1) PM Modi announced ‘Panch Pran’ goal for the next 25 years
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the nation from the Red Fort for the ninth time in a row on August 15, 2022. PM Modi, in his 88-minute speech, outlined his “Panch Pran Targets” (Five Resolves) to make India a developed country by the time it celebrates its 100th Independence Day in 25 years. Prime Minister Narendra Modi discussed the Panch Pran Goal.
2) NASA’s moon rocket moved to launch pad for 1st test flight
•The American space agency, NASA has rolled out its giant new Moon rocket, surrounding the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, the vehicle was moved to Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida ahead of the expected lift-off on 29 August. The near 100m-tall (328ft) SLS rode an immense tractor to the pad. The SLS will be used under the Artemis mission that will take humans back to the Moon his time with plans for a longer presence on the surface.
•Nasa has promised that this third mission will witness the first woman to put her boots down on the Moon’s surface. A major objective of the test fight is to check the heatshield on the capsule can survive the heat of re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere.
3) Defence Minister Rajnath Singh gives “F-INSAS” system to Indian Army
•Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh handed over to the Indian Army the much-awaited Future Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) at the unveiling ceremony of various defence and strategic systems held in Delhi. The full gear of the F-INSAS includes an AK-203 assault rifle, which is a Russian-origin gas-operated, magazine-fed, select-fire assault rifle.
4) National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM)
•The National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) was launched by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry on 8th December 2021. The National Intellectual Property Awareness Mission (NIPAM) aims to provide awareness and training on Intellectual Property (IP). On 31st July 2022, the scheme met its goal of training one million students before the deadline on 15th August 2022. The number of students or faculty trained under the Intellectual Property Awareness Mission is 10,05,272 and 3663 educational institutions have been covered.
5) Centre Approves Limit of Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme(ECLGS) to 5 Lakh Crore
•The Union Cabinet approved the enhancement in the limit of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors. ECLGS is a continuing scheme and the additional amount of Rs. 50,000 crore would be made applicable to enterprises in hospitality and related sectors till validity of the scheme in March 31 next year.
•The enhancement is expected to provide much-needed relief to enterprises in these sectors by incentivizing lending institutions to provide additional credit of up to Rs 50,000 crore at low cost, enabling these business enterprises to meet their operational liabilities and continue their businesses. Loans of about Rs. 3.67 Lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till August 5.
6) India Gift Dornier Maritime Reconnaissance Aircraft to Sri Lanka
•India on August 15 gifted a Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka which will enable the island nation to tackle multiple challenges like human and drug trafficking, smuggling and other organised forms of crime in its coastal waters more effectively. Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present at the impressive handover ceremony which took place on a day when India celebrated its 76th Independence Day and a day before a high-tech Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship docks at the island nation’s strategic Hambantota port.
•Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral S.N. Ghormade, who is on a two-day visit to the country, accompanied by Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Gopal Baglay, handed over the aircraft to the Sri Lanka Navy at the Sri Lanka Air Force base in Katunayake, adjoining the Colombo international airport.
7) Now, Use UPI For NPS, Atal Pension Yojana(APY) Contribution
•Subscribers of National Pension System (NPS) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) can now contribute to their accounts through Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the country’s instant real-time payment system. The Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) has launched a UPI handle for depositing contributions through D-Remit for the benefit of subscribers.
•Currently, the contributions were carried out through net banking account by using IMPS/NEFT/RTGS. The PFRDA-administered two schemes NPS and APY are targeted towards organised and unorganised sector employees, respectively. Introduced in December 2003, it is mandatory for central government employees (except armed forces) who joined service from January 1, 2004, to subscribe to NPS. In May 2009, it was extended to private and unorganised sector on voluntary basis.
8) India’s IT Secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma named to high-level UN internet panel
•UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has named India’s Electronics and Information Technology Secretary, Alkesh Kumar Sharma to a panel of eminent experts on internet governance. Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Reesa were also appointed to the 10-member Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Leadership Panel. In addition, Guterres’ envoy on technology, Amandeep Singh Gill, will also be on the panel. They will serve for a two-year term during the 2022–23 IGF cycles.
9) Vostok-2022: Indo-China military drills to be held in Russia
•The People’s Liberation Army of China will take part in the Vostok-2022 strategic command and staff exercise in Russia, which also includes the armies of India, Belarus, Tajikistan, and Mongolia, according to the country’s defence ministry. China‘s People’s Liberation Army will send some troops to Russia to participate in the Vostok-2022 (East) strategic exercise, in accordance with the two countries’ yearly military cooperation plan and agreement.
10) GoI unveils “Manthan” platform for better industry and R&D collaboration
•The government of India unveiled the “Manthan” platform to drive collaboration between the industry and research institutes to implement technology-based social impact innovations and solutions in the country. The launch of Manthan, a platform that promises to augment our efforts to build and nurture industry participation in R&D, is also a testimony of our commitment to the UN’s SDG goals. The launch commemorates India’s 75 years of independence and presents an opportunity to bring national and global communities closer to India’s technology revolution.
11) IRDAI hosts its inaugural hackathon, Bima Manthan 2022
•IRDAI, the insurance regulator, in order to safeguard the interests of policyholders, has asked organisations to provide technologically advanced new solutions for automated death claim settlement, reducing miss-selling, and other components of the insurance ecosystem. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) is accepting applications for Bima Manthan 2022, its inaugural hackathon, with the topic “Innovation in Insurance.”
12) Marina Tabassum, first South Asian to get Lisbon Triennale Lifetime Achievement Award
•As the first recipient from the global south and the first South Asian, renowned Bangladeshi architect, researcher, and educator Marina Tabassum received the prestigious Lisbon Triennale Millennium bcp Lifetime Achievement Award. The Lisbon Architecture Triennale panel commended Marina Tabassum for providing an inspiring example of work with local communities that may have a beneficial impact all over the world even in the most challenging circumstances when announcing the award.
13) Rajkiran Rai named as new MD of NaBFID
•The Centre and the board of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has appointed Rajkiran Rai G as its managing director (MD) for the next five years. The board of NaBFID approved Rai’s appointment on July 30 based on clearance by the RBI, centre and the Development finance institutions (DFI) nomination and remuneration committee. He took charge as the DFI’s MD on August 8, and will hold the top post till May 18, 2027, according to details of the appointment.
•Last year in October 2021, the Centre had appointed K V Kamath as chairperson of NaBFID. Subsequently, government nominees Pankaj Jain and Sumita Dawra were appointed directors to the board of DFI. The government has already infused Rs 20,000 crore into NaBFID to help the DFI start its operations to catalyse investment in the infrastructure sector.
14) State Bank of India introduced its first dedicated branch to support start-ups
•The country’s largest lender, State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its first branch dedicated to start-ups in Koramangala, Bengaluru. SBI Chairman Dinesh Khara launched the branch in Koramangala near HSR Layout and Indiranagar which are the biggest start-up hubs in the city. After Bengaluru, the next branch will be opened in Gurgaon and the third one will be in Hyderabad. These branches would support the needs of the entire start-up ecosystem.
15) Meghalaya Sports Department set to host 2nd edition of North East Olympics
•Meghalaya is all set to host the upcoming 2nd edition of the North East Olympics from 30th October. Meghalaya Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, and the North East Olympic Association was held last evening to finalize the list of sports disciplines. The first edition of the Games was held in Manipur in 2018, with 12 disciplines.
•In this edition, about 4,000 participants from eight North Eastern States will be competing in 18 disciplines at 13 venues spread across Shillong. Participants will be competing in disciplines, such as archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wushu, cycling (Mountain Bike), golf, weightlifting and wrestling.
