Launched on September 12, 2019, the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojna (PM-KMY) has provided social security to all land-holding Small and Marginal Farmers (SMFs) nationwide.
This old-age pension scheme is a voluntary and contributory pension scheme.
Under the initiative, eligible small and marginal farmers are given a fixed monthly pension of Rs. 3,000 after attaining the age of sixty. To qualify, farmers contribute monthly to the pension fund during their working years, with matching contributions from the central government.
This landmark scheme to provide a safety net to farmers in their old age has completed five years of its implementation. Under Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojna (PM-KMY), small and marginal farmers can enroll by paying a monthly subscription to the Pension Fund. Farmers aged between 18 and 40 years need to contribute between Rs. 55 to Rs. 200 per month until they turn 60.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation, Shri Amit Shah, has been unanimously re-elected as the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language. After the formation of the new government, a committee meeting was held in New Delhi to reconstitute the Parliamentary Committee on Official Language.
During the meeting, Shri Amit Shah was elected as the Chairperson of the committee. Shri Amit Shah has also served as the Chairperson of the committee from 2019 to 2024. The Parliamentary Committee on Official Language was constituted under the provisions of Section 4 of the Official Languages Act, 1963, in the year 1976.
The committee comprises 30 members of Parliament, out of which 20 are from the Lok Sabha and 10 from the Rajya Sabha. The newly appointed MPs from the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha were also present in meeting. Officers from the Department of Official Language, led by Secretary Smt. Anshuli Arya, also attended the meeting, along with officials of the Parliamentary Committee.
India and the United Arab Emirates inked four major pacts that will facilitate crude oil storage, long-term supply of LNG and cooperation in the civil nuclear energy sector as Prime Minister Narendra Modi held wide-ranging talks with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan focusing on boosting overall strategic ties.
In their discussions, the two leaders underscored the need to explore new areas of untapped potential, particularly in nuclear energy, critical minerals, green hydrogen, artificial intelligence, and cutting-edge technologies, according to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
An agreement for the long-term supply of one million metric tonnes of LNG (liquefied natural gas) per annum to the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd by Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and another between ADNOC and India Strategic Petroleum Reserve Ltd (ISPRL) is among the four pacts.
Emirates Nuclear Energy Company (ENEC) and Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd (NPCIL) also inked a pact that is expected to enhance cooperation in the operation and maintenance of nuclear power plants, the sourcing of nuclear goods and services from India. It will also provide a framework for exploring mutual investment opportunities,
and capacity building in the civil nuclear domain. The fourth pact is the production concession agreement for Abu Dhabi onshore block-one between Urja Bharat and ADNOC.
A separate pact was inked between the Gujarat government and the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company PJSC on setting up food parks in India.
The agreement for the long-term supply of LNG for 1 million metric tonnes per annum (MMTPA) is the third such contract signed in just over a year. Both IOCL and GAIL had previously signed long-term agreements for 1.2 MMTPA and 0.5 MMTPA, respectively, with ADNOC.
The MoU between ADNOC and ISPRL provides for exploring ADNOC's participation in additional opportunities for crude storage in India and the renewal of their storage and management agreement on mutually acceptable terms and conditions.
The production concession agreement for Abu Dhabi Onshore Block One between Urja Bharat ( JV of IOCL and Bharat PetroResources Ltd) and ADNOC
is the first for any Indian company operating in the UAE.
The MoU on food parks conveys ADQ's expression of interest in developing Gundanpara in Bavla in Ahmedabad as a highly promising site for this ambitious project, with a view to commencing the project in the second quarter of 2025.
During the meeting, several strategic agreements were announced within the UAE-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), it said.
Both countries signed the CEPA in February 2022 and a Local Currency Settlement (LCS) System in July 2023 to promote the use of Indian Rupee and AED (United Arab Emirates Dirham) for cross-border transactions.
Jannik Sinner won his second Grand Slam title of 2024 when he defeated Taylor Fritz in the US Open final, shattering American hopes of a first male champion at the majors in 21 years. World number one Sinner, who won his maiden Slam at the Australian Open in January, became the first Italian man to triumph in New York with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 victory.
US Open 2024 Women's singles champion: Aryna Sabalenka, Belarusian star clinched her maiden US Open 2024 women's singles title after beating home favourite Jessica Pegula in a tough battle at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. Playing in her second consecutive final, Sabalenka won the tie against USA's Pegula in straight sets (7-5, 7-5).
