Current affairs 16 August 2023

Myra Grover honored with Empowered Women Icon Award by UK Parliament's House of Lords.

Myra Grover, author and secretary of the New Delhi Social Workers Association (NDSWA), has been awarded with the esteemed Women Icon Award as author on Mental Wellness by the House of Lords, UK Parliament.
The award ceremony, held recently, was a remarkable recognition of her contributions to society.
The award ceremony took place at the distinguished House of Lords, UK Parliament, symbolizing its international significance.
The event received the support of Meenakshi Lekhi, the Minister of State for External Affairs and Culture, Government of India, as the Chief Guest.

The Assembly on 9 August 2023, unanimously passed a resolution urging the Central government to officially change the name of the State from Kerala to Keralam.
The Assembly sought an amendment to the Constitution, which too refers the State as Kerala, in this regard.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan presented the contents of resolution in the House under Rule 118 of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in the Kerala Legislative Assembly.
While Keralam is the accepted and common usage in Malayalam, the State is generally referred to as Kerala in official records, especially those in English. The First Schedule of the Constitution also specifies the name of the State as Kerala.

Virat Kohli is the third-richest athlete on Instagram, commands Rs 11.45 cr per post.
He is the only Indian in the top 20 list published by Hopper HQ.
The former Indian skipper is third only to Cristiano Ronaldo who has topped the list with 596,848,846 followers, and Lionel Messi who has 479,268,484 followers, in the 2023 Instagram Rich List.
Ronaldo commands $3,234,000 or Rs 26.76 crore per post and Messi commands $2,597,000 or Rs 21.49 crore for a post.

Reserve Bank of India has proposed to launch an innovative payment mode viz., Conversational Payments on UPI.
It will enable users to engage in a conversation with an Artificial Intelligence-powered system to initiate and complete transactions in a safe and secure environment.
This channel will be made available in both smartphones and feature phones-based UPI channels, thereby helping in the deepening of digital penetration in the country.
Initially the facility will be available in Hindi and English and will subsequently be made available in more Indian languages. Central Bank has also proposed to use Near Field Communication (NFC) technology in UPI transaction.

The One District One Product (ODOP) program, an initiative under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
Ministry of Commerce & Industry, aims at manifesting the vision of the Prime Minister to make the country and its people self-reliant by fostering balanced regional development across all districts of the country.
The program selects, brands, and promotes one unique product from each district, showcasing the diverse range of products across the country which encompasses various sectors, including handlooms and handicrafts.