Pramod Kumar has been appointed as the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the Powergrid Corporation of India Limited by the company’s Board of Directors on Monday(8th Aug 2022).

 

Prior to his new role, Kumar served as the Executive Director (Finance) of the company.

 

Pramod Kumar did his M.Com from Choudhary Charan Singh University and is a Fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India..

Source : Economic Times

Singapore has declared its 200-year-old iconic green open space Padang as its 75th national monument as the country celebrates its 57th National Day (9th August).

 

From this site, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose had given his ‘Delhi Chalo’ slogan in 1943.

 

From now, the Padang has been preserved and accorded the highest level of protection in Singapore under the Preservation of Monuments Act.

 

The victory parade of Japanese surrender on September 12, 1945 was held on Padang..

Source : The print

The Lok Sabha passed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, in 8th Aug 2022.  The Bill amended the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019. 

 

It also renamed the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre the "India International Arbitration Centre". The bill requires the Arbitration Centre to strive to facilitate the conduct of international and domestic arbitration and conciliation.

 

Replying to a debate on the bill, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju said India will emerge as a major arbitration hub. Referring to the number of pending cases in the country, the Minister said about five crore cases are pending in various courts of which 80 per cent are in lower courts..

Source : News on Air

In a first for the country, Hooghly River's underwater tunnel will likely be operational soon. Reports state that the Kolkata Metro Rail Corporation (KMRC) has extended its East-West corridor, which would span the Hooghly River for around 500 m, to incorporate twin tunnels.

 

The underwater metro train is one-of-its-kind and is being compared to the Eurostar, which connects London and Paris. If estimates are to go by, the train will be travelling at a depth equivalent to a 10-storey structure while submerged.

Twin tunnels have been built of 1.4 m wide concrete rings, which will make up the underwater portion of the metro train. Further, to prevent water from entering the tunnels, they have been equipped with hydrophilic gaskets.

 

According to the reports, the project has been completed at a cost of roughly INR 8600 crore, and will likely become operational by March 2023.

 

Howrah metro station will be 33m deep and will be the deepest in the nation. Currently, the Hauz Khas in the Delhi Metro is currently the deepest, with a depth of 29 m. Additionally, the tunnel will have exits for emergencies like earthquakes.

August 10 is the day we celebrate the king of the jungle in the form of World Lion Day. The day aims to spread awareness of lions and the urgent need to strive toward their conservation. Lions are silently in danger of going extinct worldwide. But this wasn’t always a worry. Lions supposedly wandered amiably through Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East some three million years ago.

 

Lion Population in Indian : The population of Asiatic lions has steadily increased in Gujarat’s Gir forest and the larger Saurashtra protected area after experiencing a long period of decline. Between 2015 and 2020, their population increased from 523 to 674. The much larger African lions are a distant relative of the Asiatic lions of India.

 

History : In 2013, the first World Lion Day was observed. Dereck and Beverly Joubert, from the Big Cat Initiative and National Geographic, founded it. Their objective was to safeguard lions in their natural environment. Additionally, they aimed to collaborate on safety measures with localities that are close to wild cats.

 

Significance : The purpose of World Lion Day, as previously indicated, is to increase public awareness of the significance of lion conservation. Lions are designated as a vulnerable species on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). According to NewsOnAIR, there are currently between 30,000 and 100,000 lions left in the world. To ensure the safety of lions, it is crucial to increase public awareness of the threats they face, protect their natural habitat, and build more of these kinds of habitats..

Source : News18

World Biofuel Day is commemorated on 10th August every year to raise awareness about the use of non-fossil fuel as an alternative to conventional fossil fuel. Any fuel that is derived from the biomass, like plants, agricultural wastes, crops, algae, or animal wastes, is known as biofuel.

During this day, the government and private organisations come together to spread awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as a different source of energy. There are plenty of reasons why biofuels should be used instead of fossil fuels. And one of the top reasons is that it can help in the reduction of carbon emission.

Types : Bioethanol, biodiesel, and biogas are the three types of biofuels used in India. Bioethanol is made from sugar and starch-heavy crops and surplus agricultural waste and biomass. Biodiesel is produced from various types of vegetable oil and biomass wastes from agricultural farms and forests. Biogas is produced via anaerobic digestion of biomass wastes and animal wastes.

 

World Biofuel Day History : August 10 was chosen as World Biofuel Day since it was on this date in 1893 that German inventor "Sir Rudolf Diesel" successfully ran his diesel engine on peanut oil. As the name suggests, he was the one who invented the diesel engine. And he was the first one to predict the use of vegetable oils as an alternative to fossil fuel with an experiment.

 

He was the first one to run a mechanical engine with peanut oil. To mark this marvelous experiment, World Biofuel Day is celebrated.

 

Significance : Biofuels are the key to reducing our dependence on crude oil and it ensures a cleaner environment. It leads to the generation of more employment for rural people.

 

It also helps in the reduction of carbon emission. The burning of fossil fuels leads to carbon emission, and this is very harmful for our air and environment.

 

The rising air pollution and carbon emission due to the burning of fossil fuels has turned metro cities like Delhi into toxic gas chambers. Even if someone doesn’t smoke, his/her lungs can turn into the lungs of a smoker if he/she is continuously exposed to such toxic gases.

 

The fact that everyone needs to think about the environment and also their health, biofuel is the need of the hour. If used as an alternative to fossil fuel, it can drastically reduce the release of harmful gases, like carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxides.

