NATIONAL NEWS

Aircraft Carrier INS Vikrant

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi commissioned the first indigenous aircraft carrier INS Vikrant on 02 September 2022 at Cochin Shipyard Limited in Kochi.

• He also unveiled the new Naval Ensign (Nishaan).

• Naval Ensigns are flags that naval ships or formations bear to denote nationality.
• The current Indian Naval ensigns consists of a St. George’s Cross, a red cross with white background.

Agrarian Festival ‘Nuakhai’

• Nuakhai is an annual harvest festival celebrated in Odisha.

• The Nuakhai festival is the most famous social festival celebrated in the Western Odisha and nearby areas of Simdega in Jharkhand.

• The festival is celebrated by wearing new clothes and offering prayers to God, following which a feast is thrown and food prepared using newly harvested crops is consumed.
• In Nuakhai, Nua means new and Khai means food. The festival of Nuakhai is celebrated by the farmers of Odisha after the harvesting of grain.

Online Geospatial Platform in Guwahati

• The World Resources Institute (WRI) India in collaboration with the Assam Energy Development Agency (AEDA) launched an online, open-source and interactive geospatial platform called the Energy Access Explorer (EAE).

• The platform will help visualize the extent of energy access in Assam’s health education and livelihood infrastructure.
• It claims to assist policy-makers, renewable energy industry entrepreneurs, investors and researchers from the development sector to make integrated and impactful decisions to expand energy access in Assam.
• The GoI’s Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) attempts to provide quality and reliable power for both rural and urban areas.

‘Meghdoot’ Machines at Mumbai Stations

• Meghdoot machines have been installed by Indian Railways in Dadar, Thane and other Mumbai Division stations.

• Innovative technology is used by the special “Meghdoot” devices to turn airborne water vapor into drinkable water.

• Maithri Aquatech Pvt Ltd. has been given the contract for installing 17 “MEGHDOOT” Atmospheric Water Generator Kiosks throughout the Mumbai Division of Central Railway for a term of 5 years under NINFRIS policy.

• The company has also collaborated with the CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT), Hyderabad to produce the highest quality water.

Rajasthan Government Launches Loan Scheme

• Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched ‘Mahila Nidhi’, a loan scheme for the social and economic development of women through loans.
• The scheme has been established to help women self-help groups get loans from banks, increase the income of poor and marginal women and social and economic progress of women through skill development.
• Rajasthan is the second state in the country after Telangana, where Mahila Nidhi has been established.
• It was launched on the occasion of Women’s Equality Day. Under the scheme, apart from everyday necessities, easy credit will be available to women for business expansion and starting new businesses.
• He said the scheme will facilitate crediting of loans up to Rs 40,000 within 48 hours and above Rs 40,000 within 15 days.

Fully Digital Banking District in Kerala

• Alappuzha has become the 5th fully digital banking district in Kerala.

• The declaration was made by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Kerala and Lakshadweep Regional Director Thomas Mathew.

• The project was initiated by the RBI with the support of the State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC) and respective district administrations as part of the Union government’s Digital India project.
• Banking services in Thrissur, Kottayam, Palakkad and Kasaragod have already become digital.

BANKING

ADB and Maharashtra Government

• The Maharashtra government would take a loan of 4,000 crore rupees from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for setting up medical colleges in 12 districts of Maharashtra.
• There are 12 districts in the state without a single medical college.
• The 12 districts are Jalgaon, Satara, Alibaug, Sindhudurg, Usmanabad, Parbhani, Amravati, Ratnagiri, Gadhchiroli, Bhandara, Ambernath and Nashik Super Speciality hospital.
• The state government will soon complete the technical procedures to receive the funds.
• He directed that the medical education department should prepare a plan to set up a medical college and hospital in every district in the next two years.

SBI Card Launches ‘Cashback SBI Card’

• SBI Card has announced the launch of the ‘CASHBACK SBI Card’ in India.

• As the company claims CASHBACK SBI Card is the industry’s first Cashback-focused credit card that enables cardholders to earn 5 per cent cashback on all online spending without any merchant restrictions.

• Consumers across India, including tier 2 and 3 cities can easily get CASHBACK SBI Card instantly through the digital application platform ‘SBI Card SPRINT’.
• The card also offers a 1% fuel surcharge waiver which is valid for transaction amounts ranging from Rs 500 to Rs 3,000 with a maximum surcharge waiver limit of Rs 100 per billing statement month for each credit card account.
• CASHBACK SBI Card is available on the VISA platform.

Indusind Bank Partnered with ADB

• IndusInd Bank partnered with Asian Development Bank (ADB) to support and promote supply chain finance (SCF) solutions in India.
• The bank has entered into a partial guarantee programme with ADB with an initial outlay of USD 70 million (Rs 560.0 crore) towards promoting SCF solutions in India.
• IndusInd Bank aims to grow its presence in MSME financing and this partnership will further strengthen various initiatives of the bank in this domain.
• The Bank recently launched a state-of-the-art digital portal for SCF – ‘earlyCredit’ enabling 24X7 seamless processing of SCF transactions for corporates, suppliers and dealers.

SPORTS NEWS

Former Leg Spinner Rahul Sharma Announced Retirement

• Rahul Sharma, an Indian spinner has declared his retirement from both local and international cricket.
• The tall leg-spinner first gained attention in 2011 when he played for Pune Warriors in the IPL.
• Under Virendra Sehwag’s captaincy, Rahul Sharma made his ODI debut against the West Indies in 2011.
• He played his first T20 match in 2012 against Australia while MS Dhoni served as captain.
• He participated in his final series on the Sri Lanka trip later that year.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

Report by Bloomberg

• India Overtakes the United Kingdom in the final three months of 2021 to become the fifth-biggest economy, according to a report by Bloomberg.
• The ranking is based on GDP figures compiled by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
• India is behind the US, China, Japan and Germany.
• India’s economy is projected to grow at 7% in 2022-2023.

Grievance Redressal Index

• The Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) has topped among all Ministers and Departments in resolving Public Grievances for the month of August 2022.

• UIDAI, which oversees Aadhaar has been a top performer in the resolution of cases received through the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS).

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

President of AIFF

• The All-India Football Federation (AIFF) has got a former player as its first president in its 85-year history with Kalyan Chaubey beating Bhaichung Bhutia in the election.

• Chaubey is a former goalkeeper with Mohun Bagan and East Bengal.

• Karnataka Football Association President N A Haris, won the election for the post of vice president, beating Manvendra Singh of Rajasthan FA.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

The Autobiography Titled ‘The Hero of Tiger Hill’

• The inspirational story of Subedar Major (Honorary Captain) Yogendra Singh Yadav (Retd), who was awarded the Youngest Param Vir Chakra (PVC) at the age of 19 for his deeds in the 1999 Kargil battle, is described in the book ‘The Hero of Tiger Hill: Autobiography of a Param Vir’.
• The autobiography is published by Srishti Publishers and Distributors.