The government has slashed the minimum annual deposit requirement for accounts under the Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) to __________ from Rs 1,000.

The Sports and Youth Ministry in the meeting of Executive Committee of the National Games 2022 has chosen the Smiling Clouded Leopard to be the Mascot for the National Games 2022. Meghalaya will host the 2022 National Games, which is coinciding with its 50 years of statehood. Clouded Leopard is among the wild cats that live throughout the forests of Garo, Khasi, and Jaintia Hills.

Life Insurance Corporation(LIC), the largest insurance company in India, got 12 years from RBI for cut down stake in IDBI Bank.LIC is the lender's major shareholder, and it has a 51 per cent stake in the Bank. It means that no obligation to sell its stake in the following years or would probably spend higher money to keep its stake in any future fund raising by the bank. Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI) claimed that LIC can take up to 15 percent stake in any bank,which can stretch up to 30 percent as per the board approval.But the insurance regulator has authorised LIC to hold up to 51 percent in IDBI Bank in 2018. After 12 years LIC has to decrease stake in IDBI Bank by 10 per cent to 40 per cent.

The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) set up a 13-member committee in order to review regulatory framework on micro insurance, and suggest the steps to be taken to raise demand for such products in India by recommending product designs with customer-friendly underwriting, example, easy premium payment methods and simple claims settlement procedures. The committee is headed by Suresh Mathur, IRDAI's Executive Director. It constitutes of officials from IRDAI, life, general and health insurance companies in public and private sectors, as well as NGOs (Non-Government Organizations). The committee was formed because of less than desired offtake of micro insurance products in spite of their immense benefits in India. It will also give recommendations about alteration in distribution structure, that is, creating effective awareness programmes and making web-based technology driven solutions.

A water conservation scheme 'Jal Amrutha' was launched by Karnataka chief minister H D Kumaraswamy, in Bengaluru. For the purpose of inauguration of the scheme, a function was organized by the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department at Dr B R Ambedkar Bhavan in Bengaluru. The scheme plans to make people aware about the importance of conserving water and to prompt them to come up with ways to avoid wastage of water. The scheme will involve undertaking scientific approaches such as water budgeting, water harvesting and water conservation through the use of geospatial data, satellite imagery, topographical and geological data. It is going to be a community-initiative, and will be undertaken by important government departments, Panchayat Raj Institutions (PRIs), non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and private sector institutions. Amd 2019 has been declared as 'Jalavarsha (year of water)'.

Karnataka government issued a circular, following the order of the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development, directing all schools in the state, including government, aided and unaided institutions, to limit the weight of a schoolbag which is not more than 10% of the child's weight. The weight of a bag of a student in Class 1 or 2 should not be more than 2 kg and these students should not be given any homework. For the students from Class 3 to 5, it can weigh between 2 and 3 kg. The weight increases accordingly, with the students of Class 9 and 10 are allowed to carry bags of weight 4-5kg. The third Saturday of every month should be followed as "No School Bag Day". Teachers are required to keep the students busy without any books or supplementary materials and indulge in activities like field visits, general knowledge clubs, art classes, indoor and outdoor games, abacus, dance classes and debates.

Steel Authority of India's Hockey Academy wins 115th Aga Khan Gold Cup tournament by beating Army XI Danapur by 2-1 at Major Dhyan Chand hockey stadium in New Delhi. Jay Prakash Patel scored the match-winning goal for the SAIL Hockey Academy (SHA) in the final match of Aga Khan Gold Cup which is one of the oldest hockey tournament in the country. The SHA team defeated Madhya Pradesh Hockey Academy by 4-2 in the semifinals. SAIL Hockey Academy is run by SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant.