Current Affairs - Aug 2019

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175 Current Affairs were found in Period - Aug 21 - 31, 2019 for Type - All

Appointments

1. Abdalla Hamdok is appointed as prime minister of Repiblic of Sudan (Northeast Africa).

2. Former Indian Cricketer Vikram Rathour has beee appointed as India's new batting coach, replacing Sanjay Bangar. Bharath

Arun and R. Sridhar were retained as bowling and fielding coaches. Ravi Shastri was earlier retained as head coach.

3. Govt. appointed Ajay Kumar Bhalla as Union Home Secretary. Previous Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba was recently appointed as

cabinet secrtetary.

4. Govt. made several key Appointments -

1. Rajiv Gauba as Cabinet Secretary, for 2 years term.

2. Ajay Kumar as Secretary in Department of Defence (Ministry of Defence) (called defence secretary).

3. Brij Kumar Agarwal as Secretary to the Lokpal.

4. Subash Chandra as as Secretary in Department of Defence Production (Ministry of Defence).

5. Karnataka Chief Minister Yediyurappa appointed Govind Makthappa Karajol, Ashwath Narayan CN and Laxman Sangappa

Savadi as deputy chief ministers. Its first time that 3 deputy CMs have been appointed in state.

6. Lionel Aingimea has been appointed as new president of pacific nation Nauru.

7. Misc. Appointments (August 2019) -

1. Govt. appointed Madhumita Hazarika Bhagat as New Indian Ambassador to Republic of Cyprus.

2. PSU Power Grid Corporation appointed Kandikuppa Sreekant as its chairman and managing director.

3. Global Financial Firm HSBC appointed Noel Quinn as interim CEO.

4. Indian IT Firm Mindtree appointed Debashis Chatterjee as its new MD & CEO.

5. Government extended tenure of State Bank of India (SBI) Managing Director (MD)Dinesh Kumar Khara by 2 years.

6. Government appointed Ghotu Ram Meena as New Indian Ambassador to Democratic Republic of Congo (Central Africa).

7. Elangbam Valentina Devi, a 9-year-old girl from Manipur was made the ambassador of ‘Chief Minister’s Green Manipur

Mission’. She had planted two Gulmohar trees near her house in Kakching district of Manipur when she was in class 1. She

wept immensely when she saw the trees uprooted after coming from school.

8. Yes Bank appointed Anurag Adlakha as Group Chief Financial Officer and Raj Ahuja as Group Chief Strategy Officer.

9. Former New Zealand Cricketer Brendon McCullum appointed as head coach of IPL Team Kolkata Knight Riders, replacing

Jacques Kallis.

10. Financial Firm Paytm Appointed Madhur Deora as its President.

11. National Housing Bank (NHB) appointed Jaishankar R. Padmanabhan as Executive Director (special grade).

12. Shavendra Silva is appointed as Sri Lankan Army Chief. He has earlier been accused of war crimes.

13. HDFC Bank appointed Srinivasan Vaidyanathan as Chief Financial Officer.

14. Ms. Padmaja appointed as New India High Commissioner to Cook Islands.

15. Government appointed Pavan Kapoor as New Indian Ambassador to United Arab Emirates(UAE).

16. Pramod Agrawal will be appointed as Chairman and Managing Director of Coal India Limited.

17. Former Delhi HC Judge Sunil Gaur has been appointed as Chairperson of PMLA Appellate Tribunal.

18. Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Shalija Dhami became 1st female officer to be appointed as flight commander of a flying unit, after

she took over a Chetak helicopter unit at Hindon airbase in Ghaziabad.

19. Govt. approved extension of tenure of CBDT Chairman Pramod Chandra Mody, by one year.

8. New Governors Appointed -

1. Himachal Pradesh - Bandaru Dattatreya

2. Kerala - Arif Mohammad Khan

3. Maharashtra - Bhagat Singh Koshyari

4. Rajasthan - Kalraj Mishra

5. Telangana - Tamilisai Soundararajan (First Separate Governor of Telangana).

9. P.K. Sinha has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty in Prime Minister's Office, after Nripendra Misra, Principal Secretary to

Prime Minister submitted his resignation.

10. Russell Domingo (South Africa) has been head coach of Bangladesh Cricket Team (Men), replacing Steve Rhodes(England).

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Awards

1. PM Narendra Modi conferred Yoga awards to winners of PM’s Award for Outstanding Contribution for Promotion and

Development of Yoga.

1. He also released 12 commemorative postal stamps to acknowledge great work of great Master Healers of AYUSH Systems.

2. He also launched 10 AYUSH Health and Wellness Centres (AYUSH HWCs) in Haryana, in line with Ministry of AYUSH’s

commitment to make 12,500 AHWCs functional in next three years.

3. Winners of 2019 Yoga Awards -

1. Swami Rajarshi Muni of Life Mission (Gujarat) - Individual - (National)

2. Antonietta Rozzi (Italy) - Individual (International)

3. Bihar School of Yoga (Munger, Bihar) - Organisation (National)

4. Japan Yoga Niketan (Japan) - Organisation (International)

4. Winners of 2018 Yoga Awards -

1. Vishwas Mandalik (Nasik) - Individual (National)

2. Yoga Institute (Mumbai) - Organisation (National).

2. CPWD Director General Prabhakar Singh chosen for ‘Eminent Engineer Award for the Year 2019’ by the Institution of Engineers

(India) for his exemplary Service in field of Engineering and Technology. It will be conferred to him on the ‘Engineers Day’ on

September 15.

3. Govt. Announced Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award 2018, given in 4 categories -

1. Land Adventure - Aparna Kumar, Dipankar Ghosh, Manikandan K

2. Water Adventure - Prabhat Raju Koli

3. Air Adventure - Rameshwar Jangra

4. Life Time Achievement - Wangchuk Sherpa

5. Awardees will receive statuettes, certificate and award money of Rs. 5 lakh each.

4. Industrial Awards (August 2019) -

1. Vinayak S Hiremath from Karnataka has been felicitated with ‘Pride of Nation Award’ by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

2. Co-founder and director of Einfolge Technologies Pvt Ltd, Ruhan Rajput was honoured as entrepreneur of the Year 2019 for

his excellence in service sector.

3. Indian Actor Shah Rukh Khan conferred with an honorary degree, Doctor of Letters, by La Trobe University (Australia).

4. Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs instituted PMAY(U) Awards for Beneficiariesfor the first time to recognise the

contribution of States/UTs, Urban Local Bodies and Beneficiaries.

1. PMAY(U) has achieved a significant milestone of approving more than85 Lakh houses against a demand of about 112

Lakh houses in urban areas. Out of these, 50 Lakh houses are at various stages of construction and over 26 Lakh houses

have already been completed.

5. Rajasthan won best innovation and initiative leadership award for its achievements in higher education, at World

Education Summit-2019 in New Delhi.

6. Indian-American teenager Navneeth Murali won 2019 South Asian Spelling Bee contest and earned a grand cash prize of

USD 3,000.

7. IIT-Delhi-incubated start-up working on development of inclusive learning resources for visually impaired people won the

award for developing a multisensory kit. The device narrates the content in the picture when a visually impaired person

touches it.Ankita Gulati, founder of TouchVision was awarded the NCPEDP-Mphasis Universal Design Award 2019.

8. Indian documentary film "I'm Jeeja" has won award in Under 30 minute category at 14th edition of 'We Care Film Festival

on Disability Issues'.

9. Maitri App created by Students from Amity International School Noida won bronze medal at global tech competition called

‘Technovation Challenge’ in San Francisco (US). This app connects children at orphanages with senior citizens in old-age

homes.

10. ONGC CMD Shashi Shanker honoured with Distinguished Fellowship of Institute of Directors (IOD) 2019 during 29th

Institute of Directors (IOD) Annual Day Ceremony in New Delhi.

11. Kalinga-FCC Awards for Excellence in Journalism for 2019 as first of their kind Annual awards in India -

1. Print Journalist and Digital Journalist - Team at Reuters

2. Television Journalist - Rajini Vaidyanathan( BBC’s India Correspondent)

3. Photo Journalist - Harish Tyagi (EPA)

4. Video Journalist - Rakesh Nagar (PBS NewsHour)

12. Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs 's Deendayan Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM)

has been conferred SKOCH Governance Gold Award for its Portal for Affordable Credit and Interest Subvention Access

(PAiSA).

13. Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited won award for the ‘ Best Navratna‘ in the ‘ Manufacturing Sector ‘ for 2nd time at

6th edition of Dun & Bradstreet PSU Awards in New Delhi.

14. Phoebe Waller-Bridge will be felicitated by Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year by British Academy Los Angeles

branch.

5. JNU Professor Meeta Narain has been conferred ‘Pushkin Medal - 2019, as highest honour given to an Indian scholar by Russian

government. Pushkin Medal is given to a scholar of Russian language and literature for outstanding contribution to Russian

studies abroad.

6. Vivek Menon, head of Delhi-based conservation non-profit, Wildlife Trust of India has been awarded Clark R Bavin Wildlife Law

Enforcement Award 2019 in Geneva (Switzerland), during 18th meeting of Conference of Parties to CITES.

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Books

1. Minister of State (IC) for Culture and Tourism, Prahlad Singh Patel launched book the Diary of Manu Gandhi (1943-44).

1. Originally in Gujarati, the book has been edited and translated by Tridip Suhrud.

2. Manu Gandhi (Mridula) was a grand niece of M K Gandhi , daughter of his Nephew Jaisukhlal Amritlal Gandhi, and stayed

with M K Gandhi till his assassination.

2. A new book by Mihir Dalal, titled Big Billion Startup: The Untold Flipkart Story, recounting story of building up of Indian e-

Commerce Firm Flpkart has been released. Flipkart was founded by Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal.

3. Book titled ‘Jin Dhoondha Tin Paaiyan’ written by O P Singh (IPS) has been released.

4. Book titled “A Short History of Indian Railways”, written by Rajendra B Aklekar has been released.

5. New book on Former US Prez Barack Obama titled “Obama: The Call of History”, written by Peter Baker has been released in

India.

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Committees

1. Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) formed a 4 member Advisory Board for Banking Frauds (ABBF), to look into bank fraud

cases of over 50 crore rupees. It will be headed by former Vigilance Commissioner T M Bhasin. ABBF was previously called as

Advisory Board on Bank, Commercial and Financial Frauds.

1. ABBF would function as first level of examination of all large fraud cases before recommending investigative agencies by

PSBs.

2. Government constituted a Group of Ministers (GoM) to look into issues concerning UTs of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh. 2

UTs will come into existence on October 31. GoM will comprise Ministers Ravi Shankar Prasad, Jitendra Singh, Thawar Chand

Gehlot, Narendra Singh Tomar and Dharmendra Pradhan.

