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AUGUST 2020
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AUGUST 2020 (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 1
MADHYA PRADESH NEWS
Nutrition campaign will be launched in the state Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Anganwadi centres have an important role in removing malnutrition of children and women and keeping them healthy. Its importance has increased even more during the Covid-19 phase. Other departments should also assist in enabling Anganwadi centres. Officers and ministers should also assist in making necessary changes in the arrangements by inspecting the Anganwadi centers during the tour in the districts. Cent percent results can be obtained by preparing an action plan for nutrition campaign. Improvements must be made in the implementation of women and child development schemes at the grassroots level. Whatever shortcomings are noticed must be fulfilled. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan directed that to make various arrangements at Anganwadi centers, the Women and Child Development Department should increase coordination with various departments. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan gave these instructions while reviewing the operation of Anganwadis of the state through video conference from the hospital on Sunday.
Administrative approval of Rs 59 crore 89 lakh for digitization project of land records The second virtual meeting of the Cabinet was held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan. Ministers joined the meeting of the Cabinet through video conferencing from various places. The Cabinet took a decision to issue administrative approval to an estimated amount of Rs. 59 crore 89 lakh for the digitization of land records in Madhya Pradesh under the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme of Government of India. In addition to the amount of Rs 25 crore 80 lakh available for digitization, maximum amount of Rs. 15 crore will be used from the available fund in e-district project run by the Public Service Management Department for additional expenditure of Rs 34 crore 9 lakh.
413 banks set up under ‘Ek Mask-AnekZindagi’ campaign As many as 413 banks have already been set up till now under the ‘Ek Mask-AnekZindagi’ campaign, being conducted to protect people from the infection of corona virus. The mask banks have been set up in cooperation of voluntary organizations, public representatives and citizens of the state. The Minister for Urban Development and Housing Shri Bhupendra Singh has told to make the campaign successful with the active participation of all sections of the society. He further mentioned that mask is the most simple and low cost mean for protection from corona infection. Shri Singh stated that the pace of the campaign should be accelerated in cooperation of people in those urban bodies, where it is being conducted with slow pace.
Review Pradhan Mantri Awas(Urban) Project Urban Development and Housing Minister Shri Bhupendra Singh said that the Pradhan Mantri Awas (Urban) project should be reviewed. He said that the cost of infrastructure development works of this project should be reduced. The urban bodies concerned can do the work of infrastructure development. Shri Singh gave these instructions while reviewing the works of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban).
Sanskrit Saptah: Sanskrit is the mother of culture and human values Governor Smt. Anandi Ben Patel said that Sanskrit language is the mother of civilization, culture and human values which encompasses the wealth of supernatural knowledge of the whole world. Sanskrit language is the soul of our country. Sanskrit empowers a person, gives him the ability to pave his own path. Sanskrit studies create possibilities of unlimited employment. One also gets full respect in the society along with earning a living. Smt. Patel was addressing the concluding programme of Sanskrit Saptah organized by Maharishi Panini Sanskrit and Vedic University from online platform today. Governor Smt. Patel said that under the new education policy, the compulsion of students to choose pre-decided subjects has been ended. Under this innovative initiative, new possibilities of propagating Sanskrit language and its wealth of knowledge in the field of higher education should be explored. The younger generation should benefit from the study of Sanskrit language by acquiring the wealth of rare knowledge available in the literature of Vedas, Shastras, Darshans, Puranas and poetry etc. She said that strong research culture and research
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capability have been promoted in the new National Education Policy. A new path to quality higher education is open. This should be made a remarkable opportunity for expansion and spread of Sanskrit language. The university should strive towards making Sanskrit an apex international centre of education.
Bhamashah scheme will be reimplemented in Madhya Pradesh: CM Shri Chouhan Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that increase in revenue is necessary to bring the economy back on track. There should be an increase in this. Ministers should conduct review with departmental officers every week to improve the current status of generated revenue. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan sought information about the generated revenue in a review meeting today. Under the circumstances of Covid-19, it is necessary to increase revenue in various heads with the aim of restoring the economy. For this, work should be done based on a strategy. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan directed that the Bhamashah scheme of honouring honest tax payers should be started again. It is also necessary to encourage people who pay taxes honestly. Last year, many taxpayers have been discouraged due to this scheme being ignored. Honouring taxpayers inspires all classes to pay their taxes. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that this scheme should be effectively implemented from this year itself. There will be a meeting again after a fortnight to review the revenue generated in the state.
Shivraj condemns Amarinder in Basmati GI tagging case Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan today condemned Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh for writing a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the efforts to get Madhya Pradesh’s famous Basmati rice a Geographical Indication Tag (GI tagging) and said that this move is inspired by politics. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan has said that, ‘I condemn the letter written to the Prime Minister by the Congress government of Punjab in the matter of GI tagging of Basmati rice of Madhya Pradesh and consider it politically inspired. I wish to question the Chief Minister of Punjab, Captain Amarinder Singh, as to what hostility he has with the farmers of Madhya Pradesh? It is not a matter of Madhya Pradesh or Punjab, it is a matter of farmers of the entire country and their livelihood.
Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has written a letter in this context to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. Referring to the historical connection of Basmati rice of Madhya Pradesh, he urged him to grant GI status to the state’s Basmati rice to encourage farmers and basmati rice based industries.
Start Bhopal and Indore Metro Rail before August 2023-Minister Shri Bhupendra Singh Set a target to start Bhopal and Indore Metro Rail before the deadline of August 2023. Decide time limit of all works and act accordingly. These instructions were given by the Minister for Urban Development and Housing Shri Bhupendra Singh during a review of works of Metro Rail. Shri Singh has said that the Principal Secretary should monitor it personally, so that all the works could be completed within the stipulated time. Information as regard to works of Bhopal and Indore Metro Rail was given through presentation in the meeting. The work to construct pillars from AIIMS has been started for the Bhopal Metro project. So far, 80 pillars have already been constructed. The total project cost of Bhopal Metro Rail is Rs. 6 thousand 941 crore and the total project cost of Indore Metro Rail is Rs. 7 thousand 580 crore.
Prof. Ramanath Mishra conferred with Dr. Wakankar National Award Well-known archaeologist Prof. Ramanath Mishra was conferred with the prestigious Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar National Award of Madhya Pradesh goverment for the year 2014-15 on behalf of Culture Minister Sushri Usha Thakur, at his residence in Lucknow today. Minister Sushri Thakur and Principal Secretary Culture Shri Shivshekhar Shukla took part in the award ceremony which was conducted online from Indore and Bhopal respectively. Archaeological Officer Dr. Ramesh Yadav presented Prof. Mishra with an amount of Rs 2 lakh and a citation on behalf of the culture minister. Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar National Award is given by the state government to honour and encourage national level outstanding talent in the field of archaeological conservation and archaeological culture. Born in Neemuch, Dr. Wakankar had discovered the World Heritage Smarak Samuh Bhimbetka in 1957.
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He also made very important contributions in archaeological excavations like Manoti, Indragarh, Kayatha, Dangwara, Runija etc. Padmashri Dr. Wakankar, a life member of the Archaeological Council of India and the Indian Society for Pre and Protohistoric and Quaternary Studies, organized exhibitions based on rock paintings with lectures in the US and Europe. Dr. Wakankar, who held the post of Director Excavation in the Department of Culture and Archaeology, placed Bhimbetka rock paintings on the world map.
Goal of Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh will be achieved in three years Chief Minister ShrShivraj Singh Chouhan has said that Madhya Pradesh will set a different example in the country by being ahead in every field in the country. A more systematic form is being given to the efforts made in the last four months for Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh under Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s Atmanirbhar Bharat. With this objective,today the webinar series has been started. In the coming three years, a better roadmap is required to make Madhya Pradesh more self-reliant which will be prepared on the basis of the suggestions and brainstorming of experts in the webinars. The people of the state will be apprised with the features of the roadmap this week itself. The common man will be able to know about the detailed strategy prepared for Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh on Independence Day. With our resolve, we shall be able to achieve the target of Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh in three years. A three-tier plan will be made in the state to achieve the goal of Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh.
Archaeologist Prof. Vidula Jaiswal conferred with Dr. Wakankar National Award Culture Minister Sushri Usha Thakur, today, awarded national and internationally acclaimed archaeologist Prof. Vidula Jaiswal with the Dr. Vishnu Shridhar Wakankar National Award 2015-16 through video conferencing in Varanasi. This honour established by the Directorate of Archaeology, Archives and Museums was presented by Archaeological Officer Dr. Ramesh Yadav, on behalf of the Minister of Culture. An amount of Rs 2 lakh cash and a citation was given to Prof. Jaiswal at her residence in Varanasi. Sushri Thakur said that the Ramlala temple at Ayodhya is the latest example of the way the archaeologists have taken up the responsibility of awakening national pride in a country which has been under outside forces for centuries. While some people had brought the Ram Janmabhoomi under the purview of law, archaeologists re- established it through evidence. The country will always be indebted to them.
Prime Minister interacts with farmer of Lateri Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, interacted with Shri Mukesh Sharma, a farmer from Lateri in Vidisha district. The Prime Minister was interacting with the farmers associations of the country through a webcast on the occasion of the Release of Benefit under PM Kisan and Launch of Financial Facility under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund programme. Farmer Shri Sharma is the Secretary of Primary Agricultural Cooperative Society, Lateri in Vidisha district. On this occasion, Rs 17,100 crore was transferred by the Prime Minister to the accounts of 8 crore 55 lakh farmers by a single click. With this, arrangement of Rs one lakh crore has been made under the Financial Facility Under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund for four years. The Prime Minister also interacted with farmers associations of Karnataka and Gujarat besides Madhya Pradesh.
‘Gandagi Bharat Chhodo-Madhya Pradesh’ Campaign from August 16 to 30 The Minister for Urban Development and Housing Shri Bhupendra Singh has said that the ‘Gandagi Bharat Chhodo’ campaign, started by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will be spread among the masses in Madhya Pradesh. He mentioned that ‘Gandagi Bharat Chhodo-Madhya Pradesh’ campaign will be conducted in Madhya Pradesh from August 16 to 30. Under the campaign, cleaning of personal and public toilets and work to generate consciousness among the citizens towards waste management will be undertaken. Shri Singh further urged the citizens of the state to participate wholeheartedly in the campaign, being started under the leadership of the Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan to make their cities filth free.
Integrated job portal to be developed in the state: CM Shri Chouhan Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that efforts should be made that every person seeking employment should get employment to the best of his ability and employment seekers should become so capable that one day they are in a position to give employment to others. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that an integrated job portal will be developed in Madhya Pradesh. Its benefits
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will be made available to the needy. This will make it easier for youth to get employment in various fields according to their skills. Skill mapping during Corona period through Rozgar Setu Portal helped identify more than seven lakh skillful persons in Madhya Pradesh. Work was done to provide employment to them. About 40 thousand people who returned from other states leaving their permanent jobs got immediate employment in the state. Taking this system forward, the idea of developing a new portal has come up. From startups to MSME sector in Madhya Pradesh, talent will be given opportunities to move ahead. They will not be disappointed. Efforts will be made to make villages financially self-reliant.
Sahyog se Suraksha Abhiyan” from August 15 Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan will launch the “Sahyog se Suraksha Abhiyan” on August 15. The main theme of the campaign is “Sahyogaursamarthan se hi vijay, Corona Samapti ka dridanischay” (only cooperation and support can help us win, firm resolve to end Corona”. Government departments, voluntary organizations, trade organizations, religious leaders and public representatives will take part extensively in the Sahyog se Suraksha Abhiyan. This campaign will be conducted in collaboration with all sections. The main objective of the campaign is to instill a sense of security among the common man through public awareness. The campaign will generate awareness among so that they learn to live with the problem of Corona infection. The Health Department will also make efforts to make people adopt safe practices. They will encourage communities to make preventive measures a part of their lifestyle. The goal is to maintain continuity of the campaign in order to make prevention from infection a general practice. In the campaign, efforts will be made to change people’s habits through simple and clear messages. Many times people are confused due to wrong and misleading information, efforts will be continuously to counter this and explain what is right to the people through various means so that people can get actual information.
School Education Minister dedicates MASHIM Portal and MASHIM Mobile APP Minister of State for School Education (Independent Charge) Shri Inder Singh Parmar dedicated e-Governance portal, MASHIM portal (mashim.nic.in) and MASHIM mobile app at Board Office. Shri Parmar said that it is a revolutionary change. Now, students will be able to do every work related to the Board Office easily with their mobiles. Along with saving time and money, work will be carried out easily with this. With this arrangement, more attention will be paid to learning and knowledge instead of examinations in education, which will prove useful in achieving objectives of New Education Policy. Now, teachers will be able to teach students by becoming more skillful. Under this arrangement, children will also be able to study through mobile or any electronic means as per their convenience. All information by single click will be obtained in real time after registration of all students, teachers and schools from this portal. On availability of online study material to the registered schools, uninterrupted study will be ensured. He further mentioned that there is also a need to pay special attention to vocational education in place of traditional education, to facilitate students to receive employment oriented education.
Culture Minister Sushri Thakur inaugurates Online Examination on Freedom Movement On the eve of the Independence Day, the Minister for Culture, Tourism and AdhyatmSushri Usha Thakur inaugurated from Indore the Online Exhibition based on Freedom Movement 1920-1947. The exhibition organized by the Directorate of Archaeology Archives and Museums can be viewed on the website of the department www.archaeology.mp.gov.in.The Principal Secretary Culture, Tourism and Public Relations Shri Shivshekhar Shukla was also present on the occasion. The Culture Minister Sushri Usha Thakur said that this unique exhibition based on rare photographs and archives of Freedom Movement will guide new generation with facts and proofs. She appealed all students of schools and colleges of the state that they must see this e-book exhibition based on facts and proofs to get themselves acquainted with passion and sacrifices of our ancestors in the freedom movement. It is utmost necessary to present the history in correct manner before the young generation. Sushri Thakur said that owing to Covid-19 pandemic, many restrictions were imposed in the state, but while facing the challenge, we have created several new ways. This online exhibition to be held in Directorate can now be seen from any place in the world.
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Resolution for Divine and Grand statue of Bharat Mata at Shaurya Smarak fulfilled today Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, while unveiling the bronze statue of Bharatmata at Shaurya Smarak of Bhopal on Independence Day, said that May Bharat Mata give us strength that Madhya Pradesh can give its strong contribution in building a magnificent, glorious and prosperous country. Shri Chouhan further stated that my resolution for installation of divine and magnificent statue of Bharat Mata in Shaurya Smarak, built in memory of the brave soldiers, who have sacrificed their lives for the country came true today. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that many people including Sarsanghchalak Shri Mohan Bhagwat, who came to
Chambal Progress Way to be known as Atal Progress Way Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan paid tribute to the former Prime Minister Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his second death anniversary. Shri Chouhan paid tribute by garlanding the portrait of Late Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that the Chambal Express Way (Progress Way) to be constructed in the state will be known as Atal Express Way. Apart from this, a grand and marvelous statue of Atal ji will be erected in the capital Bhopal. His birthday, December 25 is celebrated as Good Governance Day. On this day, a tribute will be paid to Atal ji by organizing programmes and determining the outline for other activities related to good governance every year.
CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoists flag at his residence Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan hoisted the national flag at the CM House this morning and took salute. The national anthem was sung followed by slogans of Bharat Mata ki Jai. The Chief Minister extended greetings to everyone on the occasion of Independence Day. Extending best wishes to all government servants on this occasion, Chief Minister Shri Chouhan rewarded police officers and employees deployed in their security for their hard work, dedication and efficiency. While letters of appreciation were given to gazetted officers, Rs. 5750 was given to all inspectors, Rs. 5500 to sub-inspectors and assistant sub-inspectors and Rs. 5000 to the head constables and constables.
We have to start business of street vendors under any circumstances M.P. tops in country in implementation of scheme, 47 % cases of country approved in M.P. Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the work of street vendors affected very badly because of the lockdown due to the corona crisis. We have to start their businesses under any circumstances. For this, the government is providing an interest free loan of Rs. 10,000 to the urban street vendors under the Pradhan Mantri Street Vendor Swa-Nidhi Yojana and to the rural street vendors under the Mukhya Mantri Rural Street Vendors Scheme for their business. Madhya Pradesh tops in the country in implementation of Urban Rural Street Vendors Scheme with approval of 47 percent cases of the country.
Salient features of Urban Street Vendors Scheme Registration of 8 lakh 78 thousand 237 street vendors in all 378 civic bodies of the state under the scheme. One lakh 67 thousand street vendors applied in the scheme in the state. Applications were sent online to banks. Under the scheme, 54 thousand 600 cases were approved and loan of Rs. 54 crore 60 lakh is being given against these cases. Interest free loan of Rs. 10 thousand for work-business. Seven percent interest subsidy will be given by Central Government and the rest will be borne by state government under the scheme. Subsidy upto Rs. 1200 in a year for digital payment. Interest free working capital loan of Rs. 2000 on repayment of loan within a year or before. Stamp duty of just Rs. 50 for loan agreement with banks.
Atmanirbhar village for Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that it is essential for villages to be Atmanirbhar to build an
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Atmanirbhar Madhya Pradesh. MNREGA scheme can prove to be very helpful in making villages Atmanirbhar. With the approval of a labour budget of Rs 20.50 crores man-days this year by the central government, there is an additional provision of Rs. 40 thousand crores under the Atmanirbhar Bharat scheme. Plans should be made and time bound work should be done to make village self-sufficient. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that wage rate per day is Rs 190 in Madhya Pradesh under MNREGA, while in other states it is Rs 238 in Maharashtra, Rs 224 in Gujarat, Rs 220 in Rajasthan and maximum Rs 290 in Haryana. This rate is determined by the centre. The ‘Time and Motion Study’ must be conducted soon to increase MNREGA wage rate in the state.
Health Minister Dr. Choudhary launches e-Sanjivini Telemedicine Service Minister for Health Dr. Prabhuram Choudhary launched e-Sanjivini Telemedicine Service in Raisen of Madhya Pradesh. Under this arrangement made in the medical sector, patients will be facilitated with service of medical specialists of AIIMS. Minister Dr. Choudhary inaugurated the first e-Sanjivini Telemedicine Centers of the state situated at Primary Health Centers of Salamatpur and Devnagar of Raisen district. In the first phase, e-Sanjivini Telemedicine Service is being commenced in 50 Primary Health Centers of 4 districts i.e. Raisen, Sehore, Vidisha and Rajgarh of the state.
Indore becomes Cleanest City of Country for fourth time in a row Bhopal declared as Best Self- Sustainable Capital, Indore will hit sixer, cleanliness becomes its culture Union Minister of State Shri Puri distributes awards in Virtual Swachhta Mahotsav Madhya Pradesh bags third place in Swachh Sarvekshan-2020 Union Minister of State for Housing and Urban Affairs (Independent Charge) Shri Hardeep Singh Puri distributed awards of Swachh Sarvekshan-2020 in Virtual Swachhta Mahotsav. Leaving behind 4242 cities of the counrty, Indore became the Cleanest City of the country for the fourth time in a row. Bhopal besides selected among the Top-10 in the country, chosen as Best Self-Sustainable Capital. Madhya Pradesh has bagged third position in the category of states with more than 100 urban bodies with best performance. It is to be highlighted that Madhya Pradesh has bagged total 10 awards in various categories.
Achievements of M.P. in Swachh Sarvekshan-2020 Indore became Number One for the fourth time. Bhopal included in the Top-10 and declared as the Self-Sustainable Capital of Cleanliness in the country. Ujjain received special award for innovation 'Badhai se Safai' with participation of transgender community. Four major cities of the state included in the category of cities with more than 10 lakh population. Highest 6 cities of the state included in the category with population of one lakh to 10 lakh. 14 out of 16 Municipal Corporations of Madhya Pradesh included in Top Cities of the country. 10 Municipal Corporations found place in Top 25. 24 cities among 35 AMRUT cities of the state found top place. 19 cities with population of 25 to 50 thousand included in Top 100 of Western Zone 25 cities of the state included in Top-100 cities of Western Zone with population of 50 thousand to One lakh. State bagged 10 awards in various categories.
“Three Express Ways” will pave the way for prosperity in the state - Public Works Minister Shri Bhargava Public Works Minister Shri Gopal Bhargava has said that the construction of the proposed three express ways will pave the way for prosperity in the state. He said this during the review meeting of Narmada Express-Way, Atal Progress-Way and Bhopal-Indore Corridor construction work in Mantralaya auditorium. Minister Shri Bhargava said that the process of construction of 398 km long ambitious road project “Atal Progress-Way” (Chambal Expressway) has begun for the development of Gwalior-Chambal zone in the state. The construction work will be started soon. He said that in the 398 km long road, 309 km will be constructed in Madhya Pradesh, 72 km in Rajasthan and 17 km in Uttar Pradesh. The process of land acquisition and allocation of national highways for the construction of this road has been initiated.
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Nasha Mukt Bharat Campaign in 15 districts including Bhopal Minister for Social Justice and Disabled Welfare Shri Prem Singh Patel has informed that NashaMukt Bharat Campaign has been launched in 15 districts including Bhopal from August 15 for a period of 6 months. Total 272 districts of the country including Bhopal, Chhindwara, Datia, Gwalior, Hoshangabad, Indore, Jabalpur, Mandsuar, Narsinghpur, Neemuch, Ratlam, Rewa, Sagar, Satna and Ujjain have been chosen for the campaign. Districts have been identified on the basis of national survey conducted in terms of substance and alcohol abuse. Under the campaign, committees comprising senior officers of police, law, education, women and child development, social justice and other departments besides retired administrative officers have been constituted in districts under chairmanship of Collectors. With an aim to help people in getting rid of addiction, the topmost goal of the campaign is to save the younger generation from addiction.
Minister Sushri Thakur to inaugurate ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat: Dekho Apna North East’ A National Webinar and Lecture Series is being organized by the Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University of Social Science, Mhow from August 24 to 29. Minister for Culture, Tourism and AdhyatmSushri Usha Thakur will take part as chief guest on the occasion of inauguration of the webinar focusing on ‘Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat: Dekho Apna North East’.
Forest right Claims should be redressed before September 15 Minister for Tribal Welfare Sushri Meena Singh instructed officers that the forest right claims, rejected in the past in the state should be redressed before September 15 compulsorily. She said that the pattas of tribals who are dwelling on forest lands since long time should be considered as valid. Minister for Tribal Welfare Sushri Meena Singh was addressing the meeting of departmental officers of Indore and Ujjain division through video conferencing at Mantralaya today. Scholarship, housing assistance and status of admissions in hostels was also reviewed in the meeting.
MP students to go on Study tour of North-Eastern states Minister for Culture, Tourism and Spirituality, Sushri Usha Thakur accompanied by Governor of Manipur Dr. Najma Heptulla today launched a six-day national webinar / lecture series to be held from August 24 to 29 under “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat: Dekho Apna North East”. Sushri Thakur said that a study team of students of Madhya Pradesh will be sent to the northeastern states to study their culture, tradition, food, customs, historical heritage etc. besides introducing our culture to them. A webinar has been organized under “Ek Bharat Shreshtha Bharat” scheme by Dr. Bhimrao Ambedkar University of Social Sciences Mhow in Madhya Pradesh for the first time in the country.
People of the state are proud of Shri Manish’s martyrdom: CM Shri Chouhan Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has expressed deep grief over the death of Shri Manish Carpenter, resident of Khujner in Rajgarh district. Shri Chouhan said that patriot Shri Manish, who was seriously injured in the terrorist attack on India's security forces near Baramulla in Kashmir, could not be saved even after best treatment. He discharged his duty by firing back at the attackers with courage. People of the state are proud of this son of the soil of Madhya Pradesh. Saluting the martyrdom Shri Manish Carpenter, Chief Minister Shri Chouhan, prayed to the almighty to give peace to the departed soul and strength to his family to bear this grief.
