Current Affairs 27th August 2020| Current Affairs News

 CURRENT AFFAIRS: DAYS

World Water Week

• World Water Week takes place between 24 to 28 August 2020, and is organized by the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI).
• World Water Week aims to be a collaborative learning experience, providing a forum and opportunity to facilitate the exchange of views, experiences, and practices between scientific, business, policy and civil societies.
• World Water Week 2020 and this year’s theme ‘Water andClimatechange: Accelerating Action’.

International Dog Day

• International Dog Day is observed on August 26 every year for drawing attention to the plight of canines around the world and encouraging adoption.
• International Dog Day was started as National Dog Day in the US in 2004 by pet and family lifestyle expert and animal rescue advocate Colleen Paige.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

NITI Aayog releases Export Preparedness Index 2020

• NITI Aayog released the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020. EPI intends to identify challenges and opportunities; enhance the effectiveness of government policies and encourage a facilitative regulatory framework.
• The structure of the EPI includes four pillars which are Policy, Business Ecosystem, Export Ecosystem and Export Performance.
• It also includes 11 sub-pillars like Export Promotion Policy, Institutional Framework, Business Environment, Infrastructure and Transport Connectivity.
• NITI Aayog, Chief Executive Officer Amitabh Kant stated that the Export Preparedness Index is a data-driven effort to identify the core areas which are crucial for export promotion at the sub-national level.
• This edition of EPI has shown that most Indian states performed well on average across the sub-pillars of Exports Diversification, Transport Connectivity and Infrastructure.
• It also says, overall, most of the Coastal States are the best performers. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupy the top three ranks.

 About NITI Aayog:

• CEO– Amitabh Kant
• Headquarters– New Delhi

Ministry of Culture announces 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India

• The Ministry of Culture has announced 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India, ASI.
• New circles have been created in Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, West Bengal and Gujarat. Mr Patel stated, Trichy, Raiganj, Rajkot, Jabalpur, Jhansi and Meerut have been announced as new circles.
• The Minister stated, in a large state like Tamil Nadu which has thousands of temples and glorious memories of the Chola kings, Trichy has been made a new circle along with the circle of Chennai. He stated, Hampi city in Karnataka is a place of international importance from the point of view of archaeological heritage therefore the Hampi Sub-Circle now has been made a new full fledged circle.
• In West Bengal, Raiganj has been made as a new circle along with Kolkata, which will eliminate geographical inconvenience. In Gujarat, Rajkot has been announced as a new circle along with Vadodara. Mr Patel stated, Jabalpur has been announced as a new circle along with Bhopal in Madhya Pradesh.
• This will include the monuments from Jabalpur, Rewa, Shahdol and Sagar divisions. The Minister also informed that Jhansi in Bundelkhand and Meerut in western UP have been announced as two new circles along with Lucknow and Agra in Uttar Pradesh. The Minister stated, earlier there were 29 ASI circles across the country.

About Ministry of Culture:

• Prahlad Singh Patel, Minister of State (Independent Charge)
• Constituency: Damoh

NHA releases Draft Health Data Management Policy of National Digital Health Mission

• The National Health Authority has released the Draft Health Data Management Policy of the National Digital Health Mission in the public domain.
• The draft of the policy has been released on the official website of National Digital Health Mission and will be available for public comments and feedback till 3rd of next month.
• The policy is in the draft stage and will be finalized after receiving suggestions from members of the general public.
• Indu Bhushan, Chief Executive Officer, National Health Authority stated, the Draft Health Data Management Policy is the maiden step in realizing NDHM’s guiding principle of “Security and Privacy by Design” for the protection of individuals’ data privacy.
• It encompasses various aspects pertaining to health data like data privacy, consent management, data sharing and protection.
• One of the main objectives of this draft policy is to provide adequate guidance and to set out a framework for the secure processing of personal and sensitive personal data of individuals who are a part of the national digital health ecosystem.

