August 2020 FLASH CA

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1. July 30 - World day against trafficking in persons
2. July 30 - International Day of Friendship
3. July 31 - World Ranger Day 2020 (30 FRIENDS TRAFFICKED BY A RANGER ON 31TH JULY)
4. National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 - replaced NEP, 1986
5. Tripartite MoU - CSIR, UBA-IIT Delhi and VIBHA = Adopt CSIR Technologies
6. Narendra Modi & Pravind Jugnauth virtually inaugurated Supreme Court building in maldives
7. BOB Financial Solutions Limited = Fiserv, Inc for Digital Transformation
8. Praj - MoU - ARAI = to Jointly Develop Advanced Biofuels Application technology
9. DIAT Developed ‘Aashray’ - the Medical Bed Isolation System to Combat COVID-19 (DIA ne AASHRAY DIA)
10. Vinay M Tonse - MD & CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd = Replaced Ashwani Bhatia (VINAY HAS
TONse OF FUND IN SBI)
11. Pacific Alliance Group (PAG) to Acquire 51% Stake in Edelweiss Wealth Management for 2,200 Crore (USD 300
million)
12. Veteran Assamese Folk Singer Archana Mahanta Passed Away at the age of 72 in Guwahati
(MAHAN(mahanta) FOLK SINGER always start the song with AA(A = Archana and A = assam))
13. Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Arunachalam Lakshmanan Passed Away at the age of 78 (ARUN will
JUDGE LAKSHMAN)
14. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated State’s First Marine Ambulance ‘Pratheeksha’ in Kochi
(PRATHEEKSHA karo, MARINE AMBULANCE is coming)
15. Iran Launched the Underground Ballistic Missiles
16. Indian GM P. Harikrishna Finishes – 2nd in Grandmaster Triathlon Tournament
17. England Won the Final Wisden Trophy against West Indies by 2-1
18. 1st five of 36 French Rafale fighter jets landed at Haryana’s Ambala Airbase
19. eBook titled “Standard Treatment Guidelines for the Management of Substance Use Disorders and
Behavioural Addictions” released by Dr. Harsh Vardhan
20. India + Indonesia - to expand the military ties (IND+IND = expand)
21. India - MoU – Zimbabwe = on Traditional System of Medicine and Homeopathy (ZIM sounds like GYM –
GONE TO GYM, INJURED AND HAVE TO TAKE MEDICINE NOW)
22. UNICEF Published “The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future
Potential” (ENVIRONMENT WORD IS IN UNICEF)
23. Varun Sridhar = New CEO of Paytm Money (VARUN IS MONEY CONCIOUS)
24. TATA Capital Growth Fund invested 30 Million USD for 0.85% Stake in Biocon Biologics
25. NASA’s Mars rover ‘Perseverance’ launched to seek signs of ancient life
26. Folk musician and Padma Shri awardee = Sonam Tshering Lepcha died at 92
27. Former Malayalam Actor = Anil Murali passed away at the age of 51
28. AIM launched + Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation + Wadhwani Foundation - ‘AIM-iCREST’(WADHWANI KA
AIM HAI BILL GATES SE UPAR JANA)
29. Piyush Goyal Inaugurated CII National Digital Conference on “Easing of Doing Business for Atmanirbhar
Bharat”
30. 6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting - represented by Prakash Javadekar
31. SIDBI + TransUnion CIBIL - ”MSMESaksham” for MSMEs (SIDBI AUR CIBIL SAKSHAM HAI)
32. Kotak Mahindra Bank Launched a Two-Month Campaign, ‘Kona Kona Umeed’ (KK – KODAK KONA KONA ME
UMMED DEGA)
33. MobiKwik Launched mpay.me = Personalized UPI Payment Link
34. Reliance Power + JERA - loan agreement for new power plant in Bangladesh
35. Ivory Coast’s Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko Appointed as new PM
36. Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd Appointed Former RBI Governor Urjit Patel as Additional & Independent
Director (URJIT WENT FROM WEST(rbi HQ) to EAST)
37. Aug 1-7 = World Breastfeeding Week 2020
38. AP Governor cleared three State-capital Bills and CRDA Repeal Bills 2020
39. Jitendra Singh Laid Foundation Stones Various Construction Works under PMGSY-II
40. Madhya Pradesh launched “Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi” public awareness campaign (MADHYA ME REHKR EK
MASK SE ANEK ZINDGI BACHA SAKTE HAI)
41. Maharashtra Govt. Approved MagNet project worth Around Rs 1,000 crore
42. Haryana used drone for aerial seeding to increase green cover in Aravallis
43. Pawan Hans launched Helicopter service in UttaraKhand under UDAN scheme
44. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi bridge in Bihar
45. Narendra Singh Tomar Released Booklet on ‘Best Practices in Digital India Land Records Modernization
Programme’
46. MoMSME launched programme under “Gramodyog Vikas Yojana” (GRAMUDYOG KA VIKSA MSME KAREGI)
47. Hardeep Singh Puri launched ARHCs Knowledge Pack and CREDAI app
48. Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Launched India Report – Digital Education June 2020
49. India & UK = tied up for new 8 Million Pounds Medicinal Research
50. 66th SKOCH Summit Awards - Ministry of Tribal Affairs received SKOCH Gold Award
51. India + Israel = to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds
52. German Footballer Benedikt Howedes retired at 32
53. Sa. Kandasamy - Sahitya Akademi Awardee passed away at 81 in Chennai
54. ‘Greenlights’ the debut book - by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey
55. August 3 = World Sanskrit Day 2020
56. August 1 = First Muslim Women Rights Day
57. Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy launched - ‘E-Raksha Bandhan’
58. Government of Rajasthan Approved 5% Reservation in Judicial Service for MBC
59. Rajesh Kumar - Manipur Chief Secretary
60. India withdrawn from Women’s World Team Squash Championship 2020
61. Nitin Gadkari Approved the Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanribhar Mission Proposed by KVIC
62. Harsh Vardhan - Completion of Pan-India 1000 Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2
63. Smart India Hackathon (Software) 2020 Launched by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’
64. Harsh Vardhan launched ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan 2020-21’ (VIGYAN - HARSH)
65. IFSCA Set Up Expert Committee headed by Pradip Shah to Suggest Ways to Develop of International Retail
Businesses
66. Mohamed Irfaan Ali - the President of Guyana (GUY NAME ALI IS A PRESIDENT)
67. Rajiv Gandhi International Airport got additional Thermal screening system
68. Mercedes Lewis Hamilton Won British Grand Prix 7th Time
69. Kamal Rani Varun - Minister of Technical Education of U.P, died at 62 (BJP – KAMAL - UP)
70. Former AP Minister & BJP Minister P Manikyala Rao died at 59 due to COVID-19 (BJP HAD MANI)
71. Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Released a Book Titled “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata” (BIHAR CM ASKED BJP FOR SIYASAT
ME SADASYATA)
72. Book - “Vishesh: Code to Win” authored by Nirupama Yadav
73. A COVID prevention kiosk - “UV Baggage Bath” inaugurated at Bengaluru station (BAGGEGE BATH
BENGALURU)
74. Nobel Peace Prize Winner John Hume Passed Away at 83 (HUME WAS NOBEL GUY)
75. Former Arunachal Pradesh Governor Ram D Pradhan passes away (PRADHAN OF ARUNACHAL)
76. Government of AP - MoU - Hindustan Unilever Ltd, P&G and ITC = to Support Economic Empowerment of
Women
77. Two-day international webinar on ‘Lokmanya Tilak – Swaraj to Self-Reliant India’
78. Axis Bank unveils AXAA ,an AI powered conversational banking IVR
79. MoD releases draft Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy 2020
80. IIT Kanpur + DAR & PG + MoD - agreement for using AI, ML to address grievances
81. IIT Madras + Helyxon - First Remote Patient Monitoring Solution for COVID-19
82. Listed entities got 3 years to meet criteria of minimum 25% public shareholding
83. 1st time, India Railways uses NTC machine for track construction
84. Canara Bank + 3 insurers = to Provide Individual Short-Term Corona Kavach Policy
85. National Bank of Bahrain - Infosys Finacle = to Digitally Transform its Transaction Banking Business (INFOSYS
BEH GAYA)
86. Sunil ydv SS received the Karmaveer Chakra of United Nations and iCONGO
87. Sashidhar Jagdishan = Next MD & CEO of HDFC Bank - Succeed Aditya Puri
88. August 1 - World Lung Cancer Day 2020
89. Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launched Parivar Pehchan Patras
90. Haryana Minister Anil Vij Launched “Works Management System” Web Portal (HARYANA KNOWS HOW TO
MANAGE THE WORK)
91. AP Government signed an MoU with ISB = to drive economic growth of the state
92. A device named “AJO-Neo” developed by SNBNCBS
93. KVIC – MoU - ITBP = to supply mustard oil (KISANO KO ITBP MUSTARD OIL DEGA)
94. Prahlad Singh Patel - inaugurated 1st golf course of Mizoram, “Thenzawl Golf Resort”
95. Uttarakhand = India’s first snow leopard conservation centre in Uttarkashi district
96. First-ever Vyapar Mala express train for small traders ran by Northern Railway
97. India contributed USD 15.46 mn to India-UN Development Partnership Fund of UNOSS
98. Airtel + Multi Year Strategic Collaboration + Amazon = to Tap Startups and SMB (A = AIRTEL, A= AMAZON)
99. US conducted test flight of LGM-30G Minuteman III, an intercontinental ballistic missile
100. CPCB Developed COVID19BWM App = to Track Biomedical Waste
101. World cup captain Spanish Footballer Iker Casillas announced retirement at 39
102. Former Maharashtra CM, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar passed away at 88
103. Ebrahim Alkazi - Father of Modern Indian theatre & Padma Awardee Passed Away at 94
104. William English - co-creator of computer mouse = passed away aged 91
105. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat & Smriti Irani Launched the book ‘Swachh Bharat Kranti’ (Shekhwat ji ne IRAN me
bhi SWACH BHARAT KRANTI ki)
106. Oman India Joint Investment Fund II Acquired 1.63% stake in DCB Bank for 41.52 CR
107. Indian Railways introduced OHE Inspection app for real-time monitoring
108. Pulitzer Prize-winning fiction novelist Shirley Ann Grau died at 91
109. Book ‘RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations’ by Yatish Yadav
110. Haryana - Mahila Evam Kishori Samman Yojana & Mukhya Mantri Doodh Uphar Yojana
111. Chhattisgarh - Shaheed Mahendra Karma Tendupatta Sangrahak Samajik Suraksha Yojana
112. Punjab govt + YuWaah for youth development = launched ‘Pride of Punjab’
113. India’s first mobile RT-PCR COVID lab was inaugurated in Karnataka
114. Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel launched by Narendra Singh Tomar
115. India extended US$18 mn LOC to Maldives for expansion of fishing facilities
116. Airtel Payments Bank + Bharti AXA General Insurance = “Smart Plan Shop Package Policy”
117. FutureBrand Index 2020 = Reliance Industries Ranked 2nd after Apple
118. Prem Bhatia award 2020 - Dipankar Ghose and PARI, a Non-Profit Journalism Website
119. 20th edition of New York Indian Film Festival = ‘Moothon’ and ‘Son Rise’ wins
120. Manoj Sinha = Lt Governor of J&K - Succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu
121. Ajay Tyagi, Chairman of SEBI got Another 18 Months Extension
122. Win Trade Fantasy Sports (WTF) brand ambassadors - Suresh Raina, Harmanpreet Kaur
123. Veteran Sports Journalist Gopal krishan (GK) Menon Passed Away at 93
124. August 12 - UN International Youth Day 2020
125. August 12 - World Elephant Day 2020
126. Goa - MoU - NSDC = for setting up World-Class Skill Development Institute
127. Delhi Gov - MoU - IIT-Bombay and Tata Projects Limited = for 20 m Smog Tower
128. August 13 = World Organ Donation Day 2020
129. August 13 = International Left handers Day 2020
130. Punjab CM Launched ‘Punjab Smart Connect Scheme’ to Provide Free Smartphones
131. Odisha - Approved 20 Proposals including 4 Mega Drinking Water Projects
132. Tripartite MoU – Goa govt - GIZ India - Siemens Limited = to Provide German Vocational Training in ITIs
133. WB Launched ‘Karma Sathi Prakalpa’ scheme to Provide Soft Loans, Subsidies to Youth
134. Telangana + C4IR & WEF, India - launched AI for Agricultural Innovation Program
135. Odisha Enhanced Punishment for Non-Compliance of Covid-19 regulations
136. Nitin Gadkari unveiled Microwave device ‘Atulya’ to disintegrate novel Coronavirus
137. 24 “Atma Nirbhar App Innovation Challenge” winners announced by Govt
138. PM Launched “Transparent Taxation – Honoring the Honest” platform
139. India Extended USD 1 Million to Antigua and Barbuda’s COVID-19 Response
140. Katra-Delhi Express Road Corridor to be completed by 2023
141. Goa’s Khaje, Moira bananas, Harmal Chillies = gets GI tag
142. Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince - USD 25mn to Expand UCS to 6 countries
143. RBI Mandated System-based Asset Classification for UCBs
144. Federal Bank + Fiserv, Inc = to Support Launch of ‘Federal Bank Credit Card’
145. Israel successfully tested its Arrow-2 Ballistic Missile Interceptor
146. Israel shared AI-based technology, high-end equipment with AIIMS
147. European Union = 1.65 million euros - to Support Victims of South Asia Floods
148. RBI Tightened Norms for Core Investment Companies
149. HDFC Bank - Launched ‘Shaurya KGC Card’ for Indian Armed Forces
150. Subhash Sheoratan Mundra - Non-Executive Chairman of Indiabulls Housing Finance
151. Harbhajan Singh - Brand Ambassador of amritser based eBikeGO
152. Indian Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel “Sarthak” launched
153. IIT Ropar + Momentum India Private Limited = Developed “UVSAFE”
154. IIT Delhi Found WHO listed Priority Pathogens in the River Yamuna
155. Veteran Malayalam Poet, lyrist and Drama Writer Chunakkara Ramankutty Passed Away
156. Assam Government - to Launch ‘Orunodoi’ Scheme to provide Financial Assistance
157. Delhi Govt - MoU - Bloomberg Philanthropies = to Enhance Road Safety
158. TERI launcheed Early Warning System for Guwahati after Mumbai and Chennai
159. Rajnath Singh Launched 15 Products Developed by Defence PSUs and OFB
160. Rajnath Singh Launched Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation
161. NHA Approved to Integrate Health Schemes of Central Ministries with Ayushman Bharat Scheme
162. India - MoU - Nigeria = on Space Cooperation
163. India Granted USD 500 mn Aid for Maldives Connectivity Project
164. India = aims to Achieve Zero Road Fatalities by 2030
165. Odisha - topped in Implementation of AMRUT Scheme
166. As per WHO & UNICEF Report - 818 million Children Across the World Lack Basic Hand Washing Facilities at
their Schools
167. Rajnath Singh Launched portal SRIJAN as a part of “opportunities for Make in India in Defence”
168. AIM + NASSCOM - launched Atal Tinkering Lab(ATL) AI Step-up module
169. EU launched Nirmanshree For Odisha and Maharashtra Women
170. RBI’s approved a dividend of Rs 57,128 crore to Central Govt
171. Playback Singer Shahzan Mujeeb - First National Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation
172. ISRO’s Chandryaan-2 Captured Images of the Moon - one of the Craters Named ‘Sarabhai Crater’
173. IISc and ISRO developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures named “Space Bricks” on the
surface of the moon
174. NSE’s Investor Protection Fund Trust (NSE IPFT) + IIMB - to offer Platform for Investor Education
175. “A Bend in Time: Writings by Children on the Covid-19 pandemic” = Authored by Bijal Vachharajani
176. August 15 - Celebration of India’s 74th Independence Day 2020
177. Chhattisgarh Govt Launched ‘Padhai Tuhar Para’ scheme for school students
178. Nagaland CM launched ‘Yellow Chain’ e-commerce platform on Independence day 2020
179. Meghalaya CM Launched Restart Meghalaya Mission Worth Rs. 14,515 Crore to Revive Activities
180. Kiren Rijiju - launched a country-wide event “Fit India Freedom Run” from August 15 (74th Independence
Day) to October 2 (151st Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi)
181. AYUSH Ministry launched three-month campaign on “Ayush for Immunity”
182. PM Announced Launch of New Projects incl national digital health mission
183. Gwalior Chambal Expressway - renamed Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway
184. Indian Railways Constructing World’s Tallest Pier Bridge Across River Ijai in Manipur
185. Union Minister of SJE Thaawarchand Gehlot Launched ‘Nasha-Mukt Bharat’ Campaign
186. Nitin Gadkari laid foundation stone for 13 highway projects in Manipur
187. UK Launched £1.5 million Fund for India to Tackle Covid-19 Challenges & Climate Change
188. Piyush Goyal Inaugurated 4th edition of NPPC 2020: Digital Exhibitions and Conferences
189. PNB Launched ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’, a Campaign to Promote Digital Banking
190. Google + CWC = for Flood Forecasting Initiatives on android phones
191. AIFF + SAI = Launched “E-pathshala” a Web Platform to Promote Football
192. Lewis Hamilton Claimed Record 156th Podium Finish with 88th Win at Spanish GP
193. Ex-Air Vice Marshal Arjun Subramaniam Authored = “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″
194. Prashant Joshi = Appointed DBS Bank India Ltd MD and Head of National Distribution
195. Cricketer Rohit Sharma = Appointed - Oakley’s Brand Ambassador in India for two years
196. Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda inaugurated Tribal Health & Nutrition Portal – “Swasthya”
197. Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) launched
VedKrishi.com
198. England Cricketer Laura Marsh announced her retirement
199. British tennis player and two-time Grand Slam Doubles champion Angela Buxton died at 85
200. Inventor of Pixel & Computer Scientist, Russell A. Kirsch passed away at 91
201. Andhra CM Launched UPI-based Payment facilities in 15004 village and ward secretariats through VC
202. Gujarat Chief Secretary - Anil Mukim = got 6 Month Extension from September 1, 2020 to February 28, 2021
203. Two Flyover of Ahmedabad will be named After Late Arun Jaitley & Sushma Swaraj
204. Govt extended Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 by 3 months till Nov 11, 2020
205. Ministry of Home Affairs approved the renaming of Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh as ‘Banaras’.
206. India ranked 1st in number of organic farmers and 9th in terms of area under organic farming
207. Dr Harsh Vardhan addressed CII two-day long Public Health Conference
208. UAE-Israel peace agreement named “Abraham Accord”
209. Flipkart - MoU - IIT Patna = for Industry Focused applied research
210. Forbes’ list of highest paid actors for the year 2020 - Akshay Kumar Ranked 6th
211. Satya Pal Malik = Appointed as Governor of Meghalaya - replaced Tathagata Roy
212. Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari given Additional Charge of Goa
213. 13th Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation held
virtually
214. Rakesh Asthana IPS = appointed as the Director General of the Border Security Force along with the Director
General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
215. Draupadi Murmu, governor of Jharkhand and Hemant Soren Chief Minister of Jharkhand introduced the New
State emblem at the Aryabhatta Auditorium, Ranchi
216. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist of World Health Organisation(WHO) has received Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister’s(CM’s) special award
217. Venkaiah Naidu Virtually Announced ARIIA 2020 Results – IIT Madras Topped
218. August 19 - World Humanitarian Day 2020
219. August 19 - World Photography Day 2020
220. Punjab - First Rank in Health, Welfare Centre Operationalisation
221. Biodegradable Mask “Pavitrapati” & Anti-microbial Body Suit “Aushada Tara” developed by DIAT
222. Ravi Shankar Prasad Launched “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge
223. MoTA - MoU - MoRD = to Take convergence endeavour ahead
224. 41 Lakh Youths Lost Their Jobs of India Due to COVID-19 as per ILO-ADB Report
225. ADB - USD 1 billion loan for Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System
226. RBI Released Framework for Authorisation of Pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments
227. Bharti AXA Life Insurance - Bancassurance - SBM Bank India
228. Fino Payments Bank Ltd Launched ‘Jan BachatKhata’, AEPS Based Digital Savings Account
229. Universal Sompo General Insurance + BSE EBIX = to sell General Insurance products
230. Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance + Element AI = for AI Transformation
231. YES Bank + KFin Technologies Launched ‘Loan against Securities’
232. St Christopher School in Nagaland won Pallikkutam National Award for Innovation in Education
233. Ganesh Vilas Lengare Awarded Star 2020 Certificate by World Book of Records, London
234. 54th President of Dominican Republic - Luis Rodolfo Abinader sworn
235. Ashok Lavasa Resigns to take charge as the Vice President of Asian Development Bank
236. Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Resigned after Military Mutiny
237. Reliance Acquired 60% stake in Vitalic Health Pvt Ltd & 100% direct ownership of Netmeds
238. Central Railway’s Mumbai Division Introduced Drone Based Surveillance System for Railway Security
239. All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) – MoU - Delhi Police = for extending ayurvedic mode of preventive and
promotive health services
240. Filmmaker-actor Nishikant Kamat Passed Away at the Age of 50
241. Michael Cohen’s Book “Disloyal: The True Story of the Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J.
Trump” is Set to Publish on 8 sept 2020
242. LIC acquired 4.23% Stake of YES Bank
243. SAI + CISCE + CBSE launched Khelo India mobile app Online Training Programme
244. Writer and activist Sadia Dehlvi died aged 63
245. CPM leader and former West Bengal Transport Minister Shyamal Chakraborty died at 76
246. Padma Shri awardee and prominent cultural historian Mukund Lath died at 82
247. “Amazing Ayodhya” – A new book to tell the history of Ayodhya
248. August 7, 2020 = 6th edition of National Handloom Day
249. India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’ flagged off from Devlali Railway Station of Maharashtra
250. PM Modi Addressed Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education
251. IBBI amended IBBI (Liquidation Process) Regulations 2016
252. NHAI - MoU - IIT Delhi = Strengthen data-driven decision making
253. UNESCO Recognises Two Coastal Villages of Odisha as Tsunami Ready
254. Simplilearn + NSDC = to Upskill Professionals in Digital Skills
255. SL Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa registers landslide victory
256. Exim Bank extended USD 250 million line of credit to Mozambique
257. ADB - USD 200 mn financing deal with Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited
258. Former J&K Governor GC Murmu appointed as 14th CAG = Replaces Rajiv Mehrishi
259. Prof. Pradeep Kumar Joshi = UPSC chairman
260. PNB Housing Finance New MD and CEO - Hardayal Prasad, Former SBI Card Head
261. Maharashtra = First State to Partner with Google India to Provide Learning Tools for Schools
262. CSIR - MoU - FSSAI = for Collaborative Research and Information Dissemination
263. Ramesh Pokhriyal Inaugurated Two Day Global Conference on Reimagining and Transforming the University
Organised by O.P. Jindal Global University
264. SEBI revised IFSC guidelines, 2015’
265. Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards 2020 - IIT-Kharagpur Researchers
266. Panel Under RoDTEP Scheme for Exporters to be Headed by G K Pillai
267. Smriti Irani launched Mobile App & Backend Website for Handloom Mark Scheme
268. Delhi Airport develops ‘Air Suvidha’ portal for all international arriving passengers
269. IIT Guwahati + Imperial College London = developed nanoparticle ‘meta-grid’
270. SII + Gavi + Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation = to accelerate the manufacture & Delivery of COVID-19
vaccines for India
271. Former MP Nandi Yellaiah died due to COVID-19 at 85
272. August 08, 2020 = 78th Anniversary of Quit India Movement –
273. Meghalaya Cabinet Approved Policy on Reservation of 50% Seats for Women
274. Flipkart - MoU - U.P. Government under ODOP scheme
275. Gujarat Announced New Industrial Policy 2020
276. DIAT, Pune won first prize in Smart India Hackathon 2020
277. August 9 - International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020
278. August 9 - Nagasaki Day 2020
279. August 10 - World Biofuel Day 2020:
280. Chhattisgarh CM Announced the Launch of “Indira Van Mitan Yojana”
281. Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur - First Municipal Corporation to Provide Forest Land Right Certificates to Urban
People
282. Bihar State Pollution Control Board - MoA - IIT, Delhi = for air quality management
283. Andhra Pradesh - MoU - Boston Group = to Setup Centre at Visakhapatnam
284. Haryana CM launched Anti Bullying Campaign of Faridabad Police
285. PM Launched Submarine Cable Connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI)
286. PM Launched Financing Facility of Rs.1Lakh crore Under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund
287. IFC to Invest Rs.75 Crore in Endiya Partners Fund II
288. SBM Bank India + InstaReM = to Enhance Outbound Remittance Experience from India
289. NPCI - Launched = Omni-Channel Loyalty Platform, ‘nth Rewards’
290. Walter Roger Martos Ruiz - New Prime Minister of Peru = Succeeds Pedro Cateriano
291. Mohamed Ould Bilal - Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Mauritania
292. Piyush Goyal and Pralhad Joshi Dedicated the Railway Museum at Hubballi to Nation
293. Rajnath Singh Restricted Import of 101 defence items
294. PM inaugurated Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra & Launched ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat’
295. Harsh Kumar Bhanwala = Capital India Finance Executive Chairman
296. IIT Kanpur + Agnys Waste Management Pvt. Ltd - Developed Seed Balls, ‘BEEG’
297. Max Verstappen won F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 2020
298. Former Indian Football defender Laishram Manitombi Singh Died at 39
299. Books - ‘Corona Kavithakal’ ‘Republic Day 2020’ & ‘Thus Speaks the Governor’ Released
300. IC-IMPACTS 2020 Research Conference held Virtually
301. Bangladesh - to Construct a Monument for the Indian Soldiers martyred in 1971
302. Paytm Launched India’s 1st - ‘Paytm All-in-One Portable Android Smart POS’
303. South Indian Bank to Set up Non-Financial Subsidiary
304. Asian College of Journalism Award 2019 - Journalists Nitin Sethi and Shiv Sahay Singh
305. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab Government resigned
306. Finance Minister Launched Online Dashboard for Information on NIP
307. Scientists Identified 77 New Species of Butterflies in Matheran, Maharashtra
308. Plant Species “Ardisia ramaswamii” Named After M S Ramaswami
309. Former Minister Penmatsa Sambasiva Raju Passed Away at 85
310. “Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World” – A Book by Dalai Lama
311. August 10, 2020 - World Lion Day observed virtually
312. Gujarat Launched Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay Yojana Replacing PMFBY for FY21
313. Dadar, Mumbai - first city in India to have female icons on traffic signals
314. Govt Abolished Cotton Advisory Board
315. “India@75 Summit – Mission 2022” Organised by CII – Addressed by Nitin Gadkari
316. NTPC Group achieved 100 Billion Units power generation mark this year
317. PFC - MoA - UP = to Construct 2 Modular Operation Theatre Rooms
318. Assam approved - “Assam Non-Government Education Institutions (Regulation of Fees) Rules 2020”
319. Prakash Javadekar Launched - Booklet on Best practices of Human-Elephant Conflict Management in India &
Beta Version of “Surakhsya”
320. DAC Approved - Approx Rs 8,722.38 cr for Armed Forces under Atmanirbhar Bharat
321. Narendra Singh Tomar Launched Krishi Megh, KVC ALUNET & Online Accreditation System for Agricultural
Institutions
322. MCA Secretary Released Report of the Committee on Business Responsibility Reporting
323. AIM + Dell Technologies = launched 2nd Edition of Student Entrepreneurship Program
324. Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Launched the Swachh Bharat Mission Academy
325. Russia - 1st Country to Register COVID-19 Vaccine, ‘Sputnik V’
326. Belarus president Alexander Lukashenko won sixth term with 80% of votes
327. Reliance Foundation + USAID = to Launch the W-GDP WomenConnect Challenge
328. Bloomberg Index - Mukesh Ambani, 4th richest man in world = Jeff Bezos Topped
329. Pramod Bhasin - new Chairperson of ICRIER, Isher Judge Ahluwalia Resigned
330. World's Lightest Attack Helicopters - Deployed by HAL at Leh, Ladakh
331. Skyroot Aerospace - to Test Fire Upper Stage Rocket Engine Named “Raman”
332. Setting up of National Recruitment Agency for Group B and C of SSC, RRBs and IBPS
333. Leasing out three airports – Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram of AAI through PPP to Adani
Enterprises Ltd for fifty years.
334. Cabinet approved FRP of sugarcane payable by sugar mills at 285 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10%
335. National Seeds Corporation (NSC) – MoU - Jute Corporation of India (JCI) = for Supply of Certified Jute Seeds
to Farmers in 2021-22
336. NPCI Launched - Subsidiary Firm, ‘NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)
337. Unitus Ventures Received Rs 75 Crore (USD 10 million) from SIDBI’s Fund of Funds for Start-ups initiative
338. Keith Christopher Rowley Becomes Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd Consecutive Term
339. Francisco Asue is reappointed as the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea
340. Pinaka rockets fully manufactured by the private sector company “Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL)” - test fired
341. Presence of briny liquid water found on Dwarf Planet Ceres
342. Iran Unveiled Locally Made Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile - Martyr Qassem Soleimani & Cruise Missile -
Martyr Abu Mahdi
343. Former India Footballer (Goalkeeper) turned Coach, Bhaskar Maity passed away at the age of 67
344. Former Cricketer Gopalaswamy Kasturirangan died of heart attack at 89
345. “India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders” - authored by Pradeep
Chhibber & Harsh Shah
346. August 20 - Sadbhavan Diwas 2020
347. August 20 - World Mosquito Day 2020
348. INOX Group to sponsor Team India for Tokyo Olympics
349. National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru released - Report of National Cancer
Registry Programme 2020
350. L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering - MoU - NTPC Ltd = to build a CO2 to methanol demonstration plant in NTPC
Power Station
351. National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) - partnered - the Council for Scientific and Industrial
Research- National Aerospace Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) = to establish an innovation cum incubation centre to
promote the startup in the field of aerospace technologies.
352. “Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2020” by online privacy solutions provider SurfShark
353. India - Cultural Agreement - Israel = to Strengthen Bilateral Relations to Promote People to People Exchange
for 3 years
354. “Youth and COVID-19: Impacts on Jobs, Education, Rights and Mental Well-being” = Published by
International Labour Organization (ILO)
355. August 21 - World Senior Citizen’s Day 2020
356. August 21 - International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2020
357. MP Chhatarpur Police’s ‘Ek Sankalp – Bujurgo ke naam’ campaign proved to be boon for senior citizens
358. AP Govt - MoU - Reliance Retail, Jio and Allana Group = to empower Women SHGs Market Their Products
359. Google launches Kormo for job seekers in India
360. Proposal to expand National Cadet Corps (NCC) in 173 borders, coastal districts approved by Defence
minister
361. Ministry of Shipping - MoU - MSDE for skilling, re-skilling and upskilling of manpower in Port, Maritime
sectors
362. Arjun Munda Virtually Launched Trifood Project of TRIFED in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur,
Chhattisgarh
363. IIM Kozhikode - MoU - Switzerland based HELP Logistics to engage in a collaborative partnership to provide
consulting services and logistics training
364. Om Birla Attended Inaugural Ceremony of 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament
365. RBI Released revised National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE) 2020-2025
366. IBM + National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) = to offer a free digital education platform on
emerging technologies and professional skill development
367. 100% Acquisition of Indian Operations of C&S Electric Limited (C&S) by Siemens Limited
368. L&T Built 27-meter-long Interceptor Boat(IB) ‘ICGS C-454’ of Indian Coast Guard Launched at Surat
369. English Professional Snooker Player Ronnie O’Sullivan won Sixth World Snooker Championship 2020 at
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England
370. Book - ‘One Arranged Murder’ will be released on September 28, 2020
371. Harsh Vardhan Launched FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right India’ Handbook and a website “eatrightindia.gov.in” to support
the stakeholders to scale up ‘Eat Right India’ initiatives across India
372. Atal Innovation Mission and India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre signed a virtual Statement of Intent
(SoI) to promote the innovative potential of Indian Entrepreneurs and to boost the dynamic startup ecosystem
across India.
373. HSBC India Becomes 1st Foreign Bank in India to launch a ‘Green Deposit Programme’ for Corporate Clients
to finance green initiatives and eco-friendly projects
374. Nitin Jairam Gadkari launched Mobile App ‘Harit Path’
375. Ashwani Bhatia - Managing Director of SBI upto May 31, 2022 = Succeeds PK Gupta
376. Union Minister for Consumer Affairs,Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan Launched Online
Registration and Renewal of Gold Hallmarking Centres
377. Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh releases book on cancer – “Gastric Cancer” edited by noted Oncologist Dr
Ashok Vaid
378. August 22 – UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
2020
379. August 22 - Earth Overshoot Day 2020
380. Religare Health Insurance renamed Care Health Insurance
381. Ministry Of Tourism - MoU - Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) & FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) to
organise training, impart digital awareness
382. Report “Population projections for India and States 2011- 2036” by National Commission on Population
383. WHO- invited countries to join its Covid Vaccine Global Access facility by August 31, 2020
384. Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank – MoU - SBI General Insurance Co Ltd = to Sell Insurance
385. RBL Bank - Partnered - Accenture = to transform and enhance the future readiness of the bank’s Information
Technology (IT) systems
386. SBI - Partnered - AddaCorner = to Launch ‘Online Home Carnival’
387. Tata Capital Ltd Launched a New Service, ‘Swift Insta Personal Loans’ on Whatsapp
388. 2020 Leadership Awards from USISPF -Anand Mahindra and Shantanu Narayen
389. Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar - Election Commissioner = succeeds Ashok Lavasa
390. ICICI Lombard & Bharti AXA Signed Agreement to Merge their Insurance Businesses
391. The Naval Commanders’ Conference 2020 =19th – 21st August 2020 held in New Delhi
392. Google Launched ‘The Anywhere School’ initiative in more than 250 countries
393. Jacques Kallis, Lisa Caprini Sthalekar(Australia) and Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani (Pakistan) inducted into ICC
Cricket Hall of Fame
394. Wabag Won 2020 Global Water Award for Tertiary Treatment Reverse Osmosis (TTRO) plant at Koyambedu in
Chennai
395. China Launched - Optical Remote-Sensing Satellite “Gaofen-9 05”
396. Indian Coast Guard Ship C-449 Commissioned in Chennai by Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam.
397. India’s First 30 members National Council for Transgender Persons - Chaired by Union Minister of Social
Justice and Empowerment (SJ&E), Thaawar Chand Gehlot
398. Odisha, Chhattisgarh Celebrated Agricultural Festival ‘2020 Nuakhai Juhar’ on August 23
399. The Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) + United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP) = to set up a help desk for MSMEs
400. India’s Longest Guwahati Passenger Ropeway Project Inaugurated connecting the Northern and Southern
banks of the Brahmaputra River
401. Kerala State Dragonfly Festival 2020 aka “Thumbimahotsavam 2020” Launched
402. The book “Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story”authored by Monika Arora, advocate, Sonali Chitalkar (political
Science) and Prerna Malhotra(English)
403. August 23 = UN International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition 2020
404. Odisha Govt launched a scheme ‘Promotion of Intensive Aquaculture through Introduction of Bio-
flocTechnology during the year 2020-21’
405. Delhi Government Launched Niraman Mazdoor Registration Abhiyan for Construction Workers to register
and utilise around 18 assistance schemes
406. SBI General Insurance Launched - ‘Shagun – Gift an Insurance’ Policy for Personal Accident
407. ReNew Power + United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) = to promote increased access to renewable
energy and improved energy efficiency.
408. Himachal Pradesh government - MoU - Micro Tek New Technologies Private Ltd = to set up Electronics
Manufacturing Unit at Baddi, Solan District, Himachal Pradesh
409. August 24 - World Gujarati day 2020
410. Ahmedabad Railway Division Introduced Baggage Sanitization and Wrapping Machine
411. ‘Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Life’
412. India’s multi- wavelength satellite observatory, ASTROSAT Detected Extreme UV light from AUDFs01 Galaxy
which is 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth.
413. Axis Bank to Acquire 17% in Max Life Insurance
414. Twenty-Year old Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash bagged 1st ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations
World Cup (MCWC)
415. MCX Launched India’s 1st Tradeable Real-Time Bullion Index, ‘MCX iCOMDEX Bullion’
416. G Satheesh Reddy gets Two-Year Extension as Chairman of DRDO
417. Tech Mahindra + NITI Aayog’s WEP = to Support Women Entrepreneurs in India
418. Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) - MoUs - AFC India Ltd and
National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) = for Cooperation in Interest of Agriculture & Allied Sectors
419. Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 45 highway projects in MP
420. Niti Aayog Task Force “Sugarcane and Sugar Industry” headed by Ramesh Chand Recommends Linking of
Sugarcane Prices to Sugar Rate
421. Indian Govt + Gov of Maharashtra + MRVC - $500 Mn Loan Agreement - AIIB Inked = to Improve Quality &
Safety of Mumbai’s Suburban Railway Project-III
422. NABARD Introduced a Debt and Credit Guarantee Product, ‘Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee
Programme to ensure uninterrupted flow of credit to NBFC-MFIs’
423. MasterCard – Partnered - Goals101.ai = to create Targeted and Personalised Offers for Bank Cardholders
424. ICICI Bank - 1st Bank in India Uses Satellite Data to Assess Credit Worthiness of Farmers
425. Innoviti – Partnered - Visa = to develop installments platform for face-to-face transactions (VISA IS
INNOVETOR)
426. Association of Indian Football Coaches (AIFC) - MoU - Football Coaches Australia(FCA) = for the development
of Football in India and Australia
427. HDFC Bank + Adobe = to Enhance Digital Customer Experiences (AD OF HDFC)
428. Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Launched 1st of its Kind ‘Smart Assist’, a Real-time Assistance Service (BAJAJ IS
SMART ASSISTANT)
429. Mahindra - MoU - Israeli startup – REE Automotive = to Develop Electric Commercial Vehicles (MAHINDRA
GOT ELECTRIC SHOCK FROM ISRAEL)Marieke Lucas Rijneveld - Youngest Author at the age of 29 to Win
International Booker Prize 2020 for the Book ‘The Discomfort of Evening’
430. Ericsson & UNICEF Partnered to map internet connectivity landscape for schools in 35 countries by the end of
2023 to provide digital learning access to the children
431. IIT Alumni Council - Partnered - Russoft & Moscow State University = to Build World’s Largest & Fastest
Hybrid Quantum Computer in India
432. Shri Rajnath Singh launched mobile App, ‘Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) for NCC
Training
433. RBI - Purchase & Sale of Govt Securities under OMO worth Rs 20,000 crore in two equal tranches of Rs 10,000
crore
434. Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane Released a Book Titled “National Security Challenges: Young
Scholars’ Perspective” Authored by University students
435. Arnold Meyer Spielberg, who Co-designed GE-225 Mainframe Computer Passed Away
436. Delhi Government Launched - ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ Fitness Campaign for Students Confined in
Homes
437. Australian Cricketer Cameron White announced Retirement from Professional Cricket
438. National e-Governance Division (NeGD) – MoU - CSC (Common Service Center) E-Governance Services India
Ltd = to Facilitate UMANG app services at CSCs
439. POWERGRID - MoU - TATA Memorial Centre (TMC) Advanced Centre for Treatment Research & Education in
Cancer (ACTREC)
440. 5th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting Held Through VC
441. HSBC India Launched Omni Collect = to offer multiple payment options on a single platform for businesses.
442. Women of Tamil Nadu - Topped the List of MUDRA Loan Scheme Beneficiaries by availing Rs 58,227 crore
loan.
443. Greenko Energies, Hyderabad - MoU - NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam(NVVN) = to explore renewable energy
power supply solution and energy storage
444. UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Ltd - MoU - National Health Authority (NHA) = to Provide Print
Services of E-Cards for AB-PMJAY Beneficiaries
445. Indian Table Tennis player Poulomi Ghatak retired at 37
446. Karnataka CM addressed virtual Indo-Japan business forum organised by ICC
447. 17th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Held via VC
448. WHO declared Africa free of Wild Poliovirus
449. RBI Annual Report 2019-20 Released
450. ISRO - MoU - Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, Odisha = to Set up Innovation cum
Incubation Centre
451. Haryana Govt - MoU - M3M Foundation = to facilitate students’ online preparation, training and mentoring
for entrance examinations of government jobs
452. August 24 – 28, 2020 - World Water Week 2020
453. NLCIL (Neyveli Lignite Corporation) won Swachhta Hi Seva 2019 award
454. Indian Table Tennis player Poulomi Ghatak retired at 37
455. NHAI – Developed - ‘Vendor Performance Evaluation System’ = to establish a transparent and comprehensive
performance rating system
456. NITI Aayog + Institute of Competitiveness - Released Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020
457. Nirmala Sitharaman chaired 41st GST Council Meeting to Discuss Compensation for Loss of Revenue to States
458. Vinay M Tonse - MD & CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd = Replaced Ashwani Bhatia (VINAY HAS
459. Pacific Alliance Group (PAG) to Acquire 51% Stake in Edelweiss Wealth Management for 2,200 Crore (USD 300
million)
460. Veteran Assamese Folk Singer Archana Mahanta Passed Away at the age of 72 in Guwahati
(MAHAN(mahanta) FOLK SINGER always start the song with AA(A = Archana and A = assam))
461. Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Arunachalam Lakshmanan Passed Away at the age of 78 (ARUN will
JUDGE LAKSHMAN)
462. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated State’s First Marine Ambulance ‘Pratheeksha’ in Kochi
463. Integration of “ICAR-IIHR Seed Portal with SBI’s YONO Krishi Web Application launched by Narendra Singh
Tomar
464. Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan Resigned Due to Health Issues due to ulcerative colitis
465. Union Minister Piyush Goyal addressed ASEAN-India Business Council Meet
466. Dwayne Bravo - first bowler to take 500 wickets in T20s
467. Ayaka Takahashi, Japan’s 1st Olympic Gold medallist in Badminton Announced Retirement
468. ‘Iraada’ Campaign Launched in J&K to Cover Eligible remaining Beneficiaries under Social Welfare Schemes
SUMMIT/EVENTS/CONFRENCES ETC
DELHI
FM Nirmala Sitharaman chaired 41st GST Council Meeting to Discuss Compensation for Loss of Revenue
to States
13th Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation
held virtually
- Expanding economic partnership was the key agenda of the meeting.
- meeting was co-chaired by Dr. Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan,
Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates.
- India and UAE discussed regional issues concerning their neighbourhood and level of their cooperation
at United Nations and other International forums including Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
- UAE expressed its willingness to further strengthen the links in Energy and Food Security.
- Both the sides agreed to hold the 14th Session of India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting in Abu Dhabi in
2021.
- The India-UAE trade relation is around USD 60 Billion. UAE is the 10th biggest FDI investor in India.
Dr Harsh Vardhan addressed CII two-day long Public Health Conference