3. Jammu and Kashmir(J&K) administration constituted 3 committees for devising modalities for functioning of proposed UT of

J&K and Ladakh, dealing with financial matters and staff-related issues.

1. K K Sharma Panel - To take necessary steps for transition from a state to proposed UT of J&K by various departments and

conduct of government business in proposed UT.

2. Arun Kumar Mehta Panel - To deal with financial matters related to proposed UTs of J&K and Ladakh.

3. Shaleen Kabra Panel - To suggest measures to be taken for providing staff to the proposed UT of Ladakh and any other issue

related to staff of proposed UT of Jammu and Kashmir.

4. UGC has set up a five-member committee to look into sale of fake degrees by certain universities, to be headed by Chairman DP

Singh.

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Days

1. Aug 21 is observed as International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism.

1. It is also observed as World Senior Citizens' Day. Note that International Day for Older Persons is observed on October 1.

2. Aug 22, 2019 is observed as First ever UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion

or Belief. A day before, on Aug 21, International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to Victims of Terrorism was observed.

1. Aug 22 is also observed Madras Day, as founding day of city of Madras (now Chennai) in Tamil Nadu. 22 August 1639 is

agreed date for purchase of village of Madraspatnam or Chennapatnam by East India Company factors Andrew Cogan and

Francis Day from Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, viceroy of Vijayanagar Empire.

3. Aug 23 is observed as UN International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition, the day designated by

UNESCO to memorialize transatlantic slave trade.

4. Aug 26 - Observed by US as Women's Equality Day. It commemorates 1920 adoption of the Nineteenth Amendment to US

Constitution, which prohibits states and federal government from denying right to vote to citizens of US on basis of sex. It was first

celebrated in 1973.

1. Aug 26 is also Mother Teresa's Birth Anniversary, noted social worker. She came to India in 1929 and worked for welfare of

poor. She was honored by Nobel peace Prize in 1979.

5. Aug 29 is observed as National Sports Day in India. It marks birth anniversary of India’s hockey legend, Major Dhyan Chand.

1. On this occasion, PM Narendra Modi launched a nation-wide ‘Fit India’ Movement, aiming to take India towards a healthier

future by preventing lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, hypertension. Advisory Committee under chairmanship of sports

minister Kiren Rijiju has been formed for Fit India Movement which aims to encourage people to inculcate physical activity

and sports in their everyday lives.

2. Aug 29 is also observed as UN International Day Against Nuclear Tests, established in December 2009.

6. Aug 30 - UN International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.

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Defence

1. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh approved re-organisation of Army Headquarters.

1. FOR CORRUPTION, A separate Vigilance Cell under COAS with Tri-Services representation.

2. FOR HUMAN RIGHT VIOLATIONS - An umbrella organisation under VCOAS for enhanced focus on human rights issues.

3. Re-location of 206 Army Officers from AHQ to Formations/Units of Field Army.

2. US Coast Guard (USCG) ship Stratton visited India to take part in India-US joint Coast exercise.

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Economy

1. Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation's National Statistical Office (NSO) released estimates of Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) for first quarter (April-June) Q1 of 2019-20 -

1. GDP growth rate came down to 6 year low of 5% in Q1 of FY 2019-20 financial year, triggered by huge slowdown in

manufacturing sector.

1. GDP at Constant (2011-12) Prices in Q1 of 2019-20 is estimated at 35.85 lakh crores, as against 34.14 lakh crore in Q1 of

2018-19, showing growth rate of 5.0 %.

2. Quarterly GVA at Basic Price at Constant (2011-12) Prices for Q1 of 2019-20 also shown slow growth rate of 4.9 % over

corresponding quarter of previous year.

3. The Q1 FY 2019-20 Growth rate is much lesser than most agencies had predicted, showing slowing down state of the

economy.

2. Earlier, India's GDP growth was 5.8 % in Q4 of FY 2018-19, 6.6 % in Q3, after strong growth of 7.1% in Q2 and 8.2% in Q1 of

FY 2018-19. GDP Growth Rate of FY 2018-19 was 6.8 %.

2. As part of measures for mitigating genuine difficulties of Start-ups, CBDT has decided to form a dedicated cell headed by

Member (IT &C) - Currently Pramod Chandra Mody (He is also CBDT Chairman). Cell will work towards redressal of grievances

and mitigate tax-related issues in case of Start-ups.

3. Amazon will acquire 49% stake in Kishore Biyani-led Future Coupons Ltd for an undisclosed amount.

4. As a mesaure for businesses to solve pre-GST disputes with tax authorities, Govt. notified Sabka Vishwas-Legacy Dispute

Resolution Scheme 2019. It will be operationalized from September 2019 and will continue till 31st December 2019. .

1. 2 main components of Scheme are dispute resolution and amnesty. Dispute resolution is aimed at liquidating legacy cases of

Central Excise and Service Tax that are subsumed in GST and are pending in litigation at various forums. Amnesty Scheme

offers an opportunity to taxpayers to pay the outstanding tax and be free of any other consequence under the law.

2. Scheme provides substantial relief in tax dues for all categories of cases as well as full waiver of interest, fine, penalty.

5. Bandhan Bank partnered with multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered Bank to provide co-

branded credit cards, with credit period upto 52 days.

6. Canara Bank launched India’s first one-time password (OTP) facility for ATM withdrawals. The OTP will be activated for cash

withdrawals over Rs.10,000 per day at its ATMs to protect its cardholders from unauthorized withdrawal.

7. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) notified that small startups with a turnover of up to Rs 25 crore will continue to get the

promised tax holiday as specified in Section 80-IAC of Income Tax (IT) Act 1961. It provides a deduction for 100% of income of an

eligible startup for 3 years out of 7 years from the year of its incorporation.

8. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced Merger of several Public sector Banks, aimed at minimizing administrative

tasks and maximize growth and profitability-

1. Merger 1 - Punjab National Bank + Oriental Bank of Commerce + United Bank

1. It will create 2nd largest PSB with business of 17.95 lakh crores.

2. Anchor Bank - Punjab National Bank

2. Merger 2 - Canara Bank + Syndicate Bank

1. It will create 4th largest PSB with business of 15.20 lakh crores.

2. Anchor Bank - Canara Bank

3. Merger 3 - Union Bank + Andhra Bank + Corporation Bank

1. It will create 5th largest PSB with business of 14.59 lakh crores.

2. Anchor Bank - Union Bank of India

4. Merger 4 - Indian Bank + Allahabad Bank

1. It will create 7th largest PSB with business of 8.08 lakh crores.

2. Anchor Bank - Indian Bank

5. Note That SBI Associate Banks were merged into SBI in May 2016 and Dena Bank and Vijaya bank were merged into Bank of

Baroda in April 2019.

6. PSBs that are left out of this round of mergers - Bank of India, Central Bank of India, Indian Overseas Bank, UCO Bank,

Bank of Maharashtra and Punjab and Sind Bank.

7. After mergers, 12 PSBs will be functional in country.

9. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman anounced several measures to boost economy, amid suspected slow down in economic

growth. Key points

1. INR 70000 crores capital to be provided to public sector banks, to boost lending and improving liquidity situation.

2. Surcharge on long and short term capital gains arising from transfer of equity shares has been withdrawn, which was

announced in Budget 2019-20. FPIs have pulled out Rs 23,000 crore from domestic equities in July and August, as Budget

proposal to levy a surcharge on higher tax-income groups affected 40 per cent of FPIs. It made investment in Indian equities

unattractive.

3. To revive struggling Auto Sector -

1. BS IV vehicles bought before 31st March 2020 will remain operational for their full period of registration.

2. Hiking one time registration fees has been deferred till June 2020.

3. Ban on purchase of vehicles by government departments has been lifted, allowing additional 15 per cent depreciation,

taking it to 30 per cent, on vehicles acquired from now till March 2020.

4. Banks will pass on RBI rate cut benefits to borrowers through MCLR reduction. Banks will launch repo rate and external

benchmark-linked loan products that will lead to reduced easy monthly installments for housing, vehicle and other retail

loans.

5. As a major relief to entrepreneurs and startups, 'angel tax' provision will be withdrawn for startups and their investors. Angel

tax has been a major issue among entrepreneurs and in startup ecosystem.

6. MSMEs to get all their pending GST refunds within 30 days. Also, all GST refunds of MSMEs will be paid within 60 days

from date of application.

7. Non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) will be permitted to use the Aadhaar based bank mandated KYC (Know Your

Customer) to avoid repeating the process for customers. It will simplify process of availing credit.

8. To boost credit support for purchase of houses, National Housing Bank (NHB) will offer additional liquidity support of Rs

20,000 crore to housing finance companies (HFCs). This will increase total liquidity support to Rs 30,000 crores.

10. Foreign exchange and remittances marketplace BookMyForex.com launched a co-branded Multi-Currency Forex Travel-card in

partnership with YES Bank and Visa to offer a seamless experience to Indian overseas travellers.

11. Indian Bank opened MSME CPC (centralised processing centre) in Chennai, to boost bank's MSME portfolio and will lead to

speedy disposal of MSME loans.

12. Indian GDP Growth Forecasts (August 2019) -

1. Ratings agency CRISIL has cut its forecast for India's GDP growth by 20 basis points for FY 2019-20 to 6.9% from 7.1%.

2. As per National Council of Applied Economic Research (NCAER), India’s GDP growth will be 6.2% in FY 2019-20, down

from 6.8% in 2018-19. The decline in estimation was due to flat growth in the agriculture sector as it depends largely on the

south-west monsoon.

3. Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ) slashed India’s GDP growth forecast expected to grow by 6.2 % in FY

2019-20, from 6.5% earlier, amid sluggish domestic demand, and slowing down of Industry figures. ANZ also downgraded

forecast for FY 2020-21 to 6.5% from 7.1% earlier.

4. Moody’s Investors Service reduced India’s GDP growth forecast for 2019 calendar year to 6.2% from the previous estimation

of 6.8%.

5. India’s economy will grow at a median rate of 6% during first quarter of FY 2019-20, as per a FICCI report. In same Quarter

an year earlier, economy grew at 8.2%.

6. India Ratings and Research has revised its projection of India’s GDP growth in the financial year 2019-20 to 6.7%, from 7.3%

earlier.

13. Japanese Financial Firm Nomura predicted India’s GDP growth to slow further in April-June quarter of 2019 to 5.7%, amid

contraction in consumption, weak investments and an under-performing service sector. It will improve to 6.4% in July - Sep

Quarter and 6.7% in Oct - Dec 2019 Quarter.

