Govt Announcement:
- On 29 August 2020, The Vice President Shri M Venkaiah Naidu addressed a webinar on “Our Language, Our Society and Our Culture” on the occasion of Telugu Language day. The Webinar was organized by South Africa Telugu Community (SATC).
- On 29 Aug 2020, Minister of Communications and Electronics & IT and Law & Justice, inaugurated a Next Generation Network Telephone Exchange at New Bihar Vidhan Mandal compound and Bharat Air Fibre service at Danapur Telephone Exchange in Bihar via video conferencing from New Delhi. He launches completely wireless BSNL Bharat AirFibre for rural areas in Bihar. Bharat AirFibre works on the unlicensed spectrum.
- On 29 Aug 2020, The Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief, Southern Naval Command (SNC) Vice Admiral Anil K Chawla, PVSM, AVSM, NM, VSM, ADC inaugurated a Plastic Waste Handling Facility at Naval Base Kochi. He also released A BIRD BOOK titled “Kaleidoscope – Feathered Friends @ KatariBagh” on the occasion.
- On National Sports Day occasion, Minister of State for Youth Affairs & Sports (Independent Charge) and Minority Affairs Shri Kiren Rijiju announced an enhancement in the prize money in four of the seven categories of the National Sports and Adventure Awards.
Prize Money:
- Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award– Earlier Rs 7.5 lakh – New amount Rs. 25 lakh
- Arjuna Award– Earlier Rs 5 lakh – New amount Rs. 15 lakh
- Dhronacharya (Lifetime) awardees– Earlier Rs 5 lakh – New amount Rs. 15 lakh as cash prize
- Dhronacharya (Regular) awardees– Earlier Rs 5 lakh – New amount Rs. 10 lakh
- Dhyanchand Awardees– Earlier Rs 5 lakh – New amount Rs. 10 lakh
- On 29 Aug 2020, PM narendra Modi addressed after the virtual inauguration of college and administration buildings of Jhansi-based Rani Lakshmi Bai Central Agricultural University. He said around 500 projects worth over Rs 10,000 crore have been sanctioned for improving water availability in drought-prone Bundelkhand region.
- The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind gave away the National Sports and Adventure Awards, 2020 from Rashtrapati Bhavan on 29 August 2020. This was the first ever virtual presentation of award due to corona pandemic. National Sports Day is celebrated every year to honour the hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand on August 29. Major Dhyan Chand was born on 29 August 1905.
- A Valedictory Programme of the International Science & Technology Conference was organized by the National Institute of Disaster Management (NIDM) and Department of Science & Technology (DST), Government of India, on 27th August 2020, through Video Conferencing. This was the 3-Day International Programme on promoting Prime Minister’s Agenda on Disaster Risk Management.
- Goods and Service Tax Network (GSTN) on 29 Aug 2020 launched GSTR-2B for the month of July 2020. GSTR-2B is an auto-drafted input tax credit (ITC) statement which will be generated for every registered person on the basis of the information furnished by his suppliers in their respective GSTR-1, 5 (non-resident taxable person) and 6 (input service distributor). GSTR-2B will help in reduction in time taken for preparing return, minimising errors, assist reconciliation & simplify compliance relating to filing of returns.
Appointment:
- Retried IAS officer of the 1985 batch from Maharashtra cadre & Former chairman of Mumbai Port Trust (MbPT) Sanjay Bhatia have been appointed as the Upa-Lokayukta of Maharashtra. Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari administered the oath to Sanjay Bhatia at Raj Bhavan on 28 Aug 2020.
Books & Awards:
- Kottayam (District of Kerala) has won the Elets Technomedia’s Water Innovation National Award, instituted by the Elets Technomedia in association with the Ministry of Jal Shakti. The award was presented for activities implemented under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, in connection with the river re-linking works.
- Novel “My Dark Vanessa” written by Kate Elizabeth Russell
- Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL)-Vizag Steel has been awarded Excellent Energy Efficient Unit Award by CII GBC in National Award competition, in recognition of efforts towards Energy Conservation at RINL. National Award competition for Excellence in Energy Management was held online from 25 to 28 August 2020.
Business & Technology:
- Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL), subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd will acquire the retail and wholesale business and the logistics and warehousing business from the Future Group. Acquisition is on a slump sale basis, for lumpsum amount of Rs 24,713 crore.
- On 28 August 2020, Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s neuroscience startup Neuralink unveiled a pig named “Gertrude” that has had a coin-sized computer chip in its brain for two months. The startup is showing off an early step toward the goal of curing human diseases.
Sports:
BCCI announced on 29 Aug 2020, “Unacademy” has been roped in the as the official partner of the Indian Premier League for three seasons from 2020 to 2022. Unacademy is Bengaluru based Indian Edutech Company.
Death:
- Popular Movie Black Panther actor Chadwick Boseman died due to colon cancer in Los Angeles on 28 August 2020. He was 43.
Others:
- 25-yr old Chennai man Illayaram Sekar has emerged with a Guinness World Record for the most number of Rubik’s cubes solved under water, in one breath. He solved six cubes in two minutes and 17 seconds.
- The Indian Institute of Technology-Indore has introduced a unique course to impart mathematical and scientific knowledge from ancient texts in Sanskrit.