National News

Manipur Violence        

• On Manipur Violence the three-member committee of former High Court judges headed by Justice Gita Mittal submitted his reports to Supreme Court. 
• The committee was set up to look into humanitarian aspects of the issue including relief, remedial measures, rehabilitation measures, and restoration of homes and places of worship.

Supreme Court of India

COVID-19

• Dr. P.K. Mishra, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister chaired a high-level meeting to review the global and national COVID-19 situation, newer variants in circulation and their public health impact.

Coronavirus

5th NeSDA

• Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) has released the 5th edition of ‘National e-Governance Service Delivery Assessment (NeSDA) – Way Forward Monthly Report for States/UTs’, which provides a detailed overview of status of e-service delivery across States/UTs.
• Madhya Pradesh provides the maximum e-services in Education sector (122), which is followed by Karnataka (113), Kerala (92), Gujarat (69), and Himachal Pradesh (55).

NeSDA Framework

State News

Datia Airport

• CM of Madhya Pradesh & Union Minister Jyotiraditya M. Scindia laid the foundation stone of Datia Airport in Madhya Pradesh.Flights connecting Datia to Khajuraho and Bhopal will be operationalized from this airport.

Madhya Pradesh

Meghalaya Pineapple Festival 2023

• Meghalaya Pineapple Festival 2023, organised by the Government of Meghalaya, kicked off on August 18 at the iconic Dilli Haat, INA, New Delhi.

Meghalaya

LSDGs

• The Union Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Minister Shri Giriraj Singh inaugurated the ‘Three-day National Thematic Workshop on Localization of (LSDGs) Sustainable Development Goals in Panchayats’ at Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir.

Jammu & Kashmir

International News

20th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting

• India participated in 20th ASEAN-India Economic Ministers’ Meeting in Semarang, Indonesia.
• The main agenda of this year’s meeting was the timely review of ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) which was signed in 2009.

 ASEAN

27th MALABAR Exercise

• The 27th edition of Exercise MALABAR, concluded on the East Coast of Australia off Sydney on 21 Aug 23. 
• MALABAR saw participation of Ships, Submarines & aircraft from the Indian Navy (IN), Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF) and the US Navy (USN).

MALABAR 

MeitY-NSF research collaboration

• Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology(MeitY) has announced its 1st Joint Call for proposals under the MeitY- National Science Foundation (NSF) research collaboration. MeitY-NSF have signed an Implementation Arrangement (IA) on Research Collaboration in May 2023. 

USA

Envrionment + Science & Technology

CSIR Prima ET11

• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh launched CSIR Prima ET11, the first indigenous e-Tractor developed by Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute, Durgapur
• He also released a book by CSIR-CIMAP and a compendium on 75 technologies developed by CSIR. 

CSIR

Graphics processing units (GPUs)

• High-end chips called graphics processing units (GPUs) are currently facing a massive supply crunch amid skyrocketing demand, even as the shortages across most other chip categories are beginning to ease out.
• The trigger behind this shortage is the generative AI boom that has led to the demand for these specialised chips to skyrocket.

First respiratory syncytial virus vaccine

• The United States of America's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the first respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine developed by Pfizer for use in women during pregnancy to protect the baby.
• The syncytial virus is a common cause of illness in children, while infants are those at the highest risk for severe disease.

Sun bears

• Angela, the sun bear of Huangzhou Zoo in China is news for his social media presence.
• Sun bears, properly known as Helarctos malayanus, are listed as “vulnerable” on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) red list of threatened species. This means sun bears urgently need protection. 

IUCN

Economy & Banking

NHPC’s MoU with RITES

• Transport infrastructure consultancy and engineering firm RITES has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with hydropower generating company NHPC. 
• This collaboration will encompass consultancy services for new rail connectivity, logistics and allied infrastructure, at Pasighat for NHPC's 2880-MW Dibang multipurpose project (MPP) in Arunachal Pradesh.

Arunachal Pradesh

Important Dates

 Madras Day

• It is celebrated on 22 August every year, 22 August 1639 being the widely agreed date for the purchase of the village of Madraspatnam or Chennapatnam by East India Company factors Andrew Cogan and Francis Day from Damarla Venkatadri Nayaka, the viceroy of the Vijayanagar Empire.

East India Company