14. Mastercard, RBL Bank and Samsung India tied up for launch of Samsung Pay for RBL Bank credit card holders, enabling RBL

Bank Mastercard card holders to make contactless mobile payments using their Samsung Pay-enabled phones.

15. Ministry of Commerce and Industry's Government e Marketplace (GeM) signed MoU with Small Industries Development Bank of

India (SIDBI) to benefit MSMEs, women entrepreneurs, Self Help Groups (SHGs), and various beneficiaries under MUDRA and

Stand-up India scheme. It will enable promotion of special initiatives of GeM like Womaniya and Start-up Runway with SIDBI

stakeholders.

16. Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) will launch Bharatcraft portal e-commerce marketing platform, on

lines of e-commerce behemoths such as Alibaba and Amazon. It will provide platform for MSMEs to market and sell their products

and boost the sector.

1. MSME sector contributes nearly 29% to manufacturing segment and 40% to exports. Government aims to increase

contribution of MSMEs in manufacturing sector to 50% in 5 years.

17. RBI accepted recommendation of Expert Committee to Review Extant Economic Capital Framework of RBI, headed by former

RBI Governor Bimal Jalan, for transferring INR 176051 crores to government.

1. It comprises of Rs 123414 crore of surplus for 2018-19 and 52637 crore of excess provisions as per revised Economic Capital

Framework (ECF). Since 2013, RBI has been paying 99% of its disposable income to government. Other recommendations of

committee Include -

1. Committee recommended to maintain RBI’s Contingency Risk Buffer (CRB), as India’s fund to handle a financial

stability. It was recommended to be maintained between 5.5% to 6.5% of RBI’s balance sheet, which is above available

level of 2.4% as on June 2018.

2. Panel recommended that revised economic capital framework, under which RBI decided to transfer Rs 52,637 crore

excess provisions to government, be reviewed every 5 years.

3. RBI accounting year (July-June) may be brought in sync with fiscal year (April to March) from FY year 2020-21, to

reduce need for interim dividend being paid by the RBI.

4. It has recommended a surplus distribution policy which targets not only the total economic capital (as per extant

framework) but also realised equity level of RBI’s capital. It will help bring about greater stability of surplus transfer to

Government.

5. There will be no transfer of unrealised valuation buffers. These will be used as risk buffers against market risks. Interim

dividend to the government may be paid only under exceptional circumstances.

6. It recommended adopting Expected Shortfall (ES) methodology in place of extant Stressed-Value at Risk for measuring

market risk on which there was growing consensus among central banks as well as commercial banks over the recent

years.

1. Central banks are seen to be adopting ES at 99% confidence level (CL). Committee recommended adoption of a

target of ES 99.5% CL and a range defined between target and downward risk tolerance of 97.5% (both under

stress conditions).

18. RBI extended timeline for conversion of minimum detail Prepaid Payment Instruments to KYC-compliant PPIs from 18 months

to 24 months.

19. RBI extended timings of Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) transactions by an hour from 7 AM instead of 8 AM with effect

from August 26, 2019. RTGS was earlier available for customer transactions from 8 AM to 6 PM and for inter-bank transactions

from 8 AM to 7.45 PM.

1. RBI had decided to allow National Electronic Funds Transfer (NEFT) services to be active 24×7 from December 2019 from

the current timings of 8.00 am to 7.00 pm on all working days.

20. RBI issued guidelines on Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) for Kisan Credit Card (KCC) to Fisheries and Animal Husbandry

farmers during 2018-19 and 2019-20.

1. Apart from existing KCC holders for crop loans, farmers involved in activities related to Animal Husbandry and Fisheries,

through a separate KCC will get at concessional interest rate of 7% during 2018-19 and 2019-20 for short loan up to 2 lakh.

2. Interest subvention is available for animal husbandry and fisheries farmers at the rate of 2% per annum at time of disbursal

of loan.

Additional interest subvention of 3% per annum will be given for timely repayment.

3. Interest subvention & prompt repayment incentive benefits will be available only on an overall limit of 3 lakh per annum on

availing short term loan.

21. RBI permitted processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring transactions (merchant payments), with

maximum limit of INR 2000. While processing first transaction in e-mandate-based recurring transaction series, additional factor

authentication (AFA) validation should be performed.

1. It is applicable for transactions performed using all types of cards - debit, credit and Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs),

including wallets.

22. Reliance Jio topped telecom market with a 31.7 percent market share in the second quarter of 2019. Bharti Airtel has regained its

second spot, leaving behind Vodafone Idea.

23. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released its Annual Report for FY 2018-19. Key Highlights (Stats as on June 30, 2019) -

1. RBI stated that growth deceleration is cyclical downswing and not a structural slowdown.

2. Balance sheet size of RBI increased by 13.42 % to Rs 41.03 lakh crore from 36.17 lakh crores an year ago.

3. RBI contingency fund, which is useful in fighting any exigency is reduced to Rs 1.96 lakh crores, after 52,000 crore excess

payout to government.

4. Income for 2018-19 increased by 146.59 % to Rs 1.93 lakh crore in 2018-2019. Expenditure decreased to Rs 17,045 crore,

from 28,277 crore in 2017-18. Interest income grew by 44.62 % to Rs 1.06 lakh crore and other income rose to Rs 86199

crores.

5. RBI’s holding of government securities grew by 57.19 per cent, from Rs 6.29 lakh crore to Rs 9.89 lakh crores.

6. Year ended with an overall surplus of Rs 175987 crores as against 50000 crores in previous year.

7. RBI held 618.16 metric tonnes of gold as compared to 566.23 metric tonnes as on June 30, 2018.

8. After IL& FS crisis, credit flow from NBFCs to commercial sector dips 20%.

9. Value of bank fraud cases increased 74%, from 41,167 crore in FY18 to 71,543 crores in FY19.

10. Number of bank fraud cases rose from 5,900 in FY18 to 6,800 in FY19.

11. Gross non-performing assets (GNPA) ratio of banking system declined to 9.1 per cent in March 2019, from 11.2 per cent in

previous year.

12. Currency in circulation soars 17 % to Rs 21.10 trillion.

24. Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) relaxed compliance requirements for Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI).

1. Relaxed norms for Municipal bonds to help smart cities and other registered entities working in areas of city planning and

urban development work.

2. SEBI decided to simplify KYC requirements for FPIs as well as broad based criteria for them. Also, FPIs would be classified

into 2 categories instead of 3.

3. SEBI will amend its regulations for credit rating agencies to ensure that any listed or unlisted entity, before getting rated,

gives an explicit consent to agencies for obtaining full details about borrowings from their lenders.

4. SEBI would permit startups move from Innovators Growth Platform of stock exchanges to main board, provided that such

entities have a shareholder base of at least 200.

5. SEBI will reward informants with up to Rs 1 crore cash for any credible information about Insider Trading. These benefits

would only be available to individuals and corporates. Professionals like auditors would not be able to use this route.

6. To safeguard interests of investors, mutual fund houses would be asked to shift all their investments to listed or to-be-listed

equity and debt securities in a phased manner as well as reduce their exposure to unrated debt instruments from 25% to 5%.

7. SEBI eased its norms for buyback of shares by listed companies, especially those having subsidiaries in housing finance and

NBFC sectors. Buyback offer cannot exceed 25% of aggregate paid-up capital and free reserves of company, also

shareholders’ approval is required for size over 10%.

8. SEBI will allow route for other structures where a group of municipalities pool their resources together to jointly raise funds

through issuance of bonds. These are generally called Pooled Finance Development Funds.

9. In case of private placements, minimum subscription amount per investor is currently Rs 25 lakh, which is being proposed to

be reduced to Rs 10 lakh to align it with regulations for corporate bonds.

25. Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) partnered with Incuspaze Solutions Private Limited (Incuspaze) to open a

first-of-its-kind co-working space named @Workspaze, exclusively designed for MSMEs and startups.

26. Steel Users Federation of India signed MoU with Bombay Stock Exchange to launch trading in steel futures. BSE and SUFI will

work towards enlisting steel futures in both long and flat segments, which will bring stability and risk-aversion besides creating a

level-playing field for all.

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International

1. Forbes magazine’s world’s Highest-Paid actresses of 2019 list -

1. Hollywood Actress Scarlett Johansson (US) topped for 2nd consecutive year with earnings of $56 million.

2. Top 3 -

1. Scarlett Johansson (US) - $56 million

2. Sofia Vergara ( Colombian-American) - $44.1 million

3. Reese Witherspoon (US) - $35 million

2. US President Donald Trump launched US Space Command, as US military's 11th and newest combatant command. It is first one

to be created in more than a decade.

3. A World Bank report on relation between water pollution and economic growth stated that poor water quality is affecting

economic growth and worsening health conditions. According to report, nitrogen is a key contributor to poor water quality, wichh

is generally applied as fertilizer.

1. Every additional kilogram of nitrogen fertilizer per hectare can increase level of childhood stunting by as much as 19% and

reduce future adult earnings by as much as 2%, compared to those who are not exposed.

4. American singer Taylor Swift topped Forbes magazine ‘highest-paid woman in music’ category for 2019 with earnings of $185

million, followed by pop singer Beyonce with earnings $81 million.

5. An Indo-Israel joint venture's "Astra Rafael Communication System" has been inaugurated in Hyderabad. The system will

design, develop and manufacture tactical communication systems for Indian armed forces.

6. As per a report released by TRAFFIC International in Cambridge (UK), 1977 tigers were killed between 2000 and 2018 across 32

countries. Another 382 were seized live. India leads with 626 poached tigers.

7. Balkans nation Serbia officially became a non-regional member of China based Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB).

8. Cash-strapped Pakistan will get about $7 billion assistance from Asian Development Bank (ADB) for various development

projects over next three years. Struggling pakistan has been looking for help from various sources to push economy forward.

9. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) members agreed to protect giraffes

for the 1st time, which draws the praise from conservationists and angry expression from some sub-Saharan African nations.

1. It was decided during 18th Conference of the Parties (CoP18) of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of

Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) held in Geneva, Switzerland.

2. During the same meet, India's Vivek Menon, head of Delhi-based conservation non-profit, Wildlife Trust of India was

awarded Clark R Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award 2019.

10. English monthly magazine ‘Euromoney’ has named Singapore Based DBS bank as ‘World’s Best Bank’, making DBS only bank to

concurrently hold 3 global awards. Previously it won Global Finance’s “Best Bank in the World” in August 2018, Banker’s “Bank of

the Year – Global” in November 2018. It also marks first time an Asian-headquartered bank has been named “World’s Best Bank”

by Euromoney since 1993.

11. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Asia-Pacific Group on Money Laundering placed cash-strapped Pakistan on its Blacklist

(Enhanced Expedited Follow Up List) for its failure in meeting required global standards and combating terrorism and money

laundering.

