Current Affairs 14th August 2021| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS : NATIONAL NEWS

MoHUA launches ‘SonChiraiya’ to market Urban SHG products      

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched a brand and logo called ‘SonChiraiya, for marketing the products of urban self-help groups (SHGs).

Purpose :

• Helping women to become financially empowered and live a dignified life.

Importance :

• It is a significant step of increasing visibility and global access for the products made by urban SHG women.
• To link many more such SHG members, with a variety of professionally packaged, hand-crafted ethnic products, reaching the doorsteps of the customers globally.
• Under the aegis of MoHUA , the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana-National Urban Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NULM) has focussed on equipping the urban poor women with adequate skills and opportunities to enable them to promote sustainable micro enterprises.

Note :

• The ministry entered into an MoU with leading e-commerce portals like Amazon and Flipkart, with an underlying narrative of women empowerment.
• This MoU has successfully on-boarded over 2,000 products of nearly 5,000 SHG members across 25 states and UTs.

About MoHUA :

• Union Minister : Hardeep Singh Puri
• Ministry Executive :  Durga Shanker Mishra,
• Founded: 1952
• Headquarters: New Delhi

India’s renewable energy capacity crosses 100 gigawatts

• On Aug 12, 2021, India’s renewable energy capacity crossed the milestone of 100 gigawatts (GW).
• In that 100 GW , 50 GW is under installation and 27 GW is under tendering
• This will become 4th national in the world in terms of installed RE capacity, 5th in solar, and 4th in wind in terms of installed capacity.
• India has set an ambitious target of expanding its installed RE capacity to 450 GW by 2030.
• India has a power generation capacity of 383.73 GW.

Note :

• India, as part of the multilateral Paris Agreement to combat climate change, has pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emission intensity of its GDP by 33-35 percent below 2005 levels by 2030, and also switch to non-fossil fuel sources for 40 percent of its total power capacity by 2030.

About Ministry of New and Renewable Energy :

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 1992
• Union Minister : Raj Kumar Singh
• Minister of State : Bagwanth Khuba

CURRENT AFFAIRS : STATE NEWS

Maharashtra government launches e-crop Survey Initiative

• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched the e-crop survey initiative which will become effective in Maharashtra from August 15.
• It will be implemented jointly by the department of revenue and agriculture and Tata Trusts.

About the  e-crop Survey Initiative

Aim :

• To increase the income of farmers through the ‘Vickel to Pickel’ campaign.
• Through this initiative farmers will be able to register their crops on their own and avail crop loans and crop insurance.
• Also, the project will understand each crop pattern area by village taluka and district.
• It reduces the hardships of the farmers & also it will provide crop-related information without hassles.

Note :

• Also the Maharashtra Government, introduced a digitized 7/12 document, which is an extract from the ‘Land Register’ that the farmers can now access on their mobile phones.

About Maharashtra :

• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Capital: Mumbai
• Chief minister: Uddhav Thackeray

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BANKING NEWS

RBI cancels license of Raigad based Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank       

• The Reserve Bank has canceled the license of Raigad based Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited in Maharashtra.
• The license was cancelled due to the insufficient capital and earning prospects and its continuance would have adversely affected depositors.
• According to the data submitted by the bank, 95% of the depositors will receive full amounts of their deposits from Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC)
• On liquidation, every depositor would be entitled to receive deposit insurance claim amount of his/her deposits up to a monetary ceiling of Five lakh rupees.

About Reserve Bank of India :

• Governor: Shaktikanta Das Trending
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Founder: British Raj
• Founded: 1 April 1935, Kolkata
• Repo Rate :4.00%
• Reverse Repo Rate : 3.35 %
• Bank Rate :4.25%

About DICGC :

• Chairperson: Michael Patra
• Founded: 1978
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Credit and Insurance Institution executive: D. Patra

CURRENT AFFAIRS :  ECONOMY

APEDA in collaboration with HPMC exports five varieties of apples to Bahrain

• APEDA collaboration with Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation Ltd (HPMC) exported five unique varieties of apples 

1. Royal Delicious,
2. Dark Baron Gala,
3. Scarlet Spur,
4. Red Velox
5. Golden Delicious to Bahrain.

Purpose :

• To promote agricultural and processed food products exports to newer destinations.
• The five unique varieties of apples have been sourced from the farmers of Himachal Pradesh and exported by APEDA registered DM Enterprises.
• The apples will be showcased at the apple promotion programme organized by leading retailer – Al Jajira group
• It is commencing from 15th August, also marking the 75th year of India’s independence celebration.

