Daily Current Affairs 22nd August, 2019

Daily Current Affairs 22 August 2019 for Banking/Insurance/SSC and other related exams.

NATIONAL NEWS

India hands over NPR 2.45 billion to Nepal for housing reconstruction

India handed over a cheque of NPR 2.45 billion to Nepal on towards the reimbursement for housing reconstruction in Nuwakot and Gorkha Districts during the Fifth Joint Commission Metting (JCM) held in Kathmandu.

• A cheque of INR 80.71 cr was also handed over to Nepal. This cheque is a part of the Government of India’s commitment of INR 500 cr towards strengthening road infrastructure in the Terai Region of Nepal.

Union HRD Minister launches NISHTHA to build capacities of 42 Lakh government teachers across the country

Union Human Resource Development Minister Shri Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ launched the National Mission to improve Learning Outcomes at the Elementary level – NISHTHA, National Initiative for School Heads and Teachers Holistic Advancement. During the programme, NISHTHA Website, Training Modules, Primer Booklet and a Mobile App were also launched by the Minister.

• NISHTHA is the world’s largest teachers’ training programme of its kind in the world.
• The basic objective of this massive training programme ‘NISHTHA’ is to motivate and equip teachers to encourage and foster critical thinking in students.

Indian Railways to enforce ban on single-use plastic from Oct 2

In a bid to eliminate single-use plastic in the country, Indian Railways directed all units to enforce a ban on single-use plastic, with less than 50-micron thickness, from October 2 onwards in its premises and trains.

State Tourism Ministers’ conference held in New Delhi

Tourism Minister Prahlad Singh Patel inaugurated the State Tourism Ministers’ Conference in New Delhi. The conference, organised by the Ministry of Tourism was attended by state tourism ministers, secretaries of tourism and senior officials from the states and union Territories (UTs) who are expected to deliberate on various issues related to the development and promotion of tourism.

Rajasthan govt to provide 70 litres free water everyday to residents of 13 desert districts

Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has approved a proposal to provide 70 litres of water for free to residents of the 13 desert districts of the state.

• The state government had previously approved to provide 40 litres of free water to all individuals in rural areas of the state but the fresh decision was taken considering an additional need of 30 litres for residents having livestock in the desrt areas.

Super 50: an initiative for tribal students to fulfil dreams in Maharashtra

Maharashtra’s Tribal Development Department in association with the Pace Educational Trust launched an academic programme for young tribal students aspiring to be doctors and engineers.

• Inspired by the work of Patna’s Anand Kumar and his Super 30, which prepares smart but underprivileged students to sit for IIT entrance exams, the Super 50 programme will mentor 50 most meritorious tribal students from the State and prepare them for engineering and medical exams.

Karnataka emerges as best state for roof top solar in India

Karnataka has emerged as the best state for setting up a roof top solar project according to the State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index–SARAL released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. Telangana, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh come next in the rankings but all four have been graded A++.

• Jammu and Kashmir has been ranked last.

Sheikh Hasina, Sania Mirza to co-chair WEF’s India Economic Summit

Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and tennis star Sania Mirza will be among co-chairs for India Economic Summit to be held in New Delhi in October by the World Economic Forum, where hundreds of Indian and global leaders would discuss India’s role in South Asia and on the world stage.

• The summit will be held under the theme ‘Innovating for India: Strengthening South Asia, Impacting the World’.

Amazon opens its largest office building globally in Hyderabad

E-commerce giant Amazon has formally opened its largest campus building anywhere globally in Hyderabad, a facility spread over 9.5 acres and comprising three million square feet of built up area.

• The new campus is Amazon’s first owned office building outside the U.S. and is the single largest building globally. The office space of 1.8 million sq ft can seat 15,000 people.

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

Fifth India-Nepal Joint Commission meet concludes, MoU signed on food safety

The fifth round of Indo-Nepal Joint Commission meeting concluded in Kathmandu, Nepal with the signing of Memorandum of Understanding on Food Safety and Standards.

• The meeting was co-chaired by External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and Nepal’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Pradeep Kumar Gyawali.

Cerebras Systems reveals “world’s largest computer chip”

US’ Artificial intelligence(AI) company Cerebras Systems has unveiled the world’s largest single silicon-based processor named Cerebras Wafer Scale Engine(WSE). This chip has 1.2 trillion transistors, the basic on-off electronic switches that are the building blocks of silicon chips.

BUSINESS & ECONOMY

Delhi ranks as 10th fastest growing market globally: Knight Frank

Delhi is the 10th fastest growing prime market globally on Knight Frank’s Prime Global Cities Index. The capital region, by virtue of its limited supply of luxury properties, saw a 4.4 per cent rise in weighted average of capital values.