1. Pakistan was non-compliant in 32 of the 40 Compliance Parameters on Money Laundering & Terror Financing, and it ranked

low in 10 of 11 Effectiveness Parameters.

2. Pakistan now has to focus on avoiding its entry into the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Black List, during FATF Plenary

meeting in Paris October 2019 to decide on Pakistan’s Grey list status.

3. FATF added Pakistan on its Grey List in June 2018. Inclusion in Grey List means being involved in providing terror funding

and related issues. Pakistan had earlier been in the grey list of FATF during 2012 - 2015.

4. Once inluded in Blacklist of FATF, Pakistan wont get any international monetary aid. Countries that support terror funding

and money laundering activities are placed in Blacklist of FATF, known as Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories

(NCCTs).

5. FATF was established in 1989 during G7 Summit in Paris (France) as an international anti-money laundering regulator that

establishes international standards for combating money laundering and terrorism.

12. Forbes' list of highest-paid actors 2019 -

1. Bollywood Actor Akshay Kumar secured fourth position on the list, with earnings of USD 65 million (about Rs 450 crores).

Akshay Kumar is only Bollywood actor who has featured on the list.

2. Top 5 -

1. Dwayne Johnson (USD 89.4 million)

2. Chris Hemsworth (USD 76.4 million)

3. Robert Downey Jr. (USD 66 million)

4. Akshay Kumar (USD 65 million)

5. Jackie Chan (USD 58 million)

13. French IT firm Atos and India's Centre for Development of Advanced Computing(C-DAC) signed an agreement to work on the

technical advancement in field of artificial intelligence (AI), exascale computing (billions of calculations per second) and quantum

computing (computer technology based on quantum theory). Atos’s ‘Quantum Learning Machine’ will be used at C-DAC.

14. Google named new version of Mobile OS as Android 10, breaking its 10-year old tradition of naming Android version after

desserts and sweets. New Android Logo design is drawn from ‘Android Robot’, the non-human member that belongs to every

community. The logo colour has been changed from Green to Black in order to make it more clear and visible.

15. Henley Passport Index 2019 ranked India at 86th position of 189 countries in 2019 with a mobility score of 58. India slipped 5

places from 79th place in previous index.

1. Report named Japan and Sngapore as world’s most powerful passport in 2019. Japan topped the list for 2nd consecutive

time.

2. Top 5 -

1. Japan and Singapore.

2. South Korea, Germany & Finland.

3. Denmark and Italy.

4. France and Sweden.

5. Austria, Netherlands, Portugal & Switzerland

16. IMF released report titled Annual Observance Report of the Special Data Dissemination Standard for 2018, in which it stated

India failed to comply with multiple requirements prescribed in Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) which are

mandatory for all IMF members. There are 20 data categories.

1. In 2018, India deviated from SDDS in at least 1 instance in all data categories listed. The delay had exceeded 100 days in

multiple instances. China, South Africa and Russia lagged in some categories but the delay did not exceed 31 days for any

category.

2. IMF launched SDDS initiative in 1996 to guide members to enhance data transparency and help financial market

participants with adequate information to assess the economic situations of individual countries. India subscribed to the

SDDS on December 27, 1996.

17. India and France will jointly build and operate world’s first space-based automatic identification system (AIS) to track merchant

ships on a real-time basis. French space agency CNES and India's ISRO signed an agreement to start development of a

constellation of satellites for the purpose.

18. India’s 182 Metres (597-ft) tall Statue of Unity (Gujarat) and Soho House (Mumbai) have been featured in Time’s list of 100

greatest places in world.

1. Statue of Unity, known as world's tallest statue, was constructed as a tribute to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Independent

India's first deputy prime minister who played a leading role in integration of the self-governing princely states into the

single union of India. He is called Iron man of India. It was opened on 31 October 2018.

2. Mumbai’s Soho House was founded in 1995 as a home from home for people working in creative industries, located in an 11

storey building in Mumbai, overlooking Arabian Sea. The house includes a library, a cinema with 34 seats and a rooftop bar

and pool. Since its founding, house has grown into a community of like-minded individuals with houses all over world.

19. Indonesia Government announced that administrative functions of Capital Jakarta would move to area of East Kalimantan. New

capital will be located between North Penajam Paser and Kutai Kartanegara on the Indonesian part of Borneo, 870 miles away

from current capital.

20. Indonesia President Joko Widodo announced sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on forested Borneo island, known for

orangutans as its new capital. Current capital Jakarta is overcrowded and sits on watery land. Parts of city are sinking by as much

as 25cm a year.

21. Intel Corp launched its latest processor, its first using artificial intelligence (AI), designed for large computing centres. Chip is

developed at Intel facility in Haifa (Israel), and is known as Nervana NNP-I or Springhill and is based on a 10 nanometre Ice Lake

processor that will allow it to cope with high workloads using minimal amounts of energy.

22. Iran unveiled its new home-grown air defence system called Bavar-373, amid tensions with US. Word Bavar means ‘believe’ in

Farsi. being touted as Islamic republic’s 1st domestically produced long-range missile defence system with Rangeover 200

kilometres.

23. Major Jungle Fire has broken out in Amazon rainforest, world's largest rain forest that produces 20 % of Oxygen on the planet.

The fire has been spreading for 16 days, resulting in a major loss of trees and biodiversity. If not contained, it will wipe out Amazon

rainforest completely, triggering an unrepairable loss to the planet and mankind.

24. Microsoft and Indian School of Business (ISB) signed MoU to set up an AI Digital Lab powered by PlatiFi technologies (a

Microsoft partner) at ISB campus in Hyderabad, to study issues that are relevant for business and public policy. It will also offer an

executive 3-day non technical programme titled “Leading Business Transformation in the Age of AI”, in October 2019.

1. Microsoft also launched a program named Digital Governance Tech Tour, under which it will train 5000 government

employees by 2020, on AI (artificial intelligence) and cloud computing skills.

25. Mumbai ranked as 45th safest city on Safe Cities Index (SCI) issued by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), while Delhi stood at

52nd position. Tokyo (Japan) is named safest globally, followed by Singapore and Osaka (Japan).

26. Oklahoma court (US) court ordered American Consumer Goods Firm Johnson & Johnson to pay $572 million for Opioid

addiction crisis in US. J&J is accused of its role in fostering state’s opioid addiction crisis.

27. Pakistan and China conducted joint aerial exercise Shaheen VIII (Eagle VIII) in Chinese city of Holton, close to Indian border

near Ladakh.

28. Pakistan test-fired nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi, with range up to 290 kms.

29. Prime Global Cities Index Q1 2019 of London based consultancy Knight Frank ranked Delhi as the 10th fastest growing prime

market globally. Index is topped by Berlin(Germany), whereas Istanbul (Turkey) and Vancouver(Canada) were weakest markets

with rates minus 9.9% and minus 13.6% respectively. Bengaluru and Mumbai were ranked 15th and 30th respectively.

30. Rural NBFC Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services signed a joint venture (JV) with Ideal Finance Ltd (IFL), a subsidiary of Sri

Lankan conglomerate Ideal Group, for acquisition of up to 58.2 % stake in Ideal Finance for LKR (Sri Lankan Rupees) 2 billion

(nearly INR 80 crores). It will create a market-leading financial services business in Sri Lanka for Mahindra.

31. Russia launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot named Fedor (Final Experimental Demonstration

Object Research). Fedor will spend 10 days learning to assist astronauts on International Space Station.

32. Russia launched world's first floating nuclear reactor, Akademik Lomonosov -

1. It was launched and loaded with nuclear fuel from Arctic port of Murmansk for its 5,000 kilometre voyage to Pevek in

northeastern Siberia. It will replace local nuclear plant and closed coal plant. It is 144 metres long and 30 metres wide. It has

displacement capacity of 21,500 tonnes and can carry crew of total 69 people.

2. It is fitted with 2 modified KLT-40 naval propulsion nuclear reactors (each of 35 MW capacity) together providing up to 70

MW of electricity and 300 MW of heat.

33. Saudi Arabia allowed women above 21 years of age to receive passports and travel abroad without permission from a male

guardian, bringing in a long sought reform.

34. Sudan requested United Nations Security Council to lift its suspension of troop withdrawals and ensure all peacekeepers leave

Darfur (in western Sudan) by June 2020.

1. In June 2019, UN Security Council voted to stop withdrawal of joint U.N. African Union peacekeeping force from Darfur,

observing that country is still dealing with political crisis.

2. Conflict started in 2003 when two armed groups Sudan Liberation Army (SLA) and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM)

waged war in Darfur against Government of Sudan, demanding better infrastructure and a power-sharing government.

Sudanese government retaliated by sending in government forces and Janjaweed militia to quell rebellion.

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Meetings

1. 1st World Youth Conference for Kindness held in New Delhi, organised by UNESCO Mahatma Gandhi Institute of Education for

Peace and Sustainable Development (MGIEP).

2. 2019 Indo Pacific Chiefs of Defence (CHOD) Conference held in Thailand’s capital city Bangkok. India was represented by

Chairman Chiefs of Staff Committee (COSC) and Chief of the Air Staff Birender Singh Dhanoa. Theme was Collaboration in a free

and Open Indo – Pacific.

3. 45th G7 summit held in Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine (France).

1. G7 Includes Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, United Kingdom, United States AND European Union.

2. US President Donald Trump pressed G7 group to reinstate Russia as a permanent member of grouping.

3. Indian PM Narendra Modi attended outreach session of G7 summit as a special invitee by France.

4. Next, 46th G7 summit will be held in 2020 in US.

5. G7 nations pledged to spend a total amount of $22 million to fight raging wildfires in the Amazon Rainforest in South

America.

4. 4th Internet of Things (IoT) India Congress 2019 held in Bengaluru (Karnataka), as India’s largest confluence of digital-

technology stakeholders. Theme of meet was ‘Mainstreaming the Internet of Things’.

Top

National

1. MoU signed between Indian Navy and India Meteorological Department for handing over of Cyclone Detection Radar (CDR)

building by IMD to Navy. MoU will enable Navy to utilise CDR building within naval premises at Kochi for meteorological

purposes.

2. Railways will ensure complete removal of single-use plastics from all railways stations effective from 2 October 2019, to curb use

of plastics. Railways directed all units to enforce ban on single use plastic material, with less than 50 micron thickness, except

where thickness of such plastic sheets impair functionality of product.

3. Hardeep S Puri, Minister of State (I/C) for Housing and Urban Affairs launched angikaar campaign for change

managementande-Course on Vulnerability Atlas of India.Angikaar has been launched for social behaviour change, focusing on

issues such as water & energy conservation for beneficiaries of completed houses under PMAY (U).

