Daily Current Affairs and GK | 28 August 2021

Topic: Appointments

1. RBI appoints Ajay Kumar as new Executive Director.

• The Reserve Bank of India has appointed Ajay Kumar as Executive Director. His appointment will become effective from August 20, 2021.
• He will look after the Department of Currency Management, Foreign Exchange Department, and Premises Department as Executive Director.
• Earlier, he was working as Regional Director at the New Delhi Regional Office of RBI.
• He has vast experience in foreign exchange, banking supervision, financial inclusion, and currency management.

Topic: Sports

2. G Sathiyan wins Czech International table tennis tournament.

• India table tennis player G Sathiyan won the Czech International table tennis tournament by defeating Yevhen Ryshchepa of Ukraine.
• He defeated Yevhen Ryshchepa by 11-9, 11-6, 11-6,14-12 in the final of the Czech International table tennis tournament.
• It is his third ITTF Challenger title.  Earlier, he had won Belgium Open 2016 and Spanish Open 2017.
• In the semifinal, he had defeated Truls Moregard of Sweden by 11-4, 11-8, 8-2.
• Last week, Sathiyan in partnership with Manika Batra clinched the mixed doubles title at WTT Contender in Budapest.

Topic: State News/Odisha

3. Odisha government gives approval to Electric Vehicle Policy.

• Odisha government has given approval to Electric Vehicle Policy. The policy aims to achieve a target of 20% electric vehicles on road by 2025.
• The policy has set a target that at least twenty vehicles out of each 100 that would be registered in the state would be battery-operated electric vehicles by 2025.
• The policy also aims to contribute to the reduction of global temperature.
• Under proposed policy, financial incentives including interest subvention in loans taken to purchase electric vehicles would be provided.
• Road tax and registration fees will be waived off during the policy period to manufacturers and users of electric vehicles.
• The central government has set a target to reach 30% of sales of electric cars and two-wheelers by 2030 from less than 1% today.
• Government has launched various initiatives like National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &) Electric vehicles in India (FAME India) to build a sustainable EV ecosystem.

Topic: Indian Polity

4. President gives Tamil Nadu Governor additional charge of Punjab.

• President has given Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit additional charge of Governor of Punjab.
• President has also appointed Tamil Nadu governor Banwarilal Purohit as the Administrator of the Union Territory of Chandigarh.
• Purohit will discharge the functions of the Governor of Punjab, in addition to his own duties from the date he assumes charge of the office of the Governor of Punjab.
• Purohit will replace V P Singh Badnore. Badnore had been discharging the duty as Governor of Punjab as well as Administrator of Chandigarh.

Topic: State News/ Madhya Pradesh

5. Madhya Pradesh becomes second state to implement National Education Policy 2020.

• After Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh has become the second state to implement National Education Policy 2020. Karnataka is the first state to officially implement National Education Policy 2020.
• New National Education Policy will ensure all-round development of the new generation along with education and skill promotion.
• National Education Policy 2020 aims to increase the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education. It aims to add 3.5 crore new seats to higher education institutions.
• The new education policy was formed by a committee under the chairmanship of K.K Kasturirangan.
• National Education Policy will focus on mother tongue or regional languages for the medium of instruction.

Topic: International News

6. India elected to Council of Administration at 27^th UPU Congress in Abidjan.

• On 27^th August 2021, India has been elected to the Council of Administration (CA) at 27^th Universal Postal Union (UPU) Congress in Abidjan.
• ​​India secured 134 votes in CA elections from South Asia and the Oceania region.
• India has been also elected to the Postal Operations Council (POC) at the 27^th UPU Congress in Abidjan. India got 106 votes out of 156.
• India will work for strengthening cooperation in the Universal Postal Union.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: Sports

7. Pune’s Army Sports Institute stadium renamed after Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra.

• The sports stadium of the Pune-based Army Sports Institute (ASI) renamed as 'Neeraj Chopra Army Sports Stadium, Pune Cantonment'.
• Neeraj Chopra was inducted into the Indian Army in 2016 under the sports quota at the post of Naib Subedar. He has won a Gold medal in Men’s Javelin Throw at Tokyo Olympics.
• Army Sports Institute (ASI) of Pune was established in 2001. It is a premier sports training institute of the Indian Army under the Mission Olympic programme.
• Pune-based Army Sports Institute (ASI) is a training institute for archery, athletics, boxing, diving, wrestling, fencing, and weightlifting.

