Current Affairs 18th August 2020| Current Affairs News

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CURRENT AFFAIRS: NATIONAL

AYUSH Ministry launches campaign “Ayush for Immunity” for awareness on affordable immunity boosting practices

• The Ministry of AYUSH launched a three-month campaign aimed at increasing awareness about affordable and easy practices that can be adopted for enhancing immunity and preventing any disease.
• The campaign, called “Ayush for Immunity”, was launched through a webinar which saw the participation of more than 50,000 people.
• The webinar was staged on Ayush Virtual Convention Centre (AVCC), the new digital communication platform of the ministry.
• Personalities like spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and actor-model Milind Soman were also part for this event.

About Ministry of AYUSH

• Union Minister of State in the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homoeopathy and Minister of State for Defence- Shripad Yesso Naik
• Constituency: Goa

India Post Issued Stamps on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India

• India Post has released a set of  five commemorative postage stamps and a miniature sheet on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India on 15th August 2020 on the occasion of 74th Independence Day. This is the third part of the series .
• The stamps depicts following fivecultural sites of India-
• Historic City of Ahmedabad
• Churchesand Convents of Goa
• Group ofMonumentsat Pattadakal
• Khajuraho Group ofMonuments
• Qutub Minar

About UNESCO World Heritage Sites

• The United Nations Educational, Scientific andCultural Organization (UNESCO) World Heritage Sites are important places of cultural or natural heritage as described in the UNESCO World Heritage Convention, established in 1972.
• There are 38 World Heritage Sites located in India . These include 30 cultural sites, 7 natural sites and 1 mixed-criteria site. India has the sixth largest number of sites in the world.

About India Post

• Headquarters: New Delhi
• Founded: 1 April 1854

Nitin Gadkari lays foundation for 13 highway projects in Manipur

• Union Minister Nitin Gadkari laid the foundation stones of 3,000-crore highway projects in Manipur and stated the government will soon take up additional projects worth Rs.16,023 crore in the state.
• Laying the foundation stone of the 13 highway projects and inaugurating a road safety project in a virtual ceremony, the road transport, highways and MSME minister promised to also expedite the ongoing Rs.2,250-crore highway works in the state and termed it as his “priority”.
• “Projects worth Rs.16,023 crore will be awarded soon for highway works of 874.5 km. Projects worth Rs.2,250 crore are already underway in the state which will also be expedited,” Gadkari stated.
• He also stated, new projects will be taken up. These include a 106.5-km four-lane project between Kohima and Imphal at Rs.2,663 crore, a 220-km four-lane project on a stretch of NH-37 from Imphal to Jiraban at Rs.5,425 crore, and a 118-km two-lane project on NH-129A at Rs.1,765 crore.
• At the same time, he asked the CM to provide the utilisation certificate for the CRF funds so that a fresh tranche of Rs.250 crore should be granted to states in order to facilitate legislators to start highway projects in the state.

About MoRTH:

• Minister for Road Transport & Highways, Minister of Shipping and MSME: Nitin Jairam Gadkari
• Constituency: Nagpur, Maharashtra

Google partners CWC for flood forecasting initiative

• Google in association with the Central Water Commission (CWC) has taken flood forecasting initiative over the past several months, and sent numerous public alerts to people in impacted regions across the country.
• These alerts provide timely, updated, and critical information that can help users make informed decisions on their safety, and that of their families and friends, Google stated.
• Any user in the affected region having an Android smartphone with location services enabled will receive these alerts, it added. Various parts of the country, including Assam and Bihar, are grappling with floods.
• Users can also use Search to enter a query on a flood-affected area to see key information on the current situation in that region, it added.
• If there is a current flooding situation in the area, the user will see a visual overview of key information, including the rise or fall in the water level in the next day with a description of the recent situation containing specific guidance.
• A colour-coded map indicating the flooded areas is also shown and clicking on this map opens a larger, more detailed view in Google Maps where users can zoom in to get a better understanding of water levels in specific regions, the statement stated.

