• Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai informed the Lok Sabha that a proposal has also been received from the West Bengal government for renaming the state as ‘Bangla’ in all three languages – Bengali, English and Hindi.
• The Centre has given its nod for renaming seven cities and towns, including Allahabad to Prayagraj, in the last five years.
• While the No Objection Certificate (NOC) to change the name of Allahabad in Uttar Pradesh to Prayagraj was given on December 15, 2018, the NOC for changing the name of Rajahmundry city in Andhra Pradeshto Rajamahendravaram was given on August 3, 2017.
• Approval for changing the name of Nagar Untari in Jharkhand to Shri Banshidhar Nagar was given in August 2018.
• Clearance was also given to change names of Birshingpur Pali, Hoshangabad Nagar and Babai city – all three in Madhya Pradesh – to Maa Birasini Dham (2018), Narmadapuram (2021) and Makhan Nagar (2021), respectively.
• Approval to change name of Punjab’s Shri Hargobindpur city to Shri Hargobindpur Sahib was given in March 2022.

What are NFTs?

• Anything that can be converted into a digital form can be an NFT. Everything from your drawings, photos, videos, GIF, music, in-game items, selfies, and even a tweet can be turned into an NFT, which can then be traded online using cryptocurrency.

KEY POINTS:

• The Dapper Cheetah Club, India’s first community-driven Non-Fungible Token (NFT), has launched the first phase of its collection – the issuance of limited 200 NFTs.
• Dapper Cheetah Club has a one-of-its-kind collection of 10,000 Cheetah NFTs on the Metaverse or the digital space.
• The highly anticipated tokens were launched and were fully indulged by enthusiasts, investors and traders alike.
• Dapper Cheetah Club proposes a new digital world that’s user-friendly and welcoming for every user.
• First revealed in June, the Dapper Cheetah Club has gained a lot of public interest. To reward its community investors, the brand will soon launch Phase 2, which will be a part of the broader collection.
• While the first set of NFT collections was opened for the private mint with only 200 NFTs, the Club said that the future phases will be available for the public mint with the remaining 9800 NFTs.
• The launch of the collection will be done in 5 phases. The Phase 1 collection went for bidding on 29th June on Open Sea and has been sold at the price of 0.03 Ethereum.

• As part of its mission to train its troops in high-altitude combat and survival techniques, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), which is tasked with securing the Line of Actual Control with China, has established its first mountain warfare training facility in northeast India and its second overall.
• The facility was built nearly 50 years after the founding of the first institution of its kind, the Mountaineering and Skiing Institute (M&SI), which opened in Auli, near Joshimath, in 1973–74.
• The M&SI, which is situated in the Himalayan hills of Uttarakhand at a height of over 9,000 feet, has taught hundreds of members of the ITBP, army, air force, and other security professionals in this field as well as that of adventure sports.
• The new centre is situated in Sikkim, which shares a frontage of 220 kilometres with the India-China LAC, at a height of 10,040 feet with distant Dombang, which borders the LAC.

• National Legal Services Authority Chairman Uday Umesh Lalit launched the country’s first AI-powered digital Lok Adalat during the 18th All India Legal Services Authorities’ meet.
• The digital Lok Adalat by Rajasthan State Legal Services Authority (RSLSA) was designed and developed by its technology partner Jupitice Justice Technologies.
• The two-day event was inaugurated by N V Ramana, the Chief Justice of India, in the presence of Union Minister of Law & Justice Kiren Rijiju and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.
• Recently, a district court in Bihar gave a verdict in a land dispute case after 108 years, making it one of the oldest pending cases in the country.
• A NITI Aayog report also suggested it would take approximately 324 years to dispose all cases pending in India.
• According to the reports, that 75-97 per cent of legal problems never reach the courts — that means about 5 million to 40 million legal tangles arising in a month never reach the Court.
• This Technology will enable RSLSA to provide online services to all the stakeholders ensuring efficiency, convenience, and transparency.
• The Digital Lok Adalat will be used to dispose of pending disputes or disputes that are at the pre-litigation stage.

How this platform helps?

• The platform helps one perform end-to-end dispute resolution with easy drafting and filing of applications, one-click generation of e-notices, smart templates to draft settlement agreements, digital hearings powered by tailor-made video conferencing tools, etc.
• Additionally, it offers an AI-powered voice-based interactive chatbot and advanced data analytics tools to help gain deeper insights into the functioning of Lok Adalat through custom reports and BI Dashboards for data-driven decision making.