About National Health Authority:

• Headquarters– New Delhi, India
• CEO– Indu Bhushan (CEO of AB-PMJAY)

DoPPW to integrate e- Pension Payment Order with Digi Locker

• The Department of Pension & Pensioners’ Welfare, DoPPW has decided to integrate the electronic Pension Payment Order, e-PPO generated through PFMS application of Controller General of Accounts, with Digi Locker, to enhance Ease of Living of Central Government Civil Pensioners.
• This system will enable any Pensioner to obtain an instant print-out of the latest copy of their PPO, from their Digi Locker account.
• This initiative will create a permanent record of their PPO in their Digi Locker and at the same time eliminate delays in reaching the PPO to new Pensioners, as well as the necessity of handing over a physical copy.
• This was a target set to be accomplished for Civil Ministries by 2021-22, which the Department completed ahead of time in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.
• Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions stated, it has come to the notice of the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare that several Pensioners, over a period of time, misplace the original copies of their PPO which is a very important original document.
• The facility has been created with Bhavishya’ software, which is a single window platform for Pensioners, right from the start of their Pension processing, till the end of the process.
• Bhavishya will now provide an option to retiring employee, to link their Digi-locker account with their Bhavishya account and obtain their e-PPO in a seamless manner.

About Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions:

• Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of India and Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
• Jitendra Singh, Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions

Mission COVID Suraksha’: Govt mulls mission with Rs 3,000-crore corpus for development, manufacture of Covid-19 vaccine

• The government has proposed setting up a ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’ with a corpus of Rs 3,000 crore to accelerate the development and manufacture of safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines in the country. Another important aim of the mission will be to make the Covid-19 vaccine easily available to the public at affordable rates, the report added.
• The mission will aim to quicken the development of at least six Coronavirus vaccine candidates and ensure that they are licensed and introduced in the market for emergency use at the earliest.
• The proposed mission that will focus on end-to-end vaccine development from clinical trial stage to regulatory facilitation to manufacturing, will be piloted by the Department of Biotechnology.
• As per the draft proposal, the Mission COVID Suraksha is proposed to have a timeline of 12-18 months and a budget of approximately Rs 3,000 crore.
• Also, as per the approval of the National Technical Advisory Group on Immunisation (NTAGI), the mission will focus on efficient ways to introduce the vaccine in public health systems of the Ministry of Health post to combat further spread of COVID-19 infection.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

Germany to issue ”green bonds” worth up to $13B this year

• The German government plans to generate up to 11 billion euros ($13 billion) for clean transportation and renewable energy projects this year by issuing so-called green bond, officials stated.
• The step is part of an effort to meet demand for environmentally friendly investments and follows the path already taken by other countries, including neighbouring France.
• Each green bond will mirror a regular debt issuance by the German government, known as “bunds”, which are considered safe havens for investors.
• Germany”s deputy finance minister, Joerg Kukies, stated the first green bonds worth 4 billion euros will be issued next month, with the rest released in the fourth quarter.
• The government has identified spending of over 12.7 billion euros that would meet the criteria of green investment, Kukies stated.Germany”s state-owned KfW bank and several municipalities have already issued their own green bonds.

About Germany :

• Capital: Berlin
• President :FrankWalter Steinmeier
• Chancellor:Angela Merkel

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

HSBC launches one-stop solution for multiple payment options

• HSBC India introduced Omni Collect — a one-stop solution to provide multiple payment options on single platform.
• The aim is to simplify the way businesses collect payments through various digital modes. With this, the businesses can offer various digital payment modes to their customers.
• It also helps them with a comprehensive view of their collections.
• Some of key features of Omni Collect are — 1) Centralised digital collections management, 2) Integrated collections solution with partnered aggregators, 3) Real-time connectivity via API for immediate collection and transaction status enquiry, 4) A comprehensive report including Customer Reference number (Order ID) and transaction amount, 4) Data of all transactions (card/mobile wallet, etc.).
• Advanced Travel Partners International (ATPI), is HSBC India’s first client to go live with Omni Collect solution and has started receiving payments through the online payment gateway.

About HSBC India

• CEO: Surendra Rosha
• Headquarters: Mumbai

Axis Bank Introduces ‘Liberty Savings Account’ for the Indian Youth

• Axis Bank, India’s third-largest private sector bank, announced the launch of its ‘Liberty Savings Account’.
• This unique proposition offers customers the flexibility to either maintain a minimum balance of Rs 25,000 per month or spend the same amount every month through the Liberty debit card or savings account (via NetBanking, Axis Mobile or UPI) on lifestyle requirements.
• The Liberty Savings Account also offers a complimentary hospital cash insurance cover of upto Rs 20,000 per year, which covers hospital expenses incurred under COVID -19, making this a first of its kind savings account to cover the pandemic.
• The Liberty Saving Account is targeted to cater to the lifestyle requirements of the working class that falls under 35 years of age.
• A customer can enjoy 5% cashback every weekend on expenses incurred on food, entertainment, shopping and travel. This reward is part of the overall package, which comprises benefits worth Rs 15,000 annually through cashbacks, banking benefits, dining delights and quarterly spend vouchers.