 

Theme : The theme of World Biofuel Day for the year 2022 hasn’t been announced yet. The theme for the previous year 2021 was “the promotion of biofuels for a better environment”..

Source : First Post

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister "Yogi Adityanath" will launch 'Radio Jaighosh' on Tuesday(9th Aug 2022) to mark the anniversary of "Kakori Train Action" as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

 

The state's Department of Culture is launching the community radio channel to promote folk art, performing art, regional delicacies of Uttar Pradesh and gallantry award winners.

 

Radio Jaighosh will be available at 107.8 MHz and will broadcast programmes from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily from the newly renovated studio of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in Lucknow.

 

 

The Department's Principal Secretary, Mukesh Meshram said : "There are a lot of radio stations in India, but we are bringing a radio station that will promote Indian arts and culture, especially of Uttar Pradesh. 

 

With the fast-paced lives, the folk tales and folk lore are not getting transferred to the youth. This initiative will connect youth and children with our ethos, customs and values..

Source : Business Standard

New Delhi hosted ITU’s Regional Standardization Forum where Devusinh Chauhan, Minister of State for communications delivered a speech at the opening ceremony of the International Telecommunication Union’s Regional Standardization Forum for Asia and Oceania.

According to Devusinh Chauhan, the nation’s telecommunications network is the second largest in the world and offers the best prices.

 

* According to RSF, the market-friendly policies of the Union Government were responsible for the nation’s telecommunications network growth.

* Chauhan emphasised that the three pillars of Ease of Doing Business, Ease of Living, and Aatmanirbhar Bharat constitute the foundation of India’s telecommunications policy, which was developed under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s direction.

* The Minister claimed that the industry’s vote of confidence in the government’s initiatives was reflected in the outcome of the 5G spectrum auction.

* In order to solve the digital divide, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has established a clear roadmap.

* The country’s six lakh villages will all receive optical fibres as well as 4G mobile coverage as part of this project.

* Over 1 lakh 750 000 villages already have access to optical fibre, and approximately 5 lakh 60 000 villages have 4G mobile capabilities.

* By 2025, all 600,000 villages will have access to mobile and optical fibre connectivity, according to a multibillion-dollar comprehensive plan.

* A panel discussion will be held with the goal of elucidating the policy and regulatory perspectives of the Asia and Oceania Region under a number of sub-themes.

* Encourage a positive dialogue about ideas

* Discuss the role of ITU standards and standardisation issues in various technology industries.

* Utilize Technology to Promote Financial & Digital Inclusion in Emerging Markets

* to advance the digital health and data value chain.

* ITU was established on May 17, 1865, and it is a specialised agency of the UN.

* It is in charge of everything involving information and communication technologies. The “International Telegraph Union” was its original name.

* It was given its present name in 1934. The oldest UN agency is this one.

* The organisation seeks to assist in tying up international radio and telegraphic networks. Its headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland.

* Over 900 business, international, and regional organisations, as well as academic institutions, are among its 193 member nations.

Source : PIB

Maharashtra Governor "Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari" inaugurated the 22nd ‘Bharat Rang Mahotsav’ at Rabindra Natya Mandir in Mumbai (9th Aug 2022). The five-day drama festival (being held from August 9 to August 13, 2022) is being jointly organised by the Union Ministry of Culture and P.L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Akademi in the city to pay tribute to our freedom fighters. 

 

Veteran actress Rohini Hattangadi, Producer Director Satish Kaushik and Vani Tripathi Tikku also graced the inauguration ceremony in Mumbai (9th Aug 2022).  The Director of National School of Drama (NSD), Professor Ramesh Chandra Goud presided over the programme. 

 

National School of Drama under Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav is organizing “Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav, 2022 (Azadi Segment)” to pay tributes to our freedom fighters. As part of the 22nd Bharat Rang Mahotsav, 2022 (Azadi Segment), 30 plays will be showcased in Delhi, Bhubaneshwar, Varanasi, Amritsar, Bengaluru and Mumbai from 16th July to 14th August, 2022.

 

The scheme has now been implemented all over the country with Assam being the latest state to join the initiative in June 2022. The One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC), which was launched as a pilot project on August 9, 2019 in four states, has completed three years.

 

Premlata, who was at the fair price shop in Bhagat Singh market here in Gole Market in the national capital, said she no longer has to travel all the way to her village to get the subsidised food grains or forego her right.

 

"Ration lene ke liye, kiraya laga kar gaon nahi jaana padta hai. (We do not need to spent money to go to our hometown to get our rations)," she said. Premlata, along with her husband and two children, moved to the national capital two years ago from Khajni tehsil in Gorakhpur.

 

The technology-driven ONORC scheme is being implemented by the Centre for the nation-wide portability of ration cards under the NFSA(National Food Security Act,2013).

 

This system allows all NFSA beneficiaries, particularly the migrant beneficiaries, to claim either full or part of their entitled food grains from any Fair Price Shop (FPS) in the country through an existing ration card with biometric/Aadhaar authentication in a seamless manner.

 

The system also allows their family members back home, if any, to claim the balance food grains on the same ration card.

 

At present, on an average about 3 crore portability transactions per month are being recorded under the scheme. Since inception in August 2019, about 77.88 crore portable transactions have taken place under the scheme. Under the NFSA, the Centre is providing 5 kilograms of food grains per person every month to nearly 80 crore eligible beneficiaries at a highly subsidised rate of Rs 2-3 per kilogram.

 

To provide relief to poor, the Centre is also providing an additional 5 kilograms of food grains per person each month ‘free of cost’ to 80 crore people..

Source : Economic Times