CM Shri Chouhan to dedicate ManuabhanTekri water purification plant Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chauhan dedicated the 50 MLD water purification plant built at ManuabhanTekri under AMRUT project on Wednesday, August 26 at 11.30 am. Rs. 418.37 crore has been approved under the AMRUT project for water supply in Bhopal city. The cost of construction of the water purification plant built at ManuabhanTekri is Rs 13 crore 90 lakh. Along with this, the other expenses related to the water purification plant include, Rs 5.30 crore as cost for construction of Intake Well cum Pump House at Karbala, Rs 12.10 crore as the cost of laying raw water rising main, Rs 7 crore as the cost of construction of 5 high level tanks and cost of laying water distribution pipelines and feeder mains of Rs 28.50 crore.
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CM Shri Chouhan dedicates water treatment plant at ManuabhanTekri Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan dedicated the water treatment plant constructed under AMRUT Project at ManuabhanTekri in Bhopal. Bhopal Municipal Corporation has got this 50 MLD capacity plant constructed to ensure water supply to different areas of the city from the Upper Lake through high level tanks. This plant will provide pure and regular drinking water to about 3.5 lakh population. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan said that the goal of the state government is to provide clean drinking water to every household. Lambakheda, Sant Hirdaram Nagar, Bhanpura, Govindpura, Narela, Huzur and many other areas of Berasia will avail the benefits of the new plant. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan congratulated the citizens for this gift to the capital city Bhopal. He also instructed the officers to run the plant smoothly. Chief Minister Shri Chouhan besides dedicating the water treatment plant also jointly dedicated intake well and 23 high level tanks constructed at different places.
First Private Mandi should be established in M.P. after new Act New Mandi Act will prove beneficial both for Farmers and Traders CM Shri Chouhan holds discussions on M.P. Krishi Upaj Mandi Act Amendment Bill-2020 Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the first private mandi of the country should be established in Madhya Pradesh after the formation of new Mandi Act by the Central Government. For this, after passing of Madhya Pradesh Krishi Upaj Mandi Act (Amendment) Bill-2020, prepared in the state, prompt implementation should be ensured in this matter. This Act will prove beneficial for farmers and traders both, he added. Charges to set up Private Mandi
Application Charge License Charge Performance Guarantee Market Minimum Area (In Rupees) (In Rupees) (In Rupees )
Private Market Yard 5,000 50,000 10 lakh 2 Hectare
Private Market Sub Yard 5,000 25,000 5 lakh -
Direct Purchase
(Marketing Collection) 1,000 10,000 5 lakh - Centre
“M.P. Metro Rail Company” will be called “M.P Metro Rail Corporation” now In a meeting of the Board of Directors of Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company Limited held under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the proposal to change the name of “Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company Limited” to “Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Corporation Limited” was now granted due approval. A tripartite MoU was signed between the Government of India, Government of Madhya Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh Metro Rail Company Limited on August 19, 2019, in connection with changing the company to board.
IHM Bhopal to be the first institute of country to hold examination through NTA Minister for Tourism and Culture Sushri Usha Thakur conducted inspection of Institute of Hotel Management (National Council for Hotel Management & Catering Technology), Bhopal. She directed the managemnt to set up corpus to ensure admission of students belonging to scheduled caste and tribe category. She said that owing to this, the students will not be deprived of education due to lack of funds.
Malkhamb Sports Academy to be opened in state-CM Shri Chouhan Chief Minister Shri Shivraj Singh Chouhan has congratulated and extended best wishes to two sportspersons of the state Shri Yogesh Malviya, the Malkhamb coach for receiving the Dronacharya award and Para Swimmer Shri Satyendra Singh Lohiya for bagging Tenzing Norgay National Adventure award at National Sports Award Function.
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NATIONAL AFFAIRS
Piyush Goyal Inaugurates CII National Digital Conference on “Easing Doing Business for Atmanirbhar Bharat” Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal, inaugurated the National Digital Conference on “Easing Doing Business for Atmanirbhar Bharat” organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) to improve the business environment of India.
Prakash Javadekar represents India in 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC), Prakash Javadekar, participated in the 6th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Environment Ministers’ Meeting under the presidency of Russia along with the Environment minister of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa over a virtual platform from New Delhi. India will assume the Presidency of BRICS in 2021. Also, the BRICS Environment Ministers established BRICS Environmentally Sound Technology (BEST) Platform.
Nitin Gadkari inaugurated upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi bridge in Bihar Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari virtually inaugurated its upstream carriageway. This means the two lanes are completed of the 4-lane bridge which is being renovated at a cost of Rs 1,742 crore. Mahatma Gandhi Bridge is the first ever bridge in India using modern technology for improving the existing structure. The designing of the bridge has been done by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee in discussion with international consultants.
Narendra Singh Tomar Released Booklet on ‘Best Practices in Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme’ Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, released a booklet on ‘Best Practices in Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP)’ prepared by Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development based on the presentations made by states during regional and national workshops since inception of the programme.
MSME launched programme under “Gramodyog Vikas Yojana” to benefit artisans manufacturing Agarbatti Ministry of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (M/o MSME) approved a programme under “Gramodyog Vikas Yojana” for the benefit of artisans involved in manufacturing of Agarbatti and to develop village industry. As a part of the programme, a total of 200 Automatic Agarbatti making machines and 40 Mixing machines will be provided to the artisans. Recently, the Agarbatti item placed from Free trade to Restricted trade in the import policy.Hardeep Singh Puri launched ARHCs Knowledge Pack, Awaas App & E-Commerce Portal of NAREDCO Minister of State (I/C) for Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Hardeep Singh Puri released the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes Pack through Video Conferencing on July 31, 2020. He also launched the mobile application of Credai – Awaas App and an E-Commerce Portal, “HousingforAll.com” of NAREDCO.
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Launches India Report – Digital Education June 2020 prepared by Digital Education Division of MHRD Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Union Minister for Human Resource Development (HRD) launched the compilation ‘India Report – Digital Education June 2020’ prepared by the Digital Education Division of Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) in consultation with Education Departments of States and UTs.
Nitin Gadkari Approves the Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission Proposed by KVIC to Generate Employment and Achieve Aatmanribhar Bharat Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME), approved the Khadi AgarbattiAatmanirbhar Mission proposed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to increase the production of Agarbatti (incense sticks) and to generate employment and to achieve the self- reliant India in the production of agarbatti. AUGUST 2020 (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 10
Harsh Vardhan launched largest network of 5 dedicated COVID-19 Biorepositories; 1st Pan- India 1000 Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 Completed Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare announced the completion of 1st Pan-India 1000 Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2. He reviewed the COVID-19 activities of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) and DBT- Autonomous Institutions (AIs) in the meeting with DBT. He also launched the largest network of five dedicated COVID-19 Biorepositories by the DBT.
4th edition of Smart India Hackathon 2020, Largest ever Online Hackathon in the World Launched by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Virtually Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Grand Finale of 4th edition of Smart India Hackathon-SIH (Software) 2020, largest ever online Hackathon in the world and interacted with the participants through Virtual Conference. Union Human Resource Development Minister, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ inaugurated the event virtually in New Delhi. The Hackathon has been organized by the Ministry of HRD, Government of India; All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), Persistent Systems and i4C.
Union Minister Harsh Vardhan launches ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan 2020-21’ Union Minister for Ministry of Science and Technology Harsh Vardhan launched Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan, a national level programme for popularizing pure science among school students of Class 6th to 11th. It is an initiative of Vijnana Bharathi (VIBHA) in collaboration with Vigyan Prasar, Government of India and National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT).
MoD releases draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020; aimed at $5 bn export by 2025 Ministry of Defence publicized a draft ‘Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’ for public feedback by August 17, 2020 after which the policy would be promulgated by the MoD. The policyaims to achieve a manufacturing turnover of $25 bn or Rs 1,75,000 crore, including exports of $5 bn or Rs 35,000 Crore in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025. The Department of Defence Production will be the nodal department for coordination on various components of the DPEPP 2020.
IIT Kanpur and DARPG Sign Agreement with MoD for Using AI, ML to Address Public Grievances A Tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between IIT Kanpur, Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Department of Administrative Reforms & Public grievances (DAR & PG) to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) Techniques to conduct exploratory and predictive analysis of Public Grievances received on the web based Centralized Public Grievances Redress & Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) pertaining to the MoD.
Listed entities get 3 years to meet criteria of minimum 25% public shareholding In order to provide more time to the listed entities to meet criteria of minimum public shareholding (MPS) of 25%, the Centre Government has made changes in the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 in rule 19A, in sub-rule (1), where the words “two years” substituted by words “three years”.
Four more States/UTs linked with One Nation One Ration Card scheme; taking total to 24 With effect from August 1, 2020, 3 states of Manipur, Nagaland and Uttarakhand, and one Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) have joined the One Nation, One Ration Card (ONORC) platform, increasing the total number of states/UTs under this scheme to 24. This information has been provided by Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan while reviewing the progress of ONORC plan. The scheme will be operational all over India by 31st March 2021.
For the 1st time in India Railways uses NTC machine for track construction In a boost to the railways’ efforts to use technology to ease infrastructure work, for the first time in India, Railway is using New Track Construction (NTC) machine for the entire track laying of the Dedicated Freight Corridors.
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Prahlad Singh Patel virtually inaugurated 1st golf course of Mizoram, “Thenzawl Golf Resort” under Swadesh Darshan Scheme Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (I/C) Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the first golf course of Mizoram i.e. “Thenzawl Golf Resort” under the Swadesh Darshan (SD) Scheme of Ministry of Tourism Project from New Delhi. The Project was sanctioned under the “Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism” of Swadesh Darshan project (SD) and was constructed by EduficeInfraservices Private Limited of New Delhi. The Golf Course is designed by Graham Cooke and Associates. eVIN to Strengthen Immunisation Supply Chain, reached 32 States & UTs The Electronic Vaccine Intelligence Network (eVIN), which is used for efficient vaccine logistics management has reached 32 States and Union Territories (UTs) and will soon be rolled-out in the remaining State and Union Territories (UTs). Currently, 23,507 cold chain points across 585 districts of 22 States and 2 UTs routinely use the eVIN technology. The eVIN provides real-time information on vaccine stocks and flows, and storage temperatures across all cold chain points in the country amid COVID-19. National Health Mission (NHM) by Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) is the implementing agency of eVIN.
Uttarakhand to develop India’s first snow leopard conservation centre in Uttarkashi forests India’s 1st snow leopard conservation centre is to be set up in Lanka, near Bhaironghati bridge in Uttarkashi district, Uttarakhand. Chief minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat chaired a meeting along with State forest minister Harak Singh Rawat and other officials to look into the setting up of theconservationcentre. It will be built by the Uttarakhand forest department along with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) as part of sustainable use and restoration of high range Himalayan ecosystems SECURE Himalayas.
Northern Railway runs the first-ever Vyapar Mala express train for small traders Northern Railway ran its first Vyapar Mala Express train from Kishanganj in Delhi bound for Jirania in Tripura. It will help small traders to move their cargo in short time, cost effective, convenient and environment-friendly mode of transportation.
India extended US$18 mn Line of Credit to Maldives for expansion of fishing facilities at MIFCO India has extended the Line of Credit (LoC) worth USD 18 million to the Government of Maldives for the expansion of fishing facilities at Maldives Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO) based in Felivaru, Lhaviyani Atoll, through the development of fish collection and storage facilities, and the setting up of a tuna cooked plant and fishmeal plant. This extension is a part of USD 800 million LoC offered by India through Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) carrying an interest rate of 1.75% with repayment tenor of 20 years and a 5-year moratorium.
India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’ flagged off fromDevlali Railway Station of Maharashtra Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare flagged off the India’s 1st Kisan Rail, a Special Parcel Train from Maharashtra’s Devlali to Bihar’s Danapur Railway station through video link. This is the 1st ever multi commodity train of Indian Railways (IR) that carries fruits like Pomegranate, Banana, Grapes etc and vegetables like Capsicum, Cauliflower etc.
PM Modi Addresses Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under NEP Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the inaugural address at the “Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education Policy (NEP)” organised by the Ministry of Education in association with University Grants Commission (UGC) over a virtual platform and discussed various aspects of NEP 2020, which replaces the National Policy on Education framed in 1986 with academicians and scientists.
IBBI amended Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016 In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 196 read with section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016 by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) (Third Amendment) Regulations, 2020.
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NHAIsignsMoUwithIITDelhitosetupCoEforAdvanceDataManagementSystemforHighways National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) signed an agreement with IIT Delhi to set up a Centre of Excellence (CoE) for use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in data driven decision making and Advance Data Management System for Highways (ADMSHighways).
UNESCO RecognisesVenkatraipur&Noliasahi of Odisha as ‘Tsunami Ready’; India Becomes 1st Country in Indian Ocean Region to Receive the Honour United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognisesVenkatraipur and Noliasahi, villages of Odisha as ‘Tsunami Ready’ for their overall preparedness to face the tsunami. With this recognition, Odisha became the first state in the India and India became the 1st Country in the IndianOcean region to achieve the honour from the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO.
Simplilearn and NSDC Announce Collaboration to Upskill Professionals in Digital Skills In order to support the continuity of digital skilling of the Indian workforce, Simplilearn, a global provider of digital skills training joined hands with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC). Under this collaboration, Simplilearn will host more than 1,000 hours of free learning in digital skills and technologies for learners across India. This partnership is aligned to the Skill India Mission.
CSIR signed MoU with FSSAI for Collaborative Research and Information Dissemination; FSSAI received “Food Systems Vision Prize” Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has signed agreement with Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) for collaborative research and information dissemination in the area of food and nutrition, during a ceremony which was presided by Health Minister Harsh Vardhan. FSSAI was selected as one of the ten global organizations for the award by Rockefeller Foundation, in partnership with SecondMuse, and OpenIDEO for the ‘Eat Right India’ movement. In addition to that, Hyderabad- based non-profit Naandi Foundation was selected as one of the ‘Top 10 Visionaries’ in the world for the Food Vision 2050 Prize.
Ramesh Pokhriyal Inaugurates Two Day Global Conference on Reimagining and Transforming the University Organised by O.P. Jindal Global University Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, Union Minister for Education inaugurated the global conference on “Reimagining and Transforming the University: Confluence of Ideas during and Beyond the COVID-19 Disruption” hosted by O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) and International Institute for Higher Education Research and Capacity Building (IIHEd) on 6th and 7th August 2020.
IBBI amends the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Voluntary Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2017 In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 196 read with section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Voluntary Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2017 by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Voluntary Liquidation Process) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2020.
PM Narendra Modi Launched Submarine Cable Connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI) Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and dedicate to the Nation, submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Chennai, Tamil Nadu and Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands (A&NI) through video conferencing. This connectivity will enable delivery of faster mobile and landline telecom services to A&NI, at par with other parts of India. The Submarine OFC cable has been laid at a cost of about Rs 1224 Crore. The foundation stone for 2,312-kilometer Chennai – Andaman and Nicobar Islands (CANI) was laid by PM Narendra Modi on 30th December 2018 at Port Blair.
PM Launched Financing Facility of Rs.1 Lakh crore Under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund & Rs 17000 Cr as 6th Instalment of PM-KISAN Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the Central Sector Scheme (CSS) of financing facility under the Agriculture Infrastructure Fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore via video conferencing. In this regard, the first sanction of over Rs. 1000 Crore was made to over 2,280 farmer societies. The duration of the scheme is 10 yearsi.e. from AUGUST 2020 (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 13
FY2020 to FY2029. PM Narendra Modi also released the 6th instalment of funds of Rs. 17,000 crores to 8.5 crore farmers under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme.
Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi Dedicated the Railway Museum at Hubballi to the Nation Over Video Conference Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry and Pralhad Joshi, Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal & Mines dedicated the Railway Museum at Hubballi, Karnataka to the Nation in the event over a video conference presided by Suresh AngadiChannabasappa, Minister of State for Railways.
Def. Minister Rajnath Singh Restricted Import of 101 defence items Department of Military Affairs (DMA), Ministry of Defence (MoD) decided to restrict import of 101 weapons and military platforms, the embargo on which is planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024, in order to boost indigenous defence manufacturing on the lines of “Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
PM inauguratedRashtriyaSwachhata Kendra; Launched ‘GandagiMukt Bharat’ – Week Long Campaign Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the RashtriyaSwachhata Kendra (RSK) an interactive experience centre on the Swachh Bharat Mission. o PM launched ‘GandagiMukt Bharat’ – week long (Aug 8-15, 2020) campaign forSwachhata o Railways to observe cleanliness week from August 10-15 to mark IndependenceDay
IBBI Amended Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 196 read with section 240 oftheInsolvencyandBankruptcyCode,2016(31of2016),theInsolvencyandBankruptcyBoardofIndia amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons)Regulations,2016byInsolvencyandBankruptcyBoardofIndia(InsolvencyResolutionProcess for Corporate Persons) (Fourth Amendment) Regulations,2020.
PCA to Name Mullanpur Stadium After Late Maharaja Yadavindra Singh Punjab Cricket Association (PCA) is set to name its new stadium in Mullanpur, New Chandigarh, Punjab after the late Maharaja Yadavindra Singh. PCA President Rajinder Gupta proposed the idea to name the stadium and it had been approved.
Central Government Extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme to Large Firms & Self Employed Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced that the Central Government have extended its Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS), credit guarantee scheme for MSME to cover the loans given to the large firms, self-employed professionals and people who have taken a loan for business purpose. The turnover limits to avail the loan under the scheme was increased to annual turnover of Rs.250 crore and outstanding loans up to Rs.50 crores from annual turnover up to Rs.100 crores with outstanding loans of up to Rs.25 crores. The maximum loan amount under the scheme is also increased to Rs.10 crores from Rs.5 crores.
Rajnath Singh Launched DPSUs and OFB’s Modernisation Projects During AtmaNirbhar Week (Aug7-14, 2020) As a part of the AtmaNirbhar Week celebration between August 7-14, 2020 of the Ministry of Defence and to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, the Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually launched the initiatives for modernisation and upgradation of facilities at defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB).
India, Maldives Inked Contract for Development of 5 Eco-Tourism Zones in Addu atoll of Maldives under HICDP India and Maldives signed a contract for the development of five eco-tourism zones in Addu atoll of Maldives during an online signing ceremony held from Addu City. The virtual ceremony was attended by High Commissioner of India to the Maldives SunjaySudir and Maldives Foreign Secretary Abdul Ghafoor Mohamed.
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Prakash Javadekar Launched the Booklet on Best practices of Human-Elephant Conflict Management in India and Beta Version of “Surakhsya” Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) launched the booklet on “Best practices of Human-Elephant Conflict Management in India” to strengthen coexistence of the human- elephant, along with the Beta Version of “Surakhsya” during the event on the eve of World Elephant Day. Note: The 12th of August of every year is celebrated as the World Elephant Day all across the globe.
Govt Abolished Cotton Advisory Board; Notifies Change in Status of Textiles Research Associations Ministry of textiles has abolished it’s another advisory body, Cotton Advisory Board (CAB), and notified that all eight Textiles Research Associations (TRAs) have ceased to be” affiliated bodies” of the ministry. The TRAs will be approved bodies for conducting testing, research and developmental activities related to the textiles sector.
UnionMinisterofMSMENitinGadkariAddressed“India@75Summit–Mission2022”Organised byCII Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) and Road Transport & Highways addressed the “India@75 Summit – Mission 2022” organised by the confederation of Indian Industries (CII) which was focused on ‘reinventing technology in India’.
NTPC Group achieves 100 Billion Units (BU) power generation mark NTPC Limited (formerly known as National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC)) has achieved 100 Billion Units (BU) of cumulative power generation in the ongoing fiscal year.
Power Finance Corporation Signed MoA with UP to Construct 2 Modular Operation Theatre Rooms India’s leading Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC), Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC) has signed a Memorandum of Association (MoA) with District Administration of Siddharthnagar, Uttar Pradesh (UP) to construct 2 Modular Operation Theatre Rooms in the District Hospital, Siddharthnagar. Recently, PFC has also signed MoA with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur for training, research, and entrepreneurship development in smart grid technology.
IC-IMPACTS 2020 Annual Research Conference held Virtually on Aug 6-7, 2020 IC-IMPACTS (The India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate Community Transformation and Sustainability) 2020 Annual Research Conference held Virtually on Aug 6-7, 2020 to discuss the ways to elevate the inter-country cooperation to the next Level by strengthening existing international connections, sharing best practices in multiple areas, and initiating new collaborations in government and institutions. The Conference was organised by IC-IMPACTS.
DAC Approved Procurement of Approx Rs 8,722.38 cr for Armed Forces under Atmanirbhar Bharat Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) in its meeting held under the Chairmanship of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved the capital acquisitions of various platforms and equipment for an approximate cost of Rs 8,722.38 crore.
Narendra Singh Tomar Launched Krishi Megh, KVC ALUNET & Online Accreditation System for Agricultural Institutions Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar virtually launched the Krishi Megh (National Agricultural Research & Education System -Cloud Infrastructure and Services) along with the KVC ALUNET (Krishi Vishwavidyalaya Chhatr Alumni Network) and Online Accreditation System for Higher Agricultural Educational Institutions (HEI) on the lines of the Digital India initiative.
MCA Secretary, Rajesh Verma Released Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR) Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) secretary, Rajesh Verma released the “Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR)” from New Delhi which has recommended a new reporting framework called as ”Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)” as the demand for non- financial reporting is growing due to increase trends of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing. It should be noted that the 8-member committee, chaired by Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, MCA.
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Atal Innovation Mission in association with Dell Technologies launched the 2nd Edition of Student Entrepreneurship Program NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in collaboration with Dell Technologies has launched the 2nd edition of Student Entrepreneurship Program (SEP 2.0) for young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs). The objective of the programme is to accelerate the entrepreneurial journey of young innovators who can play a major role in creating a new innovative India.
MoTA: The Nine ‘Tribal Freedom Fighters’ Museums to Recognise the Tribal Freedom Fighters will be Completed by 2022 The Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) announced that the nine Tribal Freedom Fighters Museums that are under development by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs to recognise the contribution of the tribal freedom fighters will be completed by the end of 2022. The Museums will utilise latest technologies like Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality, 3 dimensional (3D) and 7 dimensional (7D) holographic projects and others.
Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Launched the Swachh Bharat Mission Academy Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Union Minister for Jal Shakti launched the Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM) Academy, an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) based free mobile online training course with modules on the Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus programme at an event in New Delhi. It is launched as part of ‘GandagiMukt Bharat’, the ongoing week-long behaviour change campaign.
PM Narendra Modi Launched “Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest” platform of IT department Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a platform for “Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest” through video conferencing that provides faceless assessment and appeal and taxpayers’ charter, as a part of direct tax reforms. The objective of the platform is to ease the tax compliance and expediting refunds, benefiting honest taxpayers. While the faceless assessment and taxpayers’ charter would be implemented from August 13 itself but the faceless appeal system would be available from September 25, 2020. Note: With a view to provide for resolution of pending tax disputes the Direct Tax “Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020” was rolled out.
India Extends an Assistance of USD 1 Million to Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 Response India extended an assistance of 1 million USD to the government of Antigua and Barbuda to combat the global COVID-19 pandemic and to improve their health infrastructure and capacity. The capital and currency of Antigua and Barbuda are Saint John’s & East Caribbean dollarrespectively.
First-of-its-kind Katra-Delhi Express Road Corridor to be completed by 2023 First-of-its-kind Katra (Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir)-Delhi Express Road corridor works have begun and it is expected to be completed by 2023. It was announced by Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (M-DoNER), Dr. Jitendra Singh. The express Corridor is expected to reduce the travel time between Katra and Delhi to around six and half hours, the total outlay of the project is Rs. 35, 000 crores. The Express Corridor is being built under the BharatmalaPariyojana project.
