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CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

Akshay Urja Diwas 2021 – Observed on Aug 20

Akshay Urja Diwas is celebrated every year on August 20.
The date on which the day is celebrated has another special feather attached to it.
It is an awareness campaign aimed at enlightening the masses about the benefits of renewable energy resources in their lives as well as that of our blue planet.
The campaign was first organized in Delhi by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh with the Indian Ministry for New & Renewable Energy Sources (MNRE) as the power station.
The event saw 12000-odd school students making a human chain to promote efficient and green energy sources.
The main motive of Akshya urja Diwas is to make people aware that they have to think about the renewable energy (Akshya Urja) apart from tradition energy, The energy which we are getting naturally doesn’t have any side effect on environment, and by using this energy we can use the traditional energy for more long time.

Sadbhavana Diwas – Observed on Aug 20

Sadbhavana Diwas (Harmony Day) is celebrated in India on 20th August every year.
On this day, we celebrate the birth anniversary of former PM Rajiv Gandhi of the country.
This year is his 77th birthday.
Close family members and senior Congress party leaders will arrive at Veerbhoomi early in the morning to pay homage to the former PM.
Rajiv Gandhi became India’s youngest PM at the age of 40.
Rajiv Gandhi was the PM of the country from 1984 to 1989.
The message of this day celebrated in the memory of Rajiv Gandhi is that people of all religions and beliefs should live together in the country.
The aim of the young PM’s government was to motivate people to have a good spirit towards others, to instill brotherhood, community harmony, unity, and love, belonging among people of all religions.

World Mosquito Day – observed on Aug 20

World Mosquito Day is observed every year on August 20.
The theme of World Mosquito Day 2021 is “Reaching the zero malaria targets”.
This day observed to commemorate Sir Ronald Ross’s discovery in 1897 that Anopheles mosquitoes transmit the malaria parasite to humans.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has been organizing the annual event since the 1930s to mark the British doctor’s work.
World Mosquito Day is observed every year to highlight the efforts of healthcare officials, NGOs, and others in fighting diseases caused by malaria.
On World Mosquito Day every year, awareness is created around diseases caused by mosquitoes.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Ministry of Road Transport & Highways Announces Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety

In a bid to use technology to act against those violating traffic rules, the Union ministry of road transport and highways issued a notification amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rule 1989 for what it called “Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety.”
As the name suggests, under these rules, “electronic enforcement devices” will be used for issuing challans.
Ministry of Road transport and Highways has issued notification S.R. 575(E) 11th August, 2021- Rule 167A regarding Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety.
The rules specify the detailed provisions for placement of electronic enforcement devices (speed camera, closed-circuit television camera, speed gun, body wearable camera, dashboard camera, Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR), weigh in machine (WIM) and any such technology).
State Governments shall ensure that electronic enforcement devices are placed at high-risk and high-density corridors on National Highways and State Highways and at critical junctions at least in major cities with more than one million populations and also including the 132 cities as specified in the table given in the rules.
The electronic enforcement device shall be placed in such a manner so as not to cause any obstruction, line-of-sight issues or interruption in traffic flow.

CCEA gave nod Rs 77.45 crore package for the revival of state-run North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd (NERAMAC)

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a Rs 77.45 crore package for the revival of state-run North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd.
North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation (NERAMAC) is a central public sector enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (MDoNER).
Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur stated “CCEA has approved a revival package of Rs 77.45 crore for NERAMAC”.
The revival package will help NERAMAC to implement various innovative plans like providing better farming facilities, training to farmers in clusters, organic seeds and fertiliser, post-harvesting facilities to promote the products of north-east farmers in the world market, the minister added.

Benefits:

With the implementation of the revival package, remunerative price to the farmers of NER of their products will be ensured.
Revival package will help NERAMAC to implement various innovative plans namely providing better farming facilities, training to farmers in clusters, organic seeds and fertilizer, post harvesting facilities in order to promote the products of NE farmers in the world market through participation in events, registration of GI products etc.
Revenue of the Corporation will increase and overheads will reduce as a result of VRS and other cost cutting measures and the Corporation will start making profits on sustained basis and its dependency on GoI loan will cease.