- He inaugurated “India Healthcare Week” with the theme “Redefining Healthcare Ecosystem” from 17th
– 21st August 2020
- 3 year-long CII TB free workplaces campaign to ensure TB free workplace, and CII Vision Document on
‘ Strengthening Public Health Delivery – Role of Multiple Stakeholders’ were also launched.
Confederation of Indian Industry DG – Chandrajit Banerjee
LS Speaker Om Birla Attended Inaugural Ceremony of 5th World Conference of Speakers of Parliament
- organised jointly by the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), Geneva and the Parliament of Austria with
the United Nations
- Theme - ‘Parliamentary leadership for more effective multilateralism that delivers peace and
sustainable development for the people and planet’.
- The Second part will be held in physical mode at Vienna, Austria in 2021.
Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) President – Gabriela Cuevas Barron
Headquarter – Geneva, Switzerland
India’s First 30 members National Council for Transgender Persons - Chaired by Union Minister of Social
Justice and Empowerment (SJ&E), Thaawar Chand Gehlot
- The tenure of the community members and experts shall be 3 years.
The Naval Commanders’ Conference 2020 =19th – 21st August 2020 held in New Delhi
- Rajnath Singh addressed the opening session
Karnataka CM addressed virtual Indo-Japan business forum organised by the Indian Chamber of
Commerce (ICC) from Bengaluru
- Chief Minister also signed a Japan-India Start-up Initiative to promote start-ups in the State.
- Set up a 519 acres Japanese Industrial Township at Vasanthanarasapura near Tumakuru to enable more
Japanese investments in the state.
- 25 percent capital investment subsidy on land for industries to boost investments in the electronics
manufacturing sector.
- Odisha’s Industries minister D S Mishra participated in the event and announced that the state
government offered 3.53 square kilometre industry ready land near Bhubaneswar.
- The FDI from Japan in India has increased from $1.6 billion in 2017-18 to $3.2 billion in 2019-20.
Karnataka Governor – Vajubhai Rudabhai Vala
Two-day international webinar on ‘Lokmanya Tilak – Swaraj to Self-Reliant India’

- Organized by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations(ICCR) on the 100th death anniversary of the
great freedom fighter Lokmanya Bal Gangadhar Tilak
- Amit Shah has inaugurated a two-day international webinar on the theme of ‘Lokmanya Tilak – Swaraj
to Self-reliant India’ in New Delhi
Defence Minister Dialogue in New Delhi

- Shri Rajnath Singh and the Defence Minister General of Indonesia Mr. Prabowo Subianto agree to
expand the military ties
- A defence cooperation agreement was signed by the two countries in the year 2018.
Minister of State of Defence – Shripad Yesso Naik
CII National Digital Conference on “Easing Doing Business for Atmanirbhar Bharat”
- Inaugurated by Piyush Goyal
- Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) + Department for Promotion of Industry and
Internal Trade (DPIIT) = to improve the business environment of India.
- government is working on developing a single window system, a complete digital system which will
provides for unified and integrated business
- Exports in India are around 88% and imports are around 75% of the 2019’s level.
CII President – Uday Kotak
Headquarter – New Delhi
4th edition of Smart India Hackathon 2020 Launched by Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ Virtually
- Largest ever Online Hackathon in the World
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the Grand Finale of 4th edition of Smart India Hackathon-SIH
(Software) 2020
- Grand Finale was conducted online from 1st to 3rd August
- Organized by the Ministry of Education, AICTE, Persistent Systems and i4C.
- More than 10,000 participants participated
- More than 4.5 lakh students participated in 1st round of SIH 2020
- Prize – Each Problem Statement carries a prize money of Rs. 1,00,000 and the student innovation
theme will have three winners, 1st, 2nd and 3rd with prize money of Rs. 1,00, 000, Rs. 75,000 and
50,000 respectively.
- The first edition of SIH was launched in 2017.
PM Modi Addressed Conclave on Transformational Reforms in Higher Education under National Education
Policy (NEP)
- Organised by the Ministry of Education and University Grants Commission (UGC)
UGC Chairman – Prof. D. P. Singh
Two Day Global Conference on Reimagining and Transforming the University - Confluence of Ideas during
and Beyond the COVID-19 Disruption”
- Inaugurated by Ramesh Pokhriyal
- Organised by O.P. Jindal Global University and International Institute for Higher Education Research
and Capacity Building (IIHEd)
- 20 themes were discussed across the sessions
- The International Conference on Nano Science and Technology 2020 (ICONSAT) was held at Biswa
Bangla Conventional Centre, Kolkata = supported by DST & organized by S.N. Bose National Centre for
Basic Sciences, Kolkata.
- A 3-day long 11th National Krishi Vigyan Kendra (KVK) Conference -2020 based on the theme
‘Empowering Youth for Technology Led Farming’ was held in New Delhi = was inaugurated by Union
Minister for Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Rural Development & Panchayati Raj, Shri Narendra Singh
Tomar.
India@75 Summit – Mission 2022

- Addressed by Union Minister of MSME Nitin Gadkari
- Organised by the confederation of Indian Industries(CII)
- Focused on ‘reinventing technology in India’.
- CII was asked to draft the proposal for insurance of roads which will eliminate the requirements of
Bank Guarantee (BG).
- Nitin Gadkari accepted the Punjab state government’s demand for including Amritsar in an expressway
project that will connect Delhi and Katra
- The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways launched a dashboard link in its website which lists
details of Dhabas and Truck Repair Shops available across the country
CII President – Uday Kotak
Headquarters – New Delhi
IC-IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate

Community Transformation and Sustainability) 2020 Annual Research Conference
- held Virtually on Aug 6-7, 2020 to discuss the ways to elevate the inter-country cooperation to the
next Level by strengthening existing international connections
Piyush Goyal Inaugurated 4th edition of 2 day ‘National Public Procurement Conclave (NPPC) 2020: Digital
Exhibitions and Conferences’
- Theme “Technology enabled Govt Procurement - Towards efficiency, transparency, and Inclusiveness”
- organized by Government e Marketplace (GeM), in association with the Confederation of Indian
Industry (CII)
- Digital Exhibitions & conference will be held from August 9 – September 30, 2020.
CII Headquarters - New Delhi, India
President – Uday Kotak
INTERNATIONAL
OTHER ASIA
17th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Held via VC

- MoU = Cooperation between Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (SSIFS), New Delhi and
Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Hanoi.
- MoU between National Maritime Foundation, New Delhi and Scientific Research Institute of Sea and
Islands, Hanoi.
Vietnam Capital – Hanoi
Currency – Vietnamese dong
5th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting Held Through VC

- Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Prakash Represented India
- They discussed the ways to enhance cooperation in areas like 5G, Artificial Intelligence(AI) & industrial
Internet
- UNIDO (United Nations Industrial Development Organization) will collaborate with BRICS to establish a
Center of Industrial Competences.
- Recently, Russia postponed the BRICS and Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) summits
Two-day long 6th Round Table of ASEAN-India network of think tanks (AINTT)
- Organized by Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
- Theme “ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in the Post COVID Era”
- Inaugurated by Union External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar
ASEAN 2020 Chairmanship – Vietnam
Chairman – Nguyen Xuan Phuc
6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting
- Prakash Javadekar represented India
- India will assume the Presidency of BRICS in 2021.
BRICS Environmentally Sound Technology (BEST) Platform

- BRICS Environment Ministers established BEST Platform
- To facilitate the exchange of information views and sharing of the best practices on BRICS countries
including post COVID-19 environment/sustainable development recovery programmes.
BRICS Presidency 2020 – Russia
Theme for 2020 – “BRICS Partnership for Global Stability, Shared Security and Innovative Growth”.
STATE/NATIONAL NEWS
Kerala
Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Inaugurated State’s First Marine Ambulance ‘Pratheeksha’ in Kochi
- Acquired by the Fisheries Department at Kochi for rescue operations at sea at a total cost of Rs.18.24
Crores.
- The Other 2 ships are ‘Prathyasha’ and ‘Karunya’.
Kerala Governor – Arif Mohammad Khan
Andhra Pradesh
AP Govt - MoU - Reliance Retail, Jio and Allana Group = to empower Women SHGs Market Their Products
- Reliance Retail will support the micro-grocery women retailers through the ‘JioMart Kirana’ stores,
which will be digitally equipped and act as online stores.
The government had already entered into MoU with AMUL, HUL, ITC and P&G for supporting the YSR
Cheyutha beneficiaries in the dairy and retail businesses
Andhra CM Launched UPI-based Payment facilities in 15004 village and ward secretariats through video
conference
- Tied-up with NPCI and Canara Bank for this digitalisation process.
- Around 545 types of services will be available for payment under this digitalisation process.
- One Volunteer is to be assigned for every 50 families and One Secretariat to be set up for every village
or village having a population of 2,000.
Andhra Pradesh Governor – Biswabhusan Harichandan.
Andhra Pradesh Government - MoU - Hyderabad-based Indian School of Business (ISB) = to drive
economic growth of the state
Andhra Pradesh CM = launched the ‘Jagananna Chedodu’ scheme to provide financial assistance to tailors,
barbers and dhobis(washermen) - Under the scheme, Rs 10,000 per person was provided
Andhra Pradesh Governor – Biswabhusan Harichandan
Andhra Pradesh - MoU - Boston Group = to set up a facility at Visakhapatnam dedicated to Research and
Development (R&D) in the Information Technology sector with focus on learning platforms and also
leveraging advanced technologies like artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML) and cybersecurity
Government of AP - MoU - Hindustan Unilever Ltd, Procter and Gamble (P&G) and ITC = to Support
Economic Empowerment of Women
- two schemes YSR Cheyutha and YSR Asara to support the empowerment of women.
- Around Rs. 11,000 crores per year will be distributed under both the schemes which will be around Rs.
44,000 crores for 4 years which will benefit around 1 crore women.
- YSR Cheyutha scheme = to support the women of the minority groups (SC, ST, BC) aged between 45
and 60 = Financial assistance of Rs. 18,750 per annum that is Rs. 75,000 for four years will be provided
- Under this scheme around Rs. 4,500 crores will be distributed.
- YSR Asara - will benefit around 90 lakh women of around 9 lakh self-help groups = around Rs. 6,700
crores will be distributed.
Andhra Pradesh CM launched a one-month long virtual cybercrime awareness programme ‘E-Raksha
Bandhan’
- Organized by the Andhra Pradesh Police, CID, FM Radio, Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and
Children (CCPWC), Cyber Peace Foundation (CPF) and other organizations.
- More than 1 lakh women and the general public would be trained under this programme up to August
31, 2020.
- The Andhra Pradesh police and state CID publicised a slogan “Let us make August a month of e
freedom and e-safety.”
- The victims of the state were asked to complain through Disha APP and in Disha Police Stations on
harassment and cybercrimes.
Governor of AP Biswa Bhusan Harichandan = cleared three State-capital Bills and Capital Region
Development Authority (CRDA) Repeal Bills 2020
Telangana
UNICEF & ADB funds for Thermal screening at Rajiv Gandhi International Airport
- thermal scanner - provided by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare + ADB funded by
UNICEF
Telangana + Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) + World Economic Forum (WEF) – India =
launched AI for Agricultural Innovation Program (AI4AI)
- Expected to benefit both the farmers and the policymakers of the state
- Telangana Government has announced 2020 as the year of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the state.
- Aims to establish Hyderabad amongst the top 25 Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Innovation Hubs.
Telangana Governor – Tamilisai Soundararajan
Karnataka
India’s first mobile Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (RT- PCR) COVID lab
- inaugurated by Karnataka’s Medical Education Minister Dr. K Sudhakar in Karnataka
- Approved by ICMR
- Developed by the Indian Institute of Science (IISC), Bengaluru = handed over to Rajiv Gandhi University
of Health Sciences (RGUHS)
Maharashtra
Mumbai’s Dadar has become the first city in India to have women symbols on traffic signals
- Installed by BMC that display female icons sporting triangular frock, a shift from the default
representation of men.
Maharashtra - First State to Partner with Google India to Provide Learning Tools for Schools
- Aim of the partnership = To progress Maharashtra in education with effective use of online resources,
platforms and technology and to bridge the gap in education
- More than 1.5 Lakh teachers of Maharashtra have registered to use the digital medium.
- Will support the education department to adopt the technology in more than 1.9 lakh schools for more
than 22.3 million students.
Maharashtra Govt. Approved Maharashtra Agribusiness Network (MagNet) project worth Around Rs 1,000
crore
- 70% funded by ADB while the rest of 30% cost (300 crores) is funded by the state government
- Project aims to help farmers across all districts in the state for the next 6 years.
Maharashtra Governor – Bhagat Singh Koshyari
ADB President - Masatsugu Asakawa Recent
Goa
Goa - MoU - NSDC = for setting up World-Class Skill Development Institute to provide Advanced Skills
Training under “Skill India Mission”
Goa Chief Minister – Pramod Sawant
Governor – Satya Pal Malik
NSDC CEO -Manish Kumar
Tripartite MoU = Goa govt - GIZ India - Siemens Limited = to Provide world class German dual vocational
education and training (VET) in Goa’s Industrial Training Institutes (ITIs)
- This Indo-German initiative will improve the employability of the ITI graduates.
- Government of Goa allotted land to a consortium of 49 Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises(MSME)
units to set up India’s first Maritime Cluster
- Goa + Innovaccer Inc, a United States (US)-based healthcare data analytics company = launched Test
Yourself Goa, a self-assessment tool for COVID-19 to help people identify if they are infected by the
virus without visiting a doctor or hospital.
Siemens Limited India MD & CEO – Sunil Mathur
Head Office – Mumbai
Gujarat
Ahmedabad Railway Division Introduced Baggage Sanitization and Wrapping Machine

