Current Affairs 22nd August 2020| Current Affairs News

 CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Niti Aayog suggests linking sugarcane prices to sugar rates

• Niti Aayog task force has recommended linking sugarcane prices to sugar rates.
• The report of the panel on “Sugarcane and Sugar Industry”, headed by Niti Aayog Member (Agriculture) Ramesh Chand, was finalised in March 2020.
• The task force feels that linking sugarcane prices to sugar prices will prevent the problem of cane arrears and keep the sugar industry in sound financial health.
• The task force has also recommended the central government to give incentive to sugarcane farmers to shift to another crops.

About NITI Aayog

• Formed: 1 January 2015
• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Narendra Modi
• CEO: Amitabh Kant

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

MEA in partnership with Foreign Ministry of Thailand organize 6th Round Table of AINTT

• The Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the Foreign Ministry of Thailand has organized the 6th Round Table of ASEAN-India Network of Think Tanks (AINTT). The theme of the two day Round Table which was conducted through video conferencing was ‘ASEAN-India: Strengthening Partnership in the Post COVID Era’.
• It was jointly inaugurated by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and the Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Thailand Mr. Don Pramudwinai. ASEAN Secretary General Mr. Lim Jock Hoi also addressed the inaugural session.
• More than 400 people from academia, industry, government and diplomatic community attended the Round Table.
• The ASEAN-India Round Table comprising think tanks, policy makers, scholars, media and business representatives was established at the 7th ASEAN-India Summit in Thailand in 2009 to provide policy inputs to Governments on future direction of cooperation.

About Thailand :

• Capital: Bangkok
• Currency: Baht

About Ministry of External Affairs:

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Subrahmanyam Jaishankar: Minister of External Affairs
• Constituency: Gujarat
• Muraleedharan: Minister of State for External Affairs 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

KVG Bank inks pact with SBI General Insurance

• The Dharwad-headquartered Karnataka Vikas Grameen Bank (KVGB) and SBI General Insurance Co Ltd have signed an MoU to sell general insurance products through the branches of KVGB.
• The customers of KVGB will get access to bouquet of products that can cover their health, home, motor, property through the range of solutions that the company offers.
• The bank is committed to rural development and to bring an improvement of the social fabric of rural people, apart from undertaking its usual business.

About KVGB

• Headquarters: Dharwad
• Chairman: P Gopi Krishna

About SBI General Insurance Co Ltd

• Headquarters location: Mumbai
• MD & CEO: Prakash Chandra Kandpal

SBI partners with AddaCorner to boost real estate deals in Bengaluru

• State Bank of India (SBI) unveiled an online home carnival in partnership with real-time group negotiation e-platform AddaCorner.
• The carnival will invite prospective home-buyers to virtually come together as a group and directly negotiate with impaneled real estate sellers on real-time basis.
• This will ensure that buyers are able to unlock group pricings and negotiate the best deal on the property while allowing developers to close sales in bulk
• Developers empanelled on the AddaCorner platform include Brigade Group, Purvankara, Shriram Properties, Salarpuria, Assetz and Sumadhura.

About SBI

• Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai

ADB Approves $250 Million Loan to Support Myanmar’s COVID-19 Response

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $250 million loan to help the Government of Myanmar respond to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic by mitigating the impacts on people’s health, livelihoods, and the economy, while also ensuring that the poor and vulnerable benefit from the country’s economic recovery.
• In April, the government announced a $2.5 billion stimulus package to boost the health care system, extend cash support to 5.5 million vulnerable families and provide tax relief, tax credits, and other measures to businesses and workers.
• ADB’s COVID-19 Active Response and Expenditure Support (CARES) Program is funded through the COVID-19 pandemic response option (CPRO) under ADB’s Countercyclical Support Facility. CPRO was established as part of ADB’s $20 billion expanded assistance for developing member countries’ pandemic response.
• The CARES Program, ADB’s first countercyclical support for Myanmar, builds on ADB’s ongoing program in the country, including a $6.6 million health security project that ADB reprogrammed in April to support Myanmar’s early COVID-19 response.
• An additional financing of $30 million is being considered to help implement the government’s contingency plan for the health sector, including isolating suspected cases at designated hospitals, conducting contact tracing, and the purchasing of test kits, ventilators, and personal protective equipment.

