Current Affairs 29 & 30 August 2021

We are here for you to provide the important Recent and Latest Current Affairs 29 & 30 August 2021, which have unique updates of Latest Current Affairs 2021 events from all newspapers such as The Hindu, The Economic Times, PIB, Times of India, PTI, Indian Express, Business Standard and all Government official websites.

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NATIONAL AFFAIRS

MoD Approves Contract for MDS to Supply Anti-submarine SystemsThe Ministry of Defence (MoD) has approved contracts worth INR 1349.95 crore to Mahindra Defence Systems Limited (MDS), a group firm of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd, for supplying 14 Integrated Anti-submarine warfare Defence Suite (IADS) to the warships of the Indian Navy.

• It is the 1st of its kind technology developed by an Indian company.

Key Points: 
i.IADS is a modern underwater equipment which uses the latest technology to detect & protect warships from underwater threats.
ii.It is a flexible system capable of operations in all sizes of warships – small, medium, and large.
iii.The sensors in IADS systems undertake underwater surveillance and provide inputs for signal processing & analysis. Then, the warship performs necessary actions to neutralize the underwater threats.
About Mahindra Defence Systems Limited (MDS)
Founded in 2012 a group firm of Mahindra & Mahindra Limited
CEO – Rajiv Gupta
About Ministry of Defence
Union Minister – Raj Nath Singh (Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh)
Minister of State – Ajay Bhatt (Nainital-Udhamsingh Nagar, Uttarakhand)
>>Read Full News

Centre formed Committee to Streamline Revenue Litigation; headed by Ashish ShiradhonkarThe Central Government has constituted a committee headed by Ashish Shiradhonkar, heads e-courts project in National Informatics Centre (NIC), to develop a technological platform streamlining the appeal filing process related to direct and indirect taxation matters.

• This information was provided by Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta to the Supreme Court’s (SC) bench of Justices Dhananjaya Yeshwant Chandrachud and Mukeshkumar Rasikbhai Shah through an Office Memorandum issued on August 26, 2021 by the Government of India in the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

Committee Composition:
The committee will comprise representatives of NIC, law ministry, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), Central Board of Indirect Taxes (CBIT), and the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance.

• The progress of the committee will be monitored by the Secretary, Department of Revenue (Current- Tarun Bajaj), and also provide assistance regarding knowledge and technical inputs.

Role of Committee:
i.It will finalize and operationalize an effective platform within 3 months for relevant case management by the government and to coordinate with all stakeholders.
ii.NIC will integrate the Legal Information Management and Briefing System (LIMBS) with the e-office mechanism so that real time tracking of cases can be done.
Reason behind Formation:
The appeals for direct and indirect taxes were being filed much beyond the stipulated period of 60 days for regular appeals and 90 days for filing special leave petitions (SLPs). This problem was spotlighted by SC in February 2021 after an appeal against the order of the Customs Excise and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal was filed after a delay of 536 days.

Rajnath Singh Inaugurates Stadium Named After Neeraj ChopraMinister of Defence, Rajnath Singh renamed Army Sports Institute stadium of Army Sport Institute (ASI), Pune as “Neeraj Chopra Stadium”,after the Olympic Gold Medalist Neeraj Chopra. The inauguration ceremony was held in the presence of Army Chief General MM Naravane and Neeraj Chopra.
Key points

• ASI Pune is a prestigious institute of the country. The athletes have secured 34 Olympians, 22 Commonwealth medals, 21 Asian games medals, 13 Arjuna awards and many more.

About Neeraj Chopra
i.Neeraj Chopra, an Indian javelin thrower from Panipat, Haryana, won the gold medal at the Men’s Javelin throw at the Tokyo Olympics 2020.
ii.He became the first track and field athlete to win a gold medal for Independent India.
iii.He won the gold medal at both the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games held in 2018,
iv.He was honoured with the Arjuna Award in 2018