Employment generation potential:

After the implementation of revival of NERAMAC, employment will be generated both directly and indirectly in farming sector, projects and events management sector, logistics, sorting and grading and value addition, entrepreneurship and marketing. It is expected that employment will be generated for about 33,000 persons.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

President Ram Nath Kovind grants credentials from four envoys in virtual ceremony

President Ram Nath Kovind accepted credentials from four envoys in a virtual ceremony.
High Commissioner of Nigeria Ahmed Sule, Ambassador of Austria Katharina Wieser, Ambassador of South Korea Chang Jae-bok and Archbishop Leopoldo Girelli, Apostolic Nuncio of the Holy See presented their credentials.
Mr Kovind congratulated the envoys on their appointment and conveyed his good wishes to them for a successful tenure in India.
He noted that India enjoyed close ties with all the four countries and shared a common vision of peace and prosperity.
India’s engagement at the United Nations and other multilateral fora has resulted in mutually beneficial partnership.
India remains committed to a just and equitable global order, keeping in mind interests of the developing countries and under-represented.
The Ambassadors and High Commissioners conveyed good wishes to the President on behalf of their leaderships and reiterated the commitment of their leaders to work closely to strengthen their ties with India.

President-Designate – Alok Sharma , UN Conference of Parties (COP), visits India

President-Designate of 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) Alok Sharma welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s global leadership in setting up the International Solar Alliance.
Sharma held several meetings and discussions with government leaders, including Prime Minister Modi, Foreign Minister S Jaishankar, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar, businesses and civil society leaders during his two-day visit to New Delhi.

About the meet:

During the meet, Prime Minister Modi and Alok Sharma discussed India-UK collaboration on climate change issues and improving global resilience.
Prime Minister Modi reiterated India’s commitment to the Paris Agreement and to work constructively for the successful outcome at COP26.
Sharma also lauded PM Modi’s address at the Climate Ambition Summit in December 2020.
They agreed that progress on making sure the most vulnerable countries were able to adapt to the impacts of climate change was critical and that to do this governments must meet their climate finance commitments.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

UP govt decided to set up ATS commandos training centre

The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set up a training centre for Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) commandos in Saharanpur’s Deoband, known for its Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband.
Amid the Taliban’s savagery, here is a piece of news from UP.
Yogi Ji has decided to open a commando training centre in Deoband.
Over one and a half dozen ATS officers, selected from all over the state, will be deputed there.
The government has already allotted over 2,000 square meters of land for establishing the ATS training centre in Deoband.
On the government’s decision, Additional Director General of Police (Law and Order) Prashant Kumar stated, “The government is strengthening STF and ATS.”

About Uttar Pradesh:

Governor: Anandiben Patel
Capital: Lucknow
Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath
National Parks: Dudhwa National Park.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

Ind-Ra predicts GDP growth projection to 9.4% in FY22

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised GDP growth rate to 9.4 per cent for FY22 from its earlier estimate of 9.6 per cent.
The agency stated that its earlier estimates were based on India’s vaccination progress.
It had stated that if India is able to vaccinate everyone over 18 years of age by December 31, then the GDP growth would touch 9.6 per cent.
“Going by the pace of vaccination, it is now almost certain that India will not be able to vaccinate its entire adult population by 31 December 2021”.
The agency estimated that 5.2 million doses need to be administered daily from August 18 onwards to fully vaccinate more than 88 per cent of the adult population as well as administer single doses to the rest by March 31.

About India Ratings:

India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) is India’s most respected credit rating agency committed to providing India’s credit markets accurate, timely and prospective credit opinions.
Built on a foundation of independent thinking, rigorous analytics, and an open and balanced approach towards credit research, Ind-Ra has grown rapidly during the past decade, gaining significant market presence in India’s fixed income market.
Ind-Ra currently maintains coverage of corporate issuers, financial institutions (including banks and insurance companies), finance and leasing companies, managed funds, urban local bodies, and structured finance and project finance companies.
Headquartered in Mumbai, Ind-Ra has seven branch offices located in Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.
Ind-Ra is recognised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the Reserve Bank of India and National Housing Bank.
Ind-Ra is a 100% owned subsidiary of the Fitch Group.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING NEWS