4. Department of Agriculture, Cooperation and Farmers Welfare released 3rd Advanced Estimate (2018-19) of Area and Production

of various Horticulture Crops. Total Horticulture Production of country is estimated to be 313.85 Million Tonnes, 0.69% higher

than 2017-18.

5. India became first country to issue Biometric Seafarer Identity Document (BSID), capturing facial bio-metric data of seafarers.

The new facial biometric technology is a marked improvement over two finger or iris based bio-metric data, with modern security

features. It will make identification of the SID holder more reliable and efficient, while protecting their dignity and privacy.

1. In India, BSID project has been taken up in collaboration with Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (CDAC)

Mumbai.

2. 9 data collection centers are set up at Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Noida, Goa, New Mangalore, Kochi, Vizag & Kandla for

issue of BSID.

6. Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (IC), Prahlad Singh Patel launched an integrated NOC online Application Processing

System for National Monuments Authority (NMA) for 517 local bodies of six states. This will help in online processing of

applications requesting NOC for construction related work in prohibited and regulated area of ASI protected monuments. Earlier,

this system was available only for five urban local bodies of Delhi and one urban local body of Mumbai.

1. Portal has integration with Smart ‘Smarac’ Mobile App of ISRO, for accurate tracking of GEOs and approval status.

2. Details of States and Urban Local Bodies -

1. Madhya Pradesh (378)

2. Andhra Pradesh (110)

3. Haryana (15)

4. Punjab (10)

5. Jharkhand (3)

6. Telangana (1)

7. RK Singh, Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, launched

State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index–SARAL.

1. Karnataka has been placed at the first rank in Index that evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop

development. Telangana, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have got 2nd, 3rd and 4th rank respectively.

2. SARAL has been designed collaboratively by Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Shakti Sustainable Energy

Foundation (SSEF), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Ernst & Young (EY).

3. SARAL captures five aspects –

1. Robustness of policy framework

2. Implementation environment

3. Investment climate

4. Consumer experience

5. Business ecosystem

8. Amazon India launched a Military Veterans Employment programme, aimed at creating employment opportunities for military

veterans and their spouses across company’s fulfilment, sort and delivery centres in India.

9. Arhan Bagati (Awareness and Impact Ambassador of Paralympic Committee of India) launched mobile application called

“IndTokyo” to help para-athletes to look up accessible places in Tokyo (Japan) during 2020 Paralympics Games.

10. As per rankings issued by National Health Mission (NHM), Rajasthan Government’s flagship free medicine scheme (launched on

October 2, 2011) secured first rank among 16 states. Performance of the states was assessed on the basis of 10 parameters.

11. Cabinet Approvals (Aug 28, 2019) -

1. MOUs -

1. Peru - Cooperation in field of Medicinal Plants.

2. Guinea - Cooperation in Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine and Homeopathy.

3. Gambia - Cooperation in Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine.

2. General Approvals -

1. Approved Establishment of an International Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) along with its

supporting Secretariat Office in New Delhi. CDRI is proposed to be launched at the UN Climate Action Summit in New

York, USA on 23rd September 2019.

1. CDRI will serve as a platform to share knowledge on different aspects of disaster and climate resilience of

infrastructure. It will bring together technical expertise from a multitude of stakeholders. It will create a

mechanism to assist countries to upgrade their practices about infrastructure development in accordance with

their needs.

2. Cabinet apprised of amendments in National Medical Commission Bill 2019 which was approved by Parliament in

Budget Sesion 2019. Changes -

1. Clause 4(1)(c) –Twentytwo part-time Members instead of fourteen members;

2. Clause 4(4)(b) – ten members instead of six members

3. Clause 4(4)(c) – nine members instead of five members

4. Clause 37(2) – added at end “for the purposes of teaching also”.

3. Approved Review of Foreign Direct Investment in various sectors, to make India a more attractive FDI destination.

1. In coal sector, for sale of coal, 100% FDI under automatic route for coal mining, activities including associated

processing infrastructure will attract international players to create a competitive coal market.

2. Further, manufacturing through contract contributes equally to Make in India. FDI now being permitted under

automatic route in contract manufacturing will be a big boost to Manufacturing sector in India

3. Background

1. FDI into India from 2014-15 to 2018-19 has been US $ 286 billion as compared to US $ 189 billion in the 5-

year period prior to that (2009-10 to 2013-14). Total FDI in 2018-19 was US $ 64.37 billion, highest ever

FDI received for any financial year.

3. CCEA Approvals -

1. Approved establishment of 75 additional Government Medical Colleges by 2021-22. To increase availability of

healthcare infrastructure and manpower, Cabinet also sanctioned expenditure of Rs. 24,375 crore during 15lh Finance

Commission period i.e. up to 2021-22. It would lead to addition of at least 15,700 MBBS seats in the country.

2. Approved providing a lump sum export subsidy @ Rs. 10,448 per Metric Tonne (MT) to sugar mills for the sugar

season 2019-20. Estimated expenditure of about Rs.6,268 crore will be incurred for this purpose. The subsidy would

be directly credited into farmers’ account on behalf of mills against cane price dues and subsequent balance, if any,

would be credited to mill’s account.

12. Central TB Division of the Health Ministry signed MoU with Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence to explore the

application of cutting-edge Artificial Intelligence technology in its fight against TB. Wadhwani AI would support National TB

programme become AI-ready which would include, developing, piloting, and deploying AI-based solutions.

13. Common Service Centre e-Governance Services India Limited, which provides government services to people in rural areas has

signed a MoU with Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR ) to turn all 2.5 lakh gram panchayats into ‘digital panchayats’.

1. MoU will act as a catalyst to provide efficient delivery of all panchayat-level services & and social schemes to rural people and

will enhance rural BPO (Business Processing Outsourcing) across panchayats.

14. Department of Social Justice signed MoU with National AIDS Control Organization (NACO) to enhance outreach on AIDS

prevention, address risk of HIV transmission among all substance users and to empower the discriminated and vulnerable groups

such as victims of HIV/AIDS, drug abuse and female sex workers.

15. E-Commerce Firm Amazon opened its largest campus in world in Hyderabad (Telangana), covering 1.8 million square feet and

can accommodate 15,000 workers.

16. General Conferences (Aug 21-31, 2019) -

1. Delhi government launched 10-week campaign against dengue and chikungunya titled "10 Hafte, 10 Baje 10 minute Har

Ravivar, Dengue Par War".

2. 12th edition of Towards New National Cyber Security Strategy security summit of India organised by Associated Chambers of

Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) in New Delhi with theme Towards New National Cyber Security Strategy.

3. Actor Shah Rukh Khan introduced heritage postage stamp of Bandra station in Mumbai, on completion of 150 years of this

railway station.

4. 7th Community Radio Sammelan held in New Delhi, organized by Ministry of Information & Broadcasting with theme

Community Radio for SDGs’.

1. Department of Telecommunications dedicated two additional frequencies viz. 89.6 and 90.0 MHz for running

Community Radio Stations.

5. National Conference of Tourism Ministers organized in New Delhi.

6. Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar inaugurated

National Centre for Avian Ecotoxicology at Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural Sciences ((SACON) in Coimbatore,

Tamil Nadu.

7. First Kerala edition of Women Economic Forum (WEF) held at IIM Kozhikode.

8. MoU signed between Indian Army and Tata Realty & Housing to enable personnel of Indian Army to immediately take over

dwelling units in 13 ‘Ready to Move in’ projects of Tata Realty pan India spread over 10 cities.

9. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and former India football captain Baichung Bhutia flagged off Op-Blue Freedom in Delhi, as an

initiative in which a armed forces veterans train sports enthusiasts in survival training and self-defence.

10. India-UK workshop on Science for Disaster and Emergency Risk Management held in New Delhi.

11. India and US held a round of bilateral 2+2 Intersessional meeting in Monterey, California, US.

12. Tamilnadu Govt. lauched Amma Patrol cars aimed at ensuring the security of women and children in public places.

13. Banjari village of Katni district in MP became an integral part of digital map of the country , becoming first village in state to

be associated with Digital India project.

14. Short video creation platform Likee entered 2019 Guinness World Records for creating largest online video album of people

waving Indian flag during its ‘No matter where I am, #IAMINDIAN‘ campaign. Tricolour was waved by over 1 lakh Indians.

15. Software Technology Parks of India (STPI) has set up a ‘Centre of Excellence in FinTech’ in Chennai, asfirst of its kind in

India and is named ‘FinBlue’.

16. Mission Million trees campaign concluded in Ahmedabad, with plantation of over 10 lakh tress in city. It began on world

environment day (5th June 2019). Home Minister Amit Shah flagged off first fleet of eco-friendly e-buses (electric buses) and

also inaugurated India’s 1st automated battery charging & changing station for e-buses in city.

17. Chief Minister of Meghalaya launched ‘Walk to Work’ campaign in state, as part of Fit India Movement launched by PM

Recently.

18. World Economic Forum (WEF) in collaboration with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) will organize 2-day India

Economic Summit 2019 in New Delhi in October 2019 with the aim of promoting strong collaboration between South Asia

and ASEAN nations, with theme Innovating for India: Strengthening South Asia, Impacting the World’.

19. International dialogue on South-South and Triangular Cooperation that was held in New Delhi.

17. Geographical Indication Registry of India granted Geographical Indication (GI) tag to the state of Tamil Nadu for Dindigul lock

and Karaikudi Kandangi sarees.

1. Handmade Dindigul locks were famous for their traditional design, superior quality, and durability. They are concentrated in

the villages of Nagelnagar, Nallampatti, Kodaiparailpatti, Kamalapatti, and Yagappanpatti.

2. Kandangi Sarees are the symbol of entire Karaikudi taluk of Sivaganga district. The hand-woven Kandangi sarees are

characterized by brilliant colour large contrast borders.

18. Government granted Minister of State (MoS) status to mayors of Srinagar and Jammu civic bodies. BJP leader Chander Mohan

Gupta and People's Conference leader Junaid Maattu are mayors of JMC and SMC respectively.

19. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched National Mission to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level-

NISHTHA (National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement) in New Delhi.

1. NISHTHA is largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world. It aims to motivate and equip teachers to

encourage and foster critical thinking in students. This initiative is first of its kind wherein standardized training modules

are developed at national level for all States and UTs.

2. This integrated programme aims to build capacities of around 42 lakh participants covering all teachers and Heads of

Schools at elementary level.

3. Training will be conducted by 33120 Key Resource Persons (KRPs) and State Resource Persons (SRP) identified by State /

UTs, who will in turn be trained by 120 National Resource Persons identified from National Council of Educational Research

and Training (NCERT).

