11th-13th August, 2023

1. 108th foundation day of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was celebrated in Kolkata on July 1st.
2. The Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), which consists of seven satellites and India’s version of the American GPS (global positioning system), will be integrated into Aadhaar enrolment devices.
3. A total of six infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 28,000 crore have been recommended under PM GatiShakti.
4. Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, addressed the “ImPact with Youth Conclave” organised by United Nations India, Yuwaah at UNICEF, and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
5. Ministry of Railways will establish Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) at some of the railway stations.
6. A 19-member committee of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been formed to formulate new textbooks for Grade 3 to 12, in conjunction with the National Education Policy (NEP).
7. Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd has received the contract for the implementation of Meghalaya’s health insurance for citizens.
8. Nathdwara Pichhwai craft of Rajsamand in Rajasthan has received the GI tag.
9. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidas ji Memorial that will be constructed in more than ₹100 crores at Badtuma village of Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh.
10. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry has collaborated with Ministry of Rural Development for the One District One Product (ODOP) program.
11. Reliance Jio has completed the work related to connecting Maldives with a High-Speed Optic Fibre cable to land the Ocean Connect Maldives-India Asia Express (OCM-IAX) Submarine Cable System.
12. Parliament approved the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to implement the 28% GST on the full value of deposits made by players to online gaming platforms, horse racing clubs and to casinos from 1 October 2023.
13. The navies of India and the United Arab Emirates carried out a military exercise as part of efforts to boost maritime security cooperation.
14. August 10 – World Lion Day
15. August 10 – World Biofuel Day

National News

1. 108th foundation day of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) was celebrated in Kolkata on July 1st.
   • Establishment date – 1st July 1916
   • ZSI HQ – Kolkata
   • Director of ZSI – Dr Dhriti Banerjee

   Highlights of the celebration event –

   • Focus of the event – Mission Life
   • Books – As a part of the event six books were released-

   1) Animal Discoveries: New Species and New Records 2022,

   2) Plant Discoveries 2022,

   3) Faunal Diversity of 75 Ramsar Wetlands of India,

   4) Records of Zoological Survey of India-Special Issue of ATS 2023,

   5) 75 Endemic Birds of India and,

   6) Fauna of India-108 DNA Sequences

   • MOU – ZSI signed three MoUs for research and academic collaboration with the Royal Government of Bhutan, IIT Jodhpur and University of Burdwan, West Bengal
   • With Bhutan, the MoU was signed to conduct population assessment of the Red Panda, through a non-invasive method.
   • With the IIT Jodhpur and University of Burdwan, MoUs were signed for research collaborations and student exchange programmes
   • 2023 Animal Taxonomy Summit – The first two-day Animal Taxonomy Summit was organised by ZSI
   • Sarovar Mitra – ZSI will focus on the research and conservation of important wetlands of Gangetic plains of India as ‘Sarovar Mitra’, by initiating a programme for citizen scientists for better data dissemination and conservation awareness.
     Source: PIB and ZSI
2. The Navigation with Indian Constellation (NavIC), which consists of seven satellites and India’s version of the American GPS (global positioning system), will be integrated into Aadhaar enrolment devices.
   • NavIC offers two services: Standard Position Service (SPS) for civilian users and Restricted Service (RS) for strategic users.
     Source: The Hindu
3. A total of six infrastructure projects worth more than Rs 28,000 crore have been recommended under PM GatiShakti.
   • The decision was taken at the 53rd Network Planning Group meeting, held in New Delhi.

4. Union Minister for Youth Affairs & Sports and Information & Broadcasting, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur, addressed the “ImPact with Youth Conclave” organised by United Nations India, Yuwaah at UNICEF, and Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports.
   • The conclave took place in Chennai on the eve of International Youth Day (August 12), under the theme of “Igniting Passions & Sparking Change – Amplifying voices and driving change with young people from South Asia”.
   • Theme of International Youth Day 2023 – “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World”
     Source: PIB and UN

