• The Supreme Court has struck down one of the provisions of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act of 1988, which provides for the punishment of a maximum jail term of three years or a fine or both for those indulging in benami’ transactions.
• The apex court termed the provision unconstitutional on the ground of being manifestly arbitrary.  A bench comprising Chief Justice N V Ramana and Justices C T Ravikumar and Hima Kohli
• The court hold section 3(2) of the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988 as unconstitutional.
• The verdict came on the appeal of the Centre challenging the Calcutta High Court judgement in which it was held that the amendment made in the 1988 Act in 2016 would be applicable with prospective effect.

• Defence Research and Development Organisation and Indian Navy successfully flight tested Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM).
• The missile was tested from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur off the coast of Odisha. This missile has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO.
• Defence Ministry said the flight test was carried out from an Indian Naval ship against a high-speed unmanned aerial target for demonstration of vertical launch capability.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has complimented DRDO, Indian Navy and associated teams on the successful flight trial of missiles.
• He said the missile will prove to be a force multiplier for the Indian Navy.
• DRDO Chairman Dr G Satheesh Reddy that it will further strengthen the Indian Navy for neutralising various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets.

• The Centre has issued an advisory to states on Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD), commonly known as Tomato Flu.
• According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Tomato Flu was first identified in the Kollam district of Kerala on May 6 and as of July 26, more than 82 children younger than 5 years with the infection have been reported by the local government hospitals.

Tomato flu symptoms

• The disease is named tomato flu as its main symptom is red blisters that look akin to tomatoes when enlarged.
• Tomato flu’s primary symptoms include fever, fatigue, body aches, skin rashes, intense joint pain and dehydration.
• Other symptoms are nausea, diarrhoea, dehydration and common influenza-like symptoms.
• Meanwhile, health experts have called tomato flu a misleading name for Hand, Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD).
• Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, IMA member in Kochi told India Today, “The illness is commonly caused by the Coxsackie virus which results in small 4-6 mm red spots on the skin that later become bubbles with fluid inside.
• The skin lesions can appear on the hands, feet and buttocks. It spreads by contact between young children and is self-limiting, requiring only supportive treatment. It has no connection with tomatoes.”

Tomato Flu vs Monkeypox

• While there is no specific drug or vaccine for treating HFMD or tomato flu, newer vaccines have been developed of which one has even been approved for the treatment of monkeypox. As per WHO, an antiviral agent originally developed for smallpox has been licensed for treating monkeypox.
• In case of monkeypox, contacts have to be observed at least daily for any symptoms or signs of the disease for 21 days from the last contact with a patient or contaminated material during the infection. On the other hand, isolation of 5-7 days is good enough in case of tomato flu or HFMD.

• Prime Minister to inaugurate Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Mohali district, Punjab.
• Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre is a 300-bed facility and equipped with state-of-the-art facilities such as MRI, CT, mammography, digital radiography and brachytherapy to treat all types of cancers using every available treatment modalities like surgery and medical oncology — chemotherapy, immunotherapy and bone marrow transplant.
• The hospital has been built at a cost of over Rs 660 crore by Tata Memorial Centre.
• The facility has a day care facility for administration of chemotherapy and minor OT for biopsy and minor surgeries.

• A poultry training centre will be set up at Takarla village in the district. Rural Development and Animal Husbandry Minister Virender Kanwar said this during a public meeting at Basal village.
• He said a piece of land was being transferred to the Union government for setting up the centre.
• Kanwar said a centre of excellence in dairy and a centre for training members of Panchayati Raj Institutions were being set up at Basal village at a cost of Rs 47 crore and Rs 8 crore.
• He added that the diary centre would be built with technical assistance from Denmark where entrepreneurs would be able to get training and technical knowhow regarding the latest interventions in dairy farming.

• A 15-feet crocodile has been spotted in Beas river for the first time, creating panic among people residing along the river as well as fishermen.
• A video of a crocodile in Beas River near Dehara Gopipur area has gone viral on the internet.
• The Wildlife department has also swung into action and is on the lookout for the crocodile.
• As per reports, the crocodile crawled out of Beas River after water rose to dangerous levels due to heavy rainfall and flash floods.