Recent News :

• In July 2021, For boosting mango export potential from the middle east countries, a consignment of Geographical Identification (GI) certified Fazil mango variety sourced from Malda district of West Bengal was exported to Bahrain.
• It was exported by APEDA registered DM enterprises in Kolkata and imported by Al Jazira group in Bahrain.

About APEDA  :

• APEDA Stands for Agriculture and processed food production export Development Authority.
• Founded: 13 February 1986
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairman: M. Angamuthu (IAS)
• It promotes export trade of agricultural products in India.
• It was set-up by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India.
• APEDA has been initiating several measures to boost fruits and vegetables exports from non-traditional regions and states of

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

PM Modi addresses Investor Summit in Gujarat 

• On Aug 13, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Investor Summit in Gujarat via video conference.
• The Summit is being organized to invite investment for setting up vehicle scrapping infrastructure in

About Investor Summit :

• The Investor Summit was organized  by the Gujarat government and the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.
• During the summit PM Modi launched the National Automobile Scrappage Policy.

About Vehicle Scrapping Policy:

• The policy invites investment for setting up vehicle scrapping infrastructure under the Voluntary Vehicle-Fleet Modernization Program.

Objective :

• To phase out unfit and polluting vehicles in an environment-friendly manner.
• This will reduce pollution, create job opportunities and boost demand for new vehicles & achieve better fuel efficiency.
• The policy intends to create scrapping infrastructure in the form of Automated Testing Stations and Registered Vehicle Scrapping Facilities across the country.

Note :

• The Gujarat government has joined hands with auto major Tata Motors for setting up a vehicle scrapping facility in Ahmedabad.

About Gujarat :

• Capital: Gandhinagar
• Governor: Acharya Devvrat
• Chief minister: Vijay Rupani

India Organize IBSA Tourism Ministers’ Meet                                           

• On August 12, 2021, India organized the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Tourism Ministers’ meeting through Virtually.

Key People :

• The IBSA Tourism Ministers’ Meet chaired by the Union Minister of Tourism of India, Shri G. Kishan Reddy.
• Gilson Machado Neto, Minister of Tourism of the Federative Republic of Brazil and Fish Amos Mahlalela, Deputy Minister of Tourism of the Republic of South Africa , Fish Amos Mahlalela, attended video conferencing under India’s IBSA Chairship.

About the Meeting :

• The IBSA is a trilateral, developmental initiative between India, Brazil and South Africa to promote South-South cooperation and exchange.

Aim :

• To strengthen relations between the member countries for economic development and promote tourism cooperation among the member states and recognized the importance of strengthening cooperation in tourism to overcome the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on the tourism sector.
• The important aspect of the meeting was the adoption of the IBSA Tourism Ministers Joint Statement, an outcome document on cooperation and promotion for speedy recovery of travel and tourism.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Navy takes part in US Navy-led SEACAT exercises 

• On Aug 10, 2021, The Indian Navy participated in the S. Navy-led Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) military exercise in Singapore.
• It was organised by the S. Navy, in Hybrid format.

Aim :

• To enhance the interoperability and shared maritime security concerns and preserve rules-based international order.
• To foster enhanced cooperation between Southeast Asian countries by incorporating standardized training, tactics and procedures when faced with crises, contingencies or illegal activities in the maritime domain.

