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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS
Government unveils “Manthan” platform for better industry and R&D collaboration:
- The “Manthan” platform was announced by the Indian government to promote collaboration between businesses and academic institutions in the implementation of innovations and solutions with a social impact based on technology.
- The launch of Manthan, a platform that will hopefully support our efforts to foster industry involvement in R&D, is also evidence of our dedication to the SDGs as set forth by the UN.
- The launch honors India’s seventy-five years of independence and offers a chance to introduce the national and international public to India’s technological revolution.
- The Manthan platform will help scale up interactions among stakeholders, facilitate research and innovation, and share challenges in various emerging technologies and scientific interventions, including those that make a social impact.
NTPC Limited has achieved 69454 MW of group installed and commercial capacity:
- NTPC Limited, India’s largest integrated energy company achieved 69454 MW of group installed and commercial capacity with the commissioning of 56 MW Kawas Solar PV Project at NTPC Kawas, Gujarat
- NTPC is steadily lowering its carbon footprint by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the installation of renewable energy projects in its existing stations as well as putting up green field RE projects.
- The Company has planned 262 MW floating solar on over 1300 acres of its reservoir area by installing over 9,50,000 PV modules at its various stations out of which 242 Mega Watt has been commissioned.
- This includes the country’s largest floating solar of 100 MW at Ramagundam in Telangana, 92 MW at Kayamkulam in Kerala, and 25 MW each at Simhadri, Andhra Pradesh, and Kawas in Gujarat.
The portal NIDAAN or the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders has been developed:
- First-of-its-kind database of arrested narcotics offenders has been made operational for use by various central and state prosecution agencies tasked to enforce anti-drugs laws in the country.
- The portal–NIDAAN or the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders–has been developed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
- It is part of the narcotics coordination mechanism (NCORD) portal that was launched by Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah in Chandigarh during the national conference on ‘Drug trafficking and national security.
- The NIDAAN platform sources its data from the ICJS (inter-operable criminal justice system) and the e-Prisons (a cloud-based application) repository and it is planned to integrate it in the future with the crime and criminal tracking network system or CCTNS.
- The ICJS, an initiative of the Supreme Court e-committee, was created to enable the seamless transfer of data and information among different pillars of the criminal justice system.
- A distinct feature called ‘criminal network’ on the portal can also be accessed by agencies, as part of which specific links of an accused to other crimes, linked police FIRs and those who visited them in jail can also be accessed.
- The NIDAAN portal is a vertical envisaged under the NCORD and was mooted during a national meeting on drug issues chaired by Home Minister Shah in December last year in Delhi.
The central government has raised the thresholds for prosecutions and arrests under the Customs Act:
- The government has raised the thresholds for prosecutions and arrests under the Customs Act to ₹50 lakh from ₹20 lakh for smuggling and illegal imports of goods in baggage and ₹1 crore to ₹2 crores for cases involving commercial fraud.
- Customs duty refers to the tax imposed on goods when they are transported across international borders.
- In simple terms, it is the tax that is levied on the import and export of goods.
- Customs duty in India is defined under the Customs Act, of 1962, and all matters related to its fall under the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC).
- However, these value-related thresholds will not apply for offenses relating to fake currency notes, arms, ammunitions and explosives, antiques, art treasures, wildlife items, and endangered species of flora and fauna.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Scotland becomes the first country in the world to make period products free for all
- Scotland has become the first in the world to legally protect the right to access free period products with a new law, the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act in November 2020.
- The Scottish government already invested millions of pounds since 2017 to fund free period products in educational institutions
- The bill, which was passed unanimously in 2020, was introduced by Scottish Parliament lawmaker Monica Lennon, who had campaigned against “period poverty“
About the Law :
- Under the new law, schools, colleges, and universities as well as local government bodies must make a range of period products such as tampons and sanitary pads available for free in their bathrooms.
- A mobile phone app, PickupMyPeriod also helps people find the nearest place such as the local library or community center for picking up period products.
Additional Info :
- Period poverty is when those on low incomes can’t afford, or access, suitable period products.
- New Zealand and Kenya, distribute period products for free in public schools.