RBI to launches ‘Regulatory GAAR’ for round tripping

Some of the largest Indian companies, startups and multinationals with an India presence have put their outbound investment, fundraising and restructuring plans on hold as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) looks to introduce fresh regulations around “round tripping.”
The central bank is looking to tweak the existing regulations and has come up with draft rules around round tripping.
As the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) hopes to introduce new regulations on “round tripping”, some of the largest Indian companies, startups and multinational companies with branches in India have presence their outbound investment, fundraising and restructuring plans.
The central bank is seeking to adjust existing regulations.
RBI to put in place a “PRISM” to strengthen compliance by lenders

SBI Life Insurance introduces New Age Protection Plan ‘eShield Next’

‘eShield Next’ is a non-participating, non-linked, life insurance pure risk premium product.
State Bank of India (SBI) Life Insurance recently announced the launch of ‘SBI Life eShield Next’ – a new age-term insurance policy, which raises or ‘levels up’ the protection coverage with the life milestones of the insured.

About the plan:

The policy is a non-participating, non-linked, life insurance pure risk premium product, which allows customers to reap benefits by ‘levelling up’ the required insurance protection.
The process is done through an increase in sum assured linked to the significant ‘level-up’ milestones in one’s life, such as marriage, becoming a parent, or purchasing property (new house etc).
The new age protection plan ‘eShield Next’ with its ‘level-up’ feature, offers three plan options suited for customer’s personalisation.
‘SBI Life eShield Next’ also offers a range of flexibilities.
It gives the choice of premium payment term, such as – pay once, pay regularly, or for a limited period.
The limited period could range from five years to 25 years and also includes the option to pay for a period of ‘policy term minus five years’.
It also offers an option of life cover up to 100 years or 85 years.

RBI came out with revised instructions for banks on locker management

The Reserve Bank came out with revised guidelines for the hiring of lockers under which the liability of banks will be limited to 100 times its annual rent in case of fire, theft, building collapse or frauds by bank employees.
As per the revised guidelines, which shall come into effect from January 1, 2022, banks will be required to incorporate a clause in the locker agreement prohibiting the hirer from keeping anything illegal or hazardous in lockers.
The RBI stated it has reviewed the ‘Deposit Locker/Safe Custody Article Facility provided by the banks’ after taking into consideration various developments in the area of banking and technology, nature of consumer grievances and also the feedback received from banks and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA).
The review also takes into account, the principles enumerated by the Supreme Court in ‘Amitabha Dasgupta vs United Bank of India’.
The revised instructions will be applicable to both new and existing safe deposit lockers and the safe custody of articles facility with the banks.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS

PR Sreejesh to be appointed as brand ambassador of Kerala adventure tourism

Olympian R. Sreejesh will be made brand ambassador of adventure tourism in Kerala.
The feasibility of operating a solar boat in Muziris would be probed.
Minister for Public Works and Tourism P.A. Mohammed Riyas stated the immense tourism potential of Kadamakudy will be tapped as part of which road connectivity is being improved.
Varapuzha-Kadamakudy road that was resurfaced using BMBC and developed with a walkway and parking space.

About P.R. Sreejesh:

Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh is an Indian professional field hockey player who plays as a goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian national team.
He plays in the Hockey India League for Uttar Pradesh Wizards.

Nitin Chugh resigned as MD & CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank

Nitin Chugh has resigned from the position of Managing Director and CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a subsidiary of the listed entity Ujjivan Financial Services, with effect from September 30.
Chugh has confirmed to the bank, in his resignation letter, that he is resigning due to personal reasons and there are no material reasons, the bank stated.
He was appointed as MD and CEO of the bank for a period of three years with effect from December 1, 2019.

About Ujjivan Small Finance Bank:

The Company was originally incorporated as Ujjivan Financial Services Private Limited on December 28 2004 at Bengaluru Karnataka India as a private limited company under the Companies Act 1956.
On receipt of License from RBI, UFSL set up Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (USFB) and USFB commenced its Banking operations from February 1, 2017.
This is ‘scheduled bank’ included in the Second Schedule to the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934 and a listed Entity.
Headquarters: Bengaluru
Founder: Samit Ghosh

Lalit Kumar Chandel appointed as government nominee director on Bank of Maharashtra board

The government has appointed Lalit Kumar Chandel, Economic Adviser, Department of Financial Services, on the board of Bank of Maharashtra.
He is appointed as Government of India nominee director on the board with effect from August 18.
Chandel replaced Hrisheekesh Arvind Modak.

