Current Affairs 19th August 2020| Current Affairs News

 CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

World Photography Day

• World Photography Day is observed on 19 August annually to raise awareness about the importance of photography.
• World Photography Day is an annual, worldwide celebration of the art, craft, science and history of photography.

World Humanitarian Day

• World Humanitarian Day is observed annually on 19 August around the world to pay tribute to aid workers who risk their lives in humanitarian service.
• This day also honour the work of women in crises throughout the world.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Govt launches ‘Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge’

• The Union Ministry of Communications, Electronics and Information Technology has launched the “Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge- Innovate Solutions for #Aatmanirbhar Bharat” to provide further impetus to the strong startup ecosystem, and drive innovation and research in the country.
• This challenge was launched by Union Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• This initiative is aimed at not only meeting India’s future requirements of strategic and industrial sectors but also has the potential to mitigate the issues of security, licensing, technology obsolescence and most crucially cutting dependency on imports.
• IIT Madras and Centre for Development of Advance Computing (CDAC) have developed two microprocessors named SHAKTI (32-bit) and VEGA (64-bit) respectively using Open Source Architecture under the aegis of Microprocessor Development Programme of Ministry of Electronics and IT.
• The participants in this challenge will receive various incentives which include internship opportunities and technical guidance from leading VLSI and Electronics System Design experts. Besides, there will be financial assistance to the tune of Rs 4.30 crore given at various stages of the challenge for developing the hardware prototype.

About MEITY

• Union Minister of Law and Justice, Communications, Electronics and Information Technology: Ravi Shankar Prasad.
• Constituency: Patna Sahib, Bihar.

Home Ministry approves renaming of Manduadih railway station in UP as Banaras

• The Union Home Ministry has approved the renaming of Manduadih railway station in Uttar Pradesh as ‘Banaras’.
• The Uttar Pradesh government had sent a request for renaming the railway station in Varanasi district.
• A ‘no objection certificate’ has been issued for changing the name of the Manduadih railway station to ‘Banaras’.
• The home ministry considers proposals for name change according to the existing guidelines in consultations with agencies concerned.
• It gives its approval to any proposal for change of name of any place after taking no-objections from the Ministry of Railways, Department of Posts and Survey of India.

About MHA

• Minister of Home Affairs: Amit Anilchandra Shah
• Constituency: Gujarat

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches instant account opening facility

• Lakshmi Vilas Bank (LVB) has launched LVB DigiGo, a digital initiative to enable opening of savings account instantly.
• LVB’s new initiative will help people to avail the most required banking services instantly through the website.
• As a Lakshmi DigiGo customer, one can visit the nearest LVB Branch and convert his/her “Lakshmi DigiGo”, account to a fully featured regular account of choice and avail cheque book, debit card and a host of other facilities.

About LVB

• Headquarters: Chennai
• Managing Director& CEO (Interim): Shri S Sundar

Muthoot Finance, Kotak Mahindra General Insurance partner to offer COVID-19 cover

• Muthoot Finance has teamed-up with Kotak Mahindra General Insurance in bid to offer COVID-19 insurance cover of up to Rs 1 lakh against gold loan.
• The company will be providing complimentary COVID-19 insurance cover to their eligible customers through Muthoot Finance Ayush Gold Loan, an exclusive initiative of Muthoot Group.
• This specific cover will only be available  for the customers opting to avail gold loan under the Super Loan scheme.

About Muthoot Finance

• Head Office- Kochi, Kerala
• Chairman– M.G. George Muthoot
• Managing Director– George Alexander Muthoot

About Kotak Mahindra General Insurance

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer– Mahesh Balasubramanian

Fino Payments Bank launches Aadhaar Auth based Digital Savings account to offer Neo-Banking Experience

• Fino Payments Bank has launched Jan BachatKhata, an Aadhaar Authentication based digital savings account that brings neo-banking experience to consumers.
• The Jan BachatKhata (JBK) is available to everyone who is comfortable with AadhaarAuth based banking on fingertips. However, the primary segment would be low income household families and beneficiaries of government’s direct benefit transfer (DBT).
• For this set of customers Aadhaar enabled payment system (AePS)has emerged as the preferred mode of transaction as it is convenient, secure and completely digital.

