1. Nagar Kirtan(Sikh religious procession) from Pakistan reaches India for the first time since Partition

• To mark the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev , the Sikhism founder, a Nagar Kirtan , a Sikh religious procession was taken out for 1st time after Independence from Nankana Sahib district(birthplace of Guru Nanak Dev) of Pakistan’s Punjab province entered into Attari village in Amritsar,Punjab Indian side through the Attari-Wagah land route .

Foot Notes :

• The procession which comprising around 500 Sikh devotees will halt will at Sultanpur Lodhi in Kapurthala district of Punjab after passing through various cities and towns.
• The procession carrying the holy Guru Granth Sahib ji was organized by Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee (SGPC),  an apex religious body of the Sikhs with the support from both Indian and Pakistani authorities.
• Nagar Kirtan will stop at Golden Temple of  Amritsar before it begins its onward journey.
• 2019 marks the 550th birth anniversary of Guru Nanak Dev. Government of India(GoI) will celebrate the event throughout the country and across the globe for a period of one year from November 2018 to November 2019.

About Pakistan:

1. Capital: Islamabad
2. Currency: Pakistani rupee
3. Prime minister: Imran Khan
4. President: Arif Alvi

2. 150 million workers aimed by the govt. to be enrolled under PM pension scheme

• Over the next 3 years under the pension scheme Pradhan Mantri shram Yogi Maan-dhan (PM-SYM), the union government aims to enroll 150 million workers to bring them under the social security net.
• Labour secretary, Hiralal Samariya stated that about 50-60 million workers will be from the construction sector and Agriculture workers and self-employed retailers will also be part of this pension scheme

About Pradhan Mantri Shram Yogi Maan-dhan yojana (PM-SYM)

1. The scheme was announced in the month of February 2019. It provides monthly pension of Rs.3000 by contributing to this scheme till the age of 60 years.
2. Eligibility: peopleshould work in unorganised sector with monthly income less than or equal to Rs.15000 and the entry age to enroll to this scheme is 18-40years

3. RBI granted Bank of China to offer regular banking services in India
India’s central banking institution, RBI(Reserve Bank of India) has allowed Bank of China (BoC)to provide regular bank services in India.

Foot Notes :

• Second schedule: All commercial banks including State Bank of India (SBI), HDFC(Housing Development Finance Corporation) Bank, Punjab National Bank (PNB)and ICICI Bank(Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India) are in the second schedule. Banks in this schedule have to comply with RBI regulations.
• Addition:  Jan Small Finance Bank Ltd has also been included in the second schedule. Apart from this, the name ‘Royal Bank of Scotland’ has been changed to ‘Net West Market Plc’.
• Removal: ‘National Bank of Australia’ has been removed from the bank list under the Banking Regulation Act,1949. The bank has been excluded from the second schedule.

4. India is the 7th largest economy in the world in 2018: World Bank

• The World Bank data for 2018 showed that India is the 7th largest economy in the world at $2.73 trillion.
• India’s GDP rose from $2.65 trillion in 2017 to $2.73 trillion in 2018.
• In 2017, India had emerged as the sixth largest economy.
• It still remains the fastest-growing major economy in the world.
• The growth is estimated to slow to 7% in the current fiscal year that ends in March 2020.

5. 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award won by Ravish Kumar for journalism

• India’s senior executive editor of NDTV was awarded 2019 Raman Magsaysay Award which is regarded as the Asian version of the Nobel Prize. Five other individuals were declared winners of this award along with Ravish Kumar.
• The winners will be awarded with a certificate and a medallion with the image of Ramon Magsaysay on August 31,2019

About Ramon Magsaysay award :

1. The award is named after the 3rd President of Philippine Mr. Ramon Magsaysay in memory of his leadership. Every year it is given to Asian individuals who manifest the same selfless service like the Filipino leader.
2. First awarded- 1958
3. Presented by- Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation

6. Atish Dabholkar, a theoretical physicist from India appointed as new Director of ICTP, Italy
Atish Dabholkar(56), an Indian theoretical physicist fromKolhapur, Maharashtra has been appointed as the new director of Italy based International Centre for Theoretical Physics (ICTP)  for a five year term starting in November 2019 with the rank of Assistant Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). He succeeds Fernando Quevedo, who has led the centre since 2009.

