IOC SIGNS FIRST TERM CONTRACT FOR IMPORTING RUSSIAN CRUDE OIL
- State-owned Indian Oil Corp (IOC) signed first term contract for importing Russian crude oilas the world’s third largest energy consumer looks to diversify its sources away from the volatile Middle East.
- IOC signed the contract to import up to 2 million tonne of Urals grade crude oil from Rosneft of Russia, Oil Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said after meeting the Russian firm’s CEO Igor Sechin.
- India is 83 per cent dependent on imports to meet its oil needs.
- Two-thirds of the imports come from the Middle East, Iraq being the biggest supplier followed by Saudi Arabia.
DEFENCE MINISTER RAJNATH SINGH ANNOUNCES CREATION OF 10 MORE DEFENCE ATTACHE POSTS
- In a bid to boost India’s strength in defence diplomacy, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh announced that 10 more Defence Attaches (DAs) posts will be created in the Ministry.
- “A large country like India cannot restrict its defence cooperation to a few countries. Efforts should be made to expand it continuously.
- This will further strengthen India’s defence diplomacy,” Rajnath Singh said while announcing the creation of 10 new Defense Wings.
- An Export Promotion and Investor Cell has been set up under the Department of Defence Production to access and manage defence exports.
SAI AND HOCKEY INDIA LAUNCH 7 HIGH PERFORMANCE HOCKEY CENTRES ACROSS THE COUNTRY
- In a step to provide state-of-the-art facilities to junior and sub-junior hockey players across the country, Sports Authority of India (SAI) and Hockey India made the announcement.
- These seven high performance hockey centres will be set-up under the Khelo India scheme, and will adhere to the expert professional training, utilisation of sports science, and education of the young athletes, who will be enrolled into these centres.
KOHLI MOST-VALUABLE CELEBRITY 3RD TIME IN A ROW; AKSHAY, SRK IN TOP 5
- For the third consecutive year, Indian cricket team captain Virat Kohli has retained the top position of being the most valuable celebrity brand in the Duff & Phelps’ celebrity brand valuation report.
- With a 39% jump, Kohli’s brand value has gone up to $237.5 million in 2019.
- Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, who was at third place in the last year’s report, has jumped to second position with a 55.3% increase in his brand value to $104.5 million.
THE G7 COUNTRIES’ HEALTH MINISTRIES AGREED TO WORK WITH THE WHO, EU AND CHINA TO COMBAT THE CORONAVIRUS OUTBREAK
- The health ministries from the Group of Seven economic powers agreed to coordinate efforts to combat the new coronavirus.
- The death toll from the new virus stands at 361, surpassing the SARS epidemic that left 349 dead between 2002 and 2003 in China.