18th August, 2023

1. Union Cabinet has given approval to many new projects.
2. First-ever WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
3. Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation, 2023 has been awarded to 140 Police Personnel, in recognition of their outstanding service in the investigation.
4. National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) team has won the Gold Award under the Excellence in Government Process Reengineering for Digital Transformation Category-1.
5. Union Cabinet has approved the Mutual Recognition Arrangement of Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) between India and Australia.
6. Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has inaugurated G20-Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) Summit in Bengaluru.
7. India’s first Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drone) Common Testing Centrewill be set up in Tamil Nadu at an outlay of Rs 45 crore.
8. International Conference on ‘Preserving Information Integrity and Public Trust in Elections’ was held in Brasilia, Brazil.
9. United States-based investment firm GQG Partners bought over 8%, or 31 crore shares, of Adani Power from the promoters for over $1billion through two block deals on the stock exchanges.
10. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has integrated the National Pension System (NPS) Statement of Transaction (SoT) with the Consolidated Account Statement (CAS).
11. Indian President Droupadi Murmu has launched the Indian Navy’s advanced stealth frigate, INS Vindhyagiri at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE).
12. 14 August- Partition Horrors Remembrance Day / Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas
13. Union Cabinet has given approval to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India and Government of the Republic of Suriname on cooperation in the field of Medical Product Regulation.
14. Former Chairman of Defence Research Development Organisation, S. Arunachalam has passed away.

National News

1. Union Cabinet has given approval to many new projects.

PM-eBus Sewa 

• Aim: To augment city bus services with 10000 e-buses on a PPP model.
• The estimated cost of the scheme is 57,613 crore, out of which support of Rs.20,000 crore will be provided by the Central government. The Scheme will support bus operations for 10 years.
• Who will the scheme cover?
• The scheme will cover cities of 3 lakh and above population as per the census 2011 including all the capital cities of Union Territories, North Eastern Region and Hill States.
• Under this scheme, priority will be given to cities having no organized bus service.
• The scheme is expected to generate 45,000 to 55,000 direct jobs.
• There are two segments to the scheme:
  • Segment A – Augmenting the City bus services (169 cities): The approved bus scheme will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on a PPP model.
  • Segment B – Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI) (181 cities): The scheme envisages green initiatives like bus priority, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC-based Automated Fare Collection Systems, Charging infrastructure, etc.

PM Vishwakarma Scheme

• Financial Outlay: 13,000 crore for a period of 5 years (FY 2023-24 to FY 2027-28).
• The artisans and craftspeople will be provided recognition through PM Vishwakarma certificate and ID card.
• Credit Support upto 1 lakh (First Tranche) and Rs.2 lakh (Second Tranche) with a concessional interest rate of 5%. 
• The Scheme will provide Skill Upgradation, Toolkit Incentive, Incentive for Digital Transactions and Marketing Support.
• 18 traditional trades will be covered in the first instance under PM Vishwakarma.

Extension of Digital India Programme

• Financial outlay of Rs 14,903 crore.
• Aim: To re-skill and up-skill 25 lakh IT professionals and train another 2.65 lakh persons in information security.
• The AI-enabled multi-language translation tool – Bhashini – will be rolled out in 22 Schedule Vlll languages and 9 more supercomputers will be added under the National Super Computer Mission.

• Estimated cost – Rs 32,500 crores.
• The projects will be fully funded by the Central Government and will cover 39 districts in 9 states of the country (Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Odisha, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh & West Bengal).
• The proposed projects aim to increase the existing network of Indian Railways by 2339 km.
• They also aim to boost the existing line capacity, smoothen train operations, reduce congestion and facilitate ease of travelling and transportation.
  Source: IE

2. First-ever WHO Global Summit on Traditional Medicine was held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
   • Purpose: To explore the role of traditional, complementary and integrative medicine in addressing pressing health challenges and driving progress in global health and sustainable development.

   About Summit

   • Objective: To mobilize political commitment and evidence-based action on traditional medicine.
   • Organisers: It is organised by World Health Organization (WHO) and co-hosted by the ministry of Ayush.
   • It will be largest international event on Traditional Medicine.
   • It will serve as a platform for all stakeholders to share best practices and evidence, data and innovation on the contribution of traditional medicine to health and sustainable development.

3. Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation, 2023 has been awarded to 140 Police Personnel, in recognition of their outstanding service in the investigation.
   • This medal was constituted in 2018, with the objective to promote high professional standards of investigation of crime and recognize such Excellence in Investigation.
   • It is an annual medal, instituted by the Ministry of Home Affairs (Government of India) and is given to the members of Central Investigating Agencies and State/UT Police Investigating Agencies for excellence in investigation.
     Source: ANI
4. National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) team has won the Gold Award under the Excellence in Government Process Reengineering for Digital Transformation Category-1.
   • Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances(DAR&PG), Government of India presents National Awards every year during National conference on e-Governance.
   • The award recognised the dedication of the NAFIS team in creating a fool-proof fingerprint identification system.
   • NAFIS, which is developed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), is a centralised database of criminal fingerprints. It was inaugurated in August 2022, at the 2-day National Securities Strategies (NSS) Conference held in Delhi.
     Source: PIB
5. Union Cabinet has approved the Mutual Recognition Arrangement of Authorised Economic Operators (AEO) between India and Australia.
   • The arrangement is aimed at providing reciprocal benefits to accredited and trusted exporters of both the signatories in the clearance of goods by the Customs authorities of the importing country.
   • AEO programme is a voluntary compliance programme under the aegis of the World Customs Organization (WCO) SAFE Framework of Standards to secure and facilitate Global Trade.
   • This arrangement shall benefit our exporters to Australia and thereby promote a trade relationship between the two countries.

6. Union Minister of State for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship and Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar has inaugurated G20-Digital Innovation Alliance (G20-DIA) Summit in Bengaluru.
   • The Summit, is being organised on sidelines of 4th meeting of Digital Economy Working Group (DEWG) under G20.
   • Vital topics like ‘Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)’, ‘Security in the Digital Economy’, and ‘Digital Skilling’ will be discussed.

Source: PIB

State News

1. India’s first Unmanned Aerial Systems (Drone) Common Testing Centrewill be set up in Tamil Nadu at an outlay of Rs 45 crore.
   • Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation(TIDCO) is the nodal agency overseeing the implementation of the Tamil Nadu Defence Industrial Corridor (TNDIC).
     Source: ET

International News

1. International Conference on ‘Preserving Information Integrity and Public Trust in Elections’ was held in Brasilia, Brazil.
   • It was hosted by the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and Tribunal Superior Eleitoral, Brazil.
   • The conference provided a platform for participants to explore innovative strategies, best practices, and lessons learned from various countries.
   • The Election Commissioner of India, Arun Goel, attended the conference.
     Source: PIB

    

Banking and Economy

1. United States-based investment firm GQG Partners bought over 8%, or 31 crore shares, of Adani Power from the promoters for over $1billion through two block deals on the stock exchanges.
   • Promoter Adani family, which held 74.97 per cent in the firm, sold 31.2 crore or an 8.1 per cent stake at an average price of Rs 279.17 per share.
     Source: IE
   
   
   
   
2. Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) in coordination with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has integrated the National Pension System (NPS) Statement of Transaction (SoT) with the Consolidated Account Statement (CAS).
   • Now, PFRDA has enabled Central Record Keeping Agencies (CRAs) to integrate with depositories, registered with SEBI to provide NPS Subscribers with the option to include NPS transactions in CAS.
     • The facility to include NPS SoT in CAS will be available to NPS subscribers on consent basis.
     • At present, the NPS SoT is shared annually, either in physical form or via email, and is also accessible for online viewing through CRA login.

Source: ET

Defence News

1. Indian President Droupadi Murmu has launched the Indian Navy’s advanced stealth frigate, INS Vindhyagiri at Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Limited (GRSE).

About INS Vindhyagiri

• INS Vindhyagiri is the sixth ship of the Project 17A Frigates series, showcasing India’s commitment to indigenous defense technology and self-reliance.
• After INS Nilgiri, Udaygiri, Himgiri, Taragiri, and Dunagiri, INS Vindhyagiri derives its name from a mountain range in Karnataka.
• These frigates are a follow-on class of the Project 17 (Shivalik Class) Frigates, integrating improved stealth, advanced weapons, and cutting-edge sensors.
• It is built by Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE) in Kolkata, India

Source: ANI

Important Days

1. 14 August- Partition Horrors Remembrance Day / Vibhajan Vibhishika Smriti Diwas
   • Purpose- To remember of the struggles and sacrifices during the partition of India into India and Pakistan in 1947.
   • 14th August 2023 marks the 3rd observance of Partition Horrors Remembrance Day.
     Source: HT

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Union Cabinet has given approval to Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO), Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India and Government of the Republic of Suriname on cooperation in the field of Medical Product Regulation.
   • The signed MoU between the regulatory authorities of the two countries will facilitate better understanding of medical products regulation with regard to pharmaceuticals including raw materials for pharmaceutical use, biological products, medical devices and cosmetic products.
     Source: PIB
   
   

Miscellaneous

1. Former Chairman of Defence Research Development Organisation, S. Arunachalam has passed away.
   

   • He had received the Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award (1980), the Padma Bhushan (1985), and the Padma Vibhushan (1990). He was also the first Indian Fellow of the Royal Academy of Engineering (UK).
   • In 2015, Arunachalam was awarded DRDO’s Lifetime Achievement Award for his outstanding contribution to the field of scientific research and technology.
     Source: IE

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