Notes:
Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off the world’s longest river cruise ‘MV Ganga Vilas’ in Varanasi.
The cruise will begin its journey from Varanasi and sail around 3,200 km in 51 days to reach Dibrugarh in Assam via Bangladesh. The Prime Minister also inaugurated a ‘Tent City’ on the banks of the Ganga River in Varanasi via video conferencing.

Notes:
ReNew Power has installed India’s first 3x platform wind turbine generators (WTGs) in Gadag, Karnataka.
The new wind turbine generators will be a part of the country’s first ‘Round the Clock’ renewable energy project, combining wind, solar and a battery energy storage system (BESS). This project will produce energy to power over 1 million households in India annually.

Notes:
The Himachal Pradesh government decided to restore the Old Pension Scheme (OPS) for government employees, who were covered under National Pension System (NPS).
Prior to this, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Punjab have also rolled out the Old Pension Scheme (OPS). This decision will benefit over 1.36 lakh NPS employees of the state.A cabinet Sub Committee has been constituted for the implementation of granting Rs 1,500 to the women of 18 to 60 years.

Notes:
The Supreme Court recently struck down a provision of Income Tax which denied exemption to Sikkimese women who have married non-Sikkimese.
Section 10 (26AAA) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 excluded Sikkimese women who have married a non-Sikkimese after 1 April, 2008, from getting exemption under the Act. The Top Court observed that the section is totally discriminatory and violative of Articles 14, 15 and 21 of the Constitution of India.

Notes:
Essel Mining and Industries Limited (EMIL), a subsidiary of the Aditya Birla group, has been trying operationalise a big diamond project in Madhya Pradesh. There are protests over human displacement, environmental damage, loss of livelihood
The mine is inside a forest in Buxwaha, located 200 kms from Sanchi, Madhya Pradesh. Madhya Pradesh accounts for about 90% of the total diamond resource of the country. Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are the other states that produce diamonds.