August 2022 Current Affairs MCQ Questions and Answers online Test

Recently, the Prime Minister has laid the foundation stone of the headquarters building of the International Financial Services Centers Authority (IFSCA) in GIFT City, Gandhinagar.

The building has been conceptualized as an iconic structure, reflective of the growing prominence and stature of GIFT-IFSC as a leading International Financial Centre.

He also launched the India International Bullion Exchange (IIBX), India’s first International Bullion Exchange in GIFT-IFSC the NSE IFSC-SGX Connect.

Recently, a report titled ’’The Annual Review of State Laws, 2021’’ was released by PRS Legislative Research.

As per the report, Kerala got first place in 2021, with its House sitting for 61 days, the highest for any State.

Kerala had also promulgated 144 ordinances, the highest in the country last year.

Highlights of the Report -

States such as Manipur, Odisha, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh have laid down a minimum number of sitting days through the Rules of Procedure, varying from 40 days in Punjab to 90 days in Uttar Pradesh.

Google Street View is launched in ten cities of India under the Guidelines of the National Geospatial Policy (NGP), 2021.

NGP 2021 lets Indian companies collect map data and license it to others.

About National Geospatial Policy 2021 -

The National Geospatial Policy, 2021 liberalises the geospatial sector and democratises the datasets generated by use of public funds.

The Policy seeks to empower citizens and enterprises to create, access and use geospatial data and information for addressing developmental needs of the country while also safeguarding its security interests.

The Survey of India topographic data will be made widely and easily accessible.

Geospatial data and information produced using public funds will be shared as per the National Data Sharing and Accessibility Policy (2012).

India’s Sanket Mahadev Sargar has won India’s first medal in weightlifting at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games with a silver in 55 Kg weight category.

He lifted a total of 248 Kg in the finals and landed the medal despite injury.

Malaysia’s Aniq Kasdan has won gold in the event with a combined lift of 249 kg.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Men’s 55kg Weightlifting Finals

Gold Medal- Malaysia’s Aniq Kasdan with 249 kg

Silver Medal- India’s Sanket Sargar with 248 kg

Bronze Medal- Sri Lanka’s Dilanka Kumara with 225 kg

The Gujarat government has announced a dedicated ’Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-27’ with a view to generating at least 2,00,000 new employment opportunities during a period of five years.

The Gujarat government has also decided to develop a “semicon city” which would be a part of the Dholera Special Investment Region.

The projects approved under the Design-linked Incentive scheme of the Government of India will not be eligible for availing of the benefits under the new policy, said the state government press release.

Dinesh Shahra Foundation (DSF) has taken a major stride in its efforts to promote soulful Indian music among the masses.

The Foundation has instituted a first-of-its-kind ’Dinesh Shahra Lifetime Award’ for Excellence in Music.

The initiative is supported by the Indian Arts & Cultural Society.

The Announcement of this novel recognition was made by Mr Dinesh Shahra, Trustee –DSF during a cultural event titled “Mausiqui’ in Mumbai recently.

Key Points -

DSF, as a part of its mission to create a value-based social structure, has taken up the cause of supporting senior artists in cooperation with the Indian Arts & Cultural Society.

A rare pure pink diamond, believed to be the largest found in 300 years, has been unearthed in Angola, a country in Central Africa.

The Lulo Rose is a type 2a diamond, meaning it has few or no impurities.

It is the fifth largest diamond recovered from the Lulo mine – a joint venture between

Australia’s Lucapa Diamond Company and the Angolan government.

Dimensions of Lulo Rose -

It is a 170-carat pink diamond & has been named "The Lulo Rose".

It weighs 34 grams.

Similar diamonds have been bought for tens of millions of dollars in the past, with one – known as Pink Star – selling at a Hong Kong auction for $71.2m (£59m) in 2017.

Coca-Cola has signed Olympic gold medalist, Neeraj Chopra for Limca Sportz promotion.

Recently, Neeraj Chopra has become the first-ever Indian to win a silver medal at World Athletics Championships with his best throw of 88.13 m. Also, Neeraj Chopra has been ruled out of the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 in England due to an injury he picked up at World Athletics Championships.

Coca-Cola India and its bottling partners are investing around $1 billion (around Rs 7,990 crore) to expand the production capacity by up to 40 per cent.

Besides, the beverage major is also launching Limca Sportz, which comes with glucose and electrolytes.

To educate the state’s women about their constitutional rights and laws, the Chhattisgarh Women Commission will host the Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath Yatra.

On the occasion of the Hareli Tihaar festival, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel will set off the “Mukhyamantri Mahtari Nyay Rath“. Through short films, messages, and booklets, the chariots will visit all of the districts to educate people about the legal protections for women and their constitutional rights.

Key Points -

Two attorneys will ride in each chariot, listening to women’s complaints and offering information and counsel.

Pranay Kumar Verma, an experienced diplomat and IFS official from the 1994 batch, has been chosen to serve as India’s next High Commissioner to Bangladesh.

He is currently the ambassador of India to Vietnam.

The Delhi-based Ministry of External Affairs made this announcement.

Vikram Doraiswami, the current High Commissioner of India to the UK, is rumoured to be taking over, thus he is expected to start the job soon in his stead.

Key Points -

In addition to Washington DC, Ambassador Pranay Kumar Verma has held diplomatic positions in Kathmandu, Hong Kong, San Francisco, and Beijing.

Point 5140 in Drass, Kargil Sector has renamed as "Gun Hill" to commemorate the victory of the Indian Armed forces and pay homage to the supreme sacrifice of the Gunners in "Operation Vijay" during the 1999 Kargil War.

The capture of Point 5140 was the key factor in the early completion of operations in the 1999 Kargil war.

The Artillery regiment with its lethal and accurate firepower had a major effect on the enemy troops and their defences, by focusing lethal fire on the enemy and their strong points like point 5140.

India’s Jeremy Lalrinnunga has won the gold medal in men’s 67 kg category weightlifting at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

The 19-year-old Youth Olympic champion lifted a total of 300kg (140kg+160kg) to get the first position.

This is the second gold for the country and fifth medal overall.

Samoan weightlifter Vaipava Nevo Ioane secured a silver medal with a lift of 293 (127kg + 166kg) and Nigeria’s Edidiong Joseph Umoafia won bronze, 290kg (130kg+160kg).

Daughter of India, weightlifter Mirabai Chanu has won India’s first Gold Medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022 in the Women’s 49Kg weightlifting category.

She aggregated a total of 201kg (88kg+113kg) to stamp her authority in the competition and achieve a Commonwealth Games record in the process.

The silver went to Mauritius’ Marie Hanitra Roilya Ranaivosoa (172kg) and the bronze to Canada’s Hannah Kaminski (171 kg).

Last year, Chanu won a silver medal in the 49kg category of Women’s weightlifting event at the Tokyo Olympics.

Another Weightlifter of India, Bindyarani Devi (55kg) has clinched a silver in the women’s 55kg as India continued its medal rush at the Commonwealth Games.

She lifted a total weight of 202kg (86kg+116kg).

Nigeria’s Adijat Adenike Olarinoye also obliterated the Games record in snatch and total effort with an aggregate of 203kg (92kg+111kg) to win the gold medal.

Local favourite Fraer Morrow finished third with a total lift of 198kg (86kg+109kg).

India’s weightlifter, Achinta Sheuli (73 Kg representative) bagged the gold medal in The Commonwealth Games 2022.

The 20-year-old claimed the yellow metal with a combined effort of 313 Kilograms (143kg in snatch and 170kg in clean & jerk).

India has been performing exceptionally well in weightlifting as the contingent has already bagged 6 medals in this edition.

Malaysia’s Erry Hidayat Muhammad, who gave Sheuli a tough competition, ended as the second-best lifter in the event.

He had the best effort of 303kg (138kg 165kg).

Canada’s Shad Darsigny was third with a total lift of 298kg (135kg 163kg).

Max Verstappen (Red Bull – Netherlands) has won the Formula One (F1) 2022 Hungarian Grand Prix 2022.

This is his overall 28th race win and the 10th win of the 2022 season.

Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) stood second and George Russell (Mercedes – Britain) came third.

Sanjay Arora, a Tamil Nadu-cadre IPS officer who oversaw the paramilitary ITBP, will assume control of the Delhi Police as Delhi Police commissioner.

He is scheduled to retire in 2025.

Sanjay Arora was named commissioner of the Delhi Police, replacing the previous Delhi Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana, an IPS officer from the Gujarat Cadre who retired after nearly 38 years of service.

Key Points-

Rakesh Asthana, the departing commissioner of the Delhi Police, said that despite his retirement, he still has a strong desire to serve the public and the force.

In an usual event at Rajarathinam Stadium in Chennai, Chief Minister MK Stalin received the renowned “President’s Colours” for the Tamil Nadu Police from Vice-President of India M Venkaiah Naidu.

One of the very few law enforcement agencies in the nation to be awarded the coveted “President’s Colours” is the Tamil Nadu Police.

To commemorate the achievement, Mr. Stalin declared that each police officer in the service would get a medal.

Key Points -

One of the very few police departments in the nation to be awarded the coveted “President’s Colours” is the Tamil Nadu Police.

Bonalu Festival is celebrated in Telangana, specifically in the twin cities of Hyderabad and Secunderabad, and is dedicated to Goddess MahaKali.

The festival is celebrated usually during Ashada Masam (July-August).

In 2022, the festival began on July 3 and will end on July 24, 2022.

Bonam means a feast or a meal in Telugu, an offering to the Goddess, cooked with milk, or jaggery in an earthen or brass pot.

The pot is decorated with turmeric, Neem leaves, and vermillion.

Other famous festivals of Telangana -

In Telangana, one can clearly witness the composite, pluralistic and inclusive culture and traditions.

The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe has launched the gold coins called Mosi-oa-Tunya to be sold to the public in a bid to tackle chronic hyperinflation.

Mosi-oa-Tunya, which in the local Tonga language refers to Victoria Falls.

The coins will have liquid asset status, meaning they will be capable of being easily converted to cash and will be tradable locally and internationally.

For this, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe disbursed 2,000 coins to commercial banks.

The gold coins which have been introduced by the Reserve Bank can only be traded after keeping them for a minimum of 180 days.

India’s medal tally at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games 2022 has risen to nine medals, including three gold, three silver and three bronze.

Sanket Sargar was the first Indian to win a medal with silver in the men’s 55kg weightlifting event and Mirabai Chanu won India’s first gold at the women’s 49kg weightlifting final.