About JBK

• JBKwas launched on 15th August 2020 to commemorate India’s Independence Day driving customers towards financial independence and freedom of choice.

About Fino Payment Bank

• Headquarters location: Mumbai
• CEO: Rishi Gupta

RBI releases framework for pan-India entity for retail payments

• Reserve Bank of India has unveiled the framework for setting up of pan-India Umbrella Entity for Retail Payments. As per the framework, the companies with a net worth of over 500 crore rupees will be eligible to set up an umbrella entity which among other things will be permitted to set up, manage and operate new payment systems in the retail space comprising ATMs, White Label PoS, Aadhaar-based payments and remittance services.
• The entity will be expected to monitor national as well as international developments so as to avoid shocks and frauds that may adversely affect the system and the economy in general.
• Inviting applications by February 2021, the RBI stated that the promoter/promoter group of the umbrella entity shall be owned and controlled by resident Indian citizens.
• RBI stated the application for setting up the umbrella entity should contain a detailed business plan covering the payment systems proposed to be set up and/or operated along with other documents to duly establish its experience in the payments ecosystem.

About RBI:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• Governor: Shaktikanta Das

PayMate launches full stack supply chain payments automation platform

• B2B payments player PayMate launched the country’s first full-stack supply chain payments automation platform for large enterprises and their suppliers (SMEs).
• The new version of the PayMate platform will add further value to supply chains by allowing enterprises to extend payables using commercial cards and SMEs to receive early payments towards outstanding invoices via discounting where cashflow for SME is the lifeblood, especially in these challenging times, it stated.
• Ajay Adiseshann, Founder and CEO, PayMate, stated small and medium businesses will be able to sustain themselves through the troubled Covid times by offering discounts on their overdue invoices.

About Paymate:

• Founder: Ajay Adiseshann, founder and CEO
• Headquarters: Mumbai

ADB approves USD 1 billion package for rapid transit system in India

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 1 billion (about 7,485 crore) loan to support the construction of the modern, high-speed Delhi-Meerut regional rapid transit system, a first of its kind in India.
• The transit system project aims to help decongest the city and improve regional connectivity by establishing transit options through densely populated sections of the NCR connecting Delhi to Meerut in Uttar Pradesh.
• The 82-km Delhi-Meerut regional rapid transit system network is the first of three priority rail corridors in the country’s integrated transport network under the NCR regional plan 2021.
• This project will finance the construction of railway tracks, station buildings, maintenance facilities and traction and power supply.
• The system will use advanced, high technology signalling systems based on latest standards and will have multimodal hubs to ensure smooth interchange with other transport modes. The design of the stations will feature and consider the needs of the elderly, women, children and differently-abled.
• Financing for the project will be implemented in four tranches between August 2020 and May 2025. The Indian government will provide USD 1.89 billion and co-financiers are expected to provide USD 1 billion of the total project cost of USD 3.94 billion.

About ADB:

• Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President: Masatsugu Asakawa

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Xiaomi launches Mi For India initiative to distribute 2,500 phones to COVID-19 affected children

• Xiaomi India has launched an Independence Day initiative called Mi For India.
• The company has partnered with Teach For India to distribute 2500 new smartphones to children affected by the current COVID-19 pandemic.
• Mi For India has been launched to celebrate India’s 74th Independence Day as well as the 5th anniversary of Xiaomi’s Make In India initiative.
• The Chinese tech giant set up its first Indian manufacturing plant back in August 2015.

