1. NABARD accredited by UN’s Green Climate Fund as National Implementing Entity
i. National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) got accredited by the Green Climate Fund as a national implementing entity for undertaking climate change related projects in India.
ii. In 2010 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) had set Green Climate Fund (GCF) to help developing countries to finance clean energy projects other mitigation efforts and adaptation to climate change.
iii. Accordingly NABARD is the only national implementing entity in the country for undertaking climate change projects. NABARD will get funds in the form of concessional loan or in form of grant or through other modalities approved by the GCF Board.
iv. In line of this NABARD has submitted a proposal to GCF for financial support on ‘Mitigating climate change and enhancing adaption for farmers through agro-forestry project set by Haryana Government.
2. Facebook awarded $21 million to Indian app developers under FbStart initiative
i. On 11 August the social network giant Facebook doled out 21 million US dollar to Indian app developers under its FbStart initiative.
ii. With an aim to attract next billion Internet users towards social networking, last year Facebook launched FbStart an initiative to promote and help new mobile app developers around the world. The two Indian entrants Hyderabad-based Samosa and Delhi’s Cardback received the 21 billion US dollars under this initiative.
iii. The Hyderabad-based Samosa had developed an app that offers a curated collection of clips from popular movies that people can share with friends. The Delhi- based Cardback developed an app that helps cardholders and wallet users identify the best ways to pay and maximise their rewards and savings for every transaction they make.
3. India signs Financing Agreement with World Bank for NCRMP Projects
i. On 11 August 2015 Government of India and the World Bank signed the Financing Agreement for the assistance of National Cyclone Risk Mitigation Project- I & II (NCRMP- I & II) for $ 104.00 Million and $ 308.40 Million respectively.
ii. The two separate financing agreements were signed for NCRMP- I & II under a common objective for coastal states to mitigate vulnerability to the cyclone and hazards prone coastal communities. NCRMP-I covers States of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha. NCRMP-II covers States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, and West Bengal.
iii. The agreement for the project with respect to these state were signed by the representatives of the respective State Governments.
iv. It proposes to reduce vulnerability to cyclone and other hydro-meteorological hazards of coastal communities in the respective States through; Establishing Early Warning Dissemination System (EWDS) and Capacity building for coastal communities.
v. Establishing Cyclone Risk Mitigation Infrastructure and early warning systems benefitting coastal communities in the target states. Financing technical assistance for strengthening of multi-hazard risk management at the national level.
4. Libya chaos deepens as PM resigns
i. The future of Libya's internationally recognised government was uncertain Wednesday after Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani said he would resign, as fraught peace talks were set to enter a second day.
ii. It was unclear whether Thani planned to follow through on his resignation vow, made during an emotional live television appearance where he faced a barrage of angry questions from citizens.
iii. The move added to the political chaos in Libya, as the country's rival factions were to meet for a second day of UN-sponsored peace talks in Geneva.
iv. The prime minister, who escaped an assassination attempt in May when gunmen opened fire on his car after a parliament meeting, was also hit with accusations of corruption against his government in the television interview.
5. Sanjay Jalona appointed as MD and CEO for L&T Infotech
i. Larsen and Toubro has appointed former Infosys executive Sanjay Jalona as the Managing Director and CEO of its subsidiary L&T Infotech, IT arm of L&T.
ii. The new CEO Sanjay Jalona will run L&T Infotech from its New Jersey office in order to add thrust to its profitable growth. Company aims to boost growth and strengthen its presence in the United States, Europe, Gulf Cooperation Council countries and the East countries.
iii. Before joining the L&T Infotech country’s sixth largest IT services firm he was working as an executive vice-president and global head of High-Tech Manufacturing and Engineering Services for Infosys.
iv. He was with Infosys for fifteen years and had held senior leadership positions across the Europe, India and US.
6. President Pranab Mukherjee presented Saraswati Sammaan to Dr. M Veerappa Moily
i. President of India, Pranab Mukherjee on 10 August 2015 presented the 24th Saraswati Sammaan for the year 2014 to Dr. M Veerappa Moily, Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) in New Delhi. He received the award for his epic Sri Ramayana Mahanveshanam written in Kannada.
ii. Divided into five volumes, Ramayana Mahanveshanam was first published in 2007 in Kannada. Later the poem was translated into English, Hindi, Telugu and Tamil.
iii. Moily’s work was selected for the award in March 2015 by a 13-member panel of scholars and writers headed by former Chief Justice of India RC Lahoti.
iv. 75-year-old Moily a senior Congress leader from Karnataka is an established writer in Kannada. He has authored four novels, three collections of poetry, a number of plays and numerous essays.
7. Pankaj Advani bags 13th World Snooker Championship
i. India’s poster boy of cue sports Pankaj Advani on Wednesday clinched his 13th world title after winning the World 6-Red Snooker Championship in a convincing manner.
ii. Defending champion Advani outplayed Chinese Yan Bingtao 6-2, stamping his authority on the green baize in the final. The final started off with a bang with the Bangalore cueist racing to a rapid 3-0 lead in the best-of-11 final. But the Chinese found his form and ran away with the next two frames with the aid of a 66 break.
iii. In no mood to give anything away, Advani did not allow his opponent to score a single point in the next two. He fired in a massive 71 break in the seventh frame to be one frame away from defending his title which he won in Egypt last year.