About ADB:

• Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President: Masatsugu Asakawa

About Myanmar :

• Capital: Naypyitaw
• Currency: Burmese kyat
• President: Win Myint

Bharti AXA’s non-life insurance business to merge with ICICI Lombard General Insurance

• Bharti AXA’s non-life insurance business is set to merge with ICICI Lombard General Insurance, in what will end up creating the country’s third largest non-life insurance company.
• The board of directors of ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and Bharti AXA General Insurance Company at their respective meetings held today, approved entering into definitive agreements for demerger of Bharti AXA’s non-life insurance business into ICICI Lombard through a Scheme of Arrangement, the companies stated
• Based on the share exchange ratio recommended by independent valuers and accepted by the respective boards of the companies, the shareholders of Bharti AXA will receive two shares of ICICI Lombard for every 115 shares of Bharti AXA on the date when the Scheme of Arrangement is approved by the boards of both companies.
• The combined entity shall have a market share of about 8.7 per cent on pro-forma basis, the statement stated, adding that through the proposed transaction, ICICI Lombard shall be able to augment its distribution strength with Bharti AXA’s existing distribution partnerships.
• The transaction is subject to regulatory approvals, following which the non-life insurance business will be demerged from Bharti AXA into ICICI Lombard.

About ICICI Lombard General Insurance:

• CEO: Bhargav Dasgupta
• Headquarters: Mumbai

About Bharti Axa General Insurance Company Ltd:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• MD & CEO: Sanjeev Srinivasan

RBI unveils 5-year national strategy for financial education

• The Reserve Bank of India released a national strategy for financial education to be implemented in the next five years. The central bank stated the multi-stakeholder led approach is aimed at creating a financially aware and empowered India.
• The strategic objectives include inculcating financial literacy concepts among various sections of the population through financial education to make them an important life skill. Besides encouraging active savings behaviour, it will encourage participation in financial markets to meet financial goals and objectives.
• The strategy will develop credit discipline and encourage availing credit from formal financial institutions as per requirement. Besides, it will improve usage of digital financial services in a safe and secure manner.
• The objectives include managing risk at various life stages through relevant and suitable insurance cover besides planning for old age and retirement through coverage of suitable pension products.
• It also includes knowledge about rights, duties and avenues for grievance redressal. It will improve research and evaluation methods to assess progress in financial education.
• To achieve these strategic objectives, the document recommends adoption of a ‘5 C’ approach for dissemination of financial education through emphasis on development of relevant Content (including curriculum in schools, colleges and training establishments), developing Capacity among the intermediaries involved in providing financial services, leveraging on the positive effect of Community led model for financial literacy through appropriate Communication Strategy, and lastly, enhancing Collaboration among various stakeholders.
• The strategy also suggests adoption of a robust monitoring and evaluation framework to assess the progress made.

About Reserve Bank of India (RBI):

• Headquarters– Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Formation– 1 April 1935
• Governor– Shaktikanta Das
• Deputy Governors– 4 (Bibhu Prasad Kanungo, Mahesh Kumar Jain, Michael Debabrata Patra, one is yet to be appointed).

HSBC India comes up with green deposit programme for corporate clients

• HSBC India launched a “green deposit programme”, exclusively for corporate clients, under which deposits will be used by the bank to finance green initiatives and environment friendly projects. The deposit scheme will come in the form of a term deposit, which typically attracts higher interests as compared to savings deposits.
• In a statement, the bank stated that deposits under this scheme will go towards financing eligible businesses and projects that promote the transition to a low-carbon, climate resilient and sustainable economy.
• This deposit scheme of the bank will offer its corporate clients stable and pre-agreed returns, and offer the same protection as a normal bank deposit does. Furthermore, clients will get quarterly reports containing portfolio-level information regarding the use of the deposited funds.
• “Corporates looking for inclusion of a sustainability agenda into their treasury activities or those that have limited opportunities for investment in environmentally beneficial projects will find this product particularly relevant”, the bank stated.
• HSBC has extended green loans to support environment friendly projects in the past across multiple sectors. In India, it has extended credit to a 250 MW wind power project at Kutch, Gujarat,

