MoE, MSDE & Meta collaborate for Digital Skilling of Students, Educators and EntrepreneursOn September 3, 2023, a collaboration was initiated between the Ministry of Education (MoE), Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and Meta (formerly known as Facebook) namely ‘Education to Entrepreneurship: Empowering a generation of students, educators, and entrepreneurs’ for a period of 3 years in New Delhi, Delhi.

• This collaboration was launched by Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, MoE & MSDE.
• Three Letters of Intent (LoI) were also exchanged between Meta and key institutions, namely the National Institute for Entrepreneurship and Small Business Development (NIESBUD), the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), and the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

About Education to Entrepreneurship Partnership:
It is an initiative to bring digital skilling to the grassroots level by enabling the younger generation to become problem solvers and entrepreneurs. It will support the integration of students, youth, workforce, and micro-entrepreneurs with modern technologies.

• It will also contribute towards positioning India as the Global Skill Capital or Global Powerhouse For Skill Development and empowering the youth of India.

Key Points:
i.Meta envisages to train 500,000 entrepreneurs in digital marketing within the next three years through its partnership with NIESBUD.
ii.This comprehensive program will utilize Meta’s platforms to provide training in digital marketing skills, initially catering to seven regional languages.
iii.META’s partnerships with NIESBUD, CBSE & AICTE will catalyse infinite possibilities for equipping our population with critical digital skills and empowering micro entrepreneurs and small businesses.
v.3 short films were also showcased highlighting the details about the partnerships.
Participants:
Minister of State (MoS) Annpurna Devi, MoE; MoS Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MSDE, Atul Kumar Tiwari; Chairman, AICTE, among others.

 

IREDA signs MoU with IIFCL to Co-Finance Renewable Energy Projects On September 4, 2023, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA) and India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL) to co-finance Renewable Energy (RE) Projects.

• This MoU will utilize the expertise of IREDA in Green financing and IIFCL’s in Infrastructure financing.

Signatories:
The MoU was signed by Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman & Managing Director (CMD), IREDA; and Padmanabhan Raja Jaishankar, MD, IIFCL.
What is in the MoU?
i.The MoU will empower IREDA and IIFCL for Co-Lending/Co-Origination and Loan Syndication for all RE projects, including Small Hydro projects.
ii.IREDA will offer its techno-financial expertise to IIFCL for the development of RE Sector.
Both organisations will fix interest rates for IREDA borrowings for 3-4 years.
iii.IIFCL has the option invest in the Bonds issued by IREDA, subject to terms and conditions of the issue.
iv.This collaboration will support India’s target to achieve 50% share of energy from non-fossil fuels by 2030.
Click Here for Official Release
About Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Ltd. (IREDA):
IREDA is a Mini Ratna (Category-I) Central Public Sector Enterprise(CPSE) under the  Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).
Chairman and Managing Director– Pradip Kumar Das
Establishment– 1987
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi
About India Infrastructure Finance Company Ltd (IIFCL):
IIFCL has been registered as a NBFC-ND-IFC(Non-Banking Financial Company-Non Deposit- Infrastructure Finance Company) with the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) since September 2013 and follows the applicable prudential norms of the RBI.
Establishment– 2006
Headquarters– New Delhi, Delhi

 

President Murmu Unveiled 12-foot Statue of Mahatma Gandhi & Gandhi Vatika at Gandhi Darshan, Delhi       
On 4th September 2023, President Droupadi Murmu unveiled a 12-foot-high statue of the Father of the Nation, ‘Mahatma Gandhi‘ and inaugurated a ‘Gandhi Vatika‘ at Gandhi Darshan near Rajghat in New Delhi, Delhi.

•  At Gandhi Vatika, statues of Mahatma Gandhi in different poses have been installed.
• A selfie point has been established within Gandhi Vatika to enhance the visitor experience, especially for children.
• V K Saxena, Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, and Vijay Goel, Vice Chairman of Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti (GSDS), were also present on the occasion.

 

UN Report: Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control (Invasive Alien Species Report)On 4th September 2023, the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), the leading United Nations (UN) body on Biodiversity and Conservation, published a report titled Assessment Report on Invasive Alien Species and their Control (known as the “Invasive Alien Species Report”).