Foot Notes :

• He is currently the head of ICTP’s high energy, cosmology and astroparticle physics section.
• He was also a professor at Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (Mumbai), is well-known for his research on string theory and quantum black holes.
• He has been conferred with awards including India’s coveted ‘Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award’ (2006), a most prestigious national science prize awarded by Prime Minister, ANR(National Research Agency) Chaire d’Excellence (2007) award and National Leadership Award (2008).

About ICTP:

1. Headquarters: Trieste, Italy
2. Formation: 1964
3. Founder: Abdus Salam
4. Director: Fernando Quevedo

About Maharashtra:

1. Capital: Mumbai
2. Chief Minister: Devendra Fadnavis
3. Governor: C. Vidyasagar Rao

7. NASA’s TESS satellite discovers first nearby super Earth

• A super-Earth was discovered by an International team of astronomers led by Lisa Kaltenegger and is considered to be the first potentially habitable world outside our own solar system.
• The super Earth is named as GJ 357 d and it was discovered in NASA’s Translating Exoplanets Survey Satellite (TESS) according to new modelling research in “Astrophysical Journal Letters”.

Foot Notes :

• This super Earth ,GJ 35 70 located about 31 light years away from our solar system is more massive than earth and could contain liquid on its surface.
• This discovery of the GJ 357 system was announced in the journal “Astronomy & Astrophysics” by Astronomers of Spain.

8. Flipkart launched ‘Samarth’ initiative to support weavers, artisans and makers of handicrafts to its platform

• Anurag Thakur, Minister of State, Finance and Corporate Affairs and Kalyan Krishnamurthy, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Flipkart Group launched ‘Samarth’, an initiative of Flipkart, to support weavers, artisans and makers of handicrafts to its platform.
• It will help the community to on-board and sell the goods on the internet.
• Flipkart has tied up with 5 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) to help the artisans use online marketplace to sell the products.

About Flipkart:

1. Headquarters: Bengaluru, Karnataka
2. Founded: October 2007

9. Madhubani painting and Sujni artist Karpuri Devi passed away in the Madhubani district of Bihar

•  Madhubani painting and Sujni artist Karpuri Devi, aged 94, passed away at the Heart Hospital at Mangarauni village in Madhubani district of Bihar where she was undergoing treatment. She hailed from Ranti village of Bihar and belonged to the first generation of Mithila painting artists.Karpuri Devii. The National Award recipient contributed towards setting up of the Mithila Museum which is located in Tokamachi hills in Japan’s Niigata region.
• She was the recipient of several state awards and national merit certificate given by the Ministry of textiles, Union government.

10. West Bengal Government launched awareness campaign ‘Save Green, Stay Clean’

• The Chief Minister of West Bengal Mamata Banerjee launched an awareness campaign ‘Save Green, Stay Clean’ for preserving the greenery and keeping the environment clean in Kolkata, which will be celebrated every year. She participated in the Padayatra for this purpose.Save Green, Stay Cleani. The percentage of tree plantation increased to 19% from 11% in the past 8 years.
• State Government will also distribute more than 1 lakhs saplings throughout the state for spreading of greenery.

About West Bengal:

1. Capital: Kolkata
2. Governor: Jagdeep Dhankhar
3. National Parks: Buxa National Park, Gorumara National Park, Neora Valley National Park, Singalila National Park, Sunderban National Park, Jaldapara National Park
4. Wildlife Sanctuaries: Ballavpur WLS, Bethuadahari WLS, Bibhuti Bhusan WLS, Buxa WLS, Chapramari WLS etc