- Indian Railways’ Central Railway zone has installed an Automated Ticket Checking & Managing Access
(ATMA) machine at Nagpur station.
Indian Railways Chairman – Vinod Kumar Yadav
Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (DNHDD) Launched E-Gyan Mitra Mobile Application for
Online Education
Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu(DNHDD) Administrator– Praful Patel
Capital– Daman
Gujarat Launched - Rs 1,800 crore Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay Yojana

- Replacing “Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY)”, for FY20-21 only to Compensate Crop Loss of
Farmers
- Eligibility = Farmers who have sown crops for kharif (monsoon) 2020 season i.e. sown till July 2020,
and tribal farmers registered under the Forest Rights Act are eligible for this scheme
- The compensation will be given only if the loss of crop is more than 33% due to above mentioned
factors.
- For crop loss between 33% and 66%, a farmer will get a compensation of Rs 20,000 per hectare for
maximum four hectares. For crop loss above 66%, a farmer will get Rs 25,000 per hectare for maximum
four hectares through direct benefit transfer (DBT).
- Farmers are also eligible to get additional compensation under the State Disaster Response Fund
(SDRF)
Gujarat Announced New Industrial Policy 2020

- With an expected average annual outlay of up to Rs 8,000 crore, which is meant to provide incentives
to the industries
- Aims to provide an estimated Rs 40,000 crore as subsidies to industries in the next 5 years
- New policy is in line with the Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan – replaced the Gujarat Industrial Policy
2015.
- Gujarat will become the 1st state to “delink incentives from State Goods and Service Tax(SGST)
- new Industrial policy is divided in 15 thrust areas in core sectors and sunrise sectors
- Irrespective of any sector, the thrust on 100% export oriented units will be given.
- Will allow leasing out government land to industrialists on long term lease of up to 50 years at 6% of
the market rate.
- Provide incentives to private industrial parks and also provide ‘relocation incentives’ to the units who
look to relocate in wake of Covid-19 pandemic, particularly from China.
- The state govt will pay 50 paise more to every unit of solar power bought from MSMEs to encourage
MSMEs to use rooftop solar power = The new purchase price stands at Rs 2.25 per unit against Rs 1.75.
- Increases the seed support from Rs 20 lakh to Rs 30 lakh for start-ups
- subsidy of up to 7% up to Rs 35 lakh per annum for seven years to service sector MSMEs in the areas
of financial services, healthcare, audio-visual, and environmental services
- Gujarat Govt launched ‘Atmanirbhar Gujarat Sahay Yojna’ to provide loans to small businessmen.
Gujarat Governor – Acharya Devvrat
Two Flyover of Ahmedabad will be named After Late Arun Jaitley & Sushma Swaraj
- The flyover bridge at Income Tax circle will be named as Arun Jaitley Flyover.
- The flyover at the Anjali cross road will be named Sushma Swaraj Bridge
Madhya pradesh
MP Chhatarpur Police’s ‘Ek Sankalp – Bujurgo ke naam’ campaign proved to be boon for senior citizens
- Facilities like medicines, vegetables, milk, essential goods telephone, TV recharge, online application
are being provided to the house of the elderly people
Anna Hazare has praised this campaign
Madhya Pradesh launched “Ek Mask-Anek Zindagi” public awareness campaign from August 1-15
- Establishment of Mask Banks, where people can donate masks which in turn will be distributed free to
poor people.
- Citizens can also donate masks through NGOs in every district/urban body.
Rajasthan
Government of Rajasthan Approves 5% Reservation instead of 1% in Judicial Service for More Backward
Classes(MBC)
Rajasthan Governor – Kalraj Mishra
Haryana
Haryana Govt - MoU - M3M Foundation = to facilitate students’ online preparation, training and
mentoring for entrance examinations of government jobs
- MoU is in line with the vision of the Haryana government to link 1 lakh candidates to government jobs
within and outside the state in the next 2 years.
- The MoU is valid for 18 months.
Haryana’s Forest department used drone for aerial seeding to shower 50,000 seeds pallets covered with a
mixture of clay and compost in Aravallis
Haryana Governor – Satyadev Narayan Arya
Haryana CM Manohar Lal Khattar launched Anti Bullying Campaign of Faridabad Police over Social Media
with username @FBDpolice to report any form of bullying in the schools, colleges, neighbourhood, home
and workplace
- The campaign is a part of the ‘Teen Age Police’ programme of Faridabad Police
Haryana Governor – Satyadeo Narain Arya
Haryana Govt launched 2 schemes

- Mahila Evam Kishori Samman Yojana & Mukhya Mantri Doodh Uphar Yojana for state’s girls & women
- With a total outlay of Rs 256 crore
- “Mahila Evam Kishori Samman Yojana” = focusing on adolescent girls and women between 10 to 45
years of age of about 11,24,871 BPL families will provide a 6 piece packet of free sanitary napkins
every month for a year. This scheme will cover the state’s 22.50 lakh women and girls
- “Mukhya Mantri Doodh Uphar Yojana” = Under the aegis of Integrated Child Development Scheme
(ICDS), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS), implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child
Development (MoWCD), the haryana government has initiated this scheme in order to provide around
200 ml of fragrant skimmed milk per day for 6 days in a week to about 9.03 lakh children between 1
and 6 years of age and 2.95 lakh pregnant and lactating mothers visiting 25,962 anganwadi centres in
the state - objective of the scheme is to address the problem of anaemia and malnutrition among
state’s women and children.
CM of Haryana launched a unique identity card, the Parivar Pehchan Patras (PPP)
- An initiative of the state government
- Developed by the team CMO = for effective and efficient delivery of central and state schemes
- Under PPP each family will be considered as a single unit and will be allotted an 8 digit unique
identification number.
- The 8-digit number will enable seamless delivery of state government services.
- Every city and village will have unique code.
- From 27th – 30th August 2020 special camps at villages and ward level will be organized to collect and
verify data
- State Government of Haryana has decided to celebrate 2020 as Susashan Sanakap Varsh.
- Also inaugurated a portal for the registration of unorganised workers through PPP.
Haryana Governor– Satyadeo Narain Arya
Haryana’s Urban local bodies and Home Minister Anil Vij launched “Works Management System”
- a web-based, paperless and centralised web portal for the management and monitoring of the
development works in the Urban Local Bodies(ULB) in Haryana
- Portal will enable transparency and reduce corruption in the state.
Punjab
Punjab CM Amarinder Singh Launched ‘Punjab Smart Connect Scheme’ to Provide Free Smartphones for
more than 1.74 Lakh Students of class 12 worth Rs. 92 crores
- Punjab CM Amarinder Singh recently launched surveillance app ‘Ghar ghar nigrani’ app to detect
COVID-19
- Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh recently launched “Cova Punjab” mobile application
Punjab -First Rank in Health, Welfare Centre Operationalisation released by the Ministry of Health and
Family Welfare (MoHFW), Government of India.
Punjab Governor – Vijayender Pal Singh Badnore
Punjab Govt + YuWaah for youth development = launched ‘Pride of Punjab’

- Launched by Punjab CM Amarinder Singh
- Aimed at enabling best opportunities for the Youth of Punjab.
- U-Report is a social messaging tool and data collection system supported by YuWaah and UNICEF to
improve citizen engagement.
- YuWaah = aims to facilitate youth to gain relevant skills for productive lives and the future of work -
supported by the United Nations Children’s Fund - It is targeted at young people aged 10-24 years
Delhi
Delhi Government Launched - ‘Healthy Body, Healthy Mind’ Fitness Campaign for Students Confined in
Homes
Delhi Government Launched Niraman Mazdoor Registration Abhiyan for Construction Workers to register
and utilise around 18 assistance schemes
- Registration campaign for construction workers will be conducted from 24th August 2020 to 11th
September 2020.
- Workers aged between 18 and 60 years are eligible to register.
Delhi Govt - MoU - Bloomberg Philanthropies = to enhance road safety by eliminating road accidents and
create safe mobility
- Delhi has joined 30 world cities & world’s leading organisations in the Bloomberg Philanthropies
Initiative for Global Road Safety
All India Institute of Ayurveda (AIIA) – MoU - Delhi Police = for extending ayurvedic mode of preventive
and promotive health services in the residential colonies of the Delhi Police through mobile units named
‘Dhanwantari Rath’.
- AYURAKSHA = launched on April 30, 2020, joint venture of AIIA & Delhi Police for maintaining the
health of Delhi Police personnel who serve as frontline warriors during COVID-19 through Ayurveda
immunity boosting measures = The kits were distributed to around 80,000 Police Personnel over a
period of two months.
Bihar
Nitin Gadkari inaugurated upstream carriageway of Mahatma Gandhi Bridge/Setu over river Ganga in
Bihar
- 1st Indian Bridge to use modern tech for renovation
- Upstream lane recently completed and downstream which will be completed by December 2021.
- Designing of the bridge has been done by Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee
- A new 5 km long, 4-lane Bridge over river Ganga in parallel to MG Setu - announced by Nitin Gadkari
to facilitate movement of ships under it = With an outlay of Rs 2,926.42 crore, it will get completed by
2024.
Bihar Governor – Phagu Chauhan
Jharkhand
Draupadi Murmu, governor of Jharkhand and Hemant Soren Chief Minister of Jharkhand introduced the
New State emblem at the Aryabhatta Auditorium, Ranchi
- The Logo came into effect from 15th August 2020.
- The new circle shaped emblem incorporates and represents the progress of the state along with the
traditions, cultural heritage and flora and fauna of the state.
Chattisgarh
Chhattisgarh Govt Launched ‘Padhai Tuhar Para’ scheme for school students
- To enable school students to learn from their respective localities
- Bluetooth-based programme ‘Bultu Ke Bol’, ‘Mukhyamantri Slum Swasthya Yojana’, ‘Radhabai
Diagnostic Centre Scheme’ will also be introduced and committees will be set up for new appointments
and promotions in the state.
- Bultu Ke Bol introduced to provide study materials to students in remote areas who do not have access
to internet facilities.
- Mukhyamantri Slum Swasthya Yojana - will be launched in urban areas under which door-to-door
health facilities will be provided to people through 70 mobile medical units in all the 14 municipal
corporations.
- Radhabai Diagnostic Centre Scheme - it will be introduced to provide pathology and other testing
facilities at concessional rates
- State to create a dedicated fund for contribution from people towards ‘Ram Van Gaman Tourist Circuit’
project.
Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel launched a social security scheme - “Shaheed Mahendra Karma
Tendupatta Sangrahak Samajik Suraksha Yojana”
- For tendu leaves collectors in the state covering over 12 lakh families, mostly tribals and forest
dwellers.
- Tendu leaves Used for making bidis (leaf-wrapped cigarettes)
- Mahendra Karma - was popularly known as Bastar tiger for his tough stand against Naxals. He was
among 29 people, including senior Congress leaders, who were killed in a Naxal attack in Jhiram valley
of Bastar district on May 25, 2013.
- Rs 2 lakh will be provided to the nominee in case of normal death of the family head
- In case of death due to accident, additional financial aid Rs 2 lakh will be provided
Chhattisgarh Governor – Anusuiya Uikey
“Indira Van Mitan Yojana”

- Announced by Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel
- An initiative to support the forest dwellers of Chhattisgarh
- A group of 10 to 15 youngsters will be formed in around 10,000 villages in the tribal areas of
Chhattisgarh, to manage the forest based economic activities.
Chhattisgarh Governor – Anusuiya Uikey
Capital – Raipur
Chhattisgarh’s Jagdalpur = First Municipal Corporation of India to Provide Forest Land Right Certificates
to Urban People
Orissa
Odisha Govt launched a scheme ‘Promotion of Intensive Aquaculture through Introduction of Bio-
flocTechnology during the year 2020-21’
- Aims to increase the fish productivity and make the state self-sufficient in fish production.
- 1080 Bio-floc tanks will be developed in all 30 districts of Odisha.
- The total outlay of the programme is Rs.310.00 lakh.
- The unit cost to install a Biofloc unit of 2 tanks is Rs 1.50 lakh, while a Biofloc unit of 6 tanks costs
about Rs 4 lakh.
- Provides a subsidy of 40% to General & 60% subsidy to SC & ST women beneficiaries for this scheme.
Odisha cabinet headed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik approved four mega drinking water worth Rs
800.27 crore.
- These projects will provide drinking water to 6.07 lakh additional population in 911 villages
- The State Cabinet has approved the proposal to amend certain sections of the Factories Act 1948 to
increase the threshold of workers in power generated industrial units from 10 to 20
- Extension of ‘Nirmal’ Scheme to strengthen ancillary services at public health facilities with an
estimated budget of Rs 1998.15 CRs for a period of 5 years covering 1,864 health institutions.
- A proposal for providing a government guarantee of Rs 1500 crore for the loans already availed by
GRIDCO (Grid Corporation of Odisha) during financial year 2019-20.
- Adani Power Ltd (APL) has signed an agreement to acquire the 49% of stake(a total of 89,30,237 equity
shares) in Odisha Power Generation Corporation(OPGC) from the affiliates of the US-based global
energy company, AES Corporation(AES) for USD 135 million (around Rs 1,019 crore) = remaining 51%
stake in OPGC is held by the Government of Odisha.
Odisha Governor– Prof Ganeshi Lal
Odisha approved penalty for violators of the COVID-19 regulations
- will attract Imprisonment for a term, which may be extended to two years or with fine which can be
extended upto Rupees One Lakh or with both.
- provision to levy punishments has been provided in the Section 3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897
Heritage Sites in Odisha – Bhitarkanika Conservation Area, Sun Temple (Konark), Chilika Lake, Ekamra
Kshetra.
WB
West Bengal Govt Launched ‘Karma Sathi Prakalpa’ scheme

- 1 lakh unemployed youth will be provided soft loans and subsidies so as to make them self-reliant
- WB Government launched ‘Matir Smristi’ scheme to utilise 50,000 acres of barren land in 6 districts for
income-generating activities like horticulture
- West Bengal state Home Secretary, Alapan Bandopadhyay launched an “exit app” for people of other
states who are stranded in the state due to the lockdown and want to return to their native place
- Mamata Banerjee launched Karmo Bhumi, a job portal to help Information Technology (IT)
professionals who have lost their jobs after the outbreak of COVID-19 and returned to the state
West Bengal Governor – Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar
Assam
The Energy and Resources Institute’s (TERI) launched Flood Early Warning System (FEWS), fully automated
web-based tool for Guwahati, Assam
- Developed under TERI project supported by the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) in
collaboration with India Meteorological Department (IMD) and the Assam State Disaster Management
Authority (ASDMA).
- Guwahati will be the third city after Chennai and Mumbai to have a Flood Warning system
- Union Ministry of Earth Science (MoES), which has plans to set up similar systems in Kolkata and
Bengaluru by 2021.
Assam Government to Launch ‘Orunodoi’ Scheme

- The household income of the applicant must be less than Rs 2 Lakh per annum.
- Women being the primary caretaker of the family are kept as beneficiaries of the scheme Will provide
Financial Assistance of Rs. 830 per month through DBT scheme to around 17 Lakh Families in the state
- Will be implemented from October 2, 2020 and will act as an umbrella scheme for all other
government schemes for the next 5 years.
- Scheme is applicable to eligible families to buy essential food items. Rs.400 has been allotted for the
purchase of medicine, Rs.150 for vegetables, 50% off on 4 kgs of ration and 4kgs of sugar.
- The Assam government will bear 210 crore rupees per month for the ‘Orunodoi’ scheme.
- The amount will be transferred to the bank account of the nominated women member of the family.
Assam Council of Ministers approved “Assam Non-Government Education Institutions (Regulation of
Fees) Rules 2020” to regulate the fees structure of the private educational institutes in the State of Assam.
- ‘Bajali’ becomes 34th District of Assam
Assam Governor – Jagdish Mukhi
Meghalaya
Meghalaya CM Sangma Launched Restart Meghalaya Mission worth Rs. 14,515 Crore to revive the
development activities which were stalled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
- Rs. 7,839 crore has been designated for 2020-2021.
- 6 projects under the Restart Meghalaya mission, which includes agriculture and its allied sector,
promoting livelihood in rural areas.
- This mission will also involve the tourism sector which benefits around 50000 people.
- The state government will adopt a high value low volume tourism model and plans to increase the
number of high value rooms from 200 to at least 500 in the next two years.
- Government will make an investment of around Rs.200 crore to create high value accommodation.
- Around 400 agri-entrepreneurs will be provided with power tillers with 50 per cent subsidy which costs
around Rs.4 crore.
- The government is working to double the number of Kisan Credit Card (KCC) holders from 86000
within the next one year.
- The government decided to make an interest subvention of 2% on timely repayment of KCC loans.
- Under the Chief Minister’s Support programme, one time grant support of upto Rs. 10000 for new
small business loans of upto Rs.50000 for small business and entrepreneurs will be provided.
- Under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, around 47000 houses will be constructed at an estimated cost
of Rs.611 crore.
Meghalaya Cabinet Approved Policy on Reservation of 50% seats for Women in Village Employment
Councils
Meghalaya Chief Minister – Conrad Kongkal Sangma
Governor – Tathagata Roy
Nagaland
Nagaland CM Neiphiu Rio launched ‘Yellow Chain’ e-commerce platform on Independence Day 2020
- To promote local business & entrepreneurship in the state. It is seen as a “new era in Naga marketing
culture”
- Developed by Investment & Development Authority of Nagaland (IDAN) to promote local business &
entrepreneurship.
Jammu and Kashmir
Jitendra Singh - Union Minister of State-MoS (Independent Charge), Development of North Eastern
Region (DoNER), MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space = laid
foundation stones of various construction works undertaken under Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana
(PMGSY)-II in Jammu and Kashmir(J&K).
- 28 roads under PMGSY-II to be constructed at a cost of around Rs 175 crore.
PMGSY Launched – 25th December, 2000 by Atal Bihari Vajpayee
Phase I- It was launched in December, 2000.
Phase II- It was approved in May, 2013.
Phase III- It was approved by the Cabinet during July 2019 = proposed to consolidate 1,25,000 Km road
length - duration of the scheme is 2019-20 to 2024-25.
‘Iraada’ Campaign Launched in J&K to Cover Eligible remaining Beneficiaries under Social Welfare
Schemes
HP
Himachal Pradesh government - MoU - Micro Tek New Technologies Private Ltd = to set up Electronics
Manufacturing Unit at Baddi, Solan District, Himachal Pradesh
UK
Pawan Hans launched Helicopter service in UttaraKhand under UDAN scheme
GOVT SCHEMES
Women of Tamil Nadu - Topped the List of MUDRA Loan Scheme Beneficiaries by availing Rs 58,227 crore
loan.
- Followed by West Bengal (Rs 55,232 crore), Karnataka (Rs 47,714 crore)
- PMMY - launched on April 8, 2015, for providing loans up to Rs 10 lakh to the non-corporate, non-
farm small/micro-enterprises.
- Shishu – Allowed loans up to Rs.50,000
- Kishore – Allowed loans up to Rs.5,00,000
- Tarun – Allowed loans up to Rs.10,00,000
Nitin Jairam Gadkari launched Mobile App ‘Harit Path’

- The application using geo tagging and web based GIS enabled monitoring tools to monitor the
plantations.
- Nitin Gadkari stated that the goal of 100% plantations along the highways will be achieved by March
2022.
- National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has achieved the highest ever highway construction feat
with an accomplishment of 3,979 km of national highways in the financial Year 2019-20.
Minister of State of Road Transport, Highways(MoRTH) - Vijay Kumar Singh
Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan Launched Online
Registration and Renewal of Gold Hallmarking Centres
- The online system can be accessed through the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) web portal –
www.manakonline.in.
- The hallmarking of gold which is voluntary at present will be made mandatory from 1st June, 2021.
Minister of State (MoS) for Consumer Affairs,Food & Public Distribution - Raosaheb Patil Danve
Arjun Munda Virtually Launched Trifood Project of TRIFED in Raigad, Maharashtra and Jagdalpur,
Chhattisgarh
- Carried by the MoTA in association with the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) and
implemented by the Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India (TRIFED).
- To increase the income of the tribals through better utilisation and value addition of the Minor Forest
Produce(MFP) that are collected by the tribal forest gatherers.
- To offer a comprehensive development package for tribals by promoting employment, incomes and
entrepreneurship.
- DST, Government of Rajasthan in association with TRIFED, under MoTA, organized a Webinar under
Know Your Scheme-Lecture Series on “Van Dhan Yojana
TRIFED Managing Director – Pravir Krishna
Head Office – New Delhi
Harsh Vardhan Launched FSSAI’s ‘Eat Right India’ Handbook and a website “eatrightindia.gov.in” to
support the stakeholders to scale up ‘Eat Right India’ initiatives across India
Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) - Ashwini Kumar Choubey
Cabinet approved setting up of National Recruitment Agency to conduct CET for non-gazetted posts
(Group B and C) of SSC, RRBs and IBPS
- Rs. 1517.57 cr sanctioned
- Reduction in costs with expected savings of Rs 600 crore.
- NRA will be a Society registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
- The National Recruitment Agency (NRA) was first proposed by the government in the Union Budget
2020.
Cabinet approved proposal for leasing out three airports – Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram of
AAI through PPP to Adani Enterprises Ltd. for Operation, Management and Development for a period of
fifty years.
- The decision on privatisation of six airports of Ahmadabad, Mangalore, Lucknow, Guwahati,
Thiruvananthapuram, and Jaipur has already been taken in the first phase.
- Revenue received by AAI from PPP partners enables AAI to create infrastructure facilities in Tier-2 and
Tier-3 cities and also to upgrade their airports to international standards.
Adani Enterprises Ltd. Chairman – Gautam Adani
Headquarter– Ahmedabad
Cabinet approved Fair and Remunerative Price (FRP)of sugarcane payable by sugar mills for the sugar
season 2020-21 at Rs 285 per quintal for a basic recovery rate of 10% on the recommendations of the
Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
Nitin Gadkari inaugurated and laid foundation stones for 45 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh
- Rs.700 crore from the Central Road Fund (CRF) will be utilised for the road sector of Madhya Pradesh.
- The aim is to complete projects worth Rs 50,000 crore out of Rs 1.25 lakh crore by 2023.
- The current length of the National Highways in MP is 13,248 kilometers.
- Nitin Gadkari also Inaugurated Foundation Stones of 11 Highway Projects Worth Around Rs 20,000
crore in Haryana
Minister of State for Road Transport and Highways – Vijay Kumar Singh
Ravi Shankar Prasad Launched “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for
#Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to provide a strong ecosystem of startups, innovation and research in India.
- IIT Madras and Center for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) - developed two
microprocessors named SHAKTI (32 bit) and VEGA (64 bit) respectively using Open Source Architecture
under the aegis of Microprocessor Development Programme of Ministry of Electronics and IT.
- The registration process of the challenge at https://innovate.mygov.in/ started on 18th August 2020
- At the various stages of the challenges financial support to the tune of Rs.4.30 crore will be offered for
developing the hardware prototype and incubation of a startup.
- Gold Certificate (Winners) – 10 teams will receive a total of Rs.2.30 Crore will be awarded as the seed
Fund for incubating the startup.
- Silver Certificate (Finalists) – 25 teams will receive a total of Rs.1 crore will be awarded as prototype
development fund.
- Bronze Certificate (Semi Finalists) – 100 teams will receive a total of Rs.1 crore as MCP/POC
Development Fund and Free access to Swadeshi Processors and FPGA Board.
Ministry of Tribal Affairs - MoU - Ministry of Rural Development to take the convergence endeavor
(efforts of both ministries) ahead and support rural poor including tribal communities.
- Addressed by Narendra Singh Tomar
- Meeting was also addressed by Union Minister of Tribal Affairs, Arjun Munda and Union Minister of
Food Processing Industries, Harsimrat Kaur Badal.
- Narendra Singh Tomar released a book “Farm Livelihood Interventions under DAY-NRLM (Strategy,
Convergence Framework, Models)”.
- An employment -cum- rural public works Campaign for 67 lakh migrant workers titled “Garib Kalyan
Rojgar Abhiyaan (GKRA)” has been launched in june for 6 states viz. Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, MP,
Rajasthan, Jharkhand and Odisha
MoS for Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD) - Sadhvi Niranjan Jyoti
MoS for Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) - Rameswar Teli
MoS for Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA)- Renuka Singh Saruta
Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda inaugurated Tribal Health & Nutrition Portal – “Swasthya”
- Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) also launched e-newsletter on health and nutrition ALEKH and
opening of National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal.
- Arjun Munda also launched the initiative of MoTA with Facebook to empower the tribal youths to gain
leadership skills, identify the social problems and to become a leading resource in their field of
influence.
- This initiative will be under the ‘Going Online as Leaders (GOAL)’ Programme, through which the
ministry aims to provide mentors to around 5000 tribal youths across india.
- The road map of the program including the mobile distribution and launch of the program will be on
5th September 2020, Teachers Day 2020.
Nitin Jairam Gadkari, Union Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) launched
VedKrishi.com
- An Online Farm to Fork Service
- The portal is promoted by the farmers for selling toxic free farm produce.
- The platform was set up by the Nagpur based VedKrishi Farmer Producer Company
- The online portal enables the company to directly connect the farmers with the consumers.
- The company will offer advice on the day to day farming issues and paid visits to VedKrishi farms to
provide more understanding about the VedKrishi.
- The portal will provide the details of the farmers along with the products.
- Targeting nearby 300 farmers as the initial target.
- It is planned to scale up to Maharashtra and then across India.
- To process and dry the farm produce to achieve zero wastage and through affordable means the
company offers solar dryers to the farmers.
Minister of State of MSME - Pratap Chandra Sarangi
Centre extended Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0 by 3 months till Nov 11, 2020
- PCGS 2.0 to provide Portfolio Guarantee for purchase of Bonds or CPs with a rating of AA and AA
issued by NBFCs, HFCs and MFIs by Public Sector Banks (PSBs) to provide liquidity infusion of Rs
45,000 crore into the system.
- The first 20% of the loss is provided to state-owned banks by the government for purchase of bonds or
CPs of NBFCs, MFIs and HFCs having a credit rating of AA or below
- Aimed at providing access to fresh liquidity support to non-bank lenders.
- Centre had announced the PCGS in July 2019
- In May 2020 amid COVID 19 finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman had extended the scheme to provide
liquidity support to institutions with low credit ratings.
PM Narendra Modi Launched “Transparent Taxation – Honouring the Honest” platform of IT department
via video conferencing
- Provides faceless assessment and taxpayers’ charter, as a part of direct tax reforms.
- Faceless assessment and taxpayers’ charter would be implemented from August 13 but the faceless
appeal system would be available from September 25, 2020
- With a view to provide for resolution of pending tax disputes the Direct Tax “Vivad se Vishwas Act,
2020” was rolled out.
Govt has announced 24 winners in the eight categories of “AatmaNirbhar App Innovation Challenge”
- Chingari emerged as a winner of ‘social’ category and Koo, MaymyIndiamove, Asksarkar, myitreturn
are some of the other apps that won the challenge,
Nitin Jairam Gadkari announced India’s initiatives to achieve Zero Road Fatalities by 2030 while
addressing the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce and Womennovator on Trade Investment
- The World Bank and Asian Development Bank have committed Rs. 7,000 crores each on initiatives to
reduce road accidents.
Minister of State (MoS) of Road Transport and Highways – General Vijay Kumar Singh
Odisha has retained Top Position in Implementation of Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban
Transformation (AMRUT) scheme
- According to rankings released by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Odisha topped
by securing a score of 85.67 percent, followed by Chandigarh (75.08) and Telangana (74.04).
- Out of the total 191 projects started under the AMRUT scheme, 148 projects have been implemented
and other projects are expected to be completed before the deadline in March, 2021.
- Under the AMRUT scheme, parks with well-conceived landscaping and rejuvenation facilities, open
gyms and jogging trails have been developed.
- AMRUT scheme was launched in June 2015 with a focus to establish infrastructure that could ensure
adequate robust sewage networks and water supply for urban transformation by implementing urban
revival projects
- AMRUT Mission covers around 500 cities under AMRUT scheme.
Rajnath Singh Launched 15 Products to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