About Scotland :
- First Minister: Nicola Sturgeon
- Deputy First Minister: John Swinney
- Capital: Edinburgh
- Currency: Pound sterling
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING & FINANCE
Mirae Asset Mutual Fund launches 2 new fund offers (NFOs) on Electric & Autonomous Vehicles and AI themes
- Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has launched 2 new funds – Mirae Asset Global Electric & Autonomous Vehicles ETFs Fund of Fund (FoF) and Mirae Asset Global X Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF Fund of Fund.
- These are the first such funds based on companies involved in future technology to be launched in India in the Mutual Fund Industry.
About Mirae Asset Global Electric & Autonomous Vehicles ETFs FoF :
- It is an open-ended fund of fund scheme investing in overseas equity Exchange Traded Funds which are based on companies involved in the development of Electric & Autonomous Vehicles and related technology, components, and materials.
About Mirae Asset Global X Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF FoF :
- It is an open-ended fund of fund scheme investing in units of Global X AI & Technology ETF.
- GlobalX is a leading ETF provider headquartered in New York
- Global X ETFs is a member of Mirae Asset Financial Group.
Key Highlights :
- Both NFOs will be open for subscription on August 16, 2022, and close on August 30, 2022.
- Both the funds will be managed by Siddharth Srivastava, Head ETF Products, Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India) Pvt Ltd.
- The minimum initial investment in the funds will be Rs 5,000 and multiples of Re 1 thereafter.
Note :
- CEO of Mirae Asset Investment Managers (India) Private Limited: Mr. Swarup Mohanty
Edelweiss MF to launch India’s first gold and silver fund
- The asset management company (AMC) Edelweiss Mutual Fund is scheduled to launch India’s first scheme Edelweiss Gold and Silver Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Fund of Fund (FoF) that offers exposure to gold and silver via a single fund on 24 August 2022.
- The new fund offer for Edelweiss Gold and Silver ETF Fund of Fund (FoF) will close on 7 Sep 2022.
- The fund managers for the scheme are Bhavesh Jain and Bharat Lahoti.
- In September 2022, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) allowed MF houses to introduce silver exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the Indian market.
Note :
- Silver-based mutual funds were initially introduced in January 2022, while India’s first gold fund, Nippon India ETF Gold BeES, was released in March 2007.
- ICICI Prudential Silver ETF was the first silver-based fund in India.
About Edelweiss MF :
- Established: 2009
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- MD & CEO: Radhika Gupta
NABARD Signs MoU With J&K Grameen Bank To Finance 700 JLGs In J&K & Ladakh
- The J&K Regional Office National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the promotion and financing of 700 Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) in the conference hall of NABARD, J&K Regional Office.
The objective of the MoU :
- To enhance the flow of credit to tenant farmers/oral lessees/sharecroppers, SF/MF, etc & to meet the credit requirements of the lower strata of the society by formation and credit linkage of Joint Liability Groups (JLGs).
- On behalf of NABARD, General Manager, Sandeep Sharma, and J&K Grameen Bank, Chairman, Sanjay Gupta, signed the MoU.
- The signing ceremony was presided over by Chief General Manager Ajay Kumar Sood.
About the MoU :
- Under this MoU, J&K Grameen Bank will form and finance 700 JLGs in J&K (UT) and Ladakh (UT).
- NABARD will provide promotional grant support of 4000 per JLG to J&K Grameen Bank.
Recent News :
- Recently The Financial Services Institutions Bureau (FSIB) recommended Mohammad Mustafa as the Chairman of NABARD.
About NABARD :
- Established: 12 July 1982
- Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
- NABARD is an apex regulatory body for the overall regulation of regional rural banks and apex cooperative banks in India.
- It is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance,
BoB & Ujjivan SFB introduce new deposit products
- Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched the ‘Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme’ – a special retail fixed deposit product offering interest rates of 5.75% for 444 days and 6% for 555 days is open till December 31, 2022.
- It is applicable on retail deposits of less than Rs 2 crore.
About the Scheme :
- Under the scheme, senior citizens will get an additional interest rate of 0.50%, while non-refundable deposits will get 0.15% additional interest.
- Meanwhile, Ujjivan Small Finance Bank has introduced two new tenors of retail fixed deposits (below Rs 2 crore), 75 weeks (525 days) & 75 months, both with the highest rate of 7.50%.
- Ujjivan has increased the interest rate on 990 days (Platina) FD from 7.20% to 7.50%.
- It revised the additional rate for senior citizens from 0.50% to 0.75%.
- Under the Platina FD scheme, the customers can invest a minimum of ₹15 lakh to less than ₹2 crores.