• As per the report, invasive alien species were identified as one of the main direct drivers of biodiversity loss worldwide, and at least 37,000 alien species were established worldwide.
• The report also reveals that more than 3,500 invasive species have penetrated various regions and biomes worldwide due to human activities, thus affecting human health, food security, and biodiversity.
• The global economic cost of invasive alien species exceeded USD 423 billion annually in 2019, with costs having at least quadrupled every decade since 1970.

About Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES):
Executive secretary– Dr. Anne Larigauderie
Headquarters– Bonn, Germany
Established on– 21 April 2012

 

Paytm Launches New ‘Soundbox’ That Enables Card Payments Paytm(One97 Communications Limited) launched industry-first Paytm Card Soundbox which enables merchants to accept both mobile and card payments across all Visa, Mastercard, Amex and RuPay networks through Soundbox with ‘tap and pay’ feature.

• The soundbox provides both audio and visual payment confirmation through a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) screen to the merchant and the customer.

Key Features:
i.Tap and Pay: Paytm Card Soundbox includes built-in ‘tap and pay’ functionality, allowing merchants to accept card payments of up to Rs 5,000.
ii.Connectivity: The device boasts fast 4th Generation (4G) network connectivity for swift payment alerts.
iii.Multilingual Alerts: Catering to India’s diverse merchant base, Paytm Card Soundbox provides alerts in 11 languages, which can be easily customised through the Paytm for Business app.
iv.Near-field communication (NFC) Compatibility: Users with NFC-enabled smartphones can make payments using the tap feature.
v.This device combines the efficacy of a Point of Sale (POS) unit, Unified Payments Interface (UPI) Quick Response (QR) code card, and even a sound box confirming the transaction.
Single Solution to Dual Problems:
The Paytm Card Soundbox offers a solution to two challenges faced by merchants:
i.It streamlines the process of accepting card payments.
ii.It provides them with immediate audio alerts for all transactions.
Additional Info:
Paytm was the first company to launch audio-based confirmations with Paytm Soundbox in 2019.
About Paytm:
Founder & Chief Executive Officer(CEO) – Vijay Shekhar Sharma
Headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Established in – 2009

 

RBI allows operation of pre-sanctioned credit lines at banks through UPIThe Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular titled ‘Operation of Pre-Sanctioned Credit Lines at Banks through UPI’ announced the inclusion of pre-sanctioned credit lines as funding accounts in Unified Payments Interface (UPI). This decision broadens the scope of UPI by incorporating credit lines as a funding account.
Background: In the “Statement on Development and Regulatory Policies” dated April 6, 2023, the RBI proposed to enhance the functionality of the UPI by incorporating pre-sanctioned credit lines at banks into the system.
Key points:
i. The circular applies to Scheduled Commercial Banks, excluding Payment Banks, Small Finance Banks, and Regional Rural Banks.
ii.This directive is issued under Section 10(2) read with Section 18 of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 (Act 51 of 2007).
iii. Before the expansion, UPI allowed linking of savings accounts, overdraft accounts, prepaid wallets, and credit cards.
iv. Payments through these pre-sanctioned credit lines, issued by Scheduled Commercial Banks to individuals, can be made through the UPI system with the prior consent of the individual customers.
v. Banks can establish terms and conditions for the use of these credit lines, including credit limits, credit periods, interest rates, in accordance with their board-approved policies.

 

Indian Bank Collaborated With IBM To Enhance Scalability and AgilityIndian Bank Limited, a public sector bank(PSB), collaborates with IBM (International Business Machines Corporation) to provide a secure and adaptable computing infrastructure to facilitate the deployment of innovative front-end banking applications.

• The collaboration paves way to run Indian bank’s Core Banking Solution (CBS) workloads on the IBM servers.
• The Collaboration is a part of Indian Bank’s initiative Project PARADISE (Performance Augmentation by Resource Aggregation in Distributed Environment).

