Today's Current Affairs 4th August 2023

NATIONAL

Festival of Libraries 2023" to be Inagurated by the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu at Pragati Maidan, New Delhi

• The Ministry of Culture is organizing a unique “Festival of Libraries 2023”, held on the 5th - 6th August 2023 at Hall No. 5 Pragati Maidan, New Delhi. President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu will inaugurate the Two-day festival. Vice President of India, Sh. Jagdeep Dhankhar will grace the Valedictory Ceremony of the event. The festival will also highlight iconic libraries from across the world in order to initiate a conversation on the modernization and digitization of libraries in India.
• This festival is a part of the second phase of the 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav' and is in line with the Prime Minister's vision to foster the development and digitization of libraries and cultivate a culture of reading in India. It aims to facilitate the formulation of action-oriented policies for the development of Model Libraries in India, right down to the village and community levels.

Steel Minister unveils new logo of NMDC

• In a special event in New Delhi, Jyotiraditya Scidia, the Union Minister of Steel and Civil Aviation, revealed the new logo of NMDC. The launch of new logo is a big step for NMDC, showing its commitment to responsible mining and global standards.
• he new logo represents past achievements, present commitment and future aspirations of NMDC. It represents the scale and strength of the company’s future, driven by innovation and sustainability.
• The new logo unveiled by Union Minister of Steel and Civil Aviation, signifies the company’s future scale and strength after achieving a record production of 40 million tonnes for two consecutive fiscals. The new logo signifies the NMDC’s journey of transformation and advancement.

OBITURY

Noted Marathi poet Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor, Passes away at 81

• Noted Marathi poet and lyricist Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor, popularly known as Na Dho Mahanor, died at a hospital in Maharashtra’s Pune on Thursday morning, He was 81.
• Mahanor was undergoing treatment at Ruby Hospital in Pune and was on life support systems for the last few days, his grandson Shashikant Manohar said.Mahanor was best known for his poems and lyrics for Marathi movies.
• Born in 1942, Namdeo Dhondo Mahanor was awarded Padma Shri in 1991.He had also been a member of the state legislative council.
• Mahanor penned several popular poems and songs, including ‘Jagala Prem Arpave’, ‘Ganga Wahu De Nirmal’ and ‘Divelaganichi Vel’, and also wrote songs for Marathi movies like ‘Ek Hota Vidushak’, ‘Jait Re Jait’, ‘Sarja’ and others.He is survived by two sons and three daughters.

 APPOINTMENS & RESIGNATIONS

Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba gets another one-year-extension

• Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba was given one-year extension, beyond August 30, 2023, in service by the government, according to a Personnel Ministry order. This is his third extension on the post.
• Gauba, a former Union home secretary, was in 2019 appointed to the country's top bureaucratic post for two years. He was given one-year extension in 2021 and then in August last year.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the extension in service to Gauba, a 1982-batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Jharkhand cadre, for a further period of one year beyond 30.08.2023, in relaxation of the All India Services (Death-cum-Retirement Benefits) Rules, 1958, and and Rule 56(d) of the Fundamental Rules, it said.

IMPORTANT DAYS

Ninth edition of Malabar River Festival opens in Kerala

• In Kerala, the ninth edition of the Malabar River Festival opens at Thusharagiri in Kozhikode this morning August 4 . The three-day event, organised by the Kerala Adventure Tourism Promotion Society and the Kozhikode District Tourism Promotion Council will be held at Iruvanjhipuzha and Chalipuzha rivers at Thusharagiri.
• Besides Indian Kayakers, paddlers from ten countries including the US, UK, Israel, Kazakhstan and South Africa are participating in the event. The competition will be held in Kayak Slalom, Boardercross and Down River events. The National Whitewater Kayaking Championship will also be held as part of the Malabar River Festival this year.

BANKING AND ECONOMY

Axis Bank partners with Kiwi to bolster ‘Credit on UPI’ accessibility on RuPay credit cards

• Axis Bank, one of the largest private sector banks in India partners with Kiwi, the revolutionary credit on UPI platform to bolster ‘Credit on UPI’ accessibility on RuPay credit cards.
• The partnership enables Kiwi users to seamlessly access the RuPay lifetime free virtual Axis Bank KWIK credit card through the app. With its innovative features, users can make merchant payments within the Kiwi app using their credit cards via UPI, offering a virtual payment experience eliminating the need for physical cards.
• The end-to-end digital payment solution aims at enhancing the payment experience for customers. With this partnership, customers can enjoy the benefits of credit card rewards, while experiencing the convenience of UPI’s fast and secure payment.

SIDBI as part of its initiative of “India of Tomorrow”, has been collaborating with CIIE at IIM, Ahmedabad

• Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI), as part of its initiative of “India of Tomorrow”, has been collaborating with various leading Incubation Centres in the country to promote Deep Tech and science led Innovation by facilitating access to seed capital. In this regard, a formal contribution/ collaboration agreement for setting up of “SIDBI Accelerator Fund at IIMA’s CIIE.CO” with an initial corpus of `20 cr. was signed between SIDBI and CIIE.Co, IIM, Ahmedabad in the august presence of Shri S. Ramann, CMD, SIDBI on July 27, 2023. The collaboration agreement was signed by Prof Chitra Singla, IIM (Ahmedabad)-Faculty Chairperson, CIIE.Co and Sh. S. P. Singh, CGM, SIDBI. The arrangement would facilitate institutional seed investment in early stage viable and scalable ventures in future.
• The agreement is an outcome of SIDBI’s new initiative to support the India of Tomorrow by augmenting the developmental and funding ecosystem for ideation/ early-stage startups and offering equity/ equity like capital to such startups through partnership with leasing incubators. Focus shall be on supporting startups having new and meritorious ideas, innovations, and technologies important for India’s goals for 2047/ which shall help India become self-reliant as well as a dominant player in high quality/ high entry barrier products/ services. Sectors aimed to be supported include deep tech, hardware/ product startups, energy, clean tech,

NABARD sanctions Rs 1974 crore to Rajasthan government

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) has sanctioned a total amount of Rs 1,974.07 crore to the Rajasthan government under the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) for the financial year 2023-24.
• This substantial funding aims to uplift the living conditions of rural communities and drive economic growth in the region, This includes -

1 Rural Drinking Water Supply Projects

2 Improvement of Rural Roads

3 Expansion of Veterinary Healthcare Facilities

4 Micro-Irrigation Support

5.Infrastructure Development Assistance for Canals

• About: NABARD - The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) serves as the apex regulatory authority responsible for overseeing the functioning of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks across India. It operates under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India. NABARD’s core responsibilities encompass policy formulation, planning, and implementation of credit facilities for agriculture and various economic endeavors in rural regions of India.