• West Indies cricket icon Dwayne Bravo has been appointed as the first cricket ambassador of SBOTOP sportsbook brand.

• Isle of Man betting group Celton Manx has confirmed his appointment.

• Bravo is recognised as one of Caribbean cricket’s best ever ‘all-rounders’, representing the West Indies in all formats of the sport.

• He has represented the country in 256 test matches and 120 one-day-internationals and is also considered as one of the best ever ‘all-rounders’ of the sport.

• The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) launched a new publication, “The Little Book of Green Nudges”.

• The books aimed to inspire up to 200 million students around the globe to adopt environmentally friendly habits and greener lifestyles.

• The book is UNEP’s first on behavioural science and nudge theory, which focuses on human actions and how to change them, and was drafted with The Behavioural Insights Team and GRID-Arendal.

• To preserve and maintain the environment in Punjab and make people stakeholders in the process, the State Government launched 'I Rakhwali' app.

• This will help netizens to become 'Greenery Saviours'.

• With this new initiative, the state govt aims to safeguard the state forest area by making people a stakeholder in this process.

• The state govt came up with the concept of the app to encourage people to come forward and contribute to the protection of the environment.

• Union Minister of Education Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank launched EnglishPro, a free mobile app.

• The app is developed by the English and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad.

• The app will help learners develop Indian English Pronunciation in the unique “Indian” way.

• This app will be “a useful digital tool” and will act as an educational resource for the teachers, students and for people from varied backgrounds.

• Maruti Suzuki MD and CEO, Kenichi Ayukawa has been elected as the new President of the Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM) for a term of two years.

• He will replace Rajan Wadhera.

• Ashok Leyland MD and CEO, Vipin Sondhi has been elected as the new vice president of SIAM.

• SIAM is the apex body of the Indian automotive industry.

• Kesavananda Bharati Swamiji, was the sole unwitting petitioner in the historic Fundamental Rights case, which prevented the nation from slipping into a totalitarian regime.

• Shri Kesavananda Bharati was the chief pontiffof Edneer Mutt in Kasaragod district, Kerala, India.

• He was a follower of Smartha Bhagawatha traditionand the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy.

• He took Sanyasa at the age of 19 and headed the Edneer Mutt as the Peetadhipathi until his death.

• Kesavananda Bharati was aCarnatic and Hindusthani vocalist, and master of Yakshagana, an Indian art and theater form.

• He was a patron of education, Kannada culture and arts, including Yakshagana, music and dramas.

• In 1970, He had filed a case challenging theKerala Government’s attempts to acquire the Mutt’s property, through the Kerala Land Reforms Act of 1963 as amended in 1969.

• Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs has announced the 4th edition of Business Reform Action Plan (BRAP) ranking of states.

• Ranking of various States of India on the basis of implementation of Business Reform Action Plan had started in 2015. The Business Reform Action Plan 2018-19 was a comprehensive plan including 180 reform points covering 12 business regulatory areas such as Access to Information, Single Window System, Labour, Environment, etc.

• The top ten states under State Reform Action Plan 2019 are

1. Andhra Pradesh

2. Uttar Pradesh

3. Telangana

4. Madhya Pradesh

5. Jharkhand

6. Chhattisgarh

7. Himachal Pradesh

8. Rajasthan

9. West Bengal

10. Gujarat

• The lowest 3 ranks in the list belong to Odisha, Sikkim and Tripura.

* International Literacy Day is observed globally on 8th September every year.

* The day spread awareness about the importance of literacy for individuals, communities, and societies and the need for intensified efforts towards more literate societies.

* International Literacy Day 2020 focuses on “Literacy teaching and learning in the COVID-19 crisis and beyond,” especially on the role of educators and changing pedagogies.

* The theme highlights literacy learning in a lifelong learning perspective, and therefore, mainly focuses on youth and adults.

* The Education Ministers Meeting will take place as part of the Sherpa Track for the G20 Leaders Summit 2020, which is to be hosted by Saudi Arabia at the end of 2020.

* The Saudi Arabian Presidency has selected the following theme for the G20’s 2020 activities: Realizing Opportunities of the 21st Century for All.

* The meet was chaired by Saudi Arabia’s Education Minister Dr Hamad Al-Asheikh where India was represented by Union Minister of Education, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, in the virtual mode.

* Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry have launched a toll-free mental health rehabilitation helpline “KIRAN”.

* The helpline was launched in view of the growing incidence of Mental Illness, particularly in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic.

* The helpline – 1800-500-0019 will provide relief and support to persons with mental illness.

* The helpline will resolve mental health issues that are related to the following namely, anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), depression, Panic Attack(s) Adjustment Disorders, suicidal thoughts, substance abuse, Post Traumatic Stress Disorders and the psychological issues & mental health emergencies induced by the pandemic.

