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By admin: Sept. 5, 2022

New Delhi's historic Rajpath and Central Vista lawns to be renamed as ‘Kartavya Path’

Tags: National State News

The Government of India has decided to rename New Delhi’s Rajpath and Central Vista Lawns as ‘Kartavya Path’.

A special meeting of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) will be convened on 7 September 2022, to consider the proposal to rename Rajpath as Kartavya Path.

According to initial reports, the stretch of road between Netaji Statue and the Rashtrapati Bhavan will be named as Kartavya Path.

Rajpath was initially named as ‘Kingsway’ in honour of the Emperor of India and British monarch George V.

He visited India in 1911 when the Capital of British India was shifted from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to Delhi by the British.

After Independence the name was changed to Rajpath which is a translation of Kingsway.

Arjun Maini claims second position at Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe

Tags: Sports Person in news

India’s Mercedes-AMG driver Arjun Maini claimed the second position at the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe at Hockenheim, Germany on 5 September 2022. 

GT World Challenge is a very competitive platform for GT3 motor car racing in Europe.

The Bangalore-based driver, Arjun Maini along with Hubert Haupt and Florian Scholze of team HRT finished at the 2nd position in the gold class.

This was the second podium finish for them, and they are currently placed fourth in the Championship.

China became the first country to approve a needle-free, inhaled version of a Covid 19 vaccine. The vaccine has been developed by CanSino Biologics Inc.

Tags: Science and Technology International News

China became the first country to approve a needle-free, inhaled version of a Covid 19 vaccine. The vaccine has been developed by CanSino Biologics Inc.

This is a developing  new.

PM Modi announces PM-SHRI Scheme for upgrading 14500 school across country on Teachers Day

Tags: National Government Schemes

On the occasion of Teacher's Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced a new initiative, Pradhan Mantri Schools For Rising India (PM-SHRI) Yojana on 5 September 2022.

Under the Yojana, the development and upgradation of 14 thousand 500 schools across the country will be undertaken.

In a series of tweets, Mr Modi said, these PM-SHRI schools will become model schools which will encapsulate the full spirit of National Education Policy.

He said, emphasis will be given on a discovery oriented, learning centric way of teaching. 

The Prime Minister said, the focus will also be on modern infrastructure including latest technology, smart classrooms, sports and more.

Teacher’s day is observed on 5 September every year to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr S. Radhakrishnan.

Mary Elizabeth Truss to be the new Prime Minister of United Kingdom

Tags: Person in news International News

Mary Elizabeth Truss or Liz Truss has been chosen as the next Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (UK) by her Conservative party on 5 September 2022. She is the third women Prime minister of the UK after Margaret Thatcher and Theresa May. She will be the 56th Prime Minister of  the United Kingdom.

The ruling conservative party also known as Tories voted to elect their leader after the current Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation in July after months of scandal.

Liz Truss who was serving as the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs since 2021 defeated Rishi Sunak by getting 57% of the valid votes cast. She got 81,326 votes while Sunak got 60,399.

Rishi Sunak, former finance minister in the Boris Johnson government, is a person of Indian origin and married to the daughter of Infosys founder N. R. Narayana Murthy. 

Boris Johnson will travel to Scotland to meet Queen Elizabeth on 6 September to officially tender his resignation. Truss will follow him and be asked to form a government by the monarch Queen Elizabeth II.

Truss will become the Conservatives' fourth prime minister since a 2015 election.

Truss takes over as the country faces a cost of living crisis, industrial unrest, a recession and war in Europe, where Britain has been a leading backer of Ukraine. 

India's Longest Railway Tunnel of 14.57 Km to be built in Uttarakhand

Tags: Economy/Finance State News

The Indian Railways is going to construct the longest railway tunnel in India. It will be 14 kilometres long between Devprayag and Janasu in Uttarakhand, and will be part of the ambitious 125km Rishikesh-Karnaprayag broad gauge line.

It will be the longest railway tunnel surpassing the under construction Tunnel T-49 which is 12.758 km long and is being built on the Udhampur Srinagar Baramulla Rail Link Project in Jammu and Kashmir.

