Current Affairs in English – August 18 2022

August 18 , 2022

National Events:

NSS:

• Home Minister Amit Shah inaugurated a two day National Security Strategies ( NSS ) Conference 2022 in New Delhi on 17 August 2022 .
• The Conference is being attended by 600 officers from across the country , physically and virtually . On the first day of the conference , deliberations were held on various aspects of national security , including counter – terrorism , radicalisation , etc.

Gurdeep Singh Randhawa:

• Indian – born entrepreneur Gurdeep Singh Randhawa has been elected as the first representative of the Indian community in Germany .
• Randhawa is a member of the Christian Democratic Union of Germany ( CDU ) . CDU is Germany’s strongest political party , headed by Friedrich Merz .

Interest subvention of 1.5%:

• The Union Cabinet has approved interest subvention of 1.5 percent on Short Term Agriculture Loan upto three lakh rupees . This decision has been taken to ensure adequate credit flow in agriculture sector .
• In addition , the Union Cabinet also approved raising the outlay of the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme ( ECGLS ) by Rs 50,000 crore to Rs 5 lakh crore .

Thai PBS:

• The Thai Public Broadcasting Service ( Thai PBS ) has signed an MoU with India’s public broadcaster Prasar Bharati .
• An MoU was also signed on Health and Medical Research Cooperation between Indian Council of Medical Research and Department of Medical Sciences , Thailand . They were signed during the 9th Meeting of India – Thailand Joint Commission .

HAL:

• ISRO has received two space equipment built by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited ( HAL ) , to be used in the first unmanned development launch of India’s manned space mission , Gaganyaan .
• This is the second crew module fairing ( CMF ) that ISRO has taken delivery of , for Gaganyaan . The CMF is a protective structure that surrounds the actual housing for India’s to – be space scientists .

First flight of drone service:

• Arunachal Pradesh successfully launched the first flight of drone service – ‘ medicine from the sky ‘ from Seppa to Chayang Tajo in East Kameng district , in August 2022 .
• The pilot project has been funded by the United States Agency for International Development ( USAID ) and executed by Bengaluru – based startup Redwing Labs . It was launched in collaboration with the World Economic Forum ( WEF ) .

R-CAT:

• With an aim to make tech graduates more employable , Rajasthan government is set to inaugurate Rajiv Gandhi Centre of Advance Technology or R – CAT . It will be inaugurated by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on 20 Aug’22 during a two – day DigiFest – 2022 .
• R – CAT will conduct training programs on advanced and emerging information technologies with a duration ranging from 1 week to 6 months for graduates .

Paalan 1000:

• Union Minister of State for Health Bharati Pravin Pawar virtually launched the Paalan 1000 National Campaign and Parenting App in Mumbai on 16 August 2022 .
• Paalan 1000 – Journey of the First 1000 Days ‘ focuses on the cognitive developments of children in the first two years of its life , while the companion app will provide the caregiver with practical advice .

Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Bin Mohd Sany:

• Admiral Tan Sri Mohd Reza Bin Mohd Sany , Chief of Royal Malaysian Navy is on an official visit to India from 16-19 August 2022 .Both Navies have recently concluded the Bilateral Exercise Samudra Laksamana in May 22 .

HDFC:

• In a first , HDFC Bank has opened its all – women branch in Kozhikode , north Kerala . The branch will have 4 women bankers .
• According to the bank , women constituted 21.7 % ( 21,486 ) of the workforce as of March 31 , 2022 . It has plans to increase it to 25 % by 2025 . HDFC Bank headquarters : Mumbai. Founded : August 1994.

ECB:

• ReNew Power has tied up with 12 international lenders , led by Rabobank , for the largest External Commercial Borrowings ( ECB ) project finance loan in the country’s renewable sector for any single project .
• The loan has been tied up through a special purpose vehicle and will be deployed for its hybrid Round – the – Clock ( RTC ) battery – enabled project .