About Chandel:

Chandel has served at various levels in different departments of Government of India, including banking, insurance, capital markets, external assistance, rural development, power, irrigation and health.
He has held key positions of Director (Insurance), Department of Financial Services, Ministry of Finance; Executive Director, CVO and Financial Adviser, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, and Whole Time Director Finance, Telangana State Power Generation Corporation.

Shanti Lal Jain appointed as MD and CEO of Indian Bank

The Appointment Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Shanti Lal Jain as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of lndian Bank for a period of three years.
Jain is presently the Executive Director of Bank of Baroda.
His tenure of three years would start from Sep 1, and will be extendable for another two years or until attaining the age of superannuation, whichever is earlier.
Jain will replace Padmaja Chunduru whose term at the public sector bank would end on August 31.
The Banks Board Bureau (BBB), after interviewing nine candidates, had recommended Jain as the MD of Indian Bank.
The BBB—autonomous body for improving governance and boards of public sector financial institutions— had suggested Soma Sankara Prasad as the top candidate in the reserve list for the same position.

About Indian Bank:

Indian Bank is an Indian nationalized financial services and banking company.
It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance of the Government of India, established in 1907 and headquartered in Chennai, India.
Headquarters: Chennai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU’s AND AGREEMENTS

Centre & ADB signed an ink pact to expand Bengaluru metro network

The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $500 million loan to expand the metro rail network in Bengaluru with the construction of two new metro lines totaling 56 km in length.
The signatories to the agreement for Bengaluru Metro Rail Project were Rajat Kumar Mishra, Additional Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs in the Ministry of Finance who signed for the Government of India, and Takeo Konishi, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission who signed for ADB.
“The new metro lines will further strengthen safe, affordable and green mobility in Bengaluru, having a positive impact on enhancing quality of life, sustainable growth in urban habitat and livelihood opportunities.”
“The project supports urban transformation of Bengaluru City into a more livable and sustainable city through support to urban public transport and urban development with concepts of transit-oriented development (TOD) and multi-modal integration (MMI)”.
“The project will bring various benefits including road de-congestion, better urban livability and environmental improvement.”

About ADB:

The Asian Development Bank is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines.
The company also maintains 31 field offices around the world to promote social and economic development in Asia.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty.
Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines

Tourism Ministry signs MOU with MakeMyTrip, Ibibo

The Ministry of Tourism has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited and Ibibo Group Private Limited as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the hospitality and tourism industry in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
The Ministry of Tourism has already signed MoUs with EaseMyTrip, Cleartrip and Yatra.com.

About the MOU:

“The primary objective of this MoU is to provide an extensive visibility to accommodation units, which have self-certified themselves on SAATHI (System for Assessment, Awareness and Training for the Hospitality Industry) on the OTA platform.
The MoU also outlines both parties to encourage units to register on NIDHI and thereby on SAATHI and encourage local tourism industry with appropriate safeguards for curbing spread of COVID-19.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: PERSONS IN NEWS

World Photography Day (August 19): Biopic of Raghu Rai to be streamed by Films Division on its website & YouTube channels

On the occasion of World Photography Day on 19 August, 2021, a biopic of acclaimed photographer-photo journalist, Raghu Rai will be streamed by Films Division on its website and YouTube channels.
The film titled “Raghu Rai : Hearing Through the Eyes” (29Min/ Suvendu Chatterjee) portrays a journey through the inner and outer world of the legendary photographer.
The film wades through an intertwined passage of photographs, personal narratives and world views that combine in the process of the making of a maestro and his life.
The Raghu Rai biopic will be streamed on https://filmsdivision.org/ ‘Documentary of the Week’ section and on https://www.youtube.com/user/FilmsDivision on 19th August, 2021, for 24 hours.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : DEFENCE NEWS

Defence Minister Launches Defence India Startup Challenge 5.0

On Aug 19, 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) in New Delhi through video conferencing.

