NATIONAL UPDATES:
1.
Ayush Minister Sarbananada Sonowal launches ‘Y-Break’ app: The Union AYUSH
Minister, Sarbananda Sonowal has launched ‘Y Break’ Yoga protocol mobile
application in New Delhi. The app has been developed by Morarji Desai National
Institute of Yoga (MDNIY). The app was launched as a part of the week-long
activities and campaigns organised by the Ministry of Ayush to commemorate
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav from August 30 to September 5, 2021.
About the app: The Y-Break (or the
“Yoga Break) mobile application is a unique five-minute Yoga protocol app,
designed especially for working professionals to de-stress, refresh and
re-focus at their workplace to increase their productivity, and consists of
Asanas, Pranayam and Dhyana. While on one hand the app will facilitate doing
yoga and meditation with ease anywhere in just 5 minutes, it will also bring
awareness about different Yoga practices.
2.
Assam cabinet decides to remove Rajiv Gandhi’s name from Orang national park: The Assam cabinet
has decided to remove the name of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi from the
Orang National Park. Since the name Orang is associated with the sentiments of
the Adivasi and tea-tribe community, the cabinet has decided to rename the
Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park as Orang National Park. Located on the North
Bank of Brahmaputra, Orang National Park spread over 78.80 sq km is the oldest forest
reserve in the state. It was named a wildlife sanctuary in 1985 and declared a
national park in 1999.
Note: Assam Governor: Jagdish Mukhi; Assam
Chief Minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma.
3.
IIT Ropar develop’s world’s first ‘Plant based’ smart air-purifier: Indian Institutes
of Technology (IIT), Ropar and Kanpur and Faculty of Management Studies of
Delhi University have jointly launched a living-plant based air purifier named
“Ubreathe Life”. This air purifier will boost the air purification process in
indoor spaces, such as hospitals, schools, offices and Homes. It is the world’s
first, state-of-the-art ‘Smart Bio-Filter’ that can make breathing fresh.
About the Ubreathe Life:
(1) The Ubreathe Life technology works
through the air-purifying natural leafy plants. The room air interacts with
leaves and goes to the soil-root zone where maximum pollutants are purified.
(2) It has been developed by the IIT Ropar
incubated startup, Urban Air Laboratory. The specific plants tested for
air-purification include Peace Lily, Snake Plant, Spider plant etc. and all
have given good results in purifying indoor-air, the company has claimed.
(3) The purifier effectively improves
indoor air quality by removing particulate, gaseous and biological contaminants
while increasing the oxygen levels in the indoor space through specific plants,
UV disinfection and a stack of Pre-filter, Charcoal filter and HEPA (high
efficiency particulate air) filter fitted in a specially designed wooden box,
the company has said about the air purifier’s functioning mechanism.
4.
IRS officer JB Mohapatra appointed as CBDT chairman: IRS officer JB
Mohapatra was appointed as the chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes.
His appointment was approved today by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
(ACC). He has already served as the acting chairman of the CBDT. A 1985-batch
IRS officer, Mohapatra was given the additional charge as CBDT chairman after
the tenure of incumbent PC Mody ended this year in May. Earlier, Mohapatra had
served as the principal chief commissioner of Income Tax for the Andhra Pradesh
and Telangana region.
Note: Central Board of Direct Taxes
Established: 1924; Central Board of Direct Taxes Headquarters: New Delhi.
INTERNATIONALUPDATES:
1.
New Development Bank approves UAE, Bangladesh and Uruguay as a new member: The Shanghai-based
New Development Bank (NDB) has approved the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and
Bangladesh as its new member countries. In 2020, the NDB Board of Governors
initiated the negotiation to expand its membership. As a result UAE, Uruguay
and Bangladesh have been admitted as the first new member countries of the NDB.
NDB was established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South
Africa) countries in 2015. The bank supports public or private projects through
loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.
Note: New Development Bank Headquarter:
Shanghai, China; New Development Bank President: Marcos Prado Troyjo; New
Development Bank Founder: BRICS; New Development Bank Founded: 15 July 2014.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1.
Tokyo Paralympics: Avani Lekhara becomes first Indian woman to win two medals: Avani Lekhara won
the bronze medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 event with a score of
445.9 to become the first Indian woman to win two medals at the Paralympics.
Lekhara had also won gold in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event. India’s
medal tally now stands at 12 at these Paralympics. It has now won two golds,
six silvers and four bronze medals. This is India’s best tally at a single
edition of the Para Games. It had won four medals at Rio 2016 and four at the
1984 Paralympics.
2.
Tokyo Paralympics: Praveen Kumar wins silver in men’s high jump: Praveen Kumar
became India’s fourth medallist in men’s high jump and 11th medallist overall
at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 as he won silver with an Asian record jump of
2.07m. Praveen cleared the Asian record with a 2.07m jump, finishing behind
Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who managed the best jump of 2.10m on a
rain-soaked track at the Olympic Stadium.
Praveen is India’s fourth medallist in
men’s high jump at Tokyo Games after Nishad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, and
Sharad Kumar.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1.
