Current Affairs – August 2020 - time4education.com

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Current Affairs – August 2020Topic Index

01. National 2

03. Banking Awareness 15

04. International 21

05. Science & Technology 25

07. Sports 33

08. Awards 40

09. Books & Authors 45

10. Indexes 47

11. Important Days 49

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02. Business & Economy 11

1

06. Persons In News 28

NATIONAL

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• The Agriculture Department of Jammu and Kashmir has set up an e-auction portal to enhance trading of GI-tagged ‘Kashmir Saffron’. The portal has been launched with the primary objective of assuring buyers to have access to quality ‘Kashmir Saffron’.

• Google has launched its employment application named ‘Kormo Jobs’ in India. It would help millions of Indians to get entry-level jobs.

• Tata Group is launching a new app named “Super App”. The app will offer food and grocery ordering, fashion and lifestyle, consumer electronics and consumer durables, insurance and financial services, education, healthcare and bill payments.

• Uttar Pradesh government has signed a ‘plan of cooperation’ with Israel government to resolve water crisis in Bundelkhand region.

National


• A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed by the Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode (IIM-K) with the Switzerland-based HELP Logistics. The partnership between the two entities seeks to produce humanitarian logistics in India

• Atal Innovation Mission (AIM), NITI Aayog and Business Sweden on behalf of India Sweden Healthcare Innovation Centre has signed a virtual Statement of Intent (SoI) to expand the culture of innovation in the country.

• National Council for Promotion of Urdu Language (NCPUL) has organised the “World Urdu Conference” in New Delhi.

National


• Unique employment generation program “Khadi Agarbatti Aatmanirbhar Mission” has been approved by the Union Minister for MSME, Nitin Gadkari. The programme has been proposed by the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) to make India Aatmanirbhar in Agarbatti production.

• Dr V K Paul, Member Niti Aayog has chaired the meeting of National Expert Group on Vaccine Administration for COVID-19.

• The Ministry of Defence has announced a list of over 100 items that would be banned for import beyond the time indicated against them.

• India will take part in the multilateral military “Russian Kavkaz 2020” strategic command-post exercise to be held in Astrakhan, Russia.

National


• Chunauti”, a Next Generation Startup Challenge Contest has been launched by the Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology, Ravi Shankar Prasad. The contest aims to further boost startups and software products with special attention on Tier-II towns of India.

• Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal has virtually launched the “National GIS-enabled Land Bank system“.

• The India Component of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC)–Transport Initiative for Asia (TIA) will be launched by the NITI Aayog. It will aim to set up a multi-stakeholder dialogue platform in order to decarbonize transport in India.

• The longest river ropeway of India has been inaugurated in Assam. The ropeway is 1.8 Km long and connects Southern Bank in Guwahati and North Guwahati over Brahmaputra river.

National


• Ministry of Tribal Affairs has signed a joint communication with Ministry of Rural Development to promote sustainable livelihood opportunities.

• The establishment of “National Recruitment Agency” has received the Union Cabinet‘s approval.

• Drone based surveillance system has been introduced by the Indian Railways for Railway security.

• An “Innovation Challenge Fund” of £3 Million has been launched by the government of United Kingdom (UK) in India. The newly launched fund aims to support research and development (R&D) proposals to address the challenges posed to the economy and the environment, by the COVID-19 pandemic.

National


• Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched the Tribal Health and Nutrition Portal “Swasthya” and e-newsletter on health and nutrition “ALEKH”. The ministry has also announced the opening of National Overseas Portal and National Tribal Fellowship Portal.

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced the “One Sun, One World, One Grid” (OSOWOG) plan. Under this, there will be a trans-national electricity grid, for supplying solar power across the globe.

• Reliance Foundation has launched the “W-GDP Women Connect Challenge” across India in association with US Agency for International Development (USAID) and Women’s Global Development and Prosperity (W-GDP).

National


• Union Environment Minister, Prakash Javadekar has launched National Portal on Human-Elephant conflict called “SURAKHSYA”.

• The submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Andaman & Nicobar Islands to the mainland has been launched. The 2300 Kms long submarine cable will boost the endless opportunities in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands by providing better internet & mobile connectivity.

