Health Minister Dr. Harsh Vardhan has launched an interactive first-of-its-kind game on COVID-19, the Corona Fighters. The Minister yesterday also launched two new videos urging adherence to key COVID Appropriate Behaviours.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Harsh Vardhan said that the game presents a new and extremely creative way to teach people the right tools and behaviours to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. He stated that the game was designed to influence the players’ actions in the real world, reminding them to take the right precautions and escape infection. He further added that this along with two promotional videos is a simply designed and enjoyable medium to get a serious message across to the wider public.

The Minister also recollected his experience with the Polio Abhiyaan which was transformed into a social movement through people’s participation and support and contribution of many film industry professionals. He said that till a vaccine is ready for fighting COVID-19, the COVID appropriate behaviours will serve as a potent social vaccine and keep everyone protected and safe.

Indore in Madhya Pradesh has been awarded as the cleanest city in the country in the Swachh Survekshan 2020 awards. The city bagged the position for the fourth consecutive time. The awards were presented by Union Urban Development Minister Hardeep Singh Puri in a function held virtually today.

Among the towns along the banks of river Ganga, Varanasi has been awarded the cleanest town award. New Delhi has been awarded as the cleanest capital city in the country. Chhattisgarh was awarded the first place in the states with over 100 cities while Jharkhand bagged it for being the state in the category of states with less than 100 cities. Jalandhar Cantonment Board was conferred the cleanest cantonment board in the country. Ahmedabad in Gujarat was awarded for being the cleanest city with over 40 lakh population.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Puri said, Swachh Survekshan 2020 witnessed several innovations and best practices emerging from the cities. He said that through a mix of innovative thinking, technological interventions and active stakeholder engagement, cities have found novel ways to address issues of sanitation and waste management in their areas.

Government will announce the results of the fifth edition of the nationwide annual cleanliness survey, ‘Swachh Survekshan 2020’, at 11 AM today. This year, around 1 Crore 87 lakh citizens participated in the survey of 4 thousand 242 cities, 62 cantonment boards and 92 towns along the Ganga river. 129 awards will be handed over to the top performing cities and States in today’s Swachh Mahotsav event.

Swachh Survekshan 2020’, which was completed in 28 days, saw registration of 1.7 crore citizens on Swachhata App, over 11 crore impressions on social media along with linking of more than 5.5 lakh sanitary workers to social welfare schemes and over 84,000 informal waste-pickers being integrated into the mainstream. Swachh Survekshan was introduced by the government with the objective of generating large-scale citizen participation in the Mission, along with inculcating a spirit of healthy competition among cities towards becoming India’s cleanest cities. The event will also witness felicitation of Urban Development Ministry’s partner organisations in the Urban- Swachh Bharat Mission journey, including the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) and Google. Mysuru had won the award for the cleanest city of India in the first edition of the survey, Indore has retained the top position for three consecutive years. In the ‘Swachh Survekshan 2020’, Swachh Survekshan League, a quarterly cleanliness assessment of cities and towns was also introduced to ensure continuous assessment. 

Cricketer Rohit Sharma is among the 4 athletes who have been recommended for India's highest sporting honour, the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award.

Along with Rohit Sharma, Asian Games gold medalist Vinesh Phogat, table tennis champion Manika Batra and Paralympic gold medalist Mariappan Thangavelu have been recommended for the Khel Ratna Awards.

Reserve Bank of India has unveiled the framework for setting up of pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments. As per the framework, the companies with a net worth of over 500 crore rupees will be eligible to set up an umbrella entity which among other things will be permitted to set up, manage and operate new payment systems in the retail space comprising ATMs, White Label PoS, Aadhaar-based payments and remittance services.

The entity will be expected to monitor national as well as international developments so as to avoid shocks and frauds that may adversely affect the system and the economy in general.

Inviting applications by February 2021, the RBI said that the promoter/promoter group of the umbrella entity shall be owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens.

RBI said the application for setting up the umbrella entity should contain a detailed business plan covering the payment systems proposed to be set up and/or operated along with other documents to duly establish its experience in the payments ecosystem.

Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu will release the results of the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements, ARIIA 2020 today. ARIIA is an initiative of the Ministry of Education to systematically rank higher education institutions and universities in India on indicators related to Innovation, Startup and Entrepreneurship Development amongst students and faculty.  The Chairman of AICTE, Prof. Anil Sahasrabudhe, highlighted that the world is observing a noteworthy improvement in performance of India in Global Innovation Index ranking. In the last 5 years, India has risen 29 spots in the Global Innovation Index from 81 in 2014 to 52 in 2019. He said, in the years to come, India will make a true impact on global innovation with the initiatives taken by the Ministry in this direction.

Our correspondent reports that ARIIA 2020 will have six Prize categories. This includes a special category for women only higher educational institutions to encourage women and bring gender parity in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship. 

The First World Solar Technology Summit will be organized by International Solar Alliance, ISA on a virtual platform on 8th of September. Sharing details of the summit, President of the ISA Assembly and New and Renewable Energy Minister R. K. Singh said Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the inaugural address of the First World Solar Technology Summit and it will be graced by Ministers from member countries from across all ISA regions. He said, High-level dignitaries from the world of Scientific Research and Development and a CEO’s conclave will set the tone of the deliberations on low cost, innovative and affordable solar technologies.  Senior Government Functionaries, Heads of Global Corporations, Financial and Multilateral Institutions, Civil society, Foundations and Think-Tanks will be present during the inaugural session.

Mr Singh said Nobel Laureate Dr. M. Stanley Whittingham will present the Key-note Address during the inaugural ceremony. He said, the objective of the event is to bring the spotlight on state-of-the-art technologies as well as next-generation technologies which will provide impetus to the efforts towards harnessing solar energy more efficiently. The Minister said, ISA would also be launching the ISA Journal on Solar Energy that would help authors from across the globe to publish their articles on solar energy, during the event.

In Jammu and Kashmir, high speed mobile data services were restored on a trial basis in Ganderbal and Udhampur districts from Sunday evening for post-paid sim card holders.

According to the order issued by the J&K Home Department, the trial period which began at 9 pm on Sunday will stay in force till 8th of next month, unless it is modified earlier. Internet speed however, in other districts of the Union Territory shall continue to be restricted to 2G internet speed only.

It is worthwhile to mention that the central government had during the hearing in the Supreme Court recently submitted that the Committee set-up to review the restoration of 4G internet services in Jammu and Kashmir, is considering to allow the same in one district each of Jammu and Kashmir divisions on a trial basis.

The Nation will celebrate the 74th Independence Day tomorrow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will lead the nation in celebrating the Independence Day at the majestic Red Fort in New Delhi. Prime Minister will unfurl the National Flag and address the nation from the ramparts of the iconic monument. Security has been tightened in the National Capital in view of the celebrations. A full dress rehearsal was held at the Red Fort yesterday for the Independence Day celebrations.
 
In view of Covid-19 situation, the Delhi police has requested the invitees to follow guidelines issued by Union Home Ministry and Health Ministry at all times while they are in the function area at Red Fort. Around four thousand security personnel will be deployed for the ceremony and they will stand maintaining social distance.
 
There will be a multi-layer security ring, including NSG snipers, elite SWAT commandos and kite catchers around the monument. Flying of sub-conventional aerial platforms like UAVs, paragliders and hot air balloons in the national capital have been prohibhited till tomorrow due to security reasons. Delhi Police has issued a traffic advisory to ensure safe and smooth vehicular movement across the national capital on Independence Day. 

The Sports Ministry will organise the largest country-wide run, the Fit India Freedom Run from tomorrow till 2nd of October, which boasts of a unique concept. Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju will launch the mega-event today. In keeping with the current pandemic situation and social distancing norms, the government has decided to encourage participants of the event to run at their own pace - anywhere and at any time of their convenience.
 
Additionally, they can break up their runs over several days in this period. The total kilometers clocked can be tracked using a Global Positioning System (GPS) watch or manually. The event is targeted to encourage fitness among the masses while following Covid-19 protocols. Speaking about the event, Mr Rijiju said, the Fit India Freedom Run is yet another endeavour to strengthen the Fit India Movement envisaged by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and involve the citizens to embrace fitness as a way of life.
 
He said, the event is even more important at this time because staying fit is the key to building strong immunity, which is the need of the hour to fight Covid 19. Individuals and organizations can register for the event on the Fit India website. The event is being organised to mark the 74th Independence Day of India tomorrow and will continue till 151st birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi on 2nd of October.