Govt Introduced BH Vehicle Registration Series to Ensure Seamless Transfer Across StatesMinistry of Road Transport & Highways(MoRTH), Government of India has introduced a new vehicle number registration series called BH- series (Bharat Series) to ensure seamless transfer of vehicles across states or union territories(UT).
The BH series will allow the users to avoid the re-registration process while shifting from one state or UT to another.
About BH Series registration:
i.The BH Series will be available voluntarily to defence personnel, government employees(central/state), employees of central/state public sector undertakings and private sector companies or organisations, that have offices in four or more states or UTs.
ii.The vehicles with BH series registration shall not require the assignment of a new registration mark while shifting from one state to other.
Motor Vehicle Tax:
i.The tax will be imposed for 2 years or in multiples of 2.
ii.After the completion of 14 years, the tax will be imposed annually and the amount will be half of the earlier amount.
Existing rules:
Under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act 1988, motor vehicles registered in one state can be kept in another state for 12 months.
These vehicles should be re-registered before the end of the 12 months.
About Ministry of Road Transport & Highways:
Union Minister– Nitin Jairam Gadkari(Constituency- Nagpur, Maharashtra)
Minister of State– Gen. (Dr) Vijay Kumar Singh (Constituency- Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh)

Narendra Singh Tomar Chairs 11th BRICS Agriculture Ministers Meeting, 2021Union Minister for Agriculture & Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has chaired 11th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) Agriculture Ministers meeting 2021 virtually.

• The theme of the meeting was “BRICS Partnership for Strengthening Agro Biodiversity for Food and Nutrition Security”. The major outcomes of the meeting are

i.BRICS Agriculture Research Platform (BARP) 

• BARP created to enhance agricultural cooperation among BRICS countries
• It will promote cooperation in the areas of agricultural research, extension, technology transfer, training & capacity building.

ii.Action plan 2021-24 for agricultural cooperation among BRICS countries adopted
Bhupender Yadav Chairs 7th BRICS Environment Ministers meeting, 2021
Union Minister for Environment, Forests,& Climate Change (MoEFCC), Bhupender Yadav has chaired the 7th BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China & South Africa) Environment Ministers meeting, 2021 held virtually.

• During the meeting, the ‘New Delhi Statement on Environment’, was adopted  which aims at furthering the spirit of Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation & Consensus in Environment among the BRICS Nations.

About BRICS:
Establishment – 2009
Members– Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa
2021 Chair– India
>>Read Full News

AIIMS Delhi Becomes 1st Hospital in India to House a Fire Station

The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), Delhi became the 1st hospital in India to house a fire station inside the hospital premises. The AIIMS and Delhi Fire Service (DFS) have partnered to establish the fire station inside the AIIMS premises.

• The fire station infrastructure will be developed by the AIIMS and the fire tender, equipment, and manpower will be managed by the DFS.

INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

India Ranks 6th in the Global DeFi Adoption Index; US topsThe 1st Edition of the Global DeFi (Decentralised Finance) Adoption Index 2021 was released by Chainalysis.

• India ranked 6th place out of 154 countries. The United States topped the ranking followed by Vietnam (2nd) & Thailand (3rd) respectively.
• Objective: It is designed to highlight countries with the highest grassroots  adoption by individuals, rather than those sending the largest raw values of funds.
• The index ranks 154 countries in 3 indicators namely On-chain DeFi value received, On-chain number of DeFi deposits & On-chain retail DeFi value received.
• The countries are ranked based on the score from 0 (lowest) to 1 (highest)

DeFi (Decentralised Finance)
i.It is a blockchain-based form of finance that does not rely on central financial intermediaries such as brokerages, exchanges, or banks to offer traditional financial instruments, and instead utilizes smart contracts on blockchains, the most common being Ethereum.
ii.Popular types of DeFi protocols include decentralized exchanges and lending platforms.

About Chainalysis
Chief Executive Officer – Michael Gronager
Headquarters – New York, United States of America
>>Read Full News

BANKING & FINANCE

LIC launched Ananda Mobile App for Agents and IntermediariesOn August 24, 2021  Life Insurance Corporation(LIC) of India Chairman, Shri. M R Kumar launched  Ananda (Atma Nirbhar Agents New Business Digital Application) mobile app via video conferencing event in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Purpose of the App-  It works as a tool for the on-boarding process to get the life insurance policy via paperless format.
Highlights –

• It is built on a paperless KYC( Know Your Customer) process using Aadhaar based e-authentication.
• It provides easy access to the agents and intermediaries to reach out to the prospective customers.
• The event was marked by an e-training video for the agents and process to operate the application.
• The app version was developed because of high level usage of the ANANDA module.

