NATIONAL UPDATES:
1. Indian Railway
installed ‘Meghdoot’ machines at Mumbai stations: Indian Railways have set up
‘Meghdoot’ machines at Dadar, Thane and other stations of the Mumbai Division.
The unique ‘Meghdoot’ machines use innovative technology to convert water
vapour in the air into potable water. The contract for setting up 17
‘MEGHDOOT’, Atmospheric Water Generator Kiosks’ over Mumbai Division of Central
Railway under NINFRIS policy for a period of 5 years has been awarded to
Maithri Aquatech Pvt Ltd. Atmospheric Water Generator:
a)
An Atmospheric Water Generator (AWG) is
a device that extracts water from ambient air. The technology utilizes the
science of condensation to extract water vapour from the surrounding
atmosphere. Maithri Aquatech’s MEGHDOOT – AWG uses innovative technology to
convert water vapour in the air into fresh and clean drinking water”.
b)
The technology allows operation in a
wide variety of ambient temperatures (18°C- 45°C) and relative humidity
conditions (25 per cent – 100 per cent).
c)
It produces water within hours of being
switched on, hence it can be used as an instant solution for potable water.
d)
The company has also collaborated with
the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad to produce
water of the highest quality.
2. NITI Aayog to
establish 500 Atal Tinkering Labs in J&K: Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) and
NITI Aayog will be establishing more than 500 Atal Tinkering Labs (ATLs) in
Jammu and Kashmir to nurture an innovative mindset among high school students.
ATL is the flagship initiative of the AIM launched by the Centre to nurture an
innovative mindset amongst high school students across India. Objective:
a)
The objectives of the AIM are to create
and promote an ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship across the country
via interventions at school, university, research institutions, MSME and
industry levels.
b)
The programmes of AIM cover 34 states
and Union Territories with the goal of leveraging India’s demographic dividend
by inspiring greater participation in the innovation ecosystem.
Note: NITI Aayog Vice
Chairman: Suman Bery; NITI Aayog CEO: Parameswaran Iyer.
3. World’s largest
religious monument to open in West Bengal: The largest religious monument in
the world, the Temple of Vedic Planetarium in West Bengal, which will serve as
the headquarters of the International Society of Krishna Consciousness
(ISKCON), will also have the world’s biggest dome. The Vedic Planetarium will
offer guests a tour of the various parts of the cosmic creation. The Temple of
Vedic Planetarium is ISKCON founder Srila Prabhupada’s vision and is apparently
inspired by the design of the Capitol building in the United States. Srila
Prabhupada stated his preference for the temple’s exterior style in July of
1976.
The Temple of Vedic
Planetarium is in West Bengal’s Mayapur in the Nadia district and, once
completed, it will be larger than the Taj Mahal and St. Paul’s Cathedral in the
Vatican. The temple will open in 2024, following a two-year delay brought on by
the COVID-19 pandemic. It will purportedly replace Cambodia’s 400-acre-large
Angkor Wat temple complex as the largest religious monument.
4.
Autobiography titled “The Hero of Tiger Hill” authored by Subedar Major Yadav: The autobiography
“The Hero of Tiger Hill: Autobiography of a Param Vir”, is about the inspiring
story of Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Yogendra Singh Yadav (Retd), the
Youngest Param Vir Chakra (PVC) awardee, at the age of 19 for his actions in
the 1999 Kargil conflict. This autobiography is published by Srishti Publishers
& Distributors.
The book was mainly focused on the night of
July 3, 1999, 19 years old Yadav was given a crucial task with the Ghatak
Platoon of 18 Grenadiers Regiment in order to capture the Tiger Hill.
5. A
book titled “Indian Banking in Retrospect – 75 years of Independence” by Dr
Ashutosh Raravikar:
Director of the Department of Economic & Policy Research (DEPR), Reserve
Bank of India (RBI), Dr Ashutosh Raravikar has authored a new book titled
“Indian Banking in Retrospect – 75 years of Independence”. The book is
published by Aswad Prakashan Private Limited.
The essence of the book: The books
highlights various economic development such as LPG (Liberalisation
Privatisation and Globalisation) reforms during 1991, the Nationalisation of
Banks in 1969 for the first time, the licencing of new private sector banks
post 1991, setting up of Payment banks, Small Finance Bank (SFB) and
consolidation of Public Sector Banks (PSBs) etc. It also mentioned financial inclusion,
and Prime Minister’s Jan DhanYojana (PM JDY) impact on the banking system in
India.