Indian athletes added three medals on Day 4 of the ongoing Commonwealth Games 2022, including one silver and two bronze.

Satyendra Prakash assumed charge as Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau.

He is an Indian Information Service officer of the 1988 batch.

Prior to this, Mr. Prakash held the position of Principal DG, Central Bureau of Communication.

Satyendra Prakash comes with a varied experience in the field of public communication, media management, administration, policy formulation and programme implementation. He has represented the Government of India in various national and international forums such as UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, among others. He has been instrumental in formulation of draft Guidelines for Content Regulation of Government Advertising, Internet and Digital Media Policy, FM Radio Policy, Digital Cinema Policy, among others for the Central Bureau of Communication.

Director General of Sashastra Seema Bal, SSB Dr. Sujoy Lal Thaosen took over the additional charge of Director General of Indo-Tibetan Border Police in New Delhi.

Dr. Thaosen is an IPS Officer of the 1988 batch, Madhya Pradesh Cadre. IPS Sanjay Arora handed over the charge and customary baton to Dr. Thaosen.

Raised in 1962, the ITBP guards Indo-China borders. It is also deployed in various internal security duties including anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh.

The Gujarat International Finance-Tec City (GIFT City) in Ahmedabad is home to the Deutsche Bank AG’s IFSC Banking Unit (IBU), which was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The IBU will first offer financial products in the areas of trade finance, fixed income, and currencies, according to Deutsche Bank AG.

According to a release, the IBU will offer all authorised international finance products to Deutsche Bank’s clients in India and abroad.

Additionally, it will enable cash pooling and other deposit proposals for Indian and foreign clients within the parameters of the current regulations.

Former Philippine President Fidel Valdez Ramos, has passed away due to the complications of COVID-19. He was 94.

Ramos served as the 12th president of the Philippines from 1992 to 1998. He was a military officer by profession.

During his tenure, the Philippines was recognized as a budding “tiger economy”.

Ramos became a hero to many for defecting from Marcos’s government, in which he led the national police force, spurring the dictator’s downfall during the 1986 popular uprising against his rule.

The Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has constituted a special task force (STF) to monitor monkeypox cases in India.

NITI Aayog member (health) VK Paul will be the head the task force.

Other members of the STF will include officials from the Health ministry and representatives of the major medical and research institutes in the country.

The STF has been tasked to monitor and provide guidance to the government on the expansion of diagnostic facilities and to explore vaccination for the infection in the country.

The biennial Pacific Dragon ballistic missile defense exercise between the military of South Korea, the United States and Japan is being held from August 01 to August 14, 2022 off the coast of Hawaii. Pacific Dragon is basically a trilateral ballistic missile defense (BMD) tracking event between the U.S. Navy, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and Republic of Korea Navy.

However, apart from the three countries, Canada and Australia is also taking part in the multilateral drill in 2022, which is being led by the US Pacific Fleet .

Bhavik Koladiya, one of the founders of fintech unicorn BharatPe, has quit.

Bhavik Koladiya has been associated with BharatPe as an Independent Consultant, guiding Product and Technology teams. His contract tenure ended on July 31, 2022 and he expressed his desire to spend time on other assignments outside BharatPe His resignation comes months after the exit of BharatPe’s other Co-founder Ashneer Grover.

Any designated foreign airline can operate to/from a point in India if it is designated as a point of call in the bilateral Air Services Agreement (ASA) signed between India and the country which has designated the airline. India has signed ASAs with 116 foreign countries. Indian designated carriers are free to mount scheduled operations to/from any international airport, including Kannur International Airport, under the ambit of bilateral ASAs concluded by India with foreign countries. Currently, due to significant imbalance in the number of points of call in favour of foreign carriers, the Government of India is not granting any non-metro airport as a new point of call to any foreign carrier for the purpose of operating passenger services.

The 4th Edition of India-Oman Joint Military Exercise ’AL NAJAH-IV’ begins in Rajasthan at the Foreign Training Node of Mahajan Field Firing Ranges.

The exercise takes place between contingents of the Indian Army and the Royal Army of Oman from August 01 to 13, 2022. The 3rd edition of Ex AL NAJAH IV was held at Muscat from 12 to 25 March 2019.

Important points of exercise -

The Indian Army will be represented by troops from the 18 Mechanised Infantry Battalion at the AL NAJAH-IV.

Lovepreet Singh has won bronze in the men’s 109kg weightlifting final with a total lift of 355kg, taking India’s medal tally in the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Cameroon’s Junior has taken the lead with a total lift of 361kg. Samoa’s Jack Opeloge is second with a total lift of 358kg. Lovepreet Singh is third with a total lift of 355kg.

Australia’s Jackson is the last man standing, trying to win a bronze. The Indian weightlifting contingent has now won a total of 9 medals.

The government of India released a special commemorative postage stamp to mark the 146th birth anniversary of Pingali Venkayya, the designer of India’s national flag. The stamp was released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during an event “Tiranga Utsav” organised by the Ministry of Culture at Indira Gandhi Stadium, in New Delhi. The event will also display the original design of the national flag made by Pingali Venkayya. The current flag is the modified version of the first design of the flag.

Reliance Jio, owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, became the highest bidder for 5G spectrum, paying Rs 88,078 crore to buy over half of the airwaves offered in the most recent auction. The Adani group paid Rs 212 crore for 400 MHz, or less than 1% of all spectrum sold, according to Telecom Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Jio has also acquired the 700 MHz band.

Key Points -

While Jio purchased spectrum across several bands, including the coveted 700 MHz band, which can provide 6-10 km of signal range and serves as a good foundation for fifth generation (5G) in all 22 circles in the country.

The fourth edition of the ONGC Para Games was officially launched in New Delhi’s Thyagaraj Sports Complex by Union Minister of Petroleum, Natural Gas, Housing, and Urban Affairs Shri Hardeep Singh Puri.

The 4th ONGC Para Games are being held by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) from August 2-4, 2022, and feature 275 Persons with Disabilities (PwD) who work for eight central oil and gas public organisations.

Key Points -

ONGC Para Games is a fantastic platform for bringing inclusivity and equity to the human resource of the public businesses under the Ministry, according to Shri Hardeep Singh Puri, who opened the 4th ONGC Para Games.

A book titled “Lion of the Skies: Hardit Singh Malik, the Royal Air Force and the First World War” is all about an “India’s first fighter pilot” who participated in the World War, long before the Indian Air Force was born.

The book has been written by author Stephen Barker, who describes in great detail, how challenging it was for an Indian to serve in the British armed forces, fighting racial discrimination – both institutional and interpersonal.

Marine biologist Ellen Prager has come up with a book titled “Dangerous Earth: What we wish we knew about volcanoes, hurricanes, climate change, earthquakes and more”.

In the book, the author seeks to respond to the most compelling question: Why can’t we better predict natural disasters?

Indian badminton team claimed the silver medal in the mixed group match of the Commonwealth Games 2022.

Indian badminton mixed team suffered a 1-3 defeat against Malaysia and had to settle for silver.

Only PV Sindhu managed to earn a win in the summit clash against Malaysia in the women’s singles match.

India’s lawn bowls women’s fours team made history by winning the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

This was the country’s first medal in the lawn bowls event and the team, made of skipper Rupa Rani Tirkey, Lovely Choubey, Pinki and Nayanmoni Saikia, ended up winning the title itself after beating 2018 silver medallists South Africa.

The Indian team won against South Africa with a 17-10 victory.

In the final day game, India had started strong but South Africa produced a brilliant fightback as both the teams were on 10 points after end 12.

Commonwealth Games 2022: Weightlifter Vikas Thakur has won the silver medal in the men’s 96 kg category.

Thakur lifted a total weight of 346 kg.He completed a best snatch attempt of 155 kg and a clean & jerk attempt of 191 kg. Samoa’s Don Opeloge won the gold medal with a total lift of 381 kg. He was placed joint-third with Fiji’s Rainibogi after the snatch round. In the clean & jerk round, Thakur started with an attempt of 187 kg and succeeded. He also took a 2 kg advantage over Fiji’s weightlifter.

The Reserve Bank of India has released the Composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) for the year ended 31st March 2022. India’s Financial Inclusion Index has improved to 56.4 from 53.9 in the previous year 2021.

The improvement has been seen across all its sub-indices (Access, Usage and Equality).

Financial Inclusion Index -

It is a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in consultation with the government and respective sectoral regulators.

It was developed by the RBI in 2021, without any ’base year’, and is published in July every year.

Justice Uday U Lalit is set to become the 49th Chief Justice of India. The Chief Justice of India NV Ramana recommended Justice UU Lalit’s name as his successor.

The current Chief Justice of India NV Ramana is scheduled to retire on August 27, 2022. The new Chief Justice of India will have a short tenure of lesser than three months. He will be the only second judge after Justice SM Sikri (CJI from 1971-1973) to be elevated from the bar to the post of the Chief Justice of India.

India has designated 10 more wetlands as Ramsar sites, taking the total tally of Ramsar Sites in India to 64.

The Ramsar sites in India now cover a total area of 12,50,361 ha.The 10 new Ramsar sites in India include six in Tamil Nadu and one each in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka. India had earlier designated five new Ramsar sites, three wetlands in Tamil Nadu, one in Mizoram and one in Madhya Pradesh. The designation of these sites as Ramsar sites will help in conservation and management of these wetlands of international importance under the Ramsar Convention, which is also

known as The Convention on Wetlands.

The world’s largest floating solar power plant will be built on Omkareshwar Dam on the Narmada River in Khandwa, Madhya Pradesh at an estimated cost of over Rs 3000 crores. The floating power plant is expected to generate about 600 Megawatt of power by 2022-23.

The world’s largest floating solar power in India is being built to increase the power generation capacity and address electricity problems in Madhya Pradesh.

Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) jumped 51 places to be ranked at 104th position in the Fortune Global 500 List 2022. The Fortune 500 companies list 2022 comprises ranking of top 500 companies for the year 2022.

Reliance Industries was ranked at 155th position in Fortune Global 500 List 2021. This year, it has jumped to 104th rank. The Mukesh Ambani-led company is India’s highest-ranked private sector company in the Fortune 500 companies list.

Around one crore Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) have registered on the Udyam portal within a span of 25 months, according to the Union Minister of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises.

Vigilance Commissioner, Suresh N. Patel was appointed as the Central Vigilance Commissioner.

He has been working as the acting Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC) since June this year.