Features of the app

• It will be used for the registration of New LIC policies.
• With the help of the app only non-medical will be passed.
• The limit of maximum premium is Rs 1 lakh
• App was launched for LIC agents and intermediaries only.

About Life Insurance Corporation ( LIC)
Established- 1956
Chairperson– M R Kumar
Managing Director– Siddhartha Mohanty, Mukesh Kumar Gupta, Raj Kumar, Ipe Mini.

RBI Issued Master Direction on PPIsReserve Bank of India (RBI) issued Master Directions on Prepaid Payment Instruments, 2021 (MD-PPIs, 2021), which are applicable to all Prepaid Payment Instrument (PPI) Issuers and System Participants.

• The MD-PPIs, 2021 involves the eligibility criteria and the conditions of use for Payment System Operators (PSOs) involved in the issuance and operation of PPIs in India.
• PPI: It is an instrument that facilitates the purchase of goods and services, financial services, remittance facilities, etc., against the value stored on such instruments.
• Current Classification: Presently, under the MD-PPI,2021, RBI has classified the PPIs into 2 types as Small PPIs and Full-KYC PPIs.
• The PPI issuers were directed to achieve interoperability through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) (for PPIs in the form of wallets) and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the card networks (for PPIs in the form of cards (physical or virtual)).

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
i.It was established on the recommendation of the Hilton Young Commission.
ii.The First Governor of RBI was Sir Osborne Smith (1935 – 1937).
iii.The First Indian Governor of RBI was CD Deshmukh (1943 – 1949).
iv.Manmohan Singh was the only Prime Minister to have also served as the Governor of RBI ((1982 – 1985).
>>Read Full News

RBI Increased the Indo-Nepal Remittances Transaction Cap to Rs 2 lakh from Rs 50,000; RBI Increased the Incentives Paid to the Banks for Coin DistributionReserve Bank of India (RBI) has increased the ceiling on remittances per transaction from India to Nepal from Rs 50,000 to Rs 2 lakh. RBI has also removed the cap of 12 remittances/year per remitter.

• The beneficiaries receive remittances in Nepalese Rupees through credit to their bank account maintained with the subsidiary of State Bank of India (SBI) in Nepal, i.e. Nepal SBI Bank Limited (NSBL) or through an agency arrangement.

RBI Increased the Incentives Paid to the Banks for Coin Distribution
RBI has increased the incentives being paid by it to the banks for distribution of coins to the general public from Rs 25/bag to Rs 65/bag.

• RBI has reviewed the ‘Currency Distribution & Exchange Scheme’ (CDES) and revised the incentive being paid to the banks for the distribution of coins.
• An additional incentive of Rs 10 per bag for coin distribution in rural and semi-urban areas was also introduced by RBI.

Key Roles of Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
i.Monetary policy Framing – It frames the Monetary policy of the country to meet the challenges and maintain the price stability of the economy.
ii.Decides interest rate – A six-member monetary policy committee headed by the RBI governor, decides the benchmark repo rate.
iii.Regulates Forex – Foreign Exchange (Forex) Management Act (‘FEMA’) envisages the RBI a key role in managing Forex reserves.
>>Read Full News

RBI Extended the Scope of Tokenisation to Laptops, Wearable DevicesReserve Bank of India (RBI) extended the scope of ‘tokenisation’ to several consumer devices such as laptops, desktops, wearables (like wristwatches and bands), and Internet of Things (IoT) devices.

• RBI has extended the scope through the exercise of powers under Section 10 (2) read with Section 18 of Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).
• Objective: To make card transactions more safe, secure, and convenient for the users.
• Before the extension, the facility of tokenisation was available only to mobile phones and tablets of interested cardholders.

Background:
i.In January 2019, RBI has permitted authorised card networks to offer tokenisation services to any token requestor. It also issued guidelines for ‘tokenisation in card transactions’.
ii.Tokenisation: It refers to the replacement of actual card details with a unique alternate code called the ‘token’, which shall be unique for a combination of card, token requestor and device.
iii.Inorder to extend the scope of tokenisation, RBI has now included the consumer devices under tokenisation.
About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):
Establishment – 1st April 1935
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Governor– Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors – Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, M. Rajeshwar Rao, T. Rabi Sankar

SEBI Banned Kotak Mahindra AMC from Launching FMP for 6 Months

In August 2021, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) banned Kotak Mahindra Asset Management Company (AMC) Ltd from launching new Fixed Maturity Plan (FMP) schemes for the next 6 months and imposed a penalty of Rs 50 lakh.