INTERNATIONAL UPDATES:
1. AAI and Sweden
inks an MoU for sustainable aviation Tech: At the AAI Corporate Headquarters in
New Delhi, the LFV Air Navigation Services of Sweden and the Airports Authority
of India (AAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding. In order to investigate
smart aviation solutions, the agreement netween Sweden and Airports Authority
of India (AAI) brings together two air navigation service providers, India and
Sweden, who have a track record of developing and implementing the newest
generation of environmentally friendly aviation technology. Key Points:
a)
This MoU will open the door for
bilateral aviation technology and expertise exchange between the two nations.
b)
By utilising Swedish innovation and
knowledge, it would enable Indian businesses to grow faster. The companies may
work together in areas of common interest under the auspices of the MoU.
c)
Mr. M. Suresh, Member (Air Navigation
Services), AAI, and Mr. Magnus Corell, Deputy Director General, LFV Sweden,
signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
Note: Ambassador of
Sweden to India: Mr Klas Molin; Ambassador of India to Swede: Shri Tanmaya Lal;
Chairman, Airports Authority of India (AAI): Shri Sanjeev Kumar
2. World Coconut Day:
2nd September: World Coconut Day is celebrated on 2nd September every year. The
day is observed to emphasise and spread knowledge of the value and advantages
of coconuts. The coconut palm is often called the ‘tree of life’ owing to its
versatile use in food, fuel, medicine, cosmetics, building materials, and
various other uses. World Coconut Day is about coconut as a nutritious fruit, a
crucial raw material, and a significant crop. The International Coconut
Community selects the World Coconut Day themes. The World Coconut Day theme for
this year is “Growing Coconut for a Better Future and Life”.
World Coconut Day
History: The Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) was
established on 2nd September 1969. In 2009 Asia Pacific Coconut Community
announced that, the first world coconut day was celebrated on September 2,
2009, by the Asia Pacific Coconut Community (APCC). Since then, every year
under the APCC by the authority of UN-ESCAP (United Nations’ economic and
social commission for the Asia Pacific), this day is organised to highlight
their policies and mark the course of action for promoting this tropical fruit
and bringing awareness regarding its health benefits.
OTHER UPDATES:
SPORTS
1. F1 2022: Max
Verstappen won Belgian F1 Grand Prix 2022: Red Bull’s driver Max Verstappen has
won the Belgian Formula 1 Grand Prix 2022. Red Bull’s Sergio Perez &
Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz finished at second and third positions respectively.
Verstappen has now won 9 of this season’s 14 races. It was his 71st podium
finish & he collected 26 points from this race. Verstappen won the Belgian
GP in 2021 as well.
2. Viktor Axelsen
clinched 2022 BWF World Championships singles title: Denmark’s Viktor Axelsen
has clinched his second BWF World Championships men’s singles title after
beating Kunlavut Vitidsarn from Thailand in Tokyo, Japan. World number one
Axelsen has lost only one singles match this season and was too much for
21-year-old rising star Vitidsarn, who was blown away in the first game. The
win gave Axelsen his sixth title of the season.
Here is the list of
winners in different categories:
|
S.No |
Category |
Winner |
Runner up |
|
1 |
Men’s Singles |
Viktor Axelsen |
Kunlavut Vitidsarn |
|
2 |
Women’s Singles |
Akane Yamaguchi |
Chen Yufei |
|
3 |
Men’s Doubles |
Aaron Chia |
Soh Wooi Yik |
|
4 |
Women’s Doubles |
Chen Qingchen |
Jia Yifan |
|
5 |
Mixed Doubles |
Zheng Siwei |
Huang Yaqiong |
BANKING AND FINANCE
1. RBI to release
“fraud registry” blacklist with details of Scammers: To help it keep repeat
offenders out of the banking system, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is
developing a Fraud Registry blacklist. According to Executive Director Anil
Kumar Sharma, the fraud registry would record data such as IP (internet
protocol) addresses and phone numbers frequently used to commit fraud. Banks
would be able to report these details to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) through a
mechanism that would be developed. That will assist RBI in stopping these
criminals from abusing the financial system to commit fraud after fraud after
fraud.
RBI to release”Fraud
Registry” blacklist: Key Points:
a)
According to data provided by Sharma,
the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) received 4.18 lakh complaints through its
ombudsman programmes in 2021–22, an increase of 9.4% from the prior fiscal
year. An officer who handles public complaints brought against regulated
entities is known as an ombudsman.
b)
Each year, the ombudsman receives more
than 40% of complaints involving credit cards, debit or ATM cards, and online
and mobile banking. Fraud registry could counter this problem.
c)
Approximately 10% of all complaints are
about situations where someone attempted to use an ATM to withdraw cash but
discovered that, despite the money being deducted from their account, the
machine did not really discharge any cash.
BUSINESS AND ECONOMY
1. Santosh Iyer to
serve as MD and CEO of Mercedes-Benz India in January 2023: Santosh Iyer will
take over as managing director and chief executive officer of Mercedes-Benz
(The German luxury automaker) India’s operations on January 1, 2023. Martin
Schwenk, who will take over as President and Chief Executive Officer of
Mercedes-Benz Thailand, will be replaced by Santosh Iyer. Santosh Iyer was
appointed vice president of the firm for customer services and retail training
in 2016.
