India 9th on happiness index among 28 nations

NATIONAL NEWS

MeitY and Google tie up to Build for Digital India

• The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Google signed a statement of intent to roll-out 'Build for Digital India', a programme that will give engineering students a platform to develop market-ready, technology-based solutions that address key social problems.
• As part of the programme, engineering students across the country will be invited to apply and join in a learning journey that will help them transform their bright ideas into real-world solutions.

Russia to train four Indian astronauts for Gaganyaan

• India and Russia are stepping up cooperation in the space sector with Moscow extending help in 4-5 critical areas of India’s ambitious manned mission to space, Gaganyaan. This includes training of Indian astronauts with Russian facilities
• There are certain critical aspects India and Russia are cooperating. In some instances, we are taking their help because they have huge experience in human space flight.

FACTS

Russia Capital-Moscow

Russia Currency-Rubel

India 9th on happiness index among 28 nations

• when it comes to happiness, Indians consider good financial conditions and physical well-being among the top-most reasons to remain joyous, a new survey, adding that India ranked ninth on happiness index among 28 global markets.
• Personal safety and security, friends and feeling in control of life were other top determinants for Indians to stay happy, the "Global Happiness Survey" from market research firm Ipsos.
• Australia and Canada tied at the top spot (at 86 per cent) and emerged as the happiest nations of the world, followed by China (83 per cent), Great Britain (82 per cent), France (80 per cent), the US (79 per cent), Saudi Arabia and Germany at (78 per cent), and India at ninth spot with 77 per cent.
• Argentina (34 per cent), Spain (46 per cent) and Russia (47 per cent) emerged at the bottom of the heap, among the 28 markets.
• Notably, happiness levels receded in 2019. For India, there has been a six per cent drop (from 83 per cent in 2018 to 77 per cent in 2019).

Mumbai ranked 45th, Delhi 52nd on world's safe cities list; Tokyo safest

• The Safe Cities Index (SCI) 2019 ranks 60 countries worldwide across five continents and measures the multi-faceted nature of urban safety, with indicators categorised as digital, infrastructure, health and personal security.
• Mumbai has been ranked as the 45th safest city on the Safe Cities Index (SCI), while Delhi stood at the 52nd position, a report by Economist Intelligence Unit.
• Cities in the Asia-Pacific (Apac) region made up six of the top-10 safest cities with Tokyo taking the top spot.
• Along with Tokyo, Apac cities dominated the SCI 2019. Singapore and Osaka came second and third, while Sydney and Melbourne also made it to the top-10 cities list.
• Though Hong Kong dropped out of this group since 2017, Seoul has joined the top-10 cities' league taking eighth place with Copenhagen.

ECI to host 4th General Assembly of A-WEB in Bengaluru on Sept 3

• The Election Commission of India (ECI) will be hosting the fourth General Assembly of Association of World Election Bodies (A-WEB) at Bengaluru on September 3.
• Participants from over 50 countries across the globe will join the meeting, the ECI.
• India will be taking over as the Chair of the organisation for two years from 2019. In the last A-WEB General Assembly held in Bucharest in 2017, Romania took over as the Chair and the ECI was unanimously elected as the Vice-Chair of A-WEB for the 2017-19 period.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Indonesia to move capital from Jakarta to East Kalimantan

• Indonesia’s president announced that the country’s capital will move from overcrowded, sinking and polluted Jakarta to a site in sparsely populated East Kalimantan province on Borneo island, known for rainforests and orangutans.
• Intense studies over the past three years had resulted in the choice of the location on the eastern side of Borneo island.

FACTS

Indonesia Currency-Indonesian Rupiah

APPOINTMENTS

Vivek Kumar Johri takes charge as BSF Director General

• IPS officer Vivek Kumar Johri took charge as the Director General (DG) of the country's largest border guarding force, BSF.
• Johri, a 1984-batch officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, took charge from his batch-mate Rajni Kant Mishra at the BSF headquarters in CGO Complex at Lodhi Road.
• Mishra, an Indian Police Service officer from the Uttar Pradesh cadre, retired after occupying the top post of the BSF for less than a year.

Lt. Gen. Mukund Naravane takes charge as Vice Chief of the Army Staff

• Lieutenant General Manoj Mukund Naravane on September 1 assumed charge as vice chief of the 1.3 million-strong Army.
• Lt. Gen. Naravane will be in contention for the Army chief’s post as he will be the senior-most commander when incumbent Gen. Bipin Rawat retires on December 31,
• Lt. Gen. Naravane succeeds Lt. Gen. D. Anbu who retired from service on August 31.

RESIGNS
Govt accepts State Bank of India MD Anshula Kant's resignation

• The government has accepted the resignation of State bank of India's managing Director Anshula Kant, following her appointment as MD and chief financial officer of the World Bank.
• The government hereby accepts the resignation of Anshula Kant, Managing Director of the bank, with effect from August 31 in relaxation of the notice period.

OBITUARY

Emmy Award-winning actress Valerie Harper loses battle with cancer at 80

• Actress Valerie Harper, the star of "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and spin-off series "Rhoda", has died after a long battle with cancer. She was 80.
• Harper, who collected four Emmy Awards and one Golden Globe for playing the brash New Yorker on "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" and then on her own spin-off series Rhoda.

SPORTS

Ferrari's Charles Leclerc wins Belgian Grand Prix in solemn atmosphere

• Charles Leclerc just held off Lewis Hamilton to win the Belgian Grand Prix from pole position, securing the first victory of his Formula One career and ending Ferrari's long wait for a win.
• Hamilton was within one second of Leclerc on the final lap, but the 21-year-old from Monaco held his nerve.

Yashaswini Deswal wins gold medal at ISSF Rifle/Pistol World Cup

• Young shooter Yashaswini Deswal has won gold medal in women’s 10m Air Pistol at the ISSF World Cup in Rio de Janeiro. The 22-year-old has also become the 9th Indian shooter to secure a Tokyo 2020 Olympics quota.