- National:
- Vijayawada Railway Station has achieved the prestigious “Platinum Rating” Certification as a Green Railway Station from the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC), marking the highest recognition in this category.
- Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) has signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with Union Bank of India (UBI) and Bank of Baroda (BoB) on September 5, 2023.
- On September 5, 2023, i.e. on the occasion of National Teachers’ Day 2023, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, Ministry of Education (MoE) launched the Malaviya Mission – Teachers Training Programme by the University Grants Commission (UGC) at Kaushal Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi.
- The Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, in collaboration with the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), unveiled the G20 Tourism and SDG Dashboard. The dashboard was launched by G. Kishan Reddy, Minister of Tourism, Culture and DONER, in a virtual ceremony.
- The 2nd edition of the Kathmandu Kalinga Literary Festival (KLF) was held in Kathmandu, Nepal from September 1st to September 3rd, 2023. The central theme of the festival was 'Shakti, Bhakti, Civilizational connection: Nepal As centre of Global Thought’.
- The Department of Posts, as part of its ongoing initiatives to create an export ecosystem for e-commerce in the country, entered into an agreement with Bigfoot Retail Solution Pvt Ltd (Shiprocket), one of the leading e-commerce enablement platforms.
- State-owned Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) of India and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to collaborate in meeting India’s needs in the Short-Range Air Defence Systems sector.
- Grene Robotics, a Hyderabad-based company, has introduced Indrajaal, India’s first AI-driven anti-drone system. This state-of-the-art system is capable of safeguarding against micro, mini, small, large, and extra-large drones.
- Indian men’s table tennis team won a bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023. They lost 0-3 to Chinese Taipei in the semi-finals. The Indian men’s table tennis team comprising veteran Sharath Kamal, Harmeet Desai and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran lost 0-3 in their final four match.
- The Andhra Pradesh Food Processing Society (APFPS) and the State Bank of India (SBI) have entered into an agreement on Tuesday, 5 September, to upgrade and support the establishment of at least 7,500 micro food processing units in the state.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi participated in the 20th ASEAN-India Summit and the 18th East Asia Summit in Jakarta, Indonesia on 7th September 2023. At the ASEAN-India Summit, he held extensive discussions with ASEAN partners on further strengthening of ASEAN-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership and charting its future course.
- The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is all set to host its annual “One Week One Lab” programme from the 11th to the 16th of September this year. It is an exciting event where each of its 37 cutting-edge laboratories situated across the nation will unveil their remarkable research outcomes and accomplishments.
- The Indian Government has approved a scheme for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for the development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS). The scheme aims to develop 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31, with a financial support of up to 40% of the capital cost as budgetary support in the form of VGF.
- The Minister for Rural Development and Panchayati Raj, Giriraj Singh, chaired a National Conclave on September 6, 2023 focusing on the ambitious mission to enable 2 crore ‘Lakhpati Didis’ within India.
- Economy:
- Cabinet chaired by Hon’ble PM Shri Narendra Modi has approved an amount of Rs. 1164.53 cr for Industrial Development Scheme (IDS), 2017 for Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. This is for additional fund requirement to meet committed liabilities under the scheme up to 2028-29.
- The Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India has issued an advisory for mandatory stock disclosure of Masur (lentil) with immediate effect. All stakeholders should mandatorily disclose their Masur stock on the stock disclosure portal managed by the department every Friday.
- Sports:
- Indian tennis player Rohan Bopanna and his Australian partner Matthew Ebden advanced to the men’s doubles semi-finals of the US Open 2023 tennis. They continued their dream run and entered the final of the US Open with a straight-set win over French pair of Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut.
- Indian men’s team finished with a bronze medal at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023 following a semi-final defeat to Chinese Taipei in Pyeongchang, the Republic of Korea, on Wednesday.
- Banking:
- Bajaj Allianz Life Insurance has launched a new savings plan called Bajaj Allianz Life ACE. It is a non-linked, participating, early-income life insurance plan that offers flexibility to customers to tailor-make the cash flows as per their financial requirements.
- State Bank of India (SBI) has announced the introduction of UPI interoperability on CBDC. This feature, accessible through the ‘eRupee by SBI’ application, will empower SBI CBDC users to scan any merchant UPI QR code for transactions.
- Punjab National Bank (PNB) has announced the launch of India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Interoperability feature in its Digital Rupee mobile application.
- The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has recently launched a slew of new payment options on the popular payments platform Unified Payment Interface (UPI), including conversational transactions.
Questions:
Q.1 What medal did the Indian men’s team win at the Asian Table Tennis Championships 2023?a. Gold
b. Silver
c. Bronze
d. None of the above
Q.2 What is the name of the bank that launched India’s Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) with Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Interoperability feature in its Digital Rupee mobile application?
a. State Bank of India
b. HDFC Bank
c. Punjab National Bank
d. ICICI Bank