Daughters have Equal Birth right to Inherit Property with Retrospective Effect: Supreme Court In accordance with the landmark judgment passed by three-judge Bench of Supreme Court (SC) headed by Justice Arun Mishra and comprised of Justices S Abdul Nazeer and MukeshkumarRasikbhai Shah, as per the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, the daughters will have equal inheritance rights as of sons in the properties of fathers, grandfathers and great-grandfathers right from the codification of the law in 1956 i.e. it would have retrospective effect.
Goa’s Moira bananas, Harmal Chillies, Khaje gets GI tag The Geographical Indications Registry headquartered in Chennai granted Geographical Indications (GI) to Goa’s HarmalChillies which are grown only in Harmal village and adjacent areas of Pernem taluka (specifically in the coastal village of Arambol), Moira bananas, a unique banana grown in Moira village of Bardez taluka &Bicholim Taluka and Khaje, the traditional state sweet.
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Def Minister Rajnath Singh Launched 15 Products Developed by Defence PSUs and OFB Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually launched 15 products of Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs) and Ordnance Factory Board (OFB) viz. four products each by OFB and BEML, two by BEL and one each by HAL, BDL, MDL, GRSE and GSL as a part of the AtmaNirbhar Week celebration between August 7-14, 2020.
Rajnath Singh Launched Naval Innovation and IndigenisationOrganisation Virtually Rajnath Singh, Union Defence Minister launched the Naval Innovation and IndigenisationOrganisation (NIIO) through an online webinar. NIIO establishes dedicated structures to enable end users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and indigenisation for self-reliance in defence in Accordance with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat. Also, ‘SWAVLAMBAN’, a compendium of Indian Navy’s Indigenisation perspective plans was also released during the occasion.
National Health Authority Approves to Integrate Health Schemes of Central Ministries with Ayushman Bharat Scheme The Governing board of National Health Authority (NHA) approved the proposal to integrate the existing health schemes of the central ministries with the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY) for employees, during the governing board’s review meeting on the implementation AB- PMJAY chaired by Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare.
MoS for External Affairs: India Signs MoU with Nigeria on Space Cooperation Government of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on space cooperation with the Federal government of Republic of Nigeria at the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria. On the occasion, both sides also agreed to sign a subsidiary MOU between New Space India Limited (NSIL), under ISRO, and Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), under the Federal Ministry of Environment of Nigeria, on cooperation in use of Geospatial Technologies.
Odisha retains Top Position in Implementation of AMRUT Scheme Odisha has retained top position in the implementation of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation(AMRUT)scheme.AccordingtorankingsreleasedbytheMinistryofHousingandUrban Affairs(MoHUA),Odisharegaineditstoppositionbysecuringascoreof85.67percent,followedbyUnion Territory of Chandigarh (75.08) and Telangana(74.04).
Top 3 States in Implementation of AMRUT Scheme:
Position State Score 1 Odisha 85.67 2 Chandigarh (UT) 75.08 3 Telangana 74.04
Def Minister RajnathSingh Launched Indigenisation portal SRIJAN; DPSUs inked Contracts with Industry Partners and Academia Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh virtually launched Department of Defence Production (DDP) portal ‘SRIJAN’ as a part of “opportunities for Make in India in Defence” on the occasion of AtmaNirbhar Week celebration (AtmanirbhartaSaptah) of the Ministry of Defence between August 7-14, 2020.
NITI Aayog’s AIM & NASSCOM launch ATL Artificial Intelligence Step-up modules for school students National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in collaboration with National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has launched Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) Artificial Intelligence (AI) Step-up module (ATL AI Step Up Module) through ‘ATL AI Modules’ for school students to empower youngest minds and drive innovations in the country to the next level.
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EU launches Nirmanshree for Odisha and Maharashtra Women in Housing Sector European Union has launched project ’Nirmanshree’ for enhancing the women skill towards housing construction sector. This is the first-of-its-kind sustainable housing on a large scale in India. The project will be implemented in Beed and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra and the Dhenkanal and Jajpur districts of Odisha.
PM Narendra Modi delivered 7th consecutive speech on Independence Day; Announced Launch of New Projects Prime Minister (PM) Narendra Modi announced new projects in his 86 minutes’ speech (1 hour 26 minutes) during the 74th Independence Day from Red Fort, New Delhi. It was his 7th consecutive Independence Day speech and focused on the themes of “AatmaNirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India)”, “Vocal for local” and “Make in India to Make for World”. o PM announced launch of National Digital Health Mission; rolled out in 6UTs o PM Modi announces optical fibre link connecting Lakshadweep, mainlandIndia o PM announced project for conservation of GangeticDolphins o Committee set up to reconsider minimum age of marriage forwomen
MP CM: Gwalior Chambal Expressway will be Named Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan, announced that the Gwalior Chambal Expressway will be named as Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway while addressing the gathering on the 2nd death anniversary of the former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (August 16, 2020).
Indian Railways Constructing World’s Tallest Pier Bridge Across River Ijai in Manipur As a part of 111 kilometre-long Jiribam-Tupul-Imphal line project, Indian Railways’ North East Frontier Railway zone is constructing the world’s tallest pier bridge, having height of 141m, across river Ijai in Manipur with an outlay of Rs 280 crore. After completion, it will surpass the record of 139m of the Mala– Rijeka Viaduct, Montenegro in Europe. The project will be completed in March 2022.
M/oSJ&ELaunched‘Nasha-MuktBharat’Campaign;NationalInstituteofSocialDefenceBuilding Inaugurated in NewDelhi The State Governments and the 272 District Collectors launched a seven-month-long anti-drugs campaign namely “NashaMukt Bharat” or “Drug-Free India” by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) which will run till March 31, 2021. The union minister also inaugurated a building of the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) in Dwarka, New Delhi during the videoconferencing.
Union Minister Nitin Gadkari lays foundation stone for 13 highway projects in Manipur among other measures for the NE states Union Minister for Road Transport, Highways, Nitin Jairam Gadkari laid the foundation stone for 13 highway projects and inaugurated a Road Safety Project in Manipur through video conference.
UK Launched £3 million Innovation Challenge Fund for India to Tackle COVID-19 Challenges & Climate Change The government of United Kingdom (UK) launched a £3 million “Innovation Challenge Fund 2020” in India to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change. These grants are part of a wider initiative under the tech partnership known as ‘Tech Clusters’. The Innovation Challenge Fund 2020 of £3 million to India is provided to Maharashtra (£1.5 million) & Karnataka (£1.5 million).
India Post Issued 5 Commemorative Postage Stamps and 1 Miniature Sheet on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India-III India Post has issued 5 Commemorative Postage Stamps namely: Historic City of Ahmedabad (Gujarat)- Sarkhej Roza, Churches and Convents of Goa- Church of Bom Jesus, Group of Monuments at Pattadakal (Karnataka), Khajuraho Group of Monuments Javeri Temple (Madhya Pradesh) and QutbMinar its Monuments, Delhi. It also issued 1 miniature sheet consisting of all the above stamps on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India-III.
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Piyush Goyal Virtually Inaugurated 4th edition of NPPC 2020: Digital Exhibitions and Conferences Piyush Goyal, Union Commerce and Industry & Railways Minister virtually inaugurated the 4th edition of 2-day ‘National Public Procurement Conclave (NPPC) 2020: Digital Exhibitions and Conferences’, on August 9, 2020 under the theme “Technology enabled Govt Procurement - Towards efficiency, transparency, and Inclusiveness”. It is organized by Government e-Marketplace (GeM), in association with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) through CII Hives Digital Platform.
Centre extended Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 by 3 months till Nov 11, 2020 Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 which was launched on May 20, 2020 as a part of Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan has been extended by three months i.e. till November 11, 2020. With regard to portfolio level, the maximum headroom permissible for purchase of bonds and CPs (Commercial paper), rated AA/AA-, by PSBs under the Scheme is also extended to 50% from the earlier 25% (i.e. Rs 11,250 crore).
Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh to be renamed as ‘Banaras’: MHA Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) approved the renaming of Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh (UP) as ‘Banaras railway station’. In 2019, Former Union Minister Manoj Sinha had written to UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath requesting the change in name of the Manduadih Railway Station. The Manduadih is a place in Varanasi situated about four kilometres from Varanasi Cantonment Station.
President gives Nod for Renaming of HRD Ministry to Ministry of Education In exercise of the powers conferred by clause (3) of article 77 of the Constitution, President Ram Nath Kovind amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 by Government of India (Allocation of Business) Three Hundred and Fifty Sixth Amendment Rules, 2020, thereby, changing the name of the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) as Ministry of Education.
India ranked 1st in number of organic farmers and 9th in terms of area under organicfarming:MoA&FW In accordance with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW), India ranked first in number of organic farmers and 9th in terms of area under organic farming. Notably, Sikkim was the first state in the world to become completely organic and other states including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set targets to be on the same line.
Dr Harsh Vardhan addressed CII Public Health Conference; India Healthcare Week (Aug 17-21, 2020) launched Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare; Science & Technology and Earth Sciences virtually addressed the inaugural session of the two-day long CII Public Health Conference, where he inaugurated “India Healthcare Week” with the theme “Redefining Healthcare Ecosystem” from 17th – 21st August 2020. The week has been initiated by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) in partnership with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of AYUSH.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Virtually Announced ARIIA 2020 Results; IIT Madras Topped among Institutes of National Importance Vice-President of India, Venkaiah Naidu, e-released the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2020 from New Delhi. He was the chief of the virtual ceremony while Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ and Minister of State (MoS) for Education Sanjay ShamraoDhotre were the Guest of Honour. The rankings were announced in six categories.
‘Dhanwantari Rath’ to bring Ayurveda at Doorsteps of Delhi Police Families All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Delhi Police for extending Ayurvedic mode of preventive and promote health services in the residential colonies of the Delhi Police through mobile units named ‘Dhanwantari Rath’.
Ravi Shankar Prasad Launched “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to Support Startups Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister of Law & Justice, Communications and Electronics & Information
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Technology launched the “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to provide a strong ecosystem of start-ups, innovation and research in India. Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) have developed two microprocessors named SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit) respectively.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs and Ministry of Rural Development Inked MoU to Take convergence endeavour ahead Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to take the convergence endeavour (efforts of both ministries) ahead and support rural poor including tribal communities. Also, Narendra Singh Tomar also released a book “Farm Livelihood Interventions under DAY-NRLM (Strategy, Convergence Framework, Models)”.
AIFF signs MoU with IPSO to Conduct Online Scouting Workshops in India All India Football Federation (AIFF) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Professional Scouting Organization (IPSO) to conduct online Scouting Workshops throughout India.
Cabinet Approvals on August 19, 2020 On August 19, 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals: o Cabinet approves setting up of National Recruitment Agency to conduct Common Eligibility Test; Rs. 1517.57 crsanctioned o Cabinetapprovesproposalforleasingoutthreeairports–Jaipur,GuwahatiandThiruvananthapuram of AAI throughPPP
NSC, JCI Sign MoU for Supply of Certified Jute Seeds to Farmers in 2021-22 National Seeds Corporation (NSC) and Jute Corporation of India (JCI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to improve the production and productivity of raw Jute in the country.
Report of NCRP 2020: Cancer in India may rise from 13.9 Lakh in 2020 to 15.7 lakh in 2025 The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) – National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru released a new Report of National Cancer Registry Programme 2020. The report estimates that cancer in India will rise by 25% in 2020 and may rise 12% from the 1392179 cases in 2020 to 1569793 cases in 2025 and tobacco related cancers are estimated to constitute around 27% of all cancers.
IIT Roorkee, BIS Sign MoU to Cooperate in Standardisation and Conformity Assessment Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Roorkee and Bureau of India Standards (BIS) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for collaboration in areas of Standardisation and Conformity Assessment based on equality and reciprocity.
L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering Signed MoU with NTPC Ltd for CO2 to Methanol Demonstration Plant L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering (LTHE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with power utility major NTPC Ltd. As per the MoU LTHE will be the engineering, procurement and construction management partner to build a carbon dioxide (CO2) to methanol demonstration plant in NTPC Power Station.
NRDC and NAL Partners to Establish Incubation Centre for Startup in Aerospace Technologies The National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) under the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR- NAL), partnered to establish an innovation cum incubation centre to promote the start-up in the field of aerospace technologies.
5th Swachh Survekshan 2020 Announced by Hardeep Singh Puri; Indore is India’s Cleanest City 4th Time in a Row Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of State (MoS)-Independent Charge (I/C) MoHUA announced the 5th edition of the
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annual cleanliness urban survey of India i.e.” Swachh Survekshan 2020 (SS2020)” conducted by MoHUA. A total of 129 awards were given by the minister in which Madhya Pradesh’s Indore Creates record as India’s cleanest city for the 4th consecutive time while Gujarat’s Surat and Maharashtra’s Navi Mumbai grabbed 2nd and 3rd positions respectively.
MoU Signed between Ministry of Shipping and MSDE for Development in Port and Maritime Sector A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Ministry of Shipping (MoS) and Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) for skilling, re-skilling and upskilling of manpower in Port, Maritime sectors.
Atal Innovation Mission and India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre Partners to Boost Startup Ecosystem Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and Business Sweden on behalf of India-Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre signed a virtual Statement of Intent (SoI) to boost the culture of innovation in India.
Arjun Munda Virtually Launched Trifood Project of TRIFED in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh Arjun Munda, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) virtually launched the tertiary processing centres of the “Trifood Project” in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur, Chhattisgarh. The Trifood project was carried by the MoTA in association with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and implemented by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
IIM Kozhikode signs MoU with Switzerland based HELP Logistics Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode (IIM-K) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Switzerland based HELP Logistics to engage in a collaborative partnership to provide consulting services and logistics training for the humanitarian community in South Asia. The aim of the MoU is to develop humanitarian logistics in India by providing consulting services and logistic training.
MoTAandMoRDSignedJointCommunicationtoPromoteSustainableLivelihoodOpportunities Among Tribal WomenSHGs Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) inked a Joint Communication to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities among tribal women Self Help Groups (SHGs) under National Rural Livelihood Mission (NRLM).
HarshVardhanLaunchedFSSAI’s‘EatRightIndia’HandbookandaWebsitetoScaleUp‘EatRight India’Initiatives Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare launched FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right India’ Handbook, a referral guide for officials of different jurisdictions to adopt and scale up the ‘Eat Right India’(ERI) initiatives in their jurisdictions during the online orientation workshop organised by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) as part of its “Eat Right Challenge”.
Ministry of Tourism Inked MoU with TAAI & FICCI Ladies Organisation for Women’s Economic Empowerment through Tourism Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) Ladies Organisation (FLO) inked a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Tourism for women empowerment through video conference. The MoU was inked in the presence of Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism (I/C), Prahlad Singh Patel.
National Commission on Population: Projects India’s Population to be More Feminine by 2036 The National Commission on Population under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) submitted the Report of the Technical group on population projections July 2020, titled “Population projections for India and States 2011- 2036”. The report projected that the India’s sex ratio of the total population (females per 1000 males) is expected to be more feminine in 2036 compared to the population as of 2011.
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Centre Formulated India’s First 30-member National Council for Transgender Persons; Chaired by Union Minister of SJ&E In exercise of the powers conferred by section 16 of the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 the Central Government constituted the India’s first 30-member National Council for Transgender Persons to advice, monitor and evaluate measures for the protection of the rights of Transgender community. The 30- member council is consisted of 1 Chairperson (Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment), 1 Vice- Chairperson, 13 members, 14 nominated members and 1-member secretary. The present chairperson is Thawar Chand Gehlot.
Odisha, Chhattisgarh Celebrates ‘2020 NuakhaiJuhar’, Agricultural Festival on August 23 NukhaiJuhar, an ancient festival which is also known as NuakhaiParab or NuakhaiBhetghat is celebrated on the fifth day of lunar fortnight of Bhadrabaa, to welcome the new crop of the season in Odisha, Chhattisgarh and other neighbouring states. Nuakhai is a combination of two words, Nua which means new and Khai which means eat. The 2020 NuakhaiJuhar was celebrated on 23rd August.
CMIA Partnered with UNDP to Set up Help Desk for MSME amid COVID-19 The Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) has joined hands with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to set up a help desk for MSMEs (Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises). The help desk will be active till January 2021.
India’s Longest River Ropeway Inaugurated in Guwahati, Assam The Guwahati Passenger Ropeway Project connecting the Northern and Southern banks of the Brahmaputra River was inaugurated by the Assam State Minister of Finance, HimantaBiswaSarma and Guwahati Development Department (GDD) Minister, Siddhartha Bhattacharya. The ropeway service is1.8 Kilometres long, making it the longest ropeway distance over a river in the entire country.
IndiaandUzbekistanCo-chairedtheFirstNationalCoordinationCommitteeMeeting:Discussed on Trade andInvestment Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, V Muraleedharan and SardorUmurzakov, Deputy Prime Minister for Investments and Foreign Economic Relations, Uzbekistan co-chaired the first National Coordination Committee Meeting over a virtual platform. The works of the committee will strengthen the strategic relations between India and Uzbekistan.
M Venkaiah Naidu Released 2 Research Reports of IAPPD- ‘Status of Sex Ratio at Birth in India’ and ‘Elderly Population in India: Status and Support Systems’ M Venkaiah Naidu, Vice president of India released 2 research reports of the Indian Association of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (IAPPD) namely, ‘Status of Sex Ratio at Birth in India’ and ‘Elderly Population in India: Status and Support Systems’ in New Delhi.
Kerala State Dragonfly Festival 2020 aka “Thumbimahotsavam 2020” Launched; Mascot is “Pantalu” The first ever Kerala State Dragonfly Festival 2020 aka “Thumbimahotsavam 2020” was launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India State unit in collaboration with Society for OdonateStudies(SOS) and Thumbipuranam from Kerala. The festival will culminate with the State dragonfly summit, most probably in January 2021. The official mascot of the festival is “Pantalu” which is the genus of dragonfly.
The Naval Commanders’ Conference 2020: 19th – 21st August 2020 The Naval Commanders’ Conference 2020, a biennial conference was held in New Delhi, India from August 19 to 21, 2020. Rajnath Singh, Union Defence Minister addressed the opening session of the conference. This is the 1st Naval Commanders’ Conference since the institution of the Department of Military Affairs (DMA) and Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).
APEDA Signed MoUs with AFC India Ltd and NCUI for Cooperation in Interest of Agriculture & Allied Sectors Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA), under the Ministry of
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Commerce and Industry, has signed two MoUs (Memorandum of Understanding) one each with AFC ((formerly Agricultural Finance Corporation Ltd) India Limited, and National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI), Delhi for working together in the interest of agriculture and allied sectors.
Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 45 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 45 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh during a virtual event. He also announced that Rs.700 crores from the Central Road Fund will be utilised for the road sector of Madhya Pradesh. The inaugurated project consists of a road length of around 1361 Km with a construction cost of Rs. 11,427 crores.
Niti Aayog Task Force headed by Ramesh Chand Recommends Linking of Sugarcane Prices to Sugar Rate The final report of the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog Task Force headed by Ramesh Chand, Niti Aayog Member (Agriculture), “Sugarcane and Sugar Industry” recommended linking of Sugarcane prices to sugar rate to maintain the financial state and stability of the industry and to clear the arrears of the sugarcane farmers. The report also recommends a one-time increase in the minimum sugar price to Rs.33 per kilogram.
NITI Aayog Released Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020: Gujarat Tops the Overall Rankings NITI Aayog in partnership with Institute of Competitiveness released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI)2020,thisisthefirstreporttoexamineexportpreparednessandperformanceofthestatesofIndia. Gujarat was identified as the top performing state in the category of Coastal state and also topped the Overallrankings. Top 3 in Overall rankings: Rank State Export Preparedness State Category 1 Gujarat 75.19 Coastal 2 Maharashtra 75.14 Coastal 3 Tamil Nadu 64.93 Coastal
Tamil Nadu Women Topped the List of MUDRA Loan Scheme Beneficiaries According to the data provided by the Ministry of Finance to the Rajya Sabha, as of March 31, 2020, women in Tamil Nadu topped the list of loan benefits under Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) by availing Rs 58,227 crore loan. They are followed by women in West Bengal (Rs 55,232 crore), Karnataka (Rs 47,714 crore), Bihar (Rs 44,879 crore) and Maharashtra (Rs 42,000 crore). Together women from these five States have got 52% of the total MUDRA loan. Also women have got 15.75 crore loans out of22.53 crore loans since the launch of the scheme (around 70%).
ISRO Signs MoU with VSSUT to Set up First of Its Kind Innovation cum Incubation Centre to Promote Space Research Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, Odisha, a technical institute, to set up the first of its kind innovation cum incubation centre, VSSUT Space Innovation Centre (VSSSIC) in India to promote space research.
Karnataka CM Addresses virtual Indo-Japan business forum from Bengaluru Karnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yediyurappa addressed a virtual Indo-Japan business forum organised by the Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The Chief Minister also signed a Japan-India Start-up Initiative to promote start-ups in the State. The Government of Karnataka has set up a 519 acres Japanese Industrial Township at Vasanthanarasapura near Tumakuru to enable more Japanese investments in the state. The Business forum saw the participation from the representatives of Maharashtra and Odisha.
NeGD and CSC E-Governance Services India Ltd Inked MoU to Facilitate UMANG app services at CSCs National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) has signed
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an MOU with CSC (Common Service Center) e Governance Services India Limited to facilitate delivery of UMANG (Unified Mobile Application for New-Age Governance) app services to citizens through the network of 3.75 lakh CSCs. Notably, all the UMANG services at CSCs are available at zero cost and will be provided by CSC operators Village Level Entrepreneurs (VLEs).
Union Minister Piyush Goyal launches National GIS-enabled Land Bank system Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal e-launched the National GIS (Geographic Information System)-enabled Land Bank system for six states. The system is developed by the integration of the Industrial Information System (IIS) with State GIS systems. The initiative is supported by Invest India, National Center of Geo-Informatics (NCoG), National e-Governance Division (NeGD), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology and Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo- Informatics (BISAG).
AIFC signs MoU with FCA for the development of Football in India and Australia Association of Indian Football Coaches (AIFC) and Football Coaches Australia (FCA) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to support the development of football in both India and Australia. The Objective of MoU is to encourage the involvement of more female coaches and increase the access to football for all participants.
Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) Completed Six Years of Successful Implementation On August 28, 2020, the 6th anniversary of Pradhan Mantri Jan DhanYojna (PMJDY) was observed which was launched on August 28, 2014. The objective of PMJDY is to ensure access to financial services, namely, Banking/ Savings & Deposit Accounts, Remittance, Credit, Insurance, Pension in an affordable manner. It is operated by the Department of Financial Services under the Union Finance Ministry. As on 19th Aug’20 the total number of PMJDY Accounts is 40.35 Crore; Rural PMJDY accounts: 63.6%, Women PMJDY accounts: 55.2%. Out of total 40.35 crore PMJDY accounts, 34.81 crore (86.3%) are operative.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal addresses ASEAN-India Business Council Meet Union Minister for Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal addressed the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) - India Business Council Virtual Meet. He extended India’s friendship and partnership to ASEAN countries and expected to achieve a target of 300-billion-dollar trade through Business with them. He emphasized 3 C’s Cooperation, Collaboration & Commitment as guide for the strategic partnership between India and ASEAN countries.
Indian Railways Set to Meet All its Energy Need of Over 33 Billion Units by 2030 Indian Railways organised a discussion over a wide range of topics with the stakeholders, chaired by Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways, to become 100% self-sustainable for all its energy needs and to contribute to the National Solar Mission of India. Indian Railways is set to meet its energy consumption which will be over 33 billion units by 2030. Indian Railways has developed a mega plan to install solar power plants of capacity 20 Gigawatt (GW) by utilising vacant lands by 2030.