About Xiaomi

• Founded: 6 April 2010, Yingu Mansion, Beijing, China
• CEO: Lei Jun

Tech Mahindra launches Upskilling-as-a-service platform

• Tech Mahindra was launching a new ‘Upskilling-as-a-Service’ (UaaS) platform to accelerate new-age skill development for over 60,000 employees globally to create a ‘fit for future’ workforce.
• The company also intends to make this available to academia so that students are industry ready when they graduate.
• Powered by New Age Delivery (NAD), UaaS will enhance employee competencies across emerging technologies like 5G, cloud, big data and robotic process automation.
• The learning platform leverages AI to provide interactive, on-demand, contextual and hyper-personalised upskilling to employees in self-service mode.
• The platform will provide holistic learning for employees across multiple technical as well as functional (domain), behavioural and professional skills. It will also recommend relevant career paths to the employees based on their current skillset, time to upskill and opportunities available.

RIL picks majority stake in Netmeds for Rs 620 crore

• The online pharmacy space is set to become a hotly contested segment with Reliance Industries (RIL) now throwing its hat into the ring. The Mukesh Ambani-owned conglomerate announced acquisition of a majority equity stake in Chennai-based online pharmacy delivery startup Netmeds (Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd) for a cash consideration of approximately Rs 620 crore.
• This investment represents 60 per cent holding in the equity share capital of Vitalic and 100 per cent direct equity ownership of its subsidiaries – Tresara Health Private Limited, Netmeds Market Place Limited and Dadha Pharma Distribution Pvt. Limited, a late evening statement by RIL stated.
• RIL’s acquisition comes at a time when arch rival Amazon has just started selling pharmaceutical products in Bangalore markets. Also, two other prominent players Medlife and PharmEasy are now heading for a merger to create a have agreed for a merger, to create a large combined entity in the online pharmacy space.
• Promoted by Dadha Pharma, Chennai-based Netmeds is one of the earliest players in this space having incorporated in 2015. The company which connects customers to pharmacists and enable door step delivery of medicines, nutritional health and wellness products, is stated to have raised close to $100 million funding so far from investors such as Tanncam, Sistema and Daun Penh. Till date, the company has served close to 4 million customers across over 610 cities and towns.

About Reliance Industries (RIL):

• CEO: Mukesh Ambani
• HQ: Mumbai, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

MP: ‘Ek Sankalp – Bujurgo ke naam’ campaign proves to be boon for senior citizens amid corona pandemic

• In Madhya Pradesh, a unique campaign ‘Ek Sankalp – Bujurgo ke naam’e. ‘a commitment for elders’ is being run by the Chhatarpur Police in the midst of corona infection in the state.
• This unique campaign is proving to be a boon for the elderly people living alone in homes during the global pandemic COVID-19. In this campaign, the police are taking care of the elderly people from the food to their health.
• By this campaign, the motto of Madhya Pradesh Police- Desh Bhakti-Jansewa has now become a reality.

About Madhya Pradesh:

• Capital: Bhopal
• Governor: Anandiben Patel(additional charge)
• Chief Minister: Shivraj Singh Chouhan

New Electronics Manufacturing Policy announced in UP

• Uttar Pradesh government has announced it’s Electronics Manufacturing Policy 2020. The policy aims at inviting investment of 40 thousand Crore rupees in next five years and generate four lakh direct employment.
• Immediately after assuming office in 2017, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had announced Electronics Manufacturing Policy 2017 for Noida, Greater Noida and Yamuna Expressway regions. It had achieved the given target of investment and employment generation in the 3rd year itself and all three regions are now one of the emerging mobile manufacturing hubs in the world. More than 60 percent of all mobile phones manufactured in India are from UP.
• The new electronics manufacturing policy 2020 has been extended to the entire state now. The incentives proposed in the policy shall be applicable to all units setting up their bases anywhere in UP. To address the regional imbalance, double the rate of land subsidy has been provided to investors for setting up manufacturing units in Bundelkhand and Purvanchal regions.
• With this new Electronics Manufacturing Policy state government wants to become a new Global Electronics Hub and also eying for the international investors looking to shift their base to India post Covid Scenario.