US Open 2024 Men's doubles champions: Australia’s Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson won the US Open 2024 men’s doubles title after beating Germany’s Kevin Krawietz and Tim Puetz 6-4 7-6 (4) at the Arthur Ashe Stadium. With the win, Purcell and Thompson also made amends for the defeat in the Wimbledon final earlier this year.
With this win, Purcell and Thompson became the first all-Australian team to secure the men’s doubles title at Flushing Meadows since Todd Woodbridge and Mark Woodforde in 1996.
US Open 2024 Women's doubles champions: Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko and Ukraine's Lyudmyla Kichenok won the women's doubles crown at the US Open with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over the Chinese-French pairing
of Zhang Shaui and Kristina Mladenovic. The win marked the first women's Grand Slam doubles title for former French Open singles champion Ostapenko and Kichenok, who also reached the final together at this year's Australian Open.
US Open 2024 Mixed doubles champions: Italians Sara Errani and Andrea Vavassori capped a dream run to the mixed doubles title at the US Open
where the third seeds overcame home hopes Taylor Townsend and Donald Young 7-6(0), 7-5 in the championship match.
Errani and Vavassori survived a difficult path en route to becoming the third Italian duo to win a major title in mixed doubles and first since 1986. They began the tournament by fending off a match point against Robert Galloway and Shelby Rogers.
US Open attendance tops one million for first time, 8% increase
Blostem, a financial infrastructure platform, has partnered with Suryoday Small Finance Bank (SSFB), a pioneering digital bank, to transform the client experience. This agreement allows SSFB to benefit from Blostem’s expertise in quick product development and deployment, deliver novel digital fixed deposit products, and reduce customer onboarding to a single day.
This relationship demonstrates SSFB’s commitment to digital innovation and growth.
The agreement would also assist the Bank in expanding its reach through digital media. With a customer-centric approach to digital banking, the Bank strives to simplify the overall banking experience for its clients.
The bank is also noted for providing attractive fixed deposit (FD) offerings among its peers, with interest rates of up to 9.10%, various tenure options, and hassle-free withdrawals.
IFFCO Tokio General Insurance Company Limited (IFFCO Tokio) has appointed Subrata Mondal as its new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). With over 36 years of experience in the insurance industry, Mondal brings a wealth of expertise to his new leadership role. Mondal has been associated with IFFCO Tokio since 2001, most recently as Chief Underwriter.
An alumnus of IIT Kharagpur, Mondal holds a B.Tech (Hons.) in Electrical Engineering. His expertise spans commercial insurance, risk management, product development, underwriting, and reinsurance, with experience handling major corporate accounts and large-scale projects across various industries.
Union Bank of India announced its decision to become a signatory to the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials. This step aligns with the growing global emphasis on climate risk management and the recent draft guidelines issued by the Reserve Bank of India on climate risk disclosures.
PCAF is a global partnership of financial institutions working to develop and implement a harmonised approach to assess and disclose greenhouse gas emissions associated with loans and investments, Union Bank said in a statement.
By joining PCAF, Union Bank of India demonstrates its commitment to measuring and managing its financed emissions,
a crucial aspect of climate risk management for banks. Financed emissions, referred to as Scope 3 emissions, represent the indirect emissions that result from a Bank's lending and investment activities. These emissions can significantly outweigh a Bank's operational emissions and pose substantial risks to its portfolio in the face of climate change and evolving regulations.
Galaxy Health Insurance, formerly known as Galaxy Health & Allied Insurance Co Ltd, has named G. Srinivasan, a seasoned insurance industry veteran, as its Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (MD & CEO). The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has recently granted the company a licence to operate as a stand-alone health insurer.
Galaxy Health Insurance is promoted by the renowned TVS Group, led by Shri. Venu Srinivasan, in partnership with the family of Shri. V. Jagannathan, former CMD of United India Insurance Co. Ltd. and founder of Star Health & Allied Insurance Co. Ltd.
Algeria has been approved for membership in the BRICS New Development Bank (NDB), the country’s finance ministry has announced.
The decision was taken and announced by NDB chief Dilma Roussef at a meeting in Cape Town, South Africa.The bank of the BRICS group of nations -- whose name derives from the initials of founding members Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa
Aimed at offering an alternative to international financial institutions like the World Bank and IMF. Membership in the BRICS bank will offer Algeria -- Africa's leading exporter of natural gas -- "new prospects to support and strengthen its economic growth in the medium and long term.
Created in 2015, the NDB’s main mission is to mobilize resources for projects in emerging
markets and developing countries.
The NDB has expanded its membership to include Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates in 2021, and Egypt in 2023.
The Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC) has launched an online tool Daava Soochak for depositors to track their claim status. The DICGC's mandate since its inception has been the reimbursement of insured amounts to depositors of failed banks.
