1. Ministry of Social Justice launches an e-study platform “TAPAS”.

• Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment has launched an online portal named TAPAS (Training for Augmenting Productivity and Services) to provide filmed lectures/courses and e-study material in the field of social defense.
• TAPAS is the initiative of the National Institute of Social Defence (NISD), Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The course can be taken up by anyone and is free of cost.
• TAPAS seeks to provide access to lectures by subject experts, study material and more, but in a manner that it supplements the physical classroom without compromising on the quality of teaching.
• The main objective of introducing the course modules, is to impart training and enhance the knowledge and skills for the capacity building of the participants. It can be taken up by anyone who wishes to enhance his or her knowledge on the topics and there is no fee for joining.

2. MoHUA launches brand and logo for urban SHG products ‘SonChiraiya’.

• Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs has launched ‘SonChiraiya’, a brand and logo for marketing of the urban Self-Help Group (SHG) products. To make urban SHG products popular, the ministry has signed MoUs with e-Commerce Portals like Amazon and Flipkart, with an underlying narrative of women empowerment.
• Due to this partnership, more than 2,000 products of nearly 5,000 SHG members have been onboarded on the e-commerce portals. This initiative is a significant step of increasing visibility and global access for the products made by urban SHG women.
• Under the initiative, a variety of professionally packaged and hand-crafted ethnic products will reach the doorsteps of customers worldwide.

3. Narendra Singh Tomar inaugurates world’s second-largest refurbished gene bank.

• The Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar has inaugurated the world’s second-largest National Gene Bank at the National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources (NBPGR), Pusa, New Delhi.
• The refurbished state-of-the-art National Gene Bank provides the facility for germplasm, to secure the heritage of seeds for years in minus 20 degrees Celsius temperature.
• The new facility will help in the conservation of the diversity of indigenous crops in the country, as well as benefit the farmers by making them self-reliant and providing a source of increasing their income. A National Gene Bank is a facility to preserve the seeds of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR) for future generations.

4. India launches UNITE Aware Platform in collaboration with UN.

• India has launched a tech platform named “UNITE Aware”, in collaboration with the UN, for improving the safety and security of the UN peacekeepers. The platform was launched in the presence of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar at the UN headquarters.
• The launch of the UNITE AWARE platform came as India assumed the Presidency of the 15-nation UN Security Council for the month of August.
• India has contributed USD 1.64 million for UNITE Aware. UNITE Aware platform will provide terrain-related information to the United Nations military personnel (Blue Helmets) in the line of duty. India has developed the technology platform in partnership with the UN Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Operational Support.

5. PM Modi inaugurates multiple projects at Somnath in Gujarat.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects in Somnath, Gujarat on August 20, 2021, via video conferencing. Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Union Minister of State (MoS) for Tourism Shripad Naik were also present at the event through video conferencing.
• The projects inaugurated include the Somnath Promenade, Somnath Exhibition Centre, and the reconstructed temple precinct of Old (Juna) Somnath.

1.RBI cancels license of Raigad based Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank.

• The Reserve Bank of India has cancelled the license of Raigad based Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited in Maharashtra.
• As informed by the Reserve Bank of India, the license of Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank was cancelled due to insufficient capital and earning prospects and its continuance would have adversely affected depositors.

2. RBI imposes ₹1 crore penalty on Cooperatieve Rabobank U.A.

• RBI imposed a monetary penalty of ₹1 crore on Cooperatieve Rabobank UA. Its Mumbai Branch is a part of the Netherlands-based Rabobank Group. The penalty has been imposed for contravention of certain provisions of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 and directions related to ‘transfer to reserve funds’.
• The RBI said it conducted a statutory Inspection for Supervisory Evaluation (ISE) of the bank with reference to the bank’s financial position as on 31 March last year.
• Examination of the risk assessment report pertaining to the same revealed contravention of the provisions of the Banking Regulation Act and the directions issued by the central bank.

3. Kotak Mahindra Bank launches ‘Neo Collections’ Digital Repayment platform.

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched a platform named ‘Neo Collections’, which is a Do It Yourself Digital Repayment Platform for missed loan repayments. Kotak Mahindra Bank has launched the Neo Collections platform in tie-up with Creditas Solutions.
• The main objective of this DIY digital repayment platform is to make repayments for outstanding loans more convenient for customers.
• Powered by artificial intelligence and machine learning, the ‘Neo Collections’ platform delivers a personalized and non-intrusive experience thereby enabling customers to manage their dues seamlessly on their own through an intuitive repayment platform.

