1) Ministry of Tribal Affairs launches “Swasthya” & “ALEKH”
•Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal “Swasthya” and e-newsletter on health and nutrition “ALEKH”. The ministry has also announced the opening of National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal.
•e-portal on Tribal health and nutrition named ‘Swasthya’ will offer health and nutrition related information of the tribal population of India on a single platform. “Piramal Swasthya” has been recognized by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as the Centre of Excellence for Knowledge Management (CoE for KM) for Health and Nutrition. “ALEKH” is a quarterly e-newsletter on health and nutrition.
2) Chhattisgarh government to launch “Padhai Tuhar Para” scheme
•Chhattisgarh government has announced to launch a student centric scheme named as “Padhai Tuhar Para”. The scheme will enable the school students to study with the help of community in their localities and villages, in view of the suspension of classes due to coronavirus outbreak.
Along with “Padhai Tuhar Para” scheme, the state government also announced to launch three other schemes which are as follows:
•“Bultu Ke Bol”, a Bluetooth-based programme will be rolled out to provide study materials to students living in remote areas and do not have access to internet facility.
•Mukhyamantri Slum Swasthya Yojana will be launched to offer health facilities to the people at their doorstep with the help of 70 mobile medical units in all the 14 municipal corporations.
•Radhabai Diagnostic Centre Scheme will be rolled out to offer pathology and other testing facilities to people at concessional rates.
3) UK launches £3 Million Innovation Challenge Fund in India
•An “Innovation Challenge Fund” of £3 Million has been launched by the government of United Kingdom (UK) in India. The newly launched fund aims to support research and development (R&D) proposals to address the challenges posed to the economy and the environment, by the COVID-19 pandemic. Hence, the fund will help scientists in academia and industry to address the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
•Innovation Challenge Fund requests tech innovators having links with the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the Future Mobility cluster in Maharashtra, to present research and development plans for tackling Covid-19 or which encourages a greener planet. This will help to catalyse innovation and technology, which will address global challenges to drive innovation-led inclusive growth.
4) MPEDA launches Quality Control Lab in Porbandar
•Quality Control Lab has been set up by the Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in Porbandar, Gujarat. The Quality Control Lab will offer tests for seafood processors as well as exporters to confirm to product safety as per international regulatory requirements.
•Quality Control Lab is empowered with advanced testing instruments to evaluate antibiotic residues, heavy-metals, namely cadmium, lead, mercury and arsenic in seafood samples and histamine in fish such as tuna and mackerel.
5) GP Garg becomes SEBI’s new executive director
•The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has appointed GP Garg as executive director (ED). Prior to this, he was Chief General Manager in Sebi and has handled several assignments since joining in January 1994. He has been closely associated with Sebi’s initiatives on financial literacy and investor education in the country.
6) Rakesh Asthana becomes new DG of BSF
•Government of India has appointed Rakesh Asthana as the new director-general of the Border Security Force (BSF). Currently, DG Indo-Tibet Border Police (ITBP) chief S S Deswal was holding the additional charge of BSF since March this year.
•Asthana is currently heading the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) with an additional charge of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB), will assume full-time charge of the border guarding force deployed at the approximately 2,280 km long border with Pakistan.
7) 13th Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting
•The 13th Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation was held to review the continuing growth of broad based cooperation between the two countries. The session was co-chaired by Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, Minister of External Affairs of India and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates.
•During the session, both countries accepted to strengthen cooperation in ongoing areas and agreed to consider cooperation in newer areas reflecting the changing times. India also requested UAE for further investments in various sectors including renewable energy, logistics, food parks, defence, ports, highways as well as airports. They also deliberated on the regional issues related to their neighbourhood and cooperation at the United Nations as well as other multilateral meetings. The next session has been planned to held in Abu Dhabi in 2021.
8) Google partners CWC for flood forecasting initiative
•Google and Central Water Commission(CWC) of India have launched the flood forecasting initiatives across India for the past several months. The Central Water Commission is the first governmental partner of Google to measure water levels on an hourly basis using around 1000 stream gauges across India.
9) MCX to launch India’s first bullion index named “Bulldex”
•Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) will launch India’s first bullion index named “Bulldex”, on August 24, 2020. Bullions, viz. gold and silver are already being traded as individual commodities on the country’s premier commodity exchange. With gold and silver as underlying, Bulldex will have a market lot size of 50 and be cash-settled futures contract. MCX had tested bullion index futures trade in mock trading exercises in July.
10) A book titled “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″ by Arjun Subramaniam
•Retired Air Vice Marshal, Arjun Subramaniam has authored a new book titled, “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″. It is the sequel to his 1st book, ‘India’s Wars: A Military History, 1947-1971’. The book portrays the comprehensive account of war and conflict in contemporary India over the past five decades next month. It will be published by HarperCollins Publishers India Pvt. Ltd.
