1) International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism
•United Nations observes 21st August every year as the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism. The day is observed to pay tribute to the individuals across the globe who have been attacked, injured, traumatized or lost their lives because of terrorist attacks. This year, the 3rd commemoration of the day will focus on the response to the pandemic and cancellation of many memorials and commemorations, it is critical to take the time to remember and honour the victims of terrorism.
2) World Senior Citizen Day: 21 August
•World Senior Citizen Day is observed globally on August 21 every year. The day is celebrated to raise awareness about issues affecting older people, such as deterioration with age and the abuse of the elderly and support, honour and show appreciation to seniors and to recognize their achievements.
•The Day was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly on December 14, 1990. The day was officially founded by the former President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan in 1988 to dedicate a day to older adults and their issues.
3) PM Modi inaugurates multiple projects at Somnath in Gujarat
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects in Somnath, Gujarat on August 20, 2021, via video conferencing. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism Shripad Naik were also present at the event through video conferencing.
4) India Celebrates Sanskrit Week 2021 From August 19 To 25
•In 2021, India is observing the Sanskrit Week from August 19 to August 25, 2021, to promote, popularise and cherish the importance of ancient language. In 2021, Sanskrit Day will be celebrated on August 22, 2021. The day is celebrated on the full moon day of the month of Shravan, which also marks the occasion of Raksha Bandhan each year. World Sanskrit Day was first declared in 1969, by the Indian Government on the occasion of Raksha Bandhan.
5) NPCI partners with Mashreq Bank to launch UPI in the UAE
•NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has partnered with Mashreq Bank to launch the payment system facility of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the UAE. Mashreq Bank is the oldest privately owned bank in the United Arab Emirates. This step will benefit the Indian tourists and who travel to UAE for business or leisure purposes to pay for their purchases using UPI-based mobile applications across shops and merchant stores in the UAE.
•This partnership will enable over two million Indians who travel to UAE for business or leisure purposes every year to pay for their purchases seamlessly using UPI-based mobile applications across shops and merchant stores in the UAE.
6) Facebook launches “Small Business Loans Initiative” in India
•Facebook India has launched the “Small Business Loans Initiative” in India in partnership with the online lending platform Indifi. India is the first country where Facebook is rolling out this programme. The objective of this initiative is to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) that advertise on Facebook to get quick access to credit/loans through independent lending partners. This will make business loans more easily accessible to small businesses, and reduce the credit gap within India’s MSME sector. It is open to businesses registered across 200 towns and cities of India.
7) Apple tops Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021
•Apple is the world’s most valuable company (USD 2,443 billion) according to the Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021. The world’s top six valuable companies remained unchanged as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Tencent.
•Globally, the US-led with 243 companies, up by one; followed by China 47, down by four, Japan was third with 30 and the UK was fourth with 24. While India is ranked 9th with 12 companies.
•Reliance Industries (USD 188 billion) ranked at 57 is the top Indian company in the list. As many as 12 Indian companies found a place among the Hurun Global 500 for 2021 as Wipro Ltd, Asian Paints Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd made it to the list of 500 most valuable firms in the world, while ITC Ltd dropped out.
8) Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards 2021 announced
•The Family Man 2 actors Manoj Bajpayee and Samantha Akkineni were among the winners of the latest edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards. The IFFM 2021 were held virtually on Friday with several stars from various film industries in attendance. Eminent Indian artists like Shoojit Sircar, Anurag Kashyap, Thiagarajan Kumararaja, Sriram Raghavan were amongst the presenters, along with Richa Chadha, Guneet Monga, Onir and others as jury members.
Here is the full list of winners of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2021:
•Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru
•Best Performance Male (Feature): Suriya Sivakumar (Soorarai Pottru)
•Best Performance Female (Feature): Vidya Balan (Sherni) & Honourable mention to Nimisha Sajayan (The Great Indian Kitchen)
•Best Director: Anurag Basu (Ludo) & Honorary Mention Prithvi Konanur (Pinki Elli?)
•Best Series: Mirzapur Season 2
•Best Actress in a Series: Samantha Akkineni (The Family Man 2)
•Best Actor in a Series: Manoj Bajpayee (The Family Man 2)
•Equality in Cinema (Short Film): Sheer Qorma
•Equality in Cinema Award (Feature Film): The Great Indian Kitchen
•Best Indie Film: Fire in the Mountains
•Diversity in Cinema Award: Pankaj Tripathi
•Disruptor Award: Sanal Kumar Sasidharan
•Best Documentary Film: Shut Up Sona