About UP:

• Capital: Lucknow
• Governor: Anandiben Patel
• Chief minister: Yogi Adityanath

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

IIM Kozhikode ties up with Swiss firm to support humanitarian work

• The Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode and Switzerland based HELP Logistics have inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to engage in a collaborative partnership and provide consulting services and logistics training. The MoU will be in force for a year, and will endeavour to carry out the activities that integrate efforts to shape supply chains that benefit humanity, amidst prevailing worldwide uncertainty as a result of natural as well as man-made turmoil.
• The partnership between IIMK and HELP Logistics, a registered non-profit organisation and a subsidiary company of the Kühne Foundation, Schindellegi, Switzerland, aims to develop humanitarian logistics in India and the region by providing consulting services and logistics training to prominent actors during a humanitarian crisis — United Nations bodies, Government institutions and non-Governmental organisations.
• The partnership, which also includes financial support, aims to enhance regional knowledge on humanitarian logistics matters and advance awareness on the subject among humanitarian agencies, government bodies, academia and private sectors.
• The expertise of IIMK and the experience of HELP Logistics would be used to develop new products, such as, learning programmes, games, optimisation models, and so on, in the domain of Humanitarian Supply Chain (HSC) to assist the clients of HELP Logistics to improve their processes and make their humanitarian operations more efficient and effective.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

Nitin Gadkari launches portal for you to buy groceries directly from farmers along with these benefits

• MSME Minister Nitin Gadkari launched an online farm-to-fork service com promoted by farmers for selling non-toxic farm produce.
• The platform set-up by Nagpur-based farmer producer organization VedKrishi Farmer Producer Company will home deliver grocery products including dairy goods, vegetables, grains, and pulses, apart from pickles, juices, sauces, etc.
• The company will connect farmers directly with consumers through the platform. Registered consumers would be able to schedule their order in advance for one year.
• Vedkrishi will also support other farmers through consultation around best practices in organic farming. However, the online portal is not operational as of now and will take some time to launch services.
• The portal once operational will bear resemblance to other grocery portals like Grofers and BigBasket. Moreover, consumers would be able to know farmers they are buying goods from with details mentioned along with the product listed on the portal.

About MSME

• Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping and the Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises: Nitin Jairam Gadkari
• Constituency: Nagpur, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Cricketer Rohit Sharma appointed Oakley’s brand ambassador in India

• Performance sports eyewear brand Oakley announced the appointment of cricketer Rohit Sharma as its new brand ambassador for a period of two years in India.
• Sharma will be sporting Oakley eyewear equipped with patented Prizm technology created specifically for sports lenses.
• Oakley has been associated with key running events as performance eyewear partner including Delhi Half Marathon and Mumbai Marathon among others.

Ashok Lavasa resigns as Election Commissioner; to join ADB as Vice President

• Election Commissioner Ashok Lavasa resigned from his post to join the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) as vice-president next month.
• Lavasa has submitted his resignation to President Ram Nath Kovind and has requested to be relieved by the end of this month. Last month, the ADB had announced his appointment to the post.

Dhanlaxmi Bank appoints 4 new directors to the Board

• Dhanlaxmi Bank has appointed PK Vijayakumar and G Rajagopalan Nair on the Board of the Bank. Last month, the Bank had appointed G Subramonia Iyer and Suseela Menon R, also as Additional Directors (Independent Category) to the Board.
• PK Vijayakumar had retired from Indian Revenue Service as Director General of Income Tax after working at various levels in the Income Tax Department.
• G Rajagopalan Nair has more than two decades of banking experience and retired from Federal Bank as general manager-information technology.
• G Subramonia Iyer has experience of more than 36 years in banking at various levels and had retired as Executive Director of UCO Bank. He is a post-graduate in Agriculture, with experience in banking functions like Treasury, Finance, Planning & Development, Credit, Risk, IT, Planning & Development, International Operations, Recovery in UCO Bank and Canara Bank.
• Suseela Menon R retired as a Professor of Commerce from Shree Kerala Varma College Thrissur and has more than 21 years of experience as faculty of commerce, management accounting, cost accounting, financial management, economics and other management-related subjects.

