Former Singapore deputy prime minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam was elected president, according to official results, in the city-state's first contested vote for the largely ceremonial position in more than a decade.

• The Elections Department declared the 66-year-old economist as the winner over two rival candidates after securing 70.4 percent of ballots cast.
• Observers said Tharman Shanmugaratnam's win is a boost for the ruling People's Action Party (PAP), which is widely perceived to favour his candidacy.
• Mr Shanmugaratnam replaces incumbent Halimah Yacob who ran unopposed for her six-year term in 2017.
• Mr Shanmugaratnam, also a former finance minister, was a long-time PAP stalwart before he resigned to run for the non-partisan position of president.

 ISRO'sAditya L1 spacecraft succesfully launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota on Saturday. With this, India inched one step closer for the completion of its maiden Solar expedition. ISRO's trusted PSLV will carry the Aditya L1 mission on a 125-day voyage to the Sun. 

• The Aditya L1 spacecraft will stay in Earth's orbit for sixteen days. After four months of journey, the satellite will be placed on the L1 point in the halo orbit around the Sun. 
• Aditya L1 launched successfully from Satish Dhawan Space Cenre in Sriharikota on Saturday( 2 September 2023).
• The launch was declared successful after the satellite was placed into Earth's elliptical orbit. Now, the space agency will perform orbit raising exercise within fixed duration. The first orbit raising exercise will be performed on Sunday.
• Aditya L1 is designed to provide remote observations of the Solar corona and conduct in-situ observations of the Solar wind at L1 (Sun-Earth Lagrangian point), which is about 1.5 million kilometres from the Earth. 

Union Health Minister Mansukh Mandaviya inaugurated the Amrita Patel Centre of Public Health in Anand in Gujarat.  Addressing on the occasion, Mr Mandaviya said, India is leading the world in the health sector today( 2 Sepetember, 2023)

• The Government is stressing holistic health with an aim to strengthen the health infrastructure in the country. He said during the past nine years, there has been a significant increase in MBBS seats and the number of medical colleges in the country.
• He noted, the Government is making wide efforts to provide affordable and accessible healthcare for all.
• Mr Mandaviya who is on a visit to Gujarat, will attend several programmes in Surat later in the day.

Central Bureau of Communications (CBC) chief Manish Desai will take over the government’s media outreach unit Press Information Bureau (PIB), the ministry of information and broadcasting said. He is  appointed as principal director general of PIB.

• A 1989 IIS officer, Desai took over the CBC last year. He will assume charge of PIB on the superannuation of Rajesh Malhotra, who has been at the helm of the media outreach unit since 2022 
• Desai has also worked as the CBC chief executive officer of the advertising and public communication arm of the Government of India.
• The work spans the entire spectrum of communication activities across print, electronic, outdoor, transit and new media. From November 2019 to January 2020, Desai was the director general of the Registrar of Newspapers of India (RNI).
• For six years, from 2012 to 2018, he served as additional director general (ADG) PIB. He has also served as the director general of the West Zone PIB in Mumbai.

World Coconut Day is celebrated every year on 2 September to create awareness among people about the countless benefits of coconuts across the globe.

• The day is dedicated to promoting sustainable coconut farming and its significant benefits.
• World Coconut Day also commemorates the formation of Asian Pacific Coconut Community (APCC) -- an organisation that was established to improve the socio-economic welfare of farmers and other industry stakeholders in a vibrant coconut sector.
• The theme for World Coconut Day 2023 is 'Coconuts: Transforming Lives'. 

Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia along with Gen. Vijay Kumar Singh (Rtd.) MoS, Ministry of Civil Aviation inaugurated Utkela Airport and a direct flight between Utkela and Bhubaneshwar today. The event was conducted through video conferencing.

• Utkela airport is owned by the Government of Odisha. It has been developed as a regional airport under the UDAN scheme of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India at a cost of Rs. 31.07 Cr.
• Utkela airport has a runway of length 917 meters. (2,995 ft.) with a width of 30 meters. With the addition of Utkela Airport, Odisha will now have five airports.
• The newly inaugurated Utkela - Bhubaneshwar - Utkela flight route will enhance regional air connectivity and play an important role in the economic development of the region. IndiaOne, will be running the flights on this route from 31st August onwards.
• The operator will be utilizing 9-seater Cessna C-208 aircraft sanctioned under the UDAN scheme. This flight will operate according to the following schedule:

Telangana’s Chief Innovation Officer (CIO), Shanta Thoutam, has been honored with the World Innovation Award during the inaugural BRICS Innovation Forum held in Moscow from August 27 to 29.