About Axis Bank

• CEO: Amitabh Chaudhry
• Headquarters: Mumbai

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS AND ECONOMY

Mahindra ties up with Israel’s REE Automotive to develop commercial EVs

• Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M) has inked a pact with Tel Aviv-based REE Automotive to explore production of electric commercial vehicles.
• The Mumbai-based firm has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the start-up to explore development and manufacturing of electric commercial vehicles for global markets.
• The partnership will support REE’s global customer need for up to 250,000 electric commercial vehicle units over a few years, including any volumes for Mahindra’s domestic and international markets.

About M&M

• CEO: Anand Mahindra
• Founded: 2 October 1945, Ludhiana

TVS Automobile Solutions and Google tie up to digitise auto aftermarket

• TVS Automobile Solutions Pvt. Ltd. (TVS ASL) stated that it has joined hands with Google Cloud to build a digital ecosystem that can connect several stakeholders in the unorganised and fragmented auto aftermarket industry.
• As part of its digital transformation strategy, TVS ASL has migrated its on-premise data center infrastructure and existing public cloud deployments onto Google Cloud to develop this platform.
• TVS ASL and Google Cloud’s digital solution will also connect upto 25,000 aftermarket retailers, who would be empowered with search tools provided by google.
• With a fragmented presence of over 40,000 retailers, 100,000 garages and thousands of small distributors across the country, TVS ASL estimates India’s auto aftermarket at $10 billion, growing at a CAGR of 7-10% over the past five years.
• On the back of its new digital platform, it aims to grow its current market share of 4% to 10% by 2023. Raghavan estimates that the unorganised players would comprise upto 80% in the aftermarket.

Greenko and NTPC to partner for supplying on-demand green energy

• Hyderabad-based Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd plans to partner with state run NTPC Ltd to develop ‘round-the-clock’ power supply.
• Greenko is among India’s largest green energy developers with a 4 gigawatt (GW) portfolio and is building power storage projects with total capacity of 7.2 GW across six states in India. While NTPC runs the largest fleet of coal based capacity in India, Greenko’ integrated renewable energy assets with storage, will help it provide clean energy during peak grid demand.
• This comes at a time when India’s largest power generation utility NTPC is planning a green energy push and is looking to acquire at least 1000 mega watt (MW) of operational solar power projects, as part of its strategy to have a 32 GW clean energy portfolio by 2032. NTPC currently has a 2,298 MW renewable energy projects under construction.
• Greenko Energies Pvt Ltd (Greenko) and NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam Ltd. (NVVN), a wholly owned subsidiary of NTPC Limited – India’s largest power generation with generation fleet in excess of 60 GW and transitioning into Renewables, have entered into an MOU with an intent to explore possibility of development of Renewable Energy (RE) based RTC, flexible and despatchable power supply offering based on integration of RE sources and Pumped Storage projects,” Greenko statement stated

About Greenko Energies:

• Founder, CEO & MD– Anil Kumar Chalamalasetty
• Headquarters– Hyderabad, Telangana

About NTPC Vidyut Vyapar Nigam(NVVN):

• CEO– Mohit Bhargava
• Headquarters– New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

Haryana govt inks deal with M3M foundation to provide online classes to students

• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed between the Department of Employment, Haryana and the M3M Foundation in order to facilitate the online preparation, training and mentoring for the government jobs for the students.
• The MoU has been signed between the two in order to build and strengthen the partnership between both the institutions in order to enable the students to access quality preparations for the entrance examinations for Government jobs.
• The MoU has been signed with an aim for the Haryana state government to link one approximately 1 lakh candidates to government jobs within and outside the state in the next two years.
• With the help of the MoU a programme will be conducted to select 50,000 candidates for the online training based on the performance of the candidates previously in the government examinations in the state.