About dhanlaxmi bank:

• Headquarters: Thrissur, Kerala, India
• Chairman: Mr. Sajeev Krishnan

Cyril George assumes charge as new Dy Chairman of Cochin Port Trust

• Cyril C. George, Deputy Chairman, Chennai Port Trust has joined Cochin Port Trust as Deputy Chairman.
• K. Mehera, Deputy Chairman, Cochin Port Trust has been transferred to Kolkata Dock System, Syama Prasad Mookerjee Port Trust, Kolkata.
• An officer having more than three decades of experience in the major ports sector, Cyril C. George started his career as Labour Officer in Kandla Port Trust in 1987. Before Chennai Port Trust he also served in Mormugao Port Trust (as Deputy Chairman), Kandla Dock Labour Board (as Deputy Chairman) and Cochin Port Trust (as Secretary)..
• He has headed various committees, including the Indian Port Association’s committee to study HR & Direct Recruitment issues in Major Port Trust (2017).

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

India ranks first in number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming

• India ranks first in number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming.
• Sikkim became the first State in the world to become fully organic and other States including Tripura and Uttarakhand have set similar targets.
• The aim of assisting farmers to adopt organic farming and improve remunerations due to premium prices, two dedicated programs namely Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North East Region (MOVCD) and Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) were launched in 2015 to encourage chemical free farming.
• The major organic exports from India have been flax seeds, sesame, soybean, tea, medicinal plants, rice and pulses, which were instrumental in driving an increase of nearly 50% in organic exports in 2018-19, touching Rs 5151 crore.

IIT Madras bags 1st place in Atal Innovation ranking, 7 IITs among top 10

• The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) at Madras, Bombay and Delhi have bagged the top three positions in the Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovations Achievements (ARIIA).
• The ARIIA is an initiative of the Ministry of Education to systematically rank higher education institutions and universities on indicators related to innovation.
• The ranking is done in six categories — centrally-funded institutes of national importance, state-funded universities, state-funded autonomous institutions, deemed universities, private institutions, and women-only higher educational institutions.
• The Institute of Chemical Technology, Maharashtra, has been ranked top among state-funded universities, followed by Panjab University and Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University.
• Among state-funded autonomous institutes, College of Engineering, Pune, has bagged the first rank followed by PES College of Engineering, Karnataka, and Coimbatore Institute of Technology, Tamil Nadu.
• The Kalinga Institute of Industrial Technology, Odisha, has been ranked at the top among private universities, followed by SRM Institute of Science and Technology and Vellore Institute of Technology, both in Tamil Nadu.
• This year, the category of women-only higher educational institutions was introduced to encourage women and bringing gender parity in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women bagged the top prize in the category.

Delhi, Chennai among cheapest cities to rent for couples and newly-weds

• Ho Chi Minh City is the cheapest in the world while New York is the most expensive
• According to a new report by Purely Diamonds, couples and newly-weds looking to save money on housing should put Ho Chi Minh City, Delhi, and Chennai at the top of their list. These are the cheapest cities for renting houses, says a report.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

One Arranged Murder’: Author Chetan Bhagat’s next to hit stands in September 

• A murder mystery in the backdrop of an arranged marriage will be at the centre stage of bestselling author Chetan Bhagat’s upcoming fiction book, announced publishing house Westland.
• The book’s title — One Arranged Murder — and its cover were revealed by the author. It will be Bhagat’s ninth novel and 11th book overall. His last release was The Girl in Room 105.
• “‘One Arranged Murder’ is a gripping murder mystery set in a backdrop of an arranged marriage. Not only does it have intense suspense, it is also filled with humour, love and relatable Indian characters — something common to all my books. The test readers gave a phenomenal response and I can’t wait for everyone to read it, Bhagat stated.
• Beside Bhagat’s two non-fiction titles, What Young India Wants (2012) and Making India Awesome (2015), his previous works of fiction include Five Point Someone (2004), One Night @ the Call Center (2005), The 3 Mistakes of My Life (2008), 2 States (2009), Revolution 2020 (2011), Half Girlfriend (2014) and One Indian Girl (2016)