He was sworn in as the chief of the Central Vigilance Commission by President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu.

Previous Central Vigilance Commissioner - Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Sanjay Kothari had completed his term as the CVC on June 24 last year.

When it comes to using cash for agricultural infrastructure, Andhra Pradesh comes out on top (Agri Infra Fund). By placing a strong emphasis on infrastructure development at the farm gate, it has become the best state.At a ceremony in New Delhi, Union Minister of Agriculture and Family Welfare Narendra Singh Tomar presented B Srinivasa Rao, CEO of State Rythu Bazars, with the award for the best state in the nation in terms of utilising Agri Funds in the fiscal year 2021–22.

Key Points -

Many states are falling behind in using agri-infra funding, according to Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar, but Andhra Pradesh has surpassed all others by doing so and building extensive infrastructure at the rural level.

31 July was designated Chabahar Day in Mumbai by the Ministry of Port, Shipping, and Waterways (MoPSW) to commemorate the Chabahar – Link to International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) – Connecting Central Asian Markets. According to the MoPSW press release, Sonwal mentioned in his talk that India’s ambition is to turn Shahid Beheshti Port in Chabahar into a transit centre and connect it to INSTC to reach out to Central Asian countries.

India’s Saurav Ghosal has clinched the bronze medal in squash men’s singles by beating James Willstrop of England 11-6, 11-1, 11-4 to take India’s Commonwealth Games 2022. This was also India’s first-ever medal in squash singles at the Games. He had lost the men’s singles semi-final 3-0 (11-9 11-4 11-1) to New Zealand’s Paul Coll.

The career of Saurav Ghosal -

Saurav Ghosal (born 10 August 1986, in Kolkata, West Bengal) is a professional squash player from India and reached a career-high world ranking of World No 10 in April 2019. In 2013, Saurav became the first Indian to reach the Quarterfinals of the World Squash Championship at Manchester, England.

Tania Sachdev has registered a 2.5-1.5 win for India against Hungary in the fourth-round match of women section at the 44th Chess Olympiad in Mamallapuram, Chennai.She thrashed Zsoka Gaal to earn a decisive point as well as a match for the team. Koneru Humpy, Dronavalli Harika and R Vaishali ended with a draw in their respective encounters.

With India’s Independence Day approaching, ISRO will be launching a unique Satellite called AzaadiSAT on 7th August 2022.

The launch of AzaadiSATcomes as part of the on-going Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, which marks the 75th anniversary of Independence.

AzaadiSAT is a microsatellite which has been designed, developed and built by 750 girl students from 75 schools across India.

The 8 Kg Satellite will be launched into space using the newly developed latest Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV) from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota.

Recently, India hosted the 1st Session of “India-Mauritius High-Powered Joint Trade Committee” under the “India-Mauritius Comprehensive Economic Cooperation and Partnership Agreement (CECPA)”.

Bilateral merchandise trade between India and Mauritius rose to USD 786.72 million in 2021-22 from USD 690.02 million in 2019-20.

Both sides agreed to enhance bilateral collaboration to further increase bilateral trade and realize the true potential of the bilateral relationship especially under the CECPA.

The world’s largest floating solar power plant is going to be built at Khandwa in Madhya Pradesh.

With an aim to increase the power generation capacity of the central state of Madhya Pradesh and address the electricity problems in the region.

A floating solar power plant is going to be built in Khandwa which will generate 600 Megawatt power by 2022-23.

The project which is said to world’s largest floating solar plant will be constructed at an estimated cost of over Rs 3,000 crore over the Omkareshwar Dam and it will help generate.

Khandwa will become the only district in the state to have all three things including solar, hydel and thermal with over 4,000MW power to be produced from a single district.

CoinDCX, an Indian homegrown crypto exchange company, has announced to host "UNFOLD 2022" from 26th August 2022 to 28th August 2022 in Bangalore.

The UNFOLD 2022 is a mega event in which the developers, investors, web3 startups, and regulators will showcase their ideas and discuss how can India can leverage its Web 3 talent and become a known global leader.

UNFOLD 2022 will be a platform for all the developers and industrialists to know more about the web 3.0 trends and to understand the readiness of India of facing challenges and excepting opportunities for the web 3.0 startup ecosystem.

International Dairy Federation World Dairy Summit (IDF WDS 2022), is scheduled to be held in New Delhi from September 12.

India will look to improve its per animal milk productivity by drawing lessons from advanced nations.

Currently, the world’s largest milk producer with about 210 million tonnes of production per year, India lags behind many advanced countries in dairy productivity.

This, according to dairy sector leaders, will be a key takeaway for the country from the Summit that has a theme of “livelihood and nutrition”.

Before this, India hosted the International Dairy Congress in 1974.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the emergency delivery of petroleum products via Bangladeshi territory to India was signed by the Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) and the Bangladesh Roads and Highways department in Dhaka. The Indian High Commission stated in a tweet that this is an interim setup to help with the urgent supply of petroleum products due to damage caused by the flood in Assam this year. Oil tankers will enter from Meghalaya and travel into Bangladeshi territory on their way to Tripura.

For use of Bangladeshi land, the IOCL shall be responsible for paying all administrative costs, fees, and local taxes, including the road usage fee.

Amazon India has engaged with the Railway of India to boost its delivery services in the country. Through this partnership, Amazon India will be able to transport packages on more than 110 inter-city routes, ensuring one to two-day delivery for its customer. Amazon began working with the Indian Railways in 2019. The company has increased its transportation lanes five-fold.

In accordance with the objectives of Atmanirbhar Bharat, the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and the Indian Navy have signed an MoU to cooperate on aviation research and development and to intensify self-reliance efforts for the Indian Navy. The inked MoU gives the Indian Navy a legal framework for communication with the appropriate IISc faculty members and will support collaborative research initiatives in areas of shared interest, according to a statement from the Bengaluru-based institution.

The areas of cooperation outlined in this memorandum, including design and educational technologies, will be in the field of aerospace/aeronautical engineering.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) and the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur, paves the way for the exchange of creative ideas and collaboration on the creation of homegrown digital payment solutions.

The collaboration will also aid in strengthening cybersecurity safeguards for the goods and services provided by NPCI and its affiliates. The MoU will spur NPCI and IIT Kanpur to work together on a variety of projects.

Key Points -

With the help of this partnership, distinguished faculty members from the institute will conduct in-depth educational sessions and give lectures to NPCI staff on cybersecurity and the most recent developments in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Security Product Roadmaps, and Distributed ledger technologies (DLT).

Nalin Negi has been appointed as the new chief financial officer (CFO) of Fintech startup BharatPe.

Earlier he was the CFO of credit card issuer SBI Card.

In his new role, Negi will be working towards making the company’s EBITDA positive by March 2023 and leading the financial readiness for the company, which is getting ready for an initial public offering (IPO). Ebitda stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. He will report to Suhail Sameer, CEO, BharatPe and work closely with the Board of BharatPe.

In April, the company announced the appointment of Smriti Handa as the Chief Human Resources Officer.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi virtually has inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of various projects of the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission worth more than 300 crore rupees at Dharampur in Gujarat.

The initiatives by the Shrimad Rajchandra Mission in the field of rural healthcare have strengthened the Vision of a "Healthy India".

The modern healthcare facilities started by the Mission will benefit the rural, poor, and tribal people of South Gujarat.

On the occasion, Mr Modi recalled the spiritual association of Mahatma Gandhi with Rajchandra Ji.

Mr Modi emphasized that it is the responsibility of all of us to bring women’s power in the country to the fore in the form of national power in the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

South Korea launched its maiden spacecraft to the moon, joining the race with other countries. The South Korean lunar orbiter will inspect the future landing spots.

It was launched on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 launch vehicle.

It will arrive in December 2022. If this mission is successful, it will join spacecraft from India and the US which are already operation across the moon as well as Chinese rover on moon’s far side.

India, Russia and Japan will also launch new moon missions in 2022-2023.

Union Government of India has set the target to eliminate Kala-azar from country by 2023.

According to Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar (Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare), out of 633 Kala-azar endemic blocks, 625 blocks have successfully eliminated the kala-azar in 2021.

India’s target is way ahead than World Health Organisation (WHO)’s target of eliminating the disease by 2030.

The Government of India has established the Pharmacopoeia Commission for Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) as a subordinate office under the Ministry of Ayush.

Government has merged the Pharmacopoeia Commission of Indian Medicine & Homoeopathy (PCIM&H) and the two central laboratories namely -

Pharmacopoeia Laboratory for Indian Medicine (PLIM) and Homoeopathic Pharmacopoeia Laboratory (HPL).

Federal Bank has become India’s first bank to list its Payment Gateway platform on the TIN 2.0 platform of the Income Tax Department.

About Tax Information Network (TIN) -

With this, TIN 2.0 platform taxpayers will get one more payment option and now make their payments with ease, using modes such as Credit/Debit Card, UPI, NEFT/RTGS, and Internet Banking.

Tax Information Network (TIN) is an initiative by the Income Tax Department of India (ITD) for the collection, processing, monitoring, and accounting of direct taxes using information technology.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has restructured its advisory committee on market data that recommends policy measures for securities market data access and privacy. Currently, the market data advisory committee will have 20 members.

Earlier, the committee had 21 members.

Key Points -

The committee is chaired by S Sahoo, Professor at National Law University, Delhi, and former chairperson of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

With 95 senators voting in favour of the measure, the US Senate decisively approved the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland.

Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri cast the lone dissenting vote, contending that the threat posed by China should receive considerably more attention than European security.

Finland and Sweden’s membership in NATO has the strong support of US President Joe Biden, who in July forwarded the issue to the Senate for consideration.

The “Chief Minister Equal Education Relief, Assistance and Grant (Cheerag)” programme was recently introduced by the administration of Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. It was put in lieu of a comparable programme started by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda administration in 2007 under Rule 134 A of the 2003 Haryana School Education Rules. According to the plan, government students from the Economically Weaker Section (EWS) who attend private schools will receive a free education.

Indian wrestler, Divya Kakran has won a bronze medal in the women’s 68 kg category at the Commonwealth Games 2022.

In the bronze medal match, Kakran defeated Tonga’s Tiger Lily Cocker Lemalie in 26 seconds via Victory by Fall. Kakran bagged the medal in only 26 seconds via Victory by Fall.

India’s wrestler Deepak Punia has won the gold medal in the Commonwealth Games 2022 by defeating Pakistan’s Muhammad Inam by 3-0 in the men’s 86 kg category in the final.

