Current Affairs 23rd & 24th August 2020| Current Affairs News

 CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

Earth Overshoot Day

• In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day lands on August 22.
• Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity has exhausted nature’s budget for the year. For the rest of the year, we are maintaining our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief – 22 August

• The General Assembly adopted the resolution A/RES/73/296, titled “International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief” strongly condemning continuing violence and acts of terrorism targeting individuals, including persons belonging to religious minorities, on the basis of or in the name of religion or belief.
• The General Assembly decided to designate 22 August as the International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

Shri Ram Vilas Paswan launches online system of Registration and Renewal for Jewellers and online system of recognition and renewal of Assaying and Hallmarking (A&H) Centers

• The Union Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution Shri Ram Vilas Paswan virtually launched the online system of Registration and Renewal of Jewellers and online system of recognition and renewal of the Assaying and Hallmarking Centres.
• This online system can be accessed through Bureau of Indian Standards web portal manakonline.in.
• Hallmarking of precious metals will be mandatory from 1st June 2021.

About MoFAPD

• Cabinet Minister of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution: Ram Vilas Paswan
• Constituency: Hajipur, Bihar.

India’s longest river ropeway connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati over Brahmaputra river inaugurated

• In Assam, the longest river ropeway of the country is inaugurated connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati. Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Guwahati Development Department Minister Siddhartha Bhattacharya inaugurated the 1.8- kilometre long ropeway service. The ropeway has been operated from Kachari Ghat in Guwahati to Dol Govinda temple in North Guwahati.
• The ropeway has been built as per state-of -the-art technology following relevant norms. The opening of ropeway service would reduce the travel  time between Guwahati and North Guwahati as well as boost the tourism sector.
• The distance is to be covered in seven to eight minutes . The ropeway service would provide opportunities to see the landscapes of Guwahati city, mighty Brahmaputra and the Umananda Temple on Peacock island among others.

Govt activates Aadhaar authentication for new GST registration

• Government has activated Aadhaar authentication for new goods and services tax (GST) registration to enhance ease of doing business. For those opting for Aadhaar authentication, new GST registration will be issued within three working days and will not need to wait for physical verification.
• However, those not opting for Aadhaar authentication will be granted it only after physical verification of the place of business or documentary verification which may take up to 21 working days or more.
• Government stated Aadhaar authentication for new registration will substantially enhance ease of doing businesses for genuine businesses. It stated, the move will facilitate genuine and honest taxpayers while at the same time keeping the fake and fraudulent entities away from GST.
• The facility of quick approval of GST registration through Aadhaar authentication can be availed by all Indian citizens.

Centre Forms National Council for Transgenders to Formulate Policies Aimed at Equality & Participation

• The Centre has constituted the National Council for Transgender Persons to formulate policies, programmes, legislation and projects regarding members of the community for achieving equality and full participation by them.
• The council was established by the Centre in exercise of the powers conferred by the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, according to a gazette notification issued.
• According to the Act, the functions of the council include advising the Centre on the formulation of policies, programmes, legislation and projects with respect to transgender persons; monitoring and evaluating the impact of policies and programmes designed for achieving equality and full participation of transgender persons.
• The other functions of the council are to review and coordinate the activities of all the departments of government and other governmental and non-governmental organisations dealing with matters relating to transgender persons, to redress the grievances of transgender persons, and to perform such other functions as may be prescribed by the Centre.
• The council have representatives from community members, five states and 10 central departments. Its chairperson will be the Union Minister of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment while the vice-chairperson will be the junior minister in the ministry.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

Mahatma Gandhi’s Iconic Glasses Sold For $340,000 In UK

• A pair of gold-plated glasses worn by Mahatma Gandhi has sold in Britain for 260,000 pounds (about 288,000 euros, $340,000) equivalent to 5 crores in Indian rupees.
• The non-violent protestor gave the glasses to the vendor’s uncle while he was working for British Petroleum in South Africa during the 1920s or 30s.
• The sale price smashed the original estimate of around 15,000 pounds.

