NATIONAL NEWS

Cyber Security Upskilling Programme

• Search and internet major, Google has announced a campaign to upskill cyber security researchers and developers in India.
• The campaign will be part of the company’s Cyber Security Roadshow, which will cover multiple cities across India and offer tools, tutorials and mentorship on security practices for building consumer apps as well as enterprise programmes.
• The upskilling programme will target 1 lakh developers in India and will cover two broad divisions within the programme - Android and Google Cloud.
• The programme will support developers building apps for consumers, the Google Cloud upskilling programme will target enterprise developers and security administrators.

Tripartite MoU Signed for Swift Development

• The tripartite agreement was signed by National Highways Logistics Management Limited (NHLML), Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) and Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL).

• It has been signed for swift development of modern Multi Modal Logistics Parks (MMLP) under Bharatmala Pariyojna across the country.
• The objective is to centralize freight consolidation and reduce logistics cost from 14% to less than 10% of GDP at par with International Standards.
• The MMLPs will focus on a technology driven implementation for a state-of-the-art freight management system.

Azadi Quest App

• Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur launched the Azadi Quest, a series of online mobile games on the heroes and milestones of Indian freedom in New Delhi.

• Azadi Quest is a set of online games designed for players of all ages for interactive learning with fun gameplay.
• The Initiative is inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to ‘Engage, Entertain and Educate’ the people through toys and games.
• It will prove to be a very effective tool in spreading awareness on India's freedom fighters.
• The Azadi Quest games are available for Android and iOS devices in English and Hindi for the people of India.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

8th India-Brazil Joint Commission Meeting

• External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar co-chaired the 8th India-Brazil Joint Commission Meeting with his Brazilian counterpart Carlos França in Brasilia.
• The comprehensive discussions covered trade and investments, petroleum, biofuels, edible oils and minerals, health, pharma, traditional medicine, Science and Technology, agriculture and livestock, space, defense and counter-terrorism.
• During the meeting, agreements were signed in the fields of broadcasting and taxation.

BANKING

HDFC Bank Ties up with Tata Neu

• The largest private banker, HDFC Bank announced the partnership with Tata Neu to launch one of India’s most rewarding co-branded credit cards.

• The co-branded credit cards will be launched in two variants namely Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card and Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card.

• The card will enable customers to earn rewards on all spends, both online and in-store in the form of NeuCoins (1 NeuCoin = INR 1).
• customers will be able to earn 2% NeuCoins with Tata Neu Plus HDFC Bank Credit Card and 5% NeuCoins with Tata Neu Infinity HDFC Bank Credit Card on all purchases on partner Tata brands, both online and in-store.

RBI Lifts Business Curbs Imposed on American Express

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has lifted the business restrictions imposed on American Express Banking Corp due to the satisfactory compliance demonstrated by the entity to RBI rules.
• American Express is a payment system operator authorised to operate card networks in the country under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007.
• American Express can now issue cards to new customers in India.
• RBI imposed restricted for non-compliance with the RBI circular on Storage of Payment System Data.

Muthoot Finance launches Milligram Gold point program

• Muthoot Finance Limited has launched Milligram Reward Programme for its customers wherein transactions with the company will be rewarded with a certain amount of milligram reward points.

• With this, Muthoot Finance Limited has emerged as the first gold loan Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) to launch a new reward program.
• Customers can participate in this 2-year-long program wherein, for the first time in India a loyalty program will be run in 24-carat gold.
• Every customer referral transaction with the company will earn 20 mg of gold as well.
• Annually, ₹50 crores worth of gold (100 kg) is expected to be paid off through the program.

AWARDS & PRIZES

2022 Liberty Medal

• The 2022 Liberty Medal will be awarded to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
• The National Constitution Center announced that Zelenskyy will be honored in a ceremony in October for ‘his heroic defense of liberty in the face of Russian tyranny.’
• Zelenskyy, who has served as the nation's president since May 2019 has also been the recipient of awards such as the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award and the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award.
• The Liberty Medal was established in 1988, is presented to individuals who strive to secure the blessings of liberty for people around the globe.

APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Brand Ambassador of DreamSetGo

• DreamSetGo, a sports experiences and travel platform, has announced Sourav Ganguly as its first brand ambassador.

• The company was launched in 2019 for people to get access to worldwide sporting events.

• It is owned by Dream Sports, a sports technology company that also houses sports brands like Dream11, FanCode, Dream Capital, DreamPay, and KheloMore etc.
• The veteran cricketer will play a key role in promoting its curated experiences offered through its key partnerships with Manchester City, Chelsea FC, ICC Travel and Tours, AO Travel, F1 Experiences etc.

Interim Head Coach for Asia Cup 2022

• VVS Laxman has been named as the interim Head Coach for the Rohit Sharma led team India for Asia Cup 2022, which will be hosted in Dubai.

• He will oversee the team’s preparation in the absence of Rahul Dravid, who tested positive for COVID 19.

• He was named the NCA Chief recently after Rahul Dravid vacated the post in November 2021.

• Earlier, he was named head coach for Ireland bound Indian side which was captained by Hardik Pandya.

Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology

• Senior neurologist, N. V. Sundara Chary has been elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology (FAAN).
• It is regarded as one of the world’s most prestigious honours in the field of Neurology and Medicine.
• Dr. Sundara Chary has been elected for making valuable contributions in the field of Neurology.
• Chary was also awarded a Speciality certificate in Neurology by the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

BOOKS & AUTHORS

A New Book Titled ‘New India’

• Former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu released a book titled ‘New Book: Selected Writings 2014-19’.

• It is a compilation of selected articles of former Union Minister and Padma Vibhushan Arun Jaitley.

• He served as the Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of the Government of India from 2014 to 2019.