Notes:
The Krishna Kutir is a special home for 1000 widows set up by the Ministry of Women & Child Development (MoWCD) under the Swadhar Greh scheme. It is said to be the largest-ever facility of its kind created by a government organization, which will be inaugurated by Maneka Sanjay Gandhi and UP CM Yogi Adityanath at Vrindavan in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh on 31st August 2018. The new widows’ home has been constructed to mitigate the plight of widows living in pathetic condition in Vrindavan. The design of the four-storey building has been prepared in consultation with the non-governmental organisation, HelpAge India. It consists amenities like ramps and lifts for senior citizens and differently-abled people. The facility is also equipped with a large modern kitchen and a skill cum training centre. The construction of the home has been funded by Central Government and will be managed by the Government of Uttar Pradesh.

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Germany has sanctioned a soft loan of euro 120 million ( approx Rs. 990 crore) to India for National Clean Ganga Mission & to strengthen sewage water treatment infrastructure in Uttarakhand. The purpose of the project is to reduce the inflow of untreated waste water in River Ganga & to improve the water quality of the river. The project would focus on extension and replacement of sewerage system (around 360Km) including complete house connection, construction of sewage treatment plants of around 15 million litres per day (mld).The initiative also includes construction of 13 sewage pumping stations. Beside this, the German development agency GIZ has prepared a ‘Ganga Box’ that aimed to target schools-going children and inform them about the river. The concept ‘Ganga book’ was planned on the lines of ‘Danube Book’ when the cleaning of Rhine River was undertaken. The Ganga book would have information mythological, socio-cultural, economic importance about the river and suggestions to avoid pollution, like not dumping plastic in the water body.

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The Madhya Pradesh government has organized an interactive programme “Mil -Banche” in government schools of state on August 31, 2018. It is a first of its kind initiative i.e. being organized for multi-dimensional development of children through language skill up-gradation, reading other books in addition to textbooks, developing interest in understanding and other co-curricular activities. Over 2 lakh volunteers who have registered for the programme include 820 engineers, 843 doctors, 36 thousand employees of private sector, 19 thousand public representatives and around 45 thousand government employees and officers. Volunteers will read out one chapter of any book from either the school library or the Hindi textbook during the programme. After the reading session, the students present in the class will be asked interesting questions and will be introduced to the art of conversation and reading after group discussion.

Notes:
Indian sprinter Jinson Johnson from Kerala clinched gold with a timing of 3 minutes 44.72 seconds in men’s 1500m race at the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games on August 30. He also holds the credit of winning silver in the 800m track event at the ongoing event, finishing behind compatriot Manjit Singh, who won the Gold. With this, India achieved a rare one-two in men’s 800m at the 18th Asian Games 2018. It was India’s only second one-two finish in 800m at the Games since Ranjit Singh and Kulwant Singh achieved the feat at the inaugural edition held in New Delhi in 1951.

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The Government of India (GoI) has signed a $346 million million loan agreement with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Karnataka State Highways lmprovement lll Project (KSHIP-lll). Under KSHIP-III, about 419Kms of state highways will be upgraded to two- and four-lane roads and will involve reconstruction as well as widening and strengthening of bridges and culverts. It will enhance connectivity and access to economic centers across 12 districts in the state. The key element of the project is the use of hybrid annuity contracts to increase participation of private sector and improve quality & sustainibility of road assets with performance based maintenance period of 7 years post construction. The project will also carry out a road safety audit to identify and mitigate critical accident blackspots across the state highway network and strengthen the institutional capacity of the Karnataka Public Works, Ports, and lnland Water Transport Department (IWTD).

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India has signed MoU with International Energy Agency (IEA) on enhancing innovation for the Clean Energy Transition on August 30, 2018. The MoU was signed between secretary of Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Dr. Renu Swarup and Executive Director of IEA, Dr. Fatih Birol. The MoU seeks to deepen co-operation in support of clean energy innovations to accelerate the Research, Development and Demonstration (RD&D) of clean energy technologies in India and will help support the generation of data for policymaking and improve knowledge of good policy practices for innovation in India and around the world. The MoU will ensure cooperation for sharing of energy policies on RD&D and sharing of best practices on data collection and analysis. IEA is an autonomous intergovernmental organization, which works to ensure reliable, affordable and clean energy for its 30 member countries and beyond. It’s headquarters is located in Paris, France.

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The Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD) has announced new ranking system – named Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) – for higher educational institutions to promote culture of innovation and research in higher education at AICTE in New Delhi. The new ranking system will be formally launched on October 15, the birth anniversary of former President APJ Abdul Kalam. The first results will be declared on February 28, 2019, which is also Science Day. ARIIA – named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee- will focus on: budget expenses and revenues generated; facilitating access to advance centres; ideas of entrepreneurship; innovation ecosystems supported through teaching and learning; and innovative solutions to improve governance of the institution. It will rank educational institutions for innovation output based on all major indicators and parameters used globally.

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The 4th edition of Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit 2018 was successfully concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal with Kathmandu declaration on August 30 to 31. From India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi attended the summit that focused on increasing regional connectivity between the BIMSTEC nations including roads, airways and transmission lines. A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was also signed on establishing a BIMSTEC Grid Interconnection to enhance energy cooperation among the member-States. The BIMSTEC, comprising India, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal, accounts for 22% of the global population. It has a combined GDP of USD 2.8 trillion. Here, Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena took over the Chairmanship of the 5th Summit of BIMSTEC. Now, the next BIMSTEC summit will be held in Sri Lanka.

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In New Delhi, Indian Railways has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with GAIL India Ltd for use of environment-friendly fuel ‘Natural Gas’ in Railway workshops and production units. The purpose of the pact is to replace Industrial gases like Dissolved Acetylene, LPG, Bharat Metal Cutting Gas (BMCG) and Furnace Oil / High Speed Diesel (HSD) oil with Natural Gas. The use of natural gas has a potential to replace fuel worth Rs 70 crore per annum. This historic partnership will pave the way for supply of Natural Gas to Railway workshops, integral coach factories, loco workshops, DEMU sheds, etc. located along the existing and upcoming pipeline networks of GAIL. This endeavour shall reduce carbon foot-prints of IR and contribute positively towards achieving COP21 commitments.

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NITI Aayog will organise MOVE: India’s First Global Mobility Summit 2018 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on September 7. The aim of the summit is to showcase innovation and build a platform to shape the future of mobility, The summit will constitute three designated components – the Conclave, Digital Exhibition, and Featured Events. The six themes of the 2-day summit are asset utilisation and service, comprehensive electrification, alternative energy, reinventing public transit, logistics and goods transport and data analytics and mobility. The summit, which will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, will help drive the government’s goals for vehicle electrification, renewable energy integration and job growth and also speed up India’s transition to a clean energy economy.