About HSBC India:

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra, India
• CEO: Surendra Rosha

Digit Launches SME Buddy to Simplify Insurance for SMEs and Startups

• Digit Insurance has launched an exclusive do-it-yourself (DIY) advisory tool for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and startups, SME Buddy.
• The online tool helps entrepreneurs calculate the insurance coverage for their business in just a few simple steps. The business owner has to key in details about the nature of his business, its industry, assets linked to the enterprise and the businesses resources.
• Founded in 2017 by insurance veteran Kamesh Goyal, Digit is a full-stack insurtech startup powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), image analytics, tracking technologies and data lakes, that builds general insurance products, such as motor, health, travel and home insurance, among others.
• SME Buddy is also part of the company’s larger initiative to make insurance simpler, but this time for smaller businesses that are more susceptible to risks, especially with the ongoing pandemic.
• SME Buddy will give small businesses an idea on what type of insurance covers will be helpful for them and will protect them from eventualities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Flipkart partners with Sastodeal in Nepal to enable cross-border trade

• Walmart-owned Flipkart has entered into a strategic partnership with Nepal’s Sastodeal, a move that will help lakhs of Flipkart sellers get access to the neighbouring country’s e-commerce market.
• Sastodeal will host over 5,000 products from Flipkart marketplace sellers operating across the categories of babycare and kids, audio devices, men’s clothing, women’s ethnic wear, and sports and fitness, among others, in turn opening access to Nepalese customers.
• Flipkart Private Brands – MarQ and SmartBuy – will also be listed on the Sastodeal platform with a focus on categories such as electronics, home appliances/home decor and furnishings.
• The partnership with Sastodeal will build the long-term development of the e-commerce industry in both countries.
• Flipkart will enable sellers to make these private brands readily-available to Nepalese consumers, with the fulfilment promise by Sastodeal.

About Flipkart

• CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy
• Headquarters: Bangalore

IBM India, NSDC tie-up for offering free digital skills training

• IBM announced its collaboration with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) to offer free digital skills training to learners in India.
• As part of its collaboration with NSDC, IBM will curate online courses from its Open P-TECH platform.
• It will then offer these course to users for free through NSDC’s eSkill India portal.
• Under the partnership, Open P-TECH platform will offer courses to develop soft skills, interpersonal skills, problem-solving — a set of 11 key skills which are generally not available in a college curriculum, but are high in demand and are valued in the job market.
• These include courses on technologies such as Cyber Security, Blockchain, AI and Machine Learning, Cloud, Internet of Things, along with professional skills, like Design Thinking.
• The online education platform which is currently available only in English will soon be open in over 10 Indian languages including Hindi, followed by Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Punjabi, Gujarati, Sindhi, Urdu, Bengali.
• Students can earn and share industry-supported ‘digital badges’ upon learning these courses and can add them to their resumes.

About IBM

• Executive Chairman: Virginia M. Rometty
• Chief Executive Officer: Arvind Krishna
• Headquarters: New York, United States of America

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Madhya Pradesh becomes first state to provide govt jobs on basis of NRA marks

• Madhya Pradesh has become the first state to provide government jobs on the basis of marks obtained in exams conducted by the newly-formed National Recruitment Agency (NRA).
• Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan stated the state government has decided to provide jobs only on the basis of marks obtained in the examinations conducted by the NRA.
• Madhya Pradesh is the first state to take such a decision. After this decision, there will be no need for the youth of the state to give any separate examination for government jobs in the state. Government jobs will be given to the youth of the state in the categories prescribed on the basis of NRA merit.

About Madhya Pradesh:

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

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Rajiv Kumar appointed new Election Commissioner following resignation of Ashok Lavasa

• Former finance secretary Rajiv Kumar has been appointed new election commissioner. He will replace Ashok Lavasa, who resigned. Mr Kumar will take charge the day Mr Lavasa leaves his office on August 31. Mr Kumar’s appointment comes at a time when the election commission is preparing to hold Bihar assembly polls amid the coronavirus pandemic.
• A 1984-batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre, Rajiv Kumar has over three decades of experience in public policy and administration across various sectors. He played a major role in merging 10 public sector banks into four. During his two-and-half year stint as financial services secretary, he took several policy decisions to promote responsive and responsible banking.
• Mr Kumar undertook a massive 3 lakh crore rupees recapitalisation of banks during his tenure. He also played a key role in taking ahead Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plan of financial inclusion, aimed at boosting credit access and job creation, through flagship schemes such as Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana, Mudra loan scheme, among others. He is known to have initiated and implemented the 59-minute loan scheme for the MSME sector.

