Important Days
World Elephant Day was observed on 12 August
World Elephant Day is observed every year on August 12 worldwide for the preservation and protection of the global elephants. The main objective of World Elephant Day is to create awareness on elephant conservation and to share knowledge and positive solutions for the better protection and management of wild and captive elephants.
The World Elephant Day was initiated on August 12, 2012, when Thailand-based Elephant Reintroduction Foundation teamed up with Canadian filmmaker Patricia Sims. This is not just a day but a movement in itself. Since 2012, Ms. Sims has been leading World Elephant Day.
International Youth Day observed on 12 August
The International Youth Day is observed on August 12 annually to draw the attention of governments and others towards youth issues worldwide. This day is celebrated to recognize the efforts put in by the youth for the betterment of society.
The Day aims to promote the ways to engage the youth and make them more actively involved in their communities through positive contributions.
The theme of International Youth Day 2021, “Transforming Food Systems: Youth Innovation for Human and Planetary Health”.
In 1999, the General Assembly endorsed the recommendation made by the World Conference of Ministers Responsible for Youth (Lisbon, 8-12 August 1998) that 12 August be declared International Youth Day.
National
Chhattisgarh becomes 1st state to recognize Forest Resource Rights in Urban Region
Chhattisgarh became the first state to recognize Community Forest Resource Rights in an urban area, with the state government recognizing the rights of residents of Dhamtari district over 4,127 hectares of forests.
Community resource rights over 5,544 hectares of forest within the core area of the tiger reserve area were also recognized.
Under Forest Rights Act, 2006, Community Forest Resource Right gives gram sabhas the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any forest resources used by the entire community, or village.
Useful Notes for all competitive exams:
- CM of Chhattisgarh: Bhupesh Baghel; Governor of Chhattisgarh: Anusuiya Uikey.
Kakori Train Conspiracy now renamed Kakori Train Action
The Uttar Pradesh government has renamed a landmark freedom movement event as Kakori Train Action while paying tributes to the revolutionaries who were hanged for robbing a train at Kakori to buy weapons in 1925. The new name was used in official communications to refer to the event, usually described as the ‘Kakori train robbery’ or the ‘Kakori train conspiracy’.
UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Governor Anandiben Patel attended a program held on the anniversary of the event at Kakori-based Kakori Shaheed Smarak on the outskirts of Lucknow.
Family members of the freedom fighters were honored on this occasion, and an art exhibition was also held. A government official stated it was derogatory to describe the robbery that was a part of the freedom movement as “conspiracy”.
Appointments
Kamlesh Kumar Pant appointed new NPPA chairman
Kamlesh Kumar Pant, a 1993-batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre, has been appointed as the new chairman of National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA) by the Appointments Committee of the Union Cabinet.
The pharmaceutical pricing agency was currently headed by IAS officer Shubhra Singh, who was appointed to the post in 2018. Singh has been repatriated to her cadre state Rajasthan, according to an order of the personnel ministry.
Pant, formerly the Principal Secretary (Revenue) in the government of Himachal Pradesh and also the Financial Commissioner (Appeals) at Himachal Pradesh and the head of the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, has taken charge of NPPA with immediate effect.
Useful Notes for all competitive exams:
- National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority Founded: 29 August 1997;
- National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority Headquarters: New Delhi.
Cashify appoints Rajkummar Rao as first brand ambassador
Cashify, a re-commerce marketplace announced that it has appointed Rajkummar Rao as its first brand ambassador. The actor has signed a multi-year contract with the company and he will promote the products across digital media platforms through campaigns and promotional activities exclusively for the smartphone buyback category.
The partnership is expected to give a strong face to the brand’s philosophy as Rao personifies the brand ethos, which is reliability, responsiveness, approachability, and dynamic personality.
Defense
India & Saudi Arabia set to conduct “AL-MOHED AL-HINDI 2021” exercise
India and Saudi Arabia are all set to conduct their first-ever naval exercise Al-Mohed Al-Hindi 2021. To participate in the exercise, India’s guided-missile destroyer INS Kochi reached Saudi Arabia.
The joint naval exercise will showcase the reflection of growing defense and military cooperation between India and Saudi Arabia.
The exercise is taking place amid rising tension in the Gulf region after a drone attack on a merchant tanker off Oman killed a British national and a Romanian citizen.
The UK and the US pointed fingers at Iran for the attack on MV Mercer Street, operated by an Israeli-owned firm.
In December 2020, Army Chief Gen MM Naravane visited the UAE and Saudi Arabia in a first-ever visit ahead of the Indian Army to the two important Gulf countries.
IAF builds one of the world’s highest mobile ATC towers in Ladakh
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has built one of the world’s highest mobile air traffic control (ATC) towers at the Advanced Landing Ground in Ladakh. The ATC controls operations of the fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters operating in the eastern Ladakh region.
