The International Day of Charity was established with the objective of sensitizing and mobilizing people, NGOs, and stakeholders all around the world to help others through volunteer and philanthropic activities. The date of 5 Sep was chosen in order to commemorate the anniversary of the passing away of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979.
Mother Teresa, the renowned nun and missionary, was born Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu in 1910. In 1928 she went to India, where she devoted herself to helping the destitute. In 1948 she became an Indian citizen and founded the order of Missionaries of Charity in Kolkota (Calcutta) in 1950, which became noted for its work among the poor and the dying in that city.
The General Assembly of the United Nations in its resolution A/RES/67/105 designated the 5th of September, the anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa, as the International Day of Charity.
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India has asked insurance companies to enable their IT systems to interact with Digilocker, allowing policyholders to use the service effectively. According to the circular, both life and general insurers are mandated to provide an essential summary of important information at different stages of the insurance contract.
In its Master Circular on Protection of Policyholders’ Interests under the Irdai (Protection of Policyholders’ Interests, Operations, and Allied Matters of Insurers) Regulations, 2024, replacing 30 circulars, the regulator consolidated policyholder entitlements into a single reference document and emphasised measures towards providing a seamless, faster,
and hassle-free claims settlement experience to a policyholder and enhance service standards to foster a climate of trust and transparency within the insurance sector. This includes guidance for prospects, policyholders, and customers prior to sale, at the proposal stage, upon receiving policy documents, during the policy’s term.
Insurers have to provide a customer information sheet (CIS) for all insurance segments, outlining key policy features, benefits, and exclusions. The proposal form and CIS must be made available in regional languages upon the customer’s request. Both life and general insurers will give policyholders a 30-day free look period to review the terms and conditions of the policy.
French President Emmanuel Macron appointed Michel Barnier, the European Union’s former Brexit negotiator, as his new prime minister, in a bid to put an end to political paralysis following an inconclusive snap election. At 73, Barnier is the oldest prime minister in France’s modern political history, taking over from Gabriel Attal, who was the youngest.
India has surpassed China to become the top weight nation in the MSCI Emerging Market (EM) Investable Market Index (IMI) for the first time. Indian equities together carry a weighting of 22.27 per cent in the index, edging ahead of Chinese stocks, whose combined weight now has fallen to 21.58 per cent.
This shift comes despite China’s market capitalisation of $8.14 trillion being over 60 per cent greater than India’s $5.03 trillion, according to Bloomberg data. Last week, MSCI added seven Indian stocks to its standard index while cutting 60 Chinese names, driving China’s weighting in the EM index below 24 per cent and pushing that of India above 20% for the first time.
Among Indian companies, Reliance Industries holds a 1.22 per cent weighting in the MSCI EM IMI, followed by Infosys at 0.86 per cent and ICICI Bank at 0.85 per cent. On a broader scale, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), with an 8.09 per cent weighting, Chinese technology conglomerate Tencent at 3.6 per cent are the top two constituents of the index.
The first legally binding international AI treaty will be open for signing on 5th Sep by the countries that negotiated it, including European Union members, the United States and Britain, the Council of Europe human rights organisation said.
The AI Convention, which has been in the works for years and was adopted in May after discussions between 57 countries, addresses the risks AI may pose, while promoting responsible innovation. The AI Convention mainly focuses on the protection of human rights of people affected by AI systems and is separate from the EU AI Act, which entered into force last month.
The Council of Europe, founded in 1949, is an international organization distinct from the EU with a mandate to safeguard human rights; 46 countries are members, including all the 27 EU member states. An ad hoc committee in 2019 started examining the feasibility of an AI framework convention and a Committee on Artificial Intelligence was formed in 2022 which drafted and neg
The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has introduced new regulations that change how premiums are collected for both life and health insurance policies, particularly those requiring medical examinations.
Under the new rules, insurers are no longer allowed to collect the initial premium along with the proposal form unless the policy can be issued immediately based on a declaration of good health. This change aims to prevent idle customer money and ensure transparency in the insurance process.
Alternative credit provider BlackSoil Capital and impact investment lender Caspian Impact Investments (Debt) have received unanimous approval from their respective Boards of Directors to merge through a share swap. Post merger, BlackSoil boasts an AUM of over ₹2,000 crore and the merged company will be positioned to capitalise on growth opportunities.
The merger will expand the client base, enhancing market presence and competitive edge. The combined disbursements of both companies stand at over ₹10,000 crore across 450 companies. Post merger, BlackSoil will have a geographical footprint across major metro cities like Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi, and Bengaluru.
5th Defence Cooperation Dialogue between India and the Maldives took place in New Delhi on September 06, 2024. The Indian delegation was led by Defence Secretary Shri Giridhar Aramane, while the Maldivian delegation was headed by Chief of Defence Force, Maldives National Defence Force General lbrahim Hilmy.
The two sides also deliberated on few other areas of common interest such as high-level exchanges and capability development projects. The aspects of participation in forthcoming bilateral military exercise were also discussed.
The Ministry of Panchayati Raj and UNICEF India signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to collaborate on strengthening systems and engaging communities for social change. This partnership aims to set up and institutionalize mechanisms for effective communication between the Ministry, Elected Representatives & Field Functionaries of Panchayati Raj Institutions and Rural Communities
The collaboration will help accelerate progress on localized Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by enabling better communication with citizens, particularly women and children and improving the delivery of services to rural citizens.
Indian Coast Guard (ICG) participated in the 20th Heads of Asian Coast Guard Agencies Meeting (HACGAM) from September 03 to 04, 2024 at Incheon, South Korea. During the meeting, various issues of significance, such as maritime law enforcement, safety and security of life at sea, marine environment protection, illicit trafficking of drugs, weapons & humans and
On the sidelines of the HACGAM, the 12th annual bilateral meeting between ICG and the Korea Coast Guard was also held on Sep 04, 2024, under the provisions of the MoU signed between the two agencies in March 2006. HACGAM primarily focuses on fostering cooperation between the Coast Guards of the member Asian states to ensure and promote safe, secure & clean seas in theregion
ICG is the chair of Search and Rescue Working Group and a proactive member of the other Working Groups which include Environmental Protection, Controlling Unlawful Acts at Sea and Information sharing.
In wrestling, Jyoti Berwal clinched a gold medal in the women’s 76 kg freestyle category at the U20 World Championships in Pontevedra, Spain. Jyoti defeated Ukraine’s Mariia Orlevych in the final yesterday without giving her a chance to score a single point, securing herself the title.
Indian grapplers won two more medals in the same category. Komal in 59 kg and Sristhi in 68 kg bagged bronze medals. Among the few more medal matches in the women’s freestyle category, India’s Nitika will take on Ukrainian Iryna Bondar for a gold medal bout in the 62 kg category.
At the Paris Paralympics 2024, Kapil Parmar clinched a bronze in the Para Judo Men’s J1-660 Kilogrammes event yesterday by beating Elielton de Oliveira of Brazil 10-0 via an Ippon. This is India’s first-ever Paralympic medal in Judo. President Droupadi Murmu congratulated Kapil Parmar over his historic medal.
At the Paris Paralympic Games, star athlete Praveen Kumar bagged a gold medal in the Men’s High Jump T64 final. Praveen secured the top spot on the podium with a brilliant effort of 2.08m, setting a new Area record. In a tightly contested final, Praveen made seven successful jumps in a row to claim the number one position.
Loccident Derek of the USA won the silver medal, while Giyazov Temurbek of Uzbekistan took home the bronze. With this gold, India have climbed to the 14th spot in the medal tally with a total of 26 medals, including 6 gold, 9 silver and 11 bronze.
