Current Affairs 22nd & 23rd August 2021| Current Affairs News

 

CURRENT AFFAIRS: IMPORTANT DAYS

World Sanskrit Day 2021 – Observed on Aug 22 (full moon day in the month of Shravana in the Hindu calendar)

• World Sanskrit Day or Sanskrit Diwas is also known as Viswa Samskrita Dinam.
• It is celebrated on Shraavana Poornima, which is the Poornima day that is on full moon day in the month of Shravana in the Hindu calendar. 
• As nowadays no one knows the importance of Sanskrit and none choose Sanskrit so this day is celebrated to aware the importance of Sanskrit language and the Sanskrit teachers organize the events where they give a speech on Importance of Sanskrit.
• After this much celebration of this Sanskrit day and now people start understanding the importance of Sanskrit and start opting for Sanskrit as their study.
• As if you know Sanskrit well then you also know the perfect grammar.
• Sanskrit Diwas is an annual event focused around the ancient Indian language of Sanskrit that incorporates lectures about the language and is aimed to promote its revival and maintenance. The Sanskrit language was declared as the second official language of Uttarakhand. The Sanskrit language has the largest vocabulary of about 102 Arab 78 crores 50 lakh words.

History:

• World Sanskrit Day or Sanskrit Diwas was first time celebrated in 1969.
• It is celebrated to spread awareness, promote and revive the ancient India Language.
• It attributes to the rich culture of India.
• Sanskrit Diwas comprises several events and full-day seminars that talked about the importance of the Sanskrit language, its impact, and promote this beautiful language of Sanskrit.
• As we know that in Hindu culture puja and mantras are recited in Sanskrit.
• The Sanskrit language is believed to be originated in India around 3500 years ago.

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

• The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, observed on August 22, emphasises the significance of aiding victims of religious persecution as part of the UN’s efforts to promote Human Rights related to religious or belief freedom.
• It was first made official in 2019.
• The resolution was enacted immediately after mosques in New Zealand and churches in Sri Lanka were attacked.
• The resolution was introduced by Poland’s Foreign Minister, Jacek Czaputowicz.
• It was approved by a small group of countries, including the United States, Iraq, Jordan, Canada, Brazil, and Pakistan.
• When one reads recent news, it is impossible to deny the fact that religious persecution is on the rise.
• Religious persecution affects one out of every three persons, as per the UN report.
• The establishment of the day was a direct response to the ever-growing issue of religious or belief-based violence, particularly in its most serious expressions of international crimes such as those against humanity and even genocide.

International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition – Observed on Aug 23

• August 23 is marked as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
• During the imperialist regimes run by the colonial powers of Europe, slave trade was a cruel yet common practice.
• Through this practice, a section of the world and its peoples, mainly from Africa and Asia were reduced to mere slaves who were bought and sold and transported to colonial settlements in Haiti, Caribbean, and other parts of the world.
• The International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is commemorated on August 23 because of a significant event that took place surrounding this date.
• Santo Domingo, which is modern day Haiti and the Dominican Republic, was an erstwhile colonial settlement of France in the eighteenth century.
• The days of August 22 and August 23, 1791 saw the start of the uprising that would play a vital role in the abolition of the transatlantic slave trade led by the European colonial powers.
• The uprising inspired the Haitian Revolution which was led by the Black and the mixed race people against the colonial rulers.

I&B Minister to launch Iconic Week as part of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav – from 23rd to 29^th August

• Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur will kick off a series of activities to celebrate the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ starting August 23.
• The series of events will go on till August 29.
• The activities organised by the ministry will aim to ‘ showcase the convergence of the values and glories of the freedom struggle of the past with the aspirations and dreams of a young, new and iconic India’.
• Thakur will kick off the ‘Iconic Week’ which will attract participation from across the country under the overall spirit of ‘Jan Bhagidari and Jan Andolan’.
• During the Iconic Week, the ministry will showcase the journey of new India and celebrate the contribution of freedom fighters, including the ‘Unsung Heroes of the freedom struggle, through massive outreach activities.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL NEWS

Rajnath Singh flags off Army’s fleet of five trauma care ambulances 

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off from his residence here a fleet of five trauma care ambulances donated to the Army by a non-profit group for deployment in Jammu and Kashmir.
• The ambulances have been donated by Borderless World Foundation to the Chinar Corps, the Army’s strategic unit that guards the Line of Control (LoC) in Kashmir.

