NATIONAL NEWS

Godrej Agrovet Signs MoUs with Three States

• Agribusiness company Godrej Agrovet has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Assam, Manipur and Tripura governments for the development and promotion of oil palm cultivation.

• Godrej Agrovet would be allotted land across the three states for the promotion and development of sustainable palm oil plantations in the region under the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) scheme.

• The collaboration will bring new opportunities and growth in building oil palm plantations in these three states and would help provide the required support to the farmers.
• Godrej Agrovet is the largest oil palm processor in India and works directly with farmers for the entire crop cycle.

IREDA Signs MoU with MAHAPREIT

• Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) signed an MoU with Mahatma Phule Renewable Energy and Infrastructure Technology Ltd. (MAHAPREIT), a wholly owned subsidiary of MPBCDC.

• IREDA will offer financing facilities to MAHAPREIT for the Renewable Energy projects to be implemented for state utilities, local bodies and the infrastructure of Renewable Energy Parks.
• This is the ninth MoU inked by IREDA in the last two years to provide consultation services for the sustainable development of the country.
• This MoU will be able to support Government of India achieve its targets of 50% share of energy from non-fossil fuels by 2030.

Naval Shooting Range

• A first of its kind, Composite Indoor Shooting Range CISR was inaugurated by Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta at INS Karna Visakhapatnam, Andra Pradesh (AP).

• INS Karna is the first in the Navy and perhaps the only military unit in the country to set up and use CISR.

• The CISR is a state of the art, self-contained, 25 m, six lane, live firing range for all primary and secondary weapons in the Navy.
• With an advanced target system, associated control software, this range would enable personnel to enhance their firing skills, enabling them to challenge and take on adversaries in demanding scenarios.
• The range has been setup to contemporary international standards by an Indian firm and is a shining example of Atma Nirbhar Bharta.
• The entire facility was setup in record time of 120 days.

Silk Mark Expo in New Delhi

• Union Minister of State for Textiles Darshana Jardosh inaugurated the Silk Mark Expo in New Delhi.

• The expo is being organised by the Silk Mark Organisation of India under Central Silk Board, Ministry of Textiles.

• Silk Mark is a quality assurance label launched by government to determine that the product is made up of pure natural silk.
• This mark will highlight qualifying standards, which will eventually build consumer confidence in both domestic and export markets.
• The Silk Mark Expo which will run till 28 August, is aimed at protecting the interests of not only the silk consumers, but all the stakeholders of silk value chain.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage List

• India has nominated the dance form Garba to be inscribed on UNESCO's intangible cultural heritage list.

• In 2021, ‘Durga Puja' was included on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) intangible cultural heritage.

• India has now nominated 'Garba' for 2022.

• India was elected by UNESCO to serve on the distinguished Intergovernmental Committee of the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage in July.

BANKING

ADB and Himachal Pradesh

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India today signed a $96.3 million loan agreement.
• It is to provide safe drinking water and improve water supply and sanitation services in the state of Himachal Pradesh.
• The project is aligned with the objectives of the Government of India’s Jal Jeevan Mission which aims to provide piped water to all rural households by 2024.
• It will also upgrade water supply infrastructure and strengthen institutional capacity to ensure safe, sustainable and inclusive rural water supply and sanitation services.
• The project will strengthen the capacity of the Jal Shakti Vibhag of the Government of Himachal Pradesh and gram panchayat (local government) village water and sanitation committees.

SEBI Joins RBI’s Account Aggregator Framework

• India’s lending ecosystem, the market regulator Securities Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has joined the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI’s) Account Aggregator framework by allowing depositories, asset management companies (AMCs) and mutual fund houses to become Financial Information Providers (FIPs).
• This will allow customers to share information about their mutual fund and stock holdings with financial service providers.
• Account Aggregator (AA)framework is a non-banking financial institution (NBFC) governed by RBI.
• The AA acts as an intermediary and the information comes from FIPs like banks, AMCs, pension funds, etc, and FIUs that consume this data.
• FIUs, again, can be a bank giving out a loan, an insurance provider or a wealth manager, among others.