About Haryana

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Chief minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
• Governor: Satyadev Narayan Arya

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MERGERS AND ACQUISITIONS

Cognizant to acquire Tin Roof Software to expand digital engineering services

• Cognizant Technology Solutions Corp. has entered into an agreement to acquire Tin Roof Software, an Atlanta-based custom software and digital product development services company, to expand its digital engineering services capabilities.
• The acquisition is expected to expand Cognizant’s software product engineering footprint in the U.S. and connect Tin Roof’s experts with Cognizant’s broader global software development capabilities.
• Tin Roof works across a range of industries, including telecom, media and entertainment, financial services, retail, hospitality, consumer products, travel, logistics, and transportation.
• Tin Roof has operations in Atlanta and Dallas-Fort Worth in the US. Upon completion of the transaction, Tin Roof’s experts will join Cognizant Softvision, a company Cognizant acquired in 2018. Cognizant Softvision has significant global presence across Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Mexico, Romania, and the U.S.

About Cognizant:

• CEO: Brian Humphries
• Headquarters: Teaneck, New Jersey, United States

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

NHAI develops portal to track performance of developers, consultants

• The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has developed a portal to track the performance of its developers and consultants.
• The portal-based objective assessment has been initiated to track the performance of consultants, contractors and concessionaires for various NHAI projects.
• The portal is available on the NHAI website under Vendor Performance Evaluation System’.
• Under this portal, the vendors are required to conduct a self-assessment and upload the documents related to the project activities being executed by them, on the portal.
• The submissions are reviewed at multiple levels by NHAI, based on which a vendor rating is generated.
• The portal contains provisions for rating the projects according to the mode of implementation and status of completion under BOT(build-operate-transfer) toll , BOT (annuity) HAM (hybrid, annuity mode), EPC (engineering, procurement and construction) works.

About NHAI

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Chairperson: Sanjeev Ranjan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

Former IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh joins Reliance as Group President

• Former Indian Oil Corp (IOC) chairman Sanjiv Singh has joined Reliance Industries Ltd as Group President for billionaire Mukesh Ambani-run firm’s oil-to-chemicals business.
• Singh, who superannuated from the services of IOCL on 30 June, will lead and drive the group’s manufacturing services which is considered the backbone of RIL’s oil-to-chemicals business.

About RIL Group

• CEO: Mukesh Ambani
• Head Quarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra

Yatinder Prasad appointed on Coal India board

• State-owned Coal India stated Yatinder Prasad, joint secretary and financial advisor with the Ministry of Coal, has been appointed on its board.
• Prasad is a 1993-batch Indian Audit and Accounts Service officer, Coal India Ltd (CIL) stated.
• Yatinder Prasad, JS&FA, Ministry of Coal has been appointed as government nominee Director in CIL Boarde.f August 24, 2020, the filing stated.
• Prasad is also on the board of National Scheduled Tribes Finance & Development Corporation and Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India Ltd.

About Coal India:

• CEO: Anil Kumar Jha
• Headquarters: Kolkata

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BOOKS AND AUTHORS

Book on renowned coach Vasoo Paranjape  ‘Cricket Drona’ to be released

• A book named ”Cricket Drona” on one of India’s most respected cricket coaches, Vasoo Paranjape, will be released on September 2.
• The book published by Penguin has been co-authored by Paranjape’s son, former India player and current national selector Jatin along with cricket journalist Anand Vasu.
• ”Cricket Drona” takes us through the life of Paranjape, who left a defining impact on the game, shaping the careers of some of Indian cricket’s greatest figures including Gavaskar, Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Rohit Sharma.
• Gavaskar in his semi-autobiographical book ”Sunny Days” had spoken about the kind of impact Paranjpe had on him during his days at Dadar Union. In fact , Gavaskar’s famous nickname ”Sunny” was given by Paranjpe.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

ISRO Signs Agreement With Technical Institute In Odisha To Promote Space Research

• Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT), Odisha, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). Under this agreement a Space innovation centre will be established in the university.
• VSSUT Odisha has become the first university in the country to pen down a MoU with the Indian space agency.
• ISRO will offer technical consultancy support and financial assistance of Rs 50 lakh to the VSSUT for development of infrastructure.
• There will be collaboration for the development of high end simulation tools, miniature test facilities – like static test facility, solid propulsion research lab – and establishment of testing facility for scaled down models.

