Current Affairs in English

2021-08-23 19:06:59 1. Ismail Sabri Yaakob appointed as Prime Minister of Malaysia.
Ismail Sabri Yaakob (61 years) has been appointed as the new Prime Minister of Malaysia by Malaysia’s King Sultan Abdullah Sultan Ahmad Shah.
Malaysia is a Southeast Asian country.
Capital : Kuala Lumpur


2. BPCL launches AI-enabled chatbot ‘URJA’.
Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) has launched an AI-enabled chatbot (URJA)
It is the first AI chatbot in oil and gas industry in India.It has been launched under Project Anubhav of BPCL and currently supports 13 languages.It was first launched as 6 month pilot project on WhatsApp for enabling LPG bookings.


3. Tokyo Paralympics to start from August 24.
India will be represented by 54 athletes and compete in 9 sports disciplines including Archery, Athletics Track and Field, Badminton, Swimming, Weightlifting at Tokyo Paralympics.This is the biggest-ever contingent India has sent to any Paralympics and are part of Target Olympic Podium Scheme.


4. NIAB, Hyderabad notified as Central Drugs Laboratory for testing.
Govt of India has identified two Autonomous Institutes of Dept of Biotechnology (DBT), named as National Institute of Animal Biotechnology (NIAB), Hyderabad and National Centre for Cell Science (NCCS), Pune, for upgradation as Central Drug Laboratories (CDLs).Its funding support was provided under PM-CARES fundsAim: to establish more facilities to regulate the testing of COVID-19 vaccines for quick release of vaccine batches for prevention and treatment of COVID-19.


5. Zydus Cadila Vaccine got approval for emergency use for COVID-19.
 Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D.
It is World’s first and India’s indigenously developed DNA based vaccine for COVID-19 to be administered in humans including Children and adults 12 years and above.It is developed in partnership with Dept of Biotechnology under ‘Mission COVID Suraksha’ It is a 3 dose vaccine which when injected produces spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 virus.

 
6.HDFC Life releases 'Life Freedom Index 2021' report
 Life Freedom Index is made up of 4 indices: Financial Awareness Index, Financial Planning Index, Financial Sufficiency and Adequacy Index, and Financial Liberty Index.The scores are based on responses in 6 metros (Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai), four Tier-I cities (Kochi, Indore, Ludhiana, Bhubaneshwar) and four Tier-II cities.

 
7.Finance Minister Sitharaman to launch National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) in delhi.
NMP will list out Centre’s infrastructure assets which will be sold over the next 4 years.It consists of a 4-year pipeline of the Centre’s brownfield infrastructure assets.It will also serve as a medium-term road map for the Centre’s asset monetisation initiative. Open / Comment

2021-08-23 18:50:37 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Awards 2021(Virtually)
Full list of winners:
Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru.
Best Performance Male (Feature): Suriya Sivakumar (Soorarai Pottru).
Best Performance Female (Feature): Vidya Balan (Sherni) & Nimisha Sajayan (The Great Indian Kitchen)
Best Series: Mirzapur Season 2
Best Actress in a Series: Samantha Akkineni (The Family Man 2)
Best Actor in a Series: Manoj Bajpayee (The Family Man 2). Open / Comment

2021-08-22 20:52:01 Shaili Singh wins long jump silver at World Athletics 2021 U20 Championships,
Held in Nairobi,Kenya. Open / Comment

2021-08-22 20:10:02 India Govt celebrating August 19 to 25 ,2021 is a Sanskrit Week.
World Sanskrit Day was celebrated for the first time in the year 1969.
Sudharma is only Sanskrit Daily Newspaper in the World.
Sudharma Newspaper HQ:Mysore
Uttarakhand's one the Official Language Sanskrit. Open / Comment

2021-08-22 18:33:35 1. Apple tops Hurun Global 500 Most Valuable Companies list 2021.
Apple is followed by Microsoft  and Amazon. India: Reliance Industries (USD 188 billion) is ranked at 57 and is the top Indian company in the list. There are total 12 Indian companies,
in this list Most companies country USA with 243 companies while India is ranked 9th.


2.World's first fossil-free steel manufactured in Sweden
first country in the world to manufacture first fossil-free steel (Green Steel).It has been developed by HYBRIT Technology and its first delivery was done to truck-manufacturer Volvo AB as a trial run.Full-scale production of green steel will begin from 2026.Sweden strives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045.
Capital of Sweden: Stockholm.


3.NPCI partners with Mashreq Bank to launch UPI in UAE.
NPCI International Payments Ltd (NIPL) has tied-up with Mashreq Bank to launch payment system facility of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) in the UAE.
NPCI Headquarters: Mumbai.


4.Geological Survey of India launches GSI Mobile App,
Geological Survey of India has launched GSI Mobile App (Beta Version) to make itself accessible to the masses and people will become more enlightened about various facets of GSI updates Android platform.
Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851.
Headquarters of GSI: Kolkata, West Bengal.


5 .Shanti Lal Jain appointed as MD and CEO of Indian Bank.
Headquarters of Indian Bank: Chennai.


6. Facebook & indifi initiated the Small business loans Platform.
online lending platform Indifi .
India is the first country where Facebook is rolling out this programme.
Aim: to help small and medium businesses (SMBs) that advertise on Facebook to get quick access to credit/loans through independent lending partners.This will make business loans more easily accessible to small businesses, and reduce the credit gap within India’s MSME sector.


7. PM Modi lays foundation stone of multiple projects at Somnath in Gujarat.


8. International Day of Remembrance and Tribute to the Victims of Terrorism: August 21
 To pay tribute to the individuals across the globe who have been attacked, injured, traumatized or lost their lives because of terrorist attacks.
The day was adopted by United Nations General Assembly in 2017.It was first celebrated on 2018. Open / Comment

2021-08-21 18:17:24 Cybersecurity Multi-Donar Trust Fund:- It is a New global fund for cybersecurity launched by World Bank.
Aim:- To rollout a better cybersecurity Development agenda. Open / Comment

2021-08-21 18:09:23 Crypto Adoption Index:- It is released by Chainanalysis, a Crypto analysis firm.India ranks second interms of crypto adoption in the world.
Vietnam topped the Index. Open / Comment