Current Affairs August 23rd 2022| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAY

International Day for the Remembrance of Slave Trade and Abolition- August 23

• August 23 is marked as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
• During the imperialist regimes run by the colonial powers of Europe, the slave trade was a cruel yet common practice.

HISTORY

• The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on August 23 because of a significant event that took place surrounding this date.
• Santo Domingo, which is modern-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was an erstwhile colonial settlement of France in the eighteenth century.
• The days of August 22 and August 23, 1791, saw the start of the uprising that would play a vital role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade led by the European colonial powers.
• The uprising inspired the Haitian Revolution which was led by the Black and mixed-race people against the colonial rulers.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Solar capacity installations in India rose by 59 percent to a record 7.2 gigawatts:

• Solar capacity installations in the country rose by 59 percent to a record 7.2 gigawatts (GW) during the first half of 2022, according to Mercom India Research.
• In January-June or H1 of 2021, the country had added 4.5 GW of solar capacity, the research firm’s ‘Q2 2022 India Solar Market Update.
• The solar installations in April-June 2022 also increased by 59 percent to over 3.9 GW compared to 2.4 GW installed in the second quarter of 2021.
• Cumulative large-scale solar PV installations in Rajasthan reached almost 13 GW as of June 2022, and the state accounted for almost 27 percent of the total installations in the country.
• In the first half of 2022, Rajasthan and Gujarat were the top states for large-scale solar, accounting for 53 percent and 14 percent of installations, respectively, followed by Maharashtra with 9 percent.
• A US-based Mercom Capital Group subsidiary, Mercom Communications India is a clean energy research and communications firm with expertise in clean-tech markets.

The 10th National Conference of Women Police will begin in Shimla:

• In Himachal Pradesh, the 10th National Conference of Women Police will begin in Shimla.
• More than two hundred women police officers and employees across the country are participating in this two-day National conference.
• The conference is being organized by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) in collaboration with Himachal Police.
• The main objective of this conference is to enhance the leadership potential of women police officers and discuss their problems and challenges.
• State Director General of Police Sanjay Kundu said, at present, the strength of women in the police force in Himachal is 13 percent and the women quota in the police has been increased to 25 percent.

Dr. Jitendra Singh launched India’s first Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus:

• Jitendra Singh launched India’s first truly indigenously developed Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus developed by KPIT-CSIR in Pune.
• The Minister lauded the joint development efforts of KPIT and CSIR-NCL and pointed out that the technology prowess of Indian scientists and engineers is no less than the best in the world and also at much lower costs.
• Later, Jitendra Singh inaugurated the Bisphenol-A pilot plant in CSIR-NCL and said these pilot plants have successfully demonstrated novel process technologies developed by NCL under CSIR’s Covid-19 mission program and Bulk Chemicals mission program.
• Bisphenol-A (BPA) is an important feedstock for the production of epoxy resins, polycarbonate, and other engineering plastics.
• The global market for Bisphenol-A is projected to reach 7.1 Million Tons by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 2% over the analysis period 2020-2027.

India recorded another milestone – of 101462 villages declaring themselves as ODF:

• Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the flagship program of the Government of India recorded another milestone – of 101462 villages declaring themselves as ODF (open defecation free) Plus.
• These villages are sustaining their ODF status and have systems in place for managing solid and/or liquid waste and they would continue on their sanitation journey as they work towards making their villages cleaner, greener and healthier.
• Almost eight years ago, Hon’ble Prime Minister Modi launched the Swachh Bharat Mission from the ramparts of the Red Fort, with a vision to make the country open defecation free as a tribute to Mahatma Gandhi on his 150th birth anniversary. Under his visionary leadership, the country came together in the world’s largest behavior change campaign and achieved its aim, and on 2nd October 2019.
• One lakh ODF Plus villages are no small achievement, given that the process of solid and liquid waste management is technical, is relatively new to rural India, and is a second-generation issue.
• The top five performing states are Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, and Himachal Pradesh where a maximum number of villages have been declared as ODF Plus.
• The campaign reinforces the Government’s commitment to promoting hygiene and safe sanitation and thereby improving the quality of life of its citizens and fulfilling our dream of a Sampoorn, Swachh, and Swasth Bharat by 2024-25.

