National
• India has opened Zokhawthar land immigration check-post in Mizoram along border with Myanmar. It has been designated as authorised immigration centre for entry into and exit from India with valid travel documents for all passengers to or from Myanmar. Zokhawthar will be second immigration check-post in Mizoram along Myanmar border after Zorinpui check-post in Lawngtlai district which was opened in September 2017.
• Department of Biotechnology (DBT) under Union Ministry of Science and Technology has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with International Energy Agency (IEA) for enhancing innovation for Clean Energy Transition. The MoU seeks to deepen co-operation in support of clean energy innovations to accelerate research, development, and demonstration (RD&D) of clean energy technologies in India. It will also help support generation of data for policymaking and improve knowledge of good policy practices for innovation in India and around the world.
• Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has introduced Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) to systematically rank education institutions and universities primarily on innovation related indicators. ARIIA aims to promote culture of innovation and research in higher education.
• Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has established Innovation Cell at AICTE premises in New Delhi. It aims to systematically foster culture of innovation in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country.
Union Government has signed $375 million loan agreement with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Madhya Pradesh Irrigation Efficiency Improvement Project. The project will contribute to double farming incomes in Madhya Pradesh by expanding irrigation networks and system efficiency.
• Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has third edition of Smart India Hackathon 2019 (SIH-2019). Smart India Hackathon is world’s biggest open innovation model which aims to provide students with platform to solve some of pressing problems faced by people in their daily lives. It also seeks to inculcate culture of product innovation and mindset of problem-solving among young children.
• Governor of Assam has extended application of Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 (AFSPA) in the entire state for six more months with immediate effect. For this, it used powers conferred under Section 3 of the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act, 1958 declaring entire state as ‘Disturbed Area’ upto 6 months or unless withdrawn earlier.
• Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved financing package of $245 million to implement project for providing safe, sustainable drinking water service to million people in three districts of West Bengal affected by arsenic, fluoride, and salinity. The project will provide continuous potable water through metered connections to about 390,000 individual households in three districts of North 24 Parganas, Bankura and Purba Medinipur. This project will play pivotal role in reducing burden of disease from arsenic and fluoride while preserving groundwater and enhancing climate resilience.
• Union Government has constituted new 21-member advisory panel on science, technology and innovation called Prime Minister’s Science, Technology and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC). It will be headed by Principal Scientific Advisor to government K Vijay Raghavan. It will replace earlier Scientific Advisory Committee to Prime Minister and to Cabinet.
Union Government (Finance Ministry) has inked $220 million Loan Agreement with World Bank to scale-up Inida’s Energy Efficiency Program. It also signed $80 million guarantee agreement with World Bank.
• Central Government along with Government of Rajasthan has signed $250 million Development Policy Loan (DPL) agreement with World Bank for Electricity Distribution Sector Reforms in Rajasthan. The loan will be provided by World Bank’s lending arm International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD). It has maturity of 21 years and 3-year grace period.
• The fourth edition of Asian electoral stakeholders forum (AESF-IV) was held Colombo, Sri Lanka to discuss the state of elections and democracy in the region. This was for first time AESF was held in South Asia. It was jointly organised by Election Commission of Sri Lanka and Asian network for free elections (ANFREL).
• The third edition of Indian Ocean Conference was held in Hanoi, capital city of Vietnam from 27-28 August 2018. It was inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and her Vietnamese counterpart Pham Binh Min, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam.
• 126 MW wind power capacity, part of India’s first inter-state transmission system (ISTS) auction, was commissioned in Bhuj, Gujarat. It was part of India’s first ISTS auction was conducted by state-run Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd (SECI) in February 2017.
Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has announced new measure to make facial recognition mandatory for every authentication that requires Aadhaar. The facial recognition will come as additional feature along withregular authentication process that includes identification of an individual based on fingerprints or eye scans.
• India and Singapore have signed Second Protocol amending Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) in New Delhi. Its provisions will come into effect on 14th September, 2018.
• Airport Authority of India (AAI) has allotted space to Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Limited (TRIFED) for opening of Tribes India outlets at Ahmedabad (Gujarat), Udaipur (Rajasthan) and Kolkata (West Bengal) airports. Tribes India Outlets will provide good opportunity to market tribal products and help to promote tribes India as brand among target customers.Besides, AAI also has offered TRIFED spaces at international airports at Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh), Pune (Maharashtra), Goa, Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Lucknow (UP), Amritsar (Punjab) and Gangtok (Sikkim) for setting up of Tribes India Outlets.
• Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has revoked security clearance of Qatar government’s state-funded English news broadcaster Al Jazeera. It is believed that main reason for this revocation is considered to be over documentary made by Qatari channel on militancy in Jammu & Kashmir (J&K), which Indian Government viewed as “biased”. Al Jazeera has reportedly filed petition for reviewing this decision.
• Former President Pranab Mukherjee launched National Electoral Transformation (NETA) mobile application that allows voters to rate and review their political representatives. The app is brainchild of 27-year-old entrepreneur Pratham Mittal. It is first of its kind platform in India that allows voters to rate and review the political representatives in their constituencies.
NITI Aayog has released five Thematic Reports on Sustainable Development in Indian Himalayan Region (IHR) recognizing uniqueness of Himalayas and challenges for sustainable development. These reports list challenges in all defined five thematic areas and discuss significance, challenges, ongoing actions and future roadmap.
• The 5G steering committee chaired by Stanford University’s Professor Emeritus AJ Paulraj submitted its recommendations to the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). It gave wide-ranging recommendations to drive India’s 5G adoption entailing areas like spectrum policy, regulatory policy, standards and education.
• Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry is developing National Logistics Portal is to ensure ease of trading in international and domestic markets. The portal will link all stakeholders of EXIM (export and import), domestic trade and movement and all trade activities on single platform.
• According to recent report by Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), maximum number of cyber-attacks on official Indian websites are from China, US and Russia. The report was forwarded to National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS) and other security agencies. It had analysed cyber-attacks from April-June 2018.
• University Grants Commission (UGC) issued circular directing all varsities and higher education institutions to ban sale of junk food on their campuses. This ban will help will set new standards for healthy food, making students live better, learn better and reduce obesity levels. It will also help to prevent lifestyle diseases which have direct link with excessive weight.
Food Safety and Standards Authority (FSSAI) has notified food safety standards for honey and its products in bid to curb adulteration. These standards will be applicable to both domestic manufacturers and importers. It will help farmers to fetch better prices for their products.
• President Ram Nath Kovind appointed Governors of seven states including Bihar, Haryana, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Sikkim, Meghalaya, and Tripura by exercising his authority under Article 156. The appointments will be effective from the dates the incumbents take charge of their respective offices.
• Union Ministry of Earth Sciences has announced to set up Cyclone Warning Centre in Kerala’s capital Thiruvananthapuram. It also proposed to set up C-band Doppler weather radar at Mangalore, Karnataka. This comes in view of recent heavy rainfall and concerns over extreme weather activities in future.
• Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) as nodal authority to curb online child pornography, sexual violence and rape videos. It was decided by high-level meeting to discuss recommendations on ways to curb “sexual violence” videos involving women and children.
• Supreme Court scrapped use of NOTA (none of the above) option for Rajya Sabha elections, saying it defeats fairness in indirect elections, destroys democratic values and serves as Satan of defection and corruption. The ruling was given by three judges bench of SC comprising of Chief Justice of India Dipak Misra, Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud. It came on petition by Shailesh Parmar, who was Congress chief whip in Gujarat, challenging EC decision to allow NOTA in Rajya Sabha polls.
Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has announced to observe September 2018 as the National Nutrition Month to mark the country’s fight against malnutrition. The month-long intensive campaign will be undertaken with an aim of reaching every household with message of nutrition — ‘har ghar poshan tyohar’ (every house a celebration of nutrition).
• Indian Instituted of Technology (IIT)-Kharagpur has decided to set up Re-Water Research Center to replenish and rejuvenate water resources. It will be seed-funded by two alumni members – Aneesh Reddy & Aditya Choubey and named after them as Aditya Choubey Center for Re-Water Research.
• Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has notified new sets of specified health warnings for all tobacco product packs. In this regard, it has made amendments in Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Packaging and Labeling) Rules, 2008. The amended rules will be applicable w.e.f. 1st September 2018.
• Five northern states Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Union territories of and Delhi and Chandigarh have decided to set up centralised secretariat at Panchkula (Haryana) to tackle the drug menace. It was decided at in inter-State regional conference of Chief Ministers organised in Chandigarh by Haryana government on issue of “Drug menace, challenges and strategies”.
• Union Home Ministry has issued new Standard Operating Procedures (SoPs) for cash refilling of automated teller machines (ATMs) after certain time period. It comes in view of rising incidents of attacks on cash vans, cash vaults, ATM frauds and other internal frauds leading to increased sense of insecurity. It will come into effect from 8 February 2019. There are over 8,000 privately owned cash vans operating across country, operated by non-bank private agencies, and they handle over Rs. 15,000 crore daily on behalf of banks.
Aadhaar-issuing body UIDAI (Unique Identity Authority of India) has announced phased roll-out of face recognition for carrying out Aadhaar authentication from September 15, 2018 as additional security layer. It also has announced new feature ‘live face photo,’ which is live feed of person facial features whose 12-digit unique number Aadhaar is submitted.
• Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has proposed to set up five-member committee to suggest changes to JEE (Advanced) in the wake of an inadequate number of candidates qualifying entrance test this year. The committee will be headed by IIT-Madras director Bhaskar Ramamurthy.
• According to National Bank for Agriculture & Rural Development’s (NABARD) All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey 2016-17, agriculture (farming) generates only 23% of rural income i.e. not even quarter of rural household incomes in India. Even for so-called agricultural households, just over 43% of their average income comes from cultivation of crops and rearing of animals. The reference period of survey was 2015-16.
• Union Home Ministry has agreed to relax conditions laid down in ‘four-corner agreement’ signed with Bru migrants for their repatriation from Tripura to Mizoram. The agreement was signed between Government of India, Governments of Mizoram and Tripura and Mizoram Bru Displaced People’s Forum (MBDPF) in July 2018.
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has constituted three-member committee to look into draft food labelling and display regulations-Food Safety and Standards (Labelling and Display) Regulations 2018. The committee will be headed by B Sesikeran, former director of National Institute of Nutrition (NIN)and comprises of current NIN director Hemalatha and AIIMS’ endocrinologist Nikhil Tandon.
International Conference on Recent Advances in Food Processing Technology (iCRAFPT) was held at Indian Institute of Food Processing Technology (IFPT), Thanjavur in Tamil Nadu. The theme of conference was “Doubling farmers’ income through food processing”.
• 11th World Hindi Conference (विश्व हिंदी सम्मेलन) was held in Mauritius in its capital city Port Lois from August 18-20, 2018. It was inaugurated by Prime Minister of Mauritius Praveen Kumar Jagannath and was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and some other ministers.
• Indian scientist-academician N Raghuram became first Indian and Asian to get elected as Chair of International Nitrogen Initiative (INI), a global policy making initiative. He will succeed Mark Sutton of the UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Edinburgh. Besides, him David Kanter of the New York University was elected as Vice-Chair. The new chairs will formally take up their roles on January 1, 2019.