• Although Berlin (Germany) leads the index, its rate of annual growth has slowed from 14.1 per cent in March to 12.7 per cent in June.

BookMyForex partners with YES Bank to launch Forex Card on Visa network

BookMyForex.com, the world’s first and largest marketplace for foreign exchange and remittances, announces the launch of a co-branded Multi-Currency Forex Travel-card in partnership with YES Bank and Visa to offer a seamless experience to Indian overseas travellers.

Mahindra Finance to acquire 58.2% stake in Sri Lanka’s Ideal Finance for Rs80 cr

India’s Mahindra & Mahindra Financial Services (Mahindra Finance) said that it has entered into a joint venture deal with Sri Lanka’s Ideal Finance to acquire up to 58.2% stake in the company for LKR 2 billion (nearly Rs80 crore).

SPORTS

Delhi leg of “Op-Blue Freedom” flag off

Sports Minister Kiren Rijiju and former India football captain Baichung Bhutia flagged off the Delhi leg of Op-Blue Freedom. This is an initiative in which a group of armed forces veterans train sports enthusiasts in survival training and self-defence. Op-Blue Freedom is a nation-wide adaptive scuba diving programme for people with disabilities as well as the able bodied.

Indian women’s hockey team win Olympic Test Event

The Indian Women’s Hockey team won the Olympic Test Event by registering a 2-1 win against Japan in the final at Oi Hockey Stadium in Tokyo, Japan.

Haryana Police inspector bags gold in World Police Games

Haryana Police Inspector Nirmala has bagged a gold medal in wrestling at the World Police and Fire Games 2019, which were held in Chengdu, China.

BCCI awards Paytm title sponsorship rights for 2019-23 home season

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) awarded One 97 Communications Pvt. Ltd. (Paytm) the title sponsorship rights for the 2019-23 international and domestic matches to be played in the country.

• Earlier this year, the cricket board had announced that BYJU’s will be the new sponsor for the Indian team. BYJU’S will be taking over from OPPO in September this year in the home series against South Africa.

APPOINTMENTS

Ajay Kumar appointed new Defence Secretary

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) approved the appointment of senior IAS officer Ajay Kumar as the new Defence Secretary. He will replace Sanjay Mitra whose term ends on August 23.

• IAS officer Subhash Chandra has been appointed the new Secretary, Defence Production in the Defence Ministry. He is presently a Special Secretary in the Department of Defence.

Home Secretary Rajeev Gauba appointed next Cabinet Secretary

Union Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba has been appointed the new Cabinet Secretary, the country’s top bureaucratic post, for a tenure of two years. He will succeed P K Sinha.

Abdalla Hamdok takes charge as Sudan’s new Prime Minister

Prominent economist Abdalla Hamdok has been sworn in as Sudan’s new prime minister, leading the country’s transitional cabinet months after a mass protest movement forced the military removal of long-time authoritarian President Omar al-Bashir.

AWARDS/RECOGNITIONS

JNU prof awarded Pushkin Medal

Prof. Meeta Narain of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) was conferred with the Pushkin Medal, the highest International Award given to a scholar of Russian language and literature for outstanding contribution to Russian studies abroad. It is named after the famous Russian author and poet Alexander S. Pushkin.

Conservationist Vivek Menon wins Clark Bavin Award

Conservationist Vivek Menon, head of Delhi-based conservation non-profit, Wildlife Trust of India was awarded the prestigious Clark R Bavin Wildlife Law Enforcement Award for the year 2019 in Geneva.

• The Bavin award is instituted by the Animal Welfare Institute for wildlife law enforcement officers, law enforcement agencies, agency administrators, criminal investigators, forensic scientists, attorneys, informants, and others who have gone beyond the call of duty and demonstrated a commitment and dedication to combating wildlife crime.

Dwayne Johnson leads Forbes’ highest-paid actors list, Akshay Kumar in top 10

Dwayne Johnson has added another feather to his cap by emerging as the highest-paid actor on the 2019 Forbes’ list. The ‘Hobbs and Shaw’ actor’s earnings of 2018 were rock solid as he raked in a total income of USD 89.4 million.

• Taking Bollywood up the next level, ‘Khiladi’ Akshay Kumar also had his name flashed in the top 10 with earnings of USD 65 million. He ranked 4th in the list.

IMPORTANT DAYS

World Senior Citizen’s Day

The World Senior Citizen’s Day is celebrated on the 21st of August each year. The day is known to increase awareness of the factors and issues that affect older adults, such as age deterioration and the study of problems that affect their lives, elder abuse. It is also a day to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of older people to society.

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