- Developed by Defence PSUs and OFB = four products each by OFB and BEML, two by BEL and one each
by HAL, BDL, MDL, GRSE and GSL.
Rajnath Singh Launched Naval Innovation and Indigenisation Organisation Virtually (NIIO)
- To enable users to interact with academia and industry towards fostering innovation and
indigenisation for self-reliance in defence in Accordance with the vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat.
- ‘SWAVLAMBAN’, a compendium of Indian Navy’s Indigenisation perspective plans was also released
during the occasion.
Governing board of National Health Authority (NHA) approved Integration of Health Schemes of Central
Ministries with Ayushman Bharat Scheme
- Centre also approved a Rs 50 lakh medical insurance scheme for healthcare workers who are dealing
with coronavirus pandemic
- Centre sanctions Rs 190 cr for augmentation of healthcare facilities in North Eastern States.
CEO of AB-PMJAY and National Health Authority (NHA) – Indu Bhushan
Headquarter of NHA – New Delhi
Rajnath Singh Launched portal SRIJAN as a part of “opportunities for Make in India in Defence”
- on the final day of Atma Nirbhar Week celebration between August 7-14, 2020 to boost Atmanirbhar
Bharat Abhiyan (self-reliant India movement)
- portal provides information about defence equipment and items which are being imported currently or
are going to be imported by the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs)/Ordnance Factory Board
(OFB)/ Service Headquarters (SHQs)
- For 2019-20 the number of items displayed is 1557 with an import value of Rs 34035 million
- Defence India Start-up Challenge (DISC) under Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX) = four MoUs
between industry partners and Defence PSUs were signed = there were 14 winners from three
challenges (one each from Army, Navy and Air Force), out of them, three winners from Army challenge
and one winner from Air Force challenge have been cleared and signed the SPARK Grant Contract.
- idex = Launched in 2018 = aimed to foster innovation and technology development in Defence by
engaging research and development (R&D) institutes, academia, industries, start-ups and individual
innovators.
- iDEX is being implemented by Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO), a Section 8 company formed for
this purpose, with Rs 50 crore support each from Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Bharat
Electronics Limited (BEL).
Atal Innovation Mission(AIM) + National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) -
launched Atal Tinkering Lab(ATL) AI Step-up module through ‘ATL AI Modules’ for school students to
empower youngest minds and drive innovations in the country to the next level.
- AIM is Government of India’s flagship initiative to promote a culture of innovation and
entrepreneurship in the country
- Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), flagship initiative of NITI Aayog teamed with other Ministries and its
partners = to organize the series of virtual COVID-19 Demo Days to find the potential startups with
innovative solutions COVID-19 solutions
NASSCOM President – Debjani Ghosh
EU launched Nirmanshree For Odisha and Maharashtra Women in Housing Sector

- Project will be implemented in Beed and Osmanabad districts of Maharashtra and the Dhenkanal and
Jajpur districts of Odisha
- A NGO, Habitat for Humanity India joined EU for funding this project
- The total cost of the project is EUR 9,49,694 (INR 7,40,85,628 or US$1,075,307).
- 90 percent of funding by EU and remaining 10 percent will be issued by Habitat for Humanity India
- 3,000 women will be trained for technical and entrepreneurial skills in housing sector
Habitat for Humanity India Headquarters – Mumbai
MD – Rajan Samuel
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Shri Kiren Rijiju - launched a country-wide event “Fit India
Freedom Run” from August 15 (74th Independence Day) to October 2 (151st Birth Anniversary of
Mahatma Gandhi) through an online programme.
AYUSH Ministry launched three-month campaign on “Ayush for Immunity” through webinar on Ayush
Virtual Convention Centre (AVCC), which aims to increase awareness about affordable and easy practices
to boost immunity.
PM announced launch of National Digital Health Mission - rolled out in 6 UTs Chandigarh, Ladakh, Dadra
and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep
- Every Indian will get a health ID that will store the individual’s medical records
- Will be implemented through National Health Authority (NHA), which is also responsible for the
implementation of Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
- The finance ministry has approved a budget of Rs 470 crore for the proposal, but the final NHA
proposal may not seek more than Rs 400 crore.
- NDHM comprises of six key building blocks or digital systems- HealthID, DigiDoctor, Health Facility
Registry, Personal Health Records, e-Pharmacy and Telemedicine.
National Health Authority (NHA) CEO – Indu Bhushan
PM Modi announced optical fibre link connecting Lakshadweep from mainland India
- PM Narendra Modi set a target of 1,000 days to provide submarine optical fibre connectivity to
connect Lakshadweep with mainland India. The Department of telecommunications (DoT) under the
Ministry of Communications will oversee the project.
- Also, in the upcoming 1000 days nearly 6 lakh Indian villages will be connected with optical fibre.
Bharatnet –
- Modi government renamed the programme National Optical Fiber Network (NOFN) programme as
BharatNet in 2015
- World’s largest rural broadband connectivity programme using Optical fiber being implemented by
Bharat Broadband Network Limited (BBNL) – a special purpose vehicle under the Telecom Ministry
- envisages laying of about 8 lakh kilometre of incremental optical fibre cable (OFC) to all the 2,50,000-
plus Gram Panchayats (GP) in the country at an estimated cost of Rs 42,068 crore ($6.2 billion)
- Being implemented in three phases.
- Phase 1 covered 1 lakh gram panchayats, Phase 2 targeting 1.5 lakh, and Phase 3 is supposed to focus
on infrastructure up-gradation of the existing facility.
- The phase 2 of the project was supposed to be deployed in March 2020 but missed the deadline and
now it is shifted to August 2021.
PM announced “Project Dolphin” for conservation of Gangetic Dolphins
On the lines of “Project Tiger” and “Project Elephant”
- Gangetic Dolphins declared National Aquatic Species in 2010.
- 10-year-long project led by Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Keshav
Javadekar.
- There are around 3,700 Gangetic River Dolphins in India.
PM announced Launch of Project Lion to conserve Asiatic Lion
- Asiatic Lion Conservation Project was launched in 2018 for three years i.e. till 2021 with a budgetary
contribution of Rs 97.85 Cr from Central Government.
- Number of Asiatic lions in Gujarat’s Gir forest increased from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020
Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) Thaawarchand Gehlot addressed and Launched
‘Nasha-Mukt Bharat’ Campaign
- State Governments and the 272 District Collectors launched a seven-month-long anti-drugs campaign
namely “Nasha Mukt Bharat”
- Will run till March 31, 2021
- Financial allocation of Rs. 43 crore in 2017 has been enhanced to Rs. 260 crore in 2020 to curb drug
abuse and illicit trafficking.
- Thaawarchand Gehlot e-inaugurate new building of National Institute of Social Defence (NISD) in
Dwarka, New Delhi
Ministers of State (MoS) for Social Justice and Empowerment (SJ&E) = Krishan Pal Gurjar, Ram Das
Athawale and Rattan Lal Kataria
Nitin Gadkari laid foundation stone for 13 highway projects in Manipur

- The 13 highway projects involve a Road Length of 316 Kilometers with a total financial outlay of about
Rs. 3000 crores.
- In the future, four lane roads from Kohima to Imphal are to be taken up with the estimated cost of Rs.
2663 crore.
- Manipur is the starting point of the trilateral highway which connects India, Myanmar and Thailand,
and it also plays an important role as it shares the International Border with Myanmar.
Union Minister of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar Launched Krishi Megh (National
Agricultural Research & Education System -Cloud Infrastructure and Services), KVC ALUNET (Krishi
Vishwavidyalaya Chhatr Alumni Network) & Online Accreditation System for Agricultural Institutions
Krishi Megh
- Set up at National Academy of Agricultural Research Management (NAARM) in Hyderabad under
National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP)
- funded by the Government of India and World Bank
- Krishi Megh is aimed at protecting the data of the government’s premier research body Indian Council
of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
KVC
- Designed & Implemented under NAHEP - is a “KVC Alumni Network” that acts as a medium for sharing
of information or social networking among alumni of all the 74 Agricultural Universities
- Developed by the Division of Computer Application team at ICAR-IASRI.
- National Agricultural Higher Education Project (NAHEP) = formulated by ICAR with an outlay of Rs
1100 crores for five years starting from 2017-18 on a 50:50 cost sharing basis between the World Bank
and GoI - implemented at the Education Division, ICAR, New Delhi = aims to develop resources and
mechanism for supporting infrastructure, faculty and student advancement, and to raise the standard
of current agricultural education on par with the global agriculture education standards.
Minister of State (MoS) for agriculture, cooperation & farmers’ welfare – Kailash Choudhary
MoS for agriculture & farmers welfare – Parshottambhai Rupala
Atal Innovation Mission + Dell Technologies= launched the 2nd Edition of Student Entrepreneurship
Program (SEP 2.0)
- In January, 2019 under the SEP 1.0 top six innovations of the country from Atal Tinkering Labs were
selected & went through a 10-month Student Entrepreneurship Programme with DELL to transform
their innovative prototypes into fully functioning products which are ready to go to the market.
- Atal Tinkering Lab (ATL) has launched pan India “ATL App Development Module”, a free online course
for school students and teachers “Plezmo” – #TinkerfromHome
- Coal India Limited (CIL), has entered into the partnership with Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), to
actively support the innovation and entrepreneurship initiatives across India.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) Mission Director – Ramanan Ramanathan Headquarters – New Delhi
Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Gajendra Singh Shekhawat Launched the Swachh Bharat Mission Academy
- An Interactive Voice Response (IVR) based free mobile online training course with modules on the
Open Defecation Free (ODF) Plus programme
- Launched as part of ‘GandagiMukt Bharat’, the ongoing week-long behaviour change campaign.
- SBM Academy’s functionalities and key roles are anticipated under Phase 2 of Swachh Bharat Mission
(Grameen)-SBM(G)
- The Phase 2 of the SBM (G) was launched in 2020
Union Minister of Jal Shakti (MoJS) - Gajendra Singh
Minister of State – Rattan Lal Kataria (Constituency- Ambala)
Nirmala Sitharaman Launched Online Dashboard for Information on National Infrastructure Pipeline
- NIP is a first-of-its-kind government effort to provide world-class infrastructure across India in five
years i.e. 2020-2025 through an investment (both domestic & foreign) of Rs 111 Lakh crore over the
next 5 years.
- NIP also helps in achieving the target of a $5 trillion economy by FY 2025.
Prakash Javadekar, Union Minister of Environment Forest &Climate Change(MoEFCC) Launched the
Booklet on Best practices of Human-Elephant Conflict Management in India to strengthen coexistence of
the human-elephant, along with the Beta Version of “Surakhsya”
Minister of State of Ministry of Environment Forest &Climate Change(MoEFCC) – Babul Supriyo
Submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) Connectivity to Andaman & Nicobar Islands (CANI)
- Launched by PM Narendra Modi
- Connecting Chennai Port Blair, Andaman & Nicobar Islands (A&NI)
- Will enable delivery of faster mobile and landline telecom services to A&NI
- Cost of about Rs 1224 Crore.
- 2,312-kilometer
- The submarine OFC link will deliver bandwidth of 2 x 200 Gigabits per second (Gbps) between Chennai
and Port Blair, and 2 x 100 Gbps between Port Blair and the other islands.
- Project funded by the Government of India through the Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) is
under the Department of Telecommunications, Ministry of Communications.
- BSNL executed this project while Telecommunications Consultants India Limited (TCIL) is the Technical
Consultant
- Airtel becomes first telecom to launch ‘Ultra-Fast 4G’ services in Andaman and Nicobar
Financing Facility of Rs.1 Lakh crore Under Agriculture Infrastructure Fund & Rs 17000 Cr as 6th
Installment of PM-KISAN
- Launched by PM
- It is a Central Sector Scheme (CSS)
- First sanction of over Rs. 1000 Crore was made to over 2,280 farmer societies
- Duration of the scheme is 10 years i.e. from FY2020 to FY2029.
- A 3% interest subvention and credit guarantee under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small
Enterprises (CGTMSE) scheme for loans up to Rs 2 Crore will be provided to the beneficiaries to
increase the viability of these projects.
- Rs. 17000 Crore transferred to nearly 8.5 Crore farmers under PM-KISAN as 6th installment
- Also released the 6th instalment of funds of Rs. 17,000 crore to 8.5 crore farmers under the Pradhan
Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Yojna (PM-KISAN) scheme.
PM inaugurated Rashtriya Swachhata Kendra (RSK) and Launched ‘Gandagi Mukt Bharat’ – a Week Long
Campaign (Aug 8-15, 2020)
- RSK = balanced mix of digital and outdoor installations tracking India’s transformation from having
over 50 crore people defecating in the open in 2014 to becoming open defecation free in 2019.
- Railways to observe cleanliness week from August 10-15 to mark Independence Day
Central Government Extended the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to Large Firms & Self
Employed
Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme
- Introduced in May 2020, as a part of the Atmanirbhar package
- Corpus of Rs. 41,600 crores and with an additional guaranteed funding of up to Rs.3 lakh crore.
- Turnover limits to avail the loan under the scheme was increased to annual turnover of Rs.250 crore
from Rs.100 crore and outstanding loans up to Rs.50 crores from Rs.25 crore.
- The maximum loan amount under the scheme is also increased to Rs.10 crores from Rs.5 crores.
- The collateral free loan provided under this scheme supports the small enterprises to pay salary, rent
and restocking expenses.
Piyush Vedprakash Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry and Pralhad Joshi, Union
Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Coal & Mines dedicated the Railway Museum at Hubballi, Karnataka to
the Nation
- Highlights of the Railway Museum include Galaxy of Rolling Stock, Malaprabha and Ghataprabha
cottages, Theatre Coach, Suruchi Cafeteria, Toy Train, Memorabilia Shop, Ticket Printing Machine,
Model train run, Children’s Activity Room.
Minister of State OF Ministry of Railways - Suresh Angadi Channabasappa
Narendra Singh Tomar - launched “Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel”

- Initiative by National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC)
- Launched in Hindi and regional language of eighteen different states.
Headquarter of NCDC = New Delhi.
Union Minister of State for Culture & Tourism (Independent charge) Prahlad Singh Patel - inaugurated =
1st golf course of Mizoram, “Thenzawl Golf Resort” under Swadesh Darshan Scheme of Ministry of
Tourism
- Project was sanctioned under the “Integrated Development of New Eco Tourism”
- Constructed by Edufice Infraservices Private Limited of New Delhi.
- Centre has sanctioned Rs.92.25 Crore for development of the North East Circuit at Thenzawl & South
Zote, District Serchhip and Reiek, Mizoram out of which an amount of Rs.64.48 Crore was sanctioned
for various components at Thenzawl including the Golf Course.
Mizoram: Chief Minister (CM) – Zoramthanga
Governor– P.S Sreedharan Pillai
Union Minister of Textiles and Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani launched Mobile App & Backend
Website for Handloom Mark Scheme for the weavers
- On the occasion of 6th National Handloom Day held virtually
- Organized by the Ministry of Textiles, Government of India
- App developed by the Textile Committee of Mumbai
- App has 10 Indian languages and English language
- App confirms the originality of the product through QR code (Quick response code)
- My Handloom = Various benefits under the handloom schemes like Block Level Clusters, Handloom
Marketing Assistance and Awards can be applied through the portal - also provides status updates on
applications under the National Handloom Development programme, and schemes like, Mudra Loan
Scheme, Weavers’ Insurance, Yarn Supply, distribution of looms and accessories, number of training
- “India Handloom” brand was launched by the Prime minister in 2015 on the occasion of the 1st
National Handloom Day.
- During the event a virtual fair and a social media campaign has been inaugurated:
- Virtual Textile Fair 2020 = The Government is providing virtual fair shop called the Indian Textile
Sourcing Fair 2020 through a step towards realizing “Atma Nirbhar Bharat” - More than 150
participants from different regions of the country will be participating in the programme.
- Social media Campaign - A two-week social media camping #Vocal4Handmade was planned for
Handloom, Handloom Products, information about high-end handloom products of various regions of
the country.
Ministry of Defence (MoD) publicized a draft ‘Defence Production & Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP)
2020 for public feedback by August 17, 2020
- Aims to achieve a manufacturing turnover of $25 bn or Rs 1,75,000 crore, including exports of $5 bn or
Rs 35,000 Crore in aerospace and defence goods and services by 2025.
- Department of Defence Production (DDP) will be the nodal department for coordination on various
components of the DPEPP 2020
- 5,000 items are proposed to be indigenized by 2025.
- Mission Raksha Gyan Shakti = was launched to promote innovation and technology development and
file greater number of patents in Defence PSUs (public sector undertakings) and OFB (ordnance factory
board) would be scaled up further to promote creation of IP Property in defence sector.
Harsh Vardhan launched ‘Vidyarthi Vigyan Manthan 2020-21’
- National level programme for popularizing science among school students of class sixth to Eleventh.
- initiative of Vijnana Bharathi (VIBHA), Vigyan Prasar and NCERT
- India’s largest Science talent search examination for New India using Digital Devices.
- Vijnana Bharathi (VIBHA) is a national movement for propagation and popularization of Science &
Technology among the students and masses.
- Vigyan Prasar (VP) is a national institute for science and technology communication established in
1989 under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) + Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation + Wadhwani Foundation - launched
‘AIM-iCREST’
- AIM’s incubators will be provided requisite support to foster the incubation enterprise economy in order
to enhance their performance.
- Also training will be provided to entrepreneurs
Financial knowledge platform”MSMESaksham” for MSMEs
- launched by SIDBI, TransUnion CIBIL
- Will guide MSMEs (micro, small and medium enterprises) seeking quick access to finance and will also
support them in managing their credit obligations.
- MSMESaksham leverages SIDBI’s extensive network of MSMEs as well as information and insights from
TransUnion CIBIL to create an educational ecosystem to build structurally strong MSMEs.
SIDBI CMD – Mohammad Mustafa
Headquarter– Lucknow
TransUnion CIBIL Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
EBook titled “Standard Treatment Guidelines for the Management of Substance Use Disorders and
Behavioural Addictions”
- Released by Dr. Harsh Vardhan in the presence of State Minister of (MoH & FW), Ashwini Kumar
Choubey.
National Education Policy (NEP) 2020
- HRD ministry renamed as Ministry of Education
- Replaced 34 years old NPE, 1986
- Announced by Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Keshav Javadekar.
- From now onwards the education sector will get allocation of 6% of total Gross Domestic Product
(GDP)
- Emphasizes setting up of Gender Inclusion Fund, Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions
and groups.
- aligned to the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)-4 of 2030 Agenda is aimed at Universalization of
Education from pre-school to secondary level with 100 % Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in school
education by 2030
- Policy also aims to achieve 100% youth and adult literacy.
- Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) in higher education is to be raised to 50% by 2030 from 26.8% in 2018
with the addition of 3.5 crore seats.
- Curriculum and pedagogy to be transformed by 2022 to promote skill based learning.
- Policy premised on the 5 pillars = Access, Equity, Quality, Affordability and Accountability
School Education under NEP 2020
- Early Childhood Care & Education (ECCE) - consists of flexible, multi-faceted, multi-level, play-based,
activity based and discovery-based learning.
- National Curricular and Pedagogical Framework for Early Childhood Care and Education (NCPFECCE)
for children up to the age of 8 = will be developed by NCERT in two parts = sub frame work for 0-3-
year olds and a sub-framework for 3-8 years old
5+3+3+4 model
- Foundational stage (5 years)
- Preparatory Stage (3 years)– An experiential learning across sciences, mathematics, arts, social
sciences, and humanities will be introduced in Grades 3-5 = Age covered: 8-11
- Middle Stage (3 years) – It will have subject-oriented teaching and curricular style for Grades 6-8 =
Vocation education and internships from Class six onwards and activities involving coding will also be
introduced at this stage. Students will also participate in a fun project/activity on The Languages of
India, under the Ek Bharat Shrestha Bharat initiative - Age covered: 11-14
- Secondary stage (4 years)- It will also consist of two parts i.e. Grade 9&10 + Grade 11&12 and will have
greater depth curricular and student choice of subjects, and option to exit at grade 10 and re-enter at a
later stage in grade 11. Several foreign languages will be offered at this level = Age covered: 14-18
Language skills
- Medium of instruction up to Grade 5, can extend till Grade 8 will be the mother tongue/regional
language.
- The three-language formula will continue to be implemented.
Other Important Changes
- Curriculum content will be reduced in each subject to make space for inquiry-based, discovery-based,
discussion-based, and analysis-based learning
- Mathematics and computational thinking to be given increased emphasis throughout school years
- Students will get 360 degree holistic report card, which will not only include their marks, but also their
skills.
- Bag less days will be encouraged in schools for enrichment activities involving arts, quizzes, sports, and
vocational crafts
- There will be Inclusion of specially-abled children in the schooling process
- Indian Sign Language (ISL) will be standardized across India, and National and State curriculum
materials developed for use by students with hearing impairment – NCERT and NCFTE will develop
guidelines for the education of gifted children
- Special emphasis will be given on socially and Economically Disadvantaged Groups (SEDGs) which
include gender, socio-cultural, and geographical identities and disabilities - includes setting up of
Gender Inclusion Fund and also Special Education Zones for disadvantaged regions and groups
- Every state/district will be encouraged to establish “Bal Bhavans”
Higher Education
- Will be integrated into one higher education system -including professional and vocational education.
- Multidisciplinary Education and Research Universities (MERUs), at par with Indian Institutes of
Technology (IITs), Indian Institutes of Management (IIMs), to be set up as models of best
multidisciplinary education of global standards in the country.
- Students who have completed 4 years of bachelors’ programme with research could do one year
master’s degree, then 5 year integrated bachelors’ / masters’ degree will also be available.
- Master’s degree or a 4-year Bachelor’s degree with Research would be eligible for pursuing Ph.D. The
M. Phil programme would be discontinued.
- Implementation of this Policy will be directed by the joint actions from various bodies including MoE,
Rashtriya Shiksha Aayog (RSA), Union and State Governments, education-related Ministries, State
Departments of Education, Boards, NTA(National Testing Agency), the regulatory bodies of
Tripartite MoU - CSIR, Unnat Bharat Abhiyan-IIT Delhi and Vijnana Bharati (VIBHA)
- To provide access to CSIR rural technologies for Unnat Bharat Abhiyan (UBA) and is expected to lay the
foundation for cooperation and joint action in the area of UBA for rural development of India.
Unnat Bharat Abhiyan =
- Flagship programme under the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) with a vision for
the transformational change in the process of rural development with the support of educational
institutes to build the framework of an inclusive India.
Vijnana Bharati =
- Science body linked with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
CSIR President - Narendra Modi
Vice President - Harsh Vardhan
Director General – Shekhar C. Mande
Headquarter - New Delhi
Narendra Singh Tomar, Union Minister of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj - released a booklet on
‘Best Practices in Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP)’
- Prepared by Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development
- Computerization of Land Records has been completed (more than 90%) in 23 States/ Union
Territories(UTs) and substantial progress has been achieved in 11 States/ UTs.
MSME launched programme under “Gramodyog Vikas Yojana” for the benefit of artisans involved in
manufacturing of Agarbatti and to develop village industry
- Four Pilot Projects will be started, including one in the North Eastern part of the country
- Each targeted cluster of artisans will be supported with about 50 Automatic Agarbatti making
machines and 10 Mixing machines.
- Total of 200 Automatic Agarbatti making machines and 40 Mixing machines will be provided to the
artisans.
- The program will immediately generate a minimum of about 500 additional jobs and will reduce
imports of Agarbatti.
Union Minister of Micro Small and Medium Enterprises – Nitin Gadkari
Minister of State (MoS) – Pratap Chandra Sarangi
Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), Hardeep
Singh Puri released the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes Pack through Video Conferencing
- also launched the mobile application of Credai – Awaas App and an E-Commerce Portal,
“HousingforAll.com” of NAREDCO
- To provide dignified and affordable rental accommodation to the urban poor and migrant workers.
- Scheme aims to provide an affordable living space for people in need.
- Government is also considering 100% FDI in the scheme.
OTHERS NATIONAL NEWS INCLUDING
NHAI – Developed - ‘Vendor Performance Evaluation System’ = to establish a transparent and
comprehensive performance rating system for its consultants, contractors and concessionaires
The Chamber of Marathwada Industries and Agriculture (CMIA) + United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) = to set up a help desk for MSMEs for providing information on various government
safety guidelines, regulatory norms, schemes and support measures during the Covid-19 related business
challenges
CMIA Headquarter – Aurangabad, Maharashtra
UNDP Administrator– Achim Steiner
Headquarter– New York
India’s Longest Guwahati Passenger Ropeway Project Inaugurated connecting the Northern and Southern
banks of the Brahmaputra River
- 1.8 Kilometres long, estimated cost of Rs 56 Crore
- Project is set to become operational by August 24, 2021
Assam Capital – Dispur
Chief Minister – Sarbananda Sonowal
Ministry of Home Affairs approved the renaming of Manduadih Railway Station in Uttar Pradesh as
‘Banaras’.
- Manduadih - in Varanasi situated about 4 kilometres from Varanasi Cantonment Station.
Minister of State of Home Affairs - Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, Nityanand Rai
Katra-Delhi Express Road Corridor to be completed by 2023