About DISC 5.0 :

DISC 5.0 is a reflection of the Government’s resolve of creating an ‘Atma Nirbhar’ defence sector.
DISC underlined the importance of creating a strong, modern & well-equipped military and an equally capable & self-reliant defence industry.
iDEX is playing a crucial role by providing a platform wherein the Government, Services, think tanks, industry, startups and innovators can work together to help the defence & aerospace sectors reach full potential.
It Provides the new direction to defence innovation and capabilities by highlighting the potential of India’s science, technology and research.
Under the Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020, earmarked ₹1,000 crore for domestic procurement through iDEX for financial year 2021-2022
The Department of Defence Production, Ministry of Defence has approved a budgetary support of Rs. 498.80 crore for iDEX for the next 5 years from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
The iDEX initiative was launched by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2018 to achieve self-reliance and foster innovation & technology development in defence and aerospace sectors.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SUMMITS & CONFERENCES

Aarogya Dhara- 2.0 to mark the completion of 2 Cr treatments under AB-PMJAY

Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare chaired the event Aarogya Dhara- 2.0 to mark the completion of 2 Cr treatments under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
With the completion of more than 2 crore hospital admissions landmark, treatments worth approximately Rs 25,000 crore have been provided till date through a growing network of 23,000 public and private empaneled hospitals to patients across 33 States/UTs in the country since the launch of the scheme on 23rd September 2018.

The following key initiatives were also launched on the occasion:

Adhikar Patra: to be issued to the beneficiaries during their hospital admissions for treatment under PM-JAY scheme to make them aware about their rights so that they can claim free and cashless healthcare services upto Rs 5 lakhs under the scheme.
Abhinandan Patra: a ‘thank you note’ to be issued to the beneficiaries during their discharge after the treatment under PM-JAY for availing the benefits of AB PM-JAY scheme.
The Abhinandan Patra is also accompanied by a feedback form to be filled in by the beneficiary regarding the service they received under the scheme.
Ayushman Mitra: Another key initiative launched which provides an opportunity to all citizens to contribute to the vision of Ayushman Bharat by helping eligible people to get their Ayushman Cards created and bring them under the ambit of the scheme.
This can be done by logging in to https://pmjay.gov.in/ayushman-mitrato create Ayushman Mitra ID which can then be shared with eligible people.
While getting Ayushman Cards and while availing treatments under the scheme the Ayushman Mitra ID can be shared by beneficiaries to CSC/empaneled hospital.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

DRDO Develops Advanced Chaff Technology To Protect Indian Air Force Jets

Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an advanced chaff technology to safeguard fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) against threats.
Defence Laboratory Jodhpur, a DRDO laboratory developed the advanced Chaff material and chaff cartridge-118/I in collaboration with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), a Pune based laboratory of DRDO, meeting qualitative requirements of IAF.

About Chaff :

Chaff is a critical defence technology used to protect fighter aircraft from hostile radar threats.

Importance :

Very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy”s missiles for ensuring safety of the fighter aircraft,

About IAF :

Headquarters: New Delhi
Founded: 8 October 1932, India
Commander-in-Chief: President Ram Nath Kovind
Chief of Defence Staff : General Bipin Rawat
Chief of the Air Staff : Rakesh Kumar Singh Bhadauria,
Vice Chief of the Air Staff : Vivek Ram Chaudhari

About DRDO :

Founded: 1958
Headquarters : New Delhi
Chairman :Dr G Satheesh Reddy
Minister of Defence Rajnath Singh

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

New book titled Operation Khukri Written by Major General Rajpal Punia

A new book titled ‘Operation Khukri’, has been written by Major General Rajpal Punia & co-authored by his daughter, Damini.
The book is published by Penguin Random House India and it will soon be republished in Hindi by Rajkamal Prakashan.

Note :

13th July 2021, marks the 21st anniversary of Operation Khukri.

About the Book :

The Book talks about the True Story behind the Indian Army’s Most Successful Mission as part of the United Nations.
Operation Khukri is one of the Indian Army’s most successful UN Peacekeeping missions, in the jungles of Sierra Leone in 2000.