About ISRO

• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• Founded: 15 August 1969
• Director: Kailasavadivoo Sivan

Scientists Develop Technique To Produce Biofuel From Algae To Boost India’s Clean Energy Efforts

• Indian scientists have developed low-cost biodiesel from microalgae under the INSPIRE programme of ministry of science and technology. The Innovation in Science Pursuit for Inspired Research (Inspire) is an innovative programme sponsored and managed by the ministry for attracting talents to research and innovation.
• Various biofuels that have been explored in India till now include molasses, agriculture residue, sugar-containing edible sources. The technique to use microalgae is developed by a team of scientists. It is led by T Mathimani from the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Tiruchirappalli.
• The ministry claimed in a statement that the “use of microalgae has been strongly considered for the production of biofuels since they present a series of advantages over other biofuel feedstock”. The bio-fuel, the ministry stated Mathimani and his team have isolated predominant strains of marine microalgae species from the coastal regions of Tamil Nadu.
• Though algae are being exploited as a third-generation feedstock for the production of biofuels such as bioethanol, biodiesel, biogas, and biohydrogen in different countries, it does not reach a successful peak due to its higher cost issues involved in cultivation, harvesting and extraction process.

Astronomers trace mystery behind the formation of a star from dwarf galaxy

• Star formation at a high rate requires very high density of Hydrogen in the galaxies. According to the study conducted by the ARIES team, the 1420.40 MHz images of several intense star-forming dwarf galaxies indicated that hydrogen in these galaxies is very disturbed.
• While one expects a nearly symmetric distribution of hydrogen in well-defined orbits in galaxies, hydrogen in these dwarf galaxies is found to be irregular and sometimes not moving in well-defined orbits.
• Some hydrogen around these galaxies is also detected in forms of isolated clouds, plumes, and tails as if some other galaxy recently has collided or brushed away with these galaxies, and gas is scattered as debris around the galaxies.
• The optical morphologies sometimes revealed multiple nuclei and high concentration of ionized hydrogen in the central region. Although galaxy-galaxy collision was not directly detected, various signatures of it were revealed through radio, and optical imaging, and these are helping to build up a story. The research, therefore, suggests that recent collisions between two galaxies trigger intense star formation in these galaxies.
• The findings of this research with detailed images of 13 galaxies will be appearing in the forthcoming issue of Monthly Notices of Royal Astronomical Society (MNRAS) Journal published by the Royal Astronomical Society, the UK.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Gujarat tops Niti Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2020

• Gujarat has topped the Niti Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2020 followed by Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
• Six of eight coastal states feature in the top ten rankings, indicating the presence of strong enabling and facilitating factors to promote exports.
• Among the landlocked states, Rajasthan has performed the best, followed by Telangana and Haryana.
• Among the Himalayan states, Uttarakhand topped the chart, followed by Tripura and Himachal Pradesh, across Union Territories, Delhi has performed the best, followed by Goa and Chandigarh.
  Niti Aayog in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness released the first Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020.
• The index ranked states on four key parameter – Policy; Business Ecosystem; Export Ecosystem; Export Performance.
• The index also took into consideration 11 sub-pillars — Export Promotion Policy; Institutional Framework; Business Environment; Infrastructure; Transport Connectivity; Access to Finance; Export Infrastructure; Trade Support; R&D Infrastructure; Export Diversification; and Growth Orientation.

About NITI Aayog

• CEO: Amitabh Kant
• Headquarters: New Delhi

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Poulomi Ghatak retires from Table Tennis, shifts her focus on coaching

• One of the most successful Indian table tennis players, Poulomi Ghatak,announced her retirement.
• A seven-time national champion, Ghatak was the most prominent name in women’s table tennis in the last couple of decades.
• The Kolkata born athlete won both the senior national and junior national championships in 1998. She has represented India at the Commonwealth Games at Melbourne in 2006 and the Commonwealth Championships between 2000 and 2008. She made her debut Olympic appearance at the Sydney Olympics when she was just 16.

India plans to host BRICS Games during Khelo India Games in 2021

• India are planning to host BRICS Games in 2021 and may align it with Khelo India Games.
• This announcement came after Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju, attended a meeting of Sports Ministers of the BRICS nations (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa).
• India will get the chairmanship of the five-nation independent international group in 2021.
• BRICS Games 2021 will be held during same time and at the same venues as of Khelo India Games 2021 so that our players from various parts of the country who will gather for Khelo India Games will have the benefit of witnessing BRICS Games from close quarters.

