Current Affairs August 26th 2022| Current Affairs News

August 26, 2022

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Women’s Equality Day- August 26

Women’s Equality Day is celebrated in the United States on August 26 every year, to mark the day when the Amendment giving women the right to vote was adopted.
On the 50th anniversary of the passing of the Nineteenth Amendment, the National Organisation for Women (NOW) organized a nationwide ‘strike for equality. Following the strike, Congresswoman Bella Abzug also known as Batteling Bella introduced a resolution to designate August 26 as Women’s Equality Day.
It was first celebrated in 1973, after Congress approved H.J. Res. 52, which stated, “the President is authorized and requested to proclaim commemoration of that day in 1920 on which the women in America were first guaranteed the right to vote”.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Union Minister Anurag Thakur launched ‘Azadi Quest’ online games:

Anurag Thakur, a Union Minister, has unveiled “Azadi Quest,” a collection of online instructional games themed on India’s liberation movement and created in partnership with Zynga India.
These games are an attempt to educate players through gaming and tap into the enormous internet gaming industry.
Information on underappreciated independence soldiers has been gathered by various government agencies in India.
Acquiring this knowledge interesting and participatory is the goal of “Azadi Quest.”
The games are available for Android and iOS devices in English and Hindi for the people of India and will be available worldwide from September 2022.

PM Modi opened Amrita Hospital, the largest hospital in Asia, in Faridabad:

Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi formally opened the 2,600-bed Amrita hospital in Faridabad, which is the largest hospital in Asia.
It has cutting-edge technology, including a centrally situated, fully automated laboratory.
The NCR region’s healthcare infrastructure would be considerably improved by this Amrita hospital in Faridabad.
The Amrita hospital Faridabad complex would have a built-up area of 36 lakh square feet, including a 14-floor tower containing the major medical services.
On the roof of the Amrita hospital Faridabad complex, there is a helipad as well.

23rd Central Zonal Council meeting presided over by Amit Shah in Bhopal:

The 23rd Central Zonal Council Meeting was presided over by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Bhopal.
Both Pushkar Singh Dhami and Shivraj Singh Chouhan, the chief ministers of Uttarakhand and Madhya Pradesh, were present during the meeting.
Due to the bad weather, both Bhupesh Baghel and Yogi Adityanath, the chief ministers of Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, took part remotely.
Amit Shah laid the cornerstone for the National Forensic Science University campus in Bhopal.

Transgenders will be covered under Ayushman Bharat PM-JAY:

The Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana (AB PM-JAY) will be expanded to include transgender people, according to the Indian government
To provide a comprehensive health package for transgender people under Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY, the National Health Authority (NHA), a division of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, and the Department of Social Justice and Empowerment, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
A transgender person must possess a transgender certificate issued by the National Portal for Transgender Persons to be eligible for any healthcare benefits under this MoU between the National Health Authority (NHA) and the Ministry of Social Justice & Employment (MoSJE).
This agreement will apply to all transgender people nationwide. Per the recipient who identifies as transgender, MoSJE would provide an Rs. 5 lakh insurance policy each year.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

Delhi CM Kejriwal launches ‘Mission to make India No 1

Delhi chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Shri Arvind Kejriwal launched a “mission to make India No. 1” at the Talkatora stadium, New Delhi, Delhi.
He also proposed a five-point vision for good governance.

To provide free and quality education to every child
To provide free and best medical treatment along with free medicines and test facilities
To employ every youth
To provide equal rights and security to women
To ensure farmers get fair prices for their produce

About Delhi :

Governor: Vinai Kumar Saxena
Chief Minister : Arvind Kejriwal
Capital: New Delhi

Chhattisgarh to set up 300 rural industrial parks

Chhattisgarh Government will set up 300 rural industrial parks in the state to create a source of additional income for rural poor families

Aim :

To strengthen the rural economy and make the “gauthan” (cattle shed) a center of livelihood.
The project will be launched on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, 2022.
The first such park in Chhattisgarh came up in Kulgaon, Kanker district, which has been named Gandhi Gram.
The district administration, along with women’s self-help groups, has developed the park.
Chhattisgarh has set up 8,404 gauthans of the 10,624 sanctioned.
Also, the state government has started procuring cow urine for Rs 4 a liter for making organic fertilizers and pesticides.