• India gives USD 15.5 million to the India-UN Development Partnership Fund, under its commitment to supporting developing nations in their developmental priorities across all the Sustainable Development Goals.

• The Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has launched one-stop knowledge portal named as “MSMESaksham” in association with TransUnion CIBIL.

National


• Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, Shivraj Singh Chouhan has announced that the Gwalior-Chambal Expressway will be named Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Chambal Progressway.

• Goa’s traditional festive sweet dish ‘Khaje’, spicy Harmal Chilli and Myndoli Banana (Moira Banana) has obtained Geographical Indication (GI) tag from the Geographical Indications Registry.

• Mumbai’s Dadar has become the first in India to have women symbols on traffic signals and signage.

• A sports gaming platform, WTF Sports has appointed cricketers Harmanpreet Kaur and Suresh Raina as its global brand ambassadors.

National

BUSINESS & ECONOMY


• A “Green Deposit Programme” has been launched by the HSBC India. Under this programme, the bank will use the deposits to finance green initiatives and environment friendly projects.

• Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL), wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited has acquired majority equity stake in Chennai-based Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. as well as in its subsidiaries. Vitalic Health Pvt. Ltd. runs an online pharmacy platform “Netmeds” which connects customers to pharmacists

• Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) launched India’s first bullion index named “Bulldex”.

Business and Economy


• The Government of India, the Government of Maharashtra, Mumbai Railway VikasCorporation and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has signed a loan agreement for a $500 million Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III.

• Paytm has launched India’s first Pocket Android POS (Point of Sale) Device named ‘Paytm All-in-One Portable Android Smart POS’ for contactless ordering and payments in India.

• National Bank of Bahrain (NBB) has selected Infosys Finacle to digitally transform its transaction banking business.

• The proposed acquisition of C&S Electric Limited by Siemens Limited has received the approval of the Competition Commission of India (CCI).



• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a USD 1 billion (Rs 7,485 crore) loan to construct the modern, high-speed 82-kilometre (Delhi – Meerut) Uttar Pradesh Regional Rapid Transit System (RRTS) in India.

• Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) has announced a special scheme to revive lapsed policies named ‘Special Revival Campaign’.


BANKING AWARENESS


• HDFC Bank has announced a strategic partnership with Adobe to enhance the Digital Experiences of its Customers.

• Axis Bank has introduced ‘Liberty Savings Account’ for the Indian Youth, to address the ever-changing lifestyle needs of young and digitally interested Indians.

• The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development has revealed a dedicated debt and credit guarantee product named as “Structured Finance and Partial Guarantee Program for Non-Banking Finance Companies (NBFC)-Micro Finance Institutions (MFIs)”.

• SBI General Insurance has launched a first-of-its-kind insurance product called ‘Shagun –Gift an Insurance”, which is a unique gift of Personal Accident policy.

Banking Awareness


• ICICI Bank uses satellite data to assess the creditworthiness of farmers. ICICI Bank has become the first bank in India to use such a technique to measure an array of parameters and use it in combination with demographic and financial parameters to make quick lending decisions for farmers.

• ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company and Bharti AXA General Insurance Company have announced the merger of their businesses.

• Axis Bank has launched a new initiative named ‘Gig-a-Opportunities’. The initiative aims to attract skilled talent that can work with the bank remotely, from anywhere in the country.

• Loan against Securities’ is a unique digital solution launched by the YES Bank under its loan in seconds platform.

Banking Awareness


• Fino Payments Bank has launched Jan BachatKhata (JBK), which is an AadhaarAuthentication based digital savings account that brings neo-banking experience to consumers.

• HDFC Bank has launched “Shaurya KGC Card” for Indian armed forces personnel. The card will offer agriculture loans for military and paramilitary professionals. A first-of-its-kind product for over 45 lakh Indian armed forces personnel.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced to introduce a mechanism of ‘Positive Pay’ feature for all cheques of value Rs 50,000 and above. Positive pay is a fraud-prevention system offered by most commercial banks to companies to protect them against forged, altered and counterfeit checks.

Banking Awareness


• Punjab National Bank has launched a campaign named ‘DIGITAL APNAYEN’ to encourage customers to use digital banking channels.

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has set up an expert committee under veteran banker KV Kamath to suggest financial parameters for resolution of Covid-19 related stressed assets.

• Private sector lender Axis Bank has launched an Automated Voice Assistant ‘AXAA’. AXAA is an artificial intelligence-powered conversational voice BOT. The Automated Voice Assistant will function like a humanoid and has the ability to change the paradigm of customer experience from conventional Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system.

Banking Awareness


• RBI’s 2nd Bi-Monthly Monetary Policy Statement 2020-21.• The repo rate under the liquidity adjustment facility (LAF) has been kept unchanged

at 4.00%.• The reverse repo rate under the LAF has been kept unchanged at 3.35%.• The marginal standing facility (MSF) rate and the Bank Rate have been kept

unchanged at 4.25%.• Cash Reserve Ratio – 3%• Statutory Liquidity Ratio – 18%

• Kotak Mahindra Bank has announced the launch of a two-month-long campaign called ‘Kona Kona Umeed’ with huge offers and discounts to lift up hope and optimism among its customers in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic.

Banking Awareness

INTERNATIONAL


• The Africa Regional Certification Commission (ARCC), an independent body set up by the World Health Organization (WHO), has certified the African continent free from wild Polio virus.

• Francisco Pascual Eyegue Obama Asue was reappointed as the Prime Minister of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea for 3rd consecutive term.

• Keith Rowley sworn in as Prime Minister of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago for a 2nd consecutive 5-year term.

• Malian President, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita has resigned and dissolved parliament hours after mutinying soldiers detained him.

International


• President of USA, Donald J. Trump, Prime Minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Nahyan have agreed to the full normalization of relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

• The Prime Minister of Lebanon, Hassan Diab and his entire government has resigned, in the wake of the major blast in Beirut that has triggered public outrage, and anger at the Lebanese government for their failure to prevent the disaster.

• Walter Roger Martos Ruiz becomes new Prime Minister of Peru

• President of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko has won his sixth consecutive term.

International


• A “state of environmental emergency” has been declared by the island nation of Mauritius. The environmental emergency has been declared as a Japanese bulk carrier “MV Wakashio” ran aground on a reef in Mauritius and began leaking oil into the ocean.

• The United Arab Emirates became the first Arab country to open a nuclear power plant, when the Unit 1 of the Barakah Nuclear Plant in Abu Dhabi, got operational.

• Russia chaired the 4th Meeting of the BRICS Anti-Drug Working Group.

• Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise, Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has rolled out a technology-driven agri-commodity trading and sourcing platform “Agriota E-Marketplace”.

International

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY


• China has successfully launched 5th Earth observation satellite, Gaofen-9 (05), from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in northwest China.

• Indian Institute of Technology’s (IIT) Alumni Council has signed an agreement with Russia’s Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU) and Russoft to build the world’s largest and fastest hybrid quantum computer in India.

• Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Veer Surendra Sai University of Technology (VSSUT) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding(MoU) to set up the first of its kind innovation cum incubation centre, VSSUT Space Innovation Centre (VSSSIC) to promote space research.

Science & Technology


• The National Aeronautics and Space Administration has launched “Mars 2020 Perseverance rover mission” with United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket to the Red Planet “Mars”.

• Skyroot Aerospace, a Spacetech startup has successfully test fired an upper stage rocket engine “Raman”. With this, Skyroot Aerospace has become the first Indian private firm to exhibit the potential to build a homegrown rocket engine. “Raman” is a 3-D printed rocket engine .

Science & Technology

PERSONS IN NEWS


• G Satheesh Reddy was given a two-year extension as the chairman of DefenceResearch and Development Organisation (DRDO).

• Government of India has appointed Ashwani Bhatia as the managing director (MD) of the State Bank of India (SBI).

• TikTok CEO, Kevin Mayer has stepped down from the post, amid US pressure for its Chinese owner to sell the popular video app.

• The Government of India has appointed Rajiv Kumar as the new Election Commissioner of India.

• Sports eyewear brand “Oakley” has appointed Indian cricketer, Rohit Sharma as its brand ambassador for a period of two years in India.

Person In News


• President of India, Ram Nath Kovind has appointed Satya Pal Malik as the Governor of Meghalaya.

• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has appointed GP Garg as executive director.