5. Ministry of Railways will establish Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Kendras (PMBJKs) at some of the railway stations.
   • 50 stations have been identified for the pilot phase.
   • Under this scheme, PMBJKs would be deemed ‘desirable passenger amenity’.
   • PMBJKs will be set up and operated by Licensees at locations identified by Railway Divisions. Stalls will be provided by E-auctioning with respective Railway Divisions through IREPS. These stalls will be designed by NID Ahmedabad.
     Source: PIB

6. A 19-member committee of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been formed to formulate new textbooks for Grade 3 to 12, in conjunction with the National Education Policy (NEP).
   • The high-powered committee is named The National Syllabus and Teaching Learning Material Committee (NSTC).
   • C. Pant (Chancellor of National Institute of Educational Planning and Administration or NIEPA) is the Chairperson of NSTC, while Prof. Manjul Bhargava (of Princeton University) is the co-Chairperson.
     • Other prominent members of NSTC – Sudha Murthy, Shankar Mahadevan and Prime Minister’s Economic Advisory Council (EAC-PM) Chairman Bibek Debroy
   • On the other hand, a National Steering Committee is working on the National Curriculum Framework for School Education (NCF-SE 2023), which will provide a roadmap for the syllabus and textbook developers for School Education all over the country.
     Source: The Hindu

State News

1. Reliance General Insurance Company Ltd has received the contract for the implementation of Meghalaya’s health insurance for citizens.
   • The RGICL will be implementing the Megha Health Insurance Scheme and the Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana phase 6.
     Source: ET
2. Nathdwara Pichhwai craft of Rajsamand in Rajasthan has received the GI tag.
   • The project for supporting the GI certification for 5 products of Rajasthan – Jodhpur Bandhej work, Koftagiri Metal Craft of Udaipur, Nathdwara Pichhwai craft of Rajsamand, Bikaner Usta Kala, Hand embroidery art of Bikaner- is supported by NABARD.
   • During 2022-23, NABARD disbursed an amount of Rs.31.04 crore on various developmental interventions in the State.
     Source: PIB
3. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of Sant Shiromani Gurudev Shri Ravidas ji Memorial that will be constructed in more than ₹100 crores at Badtuma village of Sagar district in Madhya Pradesh.
   Source: HT

Banking and Economy

1. Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), Ministry of Commerce & Industry has collaborated with Ministry of Rural Development for the One District One Product (ODOP) program.
   • This strategic collaboration was unveiled with the inauguration of the ODOP Wall at SARAS Aajeevika Store in New Delhi.
   • SARAS Aajeevika is an initiative by Deendayal Antyodaya (DAY-NRLM), Ministry of Rural Development.

   About OPOP Wall –

   • Objective: To boost sales and to increase visibility of SARAS products of rural SHGs women
   • Under this collaboration, products are being identified from all districts to be promoted for their unique qualities and cultural significance.

2. Reliance Jio has completed the work related to connecting Maldives with a High-Speed Optic Fibre cable to land the Ocean Connect Maldives-India Asia Express (OCM-IAX) Submarine Cable System.
   • The agreement for the Ocean Connectivity Maldives project (worth $22.5 million) was signed in February 2022.
   • The IAX cable system originates in Mumbai and connects Singapore, with branches and landings in India, Malaysia, and Thailand.
   • The cable system is expected to be ready for service by end of this year.
     Source: NoA

3. Parliament approved the Central Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to implement the 28% GST on the full value of deposits made by players to online gaming platforms, horse racing clubs and to casinos from 1 October 2023.
   • Parliament has also approved Integrated Goods and Services Tax (Amendment) Amendment Bill, 2023, which will be brought into effect from October
     Source: LiveMint

Defence News

1. The navies of India and the United Arab Emirates carried out a military exercise as part of efforts to boost maritime security cooperation.
   • INS Visakhapatnam and INS Trikand participated in the exercise.
   • The ships arrived at Port Rashid in Dubai.
     Source: ET

Important Days

1. August 10 – World Lion Day
   Source: ET
2. August 10 – World Biofuel Day
   • The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas has been celebrating the day since 2015 with a theme. However, because of no official declaration of the theme yet, World Biofuel Day will be commended on the 2022 theme, ‘Biofuels for Sustainability and Rural Income’.
   • World Biofuel Day celebrates the legacy of Sir Rudolf Diesel, who developed the diesel engine in 1892.
     Source: BS

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