FM Nirmala Sitharaman chairs 41st GST Council Meeting to Discuss Compensation for Loss of Revenue to States The 41st meeting of goods and services tax (GST) Council, chaired by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was held via video conferencing to discuss the issue of compensating states on account of revenue loss due to implementation of GST, and deficit in the compensation cess fund due to the fall in tax collections.
NITI Aayog Launches NDC–Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA) India Component NITI Aayog launched the India Component of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)-Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA). The NDC-TIA India team will focus on establishing a multi-stakeholder dialogue for decarbonizing transport and providing technical support on Green House Gas emission reduction measures in India. NITI Aayog will be the implementing agency in India. NDC-TIA is part of International Transport Forum (ITF)’s work on Decarbonising Transport in India that also includes Decarbonising Transport in Emerging Economies – India component.
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Department of Economic Affairs & UNDP India Launched Sustainable Finance Collaborative to Promote Sustainable Finance in India Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance in partnership with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) India launched the Sustainable Finance Collaborative (SFC). In this regard, a three days’ consultation centered on the broad scope of Sustainable Finance architecture in India was held to accelerate green finance by bringing together leading experts and organizations.
IT Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad Launched “Chunauti”, Next Generation Start-up Contest; Foundation stone laid for NIELIT at Muzaffarpur, Bihar Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) launched next- generation start-up Challenge contest “Chunauti” to encourage start-ups and software products with special focus on Tier-II towns. This contest is a part of Rs 95 crore programme, spanning over 3 years, will hunt for around 300 start-ups working in identified areas and to provide them seed funds of up to Rs 25 lakh and other support from government through the Software Technology Parks of India (STPI).
Union Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Addresses Inaugural session of World Urdu Session Union Minister for Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ addressed the inaugural session of the two- days World Urdu Conference organised by National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) from August 27-28, 2020. The NCPUL is organizing a two-day World Urdu Webinar titled as ‘Responsibilities of Urdu Writers in the age of Electronic & Social media’.
India granted 4th Tranche of USD 5mn to Myanmar for India-Myanmar Border Area Development India granted the 4th tranche of USD 5 million to Myanmar for the development of the India-Myanmar Border Area. In this regard, the Indian Ambassador to Myanmar Saurabh Kumar handed over the ceremonial cheque to Lt-Gen Ye Aung, Minister for Border Affairs, Myanmar. This funding is on the lines of the MoU signed by ex- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2012 according to which India would grant a total of USD 25 million to Myanmar, divided into five tranches of USD 5 million each annually, starting 2017, for projects on India- Myanmar border.
Kerala to set up India’s First International Women’s Trade Centre Biju Prabhakar, Secretary, Department of Social Justice, Women & Child Development announced that Kerala will set up India’s First International Women Trade Centre (IWTC) in accordance with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations(UN) at Angamaly, Kochi, Kerala. This announcement was made during the webinar on “Scaling up Opportunities for MSME women Entrepreneurs in Kerala” organised by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry(FICCI) Kerala State Council.
India, Singapore commit to further enhance security partnership at 14th India-Singapore DefencePolicyDialogue India and Singapore carried out a review of their defence ties at the virtual meet of the 14th India- Singapore Defence Policy Dialogue (DPD). The DPD was co-chaired by India’s Defence Secretary Dr Ajay Kumar and Permanent Secretary (Defence), Singapore Mr Chan Heng Kee. During the DPD, the Implementing Arrangement on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) was signed between the two countries.
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INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS
India & UK tie up for new 8 Million Pounds Medicinal Research The United Kingdom (UK) and India tied up for five new medicinal research projects worth 8 million pounds (around Rs. 78 crore) to tackle the anti-microbial resistance to support the combat against antibiotic resistant bacteria and genes during his ‘virtual visit’ to India. The United Kingdom will contribute 4 million pounds (around Rs. 39 crore) from the UK research and Innovation (UKRI) fund for international collaboration and India will contribute 4 million pounds for the funding of the five projects that are planned for September 2020.
India contributed USD 15.46 mn to India-UN Development Partnership Fund of UNOSSC Government of India (GoI) has contributed USD 15.46 million to the India-UN (United Nations) Development Partnership Fund as a support to fellow developing nations for their 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and related projects. In this regard, a cheque of USD 15.46 million handed over by India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti to the United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Director Jorge Chediek.
UN’s Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond: Around 23.8 Million Children May Drop Out of School Due to the Impacts of COVID-19 António Guterres Secretary-General of United Nations (UN) launched the report titled “Policy Brief: Education during COVID-19 and beyond” states that around 23.8 million additional children and youths may drop out or not have access to school in 2021 due to the economic impacts of COVID-19. The Policy brief was built on United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO)’s data and features recommendations on ways to avoid the emerging disaster.
Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa registers landslide victory in Sri Lankan Parliamentary elections Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka were held on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka’s 16th Parliament. Sri Lanka PodujanaPeramuna (SLPP) headed by Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa has won 145 (150 including allies) in the elections, securing two-thirds majority in the parliament. The two- thirds supermajority will give them powers to change the constitution. Sri Lanka is a democratic republic and unitary state, which is governed by a semi-presidential system, a mixture of parliamentary and presidential system.
FAO Introduce New Platform to Reduce Global Food Loss and Waste The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) unveiled a new Platform, “Technical Platform on the Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste” to support the global reduction of food loss and waste. The official launch of the platform will be on the first International Day of Awareness of Food Loss and Waste (IDAFLW) which will be observed on 29th September 2020.
Bangladesh Decided to Construct a Monument for the Indian Soldiers Killed by Pakistan in the 1971 The Bangladesh government has announced the decision to construct a standalone monument for the Indian Soldiers who were killed by Pakistan in 1971 Liberation War against Pakistan. The construction of the monument will coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Independence of Bangladesh.
Russia Becomes World’s 1st Country to Register COVID-19 Vaccine, ‘Sputnik V’ Russia becomes the World’s 1st country to officially register a COVID-19 vaccine and declare it ready for use. The vaccine will be marketed in foreign markets under the name ‘Sputnik V’, after the world’s first satellite Sputnik. The vaccine has been developed jointly by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the Russian Defence Ministry.
Belarus leader Alexander Lukashenko wins sixth term with 80% of votes The Central Election Commission of the Republic of Belarus said that the country’s long-time authoritarian leader Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has won his sixth consecutive presidential term (1994-present) by taking over 80% of the votes. His main opposition challenger SviatlanaTsikhanouskaya has secured only 9.9% of
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votes. The capital of Belarus is Minsk.
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Committed USD 25mn to Expand Unified Champion Schools to 6 countries Including India Under the Unified Champion School (UCS) worldwide programme, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has committed USD 25 million to expand UCS (an initiative undertaken by the Special Olympics) to 6 countries namely, India, Argentina, Egypt, Pakistan, Romania and Rwanda with an aim to empower intellectually disabled children. The 4-year project will create 120 UCS across 12 states in India, which will play a pivotal role to make Indian education system more inclusive.
Around 818 million Children Across the World Lack Basic Hand Washing Facilities at their Schools: WHO &UNICEFReport As per the latest report, ‘Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in school’s Special focus on COVID- 19’ released by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) through the WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme(JMP), around 818 million children across the world lacked basic hand-washing facilities in their schools which makes them prone to the COVID-19 and other transmittable diseases.
European Union to Provide 1.65 million euros in Humanitarian Aid Funding to Support Victims of South Asia Floods The European Union (EU) will provide 1.65 million euros in humanitarian aid funding to support flood victims of South Asia most notably in Bangladesh, India and Nepal. The funding is part of the EU’s Acute Large Emergency Response Tool (ALERT). Of the 1.65 million euros, 500,000 euros will be used in India, 1 million euros will be dedicated to Bangladesh and 150,000 euros will be used in Nepal.
UAE-Israel agreed for peace agreement namely “Abraham Accord” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, and Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates, have agreed for the Israel–United Arab Emirates peace agreement, or the ‘Abraham Accord’ to establish full diplomatic ties.
ILO-ADB Report: 41 Lakh Youths Lost Their Jobs in India Due to COVID-19 The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released the joint report titled “Tackling the Covid-19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific”, which stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, around 41 lakh (4.1 million) youths have lost their jobs in India.
India Ranked 57th in Digital Quality of Life 2020, Denmark tops: DQL Index 2020 by SurfShark According to the 2nd edition of global research “Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2020” released by online privacy solutions provider SurfShark, India ranked 57th out of 85 countries in terms of overall category “Digital Quality of Life 2020” with 0.5 index points which has been topped by Denmark with0.79 points.
India and Israel Signed Cultural Agreement to Strengthen Bilateral Relations to Promote People to People Exchange India signed a cultural agreement with Israel, which outlines a three yearprogramme of cooperation for 2020 to 2023, to strengthen the strategic bilateral relations through promoting the people to people exchange. This is one of a series of agreements which will be followed by the signing of a water agreement by our Ambassador in India. This agreement is based on the cultural agreement signed between India and Israel on 18th May, 1993.
TheILO’s“YouthandCOVID-19:ImpactsonJobs,Education,RightsandMentalWell-being”:50% of World’s Youth Are Under Anxiety orDepression United Nations (UN)’s International Labour Organization (ILO) published the survey report titled “Youth and COVID-19: Impacts on Jobs, Education, Rights and Mental Well-being” which found that 50% of young people across the world are possibly subject to anxiety or depression and around 17% of them are already affected by it. and 38% of youths do not have a clear idea about the career or future.
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LS Speaker Om Birla Attends Inaugural Ceremony of 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament The 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament (5WCSP) was inaugurated virtually (1st time in virtual mode). It was organised jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva and the Parliament of Austria with the support of the United Nations (UN). Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla attended the inaugural ceremony. The theme of the 5WCSP Conference is ‘Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and sustainable development for the people and planet’.
Over 200 Elephants in India Kept in Severely Inadequate Conditions: World Animal Protection On August 12, 2020, during the observance of World Elephant Day 2020, World Animal Protection released the third edition of the report ‘Elephants. Not commodities’ which highlighted that over 200 Elephants in India are kept in ‘Severely Inadequate Conditions’. According to the report, India is home to the second-highest number of elephants which are used for tourism in the region of Asia.
6th Round Table of ASEAN-India network of think tanks (AINTT) held Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand organized the two-day long 6th Round Table of ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations)-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT) through video conference on the theme “ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in the Post COVID Era”. It was inaugurated by Union External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand Don Pramudwinai.
WHO Urged Developed Nations to JoinCovax Facility to Counter “Vaccine Nationalism” The World Health Organisation (WHO) has invited countries to join its COVID-19 Vaccine Global Access (COVAX) facility by August 31, 2020. This facility is led by the WHO, along with the GAVI vaccine alliance, and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI). The COVAX is part of a broader program, called the Access to COVID-19 Tools (ACT) Accelerator. The reason behind this facility is to counter “vaccine nationalism”.
17th Meeting of India-Vietnam Joint Commission Held via Video Conference; Two MoUs Inked The 17th meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific and Technological Cooperation was held virtually which was co-chaired by India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and his Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Minh. India-Vietnam signed the followingMoUs:CooperationbetweenSushmaSwarajInstituteofForeignService(SSIFS),NewDelhiand DiplomaticAcademyofVietnam(DAV),Hanoi&MoUbetweenNationalMaritimeFoundation,NewDelhi and Scientific Research Institute of Sea and Islands,Hanoi.
World Health Organization (WHO) declares Africa free of Wild Poliovirus The African Continent was declared free of wild polio by the independent body, the Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC), which is responsible for certifying the eradication of wild poliovirus in the World Health Organization (WHO) African Region. The commission led by Professor Rose GanaFombanLeke, chairperson of ARCC. The Poliovirus is now found only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
Ericsson &UNICEF Partnered to Map School Internet Connectivity in 35 Countries Swedish Telecom Company, Ericsson has partnered with United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to map internet connectivity landscape for schools in 35 countries by the end of 2023 to provide digital learning access to the children. This joint initiative is a part of the Giga initiative launched by UNICEF and International Telecommunication Union (ITU), in September 2019 to provide internet connection to every school and their surrounding communities. Ericsson is the first private sector partner to make a commitment to the Giga initiative and global UNICEF partner for School Connectivity Mapping.
A Third of World’s School Children Are Unable to Access Remote Learning Due to COVID-19 Shutdown: UNICEF Report United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) released the Report “COVID-19: Are Children Able to Continue Learning During School Closures?”, which states that at least a third of the world’s school children, which is around 463 million children couldn’t not access remote learning amid the closure of schools due to COVID-19 pandemic. AUGUST 2020 (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 28
Som Prakash Represented India in 5th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting Held Through VC Som Prakash, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industry represented India and addressed the 5th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) Industry Ministers Meeting held through Virtual Conference. In the meeting they discussed the ways to enhance cooperation in areas like 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI) & industrial Internet, among BRICS countries. The meeting adopted a Joint Declaration to commence the implementation of the BRICS Partnership on New Industrial Revolution (PartNIR).
Maldives Launches India backed Infrastructure Projects The government of Maldives launched India backed infrastructure projects like Hulhumale Central Park and renovation of the Arrival Jetty in Maldives during a ceremony which was attended by Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid, Hulhumalé MP Ali Niyaz, High Commissioner Sunjay Sudhir, MD of Housing Development Corporation Limited (HDC) Suhail Ahmed etc. It is a part of 18 grant projects being funded by India in the Maldives under a total grant assistance of USD 6.9 million extended in 2019.
Union Minister Piyush Goyal Virtually Attended the 8th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) The 8th East Asia Summit Economic Ministers’ Meeting (EAS-EMM) was held virtually which was attended by Economic Ministers from the ten ASEAN Member States, Australia, China, India, Japan, Republic of Korea, New Zealand, the Russian Federation and the United States. The Meeting was chaired by Tran Tuan Anh, Minister of Industry and Trade of Vietnam. From Indian side it was attended by Piyush Goyal, Minister of Railways and Minister of Commerce and Industry.
India co-sponsors UNSC Resolution for Greater Participation of Women in Peacekeeping Forces India co-sponsored United National Security Council Resolution for Greater Participation of women in peacekeeping forces. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolution called on full, effective and meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping operations. The resolution was tabled by Indonesia has been seconded by India.
India Ranked 72nd on Global List with Average Monthly Wage of Rs 32,800, Switzerland Tops: Picodi.com In accordance with the global ranking of average wages prepared by Picodi.com, India ranked 72nd among 106 countries with an average monthly wage of Rs 32,800 (USD 437). Picodi.com is an international e-commerce platform, headquartered in Poland, provides discount coupons. Its analysis team looked into earnings of countries around the world and created a global ranking of average wages.
Kiren Rijiju attends Sports Ministers Meeting of BRICS Nations; India to host BRICS Games 2021 with Khelo India Games Minister of State (MoS) (I/C) for Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju attended the meeting between the Sports Ministers of BRICS nations. After the meeting, Kiren Rijiju announced that India may host the BRICS Games in 2021 and may align it with the Khelo India Games in India. Also, India is set to get the chairmanship of the five- nation independent international group in 2021.
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BANKING & FINANCE
SIDBI, TransUnion CIBIL launched financial knowledge platform” MSMESaksham” for MSMEs The Lucknow based Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) in association with TransUnion CIBIL Limited has launched a comprehensive financial education and one-stop knowledge platform for micro, small and medium enterprises “MSMESaksham”, which will guide MSMEs seeking quick access to finance and will also support them in managing their credit obligations.
Craft Silicon &PayU Partnered to Advance Digital Loan Repayment Craft Silicon has entered into a strategic partnership with PayU to innovate and accelerate the digital loan repayment solutions for small finance banks, micro-lending institutions and Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC).
Kotak Mahindra Bank Launched a Two-Month Campaign, ‘Kona KonaUmeed’ with Offers, Discounts Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched a special two-month campaign, ‘Kona KonaUmeed’ with offers and discounts across its suite of products to make banking and shopping more rewarding for the customers so as to boost consumer demand and lift people’s enthusiasm during this pandemic situation.
MobiKwikLaunched mpay.me, a Personalized UPI Payment Link MobiKwik launched ‘mpay.me’, a Unified Payment Interface (UPI) payment link service that allows users to send and receive money from any UPI payment app. Through mpay.me, users and merchants can set up a personalized link using their mobile number.
BOB Financial Solutions Partnered with Innoviti Payment to launch the New Credit Card EMI offering on POS Terminal BOB Financial Solutions Limited partnered with Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd to launch New Credit Card Equated Monthly Instalments (EMI) offering on Point of Sale (POS) terminals. The association of Bank of Baroda (BOB) Credit Card with Innoviti Payment Solutions will enable BOB credit card holders to access EMIs that can be repaid conveniently through their credit cards.
CanaraBankPartneredwith3insurerstoProvideIndividualShort-TermCoronaKavachPolicy As part of a social commitment to compensate the unprecedented expenses of ordinary people, the BengalurubasedCanarabankhaspartneredwith3insurersnamely,NewIndiaAssuranceCompanyLtd, BajajAllianzGeneralInsuranceCoLtdandHDFCERGOHealthInsuranceCoLtdtoofferindividualshort- term Corona Kavach policy to cover COVID-19 related healthexpenses.
National Bank of Bahrain Selects Infosys Finacle to Digitally Transform its Transaction Banking Business National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) and Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, announced that the bank has decided to adopt the Finacle Cash Management Suite to digitally transform its transaction banking business.
Aditya Birla Health Insurance Launches New Services and Products for COVID-19 Aditya Birla Health Insurance Company Limited (ABHICL), the health insurance arm of Aditya Birla Capital Limited, has introduced new services, product solutions & add-ons to the existing products to enable customers to safeguard their health during COVID-19. The ABHICL has launched an initiative ‘Active Dayz@Home’ & campaign #HealthFromHome recently.
Airtel Payments Bank partnered with Bharti AXA General Insurance to offer “Smart Plan Shop Package Policy” Airtel Payments Bank has entered into a partnership with Bharti AXA General Insurance to offer the latter’s affordable and newly launched shop insurance product namely “Smart Plan Shop Package Policy” for financial
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protection of the bank’s retailers and merchants.
Highlights of Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) on August 4-6, 2020 To state “2020-21 Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)” a three-day meeting of Reserve BankofIndia’s(RBI)six-memberMPC,headedbyShaktikantaDaswasheldfromAugust4-6,2020where itwasforecastedthatIndia’srealgrossdomesticproduct(GDP)willcontractinthefirsthalf(H1)ofFY21 as well as full FY 2020-21. The central bank kept the repo rate unchanged at 4%, reverse repo rate at 3.35%, and marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate at4.25%. o Resolution Framework for COVID-19-related Stress: RBI sets up panel under KV Kamath for one- time restructuring ofloans o RBI announces additional special liquidity facility of Rs 5000 cr each for NHB &NABARD o RBI introduced ASISO facility to help banks manage liquidity in COVID-19scenario o RBI to set up ‘Innovation Hub’ to promote financial inclusion, efficientbanking
Exim Bank extends USD 250 million line of credit to Mozambique to improve the power supply quality The Mumbai headquartered Export-Import (EXIM) Bank on behalf of Indian Government, extended a Line of Credit (LoC) of USD 250 million (about Rs. 1,870 Crores) to Mozambique to improve the power supply quality of the country. The capital and currency of Mozambique are Maputo & Mozambican metical respectively.
ADB signed USD 200 mn financing deal with Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited for 718 mw power plant in Bangladesh The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has signed a USD 200 million financing deal with the Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited (RBLPL) to build and operate a 718 megawatt combined-cycle gas- fired power plant in Bangladesh. The financing deal has two components of dollar 100 million each. ADB will provide USD 100 million and will also manage the other part worth USD 100 million from the Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).
SEBI revised IFSC guidelines, 2015’ eligibility, shareholding limit for clearing corp at IFSC Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) amended the clause 4 (2) of SEBI international financial servicescentre(IFSC)guidelines,2015pertainingtoeligibilitycriteriaandshareholdinglimitforclearing corporations that wish to operate in suchcentres.
International Financial Corporation to Invest Rs.75 Crore in Endiya Partners Fund II The International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has committed to invest Rs 75 crore (about USD 10 million) in Endiya Partners Fund II. In addition to this, IFC has also committed an additional USD 10 million for direct co-investments.
SBMBankIndiaCollaboratedwithInstaReMtoEnhanceOutboundRemittanceExperiencefrom India SBM Bank (India) Limited has collaborated with InstaReM to enhance the existing outbound remittance service offerings from India, including introduction of new remittance corridors, increased frequency of transactions for outbound Transactions and improved delivery timings for transfers.
NPCI Launched Omni-Channel Loyalty Platform, ‘nth Rewards’ National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched ‘nth Rewards’, a business intelligence and analytics enabled omni-channel multi-branded loyalty platform. This platform enables users to earn ‘nth’ (denoting infinite possibilities) points through various bank transactions and redeem them instantly on various products, such as e-vouchers, donations, hotel and flight bookings. The platform aims to become a one stop shop for the bank which will enable them to retain and grow their customer base.
Paytm Launched India’s 1st Pocket Android POS Device, ‘Paytm All-in-One Portable Android Smart POS’ Paytm has launched India’s 1st Pocket Android POS (Point of Sale) Device, ‘Paytm All-in-One Portable Android Smart POS’ for contactless ordering and payments in India. It is an effort to digitise and empower a large number of Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs). It is integrated with the ‘Paytm for Business’ app to generate
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GST compliant bills and to manage all transactions & settlements.
South Indian Bank obtained RBI’s in-principle Nod to Set up Non-Financial Subsidiary South Indian Bank (SIB) has obtained in-principle approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a wholly owned non- financial subsidiary for undertaking activities permitted by RBI. After SIB completes the relevant formalities and receives final approval from the regulators the subsidiary will commence its operations.
RBI Mandates System-based Asset Classification for Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has mandated the urban co-operative banks (UCBs) with assets of Rs 2,000 crore or above as on March 31, 2020 to implement system-based asset classification from 30 June 2021. For UCBs having total assets of Rs 1000 crore or above but less than Rs 2000 crore as on March 31, 2020 and have self-assessed under Level III or Level IV on “Comprehensive Cyber Security Framework for Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks (UCBs) – A Graded Approach” are mandated to implement it from September 30, 2021.
FederalBankPartneredwithFiserv,Inc.toSupportLaunchoftheir1stIndependentCreditCard, ‘Federal Bank CreditCard’ Federal Bank has partnered with Fiserv, Inc. to enable the digitization of its end-to-end card issuance and processing cycle to support the launch of the ‘Federal Bank credit card’, their 1st Independent Credit Card. The Federal bank will also outsource associated operational processes to Fiserv.
RBI Tightens Norms for Core Investment Companies; Formation of Group Risk Management Committee Mandated Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has revised the guidelines applicable for Core Investment Companies (CICs) on the basis of the recommendations of the Working Group (WG) to Review the Regulatory and Supervisory Framework for Core Investment Companies (CICs), constituted under the Chairmanship of Tapan Ray, former Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA). In this regard, RBI has made the guidelines stricter for CICs by mandating more disclosures, better risk management and a simpler group structure w.e.f. August 13, 2020. The existing entities have been given time till 31 March 2023 to reorganize their business structure.
HDFC Bank Virtually Launched ‘Shaurya KGC Card’, a First-of-its-Kind Card for Indian Armed Forces Aditya Puri, Managing Director of HDFC Bank, launched digitally the 1st of its kind card, ‘Shaurya KGC (Kisan Gold Credit) Card’, a tri color themed card for Indian armed forces personnel and their families. It will benefit over 45 lakh users. The product is aimed largely towards armed forces personnel from semi- urban and rural communities. The product is based on the Kisan Credit Card (KCC) guidelines by the government. This launch is part of the HDFC Bank’s ‘Har Gaon Hamara’ initiative.
