04th August, 2023

1. Indian government has imposed immediate restrictions on importing laptops, tablets, and personal computers falling under HSN 8741 category.
2. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has introduced the Heat Index on an experimental basis.
3. Government has introduced a new category of Ayush visa for foreign nationals.
4. Government has launched the Study in India (SII) portal for international students.
5. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a new app called ‘Rajmargyatra‘ to improve user experience on highways and create a ‘citizen-centric unified mobile application’.
6. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) has launched Port Health Organisation (PHO) module under Sagar Setu – National Logistics Portal (Marine)to enable faster & simpler ecosystem to promote Ease of Doing Business.
7. President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated ‘Unmesha’ – International Literature Festival and ‘Utkarsh’ – Festival of Folk and Tribal Performing Arts at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
8. Karnataka government & US based International Battery Company has signed a Memorandum of understanding to set up ₹8,000 crore recyclable Lithium-ion battery unit in the state.
9. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has launched the Department of Forest & Environment’s Amrit Brikshya Andolan web portal and mobile application, along with the Wood-based Industry (WBI) registration web portal.
10. Reserve Bank of India has approved the scheme of amalgamation of Navanirman Co-op Urban Bank with Rajadhani Co-op Urban Bank.
11. Ministry of Finance has launched the scheme,“Vivad se Vishwa-2”to effectively settle the pending contractual disputes of government and government undertakings.
12. Ambuja Cements Ltd (ACL), a flagship Adani Group company, has announced the acquisition of Sanghi Industries Ltd (SIL) at an enterprise value of ₹5,000 crore. 
13. Kiwi, an India-based FinTech platform has partnered with Axis Bank to bolster ‘Credit on UPI’ accessibility on RuPay credit cards.
14. According to S&P Global, the Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)has reached an impressive 13-year high of 3 in Julyafter a 3-month low in June.
15. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has handed over the 1st Radio Frequency (RF) Seeker of Akash – Next Generation Weapon System to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).
16. 1 August- World Wide Web Day 
17. 2 August- Earth Overshoot Day
18. Gukesh, has dethroned Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand as India’s top-ranked chess player in the live world rankings.
19. BWF Japan Open 2023
20. Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) and National Institute of Open Schooling(NIOS) have signed Memorandum of Understanding to revolutionize deaf education with Indian sign language.
21. NHPC Limited and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
22. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
23. IIM Ahmedabad’s CIIE.CO (Centre for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to establish a pre-seed fund, especially for deep-tech start-ups.
24. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved extension in service to Shri Rajiv Gauba as Cabinet Secretary for a further period of 1 year.
25. Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor, renowned Marathi poet and lyricist, popularly known as Na Dho Mahanora has passed away.
26. Arash-Dorra gas field, a resource-rich offshore area is a contested area between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran.

National News

1. Indian government has imposed immediate restrictions on importing laptops, tablets, and personal computers falling under HSN 8741 category.

What do the new rules say?

• Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT), Ministry of Commerce issued a notification saying that any import of laptops, tablets, etc., under Harmonized System of Nomenclature (HSN) 8471 shall be ‘restricted’ and would be allowed against a valid license from DGFT from ‘trusted’ sources.
• Exemption for imports under Baggage Rules, R&D, testing, benchmarking, repair, etc.

Reasons behind the move

• To promote domestic manufacturing of these products. The new restrictions on computer imports are part of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme that was launched by the government in 2020 to boost domestic manufacturing and exports of electronics.
• Curtailing the majority share of imports of these items from China.

2. India Meteorological Department (IMD) has introduced the Heat Index on an experimental basis.

Heat Index

• The Heat Index aims to provide general guidance for regions in India where the combination of temperature and humidity leads to higher apparent temperatures, causing discomfort for people.
• It considers the impact of humidity on high temperatures, providing a “feel-like” temperature for human beings and indicating the level of discomfort.

Color Codes for Experimental Heat Index

• The Heat Index is represented with different color codes to signify the varying levels of heat impact and discomfort:
• Green: Below 35°C
• Yellow: Range of 36-45°C
• Orange: Range of 46-55°C
• Red: Above 55°C

3. Government has introduced a new category of Ayush visa for foreign nationals.
   • A new chapter chapter 11A – Ayush Visa has been incorporated after Chapter 11 – Medical visa of the Visa Manual, which deals with treatment under the Indian systems of medicines.