About the Exercise :

• This is the 20th edition of the exercise & the exercise involves approximately 400 personnel and 10 ships.
• The military exercise also included navies of 20 other partner nations.
• Other countries participating in the exercise include Australia, Bangladesh, Brunei, Canada, France, Germany,  Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, United Kingdom and Vietnam.

Note :

• SEACAT was held for the first time in 2002.

About Indian Navy :

• Founded: 26 January 1950
• Vice Chief of the Naval Staff (VCNS): Vice Admiral Satish Namdeo Ghormade
• Deputy Chief of the Naval Staff (DCNS): Vice Admiral Ravneet Singh
• Chief of the Naval Staff (CNS): Admiral Karambir Singh
• Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind

Pakistan Army successfully test fires surface-to-surface ballistic missile – Ghaznavi 

• On Aug 12, 2021, the Pakistan Army successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi.
• The Ghaznavi missile has a range up to 290 kilometres.
• Pakistan’s National Development Complex has been designed and developed.
• The test-fire was also aimed at ensuring the operational readiness of Army Strategic Forces Command  (ASFC) and re-validating technical parameters of the weapon system.
• The Ghaznavi missile has been tested in both day and night modes.
• The Missile is capable of carrying both nuclear as well as conventional warheads.

About Pakistan Army :

• Chief of General Staff: Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza
• Commander-in-Chief: President Arif Alvi
• Chief of Army Staff: Qamar Javed Bajwa
• Founded: 14 August 1947
• Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) director-general : Babar Iftikhar

About Pakistan :

• Capital: Islamabad
• President: Arif Alvi
• Currency: Pakistani rupee
• Prime minister: Imran Khan

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

ISRO’s Chandrayaan-2 orbiter detects water molecules on lunar surface

• Chandrayaan-2, ISRO’s second lunar mission, has detected the presence of water molecules on the moon.
• A research paper revealed that the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter confirmed the presence of water molecules (H2o) and hydroxyl (OH) on the surface of the moon.
• The instrument can operate between the wavelength of 0.8 to 5 micrometre.
• The data was collected by the Imaging infrared spectrometer (IIRS), developed by Ahmedabad-based Space Applications Centre (SAC) of ISRO from the electromagnetic spectrum obtained from the lunar surface.
• The initial data analysis from IIRS clearly demonstrates the presence of widespread lunar hydration and unambiguous detection of OH and H2O signatures on the Moon between 29 degrees north and 62 degrees north latitude”.
• The findings were published in the journal Current Science.

About Chandrayaan-2 :

• Chandrayaan-2 was launched on July 22, 2019, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota.

Aim :

• To mapping the variations in lunar surface composition, as well as locating and studying the surface of the Moon for the presence of water.

About ISRO :

• Director: Kailasa Vadivoo Sivan
• Founder: Vikram Sarabhai
• Founded: 15 August 1969
• Headquarters: Bengaluru

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Tokyo Paralympic Games -India sends 54-member contingent

• On Aug 12, 2021, The 54-member Indian contingents were given a formal send-off by Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in virtual format.
• 54 para-sportspersons will compete across 9 sports disciplines including Archery, Athletics (Track and Field), Badminton, Swimming, Weight Lifting among others.
• This is the biggest-ever contingent India is sending to any Olympics.

Key People :

• Minister of Tourism Shri G.K Reddy, and MoS External Affairs and Culture Smt Meenakshi Lekhi were also present at the event.

About 2020 Summer Paralympics Games :

• The 2020 Summer Paralympics Games are scheduled to be held in Tokyo, Japan from August 24 to September 05, 2021.
• It is an international multi-sport event for athletes with disabilities governed by the International Paralympic Committee.

West Indies Captain Stafanie Taylor, Bangladesh All-Rounder Shakib Al Hasan named Player of the Month awards for July 2021

• On Aug 11, 2021, All-rounder and captain of the West Indies women squad Stafanie Taylor and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan were named as the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for July 2021.
• Stafanie Taylor was nominated for the award alongside teammate Hayley Matthews and Pakistan’s Fatima Sana.
• Stafanie has made 175 runs with a strike rate of 79.18 and took three wickets with an economy rate of 3.72.
• Shakib Al Hasan scored 96 unbeaten runs as Bangladesh defeated Zimbabwe by three wickets in the second ODI at the Harare Sports Club.