20. HRD Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched one of world’s largest Integrated Online Junction for – School Education

named ‘Shagun’, at URL http://shagun.govt.in. It aims to improve school education by creating a junction for all online portals

and websites relating to various activities of Department of School Education and Literacy. Portal seeks to connect approximately

92 lakh teachers and 26 crore students.

1. He also announced setting up of Integrated National School Education Treasury (INSET) which envisages a fully integrated,

instantly accessible and seamless information network for all parameters relating to the students, teachers, and schools in

country.

21. HRD Ministry launched National Digital Library of India project, under its National Mission on Education through Information

and Communication Technology (NMEICT). It aims to develop a framework of virtual repository of learning resources with a

single-window search facility. It has been developed by Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur.

22. Haryana Govt. increased family income limit of households from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000 per month to qualify as Below Poverty

Line (BPL) beneficiary.

23. Haryana Government launched ‘Mukhya Mantri Parivar Samridhi Yojna’ which will provide social security to families. Under

this, INR 6000 per year will be given to each eligible family.

24. Health Minister Harsh Vardhan inaugurated FSSAI's National Food Laboratory (NFL) in Ghaziabad (UP), on occasion of 13th

anniversary of Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. It is first-of-its-kind in food laboratory sector, equipped with latest

technologies to conduct analysis as per global accreditation standards for testing and calibration.

25. Highest sky cycling track of India has been built at an altitude of 9,000 feet at Gulaba, Manali (Himachal Pradesh). Length of

track is 350 meters, made by Atal Bihari Vajpayee Mountaineering Sports Institute.

26. Himachal Pradesh assembly passed a bill named Himachal Pradesh Freedom of Religion Bill 2019, which reveals Himachal

Pradesh Freedom of Religion Act 2006. New bill is against conversion by force, inducement or through marriages solemnised for

sole purpose of adopting a new religion.

27. IIT Delhi partnered with Denmark-based firm to start DESMI Centre of Excellence on Waste-to-Wealth at IIT-Delhi. The centre

will provide support for implementing the framework of pilot projects, which address waste collection and management with

possible energy generation.

28. IIT Guwahati signed MoU with RD Grow Green India Pvt for Technology transfer for safer drinking water of chemical-free

treatment technique based on 'Apparatus and Method for Removal of Fluoride, Iron, Arsenic and Microorganisms from

Contaminated Drinking Water'.

29. IT Firm Wipro partnered with Indian Institute of Science (IISc) to conduct advanced applied research in autonomous systems,

robotics and 5G.

1. A joint unit called Wipro IISc Research and Innovation Network (WIRIN) will be set up, which will drive idea discovery,

research and innovation in technology and product design.

30. India will introduce a flexible e-tourist visa regime for more than 160 countries based on tourist footfall. Fee would be higher for

peak season of July to March and a considerably lower fee during lean period of April to June.

1. Fee for e-visa with a validity of 30 days to 5 years ranges between $10 and $80.

2. There will be no visa fee for tourists from belonging to Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation (FIPIC), which consists

of 14 Pacific Island nations - Cook Islands, Micronesia, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Niue Island, Samoa, Fiji,

Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Marshall Islands, Solomon Islands and Tonga.

3. Visa fee will also be exempted for tourist from Mauritius, Uruguay, Myanamar, Indonesia, Jamaica, Seychelles and South

Africa and Argentina.

31. Indian Institute of Petroleum (IIP) has set up a waste plastic to diesel plant in Dehradun (Uttarakhand) as a step towards

ensuring freedom from plastic. The plant has a capacity to produce 800-litre diesel from 1 tonne of plastic.

32. Kerala government approved framing a new law for appointment of women as drivers in State Public Sector Undertakings and

various departments of Kerala Government, as first such decision by a state government.

33. Maharashtra cabinet cleared vertical property rules to create a database of all flats, buildings and commercial complexes, to

prevent frauds. All flat owners in state will get supplementary property cards, which will have specific property details.

34. Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department and Pace Educational Trust launched an academic programme "Super 50", for

young tribal students aspiring to be doctors and engineers. It will mentor 50 meritorious tribal students from State and prepare

them for exams.

35. Minister of State for Power and New & Renewable Energy (IC) and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship, RK Singh approved a

proposal to declare ocean energy as Renewable Energy, To boost ocean energy in India.

1. Ocean energy is currently under-utilized and total identified potential of tidal energy is about 12,455 mega watt (NW), with

potential locations identified at Khambat and Kutch regions of Gujarat and large backwaters where barrage technology could

be used.

36. Ministry of Environment has released Rs 47,436 crore of CAMPA funds to various states for afforestation projects, to boost

forestry activities and achieve objectives of Nationally-Determined Contributions (NDCs) of increasing forest and tree cover.

37. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change approved establishment of new International Standard Zoo and Biopark on

1914 hectares in forest land at Gorewada in Nagpur (Maharashtra).

38. Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate change (MoEFCC) relaxed mandatory charging of lease rent of INR 30000 per

Mega Watt (MW) for wind power projects, to boost government’s commitment towards providing clean and green energy at

cheaper rate. This additional cost was not mandatory for other renewal energy projects, including solar power and hydel electric

projects.

39. NGOs World Vision India and Institute for Financial Management and Research-Leveraging Evidence for Access and

Development (IFMR LEAD) launched Child well-being index, to assess and track children’s well-being -

1. Index was topped by Kerala (0.76), followed by Tamil Nadu (0.67) and Himachal Pradesh (0.67). Among Union

Territories(UT), Puducherry topped the spot.

2. Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Madhya Pradesh (Bottom) were poor performers and were ranked at the bottom. Among UTs

Dadra and Nagar Haveli was ranked at the bottom.

40. NITI Aayog prepared second Round of Composite Water Management Index (CWMI 2.0), to supplement efforts of Jal Shakti

Ministry. NITI Aayog launched and conceptualized CWMI in 2018 as a tool to instill sense ofcooperative and competitive

federalism among states.

1. CWMI is an important tool to assess and improve performance of States/ UTs in efficient management of water resources.

CWMI 2.0 ranks various states for reference year 2017-18 as against base year 2016-17.

1. Gujarat again ranked at top, followed byAndhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

2. In North Eastern and Himalayan States, Himachal Pradesh adjudged best, followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura and

Assam.

3. UTs have first time submitted their data and Puducherry is declared best.

4. In terms of incremental change in index (over 2016-17 level), Haryana holds number one position in general States and

Uttarakhand ranks at first position amongst North Eastern and Himalayan States.

41. National Register of Citizens (NRC) released awaited Assam's final National Register of Citizens list.

1. NRC took five years and INR 1220 crores spent on tghe project.

2. From 3.29 crore applicants, a total of 3.11 crore people have been found eligible for inclusion in final NRC list. 19.06 lakh

people have been excluded from final NRC list.

3. Those excluded from the final NRC list will have 120 days to approach the Foreigners’ Tribunals. If a person is dissatisfied

with the tribunal's decision, he/she can appeal against it.

4. NRC list is biggest exercise India has undertaken to expel illegal immigrants residing illegally in India.

42. Odisha government extended benefits of the Direct Cash Benefit “Mamata” scheme to the Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups

(PVTG) in the state for another five years.

43. PM Narendra Modi announced to observe September as month of nutrition as part of ‘POSHAN Abhiyaan’(National Nutrition

Mission).

1. POSHAN Abhiyaan is a flagship programme of Ministry of Women and Child Development (MWCD), To achieve

improvement in nutritional status of Children from 0-6 years, Adolescent Girls, Pregnant Women and Lactating Mothers.

44. Punjab government launched a mega health insurance scheme title ‘Mahatma Gandhi Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana’ (MGSSBY) for

poor by clubbing Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (PMJAY) plan with its own. Punjab is now 1st state to offer medical

insurance for such a large proportion of population.

1. Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana incorporates PMJAY, Centre’s health insurance scheme for poor. By clubbing Centre’s Ayushman

Bharat plan with its MGSSBY, it is expected to benefit 46 lakh families covering 76% of state’s population.

2. Punjab Government announced to bring around 4500 journalists into ambit of its recently launched flagship universal

health insurance scheme “Sarbat Sehat Bima Yojana” (SSBY), with around 400 private hospitals included in list.

45. Punjab government signed Memorandum of Agreement with United Nations Development Programme(UNDP) for

implementing Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs). Under this. a Sustainable Development Goals Coordination Centre

(SDGCC) will be set up in planning department in chandigarh (Punjab) in partnership with UNDP.

46. Recent excavation carried out by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) between December 2018 and March 2019 at Maharashtra’s

Phupgaon has revealed evidence of an Iron Age settlement in Vidarbha region. Site is situated in the vast meander of the river

Purna, a major tributary of Tapi, which used to be a perennial river, but at present is completely dried-up due to the dam

construction in upper stream.

47. Tamil Nadu government launched its exclusive education TV channel named Kalvi Tholaikkatchi, aimed at benefiting students

of classes I to XII. Channel will include shows aimed at school children, besides those on jobs and related issues.

48. Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani launched Project SURE (Sustainable Resolution), a move towards sustainable fashion at

Lakmé Fashion Winter/Festive 2019 in Mumbai. It aims to move towards sustainable fashion that contributes to a clean

environment.

1. It is commitment by India’s apparel industry to set a sustainable pathway for Indian fashion industry. It also seeks to move

apparel industry towards fashion that contributes to a clean environment.

49. To help save world’s only mangrove tiger habitat, Discovery India and WWF India partnered with government of West Bengal.

50. To promote adventure tourism, Government allowed access to 137 mountain peaks to foreigners desirous of obtaining

Mountaineering Visa (‘MX’) for mountaineering and trekking. This was announced in recently concluded National Tourism

Conference in New Delhi. Highest number of 51 peaks have been opened to foreigners in Uttarakhand.

51. US artificial intelligence (AI) firm Cerebras Systems unveiled world’s largest single silicon-based processor, Cerebras Wafer Scale

Engine (WSE) with 1.2 trillion transistors (basic on-off electronic switches that are building blocks of silicon chips). It measures 8

by 9 inches and comes with 400,000 AI cores and 18 gigabytes of on-chip memory.

52. Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, D.V. Sadananda Gowda launched a mobile application “Janaushadhi Sugam”. This

app will enable people to search for Janaushadhi generic medicines and the stores at the tip of their fingers.

53. Union Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution, Ram Vilas Paswan launched National Lab Directory as a one-

stop-shop for all testing needs of industries, academia and researchers who need to get their Testing Facilities accredited /

certified / recognised.