Daava Soochak, a user-friendly online tool, is part of DICGC's ongoing commitment to improving the services provided for depositors.
To begin with, depositors can view the status of their claims for banks placed under All Inclusive Directions (AID) post-April 01, 2024.
The corporation ensures that all categories of deposits with banks except institutional deposits.
The deposit insurance coverage limit has been enhanced six times since 1962, from Rs 1,500 per depositor held in the same right and same capacity at all the branches of the insured bank to Rs 5,00,000 on February 04, 2020.
At present, 97.8 per cent of the total deposit accounts are fully protected.
Of the remaining 2.2 percent of accounts, deposits are insured up to the limit of Rs 5 lakh.
In terms of value, 43.1 percent of the deposits were insured as of March 2024.
In the case of liquidated banks and banks under the Reserve Bank's All-Inclusive Directions (AIDs), the DICGC settled claims amounting to Rs 1,432 crore during 2023-24.
HDB Financial Services (HDBFS), a leading non-banking financial company (NBFC), has set a new industry benchmark by becoming the first to integrate the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI)’s e-KYC Setu System. This cutting-edge system, developed through a collaboration between the NPCI and the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI),
is designed to streamline the account opening process, offering customers a faster, simpler, and more secure way to access financial services.
By leveraging the e-KYC Setu system, HDBFS customers can now open loan accounts with ease, eliminating the need for uploading documents or branch visits.
The secure OTP-based journey enables customers to authenticate their identity conveniently from any location. This fully digital process not only accelerates customer onboarding but also ensures a hassle-free experience.
In commemorating the International Day of Police Cooperation on 7 September, the United Nations Inter-Agency Task Force on Policing highlights the importance of police integrity, accountability, and oversight in strengthening the rule of law, ensuring human rights-based and effective policing, and enhancing public trust towards law enforcement agencies.
This was marked for the first time in 2023.
This day recognizes the essential work of the world’s law enforcement community in global security.
Police integrity, accountability, and oversight is the theme of this year’s United Nations International Day of Police Cooperation.
Since 1967, the annual celebrations of International Literacy Day (ILD) have taken place on 8 September around the world to remind policy-makers, practitioners, and the public of the critical importance of literacy for creating a more literate, just, peaceful, and sustainable society. Literacy is a fundamental human right for all.
This year, ILD will be celebrated under the theme of "Promoting multilingual education: Literacy for mutual understanding and peace". ILD2024 will unpack issues related to literacy in multilingual contexts for achieving lasting peace and will explore possible solutions for enhancing policies, lifelong learning systems, governance, programmes, and practices.
Recognizing that Duchenne muscular dystrophy is one of the most common pediatric genetic rare diseases, the General Assembly decided to designate 7 September, the current World Duchenne Awareness Day, as a United Nations Day, to be observed every year beginning in 2024.
The WDAD 2024 theme is ‘Raise your voice for Duchenne’.
Three Uttar Pradesh cities were listed among the top performers in the recent Swachh Vayu Survekshan, an initiative by the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change, the results of which were published recently.
While Firozabad and Rae Bareli were ranked first in Categories II and III (cities with population between 3 and 10 lakh, and below 10 lakh, respectively),
Agra secured third spot in Category 1 (cities with a population of over 10 lakh) for its efforts in mitigating air pollution. The city’s initiatives, including advanced pollution control technologies, extensive plantation drives, and stringent vehicular emission regulations, have been key factors in achieving this rank.
The evaluation of 131 cities’ self-assessment reports for the fiscal year 2023-24 was carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), in line with the guidelines issued on August 10, 2022. The winners would be officially honoured on the Swachh Vayu Diwas on September 7 in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) is organized by the International Association for Suicide Prevention (IASP). WHO has been a co-sponsor of the day. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness around the globe that suicide can be prevented.
WSPD was first conducted in the year 2003.
India introduced its first National Suicide Prevention Strategy in the year 2022 on the WHO’s model. Other programs in India are the Mental Healthcare Act of 2017 and the Tele MANAS mental health line.
World Suicide Prevention Day (WSPD) aims to highlight the importance of addressing suicide as a significant public health issue.
To highlight the urgent need to protect education from attack, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 74/275 on May 28, 2020, establishing September 9 as the International Day to Protect Education from Attack. This Resolution designates UNESCO and UNICEF as co-facilitators of the annual observance, providing an opportunity to raise awareness and encourage stakeholders,
to prioritize the protection of education and the provision of support for students, teachers, other education personnel, and education communities in conflict zones.
