Current Context : Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma launches ‘Nijut Moina Scheme’ to boost girls’ education and combat child marriage.

• It is a monthly financial assistance scheme to increase girls’ enrolment in higher education and fight against child marriage.
• The initiative, worth 1500 crore, aims to encourage higher education and reduce child marriage, targeting 10 lakh girls over four years and linking benefits to attendance and marital status.

FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE:

• ₹1,000/month for Class XI girls (up to ₹10,000/year).
• ₹1,250/month for first-year undergraduate students (up to ₹12,500/year).
• ₹2,500/month for postgraduate students (up to ₹25,000/year).

Additional bonuses are provided for admissions, such as ₹10,000 for Class 11 enrollment

Current Context :The Union Cabinet has approved the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana-Urban (PMAY-U) 2.0, with the aim of constructing 1 crore houses.

• The scheme is aimed to give financial support to the middle class as well as impoverished urban families for building, buying, or renting reasonably priced urban homes.
• Eligibility : belong to the Economically Weaker Section (EWS), Low Income Group (LIG), and Middle Income Group (MIG) segments and do not currently own a pucca house anywhere throughout the country.

INCOME CRITERIA ARE AS FOLLOWS:

• EWS households with an annual income up to ₹3 lakh.
• LIG households with an annual income between ₹3-6 lakh.
• MIG households with an annual income between ₹6-9 lakh.

Current Context : Athlete Arshad Nadeem was honoured with Hilal-e-Imtiaz, the second highest award of the country, for his remarkable gold win in the Paris Olympics.

• Nadeem broke Olympic record with 92.97m throw.

ABOUT AWARD

• The Hilal-e-Imtiaz (Crescent of Excellence) is the second-highest civilian award in Pakistan, given by the Government of Pakistan to both civilians and military personnel.
• It is awarded to individuals in recognition of their outstanding achievements in fields such as literature, arts, sports, medicine, science, and military service, as well as for acts of bravery or significant contributions to national interest.
• Established in 1957, the Hilal-e-Imtiaz can be conferred on both Pakistani citizens and foreign nationals.
• It is usually presented by the President of Pakistan in an official ceremony.

World Sanskrit Day, also known as Vishva-Samskrita-Dinam.

• It is celebrated on the full moon day of the Hindu calendar month of Shravan or Sawan month
• This year World Sanskrit Day is being observed on 19 August.
• The celebration of Sanskrit Day and Sanskrit Diwas was declared by the government of India in 1969.
• The day was supposed to be a tribute to the work of the renowned Sanskrit scholar Paṇini and his legacy.

It is observed annually on 19 August.

• Aim : to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service.
• This day also honours the work of women in crises throughout the world.
• It was designated by the United Nations General Assembly in 2008, following the 2003 bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad, Iraq, which killed 22 people, including the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, Sergio Vieira de Mello.

It is observed annually on 19 August

• Aim : to raise awareness about the importance of photography and to honor the art, craft, science, and history of photography.
• It commemorates the invention of the Daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Louis Daguerre in 1839, which marked the birth of practical photography.

Current Context : Congress Rajya Sabha member Jairam Ramesh moved a privilege motion against the Union Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, for his statement about the omission of the Preamble of the Constitution from NCERT textbooks was “misleading.”

About Privilege Motion : 

• A Privilege Motion is a procedural device that allows members to bring to the notice of the House any case of breach of privilege or contempt of the House.
• Such breaches can involve actions or statements that undermine the rights and privileges of members or the functioning of the legislative body.
• The motion is usually given as a notice to the Speaker or Chairman of the House. The Speaker or Chairman decides whether the motion is admissible and, if so, schedules it for discussion.
• It must be submitted in writing, typically within the first hour of the sitting of the House.

Current Context : Union Minority Affairs Minister, Shri Kiren Rijiju launched Jiyo Parsi scheme Portal. 

• It would enable Parsis to apply online, check the status of their application and to receive financial assistance online through Direct Benefit Transfer mode.

ABOUT JIYO PARSI SCHEME:

• It is a Central Sector Scheme.
• Implemented by Ministry of Minority Affairs
• Objective to reverse the declining trend of Parsi population by adopting a scientific protocol and structured interventions and to stabilize their population.
• It provides financial assistance to the Parsi Couples for medical treatment under standard medical protocol and towards childcare and assistance to dependent elderly.

Current Context : The first-ever Global Women’s Kabaddi League will commence in Haryana in September.

• Holistic International Pravasi Sports Association (HIPSA), in collaboration with World Kabaddi, is organising a first-ever Global Women’s Kabaddi League in September.
• Objective of promoting and developing women’s Kabaddi globally.
• Participants : over 15 nations.
• Aim : to promote Kabaddi to the international stage, serving as a major step towards the inclusion of the sport in the Olympic Games and supporting India’s bid to host the landmark event in 2036.

ABOUT KABADDI:

• Kabaddi is the oldest sport and has been in the Indian subcontinent from time immemorial.
• It was included as a full sport in the Asian Games in 1990, with the women’s event introduced in 2010.
• At the Asian Games 2023, India clinched both the men’s and women’s titles in Kabaddi.

Current Context : The Centre government appointed Govind Mohan as the next Union home secretary.

• Mohan, who hails from Uttar Pradesh, is a 1989-batch Indian Administrative Service official of Sikkim cadre, had served as joint secretary and additional secretary in the Union Home Ministry before being appointed as secretary in the Ministry of Culture in October 2021.
• He will take over as Home Secretary on the completion of the tenure of 1984-batch IAS official Ajay Kumar Bhalla on August 22.