SBI rolls out “KCC (Kisan Credit Card) Review option” for Farmers State Bank of India (SBI) has launched “KCC (Kisan Credit Card) Review option” on its digital agricultural solution platform, YONO (“You Only Need One”) Krishi. With this application the farmers can access their KCC limit in the virtual platform. It is expected to benefit more than 75 Lakh Farmers who have Kisan Credit Card accounts with SBI. The Farmers will no longer need to visit the bank branch physically to apply for a revision in their KCC limit.
RBI’s Central Board headed by Shaktikanta Das approved a dividend of Rs 57,128 crore to Central Govt The 584th meeting of the Central Board of Reserve of Board (RBI) under the Chairmanship of Governor Shaktikanta Das approved the transfer of Rs 57,128 crore in surplus as dividend to the Central government for the accounting year 2019-20. The board decided to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.5%. As per the Union Budget 2020-21, the government has budgeted Rs 60,000 crore as dividends from RBI and state-run banks and financial institutions.
PNB Launched ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’, a Campaign to Promote Digital Banking S SMallikarjuna Rao, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Punjab National Bank (PNB) launched a
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campaign, ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’ to encourage customers to use digital banking channels and participate in the noble cause of donating to PM CARES Fund for COVID-19.
Muthoot Finance Partnered with Kotak Mahindra General Insurance to Offer COVID-19 Insurance Cover Against Gold Loan Muthoot Finance has partnered with Kotak Mahindra General Insurance to offer COVID-19 insurance cover of up to Rs 1 lakh under the initiative Muthoot Finance Ayush Gold Loan. The cover will be available only for the customers who avail gold loan from Muthoot Finance under the Muthoot Super Loan (MSL) scheme.
ADB Approved USD 1 billion loan for Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System, a 1st of its kind in India The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 1 billion (about Rs 7,485 crore) loan to construct the modern, high-speed 82-kilometer Delhi – Meerut (Uttar Pradesh) Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in India, a first of its kind in India. The finance of the Delhi- Meerut RRTS project will be given in 4 tranches between August 2020 and May 2025. The NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC) will execute the project.
RBI Released Framework for Authorisation of Pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the “Framework for authorisation of Pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments” recently. The Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS), will be the final authority to issue authorisation for setting up umbrella entity. The minimum paid-up capital of the umbrella entity should be Rs 500 crore.
RBI Released Draft Framework for Self-Regulatory Body for Payment System Operators Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a draft framework for grant of recognition to an industry association as a Self-Regulatory Organisation (SRO) for Payment System Operators (PSOs). Notably, SRO will serve as a watchdog to guard against unprofessional practices within an industry or profession.
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Entered into Bancassurance Partnership with SBM Bank India Bharti AXA Life Insurance has entered into a bancassurance partnership with SBM Bank (India) Limited. Through this partnership, Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its entire suite of life insurance products, including protection, health, savings and investment plans, to the customers of SBM Private Wealth, the retail banking arm of SBM Bank India.
Fino Payments Bank Ltd Launched ‘Jan BachatKhata’, an Aadhaar Authentication Based Digital Savings Account Fino Payments Bank Limited launched Jan BachatKhata (JBK), an Aadhaar authentication based digital savings account for its customers. JBK will bring neo-banking experience to the consumers. The primary target of JBK is low income household families and direct benefit transfer (DBT) beneficiaries.
Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd Collaborates with BSE EBIX to sell General Insurance products Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd has collaborated with BSE EBIX Insurance Broking Private Limited (BSE EBIX) to sell General Insurance products in a fully digital environment using the distribution network of BSE EBIX.
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Partnered with Element AI for AI Transformation Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited has partnered with Element AI, a global developer of AI (Artificial Intelligence)-powered solutions and products, to develop, design and implement a strategic AI roadmap for the new age insurer and prioritise their investments into AI.
YES Bank in Partnership with KFin Technologies Launched ‘Loan against Securities’ to Provide Complete Digital loan Against Mutual Fund Yes Bank in partnership with KFin Technologies Private Limited has launched ‘Loan against Securities’, a unique digital solution that enables customers to lien mark their mutual funds digitally and avail quick and hassle-free loans. The digital solution is launched under YES BANK’s ‘Loan in Seconds’ platform, which allows the
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customers to set an instant credit limit against securities held.
NPCI Launched its Subsidiary Firm, ‘NPCI International Payments Limited’; Appointed Ritesh Shukla as its CEO The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched a wholly-owned subsidiary, NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) to internationalize (or export to foreign markets) NPCI’s indigenously developed offerings and technological acumen. NPCI has appointed Ritesh Shukla as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of NIPL.
Lakshmi Vilas Bank Launched ‘LAKSHMI digiGO’, a Contactless Online Instant Savings Account Opening Facility Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has launched ‘LAKSHMI digiGO’, a contactless digital initiative that will enable customers to open a savings account instantly. This initiative will help people to avail the most required banking services instantly through the website on account of COVID-19 pandemic.
RBIReleasesNationalStrategyforFinancialEducation2020-2025;5CApproachRecommended On the lines of the review of progress made under the first National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE: 2013-2018) the revised NSFE (2020-2025) has been prepared and the document for the same was released by Mahesh Kumar Jain, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on August 20, 2020. The document recommends adoption of a ‘5 C’ approach viz. Content, Capacity, Community, Communication and Collaboration.
HSBC India Becomes 1st Foreign Bank in India to launch a ‘Green Deposit Programme’ for Corporate Clients to Finance Green Initiatives HSBC India becomes 1st Foreign Bank in India to launch a ‘Green Deposit Programme’ exclusively for corporate clients to finance green initiatives and eco-friendly projects like renewable energy, clean transportation, and pollution prevention among others, that promote transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient and sustainable economy. This will enable companies to support environmentally-beneficial projects.
Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank and SBI General Insurance Co Ltd Signed MoU to Sell General Insurance Products Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank (KVGB) and SBI General Insurance Co Ltd have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in Dharwad, Karnataka to sell general insurance products of SBI general insurance company through the branches of KVGB.
RBL Bank Partnered with Accenture to Accelerate its Digital Transformation The Mumbai headquartered RBL Bank has entered into a strategic partnership with Accenture to transform and enhance the future readiness of the bank’s Information Technology (IT) systems and accelerate its digital transformation journey.
SBI Partners with AddaCorner to Launch ‘Online Home Carnival’ The Mumbai headquartered State Bank of India (SBI) has partnered with India’s First Real-Time Group Negotiation E-Platform, AddaCorner to launch ‘Online Home Carnival’, which will help in boosting the Real Estate market in Bengaluru.
Tata Capital Ltd Launched a New Service, ‘Swift Insta Personal Loans’ on Whatsapp Tata Capital Ltd, the financial services arm of the Tata Group launched its new service called, ‘Swift Insta Personal Loans’ (SIPL) on WhatsApp. Through the new service, the existing customers can easily apply for loans and receive sanctions for personal loans (on a single platform) using TIA, a Chat-bot of Tata Capital on WhatsApp.
Indian Govt, AIIB Inked $500 Mn Loan Agreement to Improve Quality & Safety of Mumbai’s Suburban Railway System A quartet loan agreement was inked between the Government of India, the Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for Mumbai
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Urban Transport Project-III. The total estimated cost of the project is $997 million, of which $500 million will be financed by the AIIB, $310 million by the Government of Maharashtra and $187 million by the Ministry of Railways. The loan from the AIIB has a 5-year grace period and a maturity of 30 years.
NABARD Introduced a Debt and Credit Guarantee Product, ‘Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee Programme to NBFC-MFIs’ The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has introduced, ‘Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee Program for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)-Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs)’, a dedicated debt and credit guarantee product. NABARD has signed a pact with Vivriti Capital and Ujjivan Small Finance Bank on 14 August 2020 to introduce the initiative.
ICICI Bank Becomes the 1st Bank in India Uses Satellite Data to Assess Credit Worthiness of Farmers ICICI Bank uses satellite data (imagery from Earth observation satellites) to assess credit worthiness of farmers. ICICI Bank has become the 1st bank in India to use such a technique to measure an array of parameters related to the land, irrigation and crop patterns and use it in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make quick lending decisions for farmers.
MasterCard and Goals101.ai Partnered to create Targeted and Personalised Offers for Bank Cardholders Mastercard has entered into an alliance with Goals101.ai, the leading bank-tech and Artificial Intelligence (AI) company. Through this alliance, Goals101.ai connects merchants and issuers using big data, AI and automation to create targeted and personalized offers for Bank cardholders. Through this partnership, Mastercard and Goals101.ai will launch a section within the platform called ‘For You’.
SBIGeneralInsuranceLauncheda1stofitsKindoffering,‘Shagun–GiftanInsurance’Policyfor PersonalAccident SBI General Insurance Co Ltd launched a 1st of its kind offering, ‘Shagun – Gift an Insurance’, a unique gift of Personal Accident policy which provides complete financial protection to the insured person against uncertainties such as accidental death and partial or total disabilities, and permanent & temporary disabilities resulting from an accident.
Highlights of RBI Annual Report 2019-20; India’s Growth Projected at -4.5% Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its Annual Report for 2019-20. It is Report of the Central Board of Directors on the working of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) for the year ended June 30, 2020 submitted totheCentralGovernmentintermsofSection53(2)oftheReserveBankofIndiaAct,1934.Inthereport, RBI projected that India’s growth at minus 4.5% for2020-21. o Bank frauds more than double in FY20 to Rs 1.85trillion o Setting up GST Council type authorities for land, labour,power o RBI to dissolve Banking Codes and Standards Board ofIndia
HSBC India Launched Omni Collect, a One Stop Solution to Businesses HSBC India has launched Omni Collect, a one-stop solution in India. It supports businesses to offer multiple payment options on a single platform. Advanced Travel Partners International (ATPI) is the 1st client of HSBC India to go live with this solution and has started to receive payments through the online payment gateway.
Axis Bank Introduced ‘Liberty Savings Account’ for the Indian Youth; 1st of its Kind Savings Account to Cover Pandemic The Mumbai headquartered Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank, has introduced ‘Liberty Savings Account’ for the Indian Youth, to address the ever changing lifestyle needs of young and digitally interested Indians. It offers a complimentary hospital cash insurance cover of up to Rs 20,000 per year, which covers hospital expenses incurred under COVID -19, which makes this a 1st of its kind savings account to cover the pandemic.
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RBI Announced Purchase & Sale of Govt Securities under OMO worth Rs 20,000 crore Reserve Bank of India (RBI) announced a simultaneous purchase and sale of government securities (G- Secs) under open market operations (OMO) for an aggregate amount of Rs 20,000 crore in two equal tranches of Rs 10,000 crore on August 27, 2020 and September 03, 2020 on account of current and evolving liquidity and market conditions.
Innoviti and Visa Partnered to develop installments platform for face-to-face transactions Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd. and Visa have partnered to develop an instalment platform, which will enable the issuers to extend credit to their cardholders at face-to-face Point of Sale (PoS) in India. The instalments platform with the suite of platform capabilities leveraging Innoviti’suniPAYNEXT platform and Visa’s APIs, provides shoppers the ability to choose how they pay during the purchase.
HDFC Bank to Partner with Adobe to Enhance Digital Customer Experiences HDFC Bank announced a strategic partnership with Adobe to enhance the Digital Experiences of its Customers. The partnership is powered by Adobe Experience Cloud Solutions and will help HDFC Bank to deliver personalised digital experiences to existing as well as new customers, at anytime and anywhere.
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Launched 1st of its Kind ‘Smart Assist’, a Real-time Assistance Service Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited has launched ‘Smart Assist’, a 1st of its kind technology service in the insurance industry. Through a secure screen sharing feature, the service allows the customers to connect with the company to avail real-time assistance on completing the purchase anywhere.
Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance & Andhra PragathiGrameena Bank Entered into a Strategic Partnership through VC to Offer Life Insurance Canara HSBC Oriental Bank of Commerce (OBC) Life Insurance Company Limited (Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance) and Andhra PragathiGrameena Bank (APGB) have entered into a strategic tie up virtually. The distribution tie-up is to sell life insurance, health and pension products at all the branches of APGB. It is the 1st virtual launch of Canara HSBC OBC Life Insurance tie-up with APGB.
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BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Reliance Power, JERA ink loan agreement with banks for new power plant in Bangladesh Reliance Power and Japanese energy major JERA have inked a pact with a group of banks for full financing, totalling $ 642 million (approx Rs 4,798 crore), for their new gas-fired thermal power generation project in Bangladesh. Both partners will develop a new 745 MW natural gas combined-cycle power project in Meghnaghat in Bangladesh. Reliance Power hold 51% stake while JERA will hold 49% stake in the joint venture company.
Airtel Announced the Multi Year Strategic Collaboration with Amazon to Tap Start-ups and SME Bharti Airtel announced the multi-year strategic collaboration with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to provide a comprehensive set of cloud solutions to the large enterprises and Small and Medium Enterprises (SME) customers in India.
Global remittances may lose $108.6 bn in 2020: ADB In accordance with the report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) published on August 3, 2020, if the economic impact of Covid-19 persists throughout the year then global remittances may fall by $108.6 billion in 2020.
FutureBrand Index 2020: Reliance Industries Ranked 2nd Biggest Brand; Apple Topped FutureBrand Index 2020 was released, Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Oil and Gas Company ranked as the Second Biggest Brand for its recognition associated with its growth, innovative products and customer service after Apple which topped the index. RIL ranked 91st in the PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) Global Top 100 companies 2020. Top 3 Companies in FutureBrand Index 2020:
Rank Company 1 Apple 2 Reliance Industries Limited 3 Samsung
BSE signs MoU with two Akola based Bullion Trade Association for Deepening Commodity Derivatives Market inIndia BSE, formerly known as Bombay Stock Exchange has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Akola Sarafa Association and Akola SarafaVaSuvarnakarYuva Sangh, Maharashtra based bullion trade and industry associations for deepening the commodity derivatives market in India and benefit the trading and hedging of all the market participants in Indian bullion derivatives market.
Reliance Foundation partnered with USAID to Launch the W-GDP Women Connect Challenge Across India Under the Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Initiative, US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Reliance Foundation, arm of Reliance Industries Ltd, have partnered to bridge the gender digital divide in India. Through the partnership they will launch the W-GDP Women Connect Challenge (WCC) across India in 2020.
Google Partners with CWC of India for Flood Forecasting Initiatives Google in association with the Central Water Commission (CWC) of India launched the flood forecasting initiatives across India for the past several months. Central Water Commission is the first governmental partner of Google to measure water levels on an hourly basis using around 1000 stream gauges across India.
Flipkart signs MoU with IIT Patna for Industry Focused Research Flipkart signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Patna to AUGUST 2020 (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 37
support the industry focused applied research in the fields like Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML).
UnitusVenturesReceivedRs75CrorefromSIDBI;willStrengthentheDeploymentofitsFundII Unitus Ventures has received an investment of Rs 75 crore (USD 10 million) under Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI)’s Fund of Funds for Start-ups initiative enabled by the Government ofIndia.ThefundwillstrengthenthedeploymentofitssecondRs300crorefund,whichwaslaunchedin 2018.
IBM Collaborates with NSDC to Offer Free Digital Education Platform for Skill Development IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) announced its collaboration with National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer a free digital education platform on emerging technologies and professional skill development and to equip the next generation with digital skills.
Google Launches ‘The Anywhere School’ to Boost Online Learning Google launched ‘The Anywhere School’ initiative in more than 250 countries around the world. The initiative is expected to benefit millions of students who have switched to learning from home, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Under the initiative, Google will roll out over 50 new features across products like Google Meet, Classroom, G Suite and other products.
Tech Mahindra, NITI Aayog’s WEP Partnered to Support Women Entrepreneurs in India Information Technology Giant Tech Mahindra joined hands with NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) to support Indian women entrepreneurs. In this regard, Tech Mahindra has partnered with the winners of Women Transforming India (WTI) Awards, to provide mentorship.
ReNew Power &UNEP Partnered to Increase Access to Clean Energy ReNew Power and the Nairobi based United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) signed a partnership agreement to promote increased access to renewable energy and improved energy efficiency. This MoU is a part of progressive strategies that India has adopted to realise its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Paris Agreement. In accordance with MoU, ReNew Power will join hands with UNEP’s District Energy in Cities Initiative as an implementation partner for renewable energy installations across India.
MCX Launched India’s 1st Tradeable Real-Time Bullion Index, ‘MCX iCOMDEX Bullion’ Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX), India’s first listed, national-level, electronic exchange, launched futures trading on the country’s first tradeable real-time bullion index, MCX iCOMDEX Bullion, or Bulldex. The index will track the real-time performance of the gold (1kg) and silver (30kg) futures contracts, the flagship future products on the Exchange.
Greenko Energies Signs MoU with NTPC for Renewable Energy Power Solutions to Provide On Demand Electricity Greenko Energies Private Limited, Hyderabad based energy solution provider entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam (NVVN), a wholly-owned subsidiary of NTPC limited to explore renewable energy power supply solution and energy storage.
UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Ltd Signed MoU with NHA to Provide Print Services of E-Cards for AB-PMJAY Beneficiaries UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Limited (UTIITSL) has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Health Authority (NHA) to provide printing services, support the beneficiary identification and verification process in issuing e-cards to beneficiaries under the Ayushman Bharat-Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
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AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
66th SKOCH Summit Awards: Ministry of Tribal Affairs receives SKOCH Gold Award for “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” The SKOCH Awards were presented over a virtual platform at the 66th SKOCH Summit at New Delhi. The 66th SKOCH 2020 Competition on the title “India Responds to COVID Through Digital Governance”. SKOCH Gold Award was presented to MoTA for its project of Scholarship Division – “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” &eSamadhan -Chief minister’s office (CMO) public grievance system of the Government of West Bengal received the SKOCH Platinum award. The SKOCH Foundation awards one platinum award, 3 Gold awards and 10 silver Awards every year.
‘Moothon’ and ‘Son Rise’ wins awards at 20th edition of New York Indian Film Festival Malayalam film ‘Moothon’ and National Award winning documentary ‘Son Rise’ won awards at the 20th edition of New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) of Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) which was conducted as a virtual event with the celebrities of the film industries and award winners participating from all across India and the UnitedStates.
IIT-Kharagpur Researchers Bags Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards 2020 for Clean Energy Research Gandhian Young Technological Innovation (GYTI) Awards 2020 is bestowed to a group of researchers from Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur for developing a mechanism for generating electricity from wet clothes left under sunlight to dry. The work has been published in Nano Letters, a high-impact journal in the field, and the innovation has been patented by them.
Journalists Nitin Sethi and Shiv Sahay Singh Bagged Asian College of Journalism Award 2019 Asian College of Journalism (ACJ) award 2019 was conferred upon Journalist Nitin Sethi for investigative journalism and K P Narayana Kumar Memorial Award 2019 for Social Impact Journalism is bestowed upon Journalist Shiv Sahay Singh. The awards were presented in a virtual ceremony by Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the World Health Organisation (WHO), at the inauguration of the Class of 2021.
Mukesh Ambani becomes 4th richest man in world;Jeff Bezos tops: Bloomberg Index Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani has become the world’s fourth- richest person surpassing Bernard Arnault. As per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Ambani’s net worth is now at $80.2 billion (approx Rs 6 lakh crore). Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos ($187 billion), Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates ($121 billion) and Facebook co-founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg ($102 billion) were in top 3 respectively.
Akshay Kumar Ranked 6th, the only Indian Actor in the List, Dwayne Johnson tops: Forbes’ list of ‘The Highest-Paid Actors 2020’ As per the Forbes’ list of highest paid actors for the year 2020, Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar ranked 6th with his estimated earnings of USD 48.5 million and is the only Indian features on the list comprising top 10 actors. The list is topped by Wrestler-turned-actor Dwayne Johnson for the consecutive second time, with an estimated net worth of USD 87.5 million followed by Ryan Reynolds (USD 71.5 million) and Mark Wahlberg (USD 58 million).
StChristopherSchoolinNagalandwonthefirsteverPallikkutamNationalAwardforInnovation inEducation St Christopher School in Chessore Village, Nagaland won the Gold Award along with cash prize of Rs.1 Lakh from the first ever Pallikkutam National Award for Innovation in Education instituted by Rajagiri Media. The Silver Award (Rs.50, 000) was presented to DAV Public School, Haryana & Bronze Award (Rs.25, 000) was presented to CMI Christ School, Iritty, Kerala. The award was sponsored under the CSR initiative of the Federal Bank Ltd.
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Ganesh Vilas Lengare Awarded Star 2020 Certificate by World Book of Records, London Solapur based activist Ganesh Vilas Lengare has been awarded Star 2020 E-citation Certification by World Book of Records, London. He has been awarded for his efforts to help the poor people during the lockdown caused by COVID-19.
National Sports Awards 2020 Announced; 73 Awardees in 7 Categories National Sports Awards 2020 were announced by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The awards were recommended by the Selection Committee headed by Justice (Retd.) Mukundakam Sharma. For the 1st time in history Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award was given to 5 persons namely, Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Manika Batra (Table Tennis – 1st person from the sport to receive the award), MariyappanThangavelu (Para Athletics), VineshPhogat (Wrestling), Rani Rampal (Hockey – 1st women hockey player to receive the award).
Anand Mahindra, Shantanu Narayen to Receive 2020 Leadership Awards from USISPF US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) announced that Mahindra Group Chairman, Anand Mahindra and Adobe Chairman & Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Shantanu Narayen will receive the 2020 Leadership Awards for their exemplary vision and effort towards the promotion of US-India Bilateral Ties. The 2020 Leadership awards will be presented to the duo during the Third Annual Leadership Summit titled as “US-India Week: Navigating New Challenges”.
Kallis, Sthalekar and Zaheer Abbas inducted into ICC Cricket Hall of Fame Former Cricket players Jacques Kallis (South Africa), Lisa Sthalekar (Australia) and Zaheer Abbas (Pakistan) were inducted into the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Hall of Fame of the class of 2020 in a virtual ceremony. Any Retired Player, who last played an international match before 5 years is eligible for the Hall of Fame. A total of 93 players have been inducted into the Hall of Fame, starting from 2009.
Wabag Wins 2020 Global Water Award for Koyambedu TTRO Plant in Chennai Water technology major Va Tech Wabag bagged the 2020 Global Water Award for its 45 million litres a day Tertiary Treatment Reverse Osmosis (TTRO) plant at Koyambedu in Chennai. The plant bagged the distinction award under the ‘Wastewater project of the year’ category.
Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash bags 1st ever Gold Medal for India in MCWC; Named ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’ title Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash of Hyderabad has bagged the first ever Gold Medal for India in Mental CalculationsWorldCup(MCWC)heldonAugust15,2020byMindSportsOlympiad(MSO).Hehascreated a new All Time Record and has beaten the records of Math Maestros like Shakuntala Devi and Scott Flansburg. He holds 4 World Records and 50 Limca records for being the fastest human calculator in the world.
NLCIL wins Swachhta Hi Seva 2019 award NLC India Limited (Formerly known as Neyveli Lignite Corporation) bagged the Swacchta Hi Seva (Cleanliness is Service) 2019 award for transforming the Neyveli Township into a plastic-free, clean and green campus. The Evaluation Committee of Ministry of Coal, Government of India carried out the assessment and gave marks to each unit of the NLCIL based on the performance.Marieke Lucas Rijneveld becomes Youngest Author to Win International Booker Prize for the Book ‘The Discomfort of Evening’Dutch Author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld (29) won the 2020 International Booker Prize for the Literary fiction book ‘The Discomfort of Evening’. Rijneveld became the youngest author to win the prize.