About the ambulance:

• “The ambulances will be stationed in five sectors located along the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir and will be managed by the Indian Army.”
• They will be deployed at different locations in Gurez, Machil, Keran, Tangdhar and Uri sectors in Kupwara and Baramulla districts of Jammu and Kashmir.

Finance Minister to launch National Monetisation Pipeline

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP) in New Delhi.
• It comprises a four-year pipeline of the Central Government’s Brownfield infrastructure assets.
• Besides providing visibility to investors, NMP will also serve as a medium-term road map for the asset monetization initiative of the government.
• Union Budget 2021-22 laid a lot of emphasis on asset monetization as a means to raise innovative and alternative financing for infrastructure and included a number of key announcements.
• “Monetizing operating public infrastructure assets is a very important financing option for new infrastructure construction.

About NMP:

• A National Monetization Pipeline of potential Brownfield infrastructure assets will be launched”.
• The government has also developed an asset monetization dashboard for monitoring real-time progress of NMP.
• of government departments and ministries. keen on taking over assets The portal has been prepared as the government tries to provide a one-stop shop to investors
• Policy think tank NITI Aayoghas finalized  the NMP of potential brownfield infrastructure assets that has been created for a four-year period from financial year 2021-22 to 2024-25.

Ministry of Panchayati Raj organize National Webinar on ‘Zero Hunger by 2030’

• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organizing a National Webinar, ‘Localization of Sustainable Development Goals and Role of Panchayats – Goal No. 2 – Zero Hunger’ on 23.08.2021.
• The Webinar will be inaugurated by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh and will be graced by the Minister of State for Panchayati Raj, Shri Kapil Moreshwar Patil.
• The day-long Webinar is expected to sensitize the leaders at the grassroots level on India’s position in fighting hunger as also they get information on various schemes, programmes, initiatives, steps, innovative measures etc. taken by Central and State Governments in the attainment of zero hunger which will help in building their capacity and enabling them to take actions at the local level for ensuring hunger-free Panchayat and thereby hunger-free India by 2030.   

About the Webinar:

• Webinar will have four technical sessions to discuss and deliberate critical issues/subjects like sufficiency of food production & food security, sustainable agricultural production, public distribution, minimization of food production and processing loss, nutritional security and leveraging of technological solutions having bearing on the attainment of Zero Hunger by 2030 besides the discussions on World vis-à-vis India’s position on fighting hunger.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman introduces ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ for export-oriented firms & start-ups

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched an ambitious ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ -USF for export-oriented firms and startups in a program at Lucknow.
• The Fund aims at arranging funds for promotion of micro, small and medium companies.
• The fund has been set up by Exim Bank and SIDBI.
• In her Budget speech last year, Sitharaman had mentioned that MSMEs are vital to keep the wheels of economy moving.
• They also create jobs, innovate and are risk takers.

About the scheme:

• This scheme will be successful in Uttar Pradesh as the state has highest number of MSMEs.
• During the last two years union government has taken several important steps and the results are showing up now as the country is establishing its place in the world.
• Every district of Uttar Pradesh will benefit under Ubharte Sitare Fund.
• She also appreciated the one district one product scheme of Uttar Pradesh.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Ismail Sabri Yaakob sworn in as new Prime Minister of Malaysia

• Former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia.
• Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah appointed Ismail Sabri as the new Prime Minister of the country.
• He will succeed Muhyiddin Yassin, who resigned after losing majority support in the lower house of parliament.

About Sabri:

• Ismail Sabri, 61, is a veteran politician of the United Malays National Organization (UMNO) and has served in Muhyiddin’s cabinet as defense minister before being appointed as deputy prime minister in July.

About Malaysia:

• Capital: Kuala Lumpur
• Currency: Malaysian ringgit
• Prime minister: Ismail Sabri Yaakob

World Bank launches New Cyber security Multi-Donor Trust Fund

• Digital transformation is accelerating in many countries, offering new opportunities for economic growth and enabling low- and medium-income countries to leapfrog development.
• As it becomes essential to the functioning of states, economies, and societies, cyber security solutions must keep up.
• The World Bank has just launched the Cyber security Multi-Donor Trust Fund under the broader Digital Development Partnership (DDP). 

