26th-28th August, 2023

1. PM Modi has declared August 23 as “National Space Day” to mark Chandrayaan-3’s success.
2. PM Modi one day visit to Greece after 15th BRICS Summit.
3. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved capital acquisition proposals worth around Rs 7,800 crore, to enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.
4. Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has launched the Manav Sampada portalto ensure transparency in the work of all the officers and employees of all 74 departments in the UP government.
5. Muthoot Fincorp Limited (MFL) has launched “Muthoot FinCorp ONE”,an innovative all-in-one digital financial platform.
6. Foreign fund house Quinag Acquisition sold its entire stake in Manappuram Finance for Rs 1,177 crore through an open market transaction.
7. Indian Navy has successfully undertaken the maiden test drop of the Search and Rescue Kit (SARK) from the Boeing P-8I long-range patrol aircraft.
8. India Smart Cities Award Contest, 2022
9. Highlights of 69th National Film Award
10. United World Wrestling Federation (UWW), the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, has indefinitely suspendedthe membership of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), the governing body of wrestling in India with immediate effect due to lack of elections in the organisation.
11. Carlsen has won his first International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Cup titleby defeating India’s GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaain the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023.
12. Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Guwahati has signed a memorandum of understanding with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to use National Waterways (NW)-2 (Brahmaputra) and Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) for export of petroleum products to Bangladesh and other south East Asian countries.
13. Tennis icon Rafael Nadal has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Infosys and its Digital Innovation initiatives.

National News

1. PM Modi has declared August 23 as “National Space Day” to mark Chandrayaan-3’s success.
   • The point where Chandrayaan-3 has made landing has been named as ‘ShivShakti’
   • The point on the Moon where Chandrayaan-2 crash landed in 2019 will be called ‘Tiranga Point’.

2. PM Modi one day visit to Greece after 15th BRICS Summit.

Key highlights of the visit

• PM Modi has been conferred with the Grand Cross of the Order of Honour, the second highest civilian award of Greece.
  • He became the first foreign Head of Government to receive this honour.

• Decision to upgrade Greek-Indian bilateral ties
  • The leaders of both the countries decided to upgrade Greek-Indian bilateral ties to the level of a “Strategic Partnership”.
• Decision to double theIndia-Greece bilateral trade by 2030, which currently stands at 32 billion euros.
• MOU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture
  • This included the establishment of a Hellenic-Indian Joint Sub-committee on Agriculture for facilitating sectoral cooperation for mutual benefit.
• Cultural cooperation
  • Both the leaders also agreed to encourage joint efforts in preserving and protecting ancient sites, and strengthen cooperation within UNESCO.
• Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement (MMPA)
  • Both leaders agreed that an early finalization of a Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement (MMPA).
  • This agreement would be mutually beneficial, facilitating in particular the free movement of workforce between the two countries.

3. Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) has approved capital acquisition proposals worth around Rs 7,800 crore, to enhance the operational capabilities of the Indian Armed Forces.
   • The approval, termed as Acceptance of Necessity (AoN), is the first step toward procurement of any military equipment and hardware under India’s defence acquisition norm.
     • The tendering and contracting process is undertaken only after the grant of AoN.
   • For the Indian Air Force, the DAC has granted AoN for the procurement and installation of an electronic warfare suite on Mi-17 V5 helicopters, which will enhance better survivability of helicopters.
   • For the Indian Army, the DAC has accorded AoN for procurement of a ground-based autonomous system for mechanised infantry and armoured regiments.
   • Further, proposals for procurement of a 62×51 mm light machine gun and bridge laying tank have also been given the go-ahead by the DAC.
   • All these procurements will be sourced from indigenous vendors only.
     Source: PIB

State News

1. Government of Uttar Pradesh (UP) has launched the Manav Sampada portalto ensure transparency in the work of all the officers and employees of all 74 departments in the UP government.
   • A new division will be established within the Personnel department to oversee the operations and manage the portal.
   • National Informatics Centre (NIC) will oversee the security of the portal to ensure cyber safety.
   • The officers and employees have also been directed to declare their movable and immovable assets on the website by December 2023. 
     Source: ET

   
   