In the semifinal earlier, Deepak saw out Canada’s Alexander Moore 3-1 as he gained early points. This is India’s third gold medal in wrestling.

Career of Naib Subedar Deepak Punia -

Naib Subedar Deepak Punia, is an Indian freestyle wrestler and Junior Commissioned Officer (JCO) in the Indian Army who won a silver medal at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in the freestyle 86 kg category and secured a place in the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Chess prodigy V Pranav on Sunday became India’s 75th Grand Master by winning Limpedea Open in Baia Mare, Romania. The 16 year old Pranav secured his 3rd and final norm to become Grandmaster by winning the Limpedea Open in Baia Mare, Romania. Pranav finished the Romanian tournament with 7 points out of 9 to meet the GM norm requirements. Prior to Romania, Pranav had obtained his maiden GM norm at the age of 15 by winning Serbia Open in 2021, while the second GM norm came from Vezerkepzo GM round-robin tourney in Budapest, Hungary in June 2022. Pranav is a student of Velammal school based in Chennai and has been a three-time State Champion.

Jagdeep Dhankhar, who had earlier served as the Governor of West Bengal, has been elected as the 14th Vice President of India with 528 votes against Opposition Candidate Margaret Alva’s 182.Ms Alva, who is ex-Union Minister and 5-time Congress MP, was Opposition candidate for Vice President’s Post. Mr Jagdeep Dhankhar was Vice Presidential Candidate for BJP led NDA alliance. He has been elected as the 14th Vice President. He will take oath as India’s Vice President on 11th August 2022.

The Government of India has offered to sell 18 Light-Combat Aircraft (LCA) “Tejas” to Malaysia.

Argentina, Australia, Egypt, the United States, Indonesia, and the Philippines were also interested in the single-engine jet. The Indian government gave a USD6 billion contract to state-owned Hindustan Aeronautics Limited in 2021 for 83 of the locally produced Tejas jets for delivery starting around 2023.

Every year on 8 August, the anniversary of the Quit India Movement is marked and observed by paying tribute to freedom fighters who without a doubt laid their lives for the country and its people.

The Quit India Movement was launched by Mahatma Gandhi on 8 August 1942 at the Bombay session of the All-India Congress Committee (AICC).

Also known as the Bharat Chhodo Andolan, this movement was a mass civil disobedience that took place in the country.

During the launch of the movement, the father of the nation delivered a speech amid a ’do or die situation.

The Centre has formed a task force in the wake of Monkeypox cases in India to monitor and provide guidance to the government on the expansion of diagnostic facilities and to explore vaccination for the infection in the country.

The decision was taken during a meeting which was attended by Cabinet secretary, Union Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan, Additional Secretary (PMO), and other senior officials. The team will be headed by Dr. VK Paul, Member (Health), NITI Aayog, and members including Secretary, Union Health Ministry, Pharma and Biotech

Union Environment Minister Shri Bhupender Yadav inaugurated the country’s largest online herbarium database, the ’Indian Virtual Herbarium’ web portal.

The portal (https://ivh.bsi.gov.in) has been developed by the Botanical Survey of India under the framework of "Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav" and "Digital India".

The portal aims to provide complete information on herbarium specimens about the floral diversity of India and other countries stored in the cabinet of the herbarium building through online access.

At present, the digital herbarium of the Botanical Survey of India has four categories – Cryptogam type specimens, Cryptogams general specimens, Phanerogam type specimens, and Phanerogams general specimens.

Tamil Nadu Forest Department has set up the first of its kind Urban animal rescue center located inside the Guindy National Park, Chennai, Tamil Nadu. As it is a part of the Guindy National Park, a veterinarian attached to it as well as foresters have been working with the center. The rescue center has two big enclosures and three smaller ones for injured animals. Among the infrastructural improvements, the center also established a new post-mortem room. The Tamil Nadu government has recently announced that a remodel of the Guindy National Park will be carried out at a cost of ₹20 crores.

This is his second extension as Cabinet Secretary & he will continue in the same position till August 30, 2023.

He was given the first extension for one year in August 2021 with the term ending on 30 August 2022.

The Board of Directors of Vodafone Idea Limited has appointed Ravinder Takkar as its new chairman.

He will replace Himanshu Kapania. However, Mr Kapania will continue to be a part of the VIL board as a non-executive director. Earlier, Mr. Ravinder Takkar was the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Vodafone Idea Limited (Vi) for three years with effect from August 19, 2019, following the resignation of Mr Balesh Sharma

Dr Kalaiselvi N has become the 1st Woman Director-General of CSIR.

The Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) is India’s largest research organization and is run as the consortium of 38 state-run research institutes across the country. Dr Kalaiselvi will replace and succeed Shekhar Mande, who was superannuated in April. She will take over CSIR from Mr Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology who was accorded special additional charge of CSIR in April. This is the first time in its history of 80 years that CSIR has appointed a woman Director-General.

Union Culture Ministry and Google launched "India Ki Udaan" initiative, which will Capturing the milestones the country has achieved in its 75year journey since independence. The project which has been launched in collaboration with Search Giant Google, the initiative is aimed at celebrating India’s achievements through an online repository of arts and cultural artifacts. The project was officially launched on 6th August, through a glittering ceremony held at the Sunder Nursery in New Delhi. The launch even was graced by Union Culture and Tourism Minister G Kishan Reddy along with senior officials of the Ministry of Culture and Google.

Recently, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) started a project to digitally map soil nutrients in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) and central America to increase efficiency in using fertilizers.

Also, it will organize and improve existing soil maps.

Recently, the National Institute of Ocean Technology, an autonomous institute under the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) is establishing an Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion Plant with a capacity of 65 kilowatts (kW) in Kavaratti, Lakshadweep. The plant will power the one lakh liter per day low temperature thermal desalination plant, which converts seawater into potable water. The plant is the first of its kind in the world as it will generate drinking water from sea water using indigenous technology, green energy and environmentally friendly processes.

The International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples is observed on 9 August each year to raise awareness and protect the rights of the world’s indigenous population.

This event also recognizes the achievements and contributions that indigenous people make to improve world issues such as environmental protection.

In India, the indigenous population is also known as the Scheduled Tribes. The United Nations passed a resolution on December 23, 1994, to celebrate August 9 as the day.

Since 2009–10, “Mission Vatsalya,” formerly known as the Child Protection Services (CPS) project, has been carried out by the Ministry of Women and Child Development for the welfare and rehabilitation of children.

The goal of Mission Vatsalya is to guarantee a healthy and happy childhood for every child in India, provide opportunities for them to realize their full potential and support their sustained flourishing in all spheres, and foster a sensitive, supportive, and coordinated ecosystem for children’s development, assist States/UTs in carrying out the Juvenile Justice Act 2015’s mandate and help the world’s nations meet the Sustainable Development Goals.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Shri Yogi Adityanath launched the ’Panchamrut Yojana’ which will help to achieve the goal of doubling farmers’ income through the introduction of cost-effective technical measures and promotion of co-cropping methods.

Goal -

To scale back sugarcane manufacturing prices while raising productivity and land fertility by way of 5 methods, together with a built-in trench technique for sugarcane sowing, ratoon administration and trash mulching, drip irrigation, and co-cropping.

Indian chess legend & Five-time World Chess Champion Mr. Viswanathan Anand has been elected as the deputy president of the International Chess Federation (FIDE).

The elections to the world chess body were held during the FIDE Congress which is being conducted here alongside the 44th Chess Olympiad.

While the incumbent President Mr. Arkady Dvorkovich has been re-elected as FIDE President for a second term.

Dvorkovich a Muscovite has received 167 votes in his favor while his opponent Andrii Baryshpolets got 16.

The elections for the posts were held during the FIDE General Assembly in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.

The Indian Army conducted a pan-India satellite communication exercise called "Ex Skylight".

Objective -

To test & evaluate the operational readiness and robustness of its hi-tech satellite communication systems.

This is expected to be ready for the army by December 2025.

The dedicated GSAT-7B satellite of the Army is a first-of-its-kind indigenous multi-band satellite, designed with advanced security features.

It will support tactical communication requirements for troops deployed on the ground, remotely piloted aircraft, air defense weapons, and other mission-critical and fire support platforms.

At the 2022 Commonwealth Games, Priyanka Goswami won silver in the 10000-meter race walk.

In the race walk and athletics, at the Commonwealth Games 2022, she becomes the first Indian woman to take home a gold.

Priyanka sets a new Indian National Record for a 10000-meter race walk with a time of 43:38:82.

Khushbir Kaur formerly held the national record in India with a time of 44 minutes, 35.5 seconds in 2017.

At the Commonwealth Games 2022, Jemima Montag of Australia won the gold medal in the race walk with a time of 42:34:00.

On the occasion of World Biofuel Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the newly

developed 2G Ethanol Plant at Panipat Refinery in Haryana. PM Modi will dedicate the 2G Ethanol Plant to the nation through video conferencing.

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri will be present in person at Panipat Refinery for the inauguration function.

The development of the 2nd Generation of Ethanol Generation Plant at Indian Oil Corporation Limited - IOCL’s Panipat Refinery comes at a time when India is prioritizing the production and usage of biofuels in the country.

Key Points -

Developed at a whopping cost of Rs 999 crores, the 2G Ethanol Plant will be used to transform 2 lakh tonnes of rice straw (parali) into 3 Crore litres of Ethanol annually.

The plant has been setup on 35 acres of land and can produce 100 kilolitres of ethanol per day by processing 750-tonne paddy straw.

World Lion Day is observed globally on 10th August.

The day aims to spread awareness of lions and the urgent need to strive toward their conservation. Lions are silently in danger of going extinct worldwide. Lions supposedly wandered amiably through Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East some three million years ago.

Significance -

The purpose of World Lion Day, as previously indicated, is to increase public awareness of the significance of lion conservation. Lions are designated as a vulnerable species on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

India’s first underwater metro will be inaugurated in Kolkata, West Bengal and the project is likely to be completed by June 2023.

The metro line, which will connect Salt Lake to Howrah via Kolkata with a stretch below the Hooghly River, is currently operational between Sector V and Sealdah Stations.

The metro line, which will connect Salt Lake to Howrah via Kolkata with a stretch below the Hooghly river, is currently operational between Sector V and Sealdah stations.

Of the total 16.55 km length of the project, 9.30 km length between Sector V and Sealdah is operational.