About UK

• Capital: London
• Prime minister: Boris Johnson
• Currency: Pound sterling

WHO blasts ‘vaccine nationalism’ in last-ditch push against hoarding

• The WHO has an 31 deadline for wealthier nations to join the “COVAX Global Vaccines Facility” for sharing vaccine hopefuls with developing countries. Tedros stated he sent a letter to the WHO’s 194 member states, urging participation.
• Nations that hoard possible Covid-19 vaccines while excluding others will deepen the pandemic, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated, issuing a last-ditch call for countries to join a global vaccine pact.
• The global health agency also raised concerns that the pandemic’s spread was being driven now by younger people, many of whom were unaware they were infected, posing a danger to vulnerable groups.
• Tedros’ push for nations to join COVAX comes as the European Union, Britain, Switzerland and the United States strike deals with companies testing prospective vaccines. Russia and China are also working on vaccines, and the WHO fears national interests could impede global efforts.

About World Health Organization (WHO):

• Director-General– Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
• Headquarter– Geneva, Switzerland

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

Axis Bank launches hiring initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’

• Axis Bank has launched a new initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’. The initiative aims to attract skilled talent that can work with the bank remotely, from anywhere in the country.
• This hiring model comprises two working patterns. One is the full-time permanent job and the second is based on the duration of a project and is temporary in nature. Axis Bank aims to employ 800-1000 people over the next under this initiative.
• GIG-A-Opportunities, as the name suggests, is pegged for large opportunities in the job market. It will open up large prospects in digital banking, technology, risk modeling, virtual sales, audit and credit policy, which are the first set of pilot offers for the model. It will attract talent through two work models – 1) 100% virtual roles and 2) flexible, project based short term contracts. These jobs offered go beyond the traditional association of freelance or work from home.

About Axis Bank:

• CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Digital payments market in India likely to grow 3-fold to Rs 7,092 lakh cr by 2025

• Digital payments in India are expected to grow over three-folds to Rs 7,092 lakh crore by 2025 on account of government policies around financial inclusion and growing digitisation of merchants, according to a research report.
• The country’s digital payment market was worth around Rs 2,162 lakh crore in 2019-20, RedSeer Consulting stated in its report.
• The current 160 million unique mobile payment users will multiply by five times to reach nearly 800 million by 2025. This growth will be driven by a number of demand and supply-side drivers, the Bengaluru-based management consultancy stated.
• Mobile payments will drive around 3.5 per cent of total digital payments of Rs 7,092 trillion by financial year 2025, up from the current 1 per cent. The total mobile payment users, who currently stand at about 162 million, would reach around 800 million during this period, the report stated.
• According to the report, the payment gateway aggregator market in India, which is currently estimated at Rs 9.5 trillion, is expected to grow by 2.4 times driven by large value transactions. It is expected to grow at a compounded annual growth rate of 19 per cent in the next five years to reach Rs 22.6 trillion by FY 2025.

Paytm Payments Bank enables banking through Aadhaar cards

• Paytm Payments Bank has enabled banking services through Aadhaar cards by integrating Aadhaar-enabled Payment System.
• Paytm Payments Bank’s customers can now access basic banking services such as cash withdrawal, balance enquiry and obtain a mini statement through the business correspondent of any banking and financial institution in the country, it stated, adding that this will benefit people in rural and semi-urban areas who have limited access to bank branches and ATMs.
• The lender has also partnered with over 10,000 business correspondents, who will have access to BC App for facilitating AePS transactions. It plans to add more correspondents to its network.

About Paytm:

• CEO: Vijay Shekhar Sharma
• Headquarters: Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India

RBL Bank Selects Accenture to Accelerate Its Digital Journey

• RBL Bank announced that Accenture (NYSE: ACN) will transform and enhance the future readiness of the bank’s information technology (IT) systems and accelerate its digital transformation journey. The engagement will enable RBL Bank to offer next-generation banking services, enhance the resilience and scalability of its systems and business processes, and improve its operational efficiency.
• Accenture will provide managed services and help RBL Bank modernize and consolidate its large and disparate applications environment, which will help streamline and automate key business processes such as finance and compliance, human resources and sales.
• Accenture will also create a flexible and more responsive technology backbone for RBL Bank by using its expertise in Devops and Agile working methodology to enable the continuous roll-out of improved digital capabilities and long-term system improvements while helping the bank manage IT costs more effectively.