- Announced by Union Minister for Development of North Eastern Region (M-DoNER), Dr. Jitendra
Singh
- Total outlay of the project is Rs. 35,000 crores.
- Express Corridor is being built under the Bharatmala Pariyojana, which is a centrally-sponsored and
funded Road & Highways project of the Government of India.
- National Highway between Pathankot and Jammu is set to be upgraded from 4-lane to 6-lane.
Geographical Indications (GI) tags
- Goa’s Harmal Chillies = grown only in Harmal village and adjacent areas
- Goa’s Moira bananas = unique banana grown in Moira village of Bardez taluka & Bicholim Taluka
- Goa’s Khaje = the traditional state sweet.
Gwalior Chambal Expressway will be Named Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway
- A grand statue of Vajpayee ji will be set up in Bhopal
- The Gwalior Chambal Expressway is a 6 lane expressway connecting Madhya Pradesh with Uttar
Pradesh and Rajasthan, through the ravines of Chambal region.
Indian Railways Constructing World’s Tallest 141 m high and 703 meters long Pier Bridge across River Ijai
in Manipur
- Outlay of Rs 280 crore.
- It will surpass the existing height record of 139 meters of the Mala – Rijeka Viaduct, Montenegro in
Europe.
- Located at the hilly terrain of Marangching village in Noney district, about 65 km west of Imphal,
Manipur.
- Project will be completed by March 2022.
UK Launched £3 million Innovation Challenge Fund to Maharashtra (£1.5 million) & Karnataka (£1.5
million) to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and climate
change.
- Tech innovators with connections to the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the future mobility cluster in
Maharashtra will submit research and development proposals for tackling COVID-19 or which promote
a greener planet till August 31, 2020.
India Railways used New Track Construction (NTC) machine for track construction for 1st time
- Implemented by Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL).
- Currently, there are seven NTC machines that have been deployed along the Dedicated Freight Corridor
(DFC) alignment.
Indian Railways Chairman – Vinod Kumar Yadav
First five of 36 Rafale fighter jets, from France were landed in Ambala in Haryana
- Manufactured with 13 India Specific Enhancements (ISE), by Dassault Aviation
- €7.87 billion deal for Rafale fighter jets
- 2 twin seater & 3 single seater
Indian Air Force (IAF) - New Delhi
Govt Abolished Cotton Advisory Board (CAB) = Notified Change in Status of all eight Textiles Research
Associations
- CAB is a representative body of government agencies, growers, industry and trade - it advises the
government on matters pertaining to production, consumption and marketing of cotton.
India’s first ‘Kisan Rail’ flagged off from Devlali Railway Station of Maharashtra
- flagged off by Piyush Goyal
- 1st ever multi commodity train of Indian Railways(IR) that carries fruits
- Train will run on a weekly basis.
- Launch of Kisan Rail is a step towards achieving the target of doubling the income of farmers by 2022.
- The train will cover a distance of 1519 kilometres in around 32(31.45) hours on a single trip.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) recognises Venkatraipur and
Noliasahi villages of Odisha as ‘Tsunami Ready’ for their overall preparedness
- India became the 1st Country in the Indian Ocean region to achieve the honour
- Odisha State Disaster Management Authority(OSDMA) was established following the 1999 super
cyclone, implemented the Tsunami Ready Programme in Odisha.
- Odisha aims to make the 326 coastal villages and urban local bodies as “Tsunami Ready” over a year of
time.
- Indian Ocean Tsunami Ready Programme of IOC- UNESCO - to facilitate tsunami preparedness with the
collaboration of the Community, leaders, national and local emergency management agencies.
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Head Office – Paris
Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) Head Office – Bhubaneswar
Simplilearn + National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) = to Upskill Professionals in Digital Skills
- Simplilearn will host more than 1,000 hours of free learning in digital skills and technologies for
learners across India under the categories of AI and Machine Learning, Big Data, Data Science &
Business Intelligence, Cyber Security, Software Development, Project management, and Digital
marketing.
- This partnership is aligned to the Skill India Mission.
India’s first snow leopard conservation centre in Lanka, near Bhaironghati bridge, Uttarkashi district, UK
- Dutch Conservation Architect Anne Feenstra shared the details of the conservation centre.
- The conservation centre is expected to create awareness of the Big Cat among the people.
Uttarakhand Capital – Garsain (Summer), Dehradun (Winter)
Governor – Baby Rani Maurya
First-ever Vyapar Mala express train for small traders from Kishanganj in Delhi to Jirania in Tripura
- Run by Northern Railway
- Will help small traders to move their cargo in short time, cost effective, convenient and environment-
friendly mode of transportation.
- Railway board has earned more than ₹ 94 lakh from this Vyapar Mala Express train.
Northern Railway Headquarter – New Delhi railway station
INTERNATIONAL
World Health Organisation (WHO) has invited countries to join its Covid-19 Vaccine Global Access
(COVAX) facility by August 31, 2020
- Facility is led by the WHO, GAVI vaccine alliance (formerly the Global Alliance for Vaccines and
Immunisation) and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI).
- Aim is to deliver 2 billion doses of effective, approved COVID-19 vaccines by the end of 2021.
- The 75 countries, which would finance the vaccines from their own public finance budgets, partner
with up to 90 lower-income countries that could be supported through voluntary donations to Gavi’s
COVAX Advance Market Commitment (AMC).
- The vaccines will be delivered equally to participating countries proportional to their populations.
India - Cultural Agreement - Israel = to Strengthen Bilateral Relations to Promote People to People
Exchange for 3 years
- Ron Malka, Israel’s Ambassador to India signed an agreement with Uttar Pradesh to cooperate in the
water utility on the Indo-Israel Bundelkhand water project.
UAE-Israel peace agreement named “Abraham Accord”

- UAE became the first Gulf Arab state and only the third Arab nation after Egypt and Jordan to have
active diplomatic ties to Israel.
Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan Committed USD 25mn to Expand
Unified Champion Schools (UCS) worldwide programme to 6 countries India, Argentina, Egypt, Pakistan,
Romania and Rwanda with an aim to empower intellectually disabled children
- The 4 year project will create 120 UCS across 12 states in India
- UAE has also committed to bring UCS programming to all of its public schools in the coming years
Narendra Modi + Pravind Jugnauth jointly inaugurated the new Supreme Court building of Mauritius in
Port Louis through VC
- Supreme Court building - constructed with Indian grant assistance of US$ 30 million and first India-
assisted infrastructure project
Mauritius Currency – Mauritian rupee
High Commissioner of India to Mauritius – Tanmaya Lal
Russia - 1st Country to Register COVID-19 Vaccine, ‘Sputnik V’, after the world’s first satellite Sputnik
- Developed jointly by the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology and the
Russian Defence Ministry.
- Available to the public on Jan 1, 2021.
- India is among 20 countries which has expressed interest in obtaining the vaccine
Bangladesh Decided to Construct a Monument for the Indian Soldiers Martyred in the 1971
- Tripura was selected by the Bangladesh Government for its historic significance in the 1971 war
Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Introduced New Platform “Technical Platform on the
Measurement and Reduction of Food Loss and Waste” to support the global reduction of food loss and
waste
FAO Director-General - QU Dongyu
Headquarters – Rome, Italy
India contributed USD 15.46 mn to India-UN Development Partnership Fund of United Nations Office for
South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC)
- Out of USD 15.46 mn, USD 6 million is contributed to the overall fund, in which all the developing
countries are eligible for partnership, and USD 9.46 million dedicated to the Commonwealth countries.
- India-UN Development Partnership Fund was Initiated in 2017 = dedicated facility within the UNOSSC,
supported and led by the GoI, managed by the UNOSSC, and implemented in collaboration with the
partner developing countries of UN system.
United Nations Office for South-South Cooperation (UNOSSC) Envoy of the Secretary-General on South-
South Cooperation – Jorge Chediek Headquarter – New York, United States (US)
BANKING, FINANCE AND ECONOMY

RBI IN NEWS
RBI Annual Report 2019-20 Released

- India’s Growth Projected at -4.5%
- It will be (-) 3.7% in the single hit scenario and (-) 7.3% in the double hit scenario in FY2020-21.
- On the global front, the growth is projected at (-) 6.0% in the single hit scenario and (-) 7.6% in the
double hit scenario in FY20-21.
- RBI has decided to dissolve the Banking Codes and Standards Board of India (BCSBI) which was set up
in February 2006 as an independent and autonomous body for formulating codes of conduct to be
adopted by banks
- RBI will be implement the recommendations of an in-house committee for integrating three existing
Ombudsman schemes – Banking Ombudsman Scheme, 2006, Ombudsman Scheme for NBFCs, 2018
and Ombudsman Scheme for Digital Transactions, 2019 into one scheme.
- The RBI’s balance sheet increased by 30% to Rs 53,34,793 crore.
- The gross total income for the year 2019-20 declined by 29% to Rs 149,672 crore as compared to Rs
193,036 crore in 2018-19.
- Its expenditure for the year 2019-20 is Rs 92,540 crore compared to an expenditure of Rs 17,045 crore
in 2018-19.
- The year ended with an overall surplus of Rs 57,128 crore which was transferred to the government.
- Bank frauds of Rs 100,000 and above reported more than double in FY20 to Rs 1.85 trillion with the
number cases increasing 28% in the same period.
- PSBs accounted for 80% of the frauds in FY20
- Frauds in loans constituted 98% of the total frauds
RBI - Purchase & Sale of Govt Securities under OMO worth Rs 20,000 crore in two equal tranches of Rs
10,000 crore
- RBI bought longer-dated government securities maturing between 2024 to 2032
- The securities for the second tranche auction on September 03, 2020 will be announced separately.
- The objective of simultaneous purchase and sale of G-secs is to raise short-term yields and lower long
term yields.
- On July 2, 2020, RBI conducted the simultaneous purchase of Government Securities (G-Secs),
maturing between 2027 and 2033, and sale of 182 day and 364 day treasury bills (DTBs) under Open
Market Operations (OMO) for Rs 10,000 crore each. This OMO was a part of “Operation Twist”
RBI Released revised National Strategy for Financial Education (NSFE) 2020-2025
- Released by Mahesh Kumar Jain, Deputy Governor
- NSFE 2020-2025 prepared by the National Centre for Financial Education (NCFE) in consultation with all
Financial Sector Regulators - RBI, SEBI, IRDAI and PFRDA along with Department of Financial Services
(DFS) and other Ministries of Govt. of India under the aegis of the Technical Group on Financial
Inclusion and Financial Literacy (TGFIFL)
- TGFIFL was formed under the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) chaired by Union
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- Recommends adoption of a ‘5 C’ approach viz. Content, Capacity, Community, Communication and
Collaboration.
RBI Released “Framework for authorisation of pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments”
- RBI has invited applications from eligible companies by February 26, 2021, the scrutiny of which will be
undertaken by an External Advisory Committee (EAC).
- The Board for Regulation and Supervision of Payment and Settlement Systems (BPSS), will be the final
authority to issue authorisation for setting up umbrella entity / entities for retail payments
- All entities eligible to apply as promoters of the umbrella entity should be owned and controlled by
resident Indian citizens under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA).
- The minimum paid-up capital of the umbrella entity should be Rs 500 crore.
- Any entity holding more than 25% of the paid-up capital but less than 40% of the umbrella entity will
be deemed to be a Promoter.
- Promoter should upfront (payment made in advance) minimum capital contribution of 10% i.e. Rs 50
crore at the time of making an application for setting up of the umbrella entity.
- The Promoter shareholding can be diluted to a minimum of 25% after 5 years of the commencement of
business of the umbrella entity.
- A minimum net-worth of Rs 300 crore shall be maintained at all times.
RBI Mandated Urban Co-operative Banks (UCBs) with assets of Rs 2,000 crore or above as on March 31,
2020 to implement system-based asset classification from 30 June 2021.
- This decision has been taken to improve the efficiency, transparency and integrity of the asset
classification process.
- For UCBs having total assets of Rs 1000 crore or above but less than Rs 2000 crore as on March 31,
2020 and have self-assessed under Level III or Level IV on “Comprehensive Cyber Security Framework
for Primary (Urban) Cooperative Banks (UCBs) – A Graded Approach” are mandated to implement it
from September 30, 2021.
RBI revised the guidelines applicable for Core Investment Companies (CICs) on the basis of the
recommendations of the Working Group to Review the Regulatory and Supervisory Framework for Core
Investment Companies
- CICs = CICs are non-bank lenders holding not less than 90% of their net assets as investments in equity
shares, preference shares, bonds, debentures, debt or loans in group companies
- Working group was constituted under the Chairmanship of Tapan Ray, former Secretary, Ministry of
Corporate Affairs (MCA)
- Report by the WG was published by RBI on November 6, 2019.
- CICs with assets of over Rs 5,000 crore will have to appoint a chief risk officer (CRO).
- CIC in the group, or the CIC with the largest asset size, will have to form a group risk management
committee (GRMC), comprising of at least five members, with two independent directors.
- It has been decided to limit the number of layers of CICs within a group, including the parent, to two in
order to make group structures simpler.
RBI’s Central Board approved a dividend of Rs 57,128 crore to Central Govt for the accounting year 2019-
20
- Board decided to maintain the Contingency Risk Buffer at 5.5%.
- In 2019, had transferred a record payment of Rs 1.76 lakh crore which included Rs 1.23 lakh crore as
dividend and about Rs 52,637 crore of excess provisions identified as per the revised Economic Capital
Framework (ECF).
- As per the Union Budget 2020-21, the govt has budgeted Rs 60,000 crore as dividends from RBI and
state-run banks and financial institutions
- As on June 30, 2020 the fiscal deficit of the govt reached 83.2% of the full year budget target of Rs
7.96 trillion due to sharp fall in revenues due to the nationwide lockdown imposed to control COVID-
19.
- RBI has decided to extend the enhanced borrowing facility provided to the banks to meet their
liquidity shortages till September 30 from till June 30, 2020.
- RBI conducted the simultaneous purchase of Government Securities (G-Secs), maturing between 2027
and 2033, and sale of 182 day and 364 day treasury bills (DTBs) under Open Market Operations (OMO)
for Rs 10,000 crore each = OMO is a part of “Operation Twist” to ease pressure evolving liquidity and
market conditions.
RBI sets up panel under KV Kamath for one-time restructuring of loans

- To set the parameters and benchmarks for this programme aimed at the resolution of stressed loans.
- Committee will also evaluate resolution plans where debt is more than Rs 1,500 crore.
- Setting up of committee is a part of the Resolution Framework/window which is available for one-time
only to the COVID-19 related stressed assets under the “Prudential Framework on Resolution of
Stressed Assets” dated June 7, 2019”
- The resolution plan may be invoked anytime till December 31, 2020 and shall have to be implemented
within 180 days from the date of invocation
- RBI announced additional special liquidity facility of Rs 5000 cr each for NHB & NABARD
- NHB = additional standing liquidity facility (ASLF) of Rs 5,000 crore to National Housing Bank (NHB),
over and above Rs10,000 crore already provided, for supporting housing finance companies (HFCs).
The facility will be for a period of 1 year and will be charged at the RBI’s repo rate.
- NABARD = ASLF of Rs 5,000 crore provided to NABARD for a period of 1 year at the RBI’s policy repo
rate for refinancing Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) - Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs) and
other smaller NBFCs of asset size of Rs 500 crore and less to support agriculture and allied activities
and the rural non-farm sector.
- RBI introduced automated sweep-in and sweep-out (ASISO) facility to help banks manage liquidity in
COVID-19 scenario
- RBI enhanced loan to value ratio to 90% of value of gold pledged
- RBI extended provisions of restructuring of MSME loans for borrowers with loan outstanding upto Rs
25 cr
- RBI also extended the restructuring of MSME debt until March 31, 2021 from December 31, 2020, on
the condition that the borrower’s account was classified as standard with the lender as on March 1,
2020.
- RBI to bring start-ups under priority sector lending category
- Sectors that are already under PSL are agriculture, MSMEs, education, housing, social infrastructure
among others.
- RBI to set up ‘Innovation Hub’ to promote financial inclusion, efficient banking
- Positive Pay mechanism for all cheques above Rs 50,000 = cheques will be processed for payment by
the drawee bank based on information passed on by its customer at the time of issuance of cheque
- The average value of a cheque cleared in CTS presently is Rs 82,000.
- Scheme of Offline Retail Payments Using Cards and Mobile Devices = RBI permitted small value offline
transactions through cards and mobile devices for single payments of up to Rs 200 on pilot basis till
March 31, 2021
- RBI to introduce online dispute resolution mechanism for digital payments
- Headline inflation may remain elevated in Q2:2020-21, but may moderate in H2:2020-21.
Members of MPC = Dr. Chetan Ghate, Dr. Pami Dua, Dr. Ravindra H. Dholakia, Dr. Mridul K. Saggar, Dr.
Michael Debabrata Patra.
OTHER BANK NEWS
Integration of “ICAR-IIHR Seed Portal with SBI’s YONO Krishi Web Application
- launched by Narendra Singh Tomar
- To help the farmers in increasing the crop production along with the crop quality and income
generation.
- Farmers will also be able to purchase seeds certified by the research institute.
- The Guest of Honor of this virtual launch event was Rajnish Kumar, Chairman, SBI.
- On the occasion of Independence Day of the Maldives on July 26, 2020, SBI provided liquidity support
of USD 16.20 million as a COVID-relief for the Government of Maldives
ICAR-IIHR Director - Dr. M.R. Dinesh
Head Office– Bengaluru, Karanataka
Axis Bank unveils AXAA , an AI powered conversational banking IVR
HSBC India Launched Omni Collect = to offer multiple payment options on a single platform for
businesses.
HSBC India HeadQuarter – Mumbai
CEO – Surendra Rosha
HSBC India Becomes 1st Foreign Bank in India to launch a ‘Green Deposit Programme’ for Corporate
Clients to finance green initiatives and eco-friendly projects like renewable energy, clean transportation,
and pollution prevention among others
- ‘Green Deposit’ offers a stable principal, pre-agreed return and same levels of principal protection as a
bank deposit.
- The bank will provide a quarterly report which contains portfolio-level information regarding the use
of the deposited funds.
- HSBC India has financed the green loan aligned with the Green Loan Principles to set up a 250 MW
wind power project in Kutch, Gujarat
HDFC Bank Virtually Launched ‘Shaurya KGC(Kisan Gold Credit) Card’, a tri color themed card for Indian
armed forces personnel, i.e, Army, Navy, Air force and Para military forces and their families
- It will benefit over 45 lakh users
- This launch is part of the HDFC Bank’s ‘Har Gaon Hamara’ initiative to provide banking facilities to
customers in the rural and under-served areas of the country.
- Life Cover – The Card comes with the life cover of Rs 10 lakh as against Rs 2 lakh for an average card
- It can also be availed through HDFC Bank e-Kisan Dhan app or by calling toll-free number 1800 120
9655.
HDFC Bank + Adobe = to Enhance Digital Customer Experiences (AD OF HDFC)

- Hyundai + HDFC Bank = to offer 1st online auto retail financing on its end-to-end online automotive
retail platform, ‘Click to Buy’ to the customers.
- Jharkhand government – MoU - HDFC Bank = to provide digital payment solutions to the state’s
transport department.
NABARD Introduced a Debt and Credit Guarantee Product, ‘Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee
Programme to ensure uninterrupted flow of credit to NBFC-MFIs’
ICICI Bank - 1st Bank in India Uses Satellite Data to Assess Credit Worthiness of Farmers
- ICICI bank has already conducted a pilot study in over 500 villages in Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh
and Gujarat using satellite data.
- It planned to expand the initiative to over 63,000 villages across the country soon.
ICICI Bank MD & CEO – Sandeep Bakhshi
Tagline– Hum Hai Na, Khayal Apka
MasterCard – Partnered - Goals101.ai = to create Targeted and Personalised Offers for Bank Cardholders
- Goals101.ai will connect merchants and issuers using big data, AI and automation to create targeted
and personalized offers for Bank cardholders.
- Mastercard and Goals101.ai will launch a section within the platform called ‘For You’ which will unify
all the bank channels and properties into one.
- Recently Axis Bank Ltd, Mastercard India & Worldline India have partnered to launch a digital point-of-
sale(POS) solution ‘Soft POS’
Mastercard Headquarters – New York
Chief Executive Officer – Ajay Banga
Goals101.ai Headquarters - New Delhi
Chairman & MD - Visham Sikand
RBL Bank - Partnered - Accenture = to transform and enhance the future readiness of the bank’s
Information Technology (IT) systems and accelerate its digital transformation journey
- Accenture will create a flexible and more responsive technological backbone for RBL Bank by utilizing
its expertise in DevOps and Agile working methodology
RBL Bank Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
MD & CEO – Vishwavir Ahuja
Accenture Headquarter – Dublin, Ireland
SBI - Partnered - AddaCorner = to Launch ‘Online Home Carnival’
- Will help in boosting the Real Estate market in Bangalore.
- The Carnival will invite potential home-buyers to come together as a group and directly negotiate with
empanelled real estate sellers on a real time basis
Fino Payments Bank Ltd Launched ‘Jan Bachat Khata’(JBK), an Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS)
Based Digital Savings Account
Fino Payments Bank Limited MD & CEO – Rishi Gupta
YES Bank + KFin Technologies Launched ‘Loan against Securities’ to Provide Complete Digital loan Against
Mutual Fund
- Loan Upto 1 crore can avail against debt mutual funds and can set an instant credit limit against the
securities held.
Yes Bank Headquarter – Mumbai
MD & CEO – Prashant Kumar
Tagline– Experience our Expertise
KFin Technologies Headquarter – Hyderabad
CEO – Sreekanth Nadella
PNB Launched ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’, a Campaign to Promote Digital Banking

- Launched by S S Mallikarjuna Rao, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of PNB
- Campaign begins on 15th August 2020 and runs till 31st March 2021.
- The bank under the campaign will contribute Rs 5 towards the PM CARES Fund on behalf of each
customer who conduct the 1st financial transaction to activate the RuPay Debit card either on point of
sale (PoS) or e-commerce platform, AePS account through fund transfer, AePS account through BHIM
- Download and Registration for UPI facility will also be eligible for contribution.
PNB Tagline – The name you can bank upon.
Federal Bank + Fiserv, Inc = to Support Launch of their 1st Independent Credit Card, ‘Federal Bank Credit
Card’
- The Federal Bank will utilise Fiserv’s FirstVision, an end-to-end managed services solutions
- BOB Financial Solutions Limited(BFSL) has also chosen Fiserv, Inc. to enable the digitization of their
end-to-end card issuance
Federal Bank Headquarters– Aluva, Kerala
MD & CEO – Shyam Srinivasan
Tagline – Your Perfect Banking Partner
Fiserv, Inc. Headquarter – Brookfield, USA
Executive Chairman – Jeffery W. Yabuki
SBM Bank India + InstaReM = to enhance the existing outbound remittance service offerings from India
- InstaReM is the consumer and SME(Small & Medium Enterprises) brand under global fintech platform
Nium
SBM Bank India Headquarters – Mumbai
MD and CEO – Sidharth Rath
InstaReM Headquarters – Singapore
Co-founder and CEO – Prajit Nanu
Bharti AXA Life Insurance Entered - Bancassurance - SBM Bank India

Recent bancassurance agreements
- Karur Vysya Bank (KVB) + Star Health and Allied Insurance Co Ltd
- UCO Bank + SBI Life Insurance
SBM Bank India Headquarter – Mumbai
MD & CEO – Sidharth Rath
Bharti AXA Life Insurance MD & CEO – Parag Raja
South Indian Bank (SIB) - obtained in-principle approval from RBI to set up a wholly owned non- financial
subsidiary
SIB Headquarters – Thrissur
Tagline – Experience Next Generation Banking
MD & CEO– V.G. Mathew
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) amended Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India
(Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016
Airtel Payments Bank + Bharti AXA General Insurance = to offer “Smart Plan Shop Package Policy”
Airtel Payments Bank MD CEO – Anubrata Biswas
Bharti AXA General Insurance MD & CEO – Sanjeev Srinivasan Headquarter – Mumbai
Canara Bank Partnered with New India Assurance Company Ltd, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd and
HDFC ERGO Health Insurance Co Ltd to offer individual short-term Corona Kavach policy
Canara Bank Headquarters – Bangalore
Chairman – T.N. Manoharan
MD & CEO – L.V. Prabhakar
Tagline – Together We Can
Kotak Mahindra Bank Launched = Two-Month Campaign, ‘Kona Kona Umeed’ with Offers, Discounts
Kotak Mahindra Bank Headquarter – Mumbai
Tagline– Lets make money simple
BOB Financial Solutions Limited(BFSL) - chosen Fiserv, Inc = to enable the digitization of their end-to-end
card issuance and processing cycle and support the launch of several new and high-tech products
ECONOMY ETC
Innoviti – Partnered - Visa = to develop installments platform for face-to-face transactions (VISA IS
INNOVETOR)
- IRCTC and SBI Card launched a co-branded contactless credit card, IRCTC -SBI Platinum Card on RuPay
Platform
- Yes Bank Limited + Delhi-based fintech startup Affordplan = to launch a co-branded healthcare card
called ‘Swasth Card’ under Swasth program (CAN YOU AFFORD THIS - YES)
Innoviti Payment Solutions Pvt. Ltd Registered office – Bangalore, Karnataka
CEO – Rajeev Agrawal
Visa Headquarters – California
Chairman and CEO– Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.
Mahindra - MoU - Israeli startup – REE Automotive = to Develop Electric Commercial Vehicles
(MAHINDRA GOT ELECTRIC SHOCK FROM ISRAEL)
- This partnership aims to provide 2-2.5 lakh electric commercial vehicle units over years
REE Co-founder & CEO – Daniel Barel
Headquarters – Tel Aviv, Israel
NPCI Launched - Subsidiary Firm, ‘NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL)
- Appointed Ritesh Shukla as its CEO
- As per the Regulatory records the NIPL was incorporated on April 03, 2020
- NPCI has launched blockchain technology based “Vajra Platform” to make payments fast & secure.
NPCI Head Office – Mumbai
Unitus Ventures Received Rs 75 Crore (USD 10 million) from SIDBI’s Fund of Funds for Start-ups initiative
= will Strengthen the Deployment of its second Rs 300 crore fund, which was launched in 2018.
- Unitus Ventures has recently invested Rs 8.5 crore (USD 1.1 million) in Masai School, an ed-tech
platform.
- Unitus Ventures Fund II = It will invest in 15-20 start-ups in early and scale-up stages with ticket
sizes(amount invested into a company) between USD 0.5 million to USD 1.5 million.
- Start-ups like Milaap, Hippocampus, Caravan, iStar, and CueLearn have been funded by Unitus
Ventures Fund II.
IBM + National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) = to offer a free digital education platform on
emerging technologies and professional skill development
- IBM will manage an online course from Open P-Tech platform and will offer it to the users through
eSkill India Portal of NSDC.
- The platform is available in English which will be expanded to multiple Indian languages starting with
Hindi and followed Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Urdu, Bengali.
- Under this partnership IBM will catalogue more than 30 courses with 60 hours of learning as
knowledge partners.
- For the Learners between the age of 18 to 22 years, professional skills like design thinking will be
provided for free.
IBM CERO – Arvind Krishna
Headquarters – Armonk, New York
Tata Capital Ltd Launched a New Service, ‘Swift Insta Personal Loans’ on Whatsapp
Existing customers can apply for loans (on a single platform) using TIA, a chatbot of Tata Capital on
WhatsApp number (7506756060)
Tech Mahindra + NITI Aayog’s Women Entrepreneurship Platform (WEP) = to Support Women
Entrepreneurs in India
- WTI awards is an initiative of the WEP to recognise women leaders in entrepreneurship
- Tech Mahindra’s research and development arm, Makers Lab, will support women entrepreneurs
through joint research, building go-to-market strategies to drive their growth.
Tech Mahindra MD and CEO – Chander Prakash Gurnani
Headquarter – Pune
ReNew Power + United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) = to promote increased access to
renewable energy and improved energy efficiency.
ReNew Power CMD – Sumant Sinha
Headquarter – Gurugram
UNEP Executive Director - Inger Andersen
Headquarter – Nairobi, Kenya
Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd (MCX) Launched India’s 1st Tradeable Real-Time Bullion Index,
‘MCX iCOMDEX Bullion’
- Currently, it carries around 70.52% weight for gold and 29.48% for silver.
Multi-Commodity Exchange of India Ltd Headquarters – Mumbai
Chairman – Saurabh Chandra
MD & CEO- P.S. Reddy
Reliance Foundation + US Agency for International Development (USAID) = to Launch the Women’s
Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP) Women Connect Challenge (WCC) across India in 2020
- To bridge the gender digital divide in India
- W-GDP event hosted by Stephen Biegun, US Deputy Secretary of State along with Ivanka
Trump,Advisor to the US President and Bonnie Glick, Deputy USAID Administrator.
Paytm Launched India’s 1st Pocket Android POS (Point of Sale) Device - ‘Paytm All-in-One Portable
Android Smart POS’
- It comes with an introductory price of Rs 499 per month on a rental basis and is designed like a phone.
- Paytm aims to issue over 2 lakh devices within the next few months
The International Financial Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group = to invest Rs 75 crore
(about USD 10million) in Endiya Partners Fund II
- IFC has also committed an additional USD 10 million for direct co-investments.
- Endiya Partners Fund II is an India domiciled Category II Alternate Investment Fund (AIF) - It seeks to
invest in 16-20 start-ups, from USD 500,000 to USD 1 million in Seed/Pre-series A rounds and a
planned investment of upto USD 5 million per company - corpus target of USD 65 million (around Rs
500 crore)
Endiya Partners Headquarters – Hyderabad
MD – Ramesh Byrapaneni & Sateesh Andra
IFC Headquarters – Washington, D.C.
India Head– Jun Zhang
NPCI Launched Loyalty Platform, ‘nth Rewards’