Banking and Economy

1. Muthoot Fincorp Limited (MFL) has launched “Muthoot FinCorp ONE”,an innovative all-in-one digital financial platform.
   • MFL is a leading Non-Banking Finance Company (NBFC) based in Thiruvananthapuram,
   • This new platform aims to roll out diverse financial services such as insurance, personal loans, two-wheeler loans, and housing loans within the span of six months.
   • Muthoot Fincorp is a flagship company of Muthoot Pappachan Group (also known as Muthoot Blue).
   • Chief Executive Officer of MFL- Shaji Varghese. 
     Source: BW
2. Foreign fund house Quinag Acquisition sold its entire stake in Manappuram Finance for Rs 1,177 crore through an open market transaction.
   • Quinag Acquisition sold 8,37,85,880 shares amounting to a 9.90% stake in Manappuram Finance.
   • Quinag Acquisition was the biggest foreign institutional investor in the stock as of June 30, 2023.
     Source: BT

Defence News

1. Indian Navy has successfully undertaken the maiden test drop of the Search and Rescue Kit (SARK) from the Boeing P-8I long-range patrol aircraft.
   • The Test flight was conducted by the Indian Navy’s INS (Indian Navy Ship) Hansa-based Indian Naval Air Squadrons (INAS) 316 squadron.
   • SARK is an indigenous (Made in India) kit that can be dropped from aircraft with the help of parachutes to carry out rescue missions in the deep sea.
     • This will enable the Indian Navy to undertake search and rescue operations from long ranges off the coast and strengthen India’s position as a Preferred Security Partner in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).
   • It was developed by the Aerial Delivery Research and Development Establishment (ADRDE), a unit of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Agra, Uttar Pradesh (UP).
     Source: ET

Awards

1. India Smart Cities Award Contest, 2022
   • Indore has been named the best Smart City and Madhya Pradesh as the top State for their outstanding performance in the Smart Cities Mission.
   • Chandigarhwon the award for the best Union Territory.
     • Top 3 Smart City: Indore, Surat and Agra
     • Top 3 in State: Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan
     • Top UT: Chandigarh
   • The awards, are organized by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs under the Smart Cities Mission.

2. Highlights of 69th National Film Award
   • The National Awards for 2021 were announced by filmmaker Ketan Mehta who headed the 11-member jury.

Winners-

Source: IE

Sports

1. United World Wrestling Federation (UWW), the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, has indefinitely suspendedthe membership of the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI), the governing body of wrestling in India with immediate effect due to lack of elections in the organisation.
   • Following this, Indian wrestlers will not be competing in the 2023 World Wrestling Championships in Belgrade, Serbia under the Indian flag but instead, they will have to participate as ‘neutral athletes’.
     • If an Indian athlete makes it to the winner’s podium, the national anthem will not be played.
   • The Indian athletes will compete in the Asian Games 2023 in Hangzhou, China under the Indian flag since the entries were sent by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
     Source: ET
2. Magnus Carlsen has won his first International Chess Federation (FIDE) World Cup titleby defeating India’s GM Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa in the FIDE Chess World Cup 2023.
   • Fabiano Caruanaof the United States of America (USA) defeated Nijat Asabov of Azerbaijan to secure the 3rd place.
   • Aleksandra Goryachkinaof Russia won the 2023 FIDE Women’s Chess World Cup title by defeating Nurgyul Salimova of Bulgaria in the finals.
     Source: TH

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Numaligarh Refinery Limited (NRL), Guwahati has signed a memorandum of understanding with Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) to use National Waterways (NW)-2 (Brahmaputra) and Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route (IBPR) for export of petroleum products to Bangladesh and other south East Asian countries.
   • Under this, NRL will export approximately 10,000 metric tons of petroleum and petrochemical products per month through NW- 2 and IBPR from IWAI jetty at the Assam’s Jogighopa Multi-Modal terminal (MMT) Park.
     Source: HBL

Appointments

1. Tennis icon Rafael Nadal has been appointed as the brand ambassador of Infosys and its Digital Innovation initiatives. 
   • Infosys has secured a 3-year collaboration with the Spanish player.
   • Infosys is the digital innovation partner for the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) Tour, Roland-Garros, Australian Open, and The International Tennis Hall of Fame.
     Source: TH

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