About RBL Bank:

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• MD & CEO: Vishwavir Ahuja

About Accentures:

• Headquarters: Dublin, Ireland
• Chairperson and Senior Managing Director, India: Rekha M. Menon
• Chief Executive Officer, Global: Julie Sweet

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Odisha celebrates festival Nuakhai festival

• Nuakhai is a festival observed in Odisha to celebrate the reaping of new crops. Nuakhai is celebrated in western Odisha and some parts of Chhattisgarh as a harvest festival.
• People of western Odisha worship their presiding deity on Nuakhai as a mark of gratitude for a bumper crop, good rain and favourable farming weather.
• All family members sit and take their food together on the occasion. Nuakhai is observed on Panchami tithi (the fifth day) of the lunar fortnight of the month of Bhadrapada or Bhadraba (AugustSeptember), the day after the Ganesh Chaturthi festival.

About Odisha

• Capital: Bhubaneswar
• Governor: Ganeshi Lal
• Chief minister: Naveen Patna

Odisha Introduces Scheme to Promote Bio-Floc Fish Farming Technology

• Fisheries and Animal Resources Department of the Odisha Governmenthas rolled out a new scheme to promote intensive Aquaculture through bio-floc technology in fisheries.
• This is an advanced fish farming technology introduced in the State to provide livelihoodsupport to entrepreneurs, unemployed youth and interested progressive fish farmers of the state, aimed at increasing fish productivity and make the state self-sufficient in fish production, according to a release by Information and Public Relations Department.
• Bio-floc based farming system is a new technology for the promotion of intensive fish and shrimp production in a limited area without significantly increasing the usage of the basic natural resources of water and land.
• The programme aims to support fish farmers and young entrepreneurs for the generation of income and livelihood support.
• The unit cost for installation of a Bio-floc unit of 2 tanks is Rs 1.50 lakh, while a biflock unit of 6 tanks costs approximately Rs 4 lakh. Introducing the scheme, the State Government provides a subsidy of 40 per cent subsidy while 60 per cent subsidy is provided to SC and ST beneficiaries.

Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to lay foundation stone & inaugurate 35 highway projects in MP

• Road, Transport and Highways Minister Nitin Gadkari will lay foundation Stone and inaugurate 35 highway projects in Madhya Pradesh.
• The total length of road will be 1,139 kilometers, involving construction value of over 9,400 crore.
• These roads will enhance better connectivity, convenience and economic growth in the State.
• The Ministry stated, better roads will also contribute in saving transit time for both commuters and the transportation of goods.

About the Ministry of Road Transport, Highways(MoRTH):

• Union Minister: Nitin Jairam Gadkari
• Minister of State: GEN. (DR) Vijay Kumar Singh

About Madhya Pradesh:

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

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

Ministry of Tourism virtually signs an MoU with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) &  FICCI Ladies Organisation(FLO) to promote tourism as sustainable livelihood model for women’s economic empowerment

• The tourism ministry has virtually signed an MoU with the Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) and the FICCI Ladies Organisation (FLO) to promote tourism as a sustainable livelihood model for the economic empowerment of women, a statement issued by the ministry stated.
• Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel stated the memorandum of understanding (MoU) will provide an opportunity to increase the participation of women in the tourism sector and make them an integral part of the tourism workforce in the country.
• The main components proposed under the initiative are to encourage travel to at least 15 destinations within the country under the “Dekho Apna Desh” initiative. This will be a mandate for the membership base of over 8,000 women of the FLO and TAAI and their family support systems.
• They will also conduct community-based tourism activities around an iconic monument or tourist landmark in each state. Women will be tour guides, they will run food stalls, souvenir stalls with their own arts and crafts, handle the overall accounts and running of the landmark.
• The FLO and TAAI chapters will raise awareness on sustainable tourism practices and focus on tourism as a vital sustainable livelihood tool for women empowerment by way of advocacy and awareness, educational workshops, seminars and panel discussions.
• They will also tie up with training agencies for tourism workshops for training women about concepts on food safety, health and hygiene, sanitation, environment, culinary and entrepreneurship skills.

