Daily Current Affairs and GK | 18 August 2021

By PendulumEdu | Last Modified: 19 Aug 2021 11:26 AM IST

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Topic: International News

1. Hakainde Hichilema wins Presidential election of Zambia.

  • Hakainde Hichilema wins the Presidential election of Zambia. He defeated Edgar Lungu by more than a million votes.
  • Hichilema secured 2,810,777 votes while Lungu received 1,814,201 votes. Hichilema will become Zambia’s seventh president.
  • Hichilema is supported by ten opposition parties under the banner of the United Party for National Development (UPND).
  • Zambia is facing an economic crisis due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Zambia:

It is a landlocked country in Southern Africa.

Its neighbors are the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and Angola.

The capital of Zambia is Lusaka and the currency is kwacha.

Topic: Books and Authors

2. A book titled “The Dream of Revolution: A Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan” will be unveiled on 23 August.

  • A Jayaprakash Narayan autobiography’s “The Dream of Revolution: A Biography of Jayaprakash Narayan” will be released on 23 August.
  • It has been published by Penguin Random House India. It is written by Bimal Prasad and Sujata Prasad.
  • The book is a comprehensive study of JP’s life and ideas. The author has written about the role of Jayaprakash Narayan during Indira Gandhi’s Emergency in 1975.

Jayaprakash Narayan:

He is popularly called JP or Lok Nayak.

He played a major role in movements like Quit India Movement, Sarvodaya Movement, and JP Movement against Indira Gandhi government.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 1999.

He is known for his ‘Total Revoultion’ call against Indira Gandhi.

 

 

 
 

 

Topic: Reports and Indices

3. RBI introduces Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country.

  • RBI has introduced Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index) to capture the extent of financial inclusion across the country.
  • It is a comprehensive index, which incorporates details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in consultation with government and respective sectoral regulators.
  • It captures information on different aspects of financial inclusion in a single value, which ranges between 0 and 100. 0 shows complete financial exclusion and 100 shows full financial inclusion.
  • It comprises of three parameters viz., Access (weightage 35%), Usage (weightage 45%) and Quality (weightage 20%). Each of these aspects consists of various dimensions. The dimensions are computed based on a number of indicators.
  • The Index is responsive to ease of access, usage of services, and quality of services, comprising all 97 indicators.
  • Quality parameter is a unique feature of the Index. It captures the quality aspect of financial inclusion.
  • The FI-Index has been constructed without any ‘base year’. FI-Index will be published annually in July every year.
  • RBI had made the announcement about creation of the Financial Inclusion Index in the first Bi-monthly Monetary Policy Statement for 2021-2022 on 17 April.

Topic: International News

4. S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, started a four-day visit to America from 16 August.

  • S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister, has started a four-day visit to America from 16 August.
  • During his visit, he will attend a number of UN Security Council events.
  • They include a briefing session on terrorism that will be organized under India’s Presidency of the UNSC.
  • He will also preside over an open debate on peacekeeping at the UNSC. It will be focused on the theme of 'Protecting the Protectors: Technology and Peacekeeping'.
  • India started its two-year tenure as a non-permanent member of the UNSC on January 1, 2021.
  • It is holding the presidency of UNSC for the month of August.
  • India and UN are expected to sign an MoU in support of the 'Partnership for Technology in Peacekeeping' initiative.

UN Security Council:

It is one of the six major organs of the United Nations.

Its main function is to ensure international peace and security.

It was established on 24 October 1945.

The headquarters of the United Nations Security Council is located in New York, United States.

Topic: Awards and Prizes

5. Government announced winners of MeitY-NASSCOM Start-up Women Entrepreneur Awards 2020-2021.

  • The government in partnership with UN Women has announced the winners of MeitY-NASSCOM Start-up Women Entrepreneur Awards 2020-2021.
  • This award has been given to recognize the entrepreneurial spirit in women and to promote future entrepreneurs.
  • The awards were declared on August 17, 2021, at an event organized to celebrate Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav.
  • The Jury selected 12 women entrepreneurs as winners while two women receive Jury Choice Awards and one women entrepreneur felicitated as a special mention.
  • Each winner and Jury Choice Awardees winner will be rewarded with Rs. 2 Lakh.
  • The government has selected 33 women for MeitY-NASSCOM Tech Women Entrepreneur Accelerator Program.
  • To encourage Women Entrepreneurship, the MeitY and UN Women have jointly launched the Amrit Mahotsav Shri Shakti Innovation Challenge 2021.

Topic: Defence

6. A Joint Exercise between Indian Navy and Royal Bahrain Naval Force will begin in Persian Gulf.

  • A maritime Exercise between the Indian Navy and Royal Bahrain Naval Force (RBNF) will begin in the Persian Gulf. It is scheduled to be held from 18 to 21 August.
  • Indian Navy and Bahrain Navy participated in coordination and operational planning conference before the Maritime Partnership Exercise.
  • INS Kochi will participate in this exercise from the Indian side.
  • The maritime exercise will give an opportunity to both country’s navies to gain learn best practices and to develop a common understanding of procedures for maritime security operations.
  • In March 2021, the Indian Navy and Royal Bahrain Naval Force had conducted the Passage Exercise (PASSEX) under ‘Operation Sankalp’ in the Persian Gulf.