Central Bank of India and Protium Finance & lncred Finance

• State-owned Central Bank of India, a Public Sector Bank (PSB) has entered into a co-lending partnership with Protium Finance and lncred Financial Services Limited (IFSL) to offer loans to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) borrowers.

• Protium Finance will originate and process MSME proposals under the priority sector as per jointly formulated credit parameters and eligibility criteria.

• The Central Bank of India will take into its books 80% of the MSME priority sector loans under mutually agreed terms.
• IFSL will service the loan account throughout the life cycle of the loan.

NPCI has Signed an MoU with Payxpert

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed an MoU with PayXpert for acceptance of the payment solutions in the United Kingdom.

• The collaboration will make the Indian payment solutions available in the UK on all PayXpert’s Android point-of-sale (POS) devices for in-store payments.
• PayXpert would offer QR code payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and later integrate RuPay card payments.
• The development comes on the back of the Indian government’s effort to enable the adoption of UPI and RuPay cards in other countries.
• The NPCI has also signed similar MoUs for acceptance of UPI in France, the UAE, Singapore and Nepal.

RANKS, INDICES & REPORTS

International Astronomy and Astrophysics Olympiad

• India secured the third rank in medal tally at the 15th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA).

• India held the third position jointly with Singapore with students winning three gold and two silver medals.

• The 15th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) 2022 held in Kutaisi, Georgia from 14 August to 21 August 2022.

• Iran official team with 5 gold medals secured the first position in the medal tally.
• Raghav Goyal won a special prize for the best solution to the most challenging theoretical question.

AWARDS & PRIZES

2022 Pulitzer Prize in Illustrated Reporting

• Bangladesh-born Fahmida Azim working for the Insider online magazine of United States has been selected for the 2022 Pulitzer Prize under the category of Illustrated Reporting and Commentary.

• She is among the four journalists including Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams and Walt Hickey of Insider being published from New York, selected for their work on the Chinese oppression of the Uyghurs.
• The work ‘I escaped a Chinese internment Camp’ has illustrations by Fahmida Azim.
• Fahmida Azim was born in Bangladesh and now settled in the US. She is an illustrator and story teller. Her work centers on themes of identity, culture and autonomy.
• She has illustrated a number of books including her own notable project ‘Muslim Women Are Everything’.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Interim Prime Minister of Mali

• In Mali, the military has appointed a Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga as interim Prime Minister.

• Before this appointment, Colonel Maiga was working as a Government Spokesman and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralisation.

• He replaces the veteran civilian politician Choguel Kokalla Maiga, who was named premier after the military took power in August 2020 and carried out a second coup in May 2021.

Director of NII

• Senior Odia scientist Debasisa Mohanty was appointed as Director of the National Institute of Immunology (NII).
• The appointment was notified by the Personnel Ministry.
• He is currently working as the staff scientist with the NII.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved the appointment of Dr Debasisa Mohanty, Staff Scientist.
• He was awarded with the National Bioscience Award for Career Development, one of the highest Indian Science awards, for his contributions to biosciences in 2009.

Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu

• Odisha cadre IAS officer Rajesh Verma has been appointed as the Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu.
• Verma has also served as the Principal Secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Principal Secretary of Energy Department, Government of Odisha.
• He replaces Kapil Dev Tripathi, a 1980 batch IAS Officer.

IMPORTANT DAY

International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Abolition

• International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Abolition is celebrated every year on 23 August.
• During the imperialist regimes run by the colonial powers of Europe, the slave trade was a cruel yet common practice.
• The days of August 22 and August 23, 1791, saw the start of the uprising that would play a vital role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade led by the European colonial powers.
• The uprising inspired the Haitian Revolution which was led by the Black and mixed-race people against the colonial rulers.