About the fund:

• The new fund aims to better define and systematically roll out the cyber security development agenda, helping to ensure a more substantial reflection of cyber security considerations across World Bank programs and financing.
• The work programme will support the development of global knowledge on cyber security solutions for low- and middle-income countries.
• It will fund country maturity assessments, offer technical assistance, and support training and capacity development for cyber security staff in World Bank client countries.
• The launch of the Trust Fund is made possible with donor contributions from Estonia, Germany, Japan, and the Netherlands.

External affairs minister slams China for terror stand at UNSC

• In China, India told the UN Security Council that countries should not place “blocks and holds” without any reason on requests to designate terrorists, warning that any double standards and distinctions between terrorists would be made only at “our own peril”.
• The international community holds a collective view that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations must be condemned.
• There cannot be any exception or justification for any act of terrorism, regardless of motivations behind such acts”.

About his addressing:

• Jaishankar, President of the UN Security Council, chaired the UNSC Briefing on Threats to International Peace and Security Caused by Terrorist Acts.
• Jaishankar alluded to his remarks to the Council made in January this year when he had proposed an eight-point action plan aimed at collectively eliminating the scourge of terrorism.

Sweden: World’s First fossil-free steel manufactured in the country

• Swedish green steel venture HYBRIT, that it had made the ‘world’s first’ customer delivery of steel produced without using coal. 
• The steel was made using Hydrogen Breakthrough Iron making Technology, which uses 100% fossil-free hydrogen instead of coal and coke.
• The venture has started delivering the fossil-free steel to the Volvo Group as part of its trial run.

About the Project:

• Development for the Hybrit project, which was set up in 2016 and is owned by SSAB, energy firm Vattenfall and LKAB, a mining and minerals group.
• Both Vattenfall and LKAB are owned by the Swedish state.
• The idea underpinning Hybrit is to use “100% fossil-free hydrogen” rather than coal and coke in steel production.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATE NEWS

India’s highest herbal park unveiled in Uttarakhand

• India’s highest altitude herbal park, located at the height of 11,000 feet near the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, was launched.
• Mana is the final Indian settlement in Chamoli, on the Chinese border, close to Badrinath, the famed Himalayan temple.
• Under the central government’s CAMPA, or Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, scheme, the Uttarakhand forest department’s research wing established the park on three acres of land donated by Mana Van panchayat.
• The herbal park comprises roughly 40 species found in high altitude alpine locations in the Himalayan region.
• According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list and the State Biodiversity Board, many species are endangered or threatened.
• It also contains several valuable medicinal herbs.

About Uttarakhand:

• Capital: Dehradun
• Governor: Baby Rani Maurya
• Chief minister: Pushkar Singh Dhami
• National Parks: Valley of Flowers National Park, Rajaji National Park, Nanda Devi National Park, Gangotri National Park, Govind Pashu Vihar National Park & Sanctuary.

Assam: start rolling out benefits under One Nation One Ration scheme

• Assam will start rolling out benefits under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme.
• State’s Food, Civil Supply and Consumer Affairs Minister Ranjeet Kumar Dass stated that over 2 crore 50 lakh families would be benefited under this scheme.
• The Minister urged the beneficiaries to come forward and get their ration cards linked with their Aadhaar.

About the scheme:

• The ONORC is a flagship scheme of the Central government that allows eligible beneficiaries to avail food grains they are entitled to under the National Food Security Act from any fair price shop across the country.
• Principal Secretary of the department Bishwaranjan Samal stated, all fair-price shops will be provided with e-PoS machines needed under ONORC within the next three to four months.

Assam CM announces Covid relief package for drivers, helpers, priests

• The Assam government will make learning history and geography mandatory in class 9 and 10 in schools.
• The state government has also announced COVID relief package where drivers and helpers of privately operated buses will get one-time relief of Rs 10,000.
• The priests of the temple and head of Namghars (Vaishnavite place of worship) will get Rs 15,000 each.

About Assam:

• Capital: Dispur
• Chief minister: Himanta Biswa Sarma
• Governor: Jagdish Mukhi
• National parks: Kaziranga National park , Manas National park, Dibru-Saikhowa National park, Nameri National park and Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park.