• Government of India has appointed Rakesh Asthana as the new director-general of the Border Security Force (BSF).

• Amritsar based e-mobility start-up, eBikeGO has appointed Indian cricketer HarbhajanSingh as its brand ambassador.

• Kaushik Khona has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of GoAir Airline.

Person In News


• Former RBI deputy governor, Subhash Sheoratan Mundra has been appointed as non-executive chairman of Indiabulls Housing Finance.

• Soma Mondal has been selected by the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) as the next chairman of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL).

• Pramod Bhasin has been appointed as a new Chairman of Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

• Former NABARD Chief, Harsh Kumar Bhanwala has been appointed as executive chairman of the Capital India Finance Limited.

• PNB Housing Finance has announced the appointment of the former SBI Card head, Hardayal Prasad as its new managing director and chief executive officer.

Person In News


• P S Ranpise has been appointed as Inspector General (IG), in Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).

• Pradeep Kumar Joshi has appointed as the chairman of the Union Public Service Commission

• Girish Chandra Murmu has been appointed as the new Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India

• President Ram Nath Kovind has appointed former Union minister Manoj Sinha as the next Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir.

• The Reserve Bank of India has approved the appointment of Sashidhar Jagdishan as the next Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of HDFC Bank.

Person In News

SPORTS


• India and Russia have become the joint winners of FIDE online Chess Olympiad.

• The Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports, Kiren Rijiju has announced an enhancement in the prize money in four of the seven categories of the National Sports and Adventure Awards.• The prize money for the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award has been increased to 25

lakh rupees from the previous amount of 7.5 lakh rupees.• Arjuna Award has been enhanced to 15 lakh rupees from 5 lakh.• The Dhronacharya (Lifetime) awardees, who were earlier given 5 lakh rupees will

now be given 15 lakh rupees as cash prize, while Dhronacharya (Regular) will be given 10 lakh instead of 5 lakh rupees per awardee.

• Dhyanchand Awardees will be given 10 lakh rupees instead of 5 lakh rupees.

Sports


• Dwayne John Bravo became the first bowler in cricket to take 500 wickets in Twenty20 matches. He achieved the feat in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) 2020 match.

• The most successful men’s doubles pair in tennis history, Mike Bryan and Bob Bryan have announced their retirement from the sport.

• German Golfer Sophia Popov won the Women’s British Open 2020 title (rebranded as 2020 AIG Women’s Open) by defeating Thailand’s Jasmine Suwannapura by two strokes at Royal Troon in Scotland.

• German professional sports club, Bayern Munich won the UEFA Champions League 2019-20 title by defeating Paris Saint-Germain 1-0.

Sports


• South African all-rounder Jacques Kallis, Pakistan batting great Zaheer Abbas and Pune-born former Australian captain Lisa Sthalekar were inducted into the International Cricket Council’s Hall of Fame in a virtual ceremony.

• Ronnie O’Sullivan defeated Kyren Wilson with a score of 18-8 to win the World Snooker Championship 2020.

• The governing body for the Olympic Movement in India, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) and INOX Group has signed a sponsorship agreement to support Team India for Tokyo Olympics, 2021.

Sports


• The title sponsorship rights of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2020 has been bagged by the fantasy gaming start-up “Dream 11“. The fantasy gaming start-up has bagged the title sponsorship rights for Rs 222 crore.

• All India Football Federation (AIFF) has launched the web platform “E-Pathshala” in partnership with the Sports Authority of India (SAI).

• Fit India Youth Club” initiative has been launched by the Union Minister of Youth and Sports, Kiren Rijiju. Fit India Youth Club is an nation-wide initiative which has been launched to promote fitness among every citizen.

• Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes-Great Britain) has won the Formula One Spanish Grand Prix 2020 held at Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Spain.

Sports


• Mahendra Singh Dhoni has announced his retirement from the International Cricket. He was the only captain to win all three major International Cricket Council (ICC) trophies i.e. the World Cup, the World Twenty20 and the Champions Trophy.

• Indian batsman Suresh Raina has announced his retirement from the International Cricket.

• The Red Bull racer, Max Verstappen has won the 70th Anniversary Grand Prix. Mercedes racer Lewis Hamilton finished the race at second postion while another Mercedes racer Valtteri Bottas finished third.

