National News

Bharat NCAP

• From October 1, 2023 car manufacturers can volunteer to get their models tested under an indigenous programme and get a star rating indicating their safety in a crash.
• The Bharat New Car Assessment Programme (Bharat NCAP) is modelled on the Global New Car Assessment Programme (Global NCAP).

Global NCAP

4th G20 Culture Working Group Meeting  

• The 4th G20 Culture Working Group (CWG) Meeting begin in Varanasi. 
• A report titled "G20 Culture: Shaping the Global Narrative for Inclusive Growth” will be launched in Varanasi as a part of the Culture Ministers’ Meeting.

G20

Paravanar river 

• NLCIL has completed the long pending and vital work of permanent diversion of Paravanar river course.
• The project mitigates inundation, boosts agricultural potential, and provides consistent irrigation to local farmers.

NLCIL

State News

Ban on Plastic

• The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has once again started a strict implementation of a ban on the manufacture, use, sale, transportation, handling, and storage of single-use plastic, to make Mumbai plastic-free.

Maharashtra

International News

Philippines and India

• Commanders of the Coast Guards of India and Philippines, Director General Rakesh Pal and Commandant Admiral Artemio M. Abu, respectively signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Enhanced Maritime Cooperation.

Philippines

Niger blocked from African Union

• The African Union had suspended coup-hit Niger until civilian rule is restored and announced it would assess the implications of any armed intervention in the Sahel nation.
• In a crisis now nearly four weeks old, the West African regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to use force to reinstate Niger’s elected President, Mohamed Bazoum.

Niger

Fukushima nuclear plant

• Japan will release water from the stricken Fukushima power plant into the Pacific Ocean.
• The Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power station was knocked out by a massive earthquake and tsunami that killed around 18,000 people in March 2011, sending three of its reactors into meltdown.

Japan

Envrionment + Science & Technology

Chandrayaan-3 lander

• Chandrayaan-3’s lander module with the rover will attempt to land on the moon and after that Mission Operations Complex (MOX) at ISRO Telemetry, Tracking, and Command Network (ISTRAC), Bengaluru, will initiate the powered descent of the lander module.
• NASA through its Deep Space Network and ESA through its ESTRACK network is also supporting ISRO during moon landing of Chandrayaan-3.

ISRO

Kumbhalgarh as tiger reserve

• The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on cleared the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA)’s in-principle approval to declare Kumbhalgarh as a tiger reserve.

NTCA

Economy & Banking

Deeptech & SaaS firms

• According to a Nasscom-EY analysis, Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) are the most leveraged deep technologies (54% of use cases) by Indian B2B SaaS (software-as-a-service) firms followed by big data/descriptive analytics (39%) and intelligent automation (7%).

Nasscom

U.S. banks debt ratings

• S&P Global followed Moody’s in cutting its credit ratings and outlook on multiple U.S. regional banks on Monday, saying higher funding costs and troubles in the commercial real estate sector will likely test lenders’ credit strength.

S&P Global

Important Dates

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition

• The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is an international day celebrated August 23 of each year, the day designated by UNESCO to memorialize the transatlantic slave trade.
• 2023 Theme: “Fighting slavery's legacy of racism through transformative education”

UNESCO

Person in News 

Sachin Tendulkar

• Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar has been appointed as National Icon for voter awareness and Education for Election Commission of India (ECI).
• A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed for a period of three years at a function in New Delhi in the presence of Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar.

ECI

Srettha Thavisin

• Thailand’s Parliament has elected Srettha Thavisin as country’s new Prime Minister.
• With this election it has ended three months of political deadlock after former premier Thaksin Shinawatra returned from exile.

Thailand

Sports News 

FIDE World Cup 2023.

• In keeping with the rising expectations of the chess world, a confident R. Praggnanandhaa matched favourite Magnus Carlsen for a comfortable 35-move draw in their first round clash in the final of the FIDE World Cup in Baku 

World Para Powerlifting Championships

• In a historic first, Indian powerlifters, Honey Dabas and Rahul Jograjiya, clinched gold and silver medals respectively on the opening day of the World Para Powerlifting Championships in Dubai.