The Ministry of Defence has announced that the 12th edition of the Defence Expo, India’s flagship exhibition on Land, Naval and Homeland Security systems, will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The event will be held between October 18 and 22, 2022. The theme for this edition is "Path to Pride" invoking nationalistic pride and

encouraging citizens to partake in nation-building through establishing a capable indigenous Defence industry.

The five-day event will witness three business days followed by two public days. Live demonstrations showcasing the equipment and skill set of the Armed Forces, DPSUs and Industry will be held on all five days at Sabarmati River Front through active participation and synchronized efforts at all levels, informed the officials.

Lok Sabha has passed a bill to rename the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre as the India International Arbitration Centre. The objective of the amendment is to have world-class arbitration in India. As per the government, the arbitration will also help in reducing the pendency of cases in India. A bill to this effect was introduced in Lok Sabha by Law Minister Kiren Rijiju.

According to the statement of objects and reasons of the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre Act, 2019 provides for the establishment of the New Delhi International Arbitration Centre.

Ahmedabad University Professor, Ramadhar Singh becomes the first Indian Social Psychologist on the US Heritage Wall of Fame of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology (SPSP) in the United States. He is currently a professor at the Amrut Mody School of Management, Ahmedabad University. This recognition comes close on the heels of the College of Health and Human Sciences, Purdue University, conferring him with the Distinguished Alumni Award in Psychological Sciences (March 25, 2022). Professor Singh has been a member of the society (1990) and then fellow (1992).

Why this recognition is given to Prof Ramadhar Singh?

Professor Singh has been a breakthrough researcher in the field of psychology and management.

Following elections in the South Pacific island nation of Papua New Guinea, the parliament has reinstated Prime Minister James Marape. According to the media and election authorities, Marape was re-sworn in as prime minister after lawmakers in the new parliament elected Marape without opposition. The general election in Papua New Guinea took place between July 4 and July 22, although voting and vote counting were postponed due to unusual conditions, such as security concerns, attacks on ballot boxes, and logistical difficulties, according to the electoral commission. Marape and his predecessor, Peter O’Neill, who resigned in 2019, were the front-runners for the position of leader of the next administration.

Due in part to the country’s rough terrain, severe weather, inadequate transportation infrastructure, and linguistic and cultural variety, the election there is among the most difficult in the entire globe.

Karnataka Chief Minister, Basavaraj Bommai has announced that Kannada film star Puneeth Rajkumar, who died last year, will be conferred with the ’Karnataka Ratna’ award posthumously. On November 1, which happens to be Kannada Rajyotsava, the state’s formation day. He will be the 10th recipient of the state’s highest civilian honour. Considered the Kannada cinema’s reigning star, Puneeth, the youngest of five children of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar, died of a cardiac arrest on October 29 at the age of 46. Interestingly, Puneeth’s late father Rajkumar is among the first recipients of the Karnataka Ratna award in 1992, along with poet Kuvempu.

World Biofuel Day is commemorated on 10 August every year to raise awareness about the use of non-fossil fuels as an alternative to conventional fossil fuels. During this day, the government and private organisations come together to spread awareness about the importance of non-fossil fuels as a different source of energy. Biofuels are the key to reducing our dependence on crude oil and it ensures a cleaner environment. It leads to the generation of more employment for rural people. It also helps in the reduction of carbon emissions. The burning of fossil fuels leads to carbon emissions, and this is very harmful to our air and environment.

As part of the celebrations for Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath debuted “Radio Jaighosh” to commemorate the anniversary of the Kakori Train Action. To promote performing arts, regional specialties from Uttar Pradesh, folk art, and gallantry award recipients, the state’s Department of Culture is developing a community radio station and also the “Radio Jaighosh” is a part of it.

Radio Jaighosh: Channel and Timing -

From the recently restored studio of the Sangeet Natak Akademi in Lucknow, “Radio Jaighosh” will be audible at 107.8 MHz and will air programmes from 6 am to 10 pm every day.

Union Cabinet has approved the signing of an Audio Visual C0-Production Treaty, between India and Australia with a view to promote co-production of films.

Such agreements are Umbrella Agreements under which private, government agencies enter into contracts to produce films together. The proposed agreement will boost ties with Australia, lead to exchange of art and culture, showcase the soft power of our country and lead to generation of employment.

India has so far signed 15 Audio Visual Co-production Treaties with foreign countries. Australia has emerged as a preferred destination for shooting of Indian films. India is fast emerging as a major content hub for film makers looking for new projects. India has abundance of exotic locations, talent pool, relatively cheaper cost of production and post production, making India a favoured destination of foreign film makers.

The State Bank of India (SBI) will manage the Indian Visa Application Centre (IVAC) in Bangladesh for two more years.

The agreement to extend the operations for two more years was signed between the officials of the SBI and the High Commission of India in Dhaka.

SBI Bangladesh country head of operations Amit Kumar represented the SBI while the Deputy High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh Dr. Binoy George represented the High Commission of India.

The IVAC will also be starting a few additional services soon which include facilitation for online form filling and submission of forms, slot booking and launching of a mobile app. A priority lounge was also inaugurated at the IVAC centre in Dhaka.

The analysts at Morgan Stanley expects that India is likely to be the fastest-growing Asian economy in the Asian region in 2022-23.

As per Morgan Stanley, the gross domestic product (GDP) growth of Indian economy is estimated at 7 percent in 2022-23 (FY23).

This rate is the strongest among the largest economies and contributes 28 percent to Asian and 22 percent to global growth.

About Morgan Stanley:

Industry: Financial services

Founded: 1935 (the original Morgan Stanley), 1924 (Dean Witter & Co.), 1931 (Reynolds Securities)

Founder: Henry Sturgis Morgan, Harold Stanley, Dean G. Witter, Richard S. Reynolds, Jr.

Headquarters: New York, U.S.

Chairman & CEO: James P. Gorman

The team Uzbekistan has won the gold medal in the Open section of the 44th Chess Olympiad.

Team Armenia won silver while the India-2 team settled for bronze in Open Section.

In the women’s section, Ukraine won the gold medal. Team Georgia won the silver, while India-1 team won the bronze medal.

India hosted the Chess Olympiad for the first time. It consisted of open and women’s tournaments.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has cancelled the banking licence of Pune-based Rupee Co-operative Bank following an order from the Bombay High Court.

The order shall come into effect after six weeks from August 11, 2022.

This means that the bank will have to cease to carry on banking business with effect from September 22, 2022.

Real Madrid beat Eintracht Frankfurt, 2-0 in finals to win the 2022 UEFA Super Cup for a record-equalling fifth time in Helsinki, Finland.

UEFA Super Cup is an annual football match organised by UEFA for the winners of the two main European club competitions, i.e. the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.

The last season’s Champions League winners Real Madrid defeated Europa League winners Eintracht Frankfurt to win the title for fifth time.

The 2022 BRICS Games is scheduled to be held from September 01 to 30 but on online platform.

This means that the athletes from Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS) will compete online.

The 2022 BRICS Games will feature only three competitive events, breakdancing, chess and Wushu (Chinese martial arts).

The online BRICS Games can enhance mutual understanding and people-to-people exchanges among participating countries in an innovative and safe way, through the power of sports.

The Game is being organised by China, as the host of the 14th BRICS Summit held in June 2022.

Tennis Star Serena Williams announced her retirement from Tennis.

She will retire from active Tennis after completing US Open which will be held from late August to Sept 2022.

About Serena Williams -

Serena Williams was born on 26th Sept 1981 in Saginaw, Michigan.

Her parents, Oracene Price and Richard Williams had 4 daughters in total i.e., Venus Williams another iconic tennis player was Serena’s full sister, while Yetunde, Lyndrea, and Isha Price were her half-sisters.

Serena Williams started playing professional Tennis in 1995 and won her first singles title at the 1999 US Open.

Since then, she has gone on to win a total of bagged 73 career singles titles and 23 career doubles titles and has been ranked singles world No 1 by the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) for 319 weeks.

Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor, set to be conferred with France’s highest civilian award Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur.

The French government is honouring him for his writings and speeches and the French Ambassador here Emmanuel Lenain has written to Tharoor informing him about the award.

In 2010, Tharoor had received a similar honour from the Spanish government, when the King of Spain had bestowed upon him the Encomienda de la Real Order Espanola de Carlos III.

State Brand Ambassador of Uttarakhand

Uttarakhand government has appointed wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the ’State Brand Ambassador’.

Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Pushkar Singh Dhami congratulated Rishabh Pant and praised him as one of the best cricketers and idols of youth.

Rishabh Pant’s most recent game was seen in India’s T20 series against New Zealand in which the Indian cricket team claimed the title of the series with a 3-0 victory.

Recently, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has released a report titled “Global Employment Trends for Youth 2022: Investing in transforming futures for young people”.

Findings of the report -

Young women exhibited a much lower Employment-to-Population ratio (EPR), showing that young men are almost 1.5 times more likely than young women to be employed.

Covid-19 Pandemic has worsened the numerous labour market challenges facing those aged between 15 and 24 years, who have experienced a much higher percentage loss in employment than adults since early 2020.

Findings Related to India -

The youth employment participation rate declined by 0.9 % over the first nine months of 2021 relative to its value in 2020, while it increased by 2 % for adults over the same time period.

Tech Giant Microsoft has joined the Government-backed Open Network for Digital Commerce.

ONDC project is a major technology network that is being developed to enable small merchants and mom-and-pop stores in parts of the country to use advanced technology to improve commerce.

What is ONDC - Open Network for Digital Commerce?

Open Network for Digital Commerce, is a government backed project which aims at providing technology enabled solution to enable local commerce across different sectors.

The network will enable small traders to expand their offerings across different sectors or segments including mobility, grocery, food order and delivery, hotel booking and travel, among others, to be discovered and engaged by any network-enabled application.

The initiative is launched by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India, has identified 75 Municipal Corporations to implement comprehensive rehabilitation of persons engaged in the act of begging under “SMILE: Support for Marginalised Individuals for Livelihood and Enterprise” named as “SMILE-75 Initiative”.

The Government of India has recognised the persisting problem of destitution and beggary and formulated a comprehensive scheme of SMILE which includes a sub-scheme of comprehensive rehabilitation for persons engaged in begging that covers identification, rehabilitation, provision of medical facilities, counselling, and education, skill development for a decent job and self-employment/entrepreneurship.

