Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 18 & 19 2021
Current Affairs Daily Digest – August 18 & 19 2021. Read and Download daily, monthly Current Affairs Daily Digest 2021 for competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, IBPS, SBI etc,. Download month wise Current affairs 2020 PDF and Current affairs quiz PDF .
1. World Humanitarian Day: 19 August
World Humanitarian Day (WHD) is observed every year on 19 August to pay tribute to humanitarian personnel and those workers who lost or risked their lives while doing humanitarian service. In 2021 we are celebrating the 12th WHD.
The theme for 2021 WHD is #TheHumanRace: a global challenge for climate action in solidarity with people who need it the most.
2. Amway India appoints Mirabai Chanu as brand ambassador
Direct selling FMCG firm Amway India has announced that it has appointed Olympian Saikhom Mirabai Chanu as the brand ambassador for Amway and its Nutrilite range of products.
Chanu will spearhead the company’s campaigns focused on product ranges such as Nutrilite Daily, Omega and All Plant Protein among others. Chanu, a weightlifter, won the silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 49kg category.
3. Priyanka Chopra Jonas named MAMI film festival chairperson
Actor-producer Priyanka Chopra Jonas was announced as the chairperson of Jio MAMI Film Festival, almost four months after Deepika Padukone stepped down from the position. The Mumbai Academy of Moving Image (MAMI) unveiled its plans for the coming year, edition and the change in leadership.
4. World Photography Day: 19 August
World Photography Day is celebrated on 19 August every year to promote photography as a hobby and also inspire photographers around the globe to share a single photo with the rest of the world. The first official World Photo Day was observed on August 19, 2010.
5. Ghaziabad is world’s second most polluted city of 2020
Uttar Pradesh’s Ghaziabad was adjudged the second most polluted city out of the 50 ‘most polluted cities’ in the world in 2020 by a report prepared by British company HouseFresh. Ghaziabad reported an average Air Quality Index (AQI) of 2.5 particulate matter (PM) in 106.6µg/m3.
6. Maki Kaji, creator of Sudoku puzzle passes away
Maki Kaji, the creator of puzzle Sudoku passed away at the age of 69 years due to bile duct cancer. He was known as the father of Sodoku and was from Japan. He was the president of Nikoli Co., Ltd., a Japanese puzzle manufacturer. Kaji established Japan’s first puzzle magazine, Puzzle Tsushin Nikoli, with pals in 1980. His most legendary creation, Sudoku, followed in 1983.
7. Mohammad Azam honoured with National Youth Award
Mohammad Azam from Karimnagar district in Telangana has been awarded the National Youth Award recently by the Union Youth Affairs and Sports Minister Anurag Singh Thakur in Delhi for displaying exemplary leadership qualities.
He has conducted several awareness programmes related to blood donation, organ donation and plantation programmes under the Haritha Haram project. The award carries an appreciation certificate and Rs 50,000 cash.
8. Odisha to sponsor Indian Hockey teams for 10 more years
The Odisha government will sponsor the Indian Hockey teams for 10 more years after the current sponsorship ends in 2023, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced. The state government started sponsoring the national hockey teams in 2018.
The teams have scripted history with their brilliant performance at the Tokyo Olympics,” the chief minister said, handing over a cash award of Rs 10 lakh to each player.
9. Army organises 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon in J&K
In Jammu and Kashmir, the Army organised a 400 Km “JAZBAA-E- TIRANGA” Relay Marathon. The event was flagged off by Major General Rajeev Puri, General Officer Commanding, Ace of Spades Division, who led the relay, closely followed by other military personnel.
10. Indian Navy Conducts Bilateral Maritime Exercise with Vietnam
The Indian Navy and Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN) undertook a bilateral maritime exercise in the South China Sea, to strengthen the defence ties among the two navies. From India, INS Ranvijay and INS Kora took part in the exercise and from the Vietnam People’s Navy (VPN), frigate VPNS Ly Thai To(HQ-012) participated in the drill.
11. SBI Life launches new-age term insurance policy “SBI Life eShield Next”
SBI Life Insurance announced the launch of a unique new age protection solution called ‘SBI Life eShield Next’, which ‘levels up’ the protection coverage as the insured achieves life’s major milestones. This means that the policy is neither linked to the stock market nor shares any profit or dividends with the policyholders.
