NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Manohar Lal Khattar launches 3 Online Platforms to Boost Power Sector Efficiency & Transparency: Union Minister of Power Manohar Lal Khattar has launched three online platforms to enhance the efficiency, transparency, and effectiveness of power sector in New Delhi. The portals are named as Portal for Online Monitoring of Projects – Thermal (PROMPT), Disaster Resilient Infrastructure for Power Sector (DRIPS) and JAL VIDYUT DPR. All these online portals have been developed by the Central Electricity Authority under the Union Ministry of Power. NTPC helped the Central Electricity Authority in developing the PROMPT platform.
2. KVIC partners with Department of Posts to accelerate PMEGP unit verification: Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Department of Posts, which is part of the Communications Ministry. Under this MoU, the postal department employees will physically verify new units being set up across the country under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP).KVIC will also train the postal department employees for physical verification.Through this, KVIC will benefit from the services of 1,65,000 post offices spread across the country, out of which 1,39,067 are working in rural areas.Through this, along with physical verification of PMEGP units, margin money subsidy will also be settled at a faster pace.
3. Ola becomes only EV maker to secure PLI certification for four electric scooters: Ola Electric’s S1 X 3 kWh and S1 X 4 kWh scooters have received certification for compliance with the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the automobile and auto components sector.This certification, awarded by the Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI), comes after Ola Electric successfully met the minimum localisation criteria of 50% as mandated by the Ministry of Heavy Industries.The company stands to receive incentives ranging from 13% to 18% of the determined sales value of compliant products for up to five consecutive financial years starting from Fiscal 2024.With this Ola Electric has become the only EV maker to get PLI compliance certification for four products: S1 Air, S1 Pro, and S1 X models in both 3 kWh and 4 kWh versions. The S1 Air received PLI certification earlier at the Auto PLI Conclave held in January 2024.
4. JGU to establish India’s First Constitution Museum for 75th Anniversary of Constitution: P. Jindal Global University (JGU) is set to launch India’s first Constitution Museum, marking the 75th anniversary of the adoption of the Constitution of India.The museum, named “The Constitution Academy and The Rights & Freedoms Museum,” will be inaugurated on November 26, 2024, at the JGU campus.The museum aims to “demystify the Constitution and make it accessible to wider audiences.” The museum will feature a Children’s Corner with interactive installations and educational materials designed to introduce young visitors to the Constitution in an engaging manner.The Constitution Academy will feature sections dedicated to different parts of the Constitution and their significance. It will include profiles of Constituent Assembly members, debates, and deliberations that shaped the Constitution. The museum will use various formats, including textual, audio-visual, and experiential, to engage visitors.
5. Deepti Gaur Mukherjee assumes charge as MCA Secretary: Deepti Gaur Mukherjee, a 1993 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, has assumed charge as Secretary to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).She has succeeded Manoj Govil, who has assumed charge as the Expenditure Secretary.Prior to this appointment, Mukherjee was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Health Authority.She takes over as the top official of MCA at a time when the Ministry is working on a slew of legislations and reforms that may be introduced in the next few months.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. VP Jagdeep Dhankhar inaugurates 19th CII India-Africa Business Conclave: Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar has inaugurated the 19th CII India Africa Business Conclave in New Delhi.The theme of the 19th CII India Africa Business Conclave is – Creating One Future.The Conclave will explore the role of the India-Africa partnership in regional and global value chain integration.The 19th Conclave will focus on some of the key areas of the India-Africa partnership and emerging opportunities in Agriculture, Food Processing, Defence, Healthcare Pharmaceuticals, Digital Partnership, Power and Energy, Financial Partnership, Infrastructure, Quality Ecosystem, Skill Capacity Development, and others.The first edition of the CII India Africa Business Conclave was held in 2005.
2. Sri Lanka announces visa-free access to Indians, nationals from 34 other countries from Oct 31: The Sri Lankan government has announced visa-free access to citizens from 35 countries, including India, the U.K. and the U.S. to the island nation for six months.Countries on the list include India, the U.K., China, the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Australia, Denmark, Poland, Kazakhstan, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Nepal, Indonesia, Russia, and Thailand.Other countries include Malaysia, Japan, France, Canada, the Czech Republic, Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Israel, Belarus, Iran, Sweden, South Korea, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain and New Zealand.Visitors from India, China, Russia, Japan, Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia received tourist visas free of charge to Sri Lanka.
