Daily Current Affairs and GK | 22 and 23 August 2021

Topic: National News

1. India’s first smog tower has been set up in New Delhi.

• Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will inaugurate India’s first smog tower on August 23 in New Delhi.
• The smog tower has been established at Baba Kharak Singh Marg. It will clean 1,000 cubic meters of air every second and reduce PM 2.5 and PM 10 levels in the environment.
• It is around 25 meters tall and clean the air around 1 kilometer radius.
• A control room has been set up to monitor the operations of the smog tower.
• The Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) is the nodal authority for making this tower. Another smog tower is being built by the central government at Anand Vihar.
• Smog tower: These are large scale air purifiers to reduce air pollution particles. It removes fine dust particles suspended in the air.

Topic: Miscellaneous

2. Kauvery Group of Hospitals named MS Dhoni as its Brand Ambassador.

• Kauvery Group of Hospitals has named former Indian skipper, MS Dhoni, as its brand ambassador.
• Kauvery Group of Hospitals is a leading healthcare chain in Tamil Nadu. It is currently a 1500+ bed hospital group.
• Neuberg Diagnostics also roped in MS Dhoni as its brand ambassador. Neuberg Diagnostics is a Diagnostics laboratory chain.
• Recently, MS Dhoni has been appointed as Brand Ambassador of Unacademy.
• Eurosport India announced John Abraham as its brand ambassador for MotoGP.

Topic: Important Days

3. International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition: 23 August

• International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition is celebrated annually on 23 August.
• UNESCO has designated this day to mark the transatlantic slave trade. Its aim is to inscribe the tragedy of the slave trade in memory of all peoples.
• On the night of 22 to 23 August 1791, an uprising started in Santo Domingo (now Haiti). The uprising played an important role in transatlantic slave trade abolition.
• In 2019, International Day for the Remembrance of the Slave Trade and its Abolition marked 25^th anniversary of "UNESCO's Slave Route Project: Resistance, Liberty, Heritage".

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

4. National Monetisation Pipeline to be launched by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman.

• National Monetisation Pipeline will be launched by Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman on 23 August at New Delhi.
• National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) comprises a four-year pipeline of brownfield infrastructure assets of Central Government.
• It will provide visibility to investors. It will serve as medium-term roadmap for the Asset Monetisation initiative of the Government.
• Union Budget 2021-22 laid a lot of emphasis on Asset Monetisation as a means to raise innovative and alternative financing for infrastructure.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Important Days

5.World Sanskrit Day 2021: 22 August

• In the year 2021, World Sanskrit Day has been observed on 22 August. It is celebrated on Shraavana Purnima every year.
• It is celebrated to raise awareness and revive the ancient Sanskrit language. It was celebrated for the first time in the year 1969.
• Sanskrit is an ancient Indian language and belongs to the Indo-European group of languages. It is also termed as Dev Vani means God's language.
• Sanskrit is the mother of all Indian languages and it is one of the first languages spoken in India.
• ‘Sudharma‘ is the only Sanskrit newspaper in the world. The Sanskrit language is the second official language of Uttarakhand.

Topic: Personality in News

6. Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh Kalyan Singh passed away.

• Former Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh and Senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh passed away at the age of 89.
• He was also the former governor of Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.
• He was a veteran administrator and grassroots-level leader. He will be remembered for his contribution to the development of Uttar Pradesh.
• He is popularly known as “Babuji”. He made numerous efforts for the empowerment of farmers, youngsters, and women.
• He was the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh from 24 June 1991 to 6 December 1992 and then 21 September 1997 to 12 November 1999. The demolition of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya took place during his tenure.

Topic: Indian Economy

7. Government launched ‘Ubharte Sitaare Fund’ for export-oriented firms & startups.

• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the Ubharte Sitaare Fund (USF) for export-oriented firms and startups in Lucknow.
• The fund has been set up by Exim Bank and SIDBI and its main aim is to arrange funds for micro, small and medium companies.
• Under the Ubharte Sitaare Programme (USP), some Indian companies will be identified that have the potential to become future champions in the domestic arena.
• The fund is a mix of structured support of financial and advisory services. It will support those companies who have export potential but are currently underperforming or unable to tap their potential.
• Exim Bank and SIDBI have developed a pipeline of over 100 potential companies in different sectors such as pharma, auto components, engineering solutions, agriculture, and software.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

8. Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized a webinar on ‘Zero Hunger by 2030’.

• Ministry of Panchayati Raj organized a National Webinar, ‘Localization of Sustainable Development Goals and Role of Panchayats – Goal No. 2 – Zero Hunger’ on 23 August 2021.
• The webinar was inaugurated by the Minister of Panchayati Raj, Shri Giriraj Singh.
• The participants discussed many critical issues such as sufficiency of food production, and food security, sustainable agricultural production and nutritional security.
• The delegates also discussed India’s position in the fight against hunger. The grassroots level leaders got information on various government schemes and initiatives for attaining Zero hunger.
• The representative of the World Food Programme, UNDP, and Central Ministries / Departments participated in this webinar. A large number of Panchayats also joined the Webinar. 