A 125.20 km railway line connecting Rishikesh and Karnaprayag will stretch across five districts of the state: Dehradun, Tehri Garhwal, Pauri Garhwal, Rudraprayag and Chamoli.

Government of India owned Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd (RVNL) is executing this 125 km long railway line

The total cost of the project is Rs 23,000 crore and it is expected to be completed by December 2024.

Longest Railway Tunnel :

At present, the 11.2 km long Pir Panjal Tunnel on the Banihal-Qazigund section in Jammu and Kashmir is the longest functioning railway tunnel in India.

About 300 branches to be opened by PSB by December 2022 in Unbanked rural areas

Tags:

The Government of India owned Public sector banks has been asked to open about 300 branches in the unbanked areas of various states by December 2022.  At present there are 12 Public Sector Banks in India.

This was decided at the recent meeting of heads of public sector banks with the Financial Services Secretary, Dr Debashsish Panda, last month, regarding the progress made in opening branches in the rural areas.

• These new branches will cover all remaining unbanked villages with a population of more than 3,000.
• A Maximum number of 95 branches will be opened in Rajasthan followed by 54 in Madhya Pradesh.
• The public sector banks will open 38 branches in Gujarat, 33 in Maharashtra, 32 in Jharkhand and 31 in Uttar Pradesh.
• Bank of Baroda will open 76 branches, while State Bank of India will establish 60 branches.

What is an Unbanked Rural Center ?

According to RBI ,an unbanked rural centre (URC) is defined as a rural centre that does not have a  Core Banking Solution (CBS)-enabled ‘banking outlet’ of a Scheduled Commercial Bank or a CBS-enabled Regional Rural Bank, Local Area Bank, licensed Co-operative Bank or any other CBS-enabled bank licensed by the Reserve Bank for carrying out customer based banking transactions.

What is a Banking outlet ?

According to RBI, a ‘Banking Outlet’ is a fixed point service delivery unit, manned by either bank’s staff or its Business Correspondent where services of acceptance of deposits, encashment of cheques/cash withdrawal or lending of money are provided for a minimum of 4 hours per day for at least five days a week.

Core Banking Solution ?

All the branches of the bank are interconnected through a common server which enables anytime, anywhere banking facilities.  Here CORE means Centralised Online Real-time Exchange.

Full form for exam :

CBS/CBS: Core Banking Solution

CORE/CORE: Centralized Online Real-time Exchange

National Teachers' Day

Tags: Important Days

Teachers' Day is celebrated every year on 5 September to recognize the work of teachers, researchers and professors in India.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Teacher's Day is the birth anniversary of Dr Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan.

• Dr. Radhakrishnan was born on September 5, 1888, he was the first Vice President and second President of India.

• He is known for his remarkable work as a teacher, philosopher and scholar.

• Since 1962, 5th September has been celebrated as Teacher's Day in India to honour Radhakrishnan's remarkable vision towards education and students.

• On this day, students show their respect to teachers in their own way.

• World Teacher's Day is celebrated on 5 October every year.

• In the year 1994, UNESCO recognized the celebration of 5 October as World Teacher's Day to appreciate the work of teachers.

UGC launches new research fellowship and research grants schemes on Teachers Day

Tags: National

The University Grant Commission (UGC) has launched new research fellowship and research grants schemes on the occasion of Teachers Day on 5 September 2022.

Savitribai Jyotirao Phule Fellowship for Single Girl Child

Its aim is to promote the education of single girl child and encourage them to pursue research work. This allows for the award of a PhD degree. There is no fixed limit of slots in the fellowship programme. This fellowship will be for 5 years.

Fellowship for Superannuated Faculty Members

The 'Fellowship for Superannuated Faculty Members' is being launched with an aim to provide research opportunities to retired teachers. There are 100 slots available for this fellowship and selected candidates will be given ₹50,000 per month as part of the fellowship and ₹50,000 per annum as contingency.

Research Grant for In-Service Faculty Members'

The 'Research Grant for In-Service Faculty Members' seeks to provide research opportunities to regularly appointed faculty members. The quantum of support under the scheme is ₹10 lakh which will be provided to 200 selected candidates for a tenure of two years.