54. Uttarakhand Government will form a Special Tiger Force for Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR), with 85 posts. It will help serve as

much needed second layer of protection for Tigers.

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Persons

1. Anil Puri became first serving Lieutenant General-rank officer of Indian Army to complete France’s oldest cycling event, the

1,200km Paris-Brest-Paris circuit.

2. Ashish Kasodekar from Pune became 1st Indian to complete 555 kms long 10th edition of ‘La Ultra The High’ marathon 2019

held in Ladakh, Jammu, and Kashmir(J&K). He came 3rd with 126 hrs 18 min timing.

3. Indian Para Swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia became first Asian swimmer to cross Catalina Channel of America. Satendra holds

the Asian record of crossing both the English and Catalina channels. Satendra led Indian Para Relay team along with 5 teammates

and crossed the Catalina Channel and covered 42 km in 11 hours 34 minutes.

4. Obituaries (August 2019) -

1. D. A. Pennebaker - Noted American Documentary Film Maker.

2. Devadas Kanakala - Noted Telugu Actor.

3. Malcolm Nash - England Cricketer.

4. Jean Arasanayagam - Renowned Srilankan contemporary poet and fiction writer.

5. J. Om Prakash - Noted Bollywood filmmaker and also maternal Grandfather of Bollywood actor Hrithik Roshan.

6. Kanti Bhatt - Noted Gujarati journalist and author.

7. Anant Setalvad -Noted Cricket commentator.

8. Toni Morrison - Noted American Novelist and 1993 Nobel laureate in literature. She was the 1st African American woman to

win Nobel in literature.

9. Rajalakshmi Parthasarathy - Noted educationist and Padma Shri awardee.

10. Sushma Swaraj - Former Union External Affairs Minister. Many firsts to her credit - Youngest Cabinet Minister in Haryana

Government in 1977, first woman Chief Minister of Delhi in 1998, first woman spokesperson for any national political party

in the country and India’s first full-time woman Foreign Minister.

11. Harley Race - Noted American Professional Wrestler.

12. Dayanidhi Nayak - Noted freedom fighter. He struggled against British Government during the Quit India movement.

13. Amarendra Sharan - Senior advocate and former Additional Solicitor General.

14. Jose Luis Brown - Noted Argentine footballer.

15. V.B. Chandrasekhar - Former India and Tamil Nadu cricketer.

16. Vidya Sinha - Noted Bollywood actress.

17. Peter Fonda - Noted American actor.

18. Rizia Rahman - Noted Bangladeshi novelist.

19. Damodar Ganesh Bapat - Noted social worker from Chhattisgarh and Padma Shri awardee.

20. Niranjan Singh Tasneem - Noted Punjabi writer and Sahitya Akademi awardee.

21. Jagannath Mishra - Former Three time Chief Minister of Bihar.

22. Mohammed Zahur Khayyam - Noted Indian music director.

23. Babulal Gaur - Former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.

24. Arun Jaitley - Former Union Minister, Served several terms including Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs from 2014

to 2019.

1. DDCA (Delhi and Districts association announced to rename Feroz Shah Kotla as Arun Jaitley stadium).

25. Lalat Indu Parija - former chief secretary of Odisha.

26. Noel Kelman - Kirti Chakra awardee Navy Commander. In 1961, he received Kirti Chakra for valour during liberation of Goa

from Portuguese.

27. Kanchan Chaudhary Bhattacharya - First woman Director General of Police (DGP) in India. She was appointed DGP of

Uttarakhand in 2004, becoming First female DGP in India.

28. Nimu Bhowmik - Noted Bengali actor.

29. Valerie Harper - Noted American Actor and four-time Emmy winner.

5. Persons Resigned / Retired (August 2019) -

1. New Zealand Cricketer Daniel Vettori retired from all forms of Cricket.

2. New Zealand Cricketer Brendon Mccullum retired from all forms of Cricket.

3. South African Cricketer Dale Steyn announced his retirement from Test cricket.

4. South African Cricketer Hashim amla announced his retirement from Test all forms of International cricket.

5. Uruguay Footballer striker Diego Forlan announced his retirement from professional football.

6. Noted Netherlands' footballer Wesley Sneijder announced his retirement from football.

7. England football player Ashley Cole announced retirement from football.

8. Giuseppe Conte resigned as Prime Minister of Italy.

9. West Indies pacer Cecil Wright announced his retirement from all forms of cricket, at old age of 85 years.

10. Sri Lankan Spinner Ajantha Mendis announced his retirement from all forms of cricket.

11. Cricketer Ambati Rayudu announced reversing his recent decision about retirement and expressed his will to play in all

formats.

6. Visits from India (Aug 21 - 31, 2019) -

1. Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Dharmendra Pradhan visited Russia, to strengthen relationship in energy and

steel sectors.

2. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Japan and South Korea.

3. External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar visited Russia and Hungary and Bangladesh.

4. Vice President Venkaiha Naidu Visited Baltic Nations-Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia.

1. MoUs on Cyber Security and exemption of Visa requirement for Diplomatic Passport holders were signed between

India and Estonia.

2. Lithuania and India signed 2 agreements on Agriculture and Allied sectors and Cultural Exchange Program from 2019-

21.

5. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar Visited Nepal.

1. 5th meeting of India-Nepal Joint Commission held in Kathmandu (Nepal).

2. SAARC foreign ministers informal meeting will held in Nepal in September 2019.

6. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Visited France, United Arab Emirates and Bahrain

1. France -

1. MOUs signed for -

1. Cooperation in Skill Development and Vocational Training, Renewable Energy, Joint Maritime Domain

Awareness.

2. Co-opeRation Abetween Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (C-DAC) and ATOS (France).

2. PM Narendra Modi attended outreach session of G7 summit as a special invitee by France.

3. France backed India's permanent seat in United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

4. India and France concluded road-map to make digital technology a transformative factor in their societies, to

fight terror and foster economic growth.

2. Bahrain -

1. Its First ever Visit of an Indian PM to Bahrain.

2. PM Narendra Modi was conferred Bahrain Order- First Class by Bahrain’s King, King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in

recognition of his efforts to strengthen bilateral relations. Bahrain Order - First Class is also known as the King

Hamad Order of Renaissance. Global awards conferred on PM Modi since 2014

1. Amir Amanullah Khan Award– highest civilian award of Afghanistan

2. Order of King Abdulaziz Sash- highest civilian honour of Saudi Arabia

3. Grand Collar of the State of Palestine-highest honour of Palestine

4. Seoul Peace Prize – by Seoul Peace Prize Foundation of South Korea.

5. Champions of the Earth award – United Nations’s highest environmental honour, awarded by UNEP

6. Order of Zayed – highest civil honour of UAE.

3. 4 MOUs Signed -

1. Collaboration between Space agencies.

2. Statement of Intent on collaboration of the Kingdom of Bahrain with International Solar Alliance (ISA)

3. Cultural Exchange Programme between India and Bahrain.

4. PM launched $4.2 million redevelopment project of 200-year-old Shreenathji or Lord Sri Krishna temple in

Bahrain capital Manama. Renovated structure of temple will have a knowledge centre and a museum, on land

measuring 16500 square feet.

5. RUPAY Payment system has been launched in Bahrain.

3. UAE -

1. PM Narendra Modi has launched RuPay card in UAE, making UAE the first country in Middle East to initiate

Indian indigenous payment system. Current foreign markets for Rupay are - Singapore, Bhutan, Maldives, UAE

and Bahrain.

2. 6 MoUs signed -

1. Bilateral currency swap agreement, cooperation in field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, employment of

ex-servicemen of Indian Navy in the Navy and Coast Guard of UAE.

2. Cooperation among Institute for Defence Studies and Analysis and Emirates Centre of Strategic Studies and

Research.

7. Visits to India (Aug 21 - 31, 2019) -

1. Australian Minister for Resources and Northern Australia, Matthew Canavan visited India.

2. Minister for Home Affairs and Law of Singapore, Mr. K. Shanmugam visited India.

3. Ghana's Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Regional Integration, Charles Owiredu visited India for First India-Ghana

Foreign Office Consultations held in New Delhi.

4. Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Takehiko Nakao visited India, committig over $12 billion in lending to India over

3 years.

5. Edgar Chagwa Lungu, President of Zambia Visited India. 6 MOUs signed -

1. Cooperation in field of Geology and Mineral Resources, Defence, Arts & Culture.

2. Cooperation among Foreign Service Institute of India and Zambian Institute of Diplomacy and International Studies,

EVBAB Network Project and Election Commissions.

8. Young Indian climate activist Vishnu P R is among 100 outstanding climate champions selected from around world for a special

''Green Ticket'' that will enable them to attend first-ever Youth Climate Summit at UN headquarters in September 2019.

1. Vishnu P R, from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, is the CEO of ''Change Can Change Climate Change (C5) Foundation'', an

organisation focused on climate change mitigation and adaptation projects.

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Science

1. IIT-Guwahati Researchers developed lab grown meat, which is nutritious and will be a step towards cruelty-free food.

2. NASA confirmed Europa Clipper Mission, an interplanetary mission to Jupiter’s smallest moon Europa, to be launched by 2023.

It will explore Jupiter’s moon Europa and investigate whether icy moon can have suitable conditions for sustaining life.

1. Jupiter’s Galilean moon Europa consists of a huge ocean of liquid water beneath its icy shell. The water is in contact with the

rocky core of the moon, which according to space scientists, make a range of interesting chemical reactions possible.

3. NASA named rock on Mars in honour of the iconic English band, The Rolling Stones. The Rolling Stones Rock was a stone that

was sent rolling after NASA's InSight lander touched down on Mars.

4. Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Hyderabad in collaboration with several other research institutions have

developed a device to detect heart diseases with high speed, sensitivity and reliability.

5. Researchers at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (US) developed biggest-ever computer chip using carbon nanotubes

(CNT)- RV16XNano. RV16XNano is a 16-bit processor that contains 14,000 transistors — electronic switches.

6. Researchers sighted critically endangered species of tarantula- Peacock Parachute Spider for first time beyond its known habitat

in the Eastern Ghats. Its known habitat is in degraded forests near Nandyal in Andhra Pradesh. It was sighted in a cave in

Pakkamalai Reserve Forests (in Eastern Ghats) near Gingee in Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu.

7. Scientists from Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) discovered seven new species of water treaders belonging to genus Mesovelia.

Water treaders are semi-aquatic insects that can walk or run on surface of water.

1. These new discoveries include Mesovelia andamana from Andaman Islands, M. isiasi and M. bispinosa from Meghalaya, M.

tenuia and M. occulta from Tamil Nadu and M. dilatata and M. brevia in Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu. Their size ranges from

1.5 mm to 4.5 mm.

