1) World Water Week 2021: 23-27 August
•The World Water Week is an annual event organized by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) since 1991 to address the global water issues and related concerns of international development. The World Water Week 2021 has been organised from 23-27 August, in entirely digital format. The theme for World Water Week 2021 is ‘Building Resilience Faster’.
2) WEF’S Sustainable Development Impact Summit 2021
The World Economic Forum’s annual Sustainable Development Impact Summit will take place on September 20-23, 2021 in Geneva, Switzerland. This year’s event will focus strongly on inclusively revitalizing economies. The United Nations General Assembly, the summit convenes under the theme “Shaping an Equitable, Inclusive and Sustainable Recovery”. It will welcome almost all leaders from government, business and civil society who will work together to drive action and build momentum for a more sustainable and inclusive future.
The meeting will examine four interdependent areas and bring together communities of purpose to advance ongoing project work. Impact sessions and briefings will focus on:
•Revitalizing economies
•Advancing an inclusive recovery
•Scaling up climate action
•Shaping future food systems
3) Tamil Nadu BJP Leader La Ganesan appointed as Manipur Governor
•Senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu, La. Ganesan, has been appointed as the new Governor of Manipur with effect from August 23, 2021. The post was lying vacant after the retirement of Najma Heptulla on August 10, 2021. Since then Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad was holding the additional charge of the position.
4) Nirmala Sitharaman launches the National Monetisation Pipeline
•Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Nirmala Sitharaman has launched the asset monetisation pipeline of Central ministries and public sector entities: ‘National Monetisation Pipeline’. Asset Monetisation, means a limited period license/ lease of an asset, owned by the government or public authority, to a private sector entity for upfront or periodic consideration.
5) MyGov & UN Women tie-up to launch Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Challenge 2021
•MyGov under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and UN Women have joined hands to launch the Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Innovation Challenge 2021. The aim of this challenge is to encourage technology solutions developed by Women Entrepreneurs related to Women’s Safety and Empowerment.
•The initiative will promote ‘Nari Sashaktikaran’, and empower women to help them achieve their full potential. The Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Challenge 2021 is being implemented under the Multi-Partner Trust Fund (COVID-19) Programme.
6) Jitendra Singh launches “Yuktdhara” portal to facilitate planning of new MGNREGA assets
•The Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for the Ministry of Science and Technology, Jitendra Singh launched a new Geospatial Planning Portal under Bhuvan named “Yuktdhara” to enable the planning of new MGNREGA assets using Remote Sensing and GIS-based information. The portal has been jointly developed by ISRO and the Ministry of Rural Development.
7) World’s First fossil-free steel manufactured in Sweden
•Swedish green steel venture HYBRIT, which had made the ‘world’s first’ customer delivery of steel produced without using coal. The steel was made using Hydrogen Breakthrough Ironmaking Technology, which uses 100% fossil-free hydrogen instead of coal and coke. The venture has started delivering the fossil-free steel to the Volvo Group as part of its trial run.
•Development for the Hybrit project, which was set up in 2016 and is owned by SSAB, energy firm Vattenfall and LKAB, a mining and minerals group. Both Vattenfall and LKAB are owned by the Swedish state. The idea underpinning Hybrit is to use “100% fossil-free hydrogen” rather than coal and coke in steel production.
8) IIT Madras develops India’s first indigenous motorised wheelchair ‘NeoBolt’
•IIT Madras has developed India’s first indigenous motorized wheelchair vehicle named ‘NeoBolt’, which can be used not only on roads but even on uneven terrains. It has a maximum speed of 25 kmph. The researchers collaborated extensively with organisations and hospitals working for people with locomotor disabilities and built the products after factoring in their experiences and making constant design adjustments.
9) India, ADB sign $500 million loan to expand Metro Rail Network in Bengaluru
•Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of India have signed a $500 million loan to expand the metro rail network in Bengaluru with the construction of two new metro lines totalling 56 km in length. The project will construct two new metro lines, mostly elevated, along Outer Ring Road and National Highway 44 between Central Silk Board and Kempegowda International Airport with 30 stations.
•The new metro lines will further strengthen safe, affordable and green mobility in Bengaluru, having a positive impact on enhancing the quality of life, sustainable growth in urban habitat and livelihood opportunities.
10) A book ‘Address Book: A Publishing Memoir in the time of COVID’ by Ritu Menon
•A book titled has ‘Address Book: A Publishing Memoir in the time of COVID’ by Ritu Menon. Menon, who co-founded Kali for Women, India’s first feminist press in 1983, is founder-director of Women Unlimited, an associate of KfW. Weeks after the March 2020 lockdown began, Menon started to write a diary.
11) A book titled ‘Battlefield’ authored by Vishram Bedekar
•A book titled ‘Battlefield’ has been authored by Vishram Bedekar, translated from the Marathi original Ranaangan by Jerry Pinto. The book is the story of a shipboard romance between an Indian man and a German-Jewish woman, both fleeing Europe before the Second World War.
12) A book “Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest” by Boria Majumdar & Kushan Sarkar
•A new book titled “Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest” authored by Boria Majumdar & Kushan Sarkar. The Book Published by Simon & Schuster Publisher India Private Limited. The Book talks about the short story of several Indian cricketers life events such as Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, R. Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara.