About Shakib Al Hasan :

• He was ranked as one of the world’s most famous athletes by ESPN World Fame 100 in 2019.
• Shakib is the highest wicket taker for Bangladesh in all international formats.
• In August 2021, he became the first cricketer to take 100 wickets and score 1,000 runs in T20Is

About Stafanie Taylor :

• Taylor was selected as the 2011 ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year & she was the first West Indian to receive the accolade.
• She was also the first woman to score 1,000 runs in ODIs for the West Indies.
• Taylor became the second cricketer to score 3,000 runs in WT20I cricket.
• She was the first female cricketer to score a century and to take four wickets in an innings of a WODI.

About ICC :

• Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
• Founded: 15 June 1909
• CEO : Geoff Allardice
• Chairman: Greg Barclay
• Deputy Chairman: Imran Khwaja

Unmukt Chand, India’s U-19 World Cup-winning captain, announces retirement

• Former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand has announced his retirement from Indian cricket.
• Chand had started his domestic career with Delhi in 2010 and went on to play for the team for 8 seasons.
• Chand had made an unbeaten 111, leading a tense victory over Australia in the 2012 U-19 World Cup final in Townsville, Australia.
• The 28-year-old, who also led India A as well as Delhi and Uttarakhand in domestic cricket, had represented Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Rajasthan Royals in the IPL.
• Chand finishes his ‘Indian cricket’ career with 3379 runs in first-class cricket, 4505 runs in List A cricket and 1565 runs in T20s.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Ex Indian Men’s hockey player Gopal Bhengra passes away

• On Aug 09, 2021, Former international hockey player Gopal Bhengra passed away.
• He was 75.

About Gopal Bhengra :

• Gopal Bhengra was part of the 1978 Men’s Hockey World Cup Indian squad held in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
• He had played against Argentina and Pakistan in the World Cup.
• Also he served in the Indian Army.

Daily CA On Aug 13 :