About FICCI Ladies Organisation:

• President: Jahnabi Phookan
• Headquarter: New Delhi

About Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI):

• President: Jyoti Mayal
• Secretariat: Mumbai, Maharashtra

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

People’s Bank of China picks up stake in ICICI Bank via QIP issue

• The Chinese central bank People’s Bank of China has acquired a very small stake in ICICI Bank through the recently closed Rs 15,000 crore share sale by the country’s second largest private sector lender.
• The Chinese central bank has picked up shares worth Rs 15 crore in Rs 15,000 crore qualified institutional placement (QIP) issue.
• The People’s Bank of China was among 357 institutional investors which incl­uded domestic mutual funds, insurance firms and global institutions that subscribed to the issue.
• The stake of People’s Bank of China in ICICI Bank is about 0.0065 per cent.

About PBOC

• Headquarters: Beijing, China
• Governor: Yi Gang

About ICICI

• CEO: Sandeep Bakhshi
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

Tata Plans ‘Super App’ To Bring Together Its Consumer Services

• Tata Group is launching a new app purported to bring together the country’s disparate sales sector to offer a range of consumer goods in a “super app”.
• The app will offer food and grocery ordering, fashion and lifestyle, consumer electronics and consumer durables, insurance and financial services, education, healthcare and bill payments.
• The app will put the conglomerate in competition with giants of the region like Reliance Industries and global titans like

About Tata Group

• Chairman: Natarajan Chandrasekaran
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONORS

Anand Mahindra, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to receive 2020 Leadership Awards from USISPF

• Mahindra group Chairman Anand Mahindra and Adobe Chairman and CEO Shantanu Narayen with its 2020 Leadership Awards in recognition of their exemplary vision towards promoting US-India bilateral ties.
• The award would be presented during the third Annual Leadership Summit, titled “US-India Week: Navigating New Challenges”, which will convene virtually from August 31.
• The week-long programme, which will conclude on September 3, will include a range of strategic discussions between US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) board members, which include 21 Fortune 500 CEOs, and senior government officials from both the countries.

NLCIL bags “Swachhta Hi Seva award” for transforming Neyveli Township into plastic-free, green campus

• NLCIL, the Navratna CPSE, has bagged the award for making extremely valuable contribution in the implementation of the “Swachhta Hi Seva Programme” from the Government of India.
• Shri Rakesh Kumar, CMD of NLCIL hailing the efforts of NLCIL in transforming the entire Neyveli into a plastic-free, clean and green campus, and announcing the “Swachhta Hi Seva 2019” Award.
• The Swachhta Hi Seva Award was conferred to the following three units of NLCIL :
• Township Administration Office – First rank
• Thermal Power Station-1 – Second rank
• Mines Sub-Stores—Third rank
• The Swachhta Hi Seva programme, an initiative of the Swachch Bharat Mission, was launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in September 2019. NLCIL Implemented the programme in two phases: first phase from September 11, 2019 to November 2, 2019; and the second phase from October 3 to October 27, 2019.

Govt school teacher from Ladakh selected for National Awards to Teachers, 2020

• A government school teacher from Ladakh has been selected for the National Awards to Teachers, 2020. Head Teacher of Middle School Taknak Sakti in Kharu block of Leh – Ladakh, Sonam Gyaltsan, has been selected for the prestigious National award.
• Mr Sonam Gyaltson made all efforts to build the confidence among the villagers about government schools, facilitate the students at the school and improve the results.
• Sonam Gyaltson also utilised ITBPs Civil Action Program to take his students to Bharat Darshan.
• Taknak Sakti is one of the longest villages in Leh district. In three years the enrollment of Students rose from 4 to 103 now. This depicts the changed scenario of the government school in Ladakh.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

IIT Bombay,Shiv Nadar researchers develop environment friendly lithium batteries

• Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay and Shiv Nadar University claim to have developed a technology for production of environment friendly Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries which will be three times more energy efficient and cost effective than Lithium-ion batteries commonly used at present.
• The Li-S battery technology leverages principles of green chemistry, incorporating usage of by-products from the petroleum industry (Sulfur), agro-waste elements and copolymers such as cardanol (a by-product of cashew nut processing) and eugenol (clove oil) as cathodic materials.
• The technology has the potential to aid multi-billion dollar industries including tech gadgets, drones, electric vehicles (EV) and several more that depend on such batteries.

