29th-30th September, 2023

1. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced a new provision of ‘Special Category’ in the online Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal.
2. Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav, a 75 day-long event to celebrate the Indian languages started in Lucknow.
3. The fourth edition of Indo-Latin America Cultural Festival is organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in New Delhi.
4. Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, launched ‘CRIIIO 4 GOOD’, an online life-skills learning program, for promoting gender equality, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
5. PARAKH, a national assessment center under NCERT, will conduct the State Educational Achievement Survey in Kerala to evaluate learning competencies in Classes III, VI, and IX.
6. Toto is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the tribal Toto people and is written in the Bengali script.
7. Agreements for investments worth Rs 3,000 crore in Uttarakhand were signed during the state’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s tour of the UK to invite investors.
8. The Gujarat government has imposed a ban on planting ornamental Conocarpus trees in both forest and non-forest areas, citing their adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
9. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched an e-Learning Programme through its Sustainable Finance Hub’s SDG Finance Academy to promote sustainable finance globally.
10. Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine named Narwhal.
11. Kotak Mutual Fund, in partnership with CBSE, launched ‘Seekho Paiso ki Bhasha,’ an initiative for investor education and financial awareness.
12. Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund launched the Motilal Oswal Nifty 500 ETF, an open-ended ETF for replicating/tracking the Nifty 500 Total Return Index.
13. Google has launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System in many countries across the world helping provide an early warning when earthquake shaking begins.
14. According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to $9.2 billion (1.1% of GDP) in the April-June quarter, from $1.3 billion (0.2% of GDP) in the preceding three months.
15. Air India completed the acquisition of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft through a finance lease transaction carried out with HSBC.
16. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, is making its first global investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) by acquiring a $500 million minority stake in MidOcean Energy, managed by U.S. investment firm EIG.
17. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released the 16th edition of Global Innovation Index 2023.
18. UN-Habitat, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Smart Cities Mission have released the “Smart Cities Mission, India: Localizing Sustainable Development Goals” report.
19. Kongthong Village, East Khasi Hills district, has been conferred with the “Best Tourism Village 2023” at the National Tourism Awards.
20. September 28 – World Rabies Day; Theme – All for 1, One Health for all
21. September 28 – World Maritime Day; Theme – “MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on”
22. September 28 – International Day for Universal Access to Information; Theme – “the importance of the online space for access to information”
23. September 29 – World Heart Day; Theme – Use Heart, Know Heart
24. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, and Akhil Sheoran won a gold medal in men’s 50m rifle three-positions team event.
25. Ministries of Education and Skill Development signed eight agreements with IBM to offer curated courses for youth empowerment.
26. Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar signed an MoU with the Electoral Commission Chairperson of Seychelles, Danny Lucas to enhance electoral cooperation.
27. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, popularly known as M.S. Swaminathan, the legendary agricultural scientist and a key architect of the ‘Green Revolution,’ passed away.

National News

1. The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has introduced a new provision of ‘Special Category’ in the online Food Safety Compliance System (FoSCoS) portal.
   • The newly launched provision aims at promoting gender equality and equal opportunities for women and transgender entrepreneurs in the food business sector.

2. Bhartiya Bhasha Utsav, a 75 day-long event to celebrate the Indian languages started in Lucknow.
   • The festival will continue till 11 December which is birthday of Famous Tamil poet Subrahmanyam Bharti and is celebrated as Indian Languages Day.
     Source: NoA
3. The fourth edition of Indo-Latin America Cultural Festival is organised by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in New Delhi.
   • Total 34 artists of three countries – Colombia, Ecuador and Chile are participating in the two-day festival.

4. Union Minister for Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, launched ‘CRIIIO 4 GOOD’, an online life-skills learning program, for promoting gender equality, at the Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
   • Partners in the initiative – International Cricket Council, UNICEF, and the Board of Control for Cricket in India
   • Purpose – promotion of the principles of gender parity and equal opportunities outlined in NEP 2020
   • ‘CRIIIO 4 GOOD’ comprises 8 cricket-based animation films focusing on essential life skills and gender equity, targeting young audiences to inspire them to adopt these skills and appreciate gender equality.
   • The program is available for free in English, Hindi, and Gujarati. It has 8 modules.
   • The modules are highly engaging, and they use the power of cricket to talk about essential life skills and gender equity, among girls and boys in a fun, interactive way.
   • The themes of the eight modules are: leadership, problem-solving, confidence, decision-making, negotiation, empathy, teamwork and goal setting and are visualized through state-of-the-art animation using cricketing examples.
     Source: PIB