Dr DS Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members 

The 'Dr DS Kothari Research Grant for Newly Recruited Faculty Members' will provide research opportunities to regularly appointed faculty members. The quantum of support under the scheme is ₹10 lakh which will be provided to 132 selected candidates for a tenure of two years.

Dr Radhakrishnan UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship

The 'Dr Radhakrishnan UGC Post-Doctoral Fellowship' will offer an opportunity to carry out advanced studies and research in Sciences, Engineering and Technology, Humanities and Social Sciences including languages in Indian universities and institutions.

This fellowship has 900 seats and 30 percent of them are reserved for women candidates. The selected candidates will be given ₹50,000 per month as part of the fellowship and ₹50,000 per annum as contingency.

UGC chairman: Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar

UN Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee will hold special meeting in India focused on new and emerging technologies

Tags: Summits International News

The United Nations has announced that the United Nations Security Council Counter-Terrorism Committee will hold a special meeting in India on 29 October 2022.

The theme of the Conference is:  Increasing threat posed by the misuse of new and emerging technologies.

The Special meeting will focus on three areas where there is an increasing threat of abuse by the Terrorist namely 

(a) the Internet and social media, 

(b) terrorism financing, 

(c) unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

UN Security Council :

It is one of the 6 Principal organs of the United Nations. The Security Council has primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

It consists of 15 members. Five members, the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom are permanent members with veto power.

The Remaining 10 members are elected by the General Assembly for two years. They do not have veto power.

NGT imposes Rs 3,500 crore penalty on Bengal Govt for huge gap in waste management

Tags: Science and Technology State News

The National Green Tribunal(NGT) headed by Justice A K Goel  has imposed a fine of Rs 3,500 crore on the West Bengal government for the huge gap in solid and liquid waste generation and treatment.

The NGT noted that out of 2,758 million litres per day (MLD) of sewage generation in urban areas and the treatment capacity of 1505.85 (MLD), only 1268 MLD is reported to be treated, leaving a huge gap of 1490 MLD.

The green panel said the state government does not appear to be prioritising setting up of sewage and solid waste management facilities though according to the state's budget for 2022-2023, there is provision of Rs 12,818.99 crore on Urban Development and Municipal Affairs.

Observing that health issues cannot be deferred to the long future, a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel said it is the constitutional responsibility of the state and the local bodies to provide a pollution free environment.

The state government will have to deposit the fine amount in a fund which will be used to construct the treatment plant for waste.

National Green Tribunal :

• It deals with cases relating to the environment protection and conservation of forest.
• It was set up in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
• The Tribunal is not bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but is guided by principles of natural justice.
•  New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai are other four places of sitting of the Tribunal.

Chairperson: Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri to lead Indian delegation at Gastech Milan-2022

Tags: Summits

Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will lead an official and business delegation to Milan, Italy on 5 September to participate in the Gastech Milan-2022.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• During the three-day visit, Puri will participate in the key ministerial panel of the opening ceremony along with the Egyptian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources and Portugal's Secretary of State for Energy.

• Puri will also participate in ministerial panel discussions titled "Energy Security and Transition" and "A Fair Energy Transition for Developing Countries".

• He will chair the “India Spotlight: Powering India’s energy industry - new avenues for a sustainable future” panel discussion.

• During the visit, he will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts, ministers and CEOs of global energy companies participating in the Gastech Milan-2022.

About Gastech :

• Gastech is the world's largest conference focused on LNG (liquified natural gas), a low-carbon fuel.

• In this, ministers and CEOs of various countries will discuss the emerging energy scenario.

• In this, an assessment of the economic recovery after the epidemic and the way forward will be decided to adopt equitable energy sources in place of current energy sources.

• It is being held in Milan, Italy from 5 to 7 September 2022.

India’s External debt grew by 8.2% year on year ending March 2022

Tags: National Economy/Finance

Releasing the 28th edition of the Status Report on India’s External Debt 2021-22 the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), Ministry of Finance, said that India’s external debt is being managed prudently and is sustainable.  There is no fear of any Sri Lanka type situation.