China sends a new Earth observation satellite Gaofen-9 05 into space

• China successfully launched a new Earth observation satellite, Gaofen-9 05, from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.
• The satellite, sent into orbit by a Long March-2D carrier rocket, is an optical remote-sensing satellite with a resolution up to the sub-meter level.
• The satellite will be mainly used for land surveying, city planning, road network design, crop yield estimation and disaster prevention and mitigation, as well as providing information for the construction of the Belt and Road.
• Other payloads carried on the rocket include a multi-functional experimental satellite and Tiantuo-5, a spacecraft developed by the National University of Defense Technology.
• The experimental satellite will have its communication to navigation technology being further tested, while Tiantuo-5 will be used to verify in-orbit information collection capabilities from ships, spacecraft and Internet of Things.
• This mission marks the 343rd flight of the Long March rocket family.

About China

• Currency: Renminbi
• Capital: Beijing

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Book titled “Who painted my lust red?” authored by Sree Iyer launched

• A book titled “Who painted my lust red?” that has been authored by Sree Iyer has been launched.
• The book is something about when Bollywood meets Cricket meets Politicians.
• This is the second book in this series of Sree Iyer’s Money Trilogy series. The first book was “Who painted my money white?”

CURRENT AFFAIRS: DEFENCE

India Pavilion At Army-2020 Forum Inaugurated In Russia

• The India Pavilion at the Army-2020 International Military and Technical Forum was inaugurated by Secretary (Defence Production) Raj Kumar and Indian Ambassador DB Venkatesh Verma outside Moscow.
• The forum, organised by the Russian Defence Ministry, will be held from August 23-29 at the Patriot Park near Moscow, which has been the venue since 2015.
• Delegations from at least 70 nations have confirmed their participation in the high-profile event.
• Meanwhile, Belarus, Brazil, India, Kazakhstan, and Pakistan will present the national expositions at the Patriot Congress and Exhibition Centre.
• The forum will also host discussions among global military officials, researchers and defence industry experts about the application of 3D technologies in designing, manufacturing and operating weapons and military equipment.

About Russia

• Capital: Moscow
• President: Vladimir Putin
• Currency: Russian Rouble

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

National Sports Awards 2020 announced: Dhronacharya and Dhyan Chand winners list

DRONACHARYA AWARD

A. Life- Time Category

S. No.	Name of the Coach	Discipline
	Shri Dharmendra Tiwary	Archery
	Shri Purushotham Rai	Athletics
	Shri Shiv Singh	Boxing
	Shri Romesh Pathania	Hockey
	Shri Krishan Kumar Hooda	Kabaddi
	Shri Vijay Bhalchandra Munishwar	Para Powerlifting
	Shri Naresh Kumar	Tennis
	Shri Om Parkash Dahiya	Wrestling

B. Regular Category

S. No.	Name of the Coach	Discipline
	Shri Jude Felix Sebastian	Hockey
	Shri Yogesh Malviya	Mallakhamb
	Shri Jaspal Rana	Shooting
	Shri Kuldeep Kumar Handoo	Wushu
	Shri Gaurav Khanna	Para Badminton

DHYAN CHAND AWARD

S. No.	Name of the Sportsperson	Discipline
	Shri Kuldip Singh Bhullar	Athletics
	Ms. Jincy Philips	Athletics
	Shri Pradeep Shrikrishna Gandhe	Badminton
	Ms. Trupti Murgunde	Badminton
	Ms. N. Usha	Boxing
	Shri Lakha Singh	Boxing
	Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sandhu	Football
	Shri Ajit Singh	Hockey
	Shri Manpreet Singh	Kabaddi
	Shri J. Ranjith Kumar	Para Athletics
	Shri Satyaprakash Tiwari	Para Badminton
	Shri Manjeet Singh	Rowing
	Late Shri Sachin Nag	Swimming
	Shri Nandan P Bal	Tennis
	Shri Netarpal Hooda	Wrestling

