1.      14 August Current Affairs

Scientists are tracking a new, animal-derived virus in eastern China that has infected at least several dozen people. The novel Langya henipavirus (LayV) was found in 35 patients in the Shandong and Henan provinces. Many had symptoms such as fever, fatigue and a cough. They are thought to have contracted the virus from animals. There is no evidence so far LayV can transmit among humans. Researchers detected the virus predominantly in shrews.

2.       A Russian rocket successfully launched an Iranian satellite into orbit.The Soyuz rocket lifted off from the Russia-leased Baikonur launch facility in Kazakhstan. About nine minutes after the launch, it placed the Iranian satellite called Khayyam into orbit. It's named after Omar Khayyam, a Persian scientist who lived in the 11th and 12th centuries. If it operates successfully, the satellite would give Iran the ability to monitor its archenemy Israel and other countries in the Middle East.

3.       Singapore on Tuesday declared its 200-year-old iconic green open space Padang, a site of countless events in the country's history and from where Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose gave his 'Delhi Chalo' slogan in 1943, as its 75th national monument as the city-state celebrates its 57th National Day.

4.       Congress MP Shashi Tharoor to receive France's highest civilian honour. The French government is honouring him for his writings and speeches and French Ambassador here Emmanuel Lenain has written to Tharoor informing him about the award.

5.       The Reserve Bank of India cancelled the licence of Pune’s Rupee Cooperative Bank that has faced restrictions since 2013. One of the major urban cooperative banks in Maharashtra, Rupee Cooperative Bank has presence in other parts of the state as well. In 2013, the bank’s board of directors was dismissed by the RBI and Sudhir Pandit and others were appointed administrators to look after it.

6.       The Kerala government has decided to launch a mobile app to curb the rising cases of GST evasion. The state government aims to provide people with a platform wherein they can upload original bills and also stand to win prizes. The state government expects the 'Lucky Bill App' to help in increasing tax collections as people will be encouraged to ask bills while purchasing goods and availing services.

7.       Microsoft and the Indian government will collaborate for a programme to train nearly 2.5 million civil servants in using the company’s suite of digital tools. The partnership between the Microsoft, the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and the Capacity Building Commission (CBC) aims to help civil servants in helping the underprivileged.

8.       In Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha inaugurated "UMEED Market Place" under AVSAR Scheme of Airport Authority of India at Srinagar International airport. A similar Marketplace was also opened at Jammu Airport and both the outlets will exhibit products of all 20 districts. This initiative will support local art and artisans of Self Help Groups of J&K Rural Livelihood Mission, providing a platform to market local products directly to the customers.

9.       The “Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation” for the year 2022 have been awarded to 151 Police personnel. This medal was constituted in 2018, with the objective to promote high professional standards of investigation of crime and to recognize such Excellence in Investigation.

10.   An Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Ministry of Ayush and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) for providing technical support to Ministry of Ayush for digitalisation of Ayush Sector under the Ayush Grid project for a period of 3 years.