State News

1. PARAKH, a national assessment center under NCERT, will conduct the State Educational Achievement Survey in Kerala to evaluate learning competencies in Classes III, VI, and IX.
   • The national level survey will take place in 2024.
     Source: The Hindu
2. Toto is a Sino-Tibetan language spoken by the tribal Toto people and is written in the Bengali script.
   • The language is spoken by barely 1,600 people living in parts of West Bengal bordering Bhutan.
   • The dictionary, titled “Toto Shabda Sangraha,” will translate Toto words into Bengali and English, using the Bengali script since the Toto script is still developing.
   • The dictionary project is led by Mrinmoy Pramanick, an assistant professor at the University of Calcutta.
   • Bhakta Toto, a bank employee and poet, compiled the dictionary, which is jointly published by the trust and Bhasha Samsad, a publishing house.
     Source: The Hindu
3. Agreements for investments worth Rs 3,000 crore in Uttarakhand were signed during the state’s Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami’s tour of the UK to invite investors.
   • An MoU for investment worth Rs 2,000 crore was signed with Aager Technology for setting up the Lithium battery plants in the state.
   • An MoU for investment worth Rs 1,000 crore with Fira Barcelona (a European group engaged in event management with expertise in organising world-class business fairs).
   • Global Investors Summit will be held in Uttarakhand in December 2023.
     Source: BS
4. The Gujarat government has imposed a ban on planting ornamental Conocarpus trees in both forest and non-forest areas, citing their adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
   • Conocarpus is a fast-growing exotic mangrove species.
   • Earlier, Telangana too had banned the plant species.
     Source: IE

International News

1. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has launched an e-Learning Programme through its Sustainable Finance Hub’s SDG Finance Academy to promote sustainable finance
   • This is an open-access program. It comprises ten modules that cover foundational and advanced aspects of sustainable finance vital for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
   • The initiative aims to enable individuals worldwide to redirect funds effectively toward national SDG targets and foster a global sustainable finance community.
   • The e-Learning Programme mirrors the Academy’s live training and addresses critical topics such as budgeting, taxation, thematic bonds, insurance for the SDGs, and more.
   • The Academy has seen significant demand for sustainable finance training, prompting the development of this online program.

2. Taiwan unveiled its first domestically developed submarine named Narwhal.
   Source: Reuters

Banking and Economy

1. Kotak Mutual Fund, in partnership with CBSE, launched ‘Seekho Paiso ki Bhasha,’ an initiative for investor education and financial awareness.
   • The aim is to enhance financial literacy among teachers in India, empowering them with investment knowledge.
   • Kotak Mutual Fund intends to reach 75,000 CBSE teachers, with a focus on empowering women educators to promote equitable growth.
     Source: BT
2. Motilal Oswal Mutual Fund launched the Motilal Oswal Nifty 500 ETF, an open-ended ETF for replicating/tracking the Nifty 500 Total Return Index.
   • Investors can invest under the scheme with a minimum investment of ₹500 per plan/option and in multiples of Re 1. There is no upper limit for investment.
   • The fund will be managed by Swapnil Mayekar and Rakesh Shetty.
     Source: CNBC
3. Google has launched the Android Earthquake Alerts System in many countries across the world helping provide an early warning when earthquake shaking begins.
   Source: IE
4. According to the data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), India’s current account deficit (CAD) widened to $9.2 billion (1.1% of GDP) in the April-June quarter, from $1.3 billion (0.2% of GDP) in the preceding three months.
   • The CAD was $17.9 billion (2.1% of GDP) in the year-earlier quarter of fiscal 2022-23.
   • Reason – exports of goods shrank and imports rose; net receipts from services also declined quarter-on-quarter
   • Net foreign direct investment decreased to $5.1 billion, while net foreign portfolio investment recorded inflows of $15.7 billion.
   • Net external commercial borrowings to India increased to $5.6 billion, and non-resident deposits had net inflows of $2.2 billion.
   • India’s foreign exchange reserves increased by $24.4 billion in the first quarter of the fiscal year, compared to $4.6 billion in the same period the previous year.
   • As per ICRA, the CAD will increase to $73-75 billion (-2.1% of GDP) in FY24 from $67.0 billion (-2.0% of GDP) in FY23.
     Source: The Hindu
5. Air India completed the acquisition of its first Airbus A350-900 aircraft through a finance lease transaction carried out with HSBC.
   • It is the first such transaction by a scheduled airline through India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).
   • Air India is supporting the Government of India’s efforts to develop an aircraft leasing hub in GIFT IFSC.
   • Air India group and IndiGo have set up leasing units in GIFT City over the past few months, and these airline groups are considered crucial to developing the aircraft leasing ecosystem in India.
   • Air India has given orders for 470 new aircraft, including Airbus A350-900, A350-1000, Boeing 787 Dreamliners, Boeing 777X widebody aircraft, Airbus A320neo, Airbus A321neo, and Boeing 737MAX narrowbody aircraft.
   • The first of Air India’s six Airbus A350-900 aircraft is expected to arrive in India by the end of the year, with the rest to be delivered by March 2024.

6. Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest crude oil exporter, is making its first global investment in liquefied natural gas (LNG) by acquiring a $500 million minority stake in MidOcean Energy, managed by U.S. investment firm EIG.
   • Aramco intends to become a significant player in the global LNG market and sees substantial growth opportunities in this sector, particularly in Australian LNG projects.
     Source: The Hindu

Reports and Indices

1. World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) has released the 16th edition of Global Innovation Index 2023.
   • Total – 132 countries
   • Pillars – Output-based and Input-based
   • Input based – Institutions, Human capital and research, Infrastructure, Market sophistication, Business sophistication

• Output based – Knowledge and technology outputs and Creative outputs

• Indicators – 80

Overall Rankings –

• Top 10 –
• Switzerland is the most innovative economy in 2023 for the 13th year in a row.

• India – 40th (score – 38.1)

• Bottom – Angola (score 10.3)
• The index divides and ranks countries based on income and region.

Income-based rankings –

Region-wise rankings –

• A sub-ranking of the GII.
• The world’s five biggest science and technology clusters are all located in East Asia.
• Top S&T cluster by economy or cross-border region ranked among the top 100, 2023–

• Top 25 S&T clusters by S&T intensity, 2023

2. UN-Habitat, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Smart Cities Mission have released the “Smart Cities Mission, India: Localizing Sustainable Development Goals”
   • India’s urbanization is rapidly increasing, with 34.9% of the population living in cities in 2020, expected to rise to 43% by 2035.
   • The Smart Cities Mission (SCM) has transformed over 4,800 cities and towns, with focus on 100 representative cities.
   • SCM has undertaken over 7,800 projects worth over $22 billion, contributing to SDGs 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 7 (Affordable and Clean Energy), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), and 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
   • SCM’s three pillars – Liveability, Economic-ability, and Sustainability – align with the 5Ps (People, Planet, Prosperity, Peace, and Partnership) of SDGs and use the Output-Outcome Monitoring Framework to track progress across 213 indicators.
     Source: Report

Awards

1. Kongthong Village, East Khasi Hills district, has been conferred with the “Best Tourism Village 2023” at the National Tourism Awards.
   Source: Hub network

Important Days

1. September 28 – World Rabies Day; Theme – All for 1, One Health for all
   Source: WHO
2. September 28 – World Maritime Day; Theme – “MARPOL at 50 – Our commitment goes on”
   Source: IMO
3. September 28 – International Day for Universal Access to Information; Theme – “the importance of the online space for access to information”
   • This year, the global celebrations in Oxford, United Kingdom.
     Source: UNESCO
4. September 29 – World Heart Day; Theme – Use Heart, Know Heart
   Source: WHO

Sports

1. Aishwary Pratap Singh Tomar, Swapnil Kusale, and Akhil Sheoran won a gold medal in men’s 50m rifle three-positions team event.
   • Esha, Palak, and Divya TS won silver medal.
   • Esha had also claimed a silver medal in the women’s individual 25m pistol event.
   • Manu Bhaker, Esha and Rhythm Sangwan won the gold medal in the women’s 25m pistol team event.
   • India has won a total of 32 medals – 8 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze – so far.

Source: DH and LiveMint

Memorandum of Understanding

1. Ministries of Education and Skill Development signed eight agreements with IBM to offer curated courses for youth empowerment.
   • These agreements cover curriculum creation for school, higher education, and vocational skills in emerging technologies like AI, cybersecurity, cloud computing, and professional development.
   • IBM will also work with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship to help job seekers, including long-term unemployed and school dropouts, gain technical and professional skills through the IBM SkillsBuild platform.
   • IBM SkillsBuild provides tech skills, courses, and credentials for free to learners, educators and students.
     Source: TOI
2. Chief Election Commissioner of India Rajiv Kumar signed an MoU with the Electoral Commission Chairperson of Seychelles, Danny Lucas to enhance electoral cooperation.
   • Purpose – to promote the exchange of best practices in election management and the training of officials
     Source: BS

Miscellaneous

1. Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, popularly known as S. Swaminathan, the legendary agricultural scientist and a key architect of the ‘Green Revolution,’ passed away.
   • He established the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation (MSSRF) in 1988 to promote agricultural and rural development.
   • Swaminathan chaired the National Commission on Farmers, known as the Swaminathan Commission, which recommended minimum support prices for agricultural products.
     Source: The Hindu

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