- A business intelligence and analytics enabled omni-channel multi-branded loyalty platform. This
platform enables users to earn ‘nth’ (denoting infinite possibilities) points through various bank
transactions and redeem them instantly on various products, such as e-vouchers, donations, hotel and
flight bookings.
NPCI Head Office – Mumbai
MD & CEO – Dilip Asbe
Bharti Airtel announced - multi-year Strategic Collaboration Agreement (SCA) with Amazon Web Services
(AWS)
- To provide a comprehensive set of cloud solutions to the large enterprises and Small and Medium
Enterprises (SME) customers in India.
Bharti Airtel Limited MD & CEO – Gopal Vittal
Headquarters– New Delhi
SEBI amended the clause 4 (2) of international financial services centre (IFSC) guidelines, 2015’ =
eligibility, shareholding limit for clearing corporation
- any Indian recognised stock exchange or clearing, or, any recognised stock exchange or clearing
corporation of a foreign jurisdiction, will form a subsidiary to provide the services of a clearing
corporation in IFSC wherein at least 51% stake is held by such exchange or clearing corporation.
- Remaining share capital may be acquired or held by any other person. = will not at any time, acquire or
hold more than 5% stake in a clearing corporation in IFSC, subject to applicable laws.
- Any other stock exchange, depository, bank, insurance company of Indian or foreign jurisdiction have
been allowed to acquire 15% stake
- Public financial institutions may acquire or hold up to 15% of the paid up equity share capital of such
clearing corporations with prior approval of the board.
Listed entities got 3 years to meet criteria of minimum 25% public shareholding
- Changes made in the Securities Contracts (Regulation) Rules, 1957 in rule 19A, in sub-rule (1)
- Central Board of Direct Taxes and SEBI signed a MOU for the data exchange between the two
organizations on a regular basis.
National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) + Infosys Finacle = announced that the bank has decided to adopt the
Finacle Cash Management Suite to digitally transform its transaction banking business.
NBB Headquarters – Manama, Bahrain
Praj Industries (Praj) – MoU - Automotive Research Association of India (ARAI)
- will jointly develop advanced bio fuels application technology for the usage in industry and
transportation
MobiKwik Launched - mpay.me = Personalized UPI Payment Link

MobiKwik: Headquarter – Gurugram
Founder CEO & Director – Bipin Preet Singh
Co-Founder & Director– Upasana Taku
Insurance
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Launched 1st of its Kind ‘Smart Assist’, a Real-time Assistance Service (BAJAJ IS
SMART ASSISTANT)
- The service allows the customers to connect with the company to avail real-time assistance on
completing the purchase anywhere.
- Smart Assist co-browsing service enables personalised engagement with customers in a 100% secure
environment, with end-to-end encryption.
Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance Company Limited MD and CEO – Tarun Chugh
HeadQuarter – Pune
SBI General Insurance Launched - ‘Shagun – Gift an Insurance’ Policy for Personal Accident
SBI General Insurance MD and CEO – Prakash Chandra Kandpal
Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd + BSE EBIX Insurance Broking Private Limited (BSE EBIX)
= to sell General Insurance products
- Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Ltd = joint venture between Indian Bank, Indian
Overseas Bank, Karnataka Bank, Dabur Investment Corp and Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.
- BSE EBIX = joint venture between BSE and EBIX Fincorp Exchange Pte Ltd
Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Headquarter – Mumbai
MD & CEO – Sharad Mathur
BSE EBIX Headquarter – Mumbai
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance + Element AI = to develop, design and implement a strategic AI roadmap
for the new age insurer and prioritise their investments into AI.
Edelweiss Tokio Life Insurance Company Limited Headquarter – Mumbai
Element AI Headquarter – Montreal,Canada.
Religare Health Insurance renamed Care Health Insurance and became effective from August 19, 2020
Banker'शाला (SPREAD THE KNOWLEDGE)
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SOME SPECIFIC GROUPS/CHANNELS FOR SEBI, RBI, IBPS&RRB, FCI, RBI ASSISTANT AND QUIZ GROUP -
AWARDS, PERSONS IN NEWS
Appointments
Vinay M Tonse - MD & CEO of SBI Funds Management Pvt. Ltd = Replaced Ashwani Bhatia (VINAY HAS
- Ashwani Bhatia started his career in 1985 as a PO in SBI.
G Satheesh Reddy gets Two-Year Extension as Chairman of DRDO
Retired IAS officer & Former Finance Secretary Rajiv Kumar Appointed as New Election Commissioner =
succeeds Ashok Lavasa
Keith Christopher Rowley Becomes Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd Consecutive Term
Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Capital – Port of Spain
Currency – Trinidad and Tobago dollar
Francisco Asue is reappointed as the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea

Republic of Equatorial Guinea President – Teodoro Obiang
Capital – Malabo
Currency – Central African CFA franc
54th President of Dominican Republic - Luis Rodolfo Abinader - succeeds Danilo Medina
Dominican Republic Capital – Santo Domingo
Currency – Dominican Peso
Ashok Lavasa Resigns to take charge as the Vice President of Asian Development Bank (ADB) next month
- Ashok Lavasa is a retired Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Haryana Cadre (Batch 1980)
Republic of Mali President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita Resigned after Military Mutiny
- Was re-elected in 2018 as the President.
Mali Capital – Bamako
Currency – West African CFA franc
Satya Pal Malik = Appointed as Governor of Meghalaya - replaced Tathagata Roy
Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari given Additional Charge of Goa
Rakesh Asthana IPS = appointed as the Director General of the Border Security Force along with the
Director General of Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB)
- Gujarat cadre IPS officer of 1984 batch
- VSK Kaumudi, Andhra Pradesh cadre IPS officer of 1986 batch = appointed as the Special Secretary
(Internal Security) in the Ministry of Home Affairs
- Jawed Akhtar, Uttar Pradesh Cadre IPS officer of 1986 batch = appointed as the DG of Fire Services,
Civil Defence and Home Guard
Gujarat Chief Secretary - Anil Mukim = got 6 Month Extension from September 1, 2020 to February 28,
2021
Pramod Bhasin – New Chairperson of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations
(ICRIER) - Isher Judge Ahluwalia resigned
Belarus - Alexander Grigoryevich Lukashenko has won his sixth consecutive presidential term (1994-
present) by taking over 80% of the votes
Belarus: Capital – Minsk
Prime Minister – Roman Golovchenko
Asian College of Journalism Award 2019

- Bagged by Journalists Nitin Sethi and Shiv Sahay Singh
- Awards were presented in a virtual ceremony by Soumya Swaminathan, chief scientist of the World
Health Organisation(WHO)
- Nitin Sethi = journalist in the Huffington post
- Shiv Sahay Singh = journalist in The Hindu.
ACJ Headquarter – Chennai
Chairman – Sashi Kumar
SL Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa won Parliamentary elections

Sri Lanka Capital – Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative)
Colombo (executive & judicial)
President – Gotabaya Rajapaksa
Former J&K Governor GC Murmu appointed as 14th CAG = Replaces Rajiv Mehrishi
- GC Murmu will take oath on August 8, 2020 at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.
- He will have tenure up to November 20, 2024.
Prof. Pradeep Kumar Joshi appointed - UPSC chairman = Succeeds Arvind Saxena
Manoj Sinha appointed = Lt Governor of J&K - Succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu

- Former union minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader from Uttar Pradesh (UP)
J&K Capital – Srinagar (summer), Jammu (winter)
Ajay Tyagi, Chairman of SEBI got another 18 Months Extension w.e.f 01.09.2020 up to 28.02.2022
- He took charge from his predecessor, U K Sinha, on March 1, 2017.
New Prime Minister of Peru - Walter Roger Martos Ruiz = Succeeds Pedro Cateriano
Peru Capital – Lima
Currency- Peruvian Sol(PEN)
Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Mauritania = Mohamed Ould Bilal

Mauritania Capital – Nouakchott
Currency – Ouguiya
Capital India Finance Executive Chairman - Harsh Kumar Bhanwala, Ex-NABARD Chief
Capital India Finance Limited MD & CEO – Vineet Saxena.
HeadOffice – Mumbai
Mohamed Irfaan Ali became President of Guyana = succeeds David Arthur(A.) Granger
Guyana Capital – Georgetown
Currency - Guyanese Dollar (GYD)
Rajesh Kumar, IAS appointed as Manipur Chief Secretary

Manipur Chief Minister – N. Biren Singh
Capital – Imphal
Governor – Najma Heptulla
Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara has appointed Defence Minister Hamed Bakayoko as Prime
Minister (PM)
Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire) Capital– Yamoussoukro
Currency – West African CFA franc
Great Eastern Shipping Company Ltd - new Additional & Independent Director for 5 years = Former RBI
Governor Urjit Patel
BRAND AMBASSADORS AND CEO, MD ETC
Ashwani Bhatia - Managing Director of SBI upto May 31, 2022 = Succeeds PK Gupta
Former RBI Deputy Governor Subhash Sheoratan Mundra Appointed as Non-Executive Chairman of
Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd
Indiabulls Group Headquarters – Gurugram
Harbhajan Singh - Brand Ambassador of Amritsar based e-mobility start-up eBikeGO
Indian Idol Season11 Finalist and Oscar Nominated Playback Singer Shahzan Mujeeb - First National Brand
Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation
Prashant Joshi = Appointed DBS Bank India Ltd MD and Head of National Distribution
DBS Bank India Limited Headquarter – Mumbai
MD and CEO – Surojit Shome
Cricketer Rohit Sharma = Appointed - Oakley’s Brand Ambassador in India for two years
PNB Housing Finance New MD and CEO = Hardayal Prasad, Former SBI Card Head
- will take over from Neeraj Vyas
PNB Housing Finance Head Office – New Delhi
Tag Line – Ghar Ki Baat
Win Trade Fantasy Sports (WTF) global brand ambassadors = Suresh Raina, Harmanpreet Kaur
Sashidhar Jagdishan = Next MD & CEO of HDFC Bank for a period of 3 years - Succeeds Aditya Puri
- Reserve Bank of India (RBI) capped the maximum age at 70 years for a managing director, chief
executive officer or whole time director in a private bank, while the minimum age is above 21 years.
- Aditya Puri is the longest-running CEO of any bank in India.
HDFC Bank Headquarter – Mumbai
Chairman – Deepak S. Parekh
Tagline– We understand your world
Varun Sridhar = New CEO of Paytm Money

- Subsidiary of One97 Communication Ltd
Paytm Money Headquarter – Bengaluru, Karnataka
AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS
NLCIL (Neyveli Lignite Corporation) won Swachhta Hi Seva 2019 award

Marieke Lucas Rijneveld - Youngest Author at the age of 29 to Win International Booker Prize 2020 for the
Book ‘The Discomfort of Evening’
- The Book was first published in Dutch in 2018 and eventually translated into English by Michele
Hutchison.
- The author Marieke Lucas Rijneveld was born in April, 1991 at Nieuwendijk, Netherlands.
- The Dutch edition of the book was a best-seller and grabbed the prestigious ANV Debut Prize.
- The International Booker Prize is awarded annually for a single book that is translated into English and
published in the UK or Ireland.
Twenty-Year old Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash bagged 1st ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations
(MC) World Cup (MCWC)
- Named ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’ title
- Bhanu Prakash had secured the gold medal with a score of 167, Lebanese contender Mohammed El Mir
secured the Silver Medal with a score 102 and Asmita Pal from the UAE bagged the Bronze medal with
a score of 100 points
- He has created a new All Time Record and has beaten the records of Math Maestros like Shakuntala
Devi and Scott Flansburg
- India’s Aryan Shukla finished fourth with a score of 96
- He held 4 World Records and 50 Limca records for being the fastest human calculator in the world
Wabag Won 2020 Global Water Award for Tertiary Treatment Reverse Osmosis (TTRO) plant at
Koyambedu in Chennai
- Chennai = first Indian city to reuse more than 20% of its treated wastewater freeing up more than 16
million metrics of fresh water each year.
- Global Water Awards were established in 2006 by Global Water Intelligence to reward initiatives in the
water, wastewater and desalination sectors
2020 Leadership Awards from USISPF
- Anand Mahindra and Shantanu Narayen will Receive the award
St Christopher School in Chessore Village, Nagaland won the Gold Award along with cash prize of Rs.1
Lakh from the first ever Pallikkutam National Award for Innovation in Education instituted by Rajagiri
Media.
- The rural school provided a balanced online and offline activities for the students over the whatsapp.
- The award was sponsored under the CSR initiative of the Federal Bank Ltd.
- Silver Award (Rs.50,000) was presented to DAV Public School, Haryana for using simple and innovative
approaches
- Bronze Award(Rs.25,000) was presented to CMI Christ School, Iritty, Kerala for their focus on physical
activities
Solapur based activist Ganesh Vilas Lengare has been awarded Star 2020 E-citation Certification by World
Book of Records, London
- Awarded for his efforts to help the poor people during the lockdown caused by Coronavirus.
- World Book of Records was founded in 2017 and honors personalities for their contribution towards
humanity and universal peace.
Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist of World Health Organisation (WHO) has received Tamil Nadu Chief
Minister’s(CM’s) special award
Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) Pune won first prize of rupees 1 Lakh in Smart India
Hackathon 2020
Gandhian Young Technological Innovation Awards 2020 for Clean Energy Research
- IIT-Kharagpur Researchers bagged it for developing a mechanism for generating electricity from wet
clothes left under sunlight to dry.
- The work has been published in Nano Letters, a high-impact journal
- GYTI Awards was instituted by the Society for Research and Initiatives for Sustainable Technologies
and Institution (SRISTI), a voluntary organization
IIT Kharagpur Director – Virendra Kumar Tewari
Prem Bhatia award 2020

- Indian Express Journalist Dipankar Ghose and PARI, a Non-Profit Journalism Website Bagged the
award
- Prem Bhatia awards The Prem Bhatia Awards were instituted in 1995 by the Prem Bhatia Memorial
Trust
20th edition of New York Indian Film Festival
- Malayalam film ‘Moothon’ and National Award winning documentary ‘Son Rise’ won awards
- Garggi Ananthan won the Best Actress Award for the film “Run Kalyani”.
Sunil ydv SS, the founder and CEO of SS motivation channel on Telegram received the Karmaveer Chakra
Award of United Nations and iCONGO
- At ReX ConcLIVE hosted at IIT-D.
- His channel achieved around 127 million views in 2019, the highest global record obtained by a
telegram channel that provides solutions to social issues
- He was enlisted in the Bravo International Book of World Records for having the most number of
subscribers on his telegram channel.
66th SKOCH Summit Awards at New Delhi

- Ministry of Tribal Affairs received SKOCH Gold Award for “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled
Scholarship Schemes”
- West Bengal receives top Award of SKOCH
- The Government of Telangana won the SKOCH Gold Award for its Blockchain-based property
registration project
SKOCH Chairman – Sameer Kochhar
Head Office – Gurgaon
Minister of State of Tribal Affairs - Renuka Singh Saruta
MISC
Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan Resigned Due to Health Issues due to ulcerative colitis.
- The elected new party leader will hold the post for the remaining 1-year term of Abe.
Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab Stepped Down due to public outrage and the pressure from within
his own Cabinet as his government was blamed for the August 4 explosion in Beirut’s port
Lebanon Currency – Lebanese Pound
ACQUISITIONS/MERGERS/MOUS
ACQUISITIONS and MERGERS
Pacific Alliance Group (PAG) to Acquire 51% Stake in Edelweiss Wealth Management for 2,200 Crore (USD
300 million)
- PAG to invest USD 1 billion in the next two to three years in India.
- EWM is the 2nd largest non-bank wealth management business in India.
Edelweiss Group Headquarter – Mumbai
Chairman & CEO – Rashesh Shah
Axis Bank to Acquire 17% in Max Life Insurance

- The total ownership of Axis bank in Max Life will be 18%.
Axis Bank Ltd Headquarter – Mumbai
MD & CEO – Amitabh Chaudhry
Taglin e– Badhti Ka naam Zindagi
Max Life Insurance Company Headquarter – New Delhi
MD & CEO – Prashant Tripathy
Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) has acquired 60% equity
stake in Vitalic Health Pvt Ltd(Vitalic) & 100% direct ownership of Netmeds for a cash consideration of
around Rs 620 crore(USD 83.08 million)
Netmeds Headquarter – Chennai
Founder & CEO – Pradeep Dadha
LIC acquired 4.23% Stake (105.98 crore shares) of YES Bank
- Hold of LIC in YES Bank has increased from 0.75% (19 crore shares) to 4.98%(125 crore shares).
YES Bank Tagline – Experience our Expertise
LIC Chairman – M.R.Kumar
Oman India Joint Investment Fund II Acquired 5.07 million (50,69,903) shares or 1.63 % stake in DCB Bank
- The stake is valued at Rs 41.52 crore
100% Acquisition of Indian Operations of C&S Electric Limited (C&S) by Siemens Limited (Siemens India)
Other MOUs
Greenko Energies, Hyderabad - MoU - NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam(NVVN) = to explore renewable energy
power supply solution and energy storage.
- NTPC is exploring the opportunity to acquire 1000 megaWatt(MW) of operational solar power
projects, as a part of its aim to achieve a 32 GW clean energy portfolio by 2032.
Greenko Energies Founder, CEO & MD – Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty
UTI Infrastructure Technology and Services Ltd - MoU - National Health Authority (NHA) = to Provide
Print Services of E-Cards for AB-PMJAY Beneficiaries
- AB-PMJAY aims to target over 10.74 crore poor, deprived rural families and occupational category of
urban workers” families
UTI Infrastructure Technology And Services Limited Registered Office – Navi Mumbai
MD & CEO – Vijay Kumar Jain
POWERGRID - MoU - TATA Memorial Centre (TMC) Advanced Centre for Treatment Research & Education
in Cancer (ACTREC) = for Construction of Operation Theater Complex in Navi Mumbai
Power Grid Corporation CMD – K Sreekant
Headquarter – Gurgaon
ISRO - MoU - Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Burla, Odisha = to Set up Innovation
cum Incubation Centre - VSSUT Space Innovation Centre (VSSSIC) to Promote Space Research
- ISRO will offer technical consultancy support and financial assistance of Rs.50 lakhs for the
development of infrastructure of VSSUT.
- VSSSIC will explore the latest global trends in space technology
- ISRO will ease the limited utilisation of rocket launching facilities like Thumba, Sriharikota or Balasore
for VSSSIC
- ISRO - MoU - Aryabhatta Research institute of Observational Science (ARIES), Nainital = for the
cooperation in the Field of Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and Astrophysic.
- ISRO - a pact - Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) = to establish an Optical telescope under ‘Project
NETRA’ (NEtwork for space object TRacking and Analysis) for tracking space objects.
VSSUT Vice Chancellor – Atal Chaudhuri
Location– Sambalpur, Odisha
National e-Governance Division (NeGD) – MoU - CSC (Common Service Center) E-Governance Services
India Ltd = to Facilitate UMANG app services at CSCs
- This will benefit those citizens who either do not have access to smartphones or are not comfortable
accessing app based e services on their own.
- UMANG app = Developed by NeGD and dedicated to the Nation on November 23, 2017.
Minister of State of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) = Sanjay Dhotre
National e-Governance Division (NeGD) President & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) – Abhishek Singh
Association of Indian Football Coaches (AIFC) - MoU - Football Coaches Australia(FCA) = for the
development of Football in India and Australia
Ericsson & UNICEF Partnered to map internet connectivity landscape for schools in 35 countries by the
end of 2023 to provide digital learning access to the children
Ericsson Headquarter – Stockholm, Sweden
Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) - MoUs - AFC India Ltd
and National Cooperative Union of India (NCUI) = for Cooperation in Interest of Agriculture & Allied
Sectors
Ministry Of Tourism - MoU - Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) & FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO)
to organise training, impart digital awareness and develop skills among women
- Including those in rural and remote areas, in order to encourage their participation in the development
of tourism which include the areas of homestays, tourist facilitators, catering business and more
- TAAI and FICCI Encourage travel to at least 15 destinations within the country under the
DekhoApnaDesh initiative.
- Create awareness about the Incredible India Tourist Facilitator (IITF) Certification Programme.
FICCI Ladies Organisation President – Jahnabi Phookan
TAAI President – Jyoti Mayal
Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank – MoU - SBI General Insurance Co Ltd = to Sell General Insurance
Products
Karnataka Vikas Grameena Bank Headquarter – Dharwad, Karnataka
Chairman – P Gopi Krishna
SBI General Insurance Co Ltd Headquarter – Mumbai
ICICI Lombard & Bharti AXA Signed Agreement to Merge their Insurance Businesses
- Combined entity will have a market share of 8.7%
- Deal values Bharti AXA at around Rs 2,700 crore.
Bharti AXA General Insurance MD and CEO – Sanjeev Srinivasan
ICICI Lombard General Insurance MD & CEO – Bhargav Dasgupta
IIM Kozhikode - MoU - Switzerland based HELP Logistics to engage in a collaborative partnership to
provide consulting services and logistics training for the humanitarian community in South Asia.
- MoU will be valid for a period of one year
- The MoU includes financial support and aims to increase the regional knowledge and awareness on
humanitarian logistic matters among humanitarian agencies.
Ministry of Shipping - MoU - MSDE for skilling, re-skilling and upskilling of manpower in Port, Maritime
sectors
- MSDE will use its existing infrastructure such as Industrial Training Institute (ITI), National Skill
Training Institute (NSTI) and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal Kendra (PMKK) and Pradhan Mantri Kaushal
Vikas Yojana (PMKVY) centers to train manpower as per the skill gaps of the Coastal districts.
- The Shipping Ministry will support the funding and implementation of skilling initiatives under the
Sagarmala Mission, wherever it is feasible.
- Skill Development of coastal communities is an important objective of Sagarmala Programme and a
budget of Rs. 100 Crore has been allocated for development activities in the coastal communities.
Atal Innovation Mission and India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre signed a virtual Statement of
Intent (SoI) to promote the innovative potential of Indian Entrepreneurs and to boost the dynamic startup
ecosystem across India.
Sweden Prime Minister – Stefan Löfven
Capital- Stockholm
Currency– Swedish krona
National Seeds Corporation (NSC) – MoU - Jute Corporation of India (JCI) = for Supply of Certified Jute
Seeds to Farmers in 2021-22 to improve the production and productivity of raw Jute in the country.
- JCI will purchase the certified seeds from NSC and distribute it commercially to the farmers. This is the
first ever commercial distribution operation.
- MoU is expected to benefit around 5-6 Lakh farmer families and will also increase the revenue of JCI.
L&T Hydrocarbon Engineering - MoU - NTPC Ltd = for CO2 to build a CO2 to methanol demonstration
plant in NTPC Power Station
- The plant will comprise 3 subunits namely, carbon dioxide capture from flue gas, hydrogen production
by electrolysis of water and catalytic conversion of carbon dioxide, and hydrogen to methanol.
- Establishing CO2 to methanol plants is an important step towards India’s commitment to combat
climate change
NTPC Headquarter – New Delhi
CMD – Gurdeep Singh
National Research Development Corporation (NRDC) under the Department of Scientific and Industrial
Research (DSIR) - partnered - the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research- National Aerospace
Laboratories (CSIR-NAL) = to establish an innovation cum incubation center to promote the startup in the
field of aerospace technologies.
- CSIR-NAL also developed Personal Protective Cover all suit to fight against COVID-19 and a cost
effective, easy to use, compact, non-invasive Bi level Positive Airway Pressure(BiPAP) ventilator
‘Swasth Vayu’
NRDC CMD – Dr. H. Purushotham
HQ – New Delhi
NAL Director – Dr. Jitendra J. Jadhav
HQ – Bengaluru
India - MoU – Nigeria = on Space Cooperation

- Both sides also agreed to sign a subsidiary MOU between New Space India Limited (NSIL), under ISRO
and Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project (NEWMAP), under the Federal Ministry of
Environment of Nigeria, on cooperation in use of Geospatial Technologies.
- India is the largest trade partner of Nigeria with a trade volume of around 13.8 billion USD.
- Nigeria provides around 10% of the energy requirements of India.
Nigeria President – Muhammadu Buhari
Capital– Abuja
Currency– Nigerian naira
Minister of State of External Affairs - V. Muraleedharan
TATA Capital Growth Fund invests 30 Million USD around Rs.225 crore for 0.85% Stake in Biocon Biologics
India – MoU - Zimbabwe = on Traditional System of Medicine and Homeopathy

Zimbabwe Currency – US Dollar
President– Emmerson Dambudzo Mnangagwa
India + UK - tied up for 5 new 8 Million Pounds Medicinal Research

- to tackle the anti-microbial resistance to support the combat against antibiotic resistant bacteria and
genes
- 50:50 contribution
- UK is the second biggest research partner of India and by 2021 the joint research is estimated to be
worth 400 million pounds.
Flipkart - MoU - U.P. Government under One District, One Product (ODOP) scheme
- Scheme will be brought into the ‘Flipkart Samarth’ initiative.
- Will enable the under-served communities to showcase their specialised products and crafts in the e-
commerce platform.
- ‘Flipkart Samarth’ - to bring India’s artisans, weavers and handicraft producers onto e-commerce =
associated closely with government bodies, NGOs and livelihood missions
- ‘One District One Product’ = to encourage indigenous, specialized products and crafts of Uttar
Pradesh - scheme is an initiative under Department of MSME & Export Promotion, Uttar Pradesh.
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) - MoU – FSSAI = for collaborative research and
information dissemination in the area of food and nutrition
- Will contribute in fulfilling the vision of New Food System 2050.
- FSSAI received “Food Systems Vision Prize” for its ‘Eat Right India’ movement
- During a ceremony which was presided Health Minister Harsh Vardhan.
- ‘Eat Right India’ vision is about creating a culture of safe, healthy and sustainable food involving all
stakeholders and leveraging technology in food production, processing, distribution, quality and
traceability and to empower consumers to adopt right eating practices.
- 2nd State Food Safety Index (SFSI) for 2019-20 of Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI)
has been topped by Gujarat = was announced during a webinar conducted on the occasion of “World
Food Safety Day” on June 7, 2020 on the theme “Food Safety is everyone’s business”.
FSSAI Chairperson – Ms Rita Teaotia
CEO – Arun Singhal
Chatbot– Food Funda
CSIR Director Genera l– Dr. Shekhar C. Mande
Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) – MoU = to supply
mustard oil
KVIC Chairman – Vinai Kumar Saxena
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
NBFC Power Finance Corporation - MoA - District Administration of Siddharthnagar, UP = to Construct 2

Modular Operation Theatre Rooms
- PFC will provide financial assistance of about Rs 94 Lakhs for the implementation of the project under
CSR
- PFC is a Schedule - A Navratna Central Public Sector Enterprises(CPSEs) under Ministry of Power
Head Office – New Delhi
CMD – Shri Ravinder Singh Dhillon
SPORTS NEWS
Australian Cricketer Cameron White announced Retirement from Professional Cricket
Indian Table Tennis player Poulomi Ghatak retired at 37

- Won the bronze medal at Commonwealth Games in Melbourne in 2006 and Silver at the
Commonwealth Games in 2010 in New Delhi.
Dwayne Bravo - first bowler to take 500 wickets in T20s
Ayaka Takahashi, Japan’s 1st Olympic Gold medallist in Badminton Announced Retirement
Jacques Kallis, Lisa Caprini Sthalekar(Australia) and Syed Zaheer Abbas Kirmani (Pakistan) inducted into
ICC Cricket Hall of Fame
English Professional Snooker Player Ronnie O’Sullivan won Sixth World Snooker Championship 2020 at
Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, England
INOX Group to sponsor Team India for Tokyo Olympics
England Cricketer Laura Marsh announced her retirement
All India Football Federation (AIFF) + the Sports Authority of India (SAI) - launched = the E-Pathshala, a
web platform to recognise creativity of the children and to develop their interest in football.
AIFF President – Praful Patel
Sports Authority of India (SAI) Director General – Sandip Pradhan
Head Office – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi
Lewis Hamilton Claims Record 156th Podium Finish with Win at Circuit de barcelona-Catalunya, Spain
- The British driver Lewis Hamilton also claimed his 88th Formula One career victory
Max Verstappen Won F1 70th Anniversary Grand Prix 2020