   Significance-

   • It will boost Medical Value Travel in India.
   • According to the report ‘The Global Wellness Economy: Looking beyond COVID’ the Global Wellness Institute (GWI), the Global Wellness economy will grow at 9.9% annually.
   • Ayush based healthcare & wellness economy is estimated to grow to USD 70 billion by 2025. 
     Source: ET

4. Government has launched the Study in India (SII) portal for international students.
   • Purpose- To provide an integrated one-stop solution for student registration and visa application process.
   • The Study in India or SII programme is a flagship project launched by the education ministry in 2018 with an aim to endorse India as a prime education hub for international students by inviting them to pursue higher education in the country.
     Source: HT

5. National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has launched a new app called ‘Rajmargyatra‘ to improve user experience on highways and create a ‘citizen-centric unified mobile application’.
   • The app will have following features-
   • Essential highway information
   • Complaint redressal
   • FASTag services
   • Safe driving features
     Source: LM
6. Union Minister of Ports, Shipping & Waterways (MoPSW) has launched Port Health Organisation (PHO) module under Sagar Setu – National Logistics Portal (Marine)to enable faster & simpler ecosystem to promote Ease of Doing Business.
   • PHO will conduct disease surveillance, health inspection and quarantine measures to safeguard citizens and port workers.
     Source: PIB

   
   
7. President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu has inaugurated ‘Unmesha’ – International Literature Festival and ‘Utkarsh’ – Festival of Folk and Tribal Performing Arts at Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.
   Source: PIB

State News

1. Karnataka government & US based International Battery Company has signed a Memorandum of understanding to set up ₹8,000 crore recyclable Lithium-ion battery unit in the state.
   • This is Karnataka’s 2nd lithium-ion battery manufacturing unit to be established on a 100-acre land at the Information Technology Investment Region (ITIR) at Devanahalli in the Bengaluru.
     • Previously, Bengaluru-based Log9 Materials (an advanced battery-technology and deep-technology startup) has inaugurated India’s first commercial lithium-Ion (Li-ion) cell manufacturing facility on its campus in Jakkur, Bengaluru to produce batteries for electric vehicles.
       Source: HT
2. Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma has launched the Department of Forest & Environment’s Amrit Brikshya Andolan web portal and mobile application, along with the Wood-based Industry (WBI) registration web portal.
   • Purpose- The initiative aims to make a significant impact on the State’s green economy by planting a total of 1 crore (10 million) commercially-viable saplings across the State.
     Source: aba.assam

Banking and Economy

1. Reserve Bank of India has approved the scheme of amalgamation of Navanirman Co-op Urban Bank with Rajadhani Co-op Urban Bank.
   • The Scheme has been sanctioned in exercise of the powers conferred under Sub-Section (4) of Section 44A read with Section 56 of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949.
   • The Scheme has come into force with effect from August 03, 2023.
     Source: HBL

   
   
2. Ministry of Finance has launched the scheme,“Vivad se Vishwa-2” to effectively settle the pending contractual disputes of government and government undertakings.
   • The scheme was announced in the Union Budget 2023-24.

   What is the Vivad Se Vishwas-II Scheme?

   • It is a voluntary settlement schemeto resolve long-standing contractual disputes involving government agencies.
   • It is designed specifically for disputes where the Arbitral Award is under challenge in a court.
     • Arbitral Award is an award that brings finality to the arbitral proceeding.
   • Under the scheme, standardised terms will be introduced, and graded settlement options will be provided based on the level of pendency of the dispute.
   • Implementation:
     • It will be implemented through an online functionality on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) portal.
   • Settlement Amount:
     • For cases involving Court awards, the settlement amount offered to the contractor will be up to 85% of the net amount awarded or upheld by the court, while the same threshold will be “up to” 65% of the net amount in case of arbitral awards.
       Source: LM
3. Ambuja Cements Ltd (ACL), a flagship Adani Group company, has announced the acquisition of Sanghi Industries Ltd (SIL) at an enterprise value of ₹5,000 crore. 
   • ACL will acquire 74% shares of SIL from its existing promoter group, Ravi Sanghi & family.
   • Adani is India’s 2nd largest cement producer, behind UltraTech Cement. It owns Ambuja and its subsidiary ACC Ltd, which have a capacity to produce more than 65 million tonnes with more than a dozen manufacturing plants across India.
     Source: LM

4. Kiwi, an India-based FinTech platform has partnered with Axis Bank to bolster ‘Credit on UPI’ accessibility on RuPay credit cards.
   • With this, the users can make payments from the Kiwi app using their credit cards at merchant outlets that accept digital payments only via UPI.
     Source: ToI

Reports and Indices

1. According to S&P Global, the Services Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)has reached an impressive 13-year high of 3 in July after a 3-month low in June.