• As many as 57 Panchavati Parks have been set up in the state by the government.
• The project was launched in 2020 under which four to six parks would be set up in all 90 blocks.
• According to, Rural Development Minister Virender Kanwar, about 518 sites have been identified and work on setting up parks on 284 sites is in full swing.
• The park area is meant to provide an exclusive space for connecting senior citizens to nature.
• Around 200 parks would be set up during the financial year. A sum of Rs 9 lakh will be spent on each park.
• Each park, spreading over one or two bighas, will also be used for the promoting products made by self-help groups to generate additional economic and employment avenues, especially at the village level.
• Each park will have one-metre wide and 150-metre-long jogging track, walking tracks, benches, space for yoga and meditation, toilets, solar lights and flower beds, besides exercise and recreational equipment.
• Ayurvedic and medicinal plants such as amla, neem, tulsi and aloe vera and shade grass (lawn) will be grown in the parks.

• The Dharamsala Residential International Festival for Theatre (DRIFT) concluded at the Club House of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) in McLeod Ganj.
• According to, Quasar Thakore Padamsee, director of a theatre group—QTP—from Mumbai, the fest was one of the most unique events his group had ever been to. “It is a joy to be here and perform and be part of a larger theatre community. The audience has been fabulous, and diverse in Dharamsala”.
• The day started with a performance by Subhadra Kamath’s musical ensemble. Thereafter, a play, Agarbatti, was presented by Ashish Pathak.
• A play, Samay Kaise Guzra, was presented by Aagaaz Theatre from Delhi and then another play, Saag Meat, was presented by Pratibha Rai.
• Movement Therapy (play) was presented by Mitali Jangpangi.
• A workshop on making comics was conducted by Alia Sinha.

• Aircraft engine maker Pratt & Whitney (PW) said it will set up an engineering centre in Bengaluru,that is slated to begin operations in January 2023.
• The centre, its first facility in Asia Pacific and fifth globally, will enable the firm to offer engineering services on contract to domestic and international customers.
• PW’s integrated global engineering operations currently has centres in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico and Poland.

• According to the media reports ,a grand Jirga held in Bajaur in the Pakistan province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) has decided against the liberty of women to visit the tourist spots with men in the area.
• The local elders in Tehseel Salarzai of Bajaur took this decision in a Jirga where representatives of all tribes were present.
• They announced that women will not be allowed to travel to any tourist place, even with men.
• The Jirga ruled that it was against their tribal values and traditions that women visit the recreational spots with men and requested the administration to respect their values.
• They said that they could not allow promotion of ‘vulgarity” in the name of recreation while warning the administration to implement their decision by Sunday or else they would be compelled to do so on their own.

• The Haryana government will set up a ‘Footwear-Leather’ cluster on about 500 acres of land in Rohtak.
• According to the government, training will also be given to the students of ITI institutes around Rohtak city by connecting them with the footwear industry so that the industrialists of leather industry can get skilled youth at the local level and youth can get employment near their homes.
• According to government, as soon as about two dozen industries are commissioned, a Common Service Centre will be made in a year so that industrialists can get ease in their work.
• A centre of excellence related to leather will also be set up to help the industrialists of the leather industry in the state.
• There is also a plan to build a labour-hostel near the ‘Footwear-Leather’ cluster so that the labourers working there do not face any problem in commuting to the industry.
• In this field, where the state has got the third position at the national level, Haryana has been ranked in the top achievers’ category in the fifth edition of ‘State Ease of Doing Business’ released by the Union ministry of commerce and industry.
• In addition, the state has been ranked first in the Export Readiness Index (Land Closed Category)-2021 and second in the ‘Logistics Across Different Status Survey’-2021.

• The Indian delegation, led by DG, BSF Pankaj Singh, arrived in Dhaka early on the first day of the 52nd BGB-BSF Director General level Border conference in Bangladesh.
• On the first day, a variety of topics including border management, drug trafficking, smuggling of weapons and ammunition, trafficking in women and children, and other development initiatives within 150 yards of the international boundary were discussed.

KEY POINTS:

• During the conference, there was discussion about joint initiatives to implement the Coordinated Border Management Plan (CBMP) as well as information exchange on various armed groups, extremist groups, and terrorist organisations.
• The two nations talked about methods to increase confidence between the BGB and BSF and to further solidify the already existent bilateral ties.
• According to a press statement from the BGB, the Indian team will also travel to Padma Bridge and Cox’s Bazar during the conference in an effort to improve bilateral ties and boost goodwill between the two nations. The Joint Record of Discussions will be signed to conclude the meeting (JRD).
• Director General of the Border Guards Bangladesh (BGB), Major General Shakil Ahmed, is in charge of the 20-person Bangladesh delegation.
• On opening day of the conference, senior representatives from the BGB, Bangladesh Home Ministry, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate of Narcotics, and Joint Rivers Commission participated in the proceedings.
• Along with Pankaj Kumar Singh, the DG of the Border Security Force (BSF), several senior representatives from the Ministries of Home Affairs and External Affairs attended the conference on behalf of India.