12. A book on “OPERATION KHUKRI” released by CDS Gen Rawat
CDS General Bipin Rawat was presented a book “OPERATION KHUKRI” by authors Major General Rajpal Punia & Ms Damini Punia. The book highlights the Indian Army’s successful rescue mission in Sierra Leone as part of the United Nations.
The year was 2000, Sierra Leone, in West Africa, had been ravaged by years of civil strife. With the intervention of the United Nations, two companies of the Indian Army were deployed in Kailahun as part of a United Nations peacekeeping mission.
13. Odisha to become 1st Indian state to Provide Smart Health Cards
Odisha is all set to launch India’s first ‘Smart Health Cards scheme’ covering its 3.5 crore people of 96 lakh families under the Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana. The information for the same was provided by Odisha Chief Minister (CM) Naveen Patnaik while addressing the 75th Independence Day celebrations in Bhubaneswar.
The objective behind Smart Health Cards is to provide hassle-free quality treatment at the best available health care facilities. These cards will work like debit cards for a certain amount.
14. PR Sreejesh to be brand ambassador of Kerala adventure tourism
Olympian Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh (PR Sreejesh), goalkeeper and former captain of the Indian National Hockey team is set to be named as the brand ambassador of adventure tourism in Kerala. Sreejesh was a part of the Indian Hockey team that won the bronze medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic games. PR Sreejesh hails from Ernakulam, Kerala.
15. RBI to introduce ‘Regulatory GAAR’ for round tripping
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come up with a draft rule with modifications in the existing regulation related to foreign investment to discourage round-tripping. The central bank is looking to tweak the existing regulations and has come up with draft rules around round-tripping.
Some of the largest Indian companies, startups and multinationals with an India presence have put their outbound investment, fundraising and restructuring plans on hold as the RBI looks to introduce fresh regulations around “round-tripping.”
16. India-Bangladesh: Cabinet approves MoU on Disaster Management
Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Disaster Management between India and Bangladesh that was signed in March, 2021.
MoU was signed between National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), Ministry of Home Affairs of India and Ministry of Disaster Management & Relief of Bangladesh.
17. DRDO develops advanced chaff technology to safeguard IAF fighter aircrafts
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) informed on August 19, 2021, that it has developed an advanced Chaff Technology that to safeguard the fighter jets of the Indian Air Force against hostile radar targets.
Chaff technology has been given to the industry for production in large quantities in order to meet the annual rolling requirement of the Indian Air Force. Chaff is a critical defence technology that is used to protect fighter aircraft from hostile radar targets.
18. BRICS nations sign deal for remote sensing satellite data sharing
BRICS nations- Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa signed an agreement on August 18, 2021 for cooperation in remote sensing satellite data sharing, as per the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
The deal will enable building a virtual constellation of specified remote sensing satellites of BRICS space agencies and their respective ground stations will receive the data.
ISRO said in a statement that “this will contribute in strengthening multilateral cooperation among BRICS space agencies in meeting the challenges faced by mankind, such as global climate change, major disasters and environmental protection.”
19. DMart owner Radhakishan Damani enters World’s 100 Richest People List
Radhakishan Damani, a reclusive investor, and billionaire, who owns the retail chain DMart has entered the list of the world’s 100 richest people. Damani, who grew up in a humble background has been ranked at 98 on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index with a net worth of $19.2 billion.
The other Indians in the top 100 list are Gautam Adani, Mukesh Ambani, Pallonji Mistry, Azim Premji, Lakshmi Mittal, and Shiv Nadar. The Bloomberg Billionaire Index is a daily ranking of the richest people in the world.
20. N K Singh elected as President of IEG Society
N K Singh, the Chairman of the 15th Finance Commission, has been elected as the President of the Institute of Economic Growth (IEG) Society during a meeting on August 16, 2021, IEG said in a statement.
IEG further in the statement said that Singh will be succeeding former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, who retired from the Presidency of IEG Society earlier in August 2021. Dr Manmohan Singh had recommended Singh for the General Assembly of the IEG to consider for Presidency of the Society.