Santosh Iyer: Santosh Iyer, 46,
would be the first Indian to serve as the head of Mercedes-Benz India
operations. He is currently serving as Vice President, Sales & Marketing.
Santosh Iyer was appointed vice president of the firm for customer services and
retail training in 2016. Santosh Iyer was appointed Vice President, Sales &
Marketing in July 2019, where he is driving the company’s digital
transformation and delivering the best online sales penetration ever.
2. India overtakes
China and UK to become world’s 10th largest life insurer: India has now
overtaken China and UK to become the world’s 10th largest life insurer.
According to a survey by Brand Finance Insurance 100 2021, a London-based brand
valuation consultancy organisation, Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), a
state-owned insurance behemoth and life insurer has emerged as the third
strongest and tenth most valuable insurance brand globally. The report states
that the combined value of the top 100 insurance brands in the globe decreased
by 6% from $462.4 billion in 2020 to $433.0 billion in 2021. Key Points:
a)
LIC’s brand value climbed to $8.65
billion, up about 7%. India becomes 10th largest life insurer globally.
b)
The top 10 most valuable insurance
brands worldwide include five Chinese insurance companies, with Ping An
Insurance ranking as the most valuable brand despite seeing a 26% reduction in
brand value.
c)
While France, Germany, and India each
have one insurance company on the list, the United States has two in the top
ten.India is now 10th largest life insurer in the world.
d)
Italy’s Poste Italiane is the strongest
insurance brand, followed by LIC of India, Mapfre of the US, and Poste Italiane
of Italy.
AWARDS AND HONOURS
1.
67th Filmfare Awards 2022: The 67th Filmfare Awards ceremony, presented by The
Times Group, honoured the best Indian Hindi-language films of 2021. Held at Jio
World Centre, the 67th Filmfare Awards honour the films released in 2021. Bollywood
actors Ranveer Singh and Arjun Kapoor were announced as co-hosts.
List of 67th Filmfare Awards 2022:
Best Film: Shershaah (Dharma Productions)
Best Director: Vishnuvardhan (Shershaah)
Best Actor: Ranveer Singh (83) as Kapil Dev
Best Actress: Kriti Sanon, Mimi as Mimi
Rathore
Best Supporting Actor: Pankaj Tripathi
(Mimi)
Best Supporting Actress: Sai Tamhankar
(Mimi)
Best Male Debut: Ehan Bhat – 99 Songs as
Jay
Best Female Debut: Sharvari Wagh – Bunty
Aur Babli 2 as Sonia Rawat / Jasmine “Jazz”
Best Debut Director: Seema Pahwa –
Ramprasad Ki Tehrvi
Best Story: Abhishek Kapoor, Supratik Sen
and Tushar Paranjape (Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui)
Best Screenplay: Shubendu Bhattacharya and
Ritesh Shah (Sardar Udham)
Best Dialogue: Dibakar Banerjee and Varun
Grover (Sandeep Aur Pinky Faraar)
Best Music Director: Tanishk Bagchi, B
Praak, Jaani, Jasleen Royal, Javed-Mohsin And Vikram Montrose (Shershaah)
Best Lyricist: Kausar Munir – “Lehra Do”
(83)
Best Playback Singer (Male): B Praak –
“Mann Bharrya” (Shershaah)
Best Playback Singer (Female): Asees Kaur –
“Raataan Lambiya” (Shershaah)
Critics’ Best Film (Best Director): Shoojit
Sircar (Sardar Udham)
Critics’ Best Actor: Vicky Kaushal – Sardar
Udham as Udham Singh
Critics’ Best Actress: Vidya Balan – Sherni
as Vidya Vincent
Filmfare Lifetime Achievement Award:
Subhash Ghai
OBITUARIES
1.
Oscar-winning Pixar animator Ralph Eggleston passes away: Oscar Award-winning
animator, Ralph Eggleston passed away at the age of 56 years due to pancreatic
cancer in California, United States of America (USA). He was an American
animator, art director, storyboard artist, writer, film director, and
production designer at Pixar Animation Studios.
Pixar’s animated short film “For the
Birds”, written and directed by Ralph Eggleston won the award for Best Animated
Short at the 74th Academy Awards (2002). He also won his first Annie Award for
Best Art Direction for the movie ‘’Toy Story’’. He later won the Annie Awards
for “Finding Nemo” in 2004, “Inside Out” in 2015 and the Winsor McCay Award for
lifetime achievement in 2016.
2.
Eminent economist Abhijit Sen passes away: Renowned economist and former
Planning Commission member, Abhijit Sen has passed away at 72. He was a member of the Planning Commission
from 2004 to 2014, during the tenure of PM Manmohan Singh. He was awarded the
Padma Bhushan for public service in 2010.
In his career, he taught economics at
Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi, and hold several important government
positions including the chair of the Commission of Agricultural Cost and
Prices. Politicians, academics, his students, farmers’ leaders and activists
remember him for his contributions in areas such as minimum support price,
rural economy and rural employment.
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