Notes:
The Government of India will soon launch a new sub-scheme named “Aajeevika Grameen Express Yojana (AGEY)” as part of the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM). Initially, AGEY will be implemented in 250 Blocks in the country on pilot basis with each Block provided upto 6 vehicles to operate the transport services. The Self Help Groups (SHGs) under DAY-NRLM will operate road transport service in backward areas. This will help to provide safe, affordable and community monitored rural transport services to connect remote villages with key services and amenities (such as access to markets, education and health) for the overall economic development of backward rural areas. This will also provide an additional avenue of livelihood for SHGs.

Notes:
The Canara Bank has recently launched two digital products: ‘Bharat QR’, a platform for payment settlement at merchant locations, and Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS) is an integrated bill payment system for Net banking customers. The first service is a mobile application, which enables a merchant to accept payments as settlement for sale of goods or services. The second product (BBPS), an initiative of the RBI offers bill payment services to the bank’s net banking customers with network of agents.

Notes:
Vijay Nambisan (54), the well-known poet, writer and journalist of India writing in English, has passed away on August 10, 2017. He was the first-ever All India Poetry Champion in 1988 for his poem Madras Central. He co-authored a book of poems ‘Gemini’ with Dom Moraes and Jeet Thayil. Nambisan passionately championed the ethical use of language and made an appeal to readers, writers and enthusiasts of literature in his monumental book ‘Language as an Ethic’. His poetry served keen observations about politics — both internal and external — with gentle wit, often directed at himself.

Notes:
Naveen Patnaik, the Chief Minister of Odisha, has recently launched Facebook’s ‘She Means Business’ programme in Bhubaneswar to train women entrepreneurs in the state. For this, Facebook has partnered the Odisha’s MSME department and Project Mission Shakti to train 25,000 women entrepreneurs and self-help group (SHG) members on digital marketing skills by the end of 2018. After imparting training, Facebook will make a database of entrepreneurs in the state and will monitor their growth, turnover and profit after one year.

Notes:
The 2017 India-ASEAN Youth Summit has started in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh on August 14, 2017 with theme of “Shared Values, Common Destiny”. The event is being organised by Foreign Ministry, Madhya Pradesh government and India Foundation. The five day Summit has inaugurate by Union Minister of State for External Affairs General VK Singh, Union Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The exercise will mark the 25th anniversary of the ASEAN-India dialogue partnership in the ongoing year 2017. Madhya Pradesh has been chosen for this event as the Sanchi stupa here strengthens the state’s cultural affiliation with the ASEAN countries. Over 175 delegations of youths from Indonesia, Singapore, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Vietnam and India are participating in the Summit.

Notes:
The Indian duo of Mairaj Ahmad Khan and Rashmmi Rathore has won a gold medal in the skeet mixed team event at the 7th Asian Championship Shotgun in Astana, Kazakhstan on August 13, 2017. With this, India finished the championship with a total of 8 medals. Earlier, Ankur Mittal had won a gold in the men’s double trap and had also helped India bag the team gold in the event. Kynan Chenai won a bronze in the men’s trap and also partnered Shreyasi Singh to claim the trap mixed team bronze. Maheshwari Chauhan clinched a bronze in the women’s skeet, along with team silver in the event before the men’s skeet team picked up another bronze. The results will serve as good encouragement for the 2017 Shotgun World Championships in Moscow, which is scheduled to start from August 30.

Notes:
Yisrael Kristal (113), the world’s oldest man who lived through both World Wars, has passed away in Haifa, Israel on August 11, 2017. He was officially recognised as the world’s oldest man by the Guinness Book of Records in March 2016. Kristal, a Polish-Israeli supercentenarian, became the world’s oldest recognized Holocaust survivor in 2014 and the world’s oldest man in 2016.

Notes:
The World Elephant Day (WED) is observed every year on August 12 to focus the attention of various stakeholders in supporting various conservation policies to protect elephants, including improving enforcement policies to prevent illegal poaching and trade in ivory. On the occasion of 2017 WED, Dr. Harsh Vardhan, the Union Environment, Forest and Climate Change Minister has launched a nationwide campaign “Gaj Yatra” in New Delhi to protect elephants in the country. The campaign is planned to cover 12 elephant range states.

Notes:
Devendra Fadnavis, the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, has launched ‘Namo Yuva Rojgar Kendra’ on August 14, 2017 to provide job opportunities to unemployed youth in Mumbai. Under this initiative, there are various schemes like farmers weekly market, farmers mobile market and mother’s tiffin. These products will be made available with the help of mobile vans all over Mumbai and the information about the location of the vans is made available through an app.

Notes:
The Orang National Park (ONP) is located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam and covers an area of 78.81 square kilometers. The park has a rich flora and fauna, including great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, pigmy hog, elephants, wild buffalo and tigers. It is the only stronghold of rhinoceros on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river.