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE  AND TECHNOLOGY

Astronomers find Milky Way look-alike galaxy 12 billion light-years away

• Astronomers at the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics have found a look-alike of the Milky Way 12 billion light-years away with the help of the Atacama Large Millimetre/sub-millimetre Array (ALMA).
• “The galaxy is so far away its light has taken more than 12 billion years to reach us,” the institute stated.
• This makes it an even more fascinating discovery as according to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) our universe is around 13 billion years, give or take a few billion.
• The galaxy, called SPT0418-47, does not appear to have spiral arms lie our Milky Way but has at least two features that are similar to our galaxy: a rotating disc and a bulge.
• This is the first time a bulge has been seen this early in the history of the Universe, making SPT0418-47 the most distant Milky Way look-alike, researchers stated.
• It is difficult for researchers to observe these galaxies even with the most powerful telescopes due to the distance. The team utilized a nearby galaxy as a powerful magnifying glass — an effect known as gravitational lensing to overcome this difficulty. This allowed ALMA “to see into the distant past in unprecedented detail. In this effect, the gravitational pull from the nearby galaxy distorts and bends the light from the distant galaxy, causing it to appear misshapen and magnified.”
• Though the galaxy is quite similar to ours, astronomers expect it to evolve into a galaxy very different from the Milky Way. It is likely to evolve into an elliptical galaxy, rather than a spiral.
• Future studies will be conducted to further explore the evolution of these ‘baby’ disc galaxies including those with ESO’s Extremely Large Telescope.

About NASA:

• Headquarters; Washington, D.C, United States
• Administrator: Jim Bridenstine

DRDO develops UV disinfection tower for sanitising coronavirus-prone areas

• Defence Research and Development Organisation, DRDO has developed an equipment named UV blaster which is a Ultra Violet based area sanitiser. Designed and developed by Laser Science and Technology Centre, LASTEC, the Delhi based premier laboratory of DRDO, the equipment is useful for high tech surfaces like electronic equipment, computers and other gadgets in laboratories and offices that are not suitable for disinfection with chemical methods.
• The product is also effective for areas with large flow of people such as airports, shopping malls, metros, hotels, factories, offices, etc. The UV based area sanitiser can be used by remote operation through laptop or mobile phone using wifi link. The equipment has six lamps each with 43 watts of UV-C power at 254 nm wavelength for 360 degree
• For a room of about 12 x 12 feet dimension, the disinfection time is about 10 minutes and 30 minutes for a 400 square feet area by positioning the equipment at different places within the room. The sanitiser switches off on accidental opening of room or human intervention.

About DRDO:

• Chairman: Dr G. Satheesh Reddy
• Head Quarters: New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Dream11 wins IPL title rights at 50 percent discount

• Dream11, a market leader in the fantasy gaming space, will be the title sponsor of the Indian Premier League (IPL) this season after it was awarded the sponsorship rights for Rs 222 crore nearly half the Rs 440 crore Vivo India.
• BCCI has roped in two more associate partners for the IPL in Unacademy and Cred, a credit card billing platform. Tata Altroz and Ceat Tyres remain the other associate sponsors while the Future Group has exited.
• IPL 2020 is to be held in UAE(United Arab Emirates) from September 19 to November 10, 2020.

INOX Group to sponsor Indian team for Tokyo Olympics: IOA

• The INOX group will be the official sponsor of the Indian team for the rescheduled Tokyo Olympics, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
• The Tokyo Olympics was rescheduled to next year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It will be held from July 23 to August 8 in 2021.
• As part of the partnership the Group will also support team’s promotions through its entertainment company — INOX Leisure Limited, which owns a chain of multiplexes in the country.
• INOX Group has earlier supported various sporting events, teams and leagues in table Tennis, football, badminton, running, basketball and cricket, and building awareness among masses through effective promotional initiatives.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Director-actor Nishikant Kamat passes away at 50

• Director-actor Nishikant Kamat passed away , after a battle with liver cirrhosis. He was 50.
• Nishikant Kamat made his directorial debut in 2005 with Marathi movie Dombivali Fast, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Marathi.

