Dale Steyn, one of the greatest South African pacers, announced his retirement from all forms of cricket on August 31, 2021 after a 20-year career. The Union Home Minister Amit Shah launched a web portal for the registration of industrial units in Jammu and Kashmir to boost industrial development in the union territory. The first case of the AY.12 sub-lineage of the highly-transmissible Delta variant of COVID-19 was detected in Pauri Garhwal district of Uttarakhand. Authorities have started contact tracing and testing.

1. CURRENT AFFAIRS
31 AUGUST 2021
DR.A.PRABAHARAN

2. Dale Steyn retires from all forms of
cricket
 South African cricketer Dale Steyn announced his retirement from
all forms of cricket on August 31, 2021. He is one of the greatest
pacers to have ever played cricket.
 Sten had retired from Test cricket, the longest form of the game in
2019 but had continued to be a part of One Day Internationals and
T20 Internationals.
 The pacer issued an official statement that read, "And it's been a
long December and there is reason to believe, maybe this year will
be better than the last. I cannot remember all the times I tried to
tell myself to hold on to these moments as they pass."
 He said, "It's been 20 years of training, matches, travel, wins,
losses, strapped feet, jet lag, joy and brotherhood." He added
saying, "Today, I officially retire from the game I love the most.
Bitter sweet but grateful." He thanked everyone from family to
teammates, journalists and fans and said it is been an incredible
journey together.

3. Home Minister Amit Shah launches web portal for
registrations of units for industrial development in
J&K
 The Union Home Minister Amit Shah on August 31, 2021,
launched a web portal for the registration of units for
industrial development in UT Jammu & Kashmir.
 Union Minister Dr. Jitendra Singh and Union Commerce and
Industry Minister Piyush Goyal were also present at the
inauguration of the web portal for the registrations of units
under the ‘New Central Sector Scheme 2021’ for Jammu &
Kashmir.
 Earlier on August 4, 2021, the Minister of State in the
Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Som Parkash, in a
written reply to Lok Sabha, had informed that the
Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade
has notified ‘New Central Sector Scheme for Industrial
Development of J&K’.

4. First case of AY.12 sub-lineage of Delta
variant detected in Pauri Garhwal
 The first case of the AY.12 sub-lineage of the Delta
variant has been detected in the Kotdwar area of Pauri
Garhwal district, as per CMO Dr. Manoj Sharma.
 The case was detected in Kotdwar, which is a small locality
in Pauri Garhwal, on August 30, 2021.
 The Uttarakhand state health department has issued
necessary guidelines and the concerned patient has been
asked to remain in home quarantine.
 The health department's medical team will be monitoring
the patient continuously and all the close contacts are
being traced and asked to isolate themselves.
 The authorities have also started testing at the entry
points of the Pauri Garhwal district. Overall, 15 new
COVID-19 cases have been reported in the district.

5. Y-Break App to be launched by
AYUSH Ministry on September 1
 Y-Break App: The Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal on August 29, 2021, announced that the Y-Break
App will be launched on September 1, 2021, from Vigyan
Bhawan to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.
 The Y-Break App is a 5-minute yoga protocol for office
goers. The launch of the Y-Break App has been termed as
one of the most important activities by the Ministry of
AYUSH (Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, Sowa-
Rigpa, and Homoeopathy).
 On August 29, 2021, the Union AYUSH Minister Sarbananda
Sonowal had announced a series of week-long activities and
campaigns by the Ministry of AYUSH starting from August
30 to September 5, 2021, to commemorate Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav. The AYUSH week had begun with a national
webinar on ‘Surviving the storm through Ayush Shelter’ for
AYUSH students.

6. Fit India Mobile App: Sports Minister Anurag Thakur
launches India’s most comprehensive fitness app
 The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Anurag
Thakur on August 29, 2021, launched Fit India Mobile
Application at the Major Dhyan Chand National Stadium in
Delhi.
 The app was launched to celebrate the second anniversary
of the Fit India Movement and as part of Azadi ka Amrit
Mahotsav.
 The Minister of State, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Nisith Pramanik, Secretary, Sports Ravi Mittal, and Secretary,
Youth Affairs, Usha Sharma was also present at the launch
of Fit India Mobile App.
 Before the launch event, the Union Sports Minister also
paid floral tributes to the ‘magician of hockey’, Major Dhyan
Chand. The Ministers also interacted with the wrestler
Sangram Singh, Indian Hockey Team Captain Manpreet
Singh.