About Chhattisgarh :

Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
Chief Minister: Bhupesh Baghel
Capital: Raipur

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE

RBI becomes a net seller in June 2022 by selling 3.719 billion US dollar

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) emerged as the net seller of the United States (US) dollar in June 2022 after selling 3.719 billion USD on a net basis.
RBI purchased 18.96 billion USD in the spot market while selling 22.679 billion USD in June 2022.
In June 2022, RBI was the net buyer of the American currency & it purchased 18.633 billion USD on a net basis in the spot market.
In May 2022, RBI was a buyer of the greenback with a net purchase of 2.001 billion USD & during the month, RBI bought 10.143 billion USD and sold 8.142 billion USD.
In FY22, RBI recorded a net purchase of 17.312 billion USD after buying 113.991 billion USD and selling 96.679 billion USD in the spot market.
Meanwhile, in the forward dollar market, RBI’s outstanding net purchase in June this year stood at 30.856 billion USD compared to 49.191 billion USD in May 2022.
RBI stated that the drawdown in forex reserves was around $70 billion during the GFC which came down to $17 billion during the Covid-19 outbreak.

About RBI :

Established: 1 April 1935
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
Governor : Shaktikanta Das
Deputy Governors: Mahesh Kumar Jain, Rajeshwar Rao, Michael Patra, and T. Rabi Shankar

KreditBee Partners With Cash-Free Payments To Offer ‘Online Checkout Finance’

KreditBee, one of India’s leading fintech platforms, has partnered with Cashfree Payments, India’s leading payments and API banking solutions company, to offer customers an option to convert their online purchases into Equated Monthly Installment (EMIs) for its non-credit card holders.

About the Partnership :

Through this partnership, KreditBee will leverage Cashfree Payments’ Payment Gateway to offer cardless and convenient EMI options.
The association will enhance KreditBee’s reach to underserved segments.
Cashfree Payments’ merchants can offer this cardless EMI option to all eligible customers with the KreditBee app.
The checkout finance loans range from Rs 2,400 to Rs 2 lakhs with a tenure of 3-18 months.

About KreditBee :

Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka
Co-founder & CEO : Madhusudan Ekambaram

Rajasthan accounted for the highest share in the cost of bank-sanctioned projects in FY22: RBI

Rajasthan accounted for the highest share in the total cost of projects sanctioned by banks and financial institutions in 2021-22, retaining the top place for two consecutive years.
The share of the top five states Constitutes more than half 56.4%

Rajasthan
Uttar Pradesh
Gujarat
Maharashtra
Tamil Nadu

The share of these 5 states increased significantly from an average share of 7% during the period between 2012-13 and 2019-20 to more than 50% during the last two years.
The infrastructure sector continued to attract maximum capex projects, led by the ‘power’ and ‘road and bridges’ sectors.

About Rajasthan :

Governor: Kalraj Mishra
Chief minister: Ashok Gehlot
Capital: Jaipur

Universal Sompo Gen Insurance partners with Repco Home Finance to insure home loans

Non-life Insurer Universal Sompo General Insurance Company Limited has partnered with Repco Home Finance Ltd to offer insurance against home loans.

Objective :

To offer simple and value-added products to our customers and channel partners with the best insurance solutions through seamless and innovative digitized initiatives.

About the partnership :

The partnership will, additionally, disburse affordable insurance solutions from Universal Sompo General Insurance like Group Credit Protection, Long-Term Fire, and Personal Accident policies to Repco’s customers.
It would see over 155 branches and 24 satellite centers of Repco Home Finance in Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Odisha, West Bengal, Rajasthan, and Puducherry to offer customized general insurance products to its customers.

About Universal Sompo General Insurance :

Founded: 2007
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
CEO: Sharad Mathur

About Repco Home Finance Limited :

Founded: 2000
Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
CEO: K. Swaminathan

Edelweiss General Insurance partners with Health Ministry for Digital health IDs

Edelweiss General Insurance has partnered with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) to help create digital health IDs Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission for all in India.
The National Health Authority (NHA), is the apex body responsible for implementing this program under the Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission.
ABHA is a 14-digit number that helps users to share and access their health records digitally with registered healthcare providers.
The program will enable and empower the people of this country to access medical diagnosis, treatment, and financing from verified healthcare providers and payers, seamlessly across India.