DAILY CA 18th AUG

• AYUSH Ministry launches campaign “Ayush for Immunity” for awareness on affordable immunity boosting practices
• India Post Issued Stamps on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India
• Nitin Gadkari lays foundation for 13 highway projects in Manipur
• Google partners CWC for flood forecasting initiative
• Government modifies Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme 2.0
• UK launches £3 million innovation challenge fund in India to tackle COVID-19 and threat to environment
• India, UAE agree to integrate financial transactions
• ADB Approves $750,000 Technical Assistance to Develop Distance Education Platform in Armenia
• Bharti AXA Life, SBM Bank India enter into bancassurance partnership
• Chhattisgarh CM announces ‘Padhai Tuhar Para’ scheme for school students
• Andhra Pradesh teams up with NPCI for digital payments in hinterlands
• Karnataka plans to implement new National Education Policy by 2030
• Meghalaya govt. plans to launch ‘Restart Meghalaya Mission’, says CM Conrad K Sangma
• Flipkart forges academic collaboration with IIT Patna
• IPS officer Rakesh Asthana appointed BSF chief two years
• Satya Pal Malik appointed as Meghalaya Governor
• DBS Bank India appoints Prashant Joshi as Managing Director and Head of National Distribution
• Indian Solar Alliance to hold World Solar Technology Summit on September 8
• Nagaland school wins Pallikkutam award for innovation in education
• 5paisa launches free app to guide investors in stock market
• Govt launches e-portal on tribal health & nutrition
• MSDE to soon launch a demand-driven skill portal for workforce
• Bengaluru ranks 26th in Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index Q2
• Mukesh Ambani slips two ranks, now seventh richest in the world
• Elon Musk gains $8 billion to become world’s fourth-richest person
• Lewis Hamilton Breaks Michael Schumacher’s Record With Spanish Grand Prix Win
• Renowned vocalist Pandit Jasraj passes away at 90

DAILY CA 19th AUG

• World Photography Day- 19th august
• World Humanitarian Day-19th august
• Govt launches ‘Swadeshi Microprocessor Challenge’
• Home Ministry approves renaming of Manduadih railway station in UP as Banaras
• Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches instant account opening facility
• Muthoot Finance, Kotak Mahindra General Insurance partner to offer COVID-19 cover
• Fino Payments Bank launches Aadhaar Auth based Digital Savings account to offer Neo-Banking Experience
• RBI releases framework for pan-India entity for retail payments
• PayMate launches full stack supply chain payments automation platform
• ADB approves USD 1 billion package for rapid transit system in India
• Xiaomi launches Mi For India initiative to distribute 2,500 phones to COVID-19 affected children
• Tech Mahindra launches Upskilling-as-a-service platform
• RIL picks majority stake in Netmeds for Rs 620 crore
• MP: ‘Ek Sankalp – Bujurgo ke naam’ campaign proves to be boon for senior citizens amid corona pandemic
• New Electronics Manufacturing Policy announced in UP
• IIM Kozhikode ties up with Swiss firm to support humanitarian work
• Nitin Gadkari launches portal for you to buy groceries directly from farmers along with these benefits
• Cricketer Rohit Sharma appointed Oakley’s brand ambassador in India
• Ashok Lavasa resigns as Election Commissioner; to join ADB as Vice President
• Dhanlaxmi Bank appoints 4 new directors to the Board
• Cyril George assumes charge as new Dy Chairman of Cochin Port Trust
• India ranks first in number of organic farmers and ninth in terms of area under organic farming
• IIT Madras bags 1st place in Atal Innovation ranking, 7 IITs among top 10
• Delhi, Chennai among cheapest cities to rent for couples and newly-weds
• One Arranged Murder’: Author Chetan Bhagat’s next to hit stands in September
• Astronomers find Milky Way look-alike galaxy 12 billion light-years away
• DRDO develops UV disinfection tower for sanitising coronavirus-prone areas
• Dream11 wins IPL title rights at 50 percent discount
• INOX Group to sponsor Indian team for Tokyo Olympics: IOA
• Director-actor Nishikant Kamat passes away at 50