According to the report, from a cross-country perspective, India’s external debt is modest, occupying 23th position globally.

Total External Debt of the country 

The total external debt of the country at the end of March 2022 was USD 620.7 billion as compared to USD 573.7 billion in the same time period.

It grew by 8.2% as compared to the same time period last year.

Long and short term debt share in total external debt 

The long-term debt was estimated at USD 499.1 billion. Long term debt means loans which have a duration of one years or more.

The share of the long term debt in the total external debt was 80.4 per cent. Higher the ratio of the long term debt in the total debt is a good sign for a country.

The short-term debt was at USD 121.7 billion. The share of the short term debt in the total external debt was 19.6 percent of the total debt. The short-term trade credit was predominantly in the form of trade credit (96 per cent) financing imports. 

Short term debt means it has a maturity period of less than one year.

Favourable debt indicators 

External Debt as a ratio to GDP fell to 19.9 per cent as at end-March 2022 from 21.2 percent a year ago.  

Foreign currency reserves as a ratio to external debt stood slightly lower at 97.8 per cent as at end-March 2022 than 100.6 per cent a year ago. It means that India has enough foreign exchange to pay off its entire debt.

The share of the sovereign borrowing (money borrowed by the Government of India) was USD 130.7 billion. It increased by 17.1 percent over the same period last year mainly due to additional allocation of Special Drawing Rights (SDR) by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during 2021-22.

The non-sovereign debt (borrowed by companies), on the other hand, grew 6.1 per cent to USD 490.0 billion over the level as of end-March 2021.

Commercial borrowings, NRI deposits and short-term trade credit are the three biggest constituents of the non-sovereign debt, accounting for as much as 95.2 per cent.

While NRI deposits declined by 2 per cent to USD 139.0 billion, commercial borrowings at USD 209.71 billion and short-term trade credit at USD 117.4 billion rose by 5.7 per cent and 20.5 per cent, respectively,

While 53.2 percent of the total external debt is denominated in US dollar, Indian rupee denominated debt, estimated at 31.2 per cent, was the second largest.

The debt service ratio fell to 5.2 per cent during 2021-22 from 8.2 per cent during 2020-21 due to buoyancy in current receipts and a decline in debt service payments. 

Ahmedabad will have world's biggest sports city

Tags: Sports Sports News

Union Home Minister Amit Shah on September 4 said that Ahmedabad city will soon be developed as the world's largest sports city.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• Ten years ago, when Modiji was the chief minister of Gujarat, he started the Khel Mahakumbh.

• Gujarat has the Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, and very soon it will have the world’s biggest sports city too.

• The country’s grandest sporting extravaganza 36th National Games will take place in six cities of Gujarat, from September 29 to October 12.

• The National Games are being held in Gujarat after 7 years and will be the biggest and grandest event ever.

• 11 years ago, PM Modi started the Khel Mahakumbh and the event has become so big that 55 lakh youths participated in this edition.

Naveen Patnaik congratulates Odisha Juggernaut on winning Ultimate Kho Kho title

Tags: Sports State News

Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the Odisha Juggernauts on winning the title of the inaugural edition of Ultimate Kho Kho, and announced prize money of Rs 1 crore for the team.

Odisha Juggernauts won the inaugural edition of the Ultimate Kho Kho after beating Telugu Yoddhas in the final held on 4 September at the Shree Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, Mahalunge, Pune, Maharashtra. 

 India's first-ever professional Kho Kho League, Ultimate Kho Kho, is promoted by Mr. Amit Burman in a collaboration with the Kho Kho Federation of India.

Six teams Chennai Quick Guns (KLO Sports), Gujarat Giants (Adani Sportsline), Mumbai Khiladis (Badshah, Punit Balan & Janhavi Dhariwal Balan), Odisha Juggernauts (Odisha Sports Development and Promotion Company), Rajasthan Warriors (Capri Global) and Telugu Yoddhas (GMR Sports) participated in the league.