Karnataka Bank appoints 2 new additional directors

• Karnataka Bank has appointed Justice AV Chandrashekar and Pradeep Kumar Panja as Additional Directors. The bank appointed the additional directors .
• Justice AV Chandrashekar is a former Judge of Karnataka High Court and also a former Judicial Member of Karnataka State Administrative Tribunal. He was appointed as a Judge of the Karnataka High Court and held the post for a period of three years from 2013 to 2016.
• Pradeep Kumar Panja retired as Managing Director (Corporate Banking) of State Bank of India (SBI) in October 2015. He also successfully led SBI’s US operations as Country Head (US) and has an excellent track record of leading large teams across various business verticals of SBI.

About Karnataka bank:

• Headquarters: Mangalore
• CEO: Mahabaleshwara M. S

Ashwani Bhatia appointed Managing Director of SBI 

• Ashwani Bhatia was appointed as the Managing Director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI), according to a Personnel Ministry order.
• Bhatia is at present working as the Deputy Managing Director in SBI.
• He has been appointed as the MD up to the date of his superannuation that is May 31, 2022, the order stated.

About SBI:

• Chairperson: Rajnish Kumar
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONORS

Abhijit Paul’s ‘Am I’ wins first prize in Online Patriotic Short Film Contest

• A Short film titled ‘Am I?’ directed by Abhijit Paul won the first prize and a cash award of one lakh rupees in the Online Patriotic Short Film Contest organized by the Ministry Of Information and Broadcasting along with National Film Development Corporation, NFDC.
• ‘Ab India Banega Bharat’ directed by Debojo Sanjiv got the second prize and a cash award of 50 thousand rupees and ’10 Rupees’ directed by Yuvraj Gokul got the third prize and a cash award of 25 thousand rupees. Eight short films have got Special Mention Certificates.
• The contest was hosted on the www.MyGov.in website for receiving the entries. The theme for the entries revolved around patriotism, equating it to Atmanirbharta, self-reliance as the new Mantra of progress for the nation.

Tomyas Award for Reshma Mohandas     

• Reshma Mohandas, a nurse with the Government Medical College (MCH), Kottayam, has been selected for the Tomyas Award worth ₹1 lakh for the best nurse in the State.
• Reshma is the nurse who attended to the aged couple from Konni — Thomas, 93, and Mariamma, 89 — who tested positive for COVID-19 at the MCH in April.
• Reshma, who hails from Thiruvankulam in Ernakulam district, was also affected with COVID-19 during the time.
• The award was instituted in memory of Treesa Ignatius, mother of Thomas Pavaratti, owner of Thrissur-based Tomyas Advertising Agency.
• The Award will be presented by Bobby Paul and Antio Paul, directors of Star Plastics, at Tomyas Garden, Peramangalam, on October 2.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ARCI scientists convert tamarind waste & cotton waste to supercapacitor electrodes

• Scientists at theInternational Advanced Research Centre for Powder Metallurgy & New Materials (ARCI), an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Govt. of India, have developed a couple of cost-effective electrode material for making affordable supercapacitor devices, from waste biomass like tamarind seeds and industrial cotton waste.
• They have converted the waste materials into highly porous carbon fibres by activation process and then utilised the porous carbon fibres to make high-performance supercapacitor electrodes.
• The ARCI scientists used it to test the pore characteristics and stability of the activated carbon material prepared from tamarind seed and its suitability for supercapacitor application.