About Edelweiss General Insurance :

Founded: 2017
Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
Executive director & CEO: Shanai Ghosh

PNB Launches Pre-Qualified Credit Card Facility & overdraft facility against FD

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has launched a new pre-qualified credit card along with an overdraft facility of fixed deposit (FD).
It has also introduced a new facility of overdraft against fixed deposit on PNB One in a few clicks and a single OTP (one-time password).
Customers with salary accounts will be able to access this service via PNB One mobile banking app or by visiting the bank’s website/Internet Banking Service (IBS).
There is a25% discount on the interest rate for using online services like PNB One.
PNB will make this service available through the RuPay and VISA

About PNB :

Founded: 19 May 1894
Commenced Operations: April 12, 1895
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
MD & CEO : Atul Kumar Goel
Tagline: The name you can bank upon

RBI paper on payments poses questions, offers no answers

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released a discussion paper on payment charges that has dissatisfied the trade and analysts alike, because it raises several questions however it doesn’t provide options or take any stance on them, resulting in continued uncertainty.
The paper refers to how some fee mechanisms cost customers whereas others don’t, and a few indirect references to the dearth of justification of a free service.
It has posed 40 questions on costs associated with digital fee modes and sought suggestions by 3 October 2022.
The subjects embody actual time gross settlement (RTGS), fast fee service (IMPS), unified payments interface (UPI), debit playing cards, and bank cards.
Additionally, The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) released the August 2022 issue of its monthly Bulletin.
The Bulletin includes the Monetary Policy Statement, 2022-23, Resolution of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), 2 Speeches, six Articles, and Current Statistics.
The 6 articles are:

State of the Economy
Privatization of Public Sector Banks: An Alternate Perspective
A Steady Ship in Choppy Waters: An Analysis of the NBFC Sector in Recent Times\
Real-Time Monitoring of the Indian Economy
Private Corporate Investment: Growth in 2021-22 and Outlook for 2022-23
Exchange Rate Volatility in Emerging Market Economies.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Despite a rise in GST revenues, state revenue growth is expected to drop to 9%:

Even though impressive GST revenues would aid in the accretion, states’ revenue growth will only reach 7-9% in FY23, according to research.
According to a survey by rating agency Crisil, which examined data from 17 states representing 90% of the total GSDP(Gross State Domestic Product) revenue growth had soared to 25% in FY22 thanks to a lower base in the pandemic-affected FY21
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) collections and devolutions from the Center, which together account for up to 45% of the state’s revenue, are anticipated to exhibit strong double-digit growth in FY23, boosting the revenue increase.
The aggregate state GST revenues, which had already recovered by 29% in FY22, will be the main driver of the revenue rise.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR

Liberty Medal 2022 to be awarded to Ukrainian President Zelenskyy:

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will receive the Liberty Medal 2022 this fall.
For what it called “his valiant defense of liberty in the face of Russian oppression,” the National Constitution Center has announced that Zelenskyy would be honored at a ceremony in October.
President Zelenskyy has gallantly led the Ukrainian people in their defense of freedom against Russian oppression, and his heroism has motivated people all around the world to preserve liberal democracy and the rule of law.
Zelenskyy, who has led the country since May 2019, has also received honors from the governments of the Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Slovakia, as well as prizes like the John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage Award and the Ronald Reagan Freedom Award.

Bangladeshi Fahmida Azim won the Pulitzer Prize in 2022:

Bangladesh-born The US Insider online magazine Fahmida Azim has been chosen to receive the Pulitzer Prize in 2022.
She will get recognition for her work in the field of illustrated reporting and commentary.
She is one of the four journalists chosen for their reporting on the Chinese repression of the Uyghurs, together with Anthony Del Col, Josh Adams, and Walt Hickey of the New York-based Insider publication.
Illustrations by Fahmida Azim are included in the piece “I Escaped a Chinese Internment Camp.”
Fahmida Azim was born in Bangladesh and is now settled in the US.
She is an illustrator and storyteller.
She has illustrated several books including her notable project ‘Muslim Women Are Everything.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOUS AND AGREEMENT