• The 24th World Congress of Philosophy (WCP) was held in Beijing, China from August 13 to 17, 2018. It was organized by the International Federation of Philosophical Societies, and Peking University. Its theme was “Learning To Be Human”. This was first time that the quinquennial (once in five year) event was held in China.
• India has released additional Rs. 470 million (Nepali) for Phase I of Postal Highway Project being constructed in Southern Plains of Nepal. The amount released will help to maintain fund liquidity for ongoing construction of 14 road packages under Postal Highway Project.
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched RUCO (Repurpose Used Cooking Oil) initiative to enable collection and conversion of used cooking oil to biodiesel. Under this initiative, 64 companies at 101 locations have been identified to enable collection of used cooking oil.
• The first project under Swadesh Darshan Scheme ‘North East Circuit: Imphal and Khongjom’ was inaugurated in Manipur. The project covers two sites i.e. Kangla Fort and Khongjom in Manipur. Under this project, Union Tourism Ministry has carried out works such as restoration and improvement of outer and inner moat of old Govindajee Temple and rejuvenation of sacred ponds, reconstruction of old rampart, among others.
• Mahadayi Water Disputes Tribunal delivered its final verdict to ending 50-year-old dispute over sharing of Mahadayi or Mandovi River between Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra. The tribunal was constituted in November 2010 under Interstate River Water Disputes Act, 1956 to resolve water sharing dispute between riparian states.
• NITI Aayog has launched mobility pitch competition Pitch to MOVE to provide budding entrepreneurs of India unique opportunity to pitch their business ideas to distinguished jury. Using this platform, startups working in various fields of mobility can pitch their ideas to industry leaders and venture capitalists for raising investments.
• Pune (Maharashtra) ranked first among 116 cities (with population of 1 million plus) in Ease of Living Index released by Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). Besides, two more Maharashtra cities — Navi Mumbai and Greater Mumbai — figure in the second and third spots The index exercise was launched in January 2018 by MoHUA with help of the consortium of IPSOS Research Pvt Ltd, Athena Infonomics, and Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Union Railway Ministry released Third Party Survey Report on Station Cleanliness which ranked 407 railway stations including 75 A1 category stations, 332 A category stations on basis of cleanliness performance. Jodhpur (Rajasthan) was ranked first in survey A1 category stations, Marwar (Rajasthan) first in A category stations and North Western Railway first among all Zonal Railways.
• Government has appointed senior bureaucrat Ashish Kumar Bhutani as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). He has been appointed to post till May 2020. He is IAS officer (1992 batch) of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
• The Digital North East Vision 2022 was released in Guwahati, Assam by Union Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad. It was released in presence of Chief Ministers and IT Ministers of North East States and senior officials of Central Government Ministries including DoT and DoNER etc. First electronics manufacturing cluster in northeastern region was also inaugurated in Guwahati, Assam.
• Delhi Police has inducted India’s first all-woman Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team for anti-terrorist operations. The all-woman SWAT team is the brainchild of Delhi Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik. It was formally inducted by Home Minister Rajnath Singh.
• Union Civil Aviation Ministry has given in-principle approval to set up water aerodromes in the country. To start with it has identified five states: Odisha, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Assam for development of water aerodromes. In the first phase of the project, Chilka Lake (Odisha), Sabarmati River Front and Sardar Sarovar Dam (Gujarat) have been identified for the development of such facilities.
India has handed over 404 houses built for Indian-origin people in Sri Lanka’s tea plantation areas at Dunsinane Estate in Nuwara Eliya city. This is first lot of houses built under Indian Housing Project in Plantation Areas in Sri Lanka.
• Union Government has announced 50% reservation for women in upcoming recruitment of 9500-10000 jawans for the Railway Protection Force (RPF). This decision aims to create more employment opportunities for women. It was announced by Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal in Patna, Bihar. He also announced 13,00,00 jobs are also coming up in Indian Railways in which there will be computer-based test and no interviews.
• Union Cabinet has approved extension of term of Commission to examine the issue of Sub-categorization of Other Backward Classes (OBCs) in Central List till November 2018. This is third extension granted to commission for submission of its politically crucial report on creating quotas within quotas.
• Union Cabinet has given approval for raising of four additional battalions of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) to strengthen the India’s disaster response set up. These battalions will be placed in Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and Delhi National Capital Region based on their disaster vulnerability profile.
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved release of pulses to States/UTs at discounted rate to be utilized for various Welfare Schemes from stock of pulses procured under Price Support Schemes (PSS). The meeting was chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved continuation and revision of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Post Matric Scholarship for Other Backward Classes Students for studying in India (PMS-OBC) till 2020.
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved continuation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) beyond 12th Five Year Plan period ((2012–2017)). It will help in connecting 38,412 habitations at estimated cost of Rs. 84,934 crore. For this, fund sharing pattern between centre and states will be same (Thus, central government share will be Rs 54,900 crore and states’ share is Rs 30,034 crore).
• 76th anniversary of Quit India movement was observed on August 8th, 2018. On this day in 1942, Mahatma Gandhi (father of the nation) had gave clarion call of Do or Die to all Indians to drive away Britishers from the country.
• Khangchendzonga Biosphere Reserve in Himalayan state of Sikkim was included in UNESCO designated World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR), making it 11th Biosphere Reserve from India to achieve this recognition. The decision was taken at 30th Session of International Coordinating Council (ICC) of Man and Biosphere (MAB) Programme of UNESCO held in Palembang, Indonesia.