• Indian Umpire, KN Ananthapadmanabhan has been included in ICC’s international panel of umpires.

Sports


• The International Cricket Council has confirmed that the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2020 that was postponed due to Covid-19 will be held in Australia in 2022.

• Mercedes driver, Lewis Hamilton has won the Formula One British Grand Prix 2020 held at the Silverstone Circuit, United Kingdom.

• England's James Anderson becomes first fast bowler to take 600 Test wickets.

Sports

AWARDS


• Dutch Author, Marieke Lucas Rijneveld won the International Booker Prize 2020 for her debut novel ‘The Discomfort of Evening’.

• Hyderabad’s, Neelakantha Bhanu Prakash Jonnalagadda has bagged the first-ever Gold Medal for India in Mental Calculations World Cup (MCWC) by Mind Sports Olympiad (MSO).

• The Government of India Navratna, NLC India Limited (NLCIL) has bagged the SwachhataHi Seva award for making an extremely valuable contribution in the implementation of the “Swachhta Hi Seva Programme”.

Awards


• Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is being conferred for the spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports by a sportsperson over a period of four years.

• Awardees:• Rohit Sharma – Cricket• Mariyappan – Para athlete• Manika Batra –Table Tennis• Vinesh –Wrestling• Rani – Hockey

Awards


• Chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murty and Group Head of Agri and IT Businesses of ITC Ltd, Sivakumar Surampudi are among the winners of the Gramodaya Bandhu MitraPuraskaras. Gramodaya Bandhu Mitra Puraskaras instituted by Gramodaya Chamber of Commerce and Technology (GCOT), a not-for-profit organisation founded by the alumni of Osmania University.

• The awards recognise “Yeoman service rendered by individuals and institutions.

• Forbes magazine has released “The Highest-Paid Actors Of 2020” list. Bollywood actor, Akshay Kumar(ranked 6th) is the only Indian star to be listed among the top 10 world’s highest-paid actors of 2020. The list has been topped by Wrestler-turned-movie star Dwayne Johnson.

Awards


• Journalists Nitin Sethi and Shiv Sahay Singh were declared winners of the Asian College of Journalism’s (ACJ) Award 2019 for Investigative Journalism and the K. P. Narayana Kumar Memorial Award for Social Impact Journalism, respectively.

• SKOCH Gold Award has been awarded to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) for its “Empowerment of Tribals through IT enabled Scholarship Schemes” project.

Awards

BOOKS & AUTHORS


• Siyasat Mein Sadasyata – Vijay Kumar Choudhary

• Vishesh: Code To Win – Nirupama Yadav

• RAW: A History of Indias Covert Operations – Yatish Yadav

• Amazing Ayodhya – Neena Rai

• Our Only Home: A Climate Appeal to the World” – Dalai Lama and Franz Alt

• Full Spectrum: India’s Wars, 1972-2020″ – Arjun Subramaniam

• One Arranged Murder – Chetan Bhagat

• Cricket Drona – Jatin Paranjape

Books & Authors

Indexes


• NITI Aayog has released the report on Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020 in partnership with the Institute of Competitiveness. Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu occupied the top three ranks in the Export Preparedness Index (EPI) 2020.

• According to the data provided by Ministry of Finance to Rajya Sabha, Tamil Nadu has topped the list of Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana (PMMY) in availing loans to women. It was followed by West Bengal and Karnataka.

• The Indian Institute of Technology, Madras has retained the top position in the ‘AtalRanking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements,’ (ARIIA) 2020 for being the best centrally funded institution in India.

• Swachh Survekshan 2020 awards have been announced and Indore became India’s cleanest city for the fourth year in a row.

Indexes

IMPORTANT DAYS


• August 6 – Hiroshima Day

• August 7 – National Handloom Day

• August 9 – International Day of World’s Indigenous People

• August 10 – World Biofuel Day

• August 12 – International Youth Day

• August 13 – World Organ Donation Day

• August 19 – World Humanitarian Day

Important Days


• August 20 – Sadbhavana Diwas

• August 29 – International Day against Nuclear TestsNational Sports Day

Important Days

THANK YOU!

Documents

Current Affairs – August 2020 - time4education.com