About Central Water Commission(CWC):

• Chairman– Rajendra Kumar Jain
• Headquarters– New Delhi

Government modifies Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme 2.0

• The Finance Ministry, announced plans to extend and modify the Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme (PCGS) 2.0.
• It has been decided to extend the scheme for three more months to build up the portfolio. At the end of six months(by November 19), the portfolio will be crystallised based on the actual amount disbursed for the guarantee to come into effect. At the portfolio level, ‘AA’ and ‘AA (-)’ rated investment sub-portfolio under the scheme should not exceed 50 per cent against 25 per cent earlier of the total portfolio of bonds/ CPs (commercial paper) purchased by Public Sector Banks under the scheme.
• In May, Aatma Nirbhar Package revamped and extended the existing PCGS to cover the borrowings of lower-rated NBFCs, (non-banking finance companies) HFCs (housing finance companies) and other MFIs (micro finance institutions). Under the 45,000-crore PCGS 2.0, the government will provide 20 per cent first loss sovereign guarantee to PSBs for the purchase of bonds or commercial papers with a rating of AA and below (including unrated paper) issued by NBFCs/HFCs or MFIs.
• In addition, the government had separately announced the Special Liquidity Scheme for purchase of Commercial Papers (CPs) and non-convertible debentures (NCDs) issued by NBFCs/HFCs with a residual maturity of up to three months, which could be extended for a further period of up to three months, of a total value not exceeding 30,000 crore, to be extended by the amount required as per need.
• Under PCGS 2.0, PSBs have approved purchase of bonds/ CPs rated ‘AA/AA-‘ issued by 28 entities, and bonds/CPs rated below AA- issued by 62 entities, amounting to Rs.. 21,262 crore. The average ticket size of bonds/CPs rated below ‘AA-is significantly lower than the average ticket size of bonds/CPs rated ‘AA/AA-‘. Under SLS, proposals of Rs. 7,464 crore have been approved so far for purchase.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: INTERNATIONAL

UK launches £3 million innovation challenge fund in India to tackle COVID-19 and threat to environment

• The UK Government has launched a £3 million Innovation Challenge Fund to support scientists in academia and industry to tackle the most acute global challenges of our time – COVID-19 and the threat to our environment.
• The Fund invites tech innovators with connections to the AI-Data cluster in Karnataka and the Future Mobility cluster in Maharashtra to submit research and development proposals for tackling Covid-19 or which promote a greener planet.
• At least 12 grants up to £250,000 are expected to be awarded. Applicants are required to submit bids as an academia-industry consortium, ideally with an international member. The deadline for submitting two-page concept notes is 31 August and further details are available on the website,” it stated.
• It may be recalled that in April 2018, the Indian and British Prime Ministers announced the formal creation of the UK-India Tech Partnership. The programme aims to bring together the best minds working in tech to unlock its future potential and deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth in both countries. This is part of the UK Industrial strategy.
• These grants are part of a wider initiative under the Tech Partnership known as ‘Tech Clusters’. Tech Clusters will support the development of Indian Tech Clusters by breaking down barriers to growth, including building international links. The intent is to capitalise on regional and sectoral strengths in order to drive innovation-led inclusive growth.

About United Kingdom:

• Currency :Pound sterling
• Prime Minister–Boris Johnson
• Capital– London

India, UAE agree to integrate financial transactions

• Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Al Tayer have agreed to cooperate in the area of FinTech especially UPI and RuPay card, thereby integrating financial transactions between two economies.
• “FM mentioned that with NIP (National Infrastructure Pipeline), there are greater avenues between India & UAE to collaborate in the field of infrastructure investment. The leaders agreed to cooperate in area of FinTech especially UPI & RuPay card, thereby integrating financial transactions between two economies,” the Ministry of Finance tweeted.
• Both the leaders also agreed to work together in aligning the interests of India and UAE in various international forums including G-20 and ITU (International Telecommunication Union), for achieving common goals.
• Earlier, Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar co-chaired the 13th India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting on Trade, Economic and Technical Cooperation along with Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Foreign Affairs in which the two sides reviewed the continuing growth of their cooperation.
• Both sides agreed to hold the next Session of the India-UAE Joint Commission Meeting in Abu Dhabi in 2021.

