01st September, 2023

1. Bhaderwah Rajma and Sulai Honey, of Jammu and Kashmir, and Chokuwa Rice of Assam have been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.
2. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has launched Tele-Law- 2.0which will integrate Tele-Law and Nyaya Bandhu App to ensure access to justice.
3. India’s first indigenously developed 700 MWe nuclear power reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-3) in Gujarat has commenced operations at full capacity.
4. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), in collaboration with the Space Applications Centre (Ahmedabad), has developed a device named ‘Nabhmitra’ to enhance the safety of fishermen at sea.
5. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will organise the 1st edition of the Global IndiaAI 2023 conference in October 2023.
6. Ministry of Education has released a new comic book, “Let’s Move Forward”, developed jointly by NCERT and UNESCO in New Delhi.
7. India and US have launched Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) under the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).
8. Punjab National Bank has launched PNB GST Sahay App which empowers MSME borrowers to digitally obtain loans by utilizing their GST invoices.
9. Savart, one of India’s largest investment advisors has launched its maiden and flagship Portfolio Management Service (PMS), The Ad Astra Fund, in Hyderabad.
10. Mastercard has launched ALT ID (Alternate Identifier) solution for enhanced online payment security for Guest Check-Out processes.
11. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited (ICICI Prudential Life) has launched “ICICI Pru GIFT Pro”, a protection and savings-oriented life insurance plan.
12. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)has announced the launch of an open-source project named ‘Flacon’ to simplify the management and use of blockchain.
13. India’s latest warship, Mahendragiri, has been launched by Sudesh Dhankhar, wife of vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai.
14. First ship of the Diving Support Craft (DSC) project, ‘DSC A 20’ (Yard 325), has been launched in Kolkata (Hooghly River).
15. 31 August: World Sanskrit Day
16. 31 August- International Day for People of African Descent (3rd edition)
17. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has signed a MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) to enhance socio-economic upliftment of Safai Karamcharis.
18. Jaya Varma Sinha has been appointed as 1st woman Chairperson & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Railway Board.
19. United Nations Biodiversity (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity) has urged people globally to use the word ‘funga’whenever they say‘flora and fauna’, in order to highlight the importance of fungi.
20. Jayant Nath has been appointed as part time chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
21. China’s government has recently unveiled the “2023 edition of the standard map of China,” reaffirming its territorial claims over disputed regions with India.

National News

1. Bhaderwah Rajma and Sulai Honey, of Jammu and Kashmir, and Chokuwa Rice of Assam have been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag.

   About the rice

   • It is also known as Magic rice cultivated in Assam.
   • It is a part of Assam’s culinary heritage; this unique rice has been a staple of the troops of the mighty Ahom dynasty.
   • This unique and healthy rice is cultivated around the Brahmaputra River area.

2. Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal has launched Tele-Law- 2.0 which will integrate Tele-Law and Nyaya Bandhu App to ensure access to justice.
   • Benefit: Common citizen can access legal advice, legal assistance and legal representation through a single registration and single gateway of Tele-Law.

3. India’s first indigenously developed 700 MWe nuclear power reactor at the Kakrapar Atomic Power Project (KAPP-3) in Gujarat has commenced operations at full capacity.
   • KAPP-3 is India’s largest indigenously developed Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR), using natural uranium as fuel and heavy water as a moderator.
   • Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), a public sector enterprise under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), oversees with the design, construction, commissioning, and operation of nuclear power reactors.
   • NPCIL currently operates 23 commercial nuclear power reactors with a combined capacity of 7480 MW.
   • India aims to increase its nuclear power capacity from 7,480 MWe to 22,480 MWe by 2031.

4. Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO), in collaboration with the Space Applications Centre (Ahmedabad), has developed a device named ‘Nabhmitra’ to enhance the safety of fishermen at sea.