Japan’s Olympic doubles champion Ayaka Takahashi announces retirement

• Japan’s Olympic badminton champion Ayaka Takahashi will not defend her doubles crown with Misaki Matsutomo at next year’s Tokyo Games after announcing she will retire at the end of the month.
• Takahashi and Matsutomo defeated Denmark’s Christinna Pedersen and Kamilla Rytter Juhl in the Rio Olympics in 2016 to claim the women’s doubles gold medal and secure their nation’s first ever badminton title.
• Takahashi, 30, cited the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics due to the COVID-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for her decision to step away, saying her body might not hold up for another year.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Writer-journalist Gail Sheehy passes away

• Gail Sheehy, the journalist, commentator and pop sociologist whose best-selling Passages, has passed away. She was 83.
• Passages: Predictable Crises of Adult Life was published in 1976.
• Sheehy’s honors included the National Magazine Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award and a citation from the American Psychological Association.

DAILY CA 26th AUG

• Women’s Equality Day- 26th august
• Businesses with annual turnover of up to Rs 40 lakh are GST exempt: Finance Ministry
• World Health Organization declares Africa free of polio
• BRICS Industry Ministers attend video meeting to discuss ways to boost cooperation in 5G, AI
• ICICI Bank Becomes First in India to Use Satellite Data To Assess Farmer Loans
• SBI General Insurance Launches ‘Shagun – Gift an insurance’ policy
• RBI projects country’s growth rate at (-) 4.5 per cent for 2020-21
• RBI to dissolve Banking Codes and Standards Board of India
• Bajaj Allianz General Insurance launches cover for pet dogs
• Assam: Handicraft production centre inaugurated in Guwahati
• E-auction portal launched to promote trading of GI-tagged ‘Kashmir Saffron’
• APEDA signs MoUs with AFC India Ltd and NCUI, Delhi to utilise their expertise in agri sector
• IEX board accepts resignation of MD & CEO Rajiv Srivastava
• Vinay Tonse is the new MD & CEO of SBI Funds
• Neelakanta Bhanu Prakash won ‘World’s Fastest Human Calculator’ title
• International Conference on Climate Change and Its Impact on Himalayan Region From September 14 to 16
• 17th meeting of India-Vietnam Joint Commission held via video-conference
• Running Toward Mystery: The Adventure of an Unconventional Lifeby Tenzin Priyadarshi, Zara Houshmand
• Indian Satellite AstroSat Detects Extreme UV Light Coming from Galaxy 9.3 Billion Light-years Away
• Rare fish sighted by Andhra University scientists in Sileru
• TN women top the list of MUDRA loan scheme beneficiaries
• England pacer James Anderson becomes 1st fast bowler in history to take 600 Test wickets
• Former Congo president Pascal Lissouba passes away
• Urdu poet Ashok Sahil passes away at 64

DAILY CA 27th AUG

• World Water Week-24th to 28th aug
• International Dog Day- 26th aug
• NITI Aayog releases Export Preparedness Index 2020
• Ministry of Culture announces 7 new circles of Archaeological Survey of India
• NHA releases Draft Health Data Management Policy of National Digital Health Mission
• DoPPW to integrate e- Pension Payment Order with Digi Locker
• Mission COVID Suraksha’: Govt mulls mission with Rs 3,000-crore corpus for development, manufacture of Covid-19 vaccine
• Germany to issue ”green bonds” worth up to $13B this year
• HSBC launches one-stop solution for multiple payment options
• Axis Bank Introduces ‘Liberty Savings Account’ for the Indian Youth
• Mahindra ties up with Israel’s REE Automotive to develop commercial EVs
• TVS Automobile Solutions and Google tie up to digitise auto aftermarket
• Greenko and NTPC to partner for supplying on-demand green energy
• Haryana govt inks deal with M3M foundation to provide online classes to students
• Cognizant to acquire Tin Roof Software to expand digital engineering services
• NHAI develops portal to track performance of developers, consultants
• Former IOC Chairman Sanjiv Singh joins Reliance as Group President
• Yatinder Prasad appointed on Coal India board
• Book on renowned coach Vasoo Paranjape ‘Cricket Drona’ to be released
• ISRO Signs Agreement With Technical Institute In Odisha To Promote Space Research
• Scientists Develop Technique To Produce Biofuel From Algae To Boost India’s Clean Energy Efforts
• Astronomers trace mystery behind the formation of a star from dwarf galaxy
• Gujarat tops Niti Aayog’s Export Preparedness Index 2020
• Poulomi Ghatak retires from Table Tennis, shifts her focus on coaching
• India plans to host BRICS Games during Khelo India Games in 2021
• Japan’s Olympic doubles champion Ayaka Takahashi announces retirement
• Writer-journalist Gail Sheehy passes away