1. 4th edition of Internet of Things (IOT) India Congress 2019  held in Bengaluru

• The 4th edition of India’s largest confluence of digital - technology stakeholders, the Internet of Things (IOT) India Congress 2019 held in Bengaluru, Karnataka from August 22 – 23, 2019 with the theme of ‘Mainstreaming the Internet of Things.
• The 2-day Congress was organized by Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) IoT Panel with a footfall of over1600 participants and about 70 speakers from over 6 countries. It was inaugurated by Shri Ajay Prakash Sawhney, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India(GoI).
• The event focussed on 10 segments such as Energy, Healthcare, Defence, Standards and Regulatory, Retail, Digital Communication, Skills and Development, Agriculture, Manufacturing and Smart Cities.Each of the tracks included business-case led panel discussion, use cases, and a Future Tech Spotlight, where discussions on current industry problems conducted.

2. Shri Narendra Modi launches RuPay card in UAE

• Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi launched the RuPay card. The UAE the first country in the Middle East to initiate the Indian indigenous system of electronic payment. RuPay card scheme was launched in 2012 to fulfill the Reserve Bank of India’s vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments.
• RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.India launched the RuPay card in Singapore and Bhutan.
• RuPay card scheme was conceived and launched by National Payments Corporation of India . It was created to fulfil the Reserve Bank of India's vision to have a domestic, open and multilateral system of payments. RuPay facilitates electronic payment at all Indian banks and financial institutions.

3. Komalika Bari becomes recurve cadet at the World Archery Youth Championships

• India's Komalika Bari became recurve cadet world champion at the World Archery Youth Championships in Madrid, Spain. She defeated higher-ranked Sonoda Waka of Japan 7-3 in the final.
• India also won a gold in the compound junior mixed pair event and a bronze in the compound junior men's team.

4. Big Billion Startup: A book on the untold Flipkart story to release in Oct

• A new book recounting the story of how Binny Bansal and Sachin Bansal (both-former founders of Flipkart) built e-commerce giant Flipkart.
• This book is written by Mihir Dalal. The book is titled as “Big Billion Startup: The Untold Flipkart Story” and will be published by “Pan Macmillan India”. This book will be launched in October 2019.

5. 7 new species of insects that can walk on water discovered

• The journal ‘Zootaxa’ has published about 7 new species of insects that can walk or run on the surface of the water. This was discovered by scientists of the ‘Zoological Survey of India’.
• The species belongs to the genus Mesovelia ranging from 1.5 mm to 4.5 mm equipped with hydrophobic setae (bristles) on their legs and are pale green in colour with silver-white wings and black veins.
• This combination of hydrophobic setae and water surface tension prevents the insects from sinking. There are currently 12 species of genus Mesovelia found in the country.

6. 45th G7 Summit begins in Biarritz, France

• The Group of 7 or G7 Summit has begun in Biarritz, France. It is an informal meeting between France, the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Italy and Canada as well as the European Union. These world powers, which represent 50% of the global economy, also share the values of freedom and democracy, as well as a collective ambition to deal with the world’s major issues.
• India has been invited as a special guest in the summit. PM Narendra Modi will address sessions on the environment, climate, oceans and digital transformation at the G7 Summit.

7. Women’s Equality Day 2019 observed on August 26

• Women’s Equality Day is celebrated on August 26, 2019. It commemorates the passage of the 19th Amendment in the United States of America (USA) that provides equal rights to women, including the right to vote.
• It is an annual event in the US. The colour for Women’s Equality Day is purple. It was first celebrated in 1973.
• The amendment was first introduced in 1878.In 1920, the then US Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed a proclamation at his residence in Washington, ending a struggle for the right to vote and in 1971, the US Congress designated August 26 as Women’s Equality Day.

8. National Fortnight On Eye Donation 2019 is observed from August 25- September 8, 2019

• The National Eye Donation Fortnight is observed every year from August 25- September 8, 2019. It aims to create mass public awareness about the importance of eye donation and to motivate people to pledge their eyes for donation after death.National Fortnight On Eye Donation 2019.
• According to World Health Organization (WHO), corneal diseases (Damage to the tissue covering the front of eye called cornea) are among the major causes of vision loss and blindness, after cataract and glaucoma.

9. PM Modi launches a redevelopment project of the Sri Krishna temple in Bahrain

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched redevelopment project of the 200-year-old Sri Krishna temple in Manama, Bahrain.
• The $4.2 million redevelopment project will be on a piece of land measuring 16,500 square feet. The new 4-floor structure covering will cover 45,000 square feet, will have an overall height of 30 meters.

10. Blue Waves At Chennai Beaches bad for fishes: Marine Experts

• A beautiful Bioluminescent waves were spotted along the shore of Thiruvanmiyur, Injambakkam, Besant Nagar’s Eliot’s and Palavakkam beaches in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. According to marine experts of National Centre for Coastal Research (NCCR) of Chennai, the Noctiluca algae (unicellular organism), popularly known as sea tinkle were behind this phenomenon.
• The algae exhibits the phenomenon of bioluminescence /biologically produce light when disturbed. The light is produced by a chemical reaction in the presence of oxygen involving an enzyme called
• “luciferase”.
• Bioluminescence has been witnessed in fireflies, a few beetles and in marine creatures such as Anglerfish and copepods.Though the sight that algae produce is beautiful, this bloom is considered a bad sign for the decline of fisheries in the particular location.These algal patches are also associated with coastal pollution and runoff from agricultural areas.