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Corporate and Companies

9. Facebook launches loan program to help small Indian businesses.

• Facebook India has launched the “Small Business Loans” program in association with online lending platform Indifi.
• The main aim of this initiative is to provide loans to small and medium businesses in India. It will help in reducing the credit gap in India’s MSME sector.
• India is the first country where Facebook started this kind of programme. It is open for businesses registered across 200 towns and cities of India.
• Small businesses will get loans at an interest rate of 17-20 percent per annum without collateral. The businesses will also have no obligation to advertise on Facebook.
• This initiative was announced at a virtual event hosted by Facebook India in partnership with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI).

Topic: Sports

10. Amit Khatri wins silver medal in men’s 10,000 meter race walk at World Athletic U-20 championships.

• Amit Khatri has won the silver medal in men’s 10,000 meter race walk at the World Athletic U-20 championships. 
• Amit finished behind gold medal winner Heristone Wanyonyi of Kenya. He had earlier won the title at the 18^th National Federation Cup in 10km race walk.
• Amit Khatri’s silver medal was India’s second medal in World Junior Championships. On 18^th August, the Indian mixed relay team won a bronze medal.
• Priya Mohan, in the women’s 400m final, came up at the fourth place. She played a key role in the bronze medal-winning Indian mixed relay team.
• Baljeet Kaur finished at seventh place in the women’s 10,000m race walk event. The Indian women’s 4x400m relay team finished fourth.
• Shaili Singh missed the gold medal by just 1cm. She settled for silver in U-20 World Athletics Championships. Shaili’s silver is the first long jump medal at the under-20 Worlds.
• World Athletic U-20 Championships or World Junior Championships were held from 17 to 22 August 2021 in Nairobi, Kenya.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Defence

11. Indian Navy ships reached Guam island to take part in MALABAR Exercise.

• Two Indian Naval Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt have reached Guam, an Island Territory of the USA on 21 August as part of their on-going deployment to nations in South East Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
• The two ships are sent to take part in the annual Exercise MALABAR-21, between navies of Australia, India, Japan and USA.
• MALABAR series of maritime exercises started in 1992 as a bilateral Indian Navy-US Navy exercise.
• Exercise MALABAR will be conducted from 26-29 August. It will provide an opportunity for navies to enhance inter-operability, gain from best practices and develop a common understanding of procedures for Maritime Security Operations.
• The participating Indian Ships Shivalik and Kadmatt form part of the Indian Navy's Eastern Fleet based at Visakhapatnam, Eastern Naval Command.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Infrastructure and Energy

12. India’s largest Floating Solar photovoltaic (PV) Project commissioned by NTPC.

• India’s largest Floating Solar photovoltaic (PV) Project has been commissioned by National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Ltd.
• The floating solar PV project is a project of 25 MW on the reservoir of NTPC’s Simhadri thermal station in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh.
• It is also the first solar project to be set up under the Flexibilisation Scheme, notified by the Government in 2018.
• It has the potential to generate electricity from more than 1 lakh solar PV modules.
• The project would help to light around 7,000 households and save 1,364 million litres of water per annum.
• NTPC also has plans to set up a hydrogen-based micro-grid system on a pilot basis at Simhadri.
• NTPC aims to install 60 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity by 2032. It is also India's first energy company to declare its energy compact goals as part of the UN High-level Dialogue on Energy (HLDE).

(Source: PIB)

Topic: Art and Culture

13. Thiruvonam festival was celebrated by Keralites across the globe on 21 August.

• Thiruvonam festival was celebrated by Keralites across the globe on 21 August.
• Thiruvonam is the most important day of the Onam festival. With Covid-19 cases showing no signs of abatement, the celebrations remained highly subdued.
• Kerala celebrated Onam for the second year in a row in the middle of a pandemic.
• The festivities at the Thrikkakara Temple in Kochi, associated with the legend of Mahabali, remained low-key.
• The Onam feast, a regular feature of the festival held at the temple was cancelled due to the prevailing Covid 19 situation.
• Onam celebrations conclude with Thiruvonam. Thiruvonam is the most auspicious day during the Onam festival.
• After Thiruvonam, people in some regions of Kerala participate in different games and dances. These are called Onakkalikal.

Topic: State News/ State News

14. Uttar Pradesh government launched Phase 3 of Mission Shakti Abhiyan.

• The Uttar Pradesh government launched the third Phase of Mission Shakti Abhiyan in Lucknow. The third phase will end on December 31.
• Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman launched the third phase of 'Mission Shakti’.
• Under this phase, ‘Mission Shakti Kaksha' will be implemented in all the 59,000-gram panchayat bhawan, one lakh women self-help groups will be formed and pink toilets will be constructed in 1286 police stations.
• Under Kanya Sumangala Yojana, Chief Minister will also transfer ₹30.12 crores into the bank accounts of 1.5 lakh new beneficiaries.