NTPC commissioned India’s largest Floating Solar PV Project in Andhra Pradesh 

• NTPC Limited has started operations at India’s largest floating solar PV project at its Simhadri thermal station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• The project was declared open after commissioning a 15 MW floating solar project at Simhadri thermal station.
• With this, the total installed capacity at the facility reached 25 MW.
• “In line with the Corporate Disclosure requirements, we wish to inform that consequent upon successful commissioning of 15 MW capacities, Simhadri Floating Solar PV Project at Simhadri, Andhra Pradesh is hereby declared on commercial operation w.e.f. 21.08.2021″.
• With this, the installed capacity of NTPC and NTPC Group stood at 53,475 MW and 66,900 MW, respectively, according to the filing.
• This solar project is notably the first of its kind to be set up under the Felxibilisation Scheme, which was brought in by the government of India in 2018.
• Solar power installation so unique is the anchoring design as well as the sheer scale of it as it is spread over 75 acres of the reservoir.

About NTPC:

• The NTPC is one of the country’s first energy companies to declare that its energy compact goas as part of the UN High-Level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).
• The NTPC Group itself has 71 power stations under it, 29 of which are renewable energy stations.
• The total installed capacity of the NTPC group is about 66,990 MW in total.
• The group has also set a target to install around 60 Gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by the year 2032.
• Currently, the company has around 17 Gigawatts of capacity under construction, of which, 5 Gigawatts are of renewable energy projects.

Haryana: Hisar Airport renamed as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport

• The Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal Khattar has announced to rename the Hisar Airport as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport. 
• In Haryana, The Hisar Airport is a domestic airport and it is also the first DGCA licensed Public Aerodrome of the State.

About the Airport:

• Hisar Airport, officially known as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport existing as domestic airport presently under upgrade by 30 March 2024, is a DGCA-licensed public airport serving Hisar in Haryana state of India.
• It is located 5 kilometres north-east of the city center on NH-9.

About Haryana:

• Capital: Chandigarh
• Governor: Bandaru Dattatreya
• Chief minister: Manohar Lal Khattar
• National parks: Sultanpur National Park, Kalesar National Park

GHMC unveiled ’10 mins at 10 am’ campaign

• The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation -GHMC has taken up a novel initiative to get rid of diseases like Malaria and Dengue, implementing ‘Every Sunday at 10 AM for 10 mnts” campaign. 
• Hyderabad Mayor G Vijayalakshmi formally launched the campaign by destroying all mosquito breeding sources at her camp office.
• The rise in cases, especially diseases like dengue and malaria, the authorities have taken up a 10-week long campaign to create awareness among people about the need for destroying up mosquito larva and their growing areas like planters, old tyres and waste bottles.

About the Campaign:

• A massive campaign of destroying potential sources of mosquito breeding has been taken up during the current monsoon season and efforts are underway to make citizens take an active part in it.
• The campaign will continue for ten weeks.
• Hyderabad Mayor Gadwal Vijayalakshmi urged people to spare 10 mnts on every Sunday to destroy the mosquito breeding sources to get rid of these seasonal diseases.

About Telangana:

• Capital: Hyderabad
• Governor: Tamilisai Soundararajan
• Chief minister: K. Chandrashekar Rao
• National parks: Kasu Brahmananda Reddy National Park, Mahavir Harina Vanasthali National Park and Mrugavani National Park

Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray inaugurates Covid Care Centre for children at IT Park in Mumbai University’s Kalina campus

• Stating that the threat of COVID-19 is not yet over, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray exhorted people to be responsible in their conduct.
• Covid Care Centre for children built at the IT Park in Mumbai University’s Kalina campus, he reminded people that the restrictions have been eased to give momentum to the wheels of economy.

About the CCC:

• The Covid Care Centre (CCC) for children has been built on an area of 5 thousand square feet and has 30 beds.
• There is enough area made available into the CCC for entertainment of children.
• The CCC also has a separate room for breast-feeding of children.
• Besides, even parents of children who are infected with COVID can stay at the CCC.
• In order to ensure that children do not feel that they have been admitted into a hospital, the walls in hospital have been painted with different colours, toys of various size and shapes have been kept for them to play and cardboard beds have been installed in the CCC.
• Children below 12 years will be admitted at this particular Covid Care Centre for their treatment.