Meanwhile, India has been considering multiple options of developing airfields in eastern Ladakh including Daulat Beg Oldi (DBO), Fukche and Nyoma which are at a distance of few minutes from the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China.
Useful Notes for all competitive exams:
- Air Chief Marshal: Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria;
- Indian Airforce founded: 8 October 1932;
- Indian Airforce Headquarters: New Delhi.
DRDO Successfully Test-Fires Nirbhay Missile
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully test-fired medium-range subsonic cruise missile Nirbhay from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, off Odisha coast.
Nirbhay is India’s first Indigenous Technology Cruise Missile (ITCM). ITCM Nirbhay was successfully test-launched with a Made-in-India Manik turbofan engine.
This was the first successful test-firing of the missile with the indigenous booster engine. It can use both conventional and nuclear weapons of 200 to 300 kilograms.
The missile can be launched from multiple platforms. ITCM Nirbhay can travel at a speed of 0.7 to 0.9 Mach, or 4 to 7 times faster than the speed of sound.
Useful Notes for all competitive exams:
- Chairman DRDO: Dr G Satheesh Reddy.
- DRDO Headquarters: New Delhi.
- DRDO Established: 1958.
Quad Navies to undertake Ex-Malabar 2021
The Quad country navies including, India, the US, Japan, and Australia, will be conducting the annual Malabar naval exercises, from August 21, off the coast of Guam, in the Indo-Pacific.
The harbor phase of the Malabar naval exercises will take place from August 21 to 24, 2021. The sea phase of the exercise will be held from August 25 to 29, 2021.
Indian Navy will be represented by two surface combatants led by Guided Missile Destroyer INS Ranvijay and Frigate INS Shivalik along with maritime reconnaissance aircraft P-8I, ASW helicopters, and Special Forces (Marine Commandos-MARCOS).
The objective of the Malabar series of Exercises is to increase the interoperability of naval powers of the four QUAD countries.
Banking
RBL Bank selects AWS as a preferred cloud provider
RBL Bank has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, as its preferred cloud provider. AWS helps RBL bank to strengthen its AI-powered banking solutions and drive digital transformation at the Bank, adding significant value to the Bank’s innovative offerings, saving costs, and tightening risk controls.
The Bank is building on its analytics practice and investing in AI capabilities to implement various use cases across multiple segments, including Risk, Customer Service, Human Resources, and Operations.
The Banks AI Center of Excellence worked with AWS to create a templatized framework to roll out use cases using Amazon SageMaker to quickly and easily build, train, and deploy machine learning (ML) models as part of the Bank’s larger AI roadmap.
Useful Notes for all competitive exams:
- RBL Bank Founded: August 1943;
- RBL Bank Headquarters: Mumbai;
- RBL Bank MD & CEO: Vishwavir Ahuja.
Summits and Conference
28th ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting
The Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Rajkumar Ranjan Singh led India’s delegation to the 28th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting. The Meeting was held under the Chairmanship of Brunei Darussalam.
The ARF member countries exchanged views on international and regional issues, as well as the future direction of the ARF. Dr. Singh presented India’s perspectives on the Indo-Pacific, the threat of terrorism, the importance of UNCLOS in the maritime domain, and cybersecurity.
The ARF Ministers adopted a Joint Statement on Promoting the Youth, Peace, and Security (YPS) Agenda. India engages actively in ARF activities and initiatives on Maritime Security; Counter-Terrorism; Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs); Disaster Relief etc.
Science and Technology
ISRO chief K Sivan inaugurates Health Quest study
ISRO chief, Dr. K Sivan has formally inaugurated the Health QUEST study (Health Quality Upgradation Enabled by Space Technology of ISRO) which will be undertaken by 20 private hospitals across India. The event was co-organized by the Association of Health Care Providers India (AHPI) and the Society for Emergency Medicine in India (SEMI).
The objective of the study is to strive towards reducing human errors and achieve zero defect and quality service in the emergency and intensive care units of the hospital. The study aims to upgrade healthcare standards in line with ISRO quality standards and best practices.
The quality assurance mechanism in vogue in ISRO will be shared with the study team to establish the parameters for healthcare quality standards.
Useful Notes for all competitive exams:
- ISRO Chairman: K.Sivan.
- ISRO Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka.
- ISRO established: 15 August 1969.
Sports
ICC to push for cricket’s inclusion in Olympics 2028
The International Cricket Council has confirmed it will campaign for the inclusion of the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The ICC’s bid to end what will by then have been an absence from Olympic schedules will include multiple demonstrations of cricket’s suitability for multisport events.
Cricket, till now, has made just one appearance in the Olympics, way back in 1900 in Paris when only two teams competed at the event Great Britain and hosts France meaning the sport’s inclusion in 2028 would mark the end of a 128-year absence.
The sport will feature in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next year, which shapes as a perfect showcase for what the sport can bring to the Olympics, as well as being a momentous occasion on its own.