About UAE:

• President: Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan
• Capital: Abu Dhabi
• Currency: United Arab Emirates dirham

CURRENT AFFAIRS: BANKING AND FINANCE

ADB Approves $750,000 Technical Assistance to Develop Distance Education Platform in Armenia

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a grant-financed $750,000 Knowledge and Support Technical Assistance project to help Armenia improve resilience to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and other disasters by developing and operationalizing a distance education platform.
• The project will support the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MoESCS) to ensure quality and continuous education during times of emergency and normal situations.
• The assistance will improve the regulatory and institutional framework supporting distance learning, as well as the capacity of users through a training of trainers scheme for effective operation of the distance education platform.
• Under the program, a distance education platform will be developed to provide more learning modalities and information in a learner-friendly format.
• The platform will support kindergarten through grade 12 education institutions to deliver online courses and provide teachers and students with real-time feedback mechanisms, assignment distribution and monitoring, and other student-centric learning tools.
• The program will help the government develop policies to provide equal opportunities for all to use the platform, which addresses the needs and diverse physical capabilities of learners, their caregivers, and teachers.

About ADB

• Headquarters: Mandaluyong, Philippines
• President: Masatsugu Asakawa
• Founded: 19 December 1966
• Membership: 68 countries

About Armenia

• Capital: Yerevan
• Currency: Armenian dram

Bharti AXA Life, SBM Bank India enter into bancassurance partnership

• Bharti AXA Life Insurance has entered into bancassurance partnership with SBM Bank India for distribution of life insurance products through the latter’s network.
• Under this agreement, Bharti AXA Life Insurance will offer its entire suite of life insurance products, including protection, health, savings and investment plans, to the customers of SBM Private Wealth, the retail banking arm of SBM Bank India.
• SBM Bank India, one of the youngest new age banks in the country, has presence in six cities and serves its customers through direct and collaborative networks. The collaboration would offer different life insurance products to SBM Bank’s customers in Mumbai, New Delhi, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Ramachandrapuram.
• Bharti AXA Life Insurance tied up with Karnataka Bank as its first major bancassurance partnership to distribute its various insurance solutions.

About SBM bank:

• Headquarters: Port Louis, Mauritius
• Chairman: Mr. Kee Chong LI KWONG WING

About Bharti Axa General Insurance Company Ltd:

• Headquarters: Mumbai
• MD & CEO: Sanjeev Srinivasan

CURRENT AFFAIRS: STATES

Chhattisgarh CM announces ‘Padhai Tuhar Para’  scheme for school students

• Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel announced to launch a special scheme under which school students will be able to learn in their respective localities in view of the suspension of classes due to the coronavirus outbreak.
• The online education platform ‘Padhai Tunhar Duar’ scheme launched by the state government earlier during the lockdown yielded better results and around 22 lakh children are getting its benefit.
• Besides, a Bluetooth-based programme ‘Bultu Ke Bol’ will be introduced for providing study materials to students in remote areas who do not have access to internet facility.
• ‘Mukhyamantri Slum Swasthya Yojana’ will be launched in urban areas under which people will be provided health facilities at their doorstep through 70 mobile medical units in all the 14 municipal corporations.
• Similarly, Radhabai Diagnostic Centre Scheme will also be introduced under which pathology and other testing facilities will be provided at concessional rates.

About Chhattisgarh

• Chief minister: Bhupesh Baghel
• Governor: Anusuiya Uikey
• Capitals: Bilaspur, Raipur

Andhra Pradesh teams up with NPCI for digital payments in hinterlands 

• Andhra Pradesh government has announced teaming up with the National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) and Canara Bank to empower over 15,000 village and ward secretariats with digital payments in the rural areas.
• The initiative, aimed at providing impetus to digital payments among last-mile customers towards financial inclusion was launched by the chief minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, introducing UPI QR code in 15,004 village and ward secretariats.
• NPCI’s flagship product UPI allows users to transfer money on a real-time basis, across multiple bank accounts without revealing details of one’s bank account to the other party.
• This first-of-its-kind initiative will not only reduce the time spent by villagers waiting in serpentine queues but also ensure secure, instant and contactless payments especially amid COVID-19 outbreak.
• The government has also designated a Digital Assistant, who will facilitate UPI payments for rural customers in the villages and transfer money to a common pool account where it is supposed to be credited.