3. UAE joins BRICS partners for launch of Centre for Industrial Competences: The UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology joined its BRICS counterparts on the launch of a Centre for Industrial Competences in cooperation with the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) to support the development of Industrial skills and capabilities.The declaration was made at the 8th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting, bringing industry, trade and technology ministries together from the UAE, Russia, Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Iran, and South Africa.The meeting, chaired by Russia, takes place under the theme of “strengthening multilateralism for equitable global development and security”.The centre will promote partnerships within the framework of the New Industrial Revolution (NIR) to identify interests, challenges, and opportunities in the rapidly evolving industrial landscape. In addition, the centre aims to enable industry and the develop industrial skills of its members.
4. 21 August – World Senior Citizens Day: World Senior Citizens Day is observed every year on 21 August.This day aims to raise awareness of the issues being faced by older adults like health deterioration and elder abuse.It is also celebrated to acknowledge their contributions towards society.
5. 23 August – International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition: International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is observed annually on August 23.This day raises awareness about the horrifying nature of the slave trade and reminds people about the transatlantic slave trade and its implications.The transatlantic trading patterns were established in the mid-17 century. It involved trading ships from Europe, sailing from Europe with manufactured goods to the west coast of Africa, where the goods would be exchanged for people captured by African traders.More than 480,000 people were enslaved in the British Colonies by the 1790s. Enslaved people were forced to toil on plantations in the Caribbean and the Americas. These plantations produced products such as sugar or tobacco meant for consumption in Europe.
OTHER UPDATES:
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. JNCASR partners with HZL to scale up indigenous Zn-ion battery technologies: Vedanta-owned Hindustan Zinc Ltd., India’s largest integrated zinc producer, has signed an MoU with the Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) to collaborate and develop new variants of zinc materials to propel the commercialization of zinc-based batteries.At present, lithium-ion batteries dominate the market but lithium availability, geographic concentration of mineral processing, and safety concerns around combustion issues pose some key challenges to the advancement of sustainable energy solutions.The indigenous development of zinc-based batteries will also help the exchequer save due to the element’s abundance within the country. Some of the widely recognized zinc-based battery chemistries include zinc-manganese, zinc-carbon, nickel-zinc, and zinc-air.The collaboration will focus on the research and development of zinc alloys as anodes for zinc ion and zinc air batteries, developing electrolytes for high-performance zinc alloy anodes, and designing and developing chemical processes for recycling zinc metal-based batteries.
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. Karnataka Bank unveils credit line on UPI in partnership with Navi Technologies: Karnataka Bank and financial services company Navi Technologies have launched the credit line on UPI, an offering by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).The private sector lender will be offering credit lines through a strategic partnership with Navi, marking Karnataka Bank as one of the early adopters of this next-gen credit product.This is currently offered to a closed group of select users who are pre-qualified for the product, and it will be launched to more users based on customer feedback.The product provides freedom to credit access and is expected to revolutionise how people pay without cards through UPI.
2. NPCI launches ‘UPI Circle’ for Secure Payments Among Trusted Users: The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has introduced a new feature called ‘UPI Circle’ on its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) platform.This feature allows primary UPI account holders to securely delegate payment responsibilities to trusted secondary users.Full Delegation: The secondary user is authorised to complete transactions within set limits without further approval.Partial Delegation: The secondary user initiates transactions, but the primary user must authenticate and finalise them using their UPI PIN.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1. President Murmu presents Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar 2024: The President of India, Droupadi Murmu presented the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar-2024 at an award ceremony held at GantantraMandap, Rashtrapati Bhavan.In the first edition of the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, 33 awards were presented to distinguished scientists in four categories – Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva, and Vigyan Team.The Vigyan Ratna Award, given to the scientists who have made lifetime contributions in any field of Science and Technology, was presented to Prof. Govindarajan Padmanabhan, a pioneer of molecular biology and biotechnology research in India.
The Vigyan Shri Awards, given to the scientists who have made distinguished contributions to Science and Technology, were presented to 13 scientists for their path-breaking research in their respective domains.
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