• This distinguished accolade acknowledges her outstanding commitment to furthering Sustainable Development Goal-4, which emphasizes the promotion of inclusive and equitable quality education, as well as lifelong opportunities for all.
• The forum brought together representatives from more than 30 countries and featured two other notable contenders in the same category: Fernando Padula Novaes, Municipal Minister of Education of Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Saif Al-Hiddabi, Undersecretary of Research and Innovation at the Ministry of Higher Education, Research, and Innovation in Oman.
• Shanta Thoutam’s impressive journey in Telangana’s innovation ecosystem spans seven years, during which she has held various key positions, starting as Vice President at T-Hub, followed by her role as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) for the State Handlooms and Textiles Department. Currently, she serves as the first female Chief Innovation Officer.

Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das, along with counterparts from Switzerland and Vietnam, receives top “A+” ratings in the Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2023 for exceptional performance in inflation control, economic growth, currency stability, and interest rate management.

• Shaktikanta Das is among three central bank chiefs to earn an “A+” grade in the Global Finance Central Banker Report Cards 2023.
• The grades are based on a scale from A to F for success in inflation control, economic growth goals, currency stability and interest rate management. An “A” grade represents an excellent performance down through an “F” for outright failure.
• The other two central bank chiefs who earned “A+” grades along with Das are -- Thomas J. Jordan (Switzerland) and Nguyen Thi Hong (Vietnam).

The Zayed Charity Marathon will be held in the Indian state of Kerala later this year. Established in 2001, under the guidance of the UAE President, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the marathon bears the name of the Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan. 

• The marathon represents the UAE’s vision of spreading love and peace across the world and Sheikh Zayed’s passion for supporting charitable causes. 
• The Organising Committee of the Zayed Charity Marathon led by Chairman Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hilal Al Kaabi held a meeting with visiting Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Dubai.
• Indian Ambassador to the UAE Sunjay Sudhir, members of the Higher Organising Committee of the Zayed Charity Marathon Hamoud Abdullah Al Junaibi and Ahmed Mohammed Al Kaabi, and prominent NRI businessman and chairman of LuLu Group International Yusuffali MA were also part of the meeting.

Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia, Union Minister for Civil Aviation & Steel inaugurated the ‘International Aerospace Conference: Moving Towards Inclusive Global Value Chains’. It is being jointly organised by the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on 1st and 2nd September 2023 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh.

The International Aerospace Conference is a G20 initiative in the aerospace sector under G20 and B20 priority, focusing on developing inclusive global value chains for Global trade and Investment and aims to promote and strengthen trade and investment among the G20 countries.

In his inaugural address, Shri Jyotiraditya M Scindia said that now it is time for global aerospace industry players to supplant themselves to India and there are multiple reasons for it: 

• Development of Infrastructure
• Availability of aircrafts
• Ecosystem Development:
• Thrust on Regional Connectivity: UDAN has given birth to 4 new regional airlines in the country. The hub and connectivity network we have been talking about for decades is a reality in India today.

For the first time in international cricket, a transgender woman player will feature in ICC-related tournaments. Danielle McGahey, 29, is set to become the first transgender woman player to play in international cricket.

The first-ever professional football event Climate Cup will be held at the Open Stadium in Spituk, Leh, which stands at an altitude of 11,000 feet above sea level. 

• This stadium, constructed under the Khelo India programme, boasts of being one of the highest football stadiums globally.
• The pitch features an astroturf, specially designed to endure the region’s extreme weather conditions. The seven-day-long football sporting event will be held from September 1-7.
• The 'Climate Cup 2023’ football tournament, is India’s first zero polythene, minimal waste football event featuring teams from Ladakh as well as from other national clubs.
• The participating teams include the UT Ladakh team, 1 Ladakh FC, Delhi FC, and Tibetan National Sports Association Team.

Global rating agency Moody's Investor Service raised India's economic growth forecast to 6.7 percent in 2023 from 5.5 percent pegged earlier.

• It has, however, slashed India's 2024 gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to 6.1 percent from 6.5 percent earlier since the second quarter outperformance has created a high base this year.
• Strong services expansion and capital expenditures propelled India's 7.8 percent real GDP growth in the second quarter from a year ago. We have accordingly raised our 2023 calendar year growth forecast for India from 5.5 percent to 6.7 percent, it said.
• On lowering the 2024 growth forecast, Moody's said, "Since the second quarter outperformance creates a high base in 2023, we have lowered our 2024 growth forecast from 6.5 percent to 6.1 percent."

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB) appointed actor R Madhavan as the president of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) Society and chairperson of the governing council.

• The tenure of former president director Shekhar Kapur ended on 3 March, 2023.
• The FTII Society, headed by the FTII chairperson, has 12 nominees, of whom eight are nominated under the ‘Persons of Eminence’ category while four are FTII alumnus.
• The Ministry usually nominates the members while appointing the institute chairperson, but it had deviated from this tradition when actor Anupam Kher was appointed in October 2017.