About BoB :
- Founded: 20 July 1908
- Headquarters: Vadodara, Gujarat, India
- MD & CEO: Sanjiv Chadha
- Tagline: India’s International Bank
About Ujjivan SFB :
- Founded: 1 February 2017
- Headquarters: Bangalore, Karnataka, India
- MD & CEO: Ittira Davis
- Ujjivan SFB is licensed under Section 22 (1) of the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 to carry out small finance bank business and received Scheduled Bank status from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in August 2017.
IOB launches special variant of debit card – IOB Rupay Select Card’
- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shri. Partha Pratim Sengupta has launched a special variant of debit card IOB Rupay Select Card that can be used for domestic and international payments.
- Executive Directors Ajay Kumar Srivastava and Ms. S Srimathy, CVO Shri. R Balasubramanian was also presented.
About the IOB Rupay Select Card :
- The Card is designed to cater to HNI Customers with add-on freebies at Airport lounges, Gyms, Spa Clubs, etc.
- 6 VIP Customers of the Bank were present at the function to receive the initial issue of the Card.
About IOB :
- Founded: 10 February 1937
- Headquarters: Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India
- IOB is a major Indian nationalized bank under the ownership of the Ministry of Finance, GoI.
Paytm & Samsung collaborate to deploy smart PoS devices across India
- Paytm, a digital financial services company has partnered with Samsung stores across India to enable smart payments and its loan service Paytm Post-paid through the deployment of point-of-sale devices.
About the Partnership :
- The partnership will enable consumers purchasing Samsung devices laptops, smartphones, television, smart watches, etc from any authorized store in India to pay through Paytm payment instruments, including UPI, wallet, debit cards & credit cards buy now pay later scheme.
- Paytm through its postpaid or buy-now-pay-later service will provide a credit limit of up to Rs 60,000 per month.
- It will also give customers an option to avail of a personal loan of up to Rs 2 lakh.
About Paytm :
- Founded: August 2010
- Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India
- CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
- President : Amit Nayyar
- Paytm (an acronym for “pay through mobile“) is an Indian digital payments and financial services company.
ReNew Power raises $1 billion through ECB for battery-enabled project
- ReNew Power has raised a $1-billion project loan through external commercial borrowings (ECB), collaborating with 12 international banks for the finance.
- It is the single largest project funding in Indian renewable energy.
About the Project :
- ReNew has signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI) for this project, which will include wind and solar farms set up across Karnataka, Rajasthan, and
- The project will provide power to SECI at the rate of ₹2.90 per unit to begin with, which will increase by 3% annually for 15 years.
- It will be deployed for its hybrid round-the-clock (RTC) battery-enabled project.
- The RTC project will supply power day and night and compete against the baseload of fossil-fuel energy providers, such as coal.
Recent News :
- In April 2022, Mitsui & Co., Ltd partnered with ReNew for the RTC project where it took a 49% stake.
About ReNew Power :
- Founded: January 19, 2011
- Headquarters: Gurgaon, Haryana, India
- Chairman & CEO : Sumant Sinha
ReNew Power is India’s largest renewable energy company by operational capacity.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS
Shiprocket becomes India’s 106th unicorn, raised $33.5 million:
- As the 106th unicorn in India, Shiprocket, a logistics technology platform backed by Zomato, raised $33.5 million (about Rs 270 crore) in a financing round co-led by Temasek and Light rock India.
- Shiprocket was valued at roughly $1.2 billion after receiving fresh funding.
- With over 66 million clients served annually, Shiprocket has tripled in size since its beginning in 2017.
- It would be able to expand the capability of its operating system and strengthen its fulfillment and same-day delivery capabilities with the help of the extra money.
- In a larger D2C commerce-enabling segment, the Shiprocket arrangement would employ the technology and resources of both companies to provide quick, efficient, hassle-free deliveries from the nearby store or warehouse.
India’s Oil Demand Will Rise By 7.73% In 2022:
- The world’s fastest rate of growth in 2022 will be seen in India, where demand for petroleum products like gasoline and diesel would increase by 7.73 percent.
- After increasing by 8 million b/d annually in May, India’s oil demand increased by a solid 0.7 million barrels per day (million b/d), or 16% year over year.
- The increasing economic activity momentum in India, which has been accompanied by a loosening of COVID-19 limitations, supports the country’s expanding oil demand.