• Cause of the ban: The investors of certain FMPs launched by Kotak Mahindra Mutual Fund were not paid their full proceeds based on the declared Net Asset Value (NAV) as on their respective maturity dates.

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

GIFT City, ANSR Partnered to Build GICs, GCCs; FinX Labs Opens Start-up Accelerator at GIFT CityANSR Global Corporation Private Ltd (ANSR) collaborated with GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City), India’s only operational International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) to attract companies to set up Global In-house Centres (GICs) and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) at GIFT City.

• The GICs in GIFT City will set up high-end processing centres related to financial services to provide support services.

FinX Labs Opens Start-up Accelerator at IFSC, GIFT city
Financial Innovation & AnalytiX Lab (FinX Labs) has opened its startup accelerator and co-working space in the IFSC at GIFT City. Through this, FinX became the first entity to open a start-up accelerator in the fintech space at GIFT City.

• FinX Labs signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with National Stock Exchange (NSE) as a knowledge partner.

About Financial Innovation & AnalytiX Lab (FinX Labs):
It is a joint venture between DevX Co-working & Accelerator, Flexworx by Collated, and Savvy Infrastructure’s Jaxay Shah.
Headquarters – Seoul, South Korea
Director – Jae Wook Song
>>Read Full News

AWARDS & RECOGNITIONS        

 UK India COVID-19 Study Awarded Guinness World RecordGuinness World Records’ title is awarded for ‘Most authors on a single peer-reviewed academic paper’, a study about COVID-19 conducted at Indian hospitals among others around the world by the United Kingdom(UK) experts along with University of Birmingham and Edinburgh.
Aim of the study– To improve the understanding of the deadly COVID-19 and its impact on human life.

Highlights

• The award was given for the largest scientific collaboration in the world, involving more than 140,000 patients in 116 countries.
• Around 15025 scientists of the world contributed in research work of COVID-19 impact on patients
• Aneel Bhangu, Indian origin surgeon from the University of Birmingham worked as a co-lead author in the project.
• The research was funded by the National Institute of Health Research(NIHR) of the UK’s government.
• In India, the collaborative study on COVID-19 was conducted in 56 hospitals- which is among the largest along with Italy and Germany.

Key Findings
i.The COVIDSurg Collaborative, was launched in March 2020. It was aimed to provide data to support changes in surgical resection group and service delivery.
ii.The findings were published in ‘British Journal of Surgery’ by COVIDSurg Collaborative international team of researchers , which is also Europe’s leading surgical journal, after studying data from 1,667 hospitals in the countries including the UK, India, Brazil, Australia, the UAE, China, and the USA.

12th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards 2021 Announced

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne(IFFM) announced the winners of the 12th Edition of IFFM Awards (2021) over a virtual platform. The 12th edition of IFFM lined up the films (feature and short) from across India, representing the theme of diversity through cinema.

• The IFFM, founded in 2012, is an annual festival held in Melbourne, Australia.
• IFFM is funded by the State Government of Victoria, Australia.

• Surya Sivakumar (Best performance male), Vidya Balan (Best Performance Female), Anurag Basu(Best Director) are among the winners of the IFFM 2021 Awards.Soorarai Pottru also won the Best Feature Film.

Click here for the list IFFM 2021 Winners

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS          

TN Governor Banwarilal Purohit Gets Additional Charge of Punjab, ChandigarhRam Nath Kovind, President of India, has appointed Banwarilal Purohit, Governor of Tamil Nadu(TN) to discharge the functions of the Governor of Punjab in addition to his duties. He was also appointed as the Administrator of the Union Territory(UT) of Chandigarh.

• The appointment will come into effect from the date Banwarilal Purohit assumes charge of the office and he will continue his additional charges until regular arrangements are made.
• Banwarilal Purohit will replace V P Singh Badnore, who has been serving as the Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.

