State Bank of India (SBI) on Aug 15  raised its benchmark lending rates by up to 50 basis points (or 0.5 per cent), a move that will lead to an increase in EMIs for borrowers.

The increase in lending rate comes days after the Reserve Bank of India hiked its benchmark lending rate by 50 basis points to tame inflation.

External Benchmark based Lending Rate (EBLR) and Repo-Linked Lending Rate (RLLR) have been raised by 50 basis points while the hike in Marginal Cost of funds-based Lending Rate (MCLR) is 20 basis points across all tenure.

Lulu group, which has built five shopping malls in India with Rs 7,000 crore investment, now plans to develop about a dozen more malls as the UAE-based group sees huge growth opportunities in the Indian retail space.

The group has five operational malls in India at Kochi, Trivandrum, Thrissur, Bengaluru and Lucknow, comprising about 3.7 million square feet of leasable area.

In October last year, Lulu Group Chairman and Managing Director M A Yusuff Ali had told PTI that it sees tremendous growth potential in Indian retail segment, which was among most affected sector between April 2020 and July 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the diversified Lulu group has an annual turnover worth USD 8 billion.

'Har Ghar Tiranga' campaign by the Centre to commemorate 75 years of the country's Independence has helped boost demand for the tricolour as flag makers and traders are witnessing a surge in order and sales of the national flag.

Flag manufacturers also hailed the central government's decision to allow companies to spend their CSR (corporate social responsibility) funds for the campaign.

Indian postal department is also selling the national flag online for easy procurement, and claimed it has "received a very good response".

Several corporate houses and PSUs officials said they have undertaken special efforts to celebrate and promote the campaign.

Shiv Shankar Singh, CEO of Gramin Vikas Trust (established by KRIBHCO of GoI) has been honoured with the "Best CEO of the Year Award" by the Indian Achiever’s Forum.

He was selected among a few from their respective fields and sectors for outstanding contributions to the progress and development of the Indian economy and society. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while addressing the nation for the ninth time from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 76th Independence Day, urged the people to support and promote sports and praised India's 'stellar' performance in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2022.

While addressing the nation, the Prime Minister said, "When dreams are big, the hard work is equally strenuous. We need to be inspired by the determination of our freedom fighters who dreamt of a free India. I urge the youth to dedicate the next 25 years of their lives for the development of the nation. We will work towards the development of the entire humanity. That is the strength of India."

Ahead of his speech at the Red Fort, Prime Minister Narendra Modi hoisted the National Flag amid a 21-gun salute by the indigenously developed howitzer gun, ATAGS. This was followed by a shower of flower petals from helicopters. Earlier in the day, PM Modi visited Rajghat to pay his respects to Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of the Nation.

Talking about the Indian contingent in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games 2022, India finished 4th in the medal tally winning a total of 61 medals at the CWG 2022, including 22 gold medals, 16 Silver and 23 Bronze medals.

Achieving 61 medals this time around holds a lot of significance since the shooting, which is India's most successful discipline historically with 135 medals, was not included in the games this time. The numbers could have been way higher had it been included.

The India 'B' team settled for a bronze medal in the Open section while the India 'A' women's side also finished third in the 44th Chess Olympiad.

India 'B' defeated Germany 3-1 in their final round match to end at third position.

Uzbekistan sprung a surprise by bagging the gold medal with a 2-1 win over the Netherlands ahead of a strong Armenian team, which beat Spain 2.5-1.5 in the final round, in the Open section.

Uzbekistan and Armenian secured 19 match points each while India scored 18.

Top-seeded India 'A' women's team crashed to a 1-3 defeat in the 11th and final round to the USA to see it's gold medal hopes evaporate.

The Koneru Humpy-led team finished third.

It was India's first-ever medal at the Olympiad in the women's section.

India 'A', USA and Kazakhstan tied for third place but the home team clinched the bronze.

War-torn Ukraine won an emotional gold in the women's event, pipping Georgia to the top prize.

India 'A' took the fourth spot.

It was the second bronze medal for India in the Open section in the Olympiad, replicating its feat in the 2014 edition.

Medals galore for India

Besides medals in the team events, it rained medals for India in the individual section with as many as seven Indians winning medals -- two gold, one silver and four bronze.

Gukesh and Sarin won gold on top and second board respectively while Arjun Erigaisi secured silver medal on third board.

R Praggnanandhaa (third board), R Vaishali (third board), Tania Sachdev (third board) and Divya Deshmukh (reserve board) claimed individual bronze medals.

India also won the prestigious Gaprindashvili Cup.

It is given to the nation for their collective performance in both open and women's sections.

It was also for the first time India hosted the world's biggest chess tournament.

Arjun Erigaisi crosses 2700 ELO rating

Grandmaster Arjun Erigaisi became the seventh Indian to cross the 2700 ELO rating.

The 18-year old achieved the feat when he defeated GM Dominguez Perez in India 'A's clash against USA in the final round.

Indian athletes expressed their elation at being honoured by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for their superlative showing at Birmingham Commonwealth Games with Nikhat Zareen gifting him her boxing gloves and sprinter Hima Das giving the traditional Assamese gamocha.

Modi, on  Aug 13 hosted the Indian contingent at his residence to felicitate the players.

The Indian athletes produced a sensational show in Birmingham, claiming 61 medals, including 22 gold, 16 silver and 23 bronze.

Champion weightlifter Mirabai Chanu, who won the gold medal without breaking a sweat, a year after her historic silver at the Tokyo Olympics, thanked the PM for his words of encouragement.

The golden period of Indian sports is knocking on the door, said the prime minister as he hailed the fine show of the Indian contingent.

His young badminton colleague Lakshya Sen, who won the men's singles title in spectacular fashion, too expressed his gratitude at being honoured by the PM.

Star Indian para table tennis player Bhavina Patel, who won the gold medal in the women's singles class 3-5, called the interaction with Modi motivating.

Q1. Name the MLA  who has sent his resignation to Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot over cases of alleged atrocities on Dalits ?

1. Pana Chand Meghwal 
2. Balveer Singh Luthra
3. Raj Kumar Gaur
4. Jagdish Jangid
5. None of these

Q2. Name the country  which has become the first to approve a so-called 'bivalent' COVID vaccine that targets both the original strain of COVID-19 and the newer Omicron variant ?

1. Russia
2. UK
3. Canada
4. US
5. None of these

Q3. Which among the following has  become the first country in the world to ensure universal access to free period products following the passing of landmark legislation in 2020?

1. Norway
2. Sweden
3. Scotland
4. Denmark
5. None of these 

Q4. Name the veteran stock market investor who  often referred to as India's Warren Buffett and who  died recently ?

1. Bhavish Aggarwal
2. Aditya Ghosh
3. Vinay Dube
4. Rakesh Jhunjhunwala
5. None of these 

Q5. Name the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose's daughter who has said that  time has come to bring back his remains to India and suggested that DNA testing can provide answers to those still having doubts about his death on August 18, 1945?

1. Prabhabati Bose
2. Emilie Schenkl 
3. Anita Bose Pfaff
4. Tarubala Roy
5. None of thes

Answers

1 --------------------1   Pana Chand Meghwal 

2---------------------2   UK

3---------------------3  Scotland

4--------------------4    Rakesh Jhunjhunwala

5--------------------3   Anita Bose Pfaff