IIT Madras Researchers discover new component to effectively split Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen using Solar Power

• Indian Institute of Technology Madras Researchers have discovered a new material to effectively split Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen using Solar Power.
• This research is expected to create a renewed interest in solar fuels domain, which can potentially bring the conversion and storage part in a single system, thereby reducing the cost per kWh of solar energy.
• A material to be employed in solar fuel generation should be a good photovoltaic material and at the same time remain stable in water medium.
• It is specializing in the development of materials and devices architectures for solar cells, solar water splitting to hydrogen fuels, carbon dioxide recycling and metal-air batteries for electric vehicles.
• Solar energy conversion to electricity and its storage at low cost, is an integral part of renewable energy research. The research aims to reduce the world’s reliance on fossil fuels and in turn move out of anthropogenic greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide.
• It is an immediate requirement to develop low-cost solar energy conversion and storage systems that can produce energy equal to, or lower than the cost of grid power. The cost of conventional silicon-based solar panels — though excellent performers and stable — is expensive.
• The research paper, authored by Mr. Chandiran and SERG research scholar Muhammed Hamdan, was published in the international edition of the peer-reviewed journal Angewandte Chemie.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

Nitin Gadkari launches Harit Path app

• The road transport minister Nitin Gadkari also launched a mobile app ‘Harit Path’ to monitor the plantation along the national highways.
• The minister launched ‘Harit Path’, a mobile app to monitor the plantations through geo-tagging and web-based GIS enabled monitoring tools.
• The GPS-basedapp has been developed by NHAI to monitor location, growth, species details, maintenance activities, targets and achievements of each of its field units for each and every plant under all plantation projects.
• To commemorate 25 years of its service to the nation, the National Highways Authority of India has also recently undertaken ‘Harit Bharat Sankalp’, a nation-wide plantation drive which is in line with NHAI’s commitment to promote environment protection and sustainability.
• Under this initiative, the NHAI planted over 25 lakh plants in 25 days along the stretches of the national highways between July 21 and August 15, 2020.

About NHAI

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Sanjeev Ranjan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Rohit Sharma awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award with four others

• Sports Ministry has confirmed 5 names for the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
• 27 sportspersons will also get the Arjuna Award.
• India’s vice-captain Rohit Sharma, who is one of the most established white-ball cricketers in world cricket, is all set to get India’s highest sporting award – The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award.
• The list was approved by the Sports Ministry, where Rohit, along with para-athlete Mariappan Thangavelu, table tennis champion Manika Batra, wrestler Vinesh Phogat and hockey player Rani Rampal were finalised to get the prestigious award.
• The five sportspersons will receive a medallion, a certificate, and a cash prize of Rs 7.5 lakh.

Complete list of Arjuna Awardees

• Atanu Das (Archery)
• Shiva Keshavan (Luge)
• Dutee Chand (Athletics)
• Satwiksairaj Rankireddy (Badminton)
• Chirag Shetty (Badminton)
• Vishesh Bhrighuvanshi (Basketball)
• Ishant Sharma (Cricket)
• Deepti Sharma (Cricket)
• Lovlina Borgohain (Boxing)
• Manish Kaushik (Boxing)
• Sawant Ajay Anant (Equestrian)
• Sandhesh Jhingan (Football)
• Aditi Ashok (Golf)
• Akashdeep Singh (Hockey)
• Deepika Thakur (Hockey)
• Deepak Niwas Hooda (Kabaddi)
• Sarika Kale (Kho-kho)
• Suyash Jadhav (Para-Swimming)
• Manish narwal (Para-Shooting)
• Sandeep Chaudhary (Para-Athletics)
• Saurabh Chaudhary (Shooting)
• Manu Bhaker (Shooting)
• Sanil Shetty (Table-Tennis)
• Divij Sharan (Tennis)
• Divya Kakran (Wrestling)
• Rahul Aware (Wrestling)
• Dattu Bhokanal (Rowing)
• All the sportspersons will receive the awards on August 29 – which is also celebrated as National Sports Day to commemorate the birth anniversary of hockey wizard Major Dhyan Chand.
• This year, due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony is likely to be held virtually.

Ronnie O’Sullivan wins sixth World Snooker Championship at Crucible

• Ronnie O’Sullivan won the World Snooker Championship to join Steve Davis and Ray Reardon as a six-time winner at the Crucible.
• After reeling off seven frames in succession to move one frame from victory, ‘The Rocket’ returned for the evening session to produce more magic and defeat Kyren Wilson 18-8 in the final.
• Only Stephen Hendry’s seven crowns now stand between the 44-year-old and undisputed acclaim as the greatest player in the modern sport after he wrecked Wilson’s hopes of a final debut win.

