RAJASTHAN
- World Bank to provide $250 million loan to state for improving power distribution
- The World Bank will provide a $250 million loan facility to Rajasthan for improving the performance of its electricity distribution sector.
- The Second Programmatic Electricity Distribution Reform Development Policy Loan for Rajasthan is the second in the series of two operations planned for a comprehensive turnaround of Rajasthan’s electricity distribution sector.
- The first loan closed in March 2017. Electricity distribution utilities (DISCOMS) in Rajasthan provide electricity to about 9.5 million customers.
- The key areas that the programme will support include, strengthening governance in the distribution sector by establishing annual performance Mous between the DISCOMS and the State Government.
- This operation will deepen the institutional and operational reforms that were launched in late 2015 centered around the Government of India’s (Gois) Ujwal DISCOM Assurance Yojna (UDAY), which Rajasthan joined in 2016 and the Rajasthan State Electricity Distribution Management Responsibility (RSEDMR) Act.
- To address the concerns of affordability and access to electricity for the poor, the program also supports the Government of India’s Domestic Efficient Lighting Program (DELP), under which more than 15 million LED lamps have been distributed in the state.
INTERNATIONAL
· EU-India joined hands to develop new Influenza vaccine
- EU – India committed EUR 15 million each to fund for this cause through the “Horizon 2020”
- Indian government and the European Union (EU)partnered for Rs. 240 crore research programme to develop a Next Generation Influenza Vaccine to protect people throughout the world.
- The European Union (EU) is a political and economic union of 28 member states that are located primarily in Europe.
· Google launches ‘Navlekha’ for Indian language publishers
- At the fourth ‘Google for India’ event, Google has unveiled Project Navlekhā to help Indian language publishers take their content online.
- Navlekhā is a word derived from Sanskrit meaning ‘a new way to write.’
- The new platform will allow 1.35 lakh Indian publishers to digitise their offline content by creating instant web pages using scanned documents or PDFs.
· Scientists create nano medical robot and sets Guinness World Record
- The scientists have developed the smallest medical robotand set a new Guinness World Record. The device, which is of 120 nanometres in size, can interact with biological cells. These nanocomposite particles can assist to treat cancer and Alzheimer’s in the future and one day it might lead to huge medical advancements. The nanocomposites are made of two different types of multifunctional oxide materials in a “core and shell” configuration.
- The core is magnetic and changes shape in response to magnetic fields. The ferroelectric shell converts pressure into electric potentials. The magneto-elasto-electric coupled effect in the nanocomposites acts as arms and legs that move the nanoparticle around to interact with targeted biological cells.
NATIONAL
- National Sports Day: 29 August
- The National Sports Day in India is celebrated on 29 August each year.
- This day marks the birthday of Dhyan Chand Singh, the hockey player who won gold medals in Olympics for 512">
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