• Better law enforcement and conservation measures, aided by coronavirus-induced lockdowns and restrictions for a couple of years, have led to the number of greater one-horned rhinos in India and Nepal increasing from an estimated 3,588 in 2018 to 4,014 at the end of 2021.
• Prepared for the 19th meeting of the CoP to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which will be held in Panama in November this year, the report has lauded conservation efforts, including strengthened law enforcement in this regard in the two neighbouring countries which share borders ensuring free movement of the endangered wild species.
• The report, however, found that 11 rhino poaching incidents were recorded in Asia (ten in India and one in Nepal) since the beginning of 2018, all of which involved greater one-horned rhinos.
• Overall, world over rhino poaching rates declined since 2018, and trade data suggested the lowest annual estimate of rhino horns entering illegal trade markets since 2013.
• The report found that rhino poaching rates in Africa have continued to decline from a peak of 5.3 per cent of the total population in 2015 to 2.3 per cent in 2021.
• At least 2,707 rhinos were poached across Africa between 2018 and 2021, accounting for both the white rhino (ceratotherium simum), which is vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species and the rarer critically endangered black rhino (diceros bicornis).
• South Africa accounted for 90 per cent of all reported cases, predominantly affecting white rhinos in Kruger National Park, home to the world’s largest white rhino population.
• As a result, overall white rhino numbers on the continent have declined by almost 12 per cent (from 18,067 to 15,942 individuals) during this period, while populations of black rhino increased by just over 12 per cent (from 5,495 to 6,195 individuals). Overall, Africa’s rhino population declined around 1.6 per cent per year, from an estimated 23,562 individuals in 2018 to 22,137 at the end of 2021.
• According to the report, global lockdowns and restrictions due to the Covid-19 pandemic saw several African countries experience dramatically reduced poaching rates in 2020 compared to previous years. South Africa lost 394 rhinos to poaching in 2020, while Kenya recorded no rhino poaching that year. However, as Covid-19 travel restrictions were lifted, some range states reported new increases in poaching activities – for example, South Africa reported 451 and Kenya six poached rhinos in 2021. However, these numbers are still significantly lower than during the peak in 2015, when South Africa alone lost 1,175 rhinos to poaching.
• However, in 2019, before the Covid-19 outbreak, the reported seized weight of illegal rhino specimens reached its highest point of the decade, perhaps due to increased regulations and law enforcement efforts.
• While the range and consumer countries most affected by illegal trade remained the same as in previous reports, the lack of consistent reporting by some countries still limits the ability to better understand patterns of illegal trade in rhino horns.

• In a series of tweets, Finance Ministry said, UPI is a digital public good with immense convenience for the public and productivity gains for the economy. The clarification came amid some reports that there may be possibility of UPI transactions charge.
• The Ministry said, the concerns of the service providers for cost recovery have to be met through other means.
• It said, the government had provided financial support for the Digital Payment ecosystem last year and has announced the same, this year as well to encourage further adoption of Digital Payments and promotion of payment platforms that are economical and user-friendly.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI):

• It is an advanced version of Immediate Payment Service (IMPS)-round–the-clock funds transfer service to make cashless payments faster, easier and smoother.
• UPI is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• UPI is currently the biggest among the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) operated systems including National Automated Clearing House (NACH), Immediate Payment Service (IMPS), Aadhaar enabled Payment System (AePS), Bharat Bill Payment System (BBPS), RuPay etc.
• The top UPI apps today include PhonePe, Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and BHIM, the latter being the Government offering.
• As part of an agreement, India’s UPI will be linked to Singapore’s PayNow.
• NPCI launched UPI with 21 member banks in 2016.

• Union Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated the National Automated Fingerprint Identification System (NAFIS) on August 17, at the two-day National Securities Strategies (NSS) Conference 2022 held in New Delhi.
• It is conceptualized and managed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) at the Central Fingerprint Bureau (CFPB) in New Delhi.
• NAFIS project is a country-wide searchable database of crime- and criminal-related fingerprints.
• The web-based application functions as a central information repository by consolidating fingerprint data from all states and Union Territories.
• According to a 2020 report by the NCRB, it enables law enforcement agencies to upload, trace, and retrieve data from the database in real time on a 24×7 basis.
• In April 2022, Madhya Pradesh became the first state in the country to identify a deceased person through NAFIS.

• Sovereign Gold Bonds 2022-23 (Series -2) has been opened for subscription.
• The Finance Ministry said, the issue price of the bond during the subscription period will be 5,197 rupees per gram.
• The government in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow discount of 50 rupees per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online and the payment is made through digital mode.

About

• Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme was launched by Govt in November 2015, under Gold Monetisation Scheme.
• Under the scheme, the issues are made open for subscription in tranches by RBI in consultation with GOI.
• RBI Notifies the terms and conditions for the scheme from time to time.

Features

• To be issued by Reserve Bank India on behalf of the Government of India.
• The Bonds will be denominated in multiples of gram(s) of gold with a basic unit of 1 gram.
• The tenor of the Bond will be for a period of 8 years with exit option in 5th, 6th and 7th year, to be exercised on the interest payment dates.
• Minimum permissible investment will be 1 gram of gold.
• The maximum limit of subscribed shall be 4 KG for individual, 4 Kg for HUF and 20 Kg for trusts and similar entities per fiscal year (April-March) notified by the Government from time to time. A self-declaration to this effect will be obtained. The annual ceiling will include bonds subscribed under different tranches during initial issuance by Government and those purchase from the Secondary Market.