About Maharashtra:

• Capital: Mumbai
• Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari
• Chief minister: Uddhav Thackeray
• National Parks: ChandoliNational Park, Gugamal National Park, Nawegaon National Park, Pench (Jawaharlal Nehru) National Park, Sanjay Gandhi (Borivali) National Park, Tadoba National Park

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BUSINESS NEWS

India’s foreign exchange reserves decrease by USD 2.099 billion 

• The forex kitty had increased by USD 889 million to a lifetime high of USD 621.464 billion in the previous reporting week.
• Foreign currency assets (FCAs), a major component of the overall reserves, decreased by USD 1.358 billion to USD 576.374 billion in the reporting week.
• Expressed in dollar terms, the foreign currency assets include the effect of appreciation or depreciation of non-US units like the euro, pound and yen held in the foreign exchange reserves.
• Value of the gold reserves declined for the second consecutive week, dropping USD 720 million to USD 36.336 billion, the data showed.
• The special drawing rights (SDRs) with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) dipped by USD 7 million to USD 1.544 billion.
• The country’s reserve position with the IMF also fell by USD 14 million to USD 5.111 billion.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING NEWS

Paytm and HDFC Bank enter into strategic partnership to deliver financial solutions across India

• Paytm and HDFC Bank announced a strategic partnership to deliver financial solutions across India.
• The giants will launch products across digital payments, lending and POS solutions.
• The combined network of both the companies is expected to have a wide reach.
• “The fusion of HDFC Bank’s network, products and credit appraisal capabilities and Patym’s technological platform will accelerate digital transformation in semi-urban and rural India while bringing more people into formal banking channels”.
• Through this partnership Paytm and HDFC Bank will build comprehensive solutions across payment gateways, POS machines, credit products such as Paytm Postpaid, Eazy EMI, Flexi Pay, and more.
• In the first leg, the companies will roll out a payment gateway and POS solutions for Indian merchant partners.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENT AND RESIGNATION NEWS

CVC re-appointed T M Bhasin as Chairman of Advisory Board for Banking Frauds

• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) re-appointed T M Bhasin as chairman of the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF), a panel constituted to examine bank frauds of over Rs 50 crore and recommend action.
• The re-appointment of Bhasin is with effect from August 21, for a further period of two years, as per the circular issued by CVC.

About Bhasin:

• Bhasin, a veteran banker, served as vigilance commissioner in the CVC for four years from June 2015 to June 2019. 
• Prior to vigilance commissioner, he was chairman and managing director of Chennai-based Indian Bank for more than five years.
• Other members of the said ABBFF will be Madhusudan Prasad, former secretary of Ministry of Urban Development; D K Pathak, former director-general of BSF; and David Rasquinha, former managing director of EXIM Bank.

BJP leader La Ganesan appointed as Manipur Governor

• Senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu La Ganesan was appointed as the new Governor of Manipur.
• The post of the governor had fallen vacant after the retirement of Najma Heptulla earlier this month.
• Ganesan will be the new “Governor of Manipur with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office”.
• Heptulla had demitted office on August 10 and on the same day the charge was given to Sikkim Governor Ganga Prasad.

About Manipur:           

• Capital: Imphal
• Chief minister: N. Biren Singh
• National Park: Keibul LamjaoNational Park

CURRENT AFFAIRS : APPS & SERVICES

Geological Survey of India develops GSI Mobile App (Beta Version) 

• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has developed GSI Mobile App (Beta Version).

Purpose :

• To create more awareness about its activities among the public and make its presence felt digitally.
• Draw the attention of the student community towards the subject of geology and its importance in nation building.

About GSI Mobile App :

• Through the App , people will become more enlightened about various facets of  GSI activities.
• It is also in line with the Digital India campaign initiated by the Central Government.
• The App is available for Android platform as of now and can be downloaded from Google Play Store.

About GSI :

• Founder: Thomas Oldham
• Founded: 4 March 1851
• Headquarters: Kolkata, West Bengal
• It has six regional offices located in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata.
• GSI is a 170-year old geological institution under the Ministry of Mines.

BPCL develops AI enabled chatbot ‘URJA’

• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has developed an AI-enabled chatbot, Urja.

Purpose :

• To provide its customers an interface for a seamless self-service experience and faster resolution of queries/issues.

About Urja :

• Urja is the first in the country’s oil and gas industry.
• URJA has been launched under the Project Anubhav of BPCL.
• Now, it supports 13 languages.

About Bharat Petroleum :

• Headquarters: Mumbai, Maharashtra
• Founded: 1952
• Chairman & MD : K Padmakar
• It is under the ownership of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Government of India.
• It was ranked 309th on the 2020 Fortune list of the world’s biggest corporations,and 792nd on Forbes’s 2021 “Global 2000” list.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : RANKING & INDEX

ARWU Ranking 2021: Harvard bags 1st rank Globally & IISC Bangalore Top Institute in India

• On 17th August, 2021, Shanghai Ranking Consultancy released the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2021.
• The Shanghai Ranking Consultancy, is one of the premier and globally recognized rankings of Higher Educational Institutes.