An experienced Argentinean navy officer, Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios has been named Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

Major General José Eladio Alcain of Uruguay steps down in favour of Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rio of Argentina as Head of Mission and Chief Military Observer for UNMOGIP, whose task is about to be completed. Major General Alcan was thanked by the Secretary-General for his assistance with UN peacekeeping activities. Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios: About - Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios has had a long career in the Argentinean Navy since graduating as a middle shipman from the Navy Academy in 1988, according to the announcement.

Rear Admiral Guillermo Pablo Rios most recently worked with the Joint Staff as the general director of education, training, and doctrine (2022).

Election Commission will host a virtual Asian Regional Forum meeting in August.

This Regional Forum meeting will be held on the theme of ’Making our Elections Inclusive, Accessible, and Participative’.

It is the precursor of the Global Summit for Democracy, which will be hosted by the National Electoral Institute of Mexico.

Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar and Election Commissioner Anup Chandra Pandey will chair the Asian Regional Forum meeting.

Representatives from the election management bodies of Mexico, Mauritius, Philippines, Nepal, Uzbekistan, and the Maldives will participate in the meeting.

The International Solar Alliance (ISA) in partnership with the government of Cuba has floated a tender for setting up an 1150 MW solar project in

State-owned NTPC is the project management consultant for ISA for setting up the project.

The Kerala government will launch a mobile app named Lucky Bill App to curb Goods and Services Tax (GST) evasion. The app will be launched by Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan on August 16, 2022.

The app expects to help in increasing tax collections as people will be encouraged to ask for bills while purchasing goods and availing services.

It will enable the state GST department to examine return filings with the help of bills uploaded by people.

It will also enable the state GST Department to examine the status of the tax return filings. The move also comes when the compensation from the Center to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) has ceased with effect from July 1.

Microsoft has partnered with the Union Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE), and Capacity Building Commission (CBC) to enhance the functional computer literacy of nearly 2.5 million civil servants of the Central government.

The project — Capacity Building by MSDE in Microsoft Digital Productivity Skills — will digitally empower them to provide efficient and effective citizen-centric services to the vulnerable and underprivileged sections of society.

This initiative will not only drive more productivity but will also enable ease of doing business with more digital solutions.

The Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) Chairman S Somanath has launched India’s First 3D virtual space tech park called SPARK: The Space Tech Park as part of the celebrations of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav commemorating India’s 75th year of Independence

Deepak Singh, an established content creator with more than 15 years of experience in content creation recently penned a book ’Bravo Yadav’.

The newly launched book is a biography of Kargil’s hero and Param Vir Chakra recipient Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav.The biography of Kargil Hero Yogendra Singh Yadav honors the brave and indomitable spirit of the soldiers who refused to surrender before adversities in the Kargil War, in 1999.The book rightly narrates Yogendra Singh Yadav’s courage as a patriot and warrior, surviving the battle of Tiger Hill and being a key stoke towards India’s victory against Pakistan.

FIFA - the apex governing body for football in the world has announced that it has banned AIFF with immediate effect. All India Football Federation (AIFF) is India’s national regulator of the sport and has been in the news recently due to the ongoing crisis. The decision to ban AIFF from FIFA was passed unanimously by the Bureau of the FIFA Council. Giving a justification for its stand against AIFF, FIFA has said that the decision has been taken "due to undue influence from third parties, which constitutes a serious violation of the FIFA Statutes".

FIFA - The FIFA World Cup is an International Association Football competition that contests football championships every four years since its inception in 1930. FIFA World Cup 2022 will be played in Qatar in 2022 - Brazil has won the most titles of FIFA World Cup Winner Men’s. It has won the FIFA Men’s World Cup 5 times.

Tamil Nadu Government has notified its 5th Elephant Reserve in the state at Agathiyamalai in Tirunelveli district.

The Agasthiyamalai Elephant Reserve will be spread across 1,197.48 sqkm of land and will cover Kanyakumari and Tirunelveli areas.

The announcement was made on World Elephant Day 2022 by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin.

Earlier, Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav had made a formal announcement about the Central Government accepting a proposal of the Tamil Nadu Forest department to notify 1,197.48 sq km area of land as an elephant reserve.

As per 2010 Census, a total of 1800 Asian elephants are likely to be located within the Periyar-Agasthyamalai landscape.

The "Big Bull of Dalal Street" and Ace Investor and breathed his last in Mumbai. Mr Jhunjhunwala passed away at the age of 62.

About Rakesh Jhunjhunwala -

Family and Personal Background: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was born on 5th July 1960 and grew up in a Rajasthani Family based in Bombay/Mumbai. His father was a government

servant and worked as the Commissioner of Income Tax.

Academic Background: Rakesh Jhunjhunwala was a Chartered Accountant (CA) by qualification. Prior to getting his professional CA degree, he had completed his graduation degree from Sydenham College Mumbai.

Journey on Dalal Street: Mr Jhunjhunwala got interested in stock markets and trading inspired by his father and his friends. He began investing in Stocks in 1985 with a base capital of Rs 5000/-, when BSE use to trade at 150. Over the next 3 decades, he dominated the Indian Stock Markets and went onto become one of the most profitable, well known and influential stock trades in the country.

Nicknames: The unique investing style and the high-risk taking profile of Rakesh Jhunjhunwala earned him several nicknames during his careers. He was fondly known as the ’Big Bull of Dalal Street’ and even as the ’India’s Warren Buffet’ in trading circles across the country.

The largest lender in the nation, State Bank of India (SBI) has introduced a unique term deposit programme called “Utsav Deposit Scheme”. This fixed deposit scheme has higher interest rates and is only available for a limited time. This programme is introduced on the occasion of the nation’s 76th year of Independence, celebrated as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.

On Utsav Fixed Deposit Scheme -

SBI is offering an interest rate of 6.10% per annum on fixed deposits with a tenure of 1000 days. And senior citizens will be eligible to get an additional interest rate of 0.50% over and above the regular rate.

These rates are effective as of 15th August 2022 and the scheme is valid for a period of 75 days.

Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) in association with the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India (SEAI) will hold the 23rd edition of India International Seafood Show (IISS) in Kolkata, the City of Joy from February 15 to 7 next year.

Marine Exports From India -

During 2021-22, India exported 13,69,264 tonnes of marine products worth US$ 7.76 billion, registering an all-time high export by value, while production of shrimp crossed one million MT.

With a multipronged strategy, addressing capture fisheries and aquaculture, the export turnover is likely to achieve US$ 15 billion in next five years.

Sustainable fishing methods, value addition and increased aquaculture production through diversification are expected to support the ambitious target set for export.

The third airport in Arunachal Pradesh, which is now under construction in Itanagar, the state capital, has been given the name “Donyi Polo Airport” by the Arunachal Pradesh administration.

According to a representative of the Chief Minister’s Office, the state cabinet adopted “Donyi Polo Airport” as the name of the airport at its meeting.

Pema Khandu, the chief minister of Arunachal Pradesh, presided over the gathering.

IAS officer of the Nagaland cadre, Piyush Goyal has been appointed by the Central Government as the new CEO of NATGRID (National Intelligence Grid).

Along with this, the Central Government has also issued an order to post 26 other officers on the post of Additional Secretary.

Piyush Goyal is currently serving as Additional Secretary in the Union Home Ministry.

The post of its CEO was vacant since June when its then chief IPS officer Ashish Gupta was appointed as additional director general of the Border Security Force (BSF).

President Droupadi Murmu approved around 107 gallantry awards for the armed forces and Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF).

It comprises of 3 Kirti Chakras and 13 Shaurya Chakras.

Apart from that, 81 Sena Medals, 1 Nao Sena Medal and 2 Bar to Sena medals were also announced.

Key Points -

40 Mention-in-Despatches for Indian Army, 1 to for Indian Air Force and another for Army Dog Axel (posthumously) was also approved by the President, to honour their significant contributions in military operations like Operation Tirkit and Operation Snow Leopard.

The ’Golden Joint’ of Chenab Railway bridge has inaugurated recently.

It was decked with the National flag to celebrate the “Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav”.

It is the highest railway bridge in the world.

It is located in Reasi district of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Parsi New Year is observed in the month of July or August. It is commonly called as Navroz.

It is celebrated by Parsi community according to dates of Shahenshahi calendar.

In year 2022, Navroz is being observed on August 16.

Border Roads Organization (BRO) will build Steel Slag Road in Arunachal Pradesh on a pilot project basis.

The Steel Slag Road will be a first-of-its-kind project and will be able to withstand heavy rains and adverse climatic conditions.

Goal of Steel Slag Road in Arunachal Pradesh -

The construction of the Steel Slag Road in Arunachal Pradesh is being done by the Border Roads Organization to identify a possible durable road connectivity solution for the region. The project, if successful, will resolve the connectivity issues faced by remote parts of Arunachal Pradesh and strategic locations in the North Eastern Sector.

Union Defence Minster Rajnath Singh handed over new anti-personnel mine Nipun and Futuristic Infantry Soldier as a System (F-INSAS) to the Indian Army.

Both weapons systems have been developed indigenously by Indian firms under the Make in India campaign.

During the induction ceremony, Army’s F-INSAS soldier gave a briefing to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh about the new weapon systems and aids that are being developed for the Indian army as part of Make in India.

Indigenisation of Weapons System for Armed Forces -

Under the PM Modi’s visionary Make in India campaign, the Armed forces have been developing multiple weapons systems locally. The indigenization of weapons systems for Indian Armed Forces is part of the Make in India campaign and will promote self-reliance and self-sustenance for the country.

Asia’s largest Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant has begun its commercial operations in Sangrur, Punjab.

A formal announcement about commissioning of the Asia’s Largest Compressed Biogas Plant was confirmed by the New and Renewable Energy Minister Aman Arora on 12th August.

The plant which has been setup at village Bhuttal Kalan (Sangrur) has a total operational capacity of 33.23-tonne CBG per day. The Compressed Biogas being produced by the Sangrur plant is now being supplied to the Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) outlet.

Sangrur Compressed Biogas Plant Commissioned -

The development of Asia’s Largest Compressed Biogas Plant at Sangrur, Punjab comes as part of the Central Government’s push toward clean and green energy.

India’s first 3D-printed cornea has developed in Hyderabad by Researchers from L V Prasad Eye Institute (LVPEI), Indian Institute of Technology-Hyderabad (IIT-H), and the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB). The artificial Cornea which has been developed by the Hyderabad-based research team has been 3D printed and transplanted into a rabbit’s eye.

The team which is comprised of clinicians and scientists has dedicated their achievement as a research gift to the nation on the 75th Independence Day.