Note:
The appointment of Banwarilal Purohit as Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh(additional charge) comes ahead of the Punjab Assembly Elections which is scheduled to be held in 2022.
About Punjab Legislative Assembly:
i.The Punjab Legislative Assembly came into being under the constitution upon the first elections in 1952.
ii.At present, the Punjab Legislative Assembly consists of 117 Members.
Administration of Chandigarh:
i.Chandigarh, a city-state and UT does not have its legislative assembly, the governor of Punjab is concurrently the Administrator of Chandigarh.
ii.The UT host the legislative assembly of both Punjab and Haryana.
iii.At present, the city is represented in the Indian Parliament by Kirron Kher of Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP).
Note:

• The ‘Palace of Assembly’ at the Complexe du Capitole, is the legislative assembly building in Chandigarh.
• It was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2016 under the Architectural Work of Le Corbusier, an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.

Amit Banerjee Appointed as New CMD of BEMLAmit Banerjee is appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director(CMD)  of BEML  (Bharat Earth Movers Limited).He succeeded Deepak Kumar Hota(D.K.Hota), who retired on January 2021.After the retirement of D.K.Hota , M V Rajasekhar was given additional charge as CMD.

About Amit Banerjee:

• Amit Banerjee graduated from IIT Banaras Hindu University(BHU) as a mechanical engineer.
• He joined BEML in 1984 as an Assistant Engineer and has 37 years experience in R&D and manufacturing functions .
• Before joining as a CMD in BEML he was as a Director(Rail & Metro) BEML
• He has also worked for indigeneous development of Metro cars for Delhi, Jaipur, Kolkata,Bangalore and Mumbai, Stainless-Steel EMU & Intermediate Metro Cars, Catenary Maintenance Vehicle and PMS Bridge for Indian Army.

About BEML (Bharat Earth Movers Limited)
Chairman and Managing Director– Amit Banerjee
Headquarters- Bengaluru, Karnataka

Nakul Chopra Appointed as CEO of BARC India

Nakul Chopra was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Broadcast Audience Research Council India (BARC) by replacing Sunil Lulla.

• BARC India is the world’s largest television measurement science industry body. It was registered with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting (MIB) as a self-regulated, not-for-profit Joint Industry Body (JIB).

ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS        

IDBI Bank Divests its Entire 19.18% Stake in ARCILThe board of Directors of IDBI Bank has approved to divest its entire stake – 19.18% in Asset Reconstruction Company (India) Ltd (ARCIL). The board approved the proposal to sell its entire holdings of 6,23,23,800 fully paid-up equity shares constituting 19.18% of the total equity share capital of ARCIL.

• In June 2021, the IDBI bank has invited bids for the takeover of its stake in ARCIL.
• ARCIL is sponsored by banks and financial institutions like Avenue India Resurgence Pte. Ltd., State Bank of India (SBI), IDBI Bank Limited (IDBI), ICICI Bank Limited (ICICI) and Punjab National Bank (PNB).

About ARCIL:
CEO & MD– Pallav Mohapatra
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Incorporated in 2002
About IDBI Bank:
MD & CEO- Rakesh Sharma
Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
Incorporated in 1964

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

MeitY launches QSim from New Delhi to aid Quantum Computing Research in Indiai.On August 27, 2021, Minister of State (MoS) Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) launched ‘QSim – Quantum Computer Simulator Toolkit’ during a hybrid event from New Delhi to aid and enable cost effective research in Quantum Computing. It will be utilized by students and researchers.
ii.It is a product of project ‘Design and Development of Quantum Computer Toolkit (Simulator, Workbench) and Capacity Building’ which is executed collaboratively by IISc (Indian Institute of Science) Bengaluru (Karnataka), IIT (Indian Institute of Technology) Roorkee (Uttarakhand) and C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing) with the support of MeitY.
About Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY)
Union Minister– Ashwini Vaishnaw (Constituency– Odisha)
Minister of State (MoS) – Rajeev Chandrasekhar (Constituency- Karnataka)
>>Read Full News

Rajnath Singh Commissioned ICG Offshore Patrol Vessel- ’Vigraha’Union Defence Minister, Rajnath Singh has commissioned the Indian Coast Guard’s (ICG) 7th Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), ‘Vigraha’ at the Chennai Port. The OPV will be placed at Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh.

