Prasar Bharati + BISAG-N → To Launch 51 DTH Educational TV Channels

• Prasar Bharati, the public broadcaster of India signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Bhaskaracharya National Institute for Space Applications and Geo-Informatics (BISAG-N) of Gujarat under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) to enable 51 direct-to-home (DTH) Educational TV channels to all DD Free Dish Viewers.
• This initiative aims to enable quality educational programmes to every household including the households in rural and remote areas.
• The 51 channels comprises Swaym Prabha under the Ministry of Education (22 channels), e-Vidya for classes 1 to 12 of National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) (12 channels), Vande Gujarat owned by Government of Gujarat (16 channels) and DigiShala under MeitY (1 channel) will be available for the viewers as DD co-branded channels. These services will be available at a free of cost for 24x7 for all the viewers. This is in line with the Government of India's goal of providing education to all".
• DigiShala is an educational TV channel for digital payments on Door Darshan (DD) Free dish.
• Vande Gujarat program of the government of Gujarat is an educational and geographical television channel.
• The E-Vidya programme was launched to integrate the endeavors related to online education and to increase the multimode access to education. This programme includes initiatives like One Nation One Digital Platform, One Class One Channel Online Programmes in Universities, Swayam MOOCS courses, etc.

GIZ collaborated with NMCG for project, 'Support to Ganga Rejuvenation'

• German development agency (GIZ) has collaborated with NMCG for a project, 'Support to Ganga Rejuvenation', in which transformational learning resources are designed for the Indian schools to bring behavioral change in the school children towards conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga river.
• In this regard, Ganga Box, an innovative learning tool, was launched by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat.
• Chacha Chaudhary becomes the Brand Ambassador for Namami Gange Project
• The iconic Indian comic character, Chacha Chaudhary, whose brain works faster than a computer has been named as the brand ambassador of Namami Gange Programme.
• In this regard, Diamond Toons will conceptualize and publish this new Talking Comics' with Chacha Chaudhary spreading
• awareness on the cultural and spiritual significance of River Ganga.
• Launch of Urban River Management Plan - A joint project titled "Urban River Management Plan" between NMCG and National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs was also launched. It is a unique first of its kind strategic framework for managing urban river stretches in the Ganga River Basin.

About National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA)

• Director - Hitesh Vaidya
• Location - New Delhi

GIZ collaborated with NMCG for project, 'Support to Ganga Rejuvenation'

• Mini Ganga Quest : A pan India Mini Ganga Quest was organized by NMCG in association with Tree Craze Foundation to make youth and students aware of environmental issues and to increase public participation in Namami Gange program.
• Tree Craze Foundation is led by Bhawna Sharma.
• Ganga film festival : In order to use films as a medium to evoke critical thinking a film fest was also organized which showcased the following notable films:
• "The Miracle Water Village" directed by Rintu Thomas, and Sushmit Ghosh
• "Locals Become Geohydrologists in Rapar" directed by Usha Dewani and Nilutpal Das
• "Thirsty" by Sivanageswara Rao
• "Angioplasty Of Dreams" by Aditya Seth,
• "Water Warriors" by Nutan Manmohan
• "Revival Of AharPynes Systems" by Soumitra Dey

GIZ collaborated with NMCG for project, 'Support to Ganga Rejuvenation'

• Ganga Aerial Movie Launch - "Ganga Aerial Movie" was launched by Gajendra Singh Shekhawat which covers the journey of Ganga from the origin to the end in breath-taking aerial view. It is produced by National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).

About NMCG

• NMCG is the implementation wing of National Council for Rejuvenation, Protection and Management of River Ganga (referred as National Ganga Council). The council was set up in 2016, replacing the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRGBA).
• Director General - Rajiv Ranjan Mishra
• In 2014, Namami Gange Programme was launched with an outlay of Rs 20,000 crore to accomplish the twin objectives of effective abatement of pollution and conservation, and rejuvenation of Ganga. Its nodal body for implementation is NMCG.

The 2nd Batch of Three Rafale Fighter Jets land at Jamnagar Air Base in Gujarat

• The 2nd Batch of Three Rafale Fighter Jets landed at the Jamnagar Air Base in Gujarat. The fighter jets took off from Istres air base, France and flew continuously over eight hours covering 6852 km before landing in India.
• The fighter air jets were accompanied by French Air Force's mid-air refuelling aircraft
• With the arrival of the Three fighter jets, Indian Air Force (IAF) now has Rafale Fighter jets.
• The Second batch will be stationed at Hasimara Air Force Station, West Bengal.
• IAF is expecting three to four Rafale jets to be delivered every two months. The induction of all 36 Rafale jets are expected to be completed by 2023.