• PMI is a survey-based measurethat provides information about current and future business conditions to company decision-makers, analysts, and investors.
• It is calculated separately for the manufacturing and services sectors and then a composite index is also constructed. The PMI is a number from 0 to 100.
• A PMI above 50 indicates expansion, while a PMI below 50 indicates contraction.
• Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the UAE emerged as key sources of growth for India’s services sector.
  Source: LM

Defence News

1. Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) has handed over the 1st Radio Frequency (RF) Seeker of Akash – Next Generation Weapon System to the Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO).

What is seeker?

• It is a critical and technology intensive subsystem used in Surface-to-Air Missiles and Air-to-Air Missiles for target tracking in the terminal phase.

Source: NoA

Important Days

1. 1 August- World Wide Web Day 

History-

• Invented by English computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee while he was working at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, known as CERN.
• A proposal to create the Web was passed by Tim in
  • By the end of 1990, the system was implemented at the CERN.
• The Web was released outside CERN to other research institutions and the whole Internet in 1991.
  Source: BS
2. 2 August- Earth Overshoot Day

What does it overshoot signify?

• The point at which we exhaust the resources earth can regenerate in a year while also processing its waste.
• It is calculated by the Global Footprint Network (GFN), an American think tank by comparing humanity’s ecological footprints, such as waste output, carbon emissions, and resource consumption, to the Earth’s ability to replenish those resources in that year.
  Source: UNRIC

Sports

1. Gukesh, has dethroned Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand as India’s top-ranked chess player in the live world rankings.
   • Gukesh has achieved this feat by defeating Mistradin Iskandarov in the second round of the FIDE World Cup in Baku, Azerbaijan.
   • He has achieved a live rating of 2755.9 and climbed to the 9th position in the classic open category.
   • FIDE is the global governing body of chess.
     Source: IE
2. BWF Japan Open 2023

Winners

• Men’s singles- Viktor Axelsen (Germany) defeated Jonatan Christie(Indonesia) in the finals.
• Women’s singles- An Se Young (Republic of Korea) won the title by beating He Bing Jiao (People’s Republic of China).
• The BWF Japan Open is a Super 750 event on the 2023 BWF World Tour, with players earning ranking points which count towards Paris 2024 qualification.
  Source: Olympics.com

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Indian Sign Language Research and Training Centre (ISLRTC) and National Institute of Open Schooling(NIOS) have signed Memorandum of Understanding to revolutionize deaf education with Indian sign language.
   • The MoU was signed during 3rd year NEP 2020 celebrations and 2nd Akhil Bharatiya Shiksha Sangam at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi.

   
   How will MoU help?
   • Indian Sign Language (ISL) is used in the deaf community all over India. But ISL is not used in deaf schools to teach deaf children.
     Source: PIB
   
   
2. NHPC Limited and Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India (ALIMCO) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
   • Significance- Under this, NHPC will provide CSR support for distribution of aids and assistive devices to around 1,000 Divyangjans (Persons with Disabilities) in the vicinity of NHPC Projects located in North and North Eastern states.
     Source: PIB
3. Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) and All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi (AIIMS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
   • Significance- IREDA will help AIIMS to reduce electricity bills, along with minimizing carbon footprint by employing solar power projects.
     Source: ET
4. IIM Ahmedabad’s CIIE.CO (Centre for Innovation Incubation & Entrepreneurship) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) to establish a pre-seed fund, especially for deep-tech start-ups.
   • The fund will have a total corpus of ₹40 crore, equally contributed by both SIDBI and CIIE.CO.

   What is seed funding?

   • Seed Funding is an early stage of investment in a start-up or a new business idea.
   • The goal of seed funding is to help the company reach a point where it can secure additional rounds of funding or generate revenue to become self-sustaining.

Source: HBL

Appointments

1. Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved extension in service to Shri Rajiv Gauba as Cabinet Secretary for a further period of 1 year.
   • He has become the longest serving Cabinet secretary.
   • The rules allow the Central government to give an extension in service to the cabinet secretary, in the public interest “provided that the total term of the cabinet secretary, who is granted such extensions of service, shall not exceed 4 years”.
     Source: LM

   
   

Miscellaneous

1. Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor, renowned Marathi poet and lyricist, popularly known as Na Dho Mahanora has passed away.
   • He was awarded Padma Shri in 1991.
     Source: HT

2. Arash-Dorra gas field, a resource-rich offshore area is a contested area between Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iran.

Source: ET

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