To cater digital infrastructure requirements: 
i.IBM proposed a hybrid cloud approach for all Advanced Interactive eXecutive (AIX )workloads to increase the speed and introduced a combination of Capex and Opex model for consumption of compute resources.
ii.IBM provides Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) to provide additional compute and storage, to build a private cloud using the available resources, to create a single pool of processors across Data Centers (DC) and Disaster Recovery (DR) and enable services equivalent to a pay-as-you-grow model.
To enhance security within their private cloud:

• Indian Bank opted to employ IBM PowerSC for all AIX endpoints. This decision was made to ensure better support for compliance audits.
• The bank deployed IBM PowerVC to simplify virtualization management, streamline cloud deployments, manage workload images, and optimize resources dynamically for IBM AIX Servers.

Important Features:
The new cloud environment provided by IBM incorporates various advanced features. This includes virtual machine replication for consistency, a self-service portal that simplifies provisioning, and advanced capabilities such as virtual image capture, deployment, and cataloging.

• Through the consolidation of their front-end branch servers, Indian Bank has improved manageability and ensured continuous availability at their data centres in Chennai and Mumbai, guaranteeing uninterrupted services for their valued customers.

About Indian Bank:
Managing Director(MD) & Chief Executive Officer(CEO) – Shanti Lal Jain
Headquarters – Chennai, Tamil Nadu
Established in – 1907
Tagline – Your own bank
About IBM:
IBM was founded in 1911 as the Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company (CTR) and was later renamed as International Business Machines in 1924.
CEO- Arvind Krishna
Headquarters- New York, the United States of America (USA)

 

Sato Kilman Elected as PM of Vanuatu For the 5th Time
On 4th September 2023, the Parliament of the Republic of Vanuatu elected Sato Kilman, a former Prime Minister (PM) and leader of the People’s Progressive Party, as the new PM of Vanuatu. This marks Sato Kilman’s 5th term as the PM of Vanuatu. 

• Previously, he served as the PM from December 2010 to April 2011; May to June 2011; June 2011 to March 2013; and 2015 to 2016.
• Sato Kilman was elected 27 votes to 23 in the secret ballot. This outcome followed the Court of Appeal upholding the results of a no-confidence motion against the outgoing PM, Ishmael Kalsakau. 

About Sato Kilman: Prior to entering politics, Sato Kilman served as the police commissioner.  He served as the deputy PM in Ishmael Kalsakau’s government until May 2023.

 

Cognizant India’s CMD Rajesh Nambiar Appointed as Chairperson of NASSCOMThe National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) has appointed Rajesh Nambiar, Chairman and Managing Director(CMD) of Cognizant India, as its Chairperson. 

• He will replace Anant Maheshwari (former president of Microsoft India) who was appointed as Chairman of NASSCOM (2023-2024) in April 2023.
• He is relocating to Dubai as part of his new role as Honeywell’s High Growth Region President And Chief Executive Officer(CEO).
• In April 2023, Rajesh Nambiar was appinted as the Vice-Chairperson of NASSCOM for the period 2023-24.

NASSCOM Executive Council:
He will be supporting the NASSCOM Executive Council for 2023-2025  along with NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh.

• The Executive council aims to make the software industry a USD 500 billion worth by 2030.

About the leadership:
i.The leadership will focus on accelerating the adoption and widespread impact of cutting-edge emerging and deep technologies.
ii.Improving India’s talent pool to match changing job requirements and technological advancements.
iii.Emphasizing comprehensive industry solutions for increased efficiency, sustainability, and rapid innovation, and creating a diverse, fair, and inclusive workplace for everyone.
About Rajesh Nambiar:
i.Rajesh Nambiar is also serving as the Executive Vice President of Cognizant.

• He also chairs the Cognizant Foundations in the United States of America and India. He is a member of the global board of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).

ii.Prior to joining Cognizant in November 2020, He served as the Chairman and President of Ciena India.
iii.He has also worked with IBM as Global Delivery Leader.
iv.Prior to IBM, he was associated with the Tata Consultancy Services(TCS) for around 18 years.
About National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) 
NASSCOM is a non-profit organization that represents and promotes the interests of the information technology (IT) and business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in India. NASSCOM plays a significant role in shaping the policy environment for the IT and BPO sectors in India.
Chairperson – Rajesh Nambiar
Headquarters – Noida, Uttar Pradesh
Established in  – 1988

 

SpaceX Launches 22 Starlink Satellites into LEO
On 31st August 2023, Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) launched 22 of its Starlink internet satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO). A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Starlink spacecraft lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, in the United States of America (USA).