- Lewis Hamilton won 2020 British Grand Prix.
Squash Rackets Federation of India (SRFI) has withdrawn from Women’s World Team Squash
Championship 2020
- Due to lack of preparation, time and match-readiness of athletes, which is scheduled in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia from December 15 to 20, 2020
SRFI President – Debendranath Sarangi
Headquarter – Chennai,Tamil Nadu.
Mercedes’s Lewis Hamilton Won British Grand Prix 2020

- Created Record by winning the British Grand Prix title for 7th Time
- Held at the Silverstone Circuit in Silverstone, United Kingdom
Spain’s World Cup-winning Captain and Goalkeeper Iker Casillas announced his retirement at 39
German Footballer Benedikt Howedes retired at 32
Indian Grandmaster P. Harikrishna – 2nd in the Grandmaster Triathlon Tournament at 53rd Biel
International Chess Festival
- Took place in Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.
- Poland’s Radoslaw Watjaszek finished first
England Won the Final Wisden Trophy against West Indies by 2-1
OBITUARIES
ENTERTAINMENT
Filmmaker-actor Nishikant Kamat Passes Away at the Age of 50
Inventor of Pixel & Computer Scientist, Russell A. Kirsch passed away at 91

- He scanned the world’s first digital photograph.
Father of Modern Indian theatre & Padma Awardee - Ebrahim Alkazi Passed Away at 94 in Escorts
Hospital, New Delhi due to a massive heart attack
- Won the Padma Vibhushan in 2010, Padma Bhushan in 1991, Padma Shri in 1966.
Folk musician and Padma Shri awardee = Sonam Tshering Lepcha died at 92 due to old age ailments
- born on 3rd January, 1928 at Bong Busty, Kalimpong, West Bengal
- Played major role in reviving and promoting the Lepcha Culture which is one of the indegenious
culture of Sikkim.
Malayalam Actor = Anil Murali - passed away at the age of 51 due to liver ailments
The famous writer and documentary Filmmaker Sa. Kandasamy passed away at the age 81, in Chennai
- Won the Sahitya Akademi award for his Novel ‘Visaranai Commission.’
Veteran Assamese Folk Singer Archana Mahanta Passed Away at the age of 72 in Guwahati
(MAHAN(mahanta) FOLK SINGER start the song with AA(A = Archana and A = assam))
POLITICS/POSITIONS ETC
Former Supreme Court Judge Justice Arunachalam Lakshmanan Passed Away at the age of 78 (ARUN will
JUDGE LAKSHMAN)
Former Maharashtra CM, Shivajirao Patil Nilangekar passed away at 88 in Pune

- Served as the 10th Chief Minister of Maharashtra for a year between 3rd June 1985 and 6th March
1986.
Former Minister & Yuvajana Sramika Rythu Congress Party (YSRCP) leader Penmatsa Sambasiva Raju
Passed Away at 85
Veteran CPM leader and former West Bengal Transport Minister Shyamal Chakraborty passed away at 76
Padma Shri awardee and prominent cultural historian Mukund Lath passed away at 82
Padma Bhushan Awardee & Former Arunachal Pradesh Governor Ram D Pradhan passed away at the age
of 92 in Mumbai.
Nobel Peace Prize winner and prominent Northern Ireland politician John Hume passed away at 83
- He is the only person to receive the three major peace awards(Gandhi Peace Prize, Nobel Peace Prize &
Martin Luther King Award) = for their efforts to find a peaceful solution to the conflict in Northern
Ireland.
Minister of Technical Education of U.P = Kamal Rani Varun died at 62
Former Andhra Pradesh (AP) Minister and BJP leader Pydikondala(P) Manikyala Rao passed away at 59
due to COVID-19 infection
Somendra Nath Mitra - President of West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee & Lok Sabha MP = passed
away at 78
POET/ARTIST/JOURNALIST ETC
Chunakkara Ramankutty - Veteran Malayalam Poet, lyricist and drama writer Passed Away at 84
- Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi in 2015 honoured him with “Guru Shreshta Award”.
Former MP & Senior Congress Leader = Nandi Yellaiah died due to COVID at 78
- born in Hyderabad
Veteran Sports Journalist - Gopal Krishna (GK) Menon Passed Away at 93 in Mumbai
- worked with the Indian Express and The Times of India
Writer and activist Sadia Dehlvi died of cancer at 63
Fiction writer and Pulitzer Prize-winner novelist Shirley Ann Grau from USA died at 91
William English - co-creator of computer mouse, passes away at 91
Arnold Meyer Spielberg, who Co-designed GE-225 Mainframe Computer Passed Away
SPORTS
Former Indian Football Defender and former Mohun Bagan club captain Laishram Manitombi Singh Died
at 39
British tennis player and two-time Grand Slam Doubles champion and Equal Rights Pioneer Angela Buxton
died at 85
Former India Footballer (Goalkeeper) turned Coach, Bhaskar Maity passed away at the age of 67
- Maity represented India against Iraq at the 1978 Asian Games in Bangkok.
Former Cricketer Gopalaswamy Kasturirangan died of heart attack at 89
IMPORTANT DAYS
July 30 = World day against trafficking in persons
- Theme as per United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) = “Committed to the Cause:
Working on the Frontline to End Human Trafficking”
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Director General/Executive Director – Ghada Fathi
Waly
Headquarter – Vienna, Austria
July 30 - International Day of Friendship

UN General Assembly in 2011 proclaimed July 30 as the official International Day of Friendship.
July 31 - World Ranger Day 2020

- Promoted by the 54-member association of the International Ranger Federation (IRF)
- Honours those who have died in the course of their duties
- A Ranger is a person who will preserve and protect parklands and natural protected areas.
Aug 1-7 - World Breastfeeding Week 2020
- celebrated annually in the first week of August (from 1st of August to 7th of August) around 120
countries in the World
- Theme = “Support Breast feeding for a healthier planet”
- The day was commenced after signing the Innocenti Declaration in August 1990.
UNICEF Executive Director – Henrietta H. Fore
August 3 - World Sanskrit Day 2020

- celebrated all over the world on the Shravana Poornima, Aim:
- University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked its affiliated universities and colleges to celebrate the
World Sanskrit Day.
- The Consortium of Sanskrit Universities organised ‘Samskrita Week Celebration’ from July 31 to
August 6, 2020 to celebrate the 2020 World Sanskrit Day.
- All India Radio(AIR) broadcast its first ever special program titled, ‘Bahujan Bhasha-Sanskrit Bhasha’ on
3rd August 2020
First Muslim Women Rights Day Observed on August 1 2020

- With the 1st anniversary of the passage of Muslim Women Act (Protetion on Rights on Marriage Act)
2019
- Egypt was the first Muslim country to abolish triple talaq in 1929 followed by Sudan, Pakistan in 1956,
Bangladesh in 1972, Iraq in 1959, Syria in 1953, Malaysia in 1969
Union Minister of Minority Affairs - Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi
Minister of State – Kiren Rijiju
August 1 - World Lung Cancer Day 2020

- To raise awareness about the causes and treatment of lung cancer and its global impact, creating an
educational movement to understand the risks of lung cancer and early treatment around the world.
- World Lung Cancer Day campaign was initiated in 2012
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO) lung cancer is responsible for nearly 1 in 5 cancer
deaths.
- The most frequently diagnosed cancer is lung cancer (11.6%), followed by female breast (11.6%) and
colorectal cancers (10.2%)
- Lung cancer is the leading cause of death from cancer at 1.74 million (18.4%), followed by colorectal
(9.2%) and stomach cancers (8.2%).
August 7, 2020 - 6th edition of National Handloom Day = to create awareness about the Handloom
Industry amongst the public at large
August 08, 2020 = 78th Anniversary of Quit India Movement

- Gandhiji began the Quit India Movement
August 9 - Nagasaki Day 2020
August 10 - World Biofuel Day 2020

- day honours the research experiments by Sir Rudolf Christian Karl Diesel(inventor of the diesel engine)
who ran an engine with peanut oil in 1893
- Day has been celebrated by the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas since 2015.
- Highlights various efforts made by the Government in the Biofuel sector
- Webinar with theme = “Biofuels towards Atmanirbhar Bharat”
August 9 = UN International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples 2020

- To promote the rights of the indigenous population around the world.
- Also known as World Tribal Day.
- First celebrated on 9th August 1995.
- Theme – “COVID-19 and indigenous peoples’ resilience”.
United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) President – Tijjani Muhammad-Bande
President Elect– Volkan Bozkir
Headquarters– New York
August 10, 2020 - World Lion Day

- The population of lions in India has increased substantially from 523 in 2015 to 674 in 2020.
- Asiatic Lion is enlisted as an endangered species in the IUCN Red list.
August 12 = United Nations (UN) International Youth Day 2020

- Theme = “Youth Engagement for Global Action”
- In December 1999, The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the
World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth & declared the 12th of August as International
Youth Day.
- The United Nations launched #31DaysOfYouth, a social media campaign to celebrate the youths from
all over the world throughout the month of august.
- The United Nations Women celebrates and recognises the contribution of the youth amid COVID-19
pandemic.
- Virtual Event – ‘Enough! I am Generation Equality. My vision now.’ Organised by United Nations
Women with Gender Equality and hosted by Zozibini Tunzi or “Zozi”, Miss Universe 2019
August 13 - World Organ Donation Day 2020

- The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare of India launched the 6th World and 1st ever Indian Organ
Donation Day and Organ Donation Congress in 2010 in New Delhi.
- Organ Donation Week in Maharashtra = Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari asked all
universities in the state to observe Organ Donation Week from August 13 to August 20, 2020
- India’s current organ donation rate is 0.86 per million, which is very poor when compared to other
countries
- As per the data of Zonal Transplant Coordination Committee (ZTCC) there is a 70% decline in organ
donation between March and July as compared to the same period last year (2019).
August 13 - International Left handers Day 2020

- First observed in 1976 by Dean R. Campbell who was founder of the Lefthanders International Inc
August 15 - Celebration of India’s 74th Independence Day 2020

- Due to the current covid-19 situation the around 4000 guests of the 74th Independence day at Red
Fort
- The Guard of honour inspected by the Prime Minister Modi, commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Gaurav
S Yewalkar consists of one officer and 24 men from Army, Navy, Air Force and Delhi Police.
- Patriotic film festival - The National Film Development Corporation organised the first of its kind
online patriotic film festival which began on 7th August 2020 and runs till 21st August 2020.
- The film festival showcases the high quality independence day themed patriotic films on the website:
www.cinemasofindia.com
- The movie Gandhi by Sir Richard Attenborough is made accessible for the people with vision and
hearing impairment.
- “Ek India Team India” Campaign - IOA (Indian Olympic Association) launched the digital campaign as a
part of the adaptation of the new identity and logo of IOA, marking its 100 years of participation in
Olympic Games.
- Awards & Decorations to Armed force personnels at 74th Independence Day = President Ram Nath
Kovind approved 84 gallantry awards include Kirti Chakra(1), Shaurya Chakras(9), Sena Medals(60), Bar
to Sena Medals(5), Nao Sena Medals(4) and Vayu Sena Medals(5) and decorations to the personnels of
Armed Forces and members of Paramilitary Forces.
- 35 Delhi Police personnel, including 4 women, received the Police Medal for their services, 16
personnel received the Police Medal for Gallantry.
- 3 personals received the President’s Police Medal for Distinguished Service and 16 were awarded the
Police Medal for Meritorious Service.
August 19 - World Humanitarian Day 2020

- The First WHD was observed on 19th August 2009.
- To pay tribute to honour all humanitarian workers and United Nations and associated personnel who
dedicated their lives to help the people in extreme circumstances around the world and lost their lives
in the cause of duty.
- 19th August was chosen in memory of the 19th August 2003 bombing in Canal Hotel, Baghdad, Iraq
which killed 22 people including Sergio Vieira de Mello, Chief Humanitarian in Iraq.
- #RealLifeHeroes Campaign is a global campaign to celebrate the humanitarians who have committed
their lives to help the people in need.
August 19 - World Photography Day 2020

The first official World Photo Day was marked on 19th August 2010 when the first global online gallery
was hosted with around 270 photographers who shared their photographs.
August 20 - Sadbhavan Diwas 2020
- Also known as Communal Harmony Day, to commemorate the Birth Anniversary of former Prime
Minister of India, Rajiv Gandhi.
August 20 - World Mosquito Day 2020
August 21 - International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism 2020
- The event of 2020 is organized by UN Counter Terrorism Centre (UNCCT) in collaboration with the
Group of Friends of Victims of Terrorism.
- United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. António Guterres will participate in the online high-level event
entitled “Not Forgotten: Stories of Remembrance of Victims of Terrorism”.
The UN Counter Terrorism Centre (UNCCT), is the main capacity-building arm of UNOCT. Executive
Director - Vladimir Voronkov (Under Secretary General for Counter-Terrorism)
August 21 - World Senior Citizen’s Day 2020
- The day was officially founded by Ronald Reagan, former President of the United States of America, in
1988.
- On December 14, 1990, The United Nations General Assembly issued a proclamation to celebrate the
day on August 21 every year.
- The day was 1st celebrated in 1991.
August 22 – UN International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or
Belief 2020
- The first observed on 22nd August 2019.
August 22 - Earth Overshoot Day 2020

- The first Global Earth Overshoot Day campaign was launched in 2006.
- Compared to 2019, The 2020 Earth Overshoot Day was postponed by three weeks to August 22
- 2019 Earth Overshoot Day which was on 31st July marked the earliest Earth Overshoot Day ever
recorded by the Global Footprint Network.
August 23 = UN International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition 2020
- The first International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and Its Abolition was celebrated on
23rd August 1998
- The National Maritime Museum(NMM), Greenwich hosted the annual emancipation ceremony from the
National Maritime Museum to the River Thames
UNESCO Director General – Audrey Azoulay
August 24 - World Gujarati day 2020

- To commemorate the birth anniversary of the famous Gujarati poet and social reformer,
Narmadashankar Dave popularly known as Veer Narmad.
- On the occasion of World Gujarati day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his wishes to all the
gujarati’s around the world.
August 24 – 28, 2020 - World Water Week 2020
- Organised by Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) since 1991.
- Theme = ‘Water and Climate change: Accelerating Action’.
- World Water Week of the year 2019 was observed from 25th August 2019 to 30th August 2019.
- SIWI has decided to cancel the annual conference which was scheduled to take place from 23 to 28th
August 2020 in Stockholm
COMMITTEES/ REPORTS/MEETINGS
Niti Aayog Task Force “Sugarcane and Sugar Industry” headed by Ramesh Chand Recommends Linking of
Sugarcane Prices to Sugar Rate
- Currently around 3 lakh hectares are under sugarcane cultivation that produces around 20 lakh tonnes
of sugarcane.
- An incentive of Rs.6000 per hectare will be provided to the farmers to adopt alternate cultivation
patterns with less water intensive crops.
- Revenue Sharing Formula (RSF) with Price Stabilisation Fund to protect the farmers with fair and
remunerative price (FRP).
- The minimum support price of the sugar will be reviewed after 6 months from notification.
- Report recommends a onetime increase in the minimum sugar price to Rs.33 per kilogram.
- also recommends to levy less on sugar at Rs.50 per quintal for 3 years, while around Rs. 4500 crore
would be added to the fund which will support the banks providing soft loans to the mills to clear dues
and update technology.
“Youth and COVID-19: Impacts on Jobs, Education, Rights and Mental Well-being”
- Published by UN’s International Labour Organization (ILO)
- 50% of young people across the world are possibly subject to anxiety or depression and around 17% of
them are already affected by it
- 38% of youths do not have a clear idea about the career or future
- Around 12000 responses from 112 countries were received with a major contribution from the
educated youths.
- The mental wellbeing of the younger youths and young women aged between 18 to 24 years are at the
lowest.
- 1 in 6 youths have stopped their work since the outbreak of the pandemic
ILO Director-General – Guy Ryder
Headquarter – Geneva
National Centre for Disease Informatics & Research (NCDIR), Bengaluru released a new Report of National
Cancer Registry Programme 2020
- Cancer in India may rise from 13.9 Lakh in 2020 to 15.7 lakh in 2025
- Tobacco related cancers are estimated to constitute around 27% of all cancers.
- According to World Health Organization(WHO)’s Global Nutrition Report 2020, India is one among 88
countries to miss global nutrition targets by 2025
Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) Secretary & Director General – Dr. Balram Bhargava
Report “Population projections for India and States 2011- 2036” by National Commission on Population
- The report projected that the India’s sex ratio of the total population (females per 1000 males) is
expected to be more feminine in 2036 compared to the population as of 2011.
- The report estimates the sex ratio to increase from 943 in 2011 to 957 in 2036.
- Compared to 2011, the sex ratio in 18 states except Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Gujarat are
expected to increase by 2036.
- The lowest sex ratio of 899 is expected to be in NCT of Delhi, followed by 900 in Gujarat and 908 in
Haryana.
- India’s Infant Mortality Rate is reported to be 46 in 2010 which is expected to reduce to 30 by the end
of 2031-2035.
- Kerala is expected to have the lowest IMR at 9
- Total Fertility Rate (TFR) is expected to decline from 2.34 during 2011-2015 to 1.73 during 2031- 35.
- The report projects that India will overtake China and become the most populated county around
2031.
- For men the life expectancy is expected to increase from 66 to 69 and for women it is expected to
increase from 71 to 74.
Report titled “Tackling the Covid-19 youth employment crisis in Asia and the Pacific”
- Released by The International Labour Organization (ILO) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB)
- 41 Lakh Youths Lost Their Jobs in India Due to COVID-19
- Around 220 million young workers (15 to 24 years) in the region are vulnerable due to their short
tenure on the job.
- Around 1 crore to 1.5 crore youth jobs may be lost in the 13 countries in the Asia and pacific region in
2020.
ADB President – Masatsugu Asakawa
Motto – Committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient and sustainable Asia & the Pacific, while
sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
International Labor Organization (ILO) Director-General – Guy Ryder
Headquarter – Geneva, Switzerland
Report, ‘Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene in schools Special focus on COVID-19’
- released by World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF)
- Around 818 million Children across the World Lack Basic Hand Washing Facilities at their Schools
which makes them prone to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and other transmittable
diseases.
- Of the 818 million children, 355 million went to schools which had facilities with water but no soap,
and 462 million to schools which had no facilities or water available for handwashing.
- More than one third of these children (295 million) are from sub-Saharan Africa.
- 7 out of 10 schools lacked basic hand washing facilities and half of schools lacked basic sanitation and
water services in the least developed countries.
- 1 in 3 schools worldwide had either limited drinking water service or no drinking water service at all.
- Around the world, 43% of schools lacked access to basic handwashing with soap and water in 2019
The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) Set Up Expert Committee
- Headed by Pradip Shah, Chairman of Indasia Fund Advisors Pvt Ltd.
- To suggest ways to enhance International Retail Business in International Financial Services Centres
(IFSC).
- Three months to submit its recommendations to the IFSCA.
- The objective of the IFSCA is to make India a global hub for international financial service in par with
London, Hong Kong, Singapore and Dubai.
- IFSCA makes the IFSC at Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT city) as a gateway for the India
IFSCA Chairman – Injeti Srinivas
Headquarters – Gandhinagar, Gujarat
Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ - launched = compilation India Report – Digital Education June 2020
- Prepared by the Digital Education Division of MHRD in consultation with Education Departments of
States and UTs.
- Report highlights the methods adopted by the MHRD and the Education Department of States and
Union Territories(UT) to ensure the accessibility to education for the children at home.
Remote learning Initiatives of State Governments =
- Rajasthan – SMILE (Social Media Interface for Learning Engagement)
- Telangana – online certificate programs for teachers on ‘Management of mental well-being during
COVID’
- Uttarakhand – uses Sampark Baithak App to provide videos, puzzles, worksheet for primary level
students.
- Gujarat initiated Vanchan Abhiyan - a reading campaign and Parivar no maalo-salamat ane humfaalo
(family’s nest-safe and warm) to provide socio psychological support for children.
- West Bengal also started a toll-free helpline number to clarify the students’ doubts.
- Karnataka launched Pariksha Vani, an exam preparation program through Doordarshan
- Chhattisgarh – Padhai Tunhar duvaar
- Goa + Embibe, AI - powered online platform = to support the entrance exam preparation of the
students.
- Jammu – Project Home Classes
- Kerala – educational TV channel (Hi-Tech school programme)
- Lakshadweep – distributed tablets with e-content for students.
- Meghalaya – E-scholar portal as well as free online courses for teachers
- Delhi – Mission Buniyaad
Report titled “The Toxic Truth: Children’s Exposure to Lead Pollution Undermines a Generation of Future
Potential”
- Published by UNICEF
- 1 in every 3 that is around 800 million children across the world has the blood lead level above or at 5
micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL), the amount at which action is required and Almost 50% of these
children live in South Africa.
UNICEF Executive Director – Henrietta Holsman Fore
Secretary, Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA), Rajesh Verma released Report of the Committee on
Business Responsibility Reporting (BRR)
- recommended a new reporting framework - ”Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR)”
as the demand for non-financial reporting is growing due to increase trends of ESG (Environmental,
Social and Governance) investing.
- 8-member committee, chaired by Gyaneshwar Kumar Singh, Joint Secretary, MCA was formulated by
Injeti Srinivas, former Secretary, MCA
Union Minister of Corporate Affairs - Nirmala Sitharaman
Minister of State - Anurag Singh Thakur
Ministry of finance, Department of Revenue Forms Panel under Remission of Duties and Taxes on
Exported Products (RoDTEP) Scheme for Exporters
- Headed by G K Pillai
- Committee in its final report will recommend a ceiling rate of Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export
Products (RoDTEP) after taking into account the Direct Taxes & Indirect Taxes levied on the exported
products.
- Will determine the methodology, decide modalities of holding meetings, conduct field visits and study
specific production processes
- Committee will submit its main report within three months from identification and prioritisation of
sectors/items by the government.
- Remission of Duties and Taxes on Export Products is a new reimbursement scheme which will replace
the existing Merchandise Export from India Scheme(MEIS) scheme
- Aims to reimburse the taxes and duties incurred by exporters
- Previous Merchandise Export from India Scheme (MEIS) is being phased out as it was found to violate
the World Trade Organization rules.
INDEX
NITI Aayog + Institute of Competitiveness - Released Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020
- Gujarat Topped the Overall Rankings
- EPI has 4 pillars = Policy, Business Ecosystem, Export Ecosystem and Export Performance and 11 sub
pillars (BEEP = Business Ecosystem, Export Ecosystem and Export Performance, Policy )
“Digital Quality of Life (DQL) Index 2020”

- by online privacy solutions provider SurfShark
- India Ranked 57th out of 85 with 0.5 index points, Denmark topped with 0.79 points
- India ranked lowest in the world in terms of e-infrastructure by occupying 79th rank.
- Scandinavia has the most active internet users’ i.e 95% while Southern Asia is the least active region
globally with only 35% of users.
- 3 hours 48 minutes is a global average of working time needed to afford the cheapest broadband
internet
SurfShark Headquarter – British Virgin Islands, United Kingdom
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu Virtually Announced Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation
Achievements (ARIIA) 2020 from New Delhi
- The rankings were announced in six categories
- The rankings are premised on 9 parameters = Budget, Facilities, Awareness, Innovation,
Entrepreneurship, Commercialization, Learning Methods, Governance, and Angel and Venture Capital
Funding/Investor Linkage.
- IIT Madras Topped among Institutes of National Importance
- Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank and Minister of State for Education Sanjay Shamrao Dhotre were the Guest
of Honour.
- Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology (KIIT), Odisha topped the category of Private or Self-
Financed Universities.
- ARIIA = It is an initiative of the Ministry of Education and implemented by the Ministry’s Innovation
Cell and AICTE
Forbes’ list of highest paid actors for the year 2020

- Akshay Kumar Ranked 6th with his estimated earnings of USD 48.5 million
- Dwayne Johnson topped consecutive second time, with an estimated net worth of USD 87.5 million
India ranked 1st in number of organic farmers and 9th in terms of area under organic farming
- Sikkim - first state in the world to become completely organic and other states including Tripura and
Uttarakhand have set targets to be on the same line.
- Under One District One Produce concept government is trying to develop more clusters of organic
produce
- Jaivik Kheti Portal was launched for farmers to sell all of their organic produce promoting organic
farming globally.
- Webinars are conducted by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) on Organic Farming.
Minister of State of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (MoA&FW) - Parshottambhai Rupala
FutureBrand Index 2020

- Reliance Industries Ranked 2nd Biggest Brand
- Apple Topped
Festivals
Odisha, Chhattisgarh Celebrated Agricultural Festival ‘2020 Nuakhai Juhar’ on August 23
Kerala State Dragonfly Festival 2020 aka “Thumbimahotsavam 2020” Launched

- launched by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India State unit + Society for Odonate Studies
(SOS) + Thumbipuranam
- Mascot is “Pantalu”
- The festival will culminate with the State dragonfly summit, most probably in January 2021.
- Kerala government recently announced a scheme - “Chief Minister’s Entrepreneurship Development
Programme” to address the issues of shortage of working capital and availability of credit faced by
startups and small entrepreneurs = will be implemented through the Kerala Financial Corporation
(KFC).
World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF)-India President – Jamshyd Naoroji
Godrej Secretariat – New Delhi
DEFENCE/EXERCISES
Israel Successfully tested advanced missile defence system, Arrow-2 Ballistic Missile Interceptor with the
support of the United States of America.
- Missile test was conducted in the test site in Central Israel over the Mediterranean Sea.
- Arrow system which includes Arrow, Arrow-2, Arrow-3 interceptor missiles were designed to take
down the ballistic and cruise missiles
Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) Approved Procurement of Approx Rs 8,722.38 cr for Armed Forces
under Atmanirbhar Bharat
World's Lightest Attack Helicopter - Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL)’s Two Light Combat Helicopters
(LCH) have been deployed for operations at high altitude (Ladakh sector) to support Indian Air Force (IAF)
missions
HAL CMD – R Madhavan
Headquarter – Bengaluru, Karnataka
US conducted test flight of unarmed LGM-30G Minuteman III, an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
- From Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, US to a target in the Pacific Ocean.
Rajnath Singh Restricted Import of 101 defence items