4. NPCI partners with Mashreq Bank to launch UPI in the UAE.

• NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has partnered with Mashreq Bank to launch the payment system facility of Unified Payments Interface (UPI), in the UAE. Mashreq Bank is the oldest privately owned bank in the United Arab Emirates.
• This step will benefit the Indian tourists and who travel to UAE for business or leisure purposes to pay for their purchases using UPI-based mobile applications across shops and merchant stores in the UAE.
• This partnership will enable over two million Indians who travel to UAE for business or leisure purposes every year to pay for their purchases seamlessly using UPI-based mobile applications across shops and merchant stores in the UAE.

1. Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates Centre for Research & Innovation in AI set up at IIT-H.

• Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has virtually inaugurated the Centre for Research and Innovation in Artificial Intelligence set up at the Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H).
• He also inaugurated the first Academic Building of the Department of Materials Science & Metallurgical Engineering, High-Performance Computing Centre and High-Resolution Electron Microscopy Facility.
• The Centre for Research and Innovation in Artificial Intelligence in collaboration with Japan International Cooperation Agency-JICA is the best example of international cooperation. The University has an agreement with Honeywell Technology Solutions for setting up the lab.

1.Harshit Raja becomes India’s 69th Chess Grandmaster.

• The 20-year-old Chess player Harshit Raja from Pune, Maharashtra has become the 69th Grandmaster of India in Chess.
• He achieved the feat of becoming the GM at Biel Masters Open 2021 where he drew his game against Dennis Wagner to get his final GM norm with one round to spare.
• Grandmaster (GM) title is awarded to chess players by the world chess organization FIDE and is the highest title a chess player can attain.

1. 4 more sites in India added to Ramsar list.

• Four more wetlands from India have been added to the list of Ramsar sites, giving it the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’.
• With this, the total number of Ramsar sites in India have reached 46, covering a surface area of 1,083,322 hectares.
• The sites have been recognised as wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention. Two of these sites are in Haryana, while the other two are in Gujarat.

2. India’s first Cattle Genomic Chip “IndiGau” released by Jitendra Singh.

• Dr. Jitendra Singh has released India’s first cattle genomic chip ‘IndiGau’ for the conservation of pure varieties of indigenous cattle breeds like, Gir, Kankrej, Sahiwal, Ongole etc.
• The chip has been developed by scientists of National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NAIB), Hyderabad, an autonomous institution under the aegis of the Department of Biotechnology.
• The chip will help in achieving the goal of conservation of our own breeds with better characters and help towards doubling farmers’ income by 2022.

3. 75 new Vande Bharat trains to connect all parts of India.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the nation on the occasion of 75th Independence Day and announced that 75 ‘Vande Bharat’ trains would connect different parts of the country in 75 weeks of the celebration of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
• The 75 Vande Bharat trains will connect every corner of the country, in 75 weeks of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, which is being celebrated from March 12, 2021, upto August 15, 2023.
• Presently two Vande Bharat Express trains are operating in the country by the Indian Railways. The first Vande Bharat Express operates between Varanasi and New Delhi and the other Vande Bharat Express operates between Katra and New Delhi.

4. AIIMS Delhi becomes first Indian hospital to house fire station inside premises.

• The All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS), New Delhi has become the first hospital of India to house a fire station inside the hospital premises, to meet any emergency.
• For this, AIIMS has collaborated with Delhi Fire Service (DFS). The fire station, meant for quick response in case of fire emergency, will have its infrastructure developed by the AIIMS, while the fire tender, equipment, and manpower will be managed by the DFS.
• Having a total of 61 fire stations and 3,616 personnel, including 3,280 firefighters, the DFS attends to nearly 22,000 fire and rescue calls on an average in a year.

5. Pondicherry celebrates its De Jure Transfer day.

• Pondicherry on 16th August celebrated its De Jure Transfer day. Speaker of the Pondicherry Assembly, R. Selvam, paid floral tributes at the memorial in Kizhur, a remote hamlet in Pondicherry, where the transfer of power took place on the same day in 1962.
• De Jure Transfer Day is the day it really got independence. The then Pondicherry was under French control well after 1947.
• The treaty of cession signed between the French and Indian governments was ratified by the French Parliament only on August 16, 1962.
• So on that day the “De-Jure” (The Legal Merger of the UT with the Indian Union) was effected. 178 representatives participated in the referendum in which 170 voted in favor of a merger with India and 8 against it.