Recently, a contingent of the Indian Air Force left for Malaysia to participate in a bilateral exercise named ’Udarashakti’. While Harimau Shakti is Joint military exercises which are held annually between the two countries.

Highlights of the Exercise -

The Indian Air Force is participating in the air exercise with Su-30 MKI and C-17 aircraft while Malaysian Air Force will be flying Su 30 MKM aircraft.

The four days of exercise will witness the conduct of various aerial combat drills between the two Air Forces.

The first bilateral Air Force exercise that staged frontline Sukhoi-30 combat aircraft was conducted in 2018.

From 2008 to 2010, the Indian Air Force Training Team was deployed in Malaysia to give training to Malaysian pilots on the SU-30SKM aircraft.

Recently, the Ministry of Science and Technology has organised a workshop to discuss joint research projects under NM-ICPS (National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems). A total of 35 joint projects have been identified which will be implemented by TIHs (Technology Innovation Hubs) and research institutions from the USA. This endeavour will help achieve collaborative research and development between the two countries in the area of CPS (Cyber-Physical Systems).

National Mission-Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems -

It was launched in 2018 by the Ministry of Science and Technology with an outlay of Rs 3,660.00 crore for a period of five years to encourage innovation in new age technologies.

It covers the entire India which includes Central Ministries, State Governments, Industry and Academia.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh has unveiled the Statue of “Veer Durgadas Rathore” on his 385th birth anniversary in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur.

The Raksha Mantri paid glowing tribute to Veer Durgadas Rathore on the occasion, terming him as the symbol of social harmony, honesty, bravery and devotion.

He stated that people, irrespective of caste or religion, should take inspiration from Veer Durgadas Rathore, who strived for peace and harmony against divisive elements in society.

India is celebrating the 75th year of its Independence and to add more glory to this day, India is also celebrating the 150th birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, who is a spiritual icon.

Sri Aurobindo was one of the greatest revolutionaries in India and later became a legendary Spiritual Master.

He has left behind great philosophical and political writings to learn from.

For the 150th Birth anniversary of Sri Aurobindo, over 10,000 devotees across the world paid their tribute to one of the greatest spiritual leaders of India.

Several devotees stood in long lines to visit the Samadhi of Sri Aurobindo and some visited Sri Aurobindo’s room.

Satish Kashinath Marathe, Swaminathan Gurumurthy, Revathy Iyer, and Sachin Chaturvedi have all been re-nominated by the national government to serve as part-time, non-official directors on the RBI’s central board or central board of the Reserve Bank of India.

The RBI said on its website that Gurumurthy and Marathe have been re-nominated for another term of four years, until further instructions for RBI’s central board.

RBI’s central board -

After the RBI’s central board current terms expire on September 18, 2022, Iyer and Chaturvedi have been re-nominated for another four years.

On the occasion of 75 years of Independence as Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Karnataka Bank has introduced a new Term Deposit Scheme, KBL Amrit Samriddhi under Abhyudaya Cash Certificate (ACC) and Fixed Deposit for a tenure of 75 weeks (525 days).

The interest rate for this Deposit Scheme is 6.10% per annum.

Karnataka Bank, portraying the rich patriotic tradition and values, has always been ready to meet the aspirations and dreams of its valued patrons.

With the new product, KBL Amrit Samriddhi, Bank extends the benefit of the increase in the interest rates to our customers.

Kenya Elected William Ruto as its next President in the General Elections held on 9th August 2022.

Ruto beat five-time contender Raila Odinga by a small margin to become Kenya’s next President.

According to data shared by Kenya’s Electoral Commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati, Ruto received 50.49% of the vote as compared to 48.85% secured by his opponent Odinga.

William Ruto has held the post of Deputy President of Kenya since 2013 and will replace the outgoing Uhuru Kenyatta who came to power in 2013 and won a second term in 2017.

Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar has launched the Paalan 1000 National Campaign and Parenting App as part of the Early Childhood Development Conclave.

The Conclave was virtually launched by MoS Health in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

At the launch event for the conclave, Ms Pawar noted that from 2014 onwards, India has taken rapid strides to curb child mortality from 45 per 1000 births to 35 per 1000 birth in 2019.

Dr Vinod K Paul, Member (Health & Nutrition), NITI Aayog was also present for the inauguration of the Conclave in Mumbai.

The “Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme,” a unique retail fixed deposit product, was introduced by Ujjivan SFB and Bank of Baroda (BoB). Baroda Tiranga Deposit Scheme offers interest rates of 5.75 percent for 444 days and 6 percent for 555 days. The programme is available through December 31, 2022, and it applies to retail deposits under Rs 2 crore. Senior people will receive an additional interest rate of 0.50 percent, according to a statement from BoB, while non-refundable deposits will receive an additional interest rate of 0.15 percent.

Ujjivan SFB and Bank of Baroda: Key Points -

The 75-week (525 days) and 75-month (75 months) tenors of retail fixed deposits (under Rs 2 crore), both with the highest rate of 7.50 percent, have been offered by Ujjivan Small Finance Bank (Ujjivan SFB).

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has named India’s Electronics and Information Technology Secretary, Alkesh Kumar Sharma to a panel of eminent experts on internet governance.

Internet pioneer Vint Cerf and Nobel Prize-winning journalist Maria Reesa were also appointed to the 10-member Internet Governance Forum (IGF) Leadership Panel.

In addition, Guterres’ envoy on technology, Amandeep Singh Gill, will also be on the panel.

They will serve for a two-year term during the 2022–23 IGF cycles.

India on August 15 gifted a Dornier maritime reconnaissance aircraft to Sri Lanka which will enable the island nation to tackle multiple challenges like human and drug trafficking, smuggling and other organised forms of crime in its coastal waters more effectively.

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe was present at the impressive handover ceremony which took place on a day when India celebrated its 76th Independence Day and a day before a high-tech Chinese missile and satellite tracking ship docks at the island nation’s strategic Hambantota port.

Vice Chief of Indian Navy Vice Admiral SN Ghormade, who is on a two-day visit to the country, accompanied by Indian High Commissioner in Colombo Gopal Baglay, handed over the aircraft to the Sri Lanka Navy at the Sri Lanka Air Force base in Katunayake, adjoining the Colombo international airport.

The Union Cabinet approved the enhancement in the limit of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.

ECLGS is a continuing scheme and the additional amount of Rs 50,000 crore would be made applicable to enterprises in hospitality and related sectors till validity of the scheme in March 31 next year.

The enhancement is expected to provide much-needed relief to enterprises in these sectors by incentivizing lending institutions to provide additional credit of up to Rs 50,000 crore at low cost, enabling these business enterprises to meet their operational liabilities and continue their businesses. Loans of about Rs 3.67 Lakh crore have been sanctioned under ECLGS till August 5.

An official release said that the pandemic has adversely impacted contact-intensive sectors, especially the hospitality and related sectors more severely.

While other sectors were back faster on the path of recovery, demand continued to be subdued for these sectors for a longer period, suggesting the need for suitable interventions for their sustenance and recovery.

It was announced in Union Budget 2022-23 to extend the validity of ECLGS up to March, 2023 and increase in the limit of guaranteed cover of ECLGS by Rs 50,000 crore to total cover of Rs 5 lakh crore, with the additional amount being earmarked exclusively for the enterprises in hospitality and related sectors.

About ECLGS -

It refers to the scheme for providing 100% Guarantee to member lending institutions in respect of eligible credit facility extended by them to its borrowers whose total credit outstanding (fund based only) across all lending institutions and days past due as on February 29, 2020 was upto Rs.50 crore and upto 60 days respectively.

Amitabh Chaudhary the former BCCI acting secretary and president of Jharkhand State

Cricket Association (JSCA) has passed away. He served as acting secretary of the BCCI until 2019.

He entered cricket administration in 2004 and served as the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) president for over a decade.

Career of Amitabh Chaudhary -

Choudhary was first appointed as team manager of the Indian team in 2005 on their tour of Zimbabwe, remembered for the acrimony between Sourav Ganguly and Greg Chappell.

Choudhary also served as BCCI’s joint-secretary from 2013 to 2015 during Anurag Thakur’s reign as BCCI president.

He was a retired senior IPS officer, who rose to the rank of IGP with the Jharkhand Police and was the chairman of the Jharkhand Public Service Commission.

He played a crucial role in developing infrastructure for Jharkhand cricket.

The Centre and the board of the National Bank for Financing Infrastructure and Development (NaBFID) has appointed Rajkiran Rai G as its managing director (MD) for the next five years.

The board of NaBFID approved Rai’s appointment on July 30 based on clearance by the RBI, centre and the Development finance institutions (DFI) nomination and remuneration committee.

He took charge as the DFI’s MD on August 8, and will hold the top post till May 18, 2027, according to details of the appointment.

Last year in October 2021, the Centre had appointed K V Kamath as chairperson of NaBFID.

Subsequently, government nominees Pankaj Jain and Sumita Dawra were appointed directors to the board of DFI.

The government has already infused Rs 20,000 crore into NaBFID to help the DFI start its operations to catalyse investment in the infrastructure sector.

The hackathon has called participants to identify and develop solutions having potential to make insurance available to every individual swiftly and seamlessly.

In the Bima Manthan 2022, IRDAI has called for technology driven innovative ideas or solutions to solve the understated problems in Insurance sector.

Automated Death Claim settlement using technology.

Tech-based solution to curb mis-selling of Insurance products.

Tech enabled solution to identify uninsured motor vehicles as well as to ensure mandatory issuance of Motor Third Party Insurance.

Distribution of insurance products in difficult terrains and less penetrable areas of country, by using technology.

Prevention or mitigation of Fraud in motor insurance by using technology.

The Rajasthan government has approved signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Limited (SJVN Ltd) for developing 10,000 MW renewable energy projects.

These projects/parks will usher in socio-economic development in the state and will open up multiple direct and indirect employment opportunities.

An investment of Rs 50,000 crore is estimated for developing these projects in the next 5 to 7 years.

SJVN will establish the renewable energy projects on the land banks to be allocated by Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation Ltd.

SJVN will be able to achieve the shared vision of 5000 MW by 2023, 25000 MW by 2030, and 50000 MW by 2040.

Note -

Recently, Rajasthan was the first Indian state to achieve 10 GW of large-scale, cumulative solar installations.

Durand Cup, Asia’s Oldest Football Tournament, has begun.

Rajnath Singh, the Union Defense Minister, and General Manoj Pande, the Chief of Army Staff, will go to Manipur to see the opening game of the 131st Durand Cup 2022.