Godrej Agrovet signed an MOU with Assam, Manipur, and Tripura for Palm Oil:

An MoU was signed between the governments of Assam, Manipur, and Tripura and Godrej Agrovet, a diversified agribusiness conglomerate, to expand and promote oil palm cultivation in the region as part of the National Mission on Edible Oils-Oil Palm effort.
The collaboration between Godrej Agrovet and the state governments would open up new opportunities for the growth of oil palm plantations in these states and farmer support.
The Agreements support Godrej Agrovet’s long-term objective to double farmer income and support the increase of oil palm output in a sustainable manner to be the driving force behind India’s oil mission.
Godrej Agrovet has more than 65,000 acres of palm oil grown around the country.
Godrej Agrovet wants to increase this to 100,000 acres in the ensuing years.

Jharkhand Govt Will Sign MoU With British High Commission To Provide Overseas Scholarship:

The government of Jharkhand and The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), British High Commission, New Delhi will enter into a partnership to award the Chevening Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Scholarship to five meritorious scholars from ST/SC, OBC, and minorities community.
To bring to light the joint vision of the State Government and The Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), British High Commission, New Delhi to provide excellent educational opportunities to the leaders and change-makers of tomorrow, an MoU will be signed.
universities of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
Building upon this the State Government has decided to widen the scope of this scholarship by collaborating with The Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), British High Commission, New Delhi.
Under the umbrella of this MoU, a maximum of five scholars shall be selected every academic year for the prestigious Chevening Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Munda Scholarship.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS

Mr. Vikram Doraiswami Appointed As Next High Commissioner Of India To UK

Indian diplomat Mr. Vikram K Doraiswami has been appointed as the next High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom (UK).
He will succeed Gaitri Issar Kumar, the high commissioner to the United Kingdom, who left her position on June 30, 2022.

About Mr. Vikram Doraiswami :

Doraiswami is an Indian Foreign Service officer of the 1992 batch.
In 1994, he was appointed Third Secretary in the Indian High Commission in Hong Kong after completing his in-service training in New Delhi between 1992 and 1993.
He also served as the head of the division for the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi.
In 2014, he was appointed Indian ambassador to Uzbekistan.
In 2015, he was appointed Indian ambassador to the Republic of Korea.
He has served as Indian ambassador to Uzbekistan, and South Korea and has served in the US as well as private secretary to the Prime Minister.
Currently, Mr. Doraiswami is the High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh.

About the UK :

Prime minister: Boris Johnson
Capital: London
Currency: Pound sterling

Mali military appoints Mr. Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga as interim PM

The military of Mali has appointed Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga as the interim Prime Minister of the country.
He replaced the civilian Prime Minister of Mali, Choguel Kokalla Maiga.

About Mr Colonel Abdoulaye Maiga :

Abdoulaye Idrissa Maïga was the Prime Minister of Mali from 8 April 2017 to 29 December 2017.
He is a member of the Rally for Mali.
He served as Minister of Territorial Administration and Minister for the Environment, Water, and Sanitation.
He was working as a government spokesman and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization.

About Mali :

Prime Minister: Choguel Kokalla Maïga
Capital: Bamako
Currency: West African CFA franc
Mali is governed by a military junta that came to power in a 2020 coup and has promised to organize democratic elections in 2024.

Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted to step down in 2023

Adidas has announced that Kasper Rorsted will step down from his role as chief executive officer (CEO) in 2023.

About Mr. Kasper Rorsted :

Kasper Rørsted was born on 24 February 1962 in Aarhus in Denmark.
He has been CEO of Adidas since 2016, and its supervisory board mutually agreed that he will hand over in 2023.

About Adidas :

Founded: 18 August 1949
Headquarters: Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany
Founder : Adolf Dassler
It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the world, after Nike.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS

Norway’s Climate Investment Fund enters an agreement to take a 49% stake in a 420 MW solar power plant in Rajasthan

The Norwegian Climate Investment Fund, managed by Norfund (the Norwegian Government’s development finance institution) and Norway’s largest pension company, KLP has agreed to take a 49% stake in a 420 MW solar energy project Thar Surya 1 for approximately Rs 2.8 billion in Rajasthan.
The 420 MWDC (300 MWAC) new solar power plant is being built in Rajasthan by Italian Enel Green Power.

