1) International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition
•United Nations observes 23 August every year as “International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition”. The Day is observed to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in the memory of all peoples.
2) Nitin Gadkari launches “Harit Path” app to monitor plantation
•Union Minister for road transport and highways, Nitin Gadkari has launched a mobile app named ‘Harit Path’ to monitor plantation along national highways. Under this initiative, the NHAI planted over 25 lakh plants in 25 days along the stretches of the national highways between July 21 and August 15, 2020.
3) India’s longest river ropeway inaugurated in Assam
•The longest river ropeway of India has been inaugurated in Assam. The ropeway is 1.8 Km long and connects Guwahati and North Guwahati over Brahmaputra river. The ropeway will be operated from Kachari Ghat in Guwahati to Dol Govinda temple in North Guwahati.
•The new ropeway service empowered with state-of-the-art technology will decrease the travel time between Guwahati and North Guwahati. It is also expected to strengthen the tourism sector as it will enable people to see the landscapes of Guwahati city, mighty Brahmaputra including the Umananda Temple on Peacock island.
4) Arjun Munda e-inaugurates “Tribes India Showroom” in Mumbai
•“Tribes India Showroom” has been e-inaugurated by the Union Minister for Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda. The showroom has been inaugurated in Indian Globe Chambers of LIC Western Zonal Office, Fort, Mumbai. “Tribes India Showroom” is an initiative of TRIFED, Ministry of Tribal Affairs to promote the livelihood of the tribal people marketing.
•“Tribes India on Wheels” is also launched by TRIFED to boost the sales and enhance tribal income in these challenging times. It is a mobile van stacked fully with Van Dhan natural produce, immunity boosters including other tribal products and aims to deliver these products directly to the customer’s doorstep in 150 cities across the nation. The van brings various kinds of immunity boosting products like wild honey, organic haldi, amla, ginger, black pepper etc.
5) Launch of Online system of “Registration and Renewal” for Jewellers
•An online system of Registration and Renewal of Jewellers has been virtually launched by the Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan. The minister also launched the online system of recognition and renewal of the Assaying and Hallmarking Centres. These systems are expected to bring about ease of doing business for the jewellers as well as the entrepreneurs.
•Those jewellers and the entrepreneurs who have established Assaying and Hallmarking Centres or wish to do so, can access these newly launched online systems through Bureau of Indian Standards web portal. Hallmarking of precious metals will become mandatory from 1st June 2021. Those jewellers who are seeking to obtain a license can apply online and submit required necessary documents including fees through this online portal. These portals will ensure the availability of the gold jewellery of proven quality as well as purity to the consumers.
6) Ashwani Bhatia becomes new Managing Director of SBI
•Government of India has appointed Ashwani Bhatia as the managing director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI). He has been appointed as the managing director up to the date of his superannuation that is May 31, 2022.
•Bhatia is currently working as the managing director and chief executive officer at SBI Mutual Fund. He will be appointed in place of PK Gupta who superannuated on March 31.
7) A book titled “Gastric Cancer” released by Jitendra Singh
•Union Minister, Jitendra Singh has released a book on cancer named “Gastric Cancer” edited by Dr Ashok K. Vaid. The book was launched during a special session organized during the 3-day virtual conference on Oncology. The book is published by Springer Healthcare Education. Ashok K. Vaid is a Noted Oncologist and was awarded Padma Shri in 2009 for his outstanding work in the field of medicine.
8) A book titled ‘One Arranged Murder’ authored by Chetan Bhagat
•A book titled ‘One Arranged Murder’ authored by Chetan Bhagat will be released globally on September 28, 2020. The fiction book portrays a murder mystery in the backdrop of an arranged marriage. The book will be published by Westland Publications Ltd. It is the author’s 9th novel and 11th book overall. His last release was The Girl in Room 105.
9) ICICI Lombard, Bharti AXA to merge general insurance businesses
•ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and Bharti AXA General Insurance Company have announced the merger of their businesses. The merger would result in an entity with a combined annual premium of Rs 16,447 crore and a market share of nearly 8.7%. The merger will happen through a scheme of arrangement.
10) Tourism Ministry partners with TAAI & FICCI’s FLO to promote tourism
•Ministry of Tourism has signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) with primary objective of women empowerment. The signed MoU will enable FLO & TAAI to focus on personal and hospitality skills, a more flexible work balance and greater options for entrepreneurship with lower capital.
•The partnership between the three aims to increase the participation of women in the tourism sector and enable them to become an integral part of the tourism workforce of India. This will be achieved by creating awareness among state tourism departments and state tourism corporations, to highlight the contribution tourism industry can make for sustainable livelihood for women and ensure their economic upliftment.
11) Jacques Kallis, Zaheer Abbas & Lisa Sthalekar inducted into ICC Hall of Fame
•Legendary South African all-rounder Jaques Kallis, Pakistan batting great Zaheer Abbas and Pune-born former Australian captain Lisa Sthalekar were inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in a virtual ceremony.