Bahrain:

It is a country in the Persian Gulf. It is Asia’s third smallest nation.

Its capital is Manama and currency is Bahraini Dinar.

Salman Al Khalifa is the Prime Minister of Bahrain.

 

(Source: PIB)

Topic: International News

7. UK to launch resettlement scheme for people of Afghanistan.

  • The United Kingdom will launch a new resettlement scheme for the people of Afghanistan. It will be especially launched for women and girls of Afghanistan.
  • UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that international partners need to come together to prevent a humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
  • Britain's resettlement scheme for Afghanistan will be similar to the programme launched for Syrian refugees.
  • Britain will also host a virtual meeting of the Group of Seven nations to discuss the Afghanistan issue.
  • A humanitarian crisis has emerged after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan. This crisis is particularly dangerous for Afghanistan’s 14 million women and girls.
  • Taliban doesn’t believe in women’s educational, and political rights.

Topic: Personality in News

8. Former Indian Footballer Chinmoy Chatterjee passed away.

  • Former India Footballer Chinmoy Chatterjee passed away at the age of 68.
  • He was a member of the Indian team who finished fourth in the quarter-final league at the 1978 Bangkok Asian Games.
  • He played for Mohun Bagan, Mohammedan Sporting, and East Bengal football club. He played a key role in Mohammedan Sporting's CFL win in 1981.
  • He represented Bengal in Santosh Trophy four times. After his retirement, he was appointed assistant coach of East Bengal.

Topic: Miscellaneous

9. HAL conducted taxi trials of Hindustan-228 aircraft.

  • Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) successfully completed Ground Run and Low-Speed Taxi Trials (LSTT) of the Hindustan-228 (VT-KNR) aircraft.
  • The Hindustan-228 is a multi-role utility aircraft. It can be used by civil operators and state governments for their intra and inter-state connectivity.
  • It is a milestone for the Made-in-India civil aircraft sector. It will help in strengthening the regional air connectivity.
  • Kanpur-based HAL’s Transport Aircraft Division has developed this aircraft.
  • The aircraft full-fill the latest “FAR 23 certifications” requirements.

taxi trials of Hindustan-228 aircraft conducted by HAL

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited:

It is an Indian state-owned aerospace and defence company.

Its headquarter is located in Bangalore.

It is one of the world’s oldest and largest aerospace and defence manufacturers.

 

Topic: Miscellaneous

10. Mirabai Chanu appointed by Amway India as brand ambassador for Nutrilite range.

  • Mirabai Chanu has been appointed by Amway India as brand ambassador for Nutrilite range.
  • She will be in charge of company’s campaigns focused on product ranges such as Nutrilite Daily, Omega and All Plant Protein among others.
  • Saikhom Mirabai Chanu has won silver medal at 2020 Tokyo Olympics in the women’s 49kg category.
  • Olympian P.R. Sreejesh will be appointed as brand ambassador of adventure tourism in Kerala.
  • Parattu Raveendran Sreejesh (P.R. Sreejesh) is an Indian professional field hockey player.

Topic: State News/Odisha

11. Odisha Chief Minister announces ‘Smart Health Cards’ for free treatment.

  • Odisha Chief Minister has announced ‘Smart Health Cards’ for free treatment.
  • Odisha Chief Minister said that Odisha would provide smart health cards to 3.5 crore people in the state under Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana.
  • Odisha government has redesigned Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana to provide people smart health cards. These smart health cards would work as debit cards for a certain amount.
  • Under re-launched Biju Swasthya Kalyan Yojana, each family can get treatment cost up to ₹5 lakh per annum. Women members can get this benefit up to ₹10 lakh every year.
  • The scheme is meant for 3.5 crore people in 96 lakh families. Under the scheme, card will be given to all beneficiaries phase wise.

Odisha:

It is a state on the Bay of Bengal in the east of India.

It is the eighth largest state by area and the eleventh largest by population.

Its Chief Minister is Naveen Patnaik and Governor is Ganeshi Lal.

Odia is one of the classical languages in India.

Topic: State News/Maharashtra

12. E-crop survey initiative launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.

  • E-crop survey initiative has been launched by Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. This initiative became effective from August 15.
  • The project was initially introduced as a pilot in two districts. It is jointly implemented by the Departments of revenue and agriculture along with the Tata Trust.
  • Speaking on the occasion, the CM said that e-crop survey app is yet another initiative to reduce the difficulties of the farmers as it would provide them crop-related information without hassles.
  • Government has already launched a digitized 7/12 document, which is an extract from the ‘Land Register’ that the farmers can now access on their mobile phones.

Maharashtra:

In terms of area, Maharashtra is India’s third largest state. In terms of population, it is second most populous state.

Its boundary is covered by 6 states. Karnataka and Goa are located to its south. Telangana is located to its southeast. Chhattisgarh is located to its east. Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are located to its north.

Chief Minister: Uddhav Thackery, Governor: Bhagat Singh Koshyari

E-crop survey initiative

(Source: News on AIR)

 

 

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