NSDC with Seva Bharti and Yuva Vikas Society launched the second phase of the Grameen Udyami Project.

• To augment skill training in tribal communities for their inclusive and sustainable growth, National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in partnership with Seva Bharti and Yuva Vikas Society launched the second phase of the Grameen Udyami Project.
• Under the initiative, the endeavor is to multiskill India’s youth and impart functional skills to them for enabling livelihoods.
• Grameen Udyami is a unique multiskilling project, funded by NSDC that aims to train 450 tribal students in Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
• The project is being implemented in six states— Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Gujarat.
• In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, the training of 157 candidates started in seven batches in May 2022 and approximately 133 candidates completed the training successfully on June 27th, 2022.
• The phase-II of the pilot project launched in Ranchi is being implemented by Yuva Vikas Society, through Seva Bharti Kendra in Ranchi.
• NSDC under the aegis of MSDE has supported in setting up of labs and classrooms through Sector Skill Councils (SSCs) in Seva Bharti Kendra Skill Development Center.
• Grameen Udyami Yojana is implemented under Sansadiya Parisankul Yojana.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

L&T Commissions New Green Hydrogen Plant at Hazira in Gujarat

• Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) commissioned a new green hydrogen plant at Hazira in
• The development comes five months after the company inked a joint venture with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and ReNew Power for the production of green hydrogen.
• The plant was inaugurated by Shrikant Madhav Vaidya, Chairman of Indian Oil Corporation Limited.
• L&T and IOC had also inked a separate joint venture for the production of electrolyzers.

Key Highlights :

• The plant will produce 45 kg of green hydrogen daily, which will be used for captive consumption in the company’s Hazira manufacturing complex.
• The green hydrogen plant is designed for an electrolyzer capacity of 800 kW comprising both alkaline (380 kW) and polymer electrolyte membrane (420 kW) technologies.
• It will be powered by a rooftop solar plant of 990kW peak DC capacity and a 500kWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
• As part of its ESG commitments, L&T has pledged to achieve water neutrality by 2035 and carbon neutrality by 2040.

About L&T :

• Founded: 7 February 1946
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• Chairman : Anil Manibhai Naik
• MD & CEO : S. N. Subrahmanyan

About Gujarat :

• Governor: Acharya Dev Vrat
• Chief Minister: Bhupendrabhai Patel
• Capital: Gandhinagar

Centre to collaborate with Arunachal govt to develop ‘district good governance portal’

• The Central government has planned to collaborate with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to develop a “district good governance portal”.

Aim: 

• To monitor the performance of each district of the state every month and help in benchmarking performance.
• The plan is to help the state in upgrading the e-office version 5.6 to e-office version 7.0 in a phased manner.
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh announced during the two-day Regional Conference on “Bringing Citizens and Government Closer through Administrative Reforms” at Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh.
• The Conference organized by the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG) comes after the National Conference on e-Governance held in Meghalaya in August 2019, when the “Shillong Declaration” on e-Governance was adopted.
• The conference discussed 5 technical sessions with reforms in governance; public grievances redressal and e-Office in the North East states; good governance practices in the North Eastern states; district good governance index and good governance practices.
• Further, the National Centre for Good Governance under the DARPG will organize mid-career building programs in governance for 500 officers of the Arunachal Pradesh Administrative Services over the next five years.
• Arunachal Pradesh has declared 2022-23 as the year of e-governance.

About Arunachal Pradesh :

• Governor: B. D. Mishra
• Chief Minister : Pema Khandu
• Capital: Itanagar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

Central Bank of India enters into co-lending partnership with Protium Finance & lncred Fin

• State-owned Central Bank of India, a Public Sector Bank (PSB) has entered into a co-lending partnership with Protium Finance and lncred Financial Services Limited (IFSL) to offer loans to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) borrowers.

Key Highlights :

• Protium Finance will originate and process MSME proposals under the priority sector as per jointly formulated credit parameters and eligibility criteria.
• The Central Bank of India will take into its books 80% of the MSME priority sector loans under mutually agreed terms.

About Protium Finance Limited :

• Protium Finance Limited will service the loan account throughout the life cycle of the loan.
• Protium Finance has a branch network across 11 states and an AUM of 1,671 crores as of July 31, 2022, with a customer franchise at 1,08,447. 

