NATIONAL NEWS

2nd NADA India Inclusion Conclave Inaugurated in New Delhi

The 2nd edition of the NADA (National Anti-Doping Agency) India Inclusion Convalve was held in New Delhi on 18 September 2024.

The 2nd edition of the Inclusion Conclave was held on the sidelines of the 2nd Formal Meeting of the COP9 Bureau and the 3rd Formal Meeting of the Fund Approval Committee under the UNESCO International Convention against Doping in Sport, held on September 17-18, 2024.

The India Inclusion Conclave has been organised by the National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA), India’s nodal anti-doping agency in sports. NADA is under the administrative control of the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports.

NADA organises the India Inclusion Conclave to educate and create awareness amongst para-athletes (athletes with disabilities) about anti-doping.

Doping in sports refers to the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs by athletes to gain an unfair advantage over competitors.

According to a recent World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) report India reported the highest case of doping in the world in 2022.

Statistics Ministry to Leverage AI for the Eighth Economic Census

The Statistics Ministry plans to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the Eighth Economic Census (EC), scheduled from January to December 2025.

AI will be used to pre-fill data in survey forms, reducing errors and the time required to complete the process.

AI is expected to become a key tool in future government surveys, helping streamline data collection and analysis.

The Economic Census collects detailed data on the operational and structural characteristics of establishments across India.

It provides crucial insights into the geographical distribution, ownership structures, and workforce composition of economic activities.

The data is essential for socio-economic development planning at the state and district levels.

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Union Cabinet Approves Chandrayaan -4 Mission to Collect Lunar Sample

The Union Cabinet approved the Chandrayaan -4 mission in a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 18 September 2024.

The Chandrayaan -4 mission will collect lunar samples from the moon's surface and bring them back to Earth. Only three countries—the United States of America, Russia, and China—have successfully brought lunar soil back to Earth.

According to the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Ashwini Vaishnaw, the ultimate goal is to land an Indian astronaut on the lunar surface by 2040 and successfully return them to Earth.

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), which launched Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, Chandrayaan-2 in 2019, and Chandrayaan-3 in 2023, will be responsible for the Chandrayaan-4 mission.

ISRO has been allocated a budget of Rs 2104.06 crore for the Chandrayaan -4 mission to be completed in 36 months.

All the necessary technologies will be developed indigenously with the help of the Indian industry.

The government of India approved an ambitious space programme during the Amrit Kaal. It envisages a mission to Venus, a functioning Indian Space Station named Bharatiya Antariksh Station by 2035, and an Indian landing on the surface of the Moon by 2040.

BANKING

Axis Bank Expands Wealth Management Services to 15 Additional Cities

Axis Bank is expanding its private banking business, Burgundy Private, to 15 new cities.

This expansion will increase Burgundy Private's presence to 42 locations across India.

The expansion aims to provide bespoke wealth management services to clients in India's Tier 2 markets.

The new cities include Bhubaneswar, Patna, Raipur, Agra, Ghaziabad, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Jalandhar, Meerut, Belgaum, Kozhikode, Thiruvananthapuram, Aurangabad, Nagpur, and Gandhidham.

HDFC Bank Aims to Increase Income for 5 Lakh Marginal Farmers by 2025

The country's biggest private sector lender, HDFC Bank, looks to increase the income of 5 lakh marginal farmers earning less than Rs 60,000 annually by 2025 as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative, Parivartan.

Parivartan is one of India's largest CSR programs, active in 28 states and 8 Union Territories, with a focus on rural development and sustainable livelihoods.

Key initiatives include

Skill training for 2 lakh individuals to promote self-sufficiency.

Bringing 2 lakh acres of unirrigated land under irrigation to improve agricultural productivity.

Providing 25,000 scholarships to meritorious underprivileged students for better access to education.

Parivartan aligns its efforts with 9 of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), focusing on areas like education, skill development, healthcare, and financial inclusion.

Life Insurance Corporation of India Partners with Infosys

The Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has selected IT major Infosys to develop its NextGen digital platform.

This platform will be a comprehensive end-to-end digital insurance solution aimed at providing excellent customer services, sales lifecycle management, and operational support for employees and intermediaries.

The NextGen Digital Platform will be modular, flexible, cloud-native, and have platform driven architecture which will be capable of quickly adopting innovative technologies, new products and features.

This platform will form the foundation for building high value business applications such as the Customer and Sales Super Apps, Portals and Digital Branch for LIC.

Infosys will deliver turnkey system integration services to LIC, utilizing AI capabilities from Infosys Topaz and DevSecOps services from Infosys Cobalt.

Also, LIC has undertaken a digital transformation programme named DIVE (Digital Innovation and Value Enhancement).

Under DIVE, LIC aims to significantly boost its digital platform with an aim to provide superior experience to its customers, field force, partners and employees.

Star Health and Policybazaar Introduce 'SUPER STAR'

Star Health and Allied Insurance Company Limited (Star Health Insurance) and Policybazaar announced the launch of 'SUPER STAR', a personalised long-term health insurance plan which is customer-centric in nature with an objective of delivering greater customer value.

This game-changer product is designed to meet the evolving needs of policyholders and offers unparalleled flexibility and customization.

SUPER STAR is a digital-only product available through the Policybazaar website and Star Health's online portal here.

The Super Star plan has multiple sum insured options ranging from ₹5 lakh to ₹1 crore.

Customers will get up to 7.5% discount while purchasing the same policy for their parents or parents-in-law.

AU Small Finance Bank and Kotak Life

AU Small Finance Bank (AU SFB) and Kotak Life announced a partnership to offer life insurance and financial security solutions.

This collaboration is a continuation of Kotak Life’s previous relationship with the former Fincare Small Finance Bank, which is now merged with AU SFB.

This partnership enables AU SFB’s new and existing customers, including those from former Fincare SFB branches, to access Kotak Life’s full range of life insurance products, such as term, retirement, savings, and select investment plans.

SPORTS

Glasgow to Host the 2026 Commonwealth Games

Glasgow, Scotland's capital, has agreed to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the original host, Victoria of Australia, declined due to the rising cost.

The Australian state of Victoria was awarded the hosting right of the 23rd Commonwealth Games in 2026.

The organiser of the Victorian Commonwealth Games even received the traditional torch as the next host of the games from the 2022 Birmingham Games organising committee at the closing ceremony of the 2022 Games.

After the Victorian government refusal to support the Commonwealth Games financially, Victoria refused to host them.

Glasgow agreed to host the games after it received backing from the Scottish government.

The 2026 Games will be a scaled-down version of the previous Commonwealth Games and will host only 10 sporting events, compared to the 17 sporting events of the 2022 Birmingham Games.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Bamboo Day

Every year 18th of September is celebrated as World Bamboo Day.

World Bamboo Organization recognized World Bamboo Day in the year of 2009.

World Bamboo Day was founded by Kamesh Salam, the former president of the World Bamboo Organization.

The World Bamboo Organization Headquarters was located in Antwerp, Belgium.

The 8th World Bamboo Congress was held in Bangkok on 18 September 2009.

So on this day, the World Bamboo Organization declared that every year the 18th of September is observed as World Bamboo Day.

The World Bamboo Congress organized this day in order to achieve the protection of natural resources and to promote new cultivation of Bamboo for new industries in regions around the world.