In Imphal, the Khuman Lampak Stadium will host the opening game.

The Durand Cup will take place in West Bengal, Assam, and Manipur in 2022.

Of the 20 teams, 11 will come from different clubs that compete in the Indian Super League, five from the I-league, and four from the Armed Forces..

The Office of the Principal Scientific Adviser (PSA) to the Government of India (GoI)has launched a Manthan platform with the vision to enable and empower all spheres of science and technology within India.

Aim -

To promote collaboration at scale between industry and the scientific research and development ecosystem to help meet India’s sustainability goals in alignment with the UN-defined Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) charter.

The launch commemorates India’s 75 years of independence – Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav.

The Platform is Led by the Office of PSA & powered by the National Stock Exchange of India Limited (NSEIT).

Consumer durable products maker Bajaj Electricals elevated it’s Executive Director Mr Anuj Poddar to Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Anuj Poddar joined Bajaj Electrical in 2018 as its executive director. Meanwhile, Shekhar Bajaj shall continue as executive chairman of Bajaj Electricals.

Axis Bank, India’s third largest private sector bank, has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Food Corporation of India (FCI) to provide “Ultima Salary Package”, a best-in-class salary account with exclusive benefits & features to all its employees.

The signing ceremony was held at FCI Headquarters, New Delhi where FCI was represented by Shri G N Raju, GM HQ, and Axis Bank was represented by Shri Anil Agarwal, President, Financial Institutions Group & Lt Col M K Sharma, National Accounts Head.

State Bank of India (SBI) has launched its first branch dedicated to start-ups in Koramangala, Bengaluru, and Karnataka.

Aim -

To provide end-to-end financial and advisory services to startups.

The branch launched by SBI Chairman Mr Dinesh Khara is located in Koramangala, which alongside neighboring HSR Layout and Indiranagar are the biggest start-up hubs in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

After Bengaluru, the next branch will be opening in Gurgaon, Haryana and the 3rd one will be in Hyderabad, Telangana.

Key Highlights -

It will leverage the large presence of the bank in the market by bringing synergy among all the entities and various departments of the State Bank group to offer a one-stop solution to these corporates and startups starting from the formation of the entity till Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) & Follow on Public Offers (FPOs) of the companies.

Madhya Pradesh’s tribal-dominated Mandla region has become the first fully “functionally literate” district in Indi*a.

The declaration was made by the state minister of food and civil supplies Shri Bisahulal Singh.

Within two years, the entire district has become functionally literate, claiming that people were able to write their names, count, and read.

The district administration launched a campaign in 2020 to make the residents fully literate.

For this purpose, the administration employed the education, and women and child development departments along with social workers to educate the people.

Logistics Technology Platform Shiprocket has become the latest start-up to join the unicorn club.

The company raised USD 33 Million or Rs 260 crore from its existing investors Temasek Holdings and Lightrock India to be crowned as the 106th Unicorn of India.

Zomato-backed Shiprocket is the 20th company to cross the 1 Billion Valuation mark in 2022 and joins the league of CredAvenue, Xpressbees, LEAD and PhysicsWallah among others.

Post the latest round of funding, the logistics aggregator is valued at USD 1.2 Billion according to the data submitted with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.

World Photography Day 2022 is being observed on August 19, under the theme of "Pandemic Lockdown through the lens". This day is observed annually and it focuses on art, craft and science of photography.

The day celebrates how a picture catches the essence, emotion and mood of moment in time. About World Photography Day- It is an annual event, that is celebrated worldwide. It is the celebration of art, craft, science and history of photography.

Photography has become an ever-increasing medium to express and appreciate the people worldwide.

Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal has formally unveiled his Aam Aadmi Party’s national ambition with the launch of the "Make India No 1" campaign.

At an event organised at Talkatora stadium here, he proposed a five-point vision for good governance.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor termed the campaign a "national mission" and appealed to the masses to join.

The five-point vision of this initiative -

The first thing that we have to do is provide free and quality education to every child of this country.

The second measure that we will have to take is to provide free and best medical treatment along with free medicines and test facilities to every citizen of the country.

Third, we will have to provide employment to every youth which is possible with the right intention and management.

The people of all the villages in Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (D&NH and D&D) declared their village to be a "Har Ghar Jal" through a resolution passed by the Gram Sabha, certifying that all households in the villages have access to safe drinking water through taps and ensuring that "No One is Left Out".

All 85,156 of the 85,635,000 rural households in Dadra & Nagar Haveli, Daman & Diu, and Goa have access to potable water via a tap connection with Har Ghar Jal.

Key Points -

The Government of India’s flagship programme, Jal Jeevan Mission, was unveiled on August 15, 2019, from the Red Fort’s ramparts by its forward-thinking Prime Minister.

The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) signed Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) with eight banks to provide customized banking services for its personnel deployed across India for the welfare of its troops.

Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, Yes Bank, Punjab National Bank(PNB), IDFC First Bank, and ICICI Bank are among the eight banks.

Key Points -

ICG inked these MoUs with these banks in order to provide customised services to its employees, withthe well-being and welfare of the troops as key purposes.

HDFC Bank inaugurated an all-women branch in Kozhikode, north Kerala. Mayor of the city Corporation Beena Philip opened the branch of HDFC Bank.

As of March 31, 2022, women made up 21.7% (21,486) of the workforce, according to the bank.

By 2025, the private lender wants to raise it to 25%.

Deals beyond a certain threshold require regulator approval, which keeps an eye on unethical business practises in the marketplace.

HDFC Bank All-Women Branch -

The launch of the all-women branch of HDFC Bank, according to Sanjeev Kumar, Branch Banking Head, South (Tamil Nadu, Puducherry & Kerala), is yet another illustration of their efforts to advance gender and diversity initiatives of the HDFC Bank

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) handed two pieces of space equipment to the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) for use in the Gaganyaan mission.

This is the second crew module fairing (CMF) that India’s top space agency has purchased from HAL for the mission. Even though both of these CMFs will be used in some capacity, the first experiment will use the CMF that ISRO obtained from HAL.

HAL and ISRO -

According to sources, ISRO received the CMF structure, which included the thrust-transfer structure for the high-altitude escape motor (HTS).

Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a memoir coming out this fall. “Bibi: My Story” will be published November 22, in Israel. Born a year after the founding of the Jewish state, I have dedicated my life to combat the forces that seek its destruction and make peace with those that do not,” . My story is one of tragedy and triumph, setbacks and successes, lessons learned and loved ones cherished. It is woven with that of Israel, which has proven that faith and resolve can overcome insurmountable odds to forge a brilliant future, Netanyahu, 72, said in a statement.

A first-of-its kind database of arrested narcotics offenders has been made operational for use by various central and state prosecution agencies tasked to enforce anti-drugs laws in the country. The portal–NIDAAN or the National Integrated Database on Arrested Narco-offenders–has been developed by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).

It is part of the narcotics coordination mechanism (NCORD) portal that was launched by Union Home Minister Amit Shah on July 30 in Chandigarh during the national conference on "Drug trafficking and national security".

Every year on the 20th of August India observers Akshay Urja Diwas or Renewable Energy Day. Akshay Urja Diwas 2022 or Renewable Energy Day aims to spread awareness about the development and adoption of renewable energy in India. Akshay Urja Diwas 2022, marks its importance by promoting and lining up the alarming rate of depletion of Natural resources. This day makes people aware of the use of natural resources like wind energy, solar energy, and hydropower.

Akshay Urja Diwas was first established in 2004 to support renewable energy development programs in India and promote the usage of natural resources.

Sadbhavna Diwas 2022 -

India celebrates Sadbhavna Diwas in memory of Rajiv Gandhi’s birth anniversary. Sadbhavna Diwas 2022 commemorates the 78th birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi on 20th August 2022. Sadbhavna Diwas was instituted after the death of Rajiv Gandhi in 1992, by Congress. Sadbhavna Diwas promotes peace, harmony, empathy, and unity among all citizens of India.

On this several cultural events and contests are organized across the country.

Significance - Sadbhavna Diwas promotes harmony, peace, national integrity, unity, and empathy among all citizens of India On this day, we celebrate the birth anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi, and senior Congress officials and close relatives pay tribute to him. Sadbhavna Diwas is also known for spreading awareness about greenery, protection of the environment, and the beauty of nature. This day promotes awareness among people about environmental challenges faced by the earth day by day. This day also promotes planting at least one sapling to be a part of the environment.

Full-service Vistara emerged as the second biggest airline by domestic market share last month with a 10.4% pie of the sky, distantly second to the market leader IndiGo at 58.8%. The airline is Tata Sons’ joint venture with Singapore Airlines. The number three, four and five positions saw airlines separated by just decimal points — Air India (8.4%), GoFirst (8.2%) and SpiceJet (8%).

India’s airlines carried 9.7 million passengers on domestic routes in July, almost double from a year earlier but lower than the 10.5 million passengers ferried in June 2022.

According to data from the aviation regulator -

Vistara, which had a 7.5% market in January and around 9% in the subsequent months, climbed to 10.4% in July.

Go First carried 8.2% of the domestic passengers last month, while SpiceJet flew 8%.

SpiceJet and Go First have been forced to cut capacity, which helped Vistara overtake them in market share.

Chief Minister Eknath Shinde announces that ’Dahi-Handi’ will be recognized as an official sport in Maharashtra.

The state is set to organize a ’Pro- Dahi Handi’ completion.

The Maharashtra Government also announces that the Govindas will get a job under the sports category and if any Govinda loses his life insurance of Rs 10 lakh will be given, also if they end up being partially handicapped insurance of Rs 5 lakh will be given by the Government of Maharashtra.

The decision was taken as many cities of Maharashtra celebrate and enjoy ’Dahi-Handi’ as an adventurous sport.

The Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) inked a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to establish its first international marketing and sales office in Kuala Lumpur in anticipation of a potential agreement for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas in Malaysia.

The change has taken place because Tejas is being considered by Malaysia as a Fighter Lead-in Trainer (FLIT) aircraft for the Royal Malaysian Air Force.

HAL marketing office: Highlights -

The office in Kuala Lumpur would increase HAL’s potential to obtain the agreement while also enabling them to fulfil other requirements of the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF), such as the upgrading and repairing of the Russian Su-30s and British Hawk trainer aircraft.

India’s first Indigenously Developed Hydrogen Fuel Cell Bus has unveiled in Pune recently by MoS Science and Technology, Dr Jitendra Singh.