1. 3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction held in New Delhi

• About 140 delegates from Japan and India attended the 3rd Indo-Japan Workshop on Disaster Risk Reduction held in Delhi.
• The 3rd workshop was organised with an objective of enhancing collaboration between research institutes, cities and the private sector in the field of Disaster Risk Reduction.
• This emphasised on the collaboration between India and Japan should be strengthened in the areas of Early Warning Systems, build-back-better, capacity development, Science & Technology application and institution strengthening.

2. Indian Army Holds Military Exercise With 17 African Nations

• The Indian Army began a 10-day military exercise with armed forces of 17 African nations at Aundh in Maharashtra, reflecting the growing strategic ties between India and the Africa continent.
• The inaugural ceremony of the exercise held at the Aundh military station was attended by defence attaches and other senior officials of the participating nations.
• The countries participating in the inaugural edition of the Africa-India Field Training Exercise (AFINDEX) include Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Benin.

3. SBI launches cardless ATM withdrawal with YONO Cash

• India’s largest bank State Bank of India (SBI)announced the launch of YONO Cash using which customers can withdraw money from ATMs without using a card.
• SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar said the new initiative will address concerns over using debit cards at ATMs for cash withdrawals by eliminating the possible associated risks.
• SBI customers can initiate the cash withdrawal process on the YONO app and set a six-digit pin for the transaction.

4. Pinaki Chandra Ghose set to be India’s first Lokpal

• Former Supreme Court judge and current member of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), Pinaki Chandra Ghose, is likely to be India’s first Lokpal.
• Other members of the committee are Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi, Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and eminent jurist Mukul Rohatgi.
• Mr. Ghose was appointed as judge of the Calcutta High Court in 1997 and went on to become Chief Justice of Andhra Pradesh before his elevation to the Supreme Court in 2013.

5. Pramod Sawant sworn in as Goa Chief Minister

• Pramod Sawant (45), former Speaker of Goa legislative Assembly and MLA from Sankhelim in North Goa was sworn-in as 11th Chief Minister of Goa, succeeding Manohar Parrikar
• He was given the oath of office and secrecy at Raj Bhavan near here by Goa Governor Mridula Sinha.
• Along with the Chief Minister, Sudin alias Ramkrishna Dhavlikar of Maharashtrawadi Gomantak Party (MGP) and Vijai Sardesai of Goa Forward Party were sworn in as Deputy Chief Ministers.

6. Mukesh Ambani became the world’s richest sports team owner

• Ambani- the 13th richest person on earth is also the richest sports team owner according to Forbes’ The World’s Richest Sports Team Owners 2019 list.
• Ambani’s fortune jumped from $40.1 billion in 2018 to $50 billion in 2019 as he climbed up six spots, from 19th to 13th on the Forbes World’s Billionaire list.
• The top 20 owners in the list of richest sports team owners comprise of 13 rising fortunes, two static and five decliners.

7. India & Afghanistan Signed an MOU On Digital Education Initiatives

• The Ministry of Human Resource Development has signed a memorandum of understanding(MoU) with the Afghanistan government to work on digital education initiatives.
• This MOU include many prominent programs developed by Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs).
• Afghanistan President: Ashraf Ghani