- Russia (24 percent), Iraq (21 percent), and Saudi Arabia (15 percent) were the top three sources of oil import for India.
- The Central Government’s drop in excise duty on gasoline and diesel in June, along with the postponed start of monsoon season, increased India’s demand for oil and contributed to the country’s strong fuel demand.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS & RESIGNATIONS
India’s IT Secretary Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma appointed to a high-level UN internet panel
- India’s Electronics and Information Technology Secretary Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma has been appointed to a panel of 10 eminent experts on internet governance in the United Nations (UN) by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
- The panel includes Vint Cerf from the US, Hatem Dowidar from Egypt, Lise Fuhr from Denmark, Maria Fernanda Garza from Mexico, Toomas Hendrik Ilves from Estonia, and Maria Ressa from the Philippines & the USA, Karoline Edtstadler from Austria, Gbenga Sesan from Nigeria, Lan Xue from Chuba.
- Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Reesa were also appointed to the 10-member Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Leadership Panel
- Guterres’ envoy on technology, Amandeep Singh Gill, will also be on the panel
Role of the Panel :
- To deal with “strategic and urgent issues” of the Internet and provide strategic advice to the IGF.
About Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma :
- Alkesh Kumar Sharma 1990 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre.
- He has also worked with the UN Development Programme as the national project director for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation.
- He served as the additional chief secretary-industries of the Kerala govt from May 2020 to April 2021.
- From September 2019 to April 2021 he was the Managing Director of Kochi Metro Rail as well as CEO of Cochin Smart City Mission.
Airtel shareholders re-appointments Mr. Gopal Vittal as MD & CEO for 5 years
- Bharti Airtel’s shareholders have reappointed Gopal Vittal as Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bharti Airtel for a period of 5 years with effect from Feb 1, 2023, to Jan 31, 2028.
- He has been polled more than 97% of the total votes polled were in favor of the resolution.
- Shareholders also approved a special resolution related to payment of remuneration to Vittal as managing director and CEO of the company, with 89.57% votes in favor and 10.42% against the proposal.
About Bharti Airtel :
- Founded: 7 July 1995
- Headquarters: New Delhi, Delhi, India
Mastercard appoints 4 Indian badminton players as brand ambassadors
- The American multinational financial services firm, Mastercard has appointed 4 Indian badminton players Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shetty as brand ambassadors of Mastercard in India.
- These new ambassadors will partner with Mastercard to spread awareness about the safety, security, and convenience of digital payments in India.
About the Ambassadors :
- In the Thomas Cup 2022, Lakshya Sen & Kidambi Srikanth won the 1st & 2nd Men’s Single while Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty won the 1st doubles game.
- In Commonwealth 2022 Games Satwiksairaj Rankireddy & Chirag Shetty won the gold medal while Lakshya Sen won the gold medal, and Kidambi Srikanth won the bronze medal in Men’s Singles.
- The partnership is in line with the efforts of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Prime Minister Modi’s vision of Digital India.
Recent News :
- Earlier in 2022, Mastercard signed on Shiv Kapur to enhance its leading panel of golfers, which also includes Anirban Lahiri as a brand ambassador.
About Mastercard :
- Founded: November 3, 1966
- Headquarters: New York, United States
- President & CEO : Michael Miebach
CURRENT AFFAIRS: ACQUISITIONS & MERGERS
Promoter BRDN Investment Management sells 5.6% stake in HDFC AMC for Rs 2,300 cr
- Promoter BRDN Investment Management, formerly Standard Life Investments, divested its 5.58% stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Asset Management Company (AMC) for a little over Rs 2,300 crore through an open market transaction.
- The shares were divested at Rs 1,935.63 apiece, a discount from the closing price of Rs 1,956.15
- The transaction size aggregated to Rs 2,303.4 crore.
- The shares of the asset management firm rose 11.5% to settle at Rs 2,180.75 on the BSE.
- In September 2021, BRDN Investment Management divested a 5% stake in HDFC AMC through the open market transaction.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE NEWS
India & Malaysia concludes four-day bilateral air exercise ‘Udarashakti’
- The four-day air exercise ‘Udarashakti’ between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) concluded in Malaysia.
- Both the Air Forces flew seven aircraft in formation as part of the ceremony.
About Ex Udarashakti :
- Ex Udarashakti would strengthen the long-standing partnership between the two Air Forces and expand their defense cooperation opportunities, increasing regional security.
