- National:
- The Chennai (Tamil Nadu) based Geographical Indications Registry has granted Geographical Indication (GI) tags to Bhaderwah Rajmash (Red kidney beans) and Ramban Sulai Honey of Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) and Chokuwa rice (Magic Rice) of Assam.
- The Union government has issued a notification for the implementation of the amendments to the Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867, from September 1. The changes substantially decriminalize and do away with imprisonment provisions for certain offenses.
- The drive against child marriages in Assam will be relaunched in September, as per Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. The last such drive in February caused a commotion across the State after 4,235 complaints were registered and more than 3,000 people, including 93 women, were arrested for involvement in child marriage.
- Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal launched the Tele-Law 2.0 initiative on August 25, 2023. This version entails the fusion of Tele-Law Services with Nyaya Bandhu pro bono legal services, a merger to further enhance citizen accessibility to legal aid.
- UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued new guidance on Monday that calls for governments to take action to protect boys and girls in the face of the deepening climate crisis. General Comment No. 26 marks the first time the Committee has affirmed children’s right to live in a clean, healthy and sustainable environment.
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has launched Falcon, an open-source project that aims to simplify the management and use of blockchains based on Hyperledger Fabric and supported on Kubernetes clusters.
- Kolkata Metro Railway has decided to use a composite Aluminium Third Rail in all the upcoming corridors being undertaken for construction along with retrofitment in existing corridors with steel third rail.
- The Rashtriya Poshan Maah is being celebrated during the month of September every year under POSHAN Abhiyaan (PM’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nourishment), which was launched in 2018.
- Union Home Minister Amit Shah is set to inaugurate the ‘Amrit Kalash Yatra’ in New Delhi as part of the ‘Meri Mati-Mera Desh’ campaign at 2 p.m. today. The Amrit Kalash Yatra is part of the ‘Meri Maati Mera Desh Campaign’ to pay tribute to valiant men and women who have sacrificed their lives for the country.
- The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) launched the ‘Adopt a Heritage 2.0’ programme on September 4, 2023. This programme seeks to invite corporate stakeholders to enhance amenities at monuments by utilizing their CSR funds.
- Important Days:
- August 31, 2023, was observed globally as the International Day for People of African Descent. The aim behind observing this day is to promote the extraordinary contributions of the African descent people all around the world.The theme of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent is recognition, justice, and development.
- World Sanskrit Day, also known as ‘Vishva-Samskrita-Dinam’, is annually observed across India on the Poornima Tithi (Full Moon day) of Shravana month in the Hindu Calendar, to honor Sanskrit, the world’s oldest known language and the mother of all languages, originated in India around 3500 years ago.World Sanskrit Day 2023 was celebrated on August 31, 2023.
- Books:
- Union Education and Skill Development & Entrepreneurship Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan launched a novel comic book titled “Let’s Move Forward” on August 29, 2023, at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi.
- Awards:
- Dr. Ravi Kannan, an oncologist based in Assam, has won the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award for 2023. He is the director of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in Assam and is credited with revolutionizing cancer treatment in Assam through people-centric and pro-poor healthcare.
- Appointments:
- The central government has appointed Jaya Verma Sinha as the new Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Railway Board. She is the first woman ever to head the Railway Board in its 166-year history.
- Baking:
- Investments made by Mutual Funds in commercial papers (CPs) issued by non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) reached beyond 1 lakh crore.This has happened for the first time in July 2023, since August 2019.
- The Unified Payments Interface (UPI) network crossed the milestone of 1,000 crore transactions per month in August 2023, processed a record 1,058 crore transactions.
Questions:
Q.1 What is the theme of the UN International Decade for People of African Descent?a. Recognition, justice, and development
b. Equality, non-discrimination, and collaboration
c. Elimination of all forms of racial discrimination, inequality and stratification
d. All of the above
Q.2 What is the name of the award won by Dr. Ravi Kannan in 2023?
a. Nobel Prize
b. Padma Shri
c. Ramon Magsaysay Award
d. Bharat Ratna