About NPCI

• Headquarters location: Mumbai
• Founded: 2008
• MD & CEO: Dilip Asbe

About Canara Bank

• Headquarters: Bengaluru
• CEO: Lingam Venkat Prabhakar

Karnataka plans to implement new National Education Policy by 2030

• Karnataka has planned to implement all the provisions of the new National Education Policy by 2030. As part of this, the state has decided to launch six research oriented Universities, 10 teaching oriented Universities and 34 autonomous educational institutions in the next three years.
• The decision was taken at a meeting held under Deputy Chief Minister Dr. C N Ashwathnarayan and Primary Education Minister Suresh Kumar in Bengaluru with academicians.
• The Government appointed Task Force, which is mandated with the advisory role to implement the new Education Policy, will be handing over a draft road map to the Government.

About Karnataka:

• Capital: Bengaluru
• Chief minister: B. S. Yediyurappa
• Governor: Vajubhai Vala

Meghalaya govt. plans to launch ‘Restart Meghalaya Mission’, says CM Conrad K Sangma

• A ‘Restart Meghalaya Mission’ was launched by chief minister Conrad K Sangma on the occasion of Independence. This mission comprises a series of programs to support our farmers, and entrepreneurs and to build growth promoting basic infrastructure and services.
• He stated the Mission was based on the recommendations of the Chief Minister’s Task Force on the Economy on short, medium and long term measures for reviving the State economy, which has been hit hard due to the pandemic.
• The Chief Minister stated the Mission is a series of programmes to support farmers, entrepreneurs working in different fields and sectors. An amount of Rs 14,515 crore will be spent over the next three years for the Mission and out of the amount Rs 7,839 crore have been earmarked for this year, he added.
• He further noted that the State government is promoting various other schemes and projects which include National Rural Livelihood Mission, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana besides others.
• The Chief Minister stated that the State government is also leveraging on the Jal Jeevan Mission and targeting to provide functional household tap connections to 5,89,000 households in the State by 2022.

About Meghalaya:

• Capital: Shillong
• Chief minister: Conrad Sangma
• Governor: Tathagata Roy

CURRENT AFFAIRS: MOU

Flipkart forges academic collaboration with IIT Patna

• Leading e-commerce player Flipkart has entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology Patna (IIT Patna) to jointly create industry focused applied research in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Natural Language Processing (NLP) and Machine Learning (ML).
• As a part of the MoU, IIT Patna will undertake a number of programmes like joint research activities, writing research papers, organising seminars, internship and mentorship opportunities.
• The academic collaboration is expected to bring real-world industry exposure to students and scholars of IIT Patna and provide an opportunity for faculty members to work closely with Flipkart on research projects, stated the e-commerce marketplace in a statement.
• The company works closely with academia through some of the leading institutes including Indian Institute of Science (IISC), IIT (Kharagpur, Bombay and Kanpur), IIM (Ahmedabad and Kolkata) and foreign universities like Carnegie Mellon University and the University of California at San Diego.
• It has resulted in several research papers at world-class conferences in areas like information retrieval and knowledge discovery.

About Flipkart:

• HQ: Bengaluru
• CEO: Kalyan Krishnamurthy

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPOINTMENTS AND RESIGNATIONS

IPS officer Rakesh Asthana appointed BSF chief two years

• Former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana appointed the Director General of the Border Security Force (BSF).
• Asthana was moved out of the CBI in 2018 amid a spat between him and former CBI director Alok Verma that saw both of them trade corruption allegations.
• V S K Kaumudi will be Special Secretary (Internal Security) in the Home Ministry.
• Asthana is at present working as the Director General of Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS).
• Kaumudi is presently working as DG, Bureau of Police research and Development (BPR&D).

Satya Pal Malik appointed as Meghalaya Governor

• The Governor of Goa, Satya Pal Malik has been transferred and appointed as Governor of Meghalaya. Rashtrapati Bhavan in a communique stated that Maharashtra Governor  Bhagat Singh Koshyari will  discharge the functions of the Governor of Goa in addition to his own duties.
• These appointments will take effect from the dates they assume charge of their  offices.