SBI to Receive Human Capital Management Excellence Award 2020 for its HR initiative,” Nayi Disha” State Bank of India (SBI) to receive Brandon Human Capital Management (HCM) Excellence Award (also known as the Academy Awards of Learning & Development) 2020, a global recognition for its HR initiative,” Nayi Disha”. SBI partnered with M/s Chrysalis & developed the “Nayi Disha” Programme. SBI has won the award in The HCM Spring Program under ‘Excellence in Learning and Development’ in 3 categories namely, Best Learning Program supporting a Change Transformation Business Strategy (Gold), Best Use of Blended Learning and Best Unique or Innovative Learning (Gold) and Development Program for its HR initiative (Silver).
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APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNS
Ivory Coast’sDefence Minister Hamed Bakayoko Appointed as PM The Republic of Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has appointed Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko (55) as Prime Minister (PM) after acting as an interim PM since the sudden death of Amadou Gon Coulibaly on July 8, 2020. Hamed Bakayoko will also hold his position as defence Minister.
Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd Appointed Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel as Additional & Independent Director Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd announced that its board has appointed former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Urjit Patel as an additional and independent director for a term of 5 years, effective from August 01, 2020. He has authored a book titled ‘Overdraft: Saving the Indian Saver’. The book will be published by HarperCollins India.
Varun Sridhar is appointed as the New CEO of Paytm Money Paytm Money, the subsidiary of One97 Communication Ltd announced the appointment of Varun Sridhar as the New Chief Executive Officer (CEO) following the resignation of former Managing Director and CEO Pravin Jadhav.
IFSCA Set Up Expert Committee headed by Pradip Shah to Suggest Ways to Develop of International Retail Businesses The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) announced the establishment of an expert committee headed by Pradip Shah, Chairman of Indasia Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd. to suggest ways to enhance International Retail Business in International Financial Services Centres (IFSC).
Mohamed Irfaan Ali becomes the President of Guyana Former Guyanese housing minister Mohamed Irfaan Ali (40) became the President of the country after he was declared as the winner of the disputed March 2, 2020 general election following a recount. He is a member of the opposition People’s Progressive Party (PPP). He succeeds David Arthur (A.) Granger. The capital and currency of Guyana are Georgetown & Guyanese Dollar respectively.
RBI Approved SashidharJagdishan as Next MD & CEO of HDFC Bank; will Succeed Aditya Puri The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has approved SashidharJagdishan as the next Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank for a period of 3 years, effective from the date of taking charge i.e., October 27, 2020 under Section 35B of the Banking Regulation Act 1949. He will succeed Aditya Puri, the bank’s longest serving CEO (26 years- since September 1994).
Manoj Sinha appointed as Lt Governor of J&K; Succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu President of India, Ram Nath Kovind appointed Manoj Sinha (61), former union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Uttar Pradesh (UP) as Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir (J&K), effective from the date he assumes charge. He succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu, the 1st Lt governor of the Union Territory (UT) of J&K who resigned on August 5, 2020.
Ajay Tyagi, Chairman of SEBI gets Another 18 Months Extension Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), Government of India (GoI), has approved another extension of Ajay Tyagi’s term as Chairman of Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for 18 months, with effect from (w.e.f) 01.09.2020 up to 28.02.2022 or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
Win Trade Fantasy (WTF) Sports appoints Suresh Raina, Harmanpreet Kaur as global brand ambassadors Indian middle-order batsman Suresh Raina & Indian women’s team captain (T20I) Harmanpreet Kaur were appointed as Global brand ambassadors of Win Trade Fantasy (WTF) Sports. In addition to this, Suresh Raina has also joined the brand as Strategic Partner.
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Former J&K Governor GC Murmu appointed as 14th CAG; Replaces Rajiv Mehrishi Ram Nath Kovind, President of India as per the powers conferred on him by Section 1 of Article 148 of the Constitution of India has appointed Girish Chandra (GC) Murmu as 14th Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office. He succeeds Rajiv Mehrishi who completes his term on August 8,2020 as he attains the age of 65. GC Murmu will take oath on August 8, 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan. He will have a tenure up to November 20, 2024.
Prof. Pradeep Kumar Joshi appointed as UPSC chairman Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) appointed Professor Pradeep Kumar Joshi as its new Chairman. His tenure as the chairman of the UPSC will be till April 4, 2022. He succeeds Arvind Saxena who retires as the UPSC chairman on 6th August 2020.
PNB Housing Finance appoints Hardayal Prasad, Former SBI Card Head as New MD and CEO PNB Housing Finance, promoted by Punjab National Bank (PNB) announced the appointment of Former State Bank of India (SBI) Card Head, Hardayal Prasad as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief ExecutiveOfficer(CEO).PrasadwilltakeoverfromNeerajVyas,thecurrentinterimCEOofPNBhousing finance on 10th August2020.
Government Forms Panel UnderRoDTEP Scheme for Exporters to be Headed by G K Pillai The Government of India under the Ministry of finance, Department of Revenue has set up a three- member committee headed by Secretary (retired) G.K. Pillai for determination of ceiling rates under Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme.
Walter Roger Martos Ruiz Becomes New Prime Minister of Peru; Succeeds Pedro Cateriano President of Peru Martin Vizcarra appointed Walter Roger Martos Ruiz, the former defence minister and retired army general, as the country’s new Prime Minister. He succeeds Pedro Álvaro CaterianoBellido. The Capital and currency of Peru are Lima and Peruvian Sol respectively.
Mohamed Ould Bilal Appointed as Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Mauritania Mauritania’s President Mohamed Ould Cheikh El Ghazouani has named Mohamed Ould Bilal as the 16th Prime Minister of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania on August 06, 2020. Mohamed Ould Bilal belongs to the political party of Union for the Republic (UPR). He has served as Political Advisor and headed several state agencies. The capital and currency of Mauritania are Nouakchott & Ouguiya respectively.
Capital India Finance Appoints Harsh KumarBhanwala as Executive Chairman Financial Services Platform, Capital India Finance Limited (CIFL) has appointed Ex-NABARD Chief Harsh Kumar Bhanwala as its Executive Chairman. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala took charge as Executive Chairman from August 06, 2020.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab Government Steps Down Hassan Diab, Lebanon (Republic of Lebanon) Prime Minister (PM) and his government resigned due to public outrage and the pressure from within his own Cabinet as his government was blamed for the August 4 explosion in Beirut’s port which killed at least 160 people and injured about 6,000 others. Michel Aoun, Lebanon President accepted his resignation letter and asked him to stay on in a caretaker capacity until a new cabinet was formed.
Centre Formed committee for procurement, administration of COVID-19 vaccine; Headed by Dr VK Paul Central Government has formulated an expert committee namely “National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration” under the chairmanship of Dr VK Paul, a member (health) at the NITI (National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog to consider the logistics, ethical aspects of procurement, and administration of COVID-19 vaccine in discussion with all state governments and vaccine manufacturers.
Isher Judge Ahluwalia, Chairperson of ICRIER think tank resigns; Pramod Bhasin becomes the New Chairman Isher Judge Ahluwalia, the Chairperson of the think tank of Indian Council for Research on International
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Economic Relations (ICRIER) has retired from her post recently. She will continue as the Chairperson Emeritus. Also, Pramod Bhasin the current vice chairman of the board of governors of ICRIER is appointed as the new Chairman.
Former RBI Deputy Governor Subhash Sheoratan Mundra Appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd Indiabulls Housing Finance Limited (IBH) appointed Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Deputy Governor Subhash Sheoratan Mundra (SS Mundra) as its Non-Executive Chairman with immediate effect.
Indian Cricketer Harbhajan Singh Appointed as Brand Ambassador of eBikeGO eBikeGO, Amritsar based e-mobility start-up appointed Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh as its brand ambassador for a year. He will help the company to upgrade itself and will also have an active presence on the company’s website and campaigns across media.
Singer Shahzan Mujeeb Becomes 1st Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Campaign Indian Idol Season11 Finalist and Oscar Nominated Playback Singer Shahzan Mujeeb became First Ever National Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation for Swachh Bharat Abhiyan Campaign at National and International level. He is also a Music Composer and Music Director. His film Gera won the National Award for Best Gujarati Film.
AAIB forms 5 Member Panel Headed by Captain S SChahar to Investigate the Kozhikode Plane Crash The Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) formed a 5-member panel headed Captain S SChahar to investigate the circumstances of the Air India Express Dubai-Calicut flight IX 1344Crash at the Kozhikode airport, Kerala on 7th August 2020. The 5-member team will probe and determine the cause and contributory factors that led to the accident. The team will also make recommendations to avoid similar accidents in the future.
Satya Pal Malik Appointed as Governor of Meghalaya; Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari given Additional Charge of Goa Ram Nath Kovind, President of India appointed Satya Pal Malik, Goa Governor as the Governor of Meghalaya.Meanwhile,MaharashtraGovernorBhagatSinghKoshyariwasgiventheadditionalchargeas Governor of Goa. Satya Pal Malik replaced Tathagata Roy who completed his 5-year term by serving as governor of Tripura for 3 years and remaining in Meghalaya.
Rakesh Asthana IPS, appointed as the Director General of the Border Security Force Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the appointment of Rakesh Asthana, Gujarat cadre IPS officer of 1984 batch as the Director General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF), along with the Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) till 31st July 2021– the date of his superannuation.
DBS Bank India Ltd Appointed Prashant Joshi as MD and Head of National Distribution The Mumbai headquartered DBS Bank India Ltd has appointed Prashant Joshi as Managing Director (MD) and Head of National Distribution. He will report to SurojitShome, Managing Director and CEO of DBS Bank India Limited.
Cricketer Rohit Sharma Appointed Oakley’s Brand Ambassador in India Indian Limited-overs Team Vice-Captain Rohit Sharma has been appointed as Brand Ambassador of Sports eyewear brand, Oakley for a period of two years in India.
Ashok Lavasa Resigns as Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa, one of the two Election Commissioners of India resigned from his post in-order to take charge as the Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) next month.
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Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Resigns after Military Mutiny Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita announced his resignation with immediate effect following a military mutiny in the Republic of Mali. Boubacar represents the Political Party Rally for Mali (RPM) and has served as the sixth Prime Minister of Mali from 1994-2000.
Keith Rowley Becomes Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd Consecutive Term Keith Rowley sworn in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd consecutive 5-year term at the President’s House, following victory in general elections held on August 10, 2020.Heis from the ruling People’s National Movement (PNM). The capital and currency of Trinidad and Tobago are Port of Spain & Trinidad and Tobago dollar respectively.
Francisco Asue is Reappointed as the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea Francisco Asue was reappointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea and He was sworn in at the People’s Palace in Malabo before President Teodoro Obiang on 18th August 2020. The capital and currency of Equatorial Guinea are Malabo & Central African CFA franc respectively.
Ashwani Bhatia Appointed as Managing Director of SBI; Succeeds PK Gupta The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi appointed Ashwani Bhatia as the Managing Director (MD) of SBI, effective from his date of assumption up to the date of his superannuation (May 31, 2022) or until further orders, whichever is earlier. He succeeds PK Gupta, who superannuated on March 31, 2020.
Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar Appointed as New Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar, IAS officer (retd.) and Former Finance Secretary was appointed as the Election Commissioner with effect from August 31, 2020. He succeeds Ashok Lavasa who resigned the position to join as Vice-President of Asia Development Bank. He will be working alongside other Election Commissioner Sushil Chandra. He is currently serving as chairperson of Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) from 29 April, 2020 which was set to end on 28 April 2023.
Aerospace Scientist G Satheesh Reddy gets Two-Year Extension as Chairman of DRDO Renowned Aerospace Scientist G. Satheesh Reddy was given a two-year extension as Chairman of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) & as Secretary of the Department of Defence Research & Development (DoDRD) by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet. He is one of the Chief Architects behind India’s Mission Shakti, Anti Satellite Missile Test (ASAT).
IEX accepted the resignation of its MD & CEO Rajiv Srivastava The Board of Directors of Indian Energy Exchange (IEX) accepted the resignation of its Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Rajiv Srivastava. He was relieved from his position as MD & CEO with immediate effect from 24th August 2020.
Centre Sets up Panel to Modify the Charter of DRDO labs; Headed by Prof V Ramagopal Rao G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary, Department of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D), and Chairman of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has constituted the 5-member committee under the chairmanship of IIT Delhi director ValipeRamagopal Rao to review charter of duties of 57 DRDO labs on the basis of current and futuristic defence and battlefield needs.
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan Resigned Due to Health Issues Shinzo Abe (65), Prime Minister of Japan announced his resignation owing to his worsening health condition due to ulcerative colitis. Shinzo Abe of Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was the longest serving Prime Minister of Japan.
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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
Mars 2020 mission: NASA’s Mars rover ‘Perseverance’ launched to seek signs of ancient life United States’ (US) 5th Mars Mission “Mars 2020” initiated by NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) after launching the biggest Mars rover named “Perseverance”, which was lifted off by United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, United States (US). The rover will land on Jezero Crater of Mars on Feb. 18, 2021.
India, Israel Collaborated to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds The experts from India and Israel have collaborated to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds by merging the technological expertise of Israel with Indian development and production capabilities. They have started to conduct trials at a special testing site at Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya (RML) Hospital on a large sample of patients for 4 different kinds of technologies namely, Voice test, Breath analyser test, Isothermal testing and Polyamino acid testing. These trials are part of a multi-pronged mission named “Operation Breathing Space”.
UNICEF & ADB funds for Thermal screening at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has received a mass fever screening system to enhance the screening process of passengers. There are two more scanners in the Airport. The thermal scanner has been provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare in coordination with Asian Development Bank funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
IIT Madras with Helyxon Developed First of Its Kind Remote Patient Monitoring Solution for COVID-19 Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre (HTIC) of Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) in partnership with Helyxon Healthcare Solutions Private Limited, a healthcare start-up in IIT Madras jointly developed a first of its kind remote patient monitoring device for COVID-19.
A health assistant robot “Rakshak” designed by the Mumbai Division of Central Railway Mumbai Division of Central Railway (CR), designed a health assistant robot “Rakshak” that communicates between doctor and patient remotely. The Robot was developed in-house at EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) car shed by Sunil Bairwa. The robot was handed over to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Hospital.
A COVID prevention kiosk named “UV Baggage Bath” inaugurated at Bengaluru railway station A unique kiosk named “UV Baggage Bath” was inaugurated at the Bangalore railway station, South Western Railway, by the Senior Divisional Commercial Manager, Bengaluru Division, AN Krishna Reddy and Additional Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, Kalyani Sethuraman. The proposal was implemented at KSR Bengaluru and Yesvantpur Railway stations by M/s Optimurz Bio and IT Solutions.
US conducted test flight of unarmed Minuteman 3 missile United States (US) Air Force conducted a scheduled test launch of an LGM-30G Minuteman III, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) carrying a load of three unarmed re-entry vehicles, from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US to a target in the Pacific Ocean. Minuteman III, an Intercontinental ballistic missile manufactured by Boeing.
CPCB Developed COVID19BWM App to Track Biomedical Waste: Recommended by SC The Supreme Court (SC) has made it mandatory for all municipal corporations and state pollution control boards to use the ‘COVID19BWM App’ to track biomedical waste on a daily basis. This ensures that the waste is collected, transported and sent to a registered common biomedical waste treatment facility. The app was developed by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in May 2020 following the directions from the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
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Ministry of Jal Shakti launched a New Version of the India Water Resources Information System The Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) has launched a new version of the India Water Resources Information System(India-WRIS)withnewfunctionsandfeatures.Itisopentothepublic,andaccessiblethroughthe web portal www.indiawris.gov.in. The MoJS has established a dedicated organization, National Water Informatics Centre (NWIC) to maintain and updateIndia-WRIS.
SAI with CISCE and CBSE launches Khelo India mobile app Online Training Programme for PE Teachers &Principals Sports Authority of India (SAI) in association with Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) and Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will host an online training programme through the Khelo India Mobile App (KIMA) to train the Physical Education (PE) teachers and head of the institutions from CISCE schools on “Khelo India Fitness Assessment of School Going Children”.
Union Minister of Textiles, Smriti Irani launches Mobile App & Backend Website for Handloom Mark Scheme The Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani, launched the Mobile App & Backend Website for Handloom Mark Scheme (HLM) for the weavers on the occasion of 6th National Handloom Day held virtually on 7th August, 2020, organized by the Ministry of Textiles, GoI (Government of India).
IIT Guwahati, in collaboration with Imperial College London, develops nanoparticle ‘meta-grid’ The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Guwahati, India, and Imperial College London, United Kingdom, have developed nanoparticles called the ‘meta-grid’ or ‘metamaterial grid’ that makes the light-emitting diodes (LED) brighter, energy-efficient and durable. It was jointly developed by Dr. DebabrataSikdar, assistant professor at IIT Guwahati along with Prof. Sir John B. Pendry and Prof. Alexei A. Kornyshev from Imperial College London. The findings have been recently published in Light: Science and Application journal of the Nature Publishing Group.
SII Partnered with Gavi and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to accelerate the manufacture & Delivery of COVID-19 vaccines for India Serum Institute of India (SII) Private Limited has entered into a new partnership with GAVI, the International Vaccine Alliance and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to accelerate the process of manufacture and delivery of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and other low and middle income countries (LMICs) by 2021. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through its strategic investment fund, will provide at- risk funding of USD 150 million to GAVI.
IITKanpurinCollaborationwithAgnysWasteManagementPvt.LtdDevelopedIndigenousSeed Balls, ‘BEEG’ forFarmers Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) Kanpur in collaboration with Agnys Waste Management Private Limited (start-up at IIT Kanpur) developed indigenous seed balls named ‘BEEG’ (Biocompost Enriched Eco Friendly Globule). This will help to safeguard people and farmers in plantations during the COVID- 19 times.
Finance Minister Launched Online Dashboard for Information on National Infrastructure Pipeline Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated an information repository, in the form of an online dashboard, for all projects identified under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) through video conferencing from New Delhi. The dashboard hosted on the India Investment Grid (IIG) website “www.indiainvestmentgrid.gov.in” will be a one stop solution providing information on infrastructure projects in New India to all stakeholders. Note: NIP is framed to achieve the target of a $5 trillion economy by FY 2025.
World’s Lightest Attack Helicopter -HAL’s Two LCH Deployed for Operations at Leh, Ladakh Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) manufactured two Light Combat Helicopters (LCH) have been deployed for operations at high altitude (Leh, Ladakh sector) to support Indian Air Force (IAF) missions amid prevailing situation on the India-China border. The twin engine LCH is the lightest attack helicopter in the world designed and developed by HAL.
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Skyroot Aerospace, India’s 1st Private Aerospace Company to Test Fire 1st of its Kind Upper Stage Rocket Engine Named “Raman” Skyroot Aerospace, Indian aerospace start-up successfully test fired an upper stage rocket engine “Raman”, India’s first 100% 3D printed bi-propellant liquid rocket engine injector named after the Nobel laureate Sir CV Raman and became the first private aerospace company in India to test a rocket engine developed in India.
AmmunitionFactoryKhadki,PuneHandedOver40mmUnderBarrelGrenadeLauncher(UBGL) toBSF The first consignment of 40 mm Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (UBGL) was handed over to Border Security Force (BSF) which is designed and manufactured indigenously by the Ammunition Factory Khadki (AFK) in Pune, Maharashtra on the lines of the “Atmanirbhar Bharat”. This ammunition is used to be imported by the Army and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) units.
Israel Successfully tested its Arrow-2 Ballistic Missile Interceptor Israel government announced that Israel has successfully tested their advanced missile defence system, Arrow- 2, a ballistic missile interceptor, which serves as the top tier integrated Israeli shield built to withstand various missile salvoes, was built with the support of the United States of America. Arrow 2 is a multi-layered system designed and manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries and Boeing, US based industry.
NASA’s TESS Completed Primary Mission, Finds 66 New Exoplanets & around 2100 ‘candidates’ Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) completed its primary mission of imaging 75% of the starry sky during the two-year survey and found 66 new exoplanets beyond the solar system, and around 2100 candidates on which the astronomers are working on to confirm among others. The NASA Astrophysics Explorer mission led and operated by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge.
Israel shares AI-based technology, high-end equipment with AIIMS to help combat COVID-19 As part of Israel-India cooperation to fight the ongoing COVID-19 Pandemic, Israel has shared Artificial Intelligence (AI) based technology and high-end equipment with All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Delhi, India.
IIA discovers He-enhanced star among Omega Centauri Indian Scientist from Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), Bengaluru, Karnataka, an autonomous institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST) discovered a helium (He)-enhanced cool bright star among metal rich samples of the globular cluster, Omega Centauri. This is the first ever spectroscopic determination of He-abundance in the Omega Centauri. The study was published in “The Astrophysical Journal”.IIT Ropar Developed “UVSAFE”, UVGI Based Room Disinfection Device Indian Institute of Technology, Ropar (IIT-R) in collaboration with Momentum India Private Limited developed “UVSAFE”, a state-of-the-art room disinfection device based on Singular Ultraviolet Germicidal Irradiation (UVGI). The efficiency of the device was tested by FICCI Research and Analysis Centre (FRAC) (NABL Accredited Laboratory, New Delhi).
ISRO’s Chandryaan-2 Captured Images of Crater of Moon; one of the Craters Named ‘Sarabhai Crater’ after Vikram Sarabhai Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that Chandrayaan-2 has captured images of Craters of the Moon by Terrain Mapping Camera – 2 (TMC-2) and named one of the craters as ‘Sarabhai Crater’ after Indian Astrophysicist Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai who is regarded as the Father of IndianSpace program so as to celebrate his birth centenary. Note– Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai’s 100th birth century was observed on 12th of August, 2020.
IISc and ISRO developed sustainable process to make bricks on lunar surface Team of researchers of Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Bengaluru, Karnataka and Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures named “Space Bricks” on the surface of the moon. The process uses the lunar soil, bacteria and guar beans to make the space brick. The process uses the Urea – sourced from human urine and lunar soil as the raw materials for the construction on the lunar surface which reduces the overall expenditure. AUGUST 2020 (CURRENT AFFAIRS) 47
NSE, IIMB join hands to offer Platform for Investor Education National Stock Exchange of India (NSE) Investor Protection Fund Trust (NSE IPFT) and Indian Institute of Management Bangalore (IIMB) have jointly developed and launched Platform for Investor Education (PIE), an online investor education resource centre.
AIFF and SAI Jointly Launched “E-pathshala” a Web Platform to Promote Football On 15th August 2020, on the occasion of 74th Independence Day, The All India Football Federation (AIFF) and the Sports Authority of India (SAI), jointly launched the E-Pathshala, a web platform to recognise creativity of the children and to develop their interest in football.
Astronomers Found SPT0418-47, a Look-alike of the Milky Way at 12 Billion Light Years Away The Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute of Astrophysics found a baby galaxy called “SPT0418-47” a look- alike of the Milky galaxy at 12 billion light-years away using the Atacama Large Millimeter/sub- millimeter Array (ALMA) Telescope. The galaxy appears as a near-perfect ring of light like the “Einstein Ring”. The research published in the Journal Nature.
MoTA: Launched Tribal Health & Nutrition Portal – “Swasthya” and Opened National Overseas Portal & National Tribal Fellowship Portal Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda inaugurated the first of its kind e-portal “Swasthya” (hosted on the National Informatics Centre (NIC)), a tribal health and nutrition portal and Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) also launched e-newsletter on health and nutrition ALEKH and opening of National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal.
Nitin Gadkari Launched VedKrishi.com an Online Farm to Fork Service Promoted by Farmers Nitin Gadkari, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) launched VedKrishi.com, an Online Farm to Fork Service, over a virtual platform. The portal is promoted by the farmers for selling toxic free farm produce. The platform was set up by the VedKrishi Farmer Producer Company, Nagpur based farmer producer Company.
