Karnataka emerges as best state for roof top solar in India

NATIONAL NEWS

Karnataka emerges as best state for roof top solar in India

• Karnataka has emerged as the best state for setting up a roof top solar project according to the State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index–SARAL released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Telangana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh come next in the rankings but all four have been graded A++.
• The state of Jammu and Kashmir has been ranked last. This rating has been designed collaboratively by MNRE, Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF), Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (ASSOCHAM) and Ernst & Young (EY).
• The SARAL system currently captures five aspects. These are robustness of policy framework, implementation environment, investment climate, consumer experience and business ecosystem in the states.

Super 50: an initiative for tribal students to fulfil dreams

• Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department in association with the Pace Educational Trust launched an academic programme for young tribal students aspiring to be doctors and engineers.
• Inspired by the work of Patna’s Anand Kumar and his Super 30, which prepares smart but underprivileged students to sit for IIT entrance exams, the Super 50 programme will mentor 50 most meritorious tribal students from the State and prepare them for engineering and medical exams.

HRD Ministry launches initiative to train over 42 lakh teachers

• The HRD Ministry launched the National Initiative for School Heads' and Teachers' Holistic Advancements (NISHTHA) here aimed at training over 42 lakh teachers across the country.
• In a bid to boost education and employment, and focusing on reskilling the teaching workforce.
• NISHTHA is the world's biggest such project and will focus on training 42 lakh teachers from across the country.

FACTS

Union Human Resources Development Minister-Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank

Kiren Rijiju, Baichung Bhutia flag off Delhi leg of Op-Blue Freedom

• Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and former India football captain Baichung Bhutia flagged off the Delhi leg of Op-Blue Freedom.
• This is an initiative in which a group of armed forces veterans train sports enthusiasts in survival training and self-defence.
• Op-Blue Freedom is a nation-wide adaptive scuba diving programme for people with disabilities as well as the able bodied.

9TH Session of India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee held in New Delhi

• The 9th Session of the India-Kenya Joint Trade Committee (JTC) was held on 19th – 20th August 2019 in New Delhi.
• The Indian delegation was led by Union Minister of Commerce & Industry and Railways, Piyush Goyal. The Kenyan delegation was led by Peter Munya, Minister of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives, Government of the Republic of Kenya.
• Progress in cooperation in the power sector, renewable energy, petroleum and natural gas, civil aviation and agricultural research was also reviewed during the 9th session of JTC meeting.
• It was agreed to hold the next session of the Joint Trade Committee meeting in Nairobi to be decided mutually through diplomatic channels within the next two years.

FINANCE AND ECONOMY

RBI allows e-mandate processing on cards for recurring transactions

• The Reserve Bank permitted processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring transactions (merchant payments) with a cap of Rs 2,000.
• The RBI has been receiving requests from industry stakeholders to allow processing of e-mandate on cards for recurring transactions with Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) during e-mandate registration and first transaction.

FACTS

RBI Governor- Shaktikant Das

Head Quarters-Mumbai

BCCI awards title sponsorship rights to Paytm for five more years

• One 97 Communications Pvt. Ltd, owners of Paytm, retained the sponsorship rights for BCCI's International and domestic matches with a winning bid of ₹3.80 crore per match.
• The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the deal with the Paytm, which had acquired the rights in 2015 for a four-year period.
• The winning bid was at a price of ₹326.80 crores to be paid for 2019-23 home season. The winning bid was ₹3.80 crores which is at 58% incremental value in comparison to the previous per match value of ₹2.4 crores

FACTS

Paytm Founder- Vijay Shekhar Sharma.

APPOINTMENTS

Dr Ajay Kumar appointed Defence Secretary

• Dr Ajay Kumar, a 1985-batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, has been appointed as Defence Secretary in the Ministry of Defence. The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Dr Kumar who will replace Shri Sanjay Mitra, a 1982-batch IAS officer of West Bengal cadre, upon the completion of his term.
• The ACC has also cleared the appointment of Shri Subhash Chandra, Special Secretary (Defence) as Secretary (Defence Production) in place of Dr Kumar. Shri Chandra is a 1986-batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

Rajiv Gauba appointed Cabinet Secretary

• The Modi government appointed outgoing Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba as Cabinet Secretary for two years. His tenure will be effective from August 30, 2019, as per the official order.
• A 1982 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Mr. Gauba will replace P.K. Sinha, who was appointed Cabinet Secretary in 2015 who continues since then, getting several extensions beyond his two-year tenure.

Cerebras reveals world's 'largest computer chip' for Artificial Intelligence tasks

• Californian start-up Cerebras Systems has shown off what it claims to be the "world's largest computer chip" at the Hot Chips conference at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
• This AI processor, dubbed the Wafer Scale Engine (WSE), contains 1.2 trillion transistors. While most chips are small portions of a 12-inch silicon wafer this is a single chip interconnected on a single wafer.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World observes first International Day for Victims of Acts of Violence based on Religion or Belief

• August 22 was designated as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief in a May 28 meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
• The international day aims to honour the victims and survivors of heinous acts who often remain forgotten.

FACTS

Headquarters of United Nations-New York

Secretary General of the United Nations-Antonio Guterres.