About Rajpal Punia :

Major General Rajpal Punia led 233 Indian soldiers on a United Nations Peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone, West Africa.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

U20 World Athletics Championships 2021

On August 18, The U20 World Athletics Championships began in Nairobi, Kenya will conclude on August 22.
India have named 27 athletes for the five-day meet at Kasarani Stadium.
The event was originally scheduled for 2020.

About U20 World Athletics Championships :

The World Athletics U20 Championships is a biennial world championships for the sport of athletics organised by the World Athletics, contested by athletes in the under-20 athletics age category.
Anneisha McLaughlin-Whilby is the most successful athlete at the championships, winning one gold and four silver in individual and relay sprinting events between 2000 and 2004.

Daily CA On Aug 19 :

World Humanitarian Day is observed every year on 19 August & the theme for World Humanitarian Day 2021 focuses on the immediate human cost of the climate crisis.
August 19 of every year is celebrated as World Photography Day across the world, dedicated to the art, craft, science and history of photography & the theme is Pandemic lockdown through the lens.
Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) NITI Aayog in collaboration with La Fondation Dassault Systemes (Dassault Systemes Foundation) in India launched the third series of the ‘Student Entrepreneurship Program’ (SEP 3.0) for the young innovators of Atal Tinkering Labs (ATL).
Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan inaugurates Centre for Research & Innovation in Artificial Intelligence set up at IIT-Hyderabad
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will launch Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 in New Delhi through video conferencing.
The Delhi High Court asked the Centre to respond to a plea seeking to declare the Prime Minister’s Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations Fund (PM CARES Fund) a ‘State’ under the Constitution.
India in collaboration with the UN launched a technology platform to ensure the safety and security of peacekeepers who are operating in increasingly complex and risky environments across the world.
Bangladesh was the most polluted country across the world in 2020, followed by Pakistan, India and Mongolia – report prepared by British company HouseFresh.
For making available high quality and high speed internet access to the States of North Eastern Region of the country, Universal Service Obligation Fund USOF has signed an Agreement with Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited BSNL for hiring of 10 Gbps International Bandwidth for Internet Connectivity to Agartala from Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited BSCCL Bangladesh through Cox Bazar and Kuakata.
The Chhattisgarh government has decided to provide Rs 6,000 per year to landless agricultural labourer families of rural areas in a major move.
Seventeen years after it sold its stock for the first time in a relatively late public debut, Tata Consultancy Services crossed the Rs 13-lakh-crore mark in market value, becoming only the second in the country to do so after Reliance Industries.
China appears to be taking greater control of ByteDance, the Chinese company that owns global video app TikTok, and Weibo, China’s version of Twitter.
To deliver a superior repayment experience for customers and increase efficiencies, Kotak Mahindra Bank (KMBL) announced that it has deployed a secure, Do It Yourself (DIY) Digital Repayment Platform for missed loan repayments, in a tie-up with Creditas Solutions.
Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas was announced as the chairperson of Jio MAMI Film Festival, almost four months after Deepika Padukone stepped down from the position.
Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur conferred the National Youth Awards 2017-18 and 2018-19 at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
The Mahatma Gandhi National Council for Rural Education (MGNCRE) has recognised Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Manipal, as this year’s District Green Champion recognising its contribution in the field of cleanliness.
MeitY-NASSCOM Start-up Women Entrepreneur Awards 2020-21 in partnership with UN Women announced
The Union Cabinet Chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the MoU on cooperation in the field of Disaster Management, Resilience and Mitigation signed between India and Bangladesh in March this year during the visit of Prime Minister Modi to Bangladesh.
The UK government is looking at wrapping up a quick “interim” trade deal with India, which could see tariffs slashed on products like Scotch whisky before a full agreement is in place.
On Aug 18, 2021, The Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal chaired the 5th BRICS Industry Ministers Meeting through video conferencing under the Chairship of India with the Theme of : BRICS@15: Intra BRICS Cooperation for Continuity, Consolidation and Consensus for its Chairship.
On Aug 18, 2021, The Indian Navy carried out a bilateral maritime exercise with the Vietnamese Navy in the South China Sea as part of maritime cooperation between the two countries.
A 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon, Organized by Army in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
Indian Naval Ship INS Kochi will participate in the four-day Maritime Partnership Exercise at Manama in Bahrain.
Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully carried out the Ground Run and Low Speed Taxi Trials (LSTT) of the Hindustan-228 (VT-KNR) aircraft in Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh.
Researchers from Kerala have identified three new species of wild balsam were named Impatiens achudanandanii, Impatiens shailajae, Impatiens danii
For the first time, A rare orchid species Cephalanthera erecta var. Oblanceolata has been discovered in the Mandal area of Uttarakhand Chamoli district by the state forest department.
Indian author Manreet Sodhi Someshwar authored a new book titled Lahore: Book 1 of the Partition Trilogy.
On Aug 16, 2021, Two-time World Cup winner 39 year old Carli Lloyd, one of women’s soccer’s greatest players, announced her retirement.

