29 JULY 2014: World's tallest rail bridge will be in Manipur (India)

Ø  Construction of the world’s tallest railway bridge with the tallest pillar — it’ll be 141 metres-high — has begun near Noney in Manipur. The bridge, which spans over a gorge with an overall length of about 700 meters, is part of the 111-km long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal broad gauge railway line under construction that will connect Manipur’s capital Imphal with the country’s railway network. This bridge is slated to become the tallest in the world from the point of view of pillar height surpassing the existing tallest of Mala-Rijeka viaduct on Belgrade-Bar railway line in Europe where the height of pillars is 139 m.

Ø  Union Minister of State for Environment Prakash Javadekar flagged off the third phase of the Science Express Biodiversity Special (SEBS) at the Safdarjung railway station. A flagship venture of the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, Ministry of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Railways, the exhibition on wheels has been playing a role in creating awareness about India’s biodiversity.

Ø  Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh assured the protesting Civil Services aspirants that the issues raised by them would be resolved within a week. Mr. Singh told presspersons here that discussions were under way. As directed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Home Minister held a high-level meeting with Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Jitendra Singh to explore possible solutions. The government is still awaiting the recommendation of a three-member committee set up to review the Civil Services Aptitude Test (CSAT) pattern which has been faulted by the agitating students on the grounds of alleged discrimination, primarily against students from a regional language and Humanities background. Meanwhile, the protests against the introduction of CSAT and the resulting “discrimination” against those coming from Hindi and rural backgrounds continued. The NSUI also took a delegation of 21 UPSC aspirants to meet Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi.

Ø  The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the licences of six Delhi-based non-banking finance companies following which they would not be able to conduct business. The NBFCs are: GE Strategic Investments India, Profound Exports, Two Brothers Holding, Swank Services Private Ltd, Praxis Consulting and Information Services and Credible Microfinance Ltd., the RBI said in a notification. However, it did not provide any reasons for the cancellation.