• August 13 of every year is observed as World Organ Donation Day aimed at raising awareness about the importance of organ donation and encourages people to take a pledge for the same.
• International Left Handers Day is an international day observed annually on August 13 to celebrate the uniqueness and differences of left-handed individuals.
• PM Narendra Modi interacts with women self-help groups (SHGs) under the “Aatmanirbhar Narishakti se Samvad”
• Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Shri Bhupender Yadav released the population estimation protocol to be adopted in the exerciseto be taken up for the All India elephant and tiger population estimation in 2022. 
• The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), Ministry of Finance, Government of India annually brings out the 60th annual Public Sector Enterprises Survey on the performance of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
• Chief Scientist WHO Dr Soumya Swaminathan, currently in India, called on Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh.
• Nitin Gadkari stated 42 works costing Rs.615.48 crores were sanctioned at the request of the Uttarakhand government under the Central Road Infrastructure Fund Union Roads, transport, and Highway Minister Nitin Gadkari has announced 1,000 crore for new national highways in Uttarakhand and an additional Rs.300 crore for the Central Road Infrastructure Fund.
• Indian Air Force (IAF) has built one of the world’s highest mobile air traffic control (ATC) towers at the Advanced Landing Ground in Ladakh’s Nyoma area.
• Assam’s Kaziranga National Park (KNP) became the first national park in India to be equipped with satellite phones.
• India’s retail inflation eased to a three-month low in July, back within the Reserve Bank’s tolerance level (2 per cent-6 per cent) after staying above the upper band for two straight months.
• NITI Aayog has released a handbook to guide state governments and local bodies to frame policies and norms towards setting up charging networks for electric vehicles.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) informed it has imposed a penalty of Rs 1 crore on Coöperatieve Rabobank U.A. for deficiencies in regulatory compliances.
• RBL Bank has chosen Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon.com company, as its preferred cloud provider to strengthen its AI powered banking solutions and drive digital transformation at the Bank, adding significant value to the Banks innovative offerings, saving costs, and tightening risk controls.
• Deutsche Bank, a leading German bank with strong European roots and a global network spread across 59 countries, has received approval from the GIFT SEZ Authority to set up an IFSC banking unit at India’s first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) at GIFT City, Gujarat.
• Cashify, a re-commerce marketplace that sells and buys used smart phones and other electronic gadgets, has appointed Rajkummar Rao as its first brand ambassador.
• Senior IPS officer Sudhir Kumar Saxena was appointed as Secretary (Security), Cabinet Secretariat.
• As many as 152 police officers in the country have been conferred with the ‘Union Home Minister’s Medal for Excellence in Investigation’ for 2021 for their high professional standards of investigation of crime.
• Union Govt. announces winners of Prime Minister’s Shram Awards (PMSA) for 2018 comprising Shram Bhushan, Shram Vir/Shram Veerangana and Shram Shree/Shram Devi Awards
• Recognizing the role of innovations to strengthen India’s response to COVID-19 crisis and preparedness for emerging healthcare needs, the National Health Authority has signed an MoU with the Indian Institute of Technology Delhi.
• On Aug 06, 2021, to the 28th ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF) Foreign Ministers Meeting, the Minister of State for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh led India’s delegation.
• Secretary, DOS and Chairman of ISRO Dr K Sivan, inaugurated the ‘Health QUEST study (Health Quality Upgradation Enabled by Space Technology of ISRO)’ through videoconferencing.
• The Hamad International Airport in Doha, Qatar, has been named the “Best Airport in the World” in the 2021 Skytrax World Airport Awards.
• The number of billionaires in India came down to 136 in 2020-21 from 141 in 2019-20, based on the gross total income declared in the income tax return.
• On Aug 09, 2021, the Vice President of India Venkaiah Naidu released a new book titled ‘Accelerating India: 7 Years of Modi Government’ at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas, New Delhi.
• Asia’s oldest and world’s third oldest football tournament, Durand Cup’s 130th Edition, is scheduled to be held at Kolkata between September 05 to October 03, 2021.
• The International Cricket Council has confirmed it will campaign for the inclusion of the sport at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
• Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra has accomplished number 2 rank in the World Athletics ranking  2021 after winning the gold medal in Tokyo.

Daily CA On Aug 14 :

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) launched a brand and logo called ‘SonChiraiya, for marketing the products of urban self-help groups (SHGs).
• On Aug 12, 2021, India’s renewable energy capacity crossed the milestone of 100 gigawatts (GW).
• Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray launched the e-crop survey initiative which will become effective in Maharashtra from August 15.
• The Reserve Bank has canceled the license of Raigad based Karnala Nagari Sahakari Bank Limited in Maharashtra.
• APEDA collaboration with Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corporation Ltd (HPMC) exported five unique varieties of apples
• On Aug 13, 2021, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi addressed the Investor Summit in Gujarat via video conference.
• On August 12, 2021, India organized the IBSA (India, Brazil and South Africa) Tourism Ministers’ meeting through Virtually.
• On Aug 10, 2021, The Indian Navy participated in the S. Navy-led Southeast Asia Cooperation and Training (SEACAT) military exercise in Singapore.
• On Aug 12, 2021, the Pakistan Army successfully test-fired a nuclear-capable surface-to-surface ballistic missile Ghaznavi.
• Chandrayaan-2, ISRO’s second lunar mission, has detected the presence of water molecules on the moon.
• On Aug 12, 2021, The 54-member Indian contingents were given a formal send-off by Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Thakur in virtual format.
• On Aug 11, 2021, All-rounder and captain of the West Indies women squad Stafanie Taylor and Bangladesh all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan were named as the winners of the ICC Player of the Month Awards for July 2021.
• Former India U-19 World Cup-winning captain Unmukt Chand has announced his retirement from Indian cricket.
• On Aug 09, 2021, Former international hockey player Gopal Bhengra passed away.