• After the liftoff, the Falcon 9’s first stage came back to Earth, touching down on the SpaceX drone ship “A Shortfall of Gravitas”, which was stationed in the Atlantic Ocean.
• It was the 7th launch and landing for this particular booster. It previously launched Crew-5, Global Positioning System III (GPS III) Space Vehicle 06, Inmarsat I6-F2, Commercial Resupply Service (CRS)-28, Intelsat G-37, and now two Starlink missions.

 

ISSF World Championships 2023: India Finished 3rd With 14 MedalsIndia won 14 medals (6 golds and 8 bronze) and secured third place in the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) World Championships 2023 held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 14th August to 1st September 2023.

• China topped the medal tally with 28 medals (15 golds, 7 silver and 6 bronze)  followed by Ukraine in second place with 12 medals(6 gold,  4 silver and 2 bronze).
• ISSF World Championship 2023 is a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympics.
• The four Indians qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics in this event including Rajeshwari Kumari (women’s trap),Sift Kaur Samra (women’s 50m rifle 3 positions), Akhil Sheoran (men’s 50m rifle 3 positions),Mehuli Ghosh (women’s 10m air rifle).

About the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF):
President – Luciano Rossi
Headquarters – Munich, Germany
Established – 1907

International Day of Charity 2023- September 5 The United Nations (UN) International Day of Charity is annually observed across the globe on 5th September to sensitise and mobilise people, Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), and stakeholders all around the world to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities.

• The day recognises the efforts of charitable organisations and individuals, including the work of Mother Teresa.
• The day also seeks to increase social responsibility and enhance public support of charitable causes.

Background:
i.On 17th December 2012, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the resolution A/RES/67/105 and designated the 5th September of every year, the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, as the International Day of Charity.
ii.The first-ever International Day of Charity was observed on 5th September 2013.

National Teachers Day 2023 – September 5  National Teachers’ Day is annually observed across India on 5th September to commemorate the birth anniversary of Bharat Ratna Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, a renowned educationist, who served as the 1st Vice President and 2nd President of Independent India.

• The day is celebrated to honour and recognise the invaluable contribution of teachers to our society.

i.National Teachers’ Day was first observed on 5th September 1962, which was the 77th birthday of Dr. Radhakrishnan. Since then, September 5 has been celebrated as National Teachers Day.
National Awards to Teachers’ 2023:
On the occassion of the National Teachers Day 2023 (5th September 2023), President of India, Droupadi Murmu, conferred the National Award to Teachers’ 2023, to 75 selected Teachers across India at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, Delhi.

• The 75 honorees comprised 50 school teachers, 13 educators from higher education, and 12 teachers from the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE).
• Each award carries a certificate of merit, a cash award of Rs. 50,000, and a silver medal.

 

Himachal CM Sukhu launches SABAL Yojna to Empower Specially-Abled Children On September 4, 2023, the Chief Minister (CM) of Himachal Pradesh (HP) Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu launched Mukhya Mantri Sporting Abilities, Rebuilding Aspirations and Livelihood Scheme (SABAL) from Nadaun in district Hamirpur, HP during the event jointly organized by Sarv Shiksha Abhiyan and Sampark Foundation.

• The scheme intends to improve the lives of specially-abled children in the state by integrating them into the mainstream..

About SABAL Scheme:
i.The State Government plans to support approximately 400 schools in Hamirpur, Solan, and Shimla districts to provide essential facilities and opportunities to specially-abled children.
ii.They have also allocated a 2% reservation in government jobs for such individuals.
iii.The education stipend for specially-abled children will increase to Rs 1000.
iv.The HP government envisages to empower more than 7,000 specially-abled children in HP.
Launch of ‘Abhyas Himachal’ and ‘Shikshak Sahayata‘ chatbots
The CM also launched ‘Abhyas Himachal’ and ‘Shikshak Sahayata’ chatbots on the Swift Chat app, and powered by conversational Artificial Intelligence (AI). These chatbots support convenient lesson revision for students, offering quizzes and educational videos for enhanced learning and teaching in classrooms.
Other Launches by CM:
i.Sampark Science TV Program:

• Converts regular TVs into Smart TVs.
• Enhances children’s learning, especially in math and English.
• Preloaded with educational content, no internet required.