• Delhi High Court has declared 25 sections of Bombay Prevention of Begging Act, 1959 which have been extended to Delhi, as “unconstitutional”. With this, it has struck down legal provision criminalising begging in national capital. The court’s order came on PILs which had sought decriminalisation of begging in capital and beggar by challenging provisions of the Bombay Prevention of Begging Act. The PILs had argued that poverty can never be crime and if a person is destitute and begs for living, such person cannot be treated as criminal.
Government has informed Lok Sabha that Non-Resident Indians (NRI) cannot file Right to Information (RTI) applications to seek governance-related information from Central government departments. It mentioned that only citizens of India have the right to seek information under the provisions of RTI Act, 2005 and NRIs are not eligible to file RTI applications.
• Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry has launched Niryat Mitra mobile application for exporters and importers of the country. The app developed by Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), the largest exporters organisation of the country. It is available both on Android and on IOS platforms.
• All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA), a premier institute of Ayurveda under the AYUSH Ministry has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with IIT Delhi to boost research in traditional medicine and streamline hospital care facilities in the country.
• Union Government, NABARD and National Water Development Agency (NWDA) have signed revised Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for funding of central share of 99 prioritized irrigation projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) through Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF).
• Union Government has constituted four-member Group of Ministers (GoM) headed by Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Suresh Prabhu to decide on 16-member Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations. It was constituted to advise Prime Minister on whether to continue with or withdraw from RCEP negotiations.
The Union Home Ministry has excluded 29 inhabited islands in Andaman and Nicobar from Restricted Area Permit (RAP) regime under the Foreigners (Restricted Areas) Order, 1963 till December 2022. This decision aims to increase footfalls and promote tourism. Government is also planning to open 11 other uninhabited islands to foreigners.
• Government has doubled import duties on 328 textile products to 20% from existing rate of 10% under Section 159 of the Customs Act, 1962. Earlier in July 2018, Government had doubled import duty on over 50 textile products — including jackets, suits and carpets to 20%.
• Startup India launched Startup Academia Alliance programme to fulfill Government’s mission to promote spirit of entrepreneurship in the country. It is unique programme to foster mentorship opportunity between academic scholars and startups working in similar domains.
• Union Ministry of Road Transport & Highway (MoRTH) launched two IT initiative Bidder Information Management System (BIMS) and Bhoomi Rashi and PFMS linkage aimed at expediting pre construction processes relating to bidding and land acquisition respectively.
• Union Ministry of Hume Resource Development (MHRD) has approved 122 new research project proposals worth Rs 112 crore for funding under its IMPRINT-II (Impacting Research Innovation and Technology) scheme. These projects were approved at IMPRINT-II Apex Committee meeting chaired by HRD Minister Prakash Javddekar in New Delhi.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has singed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with country’s largest lender State Bank of India (SBI) for long term unsecured loan of Rs. 25,000 crore for 10 years with 3 years of moratorium on repayments. This is SBI’s highest long term unsecured loan to any entity and also largest loan ever sanctioned to NHAI in one stroke by any institution.
• The GST (Good and Services Tax) council in its 29th meeting held in national capital New Delhi has approved cash incentives to promote Digital transactions. The GST Council meeting was chaired by Interim Finance Minister Piyush Goyal. It has announced 20% cashback for digital transactions paid on business-to-consumer transactions using RuPay and BHIM platforms, subject to cap of Rs 100 per transaction.
• India was elected as President of the Asia-Pacific Institute for Broadcasting Development (AIBD) for period of two years. India got elected against Iran during voting which took place at 44th annual gathering of AIBD held in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Moreover, Director General of All India Radio (AIR) F. Sheheryar was also re-elected as chair of executive board of AIBD while Sri Lanka was elected as vice-chair. Broadcasters from 26 countries in the region including India are full members of the organization.
• Union Government has announced that it has reached target of providing 5 crore free LPG connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) almost eight months ahead of schedule (i.e. in 27 months instead of 35 months).
• Centre has notified Supreme Court that it has withdrawn proposal for setting up ‘Social Media Communication Hub’. This comes after apex court had issued notice to centre earlier and had termed Government’s proposal to monitor online data using this hub akin to ‘creating a surveillance state’.
Delhi division of Northern Railway and South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) jointly launched Mosquito Terminator on Wheels, a special mosquito terminator train to prevent mosquito breeding along railway tracks in New Delhi. The special train aims to control and mitigate menace of mosquito breeding in the burrow pits along railway tracks in New Delhi.
• NITI Aayog has launched global mobility hackathon Move Hack to crowdsource solutions aimed at future of mobility in India. It is envisaged as one of largest hackathons globally. It is first platform in the world that has enmeshed public transport, private transport, road safety, multimodal connectivity and new age transport technologies such as zero emission vehicles and intra city aerial transport spearheaded by Government.
• 141st birth anniversary of freedom fighter and designer (architect) of Indian National Flag Pingali Venkayya was observed on August 2, 2018.
• Invest India under Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) in partnership with energy companies has launched Integrate to Innovate Programme for startups in energy sector. It is three-month programme for startups in the power sector aims to foster collaboration between startups and large corporations of the energy sector.
• Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) under Ministry of Commerce and Industry has unveiled tricolour logo for geographical indication (GI) certified products. The logo has tagline “Invaluable Treasures of Incredible India” printed below it.
Union Cabinet has approved policy framework to permit exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons such as Shale oil/gas, Coal Bed Methane (CBM) etc. It will be carried out under existing Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), CBM contracts and Nomination fields to encourage existing contractors in licensed or leased area to unlock full potential of unconventional hydrocarbons in existing acreages.
• Union Cabinet has approved first extension of Concessional Financing Scheme (CFS) for another five years from 2018 to 2023 to support Indian Entities bidding for strategically important infrastructure projects abroad. The scheme also has been liberalized, allowing any Indian company, irrespective of ownership eligible to benefits of it.
