• Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started the construction of 64-km long Likaru-Mig La-Fukche road close to Hanle in Eastern Ladakh’s Demchok sector.
• Once completed, it will be the world’s highest motorable road at a height of 19,400 ft in Mig La.
• Reportedly, an all-woman unit of the BRO began the construction of the Likaru-Mig La-Fukche road. A five-member team of women combat engineers headed by Colonel Ponung Doming is supervising the road construction.
• Currently, Umling La in Ladakh at a height of 19,024 ft holds the record of being the highest motorable road in the world.
  • It is a 52-km road that connects Chishumle to Demchok, which is right on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), and a friction point between India and China.

• After Russia broke away from The Black Sea Grain deal, a ‘new’ trade route via the Sulina Channel is an available alternative for Ukraine.
• It is a 63 km long distributary of the Danube, connecting major Ukrainian ports on the river to the Black Sea, lying completely within the borders of Romania, a NATO member.
• Near Tulcea, Romania, the Danube river begins to spread out into its delta which has three major channels – Chilia, Sulina and St George.
• Of these, the Sulina Channel, which has been dredged and straightened, is the only one deep and wide enough for freight transport.

• The first-ever trilateral summit between the three countries- USA, Japan and South Korea was held in the US.
• A joint statement titled ‘The Spirit of Camp David’ expressed support for their collective alliance.
• They issued a sharply worded joint statement about Beijing’s actions in the South China Sea and nuclear threats from North Korea.
• The three countries also reiterated their commitment to peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
• The three countries will agree to “significant steps” to enhance security cooperation among them.

• National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd has started a trial run of a hydrogen bus in Leh.

• NTPC is setting up a hydrogen fuelling station, solar plant(1.7 MW) and providing five fuel cell buses for operation on intracity routes of Leh.
• This is India’s first ever deployment of hydrogen buses on public roads.
• The fuel cell buses are designed for operation in sub-zero temperatures in rarefied atmosphere, which is typical for high altitude locations.

• Reserve Bank of India has revised norms Infrastructure Debt Fund-NBFCs.
• This has been done in order to enable them play a greater role in financing of the infrastructure sector.

ABOUT IDF-NBFC

• An IDF-NBFC is a company registered as NBFC to facilitate the flow of long- term debt into infrastructure projects.
• They can finance toll operate transfer (TOT) projects as the direct lender.
• IDF-NBFCs are non-deposit-taking entities.

GUIDELINES

• IDF-NBFCs will now be required to have a net owned fund (NOF) of at least Rs 300 crore
• They should have a capital-to-risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR) of minimum 15% (with minimum Tier 1 capital of 10%).
• With a view to facilitating better asset-liability management (ALM), IDF-NBFCs can raise funds through shorter tenor bonds and commercial papers (CPs) from the domestic market to the extent of up to 10 per cent of their total outstanding borrowings.
• It raises resources through issue of rupee or dollar-denominated bonds of minimum 5-year maturity.
• IDF-NBFCs are prohibited from sourcing the External Commercial Borrowings (ECB) loans from the foreign branches of Indian banks.
• The requirement of a sponsor for an IDF-NBFC has now been withdrawn and shareholders of IDF-NBFCs would be subjected to scrutiny as applicable to other NBFCs, including NBFC-IFCs, RBI said.
• All NBFCs would be eligible to sponsor IDF-MFs with prior approval of RBI subject to certain conditions.

• Gabon recently announced a $500 million debt-for-nature swap and agreed to a deal with the Bank of America, the US International Development Finance Corporation (USDFC) and The Nature Conservancy (TNC), to refinance the amount in national debt toward marine conservation efforts in the country.
• In Africa, it is the largest such deal signed by any country to refinance its debt
• Gabon’s debt has been restructured under a Blue Bond in the world’s second-largest debt-for-nature swap.
• This is the fourth project under TNC’s “Blue Bonds for Ocean Conservation”
  • Gabon is the fourth country to partner with TNC on a Blue Bonds project after Seychelles, Belize and Barbados.
• This transaction will enable the country to make annual contributions to an independent conservation fund and an endowment that will continue to fund conservation after the bonds are repaid.

