Local Round-up: Hyderabad to get a new capital, Amul milk prices rise & more!

Local Round-up brings to you what's happening across the country in the travel, food, infrastructure and start-up space and herein, we have curated for you, the updates from the weekend and the initial of this week. So, read these out below! 

ICMR suggests people buy whole spices instead of powdered spices 

As per the latest report by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), powdered spices are more likely to be adulterated. Whole spices, uniform in colour, size, and shape, should be preferred. The Council recently issued an advisory on exercising caution while buying spices for food preparations. It advised people to prefer whole spices over powdered spices, as the latter could be adulterated. Whole spices are also rich in nutrients and can help manage health issues according to Ayurveda.

Hyderabad is no longer the capital of Andhra Pradesh 

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will no longer share Hyderabad as their capital. This change came on Sunday as the 10-year clause with the states ended on 2nd June, 2024. According to the 2014 AP Reorganisation Act, "On and from the appointed day, June 2, Hyderabad in the existing state of Andhra Pradesh shall be the common capital of the state of Telangana and the State of Andhra for such a period not exceeding 10 years." Section 5 (2) of the legislation stipulates that after this time, Hyderabad would become the capital of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh would have a new capital. Visakhapatnam and Amaravati are two cities on the contention of becoming Andhra Pradesh’s new capital. 

The water level in 150 reservoirs down by 23 percent - Central Water Commission report

In recent data shared by the Central Water Commission (CWC), the water level in various reservoirs has dropped this year. According to the commission, "The water level of the country's 150 main reservoirs has dropped to 23 percent and is also 77 percent less than last year's levels at this time." The report further states that the present storage is 94 percent of the normal storage.

Adani Group's Gautam Adani surpasses Reliance's Mukesh Ambani to become Asia's richest person 

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, billionaire Gautam Adani has reclaimed the title of richest person in Asia, surpassing Reliance Industries Chairman, Mukesh Ambani. With a net worth of $111 billion as of Saturday, Adani, the chairman of Adani Group, is ranked 11th on the index, while Ambani is ranked first with $109 billion. With a net worth of $207 billion, Bernard Arnault is currently the richest person on the earth, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Elon Musk is worth $203 billion overall followed by Jeff Bezos, who is worth $199 billion.

National Highway tolls to increase by 5 percent

With effect from June 3, 2024, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has announced an average 5 percent increase in toll prices. The Lok Sabha elections caused the modification to be postponed from its original April 1 date. Following the election, the decision to enact the new toll charges was made in accordance with modifications in the consumer price index-based inflation. The hike will be implemented in the Delhi NCR Region and Maharashtra.

Amul hikes prices for all milk variants by Rs.2

Milk and dairy brand Amul increased the milk prices by ₹1 per half liter and ₹2 per liter in all segments of its packed milk category on June 2, and the new prices will be effective from June 3. Following the most recent increase, the Amul Gold half-liter pouch will now sell for ₹34 instead of ₹33, and the one-liter pouch will be sold for ₹68 instead of ₹66. Similarly, Amul Cow Milk's half-liter pouch will be sold at ₹29 instead of ₹28, while its one-liter pouch will be sold at ₹57 instead of ₹56. Amul Taaza's half-liter pouch will now cost ₹28 versus ₹27 earlier, and its one-liter pack will cost ₹56 against the previous ₹54.

12 years-old Indian-origin boy Bruhat Soma, wins the National Spelling Bee Title 2024 

On Thursday (local time), 12-year-old Indian-American student Bruhat Soma made history by winning the Scripps National Spelling Bee. In under ninety seconds, he accurately spelled twenty-nine words. The child won the competition and took home a check for USD 50,000 (about Rs 41.64 lakh) along with other prizes after he spelled the word "abseil" in his championship round. 

UPI transactions in India recorded a new high with Rs 20.45 trillion in May, according to data

With the processing of 14.04 billion transactions valued at Rs. 20.45 trillion in May, Unified Payment Interface (UPI) transactions reached a new peak in value. This represented a 6% rise in volume over April's 13.30 billion and a 4% increase in value over April's Rs. 19.64 trillion. According to data released by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) on Saturday, there was a 49% increase in volume and a 39% increase in value in May compared to the same month in 2023. In terms of both value and volume, May's figures were the highest since UPI began operations in April 2016.