• Common Service Center (CSC) and National Health Accounts (NHA) signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to implement the Ayushman Bharat scheme through 3 lakh Common Service Centers (CSCs) across the country. Ayushman Bharat-National Health Protection Scheme (NHPS) aims cover over 10 crore poor vulnerable families (approximately 50 crore beneficiaries) providing coverage of up to Rs. 5 lakh (per family per year) for secondary and tertiary care hospitalization.
International
• The fourth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) summit was held in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal. The theme of the summit was ‘Towards a Peaceful Prosperous, and Sustainable Bay of Bengal Region’. India was represented by Prime Minsiter Narendra Modi. This was his fourth visit to Nepal after becoming Prime Minister in 2014
• The sixth Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Trade Ministers’ Meeting was held in Singapore. Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Civil Aviation Suresh Prabhu.
• The first South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Agri Cooperative Business Forum was held in Kathmandu, capital of Nepal The theme of this forum was ‘Organizing and Strengthening Family Farmers’ Cooperatives to attain the Sustainable-Development-Goals-1 and 2 in South Asia’.
• The G20 Digital Economy Ministerial Meeting was held in Salta, Argentina from 23 to 24 August, 2018. It took place as part of Sherpa Track for 2018 G20 Leaders’ Summit, which is to be hosted by Argentina by end of 2018. The theme of the meeting was ‘Building consensus for fair and sustainable development‘. Its three key issues for the agenda were future of work, infrastructure for development, and sustainable food future. It concluded with adaptation of declaration that reflects G20’s commitment towards promoting policies and actions that catalyze digital transformations.
The World Bank launched world’s first public blockchain bond named bond-i created, allocated, transferred and managed by using blockchain technology. Bond-i is an acronym standing for Blockchain Offered New Debt Instrument and also refers to tourist famous Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Funds raised from this bond will go towards sustainable development initiatives.
• The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition was observed across world every year on 23 August. The day designated by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade.
• The World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is observed every year on 19 August to recognize work of humanitarian personnel and those who have lost their lives. The observance of the day provides opportunity to celebrate spirit that inspires humanitarian work around globe. It pays tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service and also to rally support for people affected by crisis around the world.
• United States (US) State Department has announced creation of Iran Action Group (IAG) to execute President Donald Trump administration’s Iran strategy and pressure country to change its behaviors. Its creation comes in wake of US withdrawal (unilaterally) from Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (also known nuclear deal) signed between Iran and P5+1 countries (P5: China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States and +1: Germany,) and European Union in Vienna (Austria) in July 2015.
• United States has announced to grant $39 million as part its foreign military financing to Sri Lanka to boost maritime security. The US funding for Sri Lanka is part of its $300 million set aside for South and Southeast Asia to ensure free, open, and rules-based order in the Indo-Pacific region.
Austrian capital Vienna was ranked as world’s most liveable city among 140 major cities in 2018 Global Liveability Index released by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU). It is first time that European city has topped rankings of EIU annual survey.
• International Youth Day is observed every across the world on 12 August to draw attention to give set of cultural and legal issues surrounding youth. Observance of this day seeks to highlight role of young women and men as essential partners in change and opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.
• He/she is mandated to promote and protect the universal exercise and full realization of human rights, across the world, as established in UN Charter. He/she is also principal official who speaks out for human rights across whole UN system, strengthening human rights mechanisms, enhancing equality, fighting discrimination in all its forms, strengthening accountability and rule of law, widening democratic space and protecting most vulnerable from all forms of human rights abuse. The Office was created in 1993. Bachelet will be overall seventh High Commissioner since its creation. Her predecessor Zeid Ra’ad Al-Hussein has been in office since 1 September 2014. His predecessors are: Jos Ayala-Lasso (1994-97); Mary Robinson (1997-2002); Sergio Vieira de Mello (2002-03); Louise Arbour (2004-08); and Navi Pillay (2008-14).
• Pakistan and Russia have signed contract on admission of service members of Pakistan in Russia’s Military Training Institutes. The agreement was signed at conclusion of first meeting of Russia-Pakistan Joint Military Consultative Committee (JMCC), the highest forum of defence collaboration between both countries held in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. This will be for first time, Pakistani soldiers will undergo training at Russian military institutes. This agreement is considered as sign of further strengthening defence ties between Russia and Paksitan.
• United Kingdom Government has announced new plans to change law for organ and tissue donation to address urgent need for organs within Indian-origin communities in the country. The amendment in existing law will propose new system of consent for organ and tissue donation. This will be known as Max’s Law after Max Johnson, a 10-year-old boy who was saved by a heart transplant.
Business, Economy & Banking
• Mukesh Ambani-led oil-to-telecom behemoth Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) became first Indian company to cross Rs 8 lakh crore ($114 billion) market capitalisation. This record m-cap of RIL also bumped up Mukesh Ambani’s (India’s richest man) wealth to over $48 billion (according to Bloomberg Billionaires Index). M-cap is value of company that is traded on stock market, calculated by multiplying total number of shares by present share price.
• India Banking Conclave (IBC) 2018 was held in New Delhi from 23-24, 2018. It was organised by Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR) along with its knowledge partner and government Think Tank, NITI Aayog. The conclave was aimed at making India’s banking sector more adaptable to face multiple future challenges in the coming years.
• State-owned aerospace and defence manufacturer Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) became the first public sector enterprise (PSU) to make transaction on RXIL TReDS platform. It executed its first digitised invoice discounting transaction on RXIL TReDS platform by accepting digital invoice uploaded by Nasik-based MSME (micro category) vendor Narendra Udyog. This transaction was financed by Bank of Baroda.
• Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) has asked insurers to cover mental illness under medical insurance policy from immediate effect, treating it at par with physical illness. At present, insurers exclude mental illness from ambit of medical insurance policies.
Union Government is expecting that public sector banks (PSBs) placed under RBI’s Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) framework will come out of it by the end of this year. As many as 11 out of 21 state-owned banks are currently under PCA framework.
• Investments through participatory notes (P-notes) into Indian capital markets- equity, debt, and derivatives have plunged to over nine-year low of Rs 80,341 crore till July 2018-end. This is the lowest level since April 2009 when the cumulative value of such investments stood at Rs 72,314 crore.
• Banks Board Bureau (BBB) has appointed two firms Egon Zehnder International Pvt. Ltd and Hay Consultants Pvt. Ltd to assist in developing strategies for top bank management.
• Rating agency India Ratings & Research (Ind-Ra) in its Mid-Year FY19 Outlook has revised down India’s growth to 7.2% from its earlier projection of 7.4% for 2018-19 (FY19). The downward revision comes as Indian economy to face headwinds from high crude oil prices, increase in minimum support prices (MSP) of kharif crops, rising trade protectionism, depreciating currency and no visible signs of abatement of the non-performing assets (NPA) of the banking sector.
• National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched UPI 2.0, an upgraded and renwed version of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) by adding four new features to make it attractive and safer for users. These new features will allow users to link their overdraft account to UPI, creation of one-time mandates and pre-authorisation of transactions for payment at later date and checking the invoice sent by merchant prior to making payment.
Recently hackers have stolen (illegally withdrawn) Rs .94 crore from Pune’s Cosmos Cooperative Bank via ATMs in 28 countries. It is possibly first of its kind coordinated digital attack on Indian bank. In this cyber heist considered to be originated in Canada, Rs. 78 crore were illegally withdrawn in more than 12,000 ATM transactions in 28 countries. Rs 2.5 crore were made in different places within India with another 2,800 transactions. Moreover, Rs 13.5 crore was transferred to Hong Kong-based entity using the Society for Worldwide Interbank Telecommunications (SWIFT) facility.
• Indian rupee for first time in history plunged to record low of Rs. 70.07 against US dollar on 14 August 2018. However, it recovered later at around Rs. 69.84 after heavy intervention by Reserve Bank of India (RBI). This sudden deprecation of rupee is similar to fall of other currencies of emerging markets triggered by crash in Turkish currency lira
• Axis Bank became first bank in the country to introduce Iris Scan Authentication feature for Aadhaar-based transactions through its micro ATM tablets. These micro ATM tablets are Standardisation Testing and Quality Certification (STQC) certified and UIDAI compliant registered devices with completely integrated iris sensors.
• According to data released by Central Statistics Office (CSO), factory output measured in terms of Index of Industrial Production (IIP) had 7% in June 2018, five-month high. This was on account of higher output in mining, manufacturing and power generation segments. Moreover, CSO also revised IIP upwards for May 2018 at 3.9% from previous estimate of 3.2% estimated earlier.
• Fertiliser major IFFCO has entered into joint venture with Congelados De Navarra to set up food processing plant at Ludhiana in Punjab with an investment of Rs 325 crore. With this joint venture, co-operative IFFCO for first time will foray into food processing sector. Congelados De Navarra company based in Spain is pioneer in quick frozen (IQF) technology. It is into processing of vegetables, fruits, herbs and ready-made pre-cooked dishes.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) in its report has projected India’s GDP growth 7.3% in the 2018-19 fiscal and 7.5% in 2019-2020 on strengthening of investment and robust private consumption. India’s near-term macroeconomic outlook for India is broadly favourable.
• Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has approved appointment of Chartered Accountant Swaminathan Gurumurthy and businessman Satish Kashinath Marathe as another non-official director on Central Board of Reserve Bank of India (RBI). They have been appointed for period of four years.
• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has transferred surplus (dividend) of Rs. 50,000 crore to Government for year ended in June 2018, over 63% more than Rs 30,659 crore which it transferred in 2017.
• The NITI Aayog and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) have signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and entered into three-year partnership. The MoU was signed during Government and Business Partnership Conclave held in New Delhi. This partnership focuses on specific activities that seek to develop vision and action agenda for businesses and industries to contribute to SDGs, annual status reports and sector-specific best practise documents.
• India’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its Multi Option Payment Acceptance Device (MOPAD) for digital payments convenience of merchants and consumers. It aims at providing digital convenience to customers and ease of doing business for merchants at the same time. SBI will roll-out this new initiative on all SBI PoS terminals in a phased manner.
According to recent study released by LIRNEAsia, India has highest gender gap in mobile phone ownership amongst 18 comparable countries and ranks among the lowest in women’s access to Internet. LIRNEAsia is an information and communications technology (ICT) policy think tank that is involved in pro-poor, pro-market research in Asia-Pacific since 2005. The study also included comparative research done by ICT Africa in Africa and DIRSI in Latin America.
• Union Finance Ministry has further extended deadline on imposing import duty hike on 29 products, imported from United States (US) by 45 days till September 18, 2018 from earlier August 4, 2018. This decision for extension of retaliatory measures for another 45 days was taken based on suggestion of Union Commerce Ministry. It also comes after some positive expectations from ongoing talks between two countries as they are wrapping up negotiations on mutually-acceptable trade package for boosting India-US trade through greater market access.
• FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO), the women’s wing of Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) has launched WOW (Wellness of Women) mobile application aimed at creating awareness on preventive healthcare for women across the country.