DBS Bank India appoints Prashant Joshi as Managing Director and Head of National Distribution

• DBS Bank India announced the appointment of Prashant Joshi as Managing Director and Head of National Distribution.
• He will report to Surojit Shome, Managing Director and CEO of DBS Bank India Limited.
• Joshi was earlier Chief Operating Officer, IndoStar Capital Finance. He has nearly three decades of experience in the banking sector across consumer, SME and corporate banking with leading banks and financial institutions.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SUMMITS AND CONFERENCE

Indian Solar Alliance to hold World Solar Technology Summit on September 8

• The Indian Solar Alliance which India initiated with France in 2015 will hold the World Solar Technology Summit for the first time on September 8.
• The World Solar Technology Summit is an attempt to bring together scientists, engineers and member states to sit down together and think about what the challenges are in realising the dream of making energy affordable and abundant.
• Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Ministers from ISA member countries, dignitaries and nobel laureates are expected to participate in the virtual summit.
• The International Solar Alliance is an alliance of sunshine rich countries set up by India and France on the sidelines of the Paris meeting on climate change in November 2015.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: AWARDS AND HONOURS

Nagaland school wins Pallikkutam award for innovation in education

• The first-ever Pallikkutam National Award for Innovation in Education, instituted by Rajagiri Media, has been won by St Christopher School, Chessore Village, Nagaland.
• The silver award was won by DAV Public School, Haryana, and the bronze award by CMI Christ School, Iritty in Kerala.
• The awards, carrying a cash prize of 1,00,000, Rs.50,000 and Rs.25,000, respectively, are meant to honour education leadership by way of frugal and disruptive innovations that help them cross the Covid-19 induced academic lockdown. The awards are sponsored under the CSR initiative of Federal Bank.
• The award winners were chosen by an expert jury set up by the Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode.
• The award committee noted that Christopher School in Nagaland ensured smooth running of classes despite the limited infrastructure and resource constraints in a rural area.
• The school has done a great job of balancing online and offline activities, relying mostly on WhatsApp. Students found the sessions enjoyable and even took part in talent and literary competitions.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: APPS AND PORTALS

5paisa launches free app to guide investors in stock market

• Discount broker com has launched a free app to help investors in the stock market understand about safe investment and successful wealth creation.
• The app — 5paisa school— focuses on micro-learning and has many one-minute modules to meet expectations of young investors.
• 5paisa school has collaborated with industry experts for live webinars and host content created by influencers to help investors learn the advanced trading techniques.
• The content is available in both video and textual formats to make the whole process of learning simple and enjoyable. 5paisa school also provides certification on course completion.
• 5paisa school is a collection of modules catering to the different aspects of the market.

Govt launches e-portal on tribal health & nutrition

• Tribal Affairs Minister Arjun Munda inaugurated the e-portal on tribal health and nutrition named ‘Swasthya’. The portal provides all health and nutrition related information of the tribal population of India on a single platform.
• Swasthya will also curate innovative practices, case studies, and best practices collected from different parts of India to facilitate the exchange of evidence, expertise and experiences.
• Mr Munda stated, the launch of the portal is a first step towards the much bigger goal of serving the tribal population of the nation. He informed about the initiatives of the Ministry in partnership with Facebook through the Going Online as Leaders (GOAL) Programme.
• Mr Munda stated, through the GOAL Programme, the Ministry aims to mentor five thousand tribal youth across India and enable them to become village-level digital young leaders for their communities.

About Ministry Of Tribal Affairs:      

• Arjun Munda, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Khunti
• Renuka Singh Saruta, Minister of State

MSDE to soon launch a demand-driven skill portal for workforce

• The Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) will soon come up with a demand-driven skilling portal “I want to skill myself”. The portal will provide an opportunity to the workforce to demand the kind of skilling, upskilling and re-skilling they need for themselves.
• The portal that is still in the testing stage will be launched in a month, official stated.This comes after MSDE last month announced the launch of portal ‘Aatmanirbhar Skilled Employee Employer Mapping’ (ASEEM) to help skilled people find sustainable livelihood opportunities.
• ASEEM refers to all the data, trends that describe the workforce market and map demand of skilled workforce to supply.
• The data further mentioned that the top five job giving sectors are logistics, tourism and hospitality, construction, IT-ITeS and telecom. The five major job demanding States are Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, Telangana and Haryana.

About Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship:

• Mahendra Nath Pandey, Cabinet Minister
• Constituency: Chandauli
• Raj Kumar Singh, Minister of State

CURRENT AFFAIRS: RANKING

Bengaluru ranks 26th in Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index Q2

• Bengaluru and the national capital New Delhi ranked 26th and 27th, respectively, globally in ‘Prime Global Cities Index Q2 2020′, according to Knight Frank report.
• Mumbai is at 32nd position.
• The Philippines capital Manila leads the index with prime home prices rising by 4 per cent over the 12 months to June 2020, followed by Japan’s Tokyo (8.60 per cent) and Sweden’s Stockholm (4.40 per cent).
• Thailand’s capital Bangkok was the weakest-performing global city in the year to June 2020, with luxury home prices falling by 5.8 per cent.

About Prime Global Cities Index

• The Prime Global Cities Index is a valuation-based index tracking the movement in prime residential prices in local currency across 40+ cities worldwide using data from Knight Frank’s global research network.

Mukesh Ambani slips two ranks, now seventh richest in the world

• Mukesh Ambani has dropped two positions to become the seventh-richest man in the world according to Forbes Real Time Billionaires List. 
• Ambani’s net worth is valued at $78.3 billion, while Elon Musk was sixth with a marginally high net worth of $78.6 billion. Warren Buffet climbed back the ranks and is currently the fifth-richest with a net worth of $79.5 billion.
• Ambani is the only Asian tycoon in the elite list of the top 10 richest people in the world.
• Jezz Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon continues to rule to top spot, with a net worth of $190 billion, while Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft ranked second with a net worth of $114 billion.

Elon Musk gains $8 billion to become world’s fourth-richest person

• Elon Musk’s financial upswing shows no signs of slowing. The outspoken entrepreneur is now the world’s fourth-richest person after Tesla Inc. shares surged 11 per cent, closing at a record high and boosting Musk’s net worth by $7.8 billion.
• The rise vaulted the Tesla co-founder past French luxury tycoon Bernard Arnault, the wealthiest non-American on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Musk’s $84.8 billion fortune puts him within $15 billion of Mark Zuckerberg, No. 3 on the ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.
• Musk’s fortune has grown by $57.2 billion this year, the second-biggest increase on the index after Amazon.com Inc. founder Jeff Bezos’s. The world’s richest man has accumulated $73 billion in 2020 and is now worth $188 billion.
• Facebook Inc’s Mark Zuckerberg became a centibillionaire this month, joining Bezos and Bill Gates, the second-wealthiest person on earth.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: SPORTS

Lewis Hamilton Breaks Michael Schumacher’s Record With Spanish Grand Prix Win

• Lewis Hamilton claimed his 88th Formula One career victory and, with it, an outright record 156th podium finish in the Spanish Grand Prix.
• It was the world championship leader and six-time champion’s fifth win in Spain and his fourth in consecutive years, extending his record run of finishes in the points to 39.
• Hamilton had shared a record 155 podium finishes with Michael Schumacher whose other records for championships and wins are in the Briton’s sights this year.
• Max Verstappen of Red Bull who finished second ahead of Valtteri Bottas.

CURRENT AFFAIRS: OBITUARY

Renowned vocalist Pandit Jasraj passes away at 90

• Indian classical vocalist Pandit Jasraj passed away following a cardiac arrest.
• Indian classical vocal music was a recipient of various prestigious awards and honours including Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan.
• In September last year, a minor planet, between Mars and Jupiter, was named after him. International Astronomical Union (IAU) named minor planet 2006 VP32 (number -300128), discovered on November 11, 2006, as ‘Panditjasraj’ which traverses the cosmos between the orbits of Mars and Jupiter.

