NEWS IN SHORT

August 13, 2023

G20 Finance Track seminar	The G20 Finance Track seminar on ‘Global Economy: Challenges, Opportunities and the Way Forward was jointly organized by the Finance Ministry and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). During the seminar, the global community was urged to coordinate on restructuring the debt of vulnerable low-and-middle income countries. Low-income economies are defined as those with a GNI per capita, calculated using the World Bank Atlas method, of $1,135 or less in 2022; lower-middle-income economies are those with a GNI per capita between $1,136 and $4,465 during the same period. According to the World Bank, at the end of 2021, the external debt of these economies totaled $9 trillion, more than double the amount a decade ago.
Luna-25	Russia’s space agency Roscosmos launched the Luna-25 from Russia’s Vostochny spaceport. Its lunar lander is expected to reach the moon on August 23, the same day on which Chandrayaan-3 is expected to land on the lunar surface too. Roscosmos says there is enough space on the moon for everyone and it is open to India’s participation in the International Scientific Lunar Station.
Tampara Lake	National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed Odisha government to stop illegal construction in and around Tampara Lake. Tampara Lake is a freshwater lake situated on the right bank of the Rushikulya River, Odisha. It is connected to the Rushikulya River.
Digi Yatra	Digi Yatra facility will be launched at 6 more airports namely Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Lucknow, Jaipur, and Guwahati airports Digi Yatra is a mobile application-based facility conceived to achieve contactless, seamless processing of passengers at airports based on Facial Recognition Technology (FRT). Facial recognition is a category of biometric security which identifies an individual’s identity using their face. Facial recognition systems can be used to identify people in photos, videos, or in real-time.
Niveshak Sarathi” Vans for Delhi-NCR	Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA) launched two Investor Awareness Vans titled “Niveshak Sarathi”, aligning with the theme “From Unawareness to Financial Independence.” This strategic initiative aims to disseminate crucial financial education and raise awareness against fraudulent schemes across the Delhi NCR region.

World Elephant Day

World Elephant Day is an international awareness campaign dedicated to the conservation and protection of elephants.
It is celebrated annually on August 12.
Conservation Status:
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I
- International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN):
  - Asian and African Savanna Elephant: Endangered
  - African Forest Elephant: Critically Endangered
Convention of the Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix I.

Steps taken for protection of Elephant:
- Project Elephant: Gaj Utsav 2023 marks the 30th year of Project Elephant by the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
- Monitoring of Illegal Killing of Elephants (MIKE) Programme by CITES.

National Space Innovation Challenge 2023 (NSIC 2023)

Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog in collaboration with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Navars Edutech successfully launched the NSIC 2023 on August 11, 2023 for all school students across the country.
NSIC 2023 is a National-level campaign designed for space enthusiasts to understand and contribute towards growing the Indian space economy and future space workforce.
Goal: Fostering innovation and curiosity among school students across the nation, NSIC is open for all the school students across the country.

Incremental Cash Reserve Ratio (I-CRR)

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) asked scheduled banks to maintain an I-CRR of 10 percent on the increase in their net demand and time liabilities (NDTL) between May 19 and July 28, 2023.
CRR: All scheduled commercial banks are supposed to maintain a part of their total deposits with the RBI in form of cash.
I-CRR: Banks need to set aside an additional 10 percent of the NDTL, over and above CRR.
Aim: To manage the higher surplus liquidity in the economy.