• Union Government has imposed safeguard duty of 25% on import of solar cells (whether or not assembled in modules or panels) from China and Malaysia. The move is aimed at helping domestic solar cell manufacturing sector. But it could affect existing projects dependent on cheap imports and hike solar power tariffs in India since around 90% of panels sector uses solar cells made in China and Malaysia.
• As per data released by Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry, index of eight core industries expanded to 7-month high of 6.7% in June 2018. This was due to better performance by cement, refinery and coal sectors of the index. The previous high was witnessed in November 2017 at 6.9%. The growth rate in May 2018 was 4.3%.
Government Schemes
• Union Ministry of Human Resource Development has established Innovation Cell at AICTE premises in New Delhi. It aims to systematically foster culture of innovation in all Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) across the country.
• Union Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has third edition of Smart India Hackathon 2019 (SIH-2019). Smart India Hackathon is world’s biggest open innovation model which aims to provide students with platform to solve some of pressing problems faced by people in their daily lives. It also seeks to inculcate culture of product innovation and mindset of problem-solving among young children.
• The first project under Swadesh Darshan Scheme ‘North East Circuit: Imphal and Khongjom’ was inaugurated in Manipur. The project covers two sites i.e. Kangla Fort and Khongjom in Manipur. Under this project, Union Tourism Ministry has carried out works such as restoration and improvement of outer and inner moat of old Govindajee Temple and rejuvenation of sacred ponds, reconstruction of old rampart, among others.
• West Bengal Government has announced to remove annual family income ceiling in eligibility criteria to be beneficiary under state’s UN award winning Kanyashree Prakalpa scheme. This will help more girls to chase their dreams with Government support. Currently only girls belonging to families with annual family income not more than Rs 1.20 lakh were entitled to get the benefits of this scheme. State government is also planning to set up “Kanyashree University” under this scheme for girls soon.
Government has appointed senior bureaucrat Ashish Kumar Bhutani as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY). He has been appointed to post till May 2020. He is IAS officer (1992 batch) of Assam-Meghalaya cadre.
• Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified rules for utilisation of more than Rs 66,000 crore afforestation funds by states/UTs and for setting up authorities to monitor its use for afforestation and conservation. The rules have been framed two years after Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) Act, 2016 to this effect was enacted.
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved continuation and revision of Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Post Matric Scholarship for Other Backward Classes Students for studying in India (PMS-OBC) till 2020.
• Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) has approved continuation of Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY) beyond 12th Five Year Plan period ((2012–2017)). It will help in connecting 38,412 habitations at estimated cost of Rs. 84,934 crore. For this, fund sharing pattern between centre and states will be same (Thus, central government share will be Rs 54,900 crore and states’ share is Rs 30,034 crore).
• Union Government, NABARD and National Water Development Agency (NWDA) have signed revised Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) for funding of central share of 99 prioritized irrigation projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY) through Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF).
Union Ministry of Hume Resource Development (MHRD) has approved 122 new research project proposals worth Rs 112 crore for funding under its IMPRINT-II (Impacting Research Innovation and Technology) scheme. These projects were approved at IMPRINT-II Apex Committee meeting chaired by HRD Minister Prakash Javddekar in New Delhi.
• Union Government has announced that it has reached target of providing 5 crore free LPG connections under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) almost eight months ahead of schedule (i.e. in 27 months instead of 35 months)
• Andhra Pradesh Government has approved Mukhyamantri Yuva Nestam, an unemployment allowance scheme to provide Rs 1000 per month unemployed youth in state. It was announced by Andhra Pradesh IT Minister Nara Lokesh who is also son of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu.
• Union Cabinet has approved first extension of Concessional Financing Scheme (CFS) for another five years from 2018 to 2023 to support Indian Entities bidding for strategically important infrastructure projects abroad. The scheme also has been liberalized, allowing any Indian company, irrespective of ownership eligible to benefits of it.
Awards & Honors
• United States Government has awarded Legion of Merit (Degree of Commander) to General Dalbir Singh Suhag (Retired) of Indian Army. The award was given to Singh for his exceptionally meritorious service as Chief of Army Staff (CoAS) from August 2014 to December 2016. With this, he becomes second Indian to get this award, first being General Rajendrasinghji Jadeja in 1946.
• Former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi was conferred with 2018 Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award. He was presented award in New Delhi on occasion of 74th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.
• Delhi government’s additional director of health, SK Arora was awarded prestigious World Health Organization (WHO) World No Tobacco Day 2017 Award for his extraordinary contribution towards tobacco control. He was presented the award by Henk Bekedam, WHO India country head in New Delhi.
• Three US scientists James Allison, Carl June and Steven Rosenberg were declared winners 2018 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research. They were awarded in recognition of their research in immunology and translation of their ideas into effective therapies that have led to innovative treatments for cancer, HIV and other diseases. They will share this $500,000 medical prize. They will receive the award at ceremony to be held in September 2018 in Albany, New York.
• President Ram Nath Kovind has conferred Outstanding Parliamentarian Awards on five Members of Parliament.
1. Dr Najma Heptulla
2. Hukumdev Narayan Yadav
3. Ghulam Nabi Azad
4. Dinesh Trivedi
5. Bhartruhari Mahatab
• The third edition of BRICS Film Festival was held in Durban, South Africa, along with the International Durban Film Festival (DIFF). The last day of festival was celebrated as India Country Day followed by Awards and Closing Ceremony. The film gala was aimed at celebrating world-class film productions from BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) with the objective of inspiring more collaboration from these nations.
