NATIONAL NEWS

INS Ajay Decommissioned

• Indian Naval Ship Ajay (P34) was decommissioned after 32 years of illustrious and distinguished services to the nation.
• The decommissioning ceremony was held at Mumbai’s Naval Dockyard.
• INS Ajay was an Abhay class anti-submarine warfare corvette of Western Naval Command.
• The ship was commissioned on 24 January 1990, in the USSR’s Poti port, Georgia.
• The ship, during its service period was part of the 23rd Patrol Vessel Squadron under the Flag Officer Commanding, Maharashtra Naval Area.

Odisha Approves Rs 261 crore Livelihood Action Plan

• The Odisha government has approved a Rs. 261 crore worth livelihood action plan for the regeneration of coasts and to enhance climate resilience among people on the coast.

• This was decided in the meeting of the steering committee of Integrated Coastal Management Society (ICZMS).

• It has decided to implement this community-based action plan from the current year till 2026-2027.
• Areas of Talsari in Balasore district, Bhitarkanika in Kendrapara district, Bahuda and Chilika in Ganjam district and Devi Mouth, Chilika in Puri district in Odisha will be covered under the project for coastal regeneration.

Development of Bogibeel Region in Assam

• The Union Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal launched multiple projects for the development of the Bogibeel region near Dibrugarh in Assam.
• India’s longest river cruise service would begin early 2023 between Varanasi and Bogibeel, traversing a distance of over four thousand kilometers through Ganga, Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route and the Brahmaputra.
• He also inaugurated Bogibeel Riverfront Passenger Jetty which has been developed by the Northeast Frontier Railways (NFR).
• The Centre is also identifying avenues to promote inland navigation, river cruise tourism and the construction of suitable terminals across the Brahmaputra.

First State/UT to Achieve 100 Percent Coverage of Precautionary Dose

• Andaman Nicobar Islands becomes India's first state/UT to achieve a cent percent coverage of precautionary dose. 

• 2,87,216 beneficiaries aged 18 have been vaccinated with a precautionary dose.

• Corbevax along with Covishield have been administered as a precautionary dose in the islandas.

• Vaccination rates increased after July 15th, when the government decided to offer free preventative shots in honor of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.’

Meghalaya Signs MoU with Tamil Nadu Government

• The governments of Meghalaya and Tamil Nadu have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to improve healthcare in the state.
• Under this MoU, healthcare providers from Tamil Nadu will train doctors and nurses in Meghalaya to run tertiary care maternity centers.
• The MoU was signed by TN health minister Ma Subramanian and Meghalaya counterpart James P K Sangma.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Presidency Of Prestigious AIBD Extended

• India’s Presidency of the prestigious Asia-pacific Institute of Broadcasting Development (AIBD) has been extended for one more year.
• This was unanimously decided by the AIBD member countries at the two-day General Conference held in New Delhi.
• Currently, Chief Executive Officer of Prasar Bharati and Director General of Doordarshan Mayank Kumar Agrawal is the President of AIBD.
• The conference was inaugurated by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur.
• AIBD was established in 1977.
• It is a unique regional inter-governmental organisation of the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN-ESCAP) in the field of electronic media development.
• AIBD currently has 26 countries as full members represented by 43 organizations and 52 affiliate members.

BANKING

Punjab Government and World Bank

• World Bank has granted a loan of $150 million to help Punjab in managing financial resources and ensure accessible public service.

• The loan was approved by the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors to support the state in strengthening public service infrastructure and its institutional capacities.

• The $150 million loan has a maturity period of 15 years.

• There will be an initiative to introduce a performance-based grants system to encourage municipal corporation to improve service delivery.
• Under the second initiative, a pilot project will demonstrate water supply in selected areas of Amritsar and Ludhiana.

Singapore Central Bank Partners with India’s IFSCA

• A FinTech Co-operation Agreement was signed by the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to promote regulatory cooperation and partnership in FinTech technologies.
• It was signed in order to promote the testing of technological breakthroughs, to make use of the regulatory sandboxes already in place in each party’s jurisdiction.
• Companies will be referred to each other’s regulatory sandboxes as a part of it, allowing for creative cross-border trials in both jurisdictions.
• With the help of regulatory sandboxes, this agreement ushers in a FinTech Bridge that will act as a landing pad for Singaporean FinTechs in India and a launch pad for Indian FinTechs in Singapore.

SBI WeCare FD Scheme

• The State Bank of India (SBI) has extended the deadline to invest in its senior citizen FD scheme -SBI WeCare FD up to 31 March 2023.
• In 2022 SBI, launched the special FD scheme “SBI WECARE” to secure senior citizens’ income by paying additional interest on term deposits.
• The scheme is offered for new deposits as well as the renewal of maturing accounts.

SPORTS

SAFF Women’s Champonship

• Bangladesh won its maiden SAFF Women’s Championship title at the Dashrath Rangshala Stadium in Kathmandu.
• Bangladesh defeated host Nepal by 3-1 in the finals.
• Bangladesh skipper Sabina Khatun was the top scorer of the tournament with 8 goals in 5 matches.
• It was the 6th edition of the tournament which was held from 6-19 September 2022 in Kathmandu, Napal.

IMPORTANT DAYS

International Day of Peace

• International Day of Peace is observed every year 21 September.
• It is a day of celebration to recognize the efforts of all those who have and continue to build a Culture of Peace.
• It was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly.
• The theme for the year 2022 is ‘End racism. Build peace’.

OBITUTARY

Ex-Union Minister and Congress Leader Manikrao Gavit

• Former union minister and Congress leader Manikrao Hodlya Gavit Passed away in Nashik, Maharashtra. He was at the age of 87.

• A member of the Indian National Congress (INC), he represented the Nandurbar constituency from 1980 to 2014, winning the Indian general elections consecutive 9 times.

• He served as the union minister of state for home affairs in the Manmohan Singh government in 2004 and minister of state social justice in 2013.

• He had been appointed a pro-tem speaker of the 15th Lok Sabha by President Pratibha Patil.