DAILY CA 16^th & 17^th AUG

• Indonesian Independence Day- 17^th august
• PM launches Project Lion, Project Dolphin
• NITI Aayog launches ‘ATL AI Step Up Module’ for students on Independence Day eve
• PM Modi launches National Digital Health Mission; Every Indian to have Health IDs
• NTPC develops infrastructure at Rihand project for increased use of fly ash
• EU launches 1-mn-euro project in Maharashtra, Odisha for skilling women in housing sector
• One in two youths subject to depression, anxiety, says ILO survey on effects of Covid-19
• Digital Apnayen: PNB launches campaign to encourage digital banking
• NSE, IIM-Bangalore join hands to offer platform for investor education
• Universal Sompo General Insurance and BSE EBIX join hands
• Gwalior-Chambal Expressway to be named after Atal Bihari Vajpayee
• CM Pema Khandu launches Arunachal Pradesh Challenge Entrepreneurship Programme on Independence Day
• Indian Railways constructing world’s tallest pier bridge across river Ijai in Manipur
• Nagaland Cm Launches E-Commerce Platform ‘Yellowchain’
• Indian Idol Fame Shahzan Mujeeb signed as first ever National Brand Ambassador of Aligarh Municipal Corporation
• Former RBI governor Urjit Patel in search panel for Monetary Policy Committee members
• WHO Chief Scientist Soumya Swaminathan honoured with TN CM’s special award
• Telangana CM honours poet Tirunagari Ramanujam with Dasaradhi Award for 2020
• India calls for real-time information sharing among BRICS nations to tackle drug menace
• Ex-Vice Marshal Subramaniam pens book “Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020
• ‘The Secret’ author Rhonda Byrne’s ‘Greatest Secret’ out in November
• ‘A Bend in Time’: Pandemic through the eyes of children
• Chandrayaan-2 captures image of crater on Moon; ISRO names it after Vikram Sarabhai
• IIT Kharagpur Launches DEEKSHAK Platform for Organizations to Conduct Online Classes
• Zydus Cadila launches India’s cheapest remdesivir version Remdac
• Anti-drone system developed by DRDO deployed near Red Fort on Independence Day
• MS Dhoni announces retirement from international cricket
• Suresh Raina Announces Retirement From International Cricket
• AIFF & SAI join hands to launch E-Pathshala
• Former India cricketer Chetan Chauhan passes away due to Covid-19
• Robert Trump: brother of president Donald Trump passes away
• Renowned Carnatic musician & Veena artist Dr B Siva Kumar passes away

DAILY CA 18^th AUG

• AYUSH Ministry launches campaign “Ayush for Immunity” for awareness on affordable immunity boosting practices
• India Post Issued Stamps on UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India
• Nitin Gadkari lays foundation for 13 highway projects in Manipur
• Google partners CWC for flood forecasting initiative
• Government modifies Partial Credit Guarantee Scheme 2.0
• UK launches £3 million innovation challenge fund in India to tackle COVID-19 and threat to environment
• India, UAE agree to integrate financial transactions
• ADB Approves $750,000 Technical Assistance to Develop Distance Education Platform in Armenia
• Bharti AXA Life, SBM Bank India enter into bancassurance partnership
• Chhattisgarh CM announces ‘Padhai Tuhar Para’ scheme for school students
• Andhra Pradesh teams up with NPCI for digital payments in hinterlands
• Karnataka plans to implement new National Education Policy by 2030
• Meghalaya govt. plans to launch ‘Restart Meghalaya Mission’, says CM Conrad K Sangma
• Flipkart forges academic collaboration with IIT Patna
• IPS officer Rakesh Asthana appointed BSF chief two years
• Satya Pal Malik appointed as Meghalaya Governor
• DBS Bank India appoints Prashant Joshi as Managing Director and Head of National Distribution
• Indian Solar Alliance to hold World Solar Technology Summit on September 8
• Nagaland school wins Pallikkutam award for innovation in education
• 5paisa launches free app to guide investors in stock market
• Govt launches e-portal on tribal health & nutrition
• MSDE to soon launch a demand-driven skill portal for workforce
• Bengaluru ranks 26th in Knight Frank Prime Global Cities Index Q2
• Mukesh Ambani slips two ranks, now seventh richest in the world
• Elon Musk gains $8 billion to become world’s fourth-richest person
• Lewis Hamilton Breaks Michael Schumacher’s Record With Spanish Grand Prix Win
• Renowned vocalist Pandit Jasraj passes away at 90