16th August, 2022

1. Union Ministry of Heavy Industries has launched ‘Automated Online Data Transfer’ to capture Domestic Value Addition (DVA) related critical data from the approved applicants of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the makers of automobile and auto components.
2. India Meteorological Department (IMD), Japan govt, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced a new initiative to accelerate climate action in 10 States and Union Territories across the country.
3. A total of 151 Districts (in 24 States) have already lifted fortified rice under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in Phase II of Rice Fortification Programme.
4. National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM), launched in 2021, has achieved the target of imparting Intellectual Property (IP) awareness and basic training to 1 million students.
5. Ministry of Cooperation and the National Federation of State Cooperative Banks (NAFSCOB) have organized a one-day National Conference of Rural Cooperative Banks.
6. “DST StartUp Utsav” was organized at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
7. India has added 11 more wetlands into the list of Ramsar sites, taking the total number of wetlands in India to 75.
8. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has launched India’s first saline water lantern named Roshini, which uses sea water to power the LED lamps.
9. Uttar Pradesh government has signed an MoU with Flipkart to bring state’s handicraft products on the platform.
10. Haryana has launched Cheerag scheme to offer “free education” to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) students of government schools in “budget” private schools.
11. Odisha government has signed an MOU with National Institute of Ocean Technology for protection of its coasts.
12. ‘Golden Joint’ of the Chenab railway bridge was launched thereby inaugurating the world’s highest railway bridge.
13. Indian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) have conducted the ‘Udarashakti’ air exercise.
14. US, Indonesia and Australia have conducted Super Garuda Shield exercise on the Sumatra island, Indonesia.
15. NBCC Ltd has signed an MOU with the External Affairs Ministry to redevelop a housing complex in central Delhi for Rs 175 crores.
16. Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have signed an MOU for providing technical support to Ministry of Ayush for digitalisation of Ayush Sector under the Ayush Grid project for a period of 3 years.
17. According to a new analysis of seismic data from NASA’s Mars InSight mission, Martian equator does not contain any ice.
18. Nature Index 2022 rankings has been released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China, followed by Harvard University (USA), Max Planck Society, Germany.
19. US-based Citi Group has agreed to provide a $125 million for providing credit to Airtel Africa.
20. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has disallowed the use of Letters of Comfort (LoC), which may impact loans worth Rs 35,000 crores.
21. Navi Mutual Fund has launched of Navi Nifty India Manufacturing Index Fund – India’s first open-ended index fund – to track the performance of manufacturers among the top 300 companies in India.
22. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of “Rupee Co-operative Bank Ltd, Pune”.
23. RBI has asked banks, non-banking financial institutions, and other regulated entities to ensure that they and their loan recovery agents do not harass people.
24. India’s retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 6.71% in July 2022 compared with 7.01% in June 2022.
25. National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, has released the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) at 12.3% in June 2022 against 19.6% in May this year.
26. Central government has appointed J&K IAS officer Shah Faesal as Deputy Secretary in the Tourism Ministry.
27. Ashish Kumar Chauhan has been appointed as the MD and CEO of National Stock Exchange.
28. August 12 – International Youth Day; Theme – Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating A World for All Ages
29. August 13 – World Organ Donation Day
30. August 15 – 150th Birth Anniversary of Shri Aurobindo
31. Renowned Bangladeshi architect, researcher and educator Marina Tabassum has become the first person from the global south and first south Asian to win the prestigious Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement Award.
32. Former national champion V.M. Ranjeet has won bronze medal in the ITF Seniors World Championship in Lisbon, Portugal.