DAILY CA 21st AUG

• International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism observed on 21 August
• The World Senior Citizen’s Day is celebrated on August 21 each year
• Government has launched schemes for development of three Bulk Drug Parks and four Medical Device Parks across the country
• Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh virtually releasing a book on Cancer edited by noted Oncologist Dr Ashok Vaid
• Dr Harsh Vardhan launches interactive first-of-its-kind video game ‘Corona Fighters’ to spread awareness
• Arjun Munda virtually launches ‘TRIFOOD’ Project in Raigad, Jagdalpur
• Senator Kamala Harris becomes first Indian American to accept Democratic Party nomination for Vice President post in US
• Vijaynagar, one of the remotest corners in Arunachal Pradesh, gets mobile connectivity
• Jharkhand government launches new state emblem
• Chhattisgarh declared as cleanest state of country
• Army general Assimi Goita declares himself in charge of Mali
• Equatorial Guinea reappoints Prime Minister Asue after government resignation
• Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley Begins Second Term
• Lakshmi Vilas Bank launches instant account opening facility
• Apple becomes first U.S. Company to reach a $2 trillion market cap
• NPCI launches international unit to expand reach of UPI
• NRDC, NAL to establish incubation centre for start-ups in aerospace technologies
• India, Israel sign cultural agreement to further boost people-to-people ties
• Ministry of Skill Development, Ministry of Shipping ink MoU for skill development in port & maritime sector
• AIM, NITI Aayog, Business Sweden collaborate to promote disruptive potential of Indian entrepreneurs
• IIT Roorkee signs MoU with BIS to work on standardisation and conformity assessment activities
• L&T arm signs MoU with NTPC to build CO2-to-methanol demonstration plant
• Andhra Pradesh inks pact with Reliance, Allana group for empowering women
• UST Global wins PMI-Kerala award for ‘Adopt a School’ initiative
• Global Gene Corp wins Roddenberry Prize for healthcare project
• India Tomorrow: Conversations with the Next Generation of Political Leaders by Professor Pradeep Chhibber and Harsh Shah
• CCI approves Siemens’ acquisition of C&S Electric
• First rockets produced by private sector successfully test fired
• Iran unveils locally made ballistic and cruise missiles amid US tensions
• Digital Quality of Life Index 2020
• NASA observing ‘dent’ in magnetic field ‘It is splitting’
• Former India international goalkeeper Bhaskar Maity passes away

DAILY CA 22nd AUG

• Niti Aayog suggests linking sugarcane prices to sugar rates
• MEA in partnership with Foreign Ministry of Thailand organize 6th Round Table of AINTT
• Madhya Pradesh becomes first state to provide govt jobs on basis of NRA marks
• KVG Bank inks pact with SBI General Insurance
• SBI partners with AddaCorner to boost real estate deals in Bengaluru
• ADB Approves $250 Million Loan to Support Myanmar’s COVID-19 Response
• Bharti AXA’s non-life insurance business to merge with ICICI Lombard General Insurance
• RBI unveils 5-year national strategy for financial education
• HSBC India comes up with green deposit programme for corporate clients
• Digit Launches SME Buddy to Simplify Insurance for SMEs and Startups
• Flipkart partners with Sastodeal in Nepal to enable cross-border trade
• IBM India, NSDC tie-up for offering free digital skills training
• Rajiv Kumar appointed new Election Commissioner following resignation of Ashok Lavasa
• Karnataka Bank appoints 2 new additional directors
• Ashwani Bhatia appointed Managing Director of SBI
• Abhijit Paul’s ‘Am I’ wins first prize in Online Patriotic Short Film Contest
• Tomyas Award for Reshma Mohandas
• ARCI scientists convert tamarind waste & cotton waste to supercapacitor electrodes
• IIT Madras Researchers discover new component to effectively split Water into Hydrogen and Oxygen using Solar Power
• Nitin Gadkari launches Harit Path app
• Rohit Sharma awarded Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award with four others
• Ronnie O’Sullivan wins sixth World Snooker Championship at Crucible