1. India and Mozambique sign MoU on cooperation in renewable energy
(i) India and Mozambique have signed Memorandum of understanding (MoU) aimed at improving cooperation in new and renewable energy, on August 6.
(ii) For Mozambique, India is an important destination for higher education and quality health care.
2. India commits to boost engagement with ASEAN
(i) At the ASEAN- India ministerial meeting held on August 5 in Kuala Lampur, India affirmed its commitment to bring more momentum to its engagement with the ASEAN, as the 10 member states agreed on new plan to push progress in areas like IT and healthcare.
(ii) “The meeting agreed on the new programme of action for the period 2016-2020 listing events and programmes to be held during that period mainly in the development side in areas like IT, healthcare with focus on malaria and diabetes, English language training centers by India, etc,” Secretary (East) Anil Wadhwa told PTI.
(iii) ASEAN is a regional bloc of 10 member countries namely, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
3. RBI permits banks to shift, merge or shut branches
(i) With a notification on its website on August 6, the RBI now allows banks to shift, merge or close all branches in urban areas without seeking its prior permission. However, permission is required in case of rural and sole semi-urban branches.
(ii) Further, banks do not have to report details of opening of new mobile branches, automated teller machines (ATMs) or call centres. Closure, merger, shifting or conversion of any of the business establishments need not be reported except to the Department of Banking Statistics of RBI.
(iii) This is the 2nd major reform in the banking sector post 2013 when RBI permitted banks to open branches in tier 1 to tier 6 cities without seeking prior permission.
4. India intensifies measures to tackle climate change
(i) On August 6, Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Environment, Forest and Climate Change Prakash Javadekar said that the government has been implementing the National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) to support domestic actions for adaptation and mitigation.
(ii) NAPCC has 8 national missions including, among others the National Solar Mission, National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency and National Mission on Sustainable Habitat, which focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the country.
(iii) Further, 27 states and the 5 UTs have prepared their respective State Action Plan on Climate Change (SAPCC) at par with the NAPCC’s objectives while considering state-specific climate change issues.
(iv) Though India has no legal binding to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNCCC), the government has voluntarily announced to reduce emission intensity of Gross Domestic Product by 20-25 percent by 2020 from the 2005 level, not counting the emissions from agriculture sector.
5. TurkmenGaz to steer TAPI gas pipeline consortium
(i) Construction of the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline has got the go-ahead and state-owned TurmenGaz will lead the multinational consortium with majority investment.
(ii) It has been planned as a peace pipeline to bring together nations that share complex relations. The Asian Development Bank is the lead partner in the pipeline project, which is expected to have a capacity of 90 million standard cubic meters per day(mscmd) gas from Turkmenistan, of which 38 mscmd is to be supplied to India.
6. Swimmer Ryan Lochte wins fourth consecutive 200m IM
(i) The 31-year-old American swimmer, Ryan Lochte made history at world swimming championships as the first man to win the 200m individual medley four times in row. It was Lochte’s 24th World Championship medal, second only to Michael Phelps’ three titles in 2003, 2005 and 2007.
(ii) Final results of the championship were: Men: 200m Individual Medley:
1. Ryan Lochte (USA) 1 minute 55.81 seconds
2. Thiago Pereira (Bra) 1:56.65
3. Wang Shun (Chn) 1:56.81
7. FIFA Ranking statistics – India ranks 156th
(i) The Indian Football team ranks 156th in the latest FIFA ranking. Argentina still holds on to the top spot.
(ii) India has come down 15 places in terms of ranking post defeat in the matches against Oman and Guam in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers.
(iii) India shares the 156th position with another Central Asian nation Kyrgyzstan.
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