About Incred Financial Services :

• It will originate and process MSME loans under priority and take into its books 80% of such loans.
• IFSL will service the loan account throughout the life cycle of the loan.
• With branches across 9 states, it offers consumer loans, education loans, and MSME lending.

About Central Bank of India :

• Founded: 21 December 1911
• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• MD & CEO : Matam Venkata Rao
• Tagline: Central to you since 1911

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

NDDB signed an MoU with the Union Territory of Ladakh to manage the entire operations of the Ladakh Milk Federation

• National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed a tripartite MoU with the Union Territory of Ladakh and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) by which it will manage the entire operations of Ladakh Milk Federation for five years and implement a structured dairy development program for the region.
• On this occasion, the Chairman of NDDB reiterated the continued focus of NDDB on the regions where the dairy sector is yet to be developed to significantly contribute to the livelihoods of the rural households.
• IDMC, the wholly owned subsidiary company has already completed the refurbishment and upgradation of the milk processing plant, Leh which will be soon operationalized.
• The National Dairy Development Board is a statutory body set up by the Parliament of India Act.
• It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairying of the Government of India.
• The main office is in Anand, Gujarat with regional offices throughout the country
• Founded: 1965, Founder: Verghese Kurien, Meenesh Shah of Chairman, NDDB.

NPCI has signed an MoU with PayXpert for acceptance of the payment solutions in the UK:

• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed an MoU with PayXpert for acceptance of the payment solutions in the UK.
• The collaboration will make the Indian payment solutions available in the UK on all PayXpert’s Android point-of-sale (POS) devices for in-store payments.
• PayXpert would offer QR code payments via Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and later integrate RuPay card payments.
• The development comes on the back of the Indian government’s effort to enable the adoption of UPI and RuPay cards in other countries.
• The NPCI has also signed similar MoUs for acceptance of UPI in France, the UAE, Singapore, and Nepal.

Key Points:

• For the uninitiated, the UPI and the RuPay Card were developed by the NPCI, which enabled one of the most significant evolutions in the digital payments ecosystem in the country.
• Founded in 2019, UK-based PayXpert claims to have over 25 payment methods, processing in 100 different currencies with over 650 clients in the UK, Spain, France, and Taiwan.
• UPI transactions in India crossed the 6 Bn mark in July 2022 as NPCI processed 628 Cr transactions worth INR 10.63 Lakh Cr in the month.
• Total UPI transaction volume in 2022 stood at INR 67.21 Lakh Cr ($850 Bn) till July end.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING AND INDEX

Health Effects Institute (HEI) released “Air Quality and Health in Cities”

• Health Effects Institute (HEI) released “Air Quality and Health in Cities” on air quality.
• As per the report, the biggest cities and urban areas of the world are witnessing the worst air quality on Earth.
• It focuses on two harmful pollutants, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
• PM 2.5 Levels: Delhi and Kolkata were ranked first and second in the top 10 most polluted cities when PM 2.5 levels were compared.
• NO2 Levels: No Indian city appeared in the list of top 10 or even top 20 polluted cities when NO2 levels were compared.
• This list saw Shanghai at the top with an average annual exposure of 41 μg/m3.
• Death Burden: Beijing had the largest disease burden associated with a PM 2.5-related illness, with 124 attributable fatalities per 100,000 persons.
• Five Chinese cities were in the top 20.
• Delhi came in 6th, with 106 deaths per 100,000, and Kolkata at 8th with 99 deaths.
• Only 117 nations currently have ground-level monitoring systems to track PM 2.5, and only 74 nations are monitoring NO2 levels.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

IAS officer Mr. Rajesh Verma appointed as Secretary to President Droupadi Murmu

• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appointed Rajesh Verma as secretary to President Droupadi Murmu.
• Verma will replace the incumbent Mr. Kapil Dev Tripathi, a 1980-batch IAS officer.

About Mr. Rajesh Verma :

• Verma is a 1987-batch Odisha cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) Officer.
• In 2020, he was appointed as the chairman of the Investor Education and Protection Fund Authority (IEPFA).
• Before the central deputation, Verma had served as principal secretary to Odisha Chief Minister Shri Naveen Patnaik & Principal Secretary of the Energy Department, Government of Odisha.
• Currently, He is serving as Secretary of, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Appoints Indian philanthropist Mr. Ashish Dhawan to its board of trustees

• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has appointed Indian philanthropist Mr. Ashish Dhawan, founder and CEO of Convergence Foundation, to its board of trustees.
• Helene D Gayle, president of Spelman College, US, has also been appointed to the foundation’s board of trustees.