• This is the 1st time that a private sector shipyard (L&T) has designed & constructed an OPV ship.
• Vigraha is the last in the 7 OPVs contracted to Larsen & Toubro (L&T) by the Defence Ministry in 2015. 

Key points:
i.It has a life span of more than 25 years.
ii.The roles of the OPV include coastal & offshore patrol, policing maritime zones of the country, surveillance, anti-piracy operations & anti-smuggling operations in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).
Specifications:

• It is 98 meters long, 15 m wide & has 3.6m draught. It has a displacement of 2140 tonnes & a range of 5000 Nautical miles.
• It is equipped with twin-engine helicopters & 4 high-speed boats for boarding operation, search & rescue , Pollution control etc..

About Indian Coast Guard (ICG)
Director General of ICG – Krishnaswamy Natarajan
Headquarters – New Delhi
>>Read Full News

ENVIRONMENT

MoEFCC Declares Assam’s Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary as eco-sensitive ZoneThe Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change (MoEFCC) has notified Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary as an eco-sensitive zone which is situated near Guwahati, Assam.

• The notification specified the eco-sensitive zone of total area of 148.97 sq Km (varying from 294 m to 16.32 km)

Deepor Beel Wildlife Sanctuary
i.It is the only Ramsar site in Assam, One of the largest freshwater lakes & an Important Bird Area.
ii.The wetland of Deepor Beel constitutes a unique habitat for aquatic flora & avian fauna consisting 150 bird species, 12 species of reptiles, 50 species of fish & 6 species of Amphibians & others.
About eco-sensitive zones (ESZ)
i.ESZ are areas notified by MoEFCC around Protected areas, National parks & Wildlife sanctuaries.
ii.They act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesser protection.
iii.Activities prohibited in the ESZ are hydroelectric projects, brick kilns, commercial use of firewood & discharge of untreated effluents in water bodies
iv.No new commercial hotels & resorts shall be permitted within 1 km of the boundary of the protected area or up to the extent of ESZ except for small temporary structures.
About Assam
Governor – Jagdish Mukhi
Chief Minister – Himanta Biswa Sarma
Tiger Reserves – Manas, Nameri, Kaziranga, Orang.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

IB Minister Anurag Thakur Presentes 1st Copy of “Reflecting, Recollecting, Reconnecting” to VP Venkaiah NaiduAnurag Thakur, Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting(I&B), presented the first copy of the book titled “Reflecting, Recollecting, Reconnecting” to Vice President(VP) M Venkaiah Naidu. 
The book is published by Publications Division (India), a division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting(MIB).
About the book:
i.The book is an account of the 4th year of Venkaiah Naidu as the Vice President of India.
ii.The 183-page book reflects the vision and ideas of the VP and captures various aspects of VP during his 4th year in pictures, vignettes and words in 5 chapters.
iii.VP Venkaiah Naidu has attended around 133 evens across 10 states and 2 Union Territories(UT) and has delivered 53 lectures, released 23 books and presided over more than 22 inaugural events.
About Venkaiah Naidu:
i.VP Venkaiah Naidu hails from Chavatapalem, Nellore, Andhra Pradesh.
In April 1998 he was elected to the Rajya Sabha from Karnataka 1st term.
ii.He has served as the Minister of rural development from 2000 to 2002.
iii.He was re-elected to Rajya sabha for the 2nd term in 2004 and for the 3rd term in 2010.
iv.He was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the 4th term from Rajasthan in 2016 and resigned in 2017.
v.He has been serving as the Vice President of India since 2017.

IMPORTANT DAYS

National Remote Sensing Day 2021 – 12th August The National Remote Sensing Day is annually observed across India on 12th August to mark the birth anniversary of Dr Vikram Sarabhai, who is known as the Father of the Indian Space Program. The day also aims to create awareness of the Indian Remote Sensing program and its applications for the Environment and Society.
The 12th August 2021 marked the 102nd birth anniversary of Dr Vikram Sarabhai.
About Vikram Sarabhai:
i.Vikram Sarabhai was born on 12th August 1919 in Ahmedabad, Bombay Presidency, British India.
ii.He initiated India’s space research and contributed to the development of nuclear power in India.
iiiHe is known for the establishment of the ISRO and is also credited for putting Aryabhata, the first Indian satellite into orbit in 1975.
iv.He was honoured with India’s highest honours Padma Bhushan in 1966 and Padma Vibhushan(posthumously) in 1972.
Events:
i.On National Remote Sensing Day 2021, the Indian Space Research Organisation launched India’s “eye in the sky” GISAT-1 Earth observation satellite (EOS).
ii.The Center for Environmental Sciences & Engineering, School of Natural Sciences, celebrated an online event on National Remote Sensing Day 2021.
Remote Sensing:
Remote sensing is the process of detecting and monitoring the physical characteristics of an area by measuring its reflected and emitted radiation at a distance, typically from satellites or aircraft.