Sports
• Indian athlete Swapna Barman (21) won gold medal in women’s Heptathlon Athletics event at 18th edition of Asian Games held in Jakarta-Palembang in Indonesia. She accumulated total of 6026 points to finish on top of podium in the final of the event. With this, she became first Indian to win gold medal in heptathlete event in Asian Games. Qingling Wang from China won silver medal with a point tally of 5954 and Yuki Yamasaki of Japan won bronze medal with a score of 5873 points.
• India’s Arpinder Singh (25) won gold medal in Men’s Triple Jump event at 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian Games. He lodged best jump of 16.77m in third attempt to win gold medal. Ruslan Kurbanov of Uzbekistan won silver medal with best jump of 16.62m while Shuo Cao of China was third with an effort of 16.56m. With this, Arpinder Singh became first Indian in 48 years to win gold in men’s triple jump at the Asian Games. India’s last Asian Games gold medal in men’s triple jump had come in 1970 from Mohinder Singh Gill.
• Shot-putter Tejinder Pal Singh Toor (24) won Gold medal in men’s shot put final at 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Asian GamesAsian Games held in Indonesia. He finished first in men’s shot put final and set new record at 20.75 m in his fifth attempt. It was India’s first Gold medal in Athletics event in this edition of Asian Games.
• Indian tennis pair of Rohan Bopanna and Divij Sharan won gold medal in Men’s Doubles tennis at 2018 Asian Games. In the final match, they defeated Kazakhstan’s Aleksandar Bublik and Denis Yevseyv pair by 6-3, 6-4 score in a match that lasted 52 minutes. Earlier in semi-final, Rohan Bopanna and Sharan had won against Japan’s Kaito Uesugi and Sho Shimabukoro by 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 score in three-set match which lasted for 72 minutes.
India’s ace Shuttler and Rio Olympics silver medallist PV Sindhu (23) was ranked seventh on Forbes list of highest-earning women sportspersons in the world (earnings between June 2017 and June 2018). The list was topped by tennis legend Serena Williams with total earning of $18.062 million including $62,000 as prize money. Eight of the 10 top highest-earning women sportspersons were tennis players, remaining two were badminton player and professional racing driver.
• India won four bronze medals in Wushu sporting event (all in Sanda style) at Jakarta-Palembang 2018 Asian Games held in Indonesia. It was India’s best performance so far in Wushu in Asian Games as in Incheon games in 2014, India had won just two bronze medals.
• Shooter Saurabh Chaudhary (16) won gold medal in Men’s 10m Air Pistol event with record score of 240.7 at 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games in Indonesia. For first time he was competing senior event and won gold medal in Asian Games debut. It was India’s first shooting gold in ongoing event. Another Indian shooter, Abhishek Verma (29) also won bronze medal in the same event. In Men’s 50-metres Rifle 3 Positions event, India’s Sanjeev Rajput won silver medal.
• India won bronze medal in Men’s Sepak Takraw event at 2018 Jakarta Palembang Asian Games in Indonesia. It was India’s maiden medal in Sepak Takraw sporting event. In the semifinal match of event, Indian team lost to defending champion Thailand by 0-2 score. In its first match of the event, India had defeated Iran 21-16, 19-21, 21- 17.However it had lost to Indonesia (0-3 score) in the second Preliminary Group B match of day but still advanced to last-four stage and won bronze medal.
• Wrester Vinesh Phogat (23) became first Indian women athlete to win gold medal at the Asian Games 2018 held in Jakarta, Indonesia. She achieved this feat, by defeating Yuki Irie of Japan by 6-2 score final of the women’s wrestling in the 50kg category. With this, she also became first Indian woman wrestler to win gold medal at 2018 Asian Games. It also makes her only woman wrestler to win two medals in back-to-back Asian Games. She had earlier won Bronze medal in 2014 Asian Games held in Incheon, South Korea (in 48 kg category).
Rishabh Pant became fourth Indian wicket-keeper to take five catches on Test debut during the second day of the third Test against England. Pant who became India’s 291st Test player, achieved this feat by taking catches of Alastair Cook, Keaton Jennings, Ollie Pope, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid in England’s first innings.
• Wrestler Bajrang Punia (24) won India’s first gold medal at the 18th edition of the Asian Games held in Jakarta, Indonesia. In the men’s freestyle 65 kg final event, he defeated Japan’s Takatani Daichi by 11-8 score. It was Bajrang’s maiden gold medal and overall second medal in Asian Games after he had earlier won silver medal in 2014 Asian Games (Incheon, South Korea) in the men’s freestyle 61 kg category.
• The 18th edition of Asian Games was inaugurated in Jakarta, Indonesia. This will be second time that Indonesia will be hosting Asian Games. For first, it was held in Jakarta in 1962. Javelin Thrower Neeraj Chopra was India’s flag-bearer at the glittering opening ceremony.
• India won South Asian Football Federation (SAFF) Under-15 Women’s Championship. In the final match held in Thimpu, Bhutan, India defeated Bangladesh by 1-0 score. Sunita Munda scored the goal that helped the Indian U-15 team clinch the title. Earlier in the semifinal, India defeated Nepal 2-1.
• Indian Teen cyclist Esow Alben (17) created history by winning the country’s maiden medal in track cycling at the world level. He achieved this feat by winning silver medal in Men’s Keirin event of UCI Junior Track Cycling World Championships held in Aigle, Switzerland. In the final sprint of this event, Esow finished just 0.017 seconds behind gold medallist Jakub Stastny (Czech Republic).
• Ace Indian shuttler P V Sindhu finished second best winning silver medal at World Championships 2018 of Badminton in women’s singles category held at Nanjing, China. It makes Sindhu only Indian to have four world championships podium finishes. Earlier she had won two bronze medals at 2013 (Guangzhou) and 2014 (Copenhagen) editions.
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