ABOUT DEBT-FOR-NATURE SWAPS

• Debt-for-nature swaps allow heavily indebted developing countries to seek help from financial institutions in the developed world with paying off their debt if they agree to spend on conservation of natural resources.
• Usually banks in developed countries buy the debts of such countries and replace them with new loans which mature later.
• These have lower interest rates.

• To mark the 200^th birth anniversary of Arya Samaj founder Dayanand Saraswati this year, the government has formed a high-level committee headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
• Members include Union ministers, state governors, senior officials from various departments and office-bearers of the Arya Samaj organisation.

ABOUT MAHARISHI DAYANAND SARASWATI (1824-83)

• He was born on 12^th February 1824 in Tankara, Gujarat in a Brahmin family.
• He was an Indian philosopher and social leader.
• He took inspiration from the Vedas and considered them to be ‘India’s Rock of Ages’ and gave the slogan “Back to the Vedas”.
• His magnum opus, Satyarth Prakash (1875), emphasised the “return to Vedic principles” that Dayanand Saraswati believed “had been lost” over time.
  • The book uses the language of religious revivalism – hearkening back to a ‘better’ ancient past – in order to fashion a modern religious philosophy and organisation, capable of competing against the increasingly proselytising Christian missionaries.
• A believer in the supreme authority of the vedas, he established the Arya Samaj in 1875, leading a reform movement within orthodox Hinduism.
• His beliefs included a rejection of idolatry and the overly ritualistic traditions of Hinduism, support for women’s education, denunciation of child marriage and an opposition to untouchability.
• He was the first to call for Swaraj by raising slogan ‘India for Indians’ in 1876.
• The DAV (Dayanand Anglo Vedic) schools came into existence in 1886 to realize the vision of Swami Dayanand Saraswati.

ABOUT ARYA SAMAJ

• Its 1^st unit was set up at Mumbai and but headquarters were located in Lahore.
• This was a monotheistic Hindu order that rejected the ritualistic excesses and social dogmas of orthodox Hinduism and promoted a united Hindu society on the basis of Vedic teachings.
• It worked towards abolishing caste system, women’s subjugation, and promoted widow remarriage

• As per a Finance ministry release, total number of Jan Dhan accounts in the country has crossed 50 crore-mark.

OTHER STATS

• 56% of the accounts belong to women.
• About 67% of these accounts have been opened in rural and semi-urban areas.
• The total deposits in these accounts are above Rs 2.03 lakh crore.
• Around 34 crore RuPay cards have been issued with these accounts free of cost.
• Average balance in PMJDY accounts is Rs 4,076
• More than 5.5 crore of these are receiving Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).

ABOUT PRADHAN MANTRI JAN DHAN YOJANA

• The National Mission on Financial Inclusion -popularly known as PMJDY –was launched on August 28, 2014.
• It envisaged universal access to banking facilities with at least one basic banking account for every household, financial literacy, access to credit, insurance and pension.
• It offers following benefits-
  • a bank account without the requirement of a minimum balance,
  • free of cost RuPay debit cards with in-built accidental insurance of Rs 2 lakh, and
  • The holders of a RuPay Debit Card under the scheme can also receive life cover insurance up to ₹30,000.
  • an overdraft facility of up to Rs 10,000 (but only available against one account per household).

• World Photography Day is observed annually on August 19^th.
• It commemorates the invention of the daguerreotype, a photographic process developed by Frenchman Louis Daguerre in 1837 that marked a significant milestone in the history of photography.
• The World Photography Day 2023 theme is “LANDSCAPES”.

• Goa’s CM released a biodiversity atlas of Mayem village in North Goa, which he termed as “India’s first village atlas”.
• This unprecedented atlas offers a comprehensive socio-cultural history that traces back to the 12th century.