Every year on 22 August the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief is observed. This day emphasises the significance of aiding victims of religious persecution as part of the UN’s efforts to promote Human Rights related to religious or belief freedom.

 

It was first made official in 2019 with aim to honour victims and survivors of heinous acts who often remain forgotten. This day comes a day after the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism, which is observed on 21 August.

 

Background : Following an unprecedented rise of violence against religious communities and people belonging to religious minorities, United Nation General Assembly (UNGA) on 28 May 2019, adopted resolution A/RES/73/296 designating 22 August as International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief. UNGA recognized the importance of providing victims of acts of violence based on religion or belief and members of their families with appropriate support and assistance in accordance with applicable law.

 

Significance : By proclaiming an International Day Commemorating Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, the UNGA recalled that States have primary responsibility to promote and protect human rights, including human rights of persons belonging to religious minorities as well as including their right to exercise their religion or belief freely..

Source : UN

A tribal-dominated district in Madhya Pradesh is the first in the country to be fully functionally literate. This means that all adults in the "Mandla district" can now perform basic tasks like write their names, count and read and write in Hindi.

 

Mandla collector Harshika Singh told the media, “Tribals frequently complained to the authorities about money being taken from their bank accounts by fraudsters and the root cause of this was that they were not functionally literate.” 

 

The authorities then set to work on mission mode and involved the school education department, women and child development department, anganwadi and social workers to bring about a transformation.

 

Mandla’s distinction is important but it also highlights the huge gap in literacy in India, not just in remote areas like Mandla or only among forest dwellers like the tribals in this case. As the world rapidly modernises, a significant portion of India risks being left behind if a level of basic literacy is not achieved in time..

Source : Times now News

In a way to celebrate them, every year August 21st is commemorated as "World Senior Citizen Day".  The day aims to appreciate our seniors, for their contribution and dedication in building this world we live in. Not only this, it also emphasises  over the duty of the younger generation as well as the government towards them, towards making a quality life for them. This years(2022) marks 32 years of senior citizen day.

 

World Senior Citizen’s Day Significance : As noted by the United Nations (UN), the elderly population is projected to reach more than 1.5 billion by 2050. This rise will be prominently seen in East Asia and South-East Asia. Less developed nations will host more than two-thirds of the planet’s elderly people by 2050. With a growing elderly population, it is pertinent that a robust system exists which supports their all-around wellbeing.

 

World Senior Citizen’s Day History : World Senior Citizens’ Day has its roots back in the August 19, 1988 proclamation by the then President of the United States of America, Ronald Reagan. Named proclamation 5847, Reagan highlighted the achievements of older people in American families, communities and the nation. The United States Congress passed a House Joint Resolution numbered 138, which allowed Reagan to declare the third Sunday of August annually, as “National Senior Citizen’s Day.”.

Source : India

Former Governor of Jharkhand, Syed Sibtey Razi passed away on Saturday(20th August 2022) in Lucknow. He was suffering from heart disease and was under treatment at King George’s Medical College.

He breathed his last at the Trauma Centre in Lucknow. He served as the Governor of Jharkhand from the year 2004- 2009.

 

Razi was associated with the Congress. He was a member of Rajya Sabha thrice. Later he was made the Governor of Jharkhand and Assam.

 

Jharkhand Governor Ramesh Bais expressed grief over Razi’s death and prayed for the peace of departed soul. Chief Minister Hemant Soren also prayed for the departed soul..


Source : AIR

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation on Thursday(18th Aug 2022) announced the appointment of Indian philanthropist "Ashish Dhawan", founder and CEO of Convergence Foundation, to its board of trustees. Dr Helene D Gayle, president of Spelman College, US, has also been appointed to the foundation's board of trustees.

 

The new board members will serve alongside Strive Masiyiwa, Baroness Nemat (Minouche) Shafik, Thomas J Tierney, Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman, and co-chairs Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates, a statement said.

 

In addition to being CEO of the Convergence Foundation, which is focused on accelerating India's economic growth and development, Dhawan is also the chairperson of Ashoka University and Central Square Foundation, a nonprofit organisation working to improve the quality of education for children in India. He is based out of New Delhi.

 

The Gates Foundation has been working in collaboration with the Indian government and other partners since 2003 on various issues, including health care, sanitation, gender equality, agricultural development, and financial empowerment ..