7. Delhi Government to implement new 10-
year climate action plan by year-end
 Delhi Government has planned to implement a
new 10-year action plan to combat climate
change by this year-end.
 The central government had prepared the
National Action Plan on Climate Change
(NAPCC) in 2009 and had requested the states
to prepare their own specific plans. Delhi was the
last state to submit its climate action plan in
2019.
 However, as per a senior environment
department official, the plan remained largely on
paper and could not be implemented properly
and expired in 2020. Delhi will now submit a new
plan.

8. SpaceX launches avocados, ants, human-sized robotic
arm to International Space Station
 A SpaceX shipment of avocados, ants, and a
human-sized robotic arm was rocketed towards the
International Space Station on August 29, 2021.
 The latest delivery- arrived on August 30, 2021- by
SpaceX is its 23rd for NASA in just under a decade.
A recycled Falcon rocket had blasted into the
predawn sky from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center.
 After lifting the Dragon Capsule, the first-stage
booster had landed upright on the newest ocean
platform of SpaceX called ‘A Shortfall of Gravitas”.
Elon Musk, the founder of SpaceX, has continued
his tradition of naming the booster-recovery
vessels in tribute to the late science fiction writer
Iain Banks and his Culture series.

9. POSHAN Abhiyaan: Thematic POSHAN Maah to
be celebrated in September 2021
 The Women and Child Development (WCD) Ministry on August 29, 2021,
announced that the 4th POSHAN Maah will be celebrated as ‘Thematic POSHAN
Maah’ across India throughout September 2021.
 The entire month of September will be sub-divided into weekly themes for a
focused and assimilated approach towards improving Holistic Nutrition.
 Since 2018, every year, the POSHAN Maah is celebrated during September under
the POSHAN Abhiyaan, also known as National Nutrition Mission.
 The POSHAN (Prime Minister’s Overarching Scheme for Holistic Nutrition) Abhiyaan
was launched by PM Narendra Modi on March 8, 2018, in Rajasthan.
 The POSHAN Abhiyaan aims to make India a malnutrition-free country by 2022.
The Abhiyaan aims to reduce stunting in children from 38.4 per cent to 25 per cent
by 2022.
 POSHAN Abhiyaan is a people’s movement that incorporates inclusive participation
from government bodies, local bodies of states or UTs, social organizations, private
sector, and the public at large. The Budget 2021-2022 included the announcement
of Mission POSHAN 2.0 (Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0) as an integrated
nutrition support prograame.
 The mission POSHAN 2.0 focuses on strengthening nutritional content, outreach,
delivery, and outcomes by developing practices that improve health, wellness, and
immune response to disease and malnutrition.

10. Renewed nuclear activity in North Korea deeply
troubling: UN atomic agency
 North Korea appears to have restarted the operation of
its main nuclear reactor in Yongbyon, according to
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
 The UN atomic agency said that it is "deeply troubled" by
the indications, as the 5-megawatt reactor is widely
believed to produce plutonium for nuclear weapons and
is at the heart of North Korea's nuclear programme.
 The UN Secretary-General is aware of the reports and
concerned by the latest developments, informed UN
Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric on August 30, 2021. The
Secretary-General has called for North Korea to refrain
from any nuclear weapons-related activities and resume
talks with the other parties concerned.

11. What is West Nile Virus? Russia warns of increase in
cases; know symptoms, treatment, origin of WNV
 Russia on August 30, 2021, warned of a possible
increase in West Nile Virus (WNV) infections this
autumn as mild temperatures and heavy
precipitation will create favorable conditions for the
mosquitos that carry it.
 Russia’s consumer health watchdog,
Rospotrebnadzor said, “In light of favourable climatic
conditions this year- an abundance of
precipitation…a warm and long autumn, a high
number of (virus) carriers could be observed in the
autumn.
 The West Nile Virus, originally from Africa, has now
spread in Asia, Europe, and North America. WNV is
mainly transmitted through mosquito bites and can
lead to fatal neurological diseases in humans.
 More than 80% of West Nile Fever Cases in Russia
are recorded in its Southwest region. As per the
World Health Organisation, there is no vaccine
against the virus available in humans, although one
exists for horses.