- Planned to be progressively implemented between 2020 and 2024
- Defence Industry will receive contracts worth almost Rs 4 lakh crore within the next five to seven years
= items worth almost Rs 1,30,000 crore each are anticipated for the Army and the Air Force, while
items worth almost Rs 1,40,000 crore are anticipated by the Navy over the same period
- Focus behind this decision is to adopt the technologies designed and developed by DRDO to meet the
requirements of the Armed Forces in the coming years.
- Import restrictions on 69 items will come into force from December 2020, while the embargo on
another 11 items will be applicable from December 2021. A separate list of four items has been
identified for import restrictions from December 2022, while the ban on two separate sets of eight
items will be applicable from December 2023 and December 2024.
- MoD has set a goal of a turnover of USD 25 billion (Rs 1.75 lakh crore) in defence manufacturing in the
next 5 years that included an export target of USD 5 billion (Rs 35,000 crore) worth of military
hardware.
- Indian armed forces are projected to spend around $130 billion in capital procurement in the next five
years.
Minister of State of Ministry of Defence (MoD) - Shripad Yesso Naik
Defence Institute of Advanced Technology (DIAT) Developed ‘Aashray’, the Medical Bed Isolation System
to Combat COVID-19
- Low cost, reusable solution
- Manufactured by M/s Cleancore Solutions Pvt Ltd. Bhosari, Pune.
DIAT Headquarter – Pune
Iran Launched - Underground Ballistic Missiles
Iran Unveiled Locally Made Surface-to-Surface Ballistic Missile - Martyr Qassem Soleimani & Cruise Missile
- Martyr Abu Mahdi
- Ballistic Missile Martyr Qassem Soleimani = has a range of 1,400 kilometres-km (870-mile)
- Cruise missile, called Martyr Abu Mahdi which has a range of over 1000 km (620-mile).
L&T Built 27-meter-long Interceptor Boat(IB) ‘ICGS C-454’ of Indian Coast Guard Launched at Surat
Proposal to expand National Cadet Corps (NCC) in 173 borders, coastal districts approved by Defence
minister
- announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi
Indian Coast Guard Ship C-449 Commissioned in Chennai by Tamil Nadu Chief Secretary K. Shanmugam.
- Designed by M/s Larsen and Toubro Ltd, Hazira (Surat)
- Will be commanded by Assistant Commandant Ashish Sharma
- The ship is 27.80 long with a displacement of 105 tonnes and can reach maximum speeds of upto 45
knots (85 kmph)
BOOKS
Army Chief General Manoj Mukund Naravane Released a Book Titled “National Security Challenges: Young
Scholars’ Perspective” Authored by University students
- Published by Centre for Land Warfare Studies (CLAWS), the Army think-tank.
- The book is a tribute to Field Marshal Manek shaw, the strategist of 1971 Indo-Pakistan War, that
resulted in the liberation of Bangladesh.
Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Life’

- Authored by Tenzin Priyadarshi and Zara Houshmand
- Provides an account of how the Dalai Lama traced his Spiritual Teacher Khunu Lama in India.
The book “Delhi Riots 2020: The Untold Story”authored by Monika Arora, advocate, Sonali Chitalkar
(political Science) and Prerna Malhotra(English) teachers at Delhi University
- Set to be published by Garuda Prakashan .
- The book was released by Bhupendra Yadav, member of parliament and national general secretary
Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh releases book on cancer – “Gastric Cancer” edited by noted Oncologist
Dr Ashok Vaid
Book - ‘One Arranged Murder’ will be released on September 28, 2020
- Authored by Chetan Bhagat
It is the author’s 9th novel and 11th book overall
“India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders”

- authored by Pradeep Chhibber & Harsh Shah
- Snapshot of contemporary Indian politics through interviews with 20 of the country’s most prominent
next-generation politicians
- The book includes interviews of Politicians below the age of 50 years only
‘RAW: A History of India’s Covert Operations’

- Authored by Yatish Yadav
- Narrates the heroic operations carried out by the Indian external spy agency, RAW
- Published by Westland Publications
RAW - founded by the spymaster Rameshwar Nath Kao, which was established in 1968
“Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World” – A Book by Dalai Lama, co-written by German
environmental Journalist Franz Alt - to release in November
“Amazing Ayodhya”
- Neena Rai Authored the book
- Will shed light on the history of Ayodhya
Swachh Bharat Kranti’

- Launched by Union Ministers Gajendra Singh Shekhawat & Smriti Irani
- ‘Swachh Bharat Revolution’ which was released in October 2019 has been translated into Hindi and
published as “Swachh Bharat Kranti”.
- Book contains 4 key sections which are considered as the pillars of Swachh Bharat Mission’s success =
Political Leadership, Public Financing, Partnerships, People’s Participation
Books Titled ‘Corona Kavithakal’, ‘Republic Day 2020’ and ‘Thus Speaks the Governor’
- Authored by Mizoram Governor PS Sreedharan Pillai
- ‘Corona Kavithakal’ was released by Mizoram Chief Minister Zoramthanga
- ‘Republic Day 2020’ and ‘Thus Speaks the Governor’ were released by Gauhati High Court Chief Justice
Ajai Lamba
Book Titled “Siyasat Mein Sadasyata”

- Authored by State Assembly Speaker Vijay Kumar Choudhary
- Released by Bihar CM Nitish Kumar
- Published by Bihar Assembly Secretariat.
“Vishesh: Code to Win”
- Biography of India’s youngest Basketball captain, Vishesh Bhriguvanshi
- authored by Nirupama Yadav to be released
‘Greenlights’ the debut book

- authored by Oscar-winning actor Matthew McConaughey
- Published by Crown Publishing Group
SCIENCE/TECH
Shri Rajnath Singh launched mobile App, ‘Directorate General National Cadet Corps (DGNCC) for NCC
Training
WHO declared Africa free of Wild Poliovirus
- The Poliovirus is now found only in Afghanistan and Pakistan.
- The last case of wild poliovirus in Africa was detected in 2016 in Nigeria’s Northeastern Borno state.
China Successfully Launched - Optical Remote-Sensing Satellite “Gaofen-9 05”

- Developed by Aerospace Dongfanghong Satellite Co.Ltd, part of China Academy of Space Technology
(CAST)
Pinaka rockets fully manufactured by the private sector company “Economic Explosives Ltd (EEL)” -
successfully test fired by the army at a firing range in Pokhran, Rajasthan
- EEL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Solar Industries headed by Satyanarayan Nuwal.
Headquarter – Nagpur, Maharashtra
Presence of briny liquid water found on Dwarf Planet Ceres
- Ceres is now an ‘Ocean World’, announced by NASA
- Studies suggest the presence of briny liquid water (saline) underneath Ceres’s surface.
- Ceres was first spotted by Giuseppe Piazzi in 1801, and was assumed as the missing planet between
Mars and Jupiter.
- Dawn mission was launched by NASA in 2007 to study two massive bodies in the main asteroid belt,
Vesta is rocky whereas Ceres is icy.
- Dwarf Planets - There are five official dwarf planets in the solar system. They are Pluto, Eris,
Makemake, Haumea and Ceres (in order of size).
India’s multi- wavelength satellite observatory, ASTROSAT Detected Extreme UV light from AUDFs01
Galaxy which is 9.3 billion light-years away from Earth.
- The galaxy is located in the Hubble Extreme Deep field (XDF)
- The study is published in “Nature Astronomy”.
- ASTROSAT Launched in 2015 - first dedicated Indian astronomy mission aimed at studying celestial
sources in X-ray, optical and UV spectral bands simultaneously.
- The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has initiated a 10,000 crore project- Gaganyaan to send
humans to space by 2022
Biodegradable Face Mask “Pavitrapati” & Anti-microbial Body Suit “Aushada Tara” developed by Defence
Institute of Advanced Technology(DIAT), Pune
Central Railway’s Mumbai Division Introduced Drone Based Surveillance System for Railway Security
- procured 2 Ninja Unmanned Aerial Vehicles(UAV) to increase the security and surveillance in the
Railway premises like the station, tracks, yards and workshops.
- The Railway Protection Force (RPF) procured 9 drones at a cost of Rs 31.87 lakhs
- RPF has proposed to procure an additional 17 drones at a cost of Rs 97.52 lakhs.
Nitin Gadkari - unveiled = a microwave device named ‘Atulya’ that can disinfect any premises in just 30
seconds
- Developed by the Defence Institute of Advanced Technology, Pune
Ambassador of Israel to India Dr Ron Malka handed over AI-based technology, high-end equipment with
AIIMS to help combat COVID-19
Indian Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) for the Indian Coast Guard “Sarthak“ launched during a
ceremony held at Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL)
- Manufactured by Goa Shipyard Limited
Indian Coast Guard Director General – Krishnaswamy Natarajan
Motto -“Vayam Rakshamah”
Headquarter– New Delhi
ISRO’s Chandryaan-2 Captured Images of the Moon - one of the Craters Named ‘Sarabhai Crater’
- Dr. Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai = regarded as the Father of Indian Space program
- Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai’s 100th birth century was observed on 12th of August, 2020.
- The Sarabhai Crater was captured in the north east quadrant of the Moon.
- In October 2020 the public release of scientific data from Chandrayaan-2 for global use will begin.
ISRO Headquarters – Bangalore
Mumbai Division of Central Railway (CR) designed a health assistant robot “Rakshak” that communicates
between doctor and patient remotely
- Robot was handed over to Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Memorial Hospital.
- The Robot can measure health parameters like temperature, pulse, oxygen percentage and dispenser
sanitizer automatic, infrared sensors
- It can also deliver medicines and food and can make 2-way video communication between the doctors
and the patients.
Central Railway (CR) Headquarter – Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai
A COVID prevention kiosk = “UV Baggage Bath” inaugurated at Bengaluru railway station, South Western
Railway
- To disinfect the baggage to stop the indirect mode of COVID – 19 transmissions from the outer
surfaces of travel bags to the human beings.
- The proposal was implemented at KSR (Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna) Bengaluru and Yesvantpur Railway
stations by M/s Optimurz Bio and IT Solutions.
Dr Harsh Vardhan announced the completion of 1st Pan-India 1000 Genome Sequencing of SARS-CoV-2
- launched by the Department of Biotechnology(DBT) in May 2020
- Also launched the largest network of five dedicated COVID-19 Biorepositories by the DBT at THSTI
Faridabad, ILS Bhubaneshwar, ILBS New Delhi, NCCS Pune, InStem Bangalore.
Minister of State of Health and Family Welfare – Ashwini Kumar Choubey
NASA’s Mars rover ‘Perseverance’ launched to seek signs of ancient life
- Lifted off by United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 541 rocket from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, United States
- Will be retrieved during future missions in 2031.
NASA Administrator – James Frederick Bridenstine
Headquarter – Washington, D.C
India + Israel - to develop rapid testing for COVID-19 in under 30 seconds

- Started to conduct trials at a special testing site at Dr Ram Manohar Lohiya (RML) Hospital
- developed jointly in cooperation with the Directorate of Defence Research and Development (DDR&D)
of the Israeli Ministry of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), Council for
Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and Principal Scientific Advisor(PSA), India and coordinated by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Israel and India.
Israel President – Reuven Rivlin
Serum Institute of India (SII) + Gavi + Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
- to accelerate the manufacture & Delivery of up to 100 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines for India and
other low and middle income countries (LMICs) by 2021
- The vaccines will be made available to the 92 countries included in Gavi’s COVAX AMC
- Ceiling price of USD 3 per dose.
- The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, through its strategic investment fund, will provide at-risk
funding of USD 150 million to GAVI.
- Funding will be used to support the SII to manufacture potential vaccine candidates from AstraZeneca
and Novavax.
- deal is based on a MoU between AstraZeneca and Gavi, announced in June
- Hindustan Unilever + UNICEF - launched ‘BreakTheChain’ campaign against coronavirus
SII Headquarter – Pune,Maharashtra
CMD – Cyrus S. Poonawalla
CEO– Adar C. Poonawalla
Gavi Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland & Washington D.C
Chair – Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala
Skyroot Aerospace, India’s 1st Private Aerospace Company successfully test fired an upper stage rocket
engine “Raman”
- India’s first 100% 3D printed bi-propellant liquid rocket engine injector named after the nobel laureate
Sir CV Raman
- Raman can hurl a satellite of 250 to 700 kilograms into the lower orbits.
- 3D printing has reduced the overall mass by 50% and the total number of components and lead time
by 80%.
- Skyroot Aerospace - start-up was founded by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, former
ISRO scientists and backed by founders of Curefit – Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori and Solar
Industries.
- The first launch Vehicle “Vikram-I” which hosts an Orbit Adjustment Module (OAM), which enables the
insertion of multiple satellites into space, is targeted to launch in December 2021.
- Frost & Sullivan, Research firm expects to globally launch more than 10000 small satellites in the
upcoming 10 years.
- NASA astronauts fly SpaceX spacecraft ‘Dragon’
- Israel Successfully Launches New Spy Satellite ‘Ofek 16’ into Space Using Shavit Rocket.
Skyroot Aerospace Headquarters – Hyderabad
Scientists Identified 77 New Species of Butterflies in Matheran Near Mumbai

- Identified around 140 rare species of butterflies including 77 new species.
Plant Species “Ardisia ramaswamii” of Genus Ardisia Identified by Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic
Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode, Named After 20th Century Botanist M S Ramaswami
NTPC Group achieved 100 Billion Units (BU) power generation mark in the ongoing fiscal year
NTPC CMD – Gurdeep Singh
Headquarters – New Delhi.
Indian Railways introduces Overhead Equipment (OHE) Inspection app for real-time monitoring
- Will help in minimizing the train delays and long waits due to technical snags.
No-touch & Painless device - “AJO-Neo” = for non-invasive screening of bilirubin level in new-borns
- Developed by S.N. Bose National Centre For Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata,.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) Developed COVID19BWM App to Track Biomedical Waste =
Recommended by SC
- Ensures that the waste is collected, transported and sent to a registered common biomedical waste
treatment facility.
Sports Authority of India (SAI) + Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE) + CBSE
launched = Khelo India mobile app Online Training Programme
- to train the Physical Education (PE) teachers and head of the institutions from CISCE schools
Sports Authority of India (SAI) Head Office – Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Delhi
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) developed AIR SUVIDHA = portal allowing international arriving
passengers to fill a mandatory self-declaration form and eligible passengers to apply for exemption from
compulsory institutional quarantine for coronavirus.
GOOGLE/FB/MICROSOFT/APPLE/IBM IN NEWS
Google Launched ‘The Anywhere School’ initiative in more than 150 countries to Boost Online Learning
- Google will roll out over 50 new features across products like Google Meet, Classroom, G Suite and
other products.
- Google will launch custom and blurred backgrounds in Google Meet to provide ‘extra privacy’ to the
users.
- Google Classroom will be available in 10 additional languages
- Globally the platform will provide support for over 54 languages
Google launches Kormo for job seekers in India

- Aims to provide entry-level jobs and helps job seekers find and apply for positions across India.
- It was launched in Bangladesh in 2018 and subsequently in Indonesia.
Google + Central Water Commission (CWC) = for Flood Forecasting Initiatives
- Initiative enables the users with Android Smartphones with location service to receive the alerts and
notification on the real time water level measurements.
- Union Minister of Earth Sciences recently launched the mobile app “Mausam”, to provide weather
forecasts, nowcast and warning for various cities and locations.
- Karnataka recently launched “Meghasandesha ” App for real time information & ‘Varunamitra’ portal
for real-time information on weather.
CWC Chairman – Rajendra Kumar Jain
Headquarters – Sewa Bhawan, New Delhi
IITs in news
IIT Alumni Council - Partnered - Russoft & Moscow State University = to Build World’s Largest & Fastest
Hybrid Quantum Computer in India
- The objective of the agreement is to use technology in the areas of healthcare, agriculture, transport
and logistics, pollution and weather forecast to achieve the mission of Atma Nirbhar Bharat.
- About IIT Alumni Council is the largest global body of alumni, students and faculty, spread across all
the 23 IITs and partnering Technical Institutes of Excellence (TieNet).
IIT Kanpur + DARPG (Department of Administrative Reforms & Public grievances) + MoD = Agreement
for Using AI, Machine Learning (ML) to Address Public Grievances
- DARPG will provide data related to Public Grievances of MoD to IIT Kanpur for their analysis.
IIT Kanpur Director – Abhay Karandikar.
Healthcare Technology Innovation Centre(HTIC) of IIT Madras + Helyxon = Developed First of Its Kind
Remote Patient Monitoring Solution for COVID-19
- To provide a low cost, simple and easy to use device to monitor the patients from anywhere at the
hospital or home.
- Based on the configuration of the device the cost ranges from Rs.2500 to 10,000.
- Device was aimed to reduce the close contact with the patients by the healthcare workers like doctors
and nurses and savings in PPE.
IIT Guwahati + Imperial College London = developed nanoparticle ‘meta-grid’ that makes the LED
brighter, energy-efficient and durable
- Jointly developed by Dr. Debabrata Sikdar, assistant professor at IIT Guwahati and Prof. Sir John B.
Pendry and Prof. Alexei A. Kornyshev from Imperial College London
IIT Guwahati Director – T.G Sitharam
IIT Kanpur + Agnys Waste Management Pvt. Ltd - Developed Seed Balls = ‘BEEG’(Biocompost Enriched Eco
Friendly Globule) for Farmers
- Will help to safeguard people and farmers in plantations during the COVID-19 times
- Initiative is guided by Prof. J. Ramkumar.
Delhi Gov - MoU - IIT-Bombay and Tata Projects Limited = for 20 metre high smog tower in Connaught
Place, New Delhi following the orders of Supreme Court (SC)
- Smog tower to be completed in 10 months
- Project is expected to cost around Rs 19 crore.
Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) - Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) - IIT, Delhi = to set up a
Geographical Information System (GIS) based platform for air quality management in Bihar
- The Agreement which comes at a cost of Rs. 10 Lakh will provide for exchange of technical expertise
between IIT Delhi & BSPCB.
- MoA has been signed on the backdrop of Government of India’s National Clean Air Programme
(NCAP).
- Project will help in identifying the local hot spot of PM 2.5 in Patna, Gaya and Muzaffarpur.
- National Clean Air Programme was launched in January 2019 by Dr. Harsh Vardhan to cut the
concentration of coarse (particulate matter PM 10) and fine particles (PM 2.5) by 20% in the next five
years.
NHAI - MoU - IIT Delhi = to set up Centre of Excellence (CoE) for Advance Data Management System for
Highways
IIT Ropar + Momentum India Private Limited = Developed “UVSAFE”, UVGI Based Room Disinfection
Device
- Device was tested by FICCI Research and Analysis Centre(FRAC)(NABL Accredited Laboratory, New
Delhi)
- Designed by Khushboo Rakha, Assistant Professor, Division of Metallurgical and Supplies Engineering
and Naresh Rakha, Senior Scientific Officer of IIT- R
- The device takes 6 minutes to achieve 99.9% disinfection in an area of 14 square foot.
The research team of IIT Delhi Found WHO listed Priority Pathogens in the Waters of River Yamuna
- Research paper on the study was published in the Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering.
- Dr.Manisha Lamba was the first author of the research paper.
Flipkart - MoU - IIT Patna = for Industry Focused applied research in the fields like Artificial Intelligence
(AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML).
- To create industry focused applied research to support the reach of e-commerce to more consumers
and sellers.
- Flipkart - MoU - Karnataka State Mango Department = to support mango farmers.
- Flipkart - MoU - Government of Karnataka = to Promote Local Arts, Crafts And Handlooms
Flipkart CEO – Kalyan Krishnamurthy
IISc and ISRO developed a sustainable process for making brick-like structures named “Space Bricks” on
the surface of the moon
- The cost of transporting one pound of construction material from earth to moon takes around Rs.7.5
lakhs.
- Since the transportation of bricks from earth is not viable the space bricks are developed.
NSE’s Investor Protection Fund Trust (NSE IPFT) + IIMB - to offer Platform for Investor Education
- Launched in a virtual meet attended by Mr. Nagendraa Parakh, Executive Director of SEBI, Mr. Vikram
Limaye, MD & CEO of NSE and Professor Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director of IIM Bangalore.
- NSE IPFT was set up under section 370 of the Companies Act, with the objective of creating and
managing a fund to be used for promoting investor education, awareness and undertaking research
activities related to securities market.
LOANS ISSUED BY BANKS
India to others
Reliance Power and Japanese energy major JERA = loan agreement with banks totalling $642 million
(approx Rs 4,798 crore)
- Will develop a new 745 MW natural gas combined-cycle power project in Meghnaghat in Bangladesh.
- Reliance Power hold 51% stake while JERA will hold 49% stake in the joint venture company.
Reliance Power Chairman – Anil Dhirubhi Ambani
Headquarter – Mumbai, Maharashtra
Exim Bank extends USD 250 million line of credit to Mozambique to improve the power supply quality
EXIM Bank MD & CEO – David Rasquinha
Mozambique Capital – Maputo
Currency – Mozambican metical
President – Filipe Nyusi
Prime Minister – Carlos Agostinho do Rosário
India extended US$18 mn Line of Credit to Maldives for expansion of fishing facilities at Maldives
Industrial Fisheries Company (MIFCO)
- part of US$800 million LoC offered by India through Export-Import Bank of India (EXIM Bank) carrying
an interest rate of 1.75% with repayment tenor of 20 years and a 5-year moratorium
- credit line agreement was signed by India’s Export-Import Bank (EXIM)’s Chief General Manager
Sudhattaa Mandal and Maldivian Minister of Finance Ibrahim Ameer.
- To develop a 50 tonne ice plant and 100 tonne ice storage facility in Gemanafushi, Gaafu Dhaalu Atoll
Maldives President – Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
India Granted USD 500 mn Aid for Maldives Connectivity Project & USD 250 mn as Budgetary Support for
the 6.7 Km Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP)
- India has also decided to start air travel bubble with Maldives to facilitate movement of people from
both sides for employment, tourism, medical emergencies.
- India also decided to renew quotas for supply of essential commodities to Maldives for the year 2020-
21 which include food items like potatoes, onions, rice, wheat, flour, sugar, dal and eggs as well as river
sand and stone aggregates.
- On 1 November 2020, the Maldives and India will celebrate 55 years since the establishment of formal
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
- The growing relationship between both nations is premised upon the ‘India First’ policy of Maldives
and ‘Neighbourhood First’ policy of India.
India extended an assistance of 1 million USD to Antigua and Barbuda for COVID-19 Response
- The funding from India will be used to procure medical supplies and equipment like ventilators, PPE
equipment, etc. also provided around 10,000 hydroxychloroquine tablets to the government of
Antigua and Barbuda free of cost.
- This will be implemented by the UNDP in partnership with National Institute of Antigua and Barbuda.
- India also provided 1 million USD assistance to each country of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM),
a group of 20 developing countries in the Caribbean.
Antigua and Barbuda Prime Minister – Gaston Browne
Capital – Saint John’s
Currency– East Caribbean dollar
Others to india
Indian Govt + Gov of Maharashtra + Mumbai Railway Vikas Corporation (MRVC) - $500 Mn Loan
Agreement - AIIB Inked = to Improve Quality & Safety of Mumbai’s Suburban Railway Project-III
- The total estimated cost of the project is $997 million, of which $500 million will be financed by the
AIIB, $310 million by the Gov of Maharashtra and $187 million by the Ministry of Railways.
- The loan has a 5-year grace period and a maturity of 30 years.
- AIIB recently released USD 50 million in the first tranche of assistance to L&T Infrastructure Finance Ltd
(LTIF), to fund renewable Energy Projects in the country
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) Headquarters – Beijing
President – Jin Liqun
ADB - USD 200 mn financing deal with Reliance Bangladesh LNG and Power Limited for 718 mw power
plant in Meghnaghat, Narayanganj District near Dhaka
- ADB will provide USD 100 million and will also manage the other part worth USD 100 million from the
Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP).
- LEAP was established in 2016 with USD 1.5 billion capital commitment for the Japan International
Cooperation Agency (JICA).
ADB - USD 1 billion loan for Delhi-Meerut Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS)
- NCR Transport Corporation (NCRTC) will execute the project.
- The project will be implemented in phases between the cities and is expected to be open by March
2025.
- RRTS will use advanced, high tech(technology) signalling systems based on latest standards and will
have multimodal hubs to ensure smooth interchange with other modes of transport.
- Besides ADB, the Government of India will provide USD 1.89 billion and the co-financiers are expected
to provide USD 1 billion of the total project cost of USD 3.94 billion
European Union to provide 1.65 million euros in Humanitarian Aid Funding to Support Victims of South
Asia Floods
- The funding is part of the EU’s Acute Large Emergency Response Tool (ALERT).
- 500,000 euros will be used in India,
- 1 million euros will be dedicated to Bangladesh
- 150,000 euros will be used in Nepal
EU Headquarters – Brussels
European Parliament president – David-Maria Sassoli
Members– 27 countries
Banker'शाला (SPREAD THE KNOWLEDGE)

TEAM OF 9 – CLEARED 34 GOVT EXAMS
AIM IS TO SPREAD THE KNOWLEDGE FOR FREE
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FULL CA – AUGUST 2020

TYPES OF MATERIAL WE ARE PROVIDING AS OF NOW –

Dr Harsh Vardhan addressed CII two-day long Public Health Conference

Two-day international webinar on ‘Lokmanya Tilak – Swaraj to Self-Reliant India’

Defence Minister Dialogue in New Delhi

India@75 Summit – Mission 2022

IC-IMPACTS (the India-Canada Centre for Innovative Multidisciplinary Partnerships to Accelerate

17th India-Vietnam Joint Commission Held via VC

5th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting Held Through VC

6th BRICS Environment Ministers’ Meeting

BRICS Environmentally Sound Technology (BEST) Platform

Ahmedabad Railway Division Introduced Baggage Sanitization and Wrapping Machine

Gujarat Launched - Rs 1,800 crore Mukhya Mantri Kisan Sahay Yojana

Gujarat Announced New Industrial Policy 2020

Haryana Govt launched 2 schemes

Punjab Govt + YuWaah for youth development = launched ‘Pride of Punjab’

“Indira Van Mitan Yojana”

West Bengal Govt Launched ‘Karma Sathi Prakalpa’ scheme

Assam Government to Launch ‘Orunodoi’ Scheme

Jammu and Kashmir

Pawan Hans launched Helicopter service in UttaraKhand under UDAN scheme

Nitin Jairam Gadkari launched Mobile App ‘Harit Path’

Rajnath Singh Launched 15 Products to boost Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan

EU launched Nirmanshree For Odisha and Maharashtra Women in Housing Sector

Nitin Gadkari laid foundation stone for 13 highway projects in Manipur

Narendra Singh Tomar - launched “Sahakar Cooptube NCDC Channel”

OTHERS NATIONAL NEWS INCLUDING

Katra-Delhi Express Road Corridor to be completed by 2023

UAE-Israel peace agreement named “Abraham Accord”

BANKING, FINANCE AND ECONOMY

RBI Annual Report 2019-20 Released

RBI sets up panel under KV Kamath for one-time restructuring of loans

OTHER BANK NEWS

Axis Bank unveils AXAA , an AI powered conversational banking IVR

HDFC Bank + Adobe = to Enhance Digital Customer Experiences (AD OF HDFC)

PNB Launched ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’, a Campaign to Promote Digital Banking

Bharti AXA Life Insurance Entered - Bancassurance - SBM Bank India

NPCI Launched Loyalty Platform, ‘nth Rewards’

MobiKwik Launched - mpay.me = Personalized UPI Payment Link

SUBSCRIBE YT channel in advance by clicking on YouTube logo You can join us on

Francisco Asue is reappointed as the Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea

Satya Pal Malik = Appointed as Governor of Meghalaya - replaced Tathagata Roy

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari given Additional Charge of Goa

Asian College of Journalism Award 2019

SL Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa won Parliamentary elections

Manoj Sinha appointed = Lt Governor of J&K - Succeeds Girish Chandra Murmu

Prime Minister of Islamic Republic of Mauritania = Mohamed Ould Bilal

Rajesh Kumar, IAS appointed as Manipur Chief Secretary

Harbhajan Singh - Brand Ambassador of Amritsar based e-mobility start-up eBikeGO

Varun Sridhar = New CEO of Paytm Money

NLCIL (Neyveli Lignite Corporation) won Swachhta Hi Seva 2019 award

Prem Bhatia award 2020

20th edition of New York Indian Film Festival

66th SKOCH Summit Awards at New Delhi

Axis Bank to Acquire 17% in Max Life Insurance

LIC acquired 4.23% Stake (105.98 crore shares) of YES Bank

India - MoU – Nigeria = on Space Cooperation

India – MoU - Zimbabwe = on Traditional System of Medicine and Homeopathy

India + UK - tied up for 5 new 8 Million Pounds Medicinal Research

NBFC Power Finance Corporation - MoA - District Administration of Siddharthnagar, UP = to Construct 2

Australian Cricketer Cameron White announced Retirement from Professional Cricket

Indian Table Tennis player Poulomi Ghatak retired at 37