Dear Readers, Daily Current Affairs News Updates about the National and International events were listed here. Read Current Affairs Today here and stay updated with current news. Candidates those who are preparing for IBPS/SBI/PO/Clerk exam and all other competitive exams can use this and try Current Affairs Quiz to test your knowledge level.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS
International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism
- The International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 2017.
- It designated 21 August as the International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism in order to honor the victims and survivors of terrorism.
International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief
- August 22 was designated as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief in a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
- The international day aims to honour the victims and survivors of heinous acts who often remain forgotten.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL
Committee Formed to Advise Government on ‘Fit India Movement’
- An advisory committee comprising members of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), national sports federations (NSFs), government officials, private bodies and celebrated fitness enthusiasts has been formed to advise the government on the “Fit India Movement” which will be launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 29.
- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports said that the nation-wide launch of the movement will inculcate physical activities/sports into the daily lives of citizens to improve their physical fitness and well-being.
- The committee will be under the chairmanship of sports minister Kiren Rijiju.
- Accordingly, an advisory committee is being constituted with members of government, Sports Authority of India (SAI), IOA and NSFs like Athletics Federation of India, All India Football Federation, Cycling Federation of India and so on.
Government to launch an e-commerce portal to help SMEs
- The government is planning to launch an e-commerce project called ‘Bharatcraft’ for micro small and medium enterprises (MSME), on the lines of global online shopping platform such as Alibaba.
- The proposed platform could generate a turnover of Rs 10 trillion over the next few years.
- The government had launched the ‘Udyog Mitra’ portal to ease of access to MSMEs financial and non-financial service needs.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU
India provides Rs 233 crore financial aid to Nepal for infrastructure projects
- India provided Rs 233 crore to the Nepal Government for various infrastructure projects, including roads and reconstruction of houses destroyed in the massive earthquake in 2015 which saw the death of over 9,000 people.
- The decision was taken during the 5th meeting of the Nepal-India Joint Commission attended by the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.
- On the occasion, a cheque of INR153 crore (NR 2.45 billion) was provided for the reconstruction of houses in Nuwakot and Gorkha districts that were badly affected during the earthquake.
Similarly, India also handed over a cheque of INR 80.71 crore for the construction of Hulaki Marga (Postal Roads) in the Terai region of Nepal. - The amount was part of the INR 500 crore commitment made by India towards strengthening the roads in the Terai region.
- A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India and the Department of Food Quality Control of Nepal on the cooperation for maintatining food safety and standard.
Acko partners with ZestMoney to offer credit insurance
- Acko General Insurance, an insurtech company, has partnered with ZestMoney, a consumer lending fintech, to offer credit insurance.
- This insurance will help ZestMoney customers cover their monthly EMI payments during times of crisis.ZestMoney offers instant financing to consumers across 1000+ online portals and provides them the option of paying through EMIs even if the consumers don’t own a credit card.
- Acko will offer credit insurance to these consumers and cover them during eventualities like hospitalization or critical illness when they’re unable to pay their instalments.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE
Haryana CM increases income limit for BPL family to Rs 15000
- Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced to enhance family income limit for a household for qualifying as a beneficiary under the Below Poverty Line (BPL) list from Rs 10,000 per month to Rs 15,000 per month so as to ensure that maximum eligible families get the benefit of various government schemes admissible to them.
- He inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of nine development projects worth Rs 93.29 crore for district Panchkula.
- On this occasion, the Chief Minister distributed ration card to 37 BPL beneficiaries of Panchkula and Kalka assembly constituency
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE
RBI Says RTGS System to Open At 7 AM Instead of 8 AM
- In order to increase the availability of the RTGS system, RBI has been decided to extend the operating hours of RTGS and commence operations for customers and banks from 7:00 am instead of 8 am.
- The extended customer transactions timing will be applicable from August 26.
RBI allows e-mandate processing on cards for recurring transactions
- The Reserve Bank permitted processing of e-mandate on credit and debit cards for recurring transactions (merchant payments) with a cap of Rs 2,000.
- The RBI has been receiving requests from industry stakeholders to allow processing of e-mandate on cards for recurring transactions with Additional Factor of Authentication (AFA) during e-mandate registration and first transaction.