6. J&K Lt Governor Manoj Sinha launches PROOF App.

• In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha has unveiled a mobile application named PROOF, to bring more transparency and accountability in the governance system. PROOF stands for ‘Photographic Record of On-site Facility’.
• The main objective of this app is to monitor the work progress of all the projects allocated to different departments of the UT and ensure timely completion of these projects.
• The app will give a complete pictorial view of the work along with its geographical coordinates i.e. latitude and longitude and user comments on work progress
• As per the new rules of the UT government, no bills shall be entertained in the treasury unless photographs of projects are uploaded.
• In order to get the bills passed, it will be mandatory to upload geo-tagged photographs to bring in more transparency and accountability in the system.

7. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal to inaugurate country’s first smog tower.

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the country’s first smog tower on August 23, 2021, at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place. The smog tower will clean 1,000 cubic metres of air every second and reduce PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels in Delhi.
• The smog tower will work with full force after the monsoon season. The scientists of the Delhi Pollution Control Committee will accordingly assess the performance of the tower and present a monthly report.

8. India’s largest Floating Solar PV Project commissioned in Andhra Pradesh.

• NTPC has commissioned the largest floating solar PV project in India of 25MW power on the reservoir of its Simhadri thermal station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh. This is also the first solar project to be set up under the Flexibilisation Scheme.
• This scheme was notified by the Government of India in 2018. NTPC is also planning to set up a hydrogen-based micro-grid system on a pilot basis at Simhadri.
• NTPC’s floating solar installation covers 75 acres of the Simhadri reservoir’s surface. It will produce power from more than a lakh of solar PV modules for lighting 7,000 households.
• The project will annually save 46,000 tonnes of CO2 emission and 1,364 million litres of water, which is adequate to meet the requirement of 6,700 households in a year.

1. Adi Godrej to step down from Godrej India board.

Adi Godrej will step down as the chairman of Godrej Industries on October 01, 2021. He will be replaced by Nadir Godrej, his younger brother. Godrej Industries (GIL) is the holding company of the Godrej group.

• Presently Nadir Godrej is the Managing Director of Godrej Industries. However, Adi Godrej will continue to serve as the Chairman of Godrej Group.

2. Shanti Lal Jain appointed MD and CEO of Indian Bank

• Shanti Lal Jain has been appointed as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Indian Bank for a period of three years. He will replace Padmaja Chunduru as MD and CEO of Indian Bank. He is currently the Executive Director (ED) at the Bank of Baroda.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the proposal of the Department of Financial Services for the appointment of Jain as Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer in Indian Bank for a period of three years with effect from the date of assumption of office on or after September 1, 2021.

3. Nakul Chopra appointed as Chief Executive Officer of BARC India

• Television monitoring agency Broadcast Audience Research Council (Barc) has announced the appointment of Nakul Chopra as its chief executive officer (CEO) effective 25 August 2021.
• Former CEO Sunil Lulla has resigned to pursue his ambition as an entrepreneur. This announcement comes as Sunil Lulla has decided to resign from the position of CEO to pursue his entrepreneurial ambitions.
• Chopra had joined the BARC India Board in 2016 and had been elected as the Chairman during 2018-19. In January 2020, he was appointed as a member of BARC’s Oversight Committee. The media and advertising industry veteran had earlier served as the CEO, India and South Asia of Publics Worldwide for over a decade.

1.INS Tabar Participates in Exercise Konkan 2021.

• The Indian Naval Ship Tabar arrived at Portsmouth in England, to undertake the annual bilateral drill ‘Exercise Konkan 2021’ between the Indian Navy and Britain’s Royal Navy.
• The bilateral naval exercise Konkan is being held every year since 2004, to enhance the interoperability, synergy and cooperation between both navies. HMS Westminster of the Royal Navy took part from Britain’s side.

2. Army organizes 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon in J& K.

• In Jammu and Kashmir, the Army organised a 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon.
• The event was flagged off by Major General Rajeev Puri, General Officer Commanding, Ace of Spades Division, who led the relay, closely followed by other military personnel. More than 300 troops took part, carrying the Indian Tricolour all along the Line of Control (LoC).
• The run inculcated the spirit of brotherhood, as each soldier carried the symbolic National Flag of comradeship across the Area of Responsibility (AOR), handing it over to other units which stand shoulder to shoulder in war.