12. SC Judges Appointment: 9 new
judges take Oath of Office today
 Chief Justice of India (CJI) NV Ramana on August 31, 2021, administered
the Oath of Office to nine new Judges, including three women Judges, of
the Supreme Court.
 This is the first time in the history of the apex court that nine judges took
the oath of office to the Supreme Court in one sitting.
 With the swearing-in ceremony, the strength of the Supreme Court has
reached 33 including the CJI against the sanctioned strength of 34.
 This year, the venue for the swearing-in ceremony was held in the
auditorium of the Supreme Court’s additional building complex due to
COVID-19 protocols.
 Till now, the new judges took the oath of office in the CJI’s courtroom.
 Three out of these nine new judges, Justice Vikram Nath, Justice B V
Nagarathna, and Former Additional Solicitor General P S Narasimha are in
line to become the Chief Justice of India in 2027.
 Of these, Justice B V Nagarathna could become the first woman Chief
Justice of India in 2027.

13. India at Tokyo Paralympics: Check India’s Medal Tally and
List of Indian Paralympic Medal Winners – Avani, Sumit
Antil and Others
 India's paralympic javelin thrower Sumit Antil won a
historic gold in the Class F64 Javelin Throw event on
August 30, 2021.
 This is India's second gold medal at the Tokyo
Paralympics 2020 after shooter Avani Lekhara won
gold in R-2 women’s 10m Air Rifle Standing SH1.
 Sumit Antil also broke the world record with a throw
of 68.55m. He had set the world record with his first
attempt of 66.95m and broke it in his second attempt
with a throw of 68.08m and broke it again in his fifth
attempt with a throw of 68.55m.

14. COVID-19: Third wave could peak between Oct-Nov;
expected to be less infectious than second wave
 A scientist involved in the mathematical modeling
of the COVID-19 pandemic said on August 30,
2021, that India may see a third wave of the
pandemic peaking between October and
November.
 The increase in COVID-19 cases will come, if a
more virulent mutant than the existing ones
emerges by September 2021, however, its intensity
is expected to be much lower than the second
wave.
 An IIT-Kanpur scientist, Mahindra Aggarwal, who is
a part of the three member-team of experts that
have been asked with predicting any surge in
COVID-19 infections, informed that if no new
virulent emerges, then the situation is very unlikely
to change.

15. Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Nishad Kumar wins silver in high
jump, Vinod Kumar wins bronze in discus throw
 Indian para-athlete Nishad Kumar clinched silver in
T46 high jump event at the ongoing Tokyo
Paralympics at the Olympic Stadium on August 29,
2021. He became the second Indian to win a medal
at Tokyo Paralympics.
 Nishad Kumar won the silver medal with a jump of
2.06m. He also created an Asian Record. He had
crossed the 2.02 mark in his first attempt.
 US's Roderick Townsend won gold in the event with
a jump of 2.15m, while Dallas Wise shared the
second spot with Nishad after finishing on the same
mark.
 Another Indian para-athlete Rampal Chahar
finished at the fifth spot with a jump of 1.94m.

16. Taliban bans co-education in
Afghanistan, calls it ‘root of all evils’
 Taliban has banned co-education in Afghanistan, merely days
after it had assured to respect women's rights in the
country. 'Men not allowed to teach girls,' said the newly
appointed Taliban Higher Education Minister Shaikh Abdul
Baqi Haqqani.
 Haqqani said that education activities will take place
according to Sharia Law.
 He also stated that female lecturers would be allowed to
teach only female students and not male ones.
 "The move has effectively deprived girls from higher
education because universities cannot afford to provide
different classes nor there are enough human
resources," tweeted Afghan journalist Bashir Ahmad Gwakh.

17. Afghanistan has only few days of
medical supplies left: WHO
 Afghanistan will soon run out of essential medical supplies.
 The war-torn nation has only a few days of medical supplies left
to meet the health requirements of the people of the nation, as
per the World Health Organisation (WHO).
 As per media reports, Afghanistan is falling short of essential
medical supplies including medicines for hospitals, medical
equipment to contain COVID-19 and nutritional food for acutely
malnourished children.
 The demand for trauma kits is also high in the nation following
the blasts at Kabul airport on August 26, 2021.
 The closure of the Kabul airport for commercial operations has
forced WHO to explore other means to transport medical
supplies, informed WHO's emergency director for the Eastern
Mediterranean region, Rick Brennan.

18. Bhavina Patel wins India's first medal at Tokyo
Paralympics 2020, clinches silver in Para Table Tennis
 Tokyo Paralympics 2020: Bhavina Patel created
history on August 29, 2021 by becoming the first
Indian Table tennis player to win silver medal at
Paralympics. She won silver in the women's singles
class 4 at Tokyo Paralympics 2020.
 She had stormed into the finals after beating
China's Zhang Miao 3-2 in her Class 4 match.
 She ended with a podium finish after losing out
China's Zhou Ying 11-7, 11-5, 11-6 in the Class 4
Para Table Tennis finals.