Bhutan king Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck meets PM Modi

• India and Bhutan share a unique and time-tested bilateral relationship, characterized by utmost trust, goodwill, and mutual understanding.
• The special relationship has been sustained by a tradition of regular high-level visits and dialogues between the two countries.
• India is Bhutan''s largest trading partner. In 2018, total bilateral trade between the two countries stood at over 9000 crore rupees.

India launches joint whitepaper on ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’ with Denmark at World Water Congress and Exhibition 2022 in Copenhagen

• India has launched a joint whitepaper on ‘Urban Wastewater Scenario in India’ with Denmark at World Water Congress and Exhibition 2022 in Copenhagen.
• Shekhawat said that India has committed investments of more than 140 Billion dollars by 2024 in the water sector. The minister informed, with the help of community-centric approach, at least 10 percent of the funds are contributed by community in every program ensuring community ownership and participation.
• The whitepaper aims at holistically capturing the current status of wastewater treatment in India and potential pathways for future treatment structures, co-creation, and collaborations.
• This whitepaper is a result of the Indo-Danish Bilateral Green Strategic Partnership, which is focused on green hydrogen, renewable energy, and wastewater management.

India, France agree to expand cooperation on Indo-Pacific body

• Indo-Pacific trilateral development cooperation would facilitate development projects, especially in the framework of the International Solar Alliance.
• The Indo-Pacific trilateral would also provide a platform for Indian innovations and startups to demonstrate their relevance to the requirements of other societies.
• International Solar Alliance now has formed projects in three countries which shows the impact that India and France make together in Bhutan, Papua New Guinea and Senegal.
• The Minister added that India and France are launching a scheme for the exchange of young professionals in the age group of 18 to 35 years as a follow-up to the migration and mobility partnerships.

Union Cabinet approves signing of guarantees for hosting FIFA Under-17 Women’s World Cup 2022

• FIFA U-17 Women''s World Cup 2022 is scheduled to be held in India between 11th and 30th October 2022.
• The seventh edition of the biennial youth tournament will be the first-ever FIFA women''s competition to be hosted by India.
• The FIFA U-17 Women''s World Cup is the world championship for female players under or upto the age of 17, organized by FIFA. The event started in 2008 and is traditionally held in even-numbered years.
• The 6th edition of the event was held in Uruguay from 13th November to 1st December, 2018. Spain is the current champion of FIFA Under-17 Women''s World Cup.
• FIFA U-17 Women''s World Cup India 2022 will be the 7th edition of the tournament in which 16 teams, including India, will participate.

PM Modi greets the nation on the occasion of Engineers Day.

• Every year India celebrates National Engineer’s day on September 15 to recognise and honour the achievements of the great engineer Mokshagundam Visvesvaraya.
• Along with India, Visvesvaraya’s great works are also celebrated in Sri Lanka and Tanzania on September 15 as Engineer’s day.
• Popularly known as Sir MV, he undertook several complex projects and delivered remarkable infrastructural results during his engineering career.
• He patented and installed an irrigation system with water floodgates at the Khadakvasla reservoir near Pune to raise the food supply level and storage to the highest levels known as ‘block system’ in 1903.
• The irrigation system was later installed at Gwalior’s Tigra Dam and Mysuru’s Krishnaraja Sagara (KRS) dam, the latter of which created one of the largest reservoirs in Asia at the time.

Union Cabinet approves inclusion of tribes of five States in ST category

• Among the states whose tribes have been included in the list are Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Uttar Pradesh.
• The Hattee community of Himachal Pradesh’s Sirmaur district was granted the status of ST in the latest decision by the Cabinet.
• The Cabinet approved the proposal of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for the inclusion of ‘Gonds’ along with its five sub-castes in the Bhadohi (earlier Sant Ravidas Nagar) District of the State of Uttar Pradesh in the Scheduled Tribes list of Uttar Pradesh.
• It also approved the proposal of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs for the inclusion of ‘Narikoravan along with the Kurivikkaran’ community in respect of the State of Tamil Nadu through the introduction of a Bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
• The Cabinet also approved the proposal for the inclusion of the ‘Betta-Kuruba’ community as a synonym of ‘Kadu Kuruba’ in respect of the State of Karnataka through the introduction of a Bill in Parliament to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.
• As many as 12 caste communities of Chhattisgarh were included in the Scheduled Tribes.

ECI launches BLO e-Patrika

• The Election Commission of India released a new digital publication ‘BLO e-Patrika’ at an interactive session held with BLOs spread across the States in India. This event was a first-of-its-kind direct interaction by the Commission with the BLOs across the country.
• BLOs are the direct link of the Commission with the people. BLOs are the primary source of information for every voter across the length and breadth of the country.
• The intent behind introducing BLO E-Patrika is to ensure a cascading information model for a better informed and motivated Booth Level Officer.
• The themes of the bimonthly e-Patrika will include subjects like EVM-VVPAT training, IT applications, Special Summary Revision, Minimum SVEEP Activities at polling booths, Postal Ballot facility, accessible elections, Electoral Literacy Clubs, unique voter awareness initiatives and National Voters’ Day.

Union Minister Jitendra Singh launches Swachhata Portal for Special Campaign 2.0

• Developed by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) in the Union Ministry of Personnel, the Portal- www.pgportal.govlin/scdpm22 is dedicated to Swachhata and reducing pendency of work in Government offices.
• Dr Jitendra Singh informed that during the first phase of Special Campaign in October, 2021, about 12 lakh sq. ft. of space was freed up in offices for productive use and Rs.62 Crore earned from disposal of scrap.
• The Special Campaign 2.0 will focus more on field/outstation offices in addition to the Ministries/ Departments and their attached/subordinate offices and the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) will oversee implementation of the Special campaign 2.0.

The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) inks historic MOU with NTPC and REC for development of sports in India

• The National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) was established in 1998 under the Charitable Endowments Act 1890 and was notified by the Government of India in November, 1998.
• The purpose of the fund is to impart momentum and flexibility to assisting the cause of sports in India.
• It helps sportspersons excel by providing them with varied opportunities to train under coaches of international repute, provide financial assistance for development of infrastructure and other activities for promotion of sports.

NITI Aayog Celebrates One-Year Anniversary of Shoonya Campaign

• Shoonya is a consumer awareness campaign to reduce air pollution by promoting the use of electric vehicles (EVs) for ride-hailing and deliveries.
• The campaign has 130 industry partners, including ride-hailing, delivery and EV companies.
• The National Programme on Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) Energy Storage (Part III) report was also launched during the event.
• The report highlights that India’s $2.5-billion Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) energy storage is critical for meeting the projected cumulative battery demand of 106–260 GWh by 2030 to successfully realize the country’s vision for EV adoption and grid decarbonisation. Read the report here.