- The Su-30 MKI and C-17 aircraft from the Indian Air Force, while Su-30 MKM aircraft from the Malaysian force took part in the air exercise.
- In 1957, India and the Federation of Malaya (the country that later became Malaysia) established diplomatic ties.
- The IAF contingent has now moved on to Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF), Darwin, Australia for Exercise Pitch Black 22.
About Malaysia :
- Prime Minister: Ismail Sabri Yaakob
- Capital: Kuala Lumpur
- Currency : Malaysian Ringgit
CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOUR
Deepika Misra became the first woman to bag the Vayu Sena medal prestigious award:
- Wing Commander Deepika Misra, a pilot of the Indian Air Force, was conferred with the Vayu Sena medal, becoming perhaps the first woman to bag the prestigious award.
- The government also conferred the Vayu Sena medal to Group Captain Rahul Singh and Group Captain Ravi Nanda for their respective roles during India’s Operation Devi Shakti, the evacuation mission launched to bring back Indians from Kabul after its takeover by the Taliban
- she has been chosen for her role during a sortie under a disaster relief operation following flash floods in northern Madhya Pradesh.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHOR
Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman internationally launched the book entitled “India’s vaccine growth story- from cowpox to vaccine maitry”:
- Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman internationally launched the book entitled “India’s vaccine growth story- from cowpox to vaccine maitry”.
- The book is written by Dr. Sajjan Singh Yadav, who is currently posted as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Finance.
- The book traces India’s centuries-long journey as the torchbearer of the world in vaccine development and inoculations.
- It has numerous stories of the birthing of various vaccines too.
- The book also discusses the development of vaccines by India at a fast pace to counter the COVID-19 pandemic and the launch of the world’s biggest vaccination drive by our country.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS NEWS
Bengaluru to host FIBA U-18 women’s Asian Basketball Championship:
- Bengaluru will serve as the host city for the FIBA U-18 women’s Asian Basketball Championship from September 5 to 11, according to Narayanagowda, the Karnataka minister of sports and youth empowerment.
- During the press conference, the minister, Dr. Narayanagowda, gave sporting equipment to the Indian men’s team travelling to Iran to compete in the FIBA U-18 Men’s Basketball Championship.
- The FIBA U-18 women’s Asian Basketball Championship is set to take place at the Koramangala and Sree Kanteerava indoor stadiums.
- Teams from Divisions A and B will play in the championship to earn a spot in the FIBA U-18 women’s Asian Basketball Championship, which will take place in Spain in July of next year.
- Teams from China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Chinese Taipei, Australia, and New Zealand will be represented in Division A.
- The FIBA U-18 women’s Asian Basketball Championship will feature teams from Hong Kong, Jordan, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
- 192 basketball players from 16 different nations, 96 officials, and 100 volunteers would all be present at the Bengaluru tournament.
Meghalaya Sports Department set to host 2nd edition of North East Olympics:
- Meghalaya is all set to host the upcoming 2nd edition of the North East Olympics from 30th October.
- Meghalaya Department of Sports and Youth Affairs, and the North East Olympic Association were held last evening to finalize the list of sports disciplines.
- The first edition of the Games was held in Manipur in 2018, with 12 disciplines.
- In this edition, about 4,000 participants from eight North Eastern States will be competing in 18 disciplines at 13 venues spread across Shillong.
- Participants will be competing in disciplines, such as archery, athletics, badminton, basketball, boxing, football, judo, karate, shooting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, wushu, cycling (Mountain Bike), golf, weightlifting, and wrestling.
CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARIES
Kerala’s first tribal novelist Narayan passes away
- Popular Malayalam novelist and Kendra Sahitya Akademi awardee Narayan Passed away at the age of 82.
About Narayan :
- Narayan was born in 1940 in Kudayathur, Idukki district, Kerala.
- He is often referred to as the first tribal novelist from Kerala in literary discourses.
- His famous novels include Kocharethi (1998), Ooralikkudi (1999), Chengarum Kuttalum (2001), Vandanam (2003), and Aaranu Tholkkunnavar (2006), Thiraskrutharude Nalea (2010), Manasum Dhehavum Kondu Njan Ninnea (2010).
- His English translation of the novel, titled “Kocharethi: The Araya Woman”, by Catherine Thankamma was published by the Oxford University Press in 2011 & it won the Economist- Crossword Book Award in the Indian language translation category for 2011.