National News

1. Union Ministry of Heavy Industries has launched ‘Automated Online Data Transfer’ to capture Domestic Value Addition (DVA) related critical data from the approved applicants of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for the makers of automobile and auto components.
   • The PLI auto portal will receive critical data from PLI applicants Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system.
2. India Meteorological Department (IMD), Japan govt, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) have announced a new initiative to accelerate climate action in 10 States and Union Territories across the country.
   • The initiative will support Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) to achieve net-zero emissions and ensure climate-resilient development.
   • It will be rolled out in partnership with the IMD at the Ministry of Earth Sciences and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
   • Japan has extended USD 5.16 million in climate grant to UNDP India for the project under the Japan’s global support to 23 countries through UNDP’s ‘Climate Promise – From Pledge to Impact’ programme for implementing NDCs.
   • The project will be rolled out in the states and Union Territories of Bihar, Delhi-NCR, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Sikkim, Uttarakhand, and Uttar Pradesh between 2022-23.
3. A total of 151 Districts (in 24 States) have already lifted fortified rice under Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS) in Phase II of Rice Fortification Programme.
   • Phase-I covering ICDS and PM POSHAN had been implemented during 2021-22 and nearly 51 LMT had been distributed in the States/UTs.
   • Phase-II includes Phase I above plus all Aspirational Districts and High Burden districts (total 291 districts) under Targeted Public Distribution System and Other Welfare Schemes in all the States/UTs by March, 2023 with a total quantity of about 175 LMT of fortified rice has to be distributed.
     • Cumulative annual Fortified Rice Kernel (FRK) manufacturing capacity which was at 9 LMT (34 FRK Manufacturing) in August last year has gone up to 3.5 LMT (153 FRK manufacturer) which is increased by four times.
   • Fortification is the process of adding Fortified Rice Kernels (FRK), containing FSSAI prescribed micronutrients (Iron, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12) to normal Rice (Custom Milled Rice) in the ratio of 1:100 (Mixing 1 Kg of FRK with 100 Kg custom milled rice).
   • Fortified rice is nearly identical to traditional rice in aroma, taste, and texture. This process is done in the rice mills at the time of milling of rice.
4. National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM), launched in 2021, has achieved the target of imparting Intellectual Property (IP) awareness and basic training to 1 million students.
   • Purpose – to create awareness about IP rights among the students of higher education (classes 8 to 12) and inspire the students of college/Universities to innovate and protect their creations
   • The program is being implemented by the Intellectual Property Office, the Office of Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (CGPDTM), Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
   • of participants (students/faculty) trained on IP = 10, 05, 272
   • Educational institutes covered: 3,662
   • Geographical coverage: 28 states and 7 Union Territories
   • The National Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy 2016 was launched with a clarion call of “Creative India; Innovative India”.
5. Ministry of Cooperation and the National Federation of State Cooperative Banks (NAFSCOB) have organized a one-day National Conference of Rural Cooperative Banks.
6. “DST StartUp Utsav” was organized at Dr Ambedkar International Centre in Delhi.
   • India ranks globally 3rd in start-up ecosystem and also in terms of number of Unicorns. As per the latest data, there are currently 105 unicorns, out of which 44 were born in 2021 and 19 in 2022.
   • Centre for Augmenting WAR with COVID-19 Health Crisis (CAWACH) program of Department of Science and Technology to support R&D efforts in covid-19 direction.
   • CAWACH supports innovations in the areas of diagnostics, devices, informatics including bio-informatics & information management systems, any intervention for the control of COVID-19 and/or start-up ideas to address/mitigate various challenges faced by country / society due to severe impact of COVID-19.
7. India has added 11 more wetlands into the list of Ramsar sites, taking the total number of wetlands in India to 75.
   • Of the 11 new sites, four are in Tamil Nadu, three in Odisha, two Jammu and Kashmir, and one each in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
   • Now, Tamil Nadu has the maximum number of Ramsar sites at 14, followed by Uttar Pradesh, which has 10.
   • India became a signatory to the 1971 Ramsar Convention in 1982.
   • New Ramsar sites –

8. Union Minister Jitendra Singh has launched India’s first saline water lantern named Roshini, which uses sea water to power the LED lamps.
   • The Minister launched the lantern during a visit to SAGAR ANVESHIKA, a coastal research vessel operated and used by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT).

State News

1. Uttar Pradesh government has signed an MoU with Flipkart to bring state’s handicraft products on the platform.
   • The state government is also organizing camps to give subsidies on loans to weavers.
   • The government is providing a subsidy of up to 20% on loans and up to 7% on interest.
2. Haryana has launched Cheerag scheme to offer “free education” to Economically Weaker Section (EWS) students of government schools in “budget” private schools.
3. Odisha government has signed an MOU with National Institute of Ocean Technology for protection of its coasts.
   • National Institute of Ocean Technology, under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, is a premier institute in the country specialising in the field of ocean engineering and coastline protection.
4. ‘Golden Joint’ of the Chenab railway bridge was launched thereby inaugurating the world’s highest railway bridge

Defence News

1. Indian Air Force and Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) have conducted the ‘Udarashakti’ air exercise.
   • Indian Air Force is participating in the air exercise with Su-30 MKI and C-17 aircraft while the RMAF will be flying Su-30 MKM aircraft.
2. US, Indonesia and Australia have conducted Super Garuda Shield exercise on the Sumatra island, Indonesia.
   • A total of more than 5,000 personnel from the US, Indonesia, Australia, Japan and Singapore are participating in this year’s Super Garuda Shield exercises, making them the largest since they began in 2009.
   • United Kingdom, Canada, France, India, Malaysia, South Korea, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and East Timor also sent observers to the exercises