First Batch of Rafale

• In July 29, The First five of 36 Rafale fighter jets from France landed in Ambala in Haryana after covering a distance of nearly 8500 Kms to join the Indian Air Force (IAF).
• They were officially inducted in September at Ambala Air Base in Haryana on September 10, 2020.

Cabinet approved Rs 1810 crore Investment Proposal of 210 MW Luhri Stage-1 Hydro Power Project

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the investment of Rs 1810.56 crore for 210 MW Luhri Stage-l Hydro Electric Project located on river Satluj situated in Shimla & Kullu districts of Himachal Pradesh.
• Notably this project will reduce 6.1 lakh Tons of carbon dioxide from the environment annually and also improve the power supply.
• This project is implemented by Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL) on Build-Own-Operate Maintain (BOOM) basis with active support from Central Government and State Government.
• About Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVNL)
• Chairman & Managing Director (CMD) - Nand Lal Sharma
• HQ - Shimla, HP

Assam's Rupsi Airport to Start its Commercial Operation by January 2021

• Airports Authority of India (AAI) stated that Rupsi Airport at Kokrajhar district, Assam is ready to start commercial operation under the Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) by January 2021.
• It is Assam's 7th airport and Northeast's 14th airport.
• It is a British-era airport that was originally constructed during World War-Il to supply arms, manpower and ammunition to the Allied forces.
• The flight operations came to a halt in the 1980s.
• At an estimated cost of Rs 69 crore it has been re-developed.

NMDC Ltd & IIT-Hyderabad Launched NICE Program to Support Deep-Tech Startups

• NMDC Ltd under the Ministry of Steel, in association IIT Hyderabad launched NICE (NMDC Innovation and Incubation Centre) Program a deep technology startup support system at IIT Hyderabad.
• NICE Program is a joint initiative of NMDC and i-TIC Foundation, Technology Business Incubator (TBI) at IIT Hyderabad.
• NICE Program is a 5-year joint program to support 15 fellows and 15 startups through benefits like financial aid, mentoring support, co-working space and other infrastructures.
• The incubation period of each startup will be 2 years extendable by 6 months.
• The total budget of the program - Rs 10 crore is funded by NMDC which will be used to support 5 startups every year with a financial aid of Rs 25 lakh to convert their concept into business. The program will also support 5 fellows every year with Rs 80000 stipends for 12 months

About NMDC Ltd

• CMD Sumit Deb
• Headquarter - Hyderabad, Telangana

Political Scientist Vinay Sitapati's 2nd Book titled "Jugalbandi : The BJP Before Modi"

• Vinay Sitapati a political scientist lawyer and a journalist authored his 2nd book titled "Jugalbandi : The BJP Before Modi". The book documents about the partnership between Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani, The founding leaders of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• This portrays the creation of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Jana Sang and BJP
• United States formally exits Paris Climate Agreement to curb climate change
• USA became the first country to formally exit the Paris Climate Agreement.
• US is the second largest emitter of Greenhouse gases in the world (1st - China), accounting for a total of 25 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
• US had promised to reduce its emissions by 26 percent to 28 percent by the year 2025 from 2005 levels.
• Under the Paris pact, developed countries are under obligation to mobilize at least $100 billion every year from the year 2020 in climate finance meant for the developing world. The amount was set to be revised upwards after five years.

Paris Climate Agreement:

• In December 2015. 195 Countries adopted the Paris Climate Agreement to combat global warming and actions to intensify actions for low carbon growth at the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC in Paris, France.
• It is an agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) About United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
• Executive Secretary - Patricia Espinosa
• Headquarters - Bonn, Germany

Hashim Thaçi, President of Kosovo Stepped Down to Face Charges of War Crime

• Hashim Thaçi, President of Kosovo, resigned to face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
• Vjosa Osmani, parliamentary speaker will act as the President of Kosovo until the new leader is elected.
• About Kosovo 

• Capital Pristina
• Currency – Euro 

Priyanca Radhakrishnan becomes New Zealand's first-ever Indian-origin Minister

• Priyanca Radhakrishnan became New Zealand's first-ever Indian-origin Minister.
• Priyanca was appointed as Minister for the Community and Voluntary Sector, Minister for Diversity, Inclusion and Ethnic Communities, Minister for Youth. She was also appointed as Associate Minister for Social Development and Employment.
• About New Zealand
• Capital – Wellington
• PM - Jacinda Ardern
• Currency - New Zealand Dollar