Global top 10 Universities :

1. Harvard University
2. Stanford University
3. Cambridge University
4. MIT
5. University of California
6. Princeton University
7. University of Oxford
8. Columbia University
9. California Institute of Technology
10. University of Chicago

• In the top 10 list, eight universities are from the US, while two are from the UK.

Top Indian Institutes :

1. IISc Bangalore (Rank 401-500)
2. University of Calcutta (Rank 601-700)

• ShanghaiRanking’s Academic Ranking of World Universities considers university that has any Nobel laureates, fields medalists, highly cited researchers, or papers published in nature or science, quality of education, quality of faculty, research output, per capita performance among other parameters

About ARWU :

• ARWU is one of the annual publications of world university rankings.
• It presents reviews of about 1,000 universities and educational institutes from all over the world.
• The league table was originally compiled and issued by Shanghai Jiao Tong University in 2003.
• Since 2009, ARWU has been published and copyrighted annually by Shanghai Ranking Consultancy.
• ARWU is regarded as one of the three most influential and widely observed university rankings, alongside QS World University Rankings and Times Higher Education World University Rankings

HDFC Life releases latest Life Freedom Index 2021 report             

• One of India’s leading private life insurance companies, HDFC Life, released the latest findings of its Life Freedom Index (LFI) study.
• The Life Freedom Index (LFI) enables the measurement of ‘financial freedom‘ of consumers across four key segments: Proud Parents, Wisdom Investors, Young Aspirants and Smart Women. 
• Four sub-indices: Financial Awareness Index, Financial Planning Index, Financial Sufficiency and Adequacy Index, and Financial Liberty Index.
• The latest 2021 LFI study was conducted along with NielsenIQ across 14 cities (including Metros, Tier 1 and Tier 2) with 1987 respondents.
• In 2021, the Life Freedom Index has seen a drop of 4.8 points vis-a-vis that of 2019 indicating the impact of COVID-19.
• Nuclear families have been the most impacted with an LFI drop of 10.5 points while joint families have been stable.
• The top three concerns for the future – economic slowdown, job insecurity and fear of debt due to lack of income.
• Financial awareness has increased during the last two waves.
• Familiarity with term insurance has increased by 11 points.

About HDFC Life Insurance Company Limited :

• Head – Marketing, Digital Business & E-commerce – HDFC Life : Vishal Subharwal
• Headquarters: Mumbai
• CEO: Vibha Padalkar
• Founded: 2000

CURRENT AFFAIRS : ENVIRONMENT

A New species of algae discovered on Andaman and Nicobar islands

• A team of marine biologists from the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, has discovered a new species of marine green algae named Acetabularia jalakanyakae from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
• It was named after the Sanskrit word ‘Jalakanyaka’ meaning the ‘goddess of oceans’ or ‘mermaid’.
• This discovery was described in an article in the Indian Journal of Geo-Marine Sciences.

About Acetabularia jalakanyakae :

• It has caps with intricate designs as if they were umbrellas of a mermaid.
• The plant consists of a single gigantic cell with a nucleus.

Note :

• The largest and most complex marine algae are called seaweeds

About Algae :

• Algae are the source of more than half of the world’s oxygen through photosynthesis & they turn carbon dioxide into biomass and release oxygen.

A new plant of Brachystelma identified in Tumakuru, Karnataka

• A new plant of the Brachystelma R.Br. The species has been found in Tumakuru, Karnataka and it has been named after the district.
• The findings were published in ‘RHEEDEA Journal of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy’

About Brachystelma tumakurense :

• tumakurense’ comes from a tuber and belongs to the Apocynaceae family (a family of flowering plants).
• Brachystelma R.Br. is the second largest genus in the tribe Ceropegieae with over 116 species distributed in the old-world tropics.
• They are slender stemmed with a brilliant display of colours in their flowers, especially in their corolla and coronal structures.
• It is mainly distributed in Peninsular India in dry hill ranges.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : BOOKS & AUTHORS

Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest Authored by Boria Majumdar & Kushan Sarkar

• A New Book Titled Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest authored by Boria Majumdar & Kushan Sarkar.
• The Book Published by Simon & Schuster Publisher India Private Limited.

About the Book :

• The Book talks about the short story of several indian cricketers life events such as Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, R. Ashwin, Cheteshwar Pujara.