RBI to setup committee on NUE licenses: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) will set up
a committee to scrutinize applications and give recommendations on New Umbrella
Entity (NUE) licenses. The 5 member committee will be headed by Shri. P.
Vasudevan. The committee will be responsible for looking into several aspects
of NUE, from the macroeconomic impact of such a step to the security risks. The
committee’s recommendations will be taken into consideration before doling out
the licences. NUEs will establish their own payment infrastructure to compete
with the National Payments Corp. of India (NPCI). The government hopes to build
a settlement system similar to the unified payments interface (UPI) with the
NUEs. The system will be focused on small and medium enterprises, merchants and
consumers. The RBI had in August 2020 issued guidelines for creating
“for-profit NUEs”.
Note: RBI 25th Governor: Shaktikant Das;
Headquarters: Mumbai; Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1.
GST collections in August at over Rs 1.12 lakh crore: GST revenue
remained above Rs 1 trillion marks for the second straight month in August at
over Rs 1.12 trillion, 30 per cent higher than the collection in the year-ago
period. The mop-up in August is, however, lower than Rs 1.16 trillion collected
in July 2021. Which Central GST is Rs 20,522 crore, State GST is Rs 26,605
crore, Integrated GST is Rs 56,247 crore (including Rs 26,884 crore collected
on import of goods) and Cess is Rs 8,646 crore (including Rs 646 crore
collected on import of goods).
The revenues for the month of August 2021
are 30 per cent higher than the GST revenues in the same month last year. In
August 2020, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) collection was Rs 86,449 crore.
Compared to the August 2019 revenues of Rs 98,202 crore, this is a growth of 14
per cent. During August this year, the revenues from domestic transactions
(including import of services) were 27 per cent higher than the revenues from
these sources during the same month last year.
List of GST Collection previous
months:
July 2021: Rs 1,16,393 crore
June 2021: Rs 92,849 crore
May 2021: Rs 1,02,709 crore
April 2021: ₹1.41 lakh crore(All time
Highest)
March 2021: Rs. 1.24lacs cr.
Feb 2021: Rs 1,13,143 crore
January 2021: ₹ 1,19,847 crore
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 names announced: Ramon Magsaysay Award 2021 awardees
have been announced, the winners will be formally awarded the Magsaysay Award
during the November 28 event at the Ramon Magsaysay Centre in Manila. Among the
awardees is Dr Firdousi Qadri of Bangladesh and Muhammad Amjad Saqib of
Pakistan, as well as Philippine fisheries and community environmentalist
Roberto Ballon, American citizen Steven Munsi, who works for humanitarian work
and help refugees, and Indonesian WatchDoc for investigative journalism.
List of awardees of Ramon Magsaysay
Awards 2021:
(1) Muhammad Amjad Saqib: A visionary who
founded one of the largest microfinance institutions in Pakistan, servicing
millions of families.
(2) Firdausi Qadri: A Bangladeshi scientist
who has been instrumental in discovering vaccines that have saved millions of
lives.
(3) Steven Muncy: A humanitarian who has
been helping the displaced refugees of Southeast Asia rebuild their lives.
(4) WatchDoc: A production house that
ingeniously combines documentary filmmaking and alternative platforms to
highlight underreported issues in Indonesia.
(5) Roberto Ballon: A fisherman from
Southern Philippines who has led a community in restoring their rich aquatic
resources and their primary source of livelihood.
About the Ramon Magsaysay Award: The Ramon Magsaysay
Award is Asia’s highest honor and is widely regarded as the region’s equivalent
of the Nobel Prize. It celebrates the memory and leadership example of the
third Philippine president after whom the award is named, and is given every
year to individuals or organizations in Asia who manifest the same selfless
service that ruled the life of the late and beloved Filipino leader.
DEFENCE
1.
Indian Army contingent to participate in Exercise ZAPAD 2021: Indian Army will
participate in Exercise ZAPAD 2021, a Multi Nation exercise being held at
Nizhniy in Russia from 3-16 September. ZAPAD 2021 is one of the theatre level
exercises of the Russian Armed Forces and will focus primarily on operations
against terrorists. Over a dozen countries from the Eurasian and South Asian
Regions will participate in this signature event.
About the exercise:
(1) The exercise aims to enhance military
and strategic ties amongst the participating nations while they plan and
execute this exercise.
(2) The Indian contingent has been put
through a strenuous training schedule that encompasses all facets of
conventional operations including mechanised, airborne and heliborne,
counter-terrorism, combat conditioning and firing.
(3) In all, 17 countries are participating
in ZAPAD including Mongolia, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan,
Serbia, Russia, India and Belarus.
(4) Pakistan, China, Vietnam, Malaysia,
Bangladesh, Myanmar, Uzbekistan and Sri Lanka are observers at the exercises.
OBITUARIES
1. Veteran Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Geelani passes away: Veteran Kashmiri separatist leader and former chief of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), Syed Ali Shah Geelani passed away. He was 91 years old. Syed Ali Gilani was born on September 29, 1929, to Syed Peer Shah Gilani of Zoori Munz village in Tehsil Bandipora. Gilani received his early education at Sopore and finished his studies at the Oriental College, Lahore Pakistan.
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