    About Nabhmitra

   • Nabhmitra’ stands as an innovative satellite-based communication system.
   • It facilitates seamless two-way messaging services, connecting fishing vessels with onshore authorities and control centers.
   • The system can convey weather alerts, cyclone warnings and other information in the local language.
   • In cases of emergencies like boat accidents or fires, fishermen can activate the device to alert the control centre.
   • Additionally, the device provides details about shipping routes, maritime boundaries, and fishing areas.
     Source: TH

5. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will organise the 1st edition of the Global IndiaAI 2023 conference in October 2023.
   • Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Minister of State (MoS), Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) will chair the conference’s steering committee.
   • The conference will showcase the vibrant India artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem comprising initiatives like DI Bhashini, India Datasets Program, and others.
   • The conference will cover a wide range of topics including Next Generation Learning and Foundation AI models, AI applications in healthcare, governance, next-gen electric vehicles, future AI research trends, and others.
     Source: PIB

6. Ministry of Education has released a new comic book, “Let’s Move Forward”, developed jointly by NCERT and UNESCO in New Delhi.
   • This partnership marks a step towards advancing the objectives of the School Health and Wellness Programme (SHWP).
     • It was launched in 2018 as part of the Ayushman Bharat campaign.
     • The aim is to provide health education, prevent diseases, and improve access to health services.
   • The comic covers information related to the 11 thematic components (emotional well-being, interpersonal relationships, gender equality, nutrition and health, prevention of substance abuse, promoting healthy lifestyles, reproductive health, internet safety, and more)of the SHWP.
   • It is accessible in multiple languages;Hindi, English, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Tamil, and Telugu.
     Source: PIB

International News

1. India and US have launched Renewable Energy Technology Action Platform (RETAP) under the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).
   • US-India SCEP is a joint eff­ort to advance energy security, emphasize electri­fication and decarbonization, and scale up emerging clean energy
     • It was established as one of the two-track engagements launched under the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership.
       • The second engagement is the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue.

   About RETAP

   • It aims to accelerate the development of emerging renewable technologies. It will focus on green/clean hydrogen, wind energy, and long-duration energy storage, and explore geothermal energy, ocean/tidal energy, etc.
   • Launched by: United States Department of Energy (DOE) and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), India.
   • It will be guided by ­five themes:
     • Research & Development.
     • Piloting and testing of Innovative Technologies.
     • Advanced Training & Skill Development.
     • Policy and Planning for advancing enabling technologies.
     • Investment, Incubation, and Outreach programs.
   • Signi­ficance: Aids in achieving net zero targets for India, creates green jobs, and fosters investment in green‑eld renewable energy projects.
     Source: PIB

Banking and Economy

1. Punjab National Bank has launched PNB GST Sahay App which empowers MSME borrowers to digitally obtain loans by utilizing their GST invoices.
   • With this launch PNB has become the first public sector bank to facilitate effortless credit availability for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) via GST invoices.
   • Benefit: The app will enable an end-to-end digital lending process to help eliminate any manual intervention for MSMEs and make the process cost-effective and smooth.
   • Through the app, all GST-registered MSMEs having an active account with PNB will be able to access the bank’s GST Sahay service for loans starting from Rs 10,000 to Rs 2 lakh per invoice, subject to capping of Rs 10 lakh per borrower.
     Source: FE
2. Savart, one of India’s largest investment advisors has launched its maiden and flagship Portfolio Management Service (PMS), The Ad Astra Fund, in Hyderabad.
   • The fund transforms the traditional human-led investment research processes and increases the probability of achieving a superior return on investment.
   • The fund features end-to-end research automation, from investment opportunity discovery until exit, i.e., the entire research and investment decision-making process is driven by their AI research system APART (Advanced Process Automation & Research Technology).
     Source: BS

3. Mastercard has launched ALT ID (Alternate Identifier) solution for enhanced online payment security for Guest Check-Out processes.

   How does it work?