TENZING NORGAY NATIONAL ADVENTURE AWARDS 2019

S. No.	Name of the Sportsperson	Category
	Ms. Anita Devi	Land Adventure
	Col. Sarfraz Singh	Land Adventure
	Shri Taka Tamut	Land Adventure
	Shri Narender Singh	Land Adventure
	Shri Keval Hiren Kakka	Land Adventure
	Shri Satendra Singh	Water Adventure
	Shri Gajanand Yadava	Air Adventure
	Late Shri Magan Bissa	Life Time Achievement

MAULANA ABUL KALAM AZAD (MAKA) TROPHY

Panjab University, Chandigarh

RASHTRIYA KHEL PROTSAHAN PURUSKAR

S. No.	Category	Entity recommended for Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puruskar, 2020
1.	Identification and Nurturing of Budding and Young Talent	Lakshya Institute Army Sports Institute
2.	Encouragement to sports through Corporate Social Responsibility	Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) Ltd.
3.	Employment of sportspersons and sports welfare measures	Air Force Sports Control Board
4.	Sports for Development	International Institute of Sports Management (IISM)

 

Football: Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain to win UEFA Champions League

• In Football, German giants Bayern Munich have won the European Champions League for the sixth time after beating French side Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 at the final in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon.
• A goal by French winger Kingsley Coman at the 59th minute was enough for the Munich side to dash the Parisians’ dream of winning for the first time the UEFA Champions League.
• A competition which started in June 2019 with the preliminary round comes to a climax between the best side in world football against one of the planet’s finest forward lines.

First female golfer from Germany Sophia Popov wins Women’s British Open

• World number 304 Sophia Popov became the first female golfer from Germany to capture a major title after winning the Women’s British Open by two strokes at Royal Troon in Scotland.
• Popov, who went into the final round with a three-shot lead, bounced back from bogeying the first hole by making five birdies in her 3-under 68. Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura was the runner-up after shooting 67. It completed one of the most unlikely wins in the tournament’s history.

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

DAILY CA 23rd & 24th AUG

• Earth Overshoot Day- 22nd aug
• International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief – 22 August
• Shri Ram Vilas Paswan launches online system of Registration and Renewal for Jewellers and online system of recognition and renewal of Assaying and Hallmarking (A&H) Centers
• India’s longest river ropeway connecting Guwahati and North Guwahati over Brahmaputra river inaugurated
• Govt activates Aadhaar authentication for new GST registration
• Centre Forms National Council for Transgenders to Formulate Policies Aimed at Equality & Participation
• Mahatma Gandhi’s Iconic Glasses Sold For $340,000 In UK
• WHO blasts ‘vaccine nationalism’ in last-ditch push against hoarding
• Axis Bank launches hiring initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’
• Digital payments market in India likely to grow 3-fold to Rs 7,092 lakh cr by 2025
• Paytm Payments Bank enables banking through Aadhaar cards
• RBL Bank Selects Accenture to Accelerate Its Digital Journey
• Odisha celebrates festival Nuakhai festival
• Odisha Introduces Scheme to Promote Bio-Floc Fish Farming Technology
• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari to lay foundation stone & inaugurate 35 highway projects in MP
• Ministry of Tourism virtually signs an MoU with Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI) & FICCI Ladies Organisation(FLO) to promote tourism as sustainable livelihood model for women’s economic empowerment
• People’s Bank of China picks up stake in ICICI Bank via QIP issue
• Tata Plans ‘Super App’ To Bring Together Its Consumer Services
• Anand Mahindra, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to receive 2020 Leadership Awards from USISPF
• NLCIL bags “Swachhta Hi Seva award” for transforming Neyveli Township into plastic-free, green campus
• Govt school teacher from Ladakh selected for National Awards to Teachers, 2020
• IIT Bombay,Shiv Nadar researchers develop environment friendly lithium batteries
• China sends a new Earth observation satellite Gaofen-9 05 into space
• Book titled “Who painted my lust red?” authored by Sree Iyer launched
• India Pavilion At Army-2020 Forum Inaugurated In Russia
• National Sports Awards 2020 announced: Dhronacharya and Dhyan Chand winners list
• Football: Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain to win UEFA Champions League
• First female golfer from Germany Sophia Popov wins Women’s British Open