About Boria Majumdar :

• Boria Majumdar is an Indian sports journalist, academician and author.
• He was awarded the Rhodes scholar in 1999-2000.
• He co-authored Playing It My Way, the autobiography of former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar along with Sachin.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : SPORTS NEWS

Karnataka makes panel to pick 75 players for Paris Olympics 2024

• The Karnataka government has drafted a high-level committee to select 75 promising athletes for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
• It is the initiative comes under Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai‘s ‘Amrith Sports Adoption’ programme.
• Youth empowerment and sports minister C. Narayana Gowda heads the committee along with senior officials and the head of the Karnataka Olympic Association.
• The eight-member committee also has three sports personalities in the form of Arjuna awardees, hockey playerR. Raghunath, badminton player Anup Sridhar, and swimming coach Nihar Ameen who is a Dronacharya awardee.
• The 75 selected sports persons will be awarded Rs 5 lakh towards expenses such as training, supplements, and sports kit.

CURRENT AFFAIRS : OBITUARIES

Former UP CM Kalyan Singh passes away

• On Aug 21, 2021, Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh passed away.
• He was 89.

About Kalyan Singh :

• Kalyan Singh was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
• He served twice ( June 1991 to December 1992 and September 1997 to November 1999 ) as the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh during the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992 and as a Member of Parliament.
• Also, he had served as the governor of Rajasthan.

Daily CA On Aug 21 :

• World Senior Citizens’ Day is celebrated on August 21 & the theme is, “Pandemics: Do They Change How We Address Age and Ageing?”
• International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism Observed on Aug 21
• Sanskrit Week has been celebrated from August 19 to August 25 to promote and popularise the ancient language.
• The Union Heavy Industries Minister Mahendra Nath Pandey inaugurated the country’s very first Solar Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Station at the Karnal Lake Resort.
• In a major boost to the employment-generating textiles sector, the government constituted an eight-member committee to double the production and quadruple the exports of handlooms in three years.
• The Union Cabinet has approved implementation of the National Mission on Edible Oils – Oil Palm.
• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate the country’s first smog tower on August 23, 2021, at Baba Kharak Singh Marg, Connaught Place.
• Faridabad Smart City Limited has roped in an unlikely collaborator to help promote its initiatives on social media – comic hero Chacha Chaudhary.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple projects in Somnath, Gujarat via video conferencing.
• The Aligarh district panchayat has sent a proposal to the Uttar Pradesh government, seeking a change in the name of the city to ‘Harigarh’.
• Union Minister Jitendra Singh has stated that the government will set up a separate Civil Services Exam Centre for Ladakh to be located at Leh. 
• The Tamil Nadu government has constituted a seven-member committee to study the exploration of hydrocarbon projects which will be headed by Sultan Ahmed Ismail, part-time member, State Development Policy Council.
• Facebook India announced a new programme called the “Small Business Loans Initiative”, in partnership with online lending platform Indifi, to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) that advertise on Facebook to get quick access to credit through independent lending partners.
• NPCI’s global arm NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has partnered with UAE-based Mashreq Bank to provide its mobile-based real-time payment system UPI in the gulf nation.
• The Reserve Financial institution of India (RBI) is putting in a Platform for Regulated Entities for Built-in Supervision and Monitoring (PRISM), a web-based end-to-end workflow automation system, to strengthen compliance by supervised entities (SEs).
• The 15th Finance Commission chairman, NK Singh, was elected as the president of the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) Society on August 16.
• Broadcast Audience Research Council announced the appointment of Nakul Chopra as its chief executive.
• Apurva Chandra, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre, has been appointed the secretary of information and broadcasting ministry. 
• On Aug 18, 2021, Minister of State for Culture, Arjun Ram Meghwal participated in the SCO Culture Ministers Meeting hosted by Tajikistan during their ongoing Chairship of SCO in 2021 through virtual mode.
• On Aug 18, 2021, Chiefs of the Indian and Australian navies signed a Joint Guidance for the Australia- India Navy to Navy Relationship’ document.
• Indian cinema icon Amitabh Bachchan has become India’s First Celebrity to lend his voice for Amazon’s Alexa.
• Kotak Mahindra Bank has partnered with fintech firm Creditas Solutions to launch a digital repayment platform called ‘Neo Collections’ which is a Do It Yourself Digital Repayment Platform for missed loan repayments.
• According to the Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021, Globally, Apple was ranked the most valuable company, up 15 percent to $2.4 trillion.
• Out of 154 Countries India has been ranked second in terms of crypto adoption in the 2021 Global Crypto Adoption Index by blockchain data platform Chainalysis.
• The Indian 4x400m mixed relay team clinched the bronze medal with a timing of 3:20.60 seconds at the World Athletics U20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
• India’s Manika Batra and Sathiyan Gnanasekaran won the mixed doubles title at the 2021 WTT Contender event in Hungary’s Budapest.
• On Aug 19, 2021, Renowned athletics coach & Sprint queen P.T. Usha’s coach M. Nambiar passed away.

