribution along with Deputy High Commissioner of India Dr. Shilpak N. Ambule laid the foundation stone for the project where in the main Cold Storage building and refrigeration chambers will be constructed utilizing a grant of 30 crore from the Government of India.
- This initiative will benefit the farming community by reducing post harvest losses and wastage, particularly in peak season. It will also ensure delivery of good quality agro produce to consumers.
- This project is a continuation of Government of India’s efforts to partner with the Government of Sri Lanka in people oriented community development projects.
- India has undertaken more than 70 such projects in various fields and about 20 such projects are currently under progress.
- The overall development portfolio of Government of India in Sri Lanka is close to US$ 3 billion out of which US$ 560 million are in grants.
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- A new blackout hit Caracas and other major Venezuelan cities, the third major electricity outage in the crisis-plagued country this month.
- The blackout began around 7:10 pm, leaving the capital as well as cities including Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay and San Cristobal without electricity, according to users on social media networks.
- It is the third time since March 7 that a major power outage has hit Venezuela worsening the already-dire economic and living conditions in a country that is witnessing a major political showdown between President Nicolas Maduro and opposition chief Juan Guaido.
- Maduro has blamed the previous outages on sabotage, but experts have said that infrastructure crumbling from years of neglect is a more likely culprit than outside interference.
- Earlier, the Red Cross said it would begin impartially distributing aid in Venezuela in two weeks, brushing aside the threat of political interference amid the Maduro-Guaido power struggle
- Malnutrition and disease are on the rise as living conditions plummet in the oil-producing Latin American nation, which is spiraling ever deeper into economic chaos during a protracted political crisis. "We estimate that in a period of approximately 15 days we will be ready to offer help," said Francesco Rocca, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent.
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- Srilankan Army Chief Mahesh Senanayake has expressed happiness over the ongoing joint army exercise Mitra Shakti between India and Srilanka saying both the friendly countries’ armies are training together displaying a spirit of bonhomie, underlining people to people contact, peace in the region and mutual goodwill.
- He visited the contingents of the Indian and Sri Lankan armies on 30th march at Diyatalawa in Badulla district of Sri Lanka during the exercise which began on 26march.
- The Sri Lanka Army Chief also witnessed a tactical drill demonstration on a Raid on a Terrorist Hideout by the Indian Army contingent and appreciated their efficient tactical drills.
- The army chief said India and Sri Lanka share 1000 years old relationship and both the Indian Army and the Sri Lankan Army are Professional armies with vast and varied operational experience.
- The Army Chief also expressed his gratitude towards the Indian Army officers and jawans who sacrificed their lives towards ensuring peace in and sovereignty of Sri Lanka.
- Started in 2013, Exercise Mitra Shakti is in continuation of a series of joint exercises that is conducted annually as part of military diplomacy and interaction between the armies of India & Sri Lanka.
- The exercise provides platform for both contingents to share their operational experience and expertise while also broadening the interoperability and cooperation between the armies of India and Sri Lanka.
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- Branches of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will function as Bank of Baroda outlets from April 1, following amalgamation of the two lenders with the latter, the RBI said on Saturday. The merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, will be effective from April 1, 2019.
- “Consequently, all branches of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will function as branches of Bank of Baroda from April 1, 2019. Customers, including depositors of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank will be treated as customers of Bank of Baroda with effect from April 1, 2019, ” the Reserve Bank of India said in a statement.
- Earlier this week, the government decided to infuse Rs 5,042 crore in BoB to enhance capital base of the lender ahead of the merger.
- According to the Scheme of Amalgamation, shareholders of Vijaya Bank will get 402 equity shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares held. In the case of Dena Bank, its shareholders will get 110 shares of BoB for every 1,000 shares they held.
- The government in September last year had announced merger of Vijaya Bank and Dena Bank with Bank of Baroda, aiming to create the third-largest lender after the SBI and ICICI Bank.
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