Top

Sports

1. 2019 BWF Para-Badminton World Championships held at St. Jakobshalle in Basel (Switzerland), as 12th edition of the

tournament.

1. It was first time that Para-Badminton World Championships is held together with World Badminton Championships in same

venue.

2. Medal Tally -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 China 7 3 3 13

2 Indonesia 4 2 4 10

3 India 3 4 4.5 11.5

4 England 3 2.5 1.5 7

5 South Korea 1 2 4 7

3. India Ranked 3rd with 12 Medals. Sports Ministry awarded Rs 20 lakh to Gold Medalists, 14 lakh to silver medallists and 8

lakhs to bronze. Winners in doubles events were given Rs 15 lakh each for gold, 10.5 lakh each for silver and Rs 6 lakhs for

bronze.

4. Indian Medalists -

1. Category Winner Medal

Men’s Singles SL 3 Pramod Bhagat Gold

Men’s Doubles – SL 3, SL 4 Pramod Bhagat & Manoj Sarkar Gold

Women’s Singles SL 3 Manasi Girishchandra Joshi Gold

Men’s Singles SL4 Tarun Silver

Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4 Kumar Nitesh & Tarun Silver

Men’s Doubles SS6 Nagar Krishna & Raja Magotra Silver

Women’s Singles SL3 Parul Dalsukhbhai Parmar Silver

Men’s Singles SL3 Manoj Sarkar Bronze

Men’s Singles SL4 Sukant Kadam Bronze

Men’s Singles SS6 Nagar Krishna Bronze

Men’s Doubles SL3-SL4 Umesh Vikram Kumar with Chawarat Kitichokwattana Bronze

Men’s Doubles SU5 Raj Kumar & Rakesh Pandey Bronze

2. 2019 Badminton World Federation (BWF) World Championships held at St. Jakobshalle in Basel (Switzerland), as 25th Edition.

1. Winners -Category Winner Runner

Men’s Singles Kento Momota (Japan) Anders Antonsen (Denmark)

Women’s Singles PV Sindhu (India) Nozomi Okuhara (Japan)

Men’s Doubles Mohammad Ahsan & Hendra Setiawan (Indonesia) Takuro Hoki & Yugo Kobayash (Japan)

Women’s Doubles Mayu Matsumoto & Wakana Nagahara (Japan) Yuki Fukushima & Sayaka Hirota (Japan)

Mixed Doubles Zheng Siwei & Huang Yaqiong (China) Dechapol Puavaranukroh & Sapsiree Taerattanachai(Thailand)

2. Medal Table -

1. Rank Nation Gold Silver Bronze Total

1 Japan 2 3 1 6

2 China 1 0 4 5

3 Indonesia 1 0 2 3

4 India 1 0 1 2

5 Thailand 0 1 2 3

3. India's Two Medals -

1. Gold Won by PV Sindhu (India) in Women's singles, defeating Nozomi Okuhara (Japan). PV Sindhu became 1st Indian

to win a Badminton World Championships gold.

2. Bronze Won by B Sa Praneeth who reached semi-finals after defeating Indonesia’s Jonatan Christie. He lost to Kento

Momota of Japan in semifinal.

3. Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) extended Paytm’s association as title sponsor for Indian cricket team for all matches

- domestic and international, played in India for 5 more years. Paytm bagged sponsorship rights by signing deal for INR 326.80

crores, between 2019 and 2023.

4. Gokulam Kerala FC defeated Mohun Bagan FC to win 2019 Durand cup Football (129th edition) in Kolkata. It was Kerala's

Durand cup title. Other Awards -

1. Golden Ball & Golden Boot awards - Gokulam Kerala FC's Marcus Joseph.

2. Golden Glove - Gokulam Kerala FC’s goalkeeper CK Ubaid.

5. India won 19 Medals at WorldSkills International Competition 2019 in Kazan (Russia), as India's Best ever finish at the event.

Indian team won one Gold, one Silver and two Bronze medals besides 15 Medallions of Excellence at the competition.

1. S Aswatha Narayana represented Odisha and won a Gold medal in Water Technology. He was also rewarded as ‘Best of

Nation’ amongst the Indian competitors.

2. Pranav Nutalapati represented Karnataka and won Silver Medal in Web Technologies.

3. Sanjoy Pramanik represented West Bengal and won Bronze Medal in Jewellery.

6. India won 2 golds and 1 bronze in World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid (Spain) -

1. Event Name Medal

Recurve Cadet-Women Komalika Bari Gold

Compound junior mixed team Raginee Markoo and Singh Sukhbeer Gold

Compound junior men’s team Sangampreet Bisla, Sanjay Phadtare and Singh Sukhbeer Bronze

7. India won 2019 Women's Ready Steady Tokyo Hockey Tournament in Tokyo (Japan), Defeating Japan. It was a test event for

field hockey tournament at 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Tournament featured four of top nations in women's field hockey -

India, China, Japan and Australia.

8. Misc. Sports events (August 2019) -

1. Australian Female Cricketer Ellyse Perry became first cricketer (Both Male / Female) to reach milestone of scoring 1000 runs

and taking 100 wickets in the T20 format.

2. India won 6 medals at Magomed Salam Umakhanov Memorial International Boxing Tournament 2019 in Kaspiysk (Russia).

India won 2 golds, 1 silver, and 3 bronze. Lovlina Borgohain (69kg) and Neeraj (57kg) won Gold Medals.

3. Germany cancer researcher Fiona Kolbinger became first woman to win cycling’s Transcontinental Race 2019, from Bulgaria

to France. She cycled for more than 2,485 miles across Europe in just over 10 days.

4. Indian men’s 20km race walk team that finished 4th in IAAF World Race Walking Cup held in 2012 in Russia, has now been

honored with a Bronze after disqualification of second-placed Ukrainian team for dope violation.

5. Indian Army team won 5th Army International Scout Masters Competition held at Jaisalmer Military Station (Rajasthan),

which had participation from 8 Nations.

6. Bangalore(Karnataka) will host 10th AASF (Asia Swimming Federation) Asian Age Group Championships 2019 in September

- October 2019. Swimming Federation of India(SFI)will organize the 9-day event.

7. Indian Wrestler Vinesh Phogat won gold in women’s 53kg category at Poland Open wrestling tournament in Warsaw

(Poland).

8. India's Surya Shekar Ganguly won 2019 Belt and Road China Hunan International Chess tournament at Hunan province

(China).

9. Cricket Australia announced new transgender inclusive policy, enabling transgender players to play the game of cricket at

highest levels.

10. World Archery suspended Archery Association of India, causing panic for Indian archers looking to compete at Olympics.

However, World Archery wrote to Indian Olympic Association, stating that suspension might be lifted if a clear roadmap is

established.

11. Chris Gayle became first West Indies' cricketer to play 300 ODIs, achieving this against India.

12. Indian Army participated in Sniper Frontier Competition 2019 in Belarus, as part of International Army Games.

13. Indian junior Badminton players won 6 medals at the Bulgarian Junior International Championships in Pazardzhik. Medals

comprised of three gold, a silver and two bronze. Gold medals were won by Samiya Imad Faruqui (women's singles), duo of

Edvin Joy and Shruti Mishra in Mixed Doubles and pair of Tanisha Crasto and Aditi Bhatt in women's doubles.

14. Women’s Cricket team of Thailand broke world record by winning 17th successive T20 international match, surpassing

record held by Australian Women (16 victories).

15. Indian female wrestler Vinesh Phogat won silver in Medved event 2019 in Minsk (Belarus), after losing to N Malisheva of

Russia.

16. American Artistic gymnast Simone Arianne Biles became first woman in world to make a “triple-double” floor exercise

landing, during 2019 US Gymnastics Championships. Triple double involves two flips and three twists in air, done by only 2

men before her.

17. India won T20 Physical Disability World Cricket Series 2019 defeating England in England. 6 teams had participated in

tournament.

18. Cricket Association of Uttarakhand (CAU) has been granted full membership in BCCI by Committee of Administrators

(CoA), fulfilling a long standing demand.

19. Indian Cricketer Virat Kohli became first batsman to score 20,000 international runs in a decade, achieving this during a

match against West Indies.

20. FIFA banned former Nigeria coach Samson Siasia for lifetime, after he was found guilty of a violation of FIFA Code of Ethics.

21. Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) sports personnel won 10 medals, at World Police and Fire Games 2019 (WPFG-

2019) held at Chengdu, China.

22. Indian Football club Chennai City FC partnered with German sports goods supplier "uhlsport", to support sustainable

growth of football education in India.

23. Australia's Marnus Labuschagne become 1st Concussion Substitute player in history of International cricket. A Concussion

Replacement is a player who takes place of a player who has been replaced for remainder of the match. In Ashes Series 2019

between Australia and England, Steve Smith was ruled out due to concussion.

24. India will host World Youth Chess Championship 2019, in Mumbai in October 2019.

25. BCCI Ombudsman DK Jain ordered for reduction in Lifetime ban of Indian cricketer S. Sreesanth, who was alleged in a

match-fixing scandal in 2013. His ban is now lowered to 7 years which will end by September 2020.

26. India’s junior women boxers won four gold, four silver and four bronze medals at 3rd Nation’s Cup in Vrbas, Serbia. BGold

medalists are - Tamanna (48 kg), Ambeshori Devi (57 kg), Preeti Dahiya (60 kg), Priyanka (66 kg).

27. IOCL beat Army XI to win Dolo-650 Bangalore Cup All India Hockey Tournament in Bengaluru.

28. Bhubaneswar (Odisha) become first venue to get clearance for FIFA U-17 Women's world cup to be hosted by India in 2020,

in 4 cities.

29. Former French Footballer and now actor, Eric Cantona will be honoured with 2019 UEFA President’s Award, for his

outstanding achievements. Also, Dutch footballer Virgil van Dijk won UEFA Player of the Year award in Male category and

English footballer Lucy Bronze won Women's Player of the Year award.

30. Indian sprinter VK Vismaya won gold medal in women’s 400m race at International Athletic Meeting – Josef Seckar

Memorial (MJS) in Brno, Czech Republic.

31. Cricketer Jalaj Saxena (Player for Kerala) became only Indian cricketer to score 6000 runs in first-class cricket and take 300

wickets. he still hasn't played for India.

9. World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) suspended accreditation of India's National Dope Testing Laboratory (NDTL) for six

months, due to non-conformities with International Standard for Laboratories (ISL) by NDTL as identified during WADA site

visit.

1. With rising trust issues, WADA had warned NDTL to improve its testing methods and types of equipment in September

2018. But NDTL subsequently failed to meet standards, forcing WADA to recommend its suspension following its visit to the

lab in May 2019.

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