About Mr. Ashish Dhawan :

• Dhawan is the chairperson of Ashoka University and Central Square Foundation a nonprofit organization working to improve the quality of education for children in India.

About Dr. Helene D Gayle :

• Helene D Gayle is a Gates Foundation alumna.
• He was the president and CEO of The Chicago Community Trust, one of the United States’ oldest and largest community foundations.

About Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation :

• Founded: 2000
• Headquarters: Seattle, Washington, U.S
• CEO: Mark Suzman
• Co-Chair: Melinda French Gates
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF) is a merger of the William H. Gates Foundation and the Gates Learning Foundation
• The Gates Foundation has been working in collaboration with the government of India & other partners since 2003 on various issues, including health care, sanitation, gender equality, agricultural development, and financial empowerment.

Paytm Shareholders Approve Re-appointment of Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma as MD & CEO

• Shareholders of One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, have approved the re-appointment of Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma as managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm.
• According to the report, 99.67% of votes were in favor of Sharma’s re-appointment while only 0.33% voted against the resolution.
• The remuneration of Mr. Vijay Shekhar will remain fixed for the next three years without any annual increment
• Shareholders have also approved the appointment of Madhur Deora, as Whole-time Director, designated as Executive Director, President, and Group Chief Financial Officer of the Company.

About Paytm :

• Founded: August 2010
• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

Indian Air Force contingent participates in Pitch Black 2022 Exercise  in Australia

• The Indian Air Force joined Pitch Black 2022, a joint military exercise in Australia.
• Exercise Pitch Black 2022 started on August 19 and will continue till September 8, 2022, in Darwin, Australia.
• The last edition was conducted in 2018.
• The 2020 edition of the exercise was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

About the Exercise Pitch Black 2022 :

• This is a biennial, multi-national exercise hosted by the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF).
• The IAF contingent, led by Group Captain YPS Negi, comprises over 100 air warriors, deployed with 4 Su-30 MKI fighters and 2 C-17 Globemaster -III aircraft
• It will focus on Large Force Employment warfare.
• The exercise will see the participation of over 100 aircraft and 2500 military personnel from various air forces.
• The exercise will have participants from Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Indonesia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Philippines, the Republic of Korea, the UAE, Singapore, Thailand, the US, and the

About IAF :

• Founded: 26 January 1950
• Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
• Chief of the Air Staff: Air Chief Marshal Vivek Ram Chaudhari

About Australia :

• Prime minister: Anthony Albanese
• Capital: Canberra
• Currency: Australian dollar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Vice Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta inaugurates India’s 1st Composite Indoor Shooting Range in Visakhapatnam, AP

• A first-of-its-kind Composite Indoor Shooting Range (CISR) was inaugurated by Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief,  Eastern Naval Command (ENC) at Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karna on the eastern seaboard, near Bheemili, Visakhapatnam, Andra Pradesh (AP).
• INS Karna is the first in the Navy and perhaps the only military unit in the country to set up and use CISR.

About CISR :

• The CISR is a state-of-the-art, self-contained, 25m, six-lane, live firing range for all primary and secondary weapons in the Navy.
• It will enable to take up tasks through uninterrupted training under controlled conditions for a wide variety of weapons and simulated situations.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR

Chief Justice of India NV Ramana released Sathya Sodhana Mahatmuni Athmakatha:

• Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has released Sathya Sodhana Mahatmuni Athmakatha, a Telugu translation of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’, published by Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy.
• The CJI also unveiled the statue of president and founder general secretary of Rashtriya Seva Samithi (RASS) Gutta Muniratnam in the presence of G Sundaravadivelu, its present president, and S Venkataratnam, general secretary.
• He also released a book on the life of Muniratnam titled ‘Manavatha Nikethanam’.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES

Former Jharkhand Governor Syed Sibtey Razi passes away

• Senior Indian National Congress leader and former Jharkhand and Assam governor Syed Sibte Razi passed away at the age of 83.