Daily CA On Aug 22 & 23 :

• World Sanskrit Day or Sanskrit Diwas is also known as Viswa Samskrita Dinam Observed on Aug 22
• The International Day Commemorating the Victims of Acts of Violence Based on Religion or Belief, observed on August 22
• August 23 is marked as the International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition.
• Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur will kick off a series of activities to celebrate the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ starting from August 23 to Aug 29.
• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh flagged off from his residence here a fleet of five trauma care ambulances donated to the Army by a non-profit group for deployment in Jammu and Kashmir.
• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will launch the National Monetization Pipeline (NMP) in New Delhi.
• The Ministry of Panchayati Raj is organizing a National Webinar, ‘Localization of Sustainable Development Goals and Role of Panchayats – Goal No. 2 – Zero Hunger’ on 23.08.2021.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched an ambitious ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ -USF for export-oriented firms and startups in a program at Lucknow.
• Former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was appointed as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia.
• World Bank launches New Cyber security Multi-Donor Trust Fund under the broader Digital Development Partnership (DDP).
• President of the UN Security Council & External affairs minister (EAM) of India, Jaishankar, slammed China for its terror stand.
• Swedish green steel venture HYBRIT, that it had made the ‘world’s first’ customer delivery of steel produced without using coal. 
• India’s highest altitude herbal park, located at the height of 11,000 feet near the Indo-China border in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli district, was launched.
• Assam will start rolling out benefits under the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) scheme.
• The Assam government has also announced COVID relief package where drivers and helpers of privately operated buses will get one-time relief of Rs 10,000.
• NTPC Limited has started operations at India’s largest floating solar PV project at its Simhadri thermal station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• The Chief Minister of Haryana Shri Manohar Lal Khattar has announced to rename the Hisar Airport as Maharaja Agrasen International Airport. 
• The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation -GHMC has taken up a novel initiative to get rid of diseases like Malaria and Dengue, implementing ‘Every Sunday at 10 AM for 10 mnts” campaign. 
• Maharashtra CM Uddhav Thackeray inaugurates Covid Care Centre for children at IT Park in Mumbai University’s Kalina campus
• India’s foreign exchange reserves decreased by USD 2.099 billion to stand at USD 619.365 billion
• Paytm and HDFC Bank announced a strategic partnership to deliver financial solutions across India.
• The Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) re-appointed T M Bhasin as chairman of the Advisory Board for Banking and Financial Frauds (ABBFF), a panel constituted to examine bank frauds of over Rs 50 crore and recommend action.
• Senior BJP leader from Tamil Nadu La Ganesan was appointed as the new Governor of Manipur.
• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) has developed GSI Mobile App (Beta Version), To create more awareness about its activities among the public and make its presence felt digitally.
• Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has developed an AI-enabled chatbot, Urja, to provide its customers an interface for a seamless self-service experience and faster resolution of queries/issues.
• On 17th August, 2021, Shanghai Ranking Consultancy released the Academic Ranking of World Universities (ARWU) 2021, Harvard bags 1st rank Globally & IISC Bangalore Top Institute in India
• One of India’s leading private life insurance companies, HDFC Life, released the latest findings of its Life Freedom Index (LFI) study.
• A team of marine biologists from the Central University of Punjab, Bathinda, has discovered a new species of marine green algae named Acetabularia jalakanyakae from Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 
• A new plant of the Brachystelma R.Br. The species has been found in Tumakuru, Karnataka and it has been named after the district.
• A New Book Titled Mission Domination: An Unfinished Quest authored by Boria Majumdar & Kushan Sarkar.
• The Karnataka government has drafted a high-level committee to select 75 promising athletes for the upcoming Paris Olympics 2024.
• On Aug 21, 2021, Former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh passed away.