ISRO successfully tests IAD technology to land missions on Mars, Venus

Tags: Science and Technology

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) on September 3 successfully test-fired the Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (IAD) which will be used to land payloads on Mars or Venus in the future.

Important facts

• IAD was designed, developed and successfully test-flown by ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) on a Rohini-300 (RH300 Mk II) rocket.

•  It was tested from the Thumba Equatorial Rocket Launching Station (TERLS) at Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.

• The IAD is being developed to reduce an object coming down from space through the atmosphere.

• As its name suggests, the IAD serves to slow down an object falling through the atmosphere.

• For demonstration, the IAD, made of Kevlar fabric coated with Polychloroprene, was packed into the payload of the rocket.

• The pneumatic system used to propel the IAD was developed by the Liquid Propulsion Systems Center (LPSC), Waliamala.

• The 6.3 m tall, Rohini RH 300 Mk II sounding rocket had a lift-off mass of 552 kg.

PETA India confirms physical abuse of Assam elephant Joymala

Tags: State News

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India has submitted a veterinary inspection report to forest department officials in Tamil Nadu and Assam to confirm the continued abuse of Joymala, a captive female elephant at a temple.

IMPORTANT FACTS -

• A four-member team from Assam is currently in Tamil Nadu to inspect the condition of the elephant.

• Joymala, which was renamed as Jayamalyatha, was reportedly given to Tamil Nadu from Assam on a six-month lease in 2008.

• The elephant was kept in illegal custody of the Srivilliputhur Nachiyar Thirukovil temple for over a decade before being shifted to the nearby Krishnan Kovil temple.

• According to reports, the elephant was thrashed so brutally that it can be heard screaming in pain in a viral video filmed at the Krishnan Kovil temple.

• There have been several incidents in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in India in which frustrated captive elephants have attacked and killed their mahouts.

About PETA India :

• PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) India, based in Mumbai, was launched in January 2000.

• It works under the principle that animals are not meant to be used, eaten, worn, used for entertainment or abused in any other way.

• PETA India primarily focuses on the sectors where animals suffer the most, such as the laboratory, food industry, leather industry and entertainment business.

Centre Grants ‘in-Principle’ Approval of three Bulk Drug Parks to Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh

Tags: National National News

The Pharmaceutical Department under Ministry of Chemical & Fertilizershas given 'in-principle' approval to the proposals of three states- Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh under the scheme of "Promotion of Bulk Drug Parks".

Objective of Bulk Drug Parks

• Reducing the cost of manufacturing bulk drugs by creating world class common infrastructure supported by the central government.

• To enhance the competitiveness of the domestic bulk pharmaceutical industry.

Bulk Drug Parks Scheme 

• The scheme was notified in the 2020 with a financial outlay of Rs 3,000 crore.

• The Department of Pharmaceuticals is implementing so many schemes to make the country self-reliant in API and Drug Intermediates.

• One of the major initiatives under this is also the scheme of Bulk Drug Park.

• The bulk drug parks to be developed under this scheme will provide common infrastructure facilities at one place.

• This will create a strong ecosystem for bulk drug manufacturing in the country and will also bring down the manufacturing cost significantly.

• Under this scheme, financial assistance will be provided to three states for setting up bulk drug parks.

• The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world by size.

Financial Assistance to States for Bulk Drug Parks

• The financial assistance for the proposed bulk drug parks in Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh will be 70 per cent of the project cost of common infrastructure.

• The financial assistance to Himachal Pradesh being a hill state would be 90 percent of the total project cost.

• The maximum assistance under the scheme for a bulk drug park would be limited to Rs 1,000 crore.

• Bulk Drugs Park to be constructed on 1402.44 acres of land in Tehsil Haroli of Una district in Himachal Pradesh

• Bulk Drugs Parks to be constructed on 2015.02 acres of land in Jambusar Tehsil of Bharuch district of Gujarat

• Bulk Drugs Parks will be constructed on 2000.45 acres of land in KP Puram and Kodhaha of Thondagi mandal of East Godavari district of Andhra Pradesh.

Other Initiatives of Pharmaceutical Department

• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Domestic Manufacturing of KSM/Drug Intermediates (DI) and API