About Syed Sibtey Razi :

• Syed Sibtey Razi was born on March 7, 1939, in Rae Bareli, Uttar Pradesh,
• He joined the Uttar Pradesh Youth Indian National Congress (INC) in 1969 and became the head of the Youth Congress in 1971.
• He was made president of the Youth Congress in 1971 -1973
• He served as a member of the Rajya Sabha thrice (from 1980 to 1985, from 1988 to 1992 & 1992 to 1998)
• He served as the Governor of Jharkhand from the year 2004- 2009 and governor of Assam in 2009.
• He formed a socio-cultural association called ‘Anjuman Adab-e-Atfal in Lucknow.

India’s star Olympic football captain Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee Passes away

• Former India football team captain Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee Passed away at the age of 92.

About Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee :

• Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee is Fondly known as ‘Badru Da’
• He played in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne as captain of the India national football team.
• He played for Mohun Bagan from 1952 to 1960, being named captain in 1958
• He won the Calcutta League 5 times, the IFA Shield thrice, and 3 Durand Cups, including the first time the club won the coveted trophy in 1953 with Banerjee scoring in the semi-final and final, and the Rovers Cup once.
• Besides guiding Mohun Bagan to several trophies including their 1st ever Durand Cup (1953), Rovers Cup (1955)
• He has also won the Santosh Trophy twice as a player (1953, 1955) and once as a coach (1962).

Awards & Honors :

• He was given the Mohun Bagan Ratna, the club’s highest award, in

Daily CA on August 23:

• August 23 is marked as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
• Solar capacity installations in the country rose by 59 percent to a record 7.2 gigawatts (GW) during the first half of 2022, according to Mercom India Research.
• In Himachal Pradesh, the 10th National Conference of Women Police will begin in Shimla.
• Jitendra Singh launched India’s first truly indigenously developed Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus developed by KPIT-CSIR in Pune.
• Swachh Bharat Mission Grameen (SBM-G), the flagship program of the Government of India recorded another milestone – of 101462 villages declaring themselves as ODF (open defecation free) Plus.
• National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) in partnership with Seva Bharti and Yuva Vikas Society launched the second phase of the Grameen Udyami Project.
• National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) signed a tripartite MoU with the Union Territory of Ladakh and Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council (LAHDC) by which it will manage the entire operations of Ladakh Milk Federation for five years and implement a structured dairy development program for the region.
• NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) has signed an MoU with PayXpert for acceptance of the payment solutions in the UK.
• Health Effects Institute (HEI) released “Air Quality and Health in Cities” on air quality.
• Chief Justice of India NV Ramana has released Sathya Sodhana Mahatmuni Athmakatha, a Telugu translation of Mahatma Gandhi’s autobiography ‘The Story of My Experiments with Truth’, published by Tirupati MLA Bhumana Karunakar Reddy.
• Engineering major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) commissioned a new green hydrogen plant at Hazira in
• The Central government has planned to collaborate with the Government of Arunachal Pradesh to develop a “district good governance portal”.
• State-owned Central Bank of India, a Public Sector Bank (PSB) has entered into a co-lending partnership with Protium Finance and lncred Financial Services Limited (IFSL) to offer loans to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) borrowers.
• The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet appointed Rajesh Verma as secretary to President Droupadi Murmu.
• The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has appointed Indian philanthropist Mr. Ashish Dhawan, founder and CEO of Convergence Foundation, to its board of trustees.
• Shareholders of One97 Communications, which operates under the Paytm brand, have approved the re-appointment of Mr. Vijay Shekhar Sharma as managing director and chief executive officer of Paytm.
• The Indian Air Force joined Pitch Black 2022, a joint military exercise in Australia the Exercise started on August 19 and will continue till September 8, 2022, in Darwin, Australia.
• A first-of-its-kind Composite Indoor Shooting Range (CISR) was inaugurated by Vice-Admiral Biswajit Dasgupta, Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief,  Eastern Naval Command (ENC) at Indian Naval Ship (INS) Karna on the eastern seaboard, near Bheemili, Visakhapatnam, Andra Pradesh (AP).
• Senior Indian National Congress leader and former Jharkhand and Assam governor Syed Sibte Razi passed away at the age of 83.
• Former India football team captain Samar ‘Badru’ Banerjee Passed away at the age of 92.