Memorandum of Understanding

1. NBCC Ltd has signed an MOU with the External Affairs Ministry to redevelop a housing complex in central Delhi for Rs 175 crores.
2. Ministry of AYUSH and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) have signed an MOU for providing technical support to Ministry of Ayush for digitalisation of Ayush Sector under the Ayush Grid project for a period of 3 years.
   • This MoU is continuation of the earlier MoU which was signed in the year 2019.
   • ‘AYUSH Grid’ Project, as part of the Digital India Program, aims to leverage ‘Information and Technology’ to transform operational efficiency, improve service delivery and enhance quality of services.
   • A High-Level Advisory Committee (HLAC), chaired by Secretary of Ayush Ministry (incumbent: Vaidya Rajesh Kotecha) and co-chaired by Secretary of MeitY Ministry (incumbent: Alkesh Kumar Sharma), was constituted to provide advisory inputs on Ayush Grid project.
   • A working group was also constituted under the chairmanship of J. Satyanarayana (Former Secretary MeitY & Chairman of UIDAI) with other experts from NITI Aayog, NHA, MeitY etc.

International News

1. According to a new analysis of seismic data from NASA’s Mars InSight mission, Martian equator does not contain any ice.
   • The finding describes the dry conditions in the top 300 metres of the subsurface beneath the landing site near the Martian equator.
   • The findings are published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
   • The InSight spacecraft landed near the Martian equator, in 2018. Its instruments included a seismometer that measures vibrations caused by mars quakes and crashing meteorites.

Reports and Indices

1. Nature Index 2022 rankings has been released by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), China, followed by Harvard University (USA), Max Planck Society, Germany.
   • India has a total of 260 universities and institutes in the list.
   • India’s ranking –

• Each year, the Nature Index assesses the high-quality research papers published in 82 natural-science journals in the previous calendar year.

Banking and Economy

1. US-based Citi Group has agreed to provide a $125 million for providing credit to Airtel Africa.
2. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has disallowed the use of Letters of Comfort (LoC), which may impact loans worth Rs 35,000 crores.
   • LoC is a letter issued by a parent company which tells a bank that they know the loan is availed by one of their subsidiaries. The letter states that the parent company “supports” the subsidiary in the process, and they will lend their hand wherever required.
   • It is generally issued by foreign companies that have their branches and subsidiaries in India.
3. Navi Mutual Fund has launched of Navi Nifty India Manufacturing Index Fund – India’s first open-ended index fund – to track the performance of manufacturers among the top 300 companies in India.
   • It is Navi’s sixth fund for this year.
4. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the licence of “Rupee Co-operative Bank Ltd, Pune”.
5. RBI has asked banks, non-banking financial institutions, and other regulated entities to ensure that they and their loan recovery agents do not harass people.
   • Applicability – all commercial, regional and rural, small finance banks, and non-banking financial companies including housing finance companies, All-India financial institutions (including Exim Bank, NABARD, SIDBI etc.), all primary urban cooperative banks, state cooperative banks and district central cooperative banks and asset reconstruction companies
   • The circular does not apply to microfinance loans, and payments banks.
6. India’s retail inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) eased to 6.71% in July 2022 compared with 7.01% in June 2022.
7. National Statistical Office (NSO), under the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation, has released the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) at 12.3% in June 2022 against 19.6% in May this year.
   • Base Year for IIP is 2011-2012.

Appointments

1. Central government has appointed J&K IAS officer Shah Faesal as Deputy Secretary in the Tourism Ministry.
2. Ashish Kumar Chauhan has been appointed as the MD and CEO of National Stock Exchange.

Important Days

1. August 12 – International Youth Day; Theme – Intergenerational Solidarity: Creating A World for All Ages
2. August 13 – World Organ Donation Day
3. August 15 – 150th Birth Anniversary of Shri Aurobindo

Awards

1. Renowned Bangladeshi architect, researcher and educator Marina Tabassum has become the first person from the global south and first south Asian to win the prestigious Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement Award.
   • The award is given by the Lisbon Architecture Triennale jury.

Sports

1. Former national champion M. Ranjeet has won bronze medal in the ITF Seniors World Championship in Lisbon, Portugal.

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