Indian Railways Introduces Drone Based Surveillance System for Railway Security Indian Railways introduces Drone based surveillance technologies which has emerged as an important and cost effective tool for security surveillance over a large area with limited manpower. Central Railway’s Mumbai Division of the Indian Railways procured 2 Ninja Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) to increase the security and surveillance in the Railway premises like the station, tracks, yards and workshops.
FirstRocketsProducedbyPrivateSectorSuccessfullyTestFired:EconomicExplosivesLtd(EEL) In a major boost for Make in India, the first ever Pinaka rockets fully manufactured by the private sector company“EconomicExplosivesLtd(EEL)”havebeensuccessfullytestfiredbythearmyatafiringrange inPokhran,Rajasthan.SixPinakarocketsweretestfiredaspartofthefinaldevelopmentaltrialsandarethe first munition of its kind made by the private sector in India. These rockets have been manufactured on the lines of the transfer of technology (ToT) agreement between Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and private sector, five years ago.
Dwarf Planet Ceres is now an ‘Ocean World’ Researchers have given Dwarf Planet Ceres the status of an “Ocean World”. The scientists have analysed the data collected by NASA’s Dawn Spacecraft and published the findings as a series of papers in the journals Nature Astronomy, Nature Communication and Nature Geoscience.
Iran Unveiled Locally Made Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile, Martyr Qassem Soleimani & Cruise Missile, Martyr Abu Mahdi Iran has inaugurated a locally made surface-to-surface ballistic missile, called Martyr Qassem Soleimani, which has a range of 1,400 km (870-mile) and a new cruise missile, called Martyr Abu Mahdi which has a range of over 1000 km (620-mile).
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AirUnique-qualityMonitoring,anIndigenousPhotonicSystemDevelopedforReal-TimeRemote Monitoring of Air QualityParameters Air Unique-quality Monitoring (AUM), an indigenous photonic system for real-time remote monitoring of air quality parameters has been developed. It was developed by Prof. Rao Tatavarti, Director of Gayatri Vidya Parishad-Scientific and Industrial Research Centre (GVP-SIRC) & GVP College of Engineering, Visakhapatnam with the support from Department of Science and Technology’s Clean Air Research Initiative. The system had CATS Eco-Systems, Nashik as the technology transfer partner for commercialization.
NASA observes the Slowly Splitting South Atlantic Anomaly, a dent in Earth’s Magnetic Field National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) observes the South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA), a strange dent in Earth’s magnetic field over South America and the nearby Atlantic Ocean which was there for more than 10 years is growing and splitting this change in the magnetic field will affect the earth.
L&T Built Interceptor Boat ‘ICGS C-454’ of Indian Coast Guard Launched at Surat The 27-meter-long Interceptor Boat (IB) ‘ICGS C-454’, built by Larsen and Toubro Ltd (L&T) was launched into the service of the Indian Coast Guard (ICG) by Hiral Patel, wife of Surat district Collector, Dhaval Patel during a ceremony in Surat. Till now, L&T has handed over 51 out of 54 IB’s ordered by the ICG.
Nitin Jairam Gadkari launched ‘Harit Path’, Mobile App developed by NHAI to monitor highway plantation Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways launched the mobile app, “Harit Path” for monitoring plantations and transplantation of trees along the highway. during the meeting to review the New Green Highway Policy. The mobile app was developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Road and Transport.
Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan Launches Online Registration and Renewal of Gold Hallmarking Centres Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan virtually launched an online system for registration and renewal of licence of gold assaying and hallmarking (A&H) centres. The online system can be accessed through the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) web portal – www.manakonline.in. The hallmarking of gold which is voluntary at present, will be made mandatory from 1st June, 2021.
China Successfully Launched New Optical Remote-Sensing Satellite “Gaofen-9 05” along with 2 Smaller Payloads China launched its fifth Gaofen-9 series satellite named “Gaofen-9 05” along with two smaller payloads viz. Tiantuo-5 and Duo GongnengShiyanWeixing through Long March-2D carrier rocket from its Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre (JSLC) in northwest China. The ‘Gaofen-9 05’ satellite was developed by Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co. Ltd. The Tiantuo-5 was developed by the National University of Defense Technology & Duo GongnengShiyanWeixing was developed by the People’s Liberation Army.
GovtIntroducedaNewFeature,‘OpenAPIService’ofAarogyaSetutoHelpPeople,Businesses& Economy to Return toNormalcy The Government of India has introduced a new feature, ‘Open API (Application Programming Interface) Service’ of AarogyaSetu, which will address the risk of COVID-19 infections and help the people, businesses and the economy to return to normalcy. AarogyaSetu has now emerged as the most downloaded contact tracing App in the world, with more than 15 crore users.
Indian Coast Guard Ship C-449 Commissioned in Chennai Indian Coast Guard Ship C-449 was commissioned in Chennai by Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam. The ship is the 49th Interceptor Boat of the series, which are indigenously built and designed by M/s Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Hazira (Surat).
IAF Launched “My IAF”, a Mobile Application to Provide Career Related Information Indian Air Force (IAF) Chief of the Air Staff, Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria, launched the mobile application “My IAF”, to provide career related information and details in IAF to the aspirants. The application was launched
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as a part of the ‘Digital India Initiative’. It was developed in association with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC).
India’s ASTROSAT Detected Extreme UV light from AUDFs01 Galaxy In accordance with the Pune based Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA), India’s first multi- wavelength satellite observatory, ASTROSAT, has detected an extreme ultraviolet (UV) light from a galaxy called “AUDFs01” which is 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth. The galaxy is located in the Hubble Extreme Deep field (XDF). The study is published in “Nature Astronomy”.
First in Indian Railways: Ahmedabad Railway Division Introduces Baggage Sanitization and Wrapping Machine Ahmedabad Railway Division launched the Baggage Sanitization and Wrapping Machine at the Ahmedabad Railway station to ensure safe travel for the passengers during the Pandemic. The railways have taken this initiative under the New Innovative Non Fare Revenue Idea Scheme (NINFRIS).
NHAI has Developed, ‘Vendor Performance Evaluation System’ to Establish a Transparent and Comprehensive Performance Rating System The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has developed the ‘Vendor Performance Evaluation System’ to establish a transparent and comprehensive performance rating system for its consultants, contractors and concessionaires. The portal-based objective assessment of vendors was initiated to track the vendor performance for various NHAI projects.
IIT Alumni Council Partnered with Russoft& Moscow State University to Build World’s Largest & Fastest Hybrid Quantum Computer The IIT Alumni Council has signed an agreement with Russia’s Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and Russoft, an association of software developing companies, to access and transfer key technologies from Russia to build the world’s largest and fastest hybrid quantum computer in India.
Defence Minister Shri Rajnath Singh launched mobile App, ‘DGNCC’ for NCC Training Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC), a mobile training app which will help in conducting a countrywide online training for the National Cadet Corps (NCC).
Narendra Singh Tomar launched Integration of “ICAR-IIHR Seed Portal with SBI’s YONO Krishi Web Application Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare virtually launched the integration of State Bank of India’s YONO (You Only Need One) Krishi platform with government’s online seed portal Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) and Indian Institute of Horticulture Research (IIHR) to help the farmers in increasing the crop production along with the crop quality and income generation.
CISF launched ‘Pensioners Corner’ Mobile App for its Pensioners The Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) has created & launched an in-house mobile Application, ‘Pensioners Corner’ to get in touch with the pensioners and to bring them to the digital platform as a one stop solution. It will also cater to the needs of its pensioners.
China Launches Most Advanced Warship Type-054 class for Pakistan Navy China launched the first of the four advanced naval warships, Type-054 class frigates for the Pakistan Navy. The Type-054 class frigate is manufactured by China Shipbuilding Trading Company Ltd (CSTC) and was launched in the Chinese state-owned HudongZhonghua Shipyard, Shanghai.
ARIES Discovered the Accelerated Formation of the Stars of Dwarf Galaxies The astronomers named Amitesh Omar and Sumit Jaiswal from the Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital, Uttarakhand have discovered the aberration in the formations of the stars in dwarf galaxies while studying several such galaxies. The findings of the study with detailed images of 13 galaxies will be published in the Monthly Notice of Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) journal by Royal Astronomical Society, United Kingdom.
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ENVIRONMENT
NewtwighopperspeciesnamedCladonotusbhaskariafterKeralaresearcherDhaneeshBhaskar After a span of 116 years, a first new species of twighopper, genus Cladonotus Saussure, was discovered from the Sinharaja rainforest of Sri Lanka by Croatian and German researchers. The interesting fact is that this cockcomb-shaped twighopper has been named as Cladonotusbhaskari after Dhaneesh Bhaskar, a young conservation biologist and grasshopper expert from Kerala Forest Research Institute (KFRI).
Polar Bears in Arctic could become extinct by 2100: The Study published in Nature Climate Change The new study of University of Toronto Scarborough published in the journal of Nature Climate Change titled “Fasting season length sets temporal limits for global polar bear persistence” on 20th July 2020, states that climate change is starving the polar bears into extinction and concluded that the Polar bears in the Arctic could become extinct by 2100.
Scientists Identified 77 New Species of Butterflies in Matheran Near Mumbai The 8 year long (2011 – 2019) field work research conducted in the Matheran an eco-sensitive zone near Mumbai, Maharashtra an area of 214.73 Square Kilometre, identified around 140 rare species of butterflies including 77 new species. Scientists Mandar Sawant, Dr. Nikhil Modak and Sagar Sarang from the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS) and Somaiya Vidya Vihar University published their research paper ‘Finding the forgotten gems: Revisiting the butterflies of Matheran after 125 years’ in the community peer-reviewed Biodiversity Data Journal.
NewPlantSpecies“Ardisiaramaswamii”ofGenusArdisiaIdentifiedbyJNTBGRINamedAfterM SRamaswami The scientist of Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode identified a new species of the Genus Ardisia in the Akkamalai forest in the Anamalai Tiger Reserve, Tamil Nadu. The new species Ardisia ramaswamii, named after the 20th Century Botanist M.S. Ramaswami, who along with C.C. Calder and V. Narayanaswami, listed the species that are not mentioned in the “J D Hooker’s Flora of British India”.
IIT Delhi Found WHO listed Priority Pathogens in the Waters of River Yamuna The research team of Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) found the critical group and multi drug resistant bacteria of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s) 2017 list of antibiotic resistant priority pathogens, in the waters of River Yamuna. The study was conducted on the 20 major sewer drains and the waters of Yamuna at 5 locations across Delhi over two seasons and isolated the Faecal Coliform (FC) from all the samples. The research paper on the study was published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering. Dr. Manisha Lamba was the first author of the research paper.
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SPORTS
German Footballer BenediktHowedes retires at 32 German footballer BenediktHowedes has announced retirement from the sport recently. He was part of the 2014 world-cup winning Germany team. He was one of the 3 players who had played every minute for the team in the tournament. He has played 44 times for German National Team from 2011-17.
Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Won British Grand Prix 2020; Created Record by winning the British Grand Prix title for 7th Time Formula One Champion Mercedes Lewis Hamilton (British) won British Grand Prix (GP) 2020 (officially known as the Formula 1 Pirelli British Grand Prix 2020) held at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom (UK). By this win, he created record by winning the British Grand Prix title 7th time. He is the only racer to win most in British GP.
Central Government gave nod to Indian Premier League 2020 in UAE The Central Government has given the go ahead for 13th edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) to be rescheduled in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) from September 19 to November 10, 2020. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has got “verbal clearance” from the Government and will receive the official letter in a day or two. Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah will be the three venues of the tournament. Women’s T20 Challenge (Challenger series) to be held from November 1 to 10.
Spanish Footballer Iker Casillas announces retirement at 39 Spain’s World Cup-winning Captain and Goalkeeper Iker Casillas announced his retirement. In 2014, Casillas became one of four players to represent Spain at four World Cups. Iker Casillas was born 20 May1981 in Móstoles, Spain. Casillas won the Yashin Award (FIFA World Cup Golden Glove) in 2010 World Cup after he kept a joint–record five clean sheets.
ICC Retains India as the Host of 2021 Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup & Australia to Host Men’s T20 2020 World Cup in 2022 International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed that India will host the Men’s Twenty-20 (T20) Cricket World Cup 2021 between October – November 2021 as the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) retained the hosting rights and Australia will host the 2020 Men’s World Cup, which was postponed due to the global pandemic in 2022.
Max Verstappen Wins F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 2020 Red Bull’s 22 years old driver Max Emilian Verstappen from Netherland had won F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (officially called as Emirates Formula 1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 2020) at the Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone, United Kingdom and became the first non-Mercedes driver to win a race in the 2020.
Indian Cricketers MS Dhoni, Suresh Raina retire from international cricket Former India Skipper and Wicket-Keeper Mahendra Singh Dhoni& Veteran middle-order Batsman Suresh Kumar Raina announced retirement from International Cricket on August 15, 2020. Dhoni is the only captain in the history of the game to win three ICC trophies – 2007 World T20, 2011 World Cup and 2013 ICC Champions Trophy. Suresh Raina is the first Indian batsman to hit a century in all three formats of international cricket.
Lewis Hamilton Claims Record 156th Podium Finish with Win at Spanish GP Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton claimed his 156th Podium with a victory in Spanish Grand Prix. It is the Fourth race of the season at the Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain. Lewis Hamilton now holds the record for most podium finishes in F1 history surpassing Former F1-Great Michael Schumacher’s record. Lewis Hamilton also claimed his 88th Formula One career victory with this.
England Cricketer Laura Marsh announces retirement England Spinner Laura Alexandra Marsh announced her retirement from all forms of Cricket. In December 2019, she announced retirement from International Cricket, and now has retired from Domestic Career as well.
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She was part of the England women’s cricket team which won the Women’s 50- Over Cricket World Cup in (2009 & 2017) & T20 World Cup in 2009.
Ronnie O’Sullivan Wins Sixth World Snooker Championship 2020 at Crucible English Professional Snooker Player Ronnie O’Sullivan won the World Snooker Championship for the 6th time by winning the 2020 World Snooker Championship at Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England. He defeated England’s Kyren Wilson 18-8 in the final of the Betfred World Snooker Championship. The event was organized by the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association and World Snooker Tour.
Indian Table Tennis player PoulomiGhatak retires at 37 Indian Table Tennis player Poulomi Ghatak (37) announced her retirement from the sport in August 2020. The Kolkata born Poulomi Ghatak is a seven-time National Champion. She Won the Junior National Championship thrice and the Senior National Championship seven times, held in between 1998 and 2016. She Represented India at the 2000 Sydney Olympics at the age of 16.
Australian Cricketer Cameron White announces Retirement from Professional Cricket Australian All-Rounder Cameron Leon White (37) announced his retirement from Cricket. He has captained the Australian Team Seven Times including One Day International (ODI) & Twenty20 Internationals (T20I). He has represented Australia in 4 Tests, 91 ODIs & 47 T20Is scoring 146 runs in Tests, 2072 in ODIs and 984 runs inT20I.
Sri Lanka Cricketer TharangaParanavitana retires from International Cricket Sri Lankan Opening batsman Tharanga Paranavitana (38) announced retirement from all forms of International Cricket. He is Sri Lanka’s highest ever run-getter in first-class cricket with 12, 522 runs. He has represented Sri Lanka in 32 Test Matches scoring 1792 runs including two hundreds and 11 fifties.
West Indies Cricketer Dwayne Bravo becomes first bowler to scalp 500 wickets in T20s West Indies All-Rounder Dwayne John Bravo became the first bowler in Cricket to scalp 500 wickets in Twenty20 (T20s). He achieved the feat in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 match between his team Trinbago Knight Riders and St Lucia Zouks. Bravo took the wicket of Rahkeem Cornwall (18) to register his 500th wicket. Dwayne Bravo achieved the feat in his 459th match in the shortest format.
Bayern Munich Won the UEFA Championship League 2019-20 Bayern Munich (FC Bayern München), German football club won their 6th Championship in the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League 2019-20. Bayern Munich became the champions of Europe by defeating the first time finalists Paris Saint Germain (PSG) 1- 0 at the finals held in Estadio da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal.
Ayaka Takahashi, Japan’s 1st Olympic Gold medalists in Badminton Announces Retirement Japan’s Ayaka Takahashi, who won gold medal in Rio Olympics in 2016 Women’s Doubles Badminton alongwithMisakiMatsutomo,announcedthatshewillendhercareer(retires)onAugust31,2020asshe has a doubt whether her inner fire and body will get through anotheryear.
Bryan Brothers, Successful Doubles Pair in Tennis Announced Retirement The Bryan Brothers, 42-year-old identical twins Robert Charles “Bob” Bryan and Michael Carl “Mike” Bryan, the most successful American doubles tennis players announced their retirement from the professional circuit with immediate effect. The Bryan brothers finished their career with a 1108 – 359 team win-loss record. They won around 119 trophies which includes 16 Grand Slams, 39 ATP Masters 1000s, four Nitto ATP Finals, 438 weeks at No. 1, the 2012 Olympic gold medal and 2007 Davis Cup triumph.
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BOOKS & AUTHORS
‘Greenlights’ the debut book authored by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey ‘Greenlights’ the debut book authored by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey published by Crown Publishing Group is set to be released on 20th October 2020. The book was described as “not a traditional memoir but a playbook” based on the adventures and life experiences of McConaughey.
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Released a Book Titled “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata” Authored by State Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar released a book titled, “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata” authored by Bihar Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary. The book is a compilation of the author’s views, three dozen articles on different important issues and his life journey. The book was published by Bihar Assembly Secretariat.
“Vishesh:CodetoWin”:BiographyofIndia’syoungestBasketballcaptain,VisheshBhriguvanshi authored by Nirupama Yadav to bereleased A book titled, “Vishesh: Code to Win” written by the sportswoman-turned-author Nirupama Yadav is expected to be put out for the public view on August 29, 2020, the National Sports day. The book is the biography of India’s Youngest Basketball Captain, VisheshBhriguvanshi and will be published by the Bluerosepublishers.
Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat& Smriti Irani Launch the book ‘Swachh Bharat Kranti’ Union Minister for Jal Shakti Gajendra Singh Shekhawat& Union Minister for Textiles and Women & Child Development Smriti Zubin Irani launched the book ‘Swachh Bharat Kranti’ (Hindi) in New Delhi. It has been edited by Parameswaran Iyer, Secretary of the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation.
Yatish Yadav’s new book ‘RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations’ offers a peek into the exploits of Indian spymasters The famous Journalist and Author, Yatish Yadav wrote a new book titled, “RAW (Research and Analysis Wing): A History of India’s Covert Operations”, narrates the heroic operations carried out by the Indian external spy agency, RAW has been published by Westland Publications and is available in Amazon and other bookstores in India.
“Amazing Ayodhya” – A new book to tell the history of Ayodhya “Amazing Ayodhya” A book by Neena Rai promises to shed light on the history of Ayodhya. The book is set to give “authentic information” about the city of Ayodhya and will help in understanding the life and times of ancient Hindus. The book aims to gain knowledge of the architecture in Ayodhya, houses in Ayodhya, establishment of the city and animals which lived in Ayodhya.
“Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World”–ABookbyDalaiLamatoreleaseinNovember Tibetan spiritual leader, Dalai Lama is set to release his new book “Our Only Home: A climate Appeal to the world” on Climate change co-written by German environmental Journalist Franz Alt inNovember.
Book “A Bend in Time: Writings by Children on the Covid-19 pandemic” by BijalVachharajani Released A book titled “A Bend in Time: Writings by Children on the COVID 19 Pandemic” was released in July 2020, the introduction of which is written by award-winning children’s author BijalVachharajani. The book is published by Talking Cub (children’s imprint of Speaking Tiger). Bijal is the winner of the AutHer Children’s Book Award 2020 and also named in the Parag Honour List 2020 of TATA Groups.
Actor Sharon Stone’s Memoir “The Beauty of Living Twice” to Release in March 2021 Hollywood Actor Sharon Stone announced the release of her Memoir “The Beauty of Living Twice” in March 2021. She unveiled the cover of the book on Twitter. The book is set to be published by Alfred A Knopf, and is set to release both in hardcover and e-book.
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Ex-Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam Authored a New book titled, “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″ Retired Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam has authored a new book titled, “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″. The book portrays the comprehensive account of war and conflict in contemporary India over the past five decades next month. It will be published by HarperCollins Publishers India Pvt. Ltd. It is the sequel to his 1st book, ‘India’s Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971’.
Michael Cohen’s Book “Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump” is Set to Publish Michael Cohen’s memoir about President Donald Trump titled “Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump” published by Skyhorse Publishing is set to release on 8th September 2020.
Book titled “India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders” authored by Pradeep Chhibber & Harsh Shah released The book titled “India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders” authored by American academicians Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah was released in August 2020. The book is published by Oxford University Press (OUP).
A Book Titled ‘One Arranged Murder’ Authored by Chetan Bhagat to be Released A Book Titled ‘One Arranged Murder’ authored by Chetan Bhagat will be released worldwide on September 28, 2020. The fiction book portrays a murder mystery in the backdrop of an arranged marriage. The book will be published by Westland Publications Ltd. It is the author’s 9th novel and 11th book overall.
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh releases book on Cancer edited by noted Oncologist Dr Ashok Vaid Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched a book on cancer – “Gastric Cancer” edited by Dr Ashok K. Vaid. He is a Noted Oncologist and was awarded Padma Shri in 2009 for his outstanding work in the field of medicine. The book was launched during a special session organized during the 3 -day virtual conference on Oncology. The book is published by Springer Healthcare Education.
The Book “Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story” is Set to be Published The book “Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story” authored by Monika Arora, advocate, SonaliChitalkar (political Science) and Prerna Malhotra (English) teachers at Delhi University is set to be published by Garuda Prakashan. The book was released by Bhupendra Yadav, member of parliament and national general secretary of Bharatiya Janata Party.
‘Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Life’ Authored by Tenzin Priyadarshi and Zara Houshmand The book ‘Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Life’ authored by Tenzin Priyadarshi and co-written by Zara Houshmand released. The book provides an account of how the Dalai Lama traced his Spiritual Teacher Khunu Lama in India.
‘Cricket Drona’ A Book on Renowned Coach Vasudev Jagannath Paranjpe to be Released ‘Cricket Drona’ a book on one of India’s most renowned cricket coaches, Vasudev Jagannath Paranjpe will be released on September 2, 2020. The Book is written by Vasudev Paranjpe’s son and current national selector JatinParanjpe along with Cricket Journalist Anand Vasu and published by Penguin.
Army Chief General Released a Book Titled “National Security Challenges: Young Scholars’ Perspective” Authored by University students General Manoj Mukund (MM) Naravane, Chief of Army Staff released a book titled, “National Security Challenges: Young Scholars’ Perspective” authored by university students, ranging from the undergraduate level to doctoral candidates. The book was edited by Ramandeep Singh Sandhu and Manjari Singh. The book was published by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), the Army think- tank. The book is a tribute to Field Marshal Manekshaw, the strategist of 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, that resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh.
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OBITUARY
Folk musician and Padma Shri awardee Sonam Tshering Lepcha died at 92 in Kalimpong, West Bengal Folk Musician, composer, Lyricist and Padmashree awardee Sonam Tshering Lepcha (92) passed away at Kalimpong, West Bengal due to age related ailments. He was born on 3rd January, 1928 at Bong Busty, Kalimpong, West Bengal. He played a major role in reviving and promoting the Lepcha Culture which is one of the indigenous culture of Sikkim. He received the Sangeet NatakAkademi Award of the Sangeet NatakAkademi in 1995.