Source : Times of India

A first-of-its kind database of arrested narcotics offenders has been made operational for use by various central and state prosecution agencies tasked to enforce anti-drugs laws in the country, officials said.

 

The portal--NIDAAN or the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders--has been developed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

 

It is part of the narcotics coordination mechanism (NCORD) portal that was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 30, 2022 in Chandigarh during the national conference on 'Drug trafficking and national security'.

 

The NIDAAN platform sources its data from the ICJS (inter-operable criminal justice system) and the e-Prisons (a cloud-based application) repository and it is planned to integrate it in the future with the crime and criminal tracking network system or CCTNS, a senior officer said.

 

The ICJS, an initiative of the Supreme Court e-committee, was created to enable seamless transfer of data and information among different pillars of the criminal justice system, like courts, police, jails and forensic science laboratories, from one platform..

Source : Business Standard

The Bengaluru-based Central Power Research Institute (CPRI) on Wednesday(17th Aug 2022) signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Chhattisgarh government for setting up a regional testing laboratory in Raipur district.

 

As per the agreement, the national-level testing unit will be established on an area of 10 acres in sector-30 of Nava Raipur Atar Nagar which will have test facilities for transformers, energy meters, transformer oil, switch fuse unit and other electricity-related equipment, the public relations department official said.

 

Power companies will get a 20 per cent rebate in the testing of equipment, he said.

 

The contract was signed between Chhattisgarh energy department secretary Ankit Anand and Additional Director of CPRI, BA Sawale, in the presence of Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel here at his official residence..

Source : Business Standard

* The Assam government has launched a "school on wheels" project to bring the economically-disadvantaged children under the ambit of the conventional education system. 

 

* According to official sources, the “Vidya Rath: School on Wheels” envisaged imparting elementary education to such children for 10 months. Subsequently, the sources added, that the government will integrate them into the conventional system of education.

* Under the project, the students will be given free mid-day meals, uniforms and textbooks.

 

* After launching the project at the Gauhati High Court on the occasion of Independence Day, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma expressed optimism it would help bring the children from poor families under the ambit of formal education..

Source : New Indian Express

Flipkart and the Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR) on Friday(19th Aug 2022) signed an MoU seeking to enable market access on the e-commerce platform for farmer producer organisations and self-help groups.

 

As part of the partnership, Flipkart said that it aims to empower local farming communities and Self-Help Groups (SHGs) by providing a pan-India market access to more than 400 million customers. Further, it will engage with these communities through virtual and on-ground training and capacity-building initiatives focused on the quality, pricing and licences needed to be a part of the Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs) ecosystem.

 

ICAR-IIMR will extend support with infrastructure and necessary approvals to take the partnership forward, Flipkart said in a release.

 

“Through the collaboration, we aim to improve operations of small and marginal farmers and FPOs by sharpening their skills and knowledge, which will boost their economic and social development,” said IIMR director C.V. Ratnavathi.

 

Flipkart vice president of Grocery Smrithi Ravichandran said that the MoU is another step of the firm to handhold farming communities, especially small and marginal farmers of FPOs, to ensure improved income and business opportunities with adequate knowledge, training and market access and creating mutual shared value for all stakeholders..

Source : The Hindu

Larsen & Toubro (L&T) commissions a Green Hydrogen Plant at its AM Naik Heavy Engineering Complex in Hazira, Gujarat. The production of green hydrogen based on an alkaline electrolysis process begins on Saturday(20th Aug 2022). 

 

The plant will produce 45 Kg of Green Hydrogen on a daily basis, which will be used for captive consumption in the company’s Hazira manufacturing complex.

 

As per the regulatory filing, the Green Hydrogen Plant is designed for an electrolyser capacity of 800 kW comprising both Alkaline (380 kW) and PEM (420 kW) technologies. It will be powered by a rooftop solar plant of 990kW peak DC capacity and a 500kWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

 

Spread across 3,000 square meters, the plant's first phase of the project has been installed, tested, and commissioned.

 

L&T stated that as part of the first phase of the project, 380 kW Alkaline electrolyser has been installed, while the 420 kW PEM electrolyser along with solar plant capacity augmentation to 1.6 MW peak DC, will be part of future expansion..

Source : Mint