1) PM Modi unevils special Rs 125 coin on ISKCON founder’s 125th birth anniversary
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually unveiled a special commemorative coin of Rs 125 to mark the 125th birth anniversary of ISKCON founder Srila Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. In July 1966, Prabhupada founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) commonly known as the ‘Hare Krishna movement’. The spiritual leader was born as Abhay Charan De on September 1, 1896, in Calcutta and later came to be known by the honorific A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada.
2) Gujarat to host Defence Expo 2022
•The next Defence Expo will be hosted by Gujarat in 2022. This was announced by chief minister Vijay Rupani. The Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between the Department of Defence Production and the Gujarat Government in this regard. About 100 countries are expected to participate in this biannual event.
3) Ladakh announces snow leopard as state animal, black-necked crane as state bird
•The Union Territory of Ladakh has declared snow leopard (Panther unica) as the new state animal and black-necked crane (Grus nicricollis) as the new state bird. The notification in this regard was released by Shri Radha Krishna Mathur, Lieutenant Governor of Union Territory of Ladakh on August 31, 2021.
•The decision was taken keeping in view bifurcation of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh into separate administrative divisions in 2019. In the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir, the black-necked crane and Kashmir stag (Hangul) were the state bird and animal respectively.
4) J&K LG Manoj Sinha inaugurates ‘Saath’ initiative for women
•In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has launched a Rural Enterprises Acceleration Programme titled ‘Saath’ for Self Help Group (SHG) women. The programme aims to transform the lives of women and make them independent and strong in social and financial aspects, by mentoring the women associated with SHGs and create market linkages of products created by these women.
•Jammu and Kashmir already has 48000 SHGs, with around four lakh women connected to these SHGs. The J&K administration further aims to create 11000 more SHGs in the coming year. This will transform the lives of these women and make them independent and strong in social and financial aspects.
5) I&B ministry to form a committee to review Journalist Welfare Scheme
•The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has decided to form a committee to review the existing guidelines of the Journalist Welfare Scheme (JWS). The 12-member committee, with Ashok Kumar Tandon, Member, Prasar Bharati Board, as its chairperson, will revise the quantum of ex-gratia payment in case of death as well as in other cases under the scheme. The terms of reference (ToR) of the committee include examining the need for such a revision of the quantum of ex-gratia payment.
6) New Development Bank approves UAE, Bangladesh and Uruguay as a new member
•The Shanghai-based New Development Bank (NDB) has approved the United Arab Emirates, Uruguay and Bangladesh as its new member countries. In 2020, the NDB Board of Governors initiated the negotiation to expand its membership. As a result UAE, Uruguay and Bangladesh have been admitted as the first new member countries of the NDB.
•NDB was established by the BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) countries in 2015. The bank supports public or private projects through loans, guarantees, equity participation and other financial instruments.
7) Alejandro Prieto wins Bird Photographer of the Year 2021
•Mexican photographer Alejandro Prieto has emerged as the winner of the Bird Photographer of the Year (BPOTY) 2021. He has won for capturing a photograph of a greater roadrunner staring up at the barbed-wire-clad border wall between the USA and Mexico, with what almost looks like a sense of bewilderment.
•The image has been given the title as ‘Blocked’. The Bird Photographer of the Year comes with a cash prize of £5,000. He was chosen from among 22,000 entries from 73 countries.
8) Centre appoints Atul Bhatt as CMD of RINL
•Atul Bhatt has been appointed as chairman and managing director (CMD) of disinvestment-owned steel company Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL). He was the CMD of state-owned consultancy firm MECON, which offers a full range of services required to set up a project from concept to commissioning including turnkey execution. PK Rath retired as CMD RINL on May 31, after serving the company for 38 years.
•RINL is a special steel-making player based in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. The company, without any captive iron ore mines, owns and operates a 7.3-million tonne (MT) steel plant in the state. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given in-principle approval for 100 per cent disinvestment of government stake in RINL, along with the company’s stake in subsidiaries/ joint ventures through strategic disinvestment by way of privatisation.
8) Pankaj Kumar Singh takes over as new DG of BSF
•Pankaj Kumar Singh, a 1988-batch IPS officer from the Rajasthan cadre, has taken charge as the new Director General (DG) of the Border Security Force (BSF). Prior to this, he was serving as the special DG at the BSF headquarters in Delhi. The 58-year-old Pankaj Singh replaces IPS officer and Indo-Tibetan Border Police Director General (DG) SS Deswal who was holding the additional charge of BSF DG since July 2021.
•Apart from this, Sanjay Arora, a 1988-batch IPS officers from Tamil Nadu cadre, has taken over as the new DG of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
9) PPK Ramacharyulu appointed Rajya Sabha secretary general
•Rajya Sabha Chairman, M Venkaiah Naidu has appointed Dr PPK Ramacharyulu, who is the secretary in the Rajya Sabha Secretariat since 2018, as the secretary general. He succeeds Desh Dipak Verma, who demitted office as secretary-general after serving the top post for four years. Ramacharyulu is the first insider to have risen from the ranks of the secretariat to the top post in the about 70 years of the Rajya Sabha.
10) Tokyo Paralympics: Praveen Kumar wins silver in men’s high jump
•Praveen Kumar became India’s fourth medallist in men’s high jump and 11th medallist overall at the Tokyo Paralympics 2020 as he won silver with an Asian record jump of 2.07m. Praveen cleared the Asian record with a 2.07m jump, finishing behind Great Britain’s Jonathan Broom-Edwards, who managed the best jump of 2.10m on a rain-soaked track at the Olympic Stadium.
•Praveen is India’s fourth medallist in men’s high jump at Tokyo Games after Nishad Kumar, Mariyappan Thangavelu, and Sharad Kumar.
11) Tokyo Paralympics: Avani Lekhara becomes first Indian woman to win two medals
•Avani Lekhara won the bronze medal in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions SH1 event with a score of 445.9 to become the first Indian woman to win two medals at the Paralympics. Lekhara had also won gold in the 10m air rifle standing SH1 event.
•India’s medal tally now stands at 12 at these Paralympics. It has now won two golds, six silvers and four bronze medals. This is India’s best tally at a single edition of the Para Games. It had won four medals at Rio 2016 and four at the 1984 Paralympics.