Key Highlights :

Norway and India are partners in the global energy transition.
The climate investment fund will allocate 10 billion NOK (approximately 1 billion USD) over the next 5 years, with India being a priority market.
Once operational, the project will deliver more than 750 GWh per year.
Given India’s current energy mix, the project will avoid more than 615,000 tonnes of Co2 emissions per year
According to a report by BloombergNEF (BNEF), India needs 233 billion USD in investment to meet its goals for the development of wind and solar energy by 2030.
Norway-India sign Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with a focus on green hydrogen, green ammonia, renewable energy

Note :

CEO of KLP : Sverre Thornes

Adani Group to buy 29.18% stake in NDTV & launch open offer for another 26% stake

The Adani Group’s media arm AMG Media Networks Limited (AMNL) announced that it would indirectly acquire a 29.18% stake in New Delhi Television Ltd (NDTV).
It would also launch a Rs 493-crore open offer for another 26% stake in NDTV at Rs 294 per share.
AMNL’s wholly owned subsidiary Vishvapradhan Commercial Private Limited (VCPL) holds warrants of RRPR Holding Private Limited (RRPR) entitling it to convert them into a 99.99% stake in RRPR.
VCPL has exercised warrants to acquire a 99.5% stake in RRPR.
RRPR is a promoter group company of NDTV and holds a 29.18% stake in NDTV.
VCPL along with Adani Media Networks Ltd and Adani Enterprises Ltd has made the open offer for Rs 294 each for the acquisition of up to 1,67,62,530 fully paid-up equity shares of NDTV.
In 2021, Adani Media Ventures Ltd (AMVL), the media arm under the group’s flagship Adani Enterprises Ltd (AEL), acquired the digital business news platform Quintillion Business Media Pvt Ltd (QBM).

About NDTV :

Founded: 1984
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
President : Suparna Singh
Founders: Prannoy Roy, Radhika Roy
NDTV operates three national news channels – English news channel NDTV 24×7, Hindi news channel NDTV India, and business news channel NDTV Profi

About Adani Group :

Founded: 20 July 1988
Headquarters: Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India
Chairman: Gautam Adani
MD: Rajesh Adani

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS

DRDO & Indian Navy successfully flight-test VL-SRSAM off the Odisha coast

The Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) and Indian Navy successfully flight tested Vertical Launch Short Range Surface-to-Air Missile (VL-SRSAM) from the Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast of Odisha.
The flight test was carried out from an Indian Naval Ship against a high-speed unmanned aerial target for demonstration of vertical launch capability.

Key Highlights :

During the test launch, flight path and vehicle performance parameters were monitored using flight data, captured by various Range instruments such as Radar, Electro-optical tracking system (EOTS), and Telemetry systems deployed by ITR, Chandipur.
The launch was monitored by senior scientists from various DRDO labs involved in the design and development of the system such as the Defence Research & Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI), Hyderabad, and R&D Engineers, Pune
The missiles, equipped with indigenous Radio Frequency (RF) seekers, intercepted the target with high accuracy.

About VL-SRSAM :

The VL-SRSAM system has been indigenously designed and developed by DRDO.
This was the 4th test for VL-SRSAM (The 1st test was carried out Feb 2021 & 3rd was carried out in June 2022).

About DRDO :

Established: 1958
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
Chairman: Dr. G. Satheesh Reddy

About Indian Navy :

Founded: 26 January 1950
Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
Chief of the Naval Staff: Admiral R. Hari Kumar

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

BBIL completes trials for India’s first intranasal Covid vaccine

Bharat Biotech International Limited (BBIL) announced that India’s first adenoviral intranasal vaccine (BBV154) has proven to be safe, well-tolerated, and immunogenic in subjects in controlled clinical trials for Covid-19.
It had completed clinical development for phase III trials.
The trials for the primary dose were conducted among 3100 subjects in 14 trial sites across India, while the heterologous booster dose was done at 9 trial sites among 875 subjects.
BBV154 is stable at 2-8°C for easy storage and distribution.