Former Taiwan president, Lee Teng-hui dubbed as “Mr. Democracy” passed away at the age of 97 in Taipei City, Taiwan Former Taiwanese President, Mr. Lee Teng-hui (97) died at Beitou District, Taipei City, Taiwan due to infection, and heart ailments. He was born on 15th January 1923, Sanzhi, Taiwan. He was popularly known as “Mr. Democracy” for eradicating the dictatorial rule in favour of unbiased pluralism in Taiwan.
Malayalam Actor Anil Murali passed away at the age of 51 Anil Murali (51), Veteran Malayalam actor who acted in more than 200 movies in Tamil, Malayalam and Telugu, passed away at the hospital in Kochi, Kerala where he was admitted due to liver ailments on 22nd July 2020. He hails from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Sahitya AkademiAwardee Sa. Kandasamy passed away at 81 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu The famous writer and documentary Filmmaker Sa. Kandasamy (81) passed away in Chennai, Tamil Nadu due to heart ailments. He was born in 1940, Mayiladuthurai district, Tamil Nadu. He won the Sahitya Akademi award for his Novel ‘Visaranai Commission.’ He started his career in the year 1968 with the publication of his novel, Chayavanam / Sayavanam later listed by the National Book Trust as a masterpiece in modern Indian Literature.
Former Samajwadi party leader and Rajya Sabha MP Amar Singh dies at 64 in Singapore The former Samajwadi party leader and Rajya Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) Amar Singh (64) had passed away in Singapore due to Kidney ailments. He was born on January 27, 1956 at Aligarh in Uttar Pradesh. From 5th July 2016 to 1st August 2020, he was re-elected as the member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. (Constituency: Uttar Pradesh).
Minister of Technical Education of U.P, Kamal Rani Varun died at the age of 62 Minister of Technical Education of Uttar Pradesh, Kamala Rani Varun (62) had passed away in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh due to the infection of COVID-19. She was born on 3 May, 1958 in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh. She belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She also served as the Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha from the year 1996 to 1999.
Former AP Minister P Manikyala Rao died at 59 due to COVID-19 Former Andhra Pradesh (AP) Minister Pydikondala (P) Manikyala Rao (59) passed away due to COVID- 19 infection in a private hospital in Vijayawada, AP. He was a Senior BJP leader. He was born on November 1, 1961 at AP. He belongs to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He served as the Endowment Minister in Chandrababu Naidu’s cabinet between 2014-2018.
Nobel Peace Prize Winner John Hume Passed Away at 83 The Nobel Peace Prize winner (1998) and prominent Northern Ireland politician John Hume (83) passed away in a Londonderry nursing home due to a long period of illness on August 3, 2020. He was born on January 8, 1937 in Derry (Londonderry), Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom- UK). He is the only person to receive the three major peace awards (Gandhi Peace Prize, Nobel Peace Prize & Martin Luther King Award).
Padma Bhushan Awardee & Former Arunachal Pradesh Governor Ram D Pradhan passes away Former Arunachal Pradesh Governor and Veteran Bureaucrat Ramachandra Dattatraya Pradhan (92) passed away in Mumbai. He was born on 27th June, 1928. He has held the position of Home Secretary &
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ChiefSecretaryofMaharashtra.HereceivedPadmaBhushanthirdhighestcivilianawardofIndiain1987. He also won a seat in Maharashtra Legislative Council in June1990.
Former Maharashtra CM, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar passed away at 88 in Pune Senior Congressman and former Maharashtra Chief Minister (CM) Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar (88) passed away in Pune, Maharashtra. He Was born on 1 September 1931 in Nilanga, Hyderabad state (British India). He had served as the 10th Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a year between 3rd June 1985 and 6th March 1986.
Father of Modern Indian theatre & Padma Awardee Ebrahim Alkazi Passed Away at 94 The Father of Modern Indian theatre, Ebrahim Alkazi (94) passed away in Escorts Hospital, New Delhi due to a massive heart attack. He was a theatre director, drama teacher, and the longest-serving director of the National School of Drama (NSD) i.e., from 1962 to 1977. He was credited for revolutionising India theatre. He was born on October 18, 1925 in Pune, Maharashtra. He won the Padma Vibhushan in 2010, Padma Bhushan in 1991, Padma Shri in 1966.
William English, co-creator of computer mouse, passes away aged 91 The co-creator of the mouse, Mr. William English (91) died in California due to respiratory failure. He was born in 1929, Kentucky and studied electrical engineering at university before joining the US Navy. He built the first mouse in 1963, with the help of the sketches made by Doug Engelbart while they were working on early computing.
Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction novelist Shirley Ann Grau died at 91 The famous fiction writer and Pulitzer Prize-winner, Shirley Ann Grau (91) died due to stroke in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She was born on July 8, 1929 in New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. She won the Pulitzer Prize for her fourth book, “The Keepers of the House” in 1965.
Writer and activist Sadia Dehlvi dies aged 63 The writer and activist Sadia Dehlvi (63) died of cancer at Delhi. She was born in 1957, came from the royal ‘Shama’ family, edited the Urudu women’s journal Bano. Her popular books include ‘The Sufi Courtyard: Dargahs of Delhi’ 2012 and ‘Sufism: The Heart of Islam’ (2009) published by HarperCollins.
Veteran CPM leader and former West Bengal Transport Minister Shyamal Chakraborty passed away at 76 The former Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPM) and former West Bengal Transport Minister Shyamal Chakraborty (76) passed away in Calcutta. He served as the three-time transport minister of West Bengal from 1982 to 1996. He had served as a member of the Rajya Sabha MP (Member of Parliament) from 2008 to 2014.
PadmaShriawardeeandprominentculturalhistorianandexponentofMewatigharanaMukund Lath passes away at82 A prominent culture historian and exponent of Mewati Gharana, Mukund Lath (82) passed away on 6th August, 2020 in Jaipur. He was born on 9th October 1937 in Kolkata. He was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, in 2010 for his contributions to the field of arts and cultural history. Some of his works on performing arts are: ‘A Study of Dattilam: A Treatise on the Sacred Music of Ancient India’ (1978), ‘Sangita evam Chintan’ (1992), and ‘Transformation as Creation’ (1998).
Former MP & Senior Congress Leader, Nandi Yellaiah died due to COVID-19 at 78 in Telangana TheformerMemberofParliament(MP)&SeniorCongressLeader,NandiYellaiah(78)hadpassedaway duetoCOVID– 19infectionsinTelangana.HewasbornonJuly1,1942,inHyderabad,Telangana.Hewas the six-term member of Lok sabha& 2-term member of RajyaSabha.
Former Indian Football player Laishram Manitombi Singh Dies at 39 Former Indian Footballer and former Mohun Bagan club (Football club) captain Laishram Manitombi Singh was suffering from a prolonged illness and breathed his last on August 09, 2020 in his native village near Imphal, Manipur.
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Former Minister & YSRCP Veteran leader PenmatsaSambasiva Raju Passed Away PenmatsaSambasiva Raju (85), the YSR Congress Party (YSRCP) veteran leader passed away due to his prolonged ill-health, at a private hospital in Visakhapatnam. He served as Transport Minister and Pro- tem Speaker of the united Andhra Pradesh Assembly. He was the only MLA who won the election for 8 times in the united Andhra Pradesh Assembly.
Renowned Urdu Poet RahatIndori passes away at 70 Urdu Poet & Lyricist, RahatIndori who was being treated for COVID-19 died of Heart Attack at Aurobindo Hospital, Indore. He was born as Rahat Qureshi on 1 January, 1950 in Indore. Indori with a 50-year career in poetry was an Urdu scholar of great repute, he was one of the biggest mushaira (poetry symposiums) stars in the country.
Veteran Sports Journalist GK Menon Passed Away at 93 Veteran sports journalist Gopal Krishna (G.K) Menon (93) passed away in suburban Mumbai, Maharashtra. He has worked with the Indian Express and The Times of India before which he was a freelancer. He was a cricketer at club level. He ended his freelancer career in the early 1990s.
Veteran Malayalam Poet and Drama Writer ChunakkaraRamankutty Passed Away at 84 Veteran Malayalam poet, lyricist and drama writer ChunakkarRamankutty (84) passed away due to old age- related ailments in a hospital at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He hails from Chunakkara, Alappuzha, Kerala. In 2015, Kerala Sangeetha NatakaAkademihonoured him with “Guru Shreshta Award”.
Hindustani Classical Vocalist & Padma Awardee Pandit Jasraj Passed Away at 90 Pandit Jasraj (90), an Indian classical vocalist, belonging to the Mewati gharana (a musical apprenticeship tribe of Hindustani classical music) passed away in his home in New Jersey, New York, United States(U.S.) due to cardiac arrest. He was born on January 28, 1930 in Pili Mandori, a village in the Hisar district of Haryana. He is a recipient of the Padma Shri (1975), Padma Bhushan (1990) and Padma Vibhushan (2000).
British Tennis Great Angela Buxton dies at 85 Angela Buxton (85), the former British tennis player and two-time Grand Slam Doubles champion and Equal Rights Pioneer, died recently. Angela Buxton was the doubles partner of Althea Gibson, who was the first Black person to win a major title in 1956. Buxton was one of the first to be inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in 1981.
Inventor of Pixel &Computer Scientist, Russell Kirsch passed away at 91 Russel A. Kirsch (91), the computer scientist credited with inventing pixel passed away at his home in Portland, Oregon, United States. Pixels, the digital dots used to display photos; video and computer screens were invented by Russell Kirsch in 1957. He scanned the world’s first digital photograph. He was born in Manhattan, United State of America (USA) in 1929.
Filmmaker-actor NishikantKamat Passes Away at the Age of 50 Filmmaker-actor NishikantKamat (50) passed away due to multiple organ failure at the AIG Hospitals, Hyderabad. He was suffering from Liver Cirrhosis for the last two years. NishikantKamat was born on 17th June, 1970 in Dadar, Mumbai, Maharashtra. He won the National Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi for Dombivali Fast in 2006.
Former India Footballer Bhaskar Maity passed away at 67 Former India Footballer (Goalkeeper) turned Coach, Bhaskar Maity (67) passed away due to massive stroke at a hospital in Navi Mumbai. He represented India against Iraq at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok. At the domestic level, he represented Maharashtra in Santosh Trophy from 1975-1979.
Former Cricketer GopalaswamyKasturirangan dies of heart attack at 89 Former Cricketer, Administrator and Pitch Curator GopalaswamyKasturirangan (89) passed away due to heart attack at his Bangalore Residence. He was born on 12th October 1930 in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. He served as Chairman of BCCI grounds and pitches committee and Vice-President of the Karnataka State Cricket Association
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(KSCA).
Pascal Lissouba Ex-Congo President passed away Pascal Lissouba (88), the former President of Republic of Congo, which is also known as Congo- Brazzaville passed away in Southern France due to illness. He was born in Tsinguidi, Republic of Congo. He belonged to the Pan-African Union for Social Democracy (UADS) party.
Computer Pioneer Arnold Spielberg, who Co-designed GE-225 Mainframe Computer Passed Away Arnold Spielberg (103), a Pioneered computer designer & an innovative engineer passed away in Los Angeles, California of natural causes. He along with Charles Propster designed the ‘GE-225 mainframe computer’, while he worked for General Electric. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on February 6, 1917. He helped to develop the 1st point-of-sale computerised cash register, it is regarded as his greatest contribution. He designed and patented the 1st electronic library system, which was implemented as an interrogation system for data stored on an array of magnetic tapes.
Veteran Assamese Folk Singer Archana Mahanta Passed Away Veteran Assamese folk singer Archana Mahanta (72) passed away in Health City hospital, Guwahati, Assam following a brain stroke. She was also a reputed artist of All India Radio (Guwahati). She is the wife of late Khagen Mahanta (known as ‘Bihu King’) and mother of Angaraag ‘Papon’ Mahanta, popular Indian singer and founder of the folk-fusion band Papon and The East India Company.
Former Supreme Court Judge Justice A.R. Lakshmanan Passed Away Former Supreme Court Judge, A.R. Lakshmanandied (78) passed away in a private hospital in Trichy, Tamil Nadu following a heart attack. Currently he was the sitting representative of Tamil Nadu in the MullaiPeriyar Panel headed by Justice A.S. Anand. He served as the chairman of the Law Commission (18th Law Commission) after his retirement. He was born in Devakottai in Sivaganga district, Tamil Nadu on March 22, 1942.
Vasanthakumar, Congress MP, and Founder of Vasanth & Co Died of COVID-19 H. Vasanthakumar (70), Congress Member of Parliament (Kanyakumari Lok sabha Constituency), founder and chairman of Vasanth & Co, passed away in Apollo hospital, Chennai, Tamil Nadu due to COVID-19. He is the first MP from Tamil Nadu to die due to COVID-19. The Indian businessman and politician from Tamil Nadu was born on April 14, 1950 in Kanyakumari, Tamil Nadu.
Athletics Coach Purushotham Rai dies a day before Receiving Dronacharya Award Athletics Coach Purushotham Rai (79) passed away due to Cardiac Arrest, a day before he was to be conferred with the Dronacharya Award from President Ram Nath Govind in the lifetime category.
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IMPORTANT DAYS
World Ranger Day 2020 – July 31 World Ranger Day is celebrated annually on July 31 around the world and it is promoted by the 54- member association of the International Ranger Federation (IRF). The day celebrates the accomplishments done by rangers around the world and honours those who have died in the course of their duties.
World Breastfeeding Week 2020 – Aug 1-7 World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated annually in the first week of August (from 1st of August to 7th of August) around 120 countries in the World. The day was commenced after signing the Innocenti Declaration in August 1990. The global campaigning was first organized by the WABA (World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action). The day is celebrated to encourage breastfeeding and improve the babies’ health around the world. The theme for the year 2020 is, “Support Breast feeding for a healthier planet”.
World Sanskrit Day 2020 – August 3 The World Sanskrit Day which is also known as Sanskrit Diwas or Vishvasamskritadinam is celebrated all over the world on the Shravana Poornima, full moon day of the Hindu month Shravana. The World Sanskrit Day 2020 is celebrated on 3rd August 2020. All India Radio (AIR) broadcast its first ever special program titled, ‘Bahujan Bhasha-Sanskrit Bhasha’ on 3rd August 2020 on account of World Sanskrit Day. “Sudharma”, the only Sanskrit newspaper in the world, has been published from Mysore, Karnataka since 1970.
First Muslim Women Rights Day Observed on August 1 2020 Union Minority Affairs Minister Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi informed that country observed the first anniversary of the passage of Muslim Women Act (Protection on Rights on Marriage Act) on 1st August 2019 which against the act of triple talaq or talaq-e-biddat and help to achieve gender equality for Muslim women as Muslim Women Rights Day. 1st August 2020 was recorded as the first Muslim Women Rights Day across India.
World Lung Cancer Day 2020: August 1 World Lung Cancer Day is observed annually on August 1 to raise awareness about the causes and treatment of lung cancer and its global impact, creating an educational movement to understand the risks of lung cancer and early treatment around the world. The World Lung Cancer Day campaign was initiated in 2012 by the Forum of International Respiratory Societies (FIRS) in collaboration with the members of the international lung health community such as the International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) and also including the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) in the U.S.
International Plastic Bag Free Day 2020 – July 3 The International Plastic Bag Free Day is a global initiative by the activists from activist associations like Zero Waste Europe’s Bag Free World and German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GAIA), observed on 3rd July every year to create a worldwide awareness about the Plastic pollution and the contribution of the single use plastics to the global catastrophe. The first International Plastic Bag Free Day was observed on 3rd July 2009.
Hiroshima Day 2020 – August 6 August 6th of every year is observed as Hiroshima Day to mark the world’s first atomic bombing on Hiroshima, Japan during World War II which instantly killed more than 70,000 people. The day is to remember the victims of the bombing and to promote world peace and create awareness about the hazards of Nuclear Power and nuclear weapons. This year marks the 75th Anniversary of Hiroshima Day. On 6th august 1945, The United States of America detonated the first nuclear bomb named “Little Boy”, a uranium gun-type bomb, from a modified B-29 bomber named Enola Gay at 1900 feet above the city of Hiroshima followed by “Fat Man”, plutonium implosion bomb over Nagasaki on 9th August 1945.
6th edition of National Handloom Day is observed on August 7, 2020 Every year the Government of India (GoI) celebrates the National Handloom day on August 7, to create awareness about the Handloom Industry amongst the public at large and its contribution to socio- economic development. The 6th edition of the Nation Handloom Day is celebrated on August 7, 2020. The Union Government had declared 7th August as the first National Handloom Day in July 2015. The day chosen in order to commemorate the Swadeshi Movement, launched on August 7, 1905.
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78th Anniversary of Quit India Movement – August 08, 2020 On August 8, 2020, Government of India commemorated the 78th Anniversary of the “Quit India Movement”. On this day in 1942, father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi gave the clarion call of ‘Do or Die’ to all Indians to drive away British people from the country. This day is observed as August Kranti Day every year.
World Biofuel Day 2020: August 10 World Biofuel Day is observed annually on August 10 to raise awareness about the importance of non- fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. The day honours the research experiments by Sir Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel (inventor of the diesel engine) who ran an engine with peanut oil in 1893. In India, the day has been celebrated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas since 2015. On the occasion of the day, a webinar was organized by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, with the theme “Biofuels towards Atmanirbhar Bharat”.
International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020 – August 9 The United Nations (UN’s) International Day of the World’s Indigenous People is annually observed on 9th August. The International Day of the World’s Indigenous People also known as World Tribal Day. The First International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples was celebrated on 9th August 1995. The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020 is celebrated under the theme – “COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience”.
Nagasaki Day 2020 – August 9 The 9th August of every year is observed as Nagasaki day all over the world to promote peace and to create awareness about the hazards of nuclear weapons. The 9th August 2020, Marks the 75th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki, Japan.
World Lion Day Observed Virtually on August 10, 2020 World Lion Day is observed across the world on August 10 every year. World Lion Day 2020 is being observed virtually this year due to the pandemic. In 2013, Dereck and Beverly Joubert, a husband-and- wife team of Big Cat Initiative and National Geographic began an initiative to form World Lion Day.
International Youth Day 2020 – August 12 The United Nations (UNs) International Youth Day (IYD) is annually celebrated on 12th August to raise awareness on the legal and cultural problems related to the youths all over the world and to celebrate and focus on the voices, actions and initiatives of young people. The First International Youths day was observed on 12th August 2000. The 2020’s theme of IYD is “Youth Engagement for Global Action”.
World Elephant Day 2020 – August 12 The 12th August of every year is celebrated as the World Elephant Day to create awareness on the need to conserve and preserve the elephants and their habitats. The First World Elephant Day was celebrated on 12th August 2012. The Idea to celebrate World Elephant Day was initiated by SivapornDardarananda,Secretary General of Elephant Reintroduction Foundation and Canadian filmmakers Patricia Sims and Michael Clark in 2011.
World Organ Donation Day 2020: August 13 World Organ Donation Day is observed annually on August 13 to motivate people to donate organs after death and to spread awareness about the importance of organ donation. The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of India launched the 6th World and 1st ever Indian Organ Donation Day and Organ Donation Congress in 2010 in New Delhi.
International Left handers Day 2020: August 13 The World Left-Handers-Day is observed every year on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of Southpaws. Around 10 percent of the people worldwide are left-handed. It was first observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell who was founder of the Lefthanders International Inc.
Celebration of India’s 74th Independence Day 2020 – August 15 Indians all around the world celebrate the 74th Independence Day on 15th August 2020, to mark the independence of India from rule of British Raj on 15th August 1947.
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World Humanitarian Day 2020 – August 19 United Nations (UN) World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is annually observed on 19th August. The First WHD was observed on 19th August 2009. The 19th August 2020 marks the 11th World Humanitarian Day. The date 19th August was chosen in memory of the 19th August 2003 bombing in Canal Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq which killed 22 people including Sergio Vieira de Mello, Chief Humanitarian in Iraq.
World Photography Day 2020 – August 19 The World Photography Day also known as World Photo Day is observed annually on 19th August with an aim to inspire photographers across the globe to share a single photo with a purpose of sharing their world to the world. The day celebrates the arts, crafts, science and history of Photography. The first official World Photo Day was marked on 19th August 2010.
SadbhavanDiwas 2020 – August 20 Every year 20th August is celebrated as the SadbhavanaDiwas which is also known as Communal Harmony Day, to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of former Prime Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi. The Government of India posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award to Rajiv Gandhi in 1991.
World Mosquito Day 2020: August 20 The World Mosquito Day is observed on 20th August every year to raise awareness about the Causes and Prevention of Malaria and to commemorate the discovery made by British Doctor Sir Ronald Ross in 1897 that female Anopheles mosquitoes transmit Malaria between humans. Sir Ronald Ross was awarded the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1902 for the discovery, he became the first British Nobel Laureate.
International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2020 – August 21 United Nations (UN)’s International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism is annually observed on 21st August. The first International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism was observed on 21st August 2018. The event of 2020 are organized by UN Counter Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) in collaboration with the Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism.
World Senior Citizen’s Day 2020: August 21 World Senior Citizen’s Day is observed annually on August 21 to raise awareness about the various issues including age deterioration and elder abuse that affect senior citizens. The day was officially founded by Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States of America, in 1988. He signed Proclamation 5847 declaring August 21st as the day. The day was 1st celebrated on October 1, 1991.
International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief 2020 – August 22 United Nations (UN)’s International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is observed annually on August 22 as a response to the violence based on religion and belief. The year 2020 marks the 2nd International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/73/296 on 28th May 2019.
Earth Overshoot Day 2020: August 22 Earth Overshoot Day 2020 is observed on August 22, 2020. Earth Overshoot Day is the date when the demands of biological resources and services of the year by humanity exceeds the generation capacity of Earth in that year. The first Global Earth Overshoot Day campaign was launched in 2006. The Earth Overshoot Day was conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation in partnership with Global Footprint Network. The Computation of Earth Overshoot Day: (Earth’s Bio capacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day.
International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition 2020: August 23 United Nations (UN)’s International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition is observed annually on 23rd August to spread the information about the historic events associated with slave trade and its consequences and to promote the tolerance and human rights. The uprising against the transatlantic slave trade in Santo Domingo (Todays Haiti and Dominican Republic) on the night of 22 to 23rd August 1791 played a key role in the abolition of slave trade and dehumanization.
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World Gujarati day 2020: August 24 World Gujarati Day 2020 is celebrated on 24th August 2020 to commemorate the birth anniversary of the famous Gujarati poet and social reformer, Narmadashankar Dave popularly known as Veer Narmad. His poem “Jai JaiGaravi Gujarat” is used as the state song of Gujarat.
World Water Week 2020: August 24 – 28, 2020 The World Water Week of the year 2020 is observed as the World Water Week at Home (WWWeek at Home) from 24rd August 2020 to 28th August 2020. The World Water Week, organised by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) since 1991. The theme of WWWeek at Home 2020 is ‘Water and Climate change: Accelerating Action’.
National Sports Day 2020: August 29 National Sports Day is annually observed on 29th August to commemorate the birth anniversary of Indian Hockey Legend Major Dhyan Chand Singh. The Government of India decided to celebrate the 29th August of every year as the National Sports Day in 2012.
International Day Against Nuclear Tests: 29th August 2020 United Nations(UN)’s International Day Against Nuclear Tests is observed annually on 29th August to create awareness and to educate the people about the facts and effects of nuclear weapon test explosions and other nuclear explosions. The first International Day against Nuclear Tests was observed on 29th August 2010. The Republic of Kazakhstan with a large number of sponsors and cosponsors initiated the resolution to declare 29th August as the International Day Against Nuclear Tests to commemorate the closure of Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test site on 29 August 1991.
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