- The maximum permissible limit for a transaction under the e-mandate facility on cards would be Rs 2,000.
- The RBI added that no charges should be levied or recovered from the cardholder for availing the e-mandate facility on cards for recurring transactions.
- The direction is applicable for transactions performed using all types of cards debit, credit and Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPIs), including wallets.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATION
PM Modi Approves Ajay Kumar Bhalla as New Home Secretary
- Ajay Kumar Bhalla, currently serving as an officer on special duty in the home ministry, was appointed as the new Union home secretary.
- The Appointments Committee of the cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved Bhalla’s appointment as the new home secretary. He replaces Rajiv Gauba, who was appointed as the new cabinet secretary.
Ajay Kumar appointed new Defence Secretary
- The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), Government of India (GoI) has made Ajay Kumar as the new Defence Secretary but without 2 years’ tenure.
- He will replace Sanjay Mitra.
- Ajay Kumar is currently serving as the Secretary, Department of Defence Production.
Abdalla Hamdok takes charge as Sudan’s new Prime Minister
- Abdalla Hamdok has taken the oath as the prime minister of Sudan. This comes a month after Sudan embarked on a three-year transition to civilian rule.
- Hamdok was sworn in before Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, chairman of the newly-formed Sovereign Council, at the presidential palace in the capital Khartoum in presence of the chief justice.
Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigns
- The Prime Minister of Italy, Giuseppe Conte, an independent, announced his resignation to the President of Italy, Sergio Mattarella.
- The resignation was done after the Deputy PM (Prime Minister) Luigi Di Maioand the leader of the far-right League and Matteo Salvini (also Deputy PM), announced a motion of no confidence against Conte.
- This resignation marks the end of Western Europe’s first fully populist government.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS
JNU Professor Meeta Narain was conferred the ‘Pushkin Medal 2019’
- JNU Professor Meeta Narain conferred the ‘Pushkin Medal – 2019’. It is the highest honour given to an Indian scholar by the Russian government.
- Pushkin Medal is given to a scholar of Russian language and literature. It is given for outstanding contribution to Russian studies.
- Medal of Pushkin is a state decoration of the Russian Federation. It is awarded to its citizens for achievements in the arts and culture, education, humanities, and literature. It is named in honor of Russian author and poet Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR
Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launches book titled- the Diary of Manu Gandhi’
- Culture and Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel launched the book titled- the Diary of Manu Gandhi’ at a function in New Delhi.
- The book has been brought out by National Archives of India, on the occasion of 150th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in collaboration with Oxford University Press.
- The Diary of Manu Gandhi originally written in Gujarati language has been edited and translated by a well known scholar Dr. Tridip Suhrud. The first volume of the book covers the period of 1943-1944. Manu Gandhi was a grand niece of Mahatma Gandhi.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING
Dwayne Johnson leads Forbes list of highest-paid actors, Akshay Kumar 4th on the list
- Action movie hero Dwayne Johnson, star of the “Jumanji” and “Fast and Furious” franchises, topped the annual list of the world’s highest-paid actors, Forbes magazine reported.
- Johnson, the former wrestler once known as The Rock, pulled in $89.4 million from June 2018 to June 2019.
- Chris Hemsworth, who played Thor, took in $76.4 million, while Iron Man actor Robert Downey Jr. earned $66 million.
- The fourth-biggest earner was Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar, with $65 million, and Hong Kong-born actor and martial artist Jackie Chan with $58 million.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS
Kiren Rijiju, Bhaichung Bhutia Flag-off ‘OP-Blue Freedom’
- Indian Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and former Indian football team captain Bhaichung Bhutia started the ‘Op-Blue Freedom’, which is a nation-wide adaptive scuba diving programme for people with disabilities as well as able-bodied persons.
- Op-Blue Freedom is an initiative in which a group of armed forces veterans, train sports enthusiasts, both abled and disabled, in special forces skills like survival techniques, emergency first response skills, unarmed combat, endurance and fitness.
- They aim to train adventure enthusiasts in valuable special forces skills like survival techniques, emergency first response skills, unarmed combat, endurance and fitness, in combination with the adventure activity one chooses to pursue — mountaineering, trekking, scuba diving, sky diving etc.