Topic: National News

8. Dr Jitendra Singh inaugurated "Karmayogi" Digital Learning Facility for Civil Servants.

• Dr Jitendra Singh, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology, inaugurated the "Karmayogi" Digital Learning Facility for Civil Servants at the Institute of Secretariat Training & Management (ISTM) in Delhi.
• The "Karmayogi" Digital Learning Facility will further boost the citizen-centric reforms initiated by the Government.
• It will offer courses for upgrading the skills of Central Government officers and personnel.
• ISTM has released 75 courses with a running time of 75 hours on the Karmayogi Digital Learning Lab platform.

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

9. India signed an agreement with UAE to send visiting professors to Abu Dhabi.

• Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) signed an agreement for sending visiting professors.
• Faculty from Indian universities will go for six to ten months every year for doing research and teaching social sciences in Abu Dhabi.
• The agreement aims to strengthen ties between both countries. India is one of the UAE’s largest trade partners.
• It is the first of its kind agreement between the ICCR and a Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member country.
• NYUAD is a portal campus of New York University serving as a private liberal arts college in Abu Dhabi.

Topic: Summits/ Conferences/ Meetings

10. Smriti Irani addressed first G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment.

• Union Minister of Women & Child Development, Smriti Irani addressed the First ever G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment.
• G20 Ministerial Conference on Women’s Empowerment was organized at Santa Margherita Ligure, Italy.
• Smriti Irani during her address said that India is committed for resolving women-centric issues through mutual cooperation.
• She said that the government has started several initiatives for gender equality, ensuring better healthcare and strengthening women’s safety.
• G20 Ministerial Conference Women’s Empowerment was organized to promote equality and the development of women and girls in all spheres.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Punjab

11. Punjab government launched ‘Mera Kaam, Mera Maan’ scheme for unemployed youth.

• The Punjab government has launched the ‘Mera Kaam Mera Maan (MKMM)’ scheme for providing skills to unemployed youth.
• Under this scheme, the government will give short-term skill training to unemployed youth. It will also provide an employment assistance allowance of Rs 2,500 per month for a period of 12 months.
• The skill training courses will be provided at the Punjab Skill Development Mission training centers.
• Under this pilot project, 30,000 beneficiaries will get the benefit of the scheme at a cost of Rs 90 crore.

Topic: Government Schemes and Initiatives

12. Union Minister for Labour and Employment launched e-Shram portal.

• Union Minister for Labour and Employment Bhupender Yadav has launched e-Shram portal.
• The portal will serve as a national database of about 38 crore workers in unorganised sector.
• The portal will help build a comprehensive National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW) in the country.
• It will help in last mile delivery of the welfare schemes for unorganized workers.
• The registration on e-Shram portal is totally free and can be done by using Aadhaar Card. Phone and bank account number of the worker will also be added in the portal.
• Upon registration the workers will be issued an e-Shram card with unique Universal Account Number.
• Workers will be able to access the benefits of the various social security schemes through this card anywhere, anytime.
• If a worker is registered on the e-Shram portal and meets with an accident, he will be eligible for Rs 2.0 Lakh on death or permanent disability and Rs 1.0 lakh on partial disability.

(Source: PIB)

Topic: MoUs/Agreements

13. India-Maldives have signed biggest ever infrastructure project.

• India and Maldives have signed the biggest ever infrastructure project to give a significant boost to bilateral ties.
• India has given a grant of $100 million and a line of credit of $400 million for the mega Greater Male Connectivity Project (GMCP).
• This project is the biggest developmental project started by India in its neighborhood in recent years.
• GMCP will help to connect the Maldivian capital ‘Male’ with adjoining islands of Villingli, Gulhifalhu, and Thilafushi through the construction of a 6.74-kilometer bridge and causeway link.
• GMCP will also help to connect the Maldives' capital with the new international port planned at Gulhifalhu and the industrial zone at Thilafushi.
• President Solih and Foreign Minister Abdullah Shahid had requested for GMCP during the visit of EAM Dr. S Jaishankar in September 2019.

(Source: News on AIR)

Topic: State News/ Uttar Pradesh

14. President Ram Nath Kovind is going to lay the foundation of the first AYUSH University of Uttar Pradesh in Gorakhpur.

• During the visit to Uttar Pradesh, President Ram Nath Kovind will lay the foundation of the first AYUSH University of Uttar Pradesh at Pipri-Tarkulha village in the Bhahat block of Gorakhpur district.
• He will also inaugurate the Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath Vishwavidyalaya in Gorakhpur. It will be a proud moment for Gorakhpur city, which has received two Universities in a single day.
• Now, with these two new Universities, the district will have a total of four Universities and this will lead Gorakhpur towards establishing an educational hub in the Purvanchal region.
• Gorakhpur will now have four universities, which are Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Madan Mohan Malaviya Technological University and these two new universities, which are named after Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath.
• The Ayush University will be known as Mahayogi Guru Gorakhnath Uttar Pradesh State Ayush University.

(Source: News on AIR)