   • The ALT ID solution creates an Alternate Identifier for actual card numbers provided by users during guest check-out processes or cardholders who carry out transactions without saving their cards.
     • This reduces the vulnerability of exposing sensitive card data in the event of unauthorized access or data breaches.
   • Previously, Mastercard has rolled out a Card-On-File (CoF) tokenization solution for cardholders to safely complete transactions without revealing sensitive card details.
     Source: HBL

4. ICICI Prudential Life Insurance Company Limited (ICICI Prudential Life) has launched “ICICI Pru GIFT Pro”, a protection and savings-oriented life insurance plan.
   • The new plan will provide policyholders, also known as the “Life Assured”, with a wide range of options to customize their policy.
   • It offers a range of flexibilities to the policyholder, including options related to Money Back Benefit and Guaranteed Income (GI).
     • MoneyBack benefit is the facility to withdraw a particular percentage of the amount from the total premiums paid.
     • With the Guaranteed Income option, the insurance company promises to pay you a fixed amount of money at regular intervals
       Source: LM

   
   
   
   
5. National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)has announced the launch of an open-source project named ‘Flacon’ to simplify the management and use of blockchain.
   • It is based on ‘Hyperledger Fabric’and supported on Kubernetes clusters.
     • Hyperledger fabric is an enterprise-level permission blockchain network. The framework serves as a foundation for creating blockchain-based products and solutions.
     • Kubernetes is an open-source platform that assists the management of packaged software codes, also called containerised applications.
   • Falcon is an open-source project created under General Public License (GPL) license (GPL-3.0).
   • NPCI has launched blockchain technology based “Vajra Platform” to make payments fast and secure in 2020.
     Source: gadgets360

   
   

Defence News

1. India’s latest warship, Mahendragiri, has been launched by Sudesh Dhankhar, wife of vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar at the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders, Mumbai.
   • Mahendragiri is the seventh and last stealth frigate of Project 17A, has a length 149 metre, a width of 17.8 metre, and will have a top speed of 28 knots.
   • Earlier, President Droupadi Murmu has launched Vindhyagiri, the sixth warship of Project 17A, at Garden Reach Shipbuilders & Engineers.

2. First ship of the Diving Support Craft (DSC) project, ‘DSC A 20’ (Yard 325), has been launched in Kolkata (Hooghly River).
   • In 2021, a contract was signed between the Ministry of Defence (MoD) and M/s Titagarh Wagons Ltd (TWL) for the construction of 5 DSC.
   • These specialized vessels are designed to perform operational and training diving operations in harbors and coastal waters.
   • The project aims to deliver all five DSC to the Indian Navy during FY 2024-25.
   • The majority of equipment used are sourced from indigenous manufacturers, making them a source for the “Make in India” and “Make for the World” initiatives of the Government of India and Ministry of Defence.
     Source: PIB

Important Days

1. 31 August: World Sanskrit Day
   • The first World Sanskrit Day was celebrated in 1969.
   • World Sanskrit Day or Vishwa Sanskrit Diwas iscelebrated on Purnima Tithi (Full moon) of Shravana month every year.
   • It serves as a tribute to the birth anniversary of Paṇini, a distinguished Sanskrit scholar and grammarian.
   • Purpose: To show gratitude and respect towards the Sanskrit language.
     Source: ToI
2. 31 August- International Day for People of African Descent (3rd edition)
   • Purpose: The United Nations aims to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African diaspora around the world and to eliminate all forms of discrimination against people of African descent.
     Source: UN

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has signed a MoU with National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) to enhance socio-economic upliftment of Safai Karamcharis.
   • The MoU is signed for the fiscal years 2023-24 and 2024-25.
     Source: NoA

Appointments

1. Jaya Varma Sinha has been appointed as 1st woman Chairperson & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Railway Board.

Source: LM

Miscellaneous

1. United Nations Biodiversity (Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity) has urged people globally to use the word ‘funga’whenever they say ‘flora and fauna’, in order to highlight the importance of fungi.
   • According to UN Biodiversity “It is time for fungi to be recognised and protected on an equal footing with animals and plants in legal conservation frameworks”.
     Source: DTE 
2. Jayant Nath has been appointed as part time chairman of Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
   Source: ToI
3. China’s government has recently unveiled the “2023 edition of the standard map of China,” reaffirming its territorial claims over disputed regions with India.
   • The map incorporates China’s territorial claims, encompassing Arunachal Pradesh and the Aksai Chin region.
   • These claims have long been points of contention between China and India. 
     Source: TH

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