* It will offer mental health rehabilitation services. It functions as a lifeline to provide 1st stage advice, counselling. It is available 24*7 with the Technical Coordination of BSNL.

* Oscar-winning Czech film director, Jiri Menzel passed away. He was born in Prague, Czechoslovakia on 23 February 1938.

* His 1st feature film, ‘Closely Watched Trains’ won an Academy Award (Oscars) for Best Foreign Language film in 1968.

* Menzel won the Czech Lion for lifetime artistic contribution and was honoured by the Karlovy Vary festival.

* He is a recipient of the Medal of Merit, the French Order of Arts and Literature and a score of other international awards.

* He was awarded an IIFA Lifetime Achievement Award in November 2013.

* The Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) has announced the appointment of Vinkesh Gulati as its 35th President for the year 2020-22. He succeeds Ashish Harsharaj Kale as the new FADA President.

* Gulati is the Director of United Automobiles, based out of Allahabad and Faridabad.

* United Automobiles is involved in the Auto Dealership business since the year 1985 and are dealers for brands like Mahindra & Mahindra and Bajaj Auto.

* United Automobiles is part of the United Group that started as Transport Business in 1951.

* Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) has successfully flight-tested a Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV), which is an unmanned scramjet vehicle with the ability to travel at six times the speed of sound.

* The test was conducted from Dr A P J Abdul Kalam Launch Complex at Wheeler Island, off the coast of Odisha.

* Now, India has joined the elite club of the United States, Russia and China to develop and successfully test Hypersonic Technology.

* The HSTDV tests the indigenously developed hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology. The scramjets are a variant of air-breathing jet engines and have the ability to handle airflows of speeds much higher than the speed of sound.

* The hypersonic cruise vehicle was launched using a proven solid rocket motor, which took it to an altitude of 30 kilometres, where the aerodynamic heat shields were separated. The cruise vehicle separated from the launch vehicle and the air intake opened as planned.

* SBI Mutual Fund has unveiled Magnum Children’s Benefit Fund - Investment Plan, an open-ended fund for parents to invest for their children.

* The scheme, open for subscription from September 8, is a part of SBI Magnum Children’s Benefit Fund that currently has Savings Plan, a predominantly debt-oriented offering.

* The scheme will predominantly invest in equity and equity-related instruments, said SBI MF, including Equity ETFs with a minimum of 65% going up to 100%, debt including Debt ETFs and money market instruments upto a maximum of 35% in REITS and InvITs up to 10% and up to 20 % in Gold ETFs.

* The new plan for children aged 1 year going up to when he/she is 14 years old.

* There would be a lock-in period for at least 5 years or till the child attains age of majority, whichever is earlier.

* Anil Jain, Member of Parliament of Rajya Sabha, has been elected as All India Tennis Association's (AITA) new President at the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

* He was elected unanimously to lead the administration of AITA after Praveen Mahajan's tenure as AITA President came to an end this year.

* Anil Dhupar was elected as the Secretary-General and Rohit Rajpal will serve as the Treasurer of AITA.

* Union minister Jitendra Singh announced that first-ever Cannabis Medicine Project will soon be set up in Jammu.

* Cannabis Medicine Project will be set up in collaboration with Canada and Indian Institute of Integrative Medicine (IIIM) in Jammu.

* It is the first major foreign investment in Jammu and Kashmir after it became a Union Territory (UT).

* The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a seven-member high-level committee to study the National Education Policy of the Centre and to make recommendations.

* Vice-Chancellors of Manonmaniam Sundaranar University K. Pitchumani; Alagappa University N. Rajendran; Madurai Kamaraj University M. Krishnan; and Thiruvalluvar University S. Thamarai Selvi are amomg the members in the panel.

* Former Vice-Chancellors of the University of Madras S.P. Thyagarajan, who has served in national academic panels, and P. Duraisamy, are the other members.

* The state government on Friday signed MoUs with eight companies including the Netherlands government in the food processing sector.

* Representatives of seven companies from across the country and the Netherlands government signed the MoU in the presence of chief minister YS Jaganmohan Reddy.

* These companies would help farmers through the state government in the food processing sector, including harvesting, processing and packaging of fruits, vegetables, fish and aqua products.

* The Netherlands government would help the state government and the farmers in food processing, technology, packaging, containers and other areas.

* Bengaluru tops the list of destinations for a career in AI, followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, Pune, and Chennai.

* Job searches in the field have risen 106 per cent in the past year (June 2019 to June 2020), and this has increased further by 20 per cent from March to July 2020, in line with the onset of the pandemic.

* AI-related job postings have also seen a steady rise in the last two years, with a 51 per cent jump between June 2019 and June 2020.

* World Bank and the government of Himachal Pradesh signed $82 million loan for the implementation of Himachal Pradesh State Roads Transformation Project.

* The project will strengthen the transport and road safety institutions of Himachal Pradesh.

* It aims at improving the condition, safety, resilience, and engineering standards of state road network.