Daily CA On Aug 20 :

Akshay Urja Diwas is celebrated every year on August 20 & It is an awareness campaign aimed at enlightening the masses about the benefits of renewable energy resources in their lives as well as that of our blue planet.
Sadbhavana Diwas (Harmony Day) is celebrated in India on 20th August every year.
World Mosquito Day is observed every year on August 20 & the theme of World Mosquito Day 2021 is “Reaching the zero malaria targets”.
In a bid to use technology to act against those violating traffic rules, the Union ministry of road transport and highways issued a notification amending the Central Motor Vehicles Rule 1989 for what it called “Electronic Monitoring and Enforcement of Road Safety.”
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved a Rs 77.45 crore package for the revival of state-run North Eastern Regional Agricultural Marketing Corporation Ltd.
President Ram Nath Kovind accepted credentials from four envoys in a virtual ceremony.
President-Designate of 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) Alok Sharma welcomed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s global leadership in setting up the International Solar Alliance.
The Uttar Pradesh government has decided to set up a training centre for Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) commandos in Saharanpur’s Deoband, known for its Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband.
India Ratings and Research (Ind-Ra) has revised GDP growth rate to 9.4 per cent for FY22 from its earlier estimate of 9.6 per cent.
RBI to introduce ‘Regulatory GAAR’ for round tripping
State Bank of India (SBI) Life Insurance recently announced the launch of ‘SBI Life eShield Next’ – a new age-term insurance policy, which raises or ‘levels up’ the protection coverage with the life milestones of the insured.
The Reserve Bank came out with revised guidelines for the hiring of lockers under which the liability of banks will be limited to 100 times its annual rent in case of fire, theft, building collapse or frauds by bank employees.
Olympian R. Sreejesh will be made brand ambassador of adventure tourism in Kerala.
Nitin Chugh has resigned from the position of Managing Director and CEO of Ujjivan Small Finance Bank, a subsidiary of the listed entity Ujjivan Financial Services, with effect from September 30.
The government has appointed Lalit Kumar Chandel, Economic Adviser, Department of Financial Services, on the board of Bank of Maharashtra.
The Appointment Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) has appointed Shanti Lal Jain as the Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of lndian Bank for a period of three years.
The Government of India and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a $500 million loan to expand the metro rail network in Bengaluru with the construction of two new metro lines totaling 56 km in length.
The Ministry of Tourism has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with MakeMyTrip (India) Private Limited and Ibibo Group Private Limited as part of its ongoing efforts to strengthen the hospitality and tourism industry in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.
On the occasion of World Photography Day on 19 August, 2021, a biopic of acclaimed photographer-photo journalist, Raghu Rai will be streamed by Films Division on its website and YouTube channels.
On Aug 19, 2021, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh launched Defence India Startup Challenge (DISC) 5.0 under Innovations for Defence Excellence – Defence Innovation Organisation (iDEX-DIO) in New Delhi through video conferencing.
Shri Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare chaired the event Aarogya Dhara- 2.0 to mark the completion of 2 Cr treatments under Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (AB-PMJAY).
Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an advanced chaff technology to safeguard fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) against threats.
A new book titled ‘Operation Khukri’, has been written by Major General Rajpal Punia & co-authored by his daughter, Damini.
On August 18, The U20 World Athletics Championships began in Nairobi, Kenya will conclude on August 22.

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Current Affairs 20th August 2021| Current Affairs News