Awards & Honors :
- Thoppil Ravi Foundation Award – 1999
- Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award – 1999
- Abu Dhabi Shakthi Award – 1999
- Swami Ananda Theertha Award – 2011
- Economist Crossword Book Award – 2011
Daily CA on August 20:
- The “Manthan” platform was announced by the Indian government to promote collaboration between businesses and academic institutions in the implementation of innovations and solutions with a social impact based on technology.
- NTPC Limited, India’s largest integrated energy company achieved 69454 MW of group installed and commercial capacity with the commissioning of 56 MW Kawas Solar PV Project at NTPC Kawas, Gujarat
- The portal–NIDAAN or the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders–has been developed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
- The government has raised the thresholds for prosecutions and arrests under the Customs Act to ₹50 lakh from ₹20 lakh for smuggling and illegal imports of goods in baggage and ₹1 crore to ₹2 crores for cases involving commercial fraud.
- As the 106th unicorn in India, Shiprocket, a logistics technology platform backed by Zomato, raised $33.5 million (about Rs 270 crore) in a financing round co-led by Temasek and Light rock India.
- The world’s fastest rate of growth in 2022 will be seen in India, where demand for petroleum products like gasoline and diesel would increase by 7.73 percent.
- Wing Commander Deepika Misra, a pilot of the Indian Air Force, was conferred with the Vayu Sena medal, becoming perhaps the first woman to bag the prestigious award.
- Finance Minister Smt Nirmala Sitharaman internationally launched the book entitled “India’s vaccine growth story- from cowpox to vaccine maitry”.
- Bengaluru will serve as the host city for the FIBA U-18 women’s Asian Basketball Championship from September 5 to 11, according to Narayanagowda, the Karnataka minister of sports and youth empowerment.
- Meghalaya is all set to host the upcoming 2nd edition of the North East Olympics from 30th October.
- Scotland has become the first in the world to legally protect the right to access free period products with a new law, the Period Products (Free Provision) (Scotland) Act in November 2020.
- Mirae Asset Mutual Fund has launched 2 new funds – Mirae Asset Global Electric & Autonomous Vehicles ETFs Fund of Fund (FoF) and Mirae Asset Global X Artificial Intelligence and Technology ETF Fund of Fund.
- The asset management company (AMC) Edelweiss Mutual Fund is scheduled to launch India’s first scheme Edelweiss Gold and Silver Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) Fund of Fund (FoF) that offers exposure to gold and silver via a single fund on 24 August 2022.
- The J&K Regional Office National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the promotion and financing of 700 Joint Liability Groups (JLGs) in the conference hall of NABARD, J&K Regional Office.
- Bank of Baroda (BoB) has launched the ‘Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme’ – a special retail fixed deposit product offering interest rates of75% for 444 days and 6% for 555 days is open till December 31, 2022.
- Indian Overseas Bank (IOB) Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Shri. Partha Pratim Sengupta has launched a special variant of debit card IOB Rupay Select Card that can be used for domestic and international payments.
- Paytm, a digital financial services company has partnered with Samsung stores across India to enable smart payments and its loan service Paytm Post-paid through the deployment of point-of-sale devices.
- ReNew Power has raised a $1-billion project loan through external commercial borrowings (ECB), collaborating with 12 international banks for the finance.
- India’s Electronics and Information Technology Secretary Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma has been appointed to a panel of 10 eminent experts on internet governance in the United Nations (UN) by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
- Bharti Airtel’s shareholders have reappointed Gopal Vittal as Managing Director (MD) & Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Bharti Airtel for a period of 5 years with effect from Feb 1, 2023, to Jan 31, 2028.
- The American multinational financial services firm, Mastercard has appointed 4 Indian badminton players Lakshya Sen, Kidambi Srikanth, Satwiksairaj Rankireddy, and Chirag Shetty as brand ambassadors of Mastercard in India.
- Promoter BRDN Investment Management, formerly Standard Life Investments, divested its 58% stake in Housing Development Finance Corporation (HDFC) Asset Management Company (AMC) for a little over Rs 2,300 crore through an open market transaction.
- The four-day air exercise ‘Udarashakti’ between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) concluded in Malaysia.
- Popular Malayalam novelist and Kendra Sahitya Akademi awardee Narayan Passed away at the age of 82.