3. Indian Navy Conducts Bilateral Maritime Exercise with Vietnam.

• The Indian Navy and Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) undertook a bilateral maritime exercise in the South China Sea, to strengthen the defense ties among the two navies.
• From India, INS Ranvijay and INS Kora took part in the exercise and from the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN), frigate VPNS Ly Thai To (HQ-012) participated in the drill.
• The bilateral interaction aims to consolidate the strong bond shared by the two navies and would be another step towards strengthening India-Vietnam defense relations. Regular interactions between the two navies over the years have enhanced their interoperability and adaptability.

4. DRDO develops advanced chaff technology to protect IAF jets.

• Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) have jointly developed an advanced chaff technology to safeguard fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) from enemy radar threats.
• Defence Laboratory, Jodhpur, and High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), Pune, have developed the chaff cartridge meeting qualitative requirements of IAF.
• The Indian Air Force has started the process of induction of this technology after the completion of successful user trials.

5. Rajnath Singh launches Defence India Startup Challenge- DISC 5.0.

• Raksha Mantri Rajnath Singh launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) initiative, on August 19, 2021, in New Delhi.
• The Ministry of Defence has earmarked Rs 1,000 crore for domestic procurement through the iDEX initiative for the financial year 2021-2022.
• The Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence has approved budgetary support of Rs. 498.80 crore for iDEX for the next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26. 
• DISC is a platform wherein the Government, Services, think tanks, industry, startups and innovators can work together to help the defense & aerospace sectors reach full potential by creating a strong, modern & well-equipped military and equally capable & self-reliant defense industry.

1. Finance Ministry launched ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’.

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has launched an ambitious ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ -USF for export-oriented firms and startups in a program at Lucknow.
• The Fund aims at arranging funds for the promotion of micro, small and medium companies. The fund has been set up by Exim Bank and SIDBI. This scheme will be successful in Uttar Pradesh as the state has the highest number of MSMEs.
• India Exim Bank’s Ubharte Sitaare Programme (USP) identifies Indian companies that have the potential to be future champions in the domestic arena while catering to global demands.
• The fund is a mix of structured support, both financial and advisory services through investments in equity or equity-like instruments, debt (funded and non-funded) and technical assistance (advisory services, grants and soft loans) to the Indian companies.

1.Ghaziabad is world’s second most polluted city of 2020.

• Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was adjudged the second most polluted city out of the 50 ‘most polluted cities’ in the world in 2020 by a report prepared by British company House Fresh. Ghaziabad reported an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 2.5 particulate matter (PM) in 106.6µg/m3.
• Preceding Ghaziabad, the Chinese city of Hotan in Xinjiang province has been named the most polluted city with a PM2.5 of 110.2µg/m3. The report attributed the air pollution in Hotan to sandstorms resulting from its closeness to the Taklimakan Desert, which is the largest shifting sand desert in the world.
• According to the report, Bangladesh was the most polluted country across the world in 2020, followed by Pakistan, India and Mongolia.
• Meanwhile, Judbury in Australia bagged the top position in the list of cities with the cleanest air with a PM2.5 level of 2.4µg/m3.

2. India ranks second in terms of crypto adoption in the world.

• India has ranked second in terms of crypto adoption worldwide behind Vietnam, but ahead of countries such as the US, UK, and China, according to the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.
• This comes even as worldwide crypto adoption grew by 880% between June 2020 and July 2021, according to the report.
• A report by US-based research platform Finder released this month corroborated that the top five countries in terms of crypto adoption were all from Asia.
• The company surveyed 47,000 users worldwide and 30% of those surveyed in India said they owned cryptocurrencies.
• Bitcoin is the most popular coin in India, followed by Ripple, Ethereum and Bitcoin Cash, according to the report.
• Crypto adoption in India has also been led by smaller towns in the country. The largest crypto exchange in the country by trading volume, WazirX, said last week that it had seen more than 2,648% growth in user sign-ups from tier II and tier III cities in India.

3. Apple tops Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021.

• Apple is the world’s most valuable company (USD 2,443 billion) according to the Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021.
• The world’s top six valuable companies remained unchanged as Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Facebook and Tencent.
• Globally, the US-led with 243 companies, up by one; followed by China 47, down by four, Japan was third with 30 and the UK was fourth with 24.
• While India is ranked 9th with 12 companies. Reliance Industries (USD 188 billion) ranked at 57 is the top Indian company in the list. As many as 12 Indian companies found a place among the Hurun Global 500 for 2021 as Wipro Ltd, Asian Paints Ltd and HCL Technologies Ltd made it to the list of 500 most valuable firms in the world, while ITC Ltd dropped out.