Discussion Paper:

• RBI has released a discussion paper on payment systems for public opinion . The discussion paper covers all aspects relating to charges in payment systems .
• Charges on transactions through debit cards , credit cards , IMPS , NEFT , RTGS , PPIs , and UPI among others will be taken into consideration .

DCGI:

• Union govt has extended the tenure of Drugs Controller General of India ( DCGI ) VG Somani by 3 months . His term was set to end on 14 August 2022 .
• In 2019 , the government appointed Dr Somani as DCGI for a period of three years to head India’s apex drug regulatory agency Central Drugs Standard Control Organization ( CDSCO ) . Dr Somani played a key role in the approval of Covid – 19 vaccines .

F-INSAS:

• Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on 16 August 2022 , handed over the new anti – personnel mine ‘ Nipun ‘ & Future Infantry Soldier as a System ( F – INSAS ) to the Indian Army . Both the systems have been manufactured indigenously by Indian firms .
• The F – INSAS project aims at modernising infantry and enhancing the operational capability of the soldier .

ONGC:

• Oil and Natural Gas Corporation ( ONGC ) has signed an Agreement with global petroleum giant ExxonMobil for deepwater exploration on the east and the west coasts of India .
• The two companies will focus on the Krishna – Godavari and Cauvery basins in the eastern offshore and the Kutch – Mumbai region in western offshore . ExxonMobil is an American multinational oil and gas corporation .

‘ Aama Yojana ‘ & ‘ Vatsalya Yojana’:

• Sikkim Chief Minister P S Tamang on 15 August 2022 launched 2 schemes , ‘ Aama Yojana ‘ & ‘ Vatsalya Yojana ‘ for the welfare of women of the state .
• Under Aama Yojana all unemployed mothers in the state will receive Rs 20,000 annually which will be deposited in their bank accounts .
• Under Vatsalya Yojana an aid of Rs 3 lakh will be provided to childless women for in vitro fertilization treatment .

India & France:

• The Union Cabinet on 17 August 2022 approved signing of a contract between India & France to support the International Transport Forum activities on the Indian transport sector . The contract was signed on 6 July 2022 .
• The activities to be carried out under this contract will lead to new scientific results & identification of technology options for decarbonisation of transport sector in India .

ECLGS:

• The Union Cabinet has approved an enhancement of ₹ 50,000 crore in the Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme ( ECLGS ) , raising its limit to 5 lakh crore .
• This additional amount is set to be deployed for enterprises in the hospitality and related sectors that were hit hard by the COVID – 19 pandemic . As of August 5 , loans of ₹ 3.67 lakh crore had been sanctioned under the ECLGS .

Customs Act , 1962:

• Government has issued revised guidelines for Arrest and Bail in relation to offences punishable under the Customs Act , 1962 .
• The thresholds for prosecutions and arrests under the Customs Act have been raised to 50 lakh from ₹ 20 lakh for smuggling and illegal imports of goods in baggage , and from 1 crore to 2 crore for cases involving commercial fraud .

’Kerala Savari’:

• Kerala state government has launched a rental car booking app. State Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan launched the app-based booking service ‘Kerala Savari’ in Thiruvananthapuram.
• This initiative has been taken by the Kerala government for the first time in the country. The government has introduced it to compete with rental car booking apps like Ola and Uber.

International Events:

10 – member Internet Governance Forum ( IGF ) Leadership Panel:

• UN Secretary – General Antonio Guterres has appointed India’s Electronics and Information Technology Secretary Alkesh Kumar Sharma to the 10 – member Internet Governance Forum ( IGF ) Leadership Panel .
• In addition , Guterres ‘ envoy on technology , Amandeep Singh Gill , was also appointed to the panel . The panel’s role is to deal with ” strategic and urgent issues ” of the internet .

Kenya:

• In Kenya , Deputy President William Ruto has been declared the winner of Kenya’s presidential election .
• This was the first time Mr Ruto had run for president . He has served as deputy president for 10 years . Mr Ruto will succeed President Uhuru Kenyatta . Kenya Capital : Nairobi . Currency : Kenyan shilling.