STATE NEWS

Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurated 12 Developmental Projects in Tripura during visitThe Finance Minister of India, Nirmala Sitharaman was on a 2-day visit to Tripura where she inaugurated 12 developmental projects.

• She also reviewed the progress of Externally Aided Projects (EAP) worth Rs 7,719 crore during the visit. She also addressed the meeting, which was also attended by Tripura Chief Minister (CM) Biplab Kumar Deb; Deputy Chief Minister Jishnu Dev Varma; and Tripura Chief Secretary Kumar Alok, among others.

Key Points:
i.Among all EAPs, Central sector EAPs share more than Rs 2,477 crore and State sector EAPs are worth Rs 5,242 crore.
ii.It should be noted that EAPs are being implemented in Tripura in the sectors of afforestation and livelihood, power transmission, water supply and infrastructure development.
iii.The Union Minister also visited an Agar tree-plantation centre at Hathipara Forest complex and a Covid vaccination centre at Gandhigram in West Tripura.
Inaugurations:
The Finance Minister inaugurated the following projects:

• Rs 38.03 crore World Bank aided 132 KV (Kilovolt) electric sub-station in western Tripura’s Mohanpur, constructed under the NERPSIP (North Eastern Region Power System Improvement Project).
• Rs 20 crore three Surface Water Treatment plants funded by Asian Development Bank (ADB) under the North East Region Urban Development Project (NERUDP) at Rampur, Pragati, and Badarghat in western Tripura.
• Launch 80,660 functional household tap connection under the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM)
• Launch of seven projects implemented under the ‘Rural Infrastructure Development Fund’ and ‘Special Plan Assistance’ of the Central government.
• Two projects worth over ₹21 crores were cleared by the Centre on Friday morning itself. It includes-widening of state highways ( ₹14.15 crores) and various development works for Agartala worth ₹7.4 crores.
• These three water treatment plants, with a total capacity of 22.40 MLD (million litres per day), will help in providing clean water in the Agartala Municipal Corporation area.

About Tripura:
Governor– Satyadev Narayan Arya
Zoological Parks– Sepahijala Zoological Park
Airports– Maharaja Bir Bikram Airport, Kamalpur Airport, and Khowai Airport

Justice Vineet Kothari named acting CJ of Gujarat HCThe President of India has appointed Justice Vineet Kothari as the acting Chief Justice (CJ) of the Gujarat High Court (HC) until his retirement on September 2, 2021. He will succeed incumbent Chief Justice Vikram Nath who has been elevated to the Supreme Court.

President of India has appointed  Justice Vineet Kothari after exercising his powers conferred by Article 223 of the Constitution of India.

• Post retirement of Justice Vineet Kothari, Justice RM Chhaya would function as the acting Chief Justice of the HC till further orders.
• The information for the same was provided by the Ministry of Law and Justice (MoL&J).

About Gujarat:
Chief Minister– Vijay Rupani
Airport– Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport, Dholera International Airport, and Surat Airport
Museums– Tribal Museum (Ahmedabad), Calico Museum of Textiles (Ahmedabad), and Veechar Cultural and Heritage Museum for Utensils (Ahmedabad)

3 Cities in Andhra Pradesh are Awarded Water Plus Certification

3 cities of Andhra Pradesh(AP) were awarded “Water Plus” certification by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs(MoHUA), Government of India. The certification is awarded under the Swachh Bharat Mission and Swachh Survekshan assessment.
Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation, Vijayawada Municipal Corporation and Tirupati Municipal Corporation are among the